Paris Disneyland July 2022

DLP was my first ever park, I loved it so much, it sparked my Disney obsession. If this was your first park, or only park, you would love it. But my review is from someone who has been to most of the parks many times.

It’s small and charming, a lot of beautiful details. You can’t go to a Disney park and not have fun. It was lots of fun. But in a scale, it is arguably the worst Disney parks, no shade, it is what it is.

The food was terrible, especially for a GF ‘vegetarian’ (loosely, I strongly dislike most meat). It was fast food done badly. The quick service was awful, the restaurants weren’t that great, but the buffets had the most delicious vegetables, was missing them.

I love Disney merch, but there just wasn’t much, a lot of stock standard shopdisney stuff. Not a lot of park exclusives that you would want, a lot not in stock. I did get a beautiful Pride spirit jersey. But overall we barely bought anything.

The attitude of the park goers just wasn’t as pumped as I’m used to. I love people going all out in their ears and clothes, Disney bounding, just that community of Disney people. It wasn’t as friendly as the US parks. The cast members were all over it, was asked so many times where I got different accessories from, I love talking Disney anything with other Disney people. So that was nice!

There wasn’t much pin trading, mostly just on cast members lanyards.

Lots of malfunctioning attractions, going on several times in a row or in a few days, you really notice the difference. It’s wild.

Lion king show and Mickey the magician were must do, world class shows. So, so good. But you must be there an hour before, 30 mins with a disability pass.

If you want to meet a character they a rammed with people, you need to get there when it opens. If you have a disability pass you will be given a time to come back.

Fireworks and drone show was magical! Again you need to pick a spot 1-2 hours before. Maybe half hour before with the disability viewing area. We were there just ten minutes early, couldn’t stop going on Big Thunder Mountain (Marleys absolute favourite, she went on it 20 times! I went 19 ) and got a great spot. Don’t miss this!

We got our tax back with all receipts and passports at city hall or world of Disney, we had a letter to take to global blue at the airport, it took seconds and we got $80 back. Worth it!

Disability pass

Our stay was accommodated by this pass. It is so great that Disney has so many accommodations for Disabled people. It was wonderful, but I must add that even with accommodations, having a disability at Disney is still hard. We still had to work through transitions, people, crowds, food. It was a lot. So when I say that it was a perfect trip, it was as perfect as it gets for us.

You can enter at annual pass area or the disability entrance.

If you don’t have mobility issues it seems to alternate between disability and premier access for lines for attractions, you will need to feel that out at the time.

Character and parades still get there early/at the start of meets, you will be given a return time.

Extra magic hours, if you are staying onsite you should take advantage of the early hour that only hotel guests can go to the park, almost everything is a walk on.

Eats (from the perspective of people who enjoy vegetables, a vegan, a GF person) Fuente Del Orro - okay Videoplous - fast food done bad Casey corner - fine for hot dogs Starbucks - fine Vegan sandwich from WDS vegan cart - delicious Plaza gardens - amazing range of food and veggies, so good Annette’s breakfast -really good for 15e, we shared two between four of us Five guys - fast food done right Cape Cod buffet- another great choice of food, yum

I wouldn’t say don’t go, I would say to go early in your park experience, because it’s lovely. Just nowhere near as good in any way as the other Disney parks. You will have fun, it’s Disney, it is magical! But I won’t be going back…

 The hotel - Newport Bay
Despite this being a 4star hotel, it was a bit shambolic. I read the reviews, I knew what to expect, but it is very close to the parks and we like the aesthetic.
Luggage
There is no clear system for luggage/checking in. Usually at Disney resorts we just leave our luggage with the people at the drop off and they find their way to our room at check in. Not the case. We checked our luggage in outside, checked ourselves in inside, organised the disability pass, and went to the parks. at 3pm we got a text with our room number and went to grab the luggage, we are talking 3.5 weeks of travel for 4 people, a LOT of stuff. Mark asked if they take it to our room and the cast member fully turned up his nose at us and said no, then someone else said they could but we were put off, so we said no. and took our bags, no offer of a trolley. As we dragged those bags through check in, another cast member asked if we needed help, we were half way there by this point and just kept going.
Our room
On paper our room was lovely on paper, no fridge though. But we went to make a cup of tea and the cups had old tea/teabags in, Mark took them down to the front desk where they said thanks for letting us know, no sorry! Yikes. Definitely not the standard of customer service in the US or Asia parks.
The bed linen was stained, sheets and duvet cover. No top sheet so we were boiling hot through the night. No fresh towels over a 5 night stay, it was hot so we are talking morning and evening showers. No good.
Each person staying at the hotel gets 4 free hot drinks a day, on level 2 and 4, no one tells you about this but I uncovered it in my research. It was good, they are tiny cups, but the hot chocolate was yummy. Pool
Getting to the pool is convoluted, but once you get there it is a lovely big indoor space and a lovely outdoor space with lots of loungers, but no shade at all, so we only stayed an hour. They provide towels.

We have stayed at The Grand Californian in California, Aulani (three times) in Hawaii, The Toy Story Hotel in Shanghai, and Disney Explorers Lodge in Hong Kong (stayed off site in Tokyo) and we have never experienced the lack of professionalism displayed here. You can go, it is a great location, but for that price point, it is not good enough. Go with low expectations.

Paris July 2022

The first and most important thing you can do in Paris if you don't speak French is say Bonjour to everyone you see, in shops, any service industry, restaurant, just say it. Usually they will speak in English back to you, if they can. Only once I explained that I don't speak French and asked if they spoke English, we made it work. We didn't experience rudeness, but everyone is sloooooow, everything is sloooow. Don't be in a rush.

On arrival to Gare Du Nord everyone wanted to use the bathroom before getting a cab, the toilet was 1 euro each to use. We had no coins, the let us go for free. Almost every toilet in France had a price tag from 1-3 euros. It is a lot. Try and use the bathroom at any meals or coffees you can.

We grabbed a cab from from the train station, there were no cabs, we queued for an hour, it was wild. Much easier to get without luggage.

Hotel Des Deux Continents
Wonderful location everything is so walkable, family room is a two room suite which was lovely and unexpectedly, breakfast was included (I wouldn't have paid for this as it is quite light, but it was a wonderful addition, lovely staff), good shower pressure, we really enjoyed our time here.

Luxembourg Gardens
This was right around the corner from where we were staying, so after walking around the neighbourhood, we went for a look. It is magnificent. So much on offer, great use of the space, we loved it here. There is a pond in the middle where children hire sail boats (6e for 30 mins) and sail them around, it was so sweet, we had the best afternoon here, so much so that we came back on our final day to hang out in the park.

Centre Pompidou
This is worth just seeing from the outside for the architecture if yu have no interest in art. If you do, there is a lot of modern art to see here. We got to see our first Frida. Lots of Picasso and lots of other famous art from that time. We enjoyed our time here.

Les Halles
A Westfield mall, mostly underground. Was a good place to do some chain shopping.  Not special, not worth going to unless you need something that you can only get there. Lots of the usual chain stores you can find anywhere. We were killing time on a rainy day, might not have gone otherwise. 

Louvre - ThatMuse tour
We did the ThatMuse tour of The Louvre. It is good to have some structure in a space with over 70,000 works. It was also fun. We did the beauty and the beasts one, which did take you to see Mona Lisa, its hectic in there. 

Roger La Grenouille
This spot is small, make a booking. They are known for their traditional French food, so we went for the frogs legs. They were not for us, no disrespect. They did have the best Creme Brulee that I have ever had. Worth it just for that. 

Le Marais
This was my favourite part of Paris, it is just awesome. The vibe, the stores, the art, the people. It is a cruise around and see where you end up type of spot. Would have spent way longer there if we didn't have the kids. Very cool. Make sure you visit Le Gay Choc for some penis bread. This area is around the corner from Centre Le Pompidou.

Paris Prestige Transfer
We used them for our trip from the hotel to Disney and back to the airport. It is 80e for a big, clean car, with a professional driver, felt safe and looked after.

London June 2022

We stopped into Surrey for 4 days to start for some lovely time with the family.

We stayed at the Sandhurst Premier Inn, it was fine for what it was. They have a Beefeaters restaurant attached where we ate a great buffet every morning (kids eat free, so it was around $40 for the whole family!), and some decent dinners too.

We used London Heathrow cars for our car service and they were fine, but overcharged us on the quoted price. I was too tired to argue.

Going back to London we had realised that transport in this neck of the woods was useless so we booked with Woking Taxi and they were wonderful.

Airbnb in Fitzrovia
The location was spectacular, so much Soho, Carnaby Street, China Town, the High Sts, it was so very good.,

Honest Burger Oxford Street
I cant tell you how many times we ate here, it might have been 4, it was just around the corner from where we were staying, they catered for GF, and vegan, and both children liked it, so we stuck with it.

Wahaca Oxford St
The food here was so good, but the service was crap. Weird kids menu, which they didn't give us until we were having trouble ordering off the adults menu for the kids.

Five Guys Soho
Fast food done right, everything is delicious!!!

& Juliet
At the Shaftesbury Theatre, London
I don’t want to spoil this for my Australian friends as after we booked tickets, they announced an Australian tour.
This was BRILLIANT!
From the minute Juliet ( @miriamteak_lee ) started singing I had full body goosebumps. She was an absolute powerhouse, love, love, loved her! Wish I got to see her in Hamilton!
Mays (Alex Thomas-Smith) first solo had me in tears.
The aesthetic was so pleasing.
The story was interesting, funny and Queer! Marley said it was perfect that we saw it in Pride month.
It’s a jukebox musical so you will know the songs.
That’s all I’m saying.
Wherever you are GET TICKETS!

Harry Potter Warner Bros Studios Tour
 I know that giving money to JK Rowling is a terrible thing. We booked this in 2019, were given credit and rebooked twice since. While I did think that JK Rowling wasn’t a great human back then, it has become glaringly obvious since I originally booked the tickets that she’s a raging transphobe. It still makes me uncomfortable, but on the flip side, this event isn’t for me, my daughters special interest for years was Harry Potter, and I always promised her that I would take her. So we went. It doesn’t feel ethically good, but the smile on her face lit up the whole room (surprisingly Mace loved it too), so I’m going to quietly sit with my shit feelings about JK and let my kids live their Harry Potter fantasy…
 This was good, really good. They suggest leaving 4 hours for it, and by the time we got merch, it was just short of 4.5 hours, plus an hour or more (almost two is there is a National rail and tube strike) each way and it’s a pretty solid day. It’s worth it, I don’t want to say it, but it was very special, particularly if you have/had a Harry Potter obsession. So much to see, the food has catered for vegans and GF! We had a great day, but that will be the last of mine and JKs time together.

A day in Brighton (pebble beach) with Chloe and Rufus
We got the train, apparently if there are 4 of you, you can get a group saver or something, check at the ticket office.
We looked at shops, ate at  a fried vegan chicken shop 'Really Happy Chicken', and a treat at the Hello Kitty Cafe, hung out at the beach, where Mace swam! Really lovely day, I am glad we made it!

Kentish Town and Camden Town
We went to see our old neighbourhood and flat in K Town, then off to Camden for some shopping. Unfortunately it was raining and cold and we werent really prepared for that so we ate and drank in a coffee shop waiting for the worst of it to subside. The website says Camden market opens at  10am, but it is more like 11, didn't pay to be the early bird. I did get to see the Amy Winehouse statue, which made me happy. 

 Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre
Was very excited to see the London cast perform Hamilton. It was wonderful, except when it stopped 15 mins before the end of the first act with no explanation, we all thought it was done for the day, and then resumed!
Burr was amazing, smooth like butter, Eliza was also amazing! George Washington, The King, Phillip, Hercules Mulligan all gave such great performances. The kids now say this is their favourite King 😬
Alexander, Anjelica and Lafayette were understudies/stand ins and it showed. Alexander confused and forgot his lines 3 times in the first 20 minutes, not great, if you didn’t know every lyric, you may not have noticed, but that’s not me. I feel destined to never see the lead in the role. Anjelica just couldn’t hold the note, when she did, she missed syllables and enunciating the end of words, not great either.
We did love it though. I know I’m a harsh critic. Can’t wait to see it for our third time in Melbourne!

The Tower of London
Allow 3-5 hours for this. It was pretty wonderful, we were there 3 hours and didn't see it all. The first thing you need to do is check the crown jewels (queue gets wild later), then head to the Beefeater/Yeoman tour, its every half hour, free, and awesome. Really brought the Tower to life. Paid our respects to Anne Boleyn. Saw a lot of armour and weapons. Left satisfied, if I was on my own, I would have stayed longer.
If you have issues with stairs, there are a lot, wouldn't recommend if you have mobility issues.

The Southbank
One of my favourite places to walk. You can walk, boat or tube down to the other end - Houses of Parliament, walking is my favourite, but it is an hour longer than my kids had in them. So we took the tube. Had a ride on the golden carousel, checked it out, crossed at Big Ben and walked home because uber is useless in London. We later learned about Bolt, but it was very late.

Regents Park and Hyde Park
The city parks are just amazing, so much to offer. If you have time to check them out, they are great.

Strawberry Tours free Harry Potter walking tour
Colin was an awesome guide, thoroughly enjoyed the magic of London becoming the inspiration for Harry Potter. Brilliant tour, highly recommend! These are free tours so everyone can access them, we tipped 50 pounds because it was very good.

Most of the trip was catching up with loved ones, but I am glad we got to do some things too.

 Eurostar to Paris
Gates are opening 1.5 hours before departure and boarding is 20 mins before. This was way easier than flying, I cant believe I didn't use it when I lived here.

Gold Coast Easter 2022

 So late putting this together. We brought covid home with us, and then had the flu, so this is super late.

Our first trip out of state since September 2019. Surfers Paradise has really gone downhill post covid. The service is less, portion cost more (understand) for less food/worse quality. It was good to get a break, but it didn't really float any of our boats. I don't know if or when we will be back. It's usually where we go on the year we don't take the kids overseas.

Stayed at Chevron Renaissance, we love it there.

Vapiano
We used to love it here, but there is really no service left with the new way they are doing things. New QR code card only ordering, really hard to ask questions and order specific things, when we finally got a staff members attention she couldn't do it either, so we left a note under the ordering and the wrong thing came anyway. The complimentary bread I ordered didn't come, and Marks vegan pizza came about 30 minutes after we all finished our meal, I asked to speak with the manager and they didn't give a crap. There was no gf pasta available, except gnocchi. We usually visit a couple times a stay, but we won't be back.

Misono (Teppanyaki)

This was our first meal, and I wanted it to be special, to celebrate leaving Victoria. It was very special. Our chef was funny and talented, he made the kids feel really special too.  The food was beautiful, there was so much to eat! We all had the best time, face was hurting for smiling so much. 

SeaWorld
There have been some changes that we enjoyed (the jellyfish area!), we usually spend a half day here but we stayed all day. Lots to see and do, thrill rides and baby rides, neither appealed, but we still had the best time. This time it was our favourite park of the three. We spent ages patting the sting rays. The food was terrible, heaven forbid you are gluten free, I ate chips. We stayed at the splash area for ages, Mace loved it, the three of us just watched on the side.

We loved it so much we went back a second day, more splash pad, more sting rays, more chips.

 

Wet n wild
I read reviews on here post covid before I came, I’m glad as it lowered my expectations. Wet N Wild is usually my favourite day out in GC, it was awful. Calypso Beach (my main event) was closed, lots of things were closed, it is being run by kids who don't know what they are doing. The toilets were feral, the bin area stank. It was a disaster. 
We zipped over to movie world to confirm that we wouldn't need to travel back the next day, it also sucked. 
The thing is, these parks are charging full price for 50% of fun. To be honest (if you are Victorian), Gumbuya World is way better than this. If wet N wild is your driving force to get to the Gold Coast, don’t go. 

Sushi train
We love it here, still as good as ever. Lots of variety, the train is fun. Always a good evening out on every front.

 White Rhino
Vegan and gf menu is what sold me on this, the yummiest dinner I had on the trip. Service was a bit slow, but friendly and helpful, good food, big portions. 

 Alfons cafe

This place had amazing reviews. Big portions, good food, great service. Definitely worth walking to the island for a yummy breakfast.

 Brooklyn Depot
Standard burger fare, the burgers were really good, yummy sides and friendly service. We come here every time and it is still good.

There was one other place we went, but it was so bad and over priced, I don't feel comfortable giving such a scathing review.