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[seraphelle]

Hello DLRP lovers 

We got back late last night from our trip and I am currently fighting sleep at my desk at work...

I'll probably have to write this in fits and starts and then add the photos another time.

Key points...

Pros
1. Free plush toys in the room for my kids, we have never had that on previous trips.
2. Goofy's Garden Party (awesome)
3. I think a few new bits in Dreams unless my memory is tricking me, there seemed a lot more interaction between the characters in the show and Peter's Shadow.
4. Wait times on the last day (pretty much everything was 5-10 minutes, the longest wait I saw was 35 minutes for Crush in WDS)
5. Inventions - food as ever was amazing, and character interaction just made the day.

Cons
1. Rudeness - seriously - I came close to losing my cool at least once every day just from people being incredibly rude, arrogant, ignorant and disrespectful. It's unnecessary and disappointing, particularly from 'adults'.
2. Theft from hotel room of my daughter's silver Mickey earrings (she had not misplaced them, I saw her put them on the tray under the TV myself). I cursed myself for not putting them in the room safe, but I get into such a vibe at Disney of 'everything is awesome' that I forget sometimes people will take advantage. Thankfully Sequioa Lodge were amazing once we managed to get them to understand what had happened and gave my daughter a voucher so she could go and get some replacement earrings from World of Disney.
3. No Minnie in Inventions when we've seen her there every time previously.

I'll do the proper report as and when I get chance. 

[billy]

how nice they left toys for the kids, is that because you said it was your anniversary?

[seraphelle]

I've no idea. They did know, but we didn't purchase any additions for the room.

Was a nice surprise 

[Ohana]

Sounds lovely, nothing better than minimal wait times, I did RC Racer and Indiana Jones both 3 times in a row on my trip last week, best ever!

Rudeness is definitely a buzzkiller, I experienced someone so rude a profanity may have escaped my tongue.. why can't people just be nice, it's Disney!

Looking forward to reading the TR!

[billy]

i've heard a lot of people mention rudeness but i have to be honest we never experienced any rudeness not for CM's or guests. Maybe we were just lucky!

[seraphelle]

i've heard a lot of people mention rudeness but i have to be honest we never experienced any rudeness not for CM's or guests. Maybe we were just lucky!

CM's were all amazing, but some of the guests, well, it's a good job I'm a lady 

Sunday 15th May - Day 1

Up bright and early at 4am (who am I kidding, like I was asleep anyways lol), got the kids up and got them dressed while hubby took the dogs a quick stroll round the block, and I checked all my last minute stuff (passports / money / email confirmations etc).
Gave the animals extra squidges (I have 2 dogs and 4 cats  ) and kissed them all goodbye. My friend arrived to take us to the airport and we loaded up her car and set off.
We only took hand luggage this time around as weather was predicted to be fairly mild / warm whilst there, so it was just rucksacks each and a slightly larger bag for emergency merchandise purchases 
Got to airport nice and quick (we live half hour away from Birmingham airport), I'd already checked us in online beforehand so we went straight to passport control and through to Departures. Our gate was announced soon after so no time for duty free mooching, it was straight to gate and boarding.
Attendants on plane were lovely, as ever, I do love the Flybe staff. They can spot the kids travelling to Disneyland Paris a mile away and always make a fuss of my girls asking what they're most excited for 
Flight was over in a flash, and we were soon on our way to the TGV station. There was a train in just 14 minutes, awesome! Grabbed tickets and went to wait on the platform. It was a single decker TGV and was super-busy, but as we were getting off at the next stop we just hung by the doors once everyone was on.

Then, we were in Marne le Vallee station, and racing up the steps and out to the entrance to the Village. Rapture! 
We decided to go straight to Sequioa and drop our bags off rather than heading for Guest Storage because we didn't want to have to go back there afterwards, so we went and did the pre-check-in thing so we were in the system and could just collect our key cards later on, then we left our bags in the baggage storage area and headed for the Village. We were pretty hungry by now, so stopped at Earl of Sandwich for a quick bite to tide us over. I had the tuna melt and it was delicious. Hubby had the Hawaiian BBQ and raved about it afterwards. Easily pleased, we are! Then, time for the park!

I was loving all the Spring decorations as we walked through the village, aside from the topiary animals (anyone else read The Shining? lol!), and we were soon in Disneyland Park.
Yes, there are green fences around Fantasia Gardens and yes it does detract a bit from the magic, but in all honesty, not enough to ruin the vibe as you walk up to the entrance.

We took a few moments to soak up the decorations (love the coloured lights on the lampposts and the hanging baskets down main street. Naturally snapped a few piccies, then it was straight to the walkway and to Frontierland for Phantom Manor - my absolute favourite ride in the whole world. That's the deal I have with the kids; I do all the planning, I pack all the bags, etc etc, so whenever I say we're going on Phantom Manor- there are no arguments 

I sat with hubby and the kids sat together in a doom buggy on their own (they're 11 and 9 so were fine, don't worry!). Hubby slipped something into my hand during the ballroom sequence (no rude comments, thank you  ) and when I got to a point where I could see, it was a Disney Couture bag with a pair of Mad Hatter earrings in as a bonus anniversary present - bless him!!!

We headed back to Central Plaza and checked the times for POTC but it was a bit longer than we like to queue for, so we went to It's a Small World instead but walked the long way round and took in the atmosphere of the park.
Afterwards we were all starting to feel the 4am wake up, so we decided as the park was open so late we would go and have a little siesta and go back for the evening, but first we needed a drink, so we stopped for a cocktail in Café Fantasia. I was gutted to find they no longer served Sol Majeur's, so I opted for a Mojito instead.

We went to Sequoia and collected our room keys and bags and went to our room and crashed for a little while to recharge our batteries. It seemed I only shut my eyes for 5 seconds before the kids were bouncing on the bed to wake us up to go back to the parks, and we'd been asleep 2 hours!

We went back to the park and went straight to Autopia, then round to PoTC. We got some snacks and headed for Central Plaza and got a cool spot ready for Dreams to start. Got a bit annoyed at this point as people turning up 2 minutes before it began thinking they could shove their way infront of my kids at the rope after they'd been waiting patiently for half an hour. Nope! I wouldn't have minded if they were little kids but they were taller than mine! Anyway, after sorting that little issue, we watched the show and it was brilliant. I don't know if I am not remembering it accurately but it seemed slightly different to the last time I saw it (the non-Christmas version I mean). Loved it 

We walked slowly back to the hotel afterwards spotting what we wanted to buy before the end of the holiday and collapsed into bed. Disney Feet were in full swing already so hubby kindly gave me an epic foot rub as I drifted off.

[fairymom]

Oh it sounds like bliss, the whole thing.
I did lol a little at the present giving scene on Phantom Manor but wow, what a lovely gesture by your DH.

What else did you eat in the evening? Did you only have EOS all day? 

[solo_beckett]

Sounds fantastic

[seraphelle]

Oh it sounds like bliss, the whole thing.
I did lol a little at the present giving scene on Phantom Manor but wow, what a lovely gesture by your DH.

What else did you eat in the evening? Did you only have EOS all day? 

Sorry I forgot to say we grabbed some snacks before we had our little siesta! I do feed my children, honest!  Hubby ducked into the station just outside the village entrance and grabbed some bit and bobs and some fruit 


Mon 16th May – Day 2


We had breakfast timeslot of 8am and barely made it in time because none of us could get out of bed lol. We managed to stuff our faces and get into the park just before general opening and headed straight for Buzz Lightyear. My youngest really loves this ride.

Afterwards the little one and I went and jumped on Casey Jnr, whilst the not so little one and her Dad did Space Mountain 2. Every time they tell me about that ride I'm so glad I've never gone on it!
Next we headed for Snow White and the 7 dwarves as the queue was quite short. I have to say as much as I loved this ride I wish it was longer and showed the main part of the story! Drives me mad that we go from witch on rocky hill to everything is awesome....where is the glass box with her sleeping for goodness sake?

Anyways, after this we checked the programme and saw that Goofy's Garden Party was due very soon, so we headed to Central Plaza to wait for that. It was whilst waiting here we saw a lot of teenagers in onesies, and over the following days I noticed that a lot of people were wearing character onesies. Is this a thing now? Or did I just happen to see the same bunch of people repeatedly (the onesies were different each time)?

Anywho, the Garden Party was brilliant, I just wish the characters spread out a bit more because we seemed to be in the exact spot that they walked past to go and interact with other guests. It was a lovely little addition though and the kids loved the confetti.

Princess pavilion next- the sign outside said 60 minutes so I went in with the girls while hubby went to grab some drinks for us all. The wait passed really nicely (around 45 minutes in total) and there was a Cast Member working his way down the line doing magic tricks for the kids. Soon it was our turn for the Princess, and we met Snow White. We were happy with this despite meeting her before as she's a firm favourite of ours. She even said to the girls 'Can you keep a secret? Promise not to tell?'...at which point I started shaking my husband saying 'OMG she said the thing, she said the thing from the film!!!' lol.

Following Snow White, we headed for some lunch at the market deli on Main Street. It was lovely and warm and we sat on a little table outside munching on our food (I have to say, I really love the slices of veggie pizza things they do here, and my husband loves the croque monsieur sandwiches). While we were sat here getting sunburnt (whoops), Minnie's spring train came past and we watched it from our table. We even got a wave from Daisy Duck (at which point our youngest jumped up and down a lot- she loves her!)

After my lunch in the sunshine and seeing Minnie's train, I was feeling a bit silly, so I decided that I was going to buy some Mickey hands. My eldest decided she would too, and we spent the rest of the day high-fiving people that we saw wearing them too, and we also curtsied / bowed to all the little girls wearing Princess dresses, and saluted all the Captain America's....and so on (you get the idea). Big praise to the CM's here who were more than happy to join in with us on this!!! Even one that looked quite miserable burst into a beautiful smile when we asked for a high-five with our hands on, and got Goofy to come over and high-five us, so I like to think that we made some people a bit happier that day. It might sound silly but we didn't do it like a bunch of rowdy teenagers acting stupidly, we were respectful and polite and it was actually a lot of fun. The parents of little Princesses seemed very happy when their daughters beamed at us after we had called them Princess and curtsied or bowed to them.

We headed to Phantom Manor during this time and collected more high-fives along the way. I love this ride so much. I took a little video of the 'hurry back' bit on the way out and I'm trying to figure out how to turn it into a ringtone for my phone!

We did a bit of shopping following this as the youngest felt like her holiday money was burning a hole in her pocket, so bought a small Lady from Lady and the Tramp that was on special offer.
We wandered down to Pirates after this to see what the wait was like but it was a bit too long and our Disney Feet were in full swing, so hubby and eldest decided to go on Indi and the little one and I found a cool shady spot to sit in and talked about what to do for the rest of the day while she played with her new toy. [It's worth noting here, that I soaked my feet on the evening in water as cold as I could stand and then rubbed ibuprofen gel into them and it helped marginally more than deep heat].

After this, we headed to Autopia. I love how much the kids enjoy 'driving' on this ride. It cracks me up. My eldest saying to me 'You know I'm going to be a really good driver I am, I can do the pedals and everything' lol.
When we got off Autopia, we realised the Mary Poppins Show on the castle stage was soon to start, so we grabbed an ice cream and went and found somewhere to stand to watch it from. It was a cute little show and the girls enjoyed it. Then afterwards we walked a few paces towards It's a Small World and waited for Magic on Parade to start as the ropes had gone up ready. I love this parade so much. The song is awesome and all the floats are just brilliant.
As soon as the last float had passed us and we'd waved at Tink, we raced for Pirates and walked straight onto a boat with no waiting. Much easier on the old Disney Feet! 

Following this we went round to the boats by Casey Junior and did those and then the kids and their Dad did the Labyrinth while I sat down for a while on a bench by the old mill (not at all trying to sneakily spot characters).
We were all getting hungry again by this point and decided to go and have some food, but made a detour on the way for Phantom Manor which had a 5 minute wait (any excuse). Then we went to Rainforest Café and stuffed our faces (have I mentioned how much I love the veggie burgers with the halved avocados on? God they are soooooooooooooooo good!!!).

The we walked (slowly) back to the Hotel and grabbed some cocktails to take back to the room, and I beat everyone at Uno before we watched some Hannah Montana and crashed out!   

[sophstar007]

This is sounding so perfect....please add more! 

[seraphelle]

Tue 17th May - Day 3

So today our breakfast slot was 8:15-8:45 and again we made it by the skin of our teeth. I was in a lot of pain this morning with my feet and had to dose up with some nuclear-strength ibuprofen. Once the initial stiffness had passed it became easier, but that first few steps from the room towards the restaurant for breakfast were very ouchy despite me wearing my super comfy trainers that are usually like walking on clouds.

I ate an embarrassingly large amount of pain au chocolat while hubby did his usual meats and cheeses (yuk!) and the kids inhaled their cereal and yogurt and fruit (double yuk). I'm a eggs and soldiers girl and there was no chance of that so I made do lol.

We got to the parks during EMH and headed straight to Buzz for the little one. After this we went to get into the queue that was forming ready for Autopia to open. I sat in the queue and hubby and the girls went into the Nautilus (I've never done this and didn't get chance for the rest of the break, they all loved it so I definitely need to fit this in next time). Pretty much as soon as they'd gone in, the Autopia queue started moving, and I was already round in the part with the rails by the time they came out, thankfully the CM saw me waving and let them through to me or I'd have been driving myself around!  At the end of this ride someone bumped into the back of us which made our car jump forward and bump into the back of the car in front. I apologised to the lady (British reflex lol) but she was shouting at us in French despite it not being our fault. Thankfully I don't know any French or I may have returned the favour. My daughter was upset thinking she'd done something wrong! However, when we exited the ride, the lady was in front of us leaving the ride via the stairs, and she slipped and skinned her shin (ouch!!!). I smiled sweetly at the lady as we passed and then calmly explained to my daughter about Karma and how the world had taught that lady that it's not cool to shout at people, especially for things that aren't their fault. She felt better afterwards and we went on Buzz again whilst the thrill seekers went and did Space Mountain 2.

It was pretty warm by this point, so we decided to go and jump on the train as we'd not done it before. So we crossed to Fantasyland station (which I believe is the only one currently working) and enjoyed our trip around the park (I loved the little scenes, had no idea they were there!). Afterwards we strolled onto It's a Small World as there was only a 5 minute queue. I know this ride can be a bit, errr, repetitive shall we say? But personally I love it, and the Hyena absolutely cracks me up!!!

After this I started to feel a bit sick, I don't know if it was the heat or that I was hungry as it was just past lunch time. We grabbed some food from Market Deli and Casey's and found a shadey spot to sit in and munch. I still wasn't feeling great so decided to pop back to the hotel where I had some tummy medicine stashed in my make-up bag. We walked back along under the walkway out of the sun and saw Peter Pan doing meet and greets, we waved at him as we passed and he gave us a big 'hello!' and a wave, how lovely even though we were just passing and not queuing for a photo! And his voice was spot on as well!

The kids and hubby went to the Studios and I carried on through the village back to the hotel. I grabbed a milkshake from the bar on the way to the room (milkshakes always seem to sort me out when I feel sick). Popped my phone on charge for a bit, took some medicine and drank my milkshake, and the next thing I know I was waking up 90 minutes later because my phone was ringing. Hubby and the kids had done Crush, Slinky, RC and the parachute drop as well as had an ice cream whilst I'd been snoozing. Thankfully the nap and meds had sorted me out and I decided it was high time that I saw Spidey so I went to meet them in the Studios by the singing in the rain umbrella.

We went round to queue for Spidey and all 3 of them started teasing me whilst we were waiting (I am a HUGE Spiderman fan, know what I mean ladies?  ). I was almost heavy breathing by the time it was our turn! The CM told Spidey that Mom was a huge fan and he asked me for a cuddle (OMG!) and then he was looking at my Disney / Marvel tattoos and asking where the one was for him. I told him he was going somewhere else and he laughed so loud and hugged me again (I was dying  ). We all had photos together and he asked me if I wanted a selfie (gahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!) and then I got one last hug before shuffling out of there in a daze.
And then, the CM outside said 'You know Mom, I believe there are places that Dad could buy a Spiderman suit' and WINKED at me, and I almost died laughing because this is a running joke with me and my husband (he is tall and skinny with brown hair just like Spidey, swoon!).
The kids didn't follow why we were all laughing but by the time we left I could hardly breathe from laughing and the CM had tears streaming down his face and my husband was howling with laughter! Best.Day.Ever!!!

After this we did the Tram Tour, and then headed back to DL for Magic on Parade. We danced and sang along to the music and then headed up to Inventions to stuff our faces. I ate so much I could barely walk afterwards lol. I think myself and my daughter ate what we paid for the meal just in king prawns! We met Goofy, Pluto, Mickey, Geppetto, Pinocchio, and Tigger. At one point my husband was off grabbing more food and Mickey came in and sat in his place and took my hand as if he were my date, it was hilarious. Then Goofy was playing with my pigtails in my hair and I told him they were to try and look like his ears and he kept touching them whenever he went past. So funny!

We debated having another drink or going back into the park but were all so tired and full that we just wanted to chill out. It was a lovely warm night, we walked slowly back to the Sequioa, meandering in and out of the shops in the village along the way, then we got there and sat outside for ages while the kids chattered at a hundred miles an hour about tomorrow and what they wanted to do on their last day. We saw some bats swooping around as it got darker and heard the odd firework as Dreams must have started. Then we went back to the room and fell into bed for the last time.

[polar vixen]

your trip sOunds AMAZING so glad you're whole family were having a great time

[fairymom]

Aw it all sounds like SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Absolutely brilliant

[seraphelle]

Wed 18th May – Last Day

So today was our last day.
We were surprisingly not as miserable and grumpy with each other as we usually are on our last day (pre-breakfast arguments on the last day, anyone?). I don't want to gloss over the not-so-great thing that happened, but I also don't want the report to end on a downer. What I will say, is that someone who had access to our room, not only went through our things (I have a specific way I put clothes in drawers, it's not OCD, it's sensible!) but took a pair of silver earrings that had been placed and sealed in a little clear bag and put in the drawer. They left the bag open just to add insult to injury.

Hubby went to speak to the reception staff as soon as we realised once I'd begun my pre-packing ritual. He was given a 'lost items' form to complete. I wasn't sure this was right but filled the form out anyway and he dropped it back to reception. I packed a few things and we headed to breakfast and filled our tummies. I went back to the room and began the proper pack while the others went to reception to see what was happening. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing and explaining, someone finally understood that these items had not been 'lost' but had been taken. There was then more confusion as to whether the hotel thought we should contact the Police or our Travel Insurance provider. Honestly, the earrings weren't worth that much money. They were little Mickey heads that my daughter had bought during a special trip not long after she'd had her ears pierced so the only value was sentimental. Thankfully another member of staff then took over, and common sense prevailed. They gave my daughter a voucher up to the value of 25 euros so she could get some new earrings (despite her telling them they had only been 18 or 19 euros). They came back to the room feeling happy and I had finished packing at this point so we said goodbye to the room and headed to the parks.

I'd bought our TGV tickets back to the airport already so we had a good 7 hours left in Disneyland before we had to head to the station. We dropped the bags at Guest Services by the entrance to the park, and headed inside.  It was after opening by this point but the park was super quiet. It was heavenly. We headed to Casey Jnr and the boats and did both of those first, then It's a Small World, then the Labyrinth and it was me and Dad vs the littlies in a race to the centre. They thrashed us. Embarrassingly so! 

We then headed under the walkway quickly to PoTC which was practically a walk-on too. I do love this ride, although we noticed there were a few bits that weren't moving as they should on this go round, which made us wonder if a fuse had gone or something lol. Then it was back under the walkway and we did Pinocchio and Snow White, again, 0-3 minutes waiting, if that. I don't think Pinocchio will ever not scare me. I'm almost 36 and it still gives me the creeps!

Then *sniff*sob* it was time for my last go on Phantom Manor. I dragged my feet all the way there and the CM praised my tattoo asked me why I was so blue. I explained this was my last go before leaving and got a seemingly genuine pat on the shoulder as if they truly understood my pain lol.
I savoured every second and then dragged my feet down Boot Hill and through the Frontierland gate to Central Plaza.

I took some time to take pictures here of the lovely flowers and the castle, before going to see the Dragon and saying goodbye. Then I came back to the plaza and round to Discoveryland and we did Autopia.

The kids and hubs grabbed an ice cream at this point and I decided we needed to get a photopass because we'd had some great piccies with Snow and Spidey, so I went and grabbed an AP one and had the meet and greet ones added on, then hubs popped to PoTC and got our ride photo added on from earlier.

The kids wanted to do RC again (my stomach turns just thinking about it) so we said our goodbyes to DLP and headed across. I went and immediately queued to meet Minnie, and the others headed off to do the rides that make my heart jump into my throat. I had a great meet with Minnie in her polka dots (have to love the classic outfit, Spring is nice, Xmas is nice, Halloween is better, but polka dots rock!).

I went and found the guys and the weather had turned quite cool by this point so we decided it was a good time to have some food. We went to Rainforest Café again and filled our bellies. It was us and 2 other families in the whole restaurant, crazy quiet! We stayed for ages trying to spot the pattern of when the thunder comes and elephant ears move but we couldn't suss it out.

After this, we figured out the cash that we had remaining, gave the kids a bit extra, then attacked the shops in the Village. Eldest found her replacement earrings (thank Mickey for that!), she chose the exact same ones bless her even though she could have upgraded slightly due to the amount on the voucher. That's my girl. 

Hubs and I spent far too much money in the Lego store (every time!) and the kids got some cute bits and bobs, the youngest splurging most of her money on Flower the skunk from Bambi with an insanely long tail (which I can say in all honesty she has only taken from round her when she has had to go to school, as soon as she gets home it is wrapped straight round her again).

The heavens opened at this point so we sheltered under the area just outside the Annette's entrance until it calmed down a little. It was still fairly mild despite the rain so thankfully it was refreshing rather than freezing! We fetched the bags after this and then headed to the station to grab the TGV to the airport. We were in a slightly different part of the airport to where we normally leave from, so it was nice to see a different area. There were free videogames so the kids were playing on these for ages. I was building all my teeny lego things as was hubby. Then I went to find a Laduree stall so I could get my bestie some fancy macaroons as has become my little ritual. She looks after my house / animals / plants / allotment while we are gone so I always get her some macaroons because she loves them and the Laduree ones comes in gorgeous little boxes and are, so I'm assured, the BEST. She deserves the best for being so awesome.

After this it was soon going to be time to board as I could see the plane pulling into the gate, so I dragged the kids from the games and got our stuff together. Lovely staff again on the plane fussing over the kids and their Disney toys and asking them what they had done and who they had seen. Love FlyBe.

Got home to Birmingham and straight into my besties car and home. She had even bought us a loaf and some milk so we could have tea and toast for supper. Love her we do. 

So that was our trip. It was lovely, and we enjoyed ourselves a lot. Really looking forward to my day visit in August. Not sure we'll squeeze another one in this year as a family but definitely will go for the anniversary next year.

Thanks for reading xx I will add the photos as soon as Photobucket stops being awkward! xx

[Disney Matt]

Fab trip report as always 
Can't wait for the photos