Home

[never2old]

... coming soon  :wink: !

We got back Tuesday night after a great trip to DLP, of course it was not long enough and it was over too soon, and since then I've been dealing with serious withdrawal issues (and a lot of work). It's been a bit of a nightmare (before Christmas... lol... sorry couldn't help it  :wink: ) at work, plus I came back with a bit of a cold, so I haven't had much time to start  looking at the pictures (only took about 1300  :roll: one would think I'd never been there before...).

All pictures are now in the computer and being imported into iPhoto as we speak, so hopefully I can get them online and start a proper trip report soon.

In the meantime, here's a video of Minnie's Party Train... I like the pumpkin men, I like the song (apart from Minnie's voice, that is), but the train itself... Well, I miss Mickey's blue train... At least his train could handle the orange pumpkins better  :wink: My niece and nephew loved it, though, and to be honest, I was quite happy to see it every time!

But judge for yourself. Available in HD if you prefer...

[youtube:262ui9r1]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZFI7W0AFgQ[/youtube:262ui9r1]

Trip report with pictures coming soon!

[Clarebelle]

Love the video N2O, I really wish we could go for halloween!

[loladelorean]

Great video - I love Chip n Dales ghost costumes! Better characters than the regular party train that we saw in September.
The pumpkinpeople look fab, I would love to go at Halloween. Can't wait to see your full report

[DLP-Photos.com]

I cannot wait to read your report...

1300 photo... YAY, I beat you with my 1490 which are already in Aperture All kidding aside it is very easy to take thousands of photos even though you have been there before - the magic never ends!

[never2old]

Honestly, I don't think I could take less pictures!! I could have taken a lot more, but on the last day everyone wanted to get as many rides as possible, so they didn't like me stopping too much to take pictures (selfish, selfish people  :evil:  :wink: )

I'll try to start going through them tonight so that I can start publishing some soon...

Glad you all liked the video   !

[Epcot_Boy]

I'll try to start going through them tonight so that I can start publishing some soon...

I'm looking forward to that =D>

[never2old]

Day -1  :wink:

This was a very special trip for us. Not just because it was Halloween, but mostly because my brother in law, his wife and their two kids were coming with us (and it was their first trip ever   ). They were coming for 1 night and two days only (not to make the kids miss 2 days of school....), we were staying for an extra night. After we booked (way back in April, I think it was, with one of their special offers), our neighbours (and good friends) got jealous and decided to join us   So it was a rather bigger group than we're used to, with 8 of us (with 6 adults and 2 children, but really, it was all for the kids...  :wink: )

Now as you may have gathered by now, we like to go and stay near the magic on the night before, so that we can make the most of our stay (and not having to drive for 3 hours before starting a day in the parks). And for a big party of 8, the best option we found was to stay at the Marriott Village, which we had never tried before and which I heartily recommend to everyone!

So we decided to make the most also of the Saturday, and met up at the Marriott around lunchtime. Unfortunately our neighbours could only come later in the evening, so it was just the 5 of us.



The villa was not ready yet so we went for lunch in the Disney Village (where else!), and (again purely for the kids, you understand), we decided to go for Cafe Mickey!

Now, with hindsight, it may not have been the best idea, because my niece Zara (she's 5 years old), who'd never seen a character before, got really scared! As soon as we sat down, Mickey came to see us (here he is with my sister in law and my nephew Sam)



but Zara wouldn't go anywhere near him! (she said he was huge ...). And after that, whenever a character came around she went straight under the table...

So she missed Minnie...





...Chip & Dale...



and Donald...



Still, we all had fun (even Zara, whenever there was no one near...)



After lunch and a quick look around the shops, we headed back to the Marriott (stopping to buy some stuff for dinner first) and made ourselves at home...



We had a 3 bedroom villa and it was perfect. The three bedroom were all nice and big, with flat screen tvs, ipod docks, and of course three bathrooms. Really nice!

And the locals were quite nice too  :wink:



My husband and his brother:


The golf course


And a couple of pigeons


We had a lovely dinner (our neighbours arrived just on time), but didn't stay up too long, since Sunday was going to be an early one (our goal was to leave before 8am)...

First day in the parks coming soon!

[DLP-Photos.com]

What a lovely start to your report with some great photos

The Marriott Village seems very nice and how nice to go to Disney Village for lunch even though your niece was scared

Cannot wait for more

[Annet]

Lovely pictures! However pigeons scare the crap out of me, so I don't like that one :lol:
Looking forward to the rest of your report!

[SophieD]

Great start to your trip report N2O I cannot believe how many pigeons were on that roof :O
Can't wait to read the first day in the Disney Parks

[never2old]

Thank you all!

Yes, those pigeons were a bit freaky...

Anyway, Sunday, after an early start to the day (everyone up by 7am.... I was already awake before that though, waaaaay too excited to sleep  :roll: ), we said our goodbyes to our beautiful villa, and went straight to our next destination: Hotel New York!!

Day 1 - Sunday 11th October







First thing that hit me, when we got into the reception, was the smell... Very similar to the one in the Disneyland Hotel (possibly even the same?  :-k ), but it was lovely! Make you feel all warm inside...

Our rooms were not ready, but we got our tickets for the parks. But before heading out, one last stop, for Minnie! She was in the lobby, so I took my niece, promised to hold her so she wouldn't be scared, and took her to meet Minnie... At first she was a bit shy, but she ended up shaking her hand and even giving her a kiss!



After that, she was more than willing to go and meet all the characters!  

If was finally time to go to the parks!



Even before entering, the Halloween music was all we could hear...


How many years have they had this thing? They should at least change the dates: Halloween season it's not from 3 October to 1 November...



The work never ends in Main Street


I love Halloween, I love the decorations, and I really liked them this year. They were very present in Town Square, there were a few pumpkin men here and there along Main Street (and some orange paint and orange steps in the ground), but most of the decorations have been moved to Frontierland, leaving Main Street almost untouched - no decorations hiding the beauty of the Main Street buildings!





This one I don't like at all... At least last year it was more hidden, in the entrance to Frontierland!




It was already almost 9am, and we wanted to start the day with Peter Pan  :peter:  So we slowly made our way up Main Street, towards Fantasyland. We were a bit worried about the queues, since the park seemed crowded, but we didn't need to worry: there was no wait at all in Peter Pan, so all aboard, and here we go!!!

And it was great! It was very smooth, not too fast, London looked great, and of course flying in the stars was as magical as ever. Everyone loved it  

I wanted to go on another dark ride, but a bit of a shock there, the list of rides now open during the EMH has been seriously cut down! In Fantasyland, only Peter Pan and Dumbo were open (the Cups should have been but they were working on them when we arrived). So slightly disappointed, we headed towards Discoveryland, where Buzz and the Space Mountain were waiting for us, again with very little queues.

Had the first go of the trip in Buzz Lightyear (again a huge success with everyone, it's so much fun! And we all had good guns, which helped with the scores...), we headed to Space Mountain... My sister in law stayed behind with Zara, but Sam decided he was brave enough to try it (his first rollercoaster ever).  This was my second time with contact lenses (so I could see all what's inside, it really makes the ride a lot better), and again I thought that everything was working great, particularly the speakers! It may not be as good as the first soundtrack, but personally I love the music to Mission 2  

By now it was almost 10, so everyone decided to go on Star Tours. Personally I love the ride but for the last few years I haven't been able to go on it, I get really sick in it    so I stayed in the shop with Zara. And since I didn't have her parents around to tell me I was spoiling her, I got her the pink ears she wanted  :wink:



Sam didn't want to be left out:


Day 1 continues soon!

[DLP-Photos.com]

Great start to your park report with some lovely photos

I liked how the Halloween decorations were quite subtle in Main Street too - it was nice to be able to enjoy the atmosphere of Main Street U.S.A as well as the Halloween atmosphere without them interfering with each other.

[never2old]

After Discoveryland, we started making our way to Frontierland...

On the way we run into some pumpkin folk (and Minnie's train). The pumpkin men and women are absolutely brilliant!





And Frontierland!


As I said, some of the decorations have been moved from Main Street to Frontierland, which is a great improvement!



After getting some fastpasses for BTM (they were for 30 minutes later, how perfect is that    They also had new FP machines, where you swipe your ticket instead of it being swallowed by the machine, I'll post some pictures later), we went to one of the best rides ever: Phantom Manor!

On the way we run into some friends:





One for Javey:






See how happy Zara is? No more hiding under tables for her  :wink:

Phantom Manor had no queue at all (just how we like it), so we went straight in. Zara was a bit worried about it being too scary, but quite soon she let go of my hand and started laughing and really enjoying the ride. The only thing, when we got to the ballroom scene, we lost all sound... It only lasted a few moments (but it rather ruined the ballroom for me). On the plus side, there weren't too many flashes during the ride, which was a lovely change!



This was actually a giant skull!




And these were actually a bit scary...


We still had a bit of time before our FP, so we went for a cruise in the Molly Brown (which was just boarding, really perfect timing   )



My neighbour  :roll: :



And after Molly Brown, Thunder Mountain!!

Last time I'd done it was in June, when all water effects were running, so this time it was a lot drier  :lol: But still a lot of fun. This is really my favourite rollercoaster. It's pure fun. Non stop fun. Perfect fun.

It turns out though, it wasn't fun for everyone... Zara didn't like it at all, she was terrified! So no more rollercoasters for her....

When we came out, I saw there was a short queue to meet Jack and/or Sally (that's what they said in the schedule....) Last year they were meeting people in Boot Hill, now they'd been moved to Cottonwood Creek. They had a nice meet & greet location, and it was definitely better set up for queuing,  but Boot Hill was definitely more atmospheric...

In the line for the meet 'n' greet:



After a very short wait, Mr Jack Skellington made his appearance!

Happy Face...


... and Scary Face!


Day 1 continues soon!

[never2old]

Great start to your park report with some lovely photos

I liked how the Halloween decorations were quite subtle in Main Street too - it was nice to be able to enjoy the atmosphere of Main Street U.S.A as well as the Halloween atmosphere without them interfering with each other.

Thanks!

Yes, it was definitely a good move! Maybe next year even Town Square will be more subtle... But overall it was a great improvement  

[DLP-Photos.com]

Great start to your park report with some lovely photos

I liked how the Halloween decorations were quite subtle in Main Street too - it was nice to be able to enjoy the atmosphere of Main Street U.S.A as well as the Halloween atmosphere without them interfering with each other.

Thanks!

Yes, it was definitely a good move! Maybe next year even Town Square will be more subtle... But overall it was a great improvement  

Yes the giant skull in Town Square should be removed - then it would be as close to perfection as possible.

Your new installment is great - we had a Meet'n'Greet with Jack on Tuesday - he interacted very good with people, don't you think?