The wanderings and ramblings from my March solo trip...

[cruisingteacher]

Alright I am finally starting to feel better so let's get this trip report started...



Day 0 (hotel the night before the flight) Sunday March 23, 2014

I woke up at 9:30 am, finished cleaning my kitchen and packing. Watched some CSI NY while waiting for 1:30 to hit, finally it did and then I grabbed my stuff and went downstairs to meet my driver who would be taking me to the Novotel Airport Hotel Cairo. A little over an hour later I arrived, which was great because in heavier traffic times this same ride can take up to 3 hours. Check in was really easy and I was led to my room.



A very nice room. I proceeded to relax and watch some tv.



I went down to the dinner buffet around 7:30 (after watching Prince of Persia) and came back up to get ready for bed. I would be waking up at 4:30 in the morning for my flight!!


next update flight and arrival day!

 

[cruisingteacher]

Day 1 - part 1 (travel and arrival) Monday March 24, 2014

Man 4:30 in the morning is rough! But I did it, got up and got ready and took the shuttle to the airport, checked in and waited for my flight. By 5:50 am I was at Starbucks eating a tuna sandwich!

Flight was full of turbulence and swaying, actually felt like I was on a ship at some point! But then we landed! and I was excited

I landed in the terminal right next to the one with VEA shuttles, so I grabbed my bag and went off to find them, skipping the money exchange place thinking I'd find another (this will come back to haunt me) due to a line up. Found the VEA shuttle place and found out I just missed a bus. So I grabbed a drink from a vending machine and waited.

About 20 minutes I boarded a bus with other eager people and families and this is where I encountered my first issue... VEA doesn't seem to be very logistical offering a base ticket that is good all day long, meaning you can arrive wait in line and still miss the bus... and wait 45 minutes for another bus. I feel it would make more sense to offer a booking period, say most people want a ride between 1 and 3 pm, maybe have more than one bus ready to go. But whatever. I was on the bus and it was off to the hotel!

First impressions, Hotel Santa Fe - eh.... the outside feels like a low end hotel/motel... maybe it's because I live in a desert, but the landscaping was boring. Especially after driving past the Sequoia Lodge and seeing it's rich landscaping. But the staff and check in process was great. And I had a room ready to go, so by 1:47 pm I was in my hotel room!







So at this point I decided to wander around, exchange some money and find food! I hadn't eaten since 6 am! So I tried to exchange money at the hotel, but I needed more than they were able to change so it was time to change my shoes and walk to the parks!

First what a gorgeous walking route! The trees, and flowers and river and ducks! Who doesn't love Disney ducks??!!





And it felt like in no time I was seeing this...



My first glimpse of The Village!

I was in love! But I would be back to explore later....

No one was at the money exchange booth there so I had to keep looking and head into Disneyland Park.... (continued in the next update)

 

[Charlotea]

Following along! Looks like nice weather.

Disney ducks are the best!

 

[ILOVEDLP]

Following along fab pics
My DH loved the grass carp in the lake they are huge though !?!

 

[kizzabel]

Fab start and beautiful pictures. Looking forward to reading more of your adventure xx

 

[cdsmiler81]

Following along! x

 

[dhidra]

Reading along too!

 

[cruisingteacher]

Following along! Looks like nice weather.

Disney ducks are the best!

Welcome and thanks for following along!! Disney ducks are just the best!

Following along fab pics
My DH loved the grass carp in the lake they are huge though !?!

Thanks! Those carp are huge! I spent some time watching them.

Fab start and beautiful pictures. Looking forward to reading more of your adventure xx

Thanks! thanks for reading!

Following along! x

Thanks for following!

Reading along too!

Thanks for reading along!

 

[cruisingteacher]

Day 1 Part two.... Let's get to the parks already!

So I was walking up to the parks and there it was...



What a glorious sight! So I entered and my first stop was City Hall to find out where the money exchange was. A very nice CM brought me over then I exchanged money and began exploring. It was now time to find some food as it was now 3 pm and again hadn't eaten since 6 am.

So I wandered around after taking pictures of the Frozen window Displays





So as I wandered... I saw this



And got closer



I never get tired of this beautiful castle....and I turned left and went to Frontierland



And instead of food I wandered into the line up of Phantom Manor (for the first time ever) as it said it only had a 15 minute wait...



I enjoyed this ride. (sadly never made it back to ride it again) I continued to wander and look for food.... many many places were closed. Then I found Hakuna Matata's open...but I chose not to eat here.

At this point I was going to go on Pirates but the desire for food was overwhelming so I turned into Fantasyland instead. I started my pin collection at Sir Mickey's (pics of my souvenirs will follow at the end of the TR) because there's always time for shopping. Then I found my way to Café Hyperion because it was open and I was hungry.

I opted for the Angus Burger with Fries a coke and brownie (no pics of this but pics of future meals will appear) the burger was not so good but was eaten anyways the fries were hot and fresh and the brownie I brought back to my hotel to eat later.

Then I wandered over to Star Traders (remember, there's always time for shopping) and started my vinylmation collection and chose to collect the Pirates of the Caribbean series. My first Vinyl was Captain Jack Sparrow! Score! I also picked up one of the Theme Park Favourites one that is white with blue arms and ears and covered in autographs. At this point I made my way out of the parks into the Village picked some Earl of Sandwich to eat later (BLT) and went back to my hotel exhausted!

After relaxing in my room for a bit and eating a later dinner



I then got ready for bed and was in it by 9 pm. Long day over, new day tomorrow.

 

[kizzabel]

Another great installment! Looking forward to more

 

[cruisingteacher]

Another great installment! Looking forward to more

And more is on it's way!

 

[cruisingteacher]

Day 2 - Tuesday March 25 - Part 1

Did someone say Extra Magic Hours?

So today I woke up ready to tackle the EMH. I stopped in for breakfast. And I have to say I enjoyed the spread, cold cuts, cheese, pain au chocolat (some of the best I've ever had super fresh), bread, rolls and other stuff I didn't have. I also enjoyed the Hot Chocolate and apple juice! (I don't really drink coffee)



Today was cold and wet and rainy. But I had some indoor plans anyways! So after my walk to the parks I stopped to photograph the Village a bit.









Then I made my way into a wet Disneyland Park





Then I walked into the castle to do the Sleeping Beauty walkthrough.



I won't bore you with all the pics from the walkthrough but I will share a few







Then I went to my favourite place.... The Dragon's Lair!!!







Then I rode on It's a Small World, love this ride! Then I sat in a chair under a covering while waiting for the rest of the park to open. Then a bird flew right at my head and I screamed.... Of course I need to back track, on the plane down I decided to watch Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" so frankly all of the birds I saw on this trip were kind of freaking me out a bit. So I found out it's definitely not an airplane film.

Once the rest of the park opened I went right on Pirates which is now officially my favourite ride! I also had a great moment where I remembered being on that ride 2 years ago with my friend and her freaking out on the drop. It was such a great memory on such a fun ride! After this I wandered through the Passage of Aladdin and then stopped for an iced tea and vanilla cupcake before moving on to my next adventure....




continued in the next update....

 

[cdsmiler81]

Love this! I would love to do a solo trip but I don't think DD or DH for that matter would ever forgive me! So I shall live it through you!

C x

 

[addverbaan]

Reading along and taking tips for my first ever solo trip this summer

 

[Ms Poppins]

Lovely! I love all your photos, looks so relaxed so far

 

[HFJohnson]

Following along. Great photos!

 

[cruisingteacher]

Hey everyone. I have not forgotten about my TR, just been having internet issues all week.

Will hopefully get an update done later today or tomorrow.

Thanks for reading! I will reply to individuals soon.

 

[cdsmiler81]

Hey everyone. I have not forgotten about my TR, just been having internet issues all week.

Will hopefully get an update done later today or tomorrow.

Thanks for reading! I will reply to individuals soon.

Looking forward to it!

C x

 

[RoseBug]

Lovely photos! How empty was the park during your EMH? WOW!

 

[cruisingteacher]

I have not forgotten about this...... things have just been really busy with end of the year school stuff.... I will finish this report before I go home at the end of June! Thanks to anyone who's still reading