We got there and we're back!!

[PJackson]

Firstly sorry I didn't get on here to say we were definately off last Sunday, the morning just went so fast! DD2 was poorly before we went with a really high temp but did seem a lot better on Sunday am, having said that she did continue to be fractious for the first couple of days. I took appropriate meds etc with me so we coped OK.

Overall we had a good time but I'm being totally honest in saying it was not as good as our trip last year :sad1: There were a number of reasons for this. So, I thought I'd just touch on some highs and not so highs for us this trip. I'll start with the 'not so highs' as it's nice to end on a high. Sorry this is long so look away now if you don't want to read ;)

No so great:
- Waiting an hour for our luggage to arrive at our room at the DLH. I rang them once to chase (after 40 mins) and was told it was 'on it's way'!! It meant unfortunately that the baby was beside herself with tiredness and we were late getting out into the park on the first night. Also, no cot was present which had been requested - had to call for it!

- Crowds in the parks - v v busy and much more so than we thought it would be as I'd read that the French children started back at school on Mon & Tues. As it happens, apparently some didn't start back until Thurs, and I'm not sure about the Italian & Spanish children as the park was literally crawling with families from those countries. I'd say it was at least 3 times as busy as when we went last year and it's kind of put me off doing school holidays tbh. I think those people who can go in term time are v v lucky!

- Smoking in the park - we didn't notice this at all last time (because parks were much quieter so not so many queues) but there was far too much smoke around. In every queue (and there were plenty!), there was a 'European' puffing away which seemed to blow into our faces :mad: Not nice at all and again put me off.

- Rudeness and pushiness of European people. My god, they need to get some manners :mad: I just don't get the philosophy of they don't 'do' queuing as clearly they know how to do it when they have to!! One woman pointed at my Mum and told her to move one day from where she was standing as she wanted to put her pushchair there - it wouldn't have been a problem but my Mum was actually standing with my DD2 in her pushchair in the spot!!!!! Needless to say, my Mum told her to 'get off' politely of course.

- Scrums for the characters - I am SO pleased we'd booked all our meals as character ones otherwise we'd probably have seen hardly any characters at all. 98% of DD's autographs were from meals. The scrums were just awful and I wasn't going to put us through it.

- General lacklustre attitude of some of the CMs - again, never saw this when it wasn't so busy last year but it really stood out this year :sad2: You can tell it's a 'job' to them and not necessarily a priviledge like has been mentioned in CMs in the US. In particular, some CMs pushed you without even uttering a word, stood talking (joking around) when you were waiting to ask a question (for some time!), ignored you when waiting for drinks (we went to Billy Bobs one night for a drink, sat for almost 10 mins waiting for service. Finally I asked one CM and was told it wasn't 'his area' so he'd mention it to the waitress. I saw him speak to her and tell her. She then continued to wash glasses, pick up trays and walk past us without even looking at us :mad: We walked out in disgust). Not the service you would expect.

- In addition to the above, I asked one CM where the best place to stand was for the possibility of getting Aurora's autograph and she just shrugged her shoulders and told me anywhere and walked away from me!!! :mad: I asked another CM if it was possible to see if Mulan would speak or even wave to my DD1 (she was desperate to meet her (had her Mulan dress on) and I'd queued for 45 mins for Stars n Cars to try and get a spot so DD1 to meet her). He said he would 'try' but didn't even move from the spot!!! :headache: I understand they can't take requests from everyone but why even bother saying he'd try!!

- Slow service in counterservice restaurants - my god, I actually was losing the will to live in both Caseys and Hakuna Matata! I honestly can't understand why it takes so long - how does McDonalds manage in the UK for instance?? They'd probably go bust if you had to wait for 30-40 mins with about 4 people in the queue! :rolleyes1

- Not an issue for DLRP but DD2 was a complete nightmare for the entire trip :sad1: She just screamed the whole time. The first day travelling was long and she didn't sleep at all that day and I think with being poorly the day before she had just had enough. It did make the whole time difficult though as she just wanted to walk about as because it was so busy in the parks we obviously couldn't let her do it very much. DH missed our Auberge meal as he took her back to the hotel as she was screaming so much with tiredness and just temper really!!!

So, the highs :wizard::
- The DLH - still a lovely hotel and location is fab. We got the connecting rooms we requested :thumbsup2 The character meet in the atrium was still v good although the characters were more repetitive than last year I thought, and there were queues but v short in comparison to the park.

- Auberge de Cendrillon - still lovely, nice meal and great Princess interaction. DD1 met Cinderella (entrance), Belle, Snow White & Ariel & Eric. She would have loved to meet Aurora but it wasn't to be (we did queue for the Sleeping Beauty show in the castle courtyard but she didn't do any autographs or photos at all which was imo not v nice esp as there were little girls so desperate to see her (dressed in dresses etc clutching their autograph books) :sad2:

- Inventions - a great meal. Buffet nice (although not the best I've ever had but still plenty of choice etc). We ate here two evenings, the first wasn't so great (v few characters and we had a rubbish table in a small room). The second night was fab, much better table and more characters and fooling around :thumbsup2:

- Cafe Mickey - again a great meal (I had been concerned that it wouldn't be great value with premium hb vouchers but I felt it was - we ate at face value). Character interaction imo was the best we had all holiday and plenty of characters :thumbsup2

- The Enchanted Fireworks - we only saw them the first night (last night of fireworks) but they were just the most amazing thing I've ever seen - I cried :goodvibes: Unfortunately we were so late out to the park (due to luggage issue above), we had a v poor spot for Fantillusion but from the bit I could see it looked great. I would love to see the fireworks again some day.

- Playhouse Disney - my two girls adored this esp my DD2 who really wasn't great on the whole holiday. While it certainly won't appeal to adults, I think it's great that finally Disney is doing something that appeals to toddlers on the whole.

- DD1 didn't get to meet Mulan (as above) during Stars n Cars as she didn't notice her :sad2: Partly my fault as I stood in the wrong place! But she did notice her on her way out in her car and she made such a thing of her - she was pointing and blowing kisses for ages - not looking at anyone else the whole time, and you could actually see that she was sad that she hadn't met her - it looked genuine on her face :lovestruc Sadly it was our last full day so we couldn't see the parade again.

- We bumped into Peter Pan & Wendy on our last morning in the park. DD1 rang after them and she held Peter's hand all the way from the Carousel over to Peter Pan's Flight, skipping along :lovestruc They were so so lovely with her - taking ages to talk to her eventhough others wanted to see them and a scrum was forming.

There are more highs too but as this is a huge thread I'll leave it there ;) I don't think I'll get time to do a TR with DD1 starting school next week :scared1: But I'll try and do some food reviews in the next few days.

Thanks for all your help and advice along the way - you are all fab on here.

Finally, DLRP is still a magical place but certainly more so when it's quieter. I really felt it lost a little magic this time - I don't think it will put us off going again but I don't think I'll be as high hoped about my next trip as I know it will be in school holidays! :eek: Busy times with a v young toddler though it v v difficult imo :rolleyes1

[thelittlemermaid83]

Welcome back Patsy, was interesting to read about your highs and low.

So....when is your next trip? :lmao:

[DLPdaft]

I'm just glad you all got there in the end Patsy :goodvibes.

I loved reading your thoughts this time round, the good and the bad. I hope your littlest DD is on the mend properly now :grouphug:.

[PJackson]

:lmao: Emma - I'm not sure when we'll go again. I don't think my Mum is too keen to go again tbh - I had to persuade her hard to do this time of year (she'd heard horror reports from work about school holiday times!). I had told her it wouldn't be too busy and I don't think it was as busy as it can get by any means but was much busier than we had expected and we had last year but then it's different times!!

So, long and short is, not sure when we can go again. DH is possibly getting a job in London next year which could mean a Eurostar trip (which with a base in London, may be a better option than flying for us). We did discuss the possibility of doing a day trip once he is down there with the girls (but would have to be in school hols) also, I do think DD2 is just too 'tempramental' at the moment for it all - give her another year and hopefully it will be different :confused3

I'm sure the travellers on both our flights felt like murdering her at times. I would have been dead at least 10 times over if looks could kill as everyone was less than understand when she was creating on the flights :rolleyes:

Thanks Elaine :goodvibes

[mommy2ash]

what a shame it was so busy and your dd was a bit off. poor girl what with the bang on her head and being a bit sick.

i am glad you did have some good points. those always top the negatives lol

[Mum to Belle]

Welcome home! :goodvibes So relieved that you managed to get there after everything!

Thanks for your highs & lows - always interesting reading! Such a shame about Mulan though :sad1: Glad to hear that you managed some good character meets in the meals though! Loved the Peter Pan story :lovestruc

Hope DD2 is on the mend now - such a shame that she didn't get to enjoy the holiday as much as you'd hoped.

Good luck with school next week! :grouphug:

[thelittlemermaid83]

:lmao: Emma - I'm not sure when we'll go again. I don't think my Mum is too keen to go again tbh - I had to persuade her hard to do this time of year (she'd heard horror reports from work about school holiday times!). I had told her it wouldn't be too busy and I don't think it was as busy as it can get by any means but was much busier than we had expected and we had last year but then it's different times!!

So, long and short is, not sure when we can go again. DH is possibly getting a job in London next year which could mean a Eurostar trip (which with a base in London, may be a better option than flying for us). We did discuss the possibility of doing a day trip once he is down there with the girls (but would have to be in school hols) also, I do think DD2 is just too 'tempramental' at the moment for it all - give her another year and hopefully it will be different :confused3

I'm sure the travellers on both our flights felt like murdering her at times. I would have been dead at least 10 times over if looks could kill as everyone was less than understand when she was creating on the flights :rolleyes:



I guess when you've only been when its not been busy it can be a bit of shock when you do go and its busy, i'm dreading that when i have to go during half term.

How is DD now? Hope she is feeling better.

How many times did you get to watch Stars n Cars? Did you stand the by the yellow man :lmao:

[mum'o'3]

Welcome back. I read you highs and lows and the lows were so similar to mine 3 weeks ago. I didn't know whether it was the heat that made it seem busier, people seem more rude and the CM's less enthusiastic, but it definatly made our trip feel 'different' to last time. It wasn't that we didn't have a fantastic time and will have life long memories, but I won't be going back in the summer holidays again either. For the extra cost, I'm not sure we had an 'extra special' experience and I'd rather pay less and go in another holiday.

[Ljay]

Im glad you had a great time overall!:) glad you all got to go with your DD being unwell.

was interesting reading your highs and lows!

[Mum to Belle]

How many times did you get to watch Stars n Cars? Did you stand the by the yellow man :lmao:

LOL!!! :rotfl2:

[PJackson]

Aw thanks all - I don't want to be totally negative as we did come away with some huge moments to remember :thumbsup2

mum'o'3 - I think I read your thoughts and it's funny they were the same. A CM at Inventions told me that the park in general was much much busier than usual. Also our shuttle driver said the same. The % discounts have clearly had a huge effect on their turnover - which is a good thing for DLRP but not so good for us! :lmao:

Emma - I stupidly stood in the wrong place for Stars n Cars - I thought I was in the right area but I was opposite the 'yellow man' :lmao: Proved a huge mistake but by the time I realised the place was heaving - I stood in my spot 45 mins before and even then it was getting busy :scared1: What was annoying was I stood there ages and then this bloody woman turned up 10 mins before and started pushing her kids to the front - I gave her the look of death and she moved back - it's just a farce to those people who have stood and waited. In the end she 'won' though and pushed and pushed slowly until she got her kids in. DD2 also went to sleep in the pushchair and a young girl who kept pulling the pushchair almost pulled it over :scared1: Fortunately my Mum was behind (a few people behind) and managed to steady it for me :eek: I'd already asked her once nicely if she'd leave the pushchair alone :headache: As the crowd was so huge, by the time she'd gone to sleep there was no way I could move the pushchair out of the crowd!!

I think you'll notice a huge difference going in school holidays tbh - it's a real shame imo. If you can put the rudeness aside (and trust me in peak times it's hard to ignore!), you'll be OK :lmao: I think with older kids it's probably not as much as issue but young children are not great in queues, heat and general rowdiness!!

DD2 is much better thanks although I'm starting to worry that the bump on her head before we went isn't quite 'right' - she's been off since it all happened. Think I'm going to take her to the Doctors next week once I get DD1 settled at school.

[buttercup1982]

Welcome back!:goodvibes hope DD2 is ok now. I agree school holidays are completely hectic!! Wish I could get the time off work to go in term time! :goodvibes

[thelittlemermaid83]

I think i would blow my top around rude people, I may need to brush up on a few "words" in different languages before i go during the half term holidays :lmao:

[PJackson]

The thing is sometimes you don't want to say too much as you are not quite sure how they'll take it - some people seemed quite 'rowdy' this time to me tbh - almost like 'don't mess with me' type of attitude :scared1:

[Boo-Boo]

Hi and welcome back.....interesting reading, quite similar to how I felt about our last trip.....there was quite a lot of rudeness when we went, at one point there was nearly a fight during a HSM performance between 2 ladies :scared1: lots of security called and even the cast were looking worried! Such a shame .......but there were more highs then lows :)

[thelittlemermaid83]

The thing is sometimes you don't want to say too much as you are not quite sure how they'll take it - some people seemed quite 'rowdy' this time to me tbh - almost like 'don't mess with me' type of attitude :scared1:

I guess, i would usually feel pretty itimidated but I'm fed up of people walking around the park like they own the place and think they can do what the hell they want. I'd like to see anyone double cross me :rotfl2: I have a big gob :lmao:

[Mum to Belle]

It's difficult when you've got little people too isn't it. I hope things have quietened down by the time we go. :goodvibes

[thelittlemermaid83]

It's difficult when you've got little people too isn't it. I hope things have quietened down by the time we go. :goodvibes

Come find me and your be safe :rotfl2:

[buttercup1982]

Come find me and your be safe :rotfl2:
I'd LOVE to go on hol with you Emma!! :goodvibes

[PJackson]

Mum to Belle - I'm sure it will have quietened down by the time you go - we went 28th Sept last year and it was truly fab! Not busy at all :thumbsup2

Emma - :rotfl2: The thing is I can stick up for myself but wouldn't fancy a black eye or something :lmao:

[thelittlemermaid83]

I'd LOVE to go on hol with you Emma!! :goodvibes

:rotfl2::rotfl2: Just make sure you don't try and queue jump me ;):lmao:

[thelittlemermaid83]

Emma - :rotfl2: The thing is I can stick up for myself but wouldn't fancy a black eye or something :lmao:

I guess, but i hear puffy eyes are in fashion at the moment :lmao:

[jillrobinson]

Welcome back, glad you made it to DLP, but such a shame your little one was under the weather, hope she's feeling better now.
I know exactly what you mean, the park does lose some of it's magic, when it's very busy and people start behaving really badly.
Really glad that the highs seem to have outweighed the lows in the end. :goodvibes

[london75]

So glad others felt the same. We had a horrible trip last year but having been to Florida this year wanted a quick (and cheaper) late August dose of Disney for DD3 and DD1.

Had an absolutely brilliant time but found the rudeness and lack of service very very annoying at times. Our holidays are my time with the kids doing whatever they want to do, I've spent so much of their lives so far at work or stressed about work that having to wait 40 minutes for "fast" food or fight people just to maintain your position in a queue or crowd really bug me.

DLRP could be an excellent park and staying offsite at the Marriott and the warmer weather compared to our visit last December really swung things for us but I can't help feel that Disney corp have to get a grip on the staff attitude (I noticed again that every genuinely pleasant CM/character was British) and definitely sort out the smoking. I'm an ex 40 a day man and my throat was sore after a day in the park.

I'll stress again though we had an ace time, just wish our opinion of our continental European cousins wasn't soured so badly by the 30% of idiots. Cast members could sort this but don't seem to want to get involved nine times out of ten.

We probably walked past you, I was the 6'5" shaved headed man with a 3 year old on my shoulders and a 1 year old in my arms in case you spotted us!

[PJackson]

No London75 I did not see you :lmao: I probably wouldn't have noticed anyway as there were a lot of people about! :lmao:

I did get talking to a nice British man in the 15 min queue for Peter Pan fastpasses (yes, it was a queue for the fastpasses!!). It was his first time and I don't think he was too impressed from what I could gather - he said he didn't think it would be so busy and also his hotel (Santa Fe) made a Travel Lodge look great :rotfl:??? :eek:

I'm so pleased others agree to an extent, I really did want to enjoy our trip and I did (the main thing was my DD1 had a fantastic time and so I'm happy with that!). Someone said to me that often something repeated isn't like the first time and maybe that is the issue with me too - our first trip was truly out of this world, probably too hard to beat or keep up I guess!

It's hard to see though how things can slip in a year isn't it :scared1:

[thelittlemermaid83]

he said he didn't think it would be so busy and also his hotel (Santa Fe) made a Travel Lodge look great :rotfl:??? :eek:



:rotfl::rotfl:

[howlongtillsummer?]

I am absolutely with you on the potential for greatness at DLP. The staff are the heart of the problem. There is no good blaming rude guests. They are being rude because they are getting away with it. The staff (generally) don't care. Take the character scrums: 1. ask people to make a queue. 2. if they don't follow the rules ask them to leave the park. simple.

We observed an horrific argument between a CM and guest boarding Small World (of all places). The staff allowed the f word to resound merrily around the ride (coming from mostly the guest but the CM was not backing down).
They should have simply and quickly been removed from the park.

Someone cut one of those huge bunches of balloons and guests scrambled from all around to grab them. No security, no CMs in sight. They simply don't want to know.

I would not be one for backing away from an argument, but I think someone could be seriously hurt there. Security seems very lax! I would watch yourself.

Sort the staff out and let the magic come!! :wizard:

[PJackson]

Actually I forgot, one time when Tigger got off Minnie's Party Train, he went over to a spot to do his meets and he was surrounded. That was the only time this hol we bothered to try and get in to see a character with people around already. It was awful. The CM was actually trying to move a woman and child and ask them to queue as this woman kept shoving her child at Tigger and he was trying to take children in turn. The CM did so a few times but this woman kept going back to where she'd been told to move from. In the end, the CM threw up her hands, said something which I guess was 'I give up' and walked off!!!! :eek: Leaving poor Tigger to try and grapple with the crowds - not nice and quite scary actually.

I suppose they get v v frustrated - you can see it in even some of the ways the characters deal with people. I'd hate to see that sort of behaviour every day and feel powerless to change it :scared1:

On the other hand, because DD1 was so pleasant and well mannered with Peter Pan & Wendy when we saw them (and the fact they were British!), she was treated really, really well and all the other grappling/pushing kids were made to wait while they spent a good while with DD1. I felt not only so happy for DD but also v proud of the way she controlled herself at 4 years old :lovestruc

[Jeccaboos]

I've just got back today too - I agree about the crowds and many of your points. Monday was horrific. We went in August last year and that was nothing compared to Monday. We actually walked around the parks for 4hrs without going on a single ride as the queues were manic and the sheer amount of people who were around...they even closed POTC as it was full to queueing capacity. We gave up in the end and ended up going back to DCR and spending the afternoon in the pool and playground.

[Jeccaboos]

On the other hand, because DD1 was so pleasant and well mannered with Peter Pan & Wendy when we saw them (and the fact they were British!), she was treated really, really well and all the other grappling/pushing kids were made to wait while they spent a good while with DD1. I felt not only so happy for DD but also v proud of the way she controlled herself at 4 years old :lovestruc

We got exactly the same with Pinnochio, Daisy and Jessie after they came of the Character Express. My DD and DS were waiting really patiently and they all shooed the others who were pushing books in their face aside to write in their books (Pinnochio wrote 'Big Kisses to cute little DD, Lots of Love, Pinnochio' :cloud9: ). It must really annoy them, so manners and politeness do pay off.

[buttercup1982]

On the other hand, because DD1 was so pleasant and well mannered with Peter Pan & Wendy when we saw them (and the fact they were British!), she was treated really, really well and all the other grappling/pushing kids were made to wait while they spent a good while with DD1. I felt not only so happy for DD but also v proud of the way she controlled herself at 4 years old :lovestruc

I agree, Aladdin and Jasmine spent a lot on time with my DD and said she was very well mannered! I got very frustrated at times and ended up saying at one point 'Amber just stand in front!' to which she replied 'No mummy I'll wait here and my turn will come soon' :lovestruc Bless she's only 5 :goodvibes

[karenmoloney]

Hi Patsy, I'm glad you got there in the end up & that DD1 had a great time, which is what's it's all about. I know what going to Disneyland is like with a toddler & how being away from familiar surroundings & out of their routine really affects them - and how stressful that can be! I find it challenging dealing with my DD2 at home most days! I was actually pricing a trip to take my 2 daughters to DLRP in the last week of November (Easyjet have a sale on & I got a really good price for Santa Fe with expedia), but now reading your thoughts I'm wondering if I could cope as I would be going on my own & I know my DD2 will be a handful & will make the holiday stressful & I don't know how DD1 will cope with not being able to get on all her rides because we will have DD2 to think of all the time. We'll see.

I hope your DD2 is back to normal again soon & that DD1 gets on well starting school next week. And I also hope that you get back again some day without the crowds & without the smoking, pushing etc that you experienced this time.

[howlongtillsummer?]

The problem with encouraging your child to wait their turn and show manners is their severe disappointment if it doesn't pay off. What about the child who waits and waits only for the character to leave? Seen it many times and it is heartbreaking.

The only answer is to stay away from the scrums. But they shouldn't be happening! Saying to your child that they can't go and see the character because of the rude people is not fun.

:mad:

[london75]

I thought more than once last week that it must be terrifying sometimes for the character actors, particularly those in restrictive suits. They were being absolutely mauled by kids and adults and the CMs I saw didn't help. Jack Sparrow who isn't even in a restrictive costume appeared to be suffering with kids pulling at various bits of him and one child even jumped onto his back to try to get him to slow down as he left for a break. It just isn't acceptable.

Maybe I'm just a bit too British/Victorian!

Still planning our next trip though, think Florida (which will absolutely always be my first choice as it just seems to have the "magic") is just too expensive for the next 12 months.

[Ljay]

sorry O/T This is what i am worried about, will be my first time to DLP with a toddler we go in Dec, ds will be 2 in Dec.
The past few weeks he has been a little monkey (think the terrible two's have come early) he wont walk he doesnt like sitting in his pushchair he just basically wants carrying.
He is good as gold in the house, but that is the only place. I have stopped going up town on my own past few weeks. He just screams the place down as soon as we walk in a shop:scared1:.

He has also taken a dislike to rides at the min. he would rather stand beside it and then ride it:confused3
The biggest thing im worried about is will he sleep!! When we have stayed nights away, he wont go sleep till about 11pm if we are in the same room and he wakes a few times a night! i know its down to different surroundings. Im just hoping he will be tired out and sleep fairly good! i need my sleep:rotfl:

Did your little ones settle okay at night?

[london75]

We've been going to either Florida or Paris since the first was born (now eldest is 3+3/4)

Eldest was the same from 2, wanted to be carried everywhere which as a softy Dad I ended up doing. My trick to overcome arm ache was a messenger style bag, I sling it over a shoulder (it's inevitably full of cameras, snacks, drinks and all the rubbish kids want) and then sit the offending child on it. I'v egot pictures somewhere. It at least means your lower back takes the strain rather than arms so can go a good 2-3 hours like that and getting on and off rides is easier.

This is the bag I use, it sounds bizarre but works for us, second child now sits all day on it as well!!!!
http://gallery.daisybutton.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=15402&g2_serialNumber=2

I reach round the offending child's body and grab the top handle of the bag that sticks out between their legs pinning them in place enough so that they can't wriggle off but loose enough that they don't feel restricted.

[london75]

As for settling at night, we made the mistake in previous years of trying to get them into a settling at 6-7pm type routine as home.

This last week in Paris, we went out and stayed out late. Wear them out and they sleep all night despite the new surroundings.

It worked much better than trying to enforce a routine.

December is tricky but if you have an evening meal after the park closes, you won't return to your room until 9-10pm at which point they'll be shattered and sleep through fingers crossed.

[karenmoloney]

I find the going to sleep OK because I just into the bed with DD2 & she goes to sleep snuggled up against me (not very comfortable!) - but still doesn't manage all night without waking, even at home. I find having to keep them fed the hardest - my DD2 has to be fed at specific times & I always have to be well organised & have the food ready when she needs it because at that age when they're hungry they get so grumpy because they don't know what's wrong with them. That's why I prefer to go self catering (preferably at the Marriott) when I'm at DLRP so I can have dinners to heat up at the baby centre because queuing for 30 mins for fast food is too long for a hungry toddler. It's so true what they say about the terrible twos, roll on her 3rd birthday!

[Ljay]

Thanks London and karen:flower3:

I was thinking about keeping his bedtime the same as we have at home, but i cant see him settling, like you said after park closes and we have had meal hopefully he should be rather sleepy. They will be long days for him. He likes to take a nap in the afternoon if he doesnt have them he is quite grumpy but im hoping he wont want to sleep so he is even more sleepy later:)

I would love ds to sleep in the same bed and actually sleep. he seems to think that being in mummy and daddys bed is playtime. so he just wont stop fidgeting. (maybe somewhere along the line we have made him like this) i do try now and again at home, but after 15mins he is still wide awake:rolleyes1

[karenmoloney]

I find that DLRP really tires them out. It is the only place that I have been able to lift DD2 when she was sleeping, change her nappy, dress her & put on a skisuit & boots & then put her in her pram without her waking up - she usually wakens as soon as you touch her! As for sleeping in the bed with her, it's something that she always did at home - somehow she always knew when DH was on night shift & would wake up & want into our bed & I always let her! She has only stopped this over the summer, but anytime we go away anywhere I always sleep in with her so she's used to it. I wouldn't bank on him not sleeping during the day, it is more likely that he will be exhausted & will just conk out in his buggy as you push him round - probably just as you don't want him to!

[scampbunny]

welcome back patsy!!!

glad u did have a good time, and also hope dd1 enjoys school, and dd2 is more settled.
am sorry to hear about the lows....

i can totally understand how awful it is when busy, never had to deal with it (luckily) due to ds2, but must be frustrating getting ppl smokin in the queues....

i can also see sum of it from cms point, i mean, it must be so demoralising, ur in ur dream job, trying to be happy and make everyones trip special, but more and more ppl are 'ignorant' and ignore u, and push and shove, and are prob quite 'verbal' too, i guess it slowly strips the enthusiasm from them, as if u try and try to be fair to everyone, and ppl constantly ignore u, and push, u will wonder y u bother - which is a shame.

yes, manners to pay off, we have found that everytime, and also startin a convo with the cm too works!! but, ur right, most of the ones we had good interaction with were british, only one was another nationality (and cant remember what).

lets hope it quietens down crowd/pushing wise, and the cms get their enthusiasm and magic back - some do work so very hard....

[Dianetigger]

Sorry to hear about your lows Patsy, we went at the beginning of the summer holidays (I work in a pre-school and so limited to holiday time but I'm hoping to persuade them next year to let me have some term time off!) The park was the busiest I've ever seen and the queues and waiting times too (and we went end July/beg of August last year) but although we saw some rude people, in general it was far better than in previous years as was the smoking, we didn't see (or smell) any smoking in queues at all, yes we saw it around the park but not in great numbers.
As for the CM's, again we got lucky I guess (or it was the begining of the summer season and they were 'fresher') but every single one we encountered was absolutely wonderful.
I don't have little ones anymore so we don't tend to do characters unless there is an organised queue (like the Princesses) other times if hardly anyone is around then one of my three will opt to try for pictures.
It is so difficult after spending so much time getting excited for the holiday and planning that things then happen to totally spoil your outlook that you know can (and should) be sorted by the company. I do think a letter of complaint is in order, after all if no one complains then they will think they are doing everything right!
All the very best for DD1 starting school next week and let's hope DD2 gets back to herself now you are home.
Sending you all lots of (((hugs))).

[Mrsweasley]

Welcome back, I am glad you got to go :)

Sorry to hear about Mulan , I was hoping it would work out .

So so so impressed with your Peter Pan story, I have tears in my eyes thinking about it.

Good Luck with school next week :)

[PJackson]

Thanks Mrs Weasley - totally my fault that it didn't work out with Mulan, if I'd been where we discussed, we would have been fine :sad2: Mulan did make a real beeline for her when she passed us in her car though - she looked back for ages and ages at DD and kept blowing her kisses etc - you really could tell in her face that she felt bad that she'd missed her :rolleyes: Just think, a little 4 year old girl right at the front, waving like mad and shouting your name with the same dress on, with a look of desperation in her face ;) DD got a fair few girls looking at her in her dress - I did see a few for sale in the park (shame there weren't more for sale over here!) but not one other girl wearing one!

Yes, Peter & Wendy saved the day really - we kept away from all other character meets in the park - this was a total fluke really :cloud9:

We have brought home some lovely memories, I'm sure the not so good ones will fade! :rolleyes1

PS - thanks to everyone for the good luck for DD1 next week starting school! Can't believe it's here!!!

[mommy2ash]

The problem with encouraging your child to wait their turn and show manners is their severe disappointment if it doesn't pay off. What about the child who waits and waits only for the character to leave? Seen it many times and it is heartbreaking.

The only answer is to stay away from the scrums. But they shouldn't be happening! Saying to your child that they can't go and see the character because of the rude people is not fun.

:mad:

i know what you mean. its awful really. i was in a queue for the toon train in the studios with ash. and a family cut in front of the people in front of me. six adults took turns taking pics of the same two kids and would not get off the stage. i have no idea why the cm didnt move them on. by the time they were finished the toon train had to leave. ash was so upset she didnt get to meet lilo and stitch and her poor face nearly broke my heart. the next day we queued to meet them again and when it was our turn the cm took away the step and said no more. i just saw ashleighs little mouth start to quiver and i didnt know what to do. but stitch put up his finger to say one more and motioned for ash to come over. the cm said just stand her in front of the stage but stitch bent down and picked her up and cuddled her. both he and lilo signed her book and posed. it just made ashleighs day. i dont know whether it was the same stitch from the day before and he recognised the little girl running after the train or if he was just being nice but either way i was really grateful.

seeing as that happed in a queue i tend to avoid character scrums unless i see a character with only a few people around them