Let it snow, let it snow...the cold never bothered me anyway! Travel day

[burns3466]

4th February 2018

Lots of firsts today! My DD and I have never been on a holiday just the two of us before, never been to DLP and never been on the Eurostar so today started off with a very excited, hopeful, giddy, giggly atmosphere We were booked on the 10.14 train from Kings Cross direct to Disney, so we were up and out the door (at what my DD thought was a painfully early start ) by 7.30am.

I don't know whether it was because we were travelling at an off peak time of year (and also on a Sunday), but before we knew it, we were through security and seated in the little coffee shop waiting for our platform number to be displayed on the big departure screens. We had breezed through security in literally minutes, the staff were all really nice and friendly and the guy preparing our drinks was also very chatty and asked about our trip and wished us a lovely holiday.

There was only one rude woman who threatened my good mood...
her and about 4 other people had accidentally been queuing at the wrong end of the counter for the pastries and hot drinks they had ordered and a member of staff had to tell them to come across to the other side. Most of the group had already joined the queue by the time I walked over, but this one woman was following behind. I'd seen that she had actually been waiting there before me, so I politely stepped to one side and told her to go in front of me. However, as she brushed past me, she didn't look at me, acknowledge my existence or even say thank you - but I let it go because I was going on holiday and nothing was going to spoil that. Then when the platform number was displayed, my DD and I gathered our bags, we were in no rush to stampede up the escalator, we just happily chatted and giggled as we joined the crowd of people walking towards the platform but then had the same bloody woman push through the middle of us! She looked back at us and simply said 'That's my family up ahead, I don't want us to get split up'. Ok, fair enough, but it wouldn't have killed you to say 'excuse me' would it? Honestly, some people!

Anyway, we found our carriage and seats no problem and settled down for the journey. The train was actually really lovely.

I have to say though, and I don't know if other people have experienced this as well, but the wifi on board was pretty poor and we both gave up trying to connect after about half an hour of trying. I read my kindle and my DD watched some TV programmes she had downloaded onto her phone before we'd left.

The only other hiccup was my phone charger blowing up! About halfway through the journey, there was a loud pop and flash and a smell of burning and my charger was smoking! I don't know if the train had a sudden power surge or something, but it killed my charger My DD looked mortified as this charger actually has 4 ports (although I only had my phone plugged into it at the time) so this was the only one we were taking with us on our trip and now it was gone...I told her we would probably be able to buy another one when we got to the parks, but as I'd never been before, I wasn't sure if we would. But there was nothing I could do about it at that moment in time so I told her not to worry.

We had pre-paid for the Disney Express service and a nice man came round about half an hour before we were due to arrive at DLP with a big white envelope with all our dining plan vouchers and park tickets inside. In a thick French accent he explained the process and when we arrived at the station, we dropped our bags at the desk, were given our receipt for the luggage and we merrily went skipping into the parks!

It was quite cold and breezy but we didn't care! We headed for Disney Studios first and I was amazed that having finally arrived, with all the rides and experiences laid out before us, my DD heads straight for the Disney shop! Whilst she was cooing over literally everything in there, I went to the service desk to pick up our photopass card (which was included in our holiday package). The lady tried to explain how to use it to me, but I have to admit, it all sounded far more complicated than the system in Florida. What I managed to pick up was that we could upload all our ride photos to it. That is pretty much all we did use it for during our stay. We didn't see any photographers in the park so just took our own photos. It was fine as a 'freebie' included with our package but I'm not sure I'd pay for it otherwise.

The first ride we tried was 'Armageddon'. Twenty minutes of my life I will never get back. Very underwhelmed by this. Having read back through this entry, it does seem like I have moaned quite a lot so far, but please stick with it. We did have a wonderful time but I just want to tell you about the whole trip, warts and all

As we came out of Armageddon, the crowds were rushing over to another building. We didn't know what this was but followed anyway and it turned out we were just in time for the stunt show spectacular and we really enjoyed this! It was fast paced, exciting, funny and interesting when they showed you how the stunts were created. Great show!

I think I had better explain at this point that although I will be posting photos from our trip, I may not post as many as some other people. This is because I'm a bit old school and I prefer to be in the moment and enjoy the experience, rather than be concentrating on taking lots of photos. This isn't a criticism of those who love to capture everything - everyone is different - but I'm not the type of person to take photos of my food either because I personally feel a bit weird doing that.

We had dinner booked at Chez Remy for 5.30pm so after the stunt show, we walked around DS for a bit trying to get our bearings and just enjoying the fact we were in DLP and enjoying the atmosphere before making our way to the restaurant. We absolutely loved this place! The theming was brilliant, the service was amazing and the set menu (we were on the Plus Dining Plan) was really nice. My daughter had steak and I had roasted cod with ratatouille. DD finished with fruit salad and I had an amazing tarte tartin. My DD is gluten intolerant and the waitress (without be asked), brought her over a packet of gluten free bread, telling her with a smile, that she felt sorry for her that she couldn't eat the delicious french bread on the table This was a lovely touch.

It was dark when we left the restaurant and the park looked really lovely all lit up. Next to Chez Remy was the Ratatouille ride and there was NO queue so we jumped straight on. This was one of my favourite rides! It was so imaginative and fun that when we came off, we went on it again :-) The cast members laughed when they saw us again so soon after we walked through the exit

We then walked round to Crushers Coaster and that had no queue as well, so off we went. Wow! This coaster packed more punch than I was expecting! Really fast paced and you rock about quite a lot but great fun. Another confirmed favourite - definitely.

By now we decided it was time to go to the hotel. We agreed we'd watch the fireworks the next evening. We were staying at the New York and it took only about 10 minutes to walk there. That's what's so great about DLP - everything is so easily accessible by foot. We checked in and were given our room keys and took the lift to the 2nd floor. Our bags were waiting for us in our room and the plaza suite was really nice. I love the toiletries :-)

We unpacked, made a cup of tea and coffee (pleased to find tea making facilities in the room), had a shower and climbed into bed. I booked an early morning call for a recorded message from Mickey himself to wake us up at 7am so we can take advantage of EMH and then I drifted off...

[DizzyDisneyMum]

Ooh lovely, I love a trip report with lots of little details We enjoyed staying at Hotel New York. It's just the right distance from everything. Looking forward to the next day. X

[burns3466]

Thank you DDM :-) This is my first trip report so appreciate your feedback!

[MrsSilverStar]

A great first day! We were obsessed with Ratatouille, such a fun ride. Thanks for sharing.

[candycat75]

Great start!

[kadypants]

Lovely trip report so far. Thanks for sharing.

P.s. Does anyone know if you can get Mickey alarm calls at the Santa Fe?