We got back at lunchtime after a wonderful time! I'm not going to do a lengthy report like I did last time but here's a brief summary of how it all went!
Dates: Wed 21st - Sat 24th Nov. 2007
Staying at Newport Bay
Cast:
- Sarah (me!), Disney nut and 27 weeks pregnant with DS1!
- Paul, DH, unfortunately had to work in hotel room for 3 hours each morning!
- Hannah, DD age 4. Adrenaline junkie!
First up the strikes which are on everyone's minds!
Didn't affect us too much:
- flights only slightly delayed: approx 30 mins out and return.
- VEA unaffected.
- TGV: decided not to take this for our return journey to CDG as they could not guarantee it would run and I was unwilling to take the risk. We ended up booking a taxi through the hotel concierge which cost us 95 Euros!!! Pricey but worth the peace of mind and stressless transfer!
There are still a lot of trains affected and I did come across one very stressed lady who told me that she had caught the Eurostar via Lille. When she arrived there though, she found that her connecting train to DLP had been cancelled and there was absolutely no-one from Eurostar there to advise her of this cancellation or of how to get to DLP!!! She ended up spending 190 Euros, catching different trains to get there!
I met her when she was queueing in the train station at DLP trying to catch a train to Lille so she could make her return connection with the Eurostar. The train she wanted to catch had been cancelled and she was trying to find out if the next was going to turn up or not! She was more than a little stressed!
These strikes are no joke for those unfamiliar with the French rail system!
Anyway, on with the show...
Flight: EasyJet from Bristol to CDG, Terminal 3.
- Speedy Boarding worked really well on the way out as we walked to the plane, but not so well on the return. It just doesn't work if you're bussed to the plane as although we were stood by the front doors (the only ones they open: thanks for the tip!), the bus was so full we were pushed back. DH sped on ahead to get seats so it wasn't a problem and I must say that I was impressed with the EasyJet employee who did tell us that we needed to stand by the front doors.
They were also very good at rejecting those who were Group B (the last group) and still tried to push to the front.
I did get the impression that a lot of people either haven't got a clue about the boarding order or they just don't care cos it was a bit of a bunfight! I would definitely do Speedy Boarding again though.
- Did have short delays (30 mins) due to the strikes but it was no big deal.
VEA Shuttle (CDG to DLP):
Arrived bang on time where you said it would!!! However, there is a sign just outside the terminal with an arrow that points down. A lot of people took this to mean that that was the spot they were to wait at and queued there, only to have to run DOWN the slope to the actual bus stop when it arrived!!! A little misleading I thought but reading this board meant that I knew I hadn't gone far enough!!! Thankyou!
Hotel Newport Bay Club, Admiral's Floor:
- Separate check-in was quick, room was fine and we had a balcony which was nice.
- Breakfast was good and quiet, although we always went for the 7.30am time slot and it was noticeably busier by 8.15 when we left.
- Dinner buffet at Cape Cod was good with plenty of choice.
- According to DH and DD, the pool was lovely and warm!
DD also loved the character meet n' greets in Reception!
- Only 2 criticisms
First is maintenance: things are starting to get a little tatty ie cracked toilet seat, rotting wood on balconies etc. Small things that didn't affect our stay but leads to negative reviews of what is essentially a good hotel.
Second is that we had to request our free tea/coffee basket which was never offered and I almost forgot!
Food, restaurants etc
- Visit the Relay newsagents in the railway station! Sooo much cheaper for drinks and snacks than in the parks/hotels!!!
- The restaurants were very booked up for evening meals! I didn't bother booking as I've never needed to before but I wish I had! I tried booking as soon as we got there on Wednesday lunchtime and ended up having to book lunchtime meals at Cafe Mickey because evenings were booked up until 8.30pm. I guess this is due to the introduction of the vouchers???
So, BOOK IN ADVANCE to get exactly what you want!
- Cafe Mickey was great! We went twice as DD loves it there. She met different characters on the 2 days which was good as I thought it would be the same ones. Food was good, as usual.
Parks, parades etc
- DD got on Big Thunder Mountain for the first time and loved it!!! She's only 4 and is a true adrenaline junkie so it's now her fave ride! She even rode with her arms in the air: MAD!
- Loved the new parade: the smells, music etc.
With the Xmas section added, the floats only stop once and if your DD wants the princess stop you need to stand to the left of the castle, on the section of pavement in front of where the path to Adventureland starts.
- Loved Enchanted Candleabration but make sure you have a view of the stage and of Main St so you can get the full effect: truly magical!
- Xmas at DLP is beautiful!!! Loved it! DD loved the snow!
- Didn't see Fantillusion as I couldn't face it, DH wasn't bothered and DD just wanted to swim! Very unusual for me to miss a parade but we have seen it before and I was truly shattered after lugging my large bump around for 3 days of walking!!!
- The only disappointing thing was that the princesses were not on the stage doing their meet n' greet. DD managed to meet Belle in her Xmas Village and Alice in Wonderland in Fantasyland but that was it and I was unwilling to spend such a huge amount of money for food that none of us really fancied at Auberge de Cendrillon.
Other stuff
- DLP with a big 27 week bump is tough! I normally storm around the park like an idiot and we do loads but this was just not possible this time. I would still not have missed it for the world though.
- Weather was great! Blue skies and pretty warm on Wed and Thurs. Fri was colder, windier and greyer but still good!
- I won't be wearing my big boots (like Timberlands) at the airport again as taking them off to go through security is a pain!
Can't think of anything else for the mo but will add stuff as I remember it!
Hope this was useful to someone!
Dates: Wed 21st - Sat 24th Nov. 2007
Staying at Newport Bay
Cast:
- Sarah (me!), Disney nut and 27 weeks pregnant with DS1!
- Paul, DH, unfortunately had to work in hotel room for 3 hours each morning!
- Hannah, DD age 4. Adrenaline junkie!
First up the strikes which are on everyone's minds!
Didn't affect us too much:
- flights only slightly delayed: approx 30 mins out and return.
- VEA unaffected.
- TGV: decided not to take this for our return journey to CDG as they could not guarantee it would run and I was unwilling to take the risk. We ended up booking a taxi through the hotel concierge which cost us 95 Euros!!!
Pricey but worth the peace of mind and stressless transfer!There are still a lot of trains affected and I did come across one very stressed lady who told me that she had caught the Eurostar via Lille. When she arrived there though, she found that her connecting train to DLP had been cancelled and there was absolutely no-one from Eurostar there to advise her of this cancellation or of how to get to DLP!!! She ended up spending 190 Euros, catching different trains to get there!
I met her when she was queueing in the train station at DLP trying to catch a train to Lille so she could make her return connection with the Eurostar. The train she wanted to catch had been cancelled and she was trying to find out if the next was going to turn up or not! She was more than a little stressed!
These strikes are no joke for those unfamiliar with the French rail system!
Anyway, on with the show...
Flight: EasyJet from Bristol to CDG, Terminal 3.
- Speedy Boarding worked really well on the way out as we walked to the plane, but not so well on the return. It just doesn't work if you're bussed to the plane as although we were stood by the front doors (the only ones they open: thanks for the tip!), the bus was so full we were pushed back. DH sped on ahead to get seats so it wasn't a problem and I must say that I was impressed with the EasyJet employee who did tell us that we needed to stand by the front doors.
They were also very good at rejecting those who were Group B (the last group) and still tried to push to the front.
I did get the impression that a lot of people either haven't got a clue about the boarding order or they just don't care cos it was a bit of a bunfight! I would definitely do Speedy Boarding again though.
- Did have short delays (30 mins) due to the strikes but it was no big deal.
VEA Shuttle (CDG to DLP):
Arrived bang on time where you said it would!!! However, there is a sign just outside the terminal with an arrow that points down. A lot of people took this to mean that that was the spot they were to wait at and queued there, only to have to run DOWN the slope to the actual bus stop when it arrived!!! A little misleading I thought but reading this board meant that I knew I hadn't gone far enough!!! Thankyou!
Hotel Newport Bay Club, Admiral's Floor:
- Separate check-in was quick, room was fine and we had a balcony which was nice.
- Breakfast was good and quiet, although we always went for the 7.30am time slot and it was noticeably busier by 8.15 when we left.
- Dinner buffet at Cape Cod was good with plenty of choice.
- According to DH and DD, the pool was lovely and warm!
DD also loved the character meet n' greets in Reception!
- Only 2 criticisms
First is maintenance: things are starting to get a little tatty ie cracked toilet seat, rotting wood on balconies etc. Small things that didn't affect our stay but leads to negative reviews of what is essentially a good hotel.
Second is that we had to request our free tea/coffee basket which was never offered and I almost forgot!
Food, restaurants etc
- Visit the Relay newsagents in the railway station! Sooo much cheaper for drinks and snacks than in the parks/hotels!!!
- The restaurants were very booked up for evening meals! I didn't bother booking as I've never needed to before but I wish I had! I tried booking as soon as we got there on Wednesday lunchtime and ended up having to book lunchtime meals at Cafe Mickey because evenings were booked up until 8.30pm. I guess this is due to the introduction of the vouchers???
So, BOOK IN ADVANCE to get exactly what you want!
- Cafe Mickey was great! We went twice as DD loves it there. She met different characters on the 2 days which was good as I thought it would be the same ones. Food was good, as usual.
Parks, parades etc
- DD got on Big Thunder Mountain for the first time and loved it!!! She's only 4 and is a true adrenaline junkie so it's now her fave ride! She even rode with her arms in the air: MAD!
- Loved the new parade: the smells, music etc.
With the Xmas section added, the floats only stop once and if your DD wants the princess stop you need to stand to the left of the castle, on the section of pavement in front of where the path to Adventureland starts.- Loved Enchanted Candleabration but make sure you have a view of the stage and of Main St so you can get the full effect: truly magical!
- Xmas at DLP is beautiful!!! Loved it! DD loved the snow!
- Didn't see Fantillusion as I couldn't face it, DH wasn't bothered and DD just wanted to swim! Very unusual for me to miss a parade but we have seen it before and I was truly shattered after lugging my large bump around for 3 days of walking!!!
- The only disappointing thing was that the princesses were not on the stage doing their meet n' greet. DD managed to meet Belle in her Xmas Village and Alice in Wonderland in Fantasyland but that was it and I was unwilling to spend such a huge amount of money for food that none of us really fancied at Auberge de Cendrillon.
Other stuff
- DLP with a big 27 week bump is tough! I normally storm around the park like an idiot and we do loads but this was just not possible this time. I would still not have missed it for the world though.
- Weather was great! Blue skies and pretty warm on Wed and Thurs. Fri was colder, windier and greyer but still good!
- I won't be wearing my big boots (like Timberlands) at the airport again as taking them off to go through security is a pain!
Can't think of anything else for the mo but will add stuff as I remember it!
Hope this was useful to someone!
Do they still have the snow coming down on main street when the bell rings???
