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[AislingM]

Just home since yesterday , had a great trip as usual and as soon as I get my photos uploaded Il do my trip report. Had a few niggles with the Sequoia Lodge , but overall everything was perfect .  Part 1 coming sometime this evening!

[bad-pink-tink]

Hi AislingM

Im going to Sequoia Lodge at the end of March. looking forward to reading your report and seeing your photos  

[Epcot_Boy]

Well how about that, I was in the Sequoia at the same time...............look forward to your report  :thumbs:

[Rafael]

I am looking forward to reading your report.

[AislingM]

Epcot Boy We prob passed each other and didn't even know! We stayed in Big Sur Lodge, 7am every day for breakfast!

[Epcot_Boy]

Epcot Boy We prob passed each other and didn't even know! We stayed in Big Sur Lodge, 7am every day for breakfast!

7am :shock:   zzzzzzzzzzzzz :lol:   Far to early for me, breakky at 9am and in the park by 10am, that's early enough for me :lol:  

[AislingM]

Right I have my cup of tea beside me now so Il get started. This Disney trip was a little bit of a special one because it was my Dad who started the disney obsession way back in 1997 when Santa brought us to DLRP for a Christmas present staying for  4 nights in the Cheyenne and every year after that it became a tradition. As I grew up , my parents separated and once I had my own job I started bringing my mom every year and then my fiance. My Dad hadnt been in 5 years , and at the moment he is fighting cancer and is in the middle of his second cycle of intense chemo , so I decided this was the perfect way to cheer him up and give him a bit of a boost and something to look forward to.  

The beginning . .
                                                                                                                                   We flew to Paris on Saturday Feb 2nd and spent the weekend there seeing all the sights , and then finally it was Monday the 4th! We took the RER from Paris and typical due to my excitement , the train broke down on the way! We were stuck on it for an hour before we got moving again. I was a bit cross because we only had 2 days of EMH and this was one of them. We eventually got to Disney a little after 9am and went straight to the Sequoia. Our room was ready , so we headed straight to the Big Sur Lodge to leave off our bags. We were right beside the pool which would have been great if the pool was open. No welcome letter for me this time in the room , , first time in 3 visits    and no soaps or shower gels either :x  but I decided to worry about that later! The room was really nice and cosy and I loved the Bambi pictures and borders.  We walked straight along the rio grande to the park and made our first stop in the Market House Deli because we hadnt had breakfast and were starved. Munched a pain au chocolat and soaked up the atmosphere , and my Dad decided BTM should be first ride of the trip. Only a 10 min q and we were off! nothing like it to put a huge smile on your face!    We took our time walking around stopping at Phantom , Indy , Buzz , Star Tours and Space mountain before we went to Caseys Corner for a hot dog for lunch . Then we went over to WDS to for the afternoon , very excited beacuse my dad hadnt done TOT or TSP before. It was a bit busier over here , a load of teenagers in big groups so the " thrill" rides were long waits. We waited nearly an hour for TOT , but was worth it! Dad thought it was amazing and that ended up being the most done ride of the trip. What was really disappointing was rock n roller, the music is still off on it? Only once did we get any music. Does anyone know whats going on with it? It wasnt working in November either. It makes such a huge difference , almost a completely different ride.  A few people said it to the CM`s when we got off and they just shrugged their shoulders.  Anyways , we did all the rides there and even got away with only 20 mins for Crush , anf then went back to the park to wait for dreams. Aaaw I could watch that all day every day! Had a really good view this trip , just along side the castle stage . My dad was amazed by it , and we stayed to watch it every night , even in the pouring rain on wednesday. Just stunning.  That night we had dinner in the Hunters Grill in the SL.    
29.99 each for the buffet , and everything was lovely. So much choice and everything really hot and kept full. I thought it was the best buffet Ive had there , miles better than the Parkside Diner. So we stuffed ourselves and then went to the Redwood Bar where I had a Vin chaud for the amazing price of 3.99! I wouldnt get one in my local pub for that price! So very full and happy we got in to our lovely snuggly beds to wait for day 2!

DSCF3118 by aislingmckee, on Flickr

bed sequoia by aislingmckee, on Flickr

skull rock and boat by aislingmckee, on Flickr

beautiful castle by aislingmckee, on Flickr

Day 2 Tuesday 5th Feb

Breakfast in Beaver Creek Tavern at 7am. Very quiet around it was lovely. No EMH today so we went back to room and showered and got ready. On the way back from breakfast just happened to bump into Eyore!

me and eyore by aislingmckee, on Flickr

dad eyore by aislingmckee, on Flickr
Today we went straight to the studios to get on Crush and TOT without too long a queue. We also did Animagique and Cinemagique , it was so cold so we just wanted to warm up a little.  Back to the park for lunch at the Lucky Nugget , with a 7 piece band playing. We had the pork ribs with onion rings , yum! One thing I miss is character dining in the park , such a pity they got rid of it in the cowboy cookout , I do love my characters. Today we watched the parade from opposite pizzeria belle notte , and it was lovely as always. Didnt really get good pictures because the sun was too bright in my direction but Ive zillions of parade pictures at this stage.  Finished with Indy in the dark , ( my favourite way to do Indy!) and watched Dreams again , this time from just outside Adventureland. We had decided to go to Ludwigs for dinner but when we got there the waitress asked us to come back in 30 mins as they didint have a a table. Thought this was a bit weird because I could see loads of free tables , but anyway we went to the Sports Bar for a drink to wait. When we went back the queue to get in was long and moving really slowly and by this time it was nearly 9pm so we just went back to the hotel and had another buffet! And happily it was just as full and hot and yummy as the previous night and Im never going to be upset with all you can eat desserts!  When we got back to the room we still had no toiletries and the toilet paper hadnt been replaced  :evil:  Tried ringing housekeeping on the phone and got no answer so I wrote a note in french asking for them and left them on the sink for the next day. Not impressed Sequoia Lodge , not impressed!  But on a happier note , EMH tomorrow yay!

20 night by aislingmckee, on Flickr

us teacups by aislingmckee, on Flickr

us slinky by aislingmckee, on Flickr

Day 3 Wed Feb 6th

Tiny problem today when we went down for breakfast when I realised that the breakfast ticket said 9 am , but luckily nobody said anything and we were in the park for 8am! Few spins on Buzz and SM and then we spent a bit of time in Fantasyland doing Peter Pan and the maze etc.. all these rides were walk on`s really , the ones with constant queues all week were TOT , Indy and RNRC.  Then we went over to the studios and got a nice bit of character spotting done!

us minnie by aislingmckee, on Flickr

me mushu2 by aislingmckee, on Flickr

me mushu1 by aislingmckee, on Flickr

me gaston by aislingmckee, on Flickr

me evil queen by aislingmckee, on Flickr

dad evil queen by aislingmckee, on Flickr

Back over to the Park again and met Duffy in sailor suit. Love Duffy . he`s just so cute! Dad had said he wasnt getting into a picture with him beacuse he didnt know who he was but Duffy pulled him in anyway and made kissy sounds at him!

us duffy by aislingmckee, on Flickr

duffy hug by aislingmckee, on Flickr
 Did autopia and got caught in a traffic jam when a car broke down and a CM had to open up the back of it....

broken car1 by aislingmckee, on Flickr
 Really noticed the closure of Pirates and IASW , nice rides to relax and sit down in. Adventureland seems a little lost without pirates . . .

closed pirates by aislingmckee, on Flickr

Really nice afternoon just strolling around and a lasagne for lunch in pizzeria bella notte.  Just missed Peter Pan , he was being led away as we walked out! Gutted. That night I had booked Cafe Mickey for 7.30... I was apprehensive because of my disastrous visit in November ( in my last report) but I decided to give it one last chance. Cafe Mickey all is forgiven I love you again!  :thumbs:  We were seated outside in the canopy area and the waitress gave us a separated table on the inside again but I told her I wouldnt sit there after the last time so after a bit of grumbling she moved us to a proper table and we were greeted by the mouse himself! A good start and the food was lovely , and we didnt feel rushed this time at all. Tweedle dum knocked over a tray with his giant bottom at one stage and got a load of napkins and cleaned the mess up himself bless him! I even got up dancing with Gov John Ratcliffe! And my dad really got into the swing of it too , for all his grumbling about not wanting pictures with characters. Brilliant night and faith restored!

ustweedle2 by aislingmckee, on Flickr

metigger by aislingmckee, on Flickr

megoofy2 by aislingmckee, on Flickr

me mickey3 by aislingmckee, on Flickr

me evil dude by aislingmckee, on Flickr

me and smee by aislingmckee, on Flickr

dadmickey2 by aislingmckee, on Flickr

dad tigger by aislingmckee, on Flickr

dad evil dude by aislingmckee, on Flickr
Another hour relaxing in front of the amazing fire in the redwood bar and back to the room to see we finally had shower gel and soap ( and 1 roll of paper)! And then the last night in the super comfy bed.  

Day 4 Thurs Feb 7th

Last day , sob! First up was studios to queue for crush , then all the others except TOT which had a 40 min queue so we decided to skip it til later. Did Armaggedon for the first time in 10 years , because Dad wanted to , I remember why I havent  done it in so long , yawn! They really need to put something else in there. Headed back to the park at about half 11 because what I really wanted to do today was lunch in Walts. I went to City hall to book it and was told it wasnt possible , they were fully booked all that day. I was so disappointed , Ive always wanted to eat there. But then walking down main st I decided Id call in to Walts just in case. And guess what? I had no problem getting a table for 12.30! I dont know how that is, but lines must have been crossed somewhere. We did a few rides and came back for our reservation. oooh it was soooo good! Absolutely loved it , we sat in the Frontierland room.  The food was so beautiful and the waiters were so fancy and nice , just a fantastic experience , Im going to do it every trip from now on. Il post a few pics of the food just because it was so nice!

goats cheese walts by aislingmckee, on Flickr

cod walts by aislingmckee, on Flickr

creme brulee walts by aislingmckee, on Flickr

yum walts by aislingmckee, on Flickr

walts1 by aislingmckee, on Flickr

walts2 by aislingmckee, on Flickr

view from walts by aislingmckee, on Flickr

steak walts by aislingmckee, on Flickr

me outside walts by aislingmckee, on Flickr

So very full , ( a common feeling in Disney for me!) we took in our last few hours , and did a bit of shopping. Why is there no 20th anniversary souvenier hot drink mug? I got one with just mickie and minnie on it , nothing special to add to the collection. They only had that or duffy which I have, bit disappointing! And I was finally able to get a teddy of Boo from Monsters Inc! In a little Sully blanket!  Ended the park with BTM and then ran to the Studios to try our luck with TOT and lucky enough we only had a ten min q. I was trying to get a picture of us on the lift but the CM came over and very kindly took it for me!

us in tot by aislingmckee, on Flickr

And that was it!

bye disney by aislingmckee, on Flickr
Bye bye Disney! Thats definately my last trip now until honeymoon , and I have even longer to wait now beacuse Im not getting married til Jan 2014 . So all my money is being thrown out on deposits left right and centre haha! Interesting fact though , my reception wedding co-ordinator worked in DLRP for 5 years from the opening! So its becoming more and more disney themed by the day! A bit of destiny I think! We got the shuttle from SL to CDG at half 6 to catch our flight back to Dublin.  So all in all an amazing trip , was really special being there with my Dad and think it was badly needed for some cheering up!  Kind of let down with the housekeeping in SL but its such a warm comfy hotel that I wont hold it against it too much. A few problems in the parks , no sound in RNRC , some lighting problems in TOT , the railroad wasnt running and the queen of hearts in the maze was stuck down but all that aside it was fabulous! So upset its all over , but as my dad said " It just shows how happy you are here when your so sad to leave!"
Going to be glued to everyones trip reports on here now to get my fix!
Thanks for reading!

[gemma2806]

What a lovely trip report, you and your dad look like you had such a happy time.  I did find a 20th anniversary hot drinks mug that I had to purchase but I only found it on my last day in the World of Disney Store. I'm hoping that i'll be able to put some trip reports on later in the year providing all goes according to plan. I bet you can't wait for your wedding or more importantly your honeymoon to roll round!!

[BlackPearl]

Great trip report. I really enjoyed reading it!  

Good luck for your Dad and all the best for your wedding.

[ilovedisneylandparis]

Such a good trip report! Nice to see so many characters and lovely that you had such a good time with your dad, sounds like it was a much-needed escape for both of you! Thanks for sharing :')

[cinderslg]

Lovely tr and pics thanks for taking the time to share, you must be busy planning your wedding  
I would love to share disney with my parents......... maybe I can persuade them some day  
Hope you dads treatment goes well and you have a fab wedding  :thumbs:

[lynny]

What a nice report,sounded like you had a lot of fun......Your dad looks well in the pics considering and i couldnt think of a better place to be cheered up

[bad-pink-tink]

thank you for the report. I'm getting all excited now, seeing the photos. It looks like you had a brilliant time. My own Dad had cancer and passed away in 2011 so I know how special it is to make memories when you can. Disney is the perfect place to escape from the reality of cancer treatments. Sending pixie dust and fairy wishes to your Dad and family, that he has a successful outcome with the treatments  :minnie:  :mickey2:

[Epcot_Boy]

Lovely read AM, some beautiful photos

Also I'm sure all at the MF wish your Dad well :thumbs:

[AislingM]

Thanks for all the well wishes guys! Definately the best place to forget about cancer treatments , was really nice to be able to create some lovely new memories too , and it gives you such a boost of happiness that I cant help but think it must be doing your body some good!  Thanks again for all wishes , means alot!