September 2018 Roadtrip to Disney: A Last Minute Crazy Idea

**Niki T** · 30 Sep 18, 01:12 PM

So we came home from Florida one month ago (still writing up my trip report which has been a little neglected over the last week or so

) and we miss it...badly. So, last Sunday, after a super busy and tiring week John came home from work with a crazy idea: "Let's go to Disneyland Paris next weekend."

I don't think he expected me to say yes, but a mere 10 mins later we were booking the Eurotunnel and 2 hotels followed by Disney Tickets - our plan was coming together

John was off on Friday, so he sorted the car and picked me up from work at 3pm and we were heading down to Folkstone for an overnight stay at Stay2a. This cost us �75 for the night and was a beautiful boutique hotel...I wish we'd had longer there.

We had the whole hotel to ourselves and could have had our choice of rooms. It was operated remotely as, once we arrived, we phoned the owner who gave us the instructions for access. He had left wine, beer, snacks and cereals so we could help ourselves. I cannot tell you what a lovely little place this was.

It had taken us 6 hours to get there, traffic was a little slow round London and we had a stop, so we went straight to sleep - the alarm was set for 3am for our crazy, wonder day in Disney.

:tigg erbou

Woken by the alarm - obviously as who willingly gets up at 3am on a Saturday

and left the hotel. There was a mini panic that one of the passports was missing

, but it was tucked into other paperwork so lasted about 2 seconds and we were soon arriving at the terminal for the channel tunnel. We'd never done this before, well I had when taking 44 teens to Disney, but it was a long time ago and I was pretty preoccupied collecting passports etc from them to really pay attention to the process. Said process, however, was really easy. We showed our passports twice and waited to be allowed to board. We'd booked the 5:06 train and we were there in plenty of time.

Once we arrived it was a 3 hour drive to Disney. It was pretty straightforward as it was on 2 motorways and was clearly signposted once you got closer.

Traffic was clear and it was a pretty journey through France; the �22 toll was a bit unexpected though

We arrived at 10:20 and paid our �25 for parking.

One month after leaving, we were "home"...sort of...

Our plan was to hit as many rides as possible. We'd read the FP trick with Star Tours and Temple of Peril, so know we could hold one of these in addition to another FP in the park. We headed to Discovery Land first and picked up a FP for HyperSpace Mountain and Star Tours, then rode Buzz. Considering we often achieve Galactic Hero status in Florida we did not do well:

Before our FP we ate lunch. This was a BB8 burger and a little profiterole for �37.

HyperSpace Mountain was first up straight after lunch

. What a fantastic ride. I love how they have interwoven the Star Wars storyline.

Before our Star Tours FP opened up, we picked up one for Big Thunder. It meant some zipping around the park, but we took in the scenery as we went.

Star Tours was next and I, as the rebel spy, was transported through space via the Wookie plant and an interspace battle. It was a bit strange watching it in French, but we could still follow it easily enough.

We then picked up our FP for Temple of Peril as we no longer held a FP for Star Tours. This left us with a little free time to grab a drink and buy some pins.

Our FP for Temple of Peril came round really quickly. I love this ride too. There's nothing like that in Florida and it is one of John's favourites.

We also rode the storybook boats as they'll be closed in Jan when we come. We were a little worried for Belle due to the giant ducks

It's a cute ride which would fit in so well in Florida.

Our FP for Big Thuder came around, but it was down so we go a FP for Buzz and then used our Indiana Jones second fastpasses of the day.

I was craving a Croque Monsieur, so we headed to Main Street via a visit to the Dragon.

At the Deli we had one delicious cheesy sandwiches each with a drink for �22. It was delicious. I forgot to take a photo

. My only complaint here was the smokers on the next table who puffed away as we ate. Eventually a CM asked them to stop, but it wasn't the best and they were on their 2nd cig at this time

I guess it's just a cultural thing, but I do wish Paris was as strict in enforcing the rules as they are in WDW.

We found a spot to watch the parade. You'll have to excuse the lack of photos here as I took them on my actual camera. We noticed the parade was much busier in Paris than Florida and people staked their spot much earlier. That said, I think it may have been a slightly better parade. Wasn't very impressed with the family next to us who kept ramming the legs of the girl in front trying to get her to move. She was obviously there first and little boy in the family who was ramming her legs could've stood in front of her but I think the mun was more annoyed as she couldn't see. I am always frustrated by people who think like that, especially as she commented loudly, "we are here for the kids." Well, actually, WE are not here for the kids. Yes, WE always move so children can see, but that is a choice not something we are obliged to do. Just as when we have children we wouldn't expect anyone to give up their space they'd waited in for us. We've paid the same as everyone else to be there an while you are there for your kids, we are there for us. Sorry, a little frustrated rant there

After the parade we did some more exploration of the park, still no Big Thunder

It was then time for our Buzz FP so we did that next achieving scores which were a little more respectable.

We had a crepe with Nutella as we took in a bit more scenery.
And then I saw it...the lights had returned to normal on Big Thunder, the maintenance lights were off.
And then I heard it...the click of Big Thunder starting up.

I pointed both out to John and we decided to wait. It was the longest we waited all day as they completed the start up procedure; it was about 20mins. We used our FP from earlier and the cars were still going round empty as we got on. What a great version this is and even better in the dark. Pretty fortuitous for us that it had been down earlier or we probably wouldn't have got to ride in the dark.

With less than 40 mins left of our amazing, crazy day, we headed to Main Street and perused the shops before staking out a spot for illuminations. What a fantastic show this is. So beautiful.

Unfortunately my phone battery died, so that's the extent of my photos but was a wonderful show.

We stayed at a budget Ibis for the night �66 about 30mins from the park and we're back on the train home at 12 on Sunday. It was an absolutely amazing road trip to Disney and one we would definitely repeat. Cost wise, it was not the cheapest day out, but thinking of it as more of a weekend break it wasn't too bad. We loved it and sometimes you've got to live the life you love rather than let it pass you by.

Thanks for reading, got another 3 hours until home and then we'd better finish our Florida trippie

Stardust5 · 30 Sep 18, 01:19 PM

Wow what an amazing and unexpected little adventure! You certainly made the most of your weekend. The fireworks look stunning.

**Niki T** · 30 Sep 18, 01:50 PM

I genuinely can't believe we did it! It was fantastic though and has really whetted our appetite for our January trip

Thanks for reading

flo-tinka · 1 Oct 18, 10:59 AM

Wow short and sweet! How much did u fit in!
Sorry,beginner for DLP here: What�s the tip about FP for temple of peril and Star Tours?
Thanks

dreamadream · 1 Oct 18, 02:04 PM

Sounds like a great spur of the moment decision!
And a great action packed day! That hotel at Ashford was amazing! I am off to google it..

**Niki T** · 1 Oct 18, 09:01 PM

Originally Posted by flo-tinka

Wow short and sweet! How much did u fit in!
Sorry,beginner for DLP here: What�s the tip about FP for temple of peril and Star Tours?
Thanks

They are on a separate system, so you can hold a FP for one of these rides and another ride. We had a FP for HyperSpace Mountain and then picked one up for Star Tours too. Hope that makes sense.
I can't believe how much we did. It was a fantastic day and one we'll definitely do again. I think we'd probably look more towards 2 nights though to make the journey worth it...it was a looooonnng drive home yesterday.

Originally Posted by dreamadream

Sounds like a great spur of the moment decision!
And a great action packed day! That hotel at Ashford was amazing! I am off to google it..

It was a fantastic hotel. I'd highly recommend it. We had it all to ourselves so took pics of the other rooms. There was the burlesque room and room called "Love Letters." It was beautiful.

Definitely worth a visit 😁

Thanks for reading

MrsSilverStar · 10 Oct 18, 06:18 PM

Fab tip about the FPs, will have to remember that one! You crammed loads in, great day out.

Cha cha · 11 Oct 18, 08:07 PM

Sounds like a good day. Love the stitch Christmas pin 😊

**Niki T** · 13 Oct 18, 08:02 AM

Originally Posted by MrsSilverStar

Fab tip about the FPs, will have to remember that one! You crammed loads in, great day out.

We read it in a guidebook; it worked really well for us. Will be using it for our actual holiday there in Jan

Originally Posted by Cha cha

Sounds like a good day. Love the stitch Christmas pin 😊

They're cute, aren't they? There was a new one every month. We have a stitch page in our book so they'll be going in there X

Thanks both for reading