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[gemma2806]

After a brilliant nights sleep (bed was far more comfy than our own!!) we got up and sorted and headed out to breakfast again just after 8am. The queue was bad again this morning but got straight to the front and into the Hunters Grill again. We decided to finish off the Studios today as we knew that Saturdays could be busy and most of what was left to do was all on at set times.

We aimed to get to the park just after opening so that the crowd would have already surged through. This idea proved to be a great idea as we then spotted Goofy in Place des Freres Lumiere just waiting to meet and greet. We joined his very short queue and had some lovely pictures taken with him. We then headed straight for Cinemagique, Daniel loves this show and we just hoped that Jack would sit down for the full 30 mins. Surprisingly for a 2 year old he absolutely loved this especially the special effects of the rain and the sword coming through the screen. He kept asking how it could rain inside as there were no clouds!! We decided not to brave the Tower of Terror as the queue was quite long and we thought that Jack might be a little bit too young for this even though he met the height requirement. I wanted to go on the Studio Tram Tour but it was closed so we went to check times on Playhouse Disney Live On Stage but there was a wait, so we went to get a drink and had another wander around Toy Story Playland which meant yet another ride on Slinky Dog ZigZag Spin. We then walked back to Production Courtyard and Playhouse Disney. We got in but the room was very full so we ended up sitting on the floor at the edge of the room. I really enjoyed this show and Jack loved it, joining in with the songs and trying to catch the bubbles and leaves and ribbons. We didn't get any though being on the outside.  Fortunately just as we got out of this show, the showing for Stitch Live was just starting next door so we jumped straight into that queue.

Stitch is one of Jacks favourite characters but due to a number of factors he didn't get a lot out of this attraction. By this time the park was MEGA busy, I had never seen it so busy before ever! We were one of the last in the attraction and so were seated quite near the back which meant that Jack couldn't see the screen over the heads of all the other adults. We were also sat next to a gang of visiting youths who were only having fun but were speaking over Stitch every time he spoke and they were being very loud and vocal, speaking a mixture of English and French and my son seemed quite intimidated by this. In the end it all got too much for him and he just asked to leave but by this time the show had ended.

We then decided it was time for lunch and decided to try the Disney Blockbuster Cafe. We walked inside to find the place absolutely heaving and we just joined a queue to find some food. We waited a long time to get to a cashier but I expected this due to the volume of people. Daniel wanted to sit in the Pirates of the Caribbean section but there were no seats left at all so we settled for High School Musical, plus this was the only table we could see!! I personally didn't like the atmosphere in here or the decor, it reminded me too much of a school or hospital canteen but again that could have been due to how crowded it was. The food was very mediocre, I had a croque-monsieur which was far too sickly and the ham was inedible. Daniel had a sandwich which he said was ok and Jack had a sandwich which he left! The saving grace for me was their cheesecake with a berry coulis, this was delicious.

After lunch we walked through the Backlot area. We didn't ride Rock 'n' Roller Coaster as it isn't my cup of tea, Jack was far too young and Daniel didn't want to ride alone. We decided to miss the Moteurs Action Stunt Show due to the crowds and Armageddon appeared closed. We walked through the crowds and decided to watch the parade so we headed to Toon Studio to try and find a shady spot. We found a spot on the side by Art of Disney Animation and stood at the front under the shade of a tree. The parade was great and I loved seeing the Cars 'n' Stars, at this point Jack was beginning to flag and started to nod off in his buggy while the parade was passing. Just as it finished he went to sleep. Daniel and I decided to take some more pictures around the park and then due to the boiling heat and intense sun as well as the sheer volume of people we decided to call it a day. We stopped at the Disney Studio Store to collect the pictures we had taken with Goofy and then we left the park.

We headed back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta and decided we might try the pool if Jack woke up, unfortunately he didn't and carried on sleeping. We just stayed on the balcony having a relax waiting for Jack to wake up. Later in the afternoon we got changed ready for dinner and decided to head into Disneyland Park for a bit first hoping Jack would wake up but he slept on!

By this time it was after 5pm and a lot of people had left the park following the parade. It took us a while to walk against the crowd but we made it into the park and decided to explore Liberty Arcade. We watched the inauguration of the Statue of Liberty and looked at all the things on display. It was lovely to take the time to stop and look at all the detail, this really is a very pretty arcade. I've never noticed before as I'm usually just rushing through it. Anyway we took a lot of pictures and decided to get some more of the castle, it really is such a beautiful castle, it's much prettier than the one at Walt Disney World in Florida. Jack was still asleep the whole time and we had to make our way to dinner.

We had a table booked at 6:30pm at Cafe Mickey so we joined the queue outside and I had to wake Jack up at this point as his nap was getting ridiculous!! 15 mins later we made it through the doors and were seated upstairs next to the patio windows. We had a beautiful panoramic view across Lake Disney but unfortunately this was one of only 2 good points about this restaurant. We waited and waited to be given menus and finally we received these just before 7pm. We then waited an age for someone to come and take drinks orders. By this time the characters had started to circulate and they were brilliant, they were the 2nd good thing about this restaurant. Eventually we got our drinks and ordered our food by this time it was nearly 7:30 and so far there was no sign of food anywhere apart from the bread basket on our table which we demolished as we were really hungry. Eventually our food came but it wasn't our starter it was the main, our starter was then served with our main which we didn't complain about as it was a garlic bread order anyway. Jack had pizza which he ate half of, Daniel had the fish risotto which he said was quite nice and I had a carbonara which was disgusting and reminded me of something akin to a microwave ready meal. I was not impressed and couldn't eat it. We eventually got our plates cleared and ordered dessert. Jack ate his ice cream, Daniel didn't want anything and I had chocolate cake which was quite nice. All the time the characters circulated and they interacted brilliantly with Jack. Eventually we managed to get the attention of a waiter and asked for the bill. We eventually managed to get out of here just after 9pm!!!

My main complaint about this place was the atrocious level of service and overpriced food. There were lots of serving staff but no one could be bothered to do their job, they just stood around in groups talking and ignoring customers who kept having to get up from their tables to get their attention. The staff just had an expression on their faces that said I would rather be anywhere else but here!!

I started to worry at this point as I had pre booked 2 character breakfasts here but more on that later.

I wanted to go to World of Toys to see if I could find any ideas for birthday presents for Jack so Daniel took him to see the crocodile outside of the Rainforest Cafe while I shopped.

After this we decided to pop into the Hotel New York as I've always wanted to stay here but have never seen inside it and the plan was to have a drink in the New York City Bar. We had a wander around and I bought the 20 Years of Disney Dreams Book from the shop, this is the one souvenir I knew I had to get for myself on this trip. By this time it was getting late for Jack so we decided to go straight back to our hotel for a drink instead of the New York City bar. We walked back to the hotel and had one quick drink before bed. I got Jack back to the room and he was asleep again in no time, I think all the excitement over the last 2 days just caught up with him, that and the heat! So then Daniel and I did our usual routine and stayed on the balcony to watch the fireworks before we went to bed to. A slightly mixed day today.

[amanda08]

What a lovely detailed report! Am so very jealous of such a long stay. We are lucky enough to have been 10 times to DLP but even with 5 days each visit there are always things we don't quite get around to doing!  What dates were you here? - summer obviously judging by the temperatures!

[gemma2806]

Thanks Amanda, we were there from the 6th till the 18th September and the weather was wonderful to start with then we had a couple of rainy/drizzly days but overall it was lovely weather. I will get round to writing up day 4 as soon as I can as well!

[Rafael]

I am loving reading your report. Thanks for sharing.

[jeakat24]

What a shame about cafe Mickey.

It seems like you had a great time so far- can't wait for more

[gemma2806]

Thank you Rafael and jeakat24 for reading. It was a shame about Cafe Mickey but the character interaction was excellent so I'm hoping they were just having an off day!!