Howdy folks, I'm back from the Wild West's Hotel Cheyenne.. :)
My report will be available soon, but I need to sort out my photos (1000+) and pick out the ones I need as well as editing them.. :mrgreen:
What I can say for now is that our trip started badly and it nearly turned out to be a catastrophy. But on a really good note we saw quite a few of the Halloween decorations that were still left up in Frontierland, noticing a large fence around Town Square covering the new Christmas layout ready for the 7th Nov, only to be revealed on the 6th Nov which was a suprise. Also on the 7th seeing the Christmas season in with the first showing of 'Mickey's Winter Wonderland 2010' and the Christmas Parade just before we left.. :D
I was pleasantly suprised with the improved changes in the standard rooms in the Hotel Cheyenne which I will mention in the report aswell as things which I never thought or noticed about particular rides and attractions, also the weather conditions throughout.. ;)
Finally being part of the first meet and greet with Disney's new Princess 'Rapunzel' and Flynn Rider.. :D/
Watch this Space.. :mrgreen:
oooooh I cant wait!!!!
Welcome back!
I'm sorry that your trip started badly. Hopefully you still had a great time.
I can't wait to hear your thoughts about the Hotel Cheyenne, since it is our second choice, besides the Vienna International hotels, for our trip next year.
Sounds like you had an exciting time! I'm itching to read this report :D
cant wait to read your report =]
oooooo cant wait! my daughter is desperate to meet rapunzel she wants the outfit for christmas........... which im hoping will be out in time!
Cannot wait to read your report! Especially about the changes in the standard rooms in the Cheyenne as I hop to book there for January in the next few days! Cant wait to see your photos too!
Looking forward to your trip report because we were there at the same time as you. 3-7 november for Disneys Bonfire night which we had never been to before. The first night we saw it from NY hotel side of Lake Disney where we were staying. I loved the first section with Mickey in the boat and the music from Fantasmic, but I didn't like the music in the second part although I thought the firework display was very good. On the second night (5th) we saw it from the SL hotel side, and I think this was the best place to view it from I even liked the music more and we had a better view of the laser show and fire effects. We were very lucky with the good weather on these nights because as you know on Saturday it rained all day. We were surprised to see the Halloween decorations still up in Frontierland and we enjoyed walking around at night taking some pictures of the Pumpkin Men. We also went to the first performance of Mickey's Winter Wonderland show, it was great to see the theatre in use. Really enjoyed it. We just caught the tree lighting ceremony in Town Square on Sunday before we had to drag ourselves away to the station to catch the EuroStar.
im soo excited to read your trip report! i go on monday evening so i hope you start it soon so i can read all about it and get even more excited!! :)
Quote from: "ed-uk"Looking forward to your trip report because we were there at the same time as you. 3-7 november for Disneys Bonfire night which we had never been to before. The first night we saw it from NY hotel side of Lake Disney where we were staying. I loved the first section with Mickey in the boat and the music from Fantasmic, but I didn't like the music in the second part although I thought the firework display was very good. On the second night (5th) we saw it from the SL hotel side, and I think this was the best place to view it from I even liked the music more and we had a better view of the laser show and fire effects. We were very lucky with the good weather on these nights because as you know on Saturday it rained all day. We were surprised to see the Halloween decorations still up in Frontierland and we enjoyed walking around at night taking some pictures of the Pumpkin Men. We also went to the first performance of Mickey's Winter Wonderland show, it was great to see the theatre in use. Really enjoyed it. We just caught the tree lighting ceremony in Town Square on Sunday before we had to drag ourselves away to the station to catch the EuroStar.
Did you make pictures of the Bonfire? I've never seen it, so I would be interested to see some pictures. Are you going to do a trip report?
I wasn't going to do a trip report. I did take some pictures. We'll wait and see Javey's trip report first he'll probably cover it all.
Day 1- Wednesday 3rd November 2010
Weather>> Dry and bright but cold and quite windy [UK]
Part 1..The Departure
Well after waking up on Wenesday morning it was a case of preparing for what was to come. We weren't flying till 4.40pm but needed to be at the airport by about 2.00pm to be on the safe side. I had already booked the taxi to pick us up from CDG on arrival, which we expected to be about 7.30pm French time.. ;)
Some of you may remember on my last trip report for February 2009 I mentioned a guy called Mark who was our taxi driver, well I'd kept his business card "Majestic Transfers" from that trip, so I decided to give his mobile a ring on the Tuesday night and low and behold he answered, after a bit discussion I agreed a price of €50.00 for Jen and Vanessa and myself, €1 cheaper than the VEA bus, but mainly because he was a lot faster in getting us to DLP than the VEA bus would, it only took him about 40 minutes in February rather than 1 hour 30 minutes on the bus after pickups.. ;)
As the day wore on we always have the same ritual of checking last minute things then re-checking them. We had to drop the dog off at Vanessa's parents house who would be looking after him whilst we were away, then we were on our way to Newcastle International Airport. Once there the usual thing happened, I remembered one item which I always forget before travelling, on this occasion it was my ear plugs, luckily not passports or money. At least earplugs I can buy in the duty free shops, although at extortionate prices.. :roll:
Anyway we did the usual wander around the duty free shops after we'd passed through security. Saying duty free shops looking at the prices you wouldn't think so. We saw the departure monitor counting the shopping time down before call time to the departure gate. At 4.15pm we went down to departure gate 24. Whilst sitting in there I noticed the plane we would be flying on out of the window with the gantry platforms up at the front and back doors ready to board. The check in guy came into the departure lounge and got onto the intercom for passengers to announce that there would be a 10 minute delay to depart due to aircraft operational problems, I thought ok I can cope with that, then 10 minutes later he announced there was a further 20 minute delay due to technical difficulties.. :shock:
I was starting to worry at this point as I couldn't help hearing the word 'Cancellation' in my mind. I decided to have a word with the guy on the intercom on the likely hood of the flight being cancelled, he said the flight would definitely be going ahead. Our main concern was that if the flight was cancelled EasyJet only fly once a day to Paris, which means the next flight would be Thursday at roughly the same time, but we had booked our meal at the 'Auberge de Cendrillon' for the Thursday afternoon, our plans would be ruined aswell as losing a whole day in the park.. :shock: :cry:
Then we were hit with another bombshell, there was another announcement saying the flight would be delayed till 9.30pm as they could not resolve the problem with the plane. By this point we were all sick and annoyed, the time now was 5.10pm, we'd been in the airport since 2.00pm so that's 7 ½ hours in the airport and as you all know there's only so much you can do in an airport.. :roll:
There was a further announcement saying that due to the delay they would be offering refreshment vouchers, we were still so annoyed that we walked back up to the departure lounge and started to wander aimlessly. It was then we noticed that the monitor came up with a new departure time of 9.00pm not 9.30pm.. :? I decided to head back down to the departure gate to clarify the new time, whilst there I ended up getting the refreshment vouchers which were £3.00 per person, which as you can appreciate doesn't go far in an airport. On meeting back up with Vanessa she had heard an announcement just a few minutes after I left to go back down saying they were flying a plane up from Bristol, I started to think that it seemed a long time to get a plane up from Bristol which should have only been about a 30 minute flight. On the monitors we noticed that there was a flight leaving Newcastle for Bristol, which was also delayed by 15 minutes. We got thinking that they must be sending this plane down to Bristol turning it round and then sending it back to us and then prepare it for us to board.. :-k
Anyway we had now another 3 hours to kill and to be honest I didn't feel hungry but thought that we might as well use the vouchers towards getting something to eat as we were in for a long night, now knowing we were going to arrive at DLP after midnight instead of about 8.30pm French time. It was at this point I got thinking I'd better ring Mark to let him know, he couldn't believe the delay and said that he would not be able to pick us up that late but would send his friend Nabil to collect us instead, which I thought was really nice of him under the circumstances.. :D
As time approached departure everyone headed down to wait at the last monitor near the departure gate corridors to see which departure gate was going to be displayed this time. Everyone I think was feeling the same, we all just wanted to get on a plane and get flying. Then we saw what we had been waiting for at last... Gate 23 flashed up.. [-o<
After another 5 minute wait they announced the roll call starting with the 'Speedy Boarding' passengers to get on the plane first, there was a sudden mad rush for the doors and once the first few passengers had gone through everybody started to rush out the doors regardless of what boarding group they were in, us included.. :P
I must at this point commend the pilot who once on board had continued to apologise for the long delay. I think they must have realised that there was a lot of couples and children onboard all heading to the same location as us. We eventually took off at 9.23pm; he did the whole flight in approximately 1 hour instead of 1 hour 25 mins. I wondered why he said he needed a bit more diesel in the plane just as we were getting ready to fly, it must have been down to requiring more thrust.. :mrgreen:
At last we were airbourne.. :thumbs:
We arrived at CDG airport at 11.25pm French time, we were lucky in the way of picking our cases up quite quickly and making our way to Gate 12 -Terminal 2D which was within walking distance from our position in Terminal 2B. We always use that gate; it's actually where the VEA bus stops, but awaiting for Nabil instead. I give Mark a quick ring as Nabil wasn't there when I reached Gate 12, but he said he was 5 minutes away which he was, later he explained that he had an hour to play with in the airport and found another family to take to Paris and still get back for us.. ;)
We arrived at the Hotel Cheyenne at 12.10am, after a lot of fast driving totally 35 minutes, record timing.. :o
On getting out of the taxi I noticed that the sky looked clear as you could see the stars and it felt a lot warmer than in the UK. We wandered up to the reception which had no queues, surprise surprise.. :mrgreen: We got checked in and asked for 7.00am breakfasts for the entire stay, which we got.. :D/ Our room was located in the Geronimo Building / No 2565. On arrival at the room it was warm and inviting. We knew our plan of dumping the cases, nipping into the park then onto the Village and catching the bonfire on the 3rd was up in smoke (pardon the pun).. :mrgreen: So we just focused on emptying the cases and trying to get some sleep since we would have to be up at 6.30am that same morning to get ready and head to the 'Chuck Wagon' to get breakfast.. ;)
It was while I was unpacking my case I'd noticed the new flat screen TV with an ethernet internet connection cable in a holder next to it. After switching it on it seemed to be connected to a Disney Network System, on the main page screen at the top it showed your name and room number with other function buttons to do with info on the parks and a few other channels. Also Vanessa had noticed a digital safe in the room. On our trip in February 2009 if you wanted to lock your valuables away you had to pay a deposit for a security box in the reception area. The safe was really simple to use, the door was left open from the last person as you are supposed to leave it, then you just insert a new 4 digit code using it to lock and unlock the safe and what's more it was free.. :D/
For those who have been in the Hotel Cheyenne before, you may remember a cupboard you could store items in, it was positioned near the adjoining door that leads to another room for larger families. Well they've now added a pull out swivel tray in the top to store small items, I'm not exactly sure what this cupboard supposed to store but we put our refreshments in the tray, standing the travel kettle on the top of the cabinet, it came in real handy throughout our stay.. ;) :D
Anyway after unpacking our cases I did a little bit of rummaging around the room, looking at these new items and picking up the soaps as we always do, our heads finally hit the pillows at 1.45am with only 4 ¾ hours sleep before we would be up again ready for the start of our already delayed magical trip.. :o
Well that's the near catastrophe part of my report out the way with; I hope you kept up with it ok.. ;) :D
Get ready for my next instalment where the magic really starts with the all-important photos. As I've always said, every Disney story isn't complete without pictures and this one will be no different.. ;) :D
Great start Javey!
Delays are always bad, especially when you want to go to Disney. At least the flight wasn't cancelled and you made it to Paris.
Can't wait for the pictures!
Terrible start to your trip!! There's nothing worse than a big delay like that in an airport... And if you're on the way to Disney, it must feel even longer!!
Can't wait for more :D
What a terrible start to your trip but good that the plane wasn't cancelled - how sad it would have been to lose the Auberge de Cendrillon booking and almost a complete day in the parks.
Hoping (knowing [-o< ) that the park would cheer up with all the magic, so I look forward to your next installment :)
cant wait for the next bit all the photos, especially about auberge de cinderiilon-because we are going in a couple of weeks!! please put it on before next sunday.................!
Thats not a good start, been delayed myself and airports can be very boring, especially when youre going to somewhere like Disney when you tend to be more hyped up. Looking forward to the rest of the report
Waiting in anticipation for the rest of your report!!
That delay must've been horrible...
Can't wait for rest of report :)
Great trip report so far! :D
Sorry to hear about the delay :(
Cant wait to
read the rest :thumbs:
Just thought I would put a little apology here, as this Trip Report is really taking it's time. I am trying my best to speed things up, but with work and one thing and another at home it's taking a lot longer than I imagined. Don't worry though it will happen, I've got all my notes together, just the photos to upload to DisneyMagic then choosing the ones to link to my report.. :oops:
Hang in there everyone, thank you for your patience.. :oops: :|
Nearly sorted, but not quite.. :oops: :oops: :oops: :roll:
any news??
Quote from: "smurfy74"any news??
Funny you should say that smurfy74, as of today I've finally finished uploading all my photos after weeks of editing, sorting and naming and renaming them.. :mrgreen:
I'm gonna start my first main day in the parks this week.. ;) :D
Quote from: "Javey74"Quote from: "smurfy74"any news??
Funny you should say that smurfy74, as of today I've finally finished uploading all my photos after weeks of editing, sorting and naming and renaming them.. :mrgreen:
I'm gonna start my first main day in the parks this week.. ;) :D
Ah, all the hard work that goes into a report... Really looking forward to it!!
If I could type 'Sorry' a million times here I would, but there have been further delays, we've been redecorating Jen's room and it wasn't supposed to be happening till 21st of February, but it's been brought forward to the past 2 weeks, so again the typing has been put on hold, just as I was about to start.. ](*,)
I will get it done if it kills me.. :roll:
Day 2 - Thursday 4th November 2010
Weather>>
Morning: Mild with a little drizzle on and off
Mid/Afternoon: Dry, mild with broken cloud
Night: Dry, mild with broken cloud
Part 2..The Magic Begins
Well my Donald 'Deck the Halls' rang out on my phone to wake us up at 6.30am, we got up but after the previous days flight problems we were all really tired. Still we got ourselves up and dressed, freshened up and headed to the Chuck Wagon for our breakfast, we'd managed to get 7.00am breakfast tickets. After our fill of food and drink it was straight off to the Cheyenne Bus Stop. Jen decided to remind us which hotel we were in seen as it was now daylight.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images114.fotki.com/v145/photos/1/1220156/5421277/HotelCheyenneSignage-vi.jpg)
In came the bus for that few minute journey to the Magical Kingdom.. :D/ :D/ :D/
Anyway we arrived at the bus station and headed straight down towards the Disneyland Park, passing under...
(//http://images112.fotki.com/v1531/photos/1/1220156/5403075/DisneylandParkSignage01-vi.jpg)
Then onto the security tent, and yes they wanted a look in my camera back, however I picked up a little trick with this one as the days wore on.. Well that famous view appeared, the one with the fountain just in front of the main entrance.. :D
(//http://images57.fotki.com/v81/photos/1/1220156/5403075/DisneylandParkMainEntrance06-vi.jpg)
It was then that I spotted the Fantasia topiaries, which I can't remember being there in our February 2010 visit.. :-k
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Now it was time to head to the side entrance to gain early entry to get in on those extra magic hours. We went through the turn stiles just after 8.00am to a welcoming Donald voice, only on my ticket aswell.. ;) :D
Then looking up at the Mainstreet Station to see L'Annee Nouvelle de la Generation signage, a hint of what was instore on this trip.. :D
(//http://images112.fotki.com/v503/photos/1/1220156/5403054/05LAnneeNouvelledelaGeneration-vi.jpg)
I can say with no word of a lie that looking into town square is such a great feeling of 'I'm here, I'm here, I'm here' even though I've been here 6 times already and on every previous occasion there were no large green boards hiding the main central area which was obviously being prepared for the Christmas Season. We wasted no time in heading off down Mainstreet, it was then I noticed the Christmas globes.. :D
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(//http://images51.fotki.com/v1561/photos/1/1220156/5403054/ChristmasGlobeMinnie01-vi.jpg)
Heading past the globes I started taking in the most spine tingling view of all time, as it is every time.. Yes you've guessed it, the Castle in the distance.. :o :o :o
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v605/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleScene13-vi.jpg)
Falling short of reaching it we headed right at the Plaza Gardens, but just before that right turn, look what I spotted above me.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v108/photos/1/1220156/5403054/DonaldPost01-vi.jpg)
Anyway that short cut through Plaza Gardens heading towards Discoveryland was still put on hold when a beam of light to my left caught my eye, I realised that the sun had broken through a little cloud and for some reason illuminated the front of the castle with a golden glow.. :shock: :o
(//http://images32.fotki.com/v1103/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleScene08-vi.jpg)
Eventually we got to Discoveryland and funnily enough our first ride was the same as last time, Buzz Lightyears Laser Blast, another blast from the past, pardon the pun.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v3/photos/1/1220156/5403066/earsLazerBlastWallDecoration01-vi.jpg)
After a good old firing session for all of us defeating Zurg and his allies we decided to have a quick look at some of the 2010 merchandise by entering the boutique just outside. We do this every year so we have an idea of must buys and final buys before we leave.. ;) :D
Jen headed off to her favourite ride of Discoveryland next... Orbitron, and I must admit I think this was one of the few times she has gone on it and it wasn't raining and also the first time she went on it by herself.. :o :D
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We decided to head back towards the Castle through into Fantasyland with the idea of getting onto the 'Extra Magic Hours' open rides very quickly.. :D
Passing through the Castle I decided to get a shot of the fantastic ceiling architecture.. ;)
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v108/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorSceneCastleCeiling02-vi.jpg)
(//http://images57.fotki.com/v496/photos/1/1220156/5388362/ceneFirstFloorCastleSupports03-vi.jpg)
(//http://images28.fotki.com/v1030/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorSceneCastleCeiling03-vi.jpg)
Passing the jeweled covered golden book of Sleeping Beauty.. :)
(//http://images112.fotki.com/v189/photos/1/1220156/5388362/ceneLaBelleAuBoisDormantBook01-vi.jpg)
Coming out the back of the Castle looking onto Fantasyland again always gives me that tingling feeling. The first ride on reaching Fantasyland was Le Carrousel de Lancelot, always a regular one for us all, I find it a good ride to do a bit thinking on, since it's easy flowing and peaceful.. ;) :)
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v3/photos/1/1220156/5403049/LeCarrouseldeLancelotHorse03-vi.jpg)
(//http://images54.fotki.com/v1593/photos/1/1220156/5403049/LeCarrouseldeLancelotHorses06-vi.jpg)
Then for Vanessa and Jen it was the Mad Hatters Spinning Teacups, not for me since I cannot stomach waltzer type rides.. :sick:
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1498/photos/1/1220156/5403049/MadHattersTeacups4-vi.jpg)
While they were on the teacups, I noticed the serpent to my right, loved this bit of topiary.. ;)
(//http://images18.fotki.com/v673/photos/1/1220156/5403049/FantasylandLandscapingScene05-vi.jpg)
We then decided to wander over to the Castle so I could take a few more rear exterior shots and remind ourselves just how beautiful the architecture is.. :D
(//http://images43.fotki.com/v504/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleArchitecture37-vi.jpg)
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You can see looking at this angle that the Castle needs a re-paint urgently.. :roll:
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v272/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleArchitecture39-vi.jpg)
Got this one of some of the hidden side upward lighting.. ;)
(//http://images50.fotki.com/v405/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleLightingRigs01-vi.jpg)
The famous Bell Tower.. ;)
(//http://images33.fotki.com/v1137/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleArchitectureBellTower02-vi.jpg)
We headed back inside.. :D
(//http://images46.fotki.com/v1492/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorSceneStaircase01-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images53.fotki.com/v444/photos/1/1220156/5388362/ceneFirstFloorCastleSupports02-vi.jpg)
Loved this Christmas door display, so traditional.. :D
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v605/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorSceneWingSideDoors01-vi.jpg)
Heading out to the side of the Castle we headed round towards 'La Taniere du Dragon'.. ;)
(//http://images32.fotki.com/v1103/photos/1/1220156/5388362/LaTaniereduDragonSignage01-vi.jpg)
Thought we'd have a check on the Dragon.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images44.fotki.com/v1467/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorCastleDragon-vi.jpg)
Yep, still there and ok.. :lol: :mrgreen:
After that we decided to have a walk back up Mainstreet taking in the smells and sounds as you do, but on reaching town square we noticed Mickey doing signings and autographs near the Liberty Arcade entrance.. :)
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v1618/photos/1/1220156/5403054/LibertyArcadeSignage01-vi.jpg)
We decided to head over there and wait in a queue which was not too long, half way through the wait we heard a familiar train whistle and an even more familiar tune that started with Choo Choo Pa Pa Choo Choo Pa Pa Ooooooooo. All Aboard!! Well instinct told me, 'The Character Express', though this time 'The All New Character Express and through the gates next to the Kodak shop out it came, I quickly ran over to get a few quick snaps for now while Jen and Vanessa were nearing the front of the queue. Always gets me footing tapping does that tune.. :-" :-"
Just made it back for this.. :D
(//http://images107.fotki.com/v67/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Mickey8Nov2010-vi.jpg)
Once we got the shot of Jen with Mickey we quickly headed down to the Central Plaza to try and catch some more characters and as luck had it we did.. ;) :D
First up>>
Same head gear.. :lol: :mrgreen:
(//http://images107.fotki.com/v71/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Minnie9Nov2010-vi.jpg)
Don't worry Vanessa was sober, just a bad facial capture.. :lol: :mrgreen:
(//http://images17.fotki.com/v1621/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Dale5Nov2010-vi.jpg)
(//http://images12.fotki.com/v254/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Chip7Nov2010-vi.jpg)
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v695/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Goofy8Nov2010-vi.jpg)
(//http://images17.fotki.com/v1622/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Pinocchio3Nov2010-vi.jpg)
(//http://images50.fotki.com/v1528/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Geppetto3Nov2010-vi.jpg)
Then as the Characters got back on board I got a few more shots.. ;) :D
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(//http://images55.fotki.com/v1603/photos/1/1220156/5388437/DASE10-vi.jpg)
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Next it was a stroll over to Adventureland and the torches were lit.. ;)
(//http://images43.fotki.com/v504/photos/1/1220156/5403037/AdventurelandEntranceTorch01-vi.jpg)
Through we went.. :D
(//http://images40.fotki.com/v1241/photos/1/1220156/5403037/AdventurelandEntrance02-vi.jpg)
No sooner we had got there who did we see, more characters. Here's another line up.. ;) :D
(//http://images17.fotki.com/v1621/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Rafiki3Nov2010-vi.jpg)
(//http://images52.fotki.com/v304/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Louis4Nov2010-vi.jpg)
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v695/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Pluto6Nov2010-vi.jpg)
Then I noticed Chip heading off into the bushes, I thought surely not... But no he was up to his usual tricks in the art of camouflage.. :lol: :mrgreen:
(//http://images115.fotki.com/v663/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Chip9Nov2010-vi.jpg)
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v605/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Chip10Nov2010-vi.jpg)
After heading through Adventureland again taking in the sights and smells we ended up in Frontierland and as I thought before the trip we were just in time to see the last of the Halloween decorations, I noticed a few new ones amongst them I hadn't seen before.. :D
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v1617/photos/1/1220156/5579257/PumpkinSceneLogo01-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images57.fotki.com/v496/photos/1/1220156/5579257/PumpkinGrimReaper02-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1588/photos/1/1220156/5579257/PumpkinMan34-vi.jpg)
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v1617/photos/1/1220156/5579257/PumpkinMan35-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images116.fotki.com/v693/photos/1/1220156/5579257/PumpkinSkull02-vi.jpg)
You can see more here>> http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/pum ... n-vs-pink/ (http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/pumpkin-men-vs-pink/%22%20onclick=%22window.open(this.href);return%20false;)
In the meantime Vanessa and Jen took off to get our Fast Passes for 'Big Thunder Mountain'. Once we all met up again we headed up into Woody's Roundup and again to my surprise had the winter scenes, lit by fluorescent lighting which really adds to the whiteness of the snow and the other decorations.. :o
(//http://images49.fotki.com/v1465/photos/1/1220156/5403084/WoodysRoundUpEntrance-vi.jpg)
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Well this time in Woody's Roundup I thought I would get into the action aswell as Jen.. :mrgreen:
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On our way back passing under the CottonWood Creek signage we were blessed again with some more characters this time.. ;)
(//http://images112.fotki.com/v495/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Chip11Nov2010-vi.jpg)
(//http://images54.fotki.com/v460/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Dale6Nov2010-vi.jpg)
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1464/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Jessie3Feb2009-vi.jpg)
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v605/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Woody3Nov2010-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images58.fotki.com/v696/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Mickey9Nov2010-vi.jpg)
We headed back towards the Central Plaza where again where 'The All New Character Express' was parked up and we managed to catch Remy this time.. ;)
(//http://images12.fotki.com/v254/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Remy4Nov2010-vi.jpg)
Being close to the main entrance to Frontierland we decided to have a walk around a place we had never walked before, this being Fort Comstock upper gantry, which was open, I think a lot of previous visits it's been closed due to bad weather with surfaces being very slippy. But alas not this time.. ;) :D
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v108/photos/1/1220156/5403084/LegendsOfTheWildWestSignage01-vi.jpg)
Passing the 'Legends of the Wild West' signage, up the steps we went.. :thumbs:
(//http://images59.fotki.com/v111/photos/1/1220156/5403084/FortComstockPrisonCell02-vi.jpg)
(//http://images59.fotki.com/v112/photos/1/1220156/5403084/FortComstockScene08-vi.jpg)
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Now for the ride we had all been waiting for 'Big Thunder Mountain', with two minutes to the 12.00pm time on our tickets we swiftly headed off. Straight through the Fast Pass entrance and we were on in no time, bypassing all the queues. It still amazes me why people still queue for ages on this particular ride, we always get Fast Passes for this one.. :?
A ride that always gets your adrenaline flowing, and what was even better, we ended up getting in the first car behind the train which has brilliant frontal views.. ;) :D
There was something I have come to learn about 'Big Thunder Mountain' which I wasn't sure at first but I'm most certain now and that is the speed. I always used to think that the first drop through a windy dark tunnel was the fastest point of the ride, only to find it isn't. It's the last run before the end, I'm positive it's faster than the beginning.. ;) :D
Anyway after a thrilling ride, just to catch our breath and orientation we decided to head up Mainstreet and have a little browse in the boutiques. On approaching the bottom end of Mainstreet we noticed Winnie the Pooh doing photos and autographs near Caseys Corner, another favourite of Jens, so off we went.. :D
(//http://images50.fotki.com/v1512/photos/1/1220156/5386989/WinnieThePooh4Nov2010-vi.jpg)
We were aware that today was the day that we had pre-booked Auberge de Cendrillon, a first for us with it being an extra treat for Jen and her love of Princesses. The time for this was 2.30pm and looking at my watch is was 2.05pm; the only problem was that we had bought a few bits of merchandise and we felt that if we could drop the bags off at the hotel it would be better. We made a quick decision to get the next bus back, run straight in with the bags and head straight back on the next available bus, but on nearing the top end of Town Square who did we see walking around... Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen, well we'd never seen these two in the park before being new characters. Jen was luckily enough to catch there attention first running up to them with her autograph book and pen, whilst I was standing by with camera in hand.. :D/
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v272/photos/1/1220156/5386989/ncessTianaPrinceNaveen1Nov2010-vi.jpg)
By now it was 2.14pm, we knew we were pushing it and hurriedly headed towards the bus station. Reached the hotel, dumped the bags and headed straight back to the bus stop, only just to see the back of a yellow bus.. Oh no, a flash back of our February 2010 visit came to mind being late for the Café Agrabah. We waited another 14 mins for the next bus and arrived back in the bus station 2.40pm we didn't reach Auberge de Cendrillon till 2.53pm.. :shock: :shock:
(//http://images44.fotki.com/v1467/photos/1/1220156/5403049/eAubergedeCendrillonRestaurant-vi.jpg)
When we got there our names weren't on the list, but we were asked to wait in the waiting area instead. I was beginning to wonder that we must have missed our time slot, especially when other customers were arriving for the 3.00pm slot and were getting straight in. Eventually at 3.15pm we got in and got our free photo with Cinderella in the foyer, which was a nice surprise for Jen, even more so if it had been Snow White.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v272/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Cinderella2Nov2010-vi.jpg)
We got seated shortly afterwards and from then on the attitude of the staff around us was very regal, one little elegant touch was when the waiter served the wine, he poured a little drop in the glass and asked if I would taste it first to make sure it was ok then he poured the rest into the glass, then Vanessa's. We were situated on a side table looking up towards the dancing area.. :)
(//http://images58.fotki.com/v85/photos/1/1220156/5403049/iorViewofAubergedeCendrillon01-vi.jpg)
And what a spledid and detailed ceiling there was above us.. :o :D
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For refreshments both of us started with a Prince's cocktail, which consisted of banana nectar, orange juice, blue curacao and malibu, added with a side order of mini prawns and French bread. Vanessa and myself had ordered the Three Fairies' Favourites, consisting of foie gras, salmon and mini tomato mozzarella. We found this really nice, especially the way the salmon was cut. Jen had Tomato and mozzarella carpaccio with basil for hers. Before the main courses were to be served out came the Prince and Princesses aswell as Perla and Suzy. They do spend time with you making you feel important with all of the Prince and Princesses asking Jen a few questions each time.. :D
Here is the order of the meet and greets.. :D
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Onto the main course; Vanessa had the rack of lamb with herb creme and a selection of seasonal vegetables and potatoes au gratin. I had loin of veal with morille sauce with a selection of seasonal vegetables and potatoes au gratin. Jen had beef burger with meat gravy, mashed potatoes and season's vegetables, for refreshment she chose to have a coke lite. We all enjoyed our dishes, the only problem is that I now have a taste for veal aswell as the salmon which I didn't have before. I'll often have a joke when going shopping now about going to the pre-packed salmon and veal section, to relive the moment.. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
Onto the desserts; Vanessa and myself had the Cinderella's Delight and Jen had Cinderella's Slipper, yummy is the best word I can use for these desserts.. =P~ :D
Once we had finished everything we sat a while just to digest what we had eaten soaking up the atmosphere at the same time, watching the Prince and Princesses wandering around talking to other families, at one point down the other end near the fireplace I watched Belle and her Prince dancing a little while.. :D/
I must admit for getting Prince and Princess photographs this is an ideal way of getting them, though unfortunately for Jen Snow White wasn't one of them, but it didn't really matter as she saw plenty others and I couldn't fault the food in any way, the presentation of it was really elegant. To me it's one of those meal occasions you must do at least once and savour the memories of your time in there, we all really enjoyed it.. ;) :D
We eventually left the Auberge de Cendrillon taking a glance at Cinderella's carriage located in the courtyard on the way out.. :D
(//http://images12.fotki.com/v216/photos/1/1220156/5403049/endrillonCinderellasCarriage02-vi.jpg)
Our next port of call was to catch the 'Once Upon A Dream' parade, starting at 5.00pm, which was only about 15 mins away. Most of the best view points were already gone, so we had to make do with the left side of the seating area at the Castle Stage, not an ideal photo view point, but I managed to get a few extra ones which I've added to my existing album, which you can view here >> http://public.fotki.com/DisneyDavid/dis ... ce-upon-a/ (http://public.fotki.com/DisneyDavid/disneys-once-upon-a/%22%20onclick=%22window.open(this.href);return%20false;)
After the parade we headed into Fantasyland and decided to have a wander around Alice's Curious Labyrinth, and after about 15 mins of still getting a touch lost we all eventually reached the Queen of Hearts Castle. We all made the climb up to the top of the castle, it was then I realised what a beautiful sunset was being created above me as dusk loomed in. I decided to get some shots as well as some views looking out over Fantasyland.. :D
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After leaving the labyrinth we headed back up towards Central Plaza to catch 'Disney's Showtime Spectacular' at 6.00pm on the main stage, again we got to the Plaza a little late and our view point wasn't great, but adequate for watching.. :mrgreen:
After it had finished we headed back up Mainstreet calling into some of the boutiques for a few more purchases knowing we were heading back to the hotel for a much needed break, we were all exhausted by now and this was only our first main day in the park. We got back to the hotel about 8.40pm, firstly sorting a few of the goods we had just purchased then relaxing with a few snacks we had brought with us. I then lay on the bed doing a little planning for tomorrow, which we knew was going to be another early start and with that in mind it was off to bed. It must have been just a few minutes till we were all in cuckoo land.. :D
What an exhilarating day, couldn't have wished for better.. :D/ :D/ :D/
:donald: ...Day 3 Following Shortly...
Ohhh at last Dad I can start reading your report, I'm nearly a year older the time it's took for this.. :P
Thanks for sharing Javey, it looks like you guys had a great time, and some of the resort looked in great condition. But there is one bit I must say. You sir......have a terrific eye. Your photos are truly stunning, the framing, the lighting, a real gift!!! Thanks for sharing and I look forward to the rest.
great photos! especially like the distant shots. love those globes :D/
Awwwwwh thank you davewasbaloo and treble for your kind comments.. :oops: :D
What can I say Javey, brilliant report! Sounds like you guys had a brilliant day, and you met so many characters!!!
Your pictures are gorgeous. I love them all!! And the last ones, when it's getting dark... They're really magical, truly stunning.
Definitely worth the wait!! :D
It's been ever so long since I've last had a good browse across the forums, so much in fact I thought I completely missed out in your trip report Javey, thankfully for my case however I've managed to pop my head back in just in time :mrgreen:
There's not much else I can say about the report that hasn't already been mentioned. It does certainly sound like you all had a great time and your pictures really are great stuff. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank for you this report too, things are tough over here in the land of shamrocks and I'm getting a bit of the Disney blues, so it's nice that I'm able to revisit my second home in spirit in the form of your report :D
Oh and don't worry Jen/SnowWhite2000, if you look back to my last trip report that I.. erm.. never got finished, I was 15 when it last was updated, I'm 17 next week and still haven't got past day 2! :lol: :lol: :lol: :oops:
Thank you very much Javey for your report. It seems that you have a tremendous time and your report is full of feelings for your loving ones. Thank you also for sharing with us those beautiful pictures, especially those fantastic at the end. I hope you don't mind, I will copy few of them for my file. Can't wait for the rest ...
Thanks for the wonderful trip report! I already thought I missed it. Your pictures are great. What camera do you use?
Yay a update!
Your pictures are amaizng, so pretty! Looking foward to reading the rest of your report :D
Thank you to everyone commenting on my report, I really appreciate your thoughts.. ;) :D
In case you are wondering I'm just structuring 'Day 3' now.. :D
As for this...
Quote from: "dagobert"What camera do you use?
It's a FujiFilm S1000fd, briefly it's 10MP, ISO 64-3200, with a 12X Digital/Optical Zoom, with various 'Scene Position Settings', Image Stabalisation and Manual Modes.
Anyone interested in the full spec, it's here >> http://www.dcviews.com/press/Fuji-F1000fd.htm (http://www.dcviews.com/press/Fuji-F1000fd.htm%22%20onclick=%22window.open(this.href);return%20false;)
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Day 3 – Friday 5th November 2010
Weather>>
Morning: Mild, slightly overcast
Mid/Afternoon: Warm, sunny
Night: Dry, cold with clear skies
Part 3..The Magic Continues...
Well off went my morning wake up call at 7.00am, which spelt another magical day was about to start. Off to the Chuck Wagon again for that all important first meal of the day, something I'm not used to at home as I don't eat breakfasts. But at DLP it's essential to keep your strength up for the days ahead.. ;) :D
Again we arrived at the park at 8.00am to get those Extra Magic Hours in. Heading down Main Street I decided to take a few more shots of the buildings on the way down, this was done with a run stop start method, if you know what I mean.. :mrgreen:
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(//http://images43.fotki.com/v504/photos/1/1220156/5403054/Harringtons02-vi.jpg)
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v1617/photos/1/1220156/5403054/DisneyCo01-vi.jpg)
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Again approaching the Castle.. :D
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Nice to see the new front lit window, which has had more celebration covers than enough covering it.. :roll:
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Passing through the Castle and out into the view of Fantasyland, Jen couldn't resist.. :mrgreen:
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Ok, neither could I.. :mrgreen:
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We decided to head over to Peter Pan for our first ride and funnily enough once we had finished we were asked if we wanted another spin, we refrained only because of the thought of the need to mix the rides and time.. :mrgreen:
So it was over to Dumbo - The Flying Elephant.. :D
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Then back to..
(//http://images12.fotki.com/v254/photos/1/1220156/5403049/LeCarrouseldeLancelot04-vi.jpg)
Le Carrousel de Lancelot for that all important first morning relaxing ride.. ;) :D
On through the Castle up towards Central Plaza now heading towards Discoveryland and sure enough it was straight to Buzz Lightyears Laser Blast for another shoot up, following onto Orbitron for Jen.
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v3/photos/1/1220156/5403066/Obitron3-vi.jpg)
Now today was the day we were going to head over to the Studios, but it was still early so after Orbitron we decided to take a stroll around the back of Discoveryland, it's amazing how beautiful the topiary and architecture is around the back of Space Mountain. Take a look>>
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v605/photos/1/1220156/5403066/aceMountainMission2Surrounds01-vi.jpg)
(//http://images58.fotki.com/v506/photos/1/1220156/5403066/scoverylandArchitectureScene02-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images58.fotki.com/v696/photos/1/1220156/5403066/NautilusBridge-vi.jpg)
Does this title look familiar.. :mrgreen:
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(//http://images52.fotki.com/v1568/photos/1/1220156/5403066/DiscoverylandServiceGates01-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images108.fotki.com/v105/photos/1/1220156/5403066/scoverylandArchitectureScene03-vi.jpg)
It was on the walk around the backside that Vanessa spotted a rat running through the grass into the bushes, then I spotted it coming out of the bushes at the other side. At least I know where Remy lives in the park now.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Right between these 2 bushes.. :P
(//http://images18.fotki.com/v270/photos/1/1220156/5403066/scoverylandArchitectureScene04-vi.jpg)
Moving on.. :)
(//http://images17.fotki.com/v28/photos/1/1220156/5403066/scoverylandArchitectureScene05-vi.jpg)
(//http://images56.fotki.com/v127/photos/1/1220156/5403066/DiscoverylandStation01-vi.jpg)
(//http://images58.fotki.com/v696/photos/1/1220156/5403066/scoverylandArchitectureScene07-vi.jpg)
(//http://images51.fotki.com/v177/photos/1/1220156/5403066/scoverylandArchitectureScene08-vi.jpg)
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v699/photos/1/1220156/5403066/scoverylandArchitectureScene09-vi.jpg)
(//http://images32.fotki.com/v1102/photos/1/1220156/5403066/scoverylandArchitectureScene01-vi.jpg)
Passing...
(//http://images43.fotki.com/v504/photos/1/1220156/5403066/VideopolisSignage01-vi.jpg)
Coming across WALL-E and Eve.. :D
(//http://images31.fotki.com/v1083/photos/1/1220156/5403066/WALLEandEve01-vi.jpg)
We even had a chin wag for 5 minutes.. :lol: :mrgreen:
(//http://images107.fotki.com/v71/photos/1/1220156/5403066/WALLEandEve02-vi.jpg)
Anyway looking at the time it was now about 9.30am so we walked out of Discoveryland back up Main Street heading out of the Park and over towards the Studios.. ;) :D
We arrived at the Studio Gates at 9.45am on through Studio 1. It always gets me in the mood just being in this Studio, I think it's the lights and sound that does it for me. Then exiting onto the famous Walt and Mickey statue.. ;)
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v1604/photos/1/1220156/5388978/nCourtyardWaltMickeyMonument03-vi.jpg)
We decided to head straight down to.. ;)
(//http://images12.fotki.com/v254/photos/1/1220156/5388978/rtyardStudioTramTourEntrance01-vi.jpg)
The Studio Tram Tour, which we got straight on. I managed to get some more shots of this tour to add to my existing album which you can view from here>> http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/stu ... page2.html (http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/studios-park/page2.html%22%20onclick=%22window.open(this.href);return%20false;)
But just to get you in the mood.. :thumbs:
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v1617/photos/1/1220156/5388978/CourtyardStudioTramTourScene11-vi.jpg)
(//http://images39.fotki.com/v1291/photos/1/1220156/5388978/CourtyardStudioTramTourScene12-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images59.fotki.com/v111/photos/1/1220156/5388978/CourtyardStudioTramTourScene18-vi.jpg)
(//http://images17.fotki.com/v62/photos/1/1220156/5388978/CourtyardStudioTramTourScene19-vi.jpg)
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v107/photos/1/1220156/5388978/CourtyardStudioTramTourScene20-vi.jpg)
(//http://images58.fotki.com/v85/photos/1/1220156/5388978/CourtyardStudioTramTourScene21-vi.jpg)
Then off we went again.. ;) :D
(//http://images17.fotki.com/v62/photos/1/1220156/5388978/CourtyardStudioTramTourScene22-vi.jpg)
Again you can view the rest here>> http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/stu ... page2.html (http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/studios-park/page2.html%22%20onclick=%22window.open(this.href);return%20false;)
Now on our last visit Toy Story Playland was still under construction, so this was a zone of newness to us all. Wandering over to meet the tall statue of Buzz said it all.. :o
(//http://images58.fotki.com/v506/photos/1/1220156/5388978/laylandBuzzLightyearMonument01-vi.jpg)
We had arrived.. :D
(//http://images107.fotki.com/v84/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToyStoryPlaylandSignage01-vi.jpg)
As we progressed through the land there were a few more visuals to photograph.. :)
(//http://images54.fotki.com/v452/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToyStoryPlaylandRex01-vi.jpg)
Ouch that hurt.. :shock: :shock:
(//http://images17.fotki.com/v62/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToyStoryPlaylandRex02-vi.jpg)
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v3/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToyStoryPlaylandScene01-vi.jpg)
Before arriving at Slinky Dog.. ;) :D
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v107/photos/1/1220156/5388978/dSlinkyDogZigZagSpinEntrance01-vi.jpg)
(//http://images110.fotki.com/v606/photos/1/1220156/5388978/yPlaylandSlinkyDogZigZagSpin01-vi.jpg)
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v272/photos/1/1220156/5388978/yPlaylandSlinkyDogZigZagSpin02-vi.jpg)
(//http://images58.fotki.com/v511/photos/1/1220156/5388978/yPlaylandSlinkyDogZigZagSpin03-vi.jpg)
This I found to be a pretty easy going ride for all ages, the diameter of the ride was large enough not to feel sickly and so not really disorientating, a bit like when you ride the carousel against a kiddies fairground one, very different.. :sick:
We stopped to view RC Racer, though not a ride any of us would go on, since none of use like a shuggy boat motion, it makes us all feel sick, but I can see the appeal of this ride.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images110.fotki.com/v606/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToyStoryPlaylandRCRacer01-vi.jpg)
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v272/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToyStoryPlaylandRCRacer02-vi.jpg)
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v108/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToyStoryPlaylandRCRacer03-vi.jpg)
Moving on to the Parachute Drop, now this one was left to Jen and myself since Vanessa doesn't like heights when it comes down to being in a carriage with your legs dangling.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images110.fotki.com/v606/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToyStoryPlaylandPlane01-vi.jpg)
There was quite a queue here but we were prepared to wait in it.. :roll:
Passing the walky talky.. :)
(//http://images58.fotki.com/v85/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToyStoryPlaylandScene02-vi.jpg)
It was then we realised that there were 2 entrances, I was trying to study why some people went through a side gate and just stood and waited while we were stood in a quite lengthy queue. Jen took it upon herself to wander over to the Cast Member while I waiting in the main queue to ask what that entrance was for, since at first I'd come to the conclusion it was for special needs.. :-?
Jen came back and confirmed that it wasn't, it was for people who didn't mind getting separated on this ride. I didn't think Jen would like the idea of that, so we just stayed where we were.. 8)
As our queue started to go down we got the jist of this ride and the pattern of times. We eventually got to the front and were moved into the loading area. Then it was time! As was heading to the outer seat but realised the seatbelt was still fastened and I couldn't release it with the button, so I moved into the middle with Jen on the other end. One of the Cast Members checking your belts asked me to release the outside belt but I couldn't, they fiddled with something at the side of the carriage then it released. This German gentleman ended up next to me who at first I though was English as he spoke to me in very good fluent English, only to shout over to his presumed wife or partner with quite a lengthy German dialogue.. :lol: :D
Anyway we were off and what a ride it was, I must admit on this ride I got more butterflies off the jolt and bounce at the top after going up than on the way down.. :o
(//http://images54.fotki.com/v452/photos/1/1220156/5388978/oyStoryPlaylandParachuteDrop01-vi.jpg)
(//http://images17.fotki.com/v62/photos/1/1220156/5388978/oyStoryPlaylandParachuteDrop02-vi.jpg)
(//http://images56.fotki.com/v124/photos/1/1220156/5388978/oyStoryPlaylandParachuteDrop03-vi.jpg)
Nice ride, would go on again if the queues hadn't been so long.. :roll:
Well curiosity got the better of us thinking which Character will be next to the Cadillac in the Front Lot, so we tootled back through Studio 1 and sure enough there was Minnie and the queue was just starting to form. Now there was a woman getting her photo with Minnie just before it was Jen's turn, but just as she left, her husband or partner give her the camera, what was about to happen next put the shudders up the security. The gentleman went over to Minnie and lifted her off the ground in a cradle lift, Minnie quickly grabbed for her skirt, luckily she had her bloomers on.. :lol: :mrgreen:
The security lurched forwards towards Minnie looking at the man but then stopped sudden and just stood looking on, not knowing exactly what to do, I think it was a shock to them, not expecting anything like that at all. He eventually put Minnie down after his photo was took. Well Jen was up next.. ;)
(//http://images57.fotki.com/v505/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Minnie10Nov2010-vi.jpg)
After the photo shoot I noticed a Cast Member at the entrance gate looking on all by herself, so I thought wouldn't it be nice to get a photo of her with Jen, might have just made her day. I think we did.. :D
(//http://images110.fotki.com/v1539/photos/1/1220156/5386989/StudioCM1-vi.jpg)
We then headed off to Toon Studio but just before we arrived there were more characters out and about, starting with Frollo.. :twisted:
(//http://images17.fotki.com/v28/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Frollo3Nov2010-vi.jpg)
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v272/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Gideon5Nov2010-vi.jpg)
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v272/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Belle3Nov2010-vi.jpg)
Then it was over to the 'The Flying Carpets'.. ;) :D
(//http://images52.fotki.com/v727/photos/1/1220156/5388978/oTheFlyingCarpetsOverAgrabar01-vi.jpg)
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v507/photos/1/1220156/5388978/oTheFlyingCarpetsOverAgrabar02-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images110.fotki.com/v606/photos/1/1220156/5388978/oTheFlyingCarpetsOverAgrabar06-vi.jpg)
We decided to have dinner at 'Restaurant des Stars' at 1.00pm so we reckoned we'd have enough time to go in 'The Art of Animation' but only the boutique, the drawing and colouring studio, not the full run through. We could do that another time.. :)
(//http://images54.fotki.com/v460/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToonStudioTheArtofAnimation05-vi.jpg)
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v55/photos/1/1220156/5388978/yAnimationGalleryShopSignage01-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images17.fotki.com/v62/photos/1/1220156/5388978/tionCharacterBuildingSignage01-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images17.fotki.com/v62/photos/1/1220156/5388978/DrawOnYourImaginationSignage01-vi.jpg)
(//http://images107.fotki.com/v67/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ationSpeakForYourselfSignage01-vi.jpg)
(//http://images56.fotki.com/v1599/photos/1/1220156/5388978/heArtofAnimationDrawingClass02-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images55.fotki.com/v1617/photos/1/1220156/5388978/oTheArtofAnimationWallDesign01-vi.jpg)
Time for lunch... Well that restaurant never fails to disappoint for food, we had a really nice time in there and the star of the meal was there to make your stop extra special, yes Remy.. :D/
(//http://images59.fotki.com/v112/photos/1/1220156/5388978/dRendezVousdesStarsLittleRemy3-vi.jpg)
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Heading back to where we last left off in Toon Studio, passing the Scream Machines with a load of noise from a whole bunch of kids, till I screamed at them, making them run off.. :lol: Only kidding.. :---)
(//http://images54.fotki.com/v451/photos/1/1220156/5388978/tudioMonstersIncScreamometer01-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images12.fotki.com/v216/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToonStudioMonstersIncMike03-vi.jpg)
There were 15 mins left for the 'Stars 'n' Cars' parade which was a must see for us as we hadn't seen it before. We headed over towards the Place des Stars Stage which was already full, so I decided to stand a little further back towards the parade route. I managed to get these shots of the cars.. ;) :D
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v711/photos/6/1220156/9294956/ADisneysStarsnCarsLogo-vi.jpg)
(//http://images32.fotki.com/v1092/photos/6/1220156/9294956/Car01MickeyandMinnie-vi.jpg)
(//http://images52.fotki.com/v1565/photos/6/1220156/9294956/Car02DonaldandDaisy-vi.jpg)
(//http://images112.fotki.com/v494/photos/6/1220156/9294956/Car03SnowWhitethe7Dwarfs-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images57.fotki.com/v505/photos/6/1220156/9294956/Car05ToyStory-vi.jpg)
(//http://images31.fotki.com/v1052/photos/6/1220156/9294956/Car06Stitch-vi.jpg)
(//http://images56.fotki.com/v127/photos/6/1220156/9294956/Car07MontersInc-vi.jpg)
(//http://images17.fotki.com/v295/photos/6/1220156/9294956/Car08TheVillians-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images32.fotki.com/v1066/photos/6/1220156/9294956/Car12Ratatouille-vi.jpg)
We still managed to watch the stage part of this parade, not realising just how lucky we were to see it since the conditions were dry, as the next few days evolved it didn't happen, none of the characters got out of their cars at all, even though I spent a whole half hour in front of the stage for a brilliant spot to capture the stage routine. Damn.. :x What a waste of precious time.. :roll:
Anyway after then parade had finished it was off to the Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectacular, we didn't bother with it on our last visit but decided the time was right to watch it again and I must admit it never fails to disappoint. You can view my new album here>> http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/wds ... s-action-/ (http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/wds-moteurs-action-/%22%20onclick=%22window.open(this.href);return%20false;)
Something new at the end aswell for us, being able to meet the stuntmen before leaving the stadium.. :o
(//http://images12.fotki.com/v254/photos/6/1220156/9300371/Scene39MeetTheStuntMen-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images43.fotki.com/v504/photos/6/1220156/9300371/Scene42MeetTheStuntMen-vi.jpg)
We decided to walk around the back of The Tower of Terror into Toon Studio as Vanessa and Jen wanted to ride 'Cars', there was still quite a queue for Crusher's Coaster.. :)
(//http://images17.fotki.com/v62/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToonStudioCarsRideShot04-vi.jpg)
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v55/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToonStudioCarsRideShot05-vi.jpg)
After 'Cars' there was a showing coming up of 'Animagique', so off we went. Now this is where I pose the first question; Are you or are you not allowed to take photos inside that show as long as you didn't use a flash. I'm sure I read somewhere on this very Forum that the photography had been relaxed. Before the start of the show I shot the signature icon.. ;)
(//http://images59.fotki.com/v111/photos/1/1220156/5388978/ToonStudioAnimagiqueLogo01-vi.jpg)
But as the show started I left my camera on with the LCD switched on though obviously dark, a Cast Member came over and asked me to turn my camera off. I only wished I'd switched the LCD off on the camera and used the auto viewfinder instead. Now the rules were clearly read out before the start of the show, which indicated that there was no flash photography allowed, which to me technically means photos can be taken as long as you don't use a flash. Otherwise the announcement should have said, "No photography allowed under any circumstances". So I was a little disappointed with not getting any shots of the show, but far from disappointed with the show itself, it was as spectacular as ever.. =D>
On leaving 'Animagique', Jen wanted one last ride on The Flying Carpets, so it was a sharp right turn.. :mrgreen:
Afterwards we went to have a look at the boutique in Studio 1 where we ended up buying an arm and a leg, well not literally.. :mrgreen:
It was around this time it went a little downhill with things going wrong. First of all Vanessa was short changed at the till which took about 10 minutes to sort out with the Cast Member eventually apologising, only to get out of the boutique and Jen asking to put her trade pins onto her lanyard only for the back on one of the pins to snap off.. :roll:
We decided to go into the boutique in the Front Lot and whilst looking around in there we'd get it exchanged, which was no problem at all. Looks like it was only a slight glitch after all.. 8-[
We had the rest of the evening to come, with an invitation all lined up on the night for.. Mickey's Magical Fireworks & Bonfire Spectacular.. :D/ :D/ :D/
:donald: Part 4 To Follow...Mickey's Magical Fireworks & Bonfire Spectacular...
Fab photos as usual, really enjoying it. Thanks for taking the time.
I can't wait until the second part of day 3 :mrgreen:
Continued.......
Part 4.. Nearly Firework time.. :D
Well we decided to head back over to the Disneyland Park as the Studios were closing and the light had turned to darkness, so out of the Studio gates we went.. ;)
(//http://images107.fotki.com/v71/photos/1/1220156/5388978/FrontLotWDSThatsaWrap04-vi.jpg)
Arriving back at the Park entrance once again heading through Town Square, but this time we opted to walk through Liberty Arcade instead of Main Street, taking the left short cut at the bottom through into Frontierland. This wasn't the aim of the game though, you see I like having a wander around Adventureland at night, it's a zone where you have to watch every step and it's also a zone that does not have much lighting, for those who have been will know.. :twisted:
So we all had a wander around Adventure Isle and through the African Village, whilst walking through I managed to take this one and only picture of an Adventureland scene at night on this trip.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images52.fotki.com/v737/photos/1/1220156/5403037/urelandVillageAreaNightScene01-vi.jpg)
Goes to show the lack of light when you see just how bright the Castle is in the distance.. :shock: :o
Then it was off to The Pirates of the Caribbean, you could tell it had had a refub, it was all operational inside aswell as being spick and span. Another favourite ride for all of us this one, gets you right into the pirate mood... Yo ho, yo ho a pirates life for me... Yo ho, Yo ho..... :-" :-" *Cough* Ok getting a bit carried away now.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Well after that adventurous ride we headed through the Adventureland exit into Fantasyland where we noticed no-one in the queue for Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains, this was our chance to get a quick ride.. :mrgreen:
I always think these rides should be longer as with Pinocchio aswell, but then reality kicks in with visions of even longer queues at normal times.. :mrgreen: Well you can't have your cake and eat it.. :lol:
Time was looming to head up towards the Village and Lake Disney, so off we went towards the Castle.. ;)
(//http://images33.fotki.com/v1137/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleNightShot05-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images54.fotki.com/v1613/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleNightShot07-vi.jpg)
With a view looking on from the Castle bridge.. ;)
(//http://images58.fotki.com/v696/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleNightSceneOutwardView01-vi.jpg)
Looking back on the Castle.. ;)
(//http://images57.fotki.com/v512/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleNightShot04-vi.jpg)
(//http://images21.fotki.com/v208/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleNightShot08-vi.jpg)
Now up Mainstreet into Town Square.. :)
(//http://images57.fotki.com/v496/photos/1/1220156/5403054/TownSquareNightScene01-vi.jpg)
Then a final shot of the Disneyland Hotel before disappearing underneath.. :)
(//http://images52.fotki.com/v1554/photos/1/1220156/5403054/reLookingTowardsTheRearOfDLH01-vi.jpg)
Now what was the time.. :thumbs:
(//http://images12.fotki.com/v254/photos/1/1220156/5403075/MickeyClock01NightScene-vi.jpg)
Ah yes, enough time for some strolling and shopping over at the Village before the 8.00pm Showtime.. :D/
Here we are.. ;)
(//http://images107.fotki.com/v67/photos/1/1220156/5396763/neyVillageEntranceNightScene01-vi.jpg)
Well we headed off to Lake Disney for about 7.30pm and took up location infront of the Hotel New York looking onto the Newport Bay. Now I was still a little low for photo's so on looking around I spotted the 2 large concrete blocks with the lamposts ontop. So out came my spiderman routine to scale the wall and get a nice central position with my back leaning against the lampost. Nice view at last, I also managed to hoist Jen up next to me for a better view. Vanessa chose to stay below at the side.. :mrgreen:
Looking over to my right I got a nice view of the Panoramagique balloon.. :D
(//http://images107.fotki.com/v70/photos/1/1220156/5396763/PanoramagiqueNightScene01-vi.jpg)
Now back to the subject of 'Mickey's Magical Fireworks & Bonfire Spectacular', what I can say was this year there was no bonfire as such, but on doing a little internet research I did see what it would have looked like from previous years.. :)
When it started there were flares and shooting lights which I suppose could symbolize the look of flames in a bonfire. Unfortunately I had my camera set to firework mode and it was too dark to mess about with the settings, so did not get Fantasia Mickey in his boat or any laser light photos, though they were spectacular all the same. However I did get into the action with the fireworks, the soundtracks played against the show were suprisingly British pop music with a really upbeat tempo which added to the great atmosphere.. :D/
Here's what I got.. :D
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v695/photos/1/1220156/5396763/ngTheNewportBayHotelBeforeShow-vi.jpg)
(//http://images57.fotki.com/v81/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene01-vi.jpg)
(//http://images17.fotki.com/v62/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene02-vi.jpg)
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v695/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene03-vi.jpg)
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v605/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene04-vi.jpg)
(//http://images54.fotki.com/v461/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene05-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images54.fotki.com/v460/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene07-vi.jpg)
(//http://images54.fotki.com/v1614/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene08-vi.jpg)
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(//http://images12.fotki.com/v155/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene13-vi.jpg)
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v3/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene14-vi.jpg)
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v605/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene15-vi.jpg)
(//http://images54.fotki.com/v459/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene16-vi.jpg)
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v1604/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene17-vi.jpg)
(//http://images57.fotki.com/v505/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene18-vi.jpg)
(//http://images54.fotki.com/v1593/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene19-vi.jpg)
(//http://images55.fotki.com/v1617/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene20-vi.jpg)
(//http://images54.fotki.com/v459/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene21-vi.jpg)
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v695/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene22-vi.jpg)
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v272/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene23-vi.jpg)
(//http://images16.fotki.com/v272/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene24-vi.jpg)
(//http://images58.fotki.com/v506/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene25-vi.jpg)
(//http://images59.fotki.com/v111/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene26-vi.jpg)
(//http://images58.fotki.com/v85/photos/1/1220156/5396763/worksSpectacularNov2010Scene27-vi.jpg)
Wow, what a display, well worth the wait.. =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>
My only regret is being behind the lense, I would have loved to have seen the whole display from start to finish with my own eyes.. :P
Well that was that, the temperature had dramatically droped by now to what felt like below freezing, especially with the open skies. Brrrrrrrr.. :o We joined the mass of crowds trying to head back through the Village, trying to find a short cut at every turn to no avail, it was one big bottle neck to the side of Cafe Mickey.. :mrgreen:
The time read 9.30pm and we were quite hungry now, so it was off to.. ;)
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Annettes Diner and talking of queues this was no exception since it was quite a distance out the door, we only got inside the doorway at 10.10pm.. :shock:
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...and did not get seated till 10.30pm.. :shock:
I must admit that the meal was as yummy as ever but as usual far too much, we were all fit to bust with another harrowing thought in mind of missing the last bus since we didn't leave till 11.30pm. But luck would be on our side once again catching the last bus back to the hotel, where once arriving back at our hotel room we virtually all collapsed in a heap.. :lol: :mrgreen:
What a day.. :D/ :D/ :D/ :D/ With a final thought of only 7 hours sleep before we'd be up again... :mrgreen:
:donald: ...Day 4 Following Shortly..
Looks like they have really cut back on the bon fire display. That is a real shame. Glad you enjoyed it. I think we will go to Legoland or Alton Towers instead in future as their displays are grander. This was really helpful. Thank you.
Great updates with some gorgeous pictures, as usual! Thank you for that!
I'm a bit jealous of the sunshine and blue skies in your pictures though... I think when you left you took the sun with you, we only had rain and grey skies for our stay!!
We were also there for the Bonfire, a bit to your left, judging by the pictures...
Looking forward to day 4!
Pleased I was of some help on making your mind up davewasbaloo.. :mrgreen:
Thanks again for your comments davewasbaloo and never2old, much appreciated.. ;) :D
Thanks for the trip report, it sounds like you had a magical time. Good pictures you took of the fireworks. it was our first time for Disney's Bonfire and fireworks. A very good show free of charge for people living in the area. I liked the added touch with Mickey in the boat and the music from Fantasmic. We were lucky because we saw the first two bonfires when the weather was good, after that it rained almost non stop.
great report and wonderful pictures! I really enjoy following it! My kids love to look at the pictures and can't wait to get there!
Brilliant report so far David, can't wait to read and see more! I love your night time pics of the park, make me miss it loads! lol
Really enjoying!
Thank you ed-uk, kmara, Aveen2008 and littlemermaid83 for your kind comments.. :oops: :D
I am in the next writing stage of this Trip Report, honest.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Day 4 – Saturday 6th November 2010
Weather>>
Morning: Light drizzle, cold and windy
Mid/Afternoon: Heavy drizzle, then rain, cool
Night: Cloudy and wet
Part 5..Mop and Bucket Time...
Well once again my morning wake up call at 7.00am sounded, which spelt another magical day was about to start, though this time once out of bed my legs were just twinging a little and thinking different. Upon looking out of the window my mind was thinking a little different seeing drizzly rain and wind.. :shock:
Anyway over to the Chuck Wagon for the usual food and drink intake then it was back out to the elements, this was certainly a day to wrap up.. :o
We arrived at the park, got through the turnstiles and low and behold a great shock confronted us. All those facia boards in Town Square were down, Christmas music was ringing out, looking straight ahead was the Christmas Tree standing there as tall as ever.. ***Deck The halls*** :-" :-" :-"
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Wow... To be honest this was not supposed to happen till the Sunday, but no they must have been ahead of time or had a change of plan, Christmas season had begun.. :D/ :D/ :D/
We had a quick peek around and got this shot of the sleigh where Goofy would appear later.. ;)
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As I said only a quick peek since we needed to get going and as luck would have it there was the Main Street Police Van inviting anyone who wanted to ride. That was our ticket, so we all got aboard and trundled off down Main Street stopping right in front of the Castle.. ;)
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Through the Castle we went to our usual haunts, firstly Dumbo, then Peter Pan's Flight, at this point the drizzle was starting to turn into larger droplets of rain, so we quickly headed over to the Carousel, at least you were covered there.. Then Jen and Vanessa headed over to the Mad Hatters Teacups.. :)
One other question on our trip remained and that was in relation to 'It's a Small World'. It was suppose to re-open today and it's always a favourite to ride on every trip here. So next we braved the heavy rain and headed over, only to have a Cast Member on the entrance telling people that it would not be open as there had been a few delays, but it may be open later today.. Oh dear.. :(
Just as we were leaving we spotted Suzy and Perla, rain or no rain they were out and so were we.. ;)
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We kept on walking towards the Castle Stage.. ;)
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All nipping into the toilets for a comfort break, well with all this water around.. :lol: :mrgreen:
We continued up to Discoveryland and Buzz Lightyears Laser Blast, again for a little rain relief.. :mrgreen:
The rain did ease a little back to drizzle so we thought Frontierland and Big Thunder Mountain, fast pass it was. In the mean time we headed up to Phantom Manor for the all-important 'Doom Buggy' ride. I was really impressed with the refurb on this attraction, everything was working and you could tell the ghosts dancing scene had been cleaned up, a lot of the scenes were a lot brighter. All in all a great job done.. =D> =D> =D>
Next Big Thunder Mountain, and as usual a great ride, luckily the rain was off to a fine drizzle again like on the morning and the wind had dropped a little, otherwise it would have been a quick shower whilst going round, we were just missing the shampoo and soap.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Anyway we wandered back up to Mainstreet since we had decided to have lunch at the Plaza Gardens Restraunt today.. So we went into City Hall, got that sorted. Just one point here I have to say that the Cast Members in the City Hall are the most friendliest in the whole resort in my opinion.. :D
Exiting City Hall it was photo time again since it was a lot lighter now.. :D
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We were just in time to follow the Character Express down to the Central Plaza awaiting the Character photo opportunities and sure enough.. :D
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I noticed because of the slippery conditions they were not out the usual length of time with a lot more Cast Member attention around them when moving to their relevant locations as well as getting back on the train.. ;)
Now since the Christmas decorations were out we all thought about Woody's Roundup. Now that should look good, so off we went. On approaching the entrance there was a Cast Member asking us to use the Exit Gate. Mmmmm I wonder why, we were trying to access Santa's Cabin. Looking across we noticed a film crew inside. I wondered with the main decorations just being revealed today it was a marketing film crew.. :-k
We eventually got round as you can see.. :thumbs:
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Even into Santa's Cabin, unfortunately Santa was on a comfort break.. :mrgreen:
I think the rain had got to him too.. :lol: There was no queuing to see him because of this. So Jen took the opportunity to sit in his seat for a while.. :mrgreen:
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Then outside again.. :D
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We spent a while looking at the scenery on exiting the cabin, it was at the same time we noticed that there was a problem with the Railroad Train, there was a lot of steam coming out of it, but all in the wrong places, and it wasn't moving either.. :shock: :shock:
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Then they closed the Frontierland Station off.. :shock: :o
We headed back down towards Adventureland on arriving we were greeted by a bunch of Characters in there Safari outfits.. :mrgreen:
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Heading further down we decided to have a venture through the hidden away 'Aladdin's Passage of Enchantment', I say hidden away as I've heard lots of comments saying that you could easily pass it off as an entrance to shop. Something really needs doing to enlighten this place and the entrance is a key issue.. :roll:
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Now since the rain was still a light drizzle we wondered if heading back to Fantasyland that 'The Story Book' attraction would be open, since it's normally closed on most visits as with 'Casey Junior'. Well it was a risk, but worth taking since when we got there is was actually open... That's why it had been raining a lot.. :lol: :P
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Casey Junior had quite a queue, so we thought we'd try again later.. :mrgreen:
On passing under the arched bridge we were confronted with the film crew, but this time with Belle and the Prince, whom were all sheltering underneath. To our surprise they stopped right near Jen and started asking her some questions with the film crew filming. We started to think that Jen was going to be on either a DVD or TV, we come to the conclusion looking at the cameras that it was French TV, again a marketing pitch. Just a shame we didn't get to see it screened.. :(
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Well dinner time was looming so it was off to Mainstreet for a little more merchandise shopping before heading to the Plaza Gardens Restaurant.. ;)
An all you can eat buffet in what could be mistaken for official royal furnishings. It's a place by looking at the furnishings and colours (creams and deep reds) you could just as easily be sitting in one of the Castle turrets looking out, well other than being at ground level of course.. :lol: It really does match the idea of sitting in a royal room.. :D
As for the buffet, it was really nice, couldn't fault it. We would definitely go back here again.. :thumbs:
Whilst eating we thought about our next exploit.. If you remember I was telling you in an earlier part about the 'Stars'n'Cars' parade, about not exactly been positioned well to get the Stage shots when all the characters alight there vehicles. Well this time I was going to stand for half an hour right at the front of the stage to get a good spot, well that was the plan anyway.. :roll:
On arriving at the Studios it was still raining that fine drizzle type rain, straight through Studio 1 and over to the 'Place de Stars' stage area. Now I stood right in the middle at the front with about 25 mins to wait, with Vanessa and Jen waiting towards the back of the stage near the disabled view point since last time the characters started signing autographs around that area. Well the time came and the parade started heading towards us, but I noticed something unusual the parade ran down behind me first, it was going in reverse.. :o Strange, then the realisation hit, the cars continued behind the stage kept on going and passed me heading back up towards Studio 1. I could not believe it, all that time for nothing.. :evil:
I'm not sure what I was more angry at, the above or not thinking logically that the characters would not alight their vehicles since it was fine drizzle, wet and slippy, though the stage does have roof cover, then again they have to get from their cars to the stage aswell as dance.. ](*,)
The rain shortly got heavier, we decided to head back to the hotel to dry off, the time was 4.00pm and even my DLP waterproof hooded jacked was starting to feel really damp by now.. :shock:
Plus it was nice just to rest our feet for a short time.. :mrgreen:
After our little break at the hotel will headed back to the park, still drizzling. We needed somewhere to go under cover, passing through the ticket machines we noticed looking up at Mainstreet station that the train was in. This was it, the answer. We could have a full run round the park under cover.. :D
Whilst waiting to go I got this obsure shot from the carriage.. :)
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On passing Frontierland with the light dimming I managed to get these shots looking down onto Woody's Roundup.. ;)
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We did another loop and got off at Frontierland, the drizzle had eased at last. We walking down to Adventureland onto Central Plaza through the Castle and up through Fantasyland to 'Casey Junior' which we managed to get straight on.. :D Whoo Hoo.. :D/ :D/ :D/
Then in the distance we noticed movement on 'It's a Small World', it was open at last.. :D/
There were small queues at Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains and Les Voyages de Pinocchio, a must opportunity.. :D/
Well the park was closing at 7.00pm tonight, bit confusing at first as to why, only to realise once we were back home that it was due to the filming crews and V.I.Ps at the opening Rapunzel event on the Central Plaza Stage.. :?
On exiting the park we were also puzzled at why people were still coming out of the Studios which should have been closed at 6.00pm, again later we realised that they had kept the Studios open an extra hour, due to closing the DL Park an hour earlier. Shame we missed this reasoning at the time.. :roll:
Anyway it was time to head back to the hotel, well other than another quick visit to the Village. My main memory at this point was walking a pretty strange path from the parks to the Village trying to avoid puddles and vast areas of deep water.. :shock: :shock: :shock:
Since we arrived back at the hotel earlier than normal Jen decided to have a few games in the hotel games room with a look around the shop before we left, arriving back at the hotel at 8.30pm.. :)
We were all starting to feel the ache of our legs at this point, knowing we still had another virtual full and final day tomorrow.. :mrgreen:
:donald: ...Day 5 To Follow Shortly>>>
:lol: This must be the longest living trip report in a long time ;)
Anywho... Lovely report and great pictures... The Christmas pictures took me right back to my New Years trip - thanks for that :D
Looking forward to day 5
Quote from: "forza_united":lol: This must be the longest living trip report in a long time ;)
Anywho... Lovely report and great pictures... The Christmas pictures took me right back to my New Years trip - thanks for that :D
Looking forward to day 5
:lol: Thanks forza for your appreciation, and you're very welcome.. ;) :D
All I can say is that it's a good job I made lots of notes and still have them.. :mrgreen:
A very enjoyable trip report, although a little surreal looking at Christmas photos on a warm evening in May. Looking forward to Day 5.
Quote from: "MrsPirate"A very enjoyable trip report, although a little surreal looking at Christmas photos on a warm evening in May. Looking forward to Day 5.
Thanks MrsPirate, very true... Infact I started on this section of my report this morning listening to some Disney music, which included the international version of 'Chante, C'est Noel', it got me back in the Christmas mood again just at the right point.. :mrgreen:
A fab trip report and great photos. Its got me even more excited for our trip in less than 3 weeks time. Thanks Javey74, looking forward to the next instalment!
Blimey, still going ;) :thumbs:
Interesting to see how things have changed in 6 months. Sadly Phantom Manor is due for a refurb again (not in great shape) and who would have known after so few years, that Woody's Round Up would be closed now :(
Interesting. Thanks for taking the time and sharing.
Thank you all for your kind comments, I'm on writing the last main part now.. :D
Quote from: "davewasbaloo"Who'd would have known after so few years, that Woody's Round Up would be closed now :(
Did I read right there, I didn't know that, what is it now?
These Woody's Roundup shots were only off last November.. :shock: :shock:
It's empty (well everything is in place, but it is closed, not a thing going on there, during the Easter holidays). I am sure I mentioned it in my trip report. May have slipped my mind. But yep, from Cowboy Cookout (character meal that is paid, coincedence???) to the train station, the whole place was dead.
I see.. :shock:
Saying that I've been there quite a few times off peak season and I remember one time it was also closed and desolate, but I think the next time we went it was the change over from Critters Coral to Woody's Roundup. I never actually got the chance to see Critters Coral open at the time, shame as I would of liked to have seen it as it was.. :(
I used to love the full scale critter coral with Brahma bulls and all sorts, as well as wood carvers (and at Halloween, pumkin carvers). The thing that was great about Woody's was it was the most civilised meet and greets (other than the DLH). But I was surprised given we were there for Easter hols, that it was closed.
Day 5 – Sunday 7th November 2010
Weather>>
Morning: Cold and cloudy with odd showers
Mid/Afternoon: Cold and cloudy with odd showers
Night: Cloudy and cold
Part 6..The Magic Prevails Regardless Of The Weather...
As usual out rang "Deck The Halls" wake up call on my mobile telling us to get up for our breakfasts. On getting out of bed all of us realised just how much walking we must have done since our calves and feet were really sore and that was just standing up.. :shock: :shock: :shock:
We all tried to work our legs back in as best as we could with the odd limp.. :mrgreen: Then got ourselves refreshed and headed over to the Chuck Wagon for our 7.00am breakfast slot. Breakfast went fine as ever though we all felt a little weary. I think the only thing that kept us going was the thought that our final day here was virtually a full one which we'd never had on previous trips.. :D/
Anyway after breakfast we headed over to get the bus down to the Disneyland Park, on arriving once more at the gates we had already decided that morning over breakfast to reserve lunch at the Silverspur Steakhouse, as we'd never ate in there before. So our first port of call was City Hall to put our reservation in, again the staff in there are so friendly and helpful you cannot believe.. :D
Well we had to cover our usual haunt for the morning, straight down Mainstreet through the Castle and into Fantasyland. From there it was onto Peter Pans Flight for another pleasant trip, then the breather ride as I call it the Carousel, again Vanessa and Jen went over to the Mad Hatters Spinning Tea Cups afterwards. Then it was back through the Castle up to Discoveryland and Buzz Lightyears Laser Blast.. :D
After coming out of there we could hear the faint music of the Character Express, unfortunately it had just started to rain again so we quickly headed down to the Central Plaza and stood underneath the canopy of the popcorn stand, which is a canny place if you don't want to stand and get wet. Now this is where I introduce my pointless strange picture of the trip. If you have often wondered where all those metal crowd poles get stored around this area, it's right next to us to the side of the stand.. :mrgreen:
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There you go, so now you know.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Anyway we watched the Express do a loop around the Central Plaza but because of the rain it didn't stop. Now looking at the park guide leaflet today there were extra visitors to the Star Tours area in the way of Star Wars characters.. :)
Mmmmmm, now this would be something to see, so off we went.. :thumbs:
On approaching Star Tours we could see Darth Vader standing there... Wow, Jen and I couldn't resist a photo each with him.. ;)
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Moving on I got talking to Jen about George Lucas and Steven Spielberg which led me onto talking about Indiana Jones and Adventureland and how on another visit I decided to go on the ride and got a real shock at how small that loop really is and the pressure it puts on your back because of the tightness and speed you travel around it. To my amazement Jen said she would give it a go. Well there was no stopping us now, heading over there with an answer like that.. :mrgreen:
We stood in a not so long queue and eventually arrived at the boarding point. I'd already mentioned to Jen that with this ride the safety bars are over your shoulders. Then the worst thing happened for a first time traveller, as the mine cars pulled up we ended up in the front car at the very front, OMG what a view Jen would have from here nothing in front.. :shock: :mrgreen:
This ride never fails to amaze me as the loop happens so quick, but you can always tell you've gone around it by the G-force on your back pulling you forward on such a small diameter loop. Jen loved it without a doubt and given the chance would ride it again another time. Job well done.. ;) :D
While we were on 'Indiana Jones The Temple du Peril' Vanessa spotted something in the attraction leaflet that we had missed, and that was the first meet and greet with Rapunzel. This was a must, looking at the time we quickly headed over to the Castle Stage. We were a little early for the meet and greet time and luckily there was only a slight queue which we joined. We waited about 12 minutes then just behind us she appeared with Flynn. Wow what a sight, even more so now thinking back as we'd not seen Tangled as it had not been released in Britain as yet. What a length of hair she was holding.. :o
We were nearing the front, fifteen minutes had elapsed when all of a sudden Rapunzel and Flynn got up and walked off the stage, this should not have happened since the guide times were reading half an hour interval changes.. :? Rapunzel was replaced with Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen. Oooohhh we were not happy, as you know we'd seen them yesterday.. :x
There was a woman with her little girl just in front of us who we got talking to who was not happy either since they had queued to see Rapunzel aswell, but more unfortunate for them was that they were leaving the park in roughly an hour to go back home.. :(
Now was the time to speak out, we all had a word with the CM who heard our frustrations and he said that the times had been altered a little to the guide, but said that Rapunzel and Flynn would be back in another half an hour. On expressing our concern about having to rejoin the back of an ever growing queue, he told us not to worry and that if we just stand to one side of the stage in about half an hour he would recognise us and let us back in. Now you cannot complain there, see what a bit constructive criticism can get you.. :D
We decided to head off but keep within the vicinity for our call back time and low and behold we came accoss Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee.. ;)
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We then wondered if Darth Vader had been replaced yet over at Star Tours, so we quickly nipped around to see. He had, it was Chewbacca but he was just starting to move with his CM. I just managed to quickly get this shot as he was walking away.. ;)
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It was time to head back to the Castle Stage with 5 minutes to spare. We met up again with the woman and her young daughter, having a little chat while we waited for the swop over by the side of the stage. We ended up with a laugh aswell as the woman was talking to her daughter saying, "Now when the Princess asks you a question just give her the answer, but don't go telling her about what you had for breakfast", we asked what she had said, her mam told us that she had been talking to Cinderella and she asked her what her name was, which she give and if she was enjoying herself, which she replied "yes", then out of the blue she said. "I had eggy bread for breakfast you know". Her mam said I just burst out laughing. I can just imagine Cinderella standing there being told that... Awwwhhhh.. :oops: :mrgreen:
Eventually just brushing past us to walk up the steps onto the stage Rapunzel and Flynn. The CM give us the signal to walk up the same exit steps and stand to the right of the stage. The little girl and her mam went first and the little girl looked overwhelmed standing there talking to them and getting her photo done. Though I'm not sure if she'd mentioned her eggy bread mind.. :lol: :lol:
The Jen went over, she really admired that length of hair she was holding, just sooooo long. Well I think that must be the first time on any visit were by we had a debut public meet and greet with a new Princess. Definitely worth it though, even if you have to do a little bit of constructive complaining.. :mrgreen:
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Heading off the stage we spotted that the Character Express had just stopped around the Central Plaza with Characters dispersing everywhere.. :mrgreen:
More photo shoots were in order.. :thumbs:
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You've got to admire the ribbon on his tale.. :mrgreen:
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We headed up Mainstreet to see more of the Town Square since it was a lot brighter now, purchasing a doughnut along the way.. =P~ On reaching Town Square we spotted Goofy in his sleigh.. :)
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Dinner time was still a few hours away so we though we'd have one last look over at the Studios. On arriving we headed straight over to Toon Studio and found Buzz ready for some photo shoots, then low and behold who comes out. Give me a D an O an N an A an L a D, yep Donald had arrived.. :D/ :D/ :D/ :D/
A must.. :thumbs:
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Next came the Art of Animation to pass a little more time, it's always nice to come he to relax a little and let the animation come to you.. :D
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On exiting The Art of Animation the Stars'n'Cars Parade was mid way through, but one again we noticed that there was no stop. Again because the ground was still a little wet.. :(
Lunch was looming so it was off back to the Disneyland Park through to Frontierland and the Silverspur Steakhouse.. :D
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One thing I noticed once inside that it was quite dark with low lighting, which I suppose added to the ambience. It was then I heard live music starting up behind us, nice touch.. :)
For starters Vanessa had Caesar Salad with Reggeano Parmesan and Croutons. I had Tomato Salad with Blue Cheese and Red Onions. Jen had the Santa Fe Prawns with Cocktail Sauce and Coleslaw. Nice starters I must say.. :)
For our main course Vanessa and I both had Steak and Chips and Jen had Beef Burger and Chips. Now that is what we'd been waiting for, the steak was well done as we requested. Definitely no complaints here.. :D
Finally for dessert Vanessa and I had Crème Bruille, which was done the traditional way by setting the top on fire, good for singeing eyebrows that one.. :lol: Oh and Jen had a Fresh Fruit Fondue, which looked and tasted very nice.. =P~
All in all it was very nice, but we all felt afterwards that it still didn't seem as good against the Plaza Gardens or the Agrabah Café Restaurant, and it didn't have anything to do with not being an all you can eat buffet either. We just couldn't quite put our finger on what it was.. :-k But you can't win them all for atmosphere or choice.. :)
There was only one thing for it after leaving the Silverspur Steakhouse with full bellies, a nice relaxing ride on the Mark Twain and the River Boat Landing Cruise. I don't know about you but I always find the music that plays in the background on this attraction makes you feel sad, another signal to let you know you'll be leaving shortly.. :cry:
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Time was now getting on and there was one final event that we had to see before we left and that was another encounter with "Mickey's Winter Wonderland Show" at the Chaparral Theatre. Heading through Frontierland right up to Woody's Roundup we stood about mid way in the queue, then the gates opened and we headed to our favourite seating area, towards the back and roughly middle. This show always gets you in the Christmas Spirit no matter what. We always enjoy.. =D> =D> =D>
I've updated my album with some new photos of the show, which you can view here>> http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/mic ... nter-wond/ (http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/mickeys-winter-wond/%22%20onclick=%22window.open(this.href);return%20false;)
After the show Jen was asking if she could get a Rapunzel Doll that she had spotted in one of the Boutiques in Fantasyland. I could tell that meeting Rapunzel today had definitely inspired her.. :mrgreen:
So we headed over there to get one, the light was fading fast again heading back through the Castle looking back at the illuminated sight close up for the last time on this trip, heading back up Mainstreet we caught the tail end of the Christmas Parade passing through, then it was out of the park heading towards the bus station, again as ever looking backwards every now and again for those last looks. But as we always say, "Bye for now, but we'll be back". Those few chosen words make things just a little easier to deal with when you have to leave this magical place.. :cry:
Anyway, back to the left luggage in the hotel and it was the usual case opening time to add our last minute purchases. The time now being 5.55pm. Mark, the taxi driver who would have picked us up on arriving instead of Nabil came in and saw us at 6.15pm. He was a little early so he was looking for another family to join us to take back to CDG which he eventually found.. :)
I wonder if everyone looks back as they drive towards the airport trying to get a glimpse of one of the attractions at a distance, especially being all lit up in the dark, I know we do.. :)
Arrived at CDG 7.10pm, our flight coming back was not delayed departing at 9.15pm French time, arriving back at Newcastle International Airport at 10.00pm UK time.. :)
What a trip.. :D/ :D/ :D/
We still had another one to make from Newcastle and that was 30 mile drive south to pick up our Gizmo from Vanessa's mams who'd been looking after him whilst we'd been away. Who I will add was pleased to see us. Well we did get him 2 large Disney dog bowls, probably give him a clue where we'd been.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Well it was that winding down phase we had entered on arriving back home, but saying that there's always the usual chores to do as in the washing, present sorting, putting away of vast purchases and biggest of all, photo sorting and editing.. Pheeewww.. :santa:
Oh and on the Trip Report writing front I have proof of time consumption in this area as I'm just writing this last part of my Trip Report as of today the 4th of June 2011 what's that, nearly 7 month on.. :lol: :lol: :P
:donald: ...I will follow with a short summary hopefully sometime soon... ;) :D
an enjoyable trip report - i loved it and cant wait to go back soon
Great report Javey!
Quote from: "smurfy74"an enjoyable trip report - i loved it and cant wait to go back soon
Quote from: "littlemermaid83"Great report Javey!
Thanks.. :D
What a wonderful trip report, thank you. What you say about looking back at the castle for the last time, saying goodbye to the park and trying to catch a last glimpse of the rides from outside the park are so true, we do it every time. The only way I can leave is knowing we will go back.
Quote from: "Javey74"Oh and on the Trip Report writing front I have proof of time consumption in this area as I'm just writing this last part of my Trip Report as of today the 4th of June 2011 what's that, nearly 7 month on.. :lol: :lol: :P
Haha well, something about keeping the memory last as long as possible right... Thanks for the great report, enjoyed reading it!
Thanks for the comments everyone.. :D
Hi loved reading your report :thumbs:
We go now on the 4th to 7th November. I had been dying to know if we would see Either halloween or xmas theme and it would seem going by last year we might hit lucky and have xmas come early. We leave early afternoon on the 7th so may not get to see shows or parades but always a reason to go back.
The weather seem to be fairly mild, we had been planning on hats scarves gloves etc..... Hopefully we will have mild weather to.
My 3 year old daughter is a big Rapunzel fan, she looks beautiful, I bet your daughter was delighted :D/ :D/
Quote from: "cinderslg"Hi loved reading your report :thumbs:
We go now on the 4th to 7th November. I had been dying to know if we would see Either halloween or xmas theme and it would seem going by last year we might hit lucky and have xmas come early. We leave early afternoon on the 7th so may not get to see shows or parades but always a reason to go back.
The weather seem to be fairly mild, we had been planning on hats scarves gloves etc..... Hopefully we will have mild weather to.
My 3 year old daughter is a big Rapunzel fan, she looks beautiful, I bet your daughter was delighted :D/ :D/
Yeah we hit lucky.. :) I hope you do to and I hope the weather remains mild for you. I know you'll all have a fab time and yes your daughter will just love Rapunzel, mine definitely was delighted and overwhelmed at the same time.. :D
Have a great time.. :D/ :D/ :D/