Have yourself a merry little Christmas... TR

[megarasweet]

We were up bright an early at half six, and DFi let me open my presents early! He'd bought me some Bambi slippers, some Prada Candy perfume, a Mickey Mouse lollipop and a bag of Percy Pigs - perfect! We rushed to get ready for our 7am breakfast slot, hoping we'd be able to eat in the Manhattan restaurant. On the way down we noticed that they were also serving breakfast in the bar today. We weren't sure why, but we continued through to the main breakfast areas.

We were guided into Park Side Diner - nooo! It's not that I don't like it, and I know the food is all the same, but for me it's just like a duller, smaller Annette's, except lacking in the atmosphere. Oh well, it was only morning one of four. We'd have our chance to eat in Manhattan.

The food was still yummy. I had three 'courses'; hot food, then pastries, followed by fruit and yoghurt. All washed down with hot chocolate and apple juice.

There was nothing stopping us now. It was time to run back up to the room, layer on our coats, gloves and scarves, and head for the park! We made it to the turnstiles at just gone eight, so there was no waiting around for the park to open. Within moments I was reminded why I loved EMH so much. The park was magically quiet, the Christmas lights were twinkling and it just felt wonderful and peaceful.

Just as we were about to saunter down Main Street, we received an unexpected surprise. I've never seen a character out so early before, but there was Minnie! And there were only a few of us around! We only had to wait thirty seconds or so before it was our turn. She liked my hat!

On a high (one of my aims this trip was to meet more characters - what a way to kick things off!), we headed for Discoveryland for a quick spin on Buzz. We considered following it up with a ride on Space Mountain, but we felt it was a little too soon after breakfast!

We then headed over to Fantasyland. Second to Main Street, it's my favourite part of the park during EMH. First stop was Peter Pan, the first ride we did last year after our EMH proposal, as it's been one of my favourites ever since. We followed our flight over London and Neverland with a trip on Dumbo and a spin on the teacups. Everything was a walk on.

Before heading over to Space Mountain, we stopped to admire the castle. I got a bit choked up when we reached the middle of the balcony where DFi had proposed a year earlier.

After Space Mountain it was time for a rest, so we headed to our usual haunt - Cable Car Bakehouse! They didn't seem to be selling brioches this year, so I was adventurous and had a cupcake. DFi followed suit, and of course we both went for hot chocolates. The cakes were nice, but not amazing. At this point we were too knackered to care!

Feeling refreshed, we had a peek into the shops on Main Street before making our way over to Frontierland to wait for rope drop. We waited about ten minutes, but it was worth it because (with a bit of quick walking) we managed to get on the first BTM ride of the day! Result. Afterwards we did Phantom Manor, and on the way out noticed Jack Skellington doing his meet and greet. He was alone, and I knew he'd be out later in the day, so we left it for now hoping Sally would be out too later.

Exhausted, but happy, we headed back to the hotel for hot showers before our lunch reservation.

Next up - Blue Lagoon!

 

[tinks_1989]

Great update


You are very determined being up so early after 14 trips to DLP I've only ever done EMH once at 8 am x

 

[kizzabel]

Great update. Minnies outfit was fab!

 

[megarasweet]

Great update


You are very determined being up so early after 14 trips to DLP I've only ever done EMH once at 8 am x

We are! We just love how quiet it is during the first hour of EMH. Plus it's a good incentive to get up for the quiet 7am breakfast slot, and it works out well for us popping back to the hotel mid-morning for showers and break

Great update. Minnies outfit was fab!

Thank you! Isn't it just? I was so pleased to see her in something different!

 

[Linda67]

Lovely update - I love the photo of you and Minnie

 

[megarasweet]

Back in the park, our first destination was the Jack and Sally meet and greet area to see who was there. We were very lucky indeed, as not only was it extremely sunny, but there they both were! I dragged DFi into the queue (he wasn't that reluctant. Of all the characters I could force him to see, he admitted that Jack and Sally weren't that bad!), and we waited for about fifteen minutes, then it was our turn. When Jack saw my hair he asked if I was the real Sally, which caused the Sally to storm off in a huff! She came back soon enough, and we got plenty of photos with them. They were the best characters we encountered by far.

Whilst we were there it was only polite to take another ride on Phantom Manor! We hadn't caught the Cavalcade the previous day, so we staked out places in front of the castle to watch the 12:30 showing. I liked the music, and it was nice to see a bit more than you usually would tagged onto the end of the main parade, but the absence of Chante C'est Noel bugged me. Why wouldn't you use it?

Also, Father Christmas blew me a 'questionable' kiss. I'm not sure how I felt about that!

We still had half an hour before we needed to worry about getting to Blue Lagoon for our lunch reservation, so we decided POTC was the way to go - it's only right before eating at Blue Lagoon! It was one of the longest POTC queues we encountered -15 minutes or so - but that worked for us as it meant we could come out and go straight for the restaurant without having to hang around for ages!

We were seated closer to the water this year, at one of the tables on the walkway between the higher and lower parts of the restaurant (if that makes any sense!). Overall we weren't quite as romanced by the atmosphere this year. The service took a long time in places and our table wasn't as cosy.

Thankfully the food was as good as ever! We both had the crab to start, and it was amazing. I only ever eat crab at DLP

DFi had the Mahi Mahi for his main, whilst I stuck to my old favourite, Chicken Columbo! It was yummy as ever (and if my memory serves me well, a more generous portion this time).

For dessert I had creme brulee, which was tasty but nothing to write home about (creme brulee is creme brulee!). DFi, being adventurous, had the coconut sundae, and it was actually really lovely.

Very full of yummy goodness, but a bit disappointed by the service, we left Blue Lagoon and headed for Fantasyland. Snow White had been closed on our previous trip, so it was at the top of to-do our list. DFi was amazed at how creepy it was, and wasn't suprised at all when I told him how it had traumatised me when I'd first visited DLP aged five.

We had some time to kill before Magic on Parade, so we went over to Adventureland for a while. First on the list was Indiana Jones (a firm favourite of ours!) followed by La Cabane des Robinson (another attraction that had been out of bounds on our last trip. Time successfully killed, we picked up a hot chocolate and brioche from Casey's and staked out our positions for Magic on Parade.

Naturally, my camera gave up on me right before I got a photo of Mickey at the end! My camera had been playing up a little anyway, so I got all of my good photos of Magic on Parade later on in the week. Here's a few that turned out alright!

Next up - Brownie points for Planet Hollywood!

 

[IsobelJackmummy]

What fabulous photos, loving this TR!

 

[belle24]

Wow amazing so far
Reminds me of being there in Novemeber...oh how i was was back there now!!

Cant wait for more!!

 

[megarasweet]

I'm so sorry for my huge absence! I had the Disney blues with no trips in the foreseeable future, however we're now booked up for our honeymoon in September so I'll try to get this report going again!

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My last experience of Planet Hollywood had been in 2010 with my family. We'd been sat right in the main thoroughfare, and it felt claustrophobic and lacking in atmosphere. The food was passable, but nothing to write home about. However, DFi liked the look of the menu and I figured it was worth giving another shot since the food was a decent price for the portion sizes.

We headed back to HNY to freshen up, before hurrying over to Planet Hollywood to beat the rush after Dreams. Of course when I saw the pretty fairylights in the trees I had to stop for a quick photo!

Thankfully Planet Hollywood was quiet, but not so quiet that we felt awkward. We were sat at a nice table away from the main area, which we definitely appreciated! DFi is a film buff so really enjoyed the general surroundings, and I had my favourite cocktail of the week - The Legally Blonde! It's a crushed ice cocktail with rum, coconut and strawberry (if I remember correctly). If you're a cocktail fanatic, I highly recommend it!

I knew the portion sizes were big, so we skipped on starters and went straight for mains. I had the spaghetti pomadoro, and DFi had the barbecue chicken burger. It was big, hot, tasty comfort food, and exactly what we needed! We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals - although I couldn't finish all of mine - and to top things off the bill was fairly friendly (for Disney, at least!).

We walked back through the shops, just taking everything in and throwing around ideas for what to take home, before heading to the hotel bar for a couple of drinks before bed. It was a Blue Glowtini for me (naturally) and an amaretto for DFi. There was a little boy at the table beside us telling everyone who would listen how amazing his day had been, and waving his parents camera around showing off his pictures. It was really cute and it made us laugh as we enjoyed our drinks.

By now we were both knackered (me especially after two cocktails!), so we made one final stop at the hotel shop before heading up to bed. After skipping dessert at Planet Hollywood I was hankering for something sweet, so we grabbed a couple of Kinder Buenos and some drinks.

Back in our room I headed straight for bed and snuggled up eating chocolate and watching a bit of television. As always, the lights were out by half ten in anticipation of EMH the next morning!

Next up - I finally meet a princess!

 

[Laura678]

I love your reports! I cannot wait for more! You write so well it is like reading a book

 

[megarasweet]

This is just getting silly now isn't it? This trip was over six months ago now, and I'm not even halfway through the trip report! In my defense, our wedding is less than three months away now so I've been extremely busy, however I'm now aiming to get this TR finished so that I can post my honeymoon PTR!

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Once again we dragged ourselves out of bed at half six and got ready for breakfast. They tried to seat us in Park Side Diner, however we asked if we could sit in Manhatten instead and they didn't mind in the slightest - yay! As per usual, we stuffed ourselves silly. Hot food and pastries followed by yoghurt, fruit and yet more pastries. Not to mention the first hot chocolate of the day!

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Although we weren't in a huge rush, we still made it into the park by ten past eight. The early morning light was so pretty and the park so empty that I couldn't resist taking lots of photos! If anything, I think it's worth getting into the park so early just for the amazing photo opportunities. I definitely think it's when the park looks at it's best, although I'm hoping that when we go in September EMH will be a bit lighter.

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Our first stop was a practically empty Fantasyland to make the most of the non-existent ride queues. We took a few spins on the teacups followed by Peter Pan. Unfortunately Dumbo was closed, however we didn't really mind. Whilst it's a novelty since we don't go on it often, it's probably my least favourite ride in Fantasyland.

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Before heading over to Discoveryland we also had a quick go on the Carousel du Lancelot. DFi isn't a fan!

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After our usual few turns on Buzz, we stomached a turn on Space Mountain. Whilst it isn't as bad as it used to be, the way it rattle leave my head and stomach feeling a little fuzzy! We let our stomachs settle with a walk around the castle before heading to Cable Car Bakehouse for our morning refreshments. This morning we shared a slice of the carrot cake; it's so dense and sweet, definitely a new DLP favourite!

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Our week of early mornings was starting to catch up on us, and it took a while for the sugar to kick in!

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When rope drop was approaching we waited at the Frontierland gate. Unfortunately BTM was closed, so instead we quick-stepped over to Princess Pavilion and queued there instead. It was about a half hour wait, however we figured that it was shorter than doing it later in the day, and we were only planning on doing it once! I was keeping my fingers crossed for Ariel or Aurora, and it must have been our lucky day since we ended up seeing Aurora! She was lovely, and we didn't feel at all uncomfortable being there as two adults (which is always my main concern when meeting adults!).

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At about eleven we headed over to Star Tours to see if it was any less nauseating than last time. Unfortunately, it was sickening as ever! We both had ours eyes shut for 80% of the ride. Such a shame since DFi loves Star Wars. Afterwards we went to check on BTM. It was open now, but showing 30 with no FPs, so we did PM instead. By now we were both ready for our late morning trip back to the hotel for hot drinks and showers to warm ourselves up, so after buying some fudge on Main Street, we headed back to HNY.

Up next - A disappointing trip to Studios

 

[nemmie]

Loving your trip report. You two are so cute you remind me of Ariel and Eric.
Sorry if this is cheeky but what color do you use on your hair? It's absolutely stunning.

 

[Neeny17]

I love this TR! Seeing all the Christmas stuff is getting me so excited for my Christmas trip! Also, congrats on getting married; I saw the pictures on your honeymoon tr and it all looked fabulous!