Trip Report Daddy is 30 and Fabulous! <3

[TheTizardFamily:0)]

Hello All!!
It's taken a wee while....but i'm finally sitting down to work on our trip report!
So, the who, why and when etc.
On this trip there was me, Jemma - 28.
DH Steve who turned 30 during our trip.
My mum - Kim, 45.
My dad - Rod, 45.
My sister - Jade, 19.
My sister - Tamsin, 19.
Our DS1, Evan, 6 and finally our DS2 Harry, 4.
This trip was most importantly to celebrate my wonderful husband turning 30, of all the places he could have picked, he picked Disneyland.... I LOVE THIS MAN!!!
When? Sunday November 25th 2012 until Thursday November 29th
We yet again gave into our sons and stayed at The Cheyenne, a nice hotel, child friendly etc, but we're ready for the Pink Palace!!
I apologize in advance if i babble on during this report and if it's a bit too picture heavy, since returning i have misplaced my trip notes so i am relying on my somewhat sketchy memory and the 2000 pictures Daddy took (don't worry....i won't share them all!)
So, we begin the day before we depart......
Saturday 24th November
Steve had to work this morning, i woke feeling dreadful, stuffed up and an awful headache....luckily the thought of preparing for Disney made me drag myself out of bed! I dosed up on pain killers and began making sure everything was done. I text my Mum at around 10am to make sure she was starting to pack....this is because when i had seen her the day before NONE of he 4 of them had even started .....it was well past lunch time before i got a reply saying "just woken up, going to have a cup of tea and make a start", tut.
luckily i had been pretty organised in the week leading up to our trip, everything apart from the things we would need was packed, all i really had to do was sort travel bags etc.
Steve arrived home at around 2pm, at this point the boys were beyond excited and bouncing off the walls! As it was his Birthday while we were away, Steve had made plans to meet his Mum for bowling and dinner, she had decided to not come along on this trip. Until a few weeks before i had planned on joining him on his pre Birthday celebrations, but a rather large falling out with MIL meant i made the decision to stay at home, i didn't want our issues to inter-fear with Steve's Birthday. once they were all out of the house, complete with Nutmeg the cat as they were taking her to 'The Cat Hotel' on their way i was actually quite pleased i had decided not to go.....i led on the bed and dozed on and off, watched rubbish Saturday evening TV (i'm usually at work until 8 pm so was a nice luxury) and thoroughly enjoyed my quiet time. Steve and the boys were home by around 7:30pm with a KFC in hand for me as i had forgotten to get myself anything in to eat...doh! I had bathed the boys in the afternoon so they were chased into their pjs and tucked up in bed shortly after 8 pm, and surprisingly, went straight off to sleep.....i can only assume my "the sooner you go to sleep the sooner it'll be Disneyland time" had worked!
Steve and i sorted the travel bags, made sure everything was charged etc and climbed into bed at around midnight, being the children that we are it was well past 1 am by the time we went to sleep, with our alarms set for 3:30am.
Sunday 25th November
3:30 am and our alarm went off!
Despite the lack of sleep we both woke feeling refreshed and happy.....it's amazing the influence Disney has hey
we had around 10 minutes to have a cuddle and a chat before the boys came bouncing into our room.....both completely wired and ready to leave!
We had a little over an hour until it was time to leave, i didn't want to be rushed when loading the car and Steve wanted time to have a coffee etc....turns out, by the time we had all had a snuggle in our bed and a chat about how excited we all were it was past 4 am and we had to get our bottoms into gear! Steve washed and dressed etc while i double checked my lists and the boys had breakfast, he then began loading the car while i washed the boys, dressed them, and finally got round to getting myself dressed and dragging a brush trough my hair. We got the boys settled into the back of the car with their pillows and duvets, in car dvd players and DSi's, made sure snacks and drinks were on hand and i patiently waited while Steve checked and triple checked the house was secure. At 4:55 we left our house and drove the 2 mins to my parents house, expecting the worst (ie no one up!) i walked in to find my mum and sister ready, the car loaded and house ready to be left for the lady who was animal sitting and my dad.......in only his jeans drinking a coffee casually saying "there's no rush man"....you can tell it's been a few years since he's been on holiday with me!
I was met with many mutterings and tuts but i soon got his backside up, dressed and into the car. We left Weymouth at 5:15 am, heading to London to first collect Jade from her halls at Uni and then on to St Pancras to catch our Eurostar direct to the magic The journey to London was swift and we hit little traffic, we even had time to stop at Fleet for breakfast we arrived to pick Jade up from South bank at around 7:45, surprisingly she was stood outside waiting. We then drove across London to St Pancras where my Dad and Steve dropped us and the children with the bags while they went to park the cars, i had found great secure parking at a church around 5 mins away We waited in the warm and soon after 8:50 we were all checking in and making our way through security! We went to the bar so Dad and Steve could have a beer, it was at this point Evan became a stroppy mare and refused to sit with us.....insisting on sitting on the other side of the bar, under a table with his back to us and his arms firmly folded.....i don't remember what we had done to get him like this but i'm assuming it was deadly serious luckily the bar was fairly empty and the few people in there found it funny so we left him to it, Harry was a happy bunny anyway and Evan soon came out of it when it was announced we could board!!
The journey was good, the boys were well behaved and enjoyed the goody bags i had made them for the journey, daddy enjoyed his Motocross magazine, cans of Carling and Monster energy, and i have to say, i quite enjoyed making a start on my book and my little bottle of bubbly! It was quite nice to relax, we did decide though that we'll stick to driving in future, Steve was irritable and missed the freedom of having the car.

We arrived at Disney on time and were itching to get off the train! we came out to a lovely sunny day, a slight chill in the air but in no way cold.
We all boarded the bus to The Cheyenne, this was fun suitcases, a stroller, tired little men and lots of people pushing like there was never to be another bus!!
Anyway, we arrived unharmed but a little stressed, check in had a slight wait, not huge. We were checked in swiftly, our room was ready which was great, in the block i had requested, the only disappointment was being on the top floor when we had asked for ground floor....hey ho, cant win them all!
By now, if i remember correctly it was around 2pm, we were all tired so took a little time to unpack and the boys explored, we had interconnecting rooms so they had fun running in on Mama and Gandan!
We didn't have much planned for our first afternoon, it was Sunday so we knew it would be the busiest day of our trip.

We decided at around 4pm to head to the park, so it was back on the bus, luckily it was allot less crowded! I had hoped we could walk to the park more than we did, but my mum was recently diagnosed with Lupus disease, shes also a chronic asthmatic, she did really well walking round the parks all day etc so thought i'd be pushing it a bit making her walk to and from as she can become quite fatigued quite quickly.
We were all so excited as we entered, walking under the Disneyland Hotel is always such an amazing experience, and doing it with all of my family this time was fab, even my Dad was all smiley!
I have to say as well, Disney have done a great job mixing the 20th decor with Christmas!
Cont........​

 

[TheTizardFamily:0)]

Cont....

The park was as expected busy! For us anyway! We have never visited during a weekend or school holiday so have been spoilt as far as crowds go.
We decided to just spend some time walking around, as it began to get colder we deiced a ride on the train round the park would be good as mum was beginning to flag, as were the children.

The little ride was lovely, we decided when we got off that we'd take a few pictures and head to Annette's to eat as planned, we were all tired and the next day was Steve's 30th so we had an early morning planned!

Annette's was good as always, we were seated upstairs after waiting for only around 10 mins. The food was filling, hot and good value....just what we needed after a long day! We paid and left a tip and decided to head back to the hotel bar for a drink before bed. Here is where i experience a big low!!
After all my trips to Disney i have NEVER had a glowtini, i was determined to have one on this trip!! So, DH and my dad went off to the bar, i sat waiting with mum and the children, DH returned with my lovely Glowtini minus the glowing ice cube!!!!! They had apparently run out.....i was so very sad..boooo
My sisters had the childrens cocktail, Jade was kind enough to clip her glowing Tink to my glass...whilst i was grateful....i still sulked.

We visited the hotel shop and invested in Sully and Red Stitch plush' for the boys....we later found Sully to have a big hole in his arm from the security tag, the staff in the shop happily exchanged it for us.

We all headed back to our rooms, changed into our pjs and said goodnight, it had been a lovely but long day and we were looking forward to a good nights sleep before celebrating my wonderful husband turning 30 the next day!​

 

[TheTizardFamily:0)]

Monday 26th November...Steve's 30th Birthday!!!
I set an early alarm for Steve and i today, 5:30, i wanted a little bit of time for a cuddle on such a special day, although i love my family i didn't like that i had to share my husband all day Our quiet time did't last long though! The boys were soon up and jumping on Daddy! I was so excited to give Steve his gift, i had saved hard, little bits of money here and there so he wouldn't notice and i could buy him a beautiful Armani watch, it's simple and classic and i hope something that will stay with him as he grows older, i managed to have the back of it engraved with "I Will Love You, Always".......i think he really liked it....i got a huge hug and kiss anyway!! We had a little family time and then began getting ready for the day, my family were soon in to wish Steve a happy birthday and give him his gifts, new trainers, t shirts, a lovely wallet, a really nice bag for his DSLR and most importantly in Steve's eyes i'm sure, a huge lens for his camera...i don't understand the benefit of it but he assures me its amazing!We all dressed, Steve reluctantly put on his big flashing Birthday badge and left the hotel when it was still very dark, this morning we were heading to the Disneyland Hotel for breakfast!

It is at this point i will explain the 'thing' growing on my husbands top lip....during our trip he was taking part in Movember....he looked like a fool from the 80's, but he did raise money for a good cause! So although he looks silly in his 30th Birthday pictures i'll let him off.
We made our way, via bus to the Pink Palace, it is truly beautiful! It was the first time i had ever been in it, i couldn't believe the attention to detail, it took my breath away. We had a look around and took some pictures before heading up for breakfast.

Breakfast was lovely, we were seated quite quickly although mum and i were kept waiting for ages to pay! We had a lovely view of the castle while we were eating. The food was good and we ate well. We're very much looking forward to breakfast here everyday when we visit in January 2014!
We finished eating and took some more pictures of the hotel....wow!

We were in the park shortly after 9am, it was still lovely and quiet...this is my favorite time in DLP, although i know there are other people around, it's so quiet that for just a few seconds i can imagine i'm the only person walking down Main Street.....
From here my memories of what we did and when are a bit sketchy i'm afraid. I know the first ride we went on was Buzz Lightyear, a great ride that turned out to be a firm favorite for us all throughout our trip. I'm fairly sure from here we worked our way through the usual rides open during EMH, Steve was playing his camera and new lense so we ended up with lots of lovely photos this trip.

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[TheTizardFamily:0)]

Evan was desperate to get on Big Thunder Mountain so we were ready and waiting at rope drop! Evan spent the time taking great pleasure in my Mums fear of this ride....she really didn't want to go on, but much bating and 'i bet you can't Mama' from my delightful son and she did it, many times over our trip actually! She screamed and clung on to whomever she was sat with but she was brave and did it....very proud of herself on departing, not just for riding but from stopping herself from saying many language words on the way round!! Evan loved the ride, it is still firmly his favorite and we luckily never waited very long to ride. Next was the Haunted Mansion, again a favorite with us all and very little wait. We decided to wander through o see if Pirates was open, it had tech problems....this ended up being a pattern for our entire trip with this ride.

Dad and Steve them braved the Temple of Dooooom, both came off red faced and excited about how good it was, i'll never ride this one again, last time my poor head was bashed about. While they rode we found a bench and did some people watching while the boys had a snack. Next we took a walk through to ride IASW, the parade was on so there was no ques at all, a complete walk on, always a bonus! Harry and i love this ride, it seems Evan has grown our of it, 'its for babies mummy', tut. The boys posed for some pictures and Steve took some more of the beautiful park, it was so quiet and peaceful we didn't feel rushed at all. We decided to head to Main Street to have a hot chocolate and let mum take a breather, we stopped on the way to get the boys the big pots of popcorn and take yet more pictures!

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[TheTizardFamily:0)]

The hot chocolate was lovely as always, nice and warming! It was at this time, that Steve said he was tired and would quite like to head back to the hotel for a rest before tonight's meal and watching Dreams, i do believe though, that my adorable husband had noticed that my mum was a bit wobbly on foot and could do with a rest, he knew that with it being his birthday my mum would not go back to the hotel and leave him, so although he won't admit it, i think this to be true, Steve never feels the need to have a rest and the little smirk he gave when i suggested it was the reason was a little give away, he's so wonderful xxx
so, we slowly made our way back, stopping off to buy Mickey balloons and take more pictures, and of course have a waltz on Main Street....how can you not!? It turns out the boys were glad of the rest as-well, so good job Daddy!!

 

[TheTizardFamily:0)]

Relaxing back at the hotel was lovely, mum had a doze and the rest of us chatted and messed about. Dad and Steve then deiced to go for a wander to find the petrol station near the Santa Fe, they came back with munchies for everyone....and cans or lager....they apparently hadn't gone for this reason, it was just a happy coincidence!
At four we decided to freshen up and head back out the park, mum was feeling much better and ready to do some more! So we were soon walking back down Main Street, we rode Buzz again, and Orbatron, then wandered around taking in all the lovely Disneyness!
the plan for tonight was to watch Dreams then head to Cafe Mickey for Steve's birthday meal. We were passing by the castle an hour before Dreams was due to start and noticed quite allot of people were already beginning to gather so decided to join them, boy am i glad we did, it was so crowded! The show was beautiful, i even shed a tear or two.......but it was ruined in some part by people with no idea of personal space, especially when it comes to young children, i lost count of how many times the boys were shoved over. In the end they were up on shoulders or being carried, but even then the adults carrying them were bashed, my dad nearly ended up on his bum with Evan on his shoulders because a lady decided she was far more important than anyone else in the park that night. Anyhoooo, enough moaning.....Dreams...fab! We all loved it, even dad was impressed with it. When it finished we made our way to The Village for our reservation at Cafe Mickey. We arrived 10 mins before our reservation and were asked to wait in the que for reservations, this was fine, until half an hour passed and our line had barely moved but the one with people who didn't think to book had emptied and refilled again! I understand they have to seat these people too but i was becoming a joke. By now i had two tired and hungry boys and my sister, who is insulin dependent diabetic needed to eat so she could inject. it was now 45 mins past our time and i'd had enough, i went into the restaurant, probably looking not too pleased, i explained the situation and was met with a wave of the hand and "yes soon madam", luckily the manager was stood near her, he looked at her in disbelief, said something in french and came to me asking how many were in my party and assured we would be seated straight away, we were taken to our table a few mins later. We had a great time but the service is seriously lacking here, or was tonight at least, our waiter was rude and surly and not in any rush at all.
That's enough negatives though! The character interaction was great, the boys loved it and a big fuss was made of Steve and his big flashing badge!

It was about now, before desert that Evan gave in and fell asleep, out for the count! No one could wake him......meanwhile, Harry was waiting very patiently for his favorite guy...The Main Mouse! He frustratingly walked past our table a few times, each time you saw Harry get a little annoyed....he waited very well though!

When he finally made it to us my Mum whispered to his helper that Harry had been waiting a while and was a very big fan, she then took Mickey to one side who came back and made a huge fuss of Harry, pointing out the Mickey heads on his jumper, hugging him, playing with his hair etc, Harry was so pleased, then he wrote in his book and addressed it to "My Best Pal Harry" with lots of hearts and kisses, Harry was ecstatic and took his book to bed with him for a week after!
Mickey also tried to wake Evan, with no luck, so instead wrote in his book "To Sleepy Head Evan" and wished him sweet dreams and drew little stars and moons all over the page, again another lovely touch.
Next it was time for Steve's birthday cake.....a moment he had been dreading but i think, secretly loved!!​

 

[TheTizardFamily:0)]

The Birthday Cake!!
The cake in itself wasn't all that nice to be honest, not much of it got eaten, but i would pay for it over and over again to see the following, including Goofy headbutting Steve!!

It had been a really long day and by now was gone 11pm so we decided to jump on the bus and head back to hotel. We had agreed to not do EMH the next day and just head to the studios for opening, this my dad and Steve were looking forward to, getting to go on some "big boy rides"!!!​

 

[TheTizardFamily:0)]

Tuesday 27th November
Although we had decided against EMH today Steve and i, with the boys still had an early breakfast, we like to go just as its opening to avoid the rush. So we were up around 6, dressed and at breakfast for 7, ate well, the usual croissants, toast, coffee and juice etc. When we had finished it was before 8 still so we went back to room so Steve could have a bath, the boys wanted to have a play on their DSi's too and my back was beginning to hurt too. I got back into bed, not planning on going to sleep, Steve had a quick bath and led next to me, again with no plans to go to sleep....the next thing we knew it was just after 9 am and we were both waking up! i listened in next door to mums room and couldn't hear anything so assumed they were still sleeping. This meant we didn't rush to get ready, i pottered about got dressed, made sure boys were ready etc, still nothing from next door so knocked the door....nothing, it was then i decided to turn my phone on and saw messages saying they were at The Studios waiting for us!! oooppps!
We quickly got everything together and walked fast down along the river. When we arrived i was expecting to be told off for making them wait, but instead we were met with them laughing at us....it's usually us waiting for them! It turns out they went for breakfast at 8 so we just missed them and must have been really tired and they knocked our door and we didn't hear!Ah well, we were there only a few minutes past 10 and felt ready for a fun filled day!

I love The Studios, i know some people say its lacking, and in some ways i can see it but i still love it, can't explain why i just do x
Our first ride was Tower of Terror! I hate this ride, i don't know why i go on it, i spent the entire time with my eyes squeezed shut and came off saying never again....i said that last time! Dad, Steve, Jade and Tamsin enjoyed it though and took great pleasure in laughing at my face in the ride photo! I wish i'd gone to ride the flying carpets with mum and the boys if i'm honest!

We checked the times for the indoor shows for later and decided to walk through to Toy Story Playland, We rode everything in here, mum and i sat and waited though when dad and Steve rode RC racer and Parachutes, Harry loved slinky dog and thought he was being super brave by doing the whole ride with his arms in the air!
We visited Rex.....

We left Toy Story and mum and dad took the boys on the Cars ride, we were on hand to take more pictures!

Mum came off a bit shocked and kept saying "well they go much faster than they look!"
Steve and Dad decided to go and do RRC while Tamsin and Jade went to do Crushes coaster, mum and i decided this was the perfect time for us to take the boys to warm up with a hit chocolate in Studio 1. The four thrill seekers were soon back so we all made our way to watch the stunt show, Steve and the boys loved it, i think i've seen it too much and got a bit board but i liked the addition on Lightening McQueen for the children. Once that was done we saw that there was very little wait time for the tram tour so jumped on this, needs a bit of a shake up but still enjoyable!​

 

[TheTizardFamily:0)]

By now it was starting to get chilly and was spitting a little so we were pleased to see that Animaguiqe! was about to start, i LOVE this show, as does Steve, i think everyone else really enjoyed it too, it's always a highlight for us!
We took a few pictures as we worked our way over to Stitch Live!!

Stitch live was great! I knew roughly where to sit to get interaction and sat my mum there.....turns out Stitch did'n like my mum though as he moved a few people along and spotted Jade! She had earmuffs on and was met with "i like your furry monkey ears Jade"......her reaction as a grumpy and slightly embarrassed 19 year old was very funny and had us all in stitches!​

 

[cinderslg]

Really enjoying reading about your trip so far