Hi all, I'm back and have just found 5 mins to sit down and tell you all that we had a mostly amazing time in DLP, apart from a couple of hiccups along the way which I will tell you about in my trip report.
I'm busy at the moment juggling work and perhaps putting up the Christmas tree on our first day back wasn't such a good idea as I'm now exhausted and need another holiday (only wish I could go back ASAP!).
So the party consisted of myself, Gemma 30, my partner Daniel 38 and our son Jack 4. We told Jack on the Saturday morning via a letter from "Mickey" that we were going for 7 days holiday and his reaction was completely priceless, I just wish I had recorded it! We spent most of Saturday packing, cleaning, planning and generally trying to keep Jack from bursting with excitement! We packed the dog off to the in-laws for her holiday and then after watching the new Doctor Who episode we managed to get Jack to bed and then had an early night ourselves as we had a 5am get up!
I'm hoping that I'll be able to include pictures in my trip report this time but I've got to get the hang of putting them on here so as soon as I can I shall sort out Day 1!
Im excited to read about it! Taking your kids to Disney must be one of the best experiences, I still remember when my parents took me there as a little boy for the first time :))
Day 1: Sunday 24/11
Ok so here goes! Sorry if this report is text heavy but once again I've had trouble loading photos so I'll try and put some on at the end!
Both myself and Daniel woke up at 4am too excited to sleep and just lay in bed till 5am talking about what we would do when we got there. After having showers and getting ready etc we finally got sorted and I had to wake Jack at 6am as he was still fast asleep. He soon got out of bed though when he realised what day it was!
Our taxi arrived at 6:30am and after some re-arranging of the boot to fit in 3 suitcases, 1 buggy and 2 bags we eventually got underway and arrived at Birmingham airport just after 7am.
We got checked in and through security and headed to Weatherspoons for breakfast. After a lovely bacon sandwich we headed to nose at the shops. I must point out at this point that I had got a chest infection 6 days before we left and this still hadn't cleared so I went to Boots to get some cough sweets so I wouldn't annoy any of the passengers! Our flight boarded at 8:50am and we got underway just after 9:15am. We were sat one row from the back of the plane so I hoped my coughing wouldn't annoy too many people! Fortunately the flight was virtually empty so clearly Sunday morning is a good time to fly.
We flew with Air France and I did wonder if they were making cutbacks as previously we were always offered a croissant during our flight (usually ham and cheese or egg) this time however we were just given a plain croissant and a drink. I must admit I wasn't hungry as my chest infection was aggravated by the flight and I felt like everywhere was spinning! Fortunately Jack kept me distracted by his constant requests to play Angry Birds on my iPad. The flight was an hour and 20 mins but 20 mins of that was taken up by pulling into the gate upon landing.
We had a bit of a wait at passport control as several flights had landed at once but once through it was a quick turn around with getting our luggage which was already altogether on the carrousel. We headed to catch the VEA which was now clearly marked and we got on the coach without too much of a delay. We had one small hiccup in that the travel agent had told us we could just present the email confirmation to the driver who would let us on. This was not the case and we only found this out after loading our luggage on! I had to take the email confirmation to the VEA desk for them to give me 2 printed vouchers with bar codes for the driver to scan into the machine on board. Still never mind, we got underway and within 30 mins we had arrived at our hotel, the Sequoia Lodge.
We got our luggage and went to the Golden Forest Club check in which was quiet and it was nice to sit down somewhere comfy to go over all the check in details. They had little sweets and chocolate coins at the desk so Jack helped himself to these. In his mind this was a great start to the holiday! The staff were very friendly and welcoming. We got all our park maps, tickets etc but our room was not ready as we arrived just after 1pm. They took our luggage and told us it would be waiting in our room when we got back. Jack was also given a free voucher for a Mickey or Minnie balloon which was ace as I wouldn't pay €7.50 for a balloon that would need deflating in order to get it on the plane!
We decided to check out the Golden Forest Lounge and make use of the complimentary soft drinks. The lounge was empty so lovely and quiet. We had some drinks and then decided what to do first. We decided to go to World of Disney to pick up an autograph book and pen for Jack. We walked out the back of the hotel and round Lake Disney and through the Disney Village. They didn't have the book I was after so we went to the Studios were I got a different one.We got to the Studios and it wasn't overly busy for a weekend. We got on Cars Race Rally with only a 10 min wait and got our holiday off to a spinning start! We then went to see the Motors Action Stunt Show. We got there in time and found a seat in the middle section so had a decent view but what a disappointment this show was!
Both myself and Daniel had seen this before but Jack hadn't so we thought we'd watch it for him. He really enjoyed the start and also when Lightning McQueen made his appearance but he soon got bored with the show and I couldn't blame him for it. All the serious special effects had been omitted! No falling stuntman from the roof, no big explosions or jumps and it was painful to watch when the sliding biker didn't catch fire and they had to light him up with a lighter!! The worst giveaway was the video footage shown on the big screen still showed all the stunts as they used to be and what was left to actually experience was a damp squib of a show instead.
After this we decided to head back to the hotel as our room was ready so we made our way back. We got our room keys and found we were in the north wing again in room 7241 on the top floor, so my request for a high floor had been met. We got to our room which was only a couple away from the lifts and were so happy with the room we were given. The view was incredible, panoramic over the whole of Lake Disney and the area. We had a free Mickey plush left on the bed for Jack as well as chocolate coins. The room was lovely and (sad I know) I was thrilled to see that we had the H2O products in the bathroom. Our only problems which were minor were that one light was not working above Jack's bed and that we had a faulty safe that didn't work the duration of our stay despite maintenance coming up immediately to fix the problem but this was hardly going to detract from the holiday.
We unpacked and as standard for us we put on "the top 10 things to know before you go" on the tv with Sophie! We then headed down to dinner at the Hunters Grill which already had several guests there at opening for 6pm. The buffet was great and I had starters, two lots of mains and two lots of puddings (I was hungry!). Jack found plenty to eat and Daniel was very happy with his seafood selections. We filled up and with drinks as well left the restaurant at 7pm about €90 lighter!
We then decided to pop into the Disneyland Park as it was open till 10pm but it was just a flying visit to try and catch Captain EO as none of us had ever seen this before. Sadly when we got to the park we found it closed as the attraction shut earlier in the day. Still we had a Hotel FastPass to use (another perk of the Golden Forest Club) and so we used this to get us on to Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast. This is Daniel's favourite ride and so we all sat together and I gave up the blaster to Jack so he could have a go with his dad. Boy are they competitive! After a wait of no more than 5mins thanks to the FP we did this and then decided to leave as we were all tired and Dreams wasn't on till late. We took some pictures on Main Street which looked amazing and then we headed back to Disney Village.
We did some browsing in The Disney Store and had to pick up Jack's Mickey balloon and then we went back to the hotel. We stopped in the Golden Forest Lounge for drinks which was again lovely and quiet so we made ourselves at home on the sofas. After a lovely pot of tea for me, orange juice for Jack and beer for Daniel we went up to bed to try and get a good night sleep as we had an early start in the morning. So far our holiday had been great but our first big hiccup was about to happen!
Day 2 coming soon!
So excited to read your report! Sounds like you had an amazing day 1 - can't wait for the rest! :)
Day 2
Woke up at 6:30am after a very broken night's sleep. The hotel room was red hot all night and we couldn't get the fan to blow any colder than 18.5 degrees which just wasn't going to cut it given all the hotels heat (which obviously rises) was all in the top floor of the hotel! We ended up spending the duration of our holiday sleeping with the window open at night! On top of this poor Daniel had been very sick throughout the night. He told me that last night in the Hunter's Grill he had eaten a prawn that had not be de-veined and it still had the intestinal tract in it (yuck!), he hadn't wanted to make a fuss so hadn't said anything but he'd gotten very sick in the night and didn't sleep at all. Not a great start to his holiday poor love!
Despite this he soldiered on for Jack's sake even though I said he could stay in the hotel room and recover and I'd go to the parks with Jack. He just didn't want to miss out and so being stubborn we carried on.
We went to breakfast in the Golden Forest Breakfast Room for 8am and it was relatively quiet. We met Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck so Jack was thrilled and got his autograph book off to a flying start. The breakfast was the same food items as the standard breakfast and we really like this anyway. There were options for a hot breakfast but we never bothered with this. It was nice that everything was right there and you didn't have to traipse around or queue to use machines and get food. I also enjoyed the fact you got little place mats instead of the paper table cloths! I loaded up on breakfast as did Jack but Daniel just had a tea and avoided any food.
After a leisurely breakfast we headed out to the Disney Park to make use of the extra magic hours. It was a chilly day and cloudy but remained dry all day. We got into the park and I just stood with my mouth open like an idiot for a while as the decorations were simply beautiful. The tree was amazing and it was lovely to see it in Main Street as the last time I visited at Christmas the tree was next to the castle (you can tell how long ago that was!).
I took photos of Main Street and it was lovely to see they had the horse-drawn carriages out as well. We walked through the castle and straight up to the gallery as it was open and we hadn't seen this for a while as on our last visit it was closed for refurbishment. I took some beautiful pictures of the gallery and views from the balcony across Fantasyland. It was much quieter today than yesterday but there were still as many people as I thought there would be. First stop was the carrousel for Jack as it only had a 10 min wait but Daniel sat this one out. I do love this ride and Jack loves all carousels so it was a bit hit again like last year. We then went on Dumbo which had a 15 min wait so we rode this. I was going to sit behind Jack and Daniel on this to take pictures of them but someone shoved me out of the way and sat in between us! Never mind we still enjoyed ourselves. By this time the park had opened to everyone and it was half 10 so we headed over to Peter Pan's Flight, one of my favourite rides. There was a 25 min queue so we used our hotel FP to get to the front of the queue and an incredibly nice cast member let us keep the FP to use again! Bonus! After flying round Neverland we went to see the queues for some other rides.
We rode Pinocchio which had a 10 min wait followed immediately by Snow White which also had a 10 min wait. Sadly though I did notice that half way through Snow White the music and commentary wasn't working but hopefully this was just an early morning glitch! We then went on the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups which only had a 5 min wait and we somehow managed to stop Jack from spinning the central wheel as Daniel had quite frankly had enough of being sick! We then went round to Casey Jnr and the Storybook Boats, these were both completely empty! On our last visit Casey Jnr was closed so we were excited to do this for Jack. He absolutely loved it and due to it being soooo quiet we stayed on for 2 back to back rides!! We then walked onto the Storybook Boats but Daniel chose to sit this one out to. Jack likes this ride especially when you go through the mouth of the Cave of Wonders. As there was still no queue for Casey we went on again, leaving Daniel to have a sit down and we rode it twice in a row again. We only got up from a carriage to change seats to sit at the front in the engine!
It was then ten to twelve and we had a reservation at Plaza Gardens Restaurant for 12 noon. We walked straight in and got a seat in a nice quiet corner. There were quite a few people in there but it wasn't overly busy. I had a plate of starters which were ok, the mains were nice and the puddings, wow! I went back twice! Jack had no problem finding food he liked and he also loved the puddings. Daniel decided he was hungry and so ate some plain food and he was fine after this. We all had a drink as well and it proved to be a very reasonably priced buffet and would happily have eaten here again. We had a leisurely lunch, mainly for Dan's benefit and we timed it well so when we left we waited near to "it's a small world" to watch the Christmas Cavalcade at 1:35pm. The parade was lovely and there were no queues where we were stood so the characters came over to interact. I did miss the traditional toy soldiers as I do love them but all the dancers and entertainers were full of the joys of the atmosphere and were very enthusiastic. It was lovely to be close to so many characters without the crowds. It was a nice touch to see Hewie, Dewie and Louie as I've never seen these characters before.
We then rode "it's a small world" as it was only a 10 min wait and we all got stuck into singing the songs along with Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls. I was impressed to see all the animatronics and extras working, that is until we got to the last room where the Ferris wheel and one of the carousels were stationary. It was a shame it was these two as they are lovely to watch and glaringly obvious when they are broken! We then looked at the Princess Pavilion as this is something we have never managed to do but it was an hours wait and we couldn't be bothered. We then went round Alice's curious labyrinth and let Jack take charge so naturally we got lost and ended up doing bits over again so about half an hour later we emerged. It was lovely though for him to have the illusion of guiding us through the maze without him being in danger of getting separated from us. After this we decided to use our hotel FP again on Peter Pan's Flight which meant we had a less than 5 min wait.
After this it was time for one of my favourite pastimes shopping! We went to Sir Mickey's where I bought a new lanyard as my one is a bit worse for wears and some new pins. I love these and don't actually take part in the trading of them, I just love to collect them as they make wonderful keepsakes. We then went to see the Dragon but Jack wasn't very bothered by him this time so we didn't spend long looking at him. We then went into the castle boutique to purchase a new Christmas bauble. This has become a tradition for us so on each visit we buy a new one for our tree at home. I got the one with the castle, Mickey, Minnie and Stitch in the fake snow. We then went to spend the afternoon on Main Street USA.
We queued for 30 mins to meet Winnie the Pooh and Jack was very happy to see him so we got some lovely pictures and another autograph. We then found Pluto and waited another 30 mins to see him. Again Jack was really pleased to see him and Pluto made a fuss of him as he was carrying his little Pluto toy. After some lovely photos and another autograph we decided to have a snack and a warm drink. We went to Cable Car Bake Shop. At this point Jack fell asleep so we had a nice sit down. I had a wonderful cheesecake with red berry coulis which in my opinion is the best in the resort! While Jack slept we looked round the Discovery Arcade and I did some shopping in the Boardwalk Candy Palace. I managed to get quite a few stocking fillers for Jack and some sweets for his nursery friends and teacher as well as bits and pieces for family presents.
As Jack hadn't woken up and Dan had done so well to make it as far as he had that day we decided not to stay for the tree lighting and Dreams but to head out of the park for the day. I was going to do some shopping in Disney Village but didn't want to make Dan suffer more! So we went to Earl of Sandwich to get dinner and take it back to our room. We got Jack the set meal and Dan and I shared one.
We got back to the room and Jack woke up, he was really pleased to find we had chocolate coins left on our beds and we'd had a turn down service as well! This was to become a daily occurrence when we got back to the hotel and the end of each day. We had dinner and popped down to the Golden Forest Lounge for some drinks. We didn't stay for long as we were all tired and we discovered that we could take as many drinks as we wanted out of the lounge and back to our room as well as into the park the next day. This would definitely save a few euros! We then went back to our room to hopefully have a better night all round. Jack went to sleep quickly after reading him a story and we weren't long behind him!
awwww. loving your report, cant wait to read the rest :)
Day 3!
After a much better night's sleep we all got up at 7am and headed down to breakfast for 8am. The small breakfast room was full so they opened up the lounge to use as well and we were the only ones in here! We saw Eeyore and Pluto this morning. Jack got their autographs and we got some lovely photos. We had another leisurely breakfast as we were heading out to the Studios.
We got to the Studios and rather than charging through we queued in Front Lot to meet Mickey Mouse at his meet and greet Christmas spot. He came out bang on 10am and we were only the 4th people in the queue so this was a great way to start the day. After photos and autographs we headed through Front Lot to Toy Story Playland. Jack didn't want to ride Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop as he remembered from last time he didn't like it so we went straight on Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin as the queue was less than 5 mins.
We then went to queue for a Buzz Lightyear meet and greet. This is where the big annoyance of the holiday happened for me. We joined a small queue of people waiting to see Buzz as he was not due out until half 10. Next door to this was a Minnie Mouse meet and greet that started at 10am and had drawn quite a queue. A family just finished meeting Minnie when Buzz came out and for some reason they thought it was acceptable to then try and push in to the front of the Buzz queue that had been patiently waiting. There were several British families in front of me who kept the family out of the queue and were telling them to go to the back of the queue and wait their turn like everyone else. Well this family were having none of it and wedged themselves in trying to push past people. By the time we got to where they were stood, they were still trying to push in so I forcefully said you can't push in here, wait at the back of the queue like everyone else. It turns out the family was French and the woman kept saying to me no I stand here I queue here I go in front of you. Well despite me politely telling her she failed to move at which point I lost my temper and said if she didn't move I would get a cast member to move her. She suddenly claimed not to speak English and didn't understand me, how convenient! I kept telling her to move to the back at which point she turned to her son and in French told him to ignore me as I was talking out of my arse!! Well she was rather taken aback at the fact that I could understand everything she was saying and eventually moved out of my way. A few other families made her wait but the first French family in the queue after let her in! I was fuming I couldn't believe how ignorant she was! Luckily as we went to meet Buzz I told a cast member and pointed her out so when it was her turn, Buzz conveniently went for a break and she was made to wait another 10 mins before he came back out. Why people feel this behaviour is ok is beyond me. This is the one thing you never suffer in the Florida parks.
Anyway rant over and we went on the Flying Carpets with only a 5 min wait. Jack then let his screaming skills loose on the Monsters Inc Scream Monitors! We caught the 11:45am showing of Animagique which I LOVE! It is one of my favourite shows in the resort and Jack really enjoyed seeing all the characters. We managed to get seats in the middle tier about 12 rows from the stage and it was a brilliant spot to watch the show.
We then went for lunch at Restaurant en Coulisse where we had a set meal each. The food was ok but not wonderful. We then managed to get straight in the Studio Tram Tour without a wait at all. Jack enjoyed the main catastrophe canyon and the London scene from Reign of Fire but he wasn't bothered by the props. I've seen this a lot so it's not my favourite attraction as once it's done then it's done. We decided not to watch the Parade today but instead went into the Animation Gallery at the back to miss the main show as we have done this a lot before as well. We played on the voice addition machines and colouring machines etc and Jack loved adding his voice to characters, so did Daniel for that matter!
We then went back on the Flying Carpets as the wait was still only 5 mins and we also went back on Slinky Dog again as the wait was 5 mins again. We then went to see Stitch Live! at 2:15pm which was only a 10 min wait. I love this show and Stitch really picked on a couple getting them to do silly dances in the aisles etc, brilliant!
We then waited around for Cinemagique which had no wait and the theatre was quite empty. I love the way this show is done and it never gets old for me. Daniel says this is his favourite show and Jack sat transfixed again for 30 mins. It must be a good show as he sat for this length of time the last time we came and he was only 2 then!
After this we went back to Restaurant en Coulisse to use a free voucher we had for a free hot drink and then we did some shopping in Front Lot. I found a brilliant mug with an Alice in Wonderland theme which looked like 3 teacups in 1 on a slant it's really quirky!
After shopping we left the Studios and went to Planet Hollywood for dinner at 5pm. We sat on the top floor around the edge of the restaurant. We had some pictures taken which I did buy a couple of as they were very good. Jack had a set meal and Dan and I shared some cheesy garlic bread and a pizza. I then shared a cheesecake with Dan as well. We had a lovely quiet and unhurried dinner and then strolled back through the village to the hotel.
We spent the evening in the Golden Forest Lounge and met a lovely family from Stourbridge who had upgraded to the Golden Forest from the Newport Bay Club. We had a nice chat to them during the course of the evening and I had a wonderful Bailey's Hot Chocolate from the bar with whipped cream. This was so wonderful I've gone out and bought the ingredients to make them at home over Christmas.
We had a lovely day, slightly more relaxed as most attractions in the Studios are at set times so you don't have to queue or rush around. On another note I saw a very rare sight today as well which was a good indicator of how quiet it was in the park today, Crush's Coaster was no more than a 25 min wait all day!!!
We then went into the bar for a Glowtini (love these!) after leaving the Lounge and we headed up to bed.
Great trip report!
I, too, wonder how someone can behave like this! Or are we all idiots to stand in line and waiting our turn???? :-\ ::) ??? That is just awfull!!!
We never saw the GFC breakfast room with more than 2 or 3 families this fall. Chris at the lounge told us it was only about 35% full. My daugter loved doing tea time there!
Looking forward reading more and maybe even see some pictres.
You had Chris at the lounge as well!! He is a brilliant bloke we remembered him from our visit last year when he was working in the bar. He is such a lovely person, so obliging and so much fun to talk to as well! He told us how at this time of year the main hotel tends to get fully booked with conferences and parties so it's a lovely little extra to be able to have the GFC and not have the crowds. He made us feel extra special as he likes to call all GFC users the VIPs!! :D
Totally agree! He was so nice and helpfull! He always had time for a little chat(wasn`t fully booked then), asked what we did during the day, made sure we had everything and knew when tea time is and such! We want to go back for GFC next year!
I look forward to your reviews of 29th and 30th which is also when we there and the busyness increased a lot from earlier in the week.
We bumped into a meet and greet with Chip n Dale by the Rainforest restaurant. Everyone was nicely taking it in turns in a semi circle around the characters with my little 2 year old at the front steadily waiting his turn. 2 French girls who must have been 10-13 came round the side and stood right in front of him! Then the dad bowled in and stood in front of us all with his camera. I shouted out "Oi don't we have manners in France!" and another lady tapped him on the shoulder and said get to the back of the queue we're all waiting.
He coyly backed away and joined the queue. :)
Bobothebear it's awful when something like this happens especially when it's older people pushing toddlers out of the way! It just winds me up!
Yes I definitely noticed the increase in crowds. The 29th wasn't too bad but the 30th was a joke as you'll see from my trip report when it's finished. I have NEVER known crowds like those we experienced on the 30th! :(
On 30th it was insane but we actually had a better day than on 29th and the crazy numbers of people didn't affect our plans. Because many closed rides reopened on the Saturday we had a series of rides we wanted to do before we left at 3pm.
We got in about 9.15ish. Went to Dumbo Flying Elephants, 20 minute queue for that.(2 yr old demanded we did this again) Then went straight on Casey Jr(Which had been closed), Fairy tale boat ride thing, Casey Jr again as it was dead, Then straight into Captain Eo(again had been closed).
Then Big Train back to Main Street and caught the morning parade.
We then wandered into the Studios and Art of Animation which was interesting, before proceeding to Animagique which was excellent and finally to Disney Village to get some final bits n pieces, Mcdonalds for lunch,then the 5 hour drive home :(
Day 4
We got up at 6:30am today in an attempt to be out early as no matter how early we aimed to get up we still always seemed to be late!
We were having breakfast today at Cafe Mickey at the 8am sitting so we managed to get out of the hotel for 7:45am. It didn't matter though as when we got there, there was already a queue as there was only one poor soul on the desk managing everyone. We were seated and the characters were already starting to make the rounds. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Pinocchio and Gepetto. Once again the restaurant was only half full so we got some quality time with the characters. I love the breakfast here especially when the weather is colder. It's lovely to have some warm food items to choose from.
After breakfast we headed to the Disneyland Park and went straight to ride Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast during EMH. There was no queue so we walked straight to the loading area. We decided to do Adventureland today but as it was still EMH we thought we'd try and fit in some of the Fantasyland rides again as we may not get another chance. Today was an EPIC day today queue wise as they were non-existent. I have NEVER known the parks this quiet it was brilliant. We did the whole of Fantasyland in 1 HOUR (I kid you not!!). We walked straight onto the Tea Cups followed by the Carrousel which was another walk-on and then straight onto Dumbo which was another walk-on! By this time it was 10am and we were waiting for the crowd surge but it never came! We walked straight onto Peter Pan's Flight and then we decided to do Pinocchio and Snow White. These two rides were not only walk-on's but the CMs were letting each family or group or couple have a ride vehicle to themselves and you could choose where to sit. We then walked onto "it's a small world" and let Jack take us back round Alice's Curious Labyrinth. We then went to see what sort of wait time was at Meet and Greet Mickey Mouse and with a 20 min wait we decided to see him now.
I still cannot believe that we did Fantasyland in an hour! We then entered Adventureland and walked straight onto Pirates of the Caribbean. I was worried that Jack would not enjoy this as last year he had been scared of the drops and after one ride he had basically refused to go on again but this time was a different story. He loved it much to our relief as this is one of our favourite rides! I kept thinking about that little boy a couple of months ago who had fallen from the boat and been hospitalised and I kept trying to imagine how that could happen. Well much to my disbelief I saw a couple of children in different boats as we entered the loading dock to disembark, actually stand up too soon and their parents did nothing to get them to sit down! The CMs were on the tannoy telling people to sit down and even the skull and crossbones at the end of the ride tells you to stay seated until you're told to disembark so no wonder accidents happen if people ignore the basic safety rules!
After this we explored Skull Rock and Captain Hook's Ship. The weather at this point was cold but lovely sunshine kept breaking through the clouds so we picked a lovely day to explore Adventureland. We stopped for a bit at Pirates Beach but Jack got bored as he wanted to play with other kids but he was the only one in the 4-6 year old section all the other kids were in the 7-9 area! We then went and finished exploring Adventure Isle including the suspension bridge and floating bridge. It was so quiet at times it felt like we were completely alone! We walked round the Family Robinson treehouse which again we had completely all to ourselves.
We were hoping that Restaurant Hakuna Matata would be open as we like the food here but this was closed so we decided to leave the park and have lunch in Disney Village. We walked round Aladdin's Secret Passage on the way out and I took some pictures of Adventureland, there were no other people in the photos at all, it was that quiet!
We left the park and decided to eat at Rainforest Cafe. There were no queues being lunchtime so we were seated straight away next to the elephants. It was lovely and quiet in here as well so we really got to enjoy the atmosphere including the thunderstorms! Dan and I shared the Mojo Bones and some cheesy garlic bread which was just the right amount. We would never have been able to eat one each! We also shared a cheesecake pudding which was lovely and Jack had another set meal which was very good value for money.
We then went back into the park and decided to take a ride on the Disneyland Railroad from Main Street. There were only 3 families including us waiting to board the train and there was only a 15 min wait to catch it. We did a tour of the park which we love to do on every visit. The train seemed to be the busiest thing in the park! We did a round trip and then as we walked up Main Street we saw Rabbit had a meet and greet spot by Liberty Arcade. We had a 15 min wait to see him and then decided to go to Frontierland.
The Far West exhibit and walk round Fort Comstock was closed and seemed to be the whole time we were on holiday. We rode the Molly Brown as it had just pulled into Dock as we walked past. We sat on the middle tier in one of the rooms as it was warmer in here. After a bit Jack and I went and walked the deck while Dan had a sit down. It was nice to see that Old Joe and his dog were both working as I have never seen them both work together! We then rode Phantom Manor as there was no wait. We managed to miss Jack Skellington at his meet and greet and sadly we missed him all holiday as his timings just couldn't fit into our plans which was a shame. We were going to ride Big Thunder Mountain but Jack didn't want to and this was one ride I wasn't going to try and force him to go on especially as he panicked on our last trip and refused to go on at all. We went to see Cottonwood Creek where the Santa meet and greet was taking place but we were too late for this as it had closed, however there were still people visiting Santa who had been queuing when it was open. I clocked that they were still coming out 45 mins after this had closed so this showed some indications of the queue levels.
Jack played in Pocahontas Indian Village, he loves this playground and it means we got to have a sit down on the benches. We then decided after 20 mins to walk round to Fantasyland and use our Hotel FP for Peter Pan's Flight. We only had to wait 5 mins but didn't want to waste the FP.
As we were still full from lunch we decided to just stop at the Cable Car Bake Shop for a snack. This proved easier said than done as there was a big queue to get items before the Tree Lighting Ceremony started. Jack also fell asleep in his buggy at this point so we had to queue and then find somewhere to sit to eat. After our delicious cheesecakes and hot chocolate we walked through Discovery Arcade and found a position outside of Town Square Photography on the sidewalk on the corner to stop and watch the Tree Lighting Ceremony. Jack slept through the whole thing which was a shame but Dan and I really enjoyed this and the tree looked so pretty. I thought it was a lovely little extra and you couldn't find a bad place to stand as you were looking up to see the ceremony.
After this we had about 30 mins before Dreams! Of Christmas started so we decided to do a bit of Christmas shopping in the Emporium. Big mistake as it seemed everyone had the same idea! I just managed to get to the till and get served as the Castle Lighting Ceremony took place. This was very pretty and I love the Castle all lit up it looks so beautiful. We watched Dreams! from the middle of Main Street between Casey's Corner and Victoria's. I had a perfect view until a very tall bloke with stupidly high hair decided to stand in front of me filming the whole thing on his phone so I had to contend with him and his phone hovering in my eyeline! Still I thought it was a lovely show. I agree that it doesn't flow as well as the original Dreams! but that was set to a storyline and so it flowed like an actual story. Dreams! Of Christmas is more of a musical concert set to pictures and lights so no it doesn't flow the same but I still found it very magical and it was perfect for Christmas. I loved the Toy Story Nutcracker and also the Jingle Bells sing-a-long in different languages. Jack woke up for Dreams! and as he couldn't see he spent the show on Dan's shoulder even given his bad back he didn't want Jack to miss out! Jack was making some wonderful wow and oohs and aah noises so he really enjoyed it and even sang a long to Jingle Bells.
Down side of the evening was Dan lost his thermal gloves at some point on the way out of the park. He had them until the end of Dreams! and he thinks they fell out of the buggy. He found one being kicked along Main Street by a group of lads but couldn't find the other at all despite us waiting till Main Street had cleared and retracing our steps however judging by the number of gloves lying on the floor it would appear that this is a common thing to happen at this time of the evening!
We had to accept that the glove was gone and so made our way back to the hotel. We spent the evening in the lounge again where we met a lovely family from Ireland they were Fergal, Mary, Tara and Connor (if you are on this forum then hi again and it was lovely to meet you!) Jack and Connor spent the evening playing Angry Birds on our iPads and so we got to have a lovely chat. I also indulged in a lovely hot chocolate, whiskey and whipped cream but it wasn't as heavenly as the Bailey's, hot chocolate and whipped cream! We lost track of time and ended up talking till the lounge closed but Chris told us to stay and finish our drinks while the staff tidied and we had almost a mini lock-in where we sat with drinks talking to each other and the staff! Eventually we left with drinks for the night and the morning just after 11pm!
We went to bed after having a really wonderful day. We got to do so much but also at a completely relaxed pace given the lack of crowds. I would definitely book at this time again!
Day 5 coming soon!
Great trip report! Thanks for posting. :D Can't wait for the rest.
Sorry about the delay people in getting the rest of my report finished but with Christmas and new year it's been very busy! I'll try and get all of my report finished before the end of next week!
Day 5
Given the drop in crowds we had a more leisurely get up. Woke up at 7:30am and headed to breakfast for 9am. It was Pluto and Goofy at breakfast today. Pluto seemed more excited than normal and for a first he actually picked Jack up and carried him around upside down for a bit. This got some laughs from us and Jack however it got some gasps of disbelief from other guests!
We went to the Disneyland Park again today and as soon as we arrived we met Duffy. He is lovely and so I had to have a cuddle. We only had a 5 min wait to meet him then we went on Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast which also had a 5 min wait. We decided to do Star Tours as Jack really liked this. There was only a 5 min wait but when we took our seats we were then told the ride had broken down and so we had to queue again at another door whilst they started the simulator. We then had to go through all the run-up to the ride again but finally we got underway. Poor Dan had to wait for us while all this happened as he didn't want to ride but at least he had the sense to wait in the arcade at the exit so he wasn't in the cold. We then walked round the back of Discoveryland and went a tour of the Nautilus. It's ok to do once but for some reason Jack wanted to do this again which I suppose was good as he didn't like this attraction at all the first time he came last year. Dan didn't go round twice though so I walked back through with Jack. We then went on Orbitron which made a change as we had never got round to doing this before. Dan sat this one out as well as he knew it would be a squeeze and not easy to get in and out of with his back. I went on it with Jack as it was a walk-on. It was much faster than Dumbo and I liked the fact it was tilted at a 45 degree angle!
We then ride Buzz Lightyear again as this was a walk-on. We gave Autopia a miss as although everywhere else seemed to have no queues this still seemed to have a long queue. We have never done this ride but I'm hoping we're not missing out on much! By this time it was getting closer to our lunch reservation in the Disneyland Hotel and as we had never been inside the hotel before we decided to leave early so we could have a look round. We left the park on the left hand side and headed through the revolving doors into the Disneyland Hotel. It really is beautiful inside and Jack was offered a free badge and balloon from a man near the front desks. There was a live band performing from a balcony area and they were being filmed. We went to the next floor and walked past the Castle Club lifts, I would love to stay here, and past the lovely looking shop. We got to the lounge area in front of the restaurants, they even had a giant advent calendar here. We then checked the menu for the buffet for Inventions and found the prices to be higher than we had originally anticipated. Although I have always wanted to eat here, Dan was not impressed by the price especially as this did not include characters and so after a lot of persuasion on his part we agreed to not eat here and use the extra money on souvenirs. We left and decided to have a quiet lunch at Annette's Diner instead.
Annette's was quiet and we had a booth downstairs by the windows. We decided to have a meal each as we were quite hungry. Jack had his current favourite meal of chicken nuggets, chips and ketchup. Dan had a mega burger which amazingly he ate all of it and I had a rock 'n' roll burger which was lovely. We also both had the cherry coke which is just the best soft drink ever! I also had a brownie and ice cream for pudding because I was greedy!
After lunch we headed back to Disneyland Park and Jack fell asleep so we decided to go to City Hall and go on the guided tour of the park but we literally missed it by 5 mins. Gutted! The Concierge at the desk were exceptionally helpful and tried to get the tour guide to wait where he was so we could join the tour but as the only people on the tout were a couple, the tour guide had planned the tour around what the couple wanted and so we were unable to join it. Instead we walked down Liberty Arcade and into the castle. We looked around Merlin L'Enchanteur as I wanted to find a different Stitch present for my sister's Christmas present.
Eventually Jack woke up and we decided to ride on Pirates of the Caribbean as this was a walk-on. We then walked through Adventureland and round to Frontierland. We decided to queue to meet Santa as the queue looked relatively small despite the 2 hour wait posted. We ended up queuing for nearly an hour but the time seemed to fly by. It was a lovely meet and greet set-up and Santa was lovely and spent lots of time talking to Jack and having photos taken. We then went to see Goofy in his workshop for more photos. As we left it was drizzling quite heavily and so although Jack wanted to play on Pocahontas playground, they had closed it. We decided to go on Big a Thunder Mountain as there was no wait and because unlike last year Jack seemed to really want to go on it. We therefore decided to go on and miraculously Jack didn't change his mind as we were about to board the ride. All 3 of us went on the same carriage so we were nice and snug which meant no being jostled around. Jack absolutely loved this ride and even lifted his arms up on the drops. The funniest moment though was when we got to the peak at which point Jack said, "That's an amazing view!". We bought the ride photo of this as his face was priceless! We then went on Phantom Manor which is another contender for Jack's favourite ride.
We then walked round to Main Street and got some cookies from the Cookie Kitchen as they are gorgeous! We also had dinner from Casey's Corner. It is expensive for what it is but as we had already had a big lunch at Annette's we just got one hotdog and one chicken nuggets to share between us. We then did some window shopping along Liberty Arcade and then we stood on Main Street to watch the Tree Lighting Ceremony. Jack missed this before as he was asleep but we decided to watch it from further back so we could see the garlands in the view as well as I knew from this forum that they also lit up in time to the music. After this we went back to the hotel and decided not to stay and watch Disney Dreams (big mistake for me!) as we had a long day tomorrow. We spent the evening in the hotel lounge and then went up to bed.
Day 6
We wanted to do all of our favourite rides today as it was our last full day.
We got up at 6:30am and headed to breakfast just before 8am. It was pretty much the same characters as on the other days but we also saw Donald Duck.
We went from breakfast to the Disneyland Park and straight to Discoveryland where we rode Star Tours again as there was a 5 min wait. For some reason I felt queasy when I came off the ride this time but I think it was because we did it so early in the morning and it was the first ride of the day! We walked onto Buzz Lightyear again and got the best score yet 1,701.000!! We then walked round to Fantasyland and rode the Tea Cups which was also a walk-on. Dan came on this time as he was having a good day with his back. We then went on the Carousel as this was also a walk-on. Dan came on this one as well and got on the horse with relative ease. We also rode Pinocchio and Snow White as they were also walk-on attractions and we had a mine car to ourselves. We then rode Peter Pan's Flight as this was a 5 min wait.
We then went round to Adventureland and rode Pirates of the Caribbean as again this was a walk-on. We also walked round the Aladdin attraction again as this was empty. After walking round to Frontierland, Jack said he wanted to do Big Thunder Mountain again as he loved it so much. Unfortunately for us the FP machines weren't working as they believed the queues weren't big enough to out the machines on. The wait time stated 15 mins but I cold tell there was no way it was a 15 min wait. Still Jack was adamant we had to do it so 40 mins later we eventually got to ride!
We had lunch booked at Walt's and headed over there. The restaurant was nice and quiet and we got a window seat in the Discoveryland Room. We only have the Fantasyland and Adventureland rooms to go before we've eaten in them all! Dan had a seafood starter which looked lovely and he really enjoyed it, he didn't want a main course. Jack had a set menu which he enjoyed apart from the dessert which was awful. It was an apple crumble but it seemed like the chef had accidentally tipped a whole pot of cinnamon over it! I had the Walt's Gourmet Burger and Waffle Fries. The oil clearly needed changing and the burger was awful. The bread was soggy and fell apart, the burger was raw in the middle and burnt in the outside. I had the chocolate fondant pudding which was wonderful. It appeared ours wasn't the only disappointment of the day as the table next to us returned their steak twice and it was still undercooked, they actually had the chef come to the table to apologise! We have always loved the food here and so this was a big disappointment but I'm hoping it was a one off as I would still love to go back! Needless to say after this lunch I started to feel even more queasy! We watched the Christmas Cavalcade from the window before leaving.
We then left the park and headed over to the Studios. We arrived in time to see the Stars 'n' Cars Parade and we got a brilliant spot where we could see everything clearly. Needless to say Jack had fallen asleep again! We walked to Toy Story Playland and I queued for a minute if that in the single rider lane for the Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop. Dan wasn't bothered by this and Jack was asleep. It was just as good as I remembered last time and you get a good view over the Ratatouille construction site if you're sitting in the right place. It's amazing how much this has come on since September 2012! We then walked back to the Flying Carpets ride and Jack woke up so we did this ride as it wan a walk-on. We then back-tracked to Slinky Dog where it was another walk-on so we did this. I had to stop at this point for by Rex for a sit down as my head was starting to hurt and I felt seriously sick after lunch. After a 15 min break the feeling of nausea seemed to pass a bit. Then Jack spotted Crush's Coaster and asked if he was big enough to go on this which he was (just!) and despite the time in the afternoon there was only a 15 MIN WAIT!!!! We honestly didn't think he would enjoy this but as we had been unable to go on it last holiday because he was too small and the waits were too long we decided to give it a whirl. We got to the loading platform and he still wanted to do it so Jack sat next to his dad in the front and I sat by myself facing the back. I love this coaster and actually had my eyes open on it this time! I could hear Jack making excitable noises and saying "mine, mine, mine", so I knew he was enjoying it! However on the way round I literally felt something pop in the side of my head and I left the ride feeling terribly sick and with a killer migraine. We sat down for a good 20 mins but the pain just wouldn't subside so I asked Dan if we could go back to the hotel.
We left the park and went back to the room. I took some tablets but felt that I needed to sleep so Dan and Jack went to the pastry buffet at the Golden Forest Lounge for 4pm whilst I had a sleep. I slept till just after 5pm and Dan and Jack came back from the buffet. My head still felt terrible and I wasn't hungry. Dan and Jack had filled up on the pastry buffet so after this and lunch they decided they weren't hungry so we all skipped dinner. I didn't feel up to going back out again so Dan took Jack back to the park for the evening. I stayed in the hotel room and packed for our return trip tomorrow. Dan took Jack to Phantom Manor and they rode this in the dark (can't believe I missed this!). They then went to ride Pirates of the Caribbean but found a 55 min wait so didn't bother. They used the Hotel FP and rode Peter Pan's Flight. Apparently they then ran into problems as Dan is not as familiar with the park as I am and they closed lots of paths to get ready for Disney Dreams! Dan was aiming to see the Tree Lighting Ceremony for the last time (can't believe I missed this!) but by the time he eventually found a route to where he wanted to go, it had already finished! They then wet to get a spot for Disney Dreams and found a place 5 mins before it started. They stood in front of the fountain outside Plaza Gardens Restaurant and apparently had a clear line of view with no-one stood in front. They saw all the projections and fireworks etc. To say I was gutted to miss this evening is a complete understatement!!
They came back to the room and as I felt a bit better we all went to the Golden Forest Lounge where I drank a ton of pop and tea just in case my migraine was caused by dehydration! I felt fairly spaced out but still managed to do all my last minute shopping in the hotel boutique! We then had an early night as I felt the more sleep I got the better!
Day 7
Woke up this morning with that awful feeling you get when you know it's your last day! :(
We got up at 8am and called the Golden Forest Desk to get our luggage collected from our room. We went to breakfast for 9am and said by to the room before leaving our luggage.
The Golden Forest Breakfast Room was very busy today but having been at the weekend before I kind of expected this. We didn't see any characters this morning but I think it's because we just missed them. We went to the Golden Forest Desk and checked out. We were told the bell hop had collected our luggage and we could pick it up when we wished.
We then took a leisurely stroll round the lake and did some last minute shopping at World of Disney which was relatively empty. We then decided to visit the Studios first but we had to queue to get in so we knew it was going to be busy! We rode Flying Carpets which had a 15 min wait and as Cars had opened again after a refurbishment and Jack wanted to do this! we conceded and waited 25 mins for this. The only other ride we wanted to do was Slinky Dog but seeing as it had a 45 min wait we decided to pass! We then said our usual goodbyes and left the Studios.
We went to the Disneyland Park and decided to work anti-clockwise in the hope of beating the queues, no chance! We went to ride Buzz but it had an 85 min wait! Given that all the rides all week had been about 5 min wait or a walk-on we simply couldn't justify waiting in long queues. We went to do "it's a small world" but the queue was over an hour wait! (I have never seen this ride so busy even in the Summer holidays). We queued and rode Les Pays de Contes Des Fees which said a 15 min wait but was about 35 min wait! Casey Jnr was another pass as this was a 45 min queue. We walked past Alice's Curious Labyrinth and they were queuing to get in! It was a one in, one out system (this I've never seen before!). Peter Pan's Flight was a 90 min wait so again no go. We gave up on Fantasyland and tried Adventureland. Pirates of the Caribbean was a 70 min wait so we walked through to Frontierland. Phantom Manor was a 60 min wait and Big Thunder Mountain was a 75 min wait and a 30 min wait for the FP queue!
We decided to abandon the park altogether as you couldn't even get in anywhere to eat! This was really disappointing as it was our last day and I had forfeited the rides last night due to being ill. We went to eat in the Disney Village but there were queues everywhere for the restaurants, it was ridiculous! In the end we queued for about 20 mins at the take-away window in the New York Deli. We had a very reasonably priced set meal for 3 people and the food was actually quite nice. The fries were really chunky and I found somewhere other than the Cable Car Bake Shop that does the amazing cheesecake with coulis! There was nowhere to sit though so we walked round to the lakeside of the hotel and sat by the lake eating lunch.
We sat in the bar for a bit before getting our luggage from the Golden Forest Desk. The bell hop even took the luggage to the VEA stop for us to save us carrying it! We caught the shuttle at 3:30pm and fortunately it was empty so no worries about being delayed getting to the airport. The driver actually took us on a different route back which seemed more direct and took less time. It took us about 30 mins if that compared to the usual 45 min trip minimum it usually takes.
We got checked in without any problems and then had a snack before heading through security to the departure lounge. Our flight took off on time at 6:45pm. The flight was full which was a big difference to the outbound journey. We arrived on time at 7:05pm and got through customs as quick as possible but several flights had landed at once causing us delays. We then got the taxi home.
We had a wonderful holiday despite our various ailments! I think we picked a perfect time to go with the Christmas Season being in full swing, the lack of crowds throughout the main part of the week and the fact that it was cold but predominantly sunny and dry.
DLP has become our home away from home and we love it here but sadly unless we win the lottery we won't be coming back till the 25th Anniversary, partly because I want to save up and stay in the Disneyland Hotel and partly because I've started saving for an EPIC 28 day trip to Florida. As I don't know when these holidays will come into fruition all I can say at the moment is au revoir till next time!!
Loved reading your trip report :)
Loved reading your trip report, makes me so excited to go in March - but yes, unless we win the lottery as well, we won't be coming back 'till the 25th either - so will be very sad the day we go home...! Already dreading it actually.......!
Wow great report looks like you you had a fab time.
Hi
Your report is brilliant. We don't go till dec 1st, our little boy will be just 4. I think I will be taking a buggy in case of sleeps.
Thanks
Thanks for the fab Trip report! We go next week so was great to read your little tips. We are also hoping to go at the end of Nov beginning of Dec as a one off to see the Christmas decs so was great to hear about that too! I hope the park is as quiet when we go! xx
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read through my trip report!
Seony141010 - I think you'll definitely need the buggy! My son started to walk when he was 10 months and was good at walking distances from about 2 but Disney is just too much walking even for him so we have always taken his buggy. Even if he didn't use it as much as he did it still proves useful for storing other things on such as shopping and bags etc! Have a wonderful trip!
Gemma W - I spoke to another forum member before I went who said that she goes pretty much every year at the same time and she has always known it to be quiet this time of year. It was a definite bonus the parks being so quiet! I hadn't been when it was so quiet since Sept 2002 and it was brilliant! It was lovely for my partner and son to experience a quiet time there so they could really take in everything about DLP. Have a wonderful trip!