Paris Trip Report: Disneyland

Of all ten Disney theme parks I’ve visited so far, Disneyland Paris is the most gorgeous. The park is lush, rich in detail, and is expansive without feeling too big or losing its charm. I’d rank it as my third favorite park behind the original Disneyland in Anaheim and Tokyo DisneySea.

Random note – during the planning of this trip, I read reports online about rude cast members, maintenance problems, and issues with attractions/entertainment closures. I did notice more ride closures than usual (easily attributed to the off-season) and the parks aren’t as immaculate as their American counterparts but the cast members were nothing but friendly. Anyway.

We’re here!



Disneyland Hotel is situated above the entrance turnstiles to the park.



The park’s 20th anniversary was actually in 2012 but they were still celebrating while we visited in 2013.



You can walk down Main Street outdoors as you would normally do but as a compromise due to rainy weather, Main Street was also built with covered walkways known as arcades on either side. You can access all the stores with the advantage of shelter.

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Paris Trip Report: Walt Disney Studios Park

I pretty much spent most of January sick. UGGGHHHH. WHY?! I went to the doctor for antibiotics last week and I think I’m finally on the mend. Just in time for February.

Anyway, I think everyone knows I’m a huge Disney fan. πŸ™‚ Visiting each of the 5 Disney resorts across the globe is on my bucket list and so far I’ve made it to 3 of the 5 (Walt Disney World in 2011, Tokyo Disneyland in 2012 and Disneyland all the time). After our Mediterranean cruise last year, Rob & I flew to Paris and checked off Disneyland Paris. !!! WOOHOO.

We spent 2.5 days at the resort, which was the perfect amount of time. I really wanted to stay at the Disneyland Hotel since it’s located at the entrance to the park but it was ridiculously expensive. So we opted for Sequoia Lodge. It’s a charming hotel that’s inspired by American national parks and I loved it because it reminded me of the Wilderness Lodge, which is where we stayed at Walt Disney World. It made a great home base for us!



The hotel exterior.



We booked a Golden Forest Club room which entitled us to a continental breakfast in the mornings and snacks in the afternoon. Guests visit the Golden Forest Lounge for these perks.



You never know who you’ll see at breakfast!



We loved coming back from a day at parks and hanging out here with snacks and coffee or soda.



It’s an easy 10-15 minute walk from Sequoia Lodge through Disney Village (basically Downtown Disney) over to the entrance to the parks.

There are two theme parks within the Paris resort — Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios Park.

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Mediterranean Trip Report: Disney Magic

I started writing this entry way back during Thanksgiving weekend. ?!? Totally forgot about it in all the craziness of the holidays.

Oh! Before I forget – my blog celebrated it’s 12th birthday on 1/17! WOWOW. Awesomesauce.

So I’ve recapped all the ports we visited while on our Mediterranean cruise and now I thought I should share some thoughts and pics from the time we spent on the ship itself.

Neither Rob nor I had ever been on a cruise before and I have to admit we were a little apprehensive. I mean, what if we hated being stuck on the ship with no other options for food and/or activities? And the recent disasters on the Costa Concordia and the Carnival Triumph were fresh on my mind. But we figured a Mediterranean itinerary would be a good way to get our feet wet since we’d be spending more time on shore and using the ship primarily as a hotel.

We had no reason to worry, though — we had a GREAT time on the cruise! I’m pretty sure we’ll go on another one just as soon as I find an interesting itinerary. πŸ™‚ I’m also convinced that a cruise is a great vacation option for a family with young kids because accommodations and most food and beverages are included and there are tons of activities and kids clubs available on board to keep them busy.



The first sight of the Disney Magic was amazing — I got goose bumps! It’s such a beautiful ship! When our taxi driver asked us where we were going, he said “Mickey?” Haha. Then he even took a photo of the ship for his kids. Love it.

The entire security & check-in process was easy and we even lucked out and got an upgrade to a navigator’s veranda for only $340. Woohoo. When I completed our check in online, I got a port arrival time of 11am which put us in boarding group 4 but by the time we arrived and got through check-in, they were already on boarding group 25+. OOPS. Since we weren’t in a rush we got our picture taken with Minnie and then hopped in line to board.



When you get on the ship, they ask for your family name and announce you as you board. Such a fun, welcoming touch.

Random note since everyone seems to ask — I DEFINITELY felt seasick that first night after we set sail. Like an idiot, I had packed Bonine (motion sickness medicine) but forgot to take it the night before as recommended. The movement really got to me for a few hours making me feel really nauseous and just unbalanced somehow. It completely went away after a good night’s sleep (and a dose of Bonine!). Rob had no issues at all.

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thanks 2013!

Oh man. I can’t believe the holidays are over. AND that I haven’t written anything since BEFORE Thanksgiving. YIKES!

Rob, Diesel & I had a wonderful holiday season. I hope all of you did too! I want to finish up my blog series on our trip to the Mediterranean (and eventually our other 2013 trips) but before I do that, I thought I’d share some random moments from the last half of the year… basically another one of my photo dumps. πŸ™‚



To celebrate our 5th anniversary back in August, Rob & I had dinner at a favorite of ours — Napa Rose.



We ate at the Chef’s Counter once again, which I love because you get this great view of the kitchen…



It’s really such a fun experience.



To many more anniversaries!



We spent one day at the biannual D23 Expo. We wanted to see the Walt Disney Studios panel but only made it as far as the secondary viewing room (still fun to see live though). Outside of that, there really wasn’t enough to capture our attention for a full day. Not to mention that the lines for exhibits were pretty darn long. They definitely need more panels and activities to distribute the crowds better. BUT. The expo had two of the best photo opportunities!

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Mediterranean Trip Report: Amalfi Coast

It’s been a really busy few weeks. Immediately after getting back from Turks & Caicos at the end of October, I made two trips up to San Francisco for work. I seriously don’t know how frequent travelers do it. I was tired after three weeks of traveling. Then this past week I got sick with a cold and sore throat. Just what I needed.

And now here we are with the holidays upon us. YIKES! I feel so behind at life.

Ok, continuing on with my Mediterranean trip report. Today I’m covering our day along the Amalfi Coast.

Thursday, September 5

The port was Naples, which is another one with multiple destination options. Some people visit Naples itself, Pompeii, or Capri. Rob & I chose to visit the Amalfi Coast, specifically Positano and Sorrento. We seriously considered Pompeii but I knew it would be way too hot and we’d end up being too tired for that. The Amalfi Coast seemed more scenic and relaxing, which is what we needed at this point in the trip.

We decided to use Rome in Limo again and even went with two of the same people (a hilarious mother/daughter pair) from our Rome excursion. It ended up being just the four of us (we were originally scheduled to have a group of 8 but the others bailed) making it a really intimate day.

Our driver Giovanni picked us up at the port and right away I knew it would be a good day. He was hilarious! He had that really dry, subtle Italian humor. SO GREAT.



Almost immediately after we started our drive, Mount Vesuvius came into view on our left. But the more spectacular vantage point came once we got to the other side of the Gulf of Naples.



This is the view looking towards Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. The island of Capri is just beyond this peninsula.



The stretch of coastline on the southern side of the Sorrentine Peninsula is the region known as the Amalfi Coast. The roads are winding but the view is so beautiful you don’t even notice.

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Mediterranean Trip Report: Rome

Rob & I just got back from a week-long trip to the island of Providenciales (aka Provo) in the Turks & Caicos Islands along with my brother-in-law and his wife. It was HEAVENLY! I’m one of those people who gets a little stir crazy at the thought of spending hours and hours at the beach but that’s pretty much what we did each day. πŸ™‚ I’ll share some pics whenever I get around to downloading them from the camera.

In the meantime, let’s head back to the Mediterranean — this time to Rome!

Wednesday, September 4

Since we only had one day in port, we knew we wanted to go on a guided excursion to do and see as much as possible. It was my second time in Rome but Rob’s first so of course we wanted to hit the main tourist spots like the Colosseum, Vatican Museum, etc. Thanks to Cruise Critic, we not only discovered Rome in Limo but we also found a couple of other parties to share our tour costs. We had a small group of 8, an air-conditioned van, a driver (Nick) and a private guide for the Vatican Museum (Katarina). It was an awesome experience!

Nick picked us up promptly at 8am at Civitavecchia harbor and kept our van entertained the entire 45 minutes it took to get to central Rome.

Our first stop was the Pantheon.



Rob at the Fontana del Pantheon.



The exterior.



The Pantheon Dome with an opening to the sky.



So much to see inside — paintings, sculptures, the tomb of Raphael.



On the way to our next stop, we drove by the Piazza Colonna.

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Mediterranean Trip Report: Cinque Terre

I celebrated my 34th birthday last Friday. YIKES. It sure sounds old, hehe. I had a great weekend celebrating with good friends & family. πŸ™‚

Rob’s been playing a lot of Grand Theft Auto V lately (ie. monopolizing the TV) so I have time to write the next installment of this report…

Tuesday, September 3
The second port on our cruise was La Spezia, a city and province in northern Italy. At this port, most cruisers head to either Pisa or Florence. Pisa wasn’t that interesting to me (seems like there would be nothing to see there except the tower – please correct me if I’m wrong) and while I would LOVE to visit Florence (I’ve never been), the drive is 2+ hours each way, which I thought was way too long when you’re already dealing with limited port time. Hopefully we’ll be lucky enough to make it to Florence on a land trip someday.

In the end we decided to visit the Cinque Terre, which is a collection of 5 villages located along a rugged coastline of the Italian Riviera. Like Monaco, I originally thought we would explore on our own — I especially wanted to walk along Via Dell’Amore, which is an easy trail between Riomaggiore & Manarola, the first 2 villages, where there are supposed to be beautiful views. But after recent floods, that part of the trail has been closed. I kept checking to see if it opened before our trip but no luck.

The plan was to use the train or water taxis to visit a few of the villages but I got frustrated trying to figure out all the schedules so I finally decided to let Disney hold our hand again and I signed us up for the Cinque Terre Scenic Boat Tour, which was a half day trip — this would end up being the perfect amount of time since we had to rest up for Rome the next day.



The Disney Magic anchored at the port. I adored the ship. It just looks so stately. <3



We met our group bright and early at the Walt Disney Theatre then we were led on to our boat for the day. We found a seat at the top for the best views but also lots of sun and heat!



After leaving La Spezia, we sailed past a beautiful village named Porto Venere.

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Mediterranean Trip Report: Monaco

Happy October everyone! October is my favorite month because of… birthday reasons. Hehe. πŸ˜‰

Onwards with the trip report!

Monday, September 2

The first port of our Mediterranean cruise was Villefranche, which is a gorgeous village in the CΓ΄te d’Azur region of the French Riviera.

At each port, there are so many options and limited time, which is par for the course with a cruise (and is the biggest reason why overall I still prefer land vacations — though I definitely want to cruise again). In Villefranche, we were debating between Nice (to the west) and Monaco (to the east). We decided on the latter. Originally we planned to visit Monaco on our own by taking the train and then getting around to the various sites by a combination of walking or bus. But a few days before our trip, Rob’s foot started acting up (it flares up once in a while making it painful for him to walk on it a lot). So we changed our plans and decided to book an excursion through Disney Cruise LineMonaco, Monte Carlo & Eze. At least this way we’d have transportation everywhere and Rob could take it easy on his foot.



Our first look at the port of Villefranche!

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Mediterranean Trip Report: Barcelona

Hola! πŸ™‚

It’s been over a week since we got back from our Mediterranean adventure and life is back to normal. Wahhh wahhh.

I know my blog has evolved into a travelogue over the past few years and I’m not quite sure how that happened! I just don’t obsess over TV or fandom the same way I used to before (I reserve the right to take this back after a few more episodes of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD). I mean, I still watch huge amounts of TV (that won’t ever change) but I don’t really have a connection with the shows I watch anymore. Anyway, I guess my blog has never had a point. LOL. It’s just nice to have a place where I can write about whatever I want. And I enjoy looking back, reading old posts, and either laughing or cringing at myself. πŸ˜› I hope you’ll all continue to stick with me! Especially since writing these blog posts helps to keep me occupied until our next adventure…

So we had an AWESOME Mediterranean vacation — I didn’t want it to end (so cliche)! This was our itinerary β€”

8/28 Departure flight
8/29 Arrive in Barcelona
8/30 Barcelona
8/31 Cruise embarkation day
9/1 Day at Sea
9/2 Port in Villefranche (Monaco)
9/3 Port in La Spezia (Cinque Terre)
9/4 Port in Civitavecchia (Rome)
9/5 Port in Napes (Amalfi Coast)
9/6 Day at Sea
9/7 Debarkation day + Barcelona
9/8 Flight to Paris
9/9-9/10 Disneyland Paris Resort
9/11 Paris
9/12 Back home

It’s been 7 years since I was in Europe and I hope it won’t be that long until I get back again. I have dreams of visiting Greece and the Baltics. Ahhh, someday!

Thursday, August 29

Our first stop was Barcelona — neither of us have ever been to Spain so we were excited! Unfortunately, on our very first morning, we were targeted for petty theft IN OUR HOTEL, the Le Meridien, and even though everything turned out fine, I HOLD GRUDGES (plus, it was totally my fault). I’m actually still a bit miffed at the whole situation. I had done my research so I knew all the scams and thought I was prepared but unfortunately I was super jet lagged and I let my guard down because we were sitting in a lounge inside our hotel. While Rob was outside, one guy distracted me while another guy took Rob’s backpack from the chair right next to me. ARGH!!! The terrible thing was that I didn’t even notice. Luckily Rob spotted the guy walking out of the hotel with his backpack and got it back without a fight. PHEW. That could have been a disastrous start. After that, all I wanted to do was get into our room and sleep, which is exactly what we did the rest of that first day.

Before that mess, though, we walked along Las Ramblas to La Boqueria, which is a wonderful market filled with fresh meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables… basically anything and everything. It was AMAZING! Take a look…



We had a yummy lunch at one of the many tapas bars in the market and we also picked up juice, fruits and ham & cheese to snack on over the next few days. It was THE BEST.

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mediterranean adventure

Annnd we’re off again on our next adventure! To celebrate our recent 5th anniversary (wow!), Rob & I are heading to Barcelona this week to board a Mediterranean cruise (with stops in Italy & France) and then we’ll fly to Paris for a few days (Disneyland!).



Neither of us have ever been on a cruise before so I’m a little nervous we’ll hate it. But I figure that we’ll be in Europe so we won’t care anyway!

I’ll try to update my Twitter (username: CooKie01) and/or my Instagram feeds (username: cookiekel) when I find free internet access. Follow me! I’m excited to share our adventures with you. πŸ™‚