sky13
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2012
- Messages
- 981
Went on a quick weekend trip last weekend (3 days 2 nights) and came back on Monday...
In general it was a good trip and just what I needed (as needed some time off and something to make me happy). Was also very nice to see the park with friends!
Highs
- I took a bit more time this trip to just appreciate the parks instead of rushing from ride to ride. I think having an annual pass and a planned upcoming trip helps with this as I didn't feel the need to have to get through every single thing in the parks!
- Went on or saw so many things for the first time this trip, including Autopia, Nautilus and Aladdin walkthroughs, Alice's Labyrinth, Lights Motors Action show, RC racer, Slinky, 20th anniversary celebration train...
- Walt's - excellent food and atmosphere, although I really need to learn not to order 3 courses there as was so full after the main (thankfully there's always room for dessert!).
- Dreams - second time seeing it, and still absolutely LOVE it! Really hope DLP continues with this after the 20th anniversary (even if just on weekends or similar), it's just such an amazing show...
- Breakfast in the park - managed to get a voucher for this, and it was nice to be able to go for the first (quiet) hour of EMH then head for breakfast once the park got busier. Was at Au Chalet de la Marionnette and the selection was pretty good. Also no queue at all to get in.
- Shopping at Val d'Europe - wow the shopping centre and Auchan is HUGE! Then add in the outlet village... I just kept walking and walking and walking and wondering how many shops there were!
- First time I'd ever walked all the way past the village to the hotels (as staying in Hotel Cheyenne), and it's really quite a pleasant walk. The lake and river are both quite pretty! Also like how there's almost no queue at the security checkpoint from the hotels in the morning (as opposed to the one just outside the RER station).
Lows
- Travelling.
Thankfully travelling to Disneyland was uneventful despite the snow as I was a bit worried about delays and cancellations.
Travelling home was a bit more eventful though! I was booked to take the TGV from Marne La Vallee to Lille, then Eurostar from Lille to London. Unfortunately the TGV was delayed, which meant missing the Eurostar train at Lille. There was quite a few of us who had missed this connection so there was a crowd of slightly confused people milling around the Eurostar counter at Lille. But Eurostar was fantastic - they got the next Eurostar train going to London to stop at Lille to pick us up (this turned out to be the direct MLV-London train that doesn't normally stop at Lille)! Although I then had to explain to the border control officer how I'd managed to go through UK border control in Lille when I'd just got off the direct Disney train...
- Crowds - I expected Saturday and Sunday to be crowded, but Monday was also really crowded! It didn't help that there was a brief period of time on Monday where all the Frontierland attractions had technical difficulties at the same time (!) so everywhere else became more crowded... There was also a bit too many scrums for my liking (for hotel bus and for characters). The lack of a line for characters also means you never get a photograph with characters if you're an adult no matter how long you wait...
In-betweens
- Hotel Cheyenne. This was the first time I'd ever stayed in a Disney hotel. It was nice to be in a Disney hotel and to be only a short walk from the parks (was in Running Bear, which is the closest block to the parks). However the hotel does feel rather dated - the room I was in was very dark and the decor just looked a bit tired. I think the problem was also that I'd stayed in the Ibis at Val d'Europe the previous night, which has very new modern decor. Still I can't complain too much for the price I paid (just over £60 with Expedia for 3 people in the room)! Having bunk beds was also quite nice!
- Weather. Way too cold for the end of March! However it didn't rain, so that was good...
In general it was a good trip and just what I needed (as needed some time off and something to make me happy). Was also very nice to see the park with friends!
Highs
- I took a bit more time this trip to just appreciate the parks instead of rushing from ride to ride. I think having an annual pass and a planned upcoming trip helps with this as I didn't feel the need to have to get through every single thing in the parks!
- Went on or saw so many things for the first time this trip, including Autopia, Nautilus and Aladdin walkthroughs, Alice's Labyrinth, Lights Motors Action show, RC racer, Slinky, 20th anniversary celebration train...
- Walt's - excellent food and atmosphere, although I really need to learn not to order 3 courses there as was so full after the main (thankfully there's always room for dessert!).
- Dreams - second time seeing it, and still absolutely LOVE it! Really hope DLP continues with this after the 20th anniversary (even if just on weekends or similar), it's just such an amazing show...
- Breakfast in the park - managed to get a voucher for this, and it was nice to be able to go for the first (quiet) hour of EMH then head for breakfast once the park got busier. Was at Au Chalet de la Marionnette and the selection was pretty good. Also no queue at all to get in.
- Shopping at Val d'Europe - wow the shopping centre and Auchan is HUGE! Then add in the outlet village... I just kept walking and walking and walking and wondering how many shops there were!
- First time I'd ever walked all the way past the village to the hotels (as staying in Hotel Cheyenne), and it's really quite a pleasant walk. The lake and river are both quite pretty! Also like how there's almost no queue at the security checkpoint from the hotels in the morning (as opposed to the one just outside the RER station).
Lows
- Travelling.
Thankfully travelling to Disneyland was uneventful despite the snow as I was a bit worried about delays and cancellations.
Travelling home was a bit more eventful though! I was booked to take the TGV from Marne La Vallee to Lille, then Eurostar from Lille to London. Unfortunately the TGV was delayed, which meant missing the Eurostar train at Lille. There was quite a few of us who had missed this connection so there was a crowd of slightly confused people milling around the Eurostar counter at Lille. But Eurostar was fantastic - they got the next Eurostar train going to London to stop at Lille to pick us up (this turned out to be the direct MLV-London train that doesn't normally stop at Lille)! Although I then had to explain to the border control officer how I'd managed to go through UK border control in Lille when I'd just got off the direct Disney train...
- Crowds - I expected Saturday and Sunday to be crowded, but Monday was also really crowded! It didn't help that there was a brief period of time on Monday where all the Frontierland attractions had technical difficulties at the same time (!) so everywhere else became more crowded... There was also a bit too many scrums for my liking (for hotel bus and for characters). The lack of a line for characters also means you never get a photograph with characters if you're an adult no matter how long you wait...
In-betweens
- Hotel Cheyenne. This was the first time I'd ever stayed in a Disney hotel. It was nice to be in a Disney hotel and to be only a short walk from the parks (was in Running Bear, which is the closest block to the parks). However the hotel does feel rather dated - the room I was in was very dark and the decor just looked a bit tired. I think the problem was also that I'd stayed in the Ibis at Val d'Europe the previous night, which has very new modern decor. Still I can't complain too much for the price I paid (just over £60 with Expedia for 3 people in the room)! Having bunk beds was also quite nice!
- Weather. Way too cold for the end of March! However it didn't rain, so that was good...
I agree about the crowds. I too expected Monday to be less crowded, but I guess this time it's not the case. And I do agree about lights in Cheyenne room - it is dark. But we still like the hotel. A good one for boys.
