Trip Report June 6-9 // Part 3 added!

Started by DisneyDonna, June 13, 2013, 12:52:52 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

DisneyDonna

Welcome to the first part of my trip report! I went with my best friend for four days and we stayed at the Kyriad Hotel. We had an amazing time and I will be a little sad writing this trip report :( (Also I must say I didn't take as many pictures as I would've liked so sorry :()

But okay, let's begin!

I woke up around 4.30 ecin the morning on the day of departure. Our bus was leaving at 6.00 so I had plenty of time to get ready and wait for my friend to pick me up. Her mother brought us to where the bus was picking us up. Luckily we were early and the only ones to get on at that stop so we could depart earlier than scheduled! Win!

To my surprise once we reached another stop, we had to get on another bus. And the bus looked really awesome! This was the bus which would take us to Disneyland.



We stopped twice on our way to have breakfast and have a chance to go to the bathroom. During the journey they played various Disney films. This time we watched Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmations and for some reason a christmas dvd? Well anyway, before we knew it the Tower of Terror was already in sight and we had arrived!

First we had to check into the hotel and just as I guessed, our room wasn't ready yet. We decided to go to Disney Village to have a late lunch at Earl of Sandich. I love the food there. It's amazing. We were going to eat there everyday! This time I ate the Earl's Club.





After that it was about 3 o'clock so that meant our room was ready! It was begining to get really hot so we decided to head back now so we could change into something more appropriate for the weather. After that, it was time for Disneyland Park! It was surprisingly quiet this day. All the queues were about 5/10/15 minutes. We got a lot done the first day!



The rides we did that day:
Phantom Manor
Pirates of the Caribbean
Castle
Peter Pan's Flight
Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains
Alice's Curious Labyrinth
It's A Small World
Space Mountain
Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast
Star Tours








We did quite well considering we were in the park around 4 and went to wait for Dreams around 9/half past 9-ish!

We ate at the Hakuna Matata Restaurant because nothing else was open. Only a few restaurants were open and with most of them you definitely needed reservations or weren't simply in our budget. We both had the Kebab but it wasn't really tasty as mine was cold and tasteless. The hakuna fries were delicious though!



After that we saw the parade and just before Dreams started we had another snack at the Cable Car Bakeshop. It was so quiet! We were the only ones with one other family sitting there.





After that it was time for Dreams! We decided not to take any pictures of Dreams as we wanted to enjoy it to the fullest. We were seated at the front and because everyone stayed seated during the show, we had a perfect view! I also didn't know they were testing a new version of Dreams. With this version all the projections which would normally by projected at the water were now also projected against the castle. It was quite strange at first but the projections were definitely more clear!





Dreams was beautiful as always! Now became the dreaful part of the day: going back to the hotel. Of course everyone wanted to leave at the same time which resulted in an busride of hell! The bus was so full!! This is the downside of going with the shuttle...

Luckily we made it back in one piece and we fell asleep quickly as we had an early breakfast planned.

ecila

#1
Sounds like you had a really good first day! Can't wait to read more :)
- Davy Crockett\'s Ranch (May 2002)
- Davy Crockett\'s Ranch (Oct 2006)
- Santa Fe (June 2012) Trip report here]
//http://www.magicforum.eu/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13794



norhel

#2
Nice report so far :-)
4 trips to DLP, 3 to WDW, 1 to Disneyland California



BlackPearl

#3
Wow,  you had a great first day.  :mickey2:
The bus, that brought you to Disneyland really looks fantastic.

gemma2806

#4
Great trip report and the pictures are lovely. I wish the VEA shuttle buses looked like the bus that to you to DLP!

DisneyDonna

#5
Thank you for your replies! :D

Yes the bus was amazing! It was really luxurious at the inside. It's also a special bus for children so they can go downstairs to play and draw and stuff.

DisneyDonna

#6
We were up early the next day so we could have a quiet breakfast. How wrong were we! It was really crowded and it was only seven in the morning. I think it was because there was a school from Schotland who were al having breakfast at the same time.

After breakfast we quickly got ready and we headed to Disney Village to enjoy some coffee at Starbucks. For some reason the Disney Store was not open until 4 o'clock so we browsed the other shops before we headed to Walt Disney Studios! This was probably the last day that the crowds would be quiet, and we were right! Almost no waiting times for all the rides!









The new Hep Cat Corner! We didn't get to try this, unfortuneatly.





Firstly we ran to Crush. It had only a 15-minute waiting time, so of course we joined the queue. However after about 10 minutes the ride broke down so we had to leave.

Once again we got quite a few rides done in the morning:
Tower of Terror
Rock n Rollercoaster
CinéMagique
Armageddon
Studio Tram Tours

As for Tram Tours, in my opinion it defintely needs a clean up. In the tram we were seated our tv did not work. The props you get to view are not in the best shape and also they just put some of the plants with them which normally can be found at It's A Small World, Fantasyland and Fantasia Gardens. Ehm, the hippo-plant is not a film prop?? Also Castrophe Canyon wasn't working as it was in the past, not all the effects were working. And the part in London was also laughable. The dragon spit fire once and we continued or short journey. Not as impressive as it used to be.

However we had an amazing expierence with a CM at the ToT. He was amazing!! He asked my friend: "Are you okay?" to which she replied: "Yes, thank you" and he replied again with: "You won't be, mwuahah" It was so funny and he even continued! "Is this your first time?" he asked. It was her first time. This time he replied with: "it will be your last!" followed by some evil laugh. I loved it!!! CM's like this really make the ride extra special!

There was also a chef outside of Restaurant des Stars, carving watermelons. They were so beautiful, I don't know how he did this.







After this it was time for lunch, again at Earl of Sandwich! This time I had Le Frenchy.



When we had finished our delicious sandwiches, we headed back to WDS again. We went to Stitch Live! As I never done it before and we loved it. It was really funny!

We also spotted quite a few characters but there were too many people around them to get close. I did get to meet Goofy, as I had bought a Goofy-cap earlier and I really wanted to take a picture with it. The CM who was with Goofy was also amazing.







Me and Goofy:





We also saw Daisy, Mickey and Minnie but I didn't take a picture of them!

After taking the pictures we rode Rock N Rollercoaster again, and did Cars Race Rally and Art of Disney Animation. I think we were the only two in Cars without any children, oh well!

I also grabbed a fastpass for ToT which wasn't needed in the end, as the line was only 5 minutes.



Now it was time to go back to Disneyland Park. We stopped for a drink at Market House Deli as it was so hot outside.





After this it was another go at Star Tours and Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast.

Dinner today was at Pizzaria Bella Notte. We both had pasta and it was lovely. Definitely would recommend this place. Also the garlic bread was so good.







After we met Mickey Mouse and rode Pirates of the Caribbean once more.





We were now getting really tired that we decided to head back. We had another two days to go and my feet were hurting really bad already!

ed-uk

#7
I love the WDS, I know it gets a bad wrap from some fans, but over the last few years  a lot has been done to improve it with more rides and theming  and the front  lot has always looked beautiful to me.
Nice trip report.
Ed & David

tubbsy

#8
Its so sad about Tram Tours-It wasnt working well 3 years ago when we were last there.
Loving your report.

Sam
October 2001-Santa Fe
June 2002-New York
August 2006-Sequoia
October 2007-Sequoia
August 2010- Newport Bay Admiral Floor
August 2013- Newport Bay Admirals Floor
August 2014 - WDW! Art of Animation Resort
August 2017- Newport Bay Compass Club

Shannon

#9
Nice report :) your photos are lovely - the weather looks amazing! It was the same for me when I went on Tram Tours too - the TV wasn't working so we didn't really know what was going on and the 'props' were quite dull :( such a shame!


[size=85]June 2012 - Santa Fe
March 2013 - Cheyenne - (Trip Report)
March/April 2014 - Cheyenne[/size]

gemmasteele84

#10
loving your report and those melons are amazing!

BlackPearl

#11
Great report!  :D
Shame about the Studio Tram Tour, hopefully they will do something about it as soon as Ratatouille is completed.

minnieme

#12
Great trip report. Your photos are great. We were there at the end of May.....what a difference between your photos and mine!!!! We were head to toe in rain macs and you were wearing shorts. Disneyland looks beautiful as ever. Looking forward to reading more. X



April 2011 & June 2012 Hotel New York
May 2013 Disneyland Hotel
Aug 2014 Disney Magic Med cruise
Aug 2014 Disneyland Hotel
May 2015 Disneyland Hotel

DisneyDonna

#13
The following day we decided to sleep in for a bed, so we went to have breakfast later than we normally would. We were exhausted! Because it was so quiet, we got a lot done the previous day, but that also meant a lot of walking which killed us. But luckily, we had a good night's rest! The bed in the Kyriad Hotel is really comfortable! Even though we went to breakfast at around 9 (whereas we normally go around 7) it was surprisingly quiet! No pushing and shoving, it was really relaxed. I found this very strange, since 9 is often the busiest time to have breakfast, but we didn't mind!

We went to WDS at first, where we went to check out Stitch Live! again because we loved it so much the first time. Sadly, it was exactly the same the second time, which really was a downer for me personally. I would have thought she'd switch the show up a bit, but aparantly not...

Next we soaked in the atmosphere for a moment, realizing this would be the last time we would be in WDS during our trip. I personally love WDS, even with its flaws. Because it was saturday and beautiful weather, the park was quite busy. ToT for example was now 85 minutes queue time, while the day before it was 5. What a change!

We still had some shopping to do and we figured this would be the perfect time, so we headed for World of Disney and Disney Village! Shopping during the day is much less hectic and you can browse a lot easier. At the end of my report I will post a picture with all the stuff I bought! After we finished shopping we had lunch at Earl of Sandwich (yes, again!) This time I had the Full Montagu.



After lunch we went back to the hotel to drop off all of the stuff we bought. I had bought some plates which were particularly heavy! And then it was time for Disneyland Park!

We immediately noticed how much busier the park was. People were everywhere! But for some reason, nobody of all those people wanted to meet Duffy. We only queued for about 5 minutes to meet him.



Next we headed towards the dragon! Because it was so busy, we tried to avoid as much queues as possible. We also explored Adventure Isle, the tree house and did another round at PotC (which had about 30 minutes waiting time :( )



Because it was so busy, we decided to have dinner early. Having never eaten there before, we tried our luck at Fuente Del Oro Restaurante and found it was completely empty! At dinner time! On a saturday!





Only us and one other family were eating there. The food itself was good. You got really large portions which I couldn't finish! Also the churros were delicious.

We really wanted to meet the princessse at the pavilion but of course that late on the day we couldn't get any tickets for it :( So we decided to go on Le Pays des Contes de Fées, which was also quite deserted! Maybe it's because the attraction is so hidden away, but we got a whole boat to ourselves!











Still avoiding the queues, we went to La Passage Enchanté d'Aladdin and to our surprise we got a chance to meet a princess! Jasmine and Abu!



After that we went to Star Tours, which is another of our favorites but found the queue (which said it was only 15 minutes) extremely long but we were to far to go back. In the end I think we queued for about 45 minutes instead of 15!

When we finally got out of Star Tours we were really tired again, so we decided to go back to the hotel to rest well for our final day at Disneyland Paris.

Epcot_Boy

#14
Thanks for sharing your Hols with us :thumbs:  Some lovely photos too :thumbs:


David