Day 4
We got up at 6:30am today in an attempt to be out early as no matter how early we aimed to get up we still always seemed to be late!
We were having breakfast today at Cafe Mickey at the 8am sitting so we managed to get out of the hotel for 7:45am. It didn't matter though as when we got there, there was already a queue as there was only one poor soul on the desk managing everyone. We were seated and the characters were already starting to make the rounds. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Pinocchio and Gepetto. Once again the restaurant was only half full so we got some quality time with the characters. I love the breakfast here especially when the weather is colder. It's lovely to have some warm food items to choose from.
After breakfast we headed to the Disneyland Park and went straight to ride Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast during EMH. There was no queue so we walked straight to the loading area. We decided to do Adventureland today but as it was still EMH we thought we'd try and fit in some of the Fantasyland rides again as we may not get another chance. Today was an EPIC day today queue wise as they were non-existent. I have NEVER known the parks this quiet it was brilliant. We did the whole of Fantasyland in 1 HOUR (I kid you not!!). We walked straight onto the Tea Cups followed by the Carrousel which was another walk-on and then straight onto Dumbo which was another walk-on! By this time it was 10am and we were waiting for the crowd surge but it never came! We walked straight onto Peter Pan's Flight and then we decided to do Pinocchio and Snow White. These two rides were not only walk-on's but the CMs were letting each family or group or couple have a ride vehicle to themselves and you could choose where to sit. We then walked onto "it's a small world" and let Jack take us back round Alice's Curious Labyrinth. We then went to see what sort of wait time was at Meet and Greet Mickey Mouse and with a 20 min wait we decided to see him now.
I still cannot believe that we did Fantasyland in an hour! We then entered Adventureland and walked straight onto Pirates of the Caribbean. I was worried that Jack would not enjoy this as last year he had been scared of the drops and after one ride he had basically refused to go on again but this time was a different story. He loved it much to our relief as this is one of our favourite rides! I kept thinking about that little boy a couple of months ago who had fallen from the boat and been hospitalised and I kept trying to imagine how that could happen. Well much to my disbelief I saw a couple of children in different boats as we entered the loading dock to disembark, actually stand up too soon and their parents did nothing to get them to sit down! The CMs were on the tannoy telling people to sit down and even the skull and crossbones at the end of the ride tells you to stay seated until you're told to disembark so no wonder accidents happen if people ignore the basic safety rules!
After this we explored Skull Rock and Captain Hook's Ship. The weather at this point was cold but lovely sunshine kept breaking through the clouds so we picked a lovely day to explore Adventureland. We stopped for a bit at Pirates Beach but Jack got bored as he wanted to play with other kids but he was the only one in the 4-6 year old section all the other kids were in the 7-9 area! We then went and finished exploring Adventure Isle including the suspension bridge and floating bridge. It was so quiet at times it felt like we were completely alone! We walked round the Family Robinson treehouse which again we had completely all to ourselves.
We were hoping that Restaurant Hakuna Matata would be open as we like the food here but this was closed so we decided to leave the park and have lunch in Disney Village. We walked round Aladdin's Secret Passage on the way out and I took some pictures of Adventureland, there were no other people in the photos at all, it was that quiet!
We left the park and decided to eat at Rainforest Cafe. There were no queues being lunchtime so we were seated straight away next to the elephants. It was lovely and quiet in here as well so we really got to enjoy the atmosphere including the thunderstorms! Dan and I shared the Mojo Bones and some cheesy garlic bread which was just the right amount. We would never have been able to eat one each! We also shared a cheesecake pudding which was lovely and Jack had another set meal which was very good value for money.
We then went back into the park and decided to take a ride on the Disneyland Railroad from Main Street. There were only 3 families including us waiting to board the train and there was only a 15 min wait to catch it. We did a tour of the park which we love to do on every visit. The train seemed to be the busiest thing in the park! We did a round trip and then as we walked up Main Street we saw Rabbit had a meet and greet spot by Liberty Arcade. We had a 15 min wait to see him and then decided to go to Frontierland.
The Far West exhibit and walk round Fort Comstock was closed and seemed to be the whole time we were on holiday. We rode the Molly Brown as it had just pulled into Dock as we walked past. We sat on the middle tier in one of the rooms as it was warmer in here. After a bit Jack and I went and walked the deck while Dan had a sit down. It was nice to see that Old Joe and his dog were both working as I have never seen them both work together! We then rode Phantom Manor as there was no wait. We managed to miss Jack Skellington at his meet and greet and sadly we missed him all holiday as his timings just couldn't fit into our plans which was a shame. We were going to ride Big Thunder Mountain but Jack didn't want to and this was one ride I wasn't going to try and force him to go on especially as he panicked on our last trip and refused to go on at all. We went to see Cottonwood Creek where the Santa meet and greet was taking place but we were too late for this as it had closed, however there were still people visiting Santa who had been queuing when it was open. I clocked that they were still coming out 45 mins after this had closed so this showed some indications of the queue levels.
Jack played in Pocahontas Indian Village, he loves this playground and it means we got to have a sit down on the benches. We then decided after 20 mins to walk round to Fantasyland and use our Hotel FP for Peter Pan's Flight. We only had to wait 5 mins but didn't want to waste the FP.
As we were still full from lunch we decided to just stop at the Cable Car Bake Shop for a snack. This proved easier said than done as there was a big queue to get items before the Tree Lighting Ceremony started. Jack also fell asleep in his buggy at this point so we had to queue and then find somewhere to sit to eat. After our delicious cheesecakes and hot chocolate we walked through Discovery Arcade and found a position outside of Town Square Photography on the sidewalk on the corner to stop and watch the Tree Lighting Ceremony. Jack slept through the whole thing which was a shame but Dan and I really enjoyed this and the tree looked so pretty. I thought it was a lovely little extra and you couldn't find a bad place to stand as you were looking up to see the ceremony.
After this we had about 30 mins before Dreams! Of Christmas started so we decided to do a bit of Christmas shopping in the Emporium. Big mistake as it seemed everyone had the same idea! I just managed to get to the till and get served as the Castle Lighting Ceremony took place. This was very pretty and I love the Castle all lit up it looks so beautiful. We watched Dreams! from the middle of Main Street between Casey's Corner and Victoria's. I had a perfect view until a very tall bloke with stupidly high hair decided to stand in front of me filming the whole thing on his phone so I had to contend with him and his phone hovering in my eyeline! Still I thought it was a lovely show. I agree that it doesn't flow as well as the original Dreams! but that was set to a storyline and so it flowed like an actual story. Dreams! Of Christmas is more of a musical concert set to pictures and lights so no it doesn't flow the same but I still found it very magical and it was perfect for Christmas. I loved the Toy Story Nutcracker and also the Jingle Bells sing-a-long in different languages. Jack woke up for Dreams! and as he couldn't see he spent the show on Dan's shoulder even given his bad back he didn't want Jack to miss out! Jack was making some wonderful wow and oohs and aah noises so he really enjoyed it and even sang a long to Jingle Bells.
Down side of the evening was Dan lost his thermal gloves at some point on the way out of the park. He had them until the end of Dreams! and he thinks they fell out of the buggy. He found one being kicked along Main Street by a group of lads but couldn't find the other at all despite us waiting till Main Street had cleared and retracing our steps however judging by the number of gloves lying on the floor it would appear that this is a common thing to happen at this time of the evening!
We had to accept that the glove was gone and so made our way back to the hotel. We spent the evening in the lounge again where we met a lovely family from Ireland they were Fergal, Mary, Tara and Connor (if you are on this forum then hi again and it was lovely to meet you!) Jack and Connor spent the evening playing Angry Birds on our iPads and so we got to have a lovely chat. I also indulged in a lovely hot chocolate, whiskey and whipped cream but it wasn't as heavenly as the Bailey's, hot chocolate and whipped cream! We lost track of time and ended up talking till the lounge closed but Chris told us to stay and finish our drinks while the staff tidied and we had almost a mini lock-in where we sat with drinks talking to each other and the staff! Eventually we left with drinks for the night and the morning just after 11pm!
We went to bed after having a really wonderful day. We got to do so much but also at a completely relaxed pace given the lack of crowds. I would definitely book at this time again!
Day 5 coming soon!
