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Hi everyone! Sorry this has taken a little longer than anticipated, things have been a bit hectic since I returned what with Christmas prep and all! I've only been back a week and it already feels like a life time ago :'(

So, for those who haven't read my pre-trip report: I went to DLP with my boyfriend, John. It was our first trip together, and I was concerned that I would miss my family terribly, as I usually visit the parks with them. We stayed at the Hotel Cheyenne, somewhere I haven't stayed since 2000.

I had a very hectic weekend before we left; I went to the Clothes Show with one of my sisters on the Saturday, and then had an 11 hour shift at work on the Sunday before we left :/ my manager is fairly new but knew about my trip and my love of Disney so we had a massive cute chat about my holiday on the Sunday which was lovely, and John dropped in to see me and we were jumping up and down in the aisles with excitement :') after work I did some last minute prep, including panting my nails (which I was rather proud of!) and watching Frozen. Neither of us slept very well that night cos we were so excited!

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We woke up at about 4.45 on Monday morning, I was so excited that I couldn't eat my cereal haha. Dad dropped us off at the station at about 5.45, and we were off! We travelled by Eurostar via Paris, so had to get a train from Rugby to London, then the Eurostar, then the Metro, then the RER. It sounds more complicated than it is; it was very long winded though, and I definitely wouldn't want to do it with children in tow! We were soon in France, and I was fit to burst. As a family we usually drive, and I was getting excited about seeing the telephone poles out of the window. It sounds pathetic, but it really reminded me of my usual journey haha :/ I was counting down the stations on the RER. A little girl was sat next to me and she soon clocked my Minnie Mouse jacket and Mickey leggings and was whispering to her mum; it soon became clear that that was their destination, too! When we were past Val D'Europe station I was out of my seat ready and waiting to run out of the doors! John decided to film me as we got off the train (much to my embarrassment!), and as soon as I saw the familiar landmarks of Buffalo Bill's, Annette's and World of Disney, I was in tears. I couldn't believe I was back, yet at the same time as soon as I set foot out of the station, it felt as if I had never been away. I was home!

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We got the bus to our hotel, as we had the case in tow. I was surprised at how short the journey was; for the past few years, we have stayed at the Santa Fe and always walk to and from the parks, and before that we have stayed at the Explorer's and Elysee so the bus journey was significantly longer. Because we had arrived via Paris, not the recommended route of choice, reception was empty and we checked in straight away. Our room was situated in Calamity Jane, so off we went to ditch the bags. I had a very warm sense of nostalgia as I entered; I had hazy memories of the hotel but it felt nice to be back. After wacking Top 10 Things To Know Before You Go on for a few minutes, we emptied my handbag and headed off to the parks :')

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We decided to walk, and stopped by at Earl of Sandwich on the way. I had never been here before, but had heard good things, and thought it would be ideal for a little snack on the go. I had a tuna melt, John had the hawaiian.

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After a  high-speed walk through the Disney Village, whilst pointing out various bits and bobs to John, we were facing Fantasia Gardens, the Disneyland Hotel, and the entrance to the Disneyland Park. We were here. I felt so nervous walking up to the turnstiles; John handed me my ticket (we got Mickey and Goofy, and he made sure I had Mickey every day, how cute :') ), heard the 'welcome' and the turn of the turnstile, and we were in. I was overwhelmed. The festivities hit us as soon as we were through; Main Street Station looked lovely. I grabbed a map as we walked underneath the station (I traditionally get a new map each day to jot down what we did when) and I felt the breath catch in my chest – a giant Christmas tree stood before me, and, when I walked to one side, there was the beautiful castle. I was beaming from ear to ear! Tiana was at the Town Square Gazebo doing meet and greets. She looked lovely; we didn't stop though, cos I wanted to get on some of my favourite rides on the first day. I regret not stopping though as I didn't meet her during my trip. Anyway, we headed to New Century Notions to get the photopass+. I had read about this on the forum and thought it would be a great idea. Some people had mentioned having missing photos, so I made sure I kept the codes, dates and times just in case. Luckily we had no issues (I had it checked at regular intervals to see if everything was still there though haha!) After that, we walked up Main Street USA, towards the castle. The decorations were lovely, and despite being worried that I would miss the usual Main Street music, the Christmas loop was so magical, and really got you into the spirit of Christmas. On our way to the castle we spotted Merida at her photo location; she looked lovely, too. We stood admiring the castle for some time, and decided to take some photos. John bought a selfie stick for the trip; my family and I had originally laughed at him for this, but it actually turned out to be an excellent purchase.

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After that, we walked through the castle, and into Fantasyland. As I expected, fastpasses for Peter Pan had already ran out. I decided the first ride of our trip would be Pirates of the Caribbean; it is a favourite of mine, and was shut on my last visit, so I was eager to experience it again. It did not disappoint – the familiar smell hit me as soon as we got inside, and I was nearly in tears. We were at the front, which I was also excited about. Unfortunately, I did have a few niggles – the lady wasn't hanging out of the window at the well scene; the men never chanted 'we wants the red head!' at the girls, and the man who turns the level with the three barrels on was just draped over, not moving at all. I know this is just me being picky, but as someone who had visited numerous times before, I couldn't help but notice this.

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After that, we had the ride photo put onto our photopass, and headed towards Frontierland. The plan was to get a fastpass for BTM, and then head to Phantom Manor. However, when we got to BTM, the queue was only 15 minutes! This shocked me, as it is usually around 55 minutes when I have been in March. We decided to queue normally (something I don't think I have done since before the fastpass system was introduced!) I had a massive nostalgia rush being in there; it was lovely. The queue was more like a 5 minute queue in the end – I was astonished how quickly we breezed through! We were seated at the front of the train, which was very exciting. At the front for two rides in a row! The photo wasn't brilliant (I was in the shade a bit), but we had it put on anyway. I thoroughly enjoyed BTM; it was meant to be closed originally, but the switched it with Aerosmith, which I was overjoyed about, as BTM is one of my favourites and I think Frontierland would have felt quite dead without it. It also became John's favourite ride, so I really was pleased that it had been open.

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On our way to Phantom Manor we saw Jack Skellington doing meet and greets.

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I am not a huge fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, but seeing Jack in his Sandy Claws outfit was lovely, and I wouldn't resist. The queue was very short. As we got to the front, the cast member said it was time for Jack to go and grab a hot chocolate. Whilst they were gone I got out my map to record what we had been up to. As I was doing so, who came up behind me but Jack! He asked where we were going next, and when I said PM he told us to look out for his friends. I also showed him where we had been already. He then asked us where we were from, and what my favourite holiday season was. He also asked us if we liked to eat spiders, I was like 'ew no!', but John said that he prefers snakes to spiders, and Jack said that snakes contain a lot more protein. Both John and I were extremely impressed with the interaction we got with Jack; it is a character experience that will stay with me forever. I was lucky enough to have numerous positive character experiences throughout my trip.

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After an autograph and a picture, we headed off to PM. This is also a favourite of mine (what isn't?! ;) ) and I was very excited to get back on and see Mel and the stretchy room portraits. All of the PM merch on the Disney Store website has definitely kept the love alive for me.

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John had never been on PM before, and I hadn't told him anything about it, so I was very excited to see it through his eyes, too. When I visit as a family, my Dad insists on being the first family in the lift, first family in the doom buggies, etc, so I hung back and enjoyed taking it all at a leisurely pace (no offence, Dad!) We entered the gallery, and I was bursting with excitement. When we got out, John was shocked to see the doom buggies; he thought that the lift was it, ride over! My family and I have had a right laugh over that, bless him ;)

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John was very impressed (hurray!), although he was confused by the mirrors at the end of the ride. I explained about the ghouls who used to be there, and we both can't believe that they have finally made a return this week! We had a few more pictures with the selfie stick, and headed to Central Plaza to watch the parade.

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It was fairly quiet, and we were easily able to get a spot. The parade was lovely; unfortunately, no parade will ever match the Topsy Turvy Parade in 1997, but I enjoyed the theming of the floats, and all of the costumes. I got to see Mickey and Tink! I was very pleased. The song is great too. After the parade, the castle was lit up, and it took both of our breaths away. No pictures can ever capture its magical beauty; I could have stood gazing at it all night.

After that, we headed back through the castle, and went on Pinocchio. We walked over to see what the queue to meet Mickey was, but it was 55 minutes, so we went on the Tea Cups. I love riding these at night; the lanterns are beautiful.

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We then went to It's a Small World. The clock wasn't making the tick-tock noise, much to my disappointment. I didn't know what to expect from the IASW Celebration, and to be honest, I was a little disappointed. They had changed the IASW tune! It had 'Jingle Bells' running through it; I hate to say it, but I really missed the old song. The ride was still beautiful though. We took a walk to Discoveryland, but the queues for Buzz Lightyear and Star Tours were both quite long, so we had a mooch around the shops on Main Street, catching a little bit of Magical Christmas Wishes whilst we were there. It started to snow during this (Disney snow, not actual snow) and I started crying, it was so so magical it really was :') we then went and got a spot for Disney Dreams. We weren't majorly far back, but unfortunately, as soon as it started, a lot of people in front of us put their children on their shoulders, and I could barely see a thing (something which I got very moody about haha).

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I still managed to happy-cry throughout the show though. Both John and I were extremely pleased with the amount of Frozen it contained; Frozen is one of the first films we watched as a couple, so it has a lot of meaning to us personally, and we stood singing and dancing to the songs, which was great. He was really impressed with Dreams; I hadn't told him anything about it, as I didn't want to spoil it!

We headed to the Disney Village after the park had closed, and went to queue at Annette's for dinner. I was very excited about eating here, as it is one of my best friend Sophie's (hi, pal! :') ) favourites, and the portion sizes looked huge, which I thought John would appreciate. We had to wait a fair while to be seated, but it was worth it. The hostess was offering a table for 2 at the bar; no one really seemed keen, but we took it. It was a really enjoyable place to sit actually, as we were opposite the kitchen. We ordered a beer each, whilst deciding on food. I had the Rock n Roller burger, John chose the Double Rockabilly Burger. We had a fairly short wait, and the portions were as huge as the pictures I had seen. John decided to get an oreo and chocolate shake for dessert, which we shared. Overall, it was a really enjoyable experience, and we would definitely eat there again.

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After we had eaten, we headed back to the hotel. We stopped off at the lobby on the way to our room, and facetimed our families. Nats and Josh were asking me a million questions, it was lovely to chat to them. We then went to the room, had quick showers, and went to sleep. I had booked us on the 7am breakfast slot (much to John's dismay!) so we had a fairly early start.

Sounds like you had a nice time :-)

PAL it sounds like you had a magical first day, I have been in tears just reading about it :') Thanks for my shoutout ;) So glad you guys enjoyed Annette's - you were in the exact same place as us on the bar, we have normally always had a booth but had the bar seats on our last trip, how weird!

Made me laugh loads about John thinking the stretching room was the entire ride too cos I did that when I went on it for the first time, apparently I cried loads and said "Is this it" ;) I am sorry to hear about IASW cos I didn't realised they also changed the song?! V excited to read the other days, eek :-*

Great trip report! Great photos! (I'm not sure how to share mine)
Annette's looked fab, may have to try on next visit!  :)

We stayed at the Cheyenne also not long after your trip. Thanks for sharing, I love your on ride pirates photo.

Wow awesome first day, so weird you mentioned the 1997 parade, as I was just looking at photographs of our 1997 trip before I sat down and read your TR!

Quote from: norhel on December 20, 2014, 05:54:37 PM
Sounds like you had a nice time :-)

Thanks Norhel, we did :)

Quote from: geekyjo on December 20, 2014, 06:31:38 PM
PAL it sounds like you had a magical first day, I have been in tears just reading about it :') Thanks for my shoutout ;) So glad you guys enjoyed Annette's - you were in the exact same place as us on the bar, we have normally always had a booth but had the bar seats on our last trip, how weird!

Made me laugh loads about John thinking the stretching room was the entire ride too cos I did that when I went on it for the first time, apparently I cried loads and said "Is this it" ;) I am sorry to hear about IASW cos I didn't realised they also changed the song?! V excited to read the other days, eek :-*

Aw pal, I can't wait to send you a proper email about it! So much to discuss ;) haha as if that was your first reaction to PM, how things have changed ;)

Quote from: littlebitofpixiedust on December 21, 2014, 11:54:58 PM
Great trip report! Great photos! (I'm not sure how to share mine)
Annette's looked fab, may have to try on next visit!  :)

We stayed at the Cheyenne also not long after your trip. Thanks for sharing, I love your on ride pirates photo.

Thanks, littlebitofpixiedust! Inserting the pictures was quite complicated (not sure if there is a simpler way?!) I did it using the insert image icon which is underneath the bold button. You then have to paste the url for your image in between the html code. I sent the pictures I wanted to use to myself via Facebook messenger, but I guess if you have a flicker account you could use the url from there? I hope that helps you, it was a very long winded process though! I have read your report too, and look forward to reading the rest :')

Quote from: nicnak on December 21, 2014, 11:59:38 PM
Wow awesome first day, so weird you mentioned the 1997 parade, as I was just looking at photographs of our 1997 trip before I sat down and read your TR!

Gosh that is weird! 1997 was my first trip, so part of me wonders whether that is why I view it as my favourite parade :') I definitely feel that the parade was a lot longer then than it is now! What are your views on it?

Thanks for reading everyone, day 2 will hopefully be up tonight or tomorrow :')

Day 2.

My alarm was set for 6.30, and we made it to breakfast just before 7.  We breezed straight in, which surprised me, and found a seat straight away. This may sound stupid, but breakfast is one of my favourite things about dlp – bread rolls and croissants may sound basic, but nothing beats that combination when in the magic. We were lucky enough to get wifi in the Chuck Wagon, so I messaged Nats and Josh whilst we were there. I ate my fill, and smuggled some rolls into my bag for later.

We got to the parks around 9.30, and headed straight over to the Old Mill to queue for our Princess Pavillion ticket. We had our reservation by 10am; we were between 4.05 and 4.35, so had plenty of time to prepare. I was nervous/excited about meeting Anna and Elsa; I always find it more nerve-wracking meeting a face character to a fur character because of the verbal interaction that comes with it! After queuing in the cold, we were a bit chilly, so decided to head over to the Cable Car Bakeshop for a hot drink. I had never been in here before, and I have to say that it was lovely!

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We decided we would catch the Princess Promenade today, so mooched around the shops in Main Street USA to pass the time. We headed over to the Royal Castle Stage at around 10.40, and it was already jam packed. John volunteered to film it, so I took the bags and stood alone whilst he found a good spot. He managed to walk along with it (aided by his height and the extendable selfie stick!) and got some good footage. As with Dreams the night before, many people placed their kids on their shoulders (including those at the very front which I thought as a bit ignorant), so I couldn't see a thing. I was very excited for the Princesses to be in the same place at the same time though. Both John and I found ourselves singing along to Let It Go when Anna and Elsa came out, despite standing by ourselves – only in Disneyland could you get away with such behaviour ;)

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After that, we grabbed a fastpass for Peter Pan's flight, and queued up for Dumbo. I do like this ride, but it is one that I am happy to go one once per trip.

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We had a bit of time spare before our slot for Peter Pan, so took a trip along the Caribbean once more. It was then time for Peter Pan. I was excited for John to go on this, as it is a film that means a lot to us both. He enjoyed it, especially the ending where Tink sprinkles the Jolly Roger with fairy dust :')

We then got some fastpasses for BTM (which had a longer queue today), and went on Phantom Manor.

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Next was Molly Brown, during which I noticed people being evacuated off BTM. It had broken down, and was still broken when we went back a little later on. We gave Indiana Jones a go instead; this is usually a short queue when I visit, but I had never seen it as short as it was! This was quite a smooth ride, nothing like Space Mountain (which we avoided for that reason!). We were both quite peckish by this point, so went for a bite to eat at Colonel Hathi's. This has become a family favourite over the past few years, and it did feel a tad weird going in without those guys. It was fairly busy, so I left John with my order and went to get a seat. There was a gentleman in there drumming, and I managed to snag a seat right in front of him. Children were going to sit with him, and he was teaching them different rhythms, which was lovely to watch.

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The food took a while to arrive. I had lasagne, which was unusual for me as I usually opt for a kid's meal when in dlp (mainly due to the amount of snacking I do!). However, this time I decided to be an adult ;) mainly because we were going to Buffalo Bill's that night, and to the later showing, so I knew I would be eating a lot later than usual.

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After our meal, we decided to go and see Merida. On our way we saw Rafiki, and stopped to see him. He went on a quick break just before our turn, and when he came back, he was with a different cast member. John wondered if the two of them had swapped, which is something I had never considered before!

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We both had pictures, and then headed towards Casey's Corner. It was about 2.45 by the time we reached the Merida queue. The cast member told us that the queue would be 1 hour, and that Merida would be going for a break at 4 for 15 minutes. We were cutting it a bit fine for our reservation at the Princess Pavillion, but decided to stay, because Merida looked amazing; in fact I would go as far as saying that she was one of the best face characters I have ever seen! Whilst we were queuing we managed to watch the parade, and realised that it snowed on Main Street during it! We vowed to watch it from that spot from now on. 4pm came, and we were second from the front. I started to panic about the time, especially as Merida did not come back out until 4.20! Luckily John stayed calm haha (I did not! A recurring theme, don't know if any of you have noticed ;) ) It was worth the wait though; she was lovely, and asked me if John was my Prince (which I LOVED). She even noticed that he was a fellow red-head, which made me laugh so much.

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After an autograph and some pictures, we raced over to the Princess Pavillion. We made it with minutes to spare! On our way we saw Anna and Elsa leaving; I was a little disappointed, as the both looked great (and were different from the ones in the Promenade that morning), so I assumed I would be meeting the ones from earlier. The queue inside the Pavillion was shorter than I expected, on the second tier. Last time I had visited (in 2013), I had queued for 2 ½ hours, and had been just inside the door. We were probably in there for 30 minutes tops, and as we approached the front of the queue, I got extremely nervous (as always!). I asked the cast member there if we could possibly keep our reservation ticket for my memory box, saying he could write 'void' on the back if he wished. He went off to ask his manager, but then we got called in! I was unprepared haha. They looked so lovely omg, and were the ones we had seen leaving earlier! :') so they must have been going on their break when we saw them before. I had my Frozen leggings on and Anna was like 'Elsa look, there you are!' so I pointed out that she was on them too :) they asked me about my day and what we had been up to, and I told them that we had just met Merida, so Anna and I were talking about her mischievous brothers. I got both of their autographs, and then had some pictures. Elsa asked me if John was my Prince; funny how two consecutive people had asked that! :') I am glad that we had the photopass here, as the personal photos are extremely dark in comparison. I took a few of the two of them together, and then we left. We were both so happy! I am grinning like a goon on one of the pictures, as you can see ;) when we came out, John pulled the reservation ticket out of his pocket – the cast member had popped it into his pocket whilst I was getting autographs. How sweet of him :')

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After that we decided to go and pay my favourite mouse a visit. I do love the queue area for this attraction, I think that the cartoons were a very clever idea!

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I got a bit star struck as we got into our room; not as much as the little girl behind us though! Because of the direction of our queue, we could see Mickey and the people he was meeting as you came in, and she stood gaping open mouthed, blocking the way of her family! It was lovely to see :') Mickey made a lot of fuss over me, pointing at my ears, and giving me lots of kisses :') I had made a little sign for him to hold for my family and for Sophie and her boyfriend Russ, so after his autograph I asked him if he would mind some pictures with the sign. The photographer thought this was great, and both my family and Sophie were very pleased and overwhelmed with the outcome :')

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After my individual photos, we roped John in, and then John had some by himself. The photographer got the two of them doing some quite funny poses :')

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But as we went to gather up our belongings, Mickey punched John! John was bent on the floor getting his rucksack when Mickey flung round and hit him straight on the chin! I managed to miss it happen as I was collecting my own bits; all I saw was John on the floor and the cast member helping him up, Mickey with his hands over his mouth in shock. We had a bit of a laugh about it really ;) off we went; then the photographer came running after us. I had forgotten my autograph book and pen! 10 holiday's worth of autographs are in that books; boy was I grateful that he noticed!

After that, it was about 6ish, so we headed over to the castle to bag a good spot for Dreams, as John wanted to film it. We were just in front of the castle, against the railings. I left John here whilst I went to buy myself a nice hat I had seen. He had made friends with an Irish family in my absence; he said they were going to go and see what the fuss was about around the tree (Magical Christmas Wishes), but John advised them against it, because they had got such a good spot for Dreams. This made me very happy, as it showed how much he was learning about dlp already ;)

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There was a lot of argy-bargy nearer the time to Dreams with people pushing and shoving (as usual). Some woman pushed her kid between myself and the Irish family, and then spent the whole of Dreams tapping John on the shoulder cos she couldn't see over him. Thankfully you can't hear her 'monsieur'ing him on the footage ;) watching it close up, and with a clear view, definitely made the show more magical. We then went back to the hotel to change before Buffalo Bill's. I was planning on having a shower, but we watched the Princess Promenade footage from earlier instead.

We got to Buffalo Bill's at 8.30, so we could make the most of the entertainment beforehand. I was very excited about watching the show, as I hadn't seen it since 2000. I was also a little worried that John may not like it, as we went to see a dinner show when on holiday over the summer, and I didn't want him thinking that one was better (which it obviously wasn't, as it lacked the Disney magic ;) ). We were on the blue team; we donned our cowboy hats, and headed for the bar.

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After that, we headed into the arena. I was pleased with our seats, as John had forgotten his glasses, so I was worried that might ruin the show for him, but he could see fine.

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The show was great; I highly commend the performers. I enjoyed the audience participation as well, and thoroughly enjoyed cheering on the blues (I think the beer helped that a little though haha). Minnie Mouse was a particularly great addition to the show, her acting was great.

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I was pleasantly surprised by the food too; I expected it to be Ok, but in actual fact it was great! We had a cakey-bread thing and tortilla chips to start, followed by a bowl of chilli, and then we had a chicken leg, two pork ribs, a sausage and new potatoes, followed by apple crumble for desert. It was very filling.There is definitely something very odd about drinking beer when seeing Mickey and Minnie though haha.

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In the end, the blue team won - hurray! Everyone got a gold coin, and I was overjoyed to see that it had eurodisney on the wrapper (it's the little things :') ) It was a fantastic night, and we were both pleased that we went. We got back very late, so I set my alarm extra early so I could shower before breakfast. Tomorrow was Studios day!

Seems like day 2 was a good one for you - but some of your pictures aren't showing (not sure if this is my problem only).
Character meets are so important at DLP, well done for meeting Rafiki

Quote from: daddyof2 on December 23, 2014, 08:47:49 AM
Seems like day 2 was a good one for you - but some of your pictures aren't showing (not sure if this is my problem only).
Character meets are so important at DLP, well done for meeting Rafiki

You're not alone, 4 pictures missing for me, 1 directly after the last Merida photo, then one that does work, and then another 3 (those with Mickey I presume?) that aren't showing.

Other than that, it looks like you're having a wonderful time, so glad things are working out despite your initial fears in the pre-trip report. ;D

Quote from: daddyof2 on December 23, 2014, 08:47:49 AM
Seems like day 2 was a good one for you - but some of your pictures aren't showing (not sure if this is my problem only).
Character meets are so important at DLP, well done for meeting Rafiki

Quote from: DisneyRon on December 23, 2014, 09:42:04 AM

Quote from: daddyof2 on December 23, 2014, 08:47:49 AM
Seems like day 2 was a good one for you - but some of your pictures aren't showing (not sure if this is my problem only).
Character meets are so important at DLP, well done for meeting Rafiki

You're not alone, 4 pictures missing for me, 1 directly after the last Merida photo, then one that does work, and then another 3 (those with Mickey I presume?) that aren't showing.

Other than that, it looks like you're having a wonderful time, so glad things are working out despite your initial fears in the pre-trip report. ;D

Thanks boys, I am *hoping* that I have fixed it now. Turns out that using the link from the photopass site didn't work haha :/ apologies, and thanks for reading :')

Just where did you get those leggings?!  They're fab!

Quote from: polar vixen on December 23, 2014, 02:23:14 PM
Just where did you get those leggings?!  They're fab!

Thanks, polar vixen! They are from Primark, but you can get them off eBay for a little bit more :')

Hi there, you looked like you really enjoyed your visit. My family and I where there at the same time as you both,  I actually said hi to John as we went through the security check and my wife remarked on how cool your leggings where. Would have chatted more if I realised you were such a big fan.........You seem like really nice people, in fact,most on here and those that follow the Disney spirit are real genuine people. Hope you have a great Disney Christmas and thanks again for a great trip report.  :)

Quote from: justlikewedreamedit-xo on December 23, 2014, 01:44:43 PM
Thanks boys, I am *hoping* that I have fixed it now. Turns out that using the link from the photopass site didn't work haha :/ apologies, and thanks for reading :')

They're working just fine now, lovely photographs too. :D

Quote from: dejmurph1 on December 23, 2014, 03:47:12 PM
Hi there, you looked like you really enjoyed your visit. My family and I where there at the same time as you both,  I actually said hi to John as we went through the security check and my wife remarked on how cool your leggings where. Would have chatted more if I realised you were such a big fan.........You seem like really nice people, in fact,most on here and those that follow the Disney spirit are real genuine people. Hope you have a great Disney Christmas and thanks again for a great trip report.  :)

Hi, dejmurph1! That is so strange?! It really is a small world, after all :') aw, what a lovely thing to say :') I agree with you there, I think it is because Disney is just full of love and joy and, I don't know about you, but I feel as if it is my duty to Walt to pass on the love and joy :') did you and your family have a good trip? How long were you there for? Thanks, you too :)

Quote from: DisneyRon on December 23, 2014, 04:55:17 PM

Quote from: justlikewedreamedit-xo on December 23, 2014, 01:44:43 PM
Thanks boys, I am *hoping* that I have fixed it now. Turns out that using the link from the photopass site didn't work haha :/ apologies, and thanks for reading :')

They're working just fine now, lovely photographs too. :D

Fabulous, thank you :')

Day 3.

We surfaced early for breakfast once again. Delicious. I had already decided that Wednesday would be our Studios day; as a family, we never spend much time in here, but I wanted to make sure that John was able to see it in detail, giving him the proper Disney experience.  Stephanie and Mum especially hate this park, mainly because we all went on Crush's Coaster once and it was a bit too exuberant for them ;) Personally, I think that there are some good attractions here, but it just lacks the magic of the Disneyland Park. I was looking forward to hearing John's thoughts on the matter.

We decided to go into the Disneyland Park beforehand to make the most of the meet and greets during extra magic hours. We opted for Goofy and Pluto, who were together at Main Street Motors. I left John in the queue, and went and took some photos.

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Main Street USA is one of my favourite areas in the park, as I find the architecture of the buildings beautiful; so much detail has gone into them.  Goofy and Pluto were great, and we got some cute photos.

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It was about 9.30 by this point, so we headed over to Studios. I hadn't realised that they would let us into the park before opening (I am not sure why this didn't occur to me haha), but luckily it wasn't overly busy. As we entered Studio 1, we were approached by a gentleman with a clip board, who was doing some market research for dlp. I was happy to help. He asked us our ages, where we were staying, how many nights, if we had been before, whether we would visit our hotel bar during the trip, and the reason for this. As we were leaving, John said that he hoped that didn't mean that they were thinking of closing the hotel bars?! In all honesty, it never occurred to me to visit the bar when we got back in the evening – we were always so tired that we just wanted to go to bed straight away! I guess that is just the nature of a dlp holiday though.

We headed straight to Crush, where a queue had already formed. They opened it up a little before 10, and we were on the ride within 5 minutes once the queue had started moving. I hadn't managed to get on this during my last trip, as the queue had been too long. It was nice to be back on it! We were facing backwards, and the ride stopped for a minute or so at the top of the hill. I was a little panicky in case the shell hurled back down! (I know it wouldn't, but the worry was still there!) Everything was fine though. After that, we popped over to the Ratatouille area to grab some fastpasses. As I expected, it was very busy, but we managed to get a fastpass for around 1.15. We went into Toy Story Playland after that, and spotted that RC Racer had a 5 minute queue. It didn't occur to me until we had walked round just what I was getting myself in for! We only had a few minutes to wait, and then it was our turn. All I have to say is – ARGH! I screamed a LOT haha. It was a great ride, but incredibly short, so I was glad that we hadn't queued for it.

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Next, we joined the queue for the Parachute Drop.

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Natalie and I had wanted to go on this on our last trip, but it had been very busy, so we had given it a miss. We queued for around 20 minutes; it was all undercover, so at least we were dry (it rained quite a bit on the Wednesday). I would liken this ride to the Tower of Terror; obviously the drops aren't of the same intensity, but there is something terrifying about the fact that you are very open, if that makes sense? Yet again, I was screaming at the top of my lungs; John pretended to fall out at one point, and he and the guy next to me were wetting themselves at my expense!

After that adrenaline overload, we rushed round to Place des Stars, for the Stars n Cars meet and greet. I had high hopes of this, and wasn't disappointed. A large array of characters came out; Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Balloo, Jafar, Smee, Stitch, Lilo, Emile, Remy, Dee and Dum, Rabbit, Tigger, Woody, Jessie, Pinocchio and Gepetto.

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We decided to move once the characters came out, as one side had a lot less people crowded round than the other. This was John's idea, and it was a fantastic one, as we got to see more characters this way. I got autographs and pictures with 6 characters, which I was overjoyed about. Emile went through my bag, took out my water, and had a little drink out of it! I love interaction like that, it makes it a really personal experience.

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As Gepetto came to me, it was time to go, and Pinocchio came to get him, so I ended up getting a picture with both of them! :')

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After that, I took a look at the programme, and we decided to take a wonder back to Front Lot to see Mickey's Christmas outfit. Boy, am I glad we did. Mickey was there... with Minnie in tow!!! I did a little scream when I saw them, and ran to join the queue. How could I pass the opportunity of meeting the two of them together. The cast member shut the queue off shortly after we joined, which was lucky. I left John to queue and popped into a few of the shops, and started making a little list of stuff I wanted to buy. John and I then swapped; he came back with an autograph book, and said he was going to get the characters to sign it. He is going to give it to his friend's little sister for Christmas, how cute! The queue for Mickey and Minnie was very long, but it was worth it. We had a spot of lunch whilst waiting, and he rang his Mum. And then it was our turn!

I hadn't met Minnie for around 5 years, so I was overjoyed to see her. She made a massive fuss of me, and pointed to my hat :') I hate to say it, but I wasn't as impressed by Mickey; he was too busy trying to find another pen to jolly us along so didn't give me a hug or anything really :/ at least Minnie was on form, and we had had a good Mickey experience the day before. The photos from here are nice; I love the colours of their outfits and the backdrop.

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By the time we were finished, it was time for Ratatouille. I was very excited about this (albeit a little nervous, as I didn't know what to expect!) I don't want to give too much away, but I thought it was fab, and I was very proud of dlp for creating something so special :') The exit for the ride is directly next to the restaurant, so you can see it as you walk by (similar to seeing Blue Lagoon from Pirates), and it has made me want to try it on my next visit. The theming of it looks great! After taking some pictures of the area, we went for a mooch around Chez Marianne. Whilst in here, John was complimented on his jacket by a cast member; he had purchased 2 Mickey Mouse jackets and 5 tees for the trip, which I thought was lovely.

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Next on the agenda was the Studio Tram Tour. We joined the queue behind a family who were discussing how it didn't say anywhere that Rock N Rollercoaster was shut, and you could only find out by walking all the way up to it. I started muttering under my breath to John getting all agitated haha, a) it says on the programme what attractions were shut this week, and b) if they had been on dlrp guide they could have found out what was shut weeks, if not months, in advance. Needless to say, when the queue split, we purposely went the opposite way to them ;) the Tram Tour was the same as usual (it has never overly wowed me), and I was very pleased to see the appearance of a decoration from 1997, my first trip (nicnak, I am sure you will also recognise these :') )

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We then decided to pop over to the Tower of Terror, with the plan of getting a fastpass of the queue was too large. However, it was walk on, so on we went! I started to get super nervous as we were waiting to board the elevator. I made sure I was on the end, so I could have more to hold on to – I always find it really awkward with holding on when on this ride, especially if you are sitting next to a stranger. Surprise surprise, I screamed my head off! The on ride photo was hilarious; there was a little girl sat across the aisle from me, and she is looking at me laughing because I was screaming so much haha. She has been cropped out of our photo though.

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After that, it was time for Moteurs... Action! However, I also noticed that the meet and greet for Spiderman was closing soon, and we only had chance to do one. I gave John the option, and he chose Spiderman (who is his favourite Marvel character). This was definitely my most underwhelming character experience (due to the fact that I don't class Marvel as proper Disney ;) ), but it was good fun none the less. John's face on the pictures cracks me up!

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We visited the Art of Disney Animation after that; I love the activities at the end of this. The shop had a lovely selection of collectibles in it, too :')

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We were both beginning to get rather tired, so I thought it would be a good idea to go and see a show, so we could have a little rest. We chose Animagique, which I had seen before; it gave us a nice break, and the Lion King section was a good addition, as it is John's favourite film.

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Our last ride of the day was the Magic Carpets, which was walk on. We had a carpet to ourselves, so I was in charge of the height and John the tilt.

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After that, it was time to head over to the Disneyland Hotel for our meal at Inventions. We took some pictures on the way.

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Day 3 continued

Only I could go over the character limit haha   :-[

The Christmas decorations in the Disneyland Hotel looked beautiful. We had a look in the hotel shop, and made our way to the toilets, where I touched up my makeup, and we both got changed.

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There were a lot of children running riot in the corridor; I know this sounds silly, but I always feel too common to enter the Disneyland Hotel, so I always assume only the quietest and poshest of children stay there ;) A queue started to form outside the restaurant at 6; we decided to join it soon after. Our reservation wasn't until 6.30, but we could easily hang back if needs be. We could see some of the characters from the queue. Earlier that day, the two of us had made a little bet on who we would see here. I had said Goofy, Minnie and Pooh bear, John had said Minnie, Pluto and Chip and Dale. He got all of his right (much to my annoyance ;) I hate being wrong where Disney in concerned!) We could see Goofy from the queue. When we got to the desk, we were taken straight to our table, even though it was a little before our slot. We were sat on one of the tables directly in front of the buffet, near the door that the cast members use to go out of the back. This was an excellent spot, as we got to see all of the characters come and go, meaning that we were able to get some interaction with them each time they passed. It was also really convenient for getting up and down for the food. We were not directly against the window, but John could see the castle from his seat. It looked so magical :') the waiter took our drinks order, and we were told to help ourselves to the food. I had a nacho selection to start; John was a bit more adventurous and had some of the meats. He regretted this though, as he accidentally had some caviar! He pulled some very pained/hilarious expressions as he swallowed it down haha.

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Whilst we were eating, we were approached by our first character – Mickey! :') he was a true gent, he helped me out of my chair, admiring my Minnie ears, and then realised that he and Minnie were on my dress! He took my hands in his, and then also clocked my nails, inspecting each one. It was so cute. He then pulled me into a little pose. It was then John's turn; he showed Mickey his shirt (which was the one he wore on our first date, great choice ;) ) and had a cute little photo with him too. We then had a selfie (I know some people hate these but it was the only way we could get a picture of the 3 of us together as people were eating!) After we had finished with the pictures, Mickey tucked my chair in for me, gestured to the food as if to say bon appetit, and then walked away, playing the violin to us. It was PERFECT <3

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Daisy was next; again, she was someone who I hadn't met for years. We saw her walking along, so I began to take some pictures of her, and then she came over to our table! :')

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Next up was Pluto; he approached our table, then crouched down on all fours, sniffing at the table top. It was adorable, and reminded me of my dog, Matilda (which made me a little homesick actually!) He stayed on the floor and let us stroke him, and I gave him a little kiss. We then had some pictures.

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After his departure, I went to investigate the main courses. There was a LOT to choose from; John had some prawns, whereas I had a fish piece, along with some meat and veg. John went for seconds whilst I was still eating. During this time, Dale had approached the tables in our area. I was gesturing like a mad woman to try and get John to come back – luckily, he eventually saw, and we got to meet him together. However, John called him Chip :O I had even told him how to remember which was which, I was mortified haha. I don't think Dale noticed though – or if he did, he didn't react.

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Then Goofy appeared; some children were trying to get his attention as he approached us, and he turned around and basically told them to wait haha. The characters were very good at this actually, as even those in the parks always gave you their full attention and ignored and other people who may be calling them.

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Chip and Minnie then came over together.

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Minnie also noticed my dress, which made me very happy :') she had some lovely pictures with John too. The interaction really was great, I was beaming from ear to ear throughout the whole thing. Being able to see Disney Dreams whilst eating was also a magical experience.

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With the characters all met, this gave us chance to focus on the food. There really was just so much choice! I had another plateful of mains, and then focused on the desserts. We were soon incredibly full. It was nice to sit and soak up the atmosphere in the restaurant, and watch the characters interact with others. Mickey presented a little girl with a birthday cake, and then had it re-lit so her brother could blow the candles out, too. A new family came and sat near us, and their little girl was jumping up and down on her seat whenever the characters came to see her; it made me tear up a little bit, it was so lovely. Mickey passed us twice, playing the violin each time. That is definitely a Disney memory which will stay with me forever :') I was filming Dale larking around at one point and Minnie came up behind me, placed her hands on my shoulders, and booed me! Near the end of our meal, a gentleman was sat near us. He was dining alone, so when the characters approached, John and I offered to take some pictures of him with them for him. He was clearly very touched by this. Dale sat at the table with him and started having a drink; it was hilarious. Begrudgingly, we made our way back to the hotel a few hours later. We had a fantastic meal, it really was one of the highlights of the holiday. I was especially pleased with the selection of characters that we got to meet. I would love to return with my family, but with 6 of us, it would be too costly. I have decided to surprise them with breakfast at Café Mickey next time we visit instead :')

Although we were completely zonked, I hadn't looked in any of the shops in the Disney Village, so we left out World of Disney, and had a look around the others, adding to my list. I planned on buying all of my merch the following evening. We were soon back at the hotel, drifting off to sleep.

Great report and nice photos :-)

we left on the staurday morning.....went to Dreams Friday night and as it was quiet windy, they didnt have any fireworks, the show just wasnt the same and to top it all it poured rain...........I think they would have been better to cancel the whole thing as it kinda left everybody very disappointed....this has been been our 30th trip to DLP but the first time I managed to persuade my wife to ride Indy!!!...we have celebrated 30ths, 40th and most lately 50th birthdays there as well as many anniversaries.......heading to WDW in June next year and cant wait to ride ST2 and the revamped Thunder Mountain.

Another magical couple of days' reports pal, so happy you had such a special experience at Inventions! You have made me want to go when we visit in June ;D Looking forward to days 4 and 5!

Quote from: norhel on December 24, 2014, 07:29:46 AM
Great report and nice photos :-)

Thanks, Norhel :)

Quote from: dejmurph1 on December 25, 2014, 11:55:53 PM
we left on the staurday morning.....went to Dreams Friday night and as it was quiet windy, they didnt have any fireworks, the show just wasnt the same and to top it all it poured rain...........I think they would have been better to cancel the whole thing as it kinda left everybody very disappointed....this has been been our 30th trip to DLP but the first time I managed to persuade my wife to ride Indy!!!...we have celebrated 30ths, 40th and most lately 50th birthdays there as well as many anniversaries.......heading to WDW in June next year and cant wait to ride ST2 and the revamped Thunder Mountain.

Sorry to hear that you were disappointed in Disney Dreams on the Friday, dejmurph! How upsetting, especially as it was our last experience of Dreams that holiday. Did you watch the parade on that day? we did, and were quite disappointed with that too, as a lot of the characters from previous days were missing!

Quote from: geekyjo on December 27, 2014, 09:18:11 PM
Another magical couple of days' reports pal, so happy you had such a special experience at Inventions! You have made me want to go when we visit in June ;D Looking forward to days 4 and 5!

Eee thanks pal, can't wait to tell you all about it later :D



I have finished day 4, just need to have a play around with the photos! It seems a little dreary compared to the other days, that is probably due to the fact that writing it was making me miss dlp so bad :'( so apologies in advance! Thanks for reading everyone, I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year :')

Day 4.

Whilst speaking to Nats and Josh over breakfast, I realised that we had completely neglected Discoveryland on our visit – no Buzz or Star Tours!!! What was I thinking?! We had also not been on It's a Small World since Monday, so today was definitely going to be a ride day. After a filling breakfast, we tootled off to the park, wanting to make the most of the Extra Magic Hours.

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First stop was Buzz Lightyear's Laser Blast. This ride is very special to me, as my family and I were lucky enough to try it out before its official opening. I was eager to see John's reaction to the Buzz in the queue. I think the queue is great for this ride (I got John to film it for Josh cos he always mimics the audio to it haha); it really keeps you entertained.

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I am smug to say that I kicked John's ass at this, almost doubling his score ;)

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After getting out on-ride picture, we popped into Constellations, one of my favourite shops in the park. After this, we headed over to Autopia, to check out the queue. This is a ride which wasn't open for 4 or 5 of my first visits, so I always make a point of riding it now. The queue was the shortest I had ever seen; we were only waiting around 5 minutes. John let me drive, which we both found rather amusing, as in real life I have only let him experience my driving skills 2 or 3 times, as I am a very nervous driver.

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After that, we popped over to Star Tours. I was very excited about going on this, as I am now the proud owners of Star Wars leggings and my very own Starspeeder 2000, so was keen to get reacquainted.

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However, on approaching the turnstiles to go through to the boarding area, I realised that I had dropped one of my gloves! They are adorable cream mittens with Mickey's on them (bought from the Disney Store online, but available in the parks), so obviously I was extremely upset/panicky. We raced back, searching on the floor (which was a tad tricky in there haha). Luckily, we spotted a very kind lady holding it. Boy, was I grateful. What a lifesaver! After that excitement, I was glad to get on the ride.

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We both felt a little poorly after getting off haha, but it was great fun all the same. John isn't a huge Star Wars fan, but he said he enjoyed it.

We had a quick browse in Star Traders, and continued towards Fantasyland, where we picked up a fastpass for Peter Pan. We then went on Pirates of the Caribbean, which John also filmed. We then proceeded to Le Pays and Casey Jr. I always feel that these attractions get overlooked because they are a little out of the way.

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Again, these are 2 rides which I always try and get on, as for about a 5-6 year period they were closed when I visited. They were open the first year we visited though; I remember waiting for Dad outside Casey Jr, as he had been on Space Mountain and Star Tours (he tried all of the 'big-looking' rides beforehand to check they were suitable for Stephanie and I, how cute :') ) and had come back feeling a little queasy haha.  Anyway, I noticed that they now stop Le Pays to let people get on and off (not sure if this was due to the weather or if it is a regular thing?), which made me smile, as last time we had visited we saw a poor woman practically do the splits due to slipping as she boarded.

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We queued a fair while for Casey Jr, which I think is usual, and then went on Peter Pan.

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After that, we went on It's a Small World. I still don't think that the Christmas-y vibe made it the same (and still no ticking clock!)

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After our time in Fantasyland, we went to Frontierland, where we got a fastpass for BTM. I then decided to take John to the Sword in the Stone, and to visit the dragon. He thought this was really cool :')

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We then had a little explore in the boutiques in the castle.

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We had a little bit of time to kill, so decided to go for a coffee in the Cable Car Bakeshop.

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We sat in here and watched the parade go by, which was lovely.

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After that, it was time for BTM. We then went to pay the Ravenswood's a visit, entering the manor, and having a look around Boot Hill. I had lots of fun explaining the coffins to John. My family and I had our lunch in Boot Hill every day on our last visit (lunch in a graveyard, as you do ;) ) so we took some pictures in here for them to see.

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We were both quite peckish ourselves by this point, so we wandered down to Cowboy Cookout to see what they had to offer. I hadn't eaten in here for a fair while. I opted for the kid's meal of cheeseburger and chips, whereas John had bbq chicken. It was very nice (the chicken was nicely cooked and reminded me of nandos haha) and I instantly regretted not having that. However, I don't think my stomach could have managed it, as my child's meal filled me.

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I then thought that we could catch the railroad, but when we got to Frontierland Station, it was closed. However, it gave us a chance to see where Santa was.

We were both getting rather tired at this point, so took a break and looked around the shops on Main Street.

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I could spend hours in Harrington's, staring in awe at all of the beautiful ornaments and trinkets. If only I had a huge house to myself to fill with such gorgeous things.

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We then went to get a spot for the parade, the last showing of the day. John was going to film it today. We managed to get a nice spot on Main Street.

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There was a bit of pushing and shoving at one point, and raised voices – I was worried that there was going to be a fight! The parade was lovely. Minnie even noticed my hat and pointed at it, giggling!

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I started crying at the end, because the realisation that it was our last full day in the park had hit me. John grabbed me and started dancing with me in the snow, it was such a beautiful and romantic moment (what a babe!) I know it sounds so silly to get upset when you still technically have one day left, but I just really didn't want to leave :'( after pulling myself together, we continued through the shops on Main Street, taking some pictures along the way.

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It was then time for Christmas Wishes, which I filmed (and bawled my head off at, surprise surprise).

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We were both feeling the cold, so decided not to wait 45 minutes for a spot for Dreams, heading into Liberty Arcade instead. There is something so homely about this arcade; it is definitely my favourite of the two.

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We nipped outside at around 6.55, standing under the cover of Casey's read for Dreams.

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We had a lovely view actually, and I got really emotional at the end. Our last evening at the park :'( we made sure we walked directly in the middle of Main Street so that we could see the castle the whole way down. I kept looking back every few steps, crying. When we reached the tree, John stopped me, put our bags down, and we had one last picture with the castle lit up at night. I then cried my head off haha, and he got upset cos I was so upset (what are we like?!)

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It was then time for my shopping! We started at World of Disney.

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I left John with my handbag at the seating area, and whizzed round with my list. The queue in there was horrendous! I had a lovely chatty cashier though. There were a few things that I was without, so we popped to the Disney Store, and then on to the gallery. Here I made a shortlist of the prints I wanted, and picked up some ornaments for myself, as well as for Stephanie and Natalie for Christmas. The lady who served us was so helpful; I asked if we could have boxes for them, and she did her very best to help us, giving us a larger box so we could fit a few in one, padding them for us. Laden with purchases, we headed off. We hadn't eaten since around 3pm, but we were both too tired for a proper sit down meal, so we went to Earl of Sandwich on our way back. I stuck with the same as before, whereas John had the philly steak, which he said was amazing.

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On our walk back to the hotel we saw an English couple having a full blown argument, the man was properly swearing at his wife/girlfriend. They had two young kids and I got quite upset/scared. They were staying at the Cheyenne, so we ended up catching up with them, and they were laughing and joking by then, but it still wasn't nice to see or hear. When we got back to the room, it was time to pack the case. We had packed one case inside of the other to travel with (which was a GREAT idea, I would definitely recommend if travelling by train), so that meant going home I could fill one with merch (the bigger one, naturally ;) ) We padded out the ornaments with clean clothing and one of the plushes I bought, and it all fit wonderfully. We then got into bed. I couldn't believe that tomorrow would be the last morning that we would be waking up in Disneyland :'(

Thank you for your great report and the beautiful pictures.  :D

Excellent trip report and brilliant photos!  Might need to invest in a selfie stick for our next trip. Also, I'm glad the ghouls are back in the mirrors. I had worried they were gone permanently so that's a relief! Xx

Thank you for the lovely report :D Glad to see it all worked out and you had a wonderful time. :)

love love LOVE this trip report so far. you're making me so excited for my next trip eeee!!!!

Quote from: BlackPearl on January 02, 2015, 10:18:30 PM
Thank you for your great report and the beautiful pictures.  :D

Quote from: seraphelle on January 02, 2015, 11:09:05 PM
Excellent trip report and brilliant photos!  Might need to invest in a selfie stick for our next trip. Also, I'm glad the ghouls are back in the mirrors. I had worried they were gone permanently so that's a relief! Xx

Quote from: DisneyRon on January 03, 2015, 11:01:58 AM
Thank you for the lovely report :D Glad to see it all worked out and you had a wonderful time. :)

Quote from: stormflm595 on January 05, 2015, 03:07:32 PM
love love LOVE this trip report so far. you're making me so excited for my next trip eeee!!!!

Thanks everyone :) just trying to organise my photos, the last day should hopefully be up this afternoon :')

Day 5.

I awoke with a very heavy heart :'( I made the most of breakfast, and even managed to smuggle some extra rolls and croissants to take home (I surprised my family with a Disneyland breakfast the next morning, complete with president butter :') )

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We then headed back to the room to double check that we had got everything, and took our luggage over to the luggage area, taking lots of pictures of the hotel on the way.

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I was a bit nervous about leaving our bags, having never used this facility before, but it all went smoothly. We arrived in the park at 10.15, which I thought was pretty good going really.

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We picked up a fastpass for Peter Pan, and went on Buzz. I beat John yet again ;) (not by quite as much as the first time though, he was learning ;) )

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As we came out, it was snowing!!! Only sleet-like and for a few minutes, but it was so magical all the same. We were jumping up and down outside Constellations hugging each other with excitement haha :')

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We then went on It's a Small World. On our way to Peter Pan, we saw Captain Hook and Mr Smee. Next up was Pirates of the Caribbean. And guess what?! The lady at the window was there, finally! What a wonderful way to end then week :')

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As we came out, who did we see but Captain Jack Sparrow! It had started to rain, so we gave up waiting, and headed to Adventure Isle to have some lunch under cover. Jack wondered through, and the cast member with him recognised us and called Jack over to where we were so that we could have a picture. Thanks, Jonny :')

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After a spot of lunch, we headed to Frontierland, where we did BTM and Phantom Manor.

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I hadn't been on the Railroad for some years, and after a failed attempt to ride it the day before, we decided to head to Main Street Station. We saw Tiana in Town Square on our way, but unfortunately she was just leaving.

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After going around the whole park on the train, we headed up Main Street, towards Pinocchio.

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We then decided to visit La Galerie. I had saved this and Alice's Labyrinth until Friday, thinking it would be a busier day. However, there wasn't really that much difference in the queues for the usual attractions. The weather was so bad that unfortunately we gave the Labyrinth a miss; it is going to have to be a must-do for next time.

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After looking at the beautiful stained glass windows and tapestries, we walked through Adventureland, and looped back round to Main Street, as we had missed out Hook's Ship and Skull Rock during our entire visit!

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It was then time for the parade.

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I hate to say it, but we were both extremely disappointed. Tink and Max were both missing, being replaced by elves (who were cute, but not quite the same). Buzz was also missing, so Woody was walking in front of the float he was usually on. It definitely lacked the magic it usually had. Obviously I understand that not everyone can be there every day, but to have 3 characters missing was a shame. I know in previous years, they have alternated what was missing when, especially with the Wonderful World of Disney Parade back in the day (god I sound old haha).

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We then went in a few of the shops on Main Street USA, picking up some bits that I had missed the day before.

Time was then getting the better of us, and we just had time for a couple of last rides. Naturally, I chose Pirates of the Caribbean and Phantom Manor.

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We then walked down Main Street, feeling like I had lead in the bottom of my shoes. I hate this part of the holiday :'( We stood in front of the tree, having one last look at the castle. John told me that it wasn't goodbye, it was see you soon.

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We then headed underneath Main Street Station, and left the park. What a horrible horrible feeling.

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Luckily, I had my posters to order from the Disney Gallery to cheer me up :') I chose the smallest posters of the It's a Small World attraction poster, and then a scene from Sleeping Beauty, and Mickey and friends re-enacting the dog/key scene from Pirates of the Caribbean. I also got my brother the poster of Buzz Lightyear's Laser Blast for his playstation room; I had it framed and gave it to him for Christmas, it went down a treat :') the lovely lady from the day before served us again, and told us that our order would arrive between 2 and 3 weeks. However, it arrived 1 week later.

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I was extremely impressed with the service! I just wish that they had the stretchy room portraits from Phantom Manor :'(

We then nipped to McDonalds for a bite to eat, and went to collect our luggage. Chessy station was a bit hectic, as we had to queue a fair while for our tickets (it was nearing rush hour so our own fault really, I would advise buying your tickets early on in the day to avoid this!) The Metro was awful as well; at one point I got stick between the pole in the middle of the carriage and the cases, I thought I was going to get crushed :'( we had an uneventful journey after that, we saw a Rugby team including a 'Leicester Tiger's legend' at the Eurostar station which John got excited about (pur-lease, they have nothing on Mickey ;) ), and two people who had had a bit too much to drink at their work Christmas do were keeping us entertained on the train back to Rugby.

John's Dad picked us up from the station at midnight, and my parents were waiting up for me when I got back. After briefly telling them about our week, I went to bed. I was exhausted. The next morning, everyone tucked into their breakfast goodies, and Josh and I watched youtube videos of dlp. He is very excited to experience Ratatouille on our next trip :')

It is 4 weeks since I was there, and it feels so long ago :'( I had a magical time though. Going with John was just as good as going with my family, and he really embraced the experience, which was great. I am so thankful to him for going with me; he really did make Christmas at Disney so magical :') I would definitely recommend visiting at Christmas for those of you who haven't – it was just perfect :')

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Thanks for reading everyone. Until next time :')

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thanks for sharing this report, it was such a nice read =) i'd like to purchase the posters from the Gallery on my next trip, do you remember how much you paid for each one?

Also I'm rather a fussy eater...i don't like fish or creamy things etc at all but would quite like to go the Inventions. I did Cafe Mickey last year and it was so great so I'd like to see what Inventions is like. What sort of food do they serve on the buffet? Would an extremely fussy person be able to cope or should I stick to what I know?

Thanks for a great trip report, it's been over 6 months now since our visit and I'm not sure how I'll last another 8 months until our next one! The good trip reports make you want to go straight away

Nice report and nice pictures :-)

Thank you for the lovely report justlikewedreamedit-xo, great to see you loved your first visit without your family. :)

Quote from: stormflm595 on January 06, 2015, 06:18:42 PM
thanks for sharing this report, it was such a nice read =) i'd like to purchase the posters from the Gallery on my next trip, do you remember how much you paid for each one?

Also I'm rather a fussy eater...i don't like fish or creamy things etc at all but would quite like to go the Inventions. I did Cafe Mickey last year and it was so great so I'd like to see what Inventions is like. What sort of food do they serve on the buffet? Would an extremely fussy person be able to cope or should I stick to what I know?

It really depends on what you define as extremely fussy. :)
They have a fair bit of seafood (to help justify the higher pricetag I imagine), but the rest of the buffet has a wide variety of dishes, different kinds of meat (lamb, chicken, pork, beef), usually marinated. Different types of pasta (with different sauces) but also plain, and also the standard Mickey Nuggets.

And there's plenty of variety in the desserts. ;)

The kids' food is probably safe for an extremely fussy person as it's mostly safe familiar stuff, the rest is a bit different from the default, as it is a bit more higher-end restaurant, however it was all pretty high quality stuff from what I could see.

Quote from: DisneyRon on January 06, 2015, 07:02:24 PM
It really depends on what you define as extremely fussy. :)
They have a fair bit of seafood (to help justify the higher pricetag I imagine), but the rest of the buffet has a wide variety of dishes, different kinds of meat (lamb, chicken, pork, beef), usually marinated. Different types of pasta (with different sauces) but also plain, and also the standard Mickey Nuggets.

And there's plenty of variety in the desserts. ;)

The kids' food is probably safe for an extremely fussy person as it's mostly safe familiar stuff, the rest is a bit different from the default, as it is a bit more higher-end restaurant, however it was all pretty high quality stuff from what I could see.

It sounds quite doable! The only things I really don't like is any kind of fish and shellfish including sea food (i even hate fish fingers its that bad haha) and creamy things, such as carbonara. but if they do pastas with different sauces i imagine tomato and basil would be one and i love a bit of chicken, pork and beef!

And of course..chocolate cake ;)

Thanks Ron, I think I'll have to book it!

No problem Stormflm595, happy to help. ;) Hope you'll have an amazing time.

I seem to recall them having tomato sauce for the pasta. :) And indeed a chocolate cake also featured, though apparently the dessert selection varies quite a bit, so you may not always have it available.

Also, the way you're describing your tastes, I wouldn't call you extremely fussy at all.
You don't like fish and seafood, which isn't uncommon. :)

Quote from: stormflm595 on January 06, 2015, 06:18:42 PM
thanks for sharing this report, it was such a nice read =) i'd like to purchase the posters from the Gallery on my next trip, do you remember how much you paid for each one?

Also I'm rather a fussy eater...i don't like fish or creamy things etc at all but would quite like to go the Inventions. I did Cafe Mickey last year and it was so great so I'd like to see what Inventions is like. What sort of food do they serve on the buffet? Would an extremely fussy person be able to cope or should I stick to what I know?

Thanks, stormflm! I paid €18.99 for each poster, which were the smallest size they do. I think it went up around €5 for each size increase (but don't quote me on that!)

I have found some pictures of the food to show you (my photography skills are awful so apologies in advance for the blurs!) I am a fussy eater too so completely understand your worry. I found that there was plenty to choose from though.

(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7506/16213789811_735fec7e2b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7463/15595817633_aba01c4072.jpg)

For starter there were tortilla crisps with a selection of dips, along with a lot of meats. There were also cheese and croutons, as well as a large seafood selection.

(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7497/16213789921_292e3e5cdc.jpg)

Then for the mains there were two fish dishes, lamb, chicken and beef in different sauces, a creamy potato dish, two lots of vegetables, couscous, a creamy pasta dish, lasagne, meatballs with spaghetti, omlettes, pizza, chicken nuggets, fish goujons and Mickey Mouse potato things.

(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7478/16213796751_02e51c398c.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7475/16029566159_c9c811cd55.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7563/16215669325_3145c91225.jpg)

Then for dessert there was a large selection of cakes, yogurts, fresh fruit, jellies, popcorn and sweets. Hopefully that will help your decision :) I was impressed by the selection.

Quote from: daddyof2 on January 06, 2015, 06:46:18 PM
Thanks for a great trip report, it's been over 6 months now since our visit and I'm not sure how I'll last another 8 months until our next one! The good trip reports make you want to go straight away

Thanks, daddyof2! You are nearly half way between trips, I hope the next 8 months fly by for you! I find that reading other reports makes you more excited for your own trip :)

Quote from: norhel on January 06, 2015, 06:59:02 PM
Nice report and nice pictures :-)

Thanks Norhel :)

Quote from: DisneyRon on January 06, 2015, 07:02:24 PM
Thank you for the lovely report justlikewedreamedit-xo, great to see you loved your first visit without your family. :)

Thanks DisneyRon, I sure did :) although I am hoping to return with them in tow soon!

ooh it looks really great! i've text my friend to see if she fancies Inventions rather than Cafe Mickey...fingers crossed she'll agree!!

This is really one of the best trip report ever! So exciting and emotional! Thank you very much for sharing. And the pictures are sooo beautiful!

Quote from: stormflm595 on January 06, 2015, 07:56:54 PM
ooh it looks really great! i've text my friend to see if she fancies Inventions rather than Cafe Mickey...fingers crossed she'll agree!!

You'll have to let us know what you decide :) I am sure you will have a lovely experience either way!

Quote from: Uragano Tati on January 10, 2015, 04:09:40 PM
This is really one of the best trip report ever! So exciting and emotional! Thank you very much for sharing. And the pictures are sooo beautiful!

Thank you so much, Uragano Tati! That really is kind of you. I'm glad you enjoyed reading it, it was so fun to write :)

Great trip report, thanks for sharing. My first trip with my boyfriend, now husband, was during the Christmas period and we've not been at that time of year since so it brings back lovely memories. It must have been strange it just being the two of you! We've got it the other way around in that we've always gone as the two of us and now we have little ones we bring along at least one grandparent to help out!

This has really got me in the mood for my trip in three weeks time and I definitely think I'm going to get a poster this time  :)

Quote from: jeakat24 on January 12, 2015, 10:30:21 AM
Great trip report, thanks for sharing. My first trip with my boyfriend, now husband, was during the Christmas period and we've not been at that time of year since so it brings back lovely memories. It must have been strange it just being the two of you! We've got it the other way around in that we've always gone as the two of us and now we have little ones we bring along at least one grandparent to help out!

This has really got me in the mood for my trip in three weeks time and I definitely think I'm going to get a poster this time  :)

Hi, jeakat24! How lovely, I am glad that our first trip was during Christmas as it will make it even more memorable :') I would love to return at Christmas at some point, it was so magical. Yeah it was odd, I quite enjoyed being in charge though ;) it must be lovely to return once you have children, sharing the magic with them is lovely I'm sure :')

I hope you have an amazing time! Have you got any posters in mind or are you just going to see what they have when you get there? :)

I spoke to my friend; we're going to Inventions!! Thanks for the help!! :)

Quote from: stormflm595 on January 12, 2015, 11:43:42 AM
I spoke to my friend; we're going to Inventions!! Thanks for the help!! :)

Eeeeee I am so excited for you! Can't wait to hear all about it when you return :')

What a lovely trip report and pictures! I love that Disney-themed nail polish!  ;)

Quote from: vampira on January 14, 2015, 04:09:10 PM
What a lovely trip report and pictures! I love that Disney-themed nail polish!  ;)

Thanks so much, vampira ;') I haven't done them like that since, definitely one to try over the next week or so I think!

Cutest trip report ever pal, I can't wait for the next one! :-*

Thanks for sharing this, a lovely read!  :D :D

Quote from: geekyjo on January 16, 2015, 11:05:36 PM
Cutest trip report ever pal, I can't wait for the next one! :-*

Thanks pal! John bought a Mickey tee from the Disney Store in Rome and said it will be good to wear for our next visit to DLP, my heart almost exploded <3

Quote from: andrewuk on January 19, 2015, 03:27:20 PM
Thanks for sharing this, a lovely read!  :D :D

Thanks for reading, andrewuk! Glad you enjoyed it :)

Amazing trip report...best on here :)
You anymore trips planned?

Quote from: Mathierson24 on January 20, 2015, 06:10:51 PM
Amazing trip report...best on here :)
You anymore trips planned?

Thanks, Mathierson24! None as of yet unfortunately :'( I was hoping for a family trip this year or next but we have just moved house so aren't really in the position to go as of yet, and the ride closures for the next year or so are worrying me :( I will go with John at some stage but nothing has been planned yet as he graduates this year so he hasn't got the money for a trip at the moment, and ideally we'd want him to be settled into a job before we book again! Plus it would be a case of trying to plan it between closures/prioritising what I would like open! Hopefully it won't be too long away though! Are you still torn between hotels for your 2016 or have you more or less made your decision? :)

Still a little torn. Decided on 1st feb for 4 nights as cheap then. Hotel depends on the partners money situation.
Hotel New York is £516 for 2 people then which i think is really good :)

Hope you get a trip sorted soon :)

Wow what a great report, reading it bought back memories from our 2014 Christmas trip, and I know what you mean about leaving the park on your last day/night, saying bye to the castle is horrible but like John said it's a "see you soon" not a goodbye :) I really wanted to go back this Christmas but with opening up our new shop we said we'd go for Christmas 2017 (25th anniversary year) can't wait as by the sounds of it it's going to be worth the wait

Quote from: disneynutter on March 20, 2015, 12:48:18 AM
Wow what a great report, reading it bought back memories from our 2014 Christmas trip, and I know what you mean about leaving the park on your last day/night, saying bye to the castle is horrible but like John said it's a "see you soon" not a goodbye :) I really wanted to go back this Christmas but with opening up our new shop we said we'd go for Christmas 2017 (25th anniversary year) can't wait as by the sounds of it it's going to be worth the wait

Thanks, Disneynutter! :) it is going to be a struggle not returning this Christmas for me too :( however, with all of the uncertainty regarding closures etc maybe Christmas 2017 is a better option anyway :) thanks for reading!

Finally finished reading all about your trip, and I must say what a great read it was! My fiancee and I loved it. I remember going to DLP during the Christmas festivities years back but had forgotten how much fun it could be. Your pictures really brought back the memories for me! It was also nice to see the pictures of the food at Annette's Diner. I've been trying to find an image to show my fiancee the size of the meals but to no avail.

As well as being an interesting read, we were also able to get a few ideas of things to do when we go in November. So thank you ^.^  :D

Quote from: TappyFish on March 23, 2015, 03:40:40 PM
Finally finished reading all about your trip, and I must say what a great read it was! My fiancee and I loved it. I remember going to DLP during the Christmas festivities years back but had forgotten how much fun it could be. Your pictures really brought back the memories for me! It was also nice to see the pictures of the food at Annette's Diner. I've been trying to find an image to show my fiancee the size of the meals but to no avail.

As well as being an interesting read, we were also able to get a few ideas of things to do when we go in November. So thank you ^.^  :D

Aw how lovely :') apologies for the length of the report, I am known to waffle haha. I am very pleased to hear that your fiancée and yourself found it an enjoyable read, and that it brought back memories of your previous trips, too :') and of course that john and I were able to give you a few ideas for when you return in november! How exciting! Thanks for reading :)

WHAT A MAGICAL REPORT!  ;D

(http://www.picgifs.com/disney-gifs/disney-gifs/mickey-and-minnie-mouse/disney-graphics-mickey-and-minnie-mouse-908523.gif)

I was almost there with you!

May I ask you about the weather - rain, temperature? What shoes did you take? Umbrellas?

Thanks in advance!

Quote from: Mileto on March 31, 2015, 05:28:10 PM
WHAT A MAGICAL REPORT!  ;D

(http://www.picgifs.com/disney-gifs/disney-gifs/mickey-and-minnie-mouse/disney-graphics-mickey-and-minnie-mouse-908523.gif)

I was almost there with you!

May I ask you about the weather - rain, temperature? What shoes did you take? Umbrellas?

Thanks in advance!

Thanks, Mileto :')

Sure! Weather wise, we were lucky. It only rained on one day (Day 3, not sure if it is apparent in some of the photos?). Temperature wise, I think it was about 2-4 Celsius, although the only times we felt the cold were waiting for Dreams to start, and queuing for the tickets for the Princess Pavilion early in the morning. We did layer up though, I took thermal tights and leggings to wear underneath my normal ones, as well as tops, jumpers and coats, hats, scarves, gloves. Shoe wise, I took a pair of converse (which butchered my poor toes haha! Thank god we had plasters) and some boots with a slight heel. John took two pairs of trainers. Comfort is key due to the amount of walking! We didn't take an umbrella, mainly because I have a terrible track record with them and usually manage to break them! We had hoods though so knew we would be protected if it did rain.

Hope that helps :)

Thank you, justlikewedreamedit-xo!

I made a picture of it. It looks like weather in Marne le Valle is milder, not so cold, as it is where I live.
Oh, if only we could go, no weather could stop us ...  :-\

Where did you get those mickey flats? They're sooo cute  ;D

What a wonderful Trip Report - I was totally immersed! Reading all of this made me feel so happy for you guys (you are such an adorable couple!) and has made me even more excited for my trip this coming December as I have never been for Christmas season.

Thanks for giving us all such an enjoyable read. I hope you find yourself back in the Magic soon!!

Quote from: irich on June 15, 2015, 04:39:14 PM
Where did you get those mickey flats? They're sooo cute  ;D

Hi, Irich! I think I picked them up from Main Street Motors :')

Quote from: jj554 on June 15, 2015, 05:22:47 PM
What a wonderful Trip Report - I was totally immersed! Reading all of this made me feel so happy for you guys (you are such an adorable couple!) and has made me even more excited for my trip this coming December as I have never been for Christmas season.

Thanks for giving us all such an enjoyable read. I hope you find yourself back in the Magic soon!!

Thanks, jj554! That is so sweet of you to say. I hope that you have a magical trip in December, Christmas time in Disney really is so special. Thank you! I hope so too haha :)

Better late than never but such a lovely trip report - you've made so excited for my next visit! Sounds like you had an amazing time and you seem like SUCH a cute couple (always good to have a partner in crime that can fall in love with Disney as much as you!)

Loved reading it, thank you! :)

Quote from: irJoey on August 02, 2015, 02:39:57 AM
Better late than never but such a lovely trip report - you've made so excited for my next visit! Sounds like you had an amazing time and you seem like SUCH a cute couple (always good to have a partner in crime that can fall in love with Disney as much as you!)

Loved reading it, thank you! :)

Thank you so much for your kind words, irJoey! I hope your next visit comes round sooner rather than later :) thanks for reading!

Golly fab report, I feel exhausted!!!! We have 3 more sleeps then we will be there.
We are very excited but somewhat overwhelmed by how full on the days seem.
What would you say are the must do we have our little girl who will wake up in Disney on her third birthday so need to make it truly magical for her. Any little tips or secrets things we might miss? And favourite places to eat we only have breakfast in hotel.
Thanks

Quote from: Jo68 on September 07, 2015, 11:19:12 PM
Golly fab report, I feel exhausted!!!! We have 3 more sleeps then we will be there.
We are very excited but somewhat overwhelmed by how full on the days seem.
What would you say are the must do we have our little girl who will wake up in Disney on her third birthday so need to make it truly magical for her. Any little tips or secrets things we might miss? And favourite places to eat we only have breakfast in hotel.
Thanks

Hi, Jo68! Thanks for reading :) wow how exciting, not long to go at all! I would say go at your little girl's pace. Fantasyland has plenty of rides suitable for her age. I'd recommend using fast pass for Peter Pan, as the queues can be quite long for that.does your daughter have any favourite films or characters? As she is quite young she may be frightened of the characters, so maybe test her out with ones you bump into before dedicating time queuing for more organised meet and greets. The daily schedule is here http://www.dlpguide.com/calendar/daily-park-schedules/, this has the park opening times, meet and greet times and locations and show times on. You can grab one of these under the railroad station as you enter the main park. If your little girl is a princess fan, it may be worth visiting the princess pavilion on her birthday. This is running on a reservation system at the moment - one of your party will need to queue by the old mill in fantasyland at around 9.30am, where they will be given a time slot to return later in the day. I would also take your daughter to city hall on her birthday, where she will be given a birthday badge and a call from Mickey Mouse!

I would recommend watching the parade at least once, try and get a spot around 30 mins before. Dreams should also not be missed, this is at park closing - 9pm when you are there. If this is too late for your daughter then maybe go for a nap in the afternoon.

There are some lovely shows in the Studios park for youngsters, so it might be worth checking that out, too. 

Restaurant wise, it depends what kind of food you re after. Children's menus are usually labelled as 3-11 years, so depending on how much your daughter eats she may get away with eating bits from your plates, or she may benefit from her own meal. There is a list of menus and prices here http://www.dlpguide.com/planning/dining/restaurant-menus/. Not all restaurants are open, so sometimes it is a bit hit and miss over where you end up! I enjoy Colonel Hathis (adventureland - pizza and pasta), au chalet (fantasyland - burgers and nuggets), Annette's (burgers)  and earl of sandwich (both Disney village). There is also a McDonald's in the Disney village.

My friend Sophie runs a Disneyland Paris blog and has some tips here http://ilovedisneylandparis.tumblr.com/post/43558843518/hey-i-just-started-following-you-and-i-have-to

http://ilovedisneylandparis.tumblr.com/post/44487381947/im-going-to-disneyland-paris-for-the-first-time

So they may also be worth reading. Sorry if any of this comes across as patronising, I have never been asked to advise someone with children before   :-[  Overall I would say enjoy it, take lots of photos, and don't worry if you don't get everything done! It can be a very exhausting holiday so take things at your own pace.

I hope that helps, have a magical trip :') xx

Loved your trip report and photos you both looked like you had the not amazing and magical time!

I love the Cheyenne I guess it was the very first hotel I stayed in when I was a kid. The theming is fantastic I think by far the best themed hotel but I do like the others too  :)

Thanks for sharing! Counting down until our next trip and can't wait. Trouble is it goes way to fast when your there doesn't it?

Quote from: littlebitofpixiedust on September 09, 2015, 05:02:13 AM
Loved your trip report and photos you both looked like you had the not amazing and magical time!

I love the Cheyenne I guess it was the very first hotel I stayed in when I was a kid. The theming is fantastic I think by far the best themed hotel but I do like the others too  :)

Thanks for sharing! Counting down until our next trip and can't wait. Trouble is it goes way to fast when your there doesn't it?

Thanks, littlebitofpixiedust! Yeah, we really did. It is killing me seeing the Christmas merch being introduced to the boutiques, I don't know how I am going to cope when the Christmas season officially starts  :'(

Yeah I know what you mean, I feel like the Cheyenne is the most immersive theme wise :) Enjoy your trip, I hope time goes slow for you whilst you are there!

I loved every bit of this trip report! I love ones with images, and the fact that this one is Christmas themed is making me even more excited for my trip in November! I'm just a bit gutted that my whole first day will be travelling - flight isn't until 2pm then we've missed our whole first paid park day, bummer!

You said 10.30 was a good time to get checked out etc on your last day, I was hoping to get checked out super early so we could go back for extra magic hours, or at least go for EMH and then go and check out once the park fills up after EMH. Trying to utilise every little minute we have there, especially given that we'll be using one of our days to go out into Paris too!