My first-ever trip to DLP and a birthday celebration! Now a TR!! March 2015

[RrCoAsTeR]

Introduction

Hi everybody! I’m Emily. to my first-ever trip report!

I’ve considered writing many in the past and always been too nervous that no one will want to read it, so this is my first try! I hope you all can bear with me as I figure everything out. Also-- please excuse my obnoxious screen name... I've had this account since I was really young and thought it was cool back then...

ANYWAY, I’m heading to DLP March 5- March 8th for a weekend trip to celebrate my 21st birthday!!!(Twenty one is a huge deal for Americans because it's the legal drinking age It doesn't really matter since I'm abroad, but it's still a fun milestone that I'm missing celebrating at home!!) I’m from the US and I’m studying abroad for the semester in Nice, France, so I figure this will be the only chance I have to make it to Disneyland Paris easily for quite awhile! I hope you all are on board for this trip report and I will be doing my best to post details regularly between school and traveling.

I just booked my trip and paid in full yesterday! Everything happened super fast, so I haven't had much time at all to plan and am excited to share with you all as I do. Please stay tuned and let me know if you have any advice. I need it!

I'm headed off to dinner now and will come back with some more details for you all in just a bit!

 

[Jestocost]

Well, you have to know I'll be following the story…

 

[dhidra]

Following along! Brilliant way to celebrate.
I too celebrated my 21st while studying abroad. No family with me but I still had a great time. DLP will be even better!

 

[E&BMom]

Can't wait to hear about your trip! What a wonderful experience!!

 

[Anemone]

Sounds like a great birthday treat. Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[RrCoAsTeR]

Hi all! I'm so glad to see people are following along! I just got back from a lovely dinner of socca, which is a local speciality here in Nice. It's like a pizza crust or pancake made on a giant pan out of chickpeas! It's delish... I've already had it a few times since I got here two weeks ago! If you haven't had it before and you get a chance to go to Nice, I would recommend it for sure!

I'll introduce you all to who will be along for this trip!!

The Cast

I’m from St. Louis, MO and attend the University of Missouri. I start veterinary school this fall. I love my dogs, animals, baseball, traveling, food, shopping, Harry Potter and obviously Disney. I’ve been to WDW 22 times since my first trip in 2000 and DLR twice. Most of my trips have been with my family and I also took one with my boyfriend in December 2013. I’ve gone on eight Disney cruises as well, including Western and Eastern Caribbean and Alaskan itineraries.


My permanent home in St. Louis!


My home at the University of Missouri


My home in Nice for the semester


My puppies Max and Chip because they're too cute and have Disney names


WDW with my boyfriend in December 2013


Alaskan Cruise with the family June 2013


As you can probably tell, I love Disney and will take any chance I can get to go! As soon as I knew I was studying in France I dreamt of planning a trip to DLP but didn’t think it was quite possible on my tight college budget… I plan on traveling as much as I can while I'm here since it's so much easier to get around than coming from America.

I share a flat with two other students from the University of Missouri and go to school with quite a few international students… the issue was that no one wanted to spend the money on a trip to DLP like I did. Everyone here is quite into budget traveling, which I understand fully. However, this is my first and probably only trip to DLP, so I wanted to make sure it was done right. I began scoping out trips as soon as I could and decided I would love to go for my first break (March 5-15), which also happens to fall over my birthday on March 5! I just needed someone to go with me, and that’s where my traveling partner, Paige, comes in...

Paige and I have gone to school together in St. Louis since Kindergarten (she as in my class when I took my first Disney trip ever!). We have been best friends since around the 6th grade. She attends Arizona State University, approximately a 24 hour drive from the University of Missouri, so we don’t see each other often when school is in session. However, it just so happens that she’s studying in London this year! I mentioned my desire to go to DLP for my birthday to her, and she was immediately on board! She’s a fellow Harry Potter fanatic and one of my best friends in the entire world, so I couldn’t think of anyone better to spend the trip with.


Paige and I at our senior prom in 2012


And dressed up at the HP7 premier because we're huge nerds...

Next to come... where will two poor college girls stay on such a tight budget? Will we manage a Disney hotel for the full experience or will I stay offsite for the first time EVER?!

 

[RrCoAsTeR]

Following along! Brilliant way to celebrate.
I too celebrated my 21st while studying abroad. No family with me but I still had a great time. DLP will be even better!

That's great to hear!! Where did you study abroad?

Can't wait to hear about your trip! What a wonderful experience!!

Sounds like a great birthday treat. Looking forward to hearing more.

So glad to have you all joining in!

 

[E&BMom]

Great update. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[RrCoAsTeR]

Where will we stay?!?

With Paige on board, we had to decide where we would stay. I was dead set on staying at a Disney resort. In all of my trips, I’ve never stayed offsite, and I really think a Disney resort adds unbelievable value to your experience. Plus, how would I be able to compare WDW, DL and DLP if I didn't get to try out hotels at all of them?! The only issue is the price, especially when I’m trying to budget for 4 months of traveling around Europe!

Since I was so committed to the Disney experience, I decided to submit my requests to my travel agent and what she said. I requested 3 nights and 4 days at the Hotel Santa Fe, which seemed more appealing to me than the Hotel Cheyenne (I didn’t really research too much first though!). I submitted the request and anxiously awaited her response! However, I couldn’t help but feel that I wanted a different atmosphere than either the Hotel Santa Fe or Cheyenne offered…

I quickly heard back with a quote and was surprised to find that the Newport Bay Club was only 50 euros more for our entire stay! She found me some great deals that I believe included a free night! I love the Yacht and Beach Club in WDW, and Newport Bay reminds me of those resorts from what I can see online. My only issue now was to decide whether or not I could afford booking there for what was supposed to be a budget stay... somehow I'm never too good at budgeting, especially when it comes to Disney I called my mom and tried to decide… was the "full" Disney experience worth the price?

My decision making was driven by knowing that this is likely the only time I’ll ever get to go to DLP, and I wanted to get the most out of my experience. That fact, along with the fact that this will be my first ever trip to any Disney resort for my birthday, led me to go ahead and decide to book….....................



































Disney’s Newport Bay Club!!!





We’ll be staying from March 5-8, 2015 in a standard room! I could not be more excited.






The real issue now is that I’m so used to WDW that I haven’t had to research a trip in quite awhile and need to get going on that since my trip is less than a month from today! Ah!

I’m trying to book dining reservations tomorrow and then I’ll work on posting more of our plan! I was pretty busy this weekend… I took a day trip to Cannes yesterday and just booked a weekend trip to Athens with some friends so I haven't had as much time as I wanted to focus on planning for Disney! So many trips in so little time! Not that that's a bad thing at all...

We want to do one character meal and one other nice table service meal... so far we have narrowed our choices down to Auberge de Cendrillion, Bistrot Chez Remy, Mickey's Cafe, Walt's, or Blue Lagoon. I think we'll look into each of these farther tomorrow and see where we can get in so late. Any suggestions?!

 

[RrCoAsTeR]

I thought I'd share our plans so far! Obviously they need some work... any and all advice is appreciated!


Thursday

I’m booked to fly from Nice to Paris at 20:20 March 5… I wanted to fly out earlier, but I have a class until 16:20 Thursday that I have to attend, so I was a little limited. Flying easyJet was much cheaper and made more sense than taking the TGV. I’ll head home from class and catch the bus from the airport. Hopefully I won’t be too rushed.

Since I get into CDG so late (22:00), I had to book a taxi from the airport to Disneyland. I was upset because the transfer would cost more than my flight at the places I found online, but luckily I turned to the trusty Disboards and found RS Transports, so I booked a taxi with them for only 30 euros, which didn’t seem so bad when the TGV would have been around 18 if it had been running and now I don’t have to lug my bags about.

Paige is getting in earlier, so she’ll get to check in and explore. If I’m not too tired maybe we could have a birthday drink when I arrive and check out the area (if anything is still open!). We’ll play it by ear.


Friday

Friday we’ll get up and head to Disneyland Park for the day! We booked a 14:30 lunch at Auberge de Cendrillion to celebrate my birthday… You can’t be too old for some princesses, can you?! That’s what we’re telling ourselves at least… Hopefully we’ll stay the whole day and get to see the fireworks. I’m excited to see how they compare. I’m not usually a parade fan but I feel like we’ll have to experience the DLP shows at least once!


Saturday

This day is a little bit iffier… We have a 13:00 lunch at Walt’s which makes our plans a little difficult, but we really wanted to eat there. Maybe we’ll head to Disneyland Park in the morning for EMH and leave after lunch for the WDW Studios, but then we run the risk of crowds. Does anyone know how crowds normally are in early March?

We could also get a later start and go to the studios in the morning and just go over to Disneyland Park for lunch and then decide what we want to do after, which would probably be head back to the studios. Hm. We’ll have to think about it. I’m leaning towards the second option so that we can get almost a full day in at the studios.


Sunday

This day really depends on what our plans wind up being Saturday. Disneyland Park has EMH in the morning again, so we may try to take advantage of that and finish up anything we missed before popping over to the studios again.

Paige leaves late afternoon and I haven’t finalized my plans yet. I think I’ll stay in Paris a few more days and revisit the tourist sites like the Louvre and Eiffel Tower. I’ve spent about 5 days in Paris before, but I was with a group from my high school and it would be great to explore at my own pace! At some point during the week I’ll fly to London to spend the next weekend with Paige… I don’t know when or anything yet! I’m being too indecisive with all of this.

I have to ask all of you have been before… what attractions absolutely can’t be missed?! I love the Rockin Roller Coaster (hence the user name… ) at WDW. I also love Peter Pan, Philharmagic, Star Wars, Toy Story Mania, and all of the shows dedicated to explaining the animation of Disney at Hollywood Studios

I can't wait! Paige and I were saying today that we wish the trip was sooner! It seems so much more exciting when you're planning everything yourself instead of just tagging along Oh well! At least it will be soon enough!

 

[RrCoAsTeR]

Eek I didn't realize until the Disney blog post today that Swing into Spring starts March 1! For some reason I thought it started later than that and didn't even think to check, but I am SO excited we'll get to experience it!!

 

[E&BMom]

Very exciting news! We will need to see lots of pictures!

 

[dhidra]

I studied in Hungary. Got to do a but of traveling around eastern Europe, which was lucky.
your plans sound great so far. swing into spring is fabulous! you'll love it!

 

[missangelalexis]

This sounds so fun! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[RrCoAsTeR]

Hi everybody!! Sorry for abandoning my PTR for so long!! I didn't have many updates and I've been all over the place... I just got back from Athens late last night, so I was focused on planning for that trip too.

This sounds so fun! Can't wait to hear more!

Hi and welcome missangelalexis!! Thanks so much for following along!!

I studied in Hungary. Got to do a but of traveling around eastern Europe, which was lucky.
your plans sound great so far. swing into spring is fabulous! you'll love it!

That sounds so great! I've never really had a chance to go to eastern Europe, but I really want to at some point. Unfortunately most of the students in my program are focused on western Europe, so I may have to wait for another chance to travel over there.

I loved Greece this weekend... Athens was huge but there was so much history to experience and I loved that. I also had some extremely enjoyable encounters with the Greek people (and their food!! ). Now I really want to go back to Greece to visit some smaller places... crossing my fingers!

Now it's only 11 days until my birthday and more importantly I LEAVE FOR DISNEY!!! I can't wait! Luckily, Paige is coming from London to visit me in Nice this weekend (the huge Nice Carnaval is going on and has been super fun so far, so I'm glad she'll get to enjoy it!). As soon as she leaves there are only 4 days until Disneyland, so the time is going to fly by! (I hope!!)

I am off school the entire week of March 9, so I've pulled together the rest of my vacation. I was wanting to go to three places over break, but since I splurged on Newport Bay Club and want to get a chance to really enjoy places, since Paris and London are such big cities with so much to offer, I'm just doing those two. Paige leaves Sunday afternoon because she has classes, and I'm going to switch over to a hotel in the city and spend Sunday evening (go up the Eiffel Tower at night), all day Monday (hit some museums and other sites), and most of the day Tuesday (probably Versailles, but I'm trying to see if Fontainebleau will be doable with a flight in the afternoon) in Paris before I fly to London to stay with Paige until Sunday, March 15.

I've been to Paris before, so I have a pretty good idea of what all I want to see. I'm soooo excited to go to London for the first time... I need to get on researching what I want to do there! Luckily Paige has been there since August, so she'll be a good guide. I finally booked all my flights!

My main concern now is packing... I'm flying easyJet, so I only get one carry on bag for all of this... I may pay to check a bag, but since I have 3 flights I would have to pay 3 times and I'm not sure yet if I want to do that... I am really skeptical that I'll be able to pack enough for 10 days in a medium duffle bag though, especially since I'll need warmer (bulkier) clothes.

 

[Joyce_Belle]

It's great that you'll be able to visit multiple places in Europe, especially DLP ofcourse!

Not to miss attractions:
Disneyland Park: Peter Pan’s Flight, “it’s a small world”, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril, Big Thunder Mountain, Phantom Manor, Space Mountain: Mission 2 (closed)
Walt Disney Studios: Crush’s Coaster, Art of Disney Animation, Animagique, Ratatouille: The Adventure, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic

Enjoy the last preparations and have fun in DLP!

 

[RrCoAsTeR]

It's great that you'll be able to visit multiple places in Europe, especially DLP ofcourse!

Not to miss attractions:
Disneyland Park: Peter Pan’s Flight, “it’s a small world”, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril, Big Thunder Mountain, Phantom Manor, Space Mountain: Mission 2 (closed)
Walt Disney Studios: Crush’s Coaster, Art of Disney Animation, Animagique, Ratatouille: The Adventure, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic

Enjoy the last preparations and have fun in DLP!

Hi Joyce_Belle and thank you so much for the advice! I was so bummed when I found out Space Mountain would be closed... oh well, at least there are plenty of other exciting rides and a bunch that I haven't gotten to experience before.

Today in my business class we're doing a EuroDisney case study where all we talk about its the opening and development of DLP, and all I can think about is how this time next week I'll be all packed and ready to go! Eek I can't wait at all! I am so so so so excited! What a great way to get even more in the mood to go.

As for my luggage dilemma, I think I'm just going to pack carefully and take my larger (maximum size) carry on instead of a duffle bag. I'll put my purse with all my important things on the very top so that if they grab it to gate check I can just take my purse out and have that with me on the plane rides. Hopefully this works out... I'm too cheap to justify 46+ euros in baggage fees when I have such better things I could be spending it on!

 

[Anemone]

Sounds like a really exciting trip for you Emily. Look forward to reading more.

Agree with you about the packing dilemma - I really struggle to keep my packing to a minimum then only wear half of what I take.

 

[RrCoAsTeR]

Only three more days!! I can't believe it!!

Paige came for the weekend and we had a great time relaxing in Nice in the great weather... crossing my fingers Paris is nice (or at least not rainy!) this weekend.

My dog Max died this weekend and I'm really torn up about it, so I'm glad I have DLP as a distraction to look forward to and enjoy this weekend at least.

 

[Charlotea]

Just read this after your reply on my TR, sounds like you got an amazing deal on Newport bay! How exciting! Sooo envious that you will get to experience Swing into Spring...I so desperately want to see it, but at this time of year there's no way I could fit it around university...maybe next year!
Really sorry to hear about your dog, Max. Hopefully, as you said your trip will cheer you up a bit.