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[gavinng]

Hi everyone! So excited to be here.  We got in at 11. Went off to shop at the outlet mall and got back at 2.30pm. They let us church in and upgraded our Empire Club rooms (3 rooms)  to lake view ones and one was upgraded to a suite.  The reception gave my wife a free pin (any she wanted from the store). And housekeeping bumped into us and gave the boys a small Mickey each. Plus each room got free cups for Mother's Day.

We're totally amazed. We have not even gone to the parks.  We just ended up having a 4pm lunch at Annette's. And then heading back to put the boys to bed by 7.30pm.


We're totally looking forward to tomorrow. Will report in tomorrow. 

[Mileto]

Good start!
Have a great day today! 

[daddyof2]

Looking forward to reading about your stay - how's the Empire State Club and which suite? I'm a bit jealous, but well done for doing it

[gavinng]

It's just a one room suite adjoining a double room. 

The Empire State Club is amazing.  Breakfast in relative quiet. Free drinks. A really wonderful reception that doubles as a special concierge.  Free gifts. And the VIP fastpasses are amazing. Really cuts waiting. 

[gavinng]

OK. So day 2 (01/06/2015). We wanted to take advantage of magic hours but the boys slept until 7.30, which is magic because in Paris they were up at 6am.

By the time we got to the breakfast at the Club lounge it was 9am. And we made it to the gates at 10am. My sis joined is from Paris. We hit Buzz Lightyear first. But we only had 4 VIP fastpasses so I elected to stay behind and wander Constellations. Met a really wonderful Belgian dad and his one month old baby. What a darling.  The boys, being 19 months,  enjoyed playing with the joysticks more than anything else. 

We then wanted to try Autopia but the line was 50 minutes so we skipped it. Off to Star Tours which said 15 mins but turned into a time sink because my sis and dad were sent down the Fastpass line but it was closed halfway so the doubled back and joined the regular queue. We were supposed to do rider switch but we gave up.

Next up was Big Thunder Mountain. VIP Fastpass meant we got to skip the 40 minute wait. Then off to Phantom Manor which was only a 10 min wait. Next my wife and sis in law went to Pueblo trading for pins while the rest of us hit the Pochahontas play area.

Then off to our 2.30pm at ADC. So many Elsa and Anna having their lunch (by the way Frozen Summer was packed; we skipped it). No reactions from the boys when the princesses came by.  It was even a little awkward.  But the mice... My boys were mad about them.  The older one (by 2 Moh)  fed one of them, who gamely played along and was so forgotten when she was not around for him to feed some more. The younger one got restless after an hour so i took him for a walk and visited the dragon in his dungeon.  The younger one was so frightened by the waking dragon,  especially after i told him that the dragon can smell naughty behaviour and will eat those being naughty. I have never seen him brisk walk to an exit so quickly before. 

Once out he was targetting Dumbo but the wait was 30mins so we hit the Tea Cups which had a 10 min wait.  I have never seen him wait in line so patiently before (i need a dragon and a dungeon in my flat too). He loved it.  We headed back to ADC and brought the rest of the gang to the Tea Cups.

We then hit Peter Pan where the VIP Fastpass helped cut down the 35 min wait. We wanted to try Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril before heading home and passed by Pirates. Seeing that there was only a 5 min wait we went in and hit a walk on line.  Gold! The older boy loved it so much Hee wanted to go again but they closed the ride for some reason.  So off to try Indy.

Indiana Jones was fun and it only had a 5 min wait.  I think the one in Tokyo DisneySea has a better 360 loop where you hang inverted for 1 sec. But Indy was just as fun for its speed.

It was 6.30pm, so we headed home to prepare to put the boys to bed by 7.30pm. Fun day but tiring.  My dad and sis in law headed out to Buffalo Bill's while my sis headed back to Paris. My sis wants to come back tomorrow when we head out to Studios. Will update tomorrow.

[Mileto]

 gavinng, it's so precious all you tell us, taking from your personal time in DLP. It was an exhausting but full day. I assume weather was also good.
Wishing you good sleep and another superb day tomorrow.
Thanks again!

[littlebitofpixiedust]

Sounds like you've had an amazing time so far  enjoy the rest of it!

[gavinng]

Day 3 (02/06/2015):

So we got to Walt Disney Studios at 10am. Got on the Cars ride, or as the elder twin calls it: tea cups.  Younger twin kept asking for "more", but we had to move on. 

It was off to Ratatouille next.  Thanks to  the VIP Fastpass we only had to wait 5 mins instead of 45mins.  So the twins got to ride it twice.  They then proceeded to nap. So my wife, sis in law and I left them with my dad and sis while we hit up the "adult" rides. 

First we got to the Tower of Terror.  The Fastpass line was closed but they let us use it with our VIP Fastpass.  So that cut the waiting time (40 min).  Then Rock and Roller Coaster. We took it twice as the Fastpass line was only 5 min (vs 20 min).

Then the elder boy woke up, so off to Disney Junior Live at 1pm while my dad and I hang out outside with the sleeping twin.  They came out to Stars and Cars, and the younger boy woke up just in time to see the cars leave.  After that 2pm Stitch Live where the elder twin laughed maniacally at everything Stitch did and the younger twin just stared intensely.

Got out at 2.15 and hurried over to our 2.30 at Remy's Bistro. Our steaks were supposed to be medium but they came well done.  Not amazed by the food here. I hope Walt's will be better tomorrow.  Plus meals here super long. By 4pm the boys got antsy so the wife and I wolfed down dessert and grabbed the boys to ride Ratatouille again; leaving the rest of our party to enjoy dessert.  5 min wait thanks to the VIP Fastpass. 

Next up was the studio tram tour. 15 min wait.  And it pales in comparison to the one at WDW. Wife and I  thought it was a waste of time. 

It was 5.45pm, so we headed out back to the hotel.  Hung out at the Empire State Lounge and fed the kids their dinner.  Then put them to bed.  Had dinner with my dad at Parkside Diner at 8. Wife and her sis were off to the Steakhouse for their 9.30 dinner before trying to catch the 11pm show.


Well that's it for day 2. Still have 2 more days to go.  Planning to ride Pirates more tomorrow as the boys loved it.

[Mileto]

Another good day! Can't you leave the sleeping boys to your dad and watch Dreams?

Which direction is your room looking to? Can you see Dreams?

[Lavi]

Thank you for sharing!
Enjoy your trip!

[gavinng]

Sorry for the delay. Super busy on our last two days and then 13 hours back to Singapore. So day 3 and 4 are here.

Day 3

Finally made it to Magic Hours. Got in at 9.30 am, and hit Buzz Lightyear (VIP fastpass). I really wish Autopia would be open during Magic Hours. We then hit Obitron (10 min wait). The boys really really liked it.

After that it was Snow White and Pinnochio (walk on), as well as Dumbo (15 min wait). It was Pirates next with the older twin hitting the ride twice while the younger twin took it once and then decided he liked the gift shop more. Despite all the short waits, the day still kind of passed us by.

Then we tried to get lunch at Walt's at 2pm instead of our 2.30pm appointment, but we had to wait. So off to the shops for half an hour as we waited for our appointed meal time. Food was great, but we only got done at 4.30pm. The really long dining times really get the boys antsy.

After lunch we hit BTM one more time (VIP fastpass for the win) as well as Indiana Jones. After that we headed to Buzz Lightyear for another quick spin (literally, since the boys love just turning the joystick).

And then off home to put the boys to bed before 8. Then me and missus headed back to the park to catch dinner at the Silver Spur and Dreams. Dinner was fast and good (the first fast sit down meal we had... 1 hour and 15 minutes) and we managed to catch Dreams. We noticed that although DLP had the wand (like the DLHK paint brush) that can change the colours of the ears, no one seemed to be using it. At DLHK the staff had paint brush fights where they try to change the other carts' colours to their. This really encourages park visitors to get wands too (besides the ears and gloves that light up). This is so everyone can engage in a paint brush fight. We tried it at DLP with the carts, but the DLP staff were all like "Oh don't do that" in a nice and cute way. There's a lot of merchandising sale potential that DLP is missing out on. DLHK pre-parade atmosphere feels like Universal's Wizarding World multiplied by 10 because people of all ages are actually engaging in colour "fights", and it climaxes in a show where you can change the colour of the performers' lights.  DLP's Dreams was nice, and really well done. But it lacked the interaction of DLHK or the amazing fireworks of DLT (also please remind me to share with you Disney Sea's afternoon parade on water in another post... no one stays dry).



Day 4

Everyone was a little tired so we started later and got to Studios at around 9.50am. Plus it was an extra warm day. Almost like everyday in Singapore. Wife and sis in law headed for Crush Coaster while the boys, my dad and I, rode Cars twice (5 to 10 min wait). We then wandered around a bit, and headed for lunch at Cafe des Stars. Buffet! It was good. Pity Remy isn't there anymore. After lunch we did some shopping at Studios and then headed to DLP.

We covered Buzz Lightyear, It's a Small World, and Pirates of the Caribbean (again). I think the elder twin really loves Pirates. The younger twin has developed a slight fear of Disney boat rides. He was holding on to me tightly during Small World. Which is exceedingly funny from my point of view. After that one more ride on BTM, and then off to Plaza Gardens for a 5pm Buffet dinner. After that some last minute shopping and then send the boys off to bed.

Wife and I snuck out around 9pm to go ride Star Tours and then spent 2 hours shopping before heading home to pack.



It has been a wonderful 4 full days at Disney. We left at 8am on 5 Jun, so we could not go back to the parks. We're all looking forward to returning at some point, but we've got WDW and/or orginal Disneyland in our sights for the next year or two (I'm being sent to the US by my company for a year or so).

I hope to continue to be active here, and if anyone needs help or advice on DLHK or Disney Resorts Tokyo, I'm more than happy to help. I love Disney Resorts Tokyo! But it's also the most crowded one ever.

[DLRP Roundup!]

Nice trip report!