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[RockNRoller]

Loving this trip report, loads of photo's, loads of detail and a great taster for whats in store when I visit in a week, thanks.

ps with the rest of you on the Spiderman gear, I grew up on Marvel (Dare I say here it was my first love before I knew Disney) but that is not the place for it, in DV maybe but not everywhere.

[never2old]

And here's the next chapter!

After a delicious (and huge) lunch at Agrabah Cafe, we decided to have a go at IASW Celebration- I was really looking forward to doing this again, normally it's one of my favourite rides, and I really loved the Christmas overlay last year. I wish they did this with more rides and other seasons (I still pray to get the Nigthmare Before Christmas overlay in Phantom Manor!), for people who visit frequently, it's really nice to have something a bit different!

Anyway... On our way we saw they had prepared a little meet 'n' greet point with Mickey, in the little elevated area behind the seats by the Castle stage... for VIPs only. My nieces hadn't seen Mickey yet so we stayed a bit while they waved, but no one was allowed to go up and see him...  When we were leaving we did see someone coming up and meeting Mickey follwed by a camera crew, but don't ask me who she was... I live in Luxembourg but my knowledge of French famous people is VERY limited!!



Just outside IASW (where there was quite a bit of a queue, by the way), we saw Suzie and Perla, heading towards Fantasia Gelati (yep, it was still raining... everyone was trying to find cover!!) They were practically alone so we went to meet them!





It was finally time for IASW...



As I said there was a bit of a queue (I think they were adverting 30 minutes), so I decided to try my easy access card! We headed straight for the exit, where there were a few people already waiting. And they were a few benches (totally soaked with the rain, but placing the coat right I could at least sit at the edge...) We waited maybe 10 minutes to do the ride, not too bad. The main problem was that every few minutes a VIP would arrive, accompanied by a CM, and they got a place in a boat straight away! I didn't care too much because at least I was sitting down, and our queue was still a lot shorter than the main one! And since we were still rested from the restaurant, even the girls didn't mind too much the wait.

You can even see the falling rain...












And out again!


I think it was even better than last years!! Really beautiful, very magical. Everyone really enjoyed that (particularly Maisie, my little niece, this was by far her favourite ride!!)

When we came out, the rain was constant, and the park seemed to be busier (Fantasyland looked quite crowded!) We had decided to avoid the park during the press events, fearing big crowds (never pleasant but even worse with the rain, and not much fun for kids!) So instead we went towards the Studios.





And dry again inside Studio 1!





After a quick look around, we headed straight to Animagique. Nice and dry in there... And still a great show. Donald particularly seemed in great form!

Meeting Sully!




We then decided to do the Flying Carpets... Of course, it turned out to be a pretty bad idea, seeing it was raining quite a bit!! But it was a ride for everyone, and there was no queue at all... I didn't particularly fancy the carpets so instead I headed to the platform from which you can take pictures...



I really like the lighting here, it really makes the ride look quite beautiful!!









When they came out, we were all starting to be really tired of the rain... Crush of course had a queue, and all the other rides that everyone could do were outside, under the rain!! Which probably explained the lack of queues everywhere... I would have liked to go to TSPL and see it by night, but with the rain it wasn't that tempting, plus I was feeling rather tired... And going back to DLP, with all the VIPs, didn't seem like a good idea (though if I had known that Rafa Nadal was out and about, I could have forced myself!!) Of course that meant that we also didn't see the beautiful show with Rapunzel  :cry:

So since we were going to have a full day the next day, and we were all cold and wet, we decided to head back to the hotel, and have dinner earlier (we had booked in the Steakhouse in DV for 9pm, but we managed to change it to .

Since we had gotten our keys earlier we could head straight into the room; as I mentioned earlier, we had been given one in the 7th floor (in the middle bit of the hotel): 7220



Our bags were there waiting for us, but the best surprise was behind the curtains: gorgeous lake view!!



Well, in theory at least    On a very dark night, with endless rain, maybe not so gorgeous...  Still, much much better than a parking view, and a really pleasant surprise!! This was definitely the best room we've had in the HNY.

We had time to have a rest, and I confess, after a nice hot shower and after lying down in the bed for a bit, getting out to go for dinner was really hard.... My bag was totally soaked (on the outside at least), I emptied it and left it to dry on a chair (this was the first time I noticed that there aren't any radiators in the room!!!) My coat was also dry on the inside (extremely wet on the outside), but it felt so cold when I put it on    Usually I'm totally against umbrellas in Disney, they can be a pain when it's crowded, and you don't have free hands to take lots of pictures, but with a weather like this, I decided to take my umbrella with me the next day!

At least it's not far from the hotel to the Steakhouse, and once there we had a delicious dinner! Service was a bit slow, which since we were tired (my sister in law and family had been up since 4 am, to drive down to Paris from the UK!!) was a bit annoying. But the food was wonderful! I had the kobe burger, really heavenly!!

Finally, it was bedtime! So we set our alarm for 6:45 (breakfast at 7!), and collapsed for the night...

Next update coming soon!!

[lauramumof3]

disney is very tiring! did you say you are pregnant? i was pregnant last time we went about 26 weeks ish and my other 2 were 5 and 2 at the time i just crashed out when we got back to the hotel!! now the" bump" is 20 months old and he still is very tiring!!!
really enjoying your trip reports btw xx

[never2old]

disney is very tiring! did you say you are pregnant? i was pregnant last time we went about 26 weeks ish and my other 2 were 5 and 2 at the time i just crashed out when we got back to the hotel!! now the" bump" is 20 months old and he still is very tiring!!!
really enjoying your trip reports btw xx

Yep, about 20 weeks now I did feel it, I have more energy than during the first trimester, but still... I was really exhausted by the end of the day!

[kelly.dylan]

Loving your trip report
We noticed there were no radiators in HNY after getting wet! In a way I am glad I booked the Cheyenne for our Christmas trip as they have heaters in the room and I'm sure we are going to get wet at some point during our trip

[Disney Daft Dad of 2]

Really good trip report and plenty of photos too. I head out in 3 weeks for what will be my 2 sons first ever visit to Disneyland, staying in Newport Bay for 6 nights. Cant wait to show them the Christmas magic and see their faces when the meet the characters. Just hope the weather stays dry or snows, I would prefer snow to rain.

[dagobert]

Thanks for the update.
Disney is really bad when it is raining. We bought the Disney raincoats, but they were of such a bad quality so that we took also an umbrella with us. I think it's more convinient to use an umbrella instead of Disney raincoats.

[never2old]

At least most of the rides and queues in DLP are protected from the rain... It's getting from one place to another than can be a problem!!

Anyway, here's part 1 for Sunday!!

The alarm went off a 6:45... on a Sunday, that hurts. When you're getting up early to enjoy EMH, not so much...  

And best of it all, no rain!! (no much light either... here's the view from our room at 6:50)


It was 7 on the dot when we got down for breakfast, and great surprise, so were the others!! We were really impressed, we've been in DLP with people with children before, and no one was ever on time... Particularly so early in the morning! But there they were, all awake and ready! I'll have to ask Alice how she does it...

We were practically alone for breakfast, in the Parkside Diner. As usual, it was wonderful: eggs, sausages, bacon, bread, fruit, cereals, pastries... Heaven. If only their coffee was a bit better....

After breakfast, the view from the room, at 7:50:


As you can see, although it was dry, it wasn't particularly sunny... Rather grey, and foggy, and very humid...




When we went back downstairs to meet everyone, ready to go to the park at 8am, we saw Pluto was at the photo location, all by himself!! So we had to stay and say hello...







And shortly after that, we were back in DLP!! Destination this morning: Peter Pan!

Since I couldn't really go on it, I told them to go ahead, so that I could take my time looking at the Christmas decorations... And take some pictures without rain! And without someone next to me impatiently looking at his watch and saying he wants to do Buzz...  :roll:  I only spent a few minutes, but they were wonderful, really. Park was quiet, and I could really take my time to see every window and admire every detail, it was so beautiful!! And I really liked the windows displays this year, with the lights and all, they feel really warm, and colourful!







That's me  




















Even Angel gets her snow globe!










I had just made it to the Castle, when it started to rain...


I thought I had taken my time, but when I got to Peter Pan, they had just gone in!! I knew that they also wanted to do Dumbo, so I waited for them there.





However by the time they came out, it was raining quite a bit... After the previous night's experience on the Flying Carpets, Dumbo didn't sound too good... So it was time for the Teacups instead!

Cris went in with his sister and nieces, and Gavin and I stayed out (well, Gavin went first to buy some raincoats for the girls...)





Continues soon!

[dagobert]

Maybe I'm the only one, but in my opinion the snowballs with the Santa Clause hat on top and the Disney statues inside looks really ugly.

Nevertheless another great update. It's always a pleasure to read your report!!

[Disney Daft Dad of 2]

Love the photo of you reflected in the christmas decorations. May have to steal that idea!

[gothprincess]

Lovin the trip report can't wait to read more.

[never2old]

Love the photo of you reflected in the christmas decorations. May have to steal that idea!

The others were already gone when I did that one, otherwise I would have liked to try to do a group picture with all of us in the reflection, it could have looked really good!!

And if you get blue skies, it looks even better... I took these last year (and I think I already got the idea from someone else...)







 

Sorry the next update is taking a bit long, having a couple of very busy days at work (and at home), so not much time to work on the report... I'll try this afternoon!

[never2old]

Next update!

So, little reminder, it's our second day in the parcs, Sunday, and we're in DLP during the EMH... And we just left the teacups, under the rain...

Belle's Christmas Village.. We'll be coming here later (it opens after 10)





To keep with our traditions, the one ride we never miss during EMH is Buzz... So Fantasyland done, we headed towards Discoveryland.

Of course we'd been on Buzz the day before, but the others hadn't... Plus we'd been going on about how much fun it is, so they were all quite excited about it!



It was fairly quiet, so we could do the ride several times in a row. Heaven.







After a few goes, Cris and Gavin decided to try Space Mountain (5 minutes wait there too), so they went by themselves while we the ladies had a last go on Buzz. And this time not only did I get a great gun (which was not always the case, really... maintenance could be a bit better...), but we also stopped right when I was in front of Zurg... So I managed to hit the hidden target there a couple of times. The result? My best score yet  



OK, it's not 999,999 (which my husband got yet again, by the way... it's a daily thing with him now  :evil: ), but still, I was pretty proud of myself!!

By now it was after 10, the whole park was open, and it was time to explore Frontierland!

Smoke!!


I think Frontierland looks best in autumn... (shame about the grey skies and the rain, though....)





First, we went towards BTM. My eldest niece had been a bit dissapointed at not being able to do Space Mountain (she was a little too short), so we thought BTM would cheer her up... Plus it's the most fun rollercoaster there is!

Our idea was to get fastpasses, but when we got there, the waiting time was 10 minutes!! So instead, they all went in, and I stayed out with Maisie (my little niece). While we waited for them, I had a chilli sandwich... Hot and delicious!



The others were soon out, big smiles on their faces (I was a little bit jealous... I love that ride!!), except maybe for Layla, my niece, who had thought it was a bit scary... Well, the bit in the tunnels anyway...

Next: Phantom Manor!





Again, no queue at all, and as soon as we got to the door, we were all let in  

Excellent ride, and everyone really enjoyed it! I don't think I'll ever get tired of this ride...

By now the rain had completely stopped  /  so we took some time to visit Boot Hill.





Fixed at last!








Continues soon!

[dagobert]

The last picture is great. The area around PM looks wonderful. It's one of my favorite places at DLRP. A great attraction with a great surroundinf area.

[never2old]

The last picture is great. The area around PM looks wonderful. It's one of my favorite places at DLRP. A great attraction with a great surroundinf area.

Yes, Frontierland (well, at least the Thunder Mesa bit) is my favourite area in the park, the theming is great, and around Phantom Manor it's simply perfect.

Next update!

Our plan was to do the Winter Wonderland show at 12:00; it was not on on Monday, and with lunch booked in Cafe Mickey, and the parades later that afternoon, 12:00 was really our only choice.

When we came out of Phantom Manor, it was 11:15... Or so we thought    (yep, you can see where this is going...) According to the iPhone app, the queue at POTC was only 5 minutes, so we thought, if we hurriedy a bit, we could do it before going to the Chaparral Theatre. So off to Adventureland we went.

Since Pirates is not recommended for pregnant women, I stayed out taking some pictures (although weather wasn't great, it was dry but very grey and dull) and doing some shopping, while the others all went in.







I was getting a nice Nightmare Before Christmas watch for my little brother (big Jack fan) in the shop when I looked at my watch again... And it was still 11:15  :shock:  With a horrible feeling in my stomach, I checked the time on my phone... 11:50  :shock:  :cry:  My ****** watch was stopped. I felt terrible!! By the time the others come out of the ride, there was no way we could make it to the show on time. Maybe the hormones didn't help, but I was on the edge of tears  :cry:  The others didn't mind too much (they didn't know the show anyway, and everyone was really enjoying all the rides), but I still felt like I let everyone down (including myself, I wanted to see the show again!!) By now my husband was almost laughing at me, when he had come out of POTC and had seen my face, he thought something terrible had happened :roll:  

So feeling terrible (me) and feeling just fine (everyone else), we decided to go towards Fantasyland. We knew Pinocchio and Snow White would both be closed on Monday, and since neither of them had any significant queues (about 5-10 minutes each), we went for it. Again I stayed out taking some pictures (dark rides are also not good for pregnant women).



First, Pinocchio. I wanted to have a look at clothes for the baby, so I waited for them in the Bottega di Geppeto;  we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, and most of the baby clothes were either blue or pink (a bit dissapointed, they used to have a collection in white cotton for newborns, with Bambi, that wasn't there anymore   ), so I got some Winnie the Pooh pyjamas (orange was the most neutral thing they had!). And for the first time I had a good look around the shop, it's full of little wood toys, beautiful!











And then, Snow White.







While I waited I went to the back of the Castle, where it overlooks the Castle stage; I could see Rapunzel and Flynn there, but I didn't really have enough time to get any closer. I thought we would have time later on to see them... (which by the way, we didn't....)

This was the light we had a 12:30... It looks like early evening...


We still had some time before lunch, so we decided to try Le Pays des Contes de Fees; and of course, to get there, you need to go to Belle's Village... Many of the shops were closed, and it was looking fairly quiet, but still, very Christmassy, and very pretty. I really like this!

Notice the rose in the sign?






I love the names of the shops... This one translates to "Christmas Cuddles"














Really cute little village. And if you can visit it when it's dark...  It's really beautiful, with all the lights. If only we could have something this pretty in WDS....

Once we got to Le Pays de Contes de Fees, Cris and Gavin decided they preferred something a bit faster; they checked the waiting times in Indiana Jones (5 minutes, thank you iPhone app), so we agreed to meet a bit later by the Castle to go to lunch, and we ladies stayed to do the Contes de Fees. And just before we sat in the boat, it started to rain... Not much, but still!!











To be honest, I think the ride would be better if it was a just a little bit slower... Some of the scenes are really beautiful and detailed, and you don't get enough time to admire them!!

Next: lunch at Cafe Mickey!