On 2nd March 2015, 26 excited both from both year 9 and 10 gathered together in the entrance hall of Belfast International Airport waiting to embark on their trip to Disneyland Paris!
Three even more excited teachers were there to greet them and their anxious parents; some of whom were in floods of tears as they waved their dear sons off – some of these were tears of joy mind you! Miss Deery and Miss Mc Keever led the trip with the help of Mr Rafferty.
After a quick and easy flight, we touched down at Charles de Gaulles airport in Paris. A joyful applause was heard from the ERC gang, as they got a shout out from the pilot of the plane. We arrived at our Disney-themed hotel at 9pm and the boys went off in their clicks to settle into their rooms. By midnight it was lights out and sleep time in preparation for the fun days ahead in the Disneyland parks.
The alarm calls rang at 7am bright and early each morning. Bleary eyed teenagers and teachers met at the dining hall to begin breakfast. It was truly as the saying goes “Breakfast like a King!”. We stuffed our faces with croissants, pain au chocolat, toast and more toast with lashings of Nutella, chocolate cereals..the list is endless..an absolute nightmare for anyone off chocolate for Lent; such as Miss Deery – who may have broken her Lent but keep it quiet!
We spent two exciting days exploring the fun filled Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios. Here the boys had the opportunity to meet all the Disney characters, watch the enchanting Disney Parade and fireworks display and test their bravery on some terrifying rides like Thunder Mountain, The Rocking Roller Coaster and The Tower of Terror just to name a few. At the end of each day the bus ride home was filled with stories on how the lads spent their day.
In the evenings the boys had time in the Disney Village to shop for souvenirs, play in the arcades and taste the local cuisine or in some cases the local McDonalds. The Rainforest café was home to monkeys, elephants and the odd lion roar which kept you company as you dined. With enough food to feed an army in each serving, we were definitely well fed! Other options were Planet Hollywood where you could dine with the stars; such as Rocky and Arnie!
The fourth and final day of the trip was spent touring the famous sites of Paris by coach with our personal Irish tour guide ‘Joe,’ providing an informative but funny overview of Paris history, architecture and famous buildings such as the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame and many more. We then made our way up the Eiffel Tower, the sun was shining and we were able to get a breath taking view of the whole city, some boys reaching the first and second floor and for others The Tower of Terror in Disneyland was clearly not enough of an adrenaline rush as they made their way right to the very top with Mr Rafferty. We had our photo taken at the bottom and sadly it was time to go. Back to the airport we went; and straight back to Micky D’s for our final feed in Paris!
Excited parents were there to greet us as we made our way through passport control back home in Belfast. Before handing the lads over to their delighted parents, Miss Deery gave her final words of praise and thanks to a wonderfully behaved, fantastic bunch of lads who made the trip such a great success!! We said our “Au Revoirs” and it was time to go home and hit the hay!
The trip was a major success and an experience the boys thoroughly enjoyed and will treasure forever, many are already asking if they can go again next year!!
Quotes from a few lads:
‘Paris was really good, we all had so much fun. We were allowed to go in our own groups which was great, my favourite rides were the Rocking Rollercoaster, it was so fast!! We had a meeting point and we met every two hours.’
(Daniel Toal 9GM)
‘I had lots of fun in Paris. I really liked the way we were allowed to go around Disneyland in our own groups. My favourite ride had to be the Tower of Terror, at the top of it we could see right across Disneyland, then all of a sudden we dropped, it was amazing. I was glad the year 10s came as I made some new friends. It was such good craic, I definitely would go back with the school.’
(Lee McCafferty 9GM)
‘The France trip was really good my favourite rides where the Tower of Terror and the Rocking Rollercoaster. It was good being able to go about the park with our friends. I really enjoyed going up the Eiffel Tower on the last day and the tour around Paris.’
(Scott Acheson 9GM)
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