Ok, Ok, so we still have a few days to go! Just be grateful I didnt start the pre-trip part back in January when we booked! :p
So, we are going back after three long years! Its too long
*Cue Barboza in my head .... "For too long I've been parched of thirst and unable to quench it. Too long I've been starving to death and haven't died. I feel nothing. Not the wind on my face nor the spray of the sea...... "
AHEM! Get a grip Sam!
Anyhoo! ...
So who is on our trip?
Me (Obviously!) Sam, 21 and a very beautiful 5'10 model.... OK, so double the age and quadruple the waistline and skip the beautiful bit-lets go for pleasant looking at a distance :p .....
DH- Mark-Long suffering husband. Likes Disney-Loves Meg from Hercules :roll: His favourite thing about our Disney holidays is people watching ... and not any people ... just us :) He loves to see how happy we are!
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DD - Steph - 18- Off to uni and so this may be our final family holiday (cant see it somehow!)
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DS - Rob - 10 - His support teacher has know since January how long we have til we go to Disney! :)
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(Taken in Legoland Windsor)
We are travelling overnight from Portsmouth to Caen, then driving down to the magic. Now last time, dear Susie Satnav took us through the center of Paris ... I am really hoping it doenst take us that way again, but you never know!
We are stopping at the Newport Bay, Admirals floor
And we are eating at
Cafe Mickey (With a birthday cake for Rob (Its a small surprise! I hope it goes well-little nervous that it wont overwhelm him...)
Blue Lagoon
Inventions
Walts
Steakhouse
and then back to Inventions for our last night.
Our intentions are!.......
To see Dreams! Steph has avoided watching ANYTHING to do with it! I will pack more tissues as I think she may cry!
The parade
The train
A day in paris .....
To see at least one Princess
To see Mickey
To do descent of the stairs .....
To ride Big Thunder Mountain more than once! Last time it was down so much, we only managed to ride it once :(
Anything else is a bonus!
I would really love to do a tour of Disneyland Park, but still working on DH on that one :)
We have the paperwork for Rob to have an exit pass (ASD), but we will do a lot of life skill building this time.
We will make the most of EMH, eat lunch and dinner early, so whenever anyone else is eating, we will be riding.
Make the most of the fastpasses where we can and just learn to be patient when we queue.
We go to Legoland and Chessington a lot and we have had practice, making sure Rob doesnt feel crowded and playing daft games in the queues!
Oh and when its too much, we have NPBs pool to go and cool off in!
So now we only have a few days to go, the packing begins!
:D/ :D/ :D/ :D/ :D/
Have a great time!!!!
All sounds fab... we are on countdown to 2 and half weeks for us yey!!!!
I'm already excited to read your trip report!
Have an amazing time, I still have to wait till November before I can set foot on sacred Disney ground again!
I am very much looking forward to reading your trip report! :-)
Have a magical trip all four - the parks are shining in the sunny Parisian summer right now :-)
Sounds like you're going to have a wonderful trip! Have a lovely time :)
Sounds like you're going to have a wonderful time! I hope that the weather stays nice for you :) I'm looking forwards to your trip report already!
Thanks all! :D
Just reading that made me very excited :D/ Have fun =D> :ears:
Have a great time! Hope you achieve all your goals! But most of all I wish you a wonderful time as a family!!
Hope your all having an amazing trip and the weather is ok. Cant wait to read your trip report and also very interested to see how your day trip to Paris goes. :D
Hi all! Having a fab time, but DH not 100%. Its no biggy, but dealing with two asd kids in Paris when one adult isnt firing on all cylindars seemed like a mad idea :( We feel safer in the parks, close to our hotel if either kid is finding it too much. Oh well! We will just have to come back again to do Paris!
So sorry to hear your plans arnt running to plan so far. I have to agree, being in the parks does feel very safe when your have children with health problems. Fingers crossed the rest of your trip is amazing and great excuse to go back to sample Paris sooner rather than later :)
Well the check list is all ticked apart from Paris and we are off to investigate if we can do a tour of one of the parks instead, so its all good apart from DHs cold :) Just chiling in the room before heading off for a swim and leaving DH for a sleep! ..
Such a shame about your Paris trip, but wonderful to hear that everything else is going according to your plan! Then it sounds like you are having a fab time :-)
I cannot wait to read your trip report once you have returned.
Enjoy the rest of your stay :-)
Morning all!
Just a quickie post. I will write my trip report in a bit-Wading through 1200 photos! I am sure I will delete loads as I was playing with my camera, but I really got to know it :D
We have had an AMAZING time. We didn't manage to book a tour. I am rather glad I didnt though as Mark and Steph both felt a bit rubbish full of cold-we just pottered around the parks and still anaged to have a great time :)
Hi,
Glad you had a great time. I look forward to you posting a few pics on the photo of the day post
Ian
Well, I tried my best Grovesie-And I think I got some good pics :)
OK, so here we go guys! Lets see if I can remember everything as it was one whole week in the magic! :D
THE NIGHT BEFORE....
So Sunday night we drove all the way to Portsmouth for the ferry-such a long way to travel! 20 minutes! :shock: :-" :lol: We travelled with a smaller ferry company last time. But this time opted for Britanny ferries. We had a room with a window and, although it was small, it was perfect. The ship was big and clean and we were very impressed. We will certainly be using them again :)
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DAY ONE
Although it was lovely, none of us slept well. So we awoke on Monday morning feeling a little rough-One thing to take note of, if travelling overnight on the ferry, they dont give you long from waking you up with some pretty music in your cabin, to getting off, so take something you can eat on the road! We had packed Yum Yums and brioch so were able to eat and go-others were rushing to grab a croissant and coffee whilst we were looking smug!
We jump in the car and, just as last time, Sally satnav insisted we go back, drive to Dover and come across at Calais! Rolls eyes! Mark ignores Sally for a while and heads off following other cars in the general direction of motorway signs. I sat, holding my Disneyland Paris print out (Very useful, as it has toll road prices on ;) ) and praying we wont drive through Paris again! Oh how foolish I was! Of course we drove through Paris! I just kept looking forward as Mark marvelled at the driving going on around him! Mark is experienced at driving through the continent, but Paris is ... an experience!
In hindsight, we wish that we had actually parked and gone into Paris, as by Friday, when we were planning to go in, Mark and Steph were feeling full of cold and Rob needs quite a bit of support. I really didnt feel brave enough to venture into Paris. Ah well, it gives us a good reason to go back.
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(WOOHOO! Spotting the signs!)
Having safely made it through Paris's rush hour (When will we learn???) we arrived safely at NPB. :)
We popped in, picked up our park passes and headed into the Park.
First stop, city hall for Robs disability pass. The queue was HUGE! And it was very hot.
Standing in line, a lady approached us and enquired what we were queueing for. So I explained. She said "O, I was hoping to find out about fast passes. I really didnt want to stand in line for that!" So I duly explained how fast passes work! :lol: The lady thanked me and said she would look out for me in case she needed to know anything else!
I turned round to find Steph and Mark laughing at me! "Back in the park five minutes and already helping fellow guests!" :lol:
Once we were armed with Robs pass, we headed off for our traditional Caseys Corner lunch-very hot and very tasty :)
Then to our traditional first ride-Star Tours! :D
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We were so hot by then we just walked around soaking up the atmosphere, before heading back to get our room keys :)
Back at NPB, we queued for our key, only to be told that the manager was checking our room ... Would we like to have a cold drink in the bar whilst we wait? So, we sat with our complimentary lovely cold drinks. But it wasnt long before our room keys were handed to us.
..... Well, ladies and gentlement, back in 2010, we had the most beautiful room (room 7274) with double views, lake view, where we could see ToT and the castle. I had written and explained this room had been perfect for Rob, as its tucked out of the way from the lifts and is very quiet.....
Yes, you've guessed it. We had the very same room! :D I couldnt believe it and kept thanking the CM! She must have thought I was slightly loopy!
We went up to the room and it was just gorgeous! OK, so its not decorated yet, but it was tidy and very clean :)
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We unpacked, sorted ourselves out, before heading to Cafe Micky for tea :)
Still working on photos, so will add them to the report later. :)
So off we trotted to Cafe Mickey.
A quick comment on the security tents-We were at NPB so went around the back of EoS, towards McDonalds. We had occasion to see people attemtpt to skip pass the bag check-Now most of the time, people apologised and went to the back of the queue to have their bags checked. Unfortunately, one time we witnessed someone get quite rude and aggressive towards the man on security when he called them back. I cannot believe someone could be so rude to somebody doing their job. It really made me sad to see him behave like this. The man on security was polite and civil throughout and then waved the rude guest through with a "Have a nice day!" which caused those left in line to smile. What a shame though :(
Anyhoo! Back to Cafe Mickey!
Well, we were sat within minutes of turning up. Our order was taken promptly and arrived hot at our table. We were all so hungry at this point, I dont think it would have mattered about the quality of the food, but it was very tasty!
We were sat by the conservatory and we saw characters go out there-I know people have had problem with this in the past, so it was great to see. There were even two birthday cakes which were chased by either Goofy or Tigger :)
We had the main mouse, Minnie, Goofy, Tigger and Pluto arrive at our table-Goofy decided he needed to use Rob as a table and lean on him, which caused Rob to cry with laughter! Then Goofy attempted to eat Robs garlic bread!
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The main courses were Rob-Pizza. Steph-Fish and chips. Mark-Steak and Me-Tagliateli-All were hot and tasty! Marks steak was perfectly cooked :)
This huge meal was followed by dessert! Steph and I had ordered the pineaple and fruit dessert.
When it arrived it was HUGE! The waiter laughed at us as we both looked shocked at what we had to eat! :lol:
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And then, the birthday music started! Tigger came bouncing over to the table with our waiter and the kids birthday cake! The waiter presented us with knives, but Mark asked politely to have it boxed up so we could take it away! :lol:
We had premium meal vouchers for the week. We had presented our vouchers at the beginning of the meal. At the end, the waiter gave us two options-even with the birthday cake we hadnt used up the value of the vouchers! So either we could surrender the difference of Robs voucher, or we could pay 15 euros and get to keep Robs voucher! Brilliant! :D
We made our exit and waddled back to the hotel-Once we were all showered and sorted it was only 9:30pm, but we hadnt had the best nights sleep. It was decided to call it an early night, so we would be fresh for a whole day on Tuesday.
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(So similar to a photo Rob took 3 years ago from pretty much the same spot! :D )
Great report so far! Can't wait for more and pictures :D
Cant wait to see pictures, loving the report so far. Taken note of Ferry you used too, thank you :D
Fabbo cant wait for the rest! Only 84 days before we go for fireworks!!
Hi guys! Sorry! Lifes been a bit busy here. I promise to update over the next few days.
And I have photos sorted.
OK, so now I have the photos sorted I need to try and remember in what order things happened! :lol:
DAY TWO
We had breakfast in our room that morning.
(The price is now 6 Euros a head, not 10 Euros for all now, but we still decided that, rather than face the hastle in the restaurants, we would do it a few mornings. Please remember,we only go every few years. So we really go over the top with the whole experience. We wouldnt do room service otherwise.
Also, to get breakfast in the park, I asked. They were not readlily offered to us.)
Anyway, back to breakfast-Rob munched his way through croissants, whilst Mark, Steph and I had fruit salad and yogurt and cereal, with tea and hot chocolate. And very nice it was too.
Then it was into the park for EMH. Buzz was our first visit-The kids and I tried to hit the targets without letting Mark know how to get a high score....Evil I know, but lots of fun!
Then round to tea cups, before heading over to Peter Pan and the rope drop for Adventure Land. Rob had decided that he wanted to do Indy and Steph was up for it!
As the rope dropped, everyone ran for POTC whilst we pottered off to Indy. We arrived just as the CMs were letting people through, so Steph handed over her bag and she and Rob lined up for Indy.
Now, Rob started to worry as he couldnt see over the shoulder harnesses and wanted to back out, but a very nice man in the queue pointed the harnesses on the cars that had just pulled in. So Rob was happy to ride :D
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Steph looking a little concerned about taking Rob on his first coaster here. Apparently, after the loop he shouted "I did it!!!" :D
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Adnrenalin rush! :D
Then it was off to swashbuckle some pirates.
We were amazed to see that, after the big rush everyone made for Pirates, the queue was only 20 minutes long.
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Pirates swash buckled, we headed over to ride BTM :D
HOWDY FOLKS! Please keep your hands and arms inside the train and remain seated at all times!
As to what we did then is lost on me. I believe we may have caught a ride on Peter Pan too before we caught sight of the train. We are not sure what happened, but Goofy was on the last carriage with Pluto-we didnt go hunting autographs as we had three character meals booked-but we could see HUGE scrums around all the characters, but especially Goofy. Anyway when the train came past us, ther ewas no Goofy :( I had an awful feeling the crowds got a bit over excited and he had to make an exit, stage right.
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I do believe we did Peter Pan and maybe Star Tours before we then headed back to the hotel, as it was very hot and we wanted to have a rest and a swim, before heading into the Park to watch Dreams :)
The pool at NPB was a welcome sight. Rob was certainly overwhelmed and hot and a swim is exactly what he needed. So we had a lovely long swim then headed back to our room. Once I had picked up our meal vouchers for the evening, we plodded along to The Blue Lagoon.
Now ladies and gentlemen, a word of advice here-get someone else to check you have picked up the right vouchers .... I managed to pick up 4 child vouchers instead of 3 adults and 1 child! And we didnt realise until we got to the Blue Lagoon and the waiter checked them! So we're in the Blue Lagoon and our vouchers are in NPB. What we should have done is just used the vouchers and paid the difference, leaving us more adult vouchers for the week, but Mark, being the wonderful husband he is syas "I'll be right back!"
So its 6:00pm-people are taking up their spots for the parade. We are at one on of the furthest points in the park and I am thinking he is a complete loon!
So we sit at our table, right by the river and watch the boats on POTC drift past - I keep looking to the entrance every 5 minutes (Crazy-it takes 30 minutes to get through the park to the hotel, without having to jump over crowds!) And I keep apologising to the kids and to our waiter (who was brilliant and told me not to worry)
......
35 minutes later ... My ex soldier husband comes over the bridge with the correct vouchers! The army term is YOMP-which means to walk at speed and determination-and he did it! To NPB and back in 35 minutes!!! - Jumping over people sat on the kerb and everything! :D/ =D> :D/ I kept apologising profusely, but Mark said it was fine! The man is amazing! Give Mr Tubbs a round of applause!
A large beer was ordered as his reward as well as an appreciative "That was impressive!" from our waiter!
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The food in Blue Lagoon was amazing! Rob had the childrens meal-He isnt keen on DLPs starters for kids, but the adults starters are so huge, he enjoyed eating my prawns! He then had pasta for his main.
Mark had a very well earned steak, Steph-pork and I had the surf and turf.
Then our desserts came!
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We could hear "OOH!"s from other tables and even boats drifting past! :lol:
Dinner finished, we waddles out of Blue Lagoon (Three courses for a week, left us feeling VERY full come Saturday night!)
And headed to Peter Pan.
We waved quickly to our friend, Carmen, who works on the ride and Rob noticed Carmens Peter Pan ride pin. We do collect pins, but very rarely trade-so Rob decided that the Peter Pan pin would be his pin he would buy this holiday :)
So, we settle down to enjoy our ride when ..... The ride stops and the lights go on!
OOPS!
A couple of cheeky photos anyone?
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We played eye spy, doing the sketch from Brother Bear "Tree, eh?" then decided to add Smee into the mix!
"Eye spy wi .. "
"SMEE!"
:lol: Drove Steph mad slightly!
But after about 10 minutes we were on our way again :)
Then it was off to do the SCARIEST ride in the park! Hold on ladies and gentlemen!
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Mark sang along, much to Robs chagrin ....
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Then it was off to get a spot for Dreams :)
Great pictures, cant wait for the rest of your report :D
PS: Need to test your knowledge of Legoland when you have time if thats ok? Plus after your detour through Paris again, any hotels you might have seen that we could stop off in next year :oops: Sorry to ask xx
Thanks Julesk-Just hanging around, day tripping, over the next few weeks, so ask away about Legoland :)
As for hotels, we did see Ibis and Etap on the way through :) I know Steph stayed in one close to the motorway with her school a few years ago. It was awful, so will see if she can remember the name of it so you can avoid it :)
We got our spot for Dreams and chatted with people around us as well as playing games-
Mark played sodukho and Steph and Rob played Professor Layton! :roll: :lol:
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And we waited for the sky to get dark....
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I dont want to give Dreams away for anyone who hasnt seen it, but it was amazing!
Rob and I had watched it on Youtube (Good ol' DLRPMagic!) but we didnt tell Steph a thing. And I am so glad I didnt! Steph fell in love with Dreams and shed a few tears over certain things that meant a lot to her, making me cry too! Soppy pair!
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Loving your trip report so far Tubbsy. Really pleased that you and your family had such a lovely time. You've got some lovely photos as well. I'm terrible for just taking pictures of the rides etc but after seeing yours I'll definitely take the time to take pictures of my family as it's the only way to capture those expressions!
Thank you :)
Talking about photos-even though this photo isn't very clear, I love it as its of Steph watching Dreams.
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Thanks for this wonderful continuation of your report. :D
And this last picture of Steph really captures the atmosphere
of watching Dreams.
Thank you :)
I think it really does prove that Disney isn't just for kids. And it also proves to me that if we go to Disney in the coming years whilst Steph is at uni, I think she may just come with us!
So after a very late night, we really struggled to get up on Wednesday morning. The rain had come during the night and we opened our curtains to heavy skies. Breakfast was in Plaza Gardens this morning, so we needed to get up and get going.
The weather forecast was rain all day, so Mark ad Steph headed off to the car and grabbed our raincoats, whilst I attempted to get Rob going. NOT an easy task!
Hoods up, we trundled through the rain to the parka nd made our way to Plaza Gardens for a 9:15 slot. Now I had heard reports about there being no food out at this time in the morning, but, I am glad to say, there was lots of food :) Everyone tucked in, one person slower than the rest-I think Rob was still asleep!
Breakfast eaten we headed off to Buzz-Mark asking how we managed to get better scores than normal.
I should point out that my usual score is around 30000, so me getting over 100000 is a good score! Of course, we had NO idea what he was talking about :-" :^o
We decided to head round to Peter Pan, but met someone on the way
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Then it was time to make our way to Studios. It was a good day for doing all the indoor shows!
So, first visit was Animagique.
And this is my moan for the WHOLE week.
Rob had been doing brilliantly, queueing for everything-we had the disability pass, but hadnt really used it.
But as he was very tired and not really with us, but still wanting to do stuff, we thoguht that the pass needed to be used today-for Robs sake, our sake and the sake of other guests.
We showed Robs pass and the CM on the gate said that was fine and he had a seat and ushered us into the waiting area.
It was a nightmare! There were lots of people in there and we were packed in tight. The CMS were telling people to move forward, but we couldnt move in any closer. Rob was squashed in tight and began to panic! Then the doors opened and everyone started pushing towards the door, but the door had a fence in the middle of it, dividing it into two! Poor Rob was really upset-He clung to Mark and I shouted to Mark "Just go to the disabled area, w'll meet you there!"
We got through the crush, Mark calmed Rob down and we took our seats.
We did go to Studios guest services and reported what happened and they said that we should have waited outside the gate. We explained that the CM had ushered us in, but apparently we should have said "No." Hmmmmmm! :evil:
But it wasnt just Rob I was concerned for, it was little kids too. Robs a big 10 year old, but there were tiny people in there. It must have been just as scary for them too :(
We then went on to see Stitch, again using Robs pass. We met up with another family and had a good old chat. When we were called through, we stood near the main doors-the other family had a wheel chair.
When everyone else were called through and the doors opened to the main part, people were physically pushing past us and one woman jumped over the wheel chair to get in! Its not like we can sit anywhere else! We have to sit in the disabled area! :evil:
The little girl was transferred from her wheel chair onto the bench with us and Mum popped her wheel chair to one side.
Then the lady came and sat on the bench with us ... The CM tried to move her, explaining there were seats just two rows behind, but she said "I am sitting here!" and folded her arms!
Well, when the show was about to start, the CM got the wheel chair and parked it in front of the stroppy woman! She wasnt impressed! :lol: Me thinks the CM had seen exactly what had been going on!
Right! Sour note over! Lets move on!
Stitch was as brilliant as ever :)
We managed to find a dry spot and have some lunch.
Then it was onto Cinemagique-Same system Animagique but the CM said "It can be a crush, you have seats, just wait here." =D> Well done that CM!
On 5 visits with Studios open, we have never managed to see Cinemagique-and I dont know why. It was brilliant!
Then onto Art of Animation (Doing well dodging showers here!) We loved looking at the drawings in the queue line here, it kept Rob occupied ( And we made sure he had plenty of space, so didnt feel crowded by people :) )
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The rain had stopped so we decided to try Moteurs Action ..... I had warned the family that there had been a lot of cuts from it ....
OK, it wasnt as bad as we thought it was going to be. Shame they have taken bits out, but we still enjoyed it.
(somone had said that the man on the bike didnt slide through the flames when they saw it, I am thinking we were lucky, as he did when we were watching.)
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I think the Lightning McQueen sketch could do with a bit more .... OOOMPH though.
But Rob loved it.
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Mark and Steph wanted to Armageddon, so Rob and I decided to find a pitch for Stars in their Cars and watch that instead.
Rob BOOOED! the villains car and Cruella blew him a raspberry back!
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Then we went to meet up with Mark and Steph, who had timed it perfectly and had seen Stars n Cars go by as they came out of Armageddon :D
We decided to go back to the hotel for a swim after this as, even though it had rained all morning, it was still very warm and the sun was now coming out.
I was really pleased it had been a bit of a rainy day as it meant we got to see some parts of Studios I dont think we would have seen otherwise.
Swim had, we got ready for Inventions! :D/
We were in the small room, straight as you walk in - the view was lovely :)
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A Princess in Inventions!!!
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Rob got attacked by Gideon!
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Tigger picked on Steph and Rob!
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And Mickey, having waltzed with all the little girls in the room, decided to pose the kids! :lol:
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We also had Pinnochio and Goofy visit the table :)
I forgot to say, I think Rob ate his weight in fresh prawns! the meal vouchers certainly came into their own!
Then Mark surprised me with a visit to Cafe Fantasia! I was so chuffed!
Now, I had read about glowtinis, but we really dont drink a lot and I thought I wouldnt be able to drink it. So we opted for the Virgins. And they were really tasty.
Rob is a big music fan-he plays violin and piano, so he was completely in his element here. :)
What a beautiful setting. Yes, the drinks were shockingly priced, but we will do it again :)
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We were completely full and absolutely shattered!
So we decided to call it a night and head back to the room. But first a couple of pics on the stairs of the hotel ...
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I just love your trip report! :D I can't wait till it will be our turn.
I have a question about the disability pass. My son was recently diagnosed with autism. Do you think he can get a disability pass? And which documents do I need to present if so? We've been before and just planned around he's difficulties, but now he's diagnosed I thought maybe he could have some better experiences if he had the pass. :D
(I'm sorry english isn't my first language, so please forgive me if it's not correct :) )
Hi Sal! Thank-you :) I am really enjoying writing the report. I hope you have as good a time as we had :) Your English is fantastic-I can barely get by in French!
Fingers crossed you should get a disability pass. We took Roberts letter from his Paediatrician that had his diagnosis on it. It was on our Health trust headed paper. Our Doctor also wrote a letter saying that queuing can cause Robert problems. (This may cost you-it does in the UK) the letter must be 90 days in date before your trip.
Go to City Hall and hand over your paperwork and they will give you a pass.
They will then decide how many people can be on the pass with your son. I have heard different things- It can depend, sometimes they just let 1 person. We had 3. So there was 4 in all.
If you look at the photo of Rob playing his DS with Steph. Can you see he has bands on his right arm? The top green band is one that City Hall put on him-we made sure it wasnt on too tight so he could slip it off each night.
Robert did very well this time and we didnt use his pass as much as on other visits, but on days when he was overwhelmed it was really good to have.
Sounds like you had a nice holliday! :-)
Thank you very much for your helpfull reply. I'll try to get our doctor to write a letter with his diagnosis and difficulties and hopefully this will be enough. (I'm sure it also costs in Denmark) Otherwise we'll just get by as we've done in the past. But we'll definitely give it a try, because like you I think it will be helpfull when he's having a hard time.
I'm looking forward to the rest of your report. :D This time I think I'll also try to make a trip report. :)
Just make sure that it has an official stamp or headed paper Sal :) It will be great to read your report.
Thank you norhel :)
Ok, now I am beginning to struggle to remember what happened when! I think I need to go back and repeat it all over again to help me remember! :lol:
We had room service again... I remember that much! I also took a run down to the shop to get Mark a Grumpy thermos mug! He is well known at home for always having a cup of tea in his hand! And he was beginning to say he had a sore throat and wondered if it was from not drinking enough .... (Unfortunately it wasnt, it was the start of a miserable cold!) Once the Grumpy mug was suitably filled we headed into the park for EMH! Once again we made it to Buzz and we confessed to Mark how we were getting better scores. He prompty thrashed us!
Then we headed off to do tea cups. My lot have worked out exactly how to get the teacup to spin one way .... then JUST at the right moment, get it to spin the other way! :shock: :roll: Star Tours was just opening by this time, so we thought we would try and get to Endor again. Rob managed to throw the CM off track by laughing really loudly at his "May the force be with you!" in a ToT manner. The CM ended up laughing with Rob and saying "You, young man, have made my day!"
By this time the rope had dropped at Adventure land and we wandered over to jump on Pirates. It was then a casual strole down to BTM.
With only a short time before heading to Steakhouse in the village for lunch. So we took a wander round the shops and started picking out things we wanted to buy for presents and for ourselves.
We had eaten in the Steakhouse about six years ago at lunch time. The food had been great, but our waiter, Patrick, had really made the meal. He was funny and kept everyone entertained, whilst being super efficient. Well, it was a HUGE surprise to find Patrick awaiting our arrival once again! :D/
He was just as funny and just as brilliant! He even sat next to Rob, who was attempting to complete a puzzle on Professor Layton!
Once again we waddles out of the restaurant! This three course meal a day thing was really getting to us! :lol: We decided to head back to the room to have a rest for a while!
But on our way to our room I spotted ....
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But only to turn round when I heard Mark "Hook is a codfish!"
That was it! Hook grabbed Rob and was press ganging him onto The Jolly Roger!
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So after we had rescued our children from the swashbluckling pirate, we made it to our room to rest and cool down.
After a small sleep on my behalf ... :lol: we headed back towards the park and into the Disney Hotel in time for Descent of the Stairs.
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Then it was back into the park to see if we could get a ride in before finding a spot for the parade.
We ended up just wandering and soaking up the atmosphere
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And then, as we walk around the corner into Discovery Land, we bumped into someone ....
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How cool! It really made our day!
A quick ride to Endor again ...
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Then it was off to find our pitch for the parade and have some tea-Not that we could eat much! That huge lunch was still making itself felt.
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We then headed off to BTM as I have always wanted to ride it at dusk. I have no idea why! But it was fab :D Mark was not feeling great at all by this time, so we decided to head back to the room.
Even with an 'early' night it was still 10:30 before everyone was settled and in bed!
Mark even managed to see Dreams from our room... Unfortunately, not through choice. That cold was now really letting itself be known....
Tubbsy, ILOVE your report, it is giving me sooo many ideas, and extra ques! Just how do you get higher scores on Buzz Lightyear? And where + at what time of day did you see Chewbacca? My sons are absolutely star Wars obsessed, and we didn't see any star wars characters last time, although we'd seen darth vader in the past, but Chewwie but be soooooooo fantastic1 Also, I noticed you mentioned wristband, is this the common practice now, instead of a pass card, are they expected to wear it the full holiday, and how do they go about saying how many extras are allowed on each pass? Thanks so so much
Really love reading your trip report!! Using it for my next trip.
And just like Polar Fixen I world like to know about the score at buzz. World be fun to get high score, while my mum doesnt have a clue how im doing it ;)
OK, Polar Vixen, you still get a card, but they pop a band on too. We could pop a mobile number on in case Rob strayed, which I really liked. Yes, they are supposed to wear it all holiday, so I made sure it wasnt too tight, so we could slip it off to go swimming and for Rob to sleep at night. You need to be careful that it doesnt slip off too easily though and I can see people with sensory issues may find it uncomfortable. Rob wears bands for him to chew instead of biting himself, so it didnt bother him too much. But we did have tears when we first tried to put it on. Although, as soon as Rob got in both parks he asked where he should go if we got separated. (Years of training paying off! WOOHOO!)
Chewy was around about 5:00pm-5:30pm .... He was tucked round the corner-as if you were going round the back to Fantasy Land.
Buzz.....
Right, huddle in close people ... *Shhhhhhhhh!* :-$ I am sure there are more ways of getting high scores, but these are the ones I know of .....
Click on show below......
[spoiler:3d4mmr57]The best ones to hit are diamond and triangles and you need to hit them in the middle.
Also, hit any boxes that you think may contain higher point targets hidden inside.
When you get into the dark tunnel with the lights, there are targets on the ceiling.
The Zurgs have diamonds and triangles on them and around them-try and hit those.
In the last room with Zurg, everyone is facing, firing a Zurg. Wait until you've been flashed by the camera, then spin round. There is one of those hidden boxes, but its really close. Hit it, it pops open and there is a target in there that you can hit repeatedly. Watch your score sky rocket!
Apparently there are also hidden targets on Zurgs chests-Never worked them out-if you hit one of those, then you immediately get top score![/spoiler:3d4mmr57]
OK? Got it? Right! This conversation NEVER happened! Your laptop will self destruct in 30 seconds...... :-"
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:lol:
The week was going WAY to fast! :( I really wish we could slow time down.
So Friday arrived. Breakfast was in Plaza Gardens again. Everyone was more awake, although Mark and now Steph were full of cold and feeling a bit rubbish to be honest, so it was a slow potter into the park for EMH and breakfast.
We had decided to that we would do all the outside rides in Studios this morning. But we had time to try and beat each other on Buzz first-we are not competitve at all!
Then it was time to get photos in front of the castle....
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The rope was about to drop, so we wandered over to POTC.
Then decided to head over to Studios. I had warned Rob that the queue for Crush builds really quickly, so we probably wouldnt be able to ride, but we were in luck! Steph and Mark stood and waited whilst Rob and I dashed on. It felt a lot darker than last time we rode it three years ago ... Or am I just getting old????
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Crush done and dusted for the holiday ... (WOOHOO!) we headed over to Tram Tours.
When we went on three years ago, I wondered what it was still doing there. My lot wanted to ride it this time, so I thought "Think of it as time to rest my feet."
Well, it actually wasnt that bad! All screens were working. The canyon seemed to have lost something-Did the lorry catch fire before?
The London scene was as good as I remember-made people in our carriage jump :lol:
If they could find some way to put a few costumes in some sort of building when talking about costumes, then it would all make sense.
We then decided to wander around and take a few pics-so up to the throne and umbrella and photos of cars from Moteurs Action jumping over Mark and the kids.
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We popped in to see our mate Stitch, had some lunch, before walking over to Toy Story Playland. Unfortunately, I deemed the queue for parachute drop was too long for Rob to stand in, so I promised him we would shoot over the next morning and get straight round to the parachutes.
So we took a ride on Slinky Dog. More photos were taken and then we wandered round to Cars Race Rally....
Well! Robs pass was a God send here!!! *REALLY?????* Yes, really! We walked into the queue line and Rob screamed and covered his ears!!! The music was BLASTING out! A complete sensory overload for him. I had left his ear defenders back in the room because, frankly, he hadn't needed them.
So Mark said he would run Rob round to the disability entrance to see if it was more bearable there. Luckily, it was a lot quieter, so Rob felt comfortable standing there. When the CM came over, he said that it would be one more go before Mark and the kids were loaded. But we explained it was more that the music was too loud in the queue line and we were happy to wait here-this was much quieter. He said OK. But Mark and the kids were still loaded pretty quickly.
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We then made our way round to Aladdins Carpets....
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*SNIGGER*
Steph looks SOOOOOOO impressed!
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Poor old Mark and Steph were definately flagging, so we decided to head back to the hotel. I would take Rob for a swim, whilst they both rested.
But we had to make a stop first.....
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We walk into the hotel, only to run into ....
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Chip and Dale were lobbing sweets at the CMs behind the desks! Chip made a grab for the sweet bowl that sits on the Admirals Floor desk, but the CM swiftly removed it, gave him a look and carried on booking in the family she had been dealing with! :lol:
Dale still had a handful, so he was still terrorising CMs, but Rob managed to grab a photo with Chip.
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We dashed upstairs. Rob and I got ready for our swim-Mark and Steph got ready for some peace and quiet!
After our swim, we wandered back into the park, through the shops. Rob found the Peter Pan pin he wanted, so that was purcahsed so he could show Carmen. We then wandered around the fort in Frontier Land and round the rocks and on the Jolly Roger.
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Then onto Walts.
It was very busy and I didn't hold much hope of having a window seat to watch the parade. But luck was with us.....
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The table next to us couldnt see the parade. They had a girl a bit younger than Rob with them, so we invited her to come and stand with Rob. Whilst the kids watched, the Mum and Dad asked us about what he had done in the parks. This was their first day, so we were able to give them some tips.
I really think that the cold was taking its toll on Mark and Steph by now. And three courses every day for a main meal was becoming a bit too much, so unfortunately we didnt do the best job on our meals. But they were still tasty. We loved the fact that, on the premium meal package in Walts, you got a small platter with different starters and, at the end, a small platter with all the desserts. It gave us all a really good opportunity at tasting everything.
It really was time for an early night. Mark and I decided to do some packing, even though we still had one and a half days to go. We had purchased gifts for friends and the kids had spent some of their money, so we needed to sort out where we were going to stash stuff.
So we were actually in bed before 10pm! First time all holiday!
Shall we get this trip report done and dusted? Lets go for it!
Poor old Mark didnt have the greatest night sleep. We had breakfast in the room, so we could have a slow start to to the day. But he was determined to come out into the parks with us.
(I am so glad I had packed a HUGE medicine bo because it really came in handy! :( )
Breakfast eaten, we were, amazingly, still in the park for EMH. We walked past the sword in the stone and nobody was there. So we had to have photos.
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Then it was off to do Dumbo and Peter Pan. When we got off Peter Pan, the queue was HUGE! The biggest we had seen it all holiday!
We headed out of the park and over to Studios for Rob and Steph to do Parachute Drop.
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Steph took a couple of photos of the Ratatouille Ride too...
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Then it was off to Stitch and then Animagique. We managed to have some lunch, before Mark declared he was giving in and heading back to bed.
We walked out of Studios together before Mark went back to the room for a well earned sleep and we headed into the park.
We headed up to the Trading Post so Rob could trade some pins with CMs. We admired the serious pin traders pins. We were amazed at some of their collections!
We then wandered through Adventure Land, heading towards POTC, but then we ran into ...
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Brilliant! Louie kept picking on Steph! :lol:
Then off up into the tree house.
POTC succesfully swash buckled, we headed to Fantasy Land to see if we could spot Carmen so Rob could show her the pin .... Success!
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Then Rob wanted to ride Casey Junior .....But first ...
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There were some seriously pushy parents waiting to meet Alice, but David, her CM, was fab and really controlled them well. Alice was working a semi circle and was VERY aware who was next. Mad Hatter hats off to the pair of them.
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A good ol ride on Casey :)
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And then a ride on a horse ...
Before heading over the bridge to catch....
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Once the parade had passed us by, we wandered down Main Street, only to spot Duffy Bear.
Now, dear reader, at the beginning of the week, I had explained who Duffy was to my family and they were not interested at all. Well! When Rob saw Duffy stood there he squealed "DUFFY! Mum! Look Duffy! PLEASE! PLEASE! Can we get a photo?"
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:D x
Then it was time to head off to Inventions for dinner. As we walked through the doors, Mark was leaning over the stairs waving to us :D He was feeling a little better and ready to grab some tea :) We saw Gepetto and Pinnochio as we walked in, but there seemed to be something going on as they were being ushered away by their CMs......
We were soon seated and drinks brought. But we were sat near a large party who were .... (Be polite Sam!) demanding!
Have you ever heard the saying
"Manners don't cost a pretty penny"
Well, this lot obviously had a pretty penny but didnt have a single manner between them! The manager was stood hovering and he had a rather stern face on him. The family then pretty much attacked Pluto! After that, no characters came over into our area :cry: I felt so bad for them! Our waiter was just run off his feet meeting their demands! It was terrible!
Eventually they left, leaving complete devastation behind them! There were over 50 jelly shots on their table and plates stacked high, even though we had seen our waiter clearing the table constantly whilst they were sat there.
Finally, peace reigned in our room again, but Rob was shaken by it all and it hit him that this was our last night. He began to cry! :( But who should appear to wipe the tears away? Pluto was brillaint with him
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Then Snow White appeared. She remembered us from Wednesday and gave Rob an extra hug too.
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Oh dear! Not quite how I wanted our last meal in Disney to be, but I think the terrible behaviour of the table next to us had shaken Rob.
He did, however, still manage to eat his weight in prawns!
Our waiter, another waiter and the manager set about clearing up the mess. We only saw Mickey after this. I think they needed a break after the familys awful behaviour.
I am amazed, though, that they werent asked to leave?......
When we left the table Mark shook Alex, our waiter and the managers hands. Even though this family had been high demanding, they had tried to be attentive to the rest of their guests.
After tears had been wiped and dinner eaten, we made our way back into the park.
It was decided that Star Torus would cheer Rob up and then it was over to POTC and BTM for one last ride.
We then headed over to get a pitch for Dreams. Mark popped Steph and Rob into the Disabilty section as Rob was feeling a little fraut from dinner still, we stood nearby, keeping an eye on them. But we neednt worry. They found a spot and settled down to play some more Professor Layton!
It does amaze me how some people think they can turn up fifteen minutes before the show starts and think they can squeeze into the front!! We were stood by a lamp post so nobody could push in by us, but we did witness some people trying to squeeze their way in and those sitting down telling them "NO!" :roll:
Dreams was just as amazing as the first time we saw it. Steph said she shed tears again. Bless her!
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So then it was time to head back to bed in our lovely room for the very last time..... :(
So onto our last day. :(
Bags packed and breakfast in the room one last time.
We headed in for EMH.
Peter Pan was our first stop. Then Alices Labrynth
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And then off to Buzz ....
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Where, Rob beat us all!
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It had NOTHING to do with us putting our lazers down ... :-"
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Anyone spot Marks cup of tea? ..... :lol:
Then it was time for one last ride on Star Tours, before heading off for our ferry home :(
Look! We did get to see the Eiffel Tower! :lol:
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The trip home was uneventful and we were soon back home. :(
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So thats it. Over and done with :( Fingers crossed we will get back soon. But Steph is off to university in a few weeks. So unbelievably proud of her, getting amazing results and going to her uni of choice :D But it will cost us a pretty penny! So not sure when we will get back again ....
When we got home we sent an email to DLP saying how much we had enjoyed our trip and naming CMs who had gone the extra mile. And we have received a reply.
Dear Mrs Tubbs,
Thank you for your correspondence concerning your recent visit to Disneyland® Paris.
I was delighted that you again returned to the resort earlier this month and I would like to thank you for your continuing fidelity.
It is always a great pleasure to hear from our Guests especially those who take the time to write, telling us of their positive experiences at Disneyland Paris.
Indeed, I was delighted to learn of your impressions and to know that your visit was such a success. Going beyond each Guest's expectations and offering a warm welcome has always been paramount to Disneyland Paris. Therefore, it is truly encouraging to know you were so happy with your stay.
Please be assured that your kind words have been forwarded on to the Cast Members mentioned. I am sure that they will be delighted to receive such positive feedback.
Disneyland® Paris hopes to soon have the opportunity to welcome you once more to the resort.
Yours sincerely,
Claire Carrington
Guest Communication
:)
I will just say, I do appreciate that forum members who go regularly probably do see a lot of problems with the park. Yes, we did spot areas that were tired and seats on Star Tours blocked off.
BUT we saw a lot of maintenance going on-Rooms in NPB were closed for renovation, we constantly saw areas being painted and repaired. And we saw a whole batallion of suited and booted officials walking around with clip boards with blue prints and lists on, talking with CMs. It all looked very positive to us :)
I do have to say that my big problem with DLP was other guests. No respect. Smoking was terrible on Saturday (not so bad the rest of the week) and the way that certain guests think that it is right to behave the way they did is very, very sad. I did a LOT of social skill building with Rob this holiday-He queued for pretty much every ride. But it is hard to do, when people with no additional needs can behave so badly!
In fact we did have a woman go over to the disabilty secion on Parachute Drop when Steph and Rob were queueing in the main line and have a go!
"What makes these people so special they can queue hop? Why should they get extra special treatment?"
I did say, quite loudly "Have two kids on the autistic spectrum and then tell me if you think we get extra special treatment!!!"
Sorry, but I found this quite upsetting. My kids are high functioning and are doing very well, but I know for some parents, they have it a lot harder :(
But, lets ignore the bad behaviour of the minority.
At the end of the day-Our holiday was amazing and we have some incredible memories to keep us going until we can go again.
One last thing. Thank-you so much to the forum members - for your support in helping us plan our holiday and the wonderful comments on my report :)
Hopefully you have found it interesting and helpful in planning your own holiday dreams. xx
Tubbsy your report has been excellent! I love the photos and I'm so pleased that you and your family had such a lovely time despite the colds!
You're right in saying that the minority of rude guests are the problem, it's such a shame that a minority can have such a negative effect on your enjoyment at the time. I often find that CMs have much more patience with these people than me! You were well within your rights to speak up about it especially to the woman having a go at your kids, that just wasn't on. I really enjoyed my holiday last year but there were two incidents that left a sour spot. One where a grown woman shoved my 2yr old out the way to push forward to see a character, she actually made my son cry with the force she shoved him, disgraceful. The second where my son was walking with me to the toilets and a random older child felt that for the fun of it he had the right to walk past my son in the opposite direction and punch him square in the stomach! This was it for me and I followed the child to his family where despite the fact they were Spanish his mum fully understood what I said and couldn't apologise enough for her son's behaviour, needless to say the smacking he got from her did actually leave me feeling uncomfortable.
Hopefully you will get to go back ASAP but I'm also in the situation where after this visit, I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back either.
It was nice that you took the time and sent an email to DLP saying how much you had enjoyed your trip, something I have never done but could have, in the future i hope to do so.
Yes, bad guest behaviour can spoil the magic for some people, but not for you. The world and his wife goes to DLP and when you get big crowds of people there are often a few bad pennies around with no manners.
I have never taken children to DLP and i'm glad that you and yours had such a good time.
Thank you for sharing your trip :D
You are right, the lorry/tanker on the backstage tour did used to 'explode' into dramatic flames, ive got some fab pics of it from our previous trips. It's a huge effect to omit so i'd be disappointed to find that it was scrapped. I guess it is a very expensive effect though, and if something had to go it made sense to the powers that be.
I empathize with you over rude, ignorant people who choose to stare/ask loudly 'why do they get special treatment?' as we encountered that on our holiday in June. My partner has mobility issues and we got preferential treatment at the airport etc...I could feel peoples eyes burning into me as we 'queue jumped'....I felt like shouting 'how about you try living like this for even one day just to be at the front of queues!!' Grrr. I'm guessing DLP wont be much different :(
Glad you had a good trip :D
Thank you guys for your feedback
gemma and ravenseye-your experiences are much worse than mine-I am glad to say that, in a whole week, we only had a few incidents. But it does still amaze me how people can be so rude :(
Glad I didnt imagine the tanker-Its a shame the explosion has gone though.
Thank you ed-uk. I am pleased I wrote. I am sure they hear many a complaint, so it was great to write and say how each and every CM we came across had the real Disney magic about them :)
Thanks Tubbsy for the great report! I really enjoyed reading it and seeing all your pictures!!
You are totally right to tell that person off. She had no right to judge anyone and should be thankfull she doesnt have to use things like that. I think youre doing a great job with Steph en Rob!
Thanks for writing a report! I really enjoyed reading it! You have a very livley way of writing!
I`ll try the tips for Buzz!
Aurora1
I really enjoyed your trip report, it has made me more excited about my trip next year if that's possible!
Thank you everyone!
We're now trying to work out how much we can save each month to go back! :lol:
Your report and photos are lovely, I really enjoyed reading it and it's made me even more excited for my next visit! I'm glad that you had a good time :)
Thanks again for sharing your wonderful report and pictures!
=D> =D> =D>
Well done! What a fabulous trip report! I have loved reading each instalment, a nice evening treat. Thanks for the Buzz tips. This time my daughter and I will be at Disney the same time as my son and his wife and baby so the Buzz competition will be intense. I hope I can find those secret places you mention as I need all the help I can get!! 77 days to wait for our first stay in Hotel New York for the fireworks. #rather excited!!
Thank you so much guys :) We really enjoyed the holiday and writing the report has really helped with the holiday blues :)
Quote from: "tubbsy"Thanks Julesk-Just hanging around, day tripping, over the next few weeks, so ask away about Legoland :)
As for hotels, we did see Ibis and Etap on the way through :) I know Steph stayed in one close to the motorway with her school a few years ago. It was awful, so will see if she can remember the name of it so you can avoid it :)
Thanks Tubbsy, sorry not been on for a few days as working non stop to pay off next trip! Thanks for all the legoland help, been on you tube after what you recommended and getting excited now.
Amazing trip report, your spot for dreams was excatly the same as our spot in May :D . You where so lucky with the stairs, when we did it, it was crazy busy, even the parents where fighting. Maybe we should have gone in summer hols after all :( . You where so lucky seeing snow white at Inventions, we did see her with Prince Charming at the Princess Meal but it would have been a bonus to see her again. Wish we where going back sooner, cant wait another 14 months :cry:
What a wonderful disney adventure ... thank you for this marvelous report :)
Julesk-Glad I could help
And thank-you everyone for all your compliments on my writing and photos!
Awww fab trip report! I really enjoyed it and your pic's were great! It looks like you all had so much fun! :)
Hey everyone! I'm Steph, Tubbsy's daughter!
Julesk, I saw an earlier post where Mum mentioned the hotel i stayed in, in 2010. I took photos of everything wrong with it and I could private message you the name.
It was an absolutely amazing trip, and I would love to go back. Even though I'm nineteen in a couple of months, I was so excited to see Tinkerbell, Rapunzel and Peter Pan on the Parade, and was slightly disappointed not to meet Peter or Merida (even though she's not in Paris). However, meeting Chewbacca made me the envy of a lot of my geeky friends!
And Disney Dreams... I know it wasn't aimed at me, but it was so personal for me, it truly renewed my belief in magic.