How Many Countries Can You Visit in Two Weeks?! - DLRP and more! TR LINK!!!! Pg. 20!!

[Leshaface]

Holy cow, you really did score some great airline tickets, plus car rental, plus train tickets, plus two night hotel stay Soooooo, whenever my DH and I decide to go to Europe (HOPEFULLY 2015 or 2016) can you help me?!? You seem like you know what you're doing.

I'm so onboard for this trip!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Holy cow, you really did score some great airline tickets, plus car rental, plus train tickets, plus two night hotel stay Soooooo, whenever my DH and I decide to go to Europe (HOPEFULLY 2015 or 2016) can you help me?!? You seem like you know what you're doing.

I'm so onboard for this trip!

I would be MORE than happy to help you plan a trip. I love doing that stuff, playing with numbers, finding good deals and such. The biggest thing to traveling to Europe is that you have to be flexible with your destination city, because if you have a very specific one in mind, 9 times out of 10 you're not going to get the pricing you want.

 

[Merida]

Oh, those waffles are amazing. Carbs are definitely my favorite food, but oh so bad for you.

I used to get made fun of so bad for the fries with mayo thing. Now fries with ketchup and mayo mixed together? Bleh. I just don't get it.

I don't like ketchup... it weirds me out! Mayo + fries foreverrr (Though it's becoming surprisingly popular out here! I hope spaghettieis is the next Euro food trend to come stateside. I was browsing Disney Food Blog (I think?) and they had an article about Disney's ~unique~ new spaghetti ice cream sundae and everyone was going on about this great and special new "Disney detail." The Disney spaghetti ice cream doesn't look as good as the ones I've had in Germany but it's a start!).

Your travel plans look great - I really like flying in and out of Heathrow, since airports where I don't speak the language makes me nervous. I just don't want to take that many risks with my travel arrangements!

My (pilot/airline enthusiast) boyfriend really like Virgin Atlantic - we do a lot of driving for vacations because there are SO many airlines he refuses to get on, so I guess it's a good company! And they're working on powering the planes with coconut oil, which is totally awesome.

 

[IheartDDuck]

I don't like ketchup... it weirds me out! Mayo + fries foreverrr (Though it's becoming surprisingly popular out here! I hope spaghettieis is the next Euro food trend to come stateside. I was browsing Disney Food Blog (I think?) and they had an article about Disney's ~unique~ new spaghetti ice cream sundae and everyone was going on about this great and special new "Disney detail." The Disney spaghetti ice cream doesn't look as good as the ones I've had in Germany but it's a start!).

Your travel plans look great - I really like flying in and out of Heathrow, since airports where I don't speak the language makes me nervous. I just don't want to take that many risks with my travel arrangements!

My (pilot/airline enthusiast) boyfriend really like Virgin Atlantic - we do a lot of driving for vacations because there are SO many airlines he refuses to get on, so I guess it's a good company! And they're working on powering the planes with coconut oil, which is totally awesome.

Haha, I think we should make shirts that say Mayo + Fries Foreverrr. I would totally wear it, I'm not gonna lie.

I've never heard of the spaghetti ice cream thing, but I'm intrigued by the idea. I think I'm going to have to find it and eat it.

Flying in and out of a city speaking a foreign language actually wasn't as bad as I though it would be. When we flew in and out of Paris, basically everyone spoke English. No issues whatsoever.

I'm glad to hear that Virgin Atlantic gets a thumbs up. I have heard good things about it. That's very cool that they're working on powering planes with coconut oil. What a way to save fuel.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Oh my gosh, that is one ridiculous amount of traveling in one day. If I'd ever did the exact same thing, my family would have to carry me off the plane and onto the train. Well, maybe not, I'd probably be excited or something or other I know. Whatever you do when you go on a TWO WEEK VACATION TO EUROPE! Yeah, pretty exciting stuff there, but it seems you know what you got to do and after reading about what happened on your last trip you are prepared (Only packing half your Belgian chocolates, really?). Well, let's hope it doesn't happen again, either!

Can't wait to hear more about this trip!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Oh my gosh, that is one ridiculous amount of traveling in one day. If I'd ever did the exact same thing, my family would have to carry me off the plane and onto the train. Well, maybe not, I'd probably be excited or something or other I know. Whatever you do when you go on a TWO WEEK VACATION TO EUROPE! Yeah, pretty exciting stuff there, but it seems you know what you got to do and after reading about what happened on your last trip you are prepared (Only packing half your Belgian chocolates, really?). Well, let's hope it doesn't happen again, either!

Can't wait to hear more about this trip!

I am afraid that I am going to have to be wheeled at some time during our travel day.

I'm super excited about this. Contrary to popular belief, I may seem like I know what I'm doing, but I fake it pretty well.

 

[ZehnJahren]

That's awesome about the lower airfare cost - but for me, I need it even lower! Because, I'm cheap! I did see fares into London that weren't bad; but then I have to worry about hopping over to Frankfurt or Cologne. And then, if it's Frankfurt, there are more hours on the train.... and more cost for the train ride... etc. etc. I just want a cheap ticket RIGHT INTO COLOGNE - you know, it doesn't even have to be CHEAP, just affordable. Is that too much to ask?

Apparently so.

It's nice that you get the two nights in London, though; I passed through on my way to Germany and was petrified. When I was very young (three or so), I told my mom I was going to die in England so I didn't want to go there (she has no idea where I even learned about England!). And I remember being young and being certain I was going to "die in England" and being afraid, as this went on for about 10 years! So when my layover at Heathrow happened, I felt very odd, like I was laughing in the face of death. Even now - I'd love to go to London and check out a lot of the Tudor-era history, but I actually do worry a little about dying there! Go figure.

I agree with you that the foreign airports aren't bad. It's not like you necessarily have to chat with everyone, anyway. Even if you want to just go buy a water (and not that disgusting mineral fizzy water, yech), you just pick one out, hold it up to the cashier, they tell you the cost, and then you pay. No words needed.

 

[IheartDDuck]

That's awesome about the lower airfare cost - but for me, I need it even lower! Because, I'm cheap! I did see fares into London that weren't bad; but then I have to worry about hopping over to Frankfurt or Cologne. And then, if it's Frankfurt, there are more hours on the train.... and more cost for the train ride... etc. etc. I just want a cheap ticket RIGHT INTO COLOGNE - you know, it doesn't even have to be CHEAP, just affordable. Is that too much to ask?

Apparently so.

It's nice that you get the two nights in London, though; I passed through on my way to Germany and was petrified. When I was very young (three or so), I told my mom I was going to die in England so I didn't want to go there (she has no idea where I even learned about England!). And I remember being young and being certain I was going to "die in England" and being afraid, as this went on for about 10 years! So when my layover at Heathrow happened, I felt very odd, like I was laughing in the face of death. Even now - I'd love to go to London and check out a lot of the Tudor-era history, but I actually do worry a little about dying there! Go figure.

I agree with you that the foreign airports aren't bad. It's not like you necessarily have to chat with everyone, anyway. Even if you want to just go buy a water (and not that disgusting mineral fizzy water, yech), you just pick one out, hold it up to the cashier, they tell you the cost, and then you pay. No words needed.

Girl, trust me, I'm cheap too! This trip was a must go though, because we had promised our family and made our DLRP reservations, so we had to find any way possible to get there. These tickets are still about $200 more than each ticket was when we went to Paris in 2010.

Your "dying in England story" is funny! How strange that you would have a dream like that as a toddler. I could understand how it could be unsettling going forward.

I had no problem in Paris. You're right, you don't have to do much chatting, and I think most times, the customer facing people speak English really well.

 

[Dugette]

From one number-cruncher to another, good job on the travel day! Way to get more for your money. It may be a long day, but what better tribute to Disney than utilizing multiple modes of transportation. That train sounds pretty cool.

 

[IheartDDuck]

From one number-cruncher to another, good job on the travel day! Way to get more for your money. It may be a long day, but what better tribute to Disney than utilizing multiple modes of transportation. That train sounds pretty cool.

Haha, from one accountant to another, right?

I know. In one waking period (I can't call it a day, it's more like a period of time that I will be awake), I will have ridden in a plane, train, and an automobile. Yeah!

 

[Dugette]

Haha, from one accountant to another, right?

Exactly!

I know. In one waking period (I can't call it a day, it's more like a period of time that I will be awake), I will have ridden in a plane, train, and an automobile. Yeah!

That's pretty awesome! If only you could work a boat in there too!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Exactly!


That's pretty awesome! If only you could work a boat in there too!

I forgot about the boat! Dangit! Guess we're gonna have to take the hovercraft....

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

Maybe we should leave the hovercraft for next time . I don't know about you but I plan to go back again

 

[IheartDDuck]

Maybe we should leave the hovercraft for next time . I don't know about you but I plan to go back again

Well, I definitely plan on going back. I just don't know where. I mean, we've got Italy, Greece, Spain, so many other countries!

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

Well, I definitely plan on going back. I just don't know where. I mean, we've got Italy, Greece, Spain, so many other countries!

We will have to pick where we are going next time. YEAH

 

[IheartDDuck]

So our first two days of our trip will be spent at Disneyland Paris. We figured this would be the easiest for us. So we will be arriving in Belgium on Friday June 29th, only to turn around and drive to Paris on Saturday June 30th.

We're likely going to leave semi early on Saturday, just so we can make good time. The drive is supposed to be somewhere around 4 hours. We'll be staying for two nights and will be leaving to go back to Belgium on Monday July 2nd.

Our hotel for our two nights?

Disney's Hotel New York.

We really wanted to stay at the Disneyland Hotel, but we didn't have enough points left for the two nights. There's that big of a discrepancy between the hotels. That's okay. I just need a place to lay my head.

What do we want to accomplish? Um, everything! In 2010, when we were at the park, we got basically nothing done. Too long of a travel day and then with all of the touring of Paris we did, we just never had the time. But, here's what we did do (the list is short, bear with me).

We stayed at the Newport Bay hotel, where we had this view.

After checking in at the hotel, we headed into the park. Where we lasted a very short period of time due to severe jet lag, and the fact that we had been awake for about 24 hours once we hit our wall.

This is the Disneyland Hotel. So beautiful.

We saw the castle. This is my favorite Disney castle, because it's so fantastical.

They had an awesome It's a Small World entrance (no, we did not ride).

We went through Alice's Curious Labyrinth.

We also did Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain. Space Mountain is awesome because it's so different than all of the other ones.

That was our first day. We crashed so hard that we just had to give in.

We didn't go back until a few days later. We hit the Studios side. It was raining and crappy that day, but, got to ride the BEST RIDE EVER!

Crush's Coaster.

We waited for some time, but it was so worth it. It was so fun. It's like a mouse coaster (a la Primeval Whirl), but oh so much better. I am very much looking forward to this again.

That was pretty much all we did at Studios. Lame right? This is exactly the reason that I wanted to go back. Even though logic tells me that I know they're basically the same rides at in WDW, it's just not the same. Gotta do it all!

Of course, no trip to DLRP would be complete without visiting the dragon.

He lives under the castle. I love that!

The castle is also super pretty at night.

That was a pathetic first trip to DLRP, wasn't it? I was so overwhelmed by the fact that we had such a short time (6 days) to do France and Belgium that it was go go go to every location we had.

There's no sleeping in Europe. Unless of course you are stumbling around the Magic Kingdom like a drunk person, even though you haven't had a lick of alcohol. Then it's time to suck it up and go to sleep.

Up Next: Our plans for the Netherlands.

 

[Dugette]

Wow, love all the pictures of Disneyland Paris. I know almost nothing about it, so this is great to see. Crush's Coaster sounds like fun!

 

[marDgreen88]

Wow, both the castle and small world look spectacular! And Crush's coaster looks like so much fun. I can't blame you for not getting much done though, when jet lag hits, there's nothing you can do about it! You're just done hahaha. I hope yall get to do a lot more this time.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Wow, love all the pictures of Disneyland Paris. I know almost nothing about it, so this is great to see. Crush's Coaster sounds like fun!

Then you're in the right place, because I plan on taking pictures of EVERYTHING!!!!

Wow, both the castle and small world look spectacular! And Crush's coaster looks like so much fun. I can't blame you for not getting much done though, when jet lag hits, there's nothing you can do about it! You're just done hahaha. I hope yall get to do a lot more this time.

I love the castle there, because they said when they designed it, they had to take into consideration that in Europe, they have real castles, so they didn't want to design it after anything that was real. It had to be more fantasy-like.

We will get so much more done this time. All I need is a good nights sleep (which we'll get), and I'll be good. Oh, and time. I always need more time. 6 days was just too short to do so much. We're in much better shape this time with 15 days.

 

[teekathepony]

Oh I'm so in love with DLP! Their iasw has newer shinier dolls.
I remember staring at that castle forever and thinking how absolutely stunning it was. The grounds around it too. And discovering the dragon was my favourite.
Sometimes I think that little trips where you get not much done just makes you want to go back more -- and now you've got the chance! I bet this time will be amazing.