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[never2old]

And here we go!!

This may take a while because I still got plenty of pictures to get through (5 days of holidays including 3 in Disney, came home with over 1800 pictures  :roll:  but it was raining for a couple of days, so I couldn't take many pictures then  :lol:   )

Before I start with the report, a bit of background info...

This summer we're going to be moving house, which means we don't really have any summer holidays to speak of... We were going to meet up with some friends for 3 days in Disneyland (and celebrate my birthday (Wednesday) and our friend Paul's (Thursday) in  the happiest place of earth). So my hubby and I decided to extend our holiday a bit, take a couple of extra days off work, and spend a couple of days relaxing in the Marriott near Disney, before moving to the New York Hotel for the rest of our trip.

In the Marriott it was practically the same price to get a studio for 2 people than a 2-bedroom villa, so we decided to splash out a bit more and go for the villa... Plus it meant that our friends, who were staying with some family in France, would come and join us on the Tuesday afternoon, instead of getting up early and meeting us Wednesday in the parks.

We left Luxembourg Monday morning, and made it to the Marriott around lunchtime. Our villa was ready so we left our bags there, and (since we had an empty fridge, were hungry, and I wouldn't have it otherwise ) we went to the Disney Village for lunch. We decided to go for Annette's, since we hadn't eaten there in a while, and I had a serious burger craving...

My dear husband...


Annette's was fairly quiet, we were seated straight away and in no time had a couple of yummy burgers in front of us...



I forget what it was called (French Campagnard or something like that), it was with reblochon cheese, and incredibly delicious!!!  If you like strong cheese, I really recommend it!!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Unfortunately it was a bit windy so Panoramagique was not functioning, otherwise we would have gone up on it. Instead we had a quick walk around the Village, before heading back to the hotel to enjoy the weather and the pool...

The Earl of Sandwich site:






I hadn't noticed these before, but they really add a beach holiday feeling to the place!


It was really great around the Village and the lake. There were a few people sitting in the benches, taking in the sun and simply relaxing.

Eventually my husband managed to get me out of there and, after a stop in a supermarket for supplies for the evening, we got back to the Marriott, where we headed straight for the pool area. The water in the outside pool was a bit cold (though there were a few people in it), but simply laying down enjoying the sun was heavenly...









It really is a nice hotel, it's the third time I've been there and it never disappoints...  The villas are very comfortable, the rooms are really lovely, and it's so close to the magic!! If it wasn't for the Extra Magic Hours (my husband and I are big fans of the EMH ) we would stay there more often during our visits. Maybe if we ever get annual passes....  (By the way, if you want to see more pictures of the Marriott and the villas, you can check some out in my fotki gallery!)

Plenty of ducks, geese and swans around!




Anyway, we had a lovely afternoon of doing nothing    Wonderful. When it started getting a bit colder we headed back to the villa. While my DH followed the Apple keynote thingy about the new iPhone (free wifi available in the villas), I had a lovely bath (that's holidays for you... take the time to enjoy a relaxing bath   ), and after dinner, we went for a stroll around the resort (which wasn't as magical as it could have been, there were quite a few little flys around)





Day 2 coming soon!

[norhel]

Sounds like you had a pleasant time.
1800 pictures? A lot I must say.
And happy birthday in arrears! :-)

[never2old]

Thanks norhel   I know, I'm terrible when it comes to pictures, digital cameras were made for me!

Day 2!

Today was going to be another relaxing day...

After a lovely breakfast (they have the best croissants in the shop in the Marriott, by the way) we headed to the shopping outet in Val d'Europe



On a Tuesday morning, it was dead quiet. Note that it really mattered, because neither of us are big shoppers (and with the new house, we're trying to avoid unnecesary expenses...) But we had a walk around, a coffee in Starbucks (I may have mentioned in other reports, we have no Starbucks in Luxembourg and are big fans, so any excuse to stop there for one is welcome) before going to the Sealife aquarium

Coffee at Starbucks (also extremely quiet)


For some time I had wanted to visit Sealife, but everytime we've been around it's always been for Disney, or for the outlet itself. So I was really keen on finally visiting it. And I was not dissapointed. I really recommend it to everyone! It's nicely presented (and great for kids), and they've got plenty of interesting fish to see.

Some tiny jellyfish, they stay like that on the ground (unlike the other, bigger ones, they had some in a tank swimming around, they were really hypnotic!!)




These were really ugly (huge) things. Wouldn't like to see one without a glass between us  :shock:




The octopus was also a bit freaky... First it wasn't moving, but suddendly it started kind of sliding on the wall, towards the window, it's long tentacles curling... I had never seen one in real life, but I thought it was a bit scary!!










Piranhas!


When I got to this tank, I (very excitedly) called my husband over: Look, Nemo and Dory!! And just a few minutes after, a little Italian girl (must have been around 5 years old) came running and yelling "Dory, Dory, Dory!!" (just as happy and excited as me...) My husband kept teasing me all day after that that I had the same knowledge on fish species as a 5 year old  :roll:  




We ended up spending quite a bit of time in the Aquarium, so after that we decided to stay for lunch in the shopping center, and again after lunch (and a bit of food shopping in Auchan for the evening) we got back to the hotel, to sit by the pool.

It was a bit cooler than the day before, but still very pleasant, and again extremely relaxing.



My husband went for a swim in the outside pool (I prefered to stick to the inside one, although the water wasn't that warm).

By the end of the afternoon it was getting colder (and a lot more cloudy). We were expecting our friends to join us around 5, so we went back to the villa to get ready.



It started raining a bit by the time our friends arrived. We had a lovely dinner, and after putting their children to sleep (two lovely kids) we stayed up for a bit, planning a bit the day ahead (first day in Disney!!) while having a glass of wine...

The next day was going to be an early start (we wanted to be in the New York Hotel by 8am), so we didn't stay up too late. Not that it made much difference, I was so excited about going back to DLP, I hardly slept at all!!  

Day 3 coming soon!

[tubbsy]

:lol: "Dory!" Sorry Never2old but that tickled. Loving your report and your photos-I feel so relaxed just looking at them

[toritinker]

ooooooooooooooooo i love new reports!!
the resort looks fantastic, especially the pool!!!!
I will be looking for the beach hut things when I go next hehe..cant wait for more...!
x

[never2old]

I dare any of you to see a Dory-fish (I'm sure that's not its official name but they will always be Dorys to me) or clownfish (I know that one!) and not to call out Dory and Nemo!  :lol:  :lol:

And here's day 3!!

Most important day of all, of course, because today was my birthday! (and Donald's, by the way, and sir Javey will tell you   )

We got up early (a bit before 7) for breakfast (I had chocolate cake, leftover from dinner the night before, best breakfast ever!!). I also got a few presents (including, from by dear hubby, a pair on Tinkerbell earrings and a Grumpy glass figurine, from Svarowsky, I'll try to post some pictures later   )

As we feared, the sun from the first two days was completely gone, to be replaced by dull grey skies and (for now) a bit of rain. By the time we got to the New York Hotel it was a bit more rain (but not as bad as it would be later on)

We checked in, left our bags (rooms were not ready yet) and, before heading out to the parks, stopped to say hello to Minnie!!

Karen and her kids:


Ella, her little daughter, was over the moon to meet Minnie. She gave her a big kiss (and asked Minnie to also kiss her little Minnie doll) and a big hug.

I was very happy too  


We made it into the park a bit after 9. Under the rain. Terrible picture, but it gives you an idea of what a miserable day it was (weather wise, don't get me wrong, we had a great time!!)



Since Dumbo was closed, they had opened It's a small world during the EMH. So we started our day there (plus is a good one for kids, specially if they don't know what to expect...) They loved it, of course  :thumbs:  Peter Pan already had a bit of a queue, so we went to do Buzz Lightyear (it says 20 minutes but we walked straight in, excellent!).

By then it was 10:00, the park was open, so we went to get some FP for BTM, before heading towards Phantom Manor.





The rain stopped for a bit  / and since we had some time before BTM, and it was there, we went to see the new version of the character train, which was now by the Castle. The kids wanted to see the characters, I wanted to see WALL-E!!









(sorry, couldn't choose just one!)

The train didn't look bad at all (better than Minnie's version, I have to say), and WALL-E is definitely a great addition. Hope we get more of him in the future...

Some pics of the Castle, before the rain comes back....





Back in Frontierland for BTM, which was absolutely brilliant!! The waterfall was working and everything, I love this ride!! I should maybe now mention that during our trip I had a bad back (pain in the neck, literally, and carrying around my reflex camera probably didn't help), so I was a bit worried about rollercoaster (and in fact I didn't go in Space Mountain at all during the trip, I didn't want to risk serious injury!) But BTM was just fine (I just felt it a bit at the end, strangely, coming back up from the tunnel towards the station).

Keeping an eye on the children while their parents go on BTM... I kept picturing them falling into the water... (don't worry they didn't   )


From Frontierland, to Adventureland, towards Pirates!!




Last time we'd been in DLP it was closed, so I had lots of catching up to do! If I could be left to wander freely inside a ride, I would choose POTC. Wouldn't you just love to wander around the town, or go aboard the pirate ship??



The children were by now a bit tired, so Paul and Karen decided to go to the hotel and see if they could get their rooms early, so we walked with them towards the park entrance

Spoon collection in the Liberty Arcade


I want them all!!!


And again! Only this time we got to hear the song, which was OK, but to be honest, I miss the original one...



It's like he's waving at me...










To be continued!

[bensmum]

Brilliant pictures and thanks for posting your trip report its great, loving reading it.

[never2old]

After they left, we went to get some lunch. Because we didn't know how long the kids would last, when we would eat (or how many of us), we hadn't booked anything. And because it was low season, when we got to Agrabah Cafe (I was starving for their chickpea salad) we found it was closed, as was the Cowboy Cookout Barbecue. So the two of us ended up in Hakuna Matata, which was not too busy, and had a really tasty meal (I had the chicken tika, really nice!)

After that, to help digestion, we decided to try and get the train. We got to the Frontierland station just as the previous train was leaving, so we ended up waiting about 10 minutes for the next one. 10 minutes I spent taking pictures, of course.... But the Frontierland station is one of the best ones, plenty of little details, and it was the first time I had some time to explore them!!



No pack mules allowed for Denver...
















We went all the way to Main Street, thus missing the Grand Canyon scene, but it was starting to rain again and we wanted to see if we could get our room, to rest for a bit.

View from the train:


It started pouring on our way back to the hotel, by the time we got there we were completely soaked. Fortunately our room was ready, our bags followed us a few minutes later, and we could dry up and rest for a bit.

View of the rain from the room...


We had a park-ish view room    The Space Mountain counts, right??


To be continued!!

[kelly.dylan]

Love the report so far, we are staying in the Hotel New York for the first time in October, what did you think of it?
Kelly x

[tubbsy]

Loving your report and photos x I am determined to bore my lot silly in August by going all the way round on the train

[toritinker]

great update! cant wait for more!!!!!!
i really loved the pics of the station!
haha yes seeing space mountain counts
xx

[dagobert]

Thanks for your great trip report. Brilliant as always. The Mariott Village looks so nice. Can you only stay there if you are a member of their vacation club?

[never2old]

Thank you all  

The Mariott Village looks so nice. Can you only stay there if you are a member of their vacation club?

No, you can book your stay there as in any hotel!! I really recommend it, it's a great place!

I'm working on the next bit of the report, hope to post it later today!

[never2old]

And here I go!!

We had a little rest in our room (nice and dry away from the pouring rain). It seemed to calm down a bit around 4pm, just in time for the parade (at 4:30), so we met up with our friends in the hotel lobby, and headed back together towards Fantasyland for our parade spot.



Cris broke his raincoat poncho thingy (they're not very solid those things, this was not the first one he ripped), so he was using one of my pins to hold it together...


See those clouds?? Coming straight for us...






The rain of course did come back, just in time for the parade  :roll: ... So no stops, but other than that, no complaints. It was brilliant   , and everyone loved it (Karen said as soon as it finished that we had to come and see it again on the next day) There were a lot more performers than when I saw it last in March (that time, for example, there were only 3 toy soldiers!). And it cannot have been particularly pleasant for many of them with the rain, so big thumbs up to all of them  :thumbs:

In front of us there were 3 people that must have been CMs (I suspected it when I saw them dancing in sync to the Just Like We Dreamed It song before the parade started, I got confirmation when many of the performers in the parade went to them, waved at them or even talked to them). I was not jealous at all  :mrgreen:  

And I really liked how they've added Princess Tiana. The new music fits in perfectly, and she herself (I hadn't seen her yet at all) was beautiful. Nicely done Disney!

Anyway, here are some pics from the parade on Wednesday







Very blurry one, but I really like this picture!










Terrible picture, but I have to admit, I was too busy admiring Tiana and Naveen to take the pictures at the right time... I know I take many pictures, but I refuse to live (and see) my holidays through a camera, I'm sure you agree!!


And I miss the Beast, but having the Prince is not that bad  




After the parade we took our friends to visit the gallery in the Castle. It was a bit too crowded for my liking, I have to say (I'm more used to going during the EMH when it's practically empty), but still, it's so beautiful in there... I love the music, I love the windows and the tapestries, and if I could I would live in there  



Our friends left us after that (kids were tired and they didn't want to eat too late), so my husband and I stayed behind and headed straight to Pirates!



It was brilliant of course, but I did come out with a very wet bottom  :lol:

It was still raining, of course, and by now we were a bit tired of it... So we left early (it must have been 6pm, so still one hour to go before the park closed, shocking I know  :shock:   )

We had booked to have dinner (just the two of us) in the Steakhouse in the Village (my birthday, my choice!). After a rest and a shower, and a couple of drinks in the Manhattan Bar (great mojitos in there   ), we went out for dinner. Of course by then, not only had the rain stopped, but the evening was beautiful!!



Dinner was amazing.



Cris' ribs


My duck (I forgot to take pictures of the delicious scampy salad we had for starters, but it was gorgeous!)


I thought aftewards that maybe ordering duck on Donald's birthday was a bit tactless, hope he didn't mind  :lol:


We were too stuffed for dessert, and after dinner we went for a walk to help diggestion... And enjoy the lack of rain!





Back in Lake Disney


And back in our hotel for the night!


Overall, and despite the (almost) constant rain, it was a brilliant day, and a great birthday  

Next day coming up soon!!

We discovered the Cheyenne hotel, we'd never been there before!! It looks quite nice, and huge!

[kelly.dylan]

your photos are lovely :thumbs: cant wait for more