Here we go! 
Day One:
Today was Chris's birthday!
We had done pressies and cards the night before because we knew we had to make a quick getaway.
We packed the car and said goodbye to the cat and the lovely daughter who was going to be cat/house sitting for us
Then we were on our way!
We got to Yeadon (where Leeds/Bradford airport is and where I grew up!) and left our car at my Step Mum's house. After a quick cuppa there we got a taxi up to the airport and checked our case in. Jet2 is brilliant - very efficient and friendly. Here we are at the airport:
We were a bit peckish so we indulged in a 'tasty' Burger King meal. It did the trick - we knew we wouldn't be eating till later that evening.
It was soon time for boarding and we took off on time:
Yes - prepare yourself for lots of Chris and Shari selfies!
An hour and 15 mins later we landed at Paris Charles de Gaulle!
It was even exciting catching the bus to the Terminal:
Terminal 3 was a small, new looking terminal and we got the bags picked up very quickly.
We went onto the concourse to find our taxi. We'd decided to go by private transfer this time instead of the bus. I've been on the bus before and sometimes it's been a bit of a rugby scrum to get on. As this was Chris's first time I wanted everything to go really smoothly. And there was our driver - holding an ipad with my name on it...hang on! My first name was down as 'Shark'!!
Hilarious!
We had a lovely, relaxing drive to the Newport Bay in a very comfy car. In no time at all we were at our hotel.
A note about Newport Bay Club: We knew before we arrived that there were some major refurbishments going on. For some people this appeared to have spoiled their stay. There is no doubt there is a lot of scaffolding around the outside. And while we were there, inside was getting a bit of a face lift too. I remember thinking that one of the stairways was looking a bit worse for wear - the next day there were some guys there re-painting it! There was no shop in the hotel at the moment either. You couldn't even walk all the way around the lake to get to Newport Bay from Sequoia Lodge - the bridge near the lighthouse was closed for refurbishment too! Having said all this - we loved the hotel. The room was wonderful - clean, light and airy. The staff were wonderful and friendly. I really want to go back one day to see it in it's glory.
Anyhoo - one of my favourite things to do - checking in!
The cast member checking us in was lovely. She talked us through everything (great as I was nervous - it was the first time I had organised a Disney holiday by myself) when she found out it was Chris's birthday she gave him a voucher for two free pins.
Off we went to find our room. It was room 3255 - just around the corner from the lifts - sometimes I have had to walk miles down hotel corridors! The room was amazing - a lovely, bright corner room with a king size bed:
We dumped the bags and headed out! We wanted to experience the parks before our dinner reservation.
You can see some of the scaffolding outside the hotel here:
I was excited to get into the park but we had to stop and get some photos on the way:
It was quite busy at this time. But we didn't worry as we were just soaking up the atmosphere:
We couldn't actually believe we were there! We had dreamed about it so often. I thought I was going to wake up. I really had to pinch myself!
We stopped off at City Hall to get a birthday sticker for Chris - so many people said Happy Birthday to him when they saw him wear it. It made his day even more special.
Continued in next post...
Your room looks fabulous and there is something luxurious about a newly done bathroom. 
