Day 2 25th March 2008 Part 1 - Eurostar & The Magic Begins
The alarm went off at 5-25am and we were soon ready to leave for the short walk to St Pancras. This was Lisas birthday, and was certainly going to be one that she would never forget. Check in and passport control went well, but I was surprised to find that there was no Disney desk, as we had been told there would be by First Choice. We had also been given a sticker to wear to show that we were entitled to Disney Express, but again, we had no contact of any sort with anyone from Disney.
They did not start to load the train until 10 minutes before departure, which was very stressful, as we had to get the wheelchair, two babys in pushchairs and numerous cases up an escalator, which brought us out at completely the wrong end of the train. We eventually got to our carriage, only to have the recurring nightmare of nowhere to put all our luggage or the wheelchair. We just had to leave them in the end of the carriage, but at least all our seats were together, even though we had to have the two young ones on our knees. We used the vouchers that we had been given by the Eurostar manager, who had sorted out our seating problems, but the only warm sandwiches they had left were ham & cheese, even though we had only just set off!. The boys managed to get in the aisle with their colouring books, and before we knew it we were arriving at Lille. We offloaded our cases etc and had an hour to get to our next train. Here we are on the station at Lille:
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010850.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010850.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Again, the platform that our train was due to leave from was not announced until 15 minutes before the train was due to leave, so we had that deja-vous scenario. To make it worse, when we eventually got to the platform with just a couple of minutes to spare, this train was a double decker French train, and our seats were upstairs!! So, unbelievably, we now had to get all our luggage, a wheelchair, a disabled boy and two toddlers up a narrow set of stairs, and all in just a couple of minutes!! To say the stress level was rising would be an understatement, but we kept our spirits high knowing that we were now just an hour and a half away from the magic.
As we approached our destination, Liam & I began getting all our luggage down the stairs, and missed the first view of the castle, which had thrilled the girls. We got everything off OK, but we were now stood at Marne Le Vallee station with no idea what to do next. We went to the Disney Express counter, only to be told that we did not qualify for the service, as it only applied to direct trains, so we had the choice of again trying to get everything on to the shuttle bus, or walking to our hotel. We decided on the latter, and set off, pulling our cases behind us, as we walked through the Disney Village and around the lake to Sequoia Lodge.
We were very impressed with our first impressions of the hotel, as we made our way upstairs to reception. The queue for check in was very long, and we were given a clipboard to complete the registration form as we waited. We were eventually told that our rooms were ready, so we got our luggage together and made the very short walk to rooms 2278 and 2280. These were adjoining rooms, which was great for the kids, as they could bob back and forth from Grandad Kebins room to their own. Our room had a double and two bunks, while Liams room had two doubles. We expected to have to choose a time for breakfast, but because of the wheelchair, we were given a VIP breakfast time of 7-30am to 10-30am in the Redwood Bar area, and this was to be a major bonus.
All our travel nightmares were now forgotten, as we dropped our cases and made our way back through the village to Disneyland Park.
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010851.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010851.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
For months, the kids had been talking about seeing Mickeys Car-sel (that not a mis-spelling, its just the very posh way they said it!) and now, all of a sudden it was right there in front of them. Max took several minutes to realise it was there, but once he did, his face was a picture as he screamed out Mickeys Car-sel, Mickeys Carsel
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010852.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010852.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
We had only just got onto Main Street when the character express train was coming down the road. This was a truly magical and emotional moment, as the boys got their first sight of the characters. It really felt like we had been sprinkled with pixie dust as they saw all the characters that we had spent months telling them that they were going to see, and all within seconds of getting through the gates.
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010853.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010853.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
We made our way up through the castle. Its a shame that the sides of the bridge to the entrance have been boarded up, but if it has to be done it has to be done.
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010854.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010854.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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We arrived in Fantasyland & the kids were amazed at the sights that greeted them.
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010856.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010856.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Dumbo was a 45 minute wait, so we bypassed that and got more or less straight on to the tea cups, which everyone really enjoyed. Again, it was a very short wait for Small World, and yet another unforgettable moment for Becky & the boys. We walked through to Discoveryland to Fast Pass Buzz Lightyear for 4-45pm, before making our way to the wheelchair area for the parade. We had not yet got our disability pass from City Hall, so should not have been allowed into this area, but when we explained that we had only just arrived, the CM allowed us all in. This was an amazing position to watch the parade, just outside the castle, and I really thought that Becky was going to burst with excitement. The characters made a play for the kids as they went by and this really was all our dreams coming true.
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010859.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010859.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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This was now my favourite day parade ever, as the aromas released by the floats really added to the fantasy. I think we were all in tears, and it really was a wonderful experience. One of the funnier moments was when the Little Mermaid float went by and Max screamed as he saw Ursula on the back. He really wasnt impressed with her, or the very large elephant from the Lion King float.
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010887.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010887.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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We took a few minutes to gather ourselves, before heading off for our fastpass appointment with Buzz Lightyear. We had bought Toy Story 1 & 2 for the boys instead of Easter eggs, and they had watched them both dozens of times in the last two weeks, so they really loved this ride. I still managed to beat Ben again, following on our battle from last years holiday, even though I had Max in my vehicle and was trying to help him kill Zurg. The boys were both very tired by now, so we decided to nip back to our rooms, to prepare for our 6-30pm reservation at Café Mickey.
[thread=1774788]CLICK HERE TO GO TO CAFE MICKEY REPORT [/thread]
The alarm went off at 5-25am and we were soon ready to leave for the short walk to St Pancras. This was Lisas birthday, and was certainly going to be one that she would never forget. Check in and passport control went well, but I was surprised to find that there was no Disney desk, as we had been told there would be by First Choice. We had also been given a sticker to wear to show that we were entitled to Disney Express, but again, we had no contact of any sort with anyone from Disney.
They did not start to load the train until 10 minutes before departure, which was very stressful, as we had to get the wheelchair, two babys in pushchairs and numerous cases up an escalator, which brought us out at completely the wrong end of the train. We eventually got to our carriage, only to have the recurring nightmare of nowhere to put all our luggage or the wheelchair. We just had to leave them in the end of the carriage, but at least all our seats were together, even though we had to have the two young ones on our knees. We used the vouchers that we had been given by the Eurostar manager, who had sorted out our seating problems, but the only warm sandwiches they had left were ham & cheese, even though we had only just set off!. The boys managed to get in the aisle with their colouring books, and before we knew it we were arriving at Lille. We offloaded our cases etc and had an hour to get to our next train. Here we are on the station at Lille:
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010850.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010850.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Again, the platform that our train was due to leave from was not announced until 15 minutes before the train was due to leave, so we had that deja-vous scenario. To make it worse, when we eventually got to the platform with just a couple of minutes to spare, this train was a double decker French train, and our seats were upstairs!! So, unbelievably, we now had to get all our luggage, a wheelchair, a disabled boy and two toddlers up a narrow set of stairs, and all in just a couple of minutes!! To say the stress level was rising would be an understatement, but we kept our spirits high knowing that we were now just an hour and a half away from the magic.
As we approached our destination, Liam & I began getting all our luggage down the stairs, and missed the first view of the castle, which had thrilled the girls. We got everything off OK, but we were now stood at Marne Le Vallee station with no idea what to do next. We went to the Disney Express counter, only to be told that we did not qualify for the service, as it only applied to direct trains, so we had the choice of again trying to get everything on to the shuttle bus, or walking to our hotel. We decided on the latter, and set off, pulling our cases behind us, as we walked through the Disney Village and around the lake to Sequoia Lodge.
We were very impressed with our first impressions of the hotel, as we made our way upstairs to reception. The queue for check in was very long, and we were given a clipboard to complete the registration form as we waited. We were eventually told that our rooms were ready, so we got our luggage together and made the very short walk to rooms 2278 and 2280. These were adjoining rooms, which was great for the kids, as they could bob back and forth from Grandad Kebins room to their own. Our room had a double and two bunks, while Liams room had two doubles. We expected to have to choose a time for breakfast, but because of the wheelchair, we were given a VIP breakfast time of 7-30am to 10-30am in the Redwood Bar area, and this was to be a major bonus.
All our travel nightmares were now forgotten, as we dropped our cases and made our way back through the village to Disneyland Park.
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010851.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010851.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
For months, the kids had been talking about seeing Mickeys Car-sel (that not a mis-spelling, its just the very posh way they said it!) and now, all of a sudden it was right there in front of them. Max took several minutes to realise it was there, but once he did, his face was a picture as he screamed out Mickeys Car-sel, Mickeys Carsel
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010852.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010852.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
We had only just got onto Main Street when the character express train was coming down the road. This was a truly magical and emotional moment, as the boys got their first sight of the characters. It really felt like we had been sprinkled with pixie dust as they saw all the characters that we had spent months telling them that they were going to see, and all within seconds of getting through the gates.
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010853.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010853.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
We made our way up through the castle. Its a shame that the sides of the bridge to the entrance have been boarded up, but if it has to be done it has to be done.
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010854.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010854.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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We arrived in Fantasyland & the kids were amazed at the sights that greeted them.
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010856.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010856.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Dumbo was a 45 minute wait, so we bypassed that and got more or less straight on to the tea cups, which everyone really enjoyed. Again, it was a very short wait for Small World, and yet another unforgettable moment for Becky & the boys. We walked through to Discoveryland to Fast Pass Buzz Lightyear for 4-45pm, before making our way to the wheelchair area for the parade. We had not yet got our disability pass from City Hall, so should not have been allowed into this area, but when we explained that we had only just arrived, the CM allowed us all in. This was an amazing position to watch the parade, just outside the castle, and I really thought that Becky was going to burst with excitement. The characters made a play for the kids as they went by and this really was all our dreams coming true.
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010859.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010859.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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This was now my favourite day parade ever, as the aromas released by the floats really added to the fantasy. I think we were all in tears, and it really was a wonderful experience. One of the funnier moments was when the Little Mermaid float went by and Max screamed as he saw Ursula on the back. He really wasnt impressed with her, or the very large elephant from the Lion King float.
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/?action=view¤t=P1010887.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/DLRP%20Day%202/P1010887.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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We took a few minutes to gather ourselves, before heading off for our fastpass appointment with Buzz Lightyear. We had bought Toy Story 1 & 2 for the boys instead of Easter eggs, and they had watched them both dozens of times in the last two weeks, so they really loved this ride. I still managed to beat Ben again, following on our battle from last years holiday, even though I had Max in my vehicle and was trying to help him kill Zurg. The boys were both very tired by now, so we decided to nip back to our rooms, to prepare for our 6-30pm reservation at Café Mickey.
[thread=1774788]CLICK HERE TO GO TO CAFE MICKEY REPORT [/thread]
From seeing the first DLRP photo you posted of your family in front of Fantasia Gardens l just kept smiling until the end of your report - it's great to read, your enthusiasm shines through. 
