Day 1 – The Set Off From Home.. :wink:
Weather at Home: Dry, cloudy but mild.. :)
Got up around 9.30am Sunday morning, started to put the last minute items into the suitcase and hand luggage. The house needed the last minute tidying and vacuuming, then if was off to Vanessa's Mam's, with the dog, as she was looking after him whilst we were away. Went through about 11.00am, ended up having a sandwich before heading for the airport. We left for the airport at around 12.00pm, which was a touch early, but we had arranged to park the car at the 'Bellair Car Parking' facility, just outside Newcastle International Airport, I must admit this was a really quick system, you just drive your car in to the reception drop off point, giving the keys to the staff at reception, who then move your car to a storage area for you. You get on a shuttle bus just outside of the reception, then it's about a 3 minute trip to the airport terminal building entrance. Well, once in the building we headed towards check ins, but we realised we were a little early as the check in desk was not open, so we decided to go for a drink and a cake in the Gregg's café to pass a bit time. :)
Eventually we got checked in and past security, we then decided to have a look around the duty free shops, just to get a few edibles for the flight. We sat down waiting for the boarding gate number to come up on the screen, having been sat for about 15 minutes I heard what seemed to be some sort of alarm going off, then the next thing we heard was a security announcement telling us to evacuate the airport using the nearest fire exit. Well people around us started to move, others were still sat down looking confused whether to move or not, so we headed towards some security people near one of the fire exits, only to be told to return to where we were, so much for an evacuation :!: :roll:
Shortly afterwards though, we did see some firemen going towards some toileting area. I was thinking, someone's been smoking in the toilet, just imagine if the whole of the airport was evacuated through that one person. Some people just don't think... :x
Anyway our flight was on time, and we boarded, happy to get onboard ready for the off.
The weather on arrival at CDG was cloudy but dry and a little cold. We had landed at [Terminal 2b]. I got my terminal map out, which I'd printed off at home earlier, so I could find exactly where Gate D12 was, that was where the VEA bus was picking up at that particular terminal. While waiting for our cases I quickly summed up looking around which way we needed to head to get to D12. After collecting the cases, we speedily headed off, getting to the bus stop in no time, within seconds a taxi people carrier pulled up and let a family out, the driver looked at us and asked if we were waiting for the Disney Bus, we said we were, and then he said that he could get us their for the same price as the VEA charge! Well that was good enough for us, one reason being that we weren't standing around getting cold, and two, we'd get there a lot quicker than the bus would. Now for those who have read my October 2007 report may remember the taxi we got into that time put the fear of god into us seeing the speedometer hit 95mph then disappear behind a crisp packet that the driver had left wedged in the display panel behind the steering wheel, so god knows what speed we were actually doing, plus I didn't have a seat belt to wear either, [gulp] :!: :shock: :shock:
Well this journey was just as exciting but not for crazy speed, I was sat in the front with Marc, the driver. I quickly realised that once we got onto the A104 heading towards DLRP his headlights weren't very bright, infact they didn't look on at all, even though his dashboard was illuminated. I asked him about them and to cut a long story short he said that his right main beam bulb had blown yesterday and his left one had blown today, so all he had was his side lights and full beam. I asked him why he didn't use full beam, since the sidelights were not lighting up the road in front at all, to which he replied that it was against the law. He said he would hopefully have a car near him in front and follow his rear lights. I was thinking, "What at 80mph or more" OMG. :shock: :shock:
Don't get me wrong he was a really happy chirpy driver, and he talked to us about DLRP on the way, but I couldn't help but cringe at times when the motorway went into a stretch with no lights, just up front there is a tight bend looming, taking us off the A104, he said, "You go on Tower of Tower", I said I would be, he said "Well coming up is the Bend of Tower", and it sure was in the pitch black with hardly any visibility. There was another tight bend later on and I said, "Second bend of terror", he said, "Actually this is a road of terror", I couldn't help but laugh at this point. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
We were shortly approaching the outer ring of DLRP, it was then I noticed that when he was swapping lanes he was leaving his indicator on in the direction he had moved to and only changed it when he went back to the lane he started in. I quickly realised that he was doing this to have a quick flash of light on the road to see where he was going, I think he realised that I'd cottoned onto what he was doing, oh he was full of initiatives, can't fault him for that. :mrgreen:
Anyway, we reached the Santa Fe at around 7.30pm, which worked out at only 40 minutes trip time from the airport. We made a quick decision to book him for the return trip, since that would give us longer in the parks, than if we had to get the VEA bus. He gave us his business card and booked our return trip in his book, he told us he would text us about midday on the day we were leaving just as a reminder, and if we had any changes or problems just to give him a ring. We headed for the Santa Fe reception where there was no one in the queue so we got served quickly. We were given the usual info at the desk, but this time included our half board vouchers, the only problem we encounted here was when it came to the breakfast cards, as in what was left available, the earliest we could get was 7.45am for Monday and Tuesday and 7.15am for Wednesday, we had hoped for 7.00am for all three, never mind, we did actually learn something about beating these time's over the next few days. :wink:
Right, once we got all that sorted it was off to our room [Building 32/Room 30] to dump the cases. Then guess what...yes, we headed straight to the Disney Park, though where we were situated it was easier crossing the 'Rio Grande' and getting the yellow park bus at the Hotel Cheyenne, by this time we where looking at having just over an hour, since the park closed at 9.00pm on a Sunday. We headed for the famous Disney Park entrance, which looked wonderful at night as ever, so I quickly took a photo of the entrance, THEN disaster struck... For some reason on a 4Gb SDHC memory card the frames stood at 1617 at 10MP, after I'd taken that single shot it dropped to 917, on checking the quality settings it read the same figure from 10MP to 0.3MP. Worry began to set in, I took another one, then it went to 916 and so on. I was concerned that the card was faulty, I had tried it at home, but to be honest I never really looked at the counter for some reason, I had another card with me, but it was from my old camera which only had enough to take about 206 photos at 10MP, since it was just a 512MB XD Card which I tended to use for my home merchandise shots. I was wondering whether to swap to that one for now, I made the decision to do that, but you know when you get something on your mind, you cannot concentrate. Anyway we headed through the...
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.....towards Discoveryland, at the same time thinking I'm not going to have enough camera memory for this whole trip, which to me was disastrous. We decided to head like a lot of people for...
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Yes, Buzz, which we got straight on no problem. After Buzz, and a lot of frantic card formatting and re-checking, I looked at the time and it was about 8.45pm, so we decided to head up Main Street looking through a few of the boutiques, just to get an idea of what sort of purchases we could be making later on. :)
Moving out of the Disney Park we headed to the Village for something to eat, just seeing the entrance always inspires me for some reason.. :mrgreen:
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Walking through looking to my right...
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Then onto a place I've spent many a time having fun... :D/
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Oh and this place, a place I still haven't been in... :mrgreen:
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Moving on down... :mrgreen:
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Another place I've never been in... :mrgreen:
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Or this one, you see I'm not really a night clubber or a bopper... :lol: :mrgreen:
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I've been in here, but not to eat... :mrgreen:
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We thought we would move across to the other side passing...
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and the...
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Food had to be on the horizon, so using the first of our half board vouchers, we decided to try...
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Yes 'Annette's Diner', which would be the first time we've actually eaten in there. Just in case you're wondering why it's light, it's because this shot was taken at a later time on the trip since a night shot would have read 'nnette's' diner.. :shock: The illumination in the letter 'A' had got off.. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
Anyway, we had to wait in a queue to get seated, but it wasn't too long. After being seated and looking at the menu, we were a little confused at first of what we could get with the HB vouchers, but to cut a long story short and a little help from the CM, I ended up getting the 'Be Bop Burger', Vanessa got the 'Chicken Burger', both of them came with fries and Vanessa's had Coleslaw on aswell. Jen had 'Chicken Breast' with fries kids meal, all food washed down with 3 diet cokes. For dessert Vanessa and myself had 'Chocolate Brownies with Butter Scotch Ice Cream'. Mmm yummy. Sorry there are no photos here of the food.. :mrgreen: I have to say that the quality and quantity of the food you got was first class, I'd recommend it to anyone going there, especially with the HB vouchers, no wonder we had to queue to get a seat, it was well worth it. We even had entertainment thrown in, seeing a few Cm's fall over on their roller-skates, though only one of them with a tray, luckily of empties. :mrgreen:
Well we were all fit to burst by the time we had eaten everything put in front of us. We eventually decided to get going and have a look into a few of the 'Village' shops, again to see what was available for future purchases. I found a pack of four, 15 Year Celebration Pins with Lanyard on sale for €9.95, originally €19.90, so we got them for Jen just to start her off, she would have at least two she could trade with the other two to keep as she did not have them. More would sure follow. Some of the shops by now were ready for closing, so it was a quick run around for the last few.
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Lovely centre piece... :wink: :D
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Time had beaten us now, so we headed back to the bus station to get back to the hotel to do the unpacking, at approximately 11.00pm. Then it was off to sleep, well if that was possible, ready for the adventure of the next day. :D/
Day 2 to follow, which includes a very nice 'Pin Trader' and the meeting of Little Remy, as well as the start of the main photos. :D
Nice start to your trip report Javey. The cab driver sounds like a laugh, 'road of Terror'. At least you got to the park without any problems.
Looking forward to the next instalment of your trip report :D
Great start Javey. great pics to. glad you had a good time. can't wait for day 2
My word Mr Javey Sir!
That is a stuuuupendous trip report!
So much detail! Makes me so jealous :mrgreen:
I can't wait for day 2!!!
Fantastic start Javey, I'm glad that every thing's gone well so far (maybe except for the car lights and camera, but it sounds like they didn't turn out too bad after all :wink: ), and that you've all had a great start to your trip. I'm looking forward to the rest :)
From reading your report, I've just realised I've eaten in every DV restaurant. Never thought of it before. Hope you gave the buffet at Billy Bobs a go, although Anettes Diner does take some beating.
Cant wait for more photos and day 2 !!! Post soon Please [-o<
Great start to your trip report!! I must say that looking at all your photos makes me want to go back :(
Can't wait to read day 2!! :D :D
Thankyou for all your kind comments, I'm about three quarters of the way through 'Day 2', with the photo's to add.. :wink: :D
Pete's Dragon @ Funnily enough I have eaten at Billy Bobs upstairs, not on this visit, but on a couple of previous visits. They sure do have a fab buffet up there.. :D/ :mrgreen:
Hey Javey,
I have been so looking forward to your trip report and have been wondering how you were getting on!! :D
I have to say the trip from the airport sounds scary but hilarious!! :lol: :lol:
I am actually thinking of getting a taxi the next time but I was worried about prices!! Funnily enough though once on a trip from the Santa fe back to the airport a taxi man came over and also said he would take us to the airport for the same price as the bus and we did it too...works out great!
I love all your night time pictures- personally I wouldn't recommend Planet Hollywood so maybe its best you didnt go there! My Mum and I love Annettes we now go there at least once or twice on each trip and we sometimes get a take away from them in he evenings to take back to the hotel (we are so greedy lol) :oops:
Just reading about the problems with your camera sends panic through me, it is like one of my worst nightmares about being there and that happening!! I would be panicking too! :shock: I am hoping it worked out ok though!!
Can't wait for day 2!! :D/
p.s I reallyyyyy hope you met Donald too! :D :wink:
what a great report and awesome pictures! I love all the details you describe and can't wait to read more :D !
The taxi thing sounds indeed a bit scary but also interesting. Next time I'm at DLRP I'll be in the city a couple of days beforehand so I'll just opt for the RER but if I ever happen to go by plabe again it's nice to know that this option can come up and be perfectly fine.
The pictures of the Village are lovely, I also feel very inspired whenseeing the entrance sign, it's a truly magical feeling...
Great start Javey!! I almost felt I was in that taxi with you all :D
Looking forward to chapter 2...
Great prictures Javey! Love those night shots :)
Hi Javey74,
great trip report so far. Can't wait for the rest. I like your night pictures, very well done, especially the one taken under the Railroad Station.
So I'm looking forward to the next days.
Wow, that brought back memories.
I've never felt closer to death than when bombing along the A104 from CDG at over 90mph in the dark. :shock:
Never again!
Thanks again for all the extra kind comments.. :D
Quote from: "Anthony"Wow, that brought back memories.
I've never felt closer to death than when bombing along the A104 from CDG at over 90mph in the dark. :shock:
Never again!
And here's me thinking it must be only me that gets into these scary situations.. :lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
It's starting to look like common practice.. :o
I have been awaiting this report ever since your return and you do not let anyone down! :mrgreen:
Amazing report with great detail and funny stories and of course (almost most important in my opinion) magnificent photos.
I cannot wait to see the next part(s) :D/
Day 2 – DLRP In Daylight.. :D/ :D/ :D/
Weather: Heavy rain till 11.30am, then fair, quite cold.. :wink:
Well we got up for about 6.00am, all of us got freshened up, got ready and headed out of the room for breakfast at about 7.25am, by the time we got to the hotel reception heading to the 'La Cantina' it was about 7.40am, we decided to have a quick look in the hotel shop, then went on to hand our breakfast card in. At first it didn't look too busy, but when we turned the corner to go down the corridor into 'La Cantina' we were immediately stopped by a long queue, by the time we got to the bottom of it, it was coming up to 8.00am. :wink:
We began to realise what had been happening, the usher on the door asked us if it was our first time, we said no, so she let us go straight in. That would explain why the queues were taking ages to go down, there must have been a lot of first timers, with lots of explanations of how the breakfast system works. Saying that, we did learn something from it, since Vanessa thought back to when we handed our card in, she had spotted someone who had handed theirs in just before us and it read 8.00am, which told us they were letting people in before they should have, so we decided to try that trick the following day... :wink:
Anyway we had a lovely breakfast, even though is was pretty hectic, even to the point of finding a table. After breakfast we headed out, though we needed to go back to the room for something, I can't remember for what reason, but on the way out in the foyer section, we bumped into Goofy. This was the first character photo opportunity.
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On exiting the Santa Fe, it was raining heavy, we quickly headed back to the room, then from there headed over the Rio Grande again to get the bus at the Cheyenne, only to find a crowd waiting for it, there was no way we were going to get on the next bus, that was for sure. So we decided to walk....Yes, in the rain to the parks. But we all had out waterproofs on, so is wasn't too bad.. :mrgreen:
By the time we got to the Disney Park, it was already quite busy. We headed to Discoveryland again, but because of the rain we walked through Discovery Arcade to get there. It was on exiting at the other end, we noticed a man sitting behind two tables put together, on them were Limited Edition Pin packs aswell as three filled Pin Trading bags, open to view. :o We had a look at a few of them, when Jen spotted a one with the 7 Dwarfs on, she asked the man if he would trade, he said he would looking at Jen's lanyard. Unfortunately he already had them, which to be honest was no shock, so we said never mind. We were about to turn away when he said "I'll tell you what, you can have it since it's raining". :o Awwhh what a really nice man to do that, even more so when I closely looked at the back of it, as it was stamped with 'Cast Member Only Pin' 2006/2007, so she was extra lucky to get it in my opinion.. :wink: :D
Well we headed into...
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...Discoveryland, Jen wanted to go on...
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...Obitron, which is one of her favourite rides actually, the queue by now was quite long, but we decided to wait in it all the same. Afterwards because of the rain, we decided to head over to the Studios.. :) Don't let the blue skies fool you, the last two shots were taken on another day, I've used them soley for story continuity.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Just after entering the Front Lot, Mickey was standing by his black limousine, so Jen waited in the queue to see him, get her book autographed and photo.. :wink:
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We progressed through Studio 1...
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....Into a scene that was not there in October 2007, it was the Hollywood Boulevard, with my first glimpse of the completed TOT.
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Well I'd made my mind up that I was going on it, though Vanessa and Jen weren't, so I was on my own with this one. The queue was fairly long so I decided to get a fast pass and return for 2.10pm. We all headed over to Toon Studio, just to see who was out in the photo locations, guess what, your question has been answered Aveen, it was...
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...Donald. I speedily headed over and waited in the queue with Jen whilst Vanessa got the job of taking the photo with the new Camera, which she did not know how to really use. :lol: :lol: Now this shot below wasn't bad, even though the time it took Vanessa to get the second shot, I was already looking at the professional photographers camera lense, if I'd only kept the first attempt, it looked as though I'd been struck in the back with a plastic bullet, though this one has the rudolph effect, you can see how cold my nose was. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
After the Donald meet and greet, we joined the queue next door to meet...
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... Emile. I Love the backstage sign between the two photo sets.. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
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We then headed over to the...
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...flying carpets, the queue wasn't too bad for this one. We then moved over to the Cars Rally, now that is one ride that I don't do, since I cannot bear waltzer type rides, I get away with it for crush, soley because it moves forward on a track aswell, so Vanessa and Jen went on their own. :mrgreen:
Jen got a bit upset here since when it got to their turn in the queue they rushed to a car, Vanessa got in the back and Jen in the front, only to be asked to move to another car and sit together, the reasoning was that they needed to fill the cars with at least 3 passengers together. The other people in the front of the car they had moved to asked what was wrong, noticing Jen crying, Vanessa said that she wanted to be in the front not the back, never mind, once the spinning started she was loving it anyway. I did manage to get this shot before they moved cars.. :D
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After Cars we headed around near Animagique, it was at this point we come across some characters, Abu, which was a first for Jen.. :mrgreen:
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Then Rafiki.. :wink:
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Meeko.. :wink:
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Tigger.. :wink:
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Finally, Friar Tuck.. :wink:
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She tried for Timon, but he started to head backstage with a CM, just as we were waiting to get that camera shot. :( Now we knew that the 'Toon Train' was ready to start shortly, so we quickly headed past Studio 1 towards 'Place de la Stars' and sure enough here came the Toon Train.
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The first scene was with Chip & Dale. :wink:
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The second scene was with Lilo and Stitch. :wink:
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The third scene was with Clarice. :wink:
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What we didn't know was that the train stopped and the CMs ask you to queue in a straight line to get your photo's at each scene. It was like a supermarket moving from one queue into another, with the train only being stationary for about 15 minutes we got Chip and Dale first. :wink: Vanessa made sure of that.. :mrgreen:
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Then Clarice, since the queue was shorter. :mrgreen:
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Then finally Lilo and Stitch :mrgreen:
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Well by now, my fastpass time was approaching for TOT, so we all headed over just to check the queues out. I asked one of the bellhops what the time was like for the fastpass queue and he said about 10 minutes. I arranged with Vanessa and Jen to meet them outside of 'The Art of Animation' in about half an hour. I gave Vanessa the camera, since they said they were going in search of more characters. :mrgreen:
Now I'd be lying if I said I wasn't apprehensive about this attraction, since the last time I was here it was still on being built. I read so much about it since then, but it still played on my mind about the sheer drops, which as you all know are faster than gravity can allow you to fall. But at the same time I had another thought that if I didn't go on it, I would never forgive myself. :shock: :shock:
I proceeded to pass through the foyer part whilst still in the queue, continued on into the library to watch the events on the TV unfold, then it was off into the boiler room, I must admit, this room was really well designed and seemed massive, all decorated with rust, cobwebs and old tools, flickering lighting with an orange glow coming from the furnace. My time was nigh, I was given the number 6, so when I entered the grouping zone I ended up on the front square at the left hand side. I was left listening to the creepy squeaking sounds eminating from behind the old service elevator doors. :twisted:
The doors opened, out walked another bellhop and started reeling off the numbers to enter the lift seating area, she said 3 and 4 first, then 2 and 5, with my group last to enter. I ended up on the front right in the seating area. Now I'm not really sure what I was expecting next, other than listening to the bellhop talking about holding onto your belongings and glasses, oh yes, and checking the all important seatbelt fastenings. The last thing she said was: "see you at the bottom, if you're still alive". The next thing I knew was the doors closing and the whole seating area beginning to shake, the lift started moving backwards, then upwards to the first floor scene, dropping you a little afterwards, then up to the next floor scene, again dropping you further this time, with a nice bouncy landing. All I remember after that was the lift shooting upward very fast, the doors opening, more shaking, the next feeling is something I've never ever felt in my life, the sheer weightlessness sensation, with added pressure on the tops of my legs, with only the fastenings holding me down, as my bottom was definitely not on the seat. :shock: :shock: Just as I got my breath back it was away up again, another view through the doors, another drop, I thought that was it over, how wrong I was. :shock: :o The lift shot up again and seemed to take a lot longer, when the doors opened this time, Studio 1 was well below, I thought OMG, since I knew what was about to come. Have you ever thought what it must be like to chew on your own intestines, well I was very near to experiencing it. :lol: :mrgreen: :lol: It's a drop I'll never forget. :shock: :shock: :mrgreen:
Once at the bottom the lift doors opened and the bellhop gave us all an invitation to leave, one gentleman behind me said, "I'm bl**dy sure I will" which made everyone laugh. :lol: :lol: :lol: It's strange how the body deals with shock at times, you start to laugh nervously on exiting the lift, as everyone seemed to be. It must be the bodies coping mechanism. :wink:
On leaving the lift my legs were a little wobbly, but if I had the chance I would ride it again, it's one of those adrenaline type attractions that puts your body through sheer hell, but you'd do it all again just for the thrill of it. :D/ :D/ :D/
I met back up with Vanessa and Jen, telling them what TOT was like, giving them my 'Story of Terror. :lol: :lol:
Next came...
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Animagique.. :D/ Another must see show, really entertaining and fun to watch. It always amazes me how they get the fish to swirl so life like above your heads. The lighting is also awe inspiring. Also it's a show that features a lot of my favourite character. That would be enough of an excuse to see it anyway for me.. :lol: :lol:
And don't let anyone kid you if they say that they come away from the show silent and not humming 'La..La, la la la la, Animagique', they'd be lying.. :^o :mrgreen:
Once the show had finished and our eye's had adjusted themselves to the outside light again, I noticed that it was getting near to food time, so we decided that we were going to...
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'Rendez Vous Des Stars' today, for the all you can eat buffet. This is another place I would recommend to use your HB Vouchers, the food was really nice, plenty of variety and they seemed to cater for all tastes. :wink: :D On going back to the food counter for my second plate, I noticed a little crowd around the middle of the floor, to my surprise it was a chef with a silver platter full of fruit and cheese, only right in the middle of it was Remy. Awwh... He was so cute, he was standing upright looking around at everyone, moving his little arms with different gestures. Take a look, it really was a highlight of the day for me. =D> :D
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Day 2...To be continued, including an unusual and mysterious emergency evacuation of an attraction. :shock: :o
Ooooo I'm enjoying your trip very muchly!
You'd better have been touching the walls etc of the attraction queue areas just for me!!! :mrgreen:
An interesting tale of the first part of your second day. Shame you didn't have great weather but I'm looking forward to reading about the rest of that day, especially the evacuation.
yayyyye!! :D/ :D/ :D/ :D/ you met Thee duck himself!! Very glad!! and I am so [strike:2ggj6m03]not[/strike:2ggj6m03] jealous about meeting Meeko! :wink: hehe!
Omg your account of the Tower of Terror is brilliant, i had to read it out to my mum because it really does make you feel scared just reading it lol!
I have never went into Rende Vous de Stars, although I think I may now,it sounds like a good place to eat and thephotos of little Remy are so adorable! does he talk?
I cannot wait to hear more!! [-o< =D> =D> =D>
Quote from: "burntsienna"Ooooo I'm enjoying your trip very muchly!
You'd better have been touching the walls etc of the attraction queue areas just for me!!! :mrgreen:
Thanks Laura for your comments, actually a lot of the wood rails in the queueing areas are really smooth, but then again I expected that with lots of hands passing over them.. :mrgreen: The Castle walls are not as rough as they look either, in fact I've noticed a lot of textures in DLRP are quite smooth come to think of it.. :o :mrgreen:
Quote from: "peep"An interesting tale of the first part of your second day. Shame you didn't have great weather but I'm looking forward to reading about the rest of that day, especially the evacuation.
Thanks peep for your comments, funnily enough it only rained from about 8am till 11.30 am on that Monday morning, then we didn't have any rain for the rest of the trip.. :wink: :D
Quote from: "Aveen2008"yayyyye!! :D/ :D/ :D/ :D/ you met Thee duck himself!! Very glad!! and I am so [strike:2r46e5zo]not[/strike:2r46e5zo] jealous about meeting Meeko! :wink: hehe!
Omg your account of the Tower of Terror is brilliant, i had to read it out to my mum because it really does make you feel scared just reading it lol!
I have never went into Rende Vous de Stars, although I think I may now,it sounds like a good place to eat and thephotos of little Remy are so adorable! does he talk?
I cannot wait to hear more!! [-o< =D> =D> =D>
Thank you Aveen for your comments, yes I got to meet Donald again on this trip, that must be the 3rd photo I've had with him counting others from my previous trips.. :D/
As for TOT, I could write about my experience easily, believe me, an experience like that you do not forget in a hurry, it was exactly as I wrote it... :shock: :mrgreen:
As for little Remy, he was really sweet, but no he doesn't talk, though his gestures make up more than words ever could, I only managed to capture a couple of them, but he had quite a few to keep you interested in watching him.. :wink: :D
Great update Javey, I'm glad you enjoyed the Tower of Terror, it's one of Disney's best don't ya think? :wink: Glad you saw Remy as well :P I'm looking forward to the rest :)
Quote from: "The Butlin Boy"Great update Javey, I'm glad you enjoyed the Tower of Terror, it's one of Disney's best don't ya think? :wink: Glad you saw Remy as well :P I'm looking forward to the rest :)
Thanks BB for your comments, yeah I totally agree about TOT, I'd definitely go on it again given the chance, I think after being on it the once, you crave for another occasion.. [-o<
Unfortunately I didn't get a second go because of other reasons, but mainly time constraints.. :roll:
But I do know I'll be on it again next time for sure :D/
Great update Jarvey!!
oooh TOT? I was too scared to go on that last year and I promised myself that I would!! Your account makes it seem very scary, I'm quite glad in a way that I didn't go on it!! Remy looks extremely cute!! :D :D
Now I'm very much looking forward to the next update! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :D/ :D/
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Now this is a photo of a grown man trying not to grin from ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat. Look at the self control !!!! But we all know, that inside there's a six year old boy doing cartwheels and who-hoo-ing at the top of his lungs :P
Great photos ! Had the exact same shaky leg feeling after TOT, except my laughing started with the first drop.
Quote from: "Javey74"Quote from: "burntsienna"Ooooo I'm enjoying your trip very muchly!
You'd better have been touching the walls etc of the attraction queue areas just for me!!! :mrgreen:
Thanks Laura for your comments, actually a lot of the wood rails in the queueing areas are really smooth, but then again I expected that with lots of hands passing over them.. :mrgreen: The Castle walls are not as rough as they look either, in fact I've noticed a lot of textures in DLRP are quite smooth come to think of it.. :o :mrgreen:
The wood rails in the BTM queue are the best in the world!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
great update with great pics, I really enjoyed reading it and am looking forward to the next part.
Your decription of ToT got me really scared though :| ...
But you met great characters (I'd just love to meet Meeko and/or Apu) and little Remy surely looks cute!
Thanks for all the extra comments everyone.. :oops: :D
Pete's Dragon: You've guessed what I was trying to hide.. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
I have already awaited day 2 of your trip report. Again great pictures and a very enjoyable report. It looks that you and your family had a great time at the Studios!!
I think, we'll have to try Rendez-vous des Stars next time just to see Remy. He looks so cute. Does the buffet serve some vegetarian meals too, since my girlfriend is a vegetarian?
Can't wait for rest of your TR!!!
Fantastic trip report. I've just shown this to a work collegue who's going for the first time in August and she's getting really excited.
Quote from: "dagobert"I have already awaited day 2 of your trip report. Again great pictures and a very enjoyable report. It looks that you and your family had a great time at the Studios!!
I think, we'll have to try Rendez-vous des Stars next time just to see Remy. He looks so cute. Does the buffet serve some vegetarian meals too, since my girlfriend is a vegetarian?
Can't wait for rest of your TR!!!
Thanks dagobert for your kind comments.. :D As for vegetarian food, yes they do have vegetarian choices, also if you want to know a bit more about the setting, here's a link from DLRP Magic Guides>> http://www.dlrpmagic.com/guides/waltdis ... estaurant/ (http://www.dlrpmagic.com/guides/waltdisneystudiospark/productioncourtyard/rendezvousdesstarsrestaurant/)
Quote from: "Handy Andy"Fantastic trip report. I've just shown this to a work collegue who's going for the first time in August and she's getting really excited.
Thanks Handy Andy for your comments, I'm pleased to see it's also helping others to get excited about their own trip to the magical land.. :D/ :D/ :D/
Day 2 Continuation... :wink:
Well after we had a good tuck in at Rendez Vous des Stars and meeting little Remy we headed back out. The next place I had in mind was...
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'The Art of Disney Animation', mainly since I remembered that it had an actual multiplane camera. A few weeks before this trip I'd been watching Bambi, and I always end up watching the extra's, these extra's featured a closer look at the multiplane camera and how the camera shots were taken, giving the added depth. One question about it still puzzled me, so I wanted to take a closer look at it for myself. Anyway we headed over there, had a look at the usual displays in the first room, which included that multiplane camera, then the doors opened and we entered the Disney Screen Classics cinema room. I remember thinking whilst watching it, how marvelous of a collection Walt had made, but that was just the start, once they went world wide, Walt knew he had a language barrier, so that had to be looked at. The screen showing is quite clever, showing main scenes from classics that we're all familiar with, but listening to the languages changing for different parts of a particular scene. It always makes me think I'm really lucky in speaking English, since some of the voice overs I could never attribute as being the same as the original voices used. I'd feel I was being robbed of the reasonance of the original actors voice, but then again, I suppose if you were for arguments sake, German, and you had been brought up from childhood listening to your own version, you wouldn't know any different, so you may not relate to the original voices at all.. :roll: Anyway enough of the theories.. :mrgreen:
After the screening was finished, we were asked to go through the doors which opened on a swivel to our left, which led into the 'How the Art of Disney Animation is Done' Auditorium. We all went through, heading towards 3 vacant seats, we decided to sit in the row just down from the disabled spaces. Funnily enough there were still a few people exiting out the exit doors as we were finding our seats. Well we all sat down and I immediately tried out the headphones, so I could understand what the lecturer was talking about. The lecturer then welcomed us all to the 'Art of Disney Animation', and that we were going to see how all of it was done. Now I remembered from a previous visit that this demonstration featured Mushu, which I was really looking forward to, when all of a sudden the doors that we used to enter the Auditorium re-opened and the guy who we had just left came back in, walked straight up to the lecturer said something, turned to us all and said: "I'm very sorry but the show is cancelled, would you please leave by the doors to your right only, as quick as you can". :shock: :shock: I must admit I was a bit shocked wondering what had happened, on leaving back through the rooms we had already been in, I kept glancing back to see the two of them shutting the lights off and having really worried looks on their faces for some reason. On exiting I noticed that they had closed the entry queue area aswell. We all wondered if something had happened where we would have normally exited, and so they could not have us leaving the normal way.. :?: :?: Knowing where we should have exited we decided to quickly go round to the opposite end of the building and go through the shop back into where we should have come out. I glanced straight at the exit doors and noticed a few CM's coming in and out in a hurried fashion, aswell as another who looked part of the management team. So obviously through them doors was where we were sat before being asked to leave, so I knew nothing had happened in there, but nothing seemed evident on the exiting doors and the room we were standing in either. I was left really puzzled, what had happened, why such the hurry to get out.. :?: :?:
Well we could not get to the bottom of it all, so we put the experience to one side and decided to have a go at a few of the interactive voiceovers, and Jen wanted to draw her own bouncing Mickey head, so the CM give her a strip of paper to start the tracing.. :mrgreen: I wandered around, firstly looking at the famous film wall. :wink:
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Aswell as the Art Gallery. :wink:
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Then I stood a while listening to the Art Class that was taking place in the corner of the room. :wink:
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We finished by having a look around the shop, now this shop always has some beautiful globes and figurines, but for a lot of them you just have to stand and look in awe after you see the prices, especially the ones on the ceiling ledge that runs around the whole shop.. :shock:
Now what I haven't mentioned yet is that during the course of this day we had kept popping over to Stitch Live to check the times for the English version, for some reason they always interfered with other attraction times. So we thought we'd give it another try, we headed over towards..
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'Stitch Live'. Seeing a CM waiving people into the queue for the Frence Version, I noticed the English Version queue was quite small, they seemed to be doing the english version 15 mins past the hour and 45 mins past, but on an earlier visit I noticed an average queue, but on asking the CM, he said it wasn't starting till another 25 mins, again this interfered with other things, so we walked away. I thought the same was going to happen again, but I was wrong, they had just started to let them in, and there wasn't too many in the first screen waiting area, by the time we got in. Finally at last.. :D/ Moving on down to the second room to hear about Stitch going missing, we moved on into the main screen room. I must admit, I wasn't really a Stitch fan, but after watching the show I am now. The show was really funny as a lot of people have previously commented on in the 'Stitch Live Thread'. :lol: It's really clever how the interaction works, which means every show will be different, depending who is in the audience. I also find the humour quite clever, pitching it at children and adults, but both age groups interpreting the joke in a vastly different way. As well as that, the audience cameras and sound pickup's must be exceptional, in order for it to work the way it does.. :wink: :D I love Stitch's lingo and mannerisms, they are really funny.. :lol: :mrgreen:
We left the Stitch Live show in laughing mode, discussing what had been said and the situations that had happened.. :mrgreen: We started to head towards Studio 1, passing..
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Cinemagique, but as we were passing the CM said "Last showing for Cinemagique", oh go on then, even though we had seen this show a few times, the special effects still make it worth it, leaving you puzzled with how some of the effects are done.. :? Watching the show even though predictable now, was still fun.. :D/ Mind I still find how the CM's allocate the seating area's quite strange.. :o
Well we decided to head back through Studio 1 to the Front Lot and went into the Shop, now we knew before we went that Jen was after, if possible, Minnie Aurora and Minnie Cinderella, since she already had Minnie Belle and Minnie Snow White. We started to have a look around, thinking it would be impossible to collect everything Disney, there's just far too much.. :lol: :mrgreen: However we did find what she was looking for, only they had altered the dresses, which didn't matter too much, but when she bought the first two they where €22.90 each, now they were €29.80 each.. :shock: But when Vanessa and Jen got to the till they actually went through at €25.00ea, so not too bad.. :mrgreen: By this time we had a few bags, so we thought that we would get the bus back to the hotel and drop all the bags off, then head back to the park. So that's what we did. :wink: On leaving the Studios Vanessa said, "Hold your hand out", she then put a pin in my hand, and yes it was a Donald Pin, which she had spotted.. :mrgreen: She must have hidden that well whilst wandering around, though I didn't go to the till with them.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Well we eventually got back to the Hotel, dropping the bags off and straight back out heading to the Disney Park, by now it was about 7.00pm. We wandered down Main Street, again heading right at the bottom into Discoveryland. We were looking at Autopia, as we did want to ride this, I'd been in a car with Jen before on a previous visit, but Vanessa wanted a go this time. Well on approaching...
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Autopia, the queue was very long.. :shock: We had decided on Plan B, and that was to head here using the EMH's, not that you can use them for Autopia, but we could go on Buzz, and I wanted to experience Space Mountain SM2 for the first time, this would be by myself, so Vanessa had an idea of queueing with Jen from 9.30am at Autopia, whilst I would be on SM:SM2. So that ended up the plan for the next day as far as Autopia was concerned.. :wink: At this point I managed to get a couple of night shots of Space Mountain.. :wink:
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So what now :?: We decided to head over to Fantasyland and head to It's A Small World, on getting there the queue was fast flowing, I managed to get a few shots inside, but I haven't edited them yet.. :oops: :) By now it was looming towards 8.00pm closing time. :( We noticed that...
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'Dumbo The Flying Elephant' queue was the smallest we've ever seen it, this was a great opportunity, I'd think the reason for this was that most people would have been around the Castle Candleabration Ceremony, and funnily enough as Jen flew Dumbo quite high, as we were going round, we saw the Castle turrets getting lit up at interval stages, it really did look stunning. We'd already decided to see Candleabration the following night.. :wink:
Well the announcement was given that the Park would be closing, so we headed back towards Main Street, but took a short cut through Discovery Arcade to beat the queues massing up towards Town Square. As we were leaving the park, Mickey was up near the railings of the train station, wishing everyone a safe journey home. I must admit, I had a grin on my face at this point knowing the only home I was going to was the Hotel one, to return the next day.. :mrgreen:
Moving out of the Disney Park we cut across the large circle star area, heading towards the Village, which also houses the Stars of Openings embedded into the ground.. :D
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Once I'd taken these shots, it was into the Village, we noticed those coin machines again near the Disney Store, Jen ended up getting 2 more to add to the two she already had. :) One was Discoveryland and the other was Disneyland 2009, €2 each.. :D
We had a look round some more merchandise, as you do.. :lol: :mrgreen: Then headed back to the bus, knowing we had some sorting to do with the bags from earlier on in the day.. :mrgreen: Got into the room about 9.20pm, Vanessa made us all an Aero hot chocolate, no sooner Jen had finished it, she was flat out asleep.. :mrgreen: Vanessa and myself had the same idea, since we had to be up around 6.30am the next morning, and try our trick with the breakfast cards and make even more use of the EMH's. Pheeww.. :D
Day 3 to follow.... Including Buzz closed for EMH, also another two attractions were closed, plus an unusually lax CM with crowd control.. :x
day 2 seemed to continue quite oddly, I wonder what happened at the Art of animation! i just noticed on the wall behind the area where you learn to draw that theres a sketch of Esmeralda and Dajli (jolly) on the wall...how cool! lol
You got some great night shots as well, really great!! Glas you got to experience stitch live, its brilliant and so iis stitch hehe!
Can't wait to hear more.
=D> Two great new parts of your report Javey - it is amazing how detailed you describe the trip and the photos are marvelous. I cannot wait for the next part.
The cancelling and closing of Art of Disney Animation would have left me just as puzzled as you - I can't experience such a thing without wanting to know why it happened.
QuoteIt always makes me think I'm really lucky in speaking English, since some of the voice overs I could never attribute as being the same as the original voices used. I'd feel I was being robbed of the reasonance of the original actors voice, but then again, I suppose if you were for arguments sake, German, and you had been brought up from childhood listening to your own version, you wouldn't know any different, so you may not relate to the original voices at all.. :roll: Anyway enough of the theories.. :mrgreen:
I am Danish and I have to have to say that I have watched my part of Disney movies in danish, but from the second I learned to speak english I have wanted to watch the movies in original language. It loses some (all) of the magic, when the voices aren't the original, which was chosen for this character and in some cases the other way around too (the character designed with a specific voice in mind).
But bravo on your trip report - it is simply amazing! :D/
Great update Jarvey!! I'm loving your trip report!!
Cannot wait for day 3!!!! :D :D
Thanks for the quick reply concerning Rendez-vous des Stars!!! :D
Again great pics and report. I'm looking forward to day 3!!
It just keeps getting better!!!
Although that little big in The Art of Disney Animation is rather confusing and intruiging!
I do ponder what it was about :lol:
Thanks for the great update Javey :) I wonder what happened in AoDA, it sounds very suspicious :-k
lovely update...more please :D
Whoa Javey, your pictures are amazing!! =D>
Loving your report - particularly your ToT experience... brought back all the memories from my first drop!
It's interesting about the movies in the different languages... I for one watched all the classics in Spanish when I was kid (first one I ever saw in English was The Little Mermaid). Since learning English (and getting used to seeing everything in English) I've seen all the movies in English - and it was great for all except Bambi and Peter Pan, they sound... well, not wrong, but strange in English! Maybe they're the ones I remembered the most. Even now when I watch Peter Pan, in English, I sing along in Spanish...
Anyway, looking forward to more of your report!!
Once again, thank you all for your kind comments, they're really appreciated as ever.. :oops: :D
Day 3 will follow soon, I'm just having to tie a few of the notes back together, then compile the photos to be used, I will get there eventually... :lol: :wink: :D
Oh, while I think on, I've re-edited that 'Disneyland Opening - Anaheim' photo in my last report instalment, to get rid of those unsightly cigarette butts.. :wink:
what a great report im loving it, and im intrigued about day 3 :lol:
Fantastic trip report so far Javey =D> :mrgreen:
I know what you mean about the weightlessness feeling in ToT, i still remember my first time. Boy did i love it :mrgreen: I really should post that on ride photo of me on my first ride on it, the way i look in it says i'm the only person in the lift shaft that's been watching the birth of the tower so closely like i have been for the past few years, and i'm making the most of the long wait :lol:
Also i wonder what happened at AoDA :-k Maybe there was an accident of some sort?
Very much looking forward to day 3 :D/
Love the night-time ics of SM, beautiful. But how was the ride? i.e. what parts of your anatomy got bruised?
:hello:
am glad you had a nice time ! your pictures are amazing ! we are going to book our xmas holiday in the middle of the year on the internet.Anywys , am jealous of you knwo because you got a picture of the rataoillie remy character! i wanted to see that ! ](*,) ](*,) ](*,)
Is the little mermaid ride DEFINATLEY going to be constructed in DLRP? Anyways , am gald you had a great time , and your daughter looked soo happy. Yeah , i always get the feeling when you come of the tower of terrorand you can't walk . i waled right into a lamp post !
Thank you everyone for all the extra comments, I only wish there was a quicker way of typing up a Trip Report at times... :lol: :mrgreen:
Day 3 - Another Day, Another Dream.. :D/
Weather: Dry, fine, a little cold.. :wink:
Well the alarm went off at 6.30am again, we all got ourselves out of bed and started to get ready for breakfast, though as we had planned we were going to try and get in for 7.25am, instead of the card time of 7.45am. We headed out of the room and along to 'La Cantina', we saw the Usher just in sight, I produced the three breakfast cards and she said "Bonjour" then "Merci" and in we went. It worked, no queues, plenty of space to move around the food counters. One thing I can't remember on previous visits was the different coloured plastic bowls and plates, they were in three colours; blue, red and green. Me being me, I always matched the same colour. :lol: Anyway within ten minutes of tucking into our breakfasts we could see the queues starting to build, and boy, within another minute or so the queues were starting to loop back towards the main corridor.. :shock: :shock: It goes to show that 5 or 10 minutes can make all the difference.. :roll:
Well after breakfast we headed out to the bus, again because we called back to the room, we decided to go to the Cheyenne bus stop and arrived at the Disney Park just after 8.15am. We had noticed the day before, but more so today that the queues for buying tickets to get in were very long, aswell as long queues of people waiting to get in, even though it would be quite a while before opening for them.. :roll: We on the other hand had to by pass 2 CM's, after showing our Hotel Card, we then walked around to the Disneyland/AP's and Online Printed Ticket entrance. Another thing I can't ever remember was that every few tickets that went through the turnstile there was a Donald voice saying "Oh Boy", this was as you went through the turnstile itself. After all of us go through, we needed to get to City Hall, the reason being was that we were going to have dinner today at the Agrabah Cafe Restaurant, now I know you don't have to have a reservation for this particular restaurant, but we thought it wise since the Plaza Gardens was closed due to a makeover, which mean't that there would be a lot more visitors using other restaurants. We went in to be greeted by some lovely CM's, we got served by WALL-E's girlfriend EVE, well that's what it said on her name tag anyway.. :mrgreen: We asked for about 2.30pm, which was fine, she was really helpful, she then printed off our reservation ticket. Exiting City Hall we then headed down Main Street.
Since there was some time to spare before the aforementioned plan for Autopia, which opened at 10.00am, we decided to make use of other rides in Fantasyland that are open for EMH's, especially for attractions like Snow White, Peter Pan, The Spinning Teacups and maybe finish with the Carousel, before heading back to Discoveryland.. :wink:
We headed to ride the Snow White attraction first, since there was no queue.. :wink: Which was dark as ever.. :D Quickly moved off to Peter Pan, only a short queue..Yip eeee.. :D/ This attraction is still quite jolty on the stops and starts.. :o Then Vanessa and Jen went on The Mad Hatters Spinning Teacups, they enjoyed it as ever.. :D/ Then we all quickly moved to the...
(//http://images46.fotki.com/v1452/photos/1/1220156/5403049/SignageLeCarrouseldeLancelot-vi.jpg)
Carousel, where we all had a ride. I love listening to the music played on this attraction as you go round, it's so cheerful, if you're not careful you can drift away into another world after a while.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Jen always likes a photo on a horse, she always picks one of the larger ones.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images42.fotki.com/v1466/photos/1/1220156/5403049/HorsefromLeCarouseldeLancelot-vi.jpg)
Looking at the time, which was about 9.05am, we all swiftly headed back to...
(//http://images44.fotki.com/v1471/photos/1/1220156/5403066/Discoveryland-vi.jpg)
Discoveryland and went straight to...
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1479/photos/1/1220156/5403066/LazerBlastEntrancetoAttraction-vi.jpg)
Buzz, since we were a little too early for Vanessa and Jen to stand for Autopia, only to find it was closed.. :( There were quite a few people getting turned away, we heard that it wouldn't be open till 10.00am. :roll: Now what...Well we had a little wander around and got a few more shots..
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1451/photos/1/1220156/5403066/VideopolisTheatre-vi.jpg)
(//http://images23.fotki.com/v823/photos/1/1220156/5403066/Hyperion-vi.jpg)
Oh yes, and a shot of what I was about to go on for the first time.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1450/photos/1/1220156/5403066/SpaceMountain-vi.jpg)
For those eagle eyed viewers, the waiting time was not 45 mins, this was a later shot.. :lol: :mrgreen: Anyway, time was getting on so Vanessa and Jen went to wait for Autopia at about 9.15am, whilst I on the other hand noticed only a 10 minute waiting time on SM:M2, well there was no going back, I headed towards the famous entrance..
(//http://images49.fotki.com/v1459/photos/1/1220156/5403066/ceMountainEntrancetoAttraction-vi.jpg)
Well I didn't realise how long the queue lines actually run, no wonder you can wait nearly 3 hours at times.. :o I went along a few corridors, turned a few corners, then passed an open barred area where you can view the rocket cars passing towards the end of the ride. I walked on further till I finally saw the back of the queue, which started just before the first set of steps, near to where the screen gives you a run down of what the ride consists of and the health and safety warnings that go with it.. :shock:
As far as the ride statistics go I remember hearing about one 360 degree loop, a corkscrew loop and an 80 degree loop, 7 drops and 2 stop starts throughout the ride. I'll admit, I was wondering what I'd let myself in for at this point.. :shock: :shock: The queue started to move again, now heading up some stairs, then along another passage where I could eventually see the loading bay below, the queue moved again and now I was heading down the steps to the loading bay, moving straight onto a gate, since I was by myself, I got into the car myself then a girl got in after me, I pulled the shoulder restraint over, I remember bracing myself at this point as the CM's checked each of the rocket cars restraints by pushing on them. I did keep reminding myself that TOT dropped me faster than gravity, so getting blasted upwards at an angle of 32 degrees, at 44 MPH in 1.8 seconds, pulling 1.5G can't be that bad.. :wink: HOW WRONG I WAS.. :lol: :mrgreen: The rocket cars pulled away and went around a bend, seeing the incline now in front of me the rocket cars came to an abrupt halt. Countdown begins...Trois, deux, une, then came a bang and a blast of steam, the next thing I knew was a force pressing against my chest, the rocket car was moving so fast I couldn't keep my eyes open for some reason, the rest of the ride was a blur, well after the first drop it was anyway.. :lol: I remember lots of lights flashing, as for the audio, well, there was some there if you could cancel out everyone screaming and the noise of the ride itself. The ride was just so fast and because it's in the dark, you feel the forces on your body change quite quickly, and because it's in the dark you cannot see what's coming up. I suppose you get to know what's coming up after going on it a few times, but considering this was my first time I didn't know what to expect. Some parts my eyes were open, other parts they were closed, though they were open for the part where you go through the kaleidoscope type tunnel, where I also noticed that the ride seems to slow down, there's another part in which it does this aswell. I have to say that the only main discomfort on the whole ride was my head, banging side to side on the shoulder/head rest, which are not exactly soft, and because of this a little neck strain. The ride is quite rough and bumpy, one of the bumpiest I've ever rode at DLRP, a lot more than Indiana Jones.. :mrgreen: Now I read that the ride lasts about 2 minutes 10 seconds, this is a long time for a coaster of this speed, no wonder the tracks about a kilometre long.. :shock: :shock: When the trip eventually finished everyone seemed to exit the ride looking and feeling the same....A feeling of being overwhelmed and in a lot of cases, a little shakey.. :o It's another ride I won't forget, yet another ride that I will go on again on my next trip.
Well I exited Space Mountain and headed back to meet Vanessa and Jen over at Autopia, who had managed to get first place in the queue, the time was about 9.45am, with the queue getting ever so longer, they asked about SM:M2, which passed a little time, checking the time again it was approaching10.00am. The queue now was starting to go all the way back towards Space Mountain itself. Just before the CM's opened Autopia, they dropped the ropes to Discoveryland after the announcement was released to say that the park was now open to all guests. I remember hoards of people running past us all heading for Space Mountain, I was so pleased that I didn't have to wait in the new queues that would be building vastly every second. Anyway, just before Autopia actually opened, one of the CM's started handing out Autopia Driving Licenses to all the Children, floods of children from way back in the queue came running just to get one. The CM then led the way through the queue area's, which was rather pleasing since there was no queue, so we just kept following him.. :D/ :D/ Well we got to the loading bay and Vanessa and Jen got in one car and I got in the one behind. We all got away with Jen driving in their car. Now all I can say is that my car had a serious steering problem.. :shock: You could keep the steering wheel straight on a straight and it was still weaving side to side.. :lol: It made my driving look ridiculous, I'm sure the car I was in had lost it's steering rack or it's ball joints... :lol: Put it this way, it had lost something.. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen: All in all it was still fun trying to control it.. :D
Well our next idea was to get a fast pass for Big Thunder Mountain, since we knew the queues would be quite long already. Heading over there out of Discoveryland, passing the castle I couldn't help but get some more shots of it, to gon with my vast shots from previous years, but this time I had my new camera which had a 12x zoom.. :D/ I really wanted shots of the gold characters before they disappear and turn into the abstract Mickey ones... :wink: :D Plus there was a beautiful blue sky backdrop, I just couldn't resist.. :D/
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1451/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleEntranceBrightShot3-vi.jpg)
The logo soon to disappear>> :(
(//http://images22.fotki.com/v836/photos/1/1220156/5388362/15thCelebrationCastleLogo-vi.jpg)
7 Dwarfs>>
(//http://images12.fotki.com/v252/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFigures7Dwarfs-vi.jpg)
Buzz Lightyear>>
(//http://images46.fotki.com/v1452/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFiguresBuzzLightyear-vi.jpg)
Cheshire Cat>>
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1399/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFiguresCheshireCat-vi.jpg)
Chip and Dale, they've even coloured their noses, Dale's red and Chip's black>>
(//http://images46.fotki.com/v1446/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFiguresChipDale-vi.jpg)
Daisy>>
(//http://images46.fotki.com/v1453/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFiguresDaisy1-vi.jpg)
There he is....My buddy Donald>> :D/ :D/ :D/
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1450/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFiguresDonald-vi.jpg)
Dumbo, he must of flown up there>> :mrgreen:
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1451/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFiguresDumbo-vi.jpg)
Goofy, notice the two security cameras for viewing the areas each side of the castle>> :wink:
(//http://images46.fotki.com/v1452/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFiguresGoofy-vi.jpg)
Huey/Duey/Louis, up to mischief>> :mrgreen:
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1451/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFiguresHueyDueyLouis-vi.jpg)
Jiminy Cricket>>
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1472/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFiguresJiminyCricket-vi.jpg)
Lumiere>>
(//http://images17.fotki.com/v304/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFiguresLumiere-vi.jpg)
Pinocchio>>
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1450/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFiguresPinocchio-vi.jpg)
Pluto>>
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1451/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFiguresPluto-vi.jpg)
Tinkerbell, always the topper on most things, especially the Castle>> :D
(//http://images29.fotki.com/v1008/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleFiguresTinkerbell-vi.jpg)
Now these look like gold tulips to me, but I would be wrong.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images46.fotki.com/v1452/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CasleRoofDesignPinnacles-vi.jpg)
One of the Spire Pinnacles>>
(//http://images42.fotki.com/v1466/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleSpirePinnacle-vi.jpg)
Oh yes, I managed to get this shot of the Castle's Bell Tower, which I remember got mentioned in a quiz on this very Forum just recently>>
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1476/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleBellTower-vi.jpg)
Day 3 to be continued, which includes the all important meet up with the Character Express characters, and one messy crowd line up for the Once Upon A Dream Parade.. :roll:
Another great addition to your trip report !!!! Comparing the golden tulip things to the 15th anniversary characters, you can really tell they've been up there a lng time without a decent polish (especially Pluto, whose nearly a black labrador)
But c'mon. Admit it. The autopia car was fine. It was you who was still shaking after SM:M2. Hmm? :wink:
Quote from: "Pete's Dragon"Another great addition to your trip report !!!! Comparing the golden tulip things to the 15th anniversary characters, you can really tell they've been up there a lng time without a decent polish (especially Pluto, whose nearly a black labrador)
But c'mon. Admit it. The autopia car was fine. It was you who was still shaking after SM:M2. Hmm? :wink:
You're right Pete's Dragon about the 15th Anniverary Characters, now you come to mention it.. :shock:
I've looked at those two you mentioned again, and Pluto is looking a bit worse for wear compared to the glitzy tulips.. :mrgreen:
As for my car in Autopia, I'd have been fine if that was the reason.. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
Great update Javey, I like the new camera :wink: :P
Thanks BB.. :D
As for the camera, I only wished I had a touch more practice with it before I went. I only bought it 2 weeks before I went, the instruction manual was like an Argos catalogue, and I only had the weekend to try it in the house and the yard, when it wasn't raining.. :roll: But I did manage to get the basics in the short time with a few more complex setting functions.. :mrgreen:
The thing is, I know a whole lot more about all the settings since I've returned from the magical land, which I could have made use of at DLRP... ](*,) But there's always next time.. :wink: :D
But all in all, I was really happy with what I did get whilst I was there.. :D/
Thanks again.. :D
Quote from: "Javey74"Thanks BB.. :D
As for the camera, I only wished I had a touch more practice with it before I went. I only bought it 2 weeks before I went, the instruction manual was like an Argos catalogue, and I only had the weekend to try it in the house and the yard, when it wasn't raining.. :roll: But I did manage to get the basics in the short time with a few more complex setting functions.. :mrgreen:
The thing is, I know a whole lot more about all the settings since I've returned from the magical land, which I could have made use of at DLRP... ](*,) But there's always next time.. :wink: :D
But all in all, I was really happy with what I did get whilst I was there.. :D/
Thanks again.. :D
I know that feeling, I felt the same when I got back from DLRP too :roll: :wink:
Another great addition to the report!
I always love your details on the rides, i almost felt the tention and anxiety before you got on Space mountain! I could never go on this ride but my brother and his girlfriend went in it last august and said the exact same thing about his head hurting as it was thrashed about! They really should look into making it abit more head friendly lol! :P
I love your photos of the Candles! I love the fact there is a Huey Dewie and Louie one as I loved Ducktales as a child! :D I never noticed that Figaro was on Pinocchio's head before! I will be glad to see the Candles go though, as I always thought they kind of made the castle look a bit cheapy looking (just my opinion) but it's great you have the pictures to look back on!
I can't wait to read more!
great update and more great photos, thanks for sharing :D !
I definetely will not go on Space Mountain ever :shock: , that's one of the 2 rides (the other is RnR) that I'm most scared off.
Hey, when I was there in January, we were also served by a CM called Eve in the City Hall, maybe it was the same one :). She was indeed extremely lovely and helpful.
This report keeps growing into a masterpiece :wink:
Wonderful photos - which camera is it?
Thank you once again everyone for your wonderful comments.. :oops: :D
Forza: It's a Fujifilm 1000fd >> viewtopic.php?p=106698#p106698 (https://forum.dlpguide.com/viewtopic.php?p=106698#p106698) :)
Mr Javey Sir, you need to go back to Disney! because 1: I can't go...so you need to go for me and 2: If you go I get another superb trip report from you to read!!! which then cheers me up as I can't go :( :lol:
More please? :mrgreen:
Awwhh, thank you Laura, that was ever so touching.. :oops: :oops: :D
Don't worry, the continuation of Day 3 is to follow shortly.. :mrgreen:
Quote from: "Javey74"Awwhh, thank you Laura, that was ever so touching.. :oops: :oops: :D
Don't worry, the continuation of Day 3 is to follow shortly.. :mrgreen:
Yey :mrgreen: :D/ :mrgreen:
I'm so excited to read some more!!!
Ooo I also may be going next year! I may be going with my friends :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Quote from: "burntsienna"Yey :mrgreen: :D/ :mrgreen:
I'm so excited to read some more!!!
Ooo I also may be going next year! I may be going with my friends :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
I hope you get there Laura, you deserve that trip well and truly.. [-o< [-o< :D/
Quote from: "Javey74"I hope you get there Laura, you deserve that trip well and truly.. [-o< [-o< :D/
Awwwwww thank you :mrgreen: :oops: :mrgreen:
Another great chapter, Sir Javey... Your pictures are beautiful - although the candles on the Castle are looking very very dirty...
Of course right now I'm wishing I could ride SM:M2...
Another great addition Jarvey! I cannot wait to read more!!
Your encounter on SM:M2 sounds like a lot of fun even though it does sound scary!! I haven't been on Mission 2 yet!! :( I need to twist my mum's arm and get her to book a trip...although that is very unlikely :(
:D :D
Quote from: "Javey74"Thank you once again everyone for your wonderful comments.. :oops: :D
Forza: It's a Fujifilm 1000fd >> viewtopic.php?p=106698#p106698 (https://forum.dlpguide.com/viewtopic.php?p=106698#p106698) :)
It seems like a good camera. Very similar to mine. It is great with a camera that isn't a DSLR but still takes very good pictures, which your report is a wonderful example of.
Thank you everyone for all the extra comments, so much appreciated and really heart felt.. :oops: :oops: :D
Well.....Here goes with another instalment.... :D
Day 3 Continuation....
Well after the Castle we headed over into Frontierland to get that fast pass for Big Thunder Mountain, actually there was quite a few in the queue waiting to get one, so Jen and myself waited to one side whilst Vanessa stood in the queue to get them. :mrgreen:
Afterwards we needed to head back towards the Central Plaza ready for the Character Express..Choo Choo Pa Pa, Choo Choo Pa Pa, ooooooooooooooooooooo. :lol: :mrgreen: On approaching the Plaza we could hear the music in the distance, so we rushed quickly to a vacant spot on the edge of the kerb, these are hard to come by, but we got lucky.... :lol: :mrgreen:
You can view these photos on the last part of the following album>>
http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/disneys-express/ (http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/disneys-express/%22%20onclick=%22window.open(this.href);return%20false;)
As the characters disembarked we only managed to get Captain Hook and Smee's Autograph, due to the crowds.. :(
But there would always be another time.. :wink: :D
Here's Captain Hook anyway.. :wink:
(//http://images12.fotki.com/v210/photos/1/1220156/5386989/CaptainHook3Feb2009-vi.jpg)
Afterwards we went back into Frontierland, heading further up towards Cottonwood Creek, when all of a sudden we noticed a few people huddled areas, and where ever you see huddled area's it means that there's characters about. This was certainly true, The Sheriff of Nottingham was the first in sight.. :wink:
(//http://images49.fotki.com/v1465/photos/1/1220156/5386989/TheSheriff5Feb2009-vi.jpg)
Then Pluto.. :wink:
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1462/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Pluto5Feb2010-vi.jpg)
We managed to get Kenai and Koda together.. :wink:
(//http://images21.fotki.com/v577/photos/1/1220156/5386989/KodaKanaiFeb2009-vi.jpg)
Next up was Frollo, who kept shooing people away, he ended up climbing in the muck amongst the bushes, then stood on a wooden platform just staring, I also noticed that he had lost his emerald ring that he normally has on his finger.. :shock: :o
(//http://images42.fotki.com/v1466/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Frollo2Feb2009-vi.jpg)
Then Monsieur Ratcliffe.. :wink:
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1463/photos/1/1220156/5386989/MonseiurRatcliffe3Feb2010-vi.jpg)
We then decided to head up to...
(//http://images49.fotki.com/v1465/photos/1/1220156/5403084/WoodysRoundUpEntrance-vi.jpg)
Woody's Roundup to take a look around, since it wasn't built when we were there last.. :mrgreen: just as we got there, Woody was leaving. :( But never mind, we'd catch him later at some point. Jen wanted a photo with Bullseye.. :wink:
(//http://images110.fotki.com/v1539/photos/1/1220156/5403084/WoodysHorseBullseye-vi.jpg)
Onto Stinky Pete.. :wink:
(//http://images110.fotki.com/v1539/photos/1/1220156/5403084/StinkyPete-vi.jpg)
Looking at our watches it was nearly time for the next round of The Character Express, which we wanted to see again incase there were a few character changes. On the way back down we bumped into Donald's girlfriend.. :wink:
(//http://images22.fotki.com/v835/photos/1/1220156/5386989/DaisyDuck5Feb2009-vi.jpg)
Heading back out of Frontierland to catch the 2nd run of The Character Express, the music was sounding again..Choo Choo Pa Pa, Choo Choo Pa Pa, ooooooooooooooooooooo. :D/ :D/
I noticed a change with the line up in one carriage with Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, Piglet and Rabbit. Then in another carriage, Louis, Prince John, Wendy and Peter Pan.. :wink:
[More of these photos can be seen on my Fotki Disney Galleries].. :wink: :D
Anyway, Jen got her chance with Rabbit.. :wink:
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1477/photos/1/1220156/5386989/RabbitFeb2009-vi.jpg)
Piglet.. :wink:
(//http://images20.fotki.com/v383/photos/1/1220156/5386989/PigletFeb2009-vi.jpg)
Peter Pan & Wendy.. :wink:
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1477/photos/1/1220156/5386989/PeterPanWendy2Feb2009-vi.jpg)
Well our Big thunder Mountain fast pass time was looming, actually we were 5 minutes late on arrival, but once there, there was a queue to get past the CM at the fast pass entrance, so we ended up with an excuse and got in, not that he questioned us mind.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Well BTM was as great as ever, though Jen started crying, which was strange because she loves this ride. I think the problem was that we got to sit at the very front behind the train, now we've never sat here before and I think Jen got a little shock of the view she got right up front. I wished I had a Camcorder, though I dare say it would be on the floor in bits by the time the ride finished.. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
Just look at all that wood Laura.. :shock: :mrgreen:
(//http://images35.fotki.com/v1167/photos/1/1220156/5403084/BigThunderMountainTracking2-vi.jpg)
Well we thought we would calm things down a little with a cruise on the Molly Brown next.. :D
Just look at that funnel.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images110.fotki.com/v1539/photos/1/1220156/5403084/MollyBrownFunnel-vi.jpg)
Here's some more scenery shots>>
(//http://images49.fotki.com/v1465/photos/1/1220156/5403084/RiverCruiseScene1-vi.jpg)
(//http://images49.fotki.com/v1511/photos/1/1220156/5403084/RiverCruiseScene2-vi.jpg)
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v699/photos/1/1220156/5403084/RiverCruiseScene3-vi.jpg)
(//http://images52.fotki.com/v643/photos/1/1220156/5403084/RiverCruiseScene4-vi.jpg)
Well here's Old Joe with his new clobber on.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images52.fotki.com/v640/photos/1/1220156/5403084/ThunderMesaOldJoesWoodCabin-vi.jpg)
(//http://images110.fotki.com/v1539/photos/1/1220156/5403084/RiverCruiseScene6-vi.jpg)
(//http://images110.fotki.com/v566/photos/1/1220156/5403084/Geysers2-vi.jpg)
(//http://images51.fotki.com/v1543/photos/1/1220156/5403084/HiddenWonders-vi.jpg)
(//http://images51.fotki.com/v750/photos/1/1220156/5403084/BigThunderMountain5-vi.jpg)
(//http://images116.fotki.com/v693/photos/1/1220156/5403084/BigThunderMountain9-vi.jpg)
(//http://images50.fotki.com/v1522/photos/1/1220156/5403084/BigThunderMountainWolf-vi.jpg)
Well after this cruise we felt in a really relaxed state, so much so that we had to thank at least one of the crew for a wonderful trip, though I wasn't too sure about Jen getting offered the job of sailing the vessel on the next run, this officer must of thought she'd do just fine.. :lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
(//http://images31.fotki.com/v1057/photos/1/1220156/5403084/MollyBrownOfficers-vi.jpg)
Day 3 further continuation to follow, which includes a 'Pick what you want Window', and a reality 'Ambush Alley' at Adventure Isle.. :mrgreen:
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
I got mentioned in the trip report!
And the wood has just made my day! lol I actually smiled really big and started to laugh...which sort of confused my mum but its the best feeling surface in the world!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Yey to you picturing it!
Quote from: "burntsienna":mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
I got mentioned in the trip report!
And the wood has just made my day! lol I actually smiled really big and started to laugh...which sort of confused my mum but its the best feeling surface in the world!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Yey to you picturing it!
You're welcome Laura, I did that shot just for you while I was waiting in the queue.. :D
I actually held it up a little to get it... :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
Quote from: "Javey74"You're welcome Laura, I did that shot just for you while I was waiting in the queue.. :D
I actually held it up a little to get it... :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
Aww yey, I do feel rather special :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
aw wow!! This trip report just gets better and better, I think I will have to go next febraury as well because there is just some fantastic characters about I am just so envious of jen right now hehe :D, even if I am much older than her at the ripe old age of 22!!! I just booked today for September actually so I am hoping for some good characters then..i'm a character stalker :lol: :lol: !!
Poor wee Jen on Thunder Mountain, bless! :oops:
Love the photo of her and the Captain of the Molly Brown, a really cool piccy!!
I can't wait to see and read more!! =D>
Great trip report. I've had a big smile on my face all the time I was reading it.
Wonderful trip report Javey! Looking at your photos has made me realise that I sort of NEED to book another trip now lol! All I need is the money and someone to go with first! ;)
Great report Javey, if only mine was as good as yours :wink:
Thanks everyone.. :oops: :oops: :mrgreen:
More to follow shortly.. :D/ :D/
Magnificent, absolutely magnificent =D>
Another great report with some awesome photos there Javey! I cannot wait to some more.
Day 3 Continuation 2....
Well after that wonderful trip on the Molly Brown, we headed back out of Frontierland to have a look up Main Street. :wink: Well just as we approached the Central Plaza, guess what.....Yes, we heard...'All Aboard' Choo Choo Pa Pa, Choo Choo Pa Pa, ooooooooooooooooooooo.. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen: How was that for timing, we were also in luck as the characters had just disembarked the train, the crowds were swarming all over them, with the CM's looking past themselves trying to keep space between the characters and the public. :lol: :mrgreen: Well we headed around the plaza loop and Jen managed to get alongside Tweedle Dee.. :wink:
(//http://images54.fotki.com/v555/photos/1/1220156/5386989/TweedleDeeFeb2009-vi.jpg)
Now it got a bit too much for Tweedle Dum, so he decided he would have a sit down on a seat with Jen for a while.. :lol: :mrgreen:
(//http://images14.fotki.com/v361/photos/1/1220156/5386989/TweedleDumFeb2009-vi.jpg)
Well we just had to get away from the total character mania that we were witnessing, making our way to the shops up Main Street, we started looking in and out a lot of the shops on the way up. Now earlier on in the day I managed to get this shot of 'The Main Street Gazette', with the Gift Shop below. Moving back to the present I passed the same shop and managed to get this shot of the merchandise in the window.. :wink:
(//http://images28.fotki.com/v998/photos/1/1220156/5403054/MainStreetGazette-vi.jpg)
Now take a closer look.....Do you notice something odd.. :?: No... :?:
Well for this being a window shot, you may notice that there is no problem with reflection on the glass, I tell you why. I managed to take this photo whilst the window was open. Yes open.. :mrgreen: It's called a 'take what you like' window, you just open it up and if you see something you like....Voila.. :D/
This is how it looks.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1451/photos/1/1220156/5421277/DSCF9377-vi.jpg)
Don't worry, slight fib.. :^o :^o I was puzzled about what she was doing but in the end she started to take close up photos of the items within the window, afterwards locking it with a set of key's... :lol: :mrgreen:
Oh well never mind. I still got my shot without the glass all the same.. :mrgreen:
After a lot more shopping we decided to do a re-run of the other day by going back to the hotel to drop the bags off. I suggested that if Vanessa wanted she could sit just outside the exits near the toilets and I'd nip back myself, Jen decided to go with me, whilst Vanessa waited, well just incase she missed something, you know.. :lol: :lol: Well the trip back to the hotel took longer that expected, I'm sure the shuttle buses aren't as regular during the afternoons as they are in the mornings and evenings. So much so that I didn't meet Vanessa at the time I'd expected to.. :shock: We headed towards the turnstiles again already 10 minutes late for our Agrabah Cafe Restaurant reservation time, so we sort of hopped, skipped and jumped all the way down to...
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1440/photos/1/1220156/5403037/AdventurelandEntrance-vi.jpg)
Adventureland, finally arriving at the...
(//http://images44.fotki.com/v1468/photos/1/1220156/5403037/SignageAgrabarCafeRestaurant-vi.jpg)
Agrabah Cafe Restaurant, 15 minutes late in total, but we got in alright.. :o Well we waited in a queue for a table, which did take a while, even though there were plenty of tables available. I think the staffing was a bit on the thin side that's all.. :mrgreen:
Well we got seated after about 10 minutes, and made our way to the buffet counter. I have to say all the food looked very appetising. We all had quite a variation in what we had to eat. All of the food was quite spicy, not too spicy though, just right.. :D/ We all had a few plate full's, trying a little bit of everything.. :D Then we all finished off with at least the same thing...Crepes, with a choice of honey, jams, marmalades, or plain sugar if you wanted. After all it was shrove Tuesday today.. :mrgreen: We washed all of that down with 3 diet cokes, very nice.. :D Another place I would definitely eat at again.. :D/ :D/
Well we all sat a while just taking in the atmosphere, I love the decor in this building and on the way out, looking upwards at the light shining through the canes it honestly looks like the light is coming straight from the sky, with no glass roof at all. Even though there is.. :mrgreen: Well come on, what if it was to rain... :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
Now, after leaving the Agrabah Cafe Restaurant we continued further into Adventureland.. :wink:
(//http://images19.fotki.com/v276/photos/1/1220156/5403037/Scenery1-vi.jpg)
(//http://images29.fotki.com/v310/photos/1/1220156/5403037/Scenery2-vi.jpg)
Heading into..
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1450/photos/1/1220156/5403037/SignageAdventureIsle1-vi.jpg)
Adventure Isle to explore the cavern systems, this is an area that can easily confuse you as to where you are actually at, no the wonder they have wooden directional signs.. :lol:
(//http://images26.fotki.com/v894/photos/1/1220156/5403037/SignageCaveDirections1-vi.jpg)
(//http://images14.fotki.com/v255/photos/1/1220156/5403037/SignageCaveDirections3-vi.jpg)
Now this one is as it says...'Ambush Alley'... :mrgreen: We headed inside, turning around a tight corner in the darkness, when all of a sudden some kids that were hiding behind a rock to our right shouted "Wwwwrrrahhhhh", and jumped out in front of us laughing.. :mrgreen:
Talk about an ambush.. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
(//http://images46.fotki.com/v1452/photos/1/1220156/5403037/SignageCaveDirections5-vi.jpg)
Then there was this one, mentioning the direction to 'Davy Jones' Locker'.. :wink:
(//http://images42.fotki.com/v1466/photos/1/1220156/5403037/SignageCaveDirections2-vi.jpg)
This is the scene it led to.. :o
(//http://images26.fotki.com/v939/photos/1/1220156/5403037/DavyJonesLockerCavern1-vi.jpg)
Well come on, I've got to get the funds from somewhere for my next holiday to DLRP.. :lol: :lol:
Heading out of one cavern, we went inside another and realised that we had entered 'Skull Rock', looking out of the eye's and nose... :wink:
(//http://images49.fotki.com/v1458/photos/1/1220156/5403037/ullRockInternalViewEyesandNose-vi.jpg)
And mouth.. :o
(//http://images19.fotki.com/v354/photos/1/1220156/5403037/SkullRockInsideMouth-vi.jpg)
Heading out again, we passed some beautiful waterfalls and greenery.. :wink:
This is a Laura moment.. :mrgreen: You should feel the wet rocks with fast flowing water hitting the back of your hand. The texture and feeling is amazing.. :wink: :D
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1451/photos/1/1220156/5403037/Scenery5-vi.jpg)
(//http://images46.fotki.com/v1453/photos/1/1220156/5403037/Scenery5-vi.jpg)
(//http://images42.fotki.com/v1466/photos/1/1220156/5403037/Scenery7-vi.jpg)
(//http://images44.fotki.com/v1469/photos/1/1220156/5403037/Scenery7-vi.jpg)
(//http://images42.fotki.com/v1466/photos/1/1220156/5403037/Scenery8-vi.jpg)
(//http://images12.fotki.com/v236/photos/1/1220156/5403037/Scenery9-vi.jpg)
Oh, and not forgetting the bouncy suspension bridge, the kids love this one.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images44.fotki.com/v1468/photos/1/1220156/5403037/SuspendedBridge-vi.jpg)
(//http://images49.fotki.com/v1459/photos/1/1220156/5403037/SuspendedBridge2-vi.jpg)
Do you think the Swiss Family Robinson Tree could do with a little more green in its leaves.. :shock:
(//http://images44.fotki.com/v1461/photos/1/1220156/5403037/SwissRobinsonTreeHouse2-vi.jpg)
Couldn't do without at least one shot of the pirate ship in this report.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images22.fotki.com/v811/photos/1/1220156/5403037/PirateShipRearAngle3-vi.jpg)
All I can say is that I'm pleased I came across this.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images44.fotki.com/v1467/photos/1/1220156/5403037/AdventureIsleMap1-vi.jpg)
It comes in handy.. :wink: :mrgreen:
Anyway we decided to head out of Adventureland towards Fantasyland. it was off to Alice's Curious Labyrinth, for the lost trip around the maze.. :lol: :mrgreen: We eventually made it, though as reports do suggest, it's in need of a grand paint makeover, aswell as some structural repairs.. :shock: :shock: I do like the teapot mind.. :D
(//http://images46.fotki.com/v1453/photos/1/1220156/5403049/utsideofAlicesCuriousLabyrinth-vi.jpg)
Walking further on, we headed to...
(//http://images54.fotki.com/v543/photos/1/1220156/5403049/LePaysdesContesdeFeesSignage02-vi.jpg)
Casey Junior and Le Pays des Contes de Fees...Only to find them CLOSED.. :shock: :shock: Why, I'm not sure. I'm not even sure if they were open on the Monday either with spending a lot of the day at the Studios.. :?: There were no refurbishments or closures planned for this area on our trip. So it had me a little stumped.. :? :roll:
Moving on.....It was nearing the time for the Once Upon A Dream Parade, so we wandered up to the area near the Castle Arch Entrance between Discoveryland and Fantasyland. There was a little green area with metal railings, which curved backwards, this looked a great location for some camera shots.. :wink: To the right there was a narrow route for people heading from Discoveryland to Fantasyland. Looking at the unfastned rope ties I had the idea what should happen when the parade was going to start. The CM would have to clip the rope across to the opposite railing, to make a straight barrier across the gap. I'd be stood to the left of it making up part of the front row. At the time they were still waiving people through, so you got the odd people standing infront of me. But knowing they'd end up being moved back behind the line when it eventually got fastened those people would end up to my right next to me instead. The area I had picked would have been ideal to get frontal and side views of the floats. Anyway the music began to link through to where we where standing, so the CM undid the cord and pulled it across, unfortunately she noticed that 4 people were out of line, but she didn't ask them to move, she just clipped the rope 5 railings down, which put the line on a slant, which also obscured my vision for a straight on shot. I wasn't happy at all.. :evil:
I've had instances in previous visit's were I was asked to moved from leaning on a rubbish bin.. :roll: Other times moved away from an area they wanted to keep clear for whatever reason, even though it was out of the way of the main parade route.. :roll: Once I was even being asked to move my foot back onto the kerb because the front of my foot was not in line with the kerb edge... :shock: :x So how lax could a CM be in not keeping the parade line where it would normally be, just asking the five people in particular to move back 3 steps.. :roll: They'd of still been at the front, but at the same distance and straight line as everyone else.. :x So I ended up getting only side shots, with a tree in certain ones.. :x :(
Anyway if you want to view what I did get, I've added them amongst some better angles to my existing 'Once Upon A Dream Parade' album. :roll:
Putting this frustration to one side, I still really enjoyed the parade, the smells coming from the floats were really strong, they're the strongest I've ever known them.. :o They also had about 3 parade stops aswell.. :wink: :D
When the parade got to the end float, we walked down and started to follow it, behind the CM rope walkers. When we approached the front of the castle, we nipped through into the Dragons Lair. A word of warning for future visitors....The dragon is loose. I can't ever remember the chain being snapped around the dragons neck.. :shock: :shock:
Luckily I got him while he was having 40 winks... :mrgreen:
(//http://images44.fotki.com/v1467/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorCastleDragon-vi.jpg)
From the dragon we headed up past the...
(//http://images14.fotki.com/v371/photos/1/1220156/5388362/teriorMerlinLEnchanteurSignage-vi.jpg)
Sign into the shop. :wink: This was where Vanessa suprised me again and secretly bought me a Frosted Glass Donald.. :D Again she asked Jen to keep me away from the till area, so I'd be none the wiser what she was up to, until she suprised me with it outside of the shop.. :mrgreen: Awwh, he's beautiful, especially with back lighting.. :D/
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1455/photos/1/1220156/5389741/DonaldFrostedGlassFigure-vi.jpg)
The light was starting to fade by now, and it was turning a little nippy, so we headed into the Discovery Arcade to a drinks outlet where we all got some hot chocolate, it was really yummy, which also give us a little time to warm up again.. :mrgreen:
Once we had warmed up, we had a sudden urge to check out Pirates of the Caribbean.. :o So off we went again back through Adventureland to the torn sign of...
(//http://images46.fotki.com/v1446/photos/1/1220156/5403037/SignagePiratesoftheCaribbean-vi.jpg)
There was only a few in the queue, we'd have been lucky if we were there 3 minutes before we got in the boat.. :D/ :D/ The ride was fantastic as ever, with everything seemingly functioning, including the clinking of the swords on the duelling scene, with much improved timing, aswell as the swinging pirate and the drinking skeleton.. :wink: I'm not sure it if was me, but the lights were a hell of a lot brighter than I ever remember, which showed much more of the scenery.. :D/ :D/
Afterwards, we moved out of Adventureland again and back into Discoveryland. Buzz again had quite a long queue, so we decided to wander around just soaking up the atmosphere and viewing the brilliant lighting of all the attractions.. :D
Time was beginning to loom for Candleabration, so we slowly walked over towards the Castle Stage seating area, and got a seat on the edge looking up to the castle. We sat what seemed to be a while just staring at the Castle with it's evening pink soft lighting. Here's a shot taken taken from the rear of the Castle on the previous night.. :wink:
(//http://images46.fotki.com/v1452/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleNightShot2-vi.jpg)
Soon the Castle lights all went out with only a beam of light remaining, focusing on the arch above the entrance. Mickey and Minnie were waving at everyone, talking about the special event what everyone had grown to love. Then the Castle candles lit up one by one with the command of Mickey's point.. :wink:
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1474/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleNightShot4-vi.jpg)
The Castle then lit up a section at a time revealing the shimmering white lights, then finally once the top spire was illuminated, Tinkerbell started blowing out the gold pixie dust, bringing the whole ceremony to a climax, with the whole crowd cheering and waving at the visual splendor of the Castle in all it's glory.. :D/ :D/ :D/
(//http://images27.fotki.com/v971/photos/1/1220156/5388362/CastleNightShot2-vi.jpg)
Well it was time to head back to the hotel as the park had now closed, again taking a short cut through Discovery Arcade to jump the queues heading up Main Street.. :wink:
By the time we got back to the hotel, our legs were starting to ache, Vanessa and Jens more so than mine, but all our feet were definitely aching. Luckily Vanessa had some foot refreshing spray, which is really soothing. We were all really tired by now and needed sleep, ready for our final full day which was only 9 hours away.. :D
Day 4 to follow, which includes a near disaster with Crusher's Coaster, but as the moral seems to say....All's well that ends well.. :D
Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! Only one more day to go :cry: . Why didn't you book for longer ? You're so selfish :x
:P
I know Pete's Dragon, I totally agree with you.. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
How did I miss the entire three days popping up on here?
Javey... I will admit only a quick butterfly read for the moment... :oops:
I know where to go when I'm planing an itinerary for a trip to DLRP when I finally get to go back...
Pictures are simply Stunning... Writing both informative... and most importantly entertaining!
Its nice to see the pictures of fun, not just hearing about and reading it!
Glad you got your Donald fix!
Can't wait to go back and read it properly, and with the concluding day!
Hey another fantastic part of the report and more great photos!
i would have been annoyed too about the people at the once upon a dream parade, that sort of thing always happens me too lol! :oops:
The little glass donald duck is so cute!
Thanks for that Javey, another great chapter to your report! Sorry about the parade incident, sounds really annoying!!!
And I have to say, I love all your pictures, they're really beautiful (it really is a great camera you got there, will have to keep it in mind for my birthday wish list :wink: ) - but the one of the dragon is amazing =D>
Once again amazing chapter of the report :D/ =D>
The pictures from Adventureland and especially Skull Rock is truly terrific and some of the best I've ever seen from there - fantastic! :D
I loved all of day 3 especially all the photos of Jen with the characters!! I'm with Aveen, I'm extremely jealous!!
Cannot wait for the final day :) :)
Great work Javey, I'm looking forward to reading about your last day :)
Thank you once again for all the extra comments guys, you are all ever so kind.. :oops: :oops: :D
Well, here's another instalment.. :wink: :D
Day 4...A Magical Final Day
Weather: Sunny and a little cold.. :wink: :D
Well the alarm went off again at 6.30am, we all were really achy this morning, but we wiped that out of our minds as much as we possibly could. We all got ready and did the final checks on the cases and hand luggage that we had packed over the last few (//nights%20after%20returning%20from%20the%20Parks/Village.%20There's%20always%20things%20that%20you%20need%20to%20leave%20out%20until%20the%20final%20morning,%20then%20lock%20them%20away%20for%20the%20last%20time..%20%3C!--%20s:mrgreen:%20--%3E:mrgreen:%3C!--%20s:mrgreen:%20--%3E%20Anyway,%20we%20headed%20out%20for%20breakfast,%20again%20this%20morning%20we%20got%20in%20for%20about%207.25am%20instead%20of%20the%20card%20time%20of%207.45am.%20We%20had%20our%20usual%20delightful%20breakfast%20in%20the%20calm%20before%20the%20corridor%20scrum%20started..%20%20%3C!--%20s:lol:%20--%3E:lol:%3C!--%20s:lol:%20--%3E%20%20%3C!--%20s:mrgreen:%20--%3E:mrgreen:%3C!--%20s:mrgreen:%20--%3E%20Afterwards%20we%20headed%20back%20to%20the%20room,%20but%20this%20time%20to%20pick%20up%20the%20cases%20and%20hand%20luggage,%20heading%20for%20the%20left%20luggage%20department.%20%20One%20excellent%20point%20about%20this%20trip%20was%20that%20we%20would%20not%20have%20to%20leave%20the%20parks%20until%205.00pm,%20whereas%20on%20previous%20visits%20we%20normally%20have%20to%20leave%20just%20after%20dinner.%20%20So%20our%20final%20day%20would%20consist%20of%20having%20virtually%20a%20full%20day%20in%20the%20parks%20before%20having%20to%20leave..%20%3C!--%20s:D/%20--%3E:D/%3C!--%20s:D/%20--%3E%20%20%3C!--%20s:D/%20--%3E:D/%3C!--%20s:D/%20--%3E%20%20%3C!--%20s:D/%20--%3E:D/%3C!--%20s:D/%20--%3E%20I%20always%20find%20that%20the%20staff%20working%20in%20the%20Left%20Luggage%20are%20really%20nice,%20and%20quite%20talkative.%20%20It%20must%20be%20to%20take%20you%20mind%20off%20knowing%20it's%20your%20last%20day..%20%3C!--%20s:(%20--%3E:(%3C!--%20s:(%20--%3E%20Anyway,%20as%20usual%20we%20started%20to%20head%20over%20to%20the%20Rio%20Grande,%20through%20the%20Cheyenne%20Hotel%20grounds%20to%20the%20bus%20stop.%20%20We%20arrived%20at%20the%20Disney%20Park%20for%208.05am,%20passing%20the%20security,%20well,%20after%20them%20having%20a%20quick%20look%20in%20my%20camera%20bag..%20%3C!--%20s:mrgreen:%20--%3E:mrgreen:%3C!--%20s:mrgreen:%20--%3E%20%20%20We%20headed%20through%20the%20usual%20turnstiles%20down%20into%20Discoveryland.%20Would%20Buzz%20be%20back%20to%20normal%20this%20morning....Yes%20it%20was...Whoo%20ho..%20%3C!--%20s:D/%20--%3E:D/%3C!--%20s:D/%20--%3E%20Vanessa%20wanted%20to%20steer%20while%20Jen%20and%20myself%20did%20all%20the%20firing..%20%20%3C!--%20s:wink:%20--%3E:wink:%3C!--%20s:wink:%20--%3E%20%20Again%20Buzz%20was%20as%20brilliant%20as%20ever.%20I%20love%20the%20music%20used%20towards%20the%20latter%20part%20of%20the%20ride,%20it's%20that%20spacey%20bass%20type%20track.%20But%20another%20track%20you'll%20never%20get%20your%20hands%20on..%20%3C!--%20s:roll:%20--%3E:roll:%3C!--%20s:roll:%20--%3E%20After%20Buzz%20we%20headed%20out%20of%20Discoveryland%20into%20Fantasyland.%20We%20decided%20to%20wander%20to%20have%20a%20look%20around%20the%20inside%20of%20the%20Castle%20this%20time..%20%3C!--%20s:D%20--%3E:D%3C!--%20s:D%20--%3E%20We%20headed%20over%20the%20bridge%20through%20the%20arch%20heading%20left%20to%20the%20foot%20of%20the%20staircase,%20passing%20the%20golden%20binded%20book%20of%20'Sleeping%20Beauty'.%20%20Heading%20up%20the%20stairs%20to%20the%20first%20floor..%5Bimg%5Dhttp://images45.fotki.com/v1480/photos/1/1220156/5388362/teriorFirstFloorCastleSupports-vi.jpg)
Passing the snoring knight in armour.. :wink:
(//http://images14.fotki.com/v371/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorKnight2-vi.jpg)
And his buddy.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images49.fotki.com/v1460/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorKnight1-vi.jpg)
Moving on to the 'Spinning Wheel' scene.. :wink:
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1399/photos/1/1220156/5388362/SpinningWheelScenewithTapestry-vi.jpg)
Then passing a few Tapestries.. :wink:
(//http://images28.fotki.com/v1029/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorTapestry1-vi.jpg)
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1462/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorTapestry2-vi.jpg)
(//http://images49.fotki.com/v1457/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorTapestry3-vi.jpg)
(//http://images14.fotki.com/v377/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorTapestry4-vi.jpg)
And the Candleabra.. :wink:
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1481/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorCandleabra-vi.jpg)
Pointing the camera upwards towards the ceiling.. :mrgreen:
(//http://images28.fotki.com/v976/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorCastleCeiling-vi.jpg)
Looking straight onto the 'Polarised Dove Window' :wink:
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1481/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorDoveandRoseWindow-vi.jpg)
Finally to the bronze figurine of Aurora and her Prince dancing with all the elegance you would expect.. :wink:
(//http://images49.fotki.com/v1465/photos/1/1220156/5388362/teriorAuroraPrinceBronzeFigure-vi.jpg)
Walking outside with the view of Fantasyland down below, looking to the right.. :wink:
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1481/photos/1/1220156/5403049/FantasylandBuildings1-vi.jpg)
I always find it a shame that you cannot walk round to the front of the Castle to view the Central Plaza, looking up Main Street.. :|
Well we all went down the stairs...
(//http://images29.fotki.com/v318/photos/1/1220156/5388362/InteriorCastleStaircase-vi.jpg)
Actually I nearly stumbled on these going down.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Heading out into Fantasyland, stopping at the scene of Excalibur.. :wink:
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1463/photos/1/1220156/5403049/ExcaliburSwordintheStone-vi.jpg)
Moving to the right, we had a look in...
(//http://images45.fotki.com/v1481/photos/1/1220156/5403049/The3FairiesBoutique-vi.jpg)
La Confiserie des Trois Fees, capturing the three holographic fairies themselves.. :wink:
(//http://images46.fotki.com/v1453/photos/1/1220156/5403049/FeesThreeFairiesaboveFireplace-vi.jpg)
How many wands does Merryweather own.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Moving out of the boutique, passing the...
(//http://images44.fotki.com/v1467/photos/1/1220156/5403049/eAubergedeCendrillonRestaurant-vi.jpg)
Auberge de Cendrillon Restaurant, with the...
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Carriage, not forgetting the...
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Fountain, which reads...
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Looping around the Carousel, I just had to get this shot of Timothy Mouse, perched on the top of 'The Flying Elephant' attraction.. :mrgreen:
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Heading back up towards the Castle passing...
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Les Voyages de Pinocchio, which is not open for the EMH's, then...
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Blanche Neige et les Sept Nains, back up to...
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La Chaumiere des Sept Nairns Boutique, on entering Jen wondered if she'd fit into this piece of armour.. :lol: :mrgreen:
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Onto the animal scene.. :wink:
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And guess who... :twisted:
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Now I forgot to mention but we had discussed calling back into the Studios for about 10.00am for...
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Crushers Coaster, one of the worst queue lines as we all know. We started to make our way out of the park. Near the exits we spotted Mickey riding around with a CM in a little character car, waving at everyone. I'm only sorry I didn't get a shot of him in it.. :(
Well we reached the Studios at about 9.45am, noticing a few queues at the turnstile, but they were going in. We headed through Studio 1, expecting to come to a halt at the bottom doors, as with our last visit. Then......Trouble Struck :shock:
The doors were not closed, by the time we got out of them we noticed a queue zig zagging right back to 'The Art of Disney Animation'. We could not believe it, what happened :?: Since when did they start opening the bottom doors in Studio 1 before 10.00am, then I got to thinking what time they must have been letting people into the Front Courtyard, since as mentioned people were already going in when we arrived at 9.45am.. :shock: :shock:
At first I was wondering if the queue we were looking at was to get into Toon Studio as it did look cordened off. We decided to walk down passing the whole queue towards 'The Flying Carpets'. The reality was beginning to sink in, as Vanessa noticed people were walking around the Toon Studio photo locations, so that wasn't the answer, which meant that this queue was for Crushers Coaster..OMG... :shock: :shock: There must have been over 150 people in this queue already. :o
Whilst looking on at the people at the front of the queue itself, I realised that another queue to the right of that one was starting to form. This may have happened due to people thinking that two queues would be fine to the entrance, since if everyone joined the original queue it would start and cause major route blockage to other areas. We decided to stay around at this point, as I thought that there may be a possible lifeline here.. :) The second queue running parallel to the original one started to wind back to where we were standing. This was our chance, we joined it very quickly. Phew.. :D
On waiting another 5 minutes, we noticed another queue started to the right of the queue we were in.. :o Since we where only about 20 foot from it, we jumped queues again. We could not believe how this all worked out. Just before the attraction actually opened the Genie walked up to the queue area, for autograph and photo opportunities.. :wink: Again Jen couldn't resist.. :mrgreen:
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Once Crush had opened, we all walked forward winding around the empty queue area's, that wouldn't be empty for long. We ended up with only about 35 people infront of us, instead of about 200+ from the original queue line. We actually started to queue properly at the top of the first set of steps inside Crushers Coaster, with the loading bay in clear view. That's how far up the queue we managed to reach.. :o :D/ :o
This must have been the shortest time we had ever waited to get on Crushers Coaster, just when we thought it was a no hoper. So there is a lesson to learn from this.
If you want to ride Crushers Coaster and you arrive within 10 minutes of the Studios official opening time [10.00am], but the queue is really long, hang around near 'The Flying Carpets' and wait for another queue to start and form, then join it quickly, and if you get really lucky like we were, join the extra queue that usually forms right at the front with about 1 minute to go.. =D> =D> =D>
Now this time Vanessa wanted to ride in the front with Jen, whilst I was in the back. Since the first time we all went on it, I was in the front with Jen instead.. :wink: There were about 3 families infront of us when I noticed this very large man [I say very large, not that he was fat or anything, he was just thick set and quite tall really], starting to get into the shell with his Son. My mind suddenly clicked into that new restriction that Anthony was telling us about to do with different body shapes, when I saw it unfolding right in front of my eye's. :shock: The mans safety bar that comes up between your legs would not click in properly, so he was asked to leave, taking his Son with him.. :shock: Awwwh if you'd seen his son crying his eye's out since his Dad couldn't ride, it was really pityful, aswell as embarrassing for the Dad.. :oops: :oops:
Well it got to our turn, we all got in, lifted our arms up in the air as advised so that the CM's could apply the safety restraints, then we were off......Whooo hoo.. :D/ :D/
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Now I know what Vanessa means when she had visions of falling out in the back when it winches you up the Submarine Lift, I did feel I was leaning way forward out of the shell at this point.. :lol: Only the bar was keeping me in.. :mrgreen: I couldn't remember from the first time I'd been on, how quickly the shell shifts once you get past half way on the lift. This could have been due to being in the Front the first time mind.. :mrgreen: We reached the top and that was it, total speed, disorientation and flashing lights.. :lol: :lol: There were times I felt that I was leaning out of the shell itself, passing very close to the side barriers, even though I knew I couldn't knock them, but they did seem really close.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Eventually we headed back towards the loading bay, all giddy and looking quite wind swept.. :lol: :mrgreen:
To me Crusher's Coaster it is one of those rides, even if you have to queue for a long time, as we did on a previous visit, it's well worth the wait just to gain the ride of your life.. :D/ :D/ :D/
Day 4 to be continued, which includes a really improved Phantom Manor aswell as getting the feeling I'm in Dixieland.. :mrgreen:
Can't wait to hear and see more!! :D/
You lucky so and so! :P
Great Adventure So Far... Bring on the next section... its great bedtime reading... and hopefully will provide me with some very pleasant dreams!
As always Javey... Wonderful pictures!
Whoa, you were SO lucky with Crush's Coaster!!!
Another great set of pictures - the ones in the Castle are some of the best I've ever seen!
Looking forward to more :D
Wonderful pictures, wonderful descriptions, wonderful entertainment = a Javey Trip Report! :D/ =D>
Cannot wait for the next (and maybe final :( ) part of your report
Quote from: "forza_united"Cannot wait for the next (and maybe final :( ) part of your report
No! :( It can't the be the end already!!
You cheeky man, skipping the queue for Crush :P
I'm looking forward to reading the rest :wink:
another great installment!! You were really lukcy with CC!! I am once again very Jealous :lol: :lol:
Cannot wait to read the rest :) But can't believe it will be the last :cry: :cry:
Wow! Another fantastic day! I would very much like you to go back again!!! :mrgreen:
Day 4 Continuation....
Ok, after Crush we headed over to the...
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Studio Tram Tour, since the queue didn't look too bad, although after waiting in what seemed a smallish queue, it took ages to go down.. :roll: This was partly down to one: For every Tram Tour Train that stopped, the CM's seemed to close off one of the rear carriages. Not exactly sure why.. :roll: And two: I'd only just realised that there was two queues, I was in one of them, and the other queue feeds from the opposite side. I thought the carriages seemed to fill up quick and yet the queue didn't seem to move much.. :mrgreen:
Well we set off around the tour, seeing and hearing what most of us know, which was the same as last time. Though an air of curiosity remained with me passing all those blue facia boards, catching an open part revealing some diggers and the rear of the CM's car park.. :D I still like the Tram Tour though no matter how many times I go on it. Saying that, it could do with the ultimate upgrade which is already in progress.. :wink: :D
Getting off the Tram Tour, we headed over to the Toon Studio Photo Location areas to find Remy.. :D
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In the distance we saw Jafar, but when we eventually got up to him he was leaving with a CM, as he was walking away down a side alley he kept waving and bowing to the people he'd left behind. I managed to catch him though on his walk down.. :wink:
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Well, we headed back over to the Place des Stars Stage, for another showing of the Toon Train, whilst we waited Jen got up onto the stage.. :mrgreen:
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Well the Toon Train came around, with the same characters as before, but there was still the crowd scrums once the scenes came to a halt.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Jen wanted to try the Ice Throne from the Narnia Scene in the Backlot. It's only after getting back, that I compared a photo I'd taken from August 2006 to my present one. It was strange to see just how much Jen had grown between the two photos.. :o
Aug 2006>>
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Feb 2009>>
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Now it was time to say farewell for now to the Studios, till our next trip.. :( Making our way out of the Studios Park back to the Disney Park.. :D
We walked down Main Street, just in time for the next rendition of the Character Express. We followed it down to the Central Plaza, waiting for the stop, then our opportunity was nigh. We headed over near the Castle stage and got..
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Alice, who was sweet as ever.. :wink:
Then Baloo.. :wink:
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Onto Woody.. :wink:
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Pinocchio and Geppetto, oh and the sun getting right in Jen's eyes.. :lol: :mrgreen:
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Heading across for Eeyore.. :wink:
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I thought at this point it would be nice to get a photo with a couple of CM's from the Character Express.. :wink: By the way, the one on the right was the train driver.. :D
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Getting that shot got me thinking about an area of the Character Express that a lot of people seem to overlook, I wouldn't say intentionally, but I don't think the Character Express would be quite the same without them, If you haven't guessed already, I'm talking about the CM's used on the Character Express, their uniforms are a brilliant contrast against the colouring of the train itself, making their whole presence as important as what's going on around them. After already getting Jen with Eeyore I noticed another CM standing just to the side against the railings, keeping an eye out for him incase things got hectic with the crowd. I wandered over to the CM to get a photo of her with Jen. On asking her if it was ok, she seemed suprised, saying "Me, not Eeyore", then she laughed! She seemed shocked, but at the same time overwhelmed and honoured. Awhh, bless her. But yes they should be more appreciated for sure! Here's the shot>>
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Let's all give a round of applause for the overlooked and well needed CM's on the Character Express, aswell as all the other CM's who do a fantastic job around the parks.. =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>
Right....That was that, now it was off to Frontierland, for Phantom Manor.. :twisted: :twisted:
Heading up to the gates.. :twisted:
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Passing the..
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Little conservatory, I wonder if there was any Earl Grey in that teapot on the table.. :mrgreen: Also passing the..
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Eagle statue.. :D We walked further on moving through the extra queue lines coming to an abrupt halt, standing in the actual queue at the side of the Manor.. :wink:
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Looking back down at the front garden area.. :wink:
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Anyway we went through the main doors into the stretch room, listened to the room narration in French. Waiting intently for the lightning to start flashing on the ceiling to take a look at the newly improved Phantom seen hanging Melanie's Fiancee. I wasn't disappointed, it had really been improved from previous visits where I'd never noticed anything in the lightning at all. You could see the image as plain as day, or should I say night.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Heading past the picture changing room into the doombuggy loading area, we headed off into the darkness of the Manor. I can honestly say throughout the whole ride that you can tell it's been refurbished, everything was working and there is a lot more use of back lighting making things even more eerie. All the ghosts were twirling in the ballroom scene, really clear images. When we reached Madame Leota scene, it really is a vast improvement to the original one, especially with the use of the new 3D imagery.. Brilliant.. =D> =D> We had a few stops during the ride, one of which was around this scene, with the other being right infront of the singing heads.. :mrgreen: Now I'm not sure if this scene has always been included but I can't for the life of me remember the card game scene where there was a game of cards being played at a table, but the cards were being lifted by an invisable force, then being played backwards and forwards on the table by themselves. It's located at the Boot Hill scene just before you reach the evil red eye'd skeleton dog.. :o :shock:
Coming back to the loading bay again we got out and headed to the exit, stopping to take a look at the newly imaged Phantom Bride, with a need of a little face correction.. :P But you can't have everything. Top class refurbishment on this attraction for sure.. :D/ :D/ :D/
Heading out into Boot Hill cemetary to the...
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Black Tomb.. :twisted: I wanted to hear that heart beat that I'd never heard before.. :) I wasn't dissappointed. It was there.. :D/ The sound resonance was astounding, really loud, so much so that you didn't have to put your ear to the side of the tomb to hear it, but if you did you knew about it. It sounded like a heart beating 10,000 feet below the sea, really echoey with a dull thumping sound, quite creepy really.. :shock: :twisted:
Turning around to look across at..
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Big Thunder Mountain, closing in on the train, just on it's way up.. :wink:
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Ok, a bit closer to the train.. :mrgreen:
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Anyway, walking back down from Phantom Manor we went over to Fantasyland to see if Les Voyages des Pinocchio was attemptable to ride, without too long a queue. Passing the Plaza again, we noticed the Character Express heading back up Main Street. You cannot help but join in on the words and some of the actions.. :-" :oops: :oops: :mrgreen:
Well... Les Voyages des Pinocchio attraction wasn't to be, the queues were colossal.. :shock: :( Oh well never mind, you can't do everything all in one go.. :mrgreen: Even though we do try at times.. :lol:
Looking at my watch it was nearing lunch time and we'd used all our HB vouchers up, so we headed back into Frontierland to the...
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Cowboy Cookout Barbeque for a Texan dinner, the queues in here were really long aswell, but we were prepared to wait to get some grub.. :mrgreen: We managed to get a table just to the right of the stage, listening to some Bluegrass background music. Now this is my sort of place to sit, eat and then chill a little, surrounded by everything Country & Western. :D/ To my suprise just as we were finishing our dinner, three musicians got up onto the stage, one with a fiddle, another with a banjo and the third with a double bass. They started playing away some quite nifty bluegrass music. Well I was truly in my element by this point. Tapping my feet..Yee-Ha.. =D> :D/ =D>
Take a look>>
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Day 4 further continuation to follow, which includes a real visitor to the Pocahontas Indian Village play area, and the superb 'Mickey's Winter Wonderland' show.. :D/
Quote from: "Javey74"Ok, a bit closer to the train.. :mrgreen:
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Well now you're just showing off :wink: :P
Another great update, I'm looking forward to the rest :)
Quote from: "The Butlin Boy"Quote from: "Javey74"Ok, a bit closer to the train.. :mrgreen:
Well now you're just showing off :wink: :P
Had to laugh at this comment BB.. :lol: :lol:
(//http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc266/javey74/Donald%20Images/DonaldLaughing.gif)
Quote from: "The Butlin Boy"Another great update, I'm looking forward to the rest :)
Thanks again BB for your endearing comments.. :wink: :D
Omg you met Alice...that's it now I am totally jealous :shock: hehe!! :P
Jen reminds me so much of my cousin when she was younger, the resemblance is amazing really! The comparison of the photos of her in the space of those 3 years is astonishing too, they grow up so quick!!
=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> I will join in the applause for the cast members of the character express and for most of the cast members in the park as they are pretty great!!
your photos are so clear and crisp, it's a great camera and of course a great photographer :wink: !! I wish you had stayed for a month because I am going to be so sad when yoru report is over :( , I love reading it! =D> :D/
Quote from: "Aveen2008"Omg you met Alice...that's it now I am totally jealous :shock: hehe!! :P
Jen reminds me so much of my cousin when she was younger, the resemblance is amazing really! The comparison of the photos of her in the space of those 3 years is astonishing too, they grow up so quick!!
=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> I will join in the applause for the cast members of the character express and for most of the cast members in the park as they are pretty great!!
your photos are so clear and crisp, it's a great camera and of course a great photographer :wink: !! I wish you had stayed for a month because I am going to be so sad when yoru report is over :( , I love reading it! =D> :D/
Awwwh, thanks Aveen, those comments were really touching.. :D
Well since I was young, people used to say that I had a vivid imagination, and a way of telling particular stories. I possibly could continue the trip as though I was still there, but somehow I don't think it would work in this instance.. :( :mrgreen:
=D> =D> =D>
Amazing continuation of an amazing trip report!
Once again the photos and stories are awesome and very detailed.
The refurbishment of Phantom Manor sounds great and I will also give an =D> to the CMs on Characters' Express and the parks in general.
Javey, thank you for this great trip report, I always enjoy reading your views. I thought I would wait to comment until I got to the end, but I am only at day 2 and have to comment.
I do really recommend the Steakhouse for future visits, it is one of DLP's best restaurants and indeed one of DIsney's bests anywhere!
As for your ToT write up, you had me rivotted. I have had the pleasure of riding WDW's, DCA's and WDSP's many times, and I love ours the best. I am glad you like it too. I remember we went on it right after it opened in Paris, and there was a French man in his 50's clinging to his wife and screaming for his life to my left. I thought he was going to have a heart attack. When we got off, he no only hugged her, but me as well, shouting super! Super! encore! As he ran to get in line again.
For me, this was an example of true Disney magic. My 5 year old wants to go on in May and is mad because I have said no.
But you told your story in such a great way.
As for Remy, I was really hoping we would see him in May, but it now sounds like they have shipped him off to Florida.
Quote from: "Javey74"Day 3 - Another Day, Another Dream.. :D/
Well the alarm went off at 6.30am again, we all got ourselves out of bed and started to get ready for breakfast, though as we had planned we were going to try and get in for 7.25am, instead of the card time of 7.45am.
Rule of thumb, to have a civilised meal at DLP either opt for room service or be there for the very first seating. We often do this even if it means showers after breakfast.
Quote from: "davewasbaloo"Javey, thank you for this great trip report, I always enjoy reading your views. I thought I would wait to comment until I got to the end, but I am only at day 2 and have to comment.
I do really recommend the Steakhouse for future visits, it is one of DLP's best restaurants and indeed one of Disney's bests anywhere!
As for your ToT write up, you had me rivotted. I have had the pleasure of riding WDW's, DCA's and WDSP's many times, and I love ours the best. I am glad you like it too. I remember we went on it right after it opened in Paris, and there was a French man in his 50's clinging to his wife and screaming for his life to my left. I thought he was going to have a heart attack. When we got off, he no only hugged her, but me as well, shouting super! Super! encore! As he ran to get in line again.
For me, this was an example of true Disney magic. My 5 year old wants to go on in May and is mad because I have said no.
But you told your story in such a great way.
As for Remy, I was really hoping we would see him in May, but it now sounds like they have shipped him off to Florida.
Thankyou for your kind comments davewasbaloo, I'm pleased you are enjoying my report.. :oops: :D
You've also inspired me to try the Steakhouse next time aswell.. :D/
It's great to hear I kept you rivotted on my TOT account. :mrgreen: I think the reason I could write it the way I did was purely due to not being able to forget the experience in a hurry, I think it's one of those memories that will remain with me for the rest of my life.. :lol: :mrgreen: But yeah, it was fantastic, I'd definitely go on again and again.. :wink: :D
I also hope you and your little one get the chance to meet Remy, he really is super and really cute. Hopefully they will postpone the shipment for a little while longer.. [-o<
I'll bear the breakfast theory in mind, thanks for reminding me of the alternatives.. :wink: :mrgreen:
Quote from: "Javey74"
WOW! Your first time. I am glad you tried it, but as a DLP vet, I am sorry to hear you missed out on the majesty that was Space Mountain au la Terre a la Lune. But it sounds like you enjoyed it?
Quote from: "Javey74"Day 4 Continuation....
Cowboy Cookout Barbeque for a Texan dinner, the queues in here were really long aswell, but we were prepared to wait to get some grub.. :mrgreen: We managed to get a table just to the right of the stage, listening to some Bluegrass background music. Now this is my sort of place to sit, eat and then chill a little, surrounded by everything Country & Western. :D/ To my suprise just as we were finishing our dinner, three musicians got up onto the stage, one with a fiddle, another with a banjo and the third with a double bass. They started playing away some quite nifty bluegrass music. Well I was truly in my element by this point. Tapping my feet..Yee-Ha.. =D> :D/ =D>
Take a look>>
As someone who grew up at the original Disneyland, this is as much a part of the Disney difference as any characters and why I get grumpy when I see the entertainment disappear. Besides the excellent food for a counter service, these guys are a part of why CCBBQ is always on our lists of must dos. Glad you enjoyed.
The Bluegrass guys, marching band, and African Tam Tams are essential to my Disney experience (as is the barber shop quartet, not that I have seen one at DLP since 1993).
BTW - the card players in Phantom Manor have been there since day 1 and are the main reasons why I prefer Phantom Manor to the American and Japanese versions (as well as the awesome score).
So much fun to read that! Thank you sooo much for this great trip report!
Mr Javey, Sir... you have set phasers to stun, and provided the story which has captured my attention and imagination!
You have no option but to provide me with the itinerary for my next visit! :wink:
Thanks everyone for your comments, I'm really pleased you are all enjoying it.. :mrgreen:
Captain Pan: When you get to go to DLRP next, I'll help you if you want me to with your Itinerary, though a word of warning, it will look rather like a Military Mission Assignment.. :lol: :mrgreen:
Quote from: "Javey74"Captain Pan: When you get to go to DLRP next, I'll help you if you want me to with your Itinerary, though a word of warning, it will look rather like a Military Mission Assignment.. :lol: :mrgreen:
You obviously haven't seen what the Captain is like when it comes to having things done and sorted... I have precision that even the world must fit to what I want to do,when my mind is set to it!
So I'm used to it... well sort of...
Quote from: "Javey74"Quote from: "Aveen2008"Omg you met Alice...that's it now I am totally jealous :shock: hehe!! :P
Jen reminds me so much of my cousin when she was younger, the resemblance is amazing really! The comparison of the photos of her in the space of those 3 years is astonishing too, they grow up so quick!!
=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> I will join in the applause for the cast members of the character express and for most of the cast members in the park as they are pretty great!!
your photos are so clear and crisp, it's a great camera and of course a great photographer :wink: !! I wish you had stayed for a month because I am going to be so sad when yoru report is over :( , I love reading it! =D> :D/
Awwwh, thanks Aveen, those comments were really touching.. :D
Well since I was young, people used to say that I had a vivid imagination, and a way of telling particular stories. I possibly could continue the trip as though I was still there, but somehow I don't think it would work in this instance.. :( :mrgreen:
I am actually quite liking that idea!! :P hehe
Why does it have to be nearly over ??? :cry:
Quote from: "Javey74"Now I'm not sure if this scene has always been included but I can't for the life of me remember the card game scene where there was a game of cards being played at a table, but the cards were being lifted by an invisable force, then being played backwards and forwards on the table by themselves. It's located at the Boot Hill scene just before you reach the evil red eye'd skeleton dog.. :o :shock:
Yep, that was there before - inside a house on the right, right? It's one of my favourite bits in that scene :)
Another great chapter... :D =D>
awww Jen looks so grown up in a space of 3 years :D time really does fly!
=D> =D> to all the CM's!
I don't want this report to end :cry: :cry:
Well I'm really angry now... :evil: :evil: :evil:
I've just been on since 3.00pm for the last instalment, and was reading it through, editing it. I got to the last paragraph ready to send when and the whole Laptop crashed, even though I'd copied the text, so I could paste it in case the internet went off. But because the whole system crashed, it's in memory and I had to shut the laptop down manually, to get the laptop working again...NOW IT'S GONE.. :x :x :x
I am so sorry for you Javey - I hate when computers do this!
However, you just take all the time you need to recreate the final chapter and anything else that mifht have been involved in the crash. This report's quality makes it worth the wait no matter what :D/
Quote from: "Javey74"Well I'm really angry now... :evil: :evil: :evil:
I've just been on since 3.00pm for the last instalment, and was reading it through, editing it. I got to the last paragraph ready to send when and the whole Laptop crashed, even though I'd copied the text, so I could paste it in case the internet went off. But because the whole system crashed, it's in memory and I had to shut the laptop down manually, to get the laptop working again...NOW IT'S GONE.. :x :x :x
Ouch! #-o I'm sorry to hear that Javey, good luck with re-writing it ;)
OMG...That took some re-writing.. :shock: :shock:
The main problem was that I was writing all of it from memory, all I had written was quick notes. So that way if you lose what you write you can never write the same again, and that's what makes it extra difficult.. :shock: :shock:
Anyway.....Here goes..2nd attempt.. :mrgreen:
Day 4 Continuation 2...
Well we reluctantly had to leave the Cowboy Cookout Barbeque and leave the music I was loving so much. :( Jen wanted to go to the 'Pocahontas Indian Village' play area. So we headed over passing the.. :wink:
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Which we've never had the luck to see in operation on any DLRP Trip. :shock: Jen ran straight on into the...
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Pocahontas Indian Village play area, whilst Jen was running around like a lunatic, burning some calories. :mrgreen: I decided on the other hand to wander down to the waters edge with Vanessa to feed some ducks we had spotted, just then a new visitor to the Indian Village had arrived in the shape of.. :o
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Grey Heron...Well.... After continuing to throw pieces of a spare croissant I'd put in my pocket at breakfast time, it just stood there watching the ducks feeding, at some point it looked as though it was going to take some, lowering it's neck, but I wasn't convinced that it was very hungry. It also looked as though it didn't want to get it's feet wet either.. :lol: :mrgreen:
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Jen had a little bit more play in the play area, which give me a little more thinking time. I then began to wonder if Casey Junior was open, since it had been closed throughout our trip upto now. We took a round about trip to get there, going through Adventureland all the way round into Fantasyland. We followed the usual path past Alice's Curious Labyrinth, then looking ahead the sign read 'CLOSED'.... Oh no, why oh why oh why was it closed. :x :x I ended up just glaring at the rope that was strung across the path. It left me totally confused as to the reason why, since as mentioned earlier, there was no closures or refurbishments due at this present time. :? :roll:
We were conscious of the time since in about 15 minutes we needed to be at the Chaparral Theatre for the showing of "Mickey's Winter Wonderland" show. :D/ :D/ We thought it best to take a slow walk back into Frontierland, taking in the atmosphere on the way. On arriving at the...
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Chaparral Theatre, we entered an already quite full theatre, finding seats 3 rows down from the very back, sort of central and only slightly obscured by a support post. :roll: This was going to requirel for a lot of zoom to get the shots I was after in here. :shock: Looking at the stage set up brought back vivid memories from the last time I saw this show.
Photo's can be viewed here>>
http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/mic ... nter-wond/ (http://public.fotki.com/disneymagic/mickeys-winter-wond/%22%20onclick=%22window.open(this.href);return%20false;)
Well we started to leave the Chaparral Theatre still all estatic and humming the song's that we had been listening to, it was just great.. :-" :D
On exiting the Chaparral Theatre, we were directly in line to Woody's Roundup, on looking closer we noticed Jessie in the far corner, so we quickly rushed over.. :D
(//http://images47.fotki.com/v1464/photos/1/1220156/5386989/Jessie3Feb2009-vi.jpg)
Well it was time to start and leave the Magic.. :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
We started to head towards Main Street, to do the final bits of shopping, you know as you do. In our case checking how many Euros we had left and buying the final items we had been looking at over the whole trip. Usually by now it's mostly 'Pins'.. :D Oh, and a couple of ties I was after for work.. :D
Heading past Town Square and the Station we all took a last look back at the Castle. I for one had a lump in my throat, I know Vanessa would have been the same, Jen was trying hard to hold her tears back, but it was no good, as she started crying.. :cry: :cry:
But then I reminded them all of the fact that we weren't going to say 'Goodbye', it's a new coping mechanism we've come to learn and use. We now say "Farewell, but we'll be back" then "A Bientot".. :wink: :D It's much better and easier to cope with.. :wink: I've always hated Goodbyes in that respect.. :(
Anyway, we arrived back at the Santa Fe Left Luggage Room to collect our belongings; on leaving, the staff said the same thing as we did to the Castle, "A Bientot". Really nice they were. :D
We quickly nipped over into the hotel reception area to open the cases, as you do to put the last minute purchases in them, before re-locking them. We had about 15 minutes left before Mark was due to pick us up.. :wink:
Once we had sorted the cases out, we decided to wait outside on the seats. It was funny, just before Mark was due to pick us up, a VEA bus pulled in, a woman got off and asked if we were going to CDG, we just said "No, it's ok". She got back in and drove off. As she drove off I noticed the bus was empty. :shock: :shock:
Just after 5.45pm Mark arrived. :D We all started to get into the taxi while Mark put our cases and hand luggage into the boot. Jen wanted to sit in the front with me for going back, but I said she should really sit in the back. But then there was a stroke of luck for Jen. Mark said he was picking up a family of 5 at the Sequoia Lodge, so she could if she wanted. So Jen got into the front with me, with Vanessa in the back. :) With us all onboard we headed off around the corner to the Sequoia Lodge, but the people Mark was picking up, weren't outside. :o
Saying that we were early, so we all waited a while. :mrgreen: Whilst we were waiting I got talking to Mark. The first thing I asked him was if he'd managed to get his lights sorted out, to my astonishment he hadn't, he said that he hadn't stopped since dropping us off on Sunday, but he had managed to book it into the garage tomorrow, as he was a little quieter for pickup's and dropoffs. :mrgreen:
Seeing a VEA bus pull up near us, got me into asking Mark something I'd often wondered, and that was if the VEA buses were partially owned by Disney or if they were just contracted by Disney. :?: He told me that the VEA company were an individual company just contracted by Disney, but he then went on to tell me a really interesting story about them. :o
Apparently over the last year or so there was a police investigation into allegations made by the VEA company about private taxis stealing a lot of the VEA customers at the airports and the hotels. It later became apparent that this was not the case. Mark said if you visited a lot of the VEA bus drivers homes they were well furnished and had state of the art mod cons, also theses mod cons were paid for by cash, very few of the drivers had credit cards. But then he went onto explain what was actually going on. :shock: :shock:
During the investigation it came to light that when passengers were getting picked up by the drivers, the driver would just ask how many adults and how many children there were, then which hotel. He would then charge them the acquired rates with no receipt, but instead of putting the money in the cash bag they would just pocket it instead. :shock: :shock: Bearing in mind for an average family of four consisting of 2 adults and 2 children, at present that would be a total of €60.00. But what the drivers would do so it looked less suspicious would be to only keep a handful of the families money that boarded the bus. :o :shock: So out of say 12 families on board they would keep the money from 4 of them. :shock: :shock:
After the investigation had finished most of the drivers were sacked and the VEA company re-recruited, also putting a new system in place where by having to give receipts to all passengers, a copy of which imprints on an internal role on the ticket machine. :wink: Also they started increasing the amount of pre-bookings for the VEA bus through travel agents in the way of pre-payed vouchers. :wink: When I told him about the VEA bus that had just arrived before him being empty, he couldn't help but laugh. :mrgreen: It was just at this point that the family he was looking for turned up. It was an Irish family heading to Belfast also by EasyJet. :)
We were on our way. :)
Now, I don't think this habit is just mine, but I bet everyone who leaves DLRP does this. :wink: As you get out onto the roads around Val d'Europe and Marne-La-Vallee, you constantly look back for a glimpse of the Castle, Space Mountain and now TOT. Come on I bet you do :lol: :mrgreen:
On leaving the outer parameter ring I noticed that there seem to be a lot of building work going on. :o But about 2 miles west of the parameter ring I noticed a set of houses or flats, not sure which, maybe both. But on closer inspection I was amazed looking at the view they would get from the upstairs windows since the rear windows were facing towards DLRP, with the Castle and TOT directly in sight. :D/ Imagine if you woke up on a bright sunny morning at home, opened your curtains to see a view of the Sleeping Beauty Castle straight in front of you in the distance. :shock: Wow... :D/ :D/ :D/
We kept heading west, till any sight of DLRP had disappeared, but I can tell you that if you're travelling to CDG airport, the last glimpse you get of the Castle is when you turn off the road from Marne-La-Vallee onto the A104, it's a sharp right turn, if you quickly look to your left you can still see the top of it in the distance. Then it's gone forever... :cry: :cry: :cry:
Well Mark got us to the airport in about 35 minutes, he dropped us off first at terminal 2b. :D He got out of the taxi opening the boot to get our cases and hand luggage. I went in my wallet to get the €47.00, I gave him the notes first, then just as I was about to give him the €2.00 he said "No, it doesn't matter". How nice was that, but I said "No, take it", he really deserved it, he was a brilliant host getting us to DLRP and a good one getting us back to the airport. I'd book him again for our next trip, since I'd kept his business card. He even took us into the check-in foyer, telling us some of the shortcuts to use to by-pass the queues.. :D
We went through to the check in area within the airport, even though at CDG there is a lot to be desired, very strange ways, and if you want a reality check, it hits you like a brick in this place.. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen: But we eventually got to the plane, leaving 15 minutes late. :roll: Arriving back at Newcastle just 9 minutes later than expected, but I wasn't bothered since you're never in a rush to get back home to reality are you. :roll:
After leaving the airport we went for the car, which was as easy to pick up as it was for dropping it off, another airport parking facility I would definitely use again. :D Then it was off to get our little Gizmo who had been stopping at Vanessa's Mam's while we were away. :wink:
Finally there was the drive back home, I knew things just wouldn't be the same for a while. I was right, the depression was starting to set in quicker than I expected. :(
I just kept thinking of all the merchandise I had to go through, aswell as all the photo's to sort, they were the only things that really cheered me up.. :mrgreen:
Summary and Statistics to Follow>>>
Aw I feel all sad now lol! :( I do the same when leavingthe resort i keep looking back for a glimpse of something TOT or the balloon or something to hold onto the magic that little bit longer!
do you have any idea of when you will return? :)
Aww, that last part was so sad. I bet we all feel like that. You go home to your appartment and it feels emptier than normal, more sterile. You start to unpack and all your merchandise and goodies appear and you can't help but think of the memories and how sad it is to be home away from the glee, the music, the sound of happy people. And it lasts for days and days.
When I get home from my next trip in april, I can't spend time being sad as I have to work really hard on my bachelor project and have no time to waste. It's gonna be really hard.
I really loved your trip report Jav! Loved all the pictures and stories. Made me feel like I was just there. Thx so much for writing it! :D
Sorry, I've been abscent from the forum for quite a while now, and your report is soooo long, that I concentraded more on the photos so far and read only parts of the report :mrgreen:
But your report and pictures are absolutely brilliant, javey!! It is just so much fun looking at it!!!
And wow, Jen has grown up sooo much!! How old is she now? I love the character pics with her! Such a lucky girl, I think if I will have a daughter and/or son once, they'll also be "Disney babies", I want to show them the wonderful world of Disney right from the beginning hehe ;)!
Aw, I didn't know it was your first time on Space Mountain, too :)! My first ride was in 2007 and I think our feelings and reactions are pretty similar ;)!
It's just such a shame the report is already over :(!
Simply AMAZING Javey!
That is all that can be said about this report. I'm sorry that it is finished now, but also so happy as you have almost given me half a DLRP Trip with this amazing report. The photos in particular have been absolutely stunning, but again so has the text.
=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> Bravo =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>
What an awesome trip report Javey, well done and thanks for sharing it with us. I'm glad you all had such a great trip =D> :mrgreen:
Only just got back myself from our beloved magical land so it's taken me sometime to catch up with this excellent trip report. Loved every word (and photo) of it, absolutely brilliant. Thanks for taking the time to share your wonderful holiday with us =D> =D>
Epcot_Boy :ears:
Simply Splendid!
Pictures of perfection, and perfectly executed too!
Only a shame that its nearly over now... And Maybe unlike most Disney Movies... Without the happily ever after... As you didn't get to stay at the kingdom...or with the duck either!
Thankyou everyone for such kind, warm and heartfelt comments. I'm so pleased that you all enjoyed my report, as I enjoyed writing it.. :D/ :D/ :D/
As said earlier, there's just the Summary and Statistics to finish with now, which should be arriving shortly.. :wink:
Thanks once again.. :D
Its over :(
Apart from the summary and stats
But still...its over :(
Summary and Statistics of our Trip
Well all in all I couldn't ask for much more from this trip. I realised looking at the statistics that it's the first trip where I think we covered just about everything as far as rides and attractions go.. :D
The only main thing I did notice was that there were no Princess meet and greets, which did feel unusual. It now seems that if you want to do that, you'd have to reserve a meal in the Auberge de Cendrillon.. :roll:
Below you will find our statistics of characters, rides, attractions, shows and restaurants we visited during our trip.. :D/
Character's Met>>
Abu [A first with Jen on this one] / Alice / Baloo / Captain Hook / Chip & Dale / Clarice / Cruella De Vil / Daisy / Donald / Eeyore / Emile / Friar Tuck / Genie / Geppetto & Pinocchio / Goofy / Jafar / Jessie / Koda & Kenai / Lilo & Stitch / King Louis / Meeko / Mickey / Monseiur Ratcliffe / The CDA / Mike / Sulley / Piglet [Also a first] / Wendy & Peter Pan / Pluto / Rabbit [Another first] / Rafiki / Remy / Smee / The Sheriff of Nottingham / Tigger / Tweedle Dum & Tweedle Dee / Woody.
WDS
Rides>>
TOT / Studio Tram Tour / Cars Quatre Roues Rallye / Crushers Coaster / Flying Carpets over Agrabah.
Attractions>>
Cinemagique / Stitch Live / Animagique / The Art of Disney Animation / Toon Train [x3].
Magic Kingdom
Adventureland>>
Pirates of the Caribbean / Adventure Isle.
Frontierland>>
Phantom Manor / Thunder Mountain Riverboat landing / Big Thunder Mountain Pocahontas indian Village / Chaparral Theatre / Critters Coral - Woody's Roundup Village.
Fantasyland>>
Blanche Neige et les Sept Nains / Le Courrousel de Lancelot / Peter Pans Flight / Dumbo - The Flying Elephant / Alice's Curious Labyrinth / Mad Hatters Teacups / It's a Small World / Sleeping Beauty's Castle.
Discoveryland>>
Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast [x2] / Orbitron / Space Mountain - Mission 2 / Autopia.
Parades and Shows Seen>>
Once upon A Dream Parade / Candleabration / Mickey's Winter Wonderland.
Restaurants Used During Stay>>
Annettes Diner / Rendez-Vous des Stars / Agrabah Cafe Restaurant / Cowboy Cookout Barbecue.
Looking at the above, there was only the 'Rockin' Roller Coaster' and the 'Indiana Jones' Coaster that I didn't get to go on, although for one; I'd been on the 'Indiana Jones' Coaster on my last visit, but I've never been on the 'Rockin' Roller Coaster' at all. I have no fancy for this coaster simply because I don't like heavy metal music, and that's the only reason really.. :P In fact it must be after being on TOT and Space Mountain M2.. :mrgreen:
Well that's about it for now, but I get the feeling there may be a few other things that might just creep into this segment, maybe at a later time. So keep an eye out.. :wink: :D
I'd just like to take this opportunity again to thank you all for the wonderful and warm comments you have given me. It really does make writing a Trip Report worth while, especially with the ongoing encouragement you have given me. I just hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.. :D
Farewell for now.. :mrgreen:
i know its been said before on here, but what a really enjoyable read this report has been, it is really great, and here's to the next one :D/ whenever that may be
Such a great Trip report. I have enjoyed reading every word!!
I'm really sad its over now :cry: :cry:
I too saw the heron when i went!! I actually saw two! But my camera is so useless they came out like burry blobs :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Thanks again for posting a great trip report!! :D :mrgreen:
Great stuff dear Javey!! Thanks for sharing those great pictures and story! :)
In danger of repeating myself, this surely has been an absolutely terrific trip report Javey =D> Thank you very much for sharing all your pictures and stories with us :D/
Fabulous trip report Javey!!!! :D :D
I really enjoyed reading your report. Great pictures!! Thanks for sharing your TR with us!!
How on earth could i of forgotten about this!? :shock: I started reading day 4 and then forgot all about it :shock:
Have to say Javey that was a fantastic trip report, everything about it was great, a real joy to read :D/ =D>
I've never seen them cards in Phantom Manor, but i think you always notice something when the attraction stops for a period of time, last year i noticed for the first time was the hangman rope which moves about by itself. It's located just at the very start of the Thunder Mesa finale scene, to the right. Also that taxi service sounds very good, you'll have to give me the number before i go away, i'll ask him did he get the headlight fixed :mrgreen:
Thanks so much Javey for posting this, really was superb =D> =D>
Thank you again, words just cannot express my gratitude to all of you.. :oops: :oops: :D breeno: The Taxi Details>>
MAJESTY Transfers [Registered Transportation Company]
Direct Transfers to Disneyland and Airports in 30 mins
By 8 seater minibus - anytime - any hotel - no waiting.
Book with Mark on: 0033 6 16 30 30 10
Or email him at:
majestyparis@yahoo.fr Happy touring, and yes if you can, ask about his lights.. :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
Great end to your report. But I'm sad it's over :cry:
When are you going back??
Thanks never2old. Yeah you soon get to know the meaning of sadness once you've returned from the magical land.. :|
Well never2old on your question, I'd love to go the last week in August, just into September. The reason being it's Jens Birthday on the 1st September. Whether we get there will be another matter.. [-o< [-o<
Our finances are not very clever at the moment.. :roll: But I can only hope.. :)
Funny this, but I knew I'd forget to state an obvious point. But on this trip Jen never got a photo with Minnie, and never saw her on her own either, which to us is rather strange.. :shock: :shock:
Now there's a long time coming random comment if ever there was one.. :lol: :D