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[Alice@Wonderland]

This was a bit of an inpromtue trip, decieded a few weeks ago, based on a random week off work I had, and a 5 days/4nights at Hotel New York seemed to fit the gap nicely!
We flew from Leeds Bradford to CDG with Jet2.com, and despite a bout of turbulence, which did nothing to aliviate my fear of flying, arrived in France to beautiful sunny weather. We had planned to catch the RER to Dinseyland, and after navigating the maze of CDG, found a SNFR machine where you could buy tickets for the train. I think we must have spent longer at this machine than we did on the train, firstly I could not remember the name of the Dinseyland station (DOH!  :oops: ) and the machine was all in French so was rather difficult to decipher with my very none-existant French. So after spending about half and hour at this machine we hopped on our 10 minute train!

We were staying at Hotel New York, just the two of us, myself and the boyfriend and after checking in trundeled off to our room, 3105, to leave the lugage. By this time it was about 7pm and even though the park was open till 9, we decided to have a relaxed evening and so headed off to Annettes for some very belated lunch. I love the burgers here as they, as with most of France, will cook them rare - ask for rare in England and the waiter will speil off a rant about 'it's against health and safety'. I was slighly worried by the speed which the waiters where wizzing around on their skates, it felt like a gust of wind every time they went past, and as we were sat on the corner felt like they weere coming straight towards you till they truned at the last minute. Despite being slightly nerveraking at times, it made a good laugh of the evening. Who needs rollacosters when when have skaters in Annettes! After dinner we walked back through the shops and purchased the first pin of the trip, Pluto from the Cat and Dog collection, and a slow wander to our Hotel for an early night ready for tomorrow.



We got up early, with our wake up call from Mickey Mouse, and headed down to breakfast which at 8am was nice and quiet with the usual selection of conitental breads, cereals fruits, meats and then hot scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon and potatoe. There was also a chef behind the hot selections who would take you order for anything else you'd like hot.
After getting to the park during EMH, the first thing we say was Mickey riding down Mainstreet!

 The first ride we did was Star Tour as Orbitron was closed for refirbishment. I won't take ytou through a detailed acount of the day, as that would be rather boring, but what we did notice was the large scale of refirbishments going on. There were green fences all over Disney park! Underneath the castel most of the walk throughs were shut, Walts, Gibson Girl,

Fantasy land castle stage, orbitron, big thunder mountain, The old mill, Cornel Hathi's... hte list could go on. Serioulsy green fences and scafolding all over. Wet paint signs all over! However this makes me pleased as it makes me think Disney are making a big effort for next year, although I can see how it could spoil someone's first time holdiday. We went to New York Sandwhiches for lunch, and had a lovely salad each, then headed back to the hotel for a few hours to catch up with some work, as sadly the boyfriend was tied into a contract and had to do some phone calls. Later on we spent a few hours in Toy Story Playland, as last year it was still shut when we visited. and Wow! I loved the parachute drop, made my tummy feel like it was in my head, but with a 40 minute wait time we only did it the once!

We spent the rest of the evening, after the park closed at 6 in fantasia gardens chatting away till about 8ish as it is so beautiful and peaceful till we headed to Planet Hollywood for some dinner. Hollywood was jam-packed full and although we didn't have to wait for a tabel unlike the mounds of people in the bar, as we where only 2, we were crambed into a corner inbetween 2 other table which I'm sure if I had bad tables manner and ate with my elbows sticking out I would have been constantly poking them through out the meal. There was a little girl next to my boyfriend, she was wriggling about quite a bit and fell off her chair during her meal, poor girl banged her head on 'boyfriends' chair as she fell - it was that closely seated! At any rate it was food, the starter was nice, but my pizza almost inedible as it was covered in so much cheese it made me feel ill. We didn't bother saying anything as it was so noisy and cramped we just wanted to get out, so just paid the bill and left. We wandered around the Lake for a while stopping at all the hotels and having a drink at the bar, whilst we were at Seqouia Lodge we went to the boutique and I found the Valentine pin I had been searching for all day, which other members of staff said they must have sold out as the person in charge of pins rotates them all nightly and they hadn't seen one in a while. So moral of the story is don't give up and keep looking! This was a very happy ending to my day and we practically ran back to HNY so I could stick the pin to my lanyard which was back in the room!

End of Day one.

[dagobert]

Thanks for the trip report. Can't wait for the rest.

[davewasbaloo]

Sounds like a fun trip so far, looking forward to the rest.

[MrsPirate]

Thank you for sharing, looking forward to the next part.

[Lozzie]

Loving it so far! Cant wait to read the rest. I love the fact it was a last minute trip, that must have felt so exciting.

[Alice@Wonderland]

Today we started the day off with Breakfast in bed  :lol:  Never done this before in any hotel and it felt very special and pampered! Although it did feel very weird with a stranger in the room setting up the table whilst I was still in bed haha! After a very lazy morning in the hotel we headed off to the park, stopping by concierge to book a table at the blue lagoon for lunch in an hour.

We wandered around the park for an hour or so. Thundermountain was dedinately shut down for the long haul,

and you could see work men scattered around the tracks. Making our way to Blue Lagoon we saw a huge queue outside the resturant! I had already twigged this was for Captain Jack meet and great, but just happened to forget to tell the Boyfriend this and made him queue up haha. It was only when he got right to the front and he could see Captain Jack he realsised what I'd done, haha, at which point I said he may as well wait his turn So he got a photo, and I got a lovely story to tell! Blue Lagoon was wonderful, after letting your eyes ajust to the dark, otherwise you just couldn;t see very much. We skipped starters as it was only lunch, and I had the swordfish for mains and the bf had rock lobster. We both agreed it was suberbly cooked and would definately go again. BUT The best bit was yet to come.I ordered the Creme Brulee (sorry for spelling!), bf got the desert sampler. When the deserts arrived, I unspectingly pulled my towards me but the waiter started waving my hands away, poured some liquid all over it (afterwards I realised bust of been Brandy) and then set it on fire!!! I was so so suprised and it really made by day. And my it did burn! This photo was taken as it had nearly finnish burning, as it took me to long to get my bag out and then turn the camera on!

All in all, a great meal and would certainly eat there again!
Of course the next thing we did was go on Pirates of the Carribean. The swinging pirate wasn't swinging however, and the chains weren't moving on the lifts. Somehow I kept getting wet all through the ride from above and had no idea where the water was coming from, no one was splashing water that I could see so it was a mystery  :?:

After exploring and doing a couple of more rides we got ready for the parade at 5pm. Getting ready for the parade for me involves getting popcorn, which I tried a new gingerbread flavoured ( I think it was ginger, but my french is not very good and the sign wasn't in English so?), and a slush puppy type drink. I got both ofc in the souvineer containers as I always find things at home to fill them with, and so we setteled down to watch the parade.

I rather liked the show stops, I was cute watching all the kids join in, but it was a very low season day that I visited so every one got to join in who wanted too, even then some of the kids got lost trying to find their way back to mum and dad. This is just a recipe for disaster, having kids lost running around all over, and on busier days I can see this being horendous!

Captain Hook took a particular dislike to me during the parade and kept picking on me!

It was rather frightening having his hooked hand pointed in your face, although highly amusing afterwards!

Amazingly I managed to persaude the boyfriend to go on It's a small world, which on previous trips have been a point blank no! But on the way there I go collar neck by a very cheaky Gideon!

After signing my autograph book, which he made a big fuss over as it is the 1997 5 year celebration one waving it around all over lol, he practically kick me away, miming doing so and chased us most of the way to It's a Small World, which then ofc all the kids started chasing too - and oh my, it made me run doubly as fast!!  

We left the parks after Its a small world, and after chilling out in the Hotel New York for a while (doing some more work  :| ). We decied to hire one of the boats on the lake. I wanted one of the peddle boats, but bf wanted the one that looked like a speedboat so he could drive! Needless to say it didn't go particullary fast, but it still made him happy being Captain for a little while lol  


I'd really recommed doing the boats if you're staying on site and want to relax for a bit. It was lovely moving around the lake, if a bit stress ful when bf was pretending do donnuts in the water! It was 20 Euros for the boat, but that is for up to 5 people so I didn't think it was bad value for a family. The peddle boats were 10 Euros for 4 people - which is even cheaper!

That evening I think we went to Annettes again. And here's a little tip! If there is a huge queue, as long as you don't mind sitting on the bar stools area (to the right  of the stairs right in front of kitchen) you can just go straight in and sit down and a waiter will come take your order. I think it does take longer for them to serve you and bring the food as you aren't prioritised, but it still saves standing outside for a long time!

After a little bit more souvineer shopping we called it a night all ready for tomorrow!  /

[lilfencer09]

Great report so far Sounds like you had a great time !

[MrsPirate]

I've always wanted to eat at the Blue Lagoon but have never read a good review, but after reading your report I shall put it on the list for this year.

[Sal]

Alice@Wonderland: Great report!   And great pictures. Can't wait to read the rest.  

I've always wanted to eat at the Blue Lagoon but have never read a good review, but after reading your report I shall put it on the list for this year.

MrsPirate: You really should. It's a fantastic experience. The scenery is amazing. We had lunch there last year and had a great time.  

[MrsPirate]

Alice@Wonderland: Great report!   And great pictures. Can't wait to read the rest.  

I've always wanted to eat at the Blue Lagoon but have never read a good review, but after reading your report I shall put it on the list for this year.

MrsPirate: You really should. It's a fantastic experience. The scenery is amazing. We had lunch there last year and had a great time.  

Did you try the express menu?

[Sal]

Alice@Wonderland: Great report!   And great pictures. Can't wait to read the rest.  

I've always wanted to eat at the Blue Lagoon but have never read a good review, but after reading your report I shall put it on the list for this year.

MrsPirate: You really should. It's a fantastic experience. The scenery is amazing. We had lunch there last year and had a great time.  

Did you try the express menu?

No, I didn't. I had the Treasures of the sea menu. I can't remember right now what I had for starters, but the main course was grilled swordfish and the dessert was creme brulee. I think the food was good, although it's not my favorite kind of food. To me both food and scenery was an experience and I wouldn't be without it.    We are definetely going again on our next trip.

(Please excuse my spelling)

[davewasbaloo]

It is interesting to hear you had a good meal there. After several attempts with never having had a good meal (often cold) and seeing mice run across the floor and the cast member simply shrugged when we told them, we vowed to never go back.

I may have to review that policy.

[Alice@Wonderland]

The last full day
After deciding the night before that breakfast in bed twice in a row was rather extravagant, the next morning we headed twards Parkside diner for some brekkie, only to be dirrected towards the convention centre to eat there instead. Thhis was rather an odd proccess of selection as there were rather large queues outside both Manhattan and Parkside and a member of staff was seemingly randomly telling a few people to go to the convention centre.Once we got there we guesed they where telling adult only groups or groups with older children to go to Convention centre as there were no kiddies around. WHich was a nice change, and made for a much quieter meal. After our fill we head back to the room to do some MORE work!  :roll: But after submitting as much as we thought we could get away with, teheheh, we headed to the Walt Disney Studio's as apart from Toystory Playland we hadn't been around there.

Upon walking in to studio 1 there was a jazz band playing which I thought was brilliant

and have only rarely seen a band here before. We did all the big rides, ToT, Aerosmith, queued 60mins for Crush for it to break down the second we got into the building!! They gave us a small ticket to say we could come back later through the exit, which made it slightly better. I have never done the shows Animaqu.. and the other one and these are still on my to-do list for next time, keep saving them for a rainy day but alas the weather has always been too kind to me!  /

Then it was about time to get ready for the Stars and Cars parade. We got a place at the front, (needed to be there 30mins b4hand and this was a really quiet day!) We had a really good view and enjoyed the show very much. Although I can see how it could be very bad for anyone not on the front row, esspecially as the characters where walking round taking photos and signing autographs, but only to people on the front row.



We were both rather hungry at this point, and with my burger eating at Disney exclusively reserved for Annettes and I 'don't do' buffets (can't stand the idea of every picking up the same food, can just about bear it for breakfast, but a proper meal no thanks) the Studio's didn't offer us much options so we headed back of to the Disney park. We picked Cornel Hathi's in the end, because although it is covered in scaffolding right now they still have loads of out door seating. But once we where inside we certainly didnt' wan't to leave to sit outside as there was a band playing in there!! I couldn't believe it. A live band in a takeaway place - only disney could do that!   :lol: Slightly getting back to the point we both had Lasanga and it was very nice and would eat there again band or no band.

The afternoon was a bit of a blur after the meal, but because we had a booking at Calafornia Grill we stayed in the park all afternoon floating around here and there. We saw lots of characters around though, Chip and Dale were outside the Chaperal Theather, there was practically no one around but us and a family with a small child, and Chip and Dale where playing hide n seek with them. It was really cool to watch so we didn't interupt, although I would of like an autograph, and just left them to it.   Oh and we watch Mickey Magical Celebration in the evening, which was rubbish! Booo, Disney can do better than this, at least if you're going to do a show do it on the proper stage so every one can see!!


I was really excited about eating at Calafornia Grill, and they had seated us next to the window so we could look down into the park entrance and see the castle and the roof tops of Mainst. After a little decision we opted for the tasting menu, as it offer lots of different dishes, and becuase the menu sounded so lovely we were having a hard time choosing! You can choose to have the tasting menu with or without wine, we chose without as neither of us drink. Waiter came and took our orders, brought drinks, breads... it was all very formal and probably a bit posh for some liking, but I loved every minute of it! Firstly it was 3 starters! A crab salad with charred lemon, which was beautiful and was obvioulsy very fresh crab. (I lived in Cornwall for a while and have developed the knack for knowing good fresh fish to when its been stood around a while) We had changed the fra gra (very wrong spelling I know!) for soup as I have never managed to develop a liking for it. The soup was lovely very rich and warming and the portion was huge, but out of every thing we eat thing we ate thi s was probably the weekest link. Then it was skewered scallops, which were magically cooked to perfection, in a lime, ginger and mango with a little salad on the side.  The onto the mains. Firstly Fish. Sole cooked with hints of lemon, which was served with seasoned veg. Then a beed filet,  which I ordered rare and bf blue - all I can say was this was the best thing I have ever eaten in my life and must have been top-notch beef as it's flavour was right on the spot! Absolutely amazing, with Anna potatoes and some more veg. I was rather full at this point and was glad to be onto dessert. Firstly we had a flakey pastry with fig and apples topped with a blue cheese on a bed of rocket. Deffinately nice for a cheese lover, but otherwise I would ask them to swap this. I liked it as it made a nice change from what I would normally order, although didn't manage to eat all the cheese as it was rather strong and pongy haha :mrgreen: ! Then my favourit bit of the meal, a selection of lots of little desserts. A lemon tart, chocolate tart, a fig (thingy) wrapped in fillo pastry and a macaroon. Lovely Lovely Lovely!! The waiter must of overheard me saying how much I love macaroons as he brought over  another plateful of them for me, which was delightful and really nice of him. It was the kind of service where they are completly attentive and always there the second you need something yet not in your face at all and hardly notice them filling up glasses and changing cuttelry, whisking plates away and bring moe. The whole meal was a long drawn out affair, we had sat down at about 7.30 and when we left it was nearly 11pm! We were both completely shocked at the time and it was probably a testament to such a good time we had. We also saw them testing Fantilusion whilst we were eating, switching lights on and off all over the park, and painting the castle with big cranes. I was very tempted to start taking photos, lol, but it would of felt rather rude, so I refrained.

Some one forgot to turn all the lights on


Amazingly Panoramagique was still open when we walked through the village, so we jumped on


We couldn't see much though, as all the light had since been switched off in the park, so apart from the village and the hotels every thing was dark.

Then bed time and ready to leave in the morning. I cannot say how much I reccomment Calafornia Grill, made a lovely evening and one I will remember for a long time - or at least till next time   Just a short report left for the last day, sorry about the lengh of this one. But Calafornia grill was 5star!

[davewasbaloo]

You've never seen Cinemagique?!!!!!!!  That and Moteurs Action are the two real gems of WDSP. WOW.

[davewasbaloo]

Redemption with the California Grill ;-)

Yep, definately the best restaurant on resort and one of the very best in Disney's empire. Love it. Thanks for sharing your report.

And I empathise, I too have had to work while at DLP too. Not fun.