Well here goes. What follows is a tale full of wonder and excitement, highs and lows, smiles and laughter, the memories that were brought back and the things that were left behind .........................
Sunday 13th Sept [/b]
"It's OK troops, the antigravity sickness will wear off momentarily. Now let's move!"
Set off at 8.45am for the airport and arrived at 9.30am. Checked in, through security and relaxed. Happily the flight left on time. This was my first flight with Aer Lingus and it was pretty good (although I'm a complete trembling wreck during the landing. I hate landing, hate it I tell you)
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Got our bags and headed to Terminal 2F to get the VEA shuttle. Everything was going so well I was expecting a spanner to be thrown into the works. We got to the hotel, and I prayed we had a room close to the reception. We got 2 connecting rooms on the 6th floor of the east wing, 4 rooms away from the elevator !!!!!! Sweet.
The view from our room in Disney Hotel had been of the bushes, Sante Fe's view had been of a crummy volcano. So when I looked out of the Newport Bay window, my chin hit the floor. I mean ,wow !!!!!
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My mum was also very impressed with the view. Basically I took photos of the view at every opportunity all week long.
As we were all hungry we headed down to the Village for some dinner. After a bit of pondering, we decided on Annette's. Afterwards my mum and her boyfriend headed back to the hotel for a sleep, while we headed into the park for the final 2 hours (7pm -9pm)
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This was my first time in the park when it was dark. As we always go in September, the park closes at 7pm. I would love to show you lots of lovely night time shots, but my camera just wasn't up to the job (maybe if I'd had a tripod, but some turned out all right).
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Headed via the dragon to Fantasyland, and the Mad Hatters Tea-cups as it was gonna be closed the rest of the week. OMG the cups were nearly impossible to turn. Me and Jasmine tried our hardest but couldn't get them to spin any faster than 2 mph. I hope this is the reason for the closure (well, and to clean to very dirty roof and replace the worn-off matting on the saucers.)
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Then we had a quick run around Alice's Labyrinth. While some of it looks nice and clean, and the curbs hae been painted, there's still a lot of work needed. The loose spotlight on the floor that I nearly tripped over last year still hadn't been fixed.
Then it was on to Dumbo, before a quick bash at Buzz Lightyear's Laser Blast (where Elisha beat Joshua ......... Joshua not happy).
After that we headed out of the park, stopping to take photos at every turn (sadly 90% had to be deleted)
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Back at the hotel, we tried to get our tired little kids to sleep. But Joshua discovered how to get the Disney Channel on, so they ended up staying awake till 11pm
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Well I was too tired to care, and I fell asleep before they did. But not before I took one last photo of the day.
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Tomorrow after breakfast, it was time for my mum and her boyfriend, Sam, to experience to true magic of Disney first-hand !!!!!!! To be continued ..............
=D> =D> =D> Great start to the trip report, any chance you will have it all finished before I leave tonight? ha :lol: :lol: :lol: no pressure!
I love the photo of your kids hugging its so cute! :D What a fantastic view you had!
I'm still very curious as to what you left behind hehe!
Great pics! :D :D :D :D
Well you don't hang about. Good report so far. I love Discoveryland in the dark. 8)
Only 2 days to go!!! :D/
As usual...looking forward to the rest of the report!
Great pictures too, your kids are really sweet!
I especially like this picture:
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great pics cant wait for more!
Looks like everyone enjoyed Disneyday 1 :lol:
Now that's what I call a night view........
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=D> =D> =D>
Good to see you start this report on time unlike another certain Irish member :oops: :P
Great start to your report PD :D/ How did you find flying with Aer Lingus? And more importantly how was the fantastic Newport Bay? What a view btw 8)
Now make with part 2!! *shakes fist* :twisted: :mrgreen:
I go tomorrow so look forward to reading all about it when i get back.
Your night shots are lovely, and your children are adorable!
Very nice start to your Trip Report there Pete's Dragon, I used it as a taster or starter, now awaiting for the start of the main course.. :mrgreen:
Keep it flowing.. :wink: :D
Quote from: "-breeno-"Great start to your report PD :D/ How did you find flying with Aer Lingus? And more importantly how was the fantastic Newport Bay? What a view btw 8)
Thanks everyone. Breeno I thought Newport Bay was a fantastic hotel. The rooms were really spacious (especially after Santa Fe), the view was breath-taking, and the breakfast was .......... well, I'll leave that until Tuesday's part :?
One thing I forgot to mention. When we first went into the room, there was a sealed envelope lying on the bed. I opened it to find this letter
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I thought this was a beautiful little touch. So much so, that I immediately put it into my suitcase (right beside the Newport Bay postcards and the soaps and showergels from the bathroom, and the stationary and pencil from the drawer, and the Do Not Disturb sign. Yip, I lifted them all straight away :lol: )
Hi Pete's Dragon - thanks so much for posting your trip report! We are heading to the magic tomorrow so it's exciting to see photos of the park that are so recent.
Reading the trip reports on here makes it seem all the more real...looking forward to reading the rest but it might need to wait til we get back hehe.
I am in love with your photos! you have two beautiful and happy children, and I hope you all had a fantastic time!
Did you have a normal room or did you stay on Admirals floor? either way that veiw ... just WOW! does everyone who stays in NPBC get one of those letters or did you go for a special occation?
Reading your trip report is making me even more excited for my trip
1 Month, 4 Weeks and 5 Days :D/ :D/ not long now lol
Can't wait to read more :D
I'm not sure about the letter. My mum got one as well in the adjoining room.
We were on the 6th floor, and a sign by the lifts said Admiral's floor, but we didn't get any special perks. I think it's because we were in the east wing, and not the main central part of the building.
Still nice view!
Great report. couple of questions. What do you mean when you said headed via the Dragon. I have never seen this when we have gone. where do I find this????
Thanks
I think he means the Dragon under the Castle :wink:
how do you get to the dragon under the castle?
:offtopic: Sorry PD :oops:
The front entrance is here
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You can also enter through a side entrance or via Merlin's Shop inside the castle
Welcome back PD, I'm glad you had a great trip :)
Great start to your trip report PD, I really enjoyed reading it and seeing your photos. The letter at NPB is a really nice touch; makes it more Disney to me :wink:
I'm looking forward to the rest :P
Quote from: "Clarebelle"I think he means the Dragon under the Castle :wink:
Oh no, we had our own private Dragon which picked us up at Main Street and flew us to Fantasyland :P
ooooo I want one of those! :P
Wow what view you had from your room.
The letter was a lovely touch.
Great report so far PD =D> ....looking forward to reading the rest
Monday 14th September
"Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, it's off to work we go .... :-"
As much as I wanted to hit the park for the Extra Magic Hours, the earliest I could convince everyone to get breakfast at was 8am. Ah well. Headed down to the restaurant and stuffed myself with croissants until I was fit to burst. Now my mum, Jasmine and I all had empty shoulder bags with us when we sat down. When we left we had approx. 20 ham-filled croissants between us hidden away for later.
My mum really wanted to go on the balloon, but apparently it was too windy today. And according the the BBC Weather report before we left, this could be our only dry day of the week ( so much for buying new shorts )
Made it to the park shortly after 9am and posed for the customary "hoo-ray we're back!" pose.
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Then it was on to the castle. Both previous times Joshua has been, Arthur's sword was fenced off. So when he saw it, he ran straight to it, unconcerned with the group of Japanese tourist trying to take photos.
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And of course Elisha needed a go
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After a quick go on the Carrousel de Lancelot it was back onto Dumbo. There was a 5min queue, but my mum decided against waiting. This didn't bode well for the rest of the vacation. Then we headed over to Alice's Curious Labyrinth. When we got there I saw a dreadful sight. The infamous staggered opening times board. Apparently the Labyrinth was only opn between 11am - 5pm. This is the first time I've ever encountered this, and it was really annoying. As we started to walk away, the CM removed to board and opened the gates. Hoo-ray !!!!
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As It's a Small World didn't open till 10am, we decided to take a little walk down to Buzz's Laser Blast, the one ride my mother had been itching to go on (I think she fancies herself as a mean shot). But we didn't get to far, as the area was teaming with characters !!!!! Joshua wasn't too bothered, Elisha had to be restrained !! So first off she raced to Timon (first time I've seen him in the Park)
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Then on to King Louie. My mum posed too as the Jungle Book is her favourite
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Next up Tigger, who got an extra big hug from Elisha. Honestly my daughter is very shy and won't talk to people she doesn't know. Yet dress them up in a suit and they become her best friend !!!
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Elisha didn't go near Ratcliff, and the queue around Robin Hood was unbelievable. By this time it was after 10am, so we backtracked to IASW.
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As we were close by, we decided to do Pirates and Peter Pan before heading to Discoveryland. Casey Jnr. and Le Pays des Contes de Fées were closed. I remember them doing this last year, and only opening them Fri-Sun :( . Anyway we got our Fastpass tickets for Peter Pan and headed to Pirates. When we got there Elisha remembered the ride and started to cry (dosn't like it because it's too dark), but being the evil parents we are we took her on it anyway. Afterwards Elisha said she really liked it, but she wouldn't go on Peter Pan (to her, another ride that's too dark)
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So while we hung around waiting for the Fastpass time to come, I noticed that some sort of show was about to take place at the Fantasy Festival Stage. Elsiha thought it was going to be Winnie the Pooh, oh how wrong could you be. It turned out to be a bunch of local school children dancing to pop-tastic hits :?
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But Elisha was quite happy to wait ther with my mum and Sam. Well, she did have a giant lollipop to suck on
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Time for Discoveryland !!!! After another go on Buzz (again Elisha beat Joshua, Joshua not happy. I got 450,000 ish, must do better), we headed over to Star Tours. We thought that Elisha would get scared, but she absolutely loved it. Her eyes were like saucers the whole time, and she kept saying "ooooh" and "ahhhhh" and "that was close". Needless to say she couldn't wait to get back on it for another go !!!
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It was getting near lunchtime now, so we headed to Videopolis, but they didn't do Hotdogs (Joshua's choice). Well in my opinion, if you wanna Hotdog there's only one place to go, Casy's Corner !!
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While me and the kids had our scrummy hotdogs, everyone else got tucked into the croissants Stolen from breakfast. As we were finishing, we got our first ear-bashing from Minnie's Party train Music. The tunes all right, but Minnie's screechy voice really would want you to rip off her hair bow and gag her with it
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After 5 1/2 hours in the park, the kids, my mum and Sam wasnted to go back to the hotel for a little rest. I didn't realise at the time that we wouldn't get back to the park today. Kinda gutted, half a day wasted. Ah well, plently of time left in the week.
At around 6pm we headed down to the Village for something to eat in Billy Bob's Buffet. Food was good, but the choice of desserts was poor. No Black Forest Gateau or even a sniff of cheesecake. After dinner we bought outfits for the kids. Jack Sparrow for Joshua, and Belle for Elisha (the same Belle we bought her last year, and cried until we changed it for Cinderella after 5mins of wearing it !!)
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Headed back to the room for a couple of hours of Disney Channel. Along the way I took one of my favourite photos (its actually my desktop wallpaper at the minute
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As my mum and Sam were a bit shellshocked from all the walking, we decided that tomorrow would be Walt Disney Studios turn as they could sit down a lot during the shows. Of course this woul be after breakfast, if we ever managed to get into the restaurant ..............
Haha your son really makes a convincing pirate!
Your daughter also makes quite the fashionmodel there.
Another great report and lovely pictures!
Great report. Can't wait to read more. Fab photos! :D
I'm loving your trip report so far, Joshua and Elisha look gorgeous in their outfits :D
I can't wait to read more :D
Fantastic report, lovely story-telling, terrific photos and some funny comments once in a while :P
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That picture is absolutely amazing! I can understand why it is your desktop background =D>
And btw your kids are adorable and just make all the photos even better :)
Tuesday 15th September
"Lights, Camera, Action !!"
Had the alarm set for 7am, but I woke up at 6.43am. I actually woke up about 15min before the alarm everyday, no matter what time I set it for.
We headed down for breakfast just after 8am. I remember on Monday that the queue when we left the restaurant was almost to the top of the stairs, so I was a bit nervous about leaving so late. And my fears soon became a reality, but not for the reason I thought. This wasn't the normal mad scrum for croissants.
Some bright spark in management had closed off one of the restaurants. Why, I hear you ask. Well for only €6 you could treat yourself to a full hot American style buffet breakfast. Pretty good deal. But it meant closing a restaurant for a full hour between 7.30 and 8.30am to accomodate !!! This led to a massive tailback, and a lot of queue jumping. Now I don't want to create an International Incident on this Forum, but the vast,vast majority(99.9995%) of queue jumpers were Spanish. ( I'm no linguist, but I do understand and recognise the word 'Vamonos').
After another 1000 croissants, some really duff coffee and more stocking-up by my mother, we went back to the room to put the kids dressups on. Now the weather for today was supposed to be rainy, but the information board at reception said cloudy but dry. We crossed our fingers.
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Joshua - 'Not another photo'
Elisha - 'I want fabulous, that is my simple request....'
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Off to the Walt Disney Studios. Now before we left home, Jasmine warned me not to plan out every step of our holiday. So I didn't tell her that I had most of the day planned out. Last year in WDS we must have wasted over an hour walking from show to show, missing the start times for everything.
So today plan was
* WDS @ 10am
* Quick go on Cars Rally
* Animagique @10.45
* Cinemagique @ 11.30
* High School Musical @ 12.00
* Stitch Live approx 12.30
* Motors Stunt Show @ 1pm
And that's pretty much how it went. Slight sidetrack before Cars Rally, as I spoted Buzz Lightyear posing for photos
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Everyone really loved the stunt show, especially Sam and Elisha
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Elisha was really absorbed in the whole show, but you can probably tell from the photo
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After the show, my mum headed back to the hotel, and took the kids with her. Freedom !!!!!!! I tried to drag Jasmine onto Tower of Terror, but she said her tummy was a bit rough (i.e. Chicken !!!), so we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain. As we had 4 park tickets with us, we got 4 Fastpasses. The it was over to Hakuna Matata for a coffee and a Mickey Cake.
Big Thunder Mountain was fantastic. Its the first time in 5 years that we were able to go on it together, and not have to worry about Babyswitch. After it was over, we ran back to the Fastpass entrance and went on it again.
Then Jasmine gave me a choice. She would go on One of the followng rides next, And Only One : Indy, Space Mountain or ToT ..........
....... back to WDS it was then.
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The CM's must love working here, cause they put soo much effort into being creepy. One guy in particular deserved an award. He seated the group in front of us, then stared at us for ages from the service elevator with one eybrow raised and the fingers twitching on one hand. Everyone was in stitched, but he kept a straight face thoughout.
Anyway, nobody on the ride could hear themselves scream because I was laughing so loudly. I truely love this ride, and I have the hoody to prove it. Oh yes ! I said I wanted it before I left, and when I tried it on it was really soft and comfy. The best thing about it that it doesn't scream 'Disney'. Unless you know about the ride, it could be from anywhere.
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I tried to convince Jasmine to go on it again, but I was pushing my luck. It was near 5pm so we headed to the Village for some peaceful shopping. Honestly there's nothing more annoying than trying to stop 2 hyperactive children touching and asking for everything their little eyes happen to stumble upon. I managed to buy another shooter glass to add to the collection, while Jasmine bought a large handbag with I 'insert red MM logo here' MK on the side. I spied a watch I liked the look of, but I'm not one for wearing watches so I left it for now.
Met up with everyone at the room. Mum and Sam had been looking at the hotel restaurant menu and decided to go there for dinner (I wasn't for arguing, after all they were paying !!!). The buffet was beautiful. I had 2 helpings of baby roast potatoes and Pork Casserole, without doubt the nicest thing I have EVER eaten at DLP. Even nicer that Annette's Burger Challenge, or the €45 steak from the Disney Hotel restaurant.
I went up with Elisha to get dessert and she was nearly knocked clean across the room by a Spanish couple trying to grab the last of the Cream Caramel ('Vamonos, vamonos!!')
After dinner, my mum filled a bag with various sweets, 6 apples, 2 yogurts, and a kiwi. I managed to take 8 doughnuts with me. After the fiasco at breakfast I was now taking what I could. Even the kids were getting in on the act and walked out with 2 ice lollies each.
Back to the hotel for a beautiful sunset.
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Well, the entire day was dry. But at 11pm, the heavens opened for about 30mins. Again, it was supposed to rain all day tomorrow, and this was the day my mum was heading into Paris on the bustrip leaving from Hotel New York. So it was time for our customary visit to Cafe Mickeys. After 2 days of croissant for breakfast and lunch, my tummy was yearning for some sausages and bacon.
To be continued....................
NB If you are reading this, and are Spanish I do apologise for portraying your fellow countrymen in such a bad light. If what I've written has annoyed you, then I suggest you don't read the rest of my report, as my encounters only get worse from here on out (especially come Friday).
Great trip report, and you have such a beautiful family. What did your mom and Sam think of DLP?
Quote from: "davewasbaloo"Great trip report, and you have such a beautiful family. What did your mom and Sam think of DLP?
First off, they loved the hotel and the view. We walked to the Esso station one night to get some drinkies, and you should have heard to complaining they did about Santa Fe. I believe they likened it to a refugee camp.
They loved the food, after they got used to the inflated prices. Sam wasn't too keen on all he walking, and I don't think they spent more than 5-6 hours a day in the Parks.
But they loved seeing Joshua and Elisha having fun for an entire week, and tried to spoil them rotten at every opportunity.
That reminds me. During dinner on Tuesday Joshua had gone to get some watermelon, and my mum had followed. When I went up they were both standing at the end of the buffet. I peered over my mum's shoulder just in time to see her lift little red sweeties down and give them to Joshua.
"Quick" she said to him "get that in your mouth"
To which I replied "Yeah, before your father sees you"
My mum jumped about 3 feet and Joshua started sniggering. Ah grandparents, what can you do :lol:
As far as the rideds went, my mum loved Buzz's Laser Blast, Pirates and Big Thunder Mountain. Sam absolutely loved Cinemagique (who doesn't) and kept asking when we were going back into WDS. But neither of them enjoyed Star Tours, bit too bumpy for the old timers :P
EDIT : Oh and Davewasbaloo - I bumped into a couple of people you might appreciate .......
Sounds like fun. Who did you bump into?
Ah now, that would be telling. You'll just have to keep reading future installments.
Same Bat-Time. Same Bat-Channel ..... !!!!
Quote from: "Pete's Dragon"That reminds me. During dinner on Tuesday Joshua had gone to get some watermelon, and my mum had followed. When I went up they were both standing at the end of the buffet. I peered over my mum's shoulder just in time to see her lift little red sweeties down and give them to Joshua.
"Quick" she said to him "get that in your mouth"
To which I replied "Yeah, before your father sees you"
My mum jumped about 3 feet and Joshua started sniggering. Ah grandparents, what can you do :lol:
:lol: Hi-lar-i-ous!!! =D> :P
Great reports so far, I need more! :wink:
Another couple of great reads there Pete's Dragon, unusual to hear about the way the Spanish were reacting, not the obvious choice I must say.. :shock: :o
Now I must say that I'm sure that the last trip report you did had loads of pictures of most of the meals you had eaten, but this time none. In fact I think it was looking at your photos of the food in Annette's Diner that made me try that place on my last trip.. :mrgreen:
Saying that, your explicit descriptions and quantities of food you managed to down sure make up for it.. :lol:
I thought I heard someone saying there was a ham shortage last week in the NPB.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Thanks again for sharing, looking forward to the next instalment.. :wink: :D/
Quote from: "Javey74"Another couple of great reads there Pete's Dragon, unusual to hear about the way the Spanish were reacting, not the obvious choice I must say.. :shock: :o
Now I must say that I'm sure that the last trip report you did had loads of pictures of most of the meals you had eaten, but this time none. In fact I think it was looking at your photos of the food in Annette's Diner that made me try that place on my last trip.. :mrgreen:
Saying that, your explicit descriptions and quantities of food you managed to down sure make up for it.. :lol:
I thought I heard someone saying there was a ham shortage last week in the NPB.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Thanks again for sharing, looking forward to the next instalment.. :wink: :D/
Actually, I didn't take any pictures of my food. I think its because my mum was there and I didn't want her asking what the hell I was doing.
Great trip report, thanks for posting :)
Another great installment with beautiful pictures and great stories - thanks for sharing!
Hello ! Did you miss me?! Sorry i haven't been on lately , i have been REALLY busy with school , in Year 10 :P .
Anyways , back on topic.
GREAT TRIP REPORT !!!! Sorry to hear about Elisha getting knocked over , people have no manners for children . That view , OMG ! Thats sooo cool ! That's like a one-in-a-million chance to get a view like that :wink: :wink: :wink:
Class trip report so far PD..'Good Jab' ;) :P
You seem to have had a great time so far :)
Great start to the report PD :D Very much so looking forward to the next installments.
Just don't go all lazy and forget about it like me please, as they say over here, "Keep 'er lit!!" :P
Quote from: "Pete's Dragon"Actually, I didn't take any pictures of my food. I think its because my mum was there and I didn't want her asking what the hell I was doing.
(//http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc266/javey74/Donald%20Images/DonaldinFits-1.gif) Just tell her it's a Disney thing.. :mrgreen:
Wednesday 16th September
"Hi diddly dee, an Actor's Life for me"
Weather report for today, like everyday, was rain. Yet once again the Gods were kind to us. It was cloudy which kept the temperature at around 17C which is nice weather for walking around.
With my mum heading off to Paris, and after the fiasco that was breakfast the day before, we booked a place at Cafe Mickeys. Again Joshua was Capt. Sparrow, while Elisha went for her Snow White outfit. I think this one suits her best, especially with her dark eyes and hair, and her lovely round rosey cheeks
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First on the menu (as it were) was Dale. I instantly turned into the biggest kid in the room. My knife and fork were put down as soon as I saw him, and I waited as patiently as I could. Elisha got her photo taken first (grrrrrrrr !!!)
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And then it was my turn. If the sight of a fully grown man smiling just a little bit too enthusiastically over another man dressed in a fluffy costume is disturbing, then don't open the spoiler.
[spoiler:35lyyepp]Yip, I'm the biggest kid in the World
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And if you think that's bad, wait until my next encounted with Chip and Dale on a following day !
Next was Goofy and then Dale
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By now I'd calmed down a little bit (well on the outside anyway)
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Then all the characters disappeared. We'd all finished eating, but I wasn't going anywhere until I'd seen all 6 characters (always seems to be 6). So I drank my coffee very slowly. Joshua needed the toilet, and of course while I was away Price John, Mickey and Pluto had appeared at our table, and I had the camera in my pocket. Luckily being the good-hearted mouse that he is, he looped back around to us when I returned.
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After breakfast we rushed to the park, but once inside we stopped for 15mins. The band was playing !!! Fantastic hearing the classics being played live (Bare Necessities, Zip-a-De-Doo-Da .... can't remember the rest)
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We headed straight for Phantom Manor, which of course hadn't opened yet ( grrrrrr, staggered opening times). So it was time for our first ever trip on the Molly Brown. Jasmine gets very bad motion sickness, even on soemthing like this. But she braved it anyway (but stayed away and didn;t look at the water)
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Even though Elisha protested we headed back to Phantom Manor. Then I decided to take a chance and headed over to the Critter Coral to see if any characters were about. I was expecting to see Woody or maybe Jessie. What we got instead was a snaking queue which went firstly into a hut where Goofy and Pluto were hanging out ...........
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..... then over to another hut when Mickey and Minnie were ..........
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...... and finally out and onto the platform to see Sheriff Woody.
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Then as we were leaving, the Sheriff of Nottingham. Sweet, 6 characters in 20mins
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We then decided to wander about Adventureland, and head towards Pirates (which had somehow become Elisha's favourite ride. :? ) Then Boom !! more characters. First was Baloo, who Elisha remember from last year as the giant bear who kept tickling her.
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And Gepotto
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Robin Hood was there as well, and Elisha really wanted to see him too, but the crowd was unreal. And was helped by [spoiler:35lyyepp]Spanish[/spoiler:35lyyepp] visitors pushing everyone out of the way. NOT pushing there kids to the front or trying to squeeze in from the sides. No they were physically pushing others kids back and then taking their places. Unbelievable :shock:
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After the Treehouse and the rope bridge, me and Jasmine took a little rest and let the kids run around for 1/2 hour in the playground beside Captain Hook's ship. Joshua was too warm and took off his Jack Sparrow costume. By now there was no chance of rain as all the clouds had cleared and it was becoming really warm.
Fully rested, we headed off to Pirates. As we were passing the Blue Lagoon Restaurant I spied the larger Jack Sparrow. I quickly put Joshua dress-up back on including his hair, even though the poor little chap was still too warm. But it paid off. There was a massive queue for autographs, but Jack stopped and immediately grabbed Joshua. He kidded and joked with him for a good 5-10mins and I think Joshua got a little embarrased with all the attention
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After Pirates, followed a quick blast on Peter Pan, the Labyrinth, IASW, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Snow White and Lancelot's Carousel. Then Elisha, completely out of the blue, decided she would like to have her face painted. This is unheard of !! The girl was always to scared at local fares or at kid's parties. Yet here she was asking to be made up like a butterfly.
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And that was pretty much it for the park that day. We headed back to the Hotel and met my mum, who had a lovely time around Paris. To my shock she had taken a grand total of 6 photos !!!!!!! Huh ?!?!?! Only 6 ?!!?! And they'd chickened out at the 2nd floor of the Eiffel tower. So we headed down to the hotel restaurant again, and I had the stewed pork again. Hmmmmmm, delicious.
Afterwards (and after 3 days of nagging) we took the kids to the swimming pool. I have one word for the water , COLD !!!! It took me 20mins to get fully in. I went down one step at a time, and sometimes reversed back out again.
The kids had a great time splashing about. After an hour me and Elisha discovered a little Jacuzzi, and neither of us could be persuaded to get back into the pool.
(oh yeah, we had to pay €2 x 4 for the towels. What I didn't realise was that you paid at the hotel gift shop. The lady gave us the towels and told us to we could pay later .......... ok, sure ...... will do ....... oops, I must have forgot :) )
After the pool we all had showers for 1/2 hour before heading back to the room for 4 back-to-back episodes of The Suite Life on Deck, and one little quick Phienus (?) and Furb before bed.
To be Continued................
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Another real enjoyable read, I've never seen so many character photo's in one straight run on a Trip Report. Nicely done Pete.. :wink: :D
I must say without a doubt, you were all enjoying yourselves, the photos really prove that.. :D/
Looking forward to the next instalment now... :wink: :D
Quote from: "Javey74"Another real enjoyable read, I've never seen so many character photo's in one straight run on a Trip Report. Nicely done Pete.. :wink: :D
I must say without a doubt, you were all enjoying yourselves, the photos really prove that.. :D/
Looking forward to the next instalment now... :wink: :D
I know, I hadn't even made a plan of looking for them, they just seemed to appear. I was happy with the ones I saw at breakfast (obviously!!).
Although Elisha wasn't. The rest of the day she kept saying she still had to see Donald, and she meant it !!!!
Quote from: "Pete's Dragon"And then it was my turn. If the sight of a fully grown man smiling just a little bit too enthusiastically over another man dressed in a fluffy costume is disturbing, then don't open the spoiler.
[spoiler:2gt0f9dn]Yip, I'm the biggest kid in the World
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WOW! Now
THAT'S a smile! :P
A highly enjoyable report so far PD, I really cannot wait to read the rest :mrgreen:
Wow that many characters in one day!? :shock:
Great update PD, can't wait to read the rest of it (honest, sometimes in school i'm sitting there thinking "i wonder if PD will update his trip report tonight?" when i should be doing something about these GCSEs :? :P )
I love all the character photo's, you've met a lot in one day!
And your little girl makes a beautifull butterfly.
another great addition to your trip report PD :D
I love Elisha's butterfly make-up :) I would love to meet Jack Sparrow :) Its great that he spent time talking to Joshua like that. Thats what makes the Disney magic :D
Another great report with some great photos - and extremely many characters :o
These pictures describe the magic of Disneyland - everyone is having the time of their lifes. Look at those smiles:
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Thanks for the great trip report so far.
Thursday 17th Sept.
"Donald, Donald. Where for art thou Donald?"
Once again another forecast of heavy rain, courtsy of the BBC World service (hotel channel no.13). Once again completly false :?
Was really worried again about breakfast and the whole 'closed restaurant fiasco' on Tuesday. And sure enough when we got down there, one of them was closed. We joined the queue and started to snake our way round, when a manager came out of the closed restaurant and started telling people to go in. Sweet, the buffet had finished, but they still had sausages, bacon and scrambled eggs left over ! So quick as a flash, I filled 2 plates worth and so did Jasmine, Sam and my mum. Now that's what I call Karma. Needless to say everyone else realised what was going on, and all the hot food was gone within 5mins.
Now with a really full tummy we headed off for Discoveryland, as the kids had been dying to go on Autopia. We joined the queue at 9.30am when my mum said the most unexpected thing - she wanted a go on Space Mountain !!! So off me and her went. To be honest, she didn't scream as much as I thought she would, probably because she didn't know what was happening. I personally didn't find it as bumpy this time, due ti the fact I pushed myself hard into the seat the entire time.
When we got off it was 11.10am and everyone else were nearly at the front of the queue by now. We both ran for it, and then had to crawl on our hands and knees below 2 lines of people. Everyone was in hysterics at the sight of my mum crawling underneath the barriers. We got our cars : Mum and Joshua, Sam and Elisha, while me and Jasmine got a car each for once (hoo-ray, no fighting with the kids over who was diving)
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Next it was off to Fantasyland for another go on IASW. As we cleared the Castle Stage, I saw something off in the distance ....... Characters ! And more importantly Chip and Dale, Together !!!!!! I ran, and the kids followed. The kids got photos first as I realised I had to wait for another grown-up to appear and take photos of me with the giant chipmunks
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"That's it, play it cool. Don't go crazy, or they will call security"
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Next we got Tweedle-Dee or Tweedle-Dum. I sure some eagled-eyed Forum member can tell them apart.
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Then it was Prince John. Joshua refused to kiss the Royal Finger, and Prince John got very upset. So eventually I bent Joshua over my knee and Prince John gave him a Royal (yet very gentle) spanking
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Then Friar Tuck and Smee.
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But still no Donald. Where was he ? It's not like it's hard to miss a giant, 6 feet Duck dressed like a Sailor. Anyway, off to IASW, then Alice Labyrinth, Peter Pan and then Pirates. We then took a walk through Adventureland towards Phantom Manor.
Along the way we bumped into the.....
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Another first for me, as I'd never seen them perform before. After 10mins we walked on. Got 6 Fastpasses for BTM, then went over to Phantom Manor. And lo and behold - more characters and another first for me as I'd never seen either Jack or Sally (though I have a feeling they haven't been out and about for long)
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This was a really weird encounter. Jack kept telling everyone who he was, like he'd presumed no-one knew who he was supposed to be. And Sally never spoke once. By the time I'd taked photos I noticed everyone else had walked on. No problem I thought as there was be a bit of a queue. I got to the front gate and it daid 5mins ! I looked up and there was Jasmine waving furiously from the front door of the Manor. Eeeek, I ran as fast as a could, knocked 2 children and and old granny over (kidding :P ) and reached them just as the doors opened.
Afterwards we headed to BTM. As Elisha and Sam didn't fancy it, we used 4 Fastpasses for my mum, Joshua, Jasmine and I. Then straight after Jasmine and Joshua went back on. As we were waiting at the exit, a CM came down to talk to some of his friends. So when Jasmine and Joshua appeared I walked over to him and said 'babyswitch'. He then led me and Joshua back up for another go. Lucky little sod, 3 go's in a row !
My mum and Sam decided they were gonna have a quick look around the shops then head back to the hotel for a rest. Later they would tell us they saw more of the park than they meant to, having wandered into Adventure Isle and getting lost for over an hour. And after me telling them to head towards Le Chateau if they got lost, honestly :roll:
With the old people out of the way, we decided to trek over to the Studios for another visit to Stitch Live. We reached Main Street just as the Party Train arrived. Instantly Elisha saw Donald Duck. Me and Jasmine both groaned at the thought of fighting our way through the crowds to see him, but Elisha was primed for full tantrum mode. So we strategicaly positioned ourselves at the entrance to Adventureland as we hoped this was were Donald was heading to. How wrong could we be, he waddled off to Discoveryland. [strike:1a4xmdqc]Not one to disappoint my daughter[/strike:1a4xmdqc] Not wanting to listen to Elisha crying I picked her up and ran. Luckily no-one had this idea and we were second in the "queue" (if you can call it that. I perfere organised chaos).
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Fee-yooo. Hopefully that was all the characters she wanted to see.... ....... wrong! As we were leaving, she saw Jessie. So ......
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Honestly, at the start of the holiday we had decided not to go looking for characters due to the scrums, and that the 6 at Cafe Mickey would do. But at every turn, whether in a lightly used corner of the park or on a main pathway - boom - characters ! Having said that, as we made it to the Studios the Stars and Cars parade started :?
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We watched the parade until the board said 20 spaces and 10mins to Stitch. If my maths are orrect this was the 6th time in total we'd seen Stitch Live, and it was by far the worst. The guy wasn't that funny, and he spent so long trying to get answers out of an Italian child who was shy and not very good at English that he dropped about 75% of the routine.
By now everyone was looing for a little snack to keep them going. So I suggested we give the revamped Blockbuster Cafe a try. But, of course we bumped into someone along the way
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Then another one
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And 2 more. We were 2nd in line for a photo, but 2 Spanish families arrived after us and barged there way to the front, with no reaction from the CM's. If I knew how to have an argument in Spanish, I would have :x
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OMG, the cafe was deserted. I dont know if its because RnRC is closed, or if they were waiting for the Stunt show to finish, but there was a total of 1 staff member working. I must admit, I perfer to HSM to the Pirates section. The POTC area is too dark and dimly lit, even if the themeing is better.
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We left and went over to the Snow/Ice Queen's throne when Elisha spotted Pluto again. She was away so quick, I had to take photos of her from about 40meters away
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Over to the Magic Carpets, no queue in sight. Actually the whole Studio looked empty, with Crush's Coaster saying 20mins ! Headed over to Cars Rally (still only 1/2 working) when we saw Emile at the Toon Studio Photo Place, and the poor rat was crying on the CM's shoulder. Awwwwwwww, no-one wanted their photo with him. I told this to Elisha and she ran as fast as she could. She tapped him on the leg until he turned around, then she gave him a big giant hug. Joshua too. It was funny because at the time none of us could remember his name
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After Cars we headed over for some Screaming and climbing over Mike Wazowski, then decided to leave. But of course with our luck being what it was on this vacation, we bumped into more characters (*sigh*)
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Couldn't get near the Stitch, the Spanish were going crazy !
NB This is not Spanish-bashing, these are the facts. At every turn, at every character, at every ride, the only nationality I encounted that were pushy, arrogant and rude were Spanish. I'm sure the majority of Spanish visitors are lovely and pleasant, and do their country proud. Sadly I seemed to be a magnet for the bad ones.
This meant that Elisha had a new must-see character, but our time was running out.
We got to the Village, and made the biggest mistake of the holiday. We gave into the kids moaning and pleading and hired one of those peddal cars thingies. OMG it was pure torture. After 4 days of walking, the last thing my tired little legs needed was 20mins of cycling around Lake Disney (which isn't at all flat !!). Jasmine wasn't much help as she could barley reach the pedals
Yeah, I'm smiling now. I wish I had a photo after I'd finished
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Met back up woth my mum and Sam and went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Would have liked to have tried somewhere else, but if they were paying I was following.
Back to the room for more Disney TV. Some of us watched more than other ......
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..... everyone apart from Joshua fell asleep. Poor little boy got lonely and knocked on the door joining us to my mum's room. Apparently he spent a good couple of hours in there getting cuddled before he came back in. No-one realised until my mum told us the next day.
Tomorrow everyone was having a lie in, as we'd planned to visit the Sea Life at the Val D'Europe before hitting the parks for our last full day .
To be continued ...........
Another great installment with some great photos...
You seem to be true character magnets :P Great to see you and your family having a great time :D
Quote from: "forza_united"Another great installment with some great photos...
You seem to be true character magnets :P Great to see you and your family having a great time :D
Yeah, also during the parade Princess Jasmine, Aladdin, Mushu, Dopey and Snow White all came over to us. The crowds heaved back and forward so much I didn't get photos.
Another great update PD, I'm looking forward to reading what you got up to on your last day of the magic :)
What a lovely pictures Pete! You've got some sweet little ones :D
Amazing teip report and WOW that is a heck load of character :D cant wait for more :D glad you had fun
another great TP from you PD and loving the photos cant wait to see more!
Another great part to the TR PD :D/
Is it just me or did DLP management know you were going when you did, and purposly got all those characters out at that time. Maybe they're been following your posts on here :mrgreen: :P
Looking forward to the next day :D
Wow indeed you attract characters by the dozen! :lol:
I had to smile again seeiing your happy face with Chip and Dale haha.
And I love Sulley, so ofcourse I love this photo:
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Friday 18th September
"For a clown fish, he's not that funny."
After worrying about the weather all week, I woke up to this
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Nice! And more importantly the Balloon was finally in operation today, so after breakfast we went straight down and queued. There was still a breeze and it was quite noticable as the balloon was swaying really far from the central mooring, so only 4-6 people were allowed on at one time.
And now for the most annoying part of the trip. Ahead of us were 2 Spanish families, the first one was an old(ish) woman and her husband, then a group of 2 adults and 2 kids. Now just before the second family was going to pay, 2 more joined the first family. Basically they pushed there way through the queue. The father from family No.2 wasn't a bit happy, because he now had to wait another 15minutes for his go. But the woman from family No.1 was a right mouthy cow, and so a full scale shouting match erupted. The 2 newcomers got fed up and went and sat down, which calmed the situation. But the woman paid for 4, which started things off again. Then the 2 who'd sat down came barging through again at the last second and on the went.
What followed was a shouting match between guy No.2 and the poor young girl in the cash desk. She kept saying she hadn't seen them jump the queue, even though everyone else in the line tried to signal that they had (by pointing at their eyes like Robert De Niro in Meet the Parents).
I can understand why the guy was upset, because it meant he had to wait a bit longer. But I see the first's family's point of view also. Anyway it was eventually our turn.
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Jasmine doesn't like heights and didn't let go or even move once the balloon started lifting. At least she done better than Sam, who sat out the whole experience.
Next it was to the train station and off to Sea Life. OMG was a price. If memory serves me right it was about €13-15 each and that was for 2 OAP's, 2 sudents and 2 kids. In total I think we paid €85 to look at some fish :?
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The kids seemed to enjoy it, but once they'd seen a fish like Dory, they spent the rest of the visit running around looking for Nemo
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When we got outside the weather was fantastic. I wish I'd worn my shorts and was tempted to go back to the hotel and change, but that would mean less time in the park, so I endured. Sam really, really wanted to see Cinemagique again so we headed to WDS. And oh what a surprise, we bumped into some characters along the way
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And more importantly for Elisha, Stitch. I must confess that this was the only time I joined in with everyone else and pushed her to the front instead of waiting patiently like I usually do.
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We were a bit early for the showing so we sat and had a coffee across the way. Nearer the time a saw people coming up to the CM and then leaving, not a good sign so I went to investigate. The show was due to start in 5mins but I kept hearing the French for 15. But just as everyone was about to leave the CM's phone rang and then he let everyone in. Hoo-ray, problem solved ! While we sat and waited inside, I fianlly noticed the guy dressed like Martin Short come in and sit down. I must have seen Cinemagique at least a dozen times, but this was the first time I'd spotted him arrive.
Sadly they hadn't fixed the problem completely. Just as they swing out of the Death Star and into the field, we lost the sound :( The strangest thing was nobody seemed to care, everyone sat in complete slience which was a really spooky experience (but in a really good way). But sadly the CM's stopped the show before the whole sword-ripping-the-screen bit, which was met by groans from the audience.
Elisha was very sleepy now (2pm) and it was around that time for my mum and Sam to disappear, so they took Elisha back to the hotel for a little sleep. Joshua and Jasmine went for a bit to eat, and I rushed off to ToT for the final time.
Afterwards we headed over to Frontierland for some more BTM. I really wish RnRC had been open, I'm 100% sure that Joshua would have loved it. Then we headed to Fantasyland vias the castle. As we were leaving Joshua noticed the wig-wams and asked could you see them. I showed him that the gate said CMs only. But then I had a quick look around and saw absolutely no-one around, so I turned to Joshua and shouted RUN !!! which he did.
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We went to see if Casey Jnr was open and it was, for another 15 mins. Honestly, they close this bit all week and then open it for 5 hours on a Friday, why? Is it really that much of a hassle for the park staff to have this bit at the very back of the park open? We had one quick go, and then rushed over to Le Pays des Contes de Fées. On the way out we bumped into Belle and Gaston (not surprised anymore) but didn't take any photos because we didn't want Elisha to find out and get all upset.
Headed back to the hotel to find out our daughter hadn't slept at all, and had bounced on the beds for the last 3 hours. Decided to head into the Village for dinner, as I fancied a change, but my mum stayed in the hotel. Elisha wanted her Minnie Mouse -esque dress on and I finally got a pair of shorts on. So we set off for the Rainforest Cafe at 6.30pm. (always make a point of eating in the Village before 7pm to avoid the crowds)
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The food was pretty good, even though I ordered the Chilli Bacon Burger and the waiter forgot the chilli (which I eventually got when he came to ask if everything was ok). Decided to have a Margarita, which was yummy. I wanted another but we'd promised another trip to the swimming pool. Finished dinner at about 7.30pm, back to grab our swimming gear and into the pool just after 8pm and stayed ther until nearly closing time.
Back to the room, only a little Disney Channel tonight as I wanted to get up extra early for Extra Magic Hours (really hadn't used them so far). The kids watched one epidose of the Suite Life while me and Jasmine tried to squeeze everything back into the suitcases. Arranged to meet my mum tomorrow at the hotel around 12.30pm, and then headed off to bed.
To be concluded ...............
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another great part to your report :D and you must have met every character there is in the park :D
Wow you met tons of characters, and you have some great photos!
We went last week and i agree about the Spanish visitors, it seems they all think rules do not apply to them and they can do whatever they please.
I ended up filming the parade and arguing with a Spanish family at the same time because they wanted to stand in front of me and my DD, the mum went crazy when i suggested next time she get there 30mins before hand.
Saturday 19th September
"You can fly, you can fly, you can fly, you can fly"
After being promised rain for the entire week, could we avoid it for one last day? I woke up at 7am to see a beautiful sunrise in progress. Things were looking favourable
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Grabbed our suitcases, had one last check we'd remembered everything and said goodbyr to our room. Checked out, left our luggage in and headed to breakfast. We got the the park just after 8am and managed to grab a lift on the Mian Street Transportation Co.
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Headed straight to Buzz's Laser Blast - no queue (Joshua finally beat Elisha ....... Elisha didn't care). Then Orbitron - no queue. Went over to Fantasyland for a go on the newly reopened Teacups. To be perfectly honest I have no idea what they'd been doing all week. The matting on the saucers was still thread-bare in the majority of places, the roof was still filthy and the floor could have done with a mop and scrub as well. But the cups seemed to turn a bit easier, but I'm not convinced it required a week to do whatever they did.
Afterwards we went on Dumbo were me and Joshua fought over who was in charge on the lever. To which I had a clever solution, an elephant each (much to Jasmine shock)
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Another go Peter Pan's Flight, then over to Lancelot's Horsey Ride
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At every ride you could slowly notice the queue times increasing. By 9.30am we decided to head over to Autopia. As we joined to queue I noticed hoards of people waiting at the end of Main Street, OMG what a lot of people. Luckily we were let into Autopia just before they dropped the barriers. For the next 10mins it was just a constant stream of people heading into Discoveryland, the majority of which heading for Space Mountain. Jasmine asked me why they were waiting outside the ride, I told her that was the end of the queue. I think she was quite glad we weren't staying for much longer today (and so was I)
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When we got off the park was packed. The Fastpass for Buzz was for in 2 1/2 hours time, the queueing time for Space Mountain for 60mins, so we decided to head for a ride which was fast moving and had a high capacity - It's a Small World. And what a good choice it was, and a fitting last ride to go on, it nearly brought a tear to my eye.
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We waved goodbye to Fantasyland and head for Casey's Corner for some hotdogs. Winnie the Pooh was signing autographs just outside, but we didn't have time. Luckily Elisha didn't spot him, and to make sure she didn't we grabbed our food and headed for the Fantasia gardens.
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Bye-Bye Disneyland
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Met up with mum and Sam hit the hotel gift shop. I bought the watch I'd had my eye on, Jasmine got an ornament of Stitch climbing the Eiffel Tower, Joshua got the double-barreled gun he'd had his eye on and Elisha got Cinderella toys. She asked if she could play with them in the room and we told her we weren't going back to the room and our holiday was over. Then it hit her that there was no more Disneyland and she atarted to cry. Jasmine took her off me because I was about to cry to.
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While the girlies went for a bathroom break, me and Joshua went exploring down towards the convention centre - nice, a recommend a visit to anyone staying at the hotel.
Grabbe our bags and waited for the VEA. But not before a got a last photo or 2
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The bus arrived and off we went
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Now the fun begins. The driver stopped at 2F and let the first lot of passengers off. He then asked everyone where they were getting off, and we told him 2B. Now when we stopped at 2D, I asked him about 2B and he said next stop. I said to everyone we should just get off here and 2B is connected to 2D. To which some mouthy Belfast cow in the seats in front said she'd done this before and that it would be better to wait. I sniggered to myself. But my mum and Sam listened to her and before I could say otherwise the driver took off ..... and drove past 2B ....... and on ..... and on ..... to Terminal 3 !!!!! I tld everyone we were at the wrong terminal. Mouthy-Belfast-Cow tweeted again 'I've been here before, this is were you get off'. Ok, so that's 2 times you've been a complete idiot. I got off and grabbed the driver and asked why he hadn't stopped at 2B, he just shrugged his shoulders and said we had to get off here. Wonderful. So off we got and grabbed our suitcases and headed towards the airport train. Then it hit me .........
Now at the start of the report I mentioned the stuff we left behind. Well, this was it. I'd been in so much of a rush and a tizzy getting off the bus that I'd left my shoulder bag in the overhead storage. Inside were the kids jumpers, my sunglasses, Jasmine's Stitch ornament, and most importantly the travel documents for the flights. I was quite upset, and cursed myself for being so stupid. Joshua, the little sweetheart that he is, came over to me and said it was ok, I could have his Spiderman schoolbag if I wanted. I could have cried. We got the train back round to terminal 2F! From now on it's TGV for me, I don't care about the price or how long I end up waiting in the airport.
Luckily we were flying Easyjet. And luckily Jasmine had carried the passports. We showed out passports at the check-in desk and everything was fine. As were sat down in the departure lounge I noticed Mouthy-Belfast-Cow in the queue to check-in. I was tempted to ask her what kept her so long, but I was too annoyed with her to be sarcastic.
Our flight left early and we were back in surprisingly-sunny Northern Ireland for 5.30pm. Grabbed our car, drove to Coleraine, grabbed a McD's and went home.
All in all a great holiday, but sadly it will be a long time before we go back. Actually this could be our last visit to Disneyland Paris. There's a growing sense of been-there done-that with the park. We'll see after university is over and done with. But by then Joshua will be nearly 10, and we might consider WDW. Only time will tell.
The End.
P.S. Hidden Mickey !!!!
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Fantastic report [-o< [-o< Thankyou for sharing.
Fantastic report with a great ending!
Thanks for sharing your holiday, lovely moments, pictures (and annoying encounters with spanish families) with us :)
That was a fabulous trip report - sigh, I'm sad its all over :( .
Holiday Recap
Ride Count
Lancelot Carosel - 2
Dumbo - 3
Peter Pan's Flight - 4
Pinocchio - 1
Snow White - 1
Casey Jnr - 1
Le pays des Contes Fees - 1
It's a Small World - 5
Alice's Labyrinth - 4
Mad Hatter's Tea Cups - 2
P.O.T.C. - 5
Big Thunder Mountain - 7
Phantom Manor - 2
Orbitron - 1
Autopia - 2
Space Mountain - 1
Star Tours - 2
Animagique - 1
Cinemagique -2
Stitch Live - 4
Flying Carpets - 1
Cars Rally - 2
Tower of Terror - 2
Rides Missed
Honey I Shrunk the Audience
Nautilus
Indiana Jones
Tram Tours ( :cry: )
Art of Disney Animation ( :cry: :cry: :cry: )
Playhouse Disney Live
Armageddon
Crush
Rock n Roller Coaster - Closed ( :cry: :cry: :cry: )
Characters Met
Errr, really would take too long. Let's just say, All of them.
Except Daisy and Winnie the Pooh.
Things That Need Fixed
Mad Hatter's Tea Cups - needs a serious clean, not just a week's closure to tinker with the mechanics
IASW - See-Saw at the end. The Ferris wheel was broken, but fixed the next day
Alice's Labyrinth - The spotlight on the floor I nearly tripped over last year is still wobblely. Still a lot of work needed to the general look of the place. But the Giant Cheshire Cat was very clean, especially is teeth.
HSM - not to have a party going on at the same time people are trying to listen to Cinemagique !
Most valuable Lesson's learned
It's so much nicer meeting characters in the quieter parts of the park eg. Casey Jnr, outside Blockbuster Cafe, or at organised photo places eg. Toon Studio etc.
Minnie's Crazy Mad Panic Party Train - bad
Make sure you've lifted all your belongings before leaving !
Best Moments
Seeing the view from the hotel room.
Getting rid of the kids for 3 hours and going on BTM and ToT with Jasmine
Having IASW as the final ride of the hoilday.
Elisha going from being scared of POTC, to raising her hands in the air for the water slides.
Worst Moments
All the stuff mentioned about the arrogant Spanish visitors.
Losing my shoulder bag
Having to come home
Overall Holiday Rating - 8.5/10
Only one ride break-down, not having to pay for dinner, unbelievable amount of characters.
No RnRC. Spanish.
Thanks for sharing your great and personal report Pete! :)
Im so sad you have finished your trip report :( thanks for sharing your wonderful photos with us. Your ones on NPBC were amazing I really can't wait for our holiday now!!
Fantastic end to your trip report PD =D> I'm sad to see it end :(
I completely agree with the Spanish visitors. We tend to see a lot of out of control Spanish kids and parents who simply couldn't care less. I remember a few years back in Terminal 3 there were Spanish kids running up and down the check-in lounge with the baggage trolleys, crashing into everything and everyone, and the parents just sat there watching them and having a smoke (this was back in the days you could smoke indoors). Like you said though, no offence to any Spanish members.
Can't believe it about that Belfast one on the coach. Some people really do think they know it all when they haven't a clue :?
Did you have any contact info in the bag you forgot on the coach? Maybe if you ring/e-mail VEA they might have the bag in some lost and found, it's worth a shot surely?
hay PD what a great trip report I am sad now it is over as reading it you had such a great great time.
I miss DLP so much and hope maybe to go back next year as looks like wont be this year will just have to see
Wow I've missed 3 more instalments.. :oops: :shock:
Well while it's fresh in my mind, this is Tweedle Dee. His mouth is wider than Dum, also there names are written on the left side of their white shirt collar, unfortunately not seen on your shot.. :mrgreen:
Quote from: "Pete's Dragon"Next we got Tweedle-Dee or Tweedle-Dum. I sure some eagled-eyed Forum member can tell them apart.
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But you can compare them here>> :mrgreen:
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Also Brian, I noticed there was no shot of you near Donald, I wonder if he remembered you threatening him.. :lol: :P
Anyway another fab read, just off now to read the final 2 instalments.. :D/
Just finished reading the final instalments now.. :wink: Great reads to end with.. =D>
Well I'm sorry to hear about your finale, did you not try phoning the VEA company, it's just I know they can return left luggage back to you.. :) Seems a shame to lose all of that.. :roll:
Once again thanks for sharing.. :D
Great trip report PD!! I'm sad that its finished :( I brought a stitch climbing the eiffle tower figurine, but it was so squished in my suitcase that all his finger nails and one ear fell of :( But luckily some super super glue helped :D
Like Javey said can you not phone the VEA and see if they can return your lugage?? [-o< I've heard from a lot of CM's that they find some Spanish visitors to be overbearing and very rude. :( Some one needs to tell those people how to conduct themselves in DLRP :x :)
Once again, a lovely trip report!! I'm glad you all had a wonderful time :D
Quote from: "Pete's Dragon"While we sat and waited inside, I fianlly noticed the guy dressed like Martin Short come in and sit down. I must have seen Cinemagique at least a dozen times, but this was the first time I'd spotted him arrive.
Haha, we noticed him on our last trip too - I remember my Dad nugding me and nodding his head backwards towards him to show me he was there. I didn't have a clue what he was doing at first :lol:
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WOW! Just wow! :o
Thanks for sharing such a great trip report PD, it's been a joy to read =D>
I'm sorry to hear about the problems at the very end (I agree with the others that you should try to contact them ASAP though), but I'm glad that overall, you all had a magical time :)
what a wonderful report....read it all in a oner....my eyes are on fire!!!lol
loved it all!!! xxxx
Hey PD, brilliant trip report! =D> =D> =D> I am only getting to fully read it now!
I have to say the children looked so cute in their costumes, esp Elisha as Snow White!
Looks like you met so many characters which was great for the kids, I agreed with most of your comments on things and am glad someone else felt the same as I did. I came across some rude guests too and cast members! Which I will talk about in my report also... it's sad that people have to be like that when in such a magical place!!
The sea life place sounds very expensive! I have often thought of going there!
Jasmine was very brave going on the balloon, I would love to but have never managed to build up the courage yet .... :oops: :oops: :oops:
You were so lucky to get on casey jnr, I never seen it open, unless I missed it, I haven't been on it since 2007, I love that ride I wish they would leave it open! :(
The Rnrc was still closed whilst I was there and that part of the park seemed deserted, I looked into the 'new' blockbuster cafe and agree that the priates area looks too dark and that I think I prefer the brighter look of the HSM area, even thought I hate HSM hehe!! :P
It seems like in total you had a great trip! :D I understand your final comments about feeling you have seen it and done it all and would consider WDW next, I kind of feel the same although no doubt I will return to DLP as soon as I can.. I can't help it hehe! :P
Thanks for a great report! :D
Amazing trip report =D> and I agree with you about the Spanish :x
Thanks everyone. As for my bag, I went to the Information desk in CDG and the nice ladies there rang the VEA desk at 2F, who in turn rang the drivers. Sadly I had to leave before they called back, but I left my email address just in case.
I got home and no email, so I emailed them. They gave me 2 numbers to try, one for the VEA at DLP and one for CDG. CDG didn't have any baggage, and the guy at DLP didn't speak very good english. So I emailed VEA again and asked them to talk to the DLP office. Sadly no luck
As my travel documents were in the bag, I thought maybe someone would have handed it into the Easyjet desk. Again no luck :(
The bag is gone. But at the end of the day there was nothing vitally important in there. The sunglasses were only a week old (and on sale) so I went back to the shop and bought another pair. I bought another bag but its not as nice, but it does the job (too many compartments, borderline women's bag :? ) And the kids have plently of jumpers anyway.
It could have been worse, at least my camera was in my trouser pocket and Jasmine had the passports.
Great report!
I've been to the Sea Life centre too once, it's indeed really expensive! But overall it sounds like you've had a magical trip, despite the inconviniences in the end.
Quote from: "Rorschach"Amazing trip report =D> and I agree with you about the Spanish :x
Not to make a big of a deal about this, but please don't put every spanish person on one side of this opinion.
We have some spanish forum members to and come on, every country has it's ups and down sides!!! :)
Great trip report. Your sunrise picture is beautiful. :D
Thanks for sharing your hols with us PD :)
My favourite pic from your visit.......
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SBC looks magical with the sun setting behind it 8) =D>
Great trip report and your holiday sounds great despite some rude people like [spoiler:2c2rc0i8]Spanish.[/spoiler:2c2rc0i8]
Great report PD!!
Sorry about the Spanish guests, I'm always sad to see that they are some of the worst people there... And I'm Spanish!
And thank you for those beautiful pictures... There are some incredible ones!!
Quote from: "Soap"Not to make a big of a deal about this, but please don't put every spanish person on one side of this opinion.
We have some spanish forum members to and come on, every country has it's ups and down sides!!! :)
Oh I totally agree. As I tried to point out several times I was in no way bashing the entire population of Spain. But just as I seemed to bump into all the characters without trying, I also seemed to bump into the minority of ignorant visitors and they all were sadly the same nationality.
I sure that on the other side of the park, at the very same time, an English/German/Italian/Swedish or Ukrainian family were pushing their way through the crowds too. Heck I even did it myself (once, but I was driven to it)
I am so jealous I wanna go back to Disneyland (even though I was there 3 weeks ago).
Your photos are amazing, thanks for sharing them with us.
P.s Your kids are adorable :)