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Thanks for the great report so far N2O - i envy you your many visits to DLP

Once again your photos are very good and beautiful - and, oh my, the Mickey-free Castle, what a joy to see that again - pure beauty!

Being in the planning stage for another trip myself I love reading reports and yours has made very eager to get something planned now I cannot wait to see the rest!

[never2old]

Thank you guys for all your comments!

We were very lucky with the weather, it was cold but so sunny, it had been a while since I'd been in Disneyland with such blue skies, it was photo heaven!! And the decorations free Castle... I guess you can imagine what a joy it was to see it like that.

In fact, that morning, after a visit to the Studios (coming up next, I'm going through the pictures), I had to go back to the hotel just to get my phone so that I could take a picture of the Castle and send it via twitter, such a great piece of news had to be shared!! My husband thought I was a very sad geek  :lol:

Next part coming soon, I'm just sorting out the pictures in fotki!

[never2old]

And here it is!

So a little after 10am, once everything was open, we went to the Studios.

We were tempted by the 20 minutes queue announced for Crush Coaster, but once we saw the queue was starting outside, by the big whale watching mural, we thought it could be longer than that...

So instead we went to the Tower (we practically walked straight in)

Not the best picture... But still. My husband has a new camera and he's still trying to find the best settings...


I like that label... "A great conversation piece"


Now I love the Tower, I've been on it many times, and it's always been great. But this time, I don't know if I was feeling a bit ill (I did have a little fever that night), or whether it's a more permanent thing, but I came out feeling a bit sick. The same happened to me on Star Tours, it's one of my favourite rides and I did it many times without any problems, but now since a few years, I just feel really sick in it. So I hope it's not the same, it's hard enough not being able to do Star Tours, I don't want to give up on Tower of Terror!!  [-o<

After TOT, it was time for Aerosmith...



And I'm sorry to say, it was a big disappointment. No smoke at all, and it felt as bumpy as Space Mountain  :x  Maybe we were just unlucky, but we didn't go back for the rest of our trip.

We went by the Cafe des Cascadeurs, by the Tram Tour, to get a good view of the TSPL progress



I didn't have a better zoom, but you can just see the top of parachute structure coming up over the fence...




Since he'd never been in it, we went to the Art of Animation. I wish we'd gotten there a bit earlier though, we only had a few minutes in the pre-show room and it was not enough!









I had heard that they had changed the first movie, but I was still quite shocked by it. I had only seen the previous one once, I confess, but I remember it having more of a story and a lot more Mickey!! What have they done to it??? If they wanted to update something, maybe they should change the Mushu bit to have a more recent character (couldn't we get Louis from Princess and the Frog instead), but I really didn't like the first movie at all.

Talking of Princess and the Frog, they did show the trailer and a little video of John Lasseter talking about it, during the Mushu bit (in a "let's have a look at the latest feature" kind of thing)

Anyway, even if the middle bit is not the best, the pre show and the after show alone are worth a visit!!



















Now what happened to the shop in there? It used to have great stuff, now it's been mostly replaced by the same stuff they sell everywhere!



It all started with a mouse...




Up close and personal with Tinkerbell




Next part coming soon!

[Annet]

You made me very happy with your pictures of all the window displays!
I absolutely loved them, but I was mostly walking with my crutches, so I couldn't take many pictures.

[jenilynnanderson]

Wow! All the pictures are really very awesome and amazing. I also like to go on a cruise so me and my husband have done 4 cruises uptill now and planning for the next in this summer vacation. We want to go on a cruise to Disney land in this summer vacation so now I am satisfied that we will have a lot of enjoyment in that cruise after watching your pictures.

[never2old]

Sorry for the delay! I have been feeling rather ill this week, some horrible virus really got me, and today is the first time I can actually spend some time by the computer without praying for my bed. Not sure how long I'll last, but at least I can get the next chapter out...

After our quick visit to the Studios, we headed back to Disneyland and Frontierland, I think it's my favourite land... I just love the theming there!

And what better way to explore it than aboard the Mark Twain!











I quite like this picture... That is the steam coming out the chimneys of the Mark Twain




Frozen river in Wilderness Island...


And a view of TSPL from Frontierland... Not much to see really.


Nice view over Frontierland!


After the Mark Twain we had another go on Phantom Manor, before making our way towards Fantasyland.



I love this fountain, and yet this is the only picture I have of it with me in it!


We had a go on Pinocchio and on Snow White, since the queues there were non existent, and no matter how often I go on them, I always find them really charming and magical... Even though they should really slow down Snow White, PLEASE!









I had never noticed there were more than apples in the Arbre Enchanté


Next part to follow

[never2old]

Next chapter!

Since we were feeling a bit tired and felt like sitting for a bit, we decided to give the train a go... So we went to the Discoveryland station to wait for it.











I have to admit, it's my least favourite station... But it usually has very little queues, and has great views over Discoveryland!

We only had to wait about 10 minutes for the next train to arrive, and we were on our way around the park!

I really love going on the train around the park... Particularly, when you come out of the Grand Canyon scene into the gorgeous Frontierland!



And I really like the Frontierland station... This time we were visited by a few ducks.



And I noticed for the first time that the boxes behind the station (by the depot) make for a good read!



Next is Adventureland....



Going through the Pirates tunnel was... well, different. We only caught a quick glimpse of the treasure scene, but there was no water at all, there were a lot of lights on, it looked nothing at all like POTC!! I guess I hadn't really thought about what they did when they close a ride for refurbishment...

We went all the way round back to Discoveryland, and from there we went to the back of Fantasyland, to watch the OUAD parade.





My favourite duck...


There were only 3 soldiers marching in the parade... Shouldn't there be more?








Because I'm worth it  :wink:  :lol:














After the parade we were feeling a bit tired, so we slowly started heading back to the hotel.



That night we ended up having room service, I wasn't feeling too well (had a bit of a fever) so we just relaxed in the room and went to sleep early...

Last and third day coming soon!

[tubbsy]

Your photos are so beautiful they're making want to wish the next few months away x

[never2old]

Thank you tubbsy!  

Here's part 1 of day 3!

We got up early again for the EMH, and had breakfast, this time in the Manhattan restaurant. Then it was time to finish packing, take our bags to the car and check out  

Before going out to the park, we saw Mickey... So I got in line behind a little boy to meet the Mouse! Of course my husband decided to take not one but three terrible pictures  :x  :roll: , this is the best one so it gives you an idea of the other two... Before we left later that afternoon I went to get the "official" one from the shop, it was a lot better!



Around 08:30 we were once again home sweet home inside Disneyland Park... And sitting in the omnibus!









This morning, ALL MMP decorations were gone from the Castle... It looked gorgeous! Of course the bridge works block a bit of the view if you stand right in front...





Make a wish...




We had a couple of goes on Peter Pan before going towards Discoveryland for Buzz and Space Mountain (my favourite way to start the day!)

Around 09:30 we decided to go towards the Studios, to try and to Crush first thing and beat the queues... So after stopping in City Hall to book Walt's for lunch, it was time for WDS!



Inside City Hall:




To be continued...

[never2old]

Day 3 continues!



We got to the Studios a bit after 09:30, the rides were not open but at least we could go past the gates and Studio 1. Since there wasn't much of a queue yet, we went straight for Crush. Which was great, because they opened it soon after that and we only ended up waiting and queuing around 15 minutes, it was brilliant!







And I have to say, I'm starting to see why people like Crush so much... It realy is a lot of fun! The dark ride bit is really beautiful, and the rollercoaster bit, although you can't see as much as in Space Mountain for instance, it's still quite nice with the bubbles and all, and it feels totally different to any of the other coasters. Oh, I even spotted a hidden Mickey!    So I will definitely try to do the same and go early again to ride it without much queuing...





As I said on the previous day we hadn't actually enjoyed RnRC very much, so we didn't feel like doing it again. So we simply had a little walk around WDS and another go on ToT (brilliant brilliant brilliant ride); it was too cold to even consider going to see the Stunt show!

Another construction picture from TSPL:



Is this new?




Still the best ride in WDS...




After our quick (but good) trip to WDS, we decided to have a little break in the Salon Mickey. We hadn't been there in quite a while actually, I was starting to forget how comfortable and lovely it is in there! Plus the two of us were completely alone in there...





Not the best picture... But for those who don't know the Salon Mickey, it gives you an idea!


So we sat down in the sofas, had a hot cup of coffee, and a chocolate cookie... Hmmmm

To be continued...

[never2old]

And here's the next part:



Next stop: Phantom Manor.

I love these twirly trees...


View from the Manor:


After another go on BTM, we headed towards Adventureland, and the Treehouse.



With the sun shining, the blue skies.... Adventureland was looking gorgeous. And cold. Very cold... There were frozen bits everywhere...





These almost look like bones!












Progress on the works outside Hakuna Matata:


I just love the views you get from the tree!






You can even see the Newport Bay!


Unfortunately not everything in the tree was looking good... Some bits take a bit of the magic away  


Around Adventure Isle the ice was very much everywhere...


















Next and last part coming soon

[SophieD]

Great Trip report N20!! It looks like you both had a lovely time at DLRP!
The castle looks so much better without all the tacky decorations!!
Your photos are beautiful- which camera do you use??
Can't wait to read/see more!!  

[norhel]

Great pics! Especially the look over Frontierland from Manor

[never2old]

Thank you  

@ Sophie Most pictures I took with my Canon (EOS 450D), there are also some taken with a little Fuji one (FinePix F200EXR)...

Here's the last part!

Spring is coming...


We went to Frontierland for a final go on Phantom Manor (I simply love that ride, I don't know how many times we ended up doing it over the three days!)

Some more NGF merchandise


Fort Comstock




When we approached Central Plaza, we saw the characters were about; as I mentioned the train was out of service (being updated for the NGF) so they were using the vehicles instead. But the best part was, when they were about to leave, they started playing the Dancin' a catchy rythm! It was just brilliant to hear it playing in the park again.

A couple of CM also seem to really enjoy it... They even had their own little choreography to it, it was really great!! You can see them in some of the pictures:










Honestly, one of the highlights of the trip for me! My husband said I was a total geek...  :roll:  :lol:

That, and seeing the Castle like this, of course...



(this one is my new desktop at home...)


Time to say our goodbyes to Fantasyland, with a little walk around and one last trip on It's a Small World...









One last one, for the road...


Then one last visit to Discoveryland, and one last go on Space Mountain



Very clear water!


And it was lunchtime! We were booked for Walt's, one of my favourite restaurants...







We were in a Main Street USA room


Mixed starters... yummy


And after lunch... It was time to go    

So we said our goodbyes  :cry:  :cry:  :cry:





I was only allowed one quick stop in the NYH shop to get a copy of the picture I had taken in the morning with Mickey, and then we were on our way...

We had a really great time. It was really nice to be just the two of us, really romantic, and it was really pleasantly quiet... Just now thinking about it I wish I were going back soon!

Thank you all for reading and your very kind comments.

If you want, you can see a lot more of my pictures in my fotki albums, they're sorted out by land!

And thanks again for reading  

[dagobert]

Thanks for another great trip report. I really enjoyed reading it and your pictures are great, like always.