Hi everyone! We've just got back from a magical five days at DLP :D I'm missing it already but thought that the best way to cheer myself up might be to start my trip report. Actually, it might just make me miss it even more, but it's worth a try ;)
I have a bit of a tendency to ramble on these reports so I'll try and keep this year's a little more concise! But I do find that writing all this down is a good way for me to reflect on my trip, especially as a long-time DLP fan, so I hope you don't mind if I get a bit chattier at times!
Highlights: Going on Ratatouille and Molly Brown for the first time (why we haven't done MB before I do not know), meeting Mickey, Disney Dreams!, being back in the magic and enjoying our usual favourites.
Low points: Guest behaviour (surprise, surprise ::) ) and a couple of random things along the way.
DAY 1:
We woke up at 4am ready for our 6.30am flight - the flight went really smoothly and we landed in Paris almost 45 minutes ahead of schedule! A VEA (or Magical Shuttle, as it's now called) journey later and we were in the DLP grounds. I love staying at the Cheyenne cos it means you get to look at the Newport Bay Club, the Sequoia and the Santa Fe before you get to your hotel - it's nice to have a little nose! There's still a LOT of scaffolding on the NBC but the finished areas are looking really good.
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We arrived at the Cheyenne and I got butterflies in my stomach as I saw the buildings and the reception - I think it's such a special hotel and the theming is just perfect. Russ waited outside with the bags while I went to check in.
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I noticed a few changes in the check-in system this time around - firstly, the CMs said "Howdy, yee haa, hello!" to get people's attention when they were ready to check them in (So cute! Is this new?! I've never noticed it before!) and secondly, the rooms were 100% not ready until 3pm. I think in the past we've been told 2pm, but our room has been ready almost every time and we've always been able to go in from about 11am with no issues. But this year, the lady who checked me in didn't even mention the room - it was only when I brought it up as she went to say goodbye that she said "Oh, it's 3pm check-in, you'll need to use the luggage storage area." They've never really seemed to enforce the afternoon check-in thing before but maybe they're feeling the need to nowadays? Who knows. Even when we went back at 2.50pm the lady still looked a tiny bit peeved and said "Well, it should be 3pm really, so your room might not be ready..." It wasn't a problem, just interesting as we've been so many times, I guess.
As our room wasn't ready, we decided to walk straight to the parks - it was about 11.30am by this stage. It was lovely to walk along the Rio Grande again - we only took the bus once this whole holiday! I find the shuttle can be a pain to wait around for and cram onto, and with the weather as nice as it was, it made sense for us to walk everywhere.
It was so exciting to be back in Parc Disneyland - hearing "Welcome" and then walking through onto Main Street was as magical as ever :D After I'd had a little cry, we went for a walk around Fantasyland and decided to have lunch at Au Chalet. They've changed the menu slightly - the beefburger now comes in a bagel instead of a burger bun! It sounded a bit odd but tasted really good, haha.
Russ asked me which ride I wanted to go on first and I chose Pirates. Yo ho ;) It was great to be back on it and the swinging pirate was working, which made me happy :')
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Next was It's a Small World, another favourite. Just waiting in line for this ride is magical - the queue loop is one of my favourite things to hear, ever. The tick-tock wasn't working on this first day but luckily it was back every day after this. Phew!
We saw a lot of characters around the park as we were on our travels, and this continued while we were there. They were mostly in Fantasyland and Central Plaza, but we were still really impressed because there've been years where we haven't really seen any characters at all! Just on this first day we saw Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Smee and Hook :')
After a quick browse on Main Street, we decided to head back to the hotel to check in and have a rest. I took a few photos on the way:
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We were able to check in properly this time and receive our room key - we were in Billy the Kid (where we were last year, too!) which is a Rio Grande building. The room we were in was right in the corner as the building bent round so all we could see from our window were other windows, and barely any light was coming in, which made me a bit sad. It was really quite gloomy :(
Russ went to turn on the Disney Channel for me to cheer me up (we don't have Sky or anything at home so I always look forward to watching the DC at DLP. Hey Jessie! ;)) but we found that our room wasn't tuned to UK Disney Channel - instead we had BBC One. There's nothing wrong with BBC One but obviously it's not very Disney-ish, haha, so Russ dropped down to reception to ask if the TV could be re-tuned or looked at. The maintenance CM wasn't able to help us and couldn't figure out what was wrong - after two checks, we were asked if we wanted to switch rooms. As I wasn't overly enamoured with our room anyway I was secretly quite glad of the offer, so we agreed, and we ended up in a room further down the corridor, with a much better view and more light :D
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This new room didn't have Disney Channel UK either, and when we mentioned this to a different CM, she said "None of the rooms at any of the hotels have it, it hasn't been working since the start of the month." We were a bit confused as to why this CM knew this but the others didn't, but whatever. I know it's kind of dumb to be upset about the TV when you're in Disneyland, but as I said, getting our Disney Channel fix has become part of our holiday, so I was still sad that the only English-speaking non-looped channels were BBC One and a news channel. We watched a lot of Top 10 Things (my fave) and Timon & Pumbaa's Safety Smart when we were in the room after this, haha, and it wasn't until the last night that we worked out YOU CAN CHANGE THE LANGUAGE ON THE TV. So all the Disney Channel France/Spain dubs can be removed and you can watch the shows in their original language or change it to a different one. Who knew? We sure didn't, but if anyone else is going soon and has the same issue, I thought that'd be a good tip for you :)
After a little rest in the new room and a bit of unpacking, we decided to go and have a look in Disney Village. We ate at Earl of Sandwich (I'd definitely recommend it here - it's not overly 'magical' but the food is great and it's often quite quiet) and then browsed around World of Disney and the main Disney Store :')
As we got back to the Cheyenne, we walked through the Wyatt Earp building, and came across a newly-refurbed corridor! No-one looked to be staying there - it was almost as if they were testing it out as a potential theme for the Cheyenne refurbishment. What do you think? I like it a lot :)
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We're always exhausted at the end of this first day and this was no exception - we were back in our room and asleep by 7.30pm ;) We set our Mickey wake-up call for 7am the next day - I was so excited for my first Disney breakfast in a year!
Wonderful start to your report. :) Will be reading the rest certainly.
Just one question, why are there "instagram" filtered pictures mixed in?
It appears to degrade their quality quite a bit, which is unfortunate.
Hope you have a lovely stay. :D
Quote from: DisneyRon on June 14, 2015, 02:45:43 PM
Wonderful start to your report. :) Will be reading the rest certainly.
Just one question, why are there "instagram" filtered pictures mixed in?
It appears to degrade their quality quite a bit, which is unfortunate.
Hope you have a lovely stay. :D
Thanks Ron! I'm glad you're enjoying it :) The photos are taken with an app called RetroCamera - I find it actually works better for me than taking photos with my actual phone camera, as the app frames them well and doesn't seem to blur like my phone camera is so prone to doing! We normally take a digital camera, I use the app on my phone and we also have a couple of disposable cameras, so we'll have quite a mixture along the way :D
The check-in at 3pm definitely isn't anything new, I've had that for absolute years on end.
Sometimes you do get into your room earlier, I guess you've always been really lucky like that before, because out of all the times I've gone, I think we got into our room before 3pm just once or twice.
I can remember once for sure, but it may have been more.
We checked in at 2pm and got into the room straight away and that was only a couple of weeks before you. I'm confused by this! Lovely report so far, I don't think that you're rambling at all and can't wait to read the rest! Love the look of the wyatt earp corridor too!
Quote from: HildeKitten on June 14, 2015, 05:26:23 PM
The check-in at 3pm definitely isn't anything new, I've had that for absolute years on end.
Sometimes you do get into your room earlier, I guess you've always been really lucky like that before, because out of all the times I've gone, I think we got into our room before 3pm just once or twice.
I can remember once for sure, but it may have been more.
Quote from: andrewuk on June 14, 2015, 06:57:12 PM
We checked in at 2pm and got into the room straight away and that was only a couple of weeks before you. I'm confused by this! Lovely report so far, I don't think that you're rambling at all and can't wait to read the rest! Love the look of the wyatt earp corridor too!
Thanks andrewuk! :D Hmm, that's confusing then - it must just be that we've been very lucky over the past few years or something? It was really busy when we checked in (it had the longest check-in queue I've ever seen at the Cheyenne!) so maybe they were really feeling the strain?
I love the Wyatt Earp changes too! On the 'news and rumours' side of things recently, I'd heard that DLP had mentioned that the Cheyenne's refurb would be "something completely different", but this looks quite similar to me! I think it's enough of a modern update without taking the classic theme away. Looking forward to seeing the rooms too :)
Great start of the report!
I like the theming of Cheyenne and am absolutely sure that we'll stay there some day. There is a refurbishment planned for this hotel, so it's certainly an example building.
Quote from: Mileto on June 15, 2015, 12:16:49 PM
Great start of the report!
I like the theming of Cheyenne and am absolutely sure that we'll stay there some day. There is a refurbishment planned for this hotel, so it's certainly an example building.
Thank you! I'm hoping to get Day 2 up today or tomorrow :D
Yeah I thought the same - it was lovely seeing it in person. I think the theming at the Cheyenne is fab but I do think it's time for it to have a refurb and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out!
DAY 2:
We woke up to our hotel phone alarm and I got very excited at the prospect of hearing Mickey's wake-up call at the other end of the phone. I can now pretty much recite that word-for-word... "Hiya pal! Time to get up - we've got a lot to do! Have a great day - see ya real soon!" AW :') I wish I'd recorded it!
It was lovely to be back in the Chuck Wagon for breakfast - I can never get enough of the fruit salad and the bread rolls :D as you can see ;)
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After a quick shower, we walked to the parks ready for our first full day at the resort. It was so nice and sunny by this point and we were feeling very content as we walked along the Rio Grande :') We got into Parc Disneyland at about 9.40am and decided it wasn't worth trying to get on any EMH rides - instead we waited at the Frontierland entrance nearest Casey's Corner, so we could try and get on Big Thunder Mountain!
When it hit 10am, I was really impressed by the way the CMs dealt with the crowds. In the past, it's been a case of "Okay-I'm-going-to-pull-the-rope-back-now-please-don't-crush-each-other-ahh-no-running-please-MONSIEUR!-NO RUNNING!-EXCUSE ME!" as the poor cast member tried but failed to control the crowds, haha. But they were much calmer and more authoritative this time and they actually walked (with the rope) in front of the crowds, making sure they kept at a really slow pace. When we reached Fort Comstock, the CM from the main Frontierland entrance took over and walked slowly to BTM, making sure no-one ran or overtook other people. I thought it was a much better way to do things :)
Hang on to them hats and glasses, cos this here's the wildest ride in the wilderness!
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I enjoyed BTM a lot but for some reason I spooked myself a little this time and when we got to the top and looked down I felt a bit scared :'( I always prefer the non-rollercoaster-y rides but normally I'm fine with BTM (it was my entire family's favourite ride when I was small!) but this year I just felt a little more jittery than normal. It was still a lot of fun, though, and as the first ride of the morning it really woke me up ;)
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We kept to our usual BTM tradition of heading straight to Phantom Manor afterwards - eek! What an amazing ride, it never ever ever fails to disappoint me :') As soon as we saw the picture of Melanie I just felt so happy. I always feel really at home in PM, which is potentially a little bit weird. But whatever ;)
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We usually speed through Phantom Manor a little, as we know where to stand in order to be first out of each room (and therefore first onto the doombuggies!). But this time we decided we'd hang back - I felt kind of bad that we always rush and don't get to appreciate the queuing area, especially when Russ said he'd never seen the stretching pictures of Melanie on the other side of the room because we always stand on the side nearest the door! We had a nice little wander through the corridor this time at a far more leisurely pace :D
As per the norm, PM was great. The thing I love about this ride is the fact that I always see something new when I'm on it - I am a little bit obsessed with the story behind it and as we were going along on the ride I was there saying "LOOK! LOOK! THE WEDDING CAKE WASN'T EVEN EATEN! LOOK AT THE UNOPENED PRESENTS ON THE TABLE! OH THAT NASTY PHANTOM" and Russ was pointing out potential references to horror movies. We had so much fun :') Plus, the phantom is back appearing over your doombuggy at the end of the ride and this was the first time we'd experienced this since our first trip together in 2011, so we were really chuffed with that.
After a little look around Boot Hill (an inquisitive-sounding American couple mentioned the tombstones and I was going to go all Boot Hill tour guide on them but felt it best not to) we walked back into Thunder Mesa for a quick stop-off in the shops.
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After this we decided we'd head on over to Discoveryland - Star Tours and Buzz were calling! How have you guys found the so-called 'GreenFencesland'? I expected it to be really bad but I actually didn't notice the fences a massive amount - they have attraction posters on them which definitely looks a little better. The scaffolding on the Hyperion wasn't looking great but I guess it's hard for them to hide that? I don't know.
The rides were great - Buzz was a 15-minute wait and Star Tours was 5 minutes, so we felt really lucky :D They're both favourites of mine, and going on Star Tours meant even more to me this year because I knew it'd be our last visit to DLP while it was still in its original set-up. I love that ride, I really do. When you first walk through and you see Admiral Ackbar and co I could just cry :') (I usually do).
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We walked back over to Frontierland - we'd decided to try the Silver Spur Steakhouse for lunch. We'd never been here before so we were both really excited, and it didn't disappoint. Russ had the steak (duh ;) ) and I had the chicken as I'm not a massive fan of steak and I was glad there were some alternatives. We thought it was lovely and the theme was beautiful - I'd definitely recommend it.
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On our way out we walked through Fort Comstock and actually went upstairs, as this is something I've either never done or have done so long ago I can't remember it (do you get that too?). It was a lot of fun and I loved the little scenes for you to see as you walk round. Sorry I don't have any photos of this to hand - half of our pictures are taken on disposable cameras and we're still waiting on the processing!
We headed over to Fantasyland for a sit and an explore, and on our way we bumped into the Tweedles and a few other characters!
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What a lovely surprise! It was really hot by this point so when we walked past Fantasia Gelati and saw it was open (it never normally is when we go) we stopped for an ice cream. The boy who served us was quite obviously new and when we went to order in English he looked terrified which we felt so bad about. He went over and spoke to his manager, obviously asking for help, and she was really snappy at him - even though we couldn't quite understand what she was saying to him it still was really sad because it was clear how abrupt and unhelpful she was being and he looked like he was going to cry :'(
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We sat with our ice creams for a while and then decided we'd get the train to Val d'Europe - Russ wanted to buy some water in bulk so we wouldn't have to keep spending 3 euros a pop on the smaller bottles in the resort ;) I don't know what it is but going to Val d'Europe these days just makes me feel a bit gloomy - I stayed there in 2006 with my mum and dad and I remember us really liking it, but when I visit now it just has a weird vibe to it and I don't feel particularly safe. I don't know if that's just me?
We got the train back to the hotel and played a few of our Disney card games :D This is always a magical part of our DLP holiday and we have many fond memories of playing Happy Families and Toy Story snap on the bed at the Cheyenne, haha. We decided we'd head out to Disney Village after this - we went to the Rainforest Cafe for an evening meal and then on to Disney Fashion and the Disney Gallery, two of my favourites.
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Later on in the evening we got ourselves set up in a good spot ready for Disney Dreams :') I was really excited to see the Frozen addition, and just to see the whole show again, really - I think it's amazing. I did like the Frozen section a lot and ended up having a little cry at Let It Go but I almost felt like it hadn't been made for DLP - the rest of the show fits in so well with the castle and feels quite obviously tailored for DLP, whereas the Frozen section felt like it'd been grabbed from something else and slotted in, if that makes sense? I don't know if that's just due to the vastness of the actual scene, though. Hmm.
As usual, it was brilliant :D I was again really impressed with the CMs - they've been given a hard time in the past for 'not doing anything' when people stand on the flowerbeds etc during Dreams!, and this may have been true, but nowadays I think they're doing a fantastic job. There were CMs practically patrolling Central Plaza all night, and when some young children climbed onto the landscaping near to the control booth, the CMs actually shone massive torches onto them and shouted for them to move. They also shouted at their parents too (not like HOW DARE YOU but just like MADAME! MADAME! to make their mum or whoever aware) which I thought was good.
After Dreams! we were out of Parc Disneyland like a shot to make sure we weren't in bed too late ;) We find that with the show being on so late in summer we don't get back to the room until midnight, and then with EMH etc it can lead to grumpy Sophie and sleepy Russ, haha. Before we knew it we were back in Billy the Kid and asleep, ready for day 3 :D
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When I was there last October the CMs were also doing a splendid job keeping people from stampeding into Frontierland, I'm glad to hear they've kept that up!
i remember that Thunder was closed at the beginning of the day due to some kind of failure, and he actually told people that sprinting to BTM was off no use because it was closed. I think that was a huge part of people's motivation not to try and bolt anyway :)
That's so sad that manager at Fantasia Gelati was so mean! Not just for the poor new CM, but also for guests, it's just no fun to see some kind of rude snapping CM, even if its not directed at you! It's not only unprofessional (there's better ways to communicate you're displeased) but it also ruins the atmosphere I think.
I'm very stoked that when I go in September the scaffolding around Hyperion will be gone. I wonder whether it'll still have all it's original colours or whether it'll be repainted in different ones like they did with the Jolly Roger a few years ago.
I'm also really looking forward to a last trip with Rex the forever rubbish droid pilot :D
I'm loving reading this! :D 'Potentially a bit weird' ho-ho really made me chuckle! ;D ;D :D
It's good to find new things to do there, and like you I can't remember if I've been upstairs in Fort Cornstock or not. :-\ I'm sure there must be plenty of details and great views up there so I'll have to make sure it gets done next time!
I agree green fence land wasn't too bad, but I'll be happier once the work is done and they're gone!
Love the rolls and fruit too! And PM straight after BTM sounds like a great idea, I'll have to try that as well!
Quote from: HildeKitten on June 16, 2015, 06:33:48 PM
When I was there last October the CMs were also doing a splendid job keeping people from stampeding into Frontierland, I'm glad to hear they've kept that up!
i remember that Thunder was closed at the beginning of the day due to some kind of failure, and he actually told people that sprinting to BTM was off no use because it was closed. I think that was a huge part of people's motivation not to try and bolt anyway :)
That's so sad that manager at Fantasia Gelati was so mean! Not just for the poor new CM, but also for guests, it's just no fun to see some kind of rude snapping CM, even if its not directed at you! It's not only unprofessional (there's better ways to communicate you're displeased) but it also ruins the atmosphere I think.
I'm very stoked that when I go in September the scaffolding around Hyperion will be gone. I wonder whether it'll still have all it's original colours or whether it'll be repainted in different ones like they did with the Jolly Roger a few years ago.
I'm also really looking forward to a last trip with Rex the forever rubbish droid pilot :D
It was sad seeing the poor guy being told off when he hadn't done anything wrong - it was definitely unprofessional on his manager's part :(
Haha, Rex is so cute - I love his little nervous laugh when he tells you it's his first flight too :')
Quote from: andrewuk on June 16, 2015, 09:19:01 PM
I'm loving reading this! :D 'Potentially a bit weird' ho-ho really made me chuckle! ;D ;D :D
It's good to find new things to do there, and like you I can't remember if I've been upstairs in Fort Cornstock or not. :-\ I'm sure there must be plenty of details and great views up there so I'll have to make sure it gets done next time!
I agree green fence land wasn't too bad, but I'll be happier once the work is done and they're gone!
Love the rolls and fruit too! And PM straight after BTM sounds like a great idea, I'll have to try that as well!
Aw, thank you so much! Haha I'm glad it's making you laugh! :') I just feel a very strong bond with PM for some reason ;) I'd really recommend Form Comstock, it was a lot of fun, plus it was a good place to go to get away from the crowds for a bit!
PM after BTM has gotta be done :D I feel like they link together perfectly!
Quote from: ilovedisneylandparis on June 18, 2015, 07:36:04 PM
PM after BTM has gotta be done :D I feel like they link together perfectly!
They have a shared storyline if I recall correctly. :) So they should fit together. :D
Quote from: DisneyRon on June 18, 2015, 07:43:57 PM
Quote from: ilovedisneylandparis on June 18, 2015, 07:36:04 PM
PM after BTM has gotta be done :D I feel like they link together perfectly!
They have a shared storyline if I recall correctly. :) So they should fit together. :D
They do have a shared storyline. Henry Ravenswood, the owner of the Big Thunder Mining Company was also the owner of the manor on the hill, known to us as Phantom Manor.
Lovely trip report so far! You should have given those Americans a Boot Hill tour. ;D Can't wait to read about how you spent the rest of the days!
Quote from: DisneyRon on June 18, 2015, 07:43:57 PM
Quote from: ilovedisneylandparis on June 18, 2015, 07:36:04 PM
PM after BTM has gotta be done :D I feel like they link together perfectly!
They have a shared storyline if I recall correctly. :) So they should fit together. :D
Exactly! ;)
Quote from: msRavenswood on June 18, 2015, 08:13:34 PM
Quote from: DisneyRon on June 18, 2015, 07:43:57 PM
Quote from: ilovedisneylandparis on June 18, 2015, 07:36:04 PM
PM after BTM has gotta be done :D I feel like they link together perfectly!
They have a shared storyline if I recall correctly. :) So they should fit together. :D
They do have a shared storyline. Henry Ravenswood, the owner of the Big Thunder Mining Company was also the owner of the manor on the hill, known to us as Phantom Manor.
Lovely trip report so far! You should have given those Americans a Boot Hill tour. ;D Can't wait to read about how you spent the rest of the days!
Isn't it the best! :')
Haha, I wish I had now, I feel like it's the tour I was born to give ;)
Day 3:
We woke up early on the Wednesday and I'd be lying if I said we weren't exhausted from the day before plus Dreams (yawwwn!). But early mornings are part of the fun in DLP, so we got ourselves up and prepared for another day in the magic ;) I always say this, but I cannot get enough of opening the curtains at the Cheyenne and seeing sunshine - it's one of my favourite things in the world. It was so lovely and sunny the whole time we were in DLP (not a drop of rain!) so I got my wish - four mornings of sunshine :-*
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We wanted to get into the parks nice and early for the Extra Magic Hours, and we were really happy that we got to go on both Buzz and Star Tours - Buzz was a 5-minute wait but Star Tours was a total walk-on! There were only about four other people in the Starspeeder with us which felt very odd but was quite exciting really :') It felt like people had almost forgotten about Star Tours this year, what with the green fences and everything - it was quite quiet around that area for most of our trip!
High on our DLP list for 2015 was Ratatouille - we're so used to visiting DLP every year that we never really expect anything to change, so the fact that we had a brand new ride to go on was really exciting :D We walked over to the Studios at 9.45am and already queues were starting to form, so we picked up a bit of a pace. As we were zipping through the crowds we saw a MASSIVE line and I worried it was an obscenely long line for Ratatouille for a second, but it turned out to be for Crush...phew.
When we got over to La Place de Remy the queue was existent but nowhere near as bad as we'd expected - I think we waited about 20 minutes in the end. What do you think of the ride? We really enjoyed it - the only slight criticism we had was that swapping between screens and 'physical' props could be a tiny bit jarring at times, but other than that I thought it was fab :D There was a little girl behind us and she was crying so hard - I know it's not the kind of ride you'd think "scary" about, but there are a few moments where you 'fall' through the roof or something similar and I think that could easily be frightening for younger children who don't know how to differentiate between what's real and what's not :(
After we came out, we had a little look around the general Ratatouille area. WOW. It was so, so beautiful and I have thought about it at least three times a day since we came back from DLP :') The buildings, the fountain, the music... I have now downloaded the Ratatouille soundtrack! I am listening (and crying) as we speak - take me back to DLP :'(
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The only slight disappointment we had was the shop, Chez Marianne. The actual store and its decor is fantastic, but the merchandise they had inside (Ratatouille and Paris-themed) was also sold EVERYWHERE else in the parks :( Why does DLP do this?! I will never understand it from a marketing point of view. We had actively tried to avoid looking at the Ratatouille merchandise in other stores because I wanted the merch in Chez Marianne to be a surprise but by about the third or fourth shop I'd just given up because it was in every damn place we went into :'( So when we got into Chez Marianne it was a bit of an anti-climax because we'd seen it all before, y'know?
Anyway, a lovely experience overall :') I can't wait to go back!
We had a little stroll around WDS...
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I've never been on Tower of Terror and wanted to give it a go this time around, but when it came down to it I decided not to. Maybe another time, but for now I'm happy listening to the soundtrack and taking pictures of the Hollywood Tower Hotel ;)
We had a little sit in Studio 1 and did a bit of people-watching, which was lovely. A few minutes later we were back in Parc Disneyland, and we decided it'd be fun to take a cruise on Molly Brown :D Again, this is one of those things that I either have never done or can't remember doing (probably the latter, as I feel like my mum would have got us on the Molly Brown "for a bit of culture" and we'd have grumped about not being on the rides, haha). It was a lovely little thing to do - I felt like we got to see a different side to Frontierland :)
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We took a trip to the Lucky Nugget for lunch - spending time in Thunder Mesa and smelling that amazing barbecue-y smell had made us want to eat in Frontierland :') I couldn't fault the Lucky Nugget - the service was really good (and very fast!) and the decor is nothing short of EXQUISITE. That really is the only word I can think of to describe it. You can feel the Imagineers (and Walt) in that place; I could have cried.
After we'd eaten, we realised we'd accidentally missed out on one of our favourite DLP activities - popcorn and balloon-buying! We normally do this on the first day and keep the balloon in our hotel room so HOW we forgot to do it this year I will never know...but better late than never, right? We walked over to the vendor in Central Plaza and Russ queued for his popcorn.
While he was doing this, a slight undercurrent of annoyance that I'd felt with DLP's guests really came to a head. Two young boys (probably 5 or 6?) were play-fighting in the popcorn queue, but it got to the point where they were literally throwing each other around, biting each other (?!??????) and knocking into other people in the queue, as their parents looked on lovingly and filmed them (again: ?!??????). (I didn't mean to make that emoticon but he's very appropriate so he can stay, haha). Another boy ran over from the castle, KICKED A CENTRAL PLAZA BIN and then ran back over to his family, who laughed?! I'm sorry but anyone who kicks a Disney bin deserves to be escorted from the parks and banned for all eternity, why would you do such a thing?
A few minutes later we walked through the castle and two teenagers ran past us, jumped over the walls onto the grass (the bit you're not meant to go on) and then ran into La Taniere du Dragon, pushing past a load of people on their way. We saw them as we came out and they'd climbed up onto some rockwork and were smoking and swearing at people (sO kOoL). I'm not normally an angry person but I suddenly had a really big urge to pull them down from the rockwork and throw them down the Fantasyland wishing well... Russ managed to move me away though, haha ;)
There were other instances throughout the holiday but these occasions all happened without a few minutes of each other which I think is why they annoyed me so much. I have often thought over the years that the biggest problem with DLP is its guests :'( So many people treat our park like rubbish and it makes me so sad.
(Rant over ;) )
We walked through Fantasyland and onto the Mad Hatter's Teacups - the perfect cheer-up ride :') After a little sit and some photo opportunities we decided we'd return to the Caribbean and then have a walk around Adventureland.
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By this point our legs were starting to ache (do you get this too? On the first day I'm like "My feet are doing SO well, I must be way fitter than last year" and then by day 3 I need to sit down every 10 minutes, haha) so we decided to pop back to the Cheyenne for a shower and a little rest. I was so tired that I actually had a nap, and when I woke up we realised we were just in time to catch the parade :D
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I missed Duffy on the last float but other than that it was another perfect Magic on Parade and it put me in a lovely mood post-nap, haha ;) We went for a little walk around Fantasia Gardens and Disney Village, before heading over to Earl of Sandwich for some food. I think this worked really well for us this year - it's a nice, quiet place to go on the way back to your hotel, especially if you're not massively hungry! We had a leisurely walk back, stopping by the lake on the way, and then relaxed at the Cheyenne for a while before another early night :')
Lovely photos :)
I enjoyed Ratatouille, I actually went in the single rider line second time round without my family just so I could see it all again. I'm not a massive fan of the movie but the ride is very clever indeed. Plus the entire area is beautiful.
Still loving this! Funny how you had parents not caring about their kids behaviour. if anything We had the opposite:
seeing parents giving out corporal punishment on more than one occasion!
A great report with beautiful photos! :)
Was Star Tours open during EMH?
What a lovely trip report and you have so many great pictures! I just realized we were in DLP at the same time! Weather indeed was great haha ;D Looking forward to the rest of your report
Quote from: andrewuk on June 20, 2015, 08:32:20 PM
Still loving this! Funny how you had parents not caring about their kids behaviour. if anything We had the opposite:
seeing parents giving out corporal punishment on more than one occasion!
No way! That's sad :( We didn't see anything like that, but that's even worse and definitely would put a downer on things!
Quote from: Mamaboogie on June 20, 2015, 11:02:51 PM
A great report with beautiful photos! :)
Was Star Tours open during EMH?
Thanks mamaboogie! :D Yes it was, which was great news for us as we're big fans. We found the queue was very short most of the day but during EMH it was a complete walk-on :')
Quote from: Lisaa on June 22, 2015, 05:09:53 PM
What a lovely trip report and you have so many great pictures! I just realized we were in DLP at the same time! Weather indeed was great haha ;D Looking forward to the rest of your report
Aw, thank you Lisaa :') Haha, as if we were there at the same time! You can vouch for the weather ;) I'm looking forward to reading your report now!
Quote from: bp_serene on June 19, 2015, 10:57:45 PM
Lovely photos :)
I enjoyed Ratatouille, I actually went in the single rider line second time round without my family just so I could see it all again. I'm not a massive fan of the movie but the ride is very clever indeed. Plus the entire area is beautiful.
Thanks so much :) I thought Ratatouille was lovely too - I didn't like the movie a massive amount until a few months ago when I rewatched it and just found it adorable, so I guess knowing I was going on the ride prompted the re-watch! I agree that the ride's really clever, it always makes me happy thinking how much Imagineer effort went into magical stuff like this :')
Day 4:
We woke up a little later on Thursday and had a more leisurely breakfast - we were glad we'd done the EMH for at least one day so we didn't feel pressured to do the same today :') We went back to the room for a shower after breakfast and walked along the Rio Grande, arriving into Parc Disneyland at about 9.45am.
It wasn't majorly busy as the park opened and of course everyone was rushing off to Big Thunder Mountain etc so we decided we'd have a go on some of the 'smaller' rides :) We went on Blanche Neige first, which was adorable - Snow White always makes me think of Walt. Pinocchio was a tad scary (I would DEFINITELY have cried on this ride as a small child haha) but still very Fantasyland-esque!
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After this we walked over to Peter Pan, which is definitely my favourite of these Fantasyland dark rides. What a classic :') I will never not get tears in my eyes when we fly over London!
We had a little walk around Adventureland after this and then realised we'd COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN ABOUT FROZEN SUMMER FUN. For anyone who's going to DLP this summer and is worrying that FSF will be unavoidable (as I was), please don't - we genuinely forgot that this event was even taking place, haha. We took a stroll over to Frontierland and made our way over to the Arendelle marketplace. It was cute to look around but more or less what we expected - just a small-ish Frozen-themed area with repeated Frozen merch, y'know? Definitely very exciting for big Frozen fans but we've felt the overkill recently haha so a five minute browse was enough for us ;)
At 11.20am we remembered that we wanted to see Animagique and realised that there was a showing in the next few minutes! We ran over to WDS and managed to get in JUST as the CM was closing the doors :') The show was so cute, we love Donald so we were very happy to see him. Plus Mickey's little "la la la" bit at the end always has me in stitches haha.
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After Animagique we headed back over to Disney Village, ready for a visit to Annette's - eek! This is a favourite restaurant of ours and we were really excited to go back. I had the nuggets and Russ had the mega burger, the massive one! He was given a free milkshake for finishing it ;)
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We were really glad we'd decided to eat there - I think it's such a special place and we love the food there so much. The fact that it's named after Annette Funicello is just too much for me, too <3
It was getting really hot by this point, so when we walked back through to Phantom Manor (our next ride!) we tried to stay in the shade, in Liberty Arcade...
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Another magical trip to Ravenswood Manor :') I really would never get bored of this ride - as I said, I spot new things every time I go on it. It was odd to think that Friday would be our last day in DLP - Russ asked if I wanted to do anything that we hadn't done, and I decided I fancied having a look around some more of the Main Street shops. We dropped into Harrington's, Disney and Co and the Storybook Store - we didn't buy a massive amount but I just enjoyed the atmosphere :D I was sad that Lily's Boutique was closed while we were there, but I guess we saw most of the merch they'd normally sell there whilst we were in other shops within the resort, anyway, so it was okay :)
Next, we went over to see the dragon and La Galerie, as well as the Chateau stores. I always think these are so princess-esque and woodland-esque and just PERFECT, the Sleeping Beauty soundtrack in the background makes it even better.
We were exhausted (and really hot!) by this point, so we walked back to the Cheyenne for a shower and a rest. When we came back out in the evening, we had a look around the Sequoia and the Newport Bay - it was weird walking around the NBC with all the drilling going on! It felt like a proper building site in parts which was odd. The refurbed areas are lovely, though - we're hoping to stay there in the future and I think it'll be worth the money now it's all redone.
After an evening trip to the Earl of Sandwich, a bit of packing (boo!) and a quick watch of Jessie (we finally worked out how to change the language on the TV!) we went to bed. I couldn't believe tomorrow would be our last day in DLP :(
A little extra addition before day 5 - we have had our disposable camera photos developed! Hooray :') These aren't really in any set order for you (sorry!) but I thought some people might like to see them anyway?
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Lovely report...so in depth & amazing pictures :D
Nice report :-)
Your photos are stunning! You capture such detail and atmosphere.
Can't wait for more! ;D
Quote from: Mathierson24 on July 01, 2015, 10:41:12 PM
Lovely report...so in depth & amazing pictures :D
[
quote author=norhel link=topic=19034.msg269560#msg269560 date=1435843416]
Nice report :-)
[/quote]
Thanks both, I really appreciate it and am so glad you're enjoying the report :D
Quote from: Mamaboogie on July 02, 2015, 06:30:07 PM
Your photos are stunning! You capture such detail and atmosphere.
Can't wait for more! ;D
Thanks so much Mamaboogie! That's such a lovely compliment :') <3
Day 5:
(Sorry, there are barely any photos at all from today - they were all taken on the disposable camera!)
As expected, I woke up on the last day feeling a little sad. I feel like time goes SO much faster in DLP than it does anywhere else and sometimes I just can't understand how four or five days can go by so quickly :'( But that said, you've got to make the most of your time while you're there!
We got up and dressed and then did our last little bit of packing - then it was time to say goodbye to the room! I always say "Bye, room" in between tears and then wave at the bed and the lamp and everything haha, it takes a while but it makes me feel like I am taking everything in! I was extra keen to make the most of the room this year because I don't think we're going back now until 2017 and by then I think the Cheyenne's refurb will be over, so it will be a little different as a hotel. I'm really glad of the changes but I'll miss the current wallpaper and the carpet and everything :')
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We had breakfast, handed our luggage in and checked out, before walking along the Rio Grande for the last time :( When we got into the park, we decided we'd queue to meet Mickey, which I think normally opens at 10.30am. It was about 9.45am by this point and we thought it'd probably be easier to start queuing outside and be the first in, rather than having to queue for ages later on. We spoke to a really lovely family outside - a mother who'd come to DLP for the first time with her mother and had also brought her daughter. It was nice to have a chat with them and when we came out after meeting Mickey they were almost in tears over how magical the experience had been. It was so cute :')
Meeting Mickey was so special, as always. As soon as he saw me he pointed and I nearly cried too! I got all overexcited and said "HE REMEMBERS ME!" to Russ haha :-[ He made a real fuss of us - it was definitely my best Meet Mickey experience.
After we came away from MM, we thought we'd see what the queue for Casey Jr was like - and we were so pleased to see it was only five minutes. We waited for more like two minutes in the end which was very welcomed (it was SO hot on this day, I got a burnt forehead cos I didn't apply my suncream properly, haha) and we had a lovely trip round Fantasyland on old Casey. He thinks he can! :D I love this ride, I always wave to people who are on Le Pays at the same time and then I end up in tears cos people are so cute and friendly in DLP and they just wave right back at you :') AW.
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We went for a little walk in Adventureland (the perfect place to be on a sunny day!) and then ended up in Hakuna Matata for lunch. Have they changed the chicken, does anyone know? I used to love those spicy chicken strips but this time around we both commented that they tasted a lot plainer and a lot less nice? I'm not sure if it was just us or not, but I thought it was interesting that we both commented on it!
After lunch we dropped back into the castle, because the snow globe I'd bought the day before had a small crack in it that we hadn't noticed at the time of purchase. The CMs in the Christmas shop were lovely and did a straight swap for me :) We had a quick browse in the Main Street shops after that and then went for our last ride - IASW <3 This is another ride I'd never tire of - the queue loop came on while I was listening to music at work today and it was SO hard not to burst into happy tears at my desk. It's such a special ride :D
As we left Parc Disneyland, we made sure we said goodbye to the castle and to Main Street <3 I had a little cry :'( I am normally really sad to leave anyway but I was even sadder this year because as I said I don't think we'll be going back until 2017 now. We normally go in June and even in June 2017 I think POTC will still be closed so I think we might look at September 2017 - I just hate how up in the air it is :( I tried to make a rough countdown the other day to make myself feel better and it was something like '800 days to go' which just made me feel a bit sick, haha :'( I miss DLP every day - it really is my home and to think we won't be back there next June like always is just a bit too much for me to think about at the moment.
We stopped off in Starbucks in Disney Village for a little while and had a drink, before grabbing a sandwich from Earl on the way back to the Cheyenne. When we got back to the hotel we grabbed our luggage and waited for the Magical Shuttle (it's pretty much still the VEA, haha, I couldn't see any evidence of added magic ;)), which didn't take too long. I always wave at the Cheyenne and cry as we leave there, too. The coach journey to DLP is always so exciting, whereas the coach journey back to the airport is just a little bit sad!
We caught our flight - there was a delay of an hour or so due to an electrical storm, but nothing major - and got home on the Friday evening. We both agreed that it was an absolutely magical trip to DLP and we both can't wait to go back. Normally it's just me who's really excited to book again and Russ is more laid-back, cos I'm the real Disney fan, but this time Russ has told me he misses it lots and said the other day that he wished he was there :') Eek! Only 800 days to go ;)
Thanks to everyone who's read my report - I hope it hasn't been too dull or text-heavy! I really appreciate the replies and can't wait to read everyone else's reports over the next few months/years to keep me in the magic :D
ilovedisneylandparis, thank you for the journey and the shared memories!
I know exactly how you feel! But - we always have to find other positive things in daily life. I am sure many happy moments wait for you during this time. Try not to count, each day is special. And memories are yours, nobody can take them. And you won't feel how fast years will go by till your next visit. :)
What a wonderful report! I am so pleased that you both had such a good time, and that you even did a few 'new' things this trip :') john was shocked that you had never been on molly brown, due to the 'great views of big thunder mountain' (his words not mine ;) ), yet I hadn't been on it until a few trips ago either so I could understand ;) your photos are GORGEOUS, the disposables make my heart hurt </3 thank you for sharing your trip with us, I hope you aren't feeling too down post-dlp :-*
Quote from: Mileto on July 14, 2015, 08:30:57 PM
ilovedisneylandparis, thank you for the journey and the shared memories!
I know exactly how you feel! But - we always have to find other positive things in daily life. I am sure many happy moments wait for you during this time. Try not to count, each day is special. And memories are yours, nobody can take them. And you won't feel how fast years will go by till your next visit. :)
That's so sweet Mileto, thank you so much for your message :) I really appreciate it! I agree - I always try to think of that Dumbledore quote where he says "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live". Sometimes I forget that but I always try to keep it in my mind :') Thanks again!
Quote from: justlikewedreamedit-xo on July 14, 2015, 09:40:48 PM
What a wonderful report! I am so pleased that you both had such a good time, and that you even did a few 'new' things this trip :') john was shocked that you had never been on molly brown, due to the 'great views of big thunder mountain' (his words not mine ;) ), yet I hadn't been on it until a few trips ago either so I could understand ;) your photos are GORGEOUS, the disposables make my heart hurt </3 thank you for sharing your trip with us, I hope you aren't feeling too down post-dlp :-*
Thanks pal :') Haha I'm so glad John is a Molly Brown fan now, that's so cute! I asked Julie if we'd been on it before but she couldn't remember, she thinks we have though ;) The disposables are my fave too, they're so Euro Disney aren't they! SO many of them have my finger in front of them haha I have had to do some expert cropping ;) Miss you :-*
Wonderful report! Loved it all! You're not alone I also have 800+ days to go till I can get back! Everything has conspired against me. I was supposed to go to DLP this Nov to celebrate my fiance's 40th but we had to cancel due to lack of finances as we were saving to go to WDW in 2017. We now can't go to WDW in 2017 either as we've had to pay out our savings to have parts of our house redone! We're now hoping to go to DLP in Nov 2017 for a long holiday. Thank you for sharing the magic of DLP it's made me feel a bit better! ;D
Aww I LOVED reading your trip report!
I was half-way through thinking "WHY HASN'T THIS PERSON CAPTURED ANY PICTURES OF THE CASTLE?!" then I realized you had done :-[
I agree with you, I hate leaving the happiest and magical place on earth. :(
Quote from: DisneyGagaChick on July 22, 2015, 08:25:19 PM
Aww I LOVED reading your trip report!
I was half-way through thinking "WHY HASN'T THIS PERSON CAPTURED ANY PICTURES OF THE CASTLE?!" then I realized you had done :-[
I agree with you, I hate leaving the happiest and magical place on earth. :(
Haha, of COURSE I captured pictures of the castle, it's the best thing to see ;)
Thank you for reading! :')
Quote from: gemma2806 on July 17, 2015, 10:23:35 PM
Wonderful report! Loved it all! You're not alone I also have 800+ days to go till I can get back! Everything has conspired against me. I was supposed to go to DLP this Nov to celebrate my fiance's 40th but we had to cancel due to lack of finances as we were saving to go to WDW in 2017. We now can't go to WDW in 2017 either as we've had to pay out our savings to have parts of our house redone! We're now hoping to go to DLP in Nov 2017 for a long holiday. Thank you for sharing the magic of DLP it's made me feel a bit better! ;D
Thanks so much Gemma! I really hope you're able to go to DLP in 2017 - I hope the time goes fast for you and you keep up with reading the trip reports so you stay close to the magic :D