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I have been awaiting this report ever since your return and you do not let anyone down!  :mrgreen:  

Amazing report with great detail and funny stories and of course (almost most important in my opinion) magnificent photos.

I cannot wait to see the next part(s)  /

[Javey74]

Day 2 – DLRP In Daylight.. /  /  /

Weather: Heavy rain till 11.30am, then fair, quite cold.. :wink:

Well we got up for about 6.00am, all of us got freshened up, got ready and headed out of the room for breakfast at about 7.25am, by the time we got to the hotel reception heading to the 'La Cantina' it was about 7.40am, we decided to have a quick look in the hotel shop, then went on to hand our breakfast card in.  At first it didn't look too busy, but when we turned the corner to go down the corridor into 'La Cantina' we were immediately stopped by a long queue, by the time we got to the bottom of it, it was coming up to 8.00am.  :wink:

We began to realise what had been happening, the usher on the door asked us if it was our first time, we said no, so she let us go straight in.  That would explain why the queues were taking ages to go down, there must have been a lot of first timers, with lots of explanations of how the breakfast system works.  Saying that, we did learn something from it, since Vanessa thought back to when we handed our card in, she had spotted someone who had handed theirs in just before us and it read 8.00am, which told us they were letting people in before they should have, so we decided to try that trick the following day... :wink:

Anyway we had a lovely breakfast, even though is was pretty hectic, even to the point of finding a table. After breakfast we headed out, though we needed to go back to the room for something, I can't remember for what reason, but on the way out in the foyer section, we bumped into Goofy.  This was the first character photo opportunity.



On exiting the Santa Fe, it was raining heavy, we quickly headed back to the room, then from there headed over the Rio Grande again to get the bus at the Cheyenne, only to find a crowd waiting for it, there was no way we were going to get on the next bus, that was for sure.  So we decided to walk....Yes, in the rain to the parks. But we all had out waterproofs on, so is wasn't too bad..  :mrgreen:

By the time we got to the Disney Park, it was already quite busy.  We headed to Discoveryland again, but because of the rain we walked through Discovery Arcade to get there.  It was on exiting at the other end, we noticed a man sitting behind two tables put together, on them were Limited Edition Pin packs aswell as three filled Pin Trading bags, open to view.    We had a look at a few of them, when Jen spotted a one with the 7 Dwarfs on, she asked the man if he would trade, he said he would looking at Jen's lanyard.  Unfortunately he already had them, which to be honest was no shock, so we said never mind.  We were about to turn away when he said "I'll tell you what, you can have it since it's raining".    Awwhh what a really nice man to do that, even more so when I closely looked at the back of it, as it was stamped with 'Cast Member Only Pin' 2006/2007, so she was extra lucky to get it in my opinion..  :wink:  

Well we headed into...



...Discoveryland, Jen wanted to go on...



...Obitron, which is one of her favourite rides actually, the queue by now was quite long, but we decided to wait in it all the same. Afterwards because of the rain, we decided to head over to the Studios..    Don't let the blue skies fool you, the last two shots were taken on another day, I've used them soley for story continuity..  :lol: :mrgreen:

Just after entering the Front Lot, Mickey was standing by his black limousine, so Jen waited in the queue to see him, get her book autographed and photo..  :wink:



We progressed through Studio 1...











....Into a scene that was not there in October 2007, it was the Hollywood Boulevard, with my first glimpse of the completed TOT.  





Well I'd made my mind up that I was going on it, though Vanessa and Jen weren't, so I was on my own with this one.  The queue was fairly long so I decided to get a fast pass and return for 2.10pm.  We all headed over to Toon Studio, just to see who was out in the photo locations, guess what, your question has been answered Aveen, it was...



...Donald.  I speedily headed over and waited in the queue with Jen whilst Vanessa got the job of taking the photo with the new Camera, which she did not know how to really use.  :lol:  :lol:  Now this shot below wasn't bad, even though the time it took Vanessa to get the second shot, I was already looking at the professional photographers camera lense, if I'd only kept the first attempt, it looked as though I'd been struck in the back with a plastic bullet, though this one has the rudolph effect, you can see how cold my nose was.  :lol:  :lol:  :mrgreen:  

After the Donald meet and greet, we joined the queue next door to meet...



... Emile.  I Love the backstage sign between the two photo sets..  :lol:  :lol:  :mrgreen:



We then headed over to the...



...flying carpets, the queue wasn't too bad for this one. We then moved over to the Cars Rally, now that is one ride that I don't do, since I cannot bear waltzer type rides, I get away with it for crush, soley because it moves forward on a track aswell, so Vanessa and Jen went on their own.  :mrgreen:

Jen got a bit upset here since when it got to their turn in the queue they rushed to a car, Vanessa got in the back and Jen in the front, only to be asked to move to another car and sit together, the reasoning was that they needed to fill the cars with at least 3 passengers together.  The other people in the front of the car they had moved to asked what was wrong, noticing Jen crying, Vanessa said that she wanted to be in the front not the back, never mind, once the spinning started she was loving it anyway.  I did manage to get this shot before they moved cars..



After Cars we headed around near Animagique, it was at this point we come across some characters, Abu, which was a first for Jen.. :mrgreen:



Then Rafiki.. :wink:



Meeko.. :wink:



Tigger.. :wink:



Finally, Friar Tuck.. :wink:



She tried for Timon, but he started to head backstage with a CM, just as we were waiting to get that camera shot.  Now we knew that the 'Toon Train' was ready to start shortly, so we quickly headed past Studio 1 towards 'Place de la Stars' and sure enough here came the Toon Train.  



The first scene was with Chip & Dale.  :wink:



The second scene was with Lilo and Stitch.  :wink:



The third scene was with Clarice.  :wink:



What we didn't know was that the train stopped and the CMs ask you to queue in a straight line to get your photo's at each scene.  It was like a supermarket moving from one queue into another, with the train only being stationary for about 15 minutes we got Chip and Dale first.  :wink:  Vanessa made sure of that..  :mrgreen:



Then Clarice, since the queue was shorter.  :mrgreen:



Then finally Lilo and Stitch :mrgreen:



Well by now, my fastpass time was approaching for TOT, so we all headed over just to check the queues out.  I asked one of the bellhops what the time was like for the fastpass queue and he said about 10 minutes.  I arranged with Vanessa and Jen to meet them outside of 'The Art of Animation' in about half an hour.  I gave Vanessa the camera, since they said they were going in search of more characters.  :mrgreen:

Now I'd be lying if I said I wasn't apprehensive about this attraction, since the last time I was here it was still on being built.  I read so much about it since then, but it still played on my mind about the sheer drops, which as you all know are faster than gravity can allow you to fall.  But at the same time I had another thought that if I didn't go on it, I would never forgive myself.  :shock:  :shock:

I proceeded to pass through the foyer part whilst still in the queue, continued on into the library to watch the events on the TV unfold, then it was off into the boiler room, I must admit, this room was really well designed and seemed massive, all decorated with rust, cobwebs and old tools, flickering lighting with an orange glow coming from the furnace.  My time was nigh, I was given the number 6, so when I entered the grouping zone I ended up on the front square at the left hand side.  I was left listening to the creepy squeaking sounds eminating from behind the old service elevator doors.  :twisted:

The doors opened, out walked another bellhop and started reeling off the numbers to enter the lift seating area, she said 3 and 4 first, then 2 and 5, with my group last to enter.  I ended up on the front right in the seating area.  Now I'm not really sure what I was expecting next, other than listening to the bellhop talking about holding onto your belongings and glasses, oh yes, and checking the all important seatbelt fastenings.  The last thing she said was: "see you at the bottom, if you're still alive".  The next thing I knew was the doors closing and the whole seating area beginning to shake, the lift started moving backwards, then upwards to the first floor scene, dropping you a little afterwards, then up to the next floor scene, again dropping you further this time, with a nice bouncy landing.  All I remember after that was the lift shooting upward very fast, the doors opening, more shaking, the next feeling is something I've never ever felt in my life, the sheer weightlessness sensation, with added pressure on the tops of my legs, with only the fastenings holding me down, as my bottom was definitely not on the seat.  :shock:  :shock: Just as I got my breath back it was away up again, another view through the doors, another drop, I thought that was it over, how wrong I was.  :shock:    The lift shot up again and seemed to take a lot longer, when the doors opened this time, Studio 1 was well below, I thought OMG, since I knew what was about to come.  Have you ever thought what it must be like to chew on your own intestines, well I was very near to experiencing it.  :lol:  :mrgreen:  :lol: It's a drop I'll never forget.  :shock:  :shock:  :mrgreen:

Once at the bottom the lift doors opened and the bellhop gave us all an invitation to leave, one gentleman behind me said, "I'm bl**dy sure I will" which made everyone laugh.  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  It's strange how the body deals with shock at times, you start to laugh nervously on exiting the lift, as everyone seemed to be. It must be the bodies coping mechanism.  :wink:

On leaving the lift my legs were a little wobbly, but if I had the chance I would ride it again, it's one of those adrenaline type attractions that puts your body through sheer hell, but you'd do it all again just for the thrill of it.  /  /  /

I met back up with Vanessa and Jen, telling them what TOT was like, giving them my 'Story of Terror.  :lol:  :lol:  

Next came...



Animagique..  /  Another must see show, really entertaining and fun to watch.  It always amazes me how they get the fish to swirl so life like above your heads.  The lighting is also awe inspiring. Also it's a show that features a lot of my favourite character. That would be enough of an excuse to see it anyway for me..  :lol:  :lol:

And don't let anyone kid you if they say that they come away from the show silent and not humming 'La..La, la la la la, Animagique', they'd be lying.. :^o  :mrgreen:

Once the show had finished and our eye's had adjusted themselves to the outside light again, I noticed that it was getting near to food time, so we decided that we were going to...



'Rendez Vous Des Stars' today, for the all you can eat buffet. This is another place I would recommend to use your HB Vouchers, the food was really nice, plenty of variety and they seemed to cater for all tastes.  :wink:    On going back to the food counter for my second plate, I noticed a little crowd around the middle of the floor, to my surprise it was a chef with a silver platter full of fruit and cheese, only right in the middle of it was Remy. Awwh... He was so cute, he was standing upright looking around at everyone, moving his little arms with different gestures. Take a look, it really was a highlight of the day for me.  =D>  





Day 2...To be continued, including an unusual and mysterious emergency evacuation of an attraction.  :shock:  

[burntsienna]

Ooooo I'm enjoying your trip very muchly!
You'd better have been touching the walls etc of the attraction queue areas just for me!!!  :mrgreen:

[peep]

An interesting tale of the first part of your second day. Shame you didn't have great weather but I'm looking forward to reading about the rest of that day, especially the evacuation.

[Aveen2008]

yayyyye!! /  /  /  /  you met Thee duck himself!! Very glad!! and I am so [strike:2ggj6m03]not[/strike:2ggj6m03] jealous about meeting Meeko! :wink: hehe!

Omg your account of the Tower of Terror is brilliant, i had to read it out to my mum because it really does make you feel scared just reading it lol!

I have never went into Rende Vous de Stars, although I think I may now,it sounds like a good place to eat and thephotos of little Remy are so adorable! does he talk?

I cannot wait to hear more!! [-o<  =D>  =D>  =D>

[Javey74]

Ooooo I'm enjoying your trip very muchly!
You'd better have been touching the walls etc of the attraction queue areas just for me!!!  :mrgreen:

Thanks Laura for your comments, actually a lot of the wood rails in the queueing areas are really smooth, but then again I expected that with lots of hands passing over them.. :mrgreen: The Castle walls are not as rough as they look either, in fact I've noticed a lot of textures in DLRP are quite smooth come to think of it..  :mrgreen:

An interesting tale of the first part of your second day. Shame you didn't have great weather but I'm looking forward to reading about the rest of that day, especially the evacuation.

Thanks peep for your comments, funnily enough it only rained from about 8am till 11.30 am on that Monday morning, then we didn't have any rain for the rest of the trip.. :wink:  

yayyyye!! / / / / you met Thee duck himself!! Very glad!! and I am so [strike:2r46e5zo]not[/strike:2r46e5zo] jealous about meeting Meeko! :wink: hehe!

Omg your account of the Tower of Terror is brilliant, i had to read it out to my mum because it really does make you feel scared just reading it lol!

I have never went into Rende Vous de Stars, although I think I may now,it sounds like a good place to eat and thephotos of little Remy are so adorable! does he talk?

I cannot wait to hear more!! [-o< =D> =D> =D>

Thank you Aveen for your comments, yes I got to meet Donald again on this trip, that must be the 3rd photo I've had with him counting others from my previous trips.. /

As for TOT, I could write about my experience easily, believe me, an experience like that you do not forget in a hurry, it was exactly as I wrote it... :shock:  :mrgreen:

As for little Remy, he was really sweet, but no he doesn't talk, though his gestures make up more than words ever could, I only managed to capture a couple of them, but he had quite a few to keep you interested in watching him.. :wink:  

[The Butlin Boy]

Great update Javey, I'm glad you enjoyed the Tower of Terror, it's one of Disney's best don't ya think? :wink: Glad you saw Remy as well I'm looking forward to the rest

[Javey74]

Great update Javey, I'm glad you enjoyed the Tower of Terror, it's one of Disney's best don't ya think? :wink: Glad you saw Remy as well I'm looking forward to the rest

Thanks BB for your comments, yeah I totally agree about TOT, I'd definitely go on it again given the chance, I think after being on it the once, you crave for another occasion.. [-o<  

Unfortunately I didn't get a second go because of other reasons, but mainly time constraints..  :roll:

But I do know I'll be on it again next time for sure  /

[SophieD]

Great update Jarvey!!
oooh TOT? I was too scared to go on that last year and I promised myself that I would!! Your account makes it seem very scary, I'm quite glad in a way that I didn't go on it!! Remy looks extremely cute!!    

Now I'm very much looking forward to the next update! :mrgreen:  :mrgreen:  /  /

[Pete's Dragon]

Now this is a photo of a grown man trying not to grin from ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat. Look at the self control !!!! But we all know, that inside there's a six year old boy doing cartwheels and who-hoo-ing at the top of his lungs  

Great photos ! Had the exact same shaky leg feeling after TOT, except my laughing started with the first drop.

[burntsienna]

Ooooo I'm enjoying your trip very muchly!
You'd better have been touching the walls etc of the attraction queue areas just for me!!!  :mrgreen:

Thanks Laura for your comments, actually a lot of the wood rails in the queueing areas are really smooth, but then again I expected that with lots of hands passing over them.. :mrgreen: The Castle walls are not as rough as they look either, in fact I've noticed a lot of textures in DLRP are quite smooth come to think of it..  :mrgreen:

The wood rails in the BTM queue are the best in the world!!!  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[ColdSun]

great update with great pics, I really enjoyed reading it and am looking forward to the next part.
Your decription of ToT got me really scared though :| ...
But you met great characters (I'd just love to meet Meeko and/or Apu) and little Remy surely looks cute!

[Javey74]

Thanks for all the extra comments everyone.. :oops:  

Pete's Dragon: You've guessed what I was trying to hide.. :lol:  :lol:  :mrgreen:

[dagobert]

I have already awaited day 2 of your trip report. Again great pictures and a very enjoyable report. It looks that you and your family had a great time at the Studios!!

I think, we'll have to try Rendez-vous des Stars next time just to see Remy. He looks so cute. Does the buffet serve some vegetarian meals too, since my girlfriend is a vegetarian?

Can't wait for rest of your TR!!!

[Handy Andy]

Fantastic trip report. I've just shown this to a work collegue who's going for the first time in August and she's getting really excited.