jodyb
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 15, 1999
- Messages
- 788
Cast:
Liav Now 14 years old!
Jody still a lot older than Liav (old enough to be her mother!)
December 12, 2005 Journey and Day 1
Well, we left on a Monday, and Sunday is the beginning of the work and school week here, so Sunday was a regular day for us, and since we hadn't had the good sense to pack up everything on Saturday, we were up a bit late on Sunday getting organized. Then Monday morning at 4:30 AM the taxi arrived as planned to take us to the airport. Of course we were far too excited to feel tired, so by 4 we were up and ready.
The drive to the airport, which can take over 2 hours when there is any traffic, was one hour and 15 minutes from our door to the terminal. Check-in was painless and quick, and we managed seat assignments giving us an empty place between us so Liav could sort of stretch out and get a bit more sleep. The Israeli airport (Tel Aviv) is absolutely gorgeous. Clean, efficient, pleasant I've been in many airports in the world, and I have to way the Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv is to date my very favorite. There is free wireless internet from everywhere in the terminal, so after I checked my mail for work-related stuff I let Liav pass the time waiting to board by chatting with her friends who were getting ready for school (poor things) and we did some shopping Liav got a pair of AllStar sneakers (these are very popular with teens in Israel for some reason)
and at 9 AM we were in the air on our way to Paris 
YAY!!! The flight was uneventful I remember seeing a movie, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was and I hadn't started my notes yet! Oh well
Okay, the only problem with our flight was that it ended at CDG airport!!!
OMG, I am sorry to be so negative right at the start of a trip report, but WHY does the "city of lights" have such a horrid, dingy, filthy airport????? 
I cannot figure this out?!! Our first and second trips to DLP we landed at Terminal 3 since we'd flown on charter flights. This year we flew El Al and I prayed that terminal 2, where we landed this year would be better
but really, it wasn't. There is literally filth everywhere, and it's so poorly lit, and looks like a jailhouse
oh okay, this isn't an airport review it's a Disney trip report
so on with it. 
Our first trip, we'd taken the VEA shuttle that hadn't been much of a hassle it was dead winter (end of January) and we were the only ones on the bus, so it took us directly to our hotel) The only downside had been the 30 minute wait for the shuttle to leave the airport. Last year, since we arrived at a very early hour in the morning, the VEA was not running, so I ordered a private van, and while the service was great, the price was high for only 2 people (Euro City Shuttle 80 Euros to the Disney Hotels, which is a good deal if you have a van full of people). Anyway, this year I made no special arrangements I thought I would play it by ear. We arrived at around 1 PM, so my thought was that if the queue for the VEA was long or the wait would be long, I'd just get an ordinary taxi. But as it happened, as we walked out, we saw several drivers holding signs in Hebrew (our El Al flight had been huge they knew there would be Hebrew speaking clientele and they were right!) saying "transport to Paris". I asked one of the them in Hebrew how much he would ask to take 2 people to the Sequoia and he said 60 Euros. I knew the taxi could probably be cheaper, but he was in the right place at the right time, and spoke our language so off we went with the nice Israeli driver, and within 40 minutes we were checking in at the Sequoia!!! YAY!!!!
It was so lovely to pull up the the hotel and see the decorations and hear the music playing from the loudspeakers in the front area where the car came in. We walked into the lobby and both sighed it was like "coming home" we'd already spent two wonderful holidays in this hotel and we could not have been more pleased to be coming back! If possible, we got even more excited!
We were assigned a Montana room, North Wing, 7th floor. We had a gorgeous lake-view and could see all the way to the Castle! Amazing view, and although I always say I don't really much care about a view from a hotel room, since I don't spend a lot of time standing in front of windows anyway, I have to admit I enjoyed this immensely! Especially at night when the castle was lit for Christmas!! And in the morning at sunrise with the new hot air balloon over the lake well, it was just wonderful.
The room itself was a bit shabby I'd hoped for one of the newly renovated Sequoia rooms, but really it didn't matter much it was clean, and we were very comfortable. Someone mentioned the bedding ours was lovely a blanket covered with a duvet cover, and the bed cover of course. The mattresses have definitely seen better days but we are always so tired when we go to bed after a day in the parks I suppose we could sleep well on sticks and stones!
I should mention that I had to make this a bit of a "working holiday" I had my laptop with me and knew I'd have to check in morning and evening with my New York clients and keep up with things even though I had someone covering for big projects so . After unpacking we went down to the gift shop to arrange internet access. The WIFI at the Sequoia costs 10 Euros for 2 hours. The 2 hours have to be used within a 24 hour period. This suited me I logged on for approximately an hour in the AM and again for an hour in the PM. So I bought 7 internet cards to last for the week I'd be there. If this was not a business expense, obviously I would not have done this but as it was I was satisfied with this service, since it was fast, reliable, and worked from the room, as well as from all the public areas in the hotel. (Although when I bought the cards I was told it would only work from the lounge and lobby, this proved not to be true I worked from my bed on the 7th floor, every day)
Okay, now we were starving, not having had a thing since the breakfast on the flight. So, off we went to Annette's diner a lovely walk around the lake and through the village. It was very cold, but we'd anticipated that and were dressed for it, so we enjoyed being out. We love Annettes, as anyone who's read my previous trip reports knows! We are so boring when it comes to food so sorry about that anyone expecting restaurant reviews should definitely not be reading my reports! It's quite pathetic we eat the same things every day practically, even though this time I VOWED we'd try all sorts of different things! What's wrong with me?
Oh, and in case you are interested, we had chili (me it was delicious and spicy) and fajitas (Liav the portion was huge and she only finished about 1/3 but she enjoyed it) Since we hadn't yet entered the park, our AP's were still the "temporary" cards, but the manager at Annette's gave us the 10% off anyway. Also, orange juice was free, but they would not give us Coke instead of juice as they had done in previous years. 
After the meal we went into the park it was just about dusk, and Main Street looked so wonderful to us!!! So great- that first look at Main Street when you arrive, isn't it?? I LOVED that they didn't have the huge monstrous light thingie. I know a lot of people liked it, but I felt that it blocked the beauty of Main Street, and I think the new lamp post concept is absolutely lovely!!!
We walked over to the Annual Passport office and exchanged our temporary passes which we'd received in the mail, for our plastic "permanent" passes. Our pictures were already in their computer so we didn't have to "pose" again. We received gifts a picture album and a CD holder. (Which later we exchanged in a shop for pins that Liav wanted)
We didn't feel like going on any rides, it was just so pleasant walking about and taking in the atmosphere, listening to the Christmas music, and as it got darker we got excited for the lighting ceremony. We stood just to the side of Caseys and had a great view of the stage. I noticed they raised the platform this year and decorated it. The books and feather are still there, but everything is higher, so it can be seen from farther off. It was brilliant having the characters in this ceremony. We really enjoyed it, and when the lights went on the tree, the lampposts, the castle it was so touching. I was just grinning and loving every moment. Then we walked down MS again and out of the park. At Town Square we paused and looked back at the castle, and the effect of the lampposts, the castle and the tree was absolutely breathtaking. Bravo to DLP Imagineers or whoever does these decorations the changes are IMHO, excellent! (Oh, and you are probably saying so where are the photos!!!??? ) I'm so sorry but they will have to be posted separately I uploaded them daily on to my laptop, so I do have them, but the technical part of posting them is too much for me today. I promise to get them posted in the next few days. Really!
We walked back through the village and got hot chocolate for Liav and Lumberjack for me (which is hot chocolate spiked with something cant' remember what) in the lounge. There was no fire lit, but the decorations are lovely, and the lounge is cozy.
Then back to the room for a relaxing bath and bed and work for me, a Disney movie for Liav. She loves watching TV when we are in DLP since we don't get the Disney channel in Israel.
So ended our first day .
Liav Now 14 years old!
Jody still a lot older than Liav (old enough to be her mother!)
December 12, 2005 Journey and Day 1
Well, we left on a Monday, and Sunday is the beginning of the work and school week here, so Sunday was a regular day for us, and since we hadn't had the good sense to pack up everything on Saturday, we were up a bit late on Sunday getting organized. Then Monday morning at 4:30 AM the taxi arrived as planned to take us to the airport. Of course we were far too excited to feel tired, so by 4 we were up and ready.
The drive to the airport, which can take over 2 hours when there is any traffic, was one hour and 15 minutes from our door to the terminal. Check-in was painless and quick, and we managed seat assignments giving us an empty place between us so Liav could sort of stretch out and get a bit more sleep. The Israeli airport (Tel Aviv) is absolutely gorgeous. Clean, efficient, pleasant I've been in many airports in the world, and I have to way the Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv is to date my very favorite. There is free wireless internet from everywhere in the terminal, so after I checked my mail for work-related stuff I let Liav pass the time waiting to board by chatting with her friends who were getting ready for school (poor things) and we did some shopping Liav got a pair of AllStar sneakers (these are very popular with teens in Israel for some reason)
and at 9 AM we were in the air on our way to Paris YAY!!! The flight was uneventful I remember seeing a movie, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was and I hadn't started my notes yet! Oh well
Okay, the only problem with our flight was that it ended at CDG airport!!!
OMG, I am sorry to be so negative right at the start of a trip report, but WHY does the "city of lights" have such a horrid, dingy, filthy airport????? I cannot figure this out?!! Our first and second trips to DLP we landed at Terminal 3 since we'd flown on charter flights. This year we flew El Al and I prayed that terminal 2, where we landed this year would be better
but really, it wasn't. There is literally filth everywhere, and it's so poorly lit, and looks like a jailhouse
oh okay, this isn't an airport review it's a Disney trip report
so on with it. Our first trip, we'd taken the VEA shuttle that hadn't been much of a hassle it was dead winter (end of January) and we were the only ones on the bus, so it took us directly to our hotel) The only downside had been the 30 minute wait for the shuttle to leave the airport. Last year, since we arrived at a very early hour in the morning, the VEA was not running, so I ordered a private van, and while the service was great, the price was high for only 2 people (Euro City Shuttle 80 Euros to the Disney Hotels, which is a good deal if you have a van full of people). Anyway, this year I made no special arrangements I thought I would play it by ear. We arrived at around 1 PM, so my thought was that if the queue for the VEA was long or the wait would be long, I'd just get an ordinary taxi. But as it happened, as we walked out, we saw several drivers holding signs in Hebrew (our El Al flight had been huge they knew there would be Hebrew speaking clientele and they were right!) saying "transport to Paris". I asked one of the them in Hebrew how much he would ask to take 2 people to the Sequoia and he said 60 Euros. I knew the taxi could probably be cheaper, but he was in the right place at the right time, and spoke our language so off we went with the nice Israeli driver, and within 40 minutes we were checking in at the Sequoia!!! YAY!!!!
It was so lovely to pull up the the hotel and see the decorations and hear the music playing from the loudspeakers in the front area where the car came in. We walked into the lobby and both sighed it was like "coming home" we'd already spent two wonderful holidays in this hotel and we could not have been more pleased to be coming back! If possible, we got even more excited!
We were assigned a Montana room, North Wing, 7th floor. We had a gorgeous lake-view and could see all the way to the Castle! Amazing view, and although I always say I don't really much care about a view from a hotel room, since I don't spend a lot of time standing in front of windows anyway, I have to admit I enjoyed this immensely! Especially at night when the castle was lit for Christmas!! And in the morning at sunrise with the new hot air balloon over the lake well, it was just wonderful.
The room itself was a bit shabby I'd hoped for one of the newly renovated Sequoia rooms, but really it didn't matter much it was clean, and we were very comfortable. Someone mentioned the bedding ours was lovely a blanket covered with a duvet cover, and the bed cover of course. The mattresses have definitely seen better days but we are always so tired when we go to bed after a day in the parks I suppose we could sleep well on sticks and stones!
I should mention that I had to make this a bit of a "working holiday" I had my laptop with me and knew I'd have to check in morning and evening with my New York clients and keep up with things even though I had someone covering for big projects so . After unpacking we went down to the gift shop to arrange internet access. The WIFI at the Sequoia costs 10 Euros for 2 hours. The 2 hours have to be used within a 24 hour period. This suited me I logged on for approximately an hour in the AM and again for an hour in the PM. So I bought 7 internet cards to last for the week I'd be there. If this was not a business expense, obviously I would not have done this but as it was I was satisfied with this service, since it was fast, reliable, and worked from the room, as well as from all the public areas in the hotel. (Although when I bought the cards I was told it would only work from the lounge and lobby, this proved not to be true I worked from my bed on the 7th floor, every day)
Okay, now we were starving, not having had a thing since the breakfast on the flight. So, off we went to Annette's diner a lovely walk around the lake and through the village. It was very cold, but we'd anticipated that and were dressed for it, so we enjoyed being out. We love Annettes, as anyone who's read my previous trip reports knows! We are so boring when it comes to food so sorry about that anyone expecting restaurant reviews should definitely not be reading my reports! It's quite pathetic we eat the same things every day practically, even though this time I VOWED we'd try all sorts of different things! What's wrong with me?
Oh, and in case you are interested, we had chili (me it was delicious and spicy) and fajitas (Liav the portion was huge and she only finished about 1/3 but she enjoyed it) Since we hadn't yet entered the park, our AP's were still the "temporary" cards, but the manager at Annette's gave us the 10% off anyway. Also, orange juice was free, but they would not give us Coke instead of juice as they had done in previous years. After the meal we went into the park it was just about dusk, and Main Street looked so wonderful to us!!! So great- that first look at Main Street when you arrive, isn't it?? I LOVED that they didn't have the huge monstrous light thingie. I know a lot of people liked it, but I felt that it blocked the beauty of Main Street, and I think the new lamp post concept is absolutely lovely!!!
We walked over to the Annual Passport office and exchanged our temporary passes which we'd received in the mail, for our plastic "permanent" passes. Our pictures were already in their computer so we didn't have to "pose" again. We received gifts a picture album and a CD holder. (Which later we exchanged in a shop for pins that Liav wanted)
We didn't feel like going on any rides, it was just so pleasant walking about and taking in the atmosphere, listening to the Christmas music, and as it got darker we got excited for the lighting ceremony. We stood just to the side of Caseys and had a great view of the stage. I noticed they raised the platform this year and decorated it. The books and feather are still there, but everything is higher, so it can be seen from farther off. It was brilliant having the characters in this ceremony. We really enjoyed it, and when the lights went on the tree, the lampposts, the castle it was so touching. I was just grinning and loving every moment. Then we walked down MS again and out of the park. At Town Square we paused and looked back at the castle, and the effect of the lampposts, the castle and the tree was absolutely breathtaking. Bravo to DLP Imagineers or whoever does these decorations the changes are IMHO, excellent! (Oh, and you are probably saying so where are the photos!!!??? ) I'm so sorry but they will have to be posted separately I uploaded them daily on to my laptop, so I do have them, but the technical part of posting them is too much for me today. I promise to get them posted in the next few days. Really!
We walked back through the village and got hot chocolate for Liav and Lumberjack for me (which is hot chocolate spiked with something cant' remember what) in the lounge. There was no fire lit, but the decorations are lovely, and the lounge is cozy.
Then back to the room for a relaxing bath and bed and work for me, a Disney movie for Liav. She loves watching TV when we are in DLP since we don't get the Disney channel in Israel.
So ended our first day .
.
Laura
to see, you will need a site to host it.
