The 20th Anniversary Summer Magic TR 25-27 July 2012

[SleepingX3Beauty]

So I FINALLY got around to writing my tripreport! Apologies for the wait; 3 days after getting back from the magic my tonsils were cut out which didn't particularly put me in the mood to start typing a TR with pictures of delicious food in it, seeing as I was surviving on yoghurt at that point.
I made a version in Dutch first, seeing as I am Dutch and I figured translating that one would be easier then just going at it in English head on.

For those of you who want more info on who's going, the plan etc. I would like to reffer you to my PTR : http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2921687

So, on to the actual TR!


Come on and join in our jubilation
Come and join in the fun
Gather together, it's celebration, come on everyone
If you want to see a dream come true
Well, it isn't so hard to do
From wherever you are, make a wish upon a star...

We already made our wish in February, by booking our summer Disneyland Paris trip. Today, after a very long wait, it was finally coming true!
It's 25 July and 4 AM in the morning, when my cellphone starts playing the notes of "do you believe" to wake us up. We jumped out of bed enthusiastically, got dressed and locked all our luggage in the back of the car, and off we went for our 3 hour drive to the magic!





No problems or traffic jams on the way and we arrived at 7.40 AM at our hotel: Newport Bay Club.
The CM helping us check in was quite worried when she didn't find any park entrance ticket in our envelope, until I cleared up that we had annual passes and had booked room only.
With our Easypas in our hands we make a quick stop at the concierge to have our restaurant reservations printed out, before heading out trough the lake exit. I love sniffing up that first bit of magic during the walk along Lake Disney, trough the village and feeling it build up with every step you get closer to the parks.





It was really, really, really hot outside, even that early in the morning, which seemed to be a constant factor during our stay. We prized ourselves very lucky that we had booked a hotel with pool this time!

I was already looking very longing to the new World of Disney store but dear boyfriend decided we would leave the shopping for later on, seeing as he knows how many hours I can spend doing so.
I liked that you only had to pass one bag check this time. We'd passed the one upon entering Disney Village and didn't have to go trough the one at the parks again. During our last stay in November, you did have to pass both of them, now you could follow a new route along World of Disney to the old entrance of the Studios park.

We entered the Disneyland Park and curiously stared at the 20th anniversary decorations while taking in Town Square and letting it sink in that we were really back. Eventually we just looked at each other like, okay, what are we going to start with?

We continued along Main Street as the castle doomed up in front of us, without that ugly stage in front of it this time.
A quick stop at the information sign with the queuing times on it, which were all under 5 minutes during the EMH.



We figured we'd break or habit of starting each trip with Buzz and headed for Peter Pan, which was a walk on. From there we did go to Buzz to shoot some aliens after a tiny 15 minutes of waiting. Boyfriend ended up gloating because he had beaten me, again. Yes, I suck at shooters, I honestly do. I usually just sit there, staring at those lights wondering which one is coming from my shooter and wether or not I am aiming anywhere in the right direction.





After saving the universe, our tummies started to rumble so we set course for Cookie Kitchen were we ordered some pastries for breakfast.
Glenn - the boyfriend - went for a croissant and a donut with chocolate whilst I had the tea time souvenir with the Mickey shaped cakes. The Duffy mug had caught my eye and so I just had to have it!





Yes, I was drinking Coke Zero with my breakfast. I hate coffee and was in desperate need for caffeine after getting up at 4 AM.

With filled stomachs, we headed to the Annual Pas Desk in Discoveryland, seeing as Glenn still had to trade in his temporary Dreampas from CE Multi for his permanent copy. We were helped very fast and were outside in less then 10 minutes.

From here we went trough the castle to the Snow White ride, which had a 5 minute queue. Once off, Glenn decides he wants Pirates of the Caribbean, like, now. So we headed that way, only to be told it had broken down and we should try again later. We continued our way to Frontierland and got ourselves a FP for Big Thunder Mountain.
Whilst awaiting our time frame, we went trough the arcade to look around in the shops a bit. I bought myself a 20th anniversary backpack and fell in love with this huge Thumper whom, unfortunately, didn't get to come home with us.

We went on BTM and afterward passed by indiana jones to grab a FP on our way to Pirates which, meanwhile, had reopend. I tried to take some picture without flash (I HATE it when people make flash photographs in dark attractions! It's so selfish, they ruin the whole experience for everyone else in that boat! ) after which we went to use our FP for Indiana Jones.





We checked the queue for Space Mountain but he had broken down so we left the park since we had lunch at Annette's Diner planed.

[amylouv]

Sounds fantastic so far, Newport Bay looks stunning! I'm another one who can spend forever in the shops I completely agree about the flash photography in dark rides, it's such a nightmare to be enjoying the ride then all of a sudden all you can see are flashes from cameras

Can't wait to read some more!

[Paris Fan]

Great Start!

[SleepingX3Beauty]

Sorry for the long wait! I've been kinda busy (I'm planning 2 TRIPS!!! At the same time We're going again in 2 weeks and it was sort off a last minute thing AND I've got a suprise trip for my mum's birthday planned in November, so I'm in way over my head. Not that I mind! )

On our way to Annette's we passed World of Disney store and of course we just had to peek. I love the design of the store, yet I was slightly disappointed with the products on offer. I had expected new things yet almost everything you could've gotten at any of the other souvenir shops in the parks/village.





By the time we got out, it was already 12.30 PM. So we headed for Annette's to finally have lunch. We could enter immediately and were sat down near the door to the kitchen. It was crowded inside tough and by the time we'd gotten our drinks, there was a huuuuge line outside! We timed it just right! We both had the Annettes favourite menu. I had the cheeseburger and Glenn the Onion burger. Food was good, hot, I loved the new buns! They were tastier then the ones they had before. Service was quick, a bit too quick if you ask me. I got the feeling they were trying to get us out and felt slightly rushed.

Onion burger:


Cheeseburger:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...66943583_n.jpg

And of course, yummie brownies for dessert:


I like it here. The price is low considering the amount of food and the quality of it. Not to mention the huge glasses you get when ordering a coke!

At 2 PM we walked out completely stuffed and head for the studios park. With full stomachs we didn't really feel like riding any rides so we just wandered around a bit, enjoying the sights and browsing the souvenir shops.



















It's piping hot outside, so after some wandering trough the village we sought refuge in Starbucks, while profiting from the free WIFI there. Obviously our foursquare's had to be kept updated, just as our facebook pages!

By the time we walked out, it was nearly 3 PM. The pool in our hotel sounded very, very tempting at this point so we headed of there to check in. We unpacked and took some pictures of the room, before going for a swim. The outdoor pool was opened too which was really fun. I felt as if I was vacationing in Spain in stead of near Paris. We could've just sunbathed right there!

[SleepingX3Beauty]

After a refreshing dive, we headed back to our room to shower and put some clean clothes on for dinner.

We took the bus to the parks, were we found ourselves a spot for the parade and waited for it to begin.

[SleepingX3Beauty]