My magical Disney holiday {2nd - 5th of augustus 2015}

Started by cinderella, August 09, 2015, 07:20:34 PM

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cinderella

Day 1; 2nd of august 2015

After a loooong countdown (we booked this trip last february) the big day was finally here; we were going on our 4-day holiday to Disneyland Paris!!
We set our alarm at 2.15 AM. By 3.30 AM we were all buckled up to drive to Disney! After a very long drive, while singing along to (disney) songs, we arrived at the DLRP parking lot around 8.15 AM.
The cheerful Disney music at the parking lot welcomed us, YAAAY we were so happy to be back!
After we scanned our annual passes and heard the famous 'welcome' we walked into the park and were so excited!!
We walked through Main Street on our way to the castle.
'I could get used to a view like this!!'

My oh my, what a wonderful day by Eline Koster, on Flickr
Seriously, nothing can beat this view!!

Since we arrived during the magic hours it was still pretty quiet inside the park. We walked through the castle on our way to Fantasyland. We saw that the Pinocchio ride was already opened and there was no queue at all, so we decided that that was going to be the first ride of the trip! After that we walked straight to Peter Pan's Flight. The queue for Peter Pan was just 15 minutes!
After this magical flight through Neverland it was time for some thrill! Space Mountain had finally openend after a long refurbishment and we coulnd't wait to see all the new effects!
I love this ride, even though I always get a headache because the ride's so rough. The special effects were great and actually got a lot better since the refurb.
Despite the ride being so rough, and always leaving me with a terrible headache, it really is one of my favorite rollercoasters.

When we left Space Mountain and walked past Buzz Lightyear's Laserblast we noticed that the queue was just 10 minutes. Even though I'm really bad at getting points on this ride I do love it!! I especially love the theming in the queue of this ride, the big Buzz never fails to amaze me!

When the park opened at 10PM we decided to go visit the studios park. We were so excited to ride the Ratatouille ride again! The single rider queue was just 10 minutes which wasn't too bad in comparison to the 'regular' queue which was 60 minutes. This ride is absolutely genius, we all love it so much!!
After our thrilling ride through the kitchen of Gusteau's restaurant my dad and sister really wanted to ride the Rock 'n Rollercoaster. Since I still had a bit of a headache ever since we went on space mountain my mom and I decided to just wait on a bench to enjoy the hot sunny weather. The weather was perfect; blue skies, sun and 28 C!! We were so lucky, it'd been quite cold and rainy the days before our Disney trip.

When my dad and sis came back from riding Rock 'n Rollercasoter we were just in time to catch the first show of Cinémagique.
I just absolutely love this show. It features some of the most iconic movies that have ever been made and I think it's edited so well! I always enjoy hearing the reactions of the audience, especially those who watch it for the first time.
And I also noticed that there are parts of the movie where everyone reacts the same every single time (like the ooooh's everyone makes when you see Hannibal haha).

After our journey through the magic of the movies it was time to visit some of the shops in the park
When we were done shopping it was time to go check in at our hotel. We were staying at the Paxton Resort and Spa. We had never stayed here before but read some great reviews. We were so excited!!



After a very friendly check in at the reception we went to our room. Our room was lovely, clean and quite spacious!
Since I didn't get much sleep the night before our trip (a little over an hour) I decided to take a little nap before going back to the parks.
About 2 hours later we went back to the resort. We always enjoy the evenings in the Disney Parks the most.

Before we went back to the parks we had dinner at Mc Donalds, we were quite hungry! I ate a Big Mac and a Mc Flurry and then visited some of the stores in Disney Village. Disney Fashion is one of our favorite stores in the resort!  They had new Disney Princess shirts, which I loved.
After shopping we walked over to Disneyland Park.

When we were back at Disneyland Park we had a look at the information sign at central plaza to look at the waiting times. Big Thunder Mountain had a queue of just 20 minutes. We love this ride soooo much!!
When we arrived it turned out that the queue was just 10 minutes!
'Howdy folks, please keep your hands and arms inside the train and remain seated at all times. Now, hang on to your hats and glasses cause this here is the wildest ride in the wilderness.'
YEE-HA!! Oh how I love this ride!

After this thrilling ride we walked through Adventureland on our way to Fantasyland. The queue for Le Pays de Contes de Fées was just 5 minutes! This ride is just too cute and it features my favorite Disney movies (The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Aladdin and Tangled).
We walked over to Main street where we took some pics in front of the castle.

Minnie by Eline Koster, on Flickr

We also saw the 'Frozen a Royal Welcome' parade/carriage!

Fountains in front of the castle by Eline Koster, on Flickr

Wink from Elsa! by Eline Koster, on Flickr

I love you by Eline Koster, on Flickr

When we had a look at our program we noticed that the French version of the Frozen Sing Along would begin at 9.15 PM. We already saw the English version during my one-day trip with my sister two weeks prior to this holiday.
My sister is one of the biggest Frozen fans and she can sing along to all the Frozen songs in almost every language haha!
I think the sing along show is really cute, full of high energy and the audience was sing along the whole time and really enthousiastic.

Let the storm rage on! by Eline Koster, on Flickr

Oaken's trading post by Eline Koster, on Flickr

When the show was done it was already quite dark outside (it was around 09.45 PM). Since it was such a beautiful night we really wanted to see Disney Dreams. On our way to the castle we also payed a little visit to Agrabah ny walking through Le Passage Enchante d'Aladdin.
A whole new World by Eline Koster, on Flickr

Right on the right side of the castle there was a perfect spot by the fence. We love this spot since it's perfect to hear the loud BOOMS of the fireworks, which we love! After waiting for an hour the pre-show started.
We had some sort of deja-vu when they lit the christmas lights on the castle haha (I looooove Christmas time at Disney).
Disney Dreams was amazing, as always! I honestly think that this is the best show that Disney has ever made!!
During the end of the show/finale I cried (again). I don't know what it is about this show, but when I hear the music, see the movies that were such a huge part of my childhood and see the fireworks I just get so emotional.
After dreams we walked back to the parking lot. I went to bed around 01.30 AM. I was really tired and needed to get some sleep so that I could go back to the parks tomorrow!
It was a long, full but most of all SPECTACULAR day!!

Main Street at night by Eline Koster, on Flickr
Have courage and be kind.

michaelj1973


Puffin

what an action packed day! hope you still found some fun things to do on the next 3 days. ;)

is that Paxton hotel far away from the Resort?
may 2012 hotel new york ● november 2013 sequoia lodge ● may 2014 tokyo disneysea ● december 2014 sequoia lodge ● may 2016 fort wilderness resort (WDW) ● september 2016 sequoia lodge ● november 2016 newport bay ● march 2017 sequoia lodge ● april 2017 tokyo disneysea  ● may 2017 newport bay ● september 2017 hotel cheyenne  ● november 2017 santa fé  ● december 2017 tokyo disneyland  ● january 2018 tokyo disneysea ● april 2018 hotel cheyenne ● july 2018 newport bay ● august 2019 hotel cheyenne

DisneyRon

A very busy day indeed, but sounds like you had a great time. :D

Lovely report so far. ;D

cinderella

Quote from: DisneyRon on August 09, 2015, 08:21:03 PM
A very busy day indeed, but sounds like you had a great time. :D

Lovely report so far. ;D
Thank you so much!!  :D

Quote from: Puffin on August 09, 2015, 08:09:30 PM
what an action packed day! hope you still found some fun things to do on the next 3 days. ;)

is that Paxton hotel far away from the Resort?
Hahahaha!! There's always something to do at Disney!  :)
The Paxton Hotel was about a 10 minute drive from Disney, so that wasn't too bad at all!

Quote from: michaelj1973 on August 09, 2015, 07:44:02 PM
Wow nice trip report.
Thak you, I'm glad you like it!  :)
Have courage and be kind.

cinderella

Dag 2; 3 augustus 2015

We decided to sleep a little longer than normal when we're at Disney since we watched Disney Dreams the night before and it got really late. The alarm went off at 07.45 AM. We had breakfast around 8.45 (breakfast was included in our package). We were starving!
Breakfast was kind of average; there was bread, croissants, chocolade croissants and cheese, butter and all that.
When we were done eating we decided to go to the parks. The drive to the park from our hotel was just 10 minutes. At 10.15 we arrived at the parks.

Walking down Main Street USA by Eline Koster, on Flickr

The night before we all decided to go have dinner at Agrabah Cafe on Tuesday (the third day). We love the food there, it's so yummy! My parents went over to city hall to book a table while my sister and I had a walk through the castle and went to the shops inside the castle.

Once upon a dream by Eline Koster, on Flickr

We had a look at the waiting times at the information sign and saw that Phantom Manor was just a 5 minute wait! So, that became our first ride of the day!

There's room for a 1000th... by Eline Koster, on Flickr

It was really, really, really hot today (37 C). because of the heat there were these sort of water sprayers throughout the park, those were a perfect way to beat the heat!
We walked to Fantasyland where we saw that there was a 40 minute wait for Meet Mickey. Since there's airco in the waiting area we didn't mind to wait that 'long'. 
We especially love spending our time in the Meet Mickey area because of the Mickey Mouse cartoons that are shown there! They really are a great way to keep the children (and adults of course haha) amused during all the waiting.
I always love meeting Mickey Mouse! He's such a sweetheart! After giving mickey a big kiss on his nose it was time to say goodbye.

Meeting Mickey by Eline Koster, on Flickr

It was really hot today and the parks were really crowded.
Since all of us in my family can't really handle the heat very well we weren't exactly keen to queue for rides. Therefore we decided to go to Disney Village to buy a Mc Flurry to cool off. After that (around 01.45 PM) we went back to our hotel. We decided it might be best to spend the hottest part of the day (between 1 and 3 / 4) at our hotel and put on the airco.

After a short break at our hotel room we went back to the Disney resort where we had dinner before we went to the studios.
We walked over to the studios and saw that the single rider's queue for ratatouille was just 15 minutes.   
'Tonight, chef Remy is preparing one of his specialties which I'm certain you will enjoy. Remember, food always comes to those who love to cook, but not to those who are late to dinner!!'
We really wanted to ride Crush's Coaster as well. It's our favorite ride at the studios, but the queue had been 80 to 90 minutes the last 2 days which was a bit too long with the hot weather. When we walked out of La place de Remy, and entered Toon Town we saw that Woody was doing meet and greets. There were only 4 people in the queue so we decided to join it. We never met him before!
Woody was very cheerful and even danced with me haha.

Howdy cowboy by Eline Koster, on Flickr

The wait for Crush was (just) 50 minutes, which wasn't too bad. However, when we were about to board it broke down. The cast member told us that it would take about 25 minutes. After exactly 25 minutes the ride was fixed. Yaaaaay, let's hit the EAC!!
After a thrilling ride on the East Australian Current we said our goodbyes to Crush. 'See ya later dudes and dudettes!'

Disney entrance by Eline Koster, on Flickr

At this point we really wanted to go back to Disneyland Park.
We went to the Snow White ride first. Snow White is one of my favorite movies, and I love this ride (even if it's not that spectacular). After riding the Snow White ride we had a little stroll through Adventureland to visit Aladdin's passage.
The Frozen Royal Welcome were going over main street the moment we left Agrabah, so we also got to see Anna and Elsa one last time that day.
After this 'parade' we went back to our hotel to get some good night's sleep cause we wanted to be in the parks during the magic hours tomorrow!

Fantasyland by Eline Koster, on Flickr
Have courage and be kind.

Disneylove

Great reviews! Looking forward to your next instalment :)

michaelj1973

Also like the photos brings me back to dlp :-)
And as for me it's still 118 days I can't wait to be back....

cinderella

Quote from: michaelj1973 on August 11, 2015, 08:08:27 PM
Also like the photos brings me back to dlp :-)
And as for me it's still 118 days I can't wait to be back....

Thank you!! Ooooh that's exciting!

Quote from: Disneylove on August 11, 2015, 08:00:33 PM
Great reviews! Looking forward to your next instalment :)

Thank you, I'm glad you like 'em!!  :D
Have courage and be kind.

Mileto

Such a nice report and beautiful pictures! Thank you for taking the time!


08.1993 - DL Tokyo; 05.2010 - DLP; 11.2010 - DLP; 09.2013 - DLP; 09.2014 - DLP; 11.2015 - DLP
It's a small world after all


cinderella

Quote from: evie2002 on August 13, 2015, 01:53:28 AM
Great report so far :)

Thanks! I'll upload day three later today. :)

Quote from: Mileto on August 12, 2015, 03:52:44 PM
Such a nice report and beautiful pictures! Thank you for taking the time!

Thank you!!
Have courage and be kind.

cinderella

Day 3; 4th of august 2015

We were having a pretty hard time waking up. Our feet really hurt from all the walking haha. However, we needed to get up and hurry so that we could go back to the parks!
After having breakfast we arrived at Disneyland Park around 9 AM. We did some rides that were already opened during the magic hours; Pinocchio, Peter Pan and Buzz Lightyear's Laserblast.
By 09.50 AM  we decided to go to the entrance of Adventureland to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. We didn't ride Pirates on this trip yet, despite it being one of our favorite rides!
'Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's life for me'.

After visiting the pirates we went back to Fantasyland. It was 10.20 AM, and the queue to visit the one of the princesses in their pavilion would open at 10.30 AM. My mom and dad decided to queue to get us a ticket so that my sister and I could ride some rides in the meantime. My sister and I walked over Le Pays de Contes de Fees.
When we were onride we got a text from our mom saying that only my dad was allowed to wait in the queue and that she had to leave. So, when we left the ride we walked up to her and waited for my dad. We sat down on a bench in front of Small World and saw some characters walking by!
About 15 minutes later my dad walked up to us with a ticket in his hand; it was our turn to meet a princess between 15:50 and 16:20!

Princess pavilion by Eline Koster, on Flickr

We walked through the park and visited some of the shops. Around 1.30 PM we decided to go back to the hotel so that we could go back to the parks during the evening.
It had been a little bit cloudy during the morning, but by the time we went back to the parks it was really sunny. The temperature was around 27C today.
Around 03.30 we were back at Disneyland. By the time we arrived at the Princess Pavilion it was 04:00 PM, just in time to enter the queue!
When we entered the building we saw that the queue was really long. We eventually had to wait another 90 minutes. However, it was so worth it!!!

When it was our turn the cast member asked us if it was our first time at the pavilion. Haha noooo! We have visited the princess before! He then asked me which princesses we'd like to see, and I said Snow White or Rapunzel (Ariel is also one of my favorites, but we already met her last time). He then checked the rooms where the princesses are and came back to ask us and asked 'which princesses did you say you'd like to meet?' Snow White or Rapunzel! 'Ah okay, just wait here' he said. I got so excited! I just kept thinking it just had to be Snow White or Rapunzel or else he wouldn't keep us apart and let us wait!
When the other family went in he sent us to the left. I was so excited and kept hoping that it would be Snow White!! I really wanted to finally meet her in the pavilion, she's my favorite princess and I never met her in the pavilion!

When we walked into the room I saw no one other than SNOW WHITE! I was so happy and excited!
Because of that kind cast member I got to meet Snow White, which I think is so sweet!
Snow White was very kind and adorable. We chatted a bit about I'd been up to so far that day, about the fact that she's my favorite princess and what else I was going to do later that day.
In the end she twirled in front of my camera and I got to make some lovely pictures so I was very happy about that.

Snow White by Eline Koster, on Flickr

Snow White by Eline Koster, on Flickr

After this meeting it was time for the parade to start. We walked over to the end of Main Street so that we could catch the whole parade. The characters in the parade were so good today. There was lots of interaction with the guests and we even got a special guest during the parade today; Wendy!! I got to make lots and lots of pictures.

Ice Magic Everywhere by Eline Koster, on Flickr

They just can't get my nose right by Eline Koster, on Flickr

Second star to the right by Eline Koster, on Flickr

Sorcerer Mickey by Eline Koster, on Flickr

By the time the parade ended we walked through Fantasyland and Adventureland before we were going to have dinner at Agrabah Cafe, we had a reservation at 07.15 PM.
To get into the whole  'Agrabah/Aladdin' spirit we decided to have a walk through the Aladdin passage.

Agrabah Cafe is one of my favorites restaurants at Disney, the good there is soooooo yummy!!!!
I don't know what exactly I ate but since it's an all you can eat buffet I decided to just grab everything that looked good and just eat it haha. The food was so delicious, I even get hungry looking at the pictures!

While we were eating there was this lovely English family sitting beside us and they were celebrating their daughter's second birthday and ordered a Mickey Mouse ice cream cake. At some point their 4 year old son walked over to our table and asked 'Would you like to have some cake for my sister's second birthday?!' which was the cutest thing ever!!!
And so we had some Mickey Mouse ice cream cake as dessert, which was really yummy as well!
Such a sweet family, these are one of those moments that just add magic to your Disney holiday!

Agrabah cafe by Eline Koster, on Flickr

Agrabah cafe by Eline Koster, on Flickr
My starter, yummmm!!

Agrabah cafe by Eline Koster, on Flickr

Agrabah cafe by Eline Koster, on Flickr
The delicious Mickey Mouse Ice cream cake that the English family gave us!

After a lovely and delicious meal we walked out of the restaurant and saw Jasmine standing in front of Agrabah Cafe! We were just in time to enter the queue since they were about to close it. YAAY! Jasmine was very sweet and I had such a cute little conversation with her.

Meeting Jasmine by Eline Koster, on Flickr

We really wanted to see the English version of the Frozen Sing Along, so that was going to be our next stop.
We were the first ones in the queue (since we got there 30 minutes before the show started), so that was awesome! While we were waiting we got talking to a French cast member. I got to practice my French skills with him and talked about jobs at Disneyland Paris. He was so nice! He said my French was pretty good, which of course was great to hear haha.
When the gates of the theater opened we walked inside and found ourselves a seat in the front in the middle of the theater. Couldn't be better!
What a perfect night...
I made some great pictures, mainly because Anna was so cheerful, because Kristoff was really handsome and because Elsa kept looking into my camera while I was taking pics!
This show is just so cute, the audience was as enthousiatic as always! I love seeing how everyone is like, actually singing along!!

Anna and Kristoff by Eline Koster, on Flickr

Here I stand in the light of day by Eline Koster, on Flickr

The cold never bothered me anyway by Eline Koster, on Flickr

Let the storm rage on by Eline Koster, on Flickr

True love by Eline Koster, on Flickr

After the show we decided to pay a little visit to the Arendelle section of Frontierland.
We also wanted to ride Big Thunder Mountain but unfortunaly it was closed due to a technical problem. Oh well, better luck next time!
It was 10.25 PM, 35 minutes before Disney Dreams would start, so obviousy, we had to wait and watch it!
We were standing on the exact same spot as the first night of this trip. I was standing next tot his cute Dutch family. Their children, who were standing next to me, kept yelling to their mom: 'mommy, you've got to film this so that we can watch it when we're all grown up!' It was adorable.

Disney castle by Eline Koster, on Flickr

I got tears in my eyes this time as well. No matter how many times I see this show, I will never get enough of Disney Dreams!!
After this amazing day it was time to go back to our hotel. Tomorrow would be the last day of the trip...
Have courage and be kind.

Disney Matt

Such an amazing trip report  :)
Love your photos and all the detail ;D
Can't wait to read the rest!!
Hotel Santa Fe - 95 / Dream Castle - Jul 07 / Hotel Cheyenne - Dec 09 / Hotel Santa Fe - Dec 12 / Sequoia Lodge - Dec 14 / Sequoia Lodge - Feb 16 / Newport Bay Club - Halloween 16 / Newport Bay Club - Feb 17

mdw

do you recommend in the middle at the front for the frozen show? i will have a 6 and 8 year old with me, will they be able to see it all from there? love your pics and trip report, we fly in two weeks and one day ahhhhhh