PART TWO ADDED, SCROLL TO BOTTOM!
Cast:
Me (20) Disney lover who's visited DLP and WDW twice each.
Girlfriend (20, now 21) another Disney fanatic who has visited DLP twice.
Both fans of the Disney of our childhood- Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King etc.
Prelude:
Last year we had a lovely trip to Barcelona, and were thinking of another city-break, but when it came down to it, we both knew we wanted our Disney-fix! We'd talked about going before, but then found that the price wasn't as crazy as we expected
and plumped for a 2night-3day stay at the Santa Fe. We also decided to extend our trip to a night and day in Paris also.
The day before: Packing not finished yet when DP calls to say she can't find her passport! MAJOR PANIC! I stop packing and prepare myself to say goodbye to the Mouse, a few mins later she calls and it's all OK. Passport was tucked up with stuff from her last trip, but that was a troubling time!
DAY ONE (6th Sept)
It's a very early start as we are booked onto a 7.09 train to Paris Nord from Waterloo. We're up at 4.45, with just enough energy to squeal that the Disney-day has finally come! I'm useless at early mornings, so we blearily make our way to the local station. We grumble at having to pay full fare for such an early train (surely it doesn't count as peak times at 5.45!)
and stand in the drizzle ready to go! When the train arrives it's as packed as the 8AM commuter trains, and we spend some time feeling sorry for the poor souls who aren't going to Disney, but just to work!
We arrive at Waterloo-East, trundle over the Waterloo Intl and get our tickets no problems (phew!). Check in time arrives and after a few minutes of waiting we're on the train and ready to go. I really love how easy it is on the Eurostar compared to flying!
A couple of hours later (+1 lost in the time change!) we arrive at Paris Nord. No passport checks (is that safe?) and we're following the RER signs with some ease! Until we get to the ticket machines, when we find that they won't take our big post-office-issued notes. None of the booths are open, so we find our way eventually to an info booth where the lady issues us two tickets all the way to Disney.
We stand on the RER platform for some time before we realise that 'hmmm, none of these trains are going to Chatelet Les Halles' (where we have to change) - so we look at any sign we can find and realise we're on the platform for trains in the wrong direction- WHOOPS!
A change of platform and we're soon on our way to Chatelet, a quick change to the RER A and we're on the final leg of the journey! It's looking quite grey and drizzly outside at this point, and we're a bit worried that this will be the way for the rest of the week. We also decided that as we'll be arriving at lunchtime, and are both very hungry, we will eat in the hotel to avoid ruining our first park moments with hunger pangs and searching for Veggie options!
Half an hour or so later and we pull into Marne-La-Vallee, and squeal with glee at the sight of the lovely brown sign announcing the 'Parcs Disneyland' - eek! Out of the station and we can see the village and the studios water tower, more excitement! What's more the weather has perked up by this point and we're very, very excited! After walking in circles for a bit we find the shuttles to the hotels, and are loaded onto a busy yellow bus to take us to the Santa Fe.
We like looking at the different hotels, and are glad when we pull up to the SF. First Impressions (for me, DP had already been) were less than overwhelmed! As I'm sure you all know the SF is the budgetest of the budget hotels, and looks much like some of the halls of residence at my Uni. Only orange. We decide that halls would be better if they were New Mexico themed!
We queue up to check in and a 'useful' man gives us our envelope with details, only I notice that the names are wrong (both my first name, and all of DP's name). I tell himthis and he doesn't see to think it matters(!). When we get to the desk the check-in lady realises this does matter, and there are a few moments of panic when she tries to tell us we should already have our envelope! FOrtunately it is found, there was a typo, so we just have to be the JINES party for the rest of the trip!
We ask about the Fantasyland breakfast and are told it's all booked up - boo! So we just collect our allocated times for brekkie at the hotel, and they tell us to check later to see if any spaces open up.
We're allocated to block 46 (on the 'bird' trail), room 22, floor 3. A.k.a. as far away as possible from the main building!
But nearer to the path to the parks, which is good! The room is clean and very good for the 'cheap' price you pay. A quick change and we're off to find lunch.
We check out the Santa Fe canteen and find it completely empty, furthermore the only veggie options look a bit iffy. So we decide that as we are walking to the park,we'll check out the other hotels. The next stop, the Cheyenne, offers a good salad buffet, so we go for that and sit outside. Cost: arund 5Euros each. I really like the look of the Cheyenne, especially how
the rooms are in themed blocks. I would stay here if I had a few extra ££s!
After lunch with lots of sparrows we meander our way along the canal/river to the Disney lake. The balloon really does make it look pretty, even though it was not going up today. We admire the Hotel NY - outside which are lots of suited people, must be some kind of conference, we see a lot of these people through the trip. The Newport looks stunning, we keep mentally upgrading ourselves as we see each hotel! and the glimpse of the Sequoia Lodge is also attractive. The Santa Fe is good value, but if I had the cash I would definetly go for a 'better' hotel for more of a Disney experience.
A wander through the village (they're playing Disney tunes, yay!) and we're finally at the gates to Disneyland. All those months of waiting have been worth it!
Useful tips Part One
---We got the non-direct train in hopes of arriving there earlier. In reality we only arrived there about 30mins earlier than the direct train, with a much earlier start required! I don't really regret doing that, as it wasn't much hassle. But if you have small kids, aren't confident in foregin travel (we'd done the RER transfer business before, much less succesfully!) or just don't like hassle then I would wait for the direct service. For us, it was fine, and no more ££ though!
--- Try and book Fantasyland breakfast before you go, we couldn't because we booked with Eurostar, and they told us there would be 'absolutely no problem' doing it when we arrived. If you have your heart set on this, and aren't book with Disney themselves, maybe try pestering eurostar and the hotel to get it sorted before.
--- Try and take some euro change for RER tickets if you go this route. It was about 6-7 euros each, I think. As there were no ticket booths open (this is about 11am on a tuesday!), and the few machines working wouldn't take our notes.
Cast:
Me (20) Disney lover who's visited DLP and WDW twice each.
Girlfriend (20, now 21) another Disney fanatic who has visited DLP twice.
Both fans of the Disney of our childhood- Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King etc.
Prelude:
Last year we had a lovely trip to Barcelona, and were thinking of another city-break, but when it came down to it, we both knew we wanted our Disney-fix! We'd talked about going before, but then found that the price wasn't as crazy as we expected
and plumped for a 2night-3day stay at the Santa Fe. We also decided to extend our trip to a night and day in Paris also.
The day before: Packing not finished yet when DP calls to say she can't find her passport! MAJOR PANIC! I stop packing and prepare myself to say goodbye to the Mouse, a few mins later she calls and it's all OK. Passport was tucked up with stuff from her last trip, but that was a troubling time!
DAY ONE (6th Sept)
It's a very early start as we are booked onto a 7.09 train to Paris Nord from Waterloo. We're up at 4.45, with just enough energy to squeal that the Disney-day has finally come! I'm useless at early mornings, so we blearily make our way to the local station. We grumble at having to pay full fare for such an early train (surely it doesn't count as peak times at 5.45!)
and stand in the drizzle ready to go! When the train arrives it's as packed as the 8AM commuter trains, and we spend some time feeling sorry for the poor souls who aren't going to Disney, but just to work!
We arrive at Waterloo-East, trundle over the Waterloo Intl and get our tickets no problems (phew!). Check in time arrives and after a few minutes of waiting we're on the train and ready to go. I really love how easy it is on the Eurostar compared to flying!
A couple of hours later (+1 lost in the time change!) we arrive at Paris Nord. No passport checks (is that safe?) and we're following the RER signs with some ease! Until we get to the ticket machines, when we find that they won't take our big post-office-issued notes. None of the booths are open, so we find our way eventually to an info booth where the lady issues us two tickets all the way to Disney.
We stand on the RER platform for some time before we realise that 'hmmm, none of these trains are going to Chatelet Les Halles' (where we have to change) - so we look at any sign we can find and realise we're on the platform for trains in the wrong direction- WHOOPS!
A change of platform and we're soon on our way to Chatelet, a quick change to the RER A and we're on the final leg of the journey! It's looking quite grey and drizzly outside at this point, and we're a bit worried that this will be the way for the rest of the week. We also decided that as we'll be arriving at lunchtime, and are both very hungry, we will eat in the hotel to avoid ruining our first park moments with hunger pangs and searching for Veggie options!
Half an hour or so later and we pull into Marne-La-Vallee, and squeal with glee at the sight of the lovely brown sign announcing the 'Parcs Disneyland' - eek! Out of the station and we can see the village and the studios water tower, more excitement! What's more the weather has perked up by this point and we're very, very excited! After walking in circles for a bit we find the shuttles to the hotels, and are loaded onto a busy yellow bus to take us to the Santa Fe.
We like looking at the different hotels, and are glad when we pull up to the SF. First Impressions (for me, DP had already been) were less than overwhelmed! As I'm sure you all know the SF is the budgetest of the budget hotels, and looks much like some of the halls of residence at my Uni. Only orange. We decide that halls would be better if they were New Mexico themed!
We queue up to check in and a 'useful' man gives us our envelope with details, only I notice that the names are wrong (both my first name, and all of DP's name). I tell himthis and he doesn't see to think it matters(!). When we get to the desk the check-in lady realises this does matter, and there are a few moments of panic when she tries to tell us we should already have our envelope! FOrtunately it is found, there was a typo, so we just have to be the JINES party for the rest of the trip!
We ask about the Fantasyland breakfast and are told it's all booked up - boo! So we just collect our allocated times for brekkie at the hotel, and they tell us to check later to see if any spaces open up.
We're allocated to block 46 (on the 'bird' trail), room 22, floor 3. A.k.a. as far away as possible from the main building!
But nearer to the path to the parks, which is good! The room is clean and very good for the 'cheap' price you pay. A quick change and we're off to find lunch.
We check out the Santa Fe canteen and find it completely empty, furthermore the only veggie options look a bit iffy. So we decide that as we are walking to the park,we'll check out the other hotels. The next stop, the Cheyenne, offers a good salad buffet, so we go for that and sit outside. Cost: arund 5Euros each. I really like the look of the Cheyenne, especially how
the rooms are in themed blocks. I would stay here if I had a few extra ££s!
After lunch with lots of sparrows we meander our way along the canal/river to the Disney lake. The balloon really does make it look pretty, even though it was not going up today. We admire the Hotel NY - outside which are lots of suited people, must be some kind of conference, we see a lot of these people through the trip. The Newport looks stunning, we keep mentally upgrading ourselves as we see each hotel! and the glimpse of the Sequoia Lodge is also attractive. The Santa Fe is good value, but if I had the cash I would definetly go for a 'better' hotel for more of a Disney experience.
A wander through the village (they're playing Disney tunes, yay!) and we're finally at the gates to Disneyland. All those months of waiting have been worth it!
Useful tips Part One
---We got the non-direct train in hopes of arriving there earlier. In reality we only arrived there about 30mins earlier than the direct train, with a much earlier start required! I don't really regret doing that, as it wasn't much hassle. But if you have small kids, aren't confident in foregin travel (we'd done the RER transfer business before, much less succesfully!) or just don't like hassle then I would wait for the direct service. For us, it was fine, and no more ££ though!
--- Try and book Fantasyland breakfast before you go, we couldn't because we booked with Eurostar, and they told us there would be 'absolutely no problem' doing it when we arrived. If you have your heart set on this, and aren't book with Disney themselves, maybe try pestering eurostar and the hotel to get it sorted before.
--- Try and take some euro change for RER tickets if you go this route. It was about 6-7 euros each, I think. As there were no ticket booths open (this is about 11am on a tuesday!), and the few machines working wouldn't take our notes.
!! You've only just got back!
Looking forward to your next instalment.
apt. Jack Sparrow) would make a welcome addition to the attraction!
