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[Zee79]

Well here it is- sorry if too long but had a great time 

Trip Report New Year 2014/15- Hotel Cheyenne
Hi! After the last visit to Disney which resulted in me suffering from glandular fever I was hoping for a nice relaxing trip- well as relaxing as you can get in DLP. No illness, however, it was definitely an interesting trip!

Party
Started as a group of 7- 4adults, 3 children (11,8,8- not twins but cousins). Staying at the Hotel Cheyenne for 3 nights/4 days, the first time for my husband the rest of us have previously stayed here, with half board standard meal vouchers. We were a little worried about this trip because 2 weeks before Christmas my father injured his back whilst at work and it was touch n go if he would actually make it to Disney. He couldn't walk, I have never seen my father in so much pain. Luckily by Christmas day he was able to walk with a stick. Being a very proud man he point blankly refused  to use a wheelchair- a decision he regretted by the time we arrived back in England. Also we had just moved into a new house on the 22nd December and to say I was stressed was an understatement.

Monday 29th December 2014
Our usual routine is to set off early morning, drive to Peterborough Services, have a bite to eat then on to our hotel for the night. We decided to set off later this time because we didn't know if the hotel had anywhere to eat near it. Therefore our trip started at 1:15pm from the North East. This was the start of things not going to plan. We made our way down to Peterborough Services, usually a drive of about 3 hours- wrong, try 8 hours!!!!There was a crash just outside Grantham and we were caught in the tailback of it. It took us 4 1/2hours to travel 5 miles! not amused :-( My hubby rang the hotel to inform them we were going to be late and the were very helpful and said they would pass the message on to the night staff.  When we finally made to it to Peterborough some of the places where getting ready to close but we managed to grab a bite to eat (I'm glad I pack enough food and drink for in the car). We arrived at the Whitstable Travelodge around midnight and to say it was a welcome sight was an understatement- an 11 hour car journey compared to the normal 5 1/2hours. No unpacking, no messing just bed. I must say the stay was very comfortable and staff very friendly and had received the message.

Tuesday 30th December
We were all up for 5am to set off to catch the 7:20am Eurotunnel train. Again it went a little wrong. The stupid satnav didn't want to stick to the A2/A20 but decided to try to take us along country roads, I don't think it really knew where it was going never mind us so I resorted to the old fashioned method of following the road signs haha we got there earlier than it said we would have.

The journey once in France went extremely smoothly apart from patches of very thick fog. The only vehicles that seemed to have lights on were those with GB on the back yet no crazy driving like in the UK at times. We arrived at the Cheyenne around 12:30pm. At this point apprehension set in- was it going to be as busy as people had said? Would the Cheyenne be as manic as it was during the last visit at Christmas time? Driving to reception we noticed that the car parks were full! People had parked on the grass verges, not what we fancied doing in the brute of a car we were in. We headed towards the North car park, drove round it  a few times and finally found a lovely British family that were leaving and managed to get a space. The family had said not to expect to do any more than a max of 3 rides a day because it is sooooo busy. Anxiety levels started to increase at this point. We unloaded the car and made our way to Reception.

Upon arrival at reception we found it to be fairly quiet, not what we were expecting at all. Check in was quick, staff friendly and efficient,  we were asked if we had previously stayed and advised to book our meals due to it being New Year.- this however, wasn't quick, 20 minutes wait to take 5 minutes to book our meals. Queues were starting to build up here. Two families before us must have been booking every meal possible or maybe not as planned as we were. Even though it was the new year period we still had times slots between 6pm-10pm available to us- this was surprising. Our choices for our stay were:
Tuesday - Chuck Wagon Cafe    7pm slot
Wednesday - Agrabah (lunch) due to it being New Years Eve
Thursday - La Cantina  7pm slot
We didn't choose a New years Eve meal, didn't feel the prices were worth it in my opinion when the children and my mam would not have eaten most of what was on offer and it turned out a good choice in the end- I will explain this later.


After finding our rooms- Running Bear ground floor, we unpacked and set off to the parks stopping off for a bit of lunch in The Earl of Sandwich. I must say that their menus have improved a lot since our last visit, everyone was happy eating here today.
We looked in some shops in the village and then headed to the Studios. I love walking through the gates and seeing this part of the park all lit up with Christmas lights, it makes you feel so festive and is what I needed after the stressful few weeks I had had.
The first ride  in here was Cars, only 10 minute wait wow! even I went on! I don't do spinney rides. My hubby, eldest daughter and nephew then queued for Crush- 75 minutes wait on the board so we left them to this and went on The Flying Carpets, Slinky and had a look around the Ratatouille area. This looked so lovely in the evening light, very Parisian. You wouldn't think it was in an amusement park. 80 minutes had now past and we were still waiting for the 3 of them, in the cold bbrrr,  to come off the ride when my youngest daughter noticed the lights had come on in the ride, it had broken down- how unusual for Crush. They had made it to the front of the line and were told it was closed. We unfortunately had dinner reservations and they couldn't wait for it to reopen- EMH it would have to be.

This evening we had a meal in The Chuck Wagon Cafe. This was the first time for my hubby but not the rest of us. Calm, fairly quiet and orderly, nothing like when we visited before Christmas in 2011, that was a nightmare with pushing and shoving. There was a lovely variety of main meals but the food was just to say warm, this was going to be a re-occurring theme during our stay here. The dessert selection was not as good as I remember it to be. We had a drink in the bar area and then headed to the room for an 'early' night after the 2 long days we had had.

Wednesday 31st December- New Years Eve
Slept in this morning. Breakfast was for 7am but it turned into 7:45am. The queue was past reception doors- oh no! yet once we were inside the restaurant it was calm and fairly quiet- why the queue?  My hubby, eldest daughter and nephew went into the Studios early for EMH to get on Crush- guess what? It broke down again!!!! A cast member did though give them a return fast past type ticket after my hubby complained about it constantly breaking down and the time they queued for it the previous day. It left them wondering though if they would get to use it.

The rest of us didn't venture into the Studios this morning but went to the Magic kingdom. Considering it was New Years Eve, the park was not a full as I was expecting, yes the queues were long but no longer than when we have been in summer. As we entered the main park we agreed to head straight to Frontierland for BTM. Disappointment soon surfaced, BTM broke down as we were queuing. My youngest was devastated because the last time we visited DLP it was closed for refurbishment and it is the only fast ride she will go on- total opposite to my eldest the adrenaline junkie :-) We decided to head off to Phantom Manor. This was going to be a test for my father to see as to whether he would be able to go on any rides. He managed, he was quicker getting on it than my mother was haha but he was in pain. The cast member slowed the ride as he was getting out of the seat and another helped him off the moving floor. We headed back to BTM to see that it was still not open and this went on all day. Not good enough in my opinion, a peak time and repairs were slow.

Due to it being NYE we were unable to use our meal voucher this evening so instead used it for lunch in the Agrabah Cafe. If you fancy something different then this is the place, expensive today but nice. I loved making my own kebab and the kids loved the all-you-can-eat dessert buffet- sweets, sweets and more sweets. Marshmallow sticks, chocolate mouse, chocolate Santas to name but a few. I thought they were going to turn into a chocolate santa with the amount they ate haha. If your children don't like Moroccan etc type of food then it is expensive for them just eating the desserts.  I enjoyed the desserts that were like baklava, very sweet but very nice.

After lunch we headed into Fantasyland. Remember when I said earlier that I would explain why we were glad we didn't book a meal this evening? I will now explain. Our group as I said was originally a party of 7, my parents brought my nephew with us and left the rest of his family at home. Well so we thought. Whilst we were taking some pictures my mam received a phone call from my brother asking her where we were. A look of confusion appeared on her face. She replied fantasyland and he responded with "stay there, we will be a few minutes". They had drove all night from the UK, setting off at midnight with my nieces to surprise us. We were now a party of 11- 6 adults 5 children (11,8,8,3,3- the 3 year olds are twins). We couldn't believe it. We headed straight for Small World and thought it was lovely this time, all the festive dress but more so the fact that every doll was working. We waited to see the arrival of Elsa and Anna today and personally, what a waste of time. It lasted 2 minutes! I agree it was lovely for the children to see the princesses of the moment but not the length you wait for the parade to start to see them pass by in a carriage. Once the parade had ended we made our way through Main Street and left for the studios at 4pm where we would be seeing in the new year.

In the Studios we managed to go on a few rides and guess what? Crush? was a success! They finally got to ride it and without queuing, they didn't even go through the fast pass/single rider entrance, no idea where they went but the didn't care, they got on and that was all that mattered. If you hadn't booked a New Year's Eve meal then you only had one eating place to choose from in here and it was heaving! So bad that whilst we were finishing our meal off some people came over to our table, looked around our table and said to us "you finished, we need a seat" and gestured for us to leave! The children were still eating. Out of spite I wanted to sit for ages at the table, but I didn't, it wasn't fair on others.

Around 10:30pm we took our place for the evening, the children were getting a little bored because the majority of the rides were closed by 8pm so not really great when they advertise the parks are open until late but only if you want to drink or have a meal. We took a chair from outside of THTOT for my father to sit on because there was no way he could stand until midnight, it was painful enough for him to sit. The live entertainment was good, I got the kids up dancing to try and pass the time. It was cold but we have been colder. Champagne was on sale, a little expensive but my brother bought 4,   a hot chocolate was fine for me :-). As usual, by the time of the count down, late comers arrived and forced their way to the front spoiling the view for the many who had been there for ages. But hey, the fireworks are in the sky so there was no need to do what they did. When New Year struck the firework display in the Studios was amazing! it was to 'Let it go' and everyone loved it, the comments being made proved it. I did however only hear the song being sung in English, maybe the English are the only ones silly enough to sing it haha.
As soon as it was over the park emptied and a lot of people headed home, including us.
It was a fantastic night, my brother thoroughly enjoyed it because it was the first new year he had celebrated properly in about 10years due to being a pub manager- he is always on the wrong side of the bar ;-)


Thursday 1st January 2015- New Years Day
Very sleepy this morning, and very cold,  but still made it to the park for 9:30am. My hubby and eldest daughter even made it to the EMH! Determined or mad I do not know ;-). We headed to Frontierland to go on BTM, queued and guess what? It broke down AGAIN!! AARRGGGHHHHH! Four times the previous day and first thing this morning- NOT HAPPY!!! DLP really need to get more efficient repair crews. It was closed for an awful long time, we came back over 1 hour later and it was still closed. The fast pass system was working but we chose not to use it because we couldn't rely on the ride being open for the stated time. We wandered around Adventureland and Fanstasyland, waiting times were saying 30 minutes for most rides, not bad I thought and queues were going down fairly quickly. We attempted to go on Casey Junior but this broke down whilst we were queuing- I blamed my nephew, he was back luck haha. As we were coming out of the queue we noticed Sleeping Beauty was there for photos so queued for her, she left not long after we joined the queue but did stop for me as I took a picture whilst she was on her way out back. Snow White then took her place and the kids managed to get a picture taken with her and she was lovely. Elsa and Anna came out whilst people were queuing and Anna was great, smiling, waving but Elsa was so miserable and unfriendly. A lot of disappointed faces could be seen in the crowd that were waiting.  After this we queued for the Storybook ride and uh oh both my nephew and myself fell getting into the boat-it was so slippy on the revolving floor. A cast member asked if I was okay but nothing else.  I didn't realise how much damaged I had done to myself until I attempted to climb the stairs after the ride, I have the pain even now a fortnight later still in my hip ouch. I said it was an interesting trip.
We managed to watch the magical christmas parade, it was good, characters very interactive with the crowd but far too short compared to the calvacade other years. We left the park around 4:30pm, by now it was freezing. The Pause Gormaund vouchers really did come in a treat and well worth it but I think you should be given a little more choice for the snack- ice cream or donut is very limiting. As we passed through Main Street we caught the 'snow' as we went and made our way to the Village to do some shopping before heading to the Santa Fe for our evening meal. This we enjoyed but again the food was barely warm. After the meal we caught the bus back to the park and managed to see Magical Christmas Wishes tree lighting which was lovely, better than other years I personally think and then watched Christmas Dreams. Unfortunately my parents left before this started, the pain was too much for my father so they went back to the Red Garter for a night cap. The fireworks were great with the songs, Frozen brilliant  but I prefer the Summer Dreams.


Friday 2nd January
Awoke absolutely shattered this morning but we needed to pack the car with this being our last day , well morning, in the park. We had a quick breakfast, packed up the car and headed into the parks for the last time. First we headed into the Studios for the 3 thrill seekers to attempt to get on RC racer but unfortunately it was a 45 minute wait and this would seriously eat into our remaining time so off we headed to the main park. Again an attempt was made to go on BTM but yes you guessed it, broken down. 4 days of trying to ride and no luck, unbelievable. We headed for POTC and 4 of them had their last ride on here, I couldn't go on because of my hip so I sat with my parents and waited. We had lunch in Colonel Hathi, the garlic bread was gorgeous, and were entertained with music, they were great with the kids. After lunch we had our last shopping spree and bought cookies and muffins for the journey home, a must every time we visit,  and set off on our journey to the tunnel around 2:30pm. We were early but were not taking any chances on this journey. My brother had set off earlier that morning and faced 2 delays on the train so we thought it was best to go when we did. We arrived at the tunnel 2 1/2 hours earlier than our scheduled train. We got moved on to an earlier train however my brothers warning proved right, the tunnel was so busy and disorganised. We didn't actually leave until our original scheduled train time if we had caught that one it would have been a delay of over 1 hour. We arrived back in the UK 8:30pm and made our way back to the Whitstable Travelodge. Bought a bite eat from the service station next to the hotel and had an early night.

Saturday 3rd January
We had a lovely lie in this morning and awoke to sound of my eldest shouting 'it's my birthday'. She opened a few cards and then we set off back to the north east, stopping at Peterborough services for lunch. The drive back was horrendous, heavy rain and reduced visibility all the way until just after Grantham then brilliant sunshine. We arrived back home about 4pm. Our trip was  over :-(

We had a great time at DLP  and are definitely returning to celebrate New Year. Hoping it will be for a longer trip next time, money depending, if not the same length is just as good.

[SwipatronSparks]

looking forward to reading.... im going for next new years so it will be fin to read your experience =]

[Disneyprincesswannab]

We just got back-super time-what better way to see  a New Year in than with Frozen fireworks and Disney magic-sets you on a positive for the year. Only downside were the crowds and queues-four hours to meet Elsa and Anna-yes, we waited-and most rides 60 minutes plus with fast passes all gone within the first hour.

[Zee79]

Totally agree, we didn't queue for Anna & Elsa because of that because it would have taken half a day. The fireworks were fab totally agree, loved it!

[Zee79]

All complete

[Mrsya]

Thank you for posting. An interesting read. I bet you needed another holiday by the time you got back!

[Zee79]

Thank you for posting. An interesting read. I bet you needed another holiday by the time you got back!

I certainly did. Could not get up on a morning for a few days & it was straight back to school on the Monday. Been pricing up for next new year visit 

[Mrsya]

Something addictive they put in the water I think! 

[disneymadfamily2014]

Only just read your trip report but it was brilliant and has given me some insight into what to expect as we will be there 30 Dec to 2 Jan this year.  Thank you for sharing and I hope we have as much enjoyment as your family.

[Zee79]

Thank you Disneymadfamily2014, I hope you enjoy your trip. We've booked up for summer next year but have not ruled out the Christmas/New Year of that year, it is a toss up between that or a 25th celebration.