Disneyland Paris .... The journey so far

When I started writing up my blog about our Disneyland Paris trip, I had no idea how long it would take or the wonderful memories it would invoke as I wrote.  This has meant that so far, I have written 3 blogs and we have only just arrived at our hotel! 

Before we went, I was determined to make this trip as memorable for our children as possible, mainly due to the fact that I was not sure if we would ever be able to afford to go back.  This meant that I was, to put it bluntly, in a huge panic to make sure we did everything we could, that we did not miss out on anything, that we would not come home with regrets.

There was so much information out there and it was bamboozling.  I have many friends that have been and they all offered invaluable information.  With this in mind, I decided to put together a series of blogs, detailing each part of our holiday and it is supposed to ease some of your travel worries.

I have decided to put them all together in this blog so you can have easy access to each part.  I really hope you find all the information useful, if you have any questions, please direct them to me and I will do my best to answer.

Part One - The Planning Stage

Part Two - The Journey and Arrival

Part Three - Hotel Cheyenne

Disneyland Paris - Part Trois - Hotel Cheyenne

We were finally here! The taxi ride was approximately 30 minutes and we were dropped off right at the door.  You just pay the driver at drop off as you would a normal taxi, there is an option to pay by PayPal before you arrive if you wish to do so.

First impressions of Hotel Cheyenne were fabulous.  It is themed on a Wild West town and in true Disney style, there is a lot of attention to detail.

The check in process was very smooth, there were a lot of staff in attendance and they were all very friendly and happy to answer questions.  We were given a whole information pack containing park schedules, maps and meal passes.  We were asked what time we wanted breakfast and were given breakfast passes for that particular time.  Don't worry too much if you change your mind, we did and it was easily rectified.  A pretty good tip for breakfast is, avoid between 8am and 9 am if at all possible,  We did not the first morning and it was absolutely crazy, queues out the door and people everywhere! The Chuck Wagon restaurant is huge but at this time it was rammed, my advice is either get there before 8am or come back later around 10am.  Lovely and quiet and you can enjoy your breakfast at leisure.

Our room was not ready for us on arrival, but there is a large luggage area where you can leave all your belongings and come back for them later.  Easy process and saves you hanging about waiting for rooms.

Each hotel (apart from Disneyland Hotel) has a regular bus shuttle service, approximately every 10 - 15 minutes to take you straight to the parks.  However, as we discovered, the Cheyenne was only about a 15 minute walk along the river from the park, we tended to use this on the way home mainly to avoid big queues.  We never had a problem getting a bus, it is a good and reliable service.

All the rooms are in separate buildings named after famous Wild West legendary folk, our room was in the Doc Holliday building.  The children loved looking out for all the famous names and it made them curious to learn more about the Wild West.  It was a brilliant theme, the whole place was set out like a wild west town complete with saloon and police house.  Brilliant! We loved wandering through especially when it was quiet and I could almost hear Clint Eastwood whistling as we explored!

When we got into our room, it was fine.  It was clean and tidy and had everything that you need for your stay.  The Cheyenne is only rated a 2* but there was nothing wrong with it, perfectly adequate and we were more than happy with it.  The room was in-keeping with the Wild West theme and the children loved the bunk beds complete with Sheriff's star night lights.

With our package, breakfast was included.  The Cheyenne serves a continental buffet style breakfast every morning and it is really good.  There were plenty of cereals to choose from, along with the usual continental fayre of cheese, various meats and delicious fresh rolls and pastries.  There was also lots of fresh fruit and berries, yoghurts and a couple of big toasters for you to use.  Unlimited tea, coffee, hot chocolate and juice were available.

We also sampled the evening buffet here a couple of nights as to be perfectly honest, we were too tired to trek about.  Again, lovely food, lots of choice, loosely based Wild West themed food, chilli, corn on the cob, ribs, baked potatoes, but you had to get in quick as once they were gone, they were gone. I think that may be my only complaint, stocks weren't replenished as much as I thought they should be.  But there was lots of other choices and some delicious desserts.  You got 1 drink per person included per meal but there was lots of water coolers around with jugs so you could help yourself to iced water at all times.

In summary, the standard room we stayed in was fine, there was an option of upgrading but for the amount of time spent in the room we did not think it was worthwhile.  All the communal areas, reception, restaurant, hotel store, the town were magnificent.  We loved the theme completely - Yee Hah!

The Chuck Wagon Restaurant

This Town ain't big enough for the both of us ....

Elf on the Shelf - Is it time to start your tradition?

Last year I decided that that year would be the year to start our own Elf on the Shelf tradition.  The children, aged 5 and 2 were at the perfect age, I believe to start the magic.  The idea is that on 1st December, one of Santa's Elves comes from the North Pole to your home to keep an eye on the children and make sure they are behaving.  They do not move through the day but at night they leave and report back to Santa Claus advising how the children have been that day.  The elves are quite naughty and get up to lots of mischief but also bring treats, it is entirely up to you what your elf does, there are hundreds of websites and message boards dedicated to this tradition to help you with ideas.  Your Elf will then leave to return to the North Pole to Santa Claus.  I think it is a wonderful family tradition to start, why not make even more of the magic of Christmas whilst your children are young enough to believe.

I looked at the traditional Elf on the Shelf that you can buy but to be honest I found him a bit frightening! I wouldn't want that fella to be peeping down at me from my fireplace!  So I did research, a lot of research and I found the elf that I wanted.  She was a Gund Peppermint Elf that I bought from America.  I instantly fell in love with her as she looks just like a Christmas Elf should, well in my opinion.

I ordered her quite early as in the run up to December it is nigh on impossible to buy an Elf anyway, people have gone crazy!  She arrived mid October and I began researching what she would do.  As I previously said, there is a wealth of information on the internet with wild and wacky ideas for you.  There is also tons of fabulous websites which sell all kinds of paraphernalia which you can buy to make your experience exactly what you want it to be.  Sadly, last year, I found most of these sites far too late so I had to come up with my own.  This year, I have spotted an amazing site Merry Elfmas which I hope to use for all my supplies.  I really enjoyed making my own last year but it took absolutely hours as I am very particular and I just do not have the time this year,

So having all my ideas in my head and having found various websites with stationary I could print and adapt I set about my mammoth task.  I should note here, that in my madness, I also decided to do 2 other elves for my nephew and my godchildren so I had 3 lots of Elfness to sort out! 

On the official Elf on The Shelf website, you can register your Elf formally and there you can print out an adoption certificate complete with your Elf's name and family name, it looks wonderful.

There is even a website in which you can generate your Elf name on, honestly it is crazy what you can find if you have the time (and energy) Elf Name Generator

As you can see, ours is called Twinkle Teensienoggins, a little bit of an homage to the film Elf with Will Ferrell in, one of my all time favourite Christmas movies.

So we had a name and we have an adoption certificate, I just needed to decide how she would arrive.  Ikea to the rescue! They had red cardboard storage boxes on sale and they were perfect, the perfect size and colour so they definitely did the trick.  I sourced Christmas type fonts and designed a postage label for the front of the box.

I was very pleased with my handywork, I think it looks quite good.  I then set to work filling the box with all sorts of things, we had an elf passport, a poem explaining to the children why Twinkle was visiting us, letters from both Twinkle and Santa Claus and a fabulous hanging bauble which I bought from the wonderful Designs by Nikki.  I have bought tons of stuff off Nikki and it is always fabulous, brilliant service and such craftmanship, she was the perfect person to supply our bauble which hung above the fireplace until Twinkle left.

 

Bauble by Designs by Nikki

With the hard work all done, it was time to wait until 1st December for the grand arrival!  She was waiting in her box on the childrens table and she had brought with her two chocolate advent calenders.  The delight on my kids' faces when they met her for the first time was amazing, they absolutely loved her and they promised that they would be on their best behaviour whilst she was staying with us.

Whilst Twinkle was with us she had a fantastic stay, we had a North Pole breakfast, she stole some of the Christmas sweeties, hid in our Christmas Tree, took a nap in Eva's stocking and even a ride in Barbie's car.

 
 

 

Halfway through her stay, she brought us a Magic Key which I got from the amazing Dawn who has the most beautiful items at Poppy Loves Roses and Wellington Boots.  Have a pop over to her page and tell her I sent you, you will be amazed.  She also made me beautiful Santa Sacks which will be used every year.

Key by Dawn at Poppy Loves Roses and Wellington Boots

All too soon it was Christmas Eve and time for Twinkle to return.  She left behind a  Nice Certificate which came from Prints by Tommys Mammy, it even had their photograph on it to show that they definitely had been good.  Her work, is again amazing, nothing is too much of a problem and is always of a extremely high standard.  Again, I have purchased many things from Emily in the past for gifts etc.  Twinkle also left a goodbye letter telling Eva and Luca that she would be back next year.... if they were good throughout the year!

We all had amazing fun with Twinkle, the children loved her and hubby and I had a brilliant time thinking up mischief for her to get up to every night.

I hope I may have inspired you to join in with the Elf fun, let me know if you do!

Elf merchandise provided by

Poppy Loves Roses and Wellington Boots

Prints by Tommys Mammy

Designs by Nikki

Merry Elfmas

Magical Christmas at Castle Howard

A couple of years ago, it was recommended to me by a good friend that we pay a visit to Castle Howard near York at Christmastime.  We have been to Castle Howard numerous times, it is a wonderful place and the gardens are superb, we have enjoyed many a visit including taking our dogs which are allowed in the grounds which cover 1000 acres.

The first time we went my daughter at the time was 3 and Luca only 7 months and we booked up for An Audience with Father Christmas as soon as the tickets were released.  The Christmas celebrations at Castle Howard usually start the 3rd week in November and the Father Christmas audiences are on every weekend until the last weekend before Christmas.

We received our invitations through the post about a fortnight before we went and they were beautiful.  Each child got one personally addressed to them and it really added to the excitement.  You just need to book for the children in advance, adults pay standard admission on the door on the day.

As soon as we arrived there was a festive atmosphere, there were Christmas trees all lit up everywhere you looked and the courtyard was beautifully decorated.

We headed to the Grecian Hall to await Father Christmas.  Whilst we waited, Geoffrey the Lion was present to keep the kids occupied with plenty of hugs and high fives.

The whole event ran like clockwork, a well oiled machine! Bang on our allotted time we were shown through to the Grecian Room to take our seats.  There were smaller seats at the front of the room for the children and plenty of room at the back for us and all our paraphernalia.  

The Festive Wizard appears first to amaze the children with magic and after his show the children are called upon to summon Father Christmas.  We then heard the unmistakable sound of jingle bells and there he was, jolly old St Nick and what a gorgeous Father Christmas he was.

There followed a magical time full of stories and fun, with plenty of audience participation and the kids just loved it, he is an amazing Father Christmas, definitely one of the best I have seen (and I have seen many now!).  He kept the crowd, young and old, entertained and some of the children's answers to his questions were hilarious.  As if by magic, Father Christmas knows each childs name and age and all the gifts are age appropriate and of very high quality.  The Festive Wizard helps Sant by calling out the children's names and they come forward to collect their gift and a hug.  Afterwards there is plenty of time for photographs and a chat with Father Christmas but then he must be on his way back to his workshop.

 It was a lovely, cosy, old fashioned festive experience and I was actually moved to tears watching the delight on my children's and goddaughter's faces.

Entrance to the house is included in the price and there was trail for the children to follow which when they completed they were awarded with a chocolate treat.

We spent a wonderful few hours wandering around the house, the christmas decorations are amazing and each room is decorated in a different style, fabulous.  The show stopper has to be the Christmas tree in the Long Gallery complete with live festive music, absolutely beautiful.

You can enjoy some Christmas shopping in the various gift shops or in the Stable Courtyard, we got some yummy chocolate gifts for family members from there.  There is also the option of festive dining throughout the Castle.  It is the perfect place to spend a wonderful family festive day, you will not be disappointed.  The Audience with Father Christmas tickets are pretty much sold out for December but at the time of writing there was some availability in November.  

We have been twice in a row now, the photographs used are from both visits to show you as much as I can without spoiling the surprises.  I would not hesitate to go back and would definitely recommend a visit to see the decorations, it is worthwhile.

Christmas Time in Edinburgh

Since having babies, Christmas has been focused on them, this year, my best friends and I decided to treat ourselves and having been pre-kids we decided that Edinburgh would be the spot.  We booked the trains more or less as soon as the fares were published (you can register on the website for an email reminder when your travel dates are released).  We went for an early-ish train departing Newcastle Central Station at 07.45 and back on the 18:30 to get a good full day out.

After nearly missing the train! yikes! we finally settled down in our seats and cracked open the goodies.

https://www.edinburghschristmas.com/markets

Nice early arrival into Waverley meant that we got to sample the market before it properly opened and the hordes descended.  The only downside being that the mulled wine/cider etc was not being served yet.  The markets have been going for 20 years and start end of November then generally run through to the first weekend in January.  They are set up in the middle of Princes Street and they are all set up in gorgeous wooden cottage/huts.  So festive and beautifully decorated.  The first thing we noticed was the glorious food smells wafting about! mmmmm!! If you could bottle Christmas to sell as a perfume, this would be perfect. We had a good browse of all the stalls and Domonique also performed a bit of haggling to get us some lovely little snow globes for the girls.

It was the perfect time to have a look around as it was really quiet, by the time we had made our way through the whole market it was starting to get quite busy.  There were lots of stalls selling all sorts of goodies, wooden toys, christmas decorations, handmade bits and bobs and tons and tons of food stalls.  To be honest though, the stalls were generally repeated quite a lot so although there were many of them, they were selling a lot of the same stuff, not a problem though as it enabled a bit of price negotiation!!

We reached the end of the market and our thoughts turned to food!! We had previously been told about The Dome and that they served a delicious Afternoon Tea so that was us sold although we had some time to kill to popped into nearby Jenners to check out their Christmas Tree.  I am glad we did so, it was huge, pretty much floor to ceiling, absolutely gorgeous. We picked up a couple of tree decorations and then made our way to The Dome.

 http://www.thedomeedinburgh.com/

The outside of The Dome was breathtaking and there was even real snow to our amazement! Totally festive feel.  We arrived about 11.30 ish I think and there was already a queue, word has clearly got around.  Listening to people in the queue, it seems to be somewhat of a local tradition to have tea at The Dome at Christmas, one we were only to glad to join in on.  There was a doorman on the front to direct people (and to stop queue jumpers!) and he directed us in and up the stairs.  Once we got inside, all I can say is wow!! It was breathtaking! The decorations were just beautiful and the smell of cinnamon amazing!

 

The tea room was upstairs and after a short wait we were shown to our table and given menus. We already knew what we wanted, afternoon tea x 5!!! Well, actually as it was £25 for two people we ordered 6 and split the extra! greedy but it was Christmas!

                                       

The food was devine, the sandwiches gorgeous, the scones delicious and crumbly and the cakes, well, we ran out of room and our server kindly boxed them up for us to takeaway.  It was a truly festive experience in beautiful surroundings and we would not hesitate to visit again.

Now, any trip to Edinburgh would not be complete without popping into Harvey Nicks and we did just that. Had a wonder at the Jimmy Choo's in the shoe department and a giggle at the daft things in the Food department.

As the weather had now decided to take a turn for the worst, the only thing for it was to spend the reminder of our time perusing the various drinking establishments around Rose Street, what a delightful way to spend a rainy and windy afternoon with lovely friends.

We had a gorgeous fun filled festive time in Edinburgh and would highly recommend a visit.