Anemone
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 29, 2013
Finally getting time to write up my TR now that Christmas is over and Catherine has gone to stay with our Aunt in Dublin for a few days - I will join them on NYE after a few days back at work.
Day 1 - Thursday 18th December
So we flew out of Dublin at lunchtime and all went well with the flight and we were met at CDG by RS Transports. Transfer was fine and there was no queue at check-in when we arrived at Hotel New York.
We were in room 3226, a Plaza room in Midtown, and there were a few signs that the refurb is due, the main one being no number on the room door, just a blob of dry glue which used to hold it in place. So I finally worked out that 3226 had to be between 3224 and 3228 and our luggage arrived shortly after. Quick look around - non refurbished room and no pixie dust - put vouchers, passports and purse in safe, then back out to get to Park before Dreams.
We stopped at the hotel shop and got our photopass+ which we'd pre-booked for £33. The CM didn't know how to use the voucher to pay so had to call another person to help. Lovely walk through the Village, taking in all the Christmas decorations and soaking up the atmosphere. Into main park and just wowed by the decorations, they really are beautiful. No wait at City Hall and got Catherine's priority pass with no bother (we just take her blue badge) then as it was gone 6 and the park was closing at 7 we went straight up to the disabled area for Dreams.
There was space at the railing at the front so we waited there, chatting to the families on either side, then with about 20 minutes to go an English family arrived and pushed a child in on either side of Catherine's wheelchair. Which was fine until they started itching to be out - the kids didn't want to see Dreams, the parents did. There were threats galore of "I'll bring you back to the hotel right now if you don't stop fighting and stand still" but sadly it never happened. The kid on Catherine's right tried to climb over her feet to his brother at which point I raised my voice and told him not to. He walked round behind us so I moved the wheelchair a few inches right towards the other family on my right. That was when the father of the kids lit up a cigarette right behind us and I turned round and asked him to please not smoke beside my sister as she was only recently out of hospital with a lung infection. He wasn't pleased and when I said this is the disabled area, smoking is not allowed, he argued with me. At that point I saw a CM just behind him and asked him to come over which he did and he asked him to leave until he'd smoked his cigarette. The guy's wife then started saying loudly that I'd over-reacted and that he'd been leaving when I involved the CM and that there had been no call to do that which was a little uncomfortable but hey - Catherine didn't have to breathe the smoke - so mission accomplished.
Now on our previous trips Catherine has been a bit "meh" about Dreams, usually sleeping through it on the few times we've managed it. But this time she was totally wowed. She absolutely loved it and was dancing in her wheelchair all the way through. She said she really wanted to come back the next night to see it again. We bought her the light up Minnie Ears but she found them too uncomfortable and took them off. I wore them for a while and had to agree - they hurt - so in the bag they went. Waste of 20 Euro. I enjoyed it but it didn't grab me and wring me out emotionally in the way normal Dreams always has. It just wasn't as good.
We had a reservation at Cafe Mickey afterwards but there was a massive queue, even for reservations, so we went to EOS instead. I enjoyed my sandwich but Catherine's pasta was pretty awful - dry and clumpy. We did have 2 drink refills each.
Back to hotel and Catherine went straight to bed and to sleep. I did a bit of unpacking before I joined her. Both of us were asleep before 11pm.
Day 1 - Thursday 18th December
So we flew out of Dublin at lunchtime and all went well with the flight and we were met at CDG by RS Transports. Transfer was fine and there was no queue at check-in when we arrived at Hotel New York.
We were in room 3226, a Plaza room in Midtown, and there were a few signs that the refurb is due, the main one being no number on the room door, just a blob of dry glue which used to hold it in place. So I finally worked out that 3226 had to be between 3224 and 3228 and our luggage arrived shortly after. Quick look around - non refurbished room and no pixie dust - put vouchers, passports and purse in safe, then back out to get to Park before Dreams.
We stopped at the hotel shop and got our photopass+ which we'd pre-booked for £33. The CM didn't know how to use the voucher to pay so had to call another person to help. Lovely walk through the Village, taking in all the Christmas decorations and soaking up the atmosphere. Into main park and just wowed by the decorations, they really are beautiful. No wait at City Hall and got Catherine's priority pass with no bother (we just take her blue badge) then as it was gone 6 and the park was closing at 7 we went straight up to the disabled area for Dreams.
There was space at the railing at the front so we waited there, chatting to the families on either side, then with about 20 minutes to go an English family arrived and pushed a child in on either side of Catherine's wheelchair. Which was fine until they started itching to be out - the kids didn't want to see Dreams, the parents did. There were threats galore of "I'll bring you back to the hotel right now if you don't stop fighting and stand still" but sadly it never happened. The kid on Catherine's right tried to climb over her feet to his brother at which point I raised my voice and told him not to. He walked round behind us so I moved the wheelchair a few inches right towards the other family on my right. That was when the father of the kids lit up a cigarette right behind us and I turned round and asked him to please not smoke beside my sister as she was only recently out of hospital with a lung infection. He wasn't pleased and when I said this is the disabled area, smoking is not allowed, he argued with me. At that point I saw a CM just behind him and asked him to come over which he did and he asked him to leave until he'd smoked his cigarette. The guy's wife then started saying loudly that I'd over-reacted and that he'd been leaving when I involved the CM and that there had been no call to do that which was a little uncomfortable but hey - Catherine didn't have to breathe the smoke - so mission accomplished.
Now on our previous trips Catherine has been a bit "meh" about Dreams, usually sleeping through it on the few times we've managed it. But this time she was totally wowed. She absolutely loved it and was dancing in her wheelchair all the way through. She said she really wanted to come back the next night to see it again. We bought her the light up Minnie Ears but she found them too uncomfortable and took them off. I wore them for a while and had to agree - they hurt - so in the bag they went. Waste of 20 Euro. I enjoyed it but it didn't grab me and wring me out emotionally in the way normal Dreams always has. It just wasn't as good.
We had a reservation at Cafe Mickey afterwards but there was a massive queue, even for reservations, so we went to EOS instead. I enjoyed my sandwich but Catherine's pasta was pretty awful - dry and clumpy. We did have 2 drink refills each.
Back to hotel and Catherine went straight to bed and to sleep. I did a bit of unpacking before I joined her. Both of us were asleep before 11pm.