Home

[never2old]

Here's part 3:

We crossed from Fantasyland to Adventureland, and were welcome by a very wintery Skull Rock:









This was seagull territory:


Our next stop was Pirates (we walked straight in, no queue at all). Absolutely brilliant. The swinging pirate is still missing, and it was a bit dark at some points (you couldn't really see the cats at the beginning), but overall it was really looking good! And Carlos the mayor was spitting out water and everything!! Great great ride, I cannot say that enough...

By now it was almost lunchtime, so we started making our way to Main Street and Walt's.

Party Time was on when we walked past:





Unfortunately we were a bit short on time so we didn't stay to watch it, that show has really grown on me... When we first arrived to the park I had thought that maybe the show would be cancelled because of the weather, but then we saw them about an hour before the show heating the stage (or melting the ice) with something that looked like a flamethrower  :shock: I should have taken some pictures...

Anyway, here are some pictures from Walt's. If anyone hasn't been there yet, please try it next time you go... One of the best restaurants around!









We were seated in the Frontierland area (a first for me), in a small room with just 3 or 4 tables. Lovely and quiet. And great view of Main Street:









My delicious cheesecake:


With a coffee:


After lunch and a bit of shopping around Main Street (plenty of stuff on sale as well...), it was time for my parents to leave. They didn't want to drive back home (it's a 3 hour drive) too late, with the weather as it was. So we walked all together back to the New York Hotel, where the car was parked, and said our goodbyes.

My brother and I were alone, so time for some rollercoasters! Our first stop: WDS, and RNRC...

Part 4 to follow!

[stepintothepink]

I think this time and time again when I see your reports - your photos are beautiful! You have a great camera and of course wonderful skills in capturing those shots! I'm really enjoying this report and it's making me even more excited about my imminent trip  

[Annet]

Ooh that cheesecake looks delicious.
I've never been at Walts, we must try that sometime.
Again: lovely pictures!

[WillN]

Thanks againf N2O! Your review is becoming definately useful for our honeymoon trip. Walt's has always been on top of our restaurants list and we're glad you enjoyed it that much. Can't wait to make the reservation...

And, again, great photos. First, nightshots, now err... "snow shots" (?). Anyway, either in the dark or completely surrounded by white snow, your pics look great!  =D>

Looking forward to your next part.  

[norhel]

Was wodering, the enterence for Walts, where is it?

[never2old]

I think this time and time again when I see your reports - your photos are beautiful! You have a great camera and of course wonderful skills in capturing those shots! I'm really enjoying this report and it's making me even more excited about my imminent trip  

Thank you!  

Thanks againf N2O! Your review is becoming definately useful for our honeymoon trip. Walt's has always been on top of our restaurants list and we're glad you enjoyed it that much. Can't wait to make the reservation...

And, again, great photos. First, nightshots, now err... "snow shots" (?). Anyway, either in the dark or completely surrounded by white snow, your pics look great!  =D>

Looking forward to your next part.  

Oh, you should definitely go to Walt's!! It's really a great restaurant. Beautiful theming, delicious food, and it's really quiet, makes for a wonderful break! The service is really good, they're really lovely there, and the presentation is quite elegant.

This was my salmon:


And Annet, yes, the cake is really delicious. Really worth a visit to Walt's!  

Was wodering, the enterence for Walts, where is it?

This is the main entrance:



I'm just getting the next batch of pictures ready, I'll post them soon!

[dagobert]

Again great pictures!! Walt's is our favorite restaurant at DLRP, too and we can't wait to eat there again in February. Hopefully it is open.
The food looks so delicious and I think I have to try the cheesecake.

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

[luke85]

Amazing pictures, next time I go to DLP I'm going to have to eat at Walt's after seeing that cheesecake!!

[never2old]

All this talk about Walt's is getting me hungry again...  :wink:

Here's the last part for Sunday!

So around 5, my parents left, and my brother and I headed straight to the Studios.

They really seemed busier than Disneyland. Maybe because there were more adults than families around, or maybe it was just an illusion, but there were definitely queues in WDS. Crush of course had something over 1 hour  :roll: , TOT I think had around 30 and RNRC around 20.

We first had a look around the shop in TOT. I'm still looking for that TOT hoodie they used to sell, but I haven't seen it in ages... Still, I have to check!

The Hollywood Tower Hotel back in its glory days...


And today!


Not many roses in the Rose Garden this time of the year


After browsing all the stuff they had on sale, we headed to RNRC. Miguel had never done it, and he had been waiting to try it since his last visit, over a year ago... So even though it had a little bit of a queue (those 20 minutes were the only real queue we did during the whole trip, so cannot really complain  :wink: ) we went straight in. I had told him that the start was fast, but I don't think he was expecting it to be quite so fast!

Still, he loved it    So much that we went straight in again, and this time waited a little under 10 minutes... Brilliant.

When we got out, it was fully dark:



We wanted to get BTM and SM:M2 done that evening, so we decided to go straight back to the other park.

Some night shots from WDS:







You can see the place was packed...






I hope they have longer opening hours for WDS someday, because it looks really beautiful at night, and you rarely get to see it.

So back to Disneyland...





We went straight to Frontierland. BTM had maybe a 20 minute queue, but the fastpasses were for something like 30 minutes later.... So we got some fastpasses (two each, I confess I kept the fastpasses my parents got to use with their internet tickets  :oops: ), and went to Phantom Manor.

The view from the porch was gorgeous. Unfortunately we didn't have much time there so I didn't take a picture, but I think I would have needed some serious work to capture the view properly. You could see the beautiful castle, all light up, the whole of Thunder Mesa of course (which just looks great at night), the incredible BTM covered in snow, and in the distance, the Swiss family Robinson treehouse, and the little lamps all around it. Probably one of my favourite views in the park.

Anyway, PM was great, they don't make rides like that anymore...

And after that, and a little bit of browsing in the shops, it was time to use our fastpasses. I love riding BTM by night, and with all the snow it was even more impressive! But very VERY cold... Even with my gloves, my hat, my scarf, and my big coat, there were bits when I was really freezing!! Of course, totally worth it  :wink:  So we used our second set of FP straight away. Excellent!

At the end, when the trains come out of the tunnel back to Thunder Mesa, we noticed in the normal queue line a very solid, very frozen waterfall... It was so impressive we went into the queue just to take pictures! (and then walked out the entrance  :lol: )







It was now time for Discoveryland. Buzz had a little bit of a queue (20 minutes maybe, nothing major but too much for us  :wink: ) so it was straight to Space Mountain (10 minutes queue there  )

These are a bit dark, I had borrowed my husband's camera and I'm not too familiar with the various settings... But they give you an idea!




After a great ride in Space Mountain (though the music could have been a bit louder), it was closing time    But as I said, my brother hadn't been here for over a year, so we took our time and admired the park, which by now we had almost to ourselves!



Next time I visit, this will be totally gone  /  


I think this is one of my favourite pictures from this trip:


One more for the road...


And we went back to our hotel

Some Christmas lights were still around in the DV, and not all the decorations were gone from the NYH (the next morning, we noticed that all the Christmas trees they had inside were gone, they really do work at night...)








In no time we were checked in, and resting in the room. They even took our bags to our room (great service   )

Some pictures from our room:


One of the two beds:


We had dinner in the Parkside Diner, personally I loved it. The buffet has a good selection, very tasty food, and it was fairly quiet when we went. We finished the evening in the bar; I think it's my favourite bar in any Disney hotel. Really beautiful place! And the mojitos were very nice, a great way to end the day!

Last day coming up soon!

[dagobert]

Thanks again for the beautiful pictures. The frozen waterfall looks really great!!!

[bensmum]

Thanks for posting such a great trip report. You have taken such wonderful pictures of the parks at night, I wish my photos turned out like that :mrgreen:

[Annet]

I love nightshots, alway beautiful.
And that frozen waterfall is really impressive, I would have done the same to take a picture :lol:

[loladelorean]

WOW your trip report is making me feel very very jealous - if only I lived a 3 hour drive from DLP!
Your pictures are simply stunning, especially of the frozen waterfall. I love the funny one of your brother with the umbrella
Looking forward to reading the last installment, thanks for taking the time to post. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip with your family.

[never2old]

Thank you all!

I really love taking pictures, and Disneyland is my favourite subject... And it's real pleasure to share them with you all, I'm really touched by all your comments!

Here's part 1 of our last day, Monday.

For once I had no arguments to get people up early, my brother is as much of a fan as I am so not making the most of the EMH was never an option...  We got up and 7:00 and had (a very yummy) breakfast in the Manhattan restaraunt (practically deserted at that time...)



Next time I stay in the NYH I'd love to have diner here, it was a really beautiful restaurant!

After breakfast we finished packing our bags and went to check out. On the way, we met Goofy:



And we were on our way!

The DV was looking very quiet, and very cold...

Here's the waterfall on the side of the Rainforest Cafe!




Miguel feeling the cool morning air....


We were going back home by train, so we went to leave our bags in the station, and around 8:30 we were finally making our way into the park!





When we walked in, the police car was coming straight for us... I had never taken any of the Main Street vehicles before, so I couldn't turn down the opportunity!







It took us up to the Castle. The bridge, which on Sunday had been open (but the sides were covered) was now completely closed.



I also noticed the stage was covered:



I hadn't noticed the previous day that Tinkerbell was gone from the top of the Castle. Not the worst of the decorations for the castle, but personally I was delighted to see the Castle (at least its top) how it should be, or almost!





First destination was Fantasyland and Peter Pan. Without the bridge, we took the long way round by IASW. On the way, we noticed the water was working in the lava rocks, well, some water was bubbling, other bits were frozen solid...



From this side, you can barely see the MMP decorations...



This picture I really like:


Eventually we made it to Peter Pan...



It was of course extremely quiet so we could do it a couple of times without any queue at all... If only it could always be like that! (well, if it was always like that the place would go bankrupt and close down, which is the last thing I want, but still, you know what I mean... It's wonderful to do the rides you want without any queuing!)

We had a look around Fantasyland, it's not everyday it's so quiet and so white... before heading back towards Discoveryland









Next part coming soon!

[The Butlin Boy]

This picture I really like:

Me too, that's beautiful

Thanks for the report so far, it's been a really great read. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the rest of it