Hello all!
A bit late for the report but we were away for a couple of weeks, then with Christmas and all, not much free time... So I'll just write a quick summary, and post some of my favourite pictures. Enjoy!
Bit of background. Most of my friends are Disneyland fans, and although they don't visit as much as I do (they do think me slightly mad, poor unfortunate souls :wink: ) they really like the parks. All except one. She was always against it, even protested against the park being built (American invasion, terrible work conditions, etc :roll: I probably won't tell her about the strike last week....) She likes Disney and his movies, but the parks, no way. So for many years we've been telling her she should go and see for herself, and take her children (she's got two kids, a 10 year old boy and a 5 year old girl) But she always refused and said she would never give any money to those people... So you can imagine our shock when a few months ago, she said she was thinking of taking her kids, who'd been asking for it for many years! We told her that Christmas was a great time to go, and when she asked me to come along, I couldn't turn it down!
Needless to say, she loved it. She absolutely adored it. I played tourist guide, telling her a few stories about the park construction, the rides, the imagineers, Walt Disney and all, and she really liked it. She was surprised there was so much more to it than just rides! Her kids loved it too, of course. And they're already thinking of going back soon!
The weather was, well, horrible, to be honest. It was cold, but not freezing, but it was quite wet. The Party Time show preceding the Castle illumination was cancelled on Saturday night because of the rain (they just turned the Castle lights on, with the music, which I have to say wasn't too bad). And when it wasn't raining, it was very dull and very grey.
And the crowds were rather bad as well, as expected... Despite my greatest efforts I couldn't get people moving and ready in time for the EMH, so we only made it to the parks around 9am both Saturday and Sunday (Friday we got there in the evening, about 2 hours before the Disneyland closed). We still managed to get all rides done, except ToT (by the time we got there on Sunday, the queues were already quite long and the fastpasses were for late in the afternoon, too late for us). We also had to give up on the Tram Tour, and Stitch Live. The Studios were packed, really...
But overall it was a great trip, exhausting for everyone, and full of magic. The parks were looking great, lot of effects were in perfect order, it was really wonderful to see. The It's a Small World Celebration was beautiful, I really can't wait to see it again (going again beginning of January :D/ ), and the Christmas parade was great (a little dark, they could have turned the lights on, but well....). And my friends really had a great time, which is the most important part!
Here are some pictures:
City Hall by night
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And the Christmas tree:
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This was Main Street, Sunday night (after the parade)
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The beautifully repainted Labyrinth
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More pictures coming soon!
Some more night pictures:
I really like this one:
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Around Frontierland now. We stopped in PM for a few moments, so I could take one picture:
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Mandatory picture of BTM...
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We managed to get this done twice in a row, Saturday night we were heading out and walked past it, and they were saying 20 minutes queue... My friend's son didn't want to do it, so she stayed with him and I went in with her daughter and her husband. The little girl loved it (first thing she asked when we got out was whether she could do it again). By then it was almost closing time, and the queue was practically non-existent. So we went again (this time with my friend, her husband stayed with their son). I love riding BTM when it's dark, it was brilliant!!
The dog was moving and barking, hadn't seen that in ages!
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More coming up soon
Another set of pictures (sorry, there's not much order to them!)
Belle's Christmas village:
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Show time!
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Saturday we had lunch at Plaza Gardens.
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Not the best picture. But it gives you an idea of what it was like, weather wise...
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Outside the Disneyland Hotel (we went for the character show at 16:00)
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More pictures to follow
WOW N2O, your photos are incredible! Thanks for sharing your report so far, I'm glad you had a great time :)
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Beautiful =D>
Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks :D
Here's the last set of pictures.
First, the Christmas decorations in the Studios... They still need some work... They felt a bit cold, really.
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The Christmas market...
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Yes. Indeed. So let's go back to DLP, it did feel a lot more like Christmas!
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I don't have many pictures from the parade, I was filming it, and without the big lights, it was pretty dark. So just to give you an idea...
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And to finish, some more night pictures:
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And probably my favourite picture from this trip:
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I still have to look at the videos I took, but I'll try to upload them soon...
Great tripreport and nice to see pictures of the same day I visited the resort. We were there from 27 till 30 November too and had a blast! The weather was cold and sometimes wet, but I managed to plan 'around the rain'. We arrived friday morning and that day the sun was shining with blue skies!
We did all the outside shows and parades on friday. I really liked the Tree Lighting Ceremony. It was a jolly holly show! I've visited the resort many times before, but never got the chance to see the Castle Lighting... Awesome!
Also nice to hear you were as thrilled as I was when riding Big Thunder Mountain in the dark with all the lights on the castle turned on. Such a magical moment!
Quote from: "Tuvok"Great tripreport and nice to see pictures of the same day I visited the resort. We were there from 27 till 30 November too and had a blast! The weather was cold and sometimes wet, but I managed to plan 'around the rain'. We arrived friday morning and that day the sun was shining with blue skies!
We did all the outside shows and parades on friday. I really liked the Tree Lighting Ceremony. It was a jolly holly show! I've visited the resort many times before, but never got the chance to see the Castle Lighting... Awesome!
Also nice to hear you were as thrilled as I was when riding Big Thunder Mountain in the dark with all the lights on the castle turned on. Such a magical moment!
I wanted to get there earlier on Friday but my friend didn't want her kids to miss school... so we only got there around 5. We decided to leave the shows until the Saturday (my friend's husband was only coming then) and do some rides instead, but seeing the weather Friday night, and the weather on Saturday, it wasn't the best idea...
The Castle lightning is really magical, isn't it?
Love your pictures, especially that one of the sparkling castle! And nice to see that your friend had a great time, despite the crowds and the weather. The magic of Disney has won over another soul :P
I loved your trip report and the pictures are amazing! =D>
I was there on Dec 5-6, the park was great and very Christmasy :mrgreen:
Thanks :D
Hi N2O,
Pics are wicked! Im off to Disney tomorrow and your pics have got me well in the mood!
How did you find Davy Crockett?
xx
Quote from: "DisneyMichelle"Hi N2O,
Pics are wicked! Im off to Disney tomorrow and your pics have got me well in the mood!
How did you find Davy Crockett?
xx
Oh, take me with you [-o< :wink: !!
I really liked the Davy Crockett. The cabin was a bit old, but very comfortable - I was sleeping in the sofa bed and it felt like a proper bed (I was a bit worried about that...). It must be really great when it's nice weather, and you can use the bbq outside and all. Because of the short days we didn't really see much of it with daylight, so next time I'll try to go in the spring or summer...
The restaurant was a bit small, and maybe a bit noisy, but the food was really nice (very reasonable buffet). My friends went to the pool a bit while I had a look around the shop, which was also not bad, and probably one of the biggest ones in a hotel (they have food stuff, but a good selection of Disney merchandise as well)
And breakfast was great! Way too much stuff, we took back with us milk and juice. You can only collect it from 7:30 onwards, which is a bit late if you want to do the EMH, but other than that it was great.
Here's one picture, of the pueblo:
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Have a great time, DisneyMichelle!!
Yeah when you go back, book a 2 bedroom cabin, your be amazed with the difference! they are really nice.
im so excited now! this time tomorrow i shall be in the park! :)
i will ATTEMPT a trip report when im back.
Speak soon xxx
Great pics!
Thanks for posting, your photos are stunning especially the one of the castle all lit up from beneath! Wow :)
Glad to hear you had another awesome trip and that your friend has been converted. I'm sure the same would happen if I could ever get my darling BF through the gates....I may need to trick him...
Quote from: "loladelorean"Thanks for posting, your photos are stunning especially the one of the castle all lit up from beneath! Wow :)
Glad to hear you had another awesome trip and that your friend has been converted. I'm sure the same would happen if I could ever get my darling BF through the gates....I may need to trick him...
Keep telling him he needs to go, tell him that if he doesn't like it he won't have to go again, and keep you eye out for special offers, they can be really tempting... That's how I did it with my friend! Of course, it took over 10 years to convince her :roll: But she was particularly stubborn!
Here's a video of the Snow White show (available in HD :D )
It was a cute little show, and we all enjoyed it - particularly my friend, Snow White is her favourite princess!
Enjoy!
[youtube:1gyyh1ak]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxD2pK_IWpE[/youtube:1gyyh1ak]
Brilliant trip report never2old, and beautiful video ! :D
Cannot wait to go now, 4 days ! :shock: :)
Thanks for the great trip report. I've really enjoyed reading it and your pictures are great, too.
Your pics were great, thanks for posting!
Love the report and the photos. I was there at the same time but made the mistake of booking a meal in the hotel at treelighting time one night ans buffalo bills the next- dad doesnt do late! I didn't get the chance to see the park at night and the photos make me realise what I missed. Thanks for posting. Lynne
Thank you all!
To celebrate the new year, and specially for bensmum since she missed it, here's the tree lighting ceremony... It was pouring with rain so we were taking cover under the porch outside the Emporium - so not the best angle... But still, it gives you an idea!
[youtube:wc9bimcb]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB49sSuxKMI[/youtube:wc9bimcb]
And may I add, Happy New Year to all of you!
thankyou N2O I loved it =D> makes me all the more determined to see it next year. I only hope Ben doesn't get bored of going or I'll have to find another excuse to go. :lol:
Quote from: "bensmum"thankyou N2O I loved it =D> makes me all the more determined to see it next year. I only hope Ben doesn't get bored of going or I'll have to find another excuse to go. :lol:
Tell you what, if Ben gets bored, you can take me instead :wink:
thanks for the offer- I'll remember that :) Enjoy your next trip.
Thanks for the pics and videos. Loved it. Especially the ones at night are showing the magic around, just beautiful!!! =D>
Aurora
N20 your pics are beautiful!! How did you manage to get such great pictures of Disney at night?? Mine always end up so blurry!! Snow White Awakening looks magical! I hope I get to see it one day :D
Thanks again for posting!! I'm glad everyone had a great time :) enjoy your trip in January! :mrgreen:
Quote from: "SophieD"N20 your pics are beautiful!! How did you manage to get such great pictures of Disney at night?? Mine always end up so blurry!! Snow White Awakening looks magical! I hope I get to see it one day :D
Thanks again for posting!! I'm glad everyone had a great time :) enjoy your trip in January! :mrgreen:
Thanks!
For the night pictures, I have a little tripod (or I put the camera on a bin, or a wall, or any flat surface I can find...) And I use the timer, to make sure the camera is as still as possible!
Here's the It's a Small World Celebration video. It was the first ride of our trip, Friday night when we arrived (when there was no queue at all, later during the weekend it always seemed rather busy). It was really beautiful. I wish we could have done it again, once was not enough. Good thing I'm going back next week :wink:
Anyway, here's the video. The people talking in french, and the oooohs and aaaaahs, they're from my friend and her son, mostly :wink:
[youtube:3dhk94h4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rslL3GEaeVg[/youtube:3dhk94h4]
that looks great and nice to have a diffrent song from It's A Small World!
Altho ridding it i am sure I would very quick get sick of Jingle Bells