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[MrsPirate]

We got back from our first Christmas trip in the early hours of Thursday morning. We have only ever been in the summer and I was a little unsure if I would enjoy it as much with the weather being colder, shorter opening hours and no fireworks. However, we had an amazing time, the park was looking great and the decorations were better than I could have imagined.   :thumbs:

I am in the process of sorting out the photos and as soon as I have I shall start our trip report, but here is one to keep you going.

[Epcot_Boy]

I am in the process of sorting out the photos and as soon as I have I shall start our trip report, but here is one to keep you going.

Looking forward to it :thumbs:

[tink2012]

omg! sooo looking forward to seeing/reading your report! :-)

[Martin B]

Look forward to it!

[BadKid]

I can't wait to read it!

[MrsPirate]

I was going to start this trip report from our arrival at Disney, but for reasons which will become clear, I have started from home.

About us-

Mrs Pirate - Alison (5th visit)
Husband - Mel (5th visit)
DD 1 - Suki, age 6 (3rd visit)
DS1 - Ollie, age 3 (2nd visit)
DD2 - Issy, 13 months (1st visit)
My Mum - Kathy  (1st visit, has previously been to Disneyland Anaheim)

We went in July but the weather was so bad we lost a whole day so when a 30% offer came on we booked 3 nights/4 days at the Cheyenne then upgraded to Sequioa Lodge when the 40% offer came out.


Day 1 - Sunday 13th November

The alarm went off at 5am, it was cold and dark and I was more than a little reluctant to get of out of bed, but as soon as I realised it was 'Disney Day' I shot out of bed and woke the children who quickly dressed in their new Mickey tops. At 6am my parents arrived, (my Dad was going to drive my car) closely followed by our friend Mark (who was going to drive Mel's car). At 6.15am with the cases and pram loaded into one car and us in the other we set off for Haywards Heath station, a 45 minute drive away (because of engineering works on the Brighton line), where we had arranged to meet at 7am leaving us plenty of time to catch the 7.31am train to St Pancras, or so we thought ..............

At the station we waited for Mel and Mark to arrive, but when they hadn't shown up at 7.20am I was beginning to get a little worried. I tried calling Mel's mobile but it was off and I remembered we had decided not to take it with us as we wouldn't need it in France and I didn't know Mark's number. At 7.25am we took the children up to the platform to wait, the train was already there. I went out to the front of the station, it was now 7.28am, I was beginning to loose hope and was frantically formulating a backup plan. Then he arrived!!! I grabbed the pram he grabbed the cases and we ran for it. Out of the lift I shouted to my Mum to get the children on the train, we threw the cases and pram on just as I heard the beep beep beep and the train doors shut behind us. We had made it, but only just. The hour to St Pancras passed it a bit of a blur and by the time we arrived I was still shaking. It's was only once we boarded the Eurostar I began to calm down.

It turned out Mel's car had broken down, they tried to get it started but in the end left it on the side of the road and desperately rang round their friends to find someone willing and able to pick them up at silly o'clock on a Sunday morning.

The rest of our journey was thankfully uneventful and we arrived at Marne La Vallee on time. We were staying at Sequioa Lodge and as it was a beautiful sunny day we decided to walk to the hotel and show my mum the sights. This was our first stay at SL and I had emailed them a few weeks before to request refurbished rooms as we were celebrating my mum's 70th birthday. Check in was smooth and we were informed we had been given VIP breakfast which meant we could have breakfast anytime we liked between 7am and 10.30am. We were in the South Wing, rooms 3156 and 3158 which had connecting doors but unfortunately were not reburbished but we had a slight lake view a little obscured by trees, but as we had not paid for a lake view I couldn't really moan! Each room had a bottle of water, chocolate coins and a welcome note which was a really nice touch. Not something we have had in the other hotels so maybe for my mum's birthday?







We quickly unpacked and walked through the village which was looking good with the Christmas decorations up.



Walking through Fantasia Gardens we caught our first glimpse of the Disneyland Hotel where maybe one day we will stay, through the ticket gates, under that station and finally I was home. The Disney Dance Express was passing, the tree was up and the decorations were looking good. Christmas had come early!







We walked up Main Street to Fantasy Land, our first rides were Le Pays and Casey Jr as these were going to be closed for the rest of our visit, we picked up a fastpass for Peter Pan and headed to PoTC. The dog was missing from the jail scene which made the pirates look a little strange whistling and waving a bone at nothing but apart from that it was just as good as always. After using our fastpasses for Peter Pan it was time for tea at the Cowboy Cookout. It wasn't too busy and we had a great table, before we had a chance to get any food the characters had started to come out. There were Minnie, Mickey, Woody, Goofy, Pluto and Donald, Suki and Ollie were beyond excited. Issy wasn't that bothered, she doesn't like to be interupted when she is eating! It was only later I realised that Suki and Ollie had chocolate on their faces in almost every photo.









After filling up on as many sugary things as they could manage it was time to leave. Being in Frontierland I just had to go on my favourite ride, Phantom Manor. In July it was in desperate need of a refurb, and I was pleased to see most effects working. I love the atmposhere of the gardens with the music playing and always spend ages walking to the house.



By now it was dark and we walked back to Fantasy Land stopping for another go on PoTC, the childrens favourite ride of this trip, and for the first time saw the castle with it's Christmas lights. It was beautiful.





By now it was late and we decided to head back to the hotel, stopping for a Vin Chaud in the Village on the way back. The balloon and the village looked lovely across the lake.



We were so tired we were in bed by 9.30pm but unfortunately didn't sleep that well because of a loud whistling noise everytime the other rooms used their water. I really should have gone to reception to let them know, but I was just too tired and luckily enough it had been fixed by the next night. With the stress of the journey forgotten we had had a brilliant first day.

[Newbie]

Fantastic report, thank you, makes me so excited, 4 weeks to go!  /

Am interested to hear Cowboy Cookout was good, did you have to book?

[Epcot_Boy]

Well after a 'Not too great'  start it seems things perked up  It's amazing just how many reports I have read over the years where things have started with travel problems etc as soon as the reporters walk through those gates and see that castle 'All becomes well'
Thanks for sharing your trip with us =D>

[tink2012]

hi! your report of the 1st day is great! shame about travel stresses but it could have been alot worse! glad it all turned good in the end.. also you say it was you mum's birthday and you had emailed before you went ... who do you email for this sort of thing? im taking my mum, dad and partner for there xmas present as a surprise for new years eve and would love little extras like that!...
any info please let me know :-)
Looking forward to reading the rest!!!

[BadKid]

Your report of the first day is really good! The castle looks beautiful! I can't wait for Day 2!

[DutchBrit]

Great trip report!

I realise it's because of the new paint job and perhaps because of the coloured leds etc, but I think the castle looked prettier last year with a lot more lights: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10321

The snow kind of helped too!

[MrsPirate]

Thank you for your comments, hopefully I will get time to type day 2 in the next day or so.

@Newbie, I booked the Cowboy Cookout over the phone a few days before we went. I'm glad we did, it wasn't anywhere near full but people without bookings were being turned away.

@Epcot, it is so true, once we walked through those gates the worries of the morning just disappeared. The magic of Disney.

@Tink, I emailed Guest Communications who forwarded the email to the hotel. I'll dig out the email address and let you know what it is.

@Dutchbrit, those photos are amazing, but I'm in two minds as to which I prefer. My photo's don't do the castle justice, in real life it looks slightly more 'classy' with less lights, but then again I like the bling of lots of lights....

[tinks_1989]

Brilliant first day your photos are the best I have seen x

[MissDisneyisMagical]

come on mrs pirate im waiting for day 2 your 1st day was great to read im left waiting for the 2nd day! great pics

[MrsPirate]

Sorry it's taking so long, ill children and husband demanding my attention. I'm half way through writing day 2 so not much longer, promise xx