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[bensmum]

Brilliant pictures. The first time we went to DLRP last year it was Ben's reaction to the whole Cafe Mickey experience that made the trip for me. They do so well there and we have to go every time we visit. =D>

[Dorsetcandy]

Loving reading other peoples dlrp trip reports,and we definately need to eat at Cafe Mickey next visit!You have some fab pictures to remember your trip by

[toritinker]

i would have been so angry at people being a bit late lol!!!! well done at being patient though!!
i love the photos from the studios. The studio tram tour sounded good too!
TOT is my fav ride!!!!!!
we are doing the tour from 9-10am in the tower inc the first ride of the day (E12p.p) but its in French so me and the bf will just be looking around haha!! we are only doing it as we are going on a weekend in august so the parks will be manic, one less ride to queue for haha!!!
thanks for all your photos
xx

[never2old]

Oh, I would love to go on the Tower tour!!! You'll have to tell us all about it when you're back. It's annoying they only do it on Saturdays, maybe for our next trip we'll be there on a weekend...

[Festival Disney]

Great Trip Report N2O, such a joy to read!  
Your pictures are amazing, the text is always fun and all of your previous TR's are amzing too!  :thumbs:
Can't wait for the next part!  :lol:

[davewasbaloo]

So I don't know if I ever thank you, davewasbaloo, but it's because you recommended it so highly that we tried the Marriott for the first time last year, and it's been a real discovery! I always think of you when we book a stay there  

Anyway... I'll try to post the next part tomorrow, still sorting the many pictures!!

:oops:  :thumbs:  Thank you. I am glad you like it.

Yes, the HNY is still probably the best value of the Disney hotels. I am grumpy because they used to have turn down service with the chocolates on the pillow, a fresh rose (or other seasonal flower) in the bathroom, 24 hour room service, and proper bell services when checking out. I know I sound like a spoilt kid, but when the prices go up and the services go down, that is sad. Also we paid extra expecting the 24 room service and proper bell services when I hurt my back and my kids were much smaller, that was the annoying part. But like all these things, it is not a problem if you do not know what is missing.

But the HNY is for DLP standards, a good choice. For a bar, I prefer the DLH, but the price for a night is steep.

[tubbsy]

It is such a shame-those little things make such a difference.
I know Davewasbaloo you were surprised when I said we had upgraded as the difference between HNY and NPB was so large. We'll have to see whether after this trip we can stretch to HNY or Marriot as it looks gorgeous

[never2old]

Sorry this TR is taking so long, work is pretty busy and when I get home I don't have much time either...

Here's a little update!

After lunch, Karen took the children back to the hotel (she also wanted to check on Paul), and Cris and I headed back to the park.





Home sweet home  






The new show, the Showtime Spectacular, was happening. It was already half way through, and we only stayed to watch for a few minutes. The little I saw, I absolutely adored    We were planning on seeing it later with everyone, but even so, I was really tempted to stay and watch more... At the end my husband had to drag me out towards Discoveryland, his fingers were itching to have a go on Buzz....









Buzz was great, practically no queue (I think we waited around 15 minutes only), plus Cris got once more the top score, 999.999, he was delighted... Me, nothing near that  :mrgreen:

By then it was almost time for the parade, Karen and the kids were back, so we went back to our spot in Fantasyland (this time, on the other side of the road), to wait for the parade.





The parade was once more great, even better than on the previous day since this time, there was no rain at all!! Plus with her Minnie ears Ella was getting a lot of attention, a few of the characters came to say hello or waved at her. She was delighted!!























The Dreams of Adventure float stopped closed to us, and Baloo and King Louie were dancing next to us.






And finally, Princess Tiana.



I love this little detail:


As I said we were planning on seeing the Disney Showtime Spectacular show later, but we still had some time. We decided to have a look around Fantasyland, and the Carousel was looking particularly quiet. And Ella still wanted to go on a horse...

Her smile says it all  


And I hadn't been on earlier that morning, so I was quite happy too  




We then went to the Castle, to see the dragon... I really love the dragon. It was resting when we got there, and then suddenly it woke up and roared, more than one (and not just the children) were surprised!! One of my favourite places in the park, I have to say...

Showtime Spectacular next!

[Aurora]

Thank you for posting your report, great to read!!
And I loved the pictures too =D>
Aurora

[toritinker]

loving the update again, I love the photo of you infront with the castle behind, really effective!!
xx

[fairymom]

Loving your trip report. Same thing happened to us with Cafe Mickey. I tried to book at the hotel for dinner and he said nothing available until 10pm, so I left it. As we were walking to the village/parks to get dinner somewhere else I noticed Cafe Mickey was really quiet and no queue at the front. It was 5.30pm. I asked if we could get a table and the CM sat us immediately and informed us that the characters come  out at 6.15. So the timing was perfect really. The kids had most of their dinner eaten by the time the characters started to come out.
I think they give a certain number of slots to each hotel and when they are booked then that's it. It 's always worth trying the cafe directly.

How can you remember such details of your trip? After the first 2 days my trip all started to blur together and we hadn't even gone home yet! I wouldn't be able to remember what ride we went on when or anything... I guess I could use the photos as prompts, but even then I didn't photograph every little thing we did, so I don't know!?

[never2old]

Thank you all for your comments  

I think they give a certain number of slots to each hotel and when they are booked then that's it. It 's always worth trying the cafe directly

Ah, maybe that's how they do it... Good to know though! Next time we'll ask directly in Cafe Mickey  

Oh, and the pictures help with my memory!!  

Apologies this is taking so long, things are very hectic lately, so I don't get much time to go through the pictures (still hundreds to review) and upload them for posting here...



So anyway, as I said, after the Carousel, it was time for the Showtime Spectacular!

We got there a few minutes before the start, and managed to get a spot in the first row, in  the left side.



And then, it started... And we loved it. What a great show!! When I'd first heard about it I was worried that it would be too long, with all those songs from all the different movies, but not at all. The dancers are great, the characters are everywhere, the music is perfect. What a brilliant show! Best thing about the New Generation Festival  :thumbs:  (followed closely by Princess Tiana, and the lack of decorations in the Castle   )

And talking of Tiana, my favourite bit of the show was the Princess and the Frog bit, at the end. Great energy, perfect music, just excellent!! Great work Disney  :thumbs:  =D>

I will not post the many many many pictures I took here, but here are just a few (plus there will be more later...)



































As you can see, the weather was not perfect, it got a bit dark, but apart from a couple of drops every now and then, at least it was dry...

After the show, Karen and the kids went back to the hotel (we agreed to meet up later for a drink in the hotel bar). My hubby and I headed to Frontierland, for another go on Phantom Manor, before heading towards Adventurelad (for another go on Pirates of course!)

Some pictures along the way:

















We got out of POTC a bit before 19:00. My husband was getting tired, the park was about to close, but now the sun was out!! I wanted to stay, he didn't... So I told Cris to go ahead, back to the hotel, while I stayed behind for a bit more... Honestly, after a first day of almost constant rain, and a second day of on and off sun, I just couldn't leave now that the park was looking so gorgeous!!

So I stayed behind, admiring Adventureland with the sunlight (and yes, taking some pictures...)











And at 19:00, the Showtime Spectacular was on again... How could I leave then??



To be continued!!

[never2old]

A thousand apologies for the delays!! We're getting ready to move house in a couple of weeks, and it seems the list of things to do never ends! Yesterday we finally took a day off (we forced ourselves, really), and I finally had some time to work on the pictures from the trip... I didn't count but I had a few hundred  :roll:  from the Showtime Spectacular alone...

So where was I?

So, end of our second day in Disneyland, everyone had gone back to the hotel, and since Showtime was starting again... I stayed to watch it a second time, this time facing the Castle. And if I could, I would have watched it a third time. This is really a great show!

Anyway, here are some pictures:









































































After the show, it was time to go back...









Still not flying...



View from the room that evening



After a quick rest, I went down to join my husband and our friends in the bar, where we had a few drinks (hmmm mojitos) all together.

And for dinner, room service... I had the salmon club sandwhich, and a chocolate cake!! Delicious...





And finally, bedtime!!

Last day coming soon... Well, I hope so anyway!!

[never2old]

Finally got a bit of time!! We're moving house in exactly 1 week, so lately all our free time seems to revolve around that... Preparing the new house, packing the old one, and trips to Ikea!! So it's nice to take some time to relax, and go back to the happiest place on Earth... Well, on Europe anyway  

So Friday 11th June! It was our last day; our friends left in the morning, so we had breakfast together and said our goodbyes. They had a good time, I think... In fact, they were already talking of coming back later in the year for Christmas!!    

By 8am we had checked out, left our bags in the car, and were ready to go to the park! It was a beautiful, gorgeous sunny day...

Around the hotel that morning:











Getting ready for the World Cup...


And in the Disney Village too...


And finally, into Disneyland!!




It was just after 8, and the park was pleasantly quiet...





I don't think I'll ever get tired of admiring our Castle...






First stop, Fantasyland.





Looking good!




We had a couple of goes on Peter Pan (can never resist no queues in there... had to do it twice!!), and a cruise in It's a Small World, where we were COMPLETELY alone!! (Since Dumbo was being refurbished, IASW was open instead)

See? No one behind us...

(Grumpy there was complaining that I was taking too many pictures, and that he wanted to go on Buzz instead of IASW...  :lol: )

And no one ahead!


It was a bit strange, feeling alone in there, but in a good way... Like the ride had been opened specially for us!!



After that, it was time for Discoveryland... To be continued!

[sasjegbruv123]

loving this trip report, really lovely pictures