DD's Birthday trip - PTR

[HFJohnson]

Our trip is now less than six weeks away so I think it's time to start my pre-trip report!

We took our first trip to DLP last March. Before we really started planning I wasn't that fussed about going but as soon as we arrived I was hooked! It was supposed to be a one-off trip but as soon as we got home I was planning our return!

So, the participants are...

Me (37) - Complete Disney convert and beyond excited about our return trip
DH (39) - Will have a nice time when we're there but doesn't "get" the disney thing like I do and is a little mystified but my, er, enthusiastic planning!
DD - Will turn 8 the day before we leave. A fan of all things Disney
DS (4) - Also a Disney fan, particularly Cars and Toy Story

We are booked into the Cheyenne for three nights from Sunday 20th May and will be travelling by Eurostar. I was originally planning on booking the Sequoia but decided to go for the cheaper option. I have considered upgrading but I would quite like to experience the Cheyenne and I think my two will love the themeing.

Last time we stayed at the DLH thanks to a 40% offer last March so the Cheyenne has a lot to live up to! I think I've prepared myself for the differences though and I'm hoping we'll be able to have breakfast at the DLH one morning to compensate!

As it was our first trip last year we weren't very organised and ended up running around like headless chickens! This year hopefully we'll pace ourselves a bit better and see the parks in a more ordered way. There were LOTS of things we didn't see last year so some of my priorities are...

Pirates of the Caribbean - shut last year
Phantom Manor - only DH did this last time as the rest of us were too chicken! This time we're all going to be brave!
The castle - it was boarded up last year so I can't wait to see it in all it's glory and explore the upstairs bit
BTM - none of us are coaster fans but we're all determined to give this one a go
Animagique, Cinemagique, Art of Animation and the Stunt Show - we just didn't allow ourselves enough in WDS to do all of these but definitely will this time

And then of course there's Dreams! I'd like to watch it every night but that might not be practical with small children. I've watched the first few minutes online and it looked amazing but I'm going to save the rest for when we're there.

And that's it for now I think. Oh, one last thing - DD + DS don't know we're going yet!! I am DYING to tell them but we want to leave it as long as possible. I had initially considered telling them on the day we go but I just couldn't hold off that long plus we want to share some of the planning and excitement with them.

I can't wait!!

 

[RoseBug]

Fab PTR! We stayed at the Cheyenne in February and it is fab - DD loved it! It isn't as far away from the parks as people make out (or maybe we walk fast) and the theme is brilliant. When you go they may have the pony rides on too? It was too cold when we were there. It is very basic, but very clean and has everything you could possibly need. Breakfast was manic if you went later than 7am though!

I'll be happy if we see Dreams one night too - we're there 3 nights but with a 3 year old, once may be enough!

Enjoy your final planning...!

 

[jothp]

It sounds like a great trip. Are you planning anything special to tell your kids?

 

[DLPDreams]

Sounds great I too like the look of the Cheyenne and think it appeals to younger boys in particular so your DS should love it .

My two children don't know we are going either - we will tell them on the morning we go for two reasons a) it is a nice surprise and b) I know they wouldn't sleep the night before if they knew . It means, as we have a lunchtime flight, that hopefully they won't be too exhausted when we get there and we might even manage Dreams on our first night .

I'm hoping we'll manage Dreams as a family for 3 nights out of our 5 but we'll see - it will be so late for the children and early EMH is important for them due to Fantasyland being mostly open and minor queues.

Are you planning any meals in advance? Any character meals perhaps?

Sounds like you have some good plans of rides etc that you want to do. I've been debating BTM for all of us but DD2 will be 4 a month before we go so I'm not sure she is old enough really - she is tall enough as very tall for her age. We did a coaster type thing at Legoland last summer which they both enjoyed although I can't recall if it was as full on as BTM. As for Phantom Manor - my DD1 would love to do it (she will be 7, 2 months before we go), but she suffers terribly from nightmares when she gets scared by something (very overactive imagination!), so I'm thinking better of it! I really want to do Tower of Terror again and I'm sure DH will too so we'll have to do babyswitch on that one I guess!

Hopefully the parks won't be too busy when you are there .

 

[deepblue]

There's loads of us planning surprise and birthday trips at the moment

I'm too chicken for PM too though will try to be brave this time if you will. TOT is definitely out though, you crazy lot :rofl:

I'm hoping to see Dreams twice too. EMH is so worthwhile with very little ones - it's tricky balancing them both. Mind you Dreams versus EMH isn't a dilemma I mind having :laugh:

DLH for breakfast sounds good. Did you know your DD can get free park tickets for her birthday? Carrie_Cat posted a link to sign up. Obviously she won't need the entry because you already have that but there is a 20% off voucher for Agrabah, Plaza Gardens or Rest des Stars which is definitely worth having if any take your fancy. :thumbsup:

 

[HFJohnson]

Deepblue - thanks for the tip. I didn't realise you could get a 20% voucher aswell as the free tickets but I've now applied!

If I manage not to spill the beans beforehand I'm planning on setting up a treasure hunt involving all their Disney toys. They'll have to go round the house collecting envelopes which will contain pieces of a paper jigsaw announcing the trip

Good to hear positive feedback about the Cheyenne

Ok, so here's my plan for the trip so far..

Saturday - travel down to Ashford and stay at the Premier Inn overnight. As it's DD's birthday we may set off early and find something fun to do during the day

Sunday - catch the Eurostar to the Magic. I'm keen to have a nosey at the hotel so I think we'll head there first to drop off our bags, book our breakfast slots and check out our room if it's ready. We'll then head back down to the Disneyland Park. If it's busy we'll just take in the atmosphere and do some of the quieter stuff - Nautilus, Adventure Isle, the castle and dragon etc. Hopefully we'll watch the parade and then we'll have dinner. Possible choices are Agrabah Cafe, Walts or Blue Lagoon. I haven't decided yet if we'll stay up for Dreams on this night.

Monday - up early for breakfast and EMH. Spend the day in DLP doing as many rides as we can. Lunch will be a counter service place and dinner will Agrabah, Walts or Blue Lagoon again (but not the same as Sunday of course!). Hopefully we'll get to see Dreams tonight.

Tuesday - bit of a lay in after Monday's late night then we'll head down to the DLH for breakfast. We'll then spend the day at WDS doing all the shows and rides. Dinner will be at either Annettes or Hunters Grill. We'll try and have an early night although I might see if I can have an hour or two on my own to do a little shopping.

Wednesday - Up early for breakfast and EMH then a day in DLP doing all our favourite rides again. We might have lunch at Inventions if budget allows. Then we go home but I'm trying not to think about that part!

My two aren't overly fussed about meeting characters so I'm not planning on doing a character meal at the moment. It should be enough to meet the odd character in the hotels and parks (if there are no scrums!)

So that's it for now. The above is of course subject to change once I actually discuss with DH and the children!

 

[jothp]

Sounds like a great plan, I really like your treasure hunt idea for breaking the surprise. There is a cinema and lots of places to eat by the premier inn in Ashford so you could always catch a movie and have a meal. There is also a farm park not too far outside Ashford which could be fun.

 

[Ms Poppins]

Great tr

We stayed at Cheyenne on our first trip to DLP and DS was 4. He loved the cowboy theme

All your must dos are definitely a must

Phantom Manor is not really scary. My youngest ds is very timid and this has now become one of his favourite rides. The castle is stunning and the shows at the studios are great too. Oh, you've so much to look forward to

Well done on keeping this a secret. I don't think I'd manage.

Look forward to hearing more

 

[HFJohnson]

When I found out that the DLP program was going to be on Channel 5 this morning I decided that I just could NOT wait any longer and that the time had come to tell DD & DS about the trip (DH had been wanting to tell them anyway). So on Saturday night we assembled the treasure hunt ready for Sunday morning. They had to follow clues around the house collecting envelopes along the way which contained pieces of a puzzle with the big announcement on it! So now they know and we've had a great talking about and getting excited

34 days to go...

 

[jothp]

Great news. I love seeing the excitement on the kids faces when they first find out about a trip

 

[HFJohnson]

4 weeks and we'll be there! (love this smiley - this pretty much sums up how I'm feeling at the moment although I try to not to show it on the outside too much so people don't think I'm crazy!)

I know I shouldn't tempt fate but it feels like we're getting pixie dust sent our way before we even get there. For starters we had our dates planned over a year ago so had no idea about all the amazing 20th anniversary stuff, extended hours etc that will be going on. Then there's the free birthday ticket that I've printed off for DD - ok we don't need the entrance ticket but we will definitely use the 20% off voucher when we go to the Agrabah Cafe. THEN there's the Shareholder VIP fastpass that I've booked for our first full day there.

Woohoo!