DLP September 21-25 2009

[loladelorean]

In case anybody wants to see it, I'm going to post my trip report here from our trip last September.
I'm a MagicForum regular and only started using these wonderful DIS boards recently, now i'm hooked on both! I posted this TR on MagicForum back in September but i'll copy it here as well any excuse to read it again lol and wish I was there. Apologies to those who use MagicForum too and have already read it, nothing new!

DAY 1 - September 21, 2009

It had finally arrived – the day of our trip to Disneyland Paris! Our excitement cannot be overstated; at 21 and 16 myself and my sister are still just big kids when it comes to Disney. The last time we were in Disneyland Paris together we were aged 6 and 1 way back in the early days of the park (our lovely mum and dad took us to Hotel Cheyenne for 10 whole days, some of my earliest and happiest childhood memories) – we had been looking forward to this trip for months.
Having sat up late the night before planning, reading trip reports and watching several Disney films, we didn’t get much sleep. Not that it mattered, we were already buzzing at 6am on the way to Glasgow airport.
Airport check in was quick and uneventful, flight a nice short 1.5 hours, then it was time to catch the VEA Shuttle at Charles de Gaulle. We weren’t really sure where we were going but a kind staff member at the airport saw us looking bewildered near a map, asked if we needed help and pointed us in the right direction.
We had thought the bus journey would be tedious, but we actually enjoyed it. The best thing was to watch and listen to the kids all around us – their excitement was definitely infectious. When we got to the resort we didn’t know which hotel was coming next and had never seen any of them before so we found this exciting as well.
We were the first people to fly off the bus at Hotel New York and we literally skipped along to the reception, where Pluto was waiting to help check us in! What a great start to our stay.

Cast member at reception was very nice, and although it was only 1.30pm she said we could check into our room already. Our room was a fair trek from the lift but had a nice view over the lake and Panoramagique which we hadn’t paid for. And the hotel smells amazing, wish they sold the scent in the gift shop! We were really impressed with the size of the room – much bigger than it seemed in the photos! Like many others, we loved the Mickey bedsheets. But there was no time for settling in at this point, it was a quick change and then on to the parks.
My eyes felt like saucers as we dashed through Disney village towards Disneyland Parc, I couldn’t believe we were finally there. I think you can see my excitement in this photo!

The big jumper soon came off as the weather was beautiful that afternoon! After a leisurely walk down Main St taking everything in we bought some big hot dogs at Casey’s Corner and just as we settled down to eat them outside, Mickey’s Magical Party started up in Central Plaza. We moved closer to enjoy the show, and I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it after reading bad reports on here and elsewhere. I think the score is sensational, really energetic and well written. However, the crowd wasn’t that big and nobody except us was dancing which we thought was a shame. The cast members really give it 100% and it would be so much better if everyone joined in.
We spent the rest of the day in Disneyland Parc in a bit of a tizzy, unsure where to start really. We decided not to bother with the rides in Fantasyland that day as we knew we could get them during EMH, and didn’t visit Discoveryland at all. We mostly explored Adventureland, spending lots of time in Robinson Cabin which we think is an amazing piece of Imagineering – how did they build it?!

We rode Indiana Jones and Pirates twice each – no queues at all . Then we met Captain Jack before our 5pm reservation at the Blue Lagoon (we had half board plus vouchers).

My eyes lit up when I saw the half board menu at the Blue Lagoon, I loved everything on it. However, my slightly picky sister didn’t like any of it. Embarrassed, we apologised to the staff and slipped out. I wanted us both to enjoy our meal, so we decided to try Walt’s…but it was shut! Hungry by this time, we ended up in Plaza Gardens. Bad choice – the buffet was bland and very limited. I wish now we had just popped out to Annette’s but never mind.
After eating the park was quieter still, so we headed to Frontierland where we rode Phantom Manor and Big Thunder – a quick favourite! This has to be the most fun ride in the world lol, and it never gets boring.
By this point exhaustion was catching up with us, so it was back to our lovely hotel for a wee rest. We showered and just chilled out watching the Disney channel (Why no Cinemagic channel?! Alarmed to find ourselves laughing at the jokes in Sonny with a Chance by the end of the week, don’t judge….)
We did head out to Disney Village for a little while, but could barely drag our tired feet round the shops. After a lovely coffee and cake in Starbucks we had a very early night – asleep by 9.30pm!
Day 2 to follow shortly, will do it asap but got some uni work to get on with for now!

 

[loladelorean]

Day 2 – Tuesday, September 22

It was still dark when we got out of bed on the second day, but I was determined to make the most of EMH! My dear sister didn’t complain as much as I had expected as I dragged her half asleep down to breakfast. We made for the Parkside Diner, but a smiling CM led us towards the Manhattan Restaurant. This restaurant is absolutely beautiful, very elegant. It is a circular room with a starry ceiling and plush armchairs – what a treat! I’ve written this elsewhere on the site already, but we were very impressed with the breakfast. We wolfed down cereal, sausages, potatoes, toast, pastries and apple juice to fuel us for the long day ahead!
After breakfast we bumped into Goofy in the hotel lobby – there was nobody else there so we posed for a quick photo.

We stopped at the concierge desk to book meals for the rest of our stay; the CM who we dealt with was very helpful (sorry cant remember his name) and had the most delightfully cliché French accent! Then it was off to the park, a little after 8am.
My park ticket had worked fine on the first day, but on this second day it wouldn’t let me in. The CM entered a code, explaining that my ticket was demagnified. She also handed me a fastpass card to use at fastpass machines. My ticket never worked again for the rest of the trip, which meant I received one of these fastpass cards every time I went into one of the parks! I think I ended up with about 15 of them. We sometimes got extra fastpasses but we didn’t want to overuse them as we didn’t think it would be fair. A couple of times we had extras for Big Thunder we decided not to use, so we gave them to people heading for the normal queue – I liked doing this as I felt like it brightened up a stranger’s day! Cheesy I know, but it is Disney after all.
So, once inside the park, we spotted the lovely old double decker bus waiting so hopped aboard to take a ride down Main St, which was more or less deserted. After a few pics at the castle…

We headed into Fantasyland, excited to go on all the kiddie rides! We did the Carousel first, I think there were only about ten people on it. Then we did Dumbo and the Teacups and finally Peter Pan. We loved Peter Pan….so we went straight back on. The only thing I didn’t like was all the messy graffiti in the queue area – why haven’t Disney painted over this?!
Here is a photo I like of the beanstalk...

Time for Discoveryland, where of course we rushed to Space Mountain. I had ridden this ride a lot on previous Disney trips but it was a first for my sister who was a bit nervous. She really didn’t enjoy this first ride because the cast member pushed her restraint too tight and actually bruised her shoulders! I found the restraints a bit uncomfy too but not so much as to take away from my enjoyment of the ride. On the other mornings she tied her jumper round her shoulders to protect them and then she loved Space Mountain too.
By this time the park was starting to fill up with normal guests, so we decided to head to the Studios and make a dash for Crush. We had never been to the Studios before, but I knew from this forum that this is really the only way to get a ride on Crush.
When we entered the Studios we were delighted to find this jazz band playing in the front lot. I play saxophone and my sister plays the clarinet, so this was another treat for us. We stood to listen to their whole set, though we knew we might miss our chance on Crush.

After the band finished, we literally ran to Crush but luckily it wasn’t open yet. The queue was a fair size but we only waited about 25 minutes (the longest we waited for any ride throughout our whole stay – very lucky). It was worth it, the ride was much more exciting than I had expected, I love the dark coasters as you really don’t know what’s going on!
Unfortunately Rock n Roller Coaster was shut for the entire duration of our trip, this really upset me when I first found out because the Florida ride is absolutely my favourite ride I’ve ever been on and I couldn’t wait to try the Paris one. I’m really glad I was able to find out a few weeks in advance on DLRPMagic because I would have been even more disappointed if I found out on arrival.
After a quick shot on the Flying carpets (these kiddy flying rides are much more fun than they should be…) we bumped into some characters…

Then I was desperate to try the Tower of Terror! Again, I love this ride in Florida so I couldn’t wait…but it was closed due to “technical problems”! They couldn’t give any indication of when it might reopen. We decided to try the tram tour…also shut!!!
The CM said both rides would probably reopen later that day, just to keep checking the info boards. So we got some fastpasses for ToT just in case, and headed over to catch the Good Morning Studios parade. This was a nice wee parade, and the first parade of any kind we had seen on this trip so we got a bit carried away waving frantically to the characters!

Next we decided to go and see Cinemagique, though we had no idea what to expect from this. We thought it was really clever and funny! Martin Short is a favourite of mine, and we loved guessing where he was going to end up next. So this was a hit with us, although we thought maybe it would bore younger kids, and you probably wouldn’t rush to see it twice in one visit.
Then we went to check out the HSM show. I can honestly say this is the only thing in the whole trip I didn’t enjoy, and I don’t mind HSM itself. But the singing was absolutely awful, really out of tune and whiny. We couldn’t bear to watch the whole thing, so made a quick exit and headed out to front lot to see the Toon Train.
The scrum for characters here was dreadful, we gave up after a few minutes, not wanting to waste loads of time fighting with children for characters’ attention! My sister was a bit disappointed not to meet Stitch, but we knew we would get other chances. We did manage to meet Lilo and Clarice.
Here is Stitch ignoring my sister lol...

With ToT and the tour still shut, and Crush having 60 minute queue, we weren’t sure what to do next. We bought some Crepes and had a wee wander about, then decided to check out Armageddon. There were some jumpy moments in this and the effects are very good, but overall I was disappointed….nothing really happens! I wish it had a better story.
We decided to go and find a spot early for the Stars and Cars parade, but just as we were doing so we noticed a mad rush heading for ToT – it had reopened! Because we hadn’t noticed straight away, the queue was already massive with a 30 minute wait. Luckily we remembered our fastpasses, which were for the right time slot! Apparently nobody else had bothered to pick up fastpasses, so we walked straight on. We were pretty chuffed with ourselves.
My sister was scared before this ride! (probably because I was winding her up hehe) The CM we had (Danilo) was amazing, so creepy, and we both had butterflies by the time the elevator set off. We screamed our lungs out but loved every minute of it!! We would have done it again but the queues were massive by this time and only two lifts were running.
Next, Stars and Cars.

A lovely parade, so colourful and we got a nice surprise with the wee show at the end, which we didn’t know about. Then the characters came round and my sister got Stitch’s autograph! He picked her out because she was wearing Stitch ears, so she was happy. Gaston at this point was also hilarious, he spoke and had the EXACT same voice as Gaston in the film.
Sorry, not a great pic.

Straight after the characters were gone, we made a last minute decision to go and see Stitch Live, although we weren’t sure what it was and thought maybe it was just for kids. But we wanted to try everything! Wow, we were so amazed at this attraction! It’s now our favourite experience of the trip, we both laughed so much and quoted Stitch for the rest of our stay. It’s so clever, and even things that aren’t too funny sound funny when Stitch says them.
After Stitch Live we made our way back to the Disneyland Parc for the Once Upon a Dream Parade. We got there about half an hour early, bought some yummy fudge and made sure we had a good spot. Like everyone, we took photos of probably every float, so here are just a couple.

I nearly had a wee tear in my eye at the sheer magic of it all. I don’t know about you but it’s the modulation near the end that gets me every time…
Anyway, after the parade we squeezed in a go on Big Thunder then headed back to HNY to get ready. In the lobby, Pluto was dancing with a cast member! This was really fun and all the kids were loving it.
That night we headed to Annette’s for dinner, which we had been looking forward to after reading the great news on here. We weren’t disappointed, there is a really fun atmosphere and the food is so tasty! Best of all after a long day, the portion sizes were huge. For our half board plus vouchers we got far too much food for two people. Sorry no pics of the food, we were too hungry but I had an onion burger and it was tremendous. The onions were all caramelized like in French onion soup mmmmm.
We did a spot of shopping in the village – throughout our trip all the MMP merchandise was 30% off which we thought was great, especially for gifts. My sis bought a 1000 piece jigsaw for us to do in the room later, and I got a couple of clothing items (kids age 14 haha, almost half the price!)
We started the jigsaw back in the room, but could barely keep our eyes open. Another early night was in order after our first full day in the magic.

 

[loladelorean]

Day 3 – Wednesday, September 23

We met Goofy again going down to breakfast on the third day. It is fantastic that there are always characters around at mealtimes in the Hotel New York, makes a great start to your day. He was wearing a less glitzy outfit this time!

We were hoping to have breakfast in the Manhattan Restaurant again since we had enjoyed it so much on the Tuesday, but this time it was the Parkside Diner. We were pleasantly surprised by this restaurant, similar theme to Annettes with the seats etc. and it was all extremely fresh and clean. I understand that it was closed shortly before our visit for a refurb – you can tell because it was immaculate.
Breakfast selection was just the same as the day before and we really enjoyed it again. I was also impressed with the CMs at breakfast each day – it’s not easy to be cheerful when you’re working an early shift but they all had a smile for everyone.

We had decided to spend the whole day in Disneyland Parc and try to take in all the different lands. When we entered the park just after 8am there was a police van waiting on Main St so we hopped aboard. These old style vehicles are a nice touch, and always quiet so early in the morning. Here I am in the van sporting a wealth of Disney merchandise!

Discoveryland first, where we tried Buzz Lightyear for the first time. And second time, since it was so much fun! It’s a bit scary how much effort you put in to shooting these aliens lol. I was getting pretty good by the second time, but my sister is rubbish at it. Haha. Then Space Mountain again, we were sitting at the back of the ride and thought this gave a much better experience, especially at the lift off part. You really feel the “oomf” at the back!
We had a shot on orbitron too, just for the sake of it…again, much more fun than it should be for people of our age. We couldn’t really fit our long legs into one spaceship though so had to take one each.

In Fantasyland, we skipped along to Peter Pan first. This ride is so magical, I could actually remember being on it aged 6 on my first trip to Disneyland. Parents who might be reading this, you should know that the experiences your young children have now at Disneyland will still be with them as adults. My memories of that trip in 1994 are some of my clearest and happiest childhood memories, and it is amazing what comes back to you when you revisit the park as an adult.

Sorry, I digress totally, but Peter Pan more than any other ride really made me feel like a child again, in the best possible way.
We whizzed round Dumbo, the Tea Cups and the Carousel, again walking straight on to each ride. At 9.30 we started waiting outside It’s a Small World and got onto one of the first boats at 9.45. This ride is nice, but is one which doesn’t quite have the same magic it used to. I probably shouldn’t analyse it too much, but I feel like the dolls should be more distinct. Considering they represent all the countries of the world, most of them being identical isn’t a great message.
We went back to Discoveryland next to try Star Tours. Now that the park was open, we expected a queue but there were only six people in our “spaceship”. The feeling of this ride is just as effective as ever, but the French was a bit too fast for me to follow and I wished I could have understood a little better. I feel ignorant saying that, but even English subtitles somewhere would help, or a headset maybe.

On the way out of Discoveryland, the characters were all making their way off Minnie’s Party Train. I was really excited to spot Robin Hood, one of my favourite old school Disney characters, so we chased him but by the time we reached his place at the gates of Frontierland he was getting mobbed. We tried to get near him for five minutes, but just gave up. We popped into Frontierland and picked up some Fastpasses for Big Thunder.
My sister’s favourite character is Winnie the Pooh, so I knew we would have to queue to see him at Casey’s Corner that morning. Little did I know we would be queuing for over an hour – I don’t think even my sister would have wanted this. Once you’ve waited a while though you don’t want to just leave. We got our photos with Pooh bear but it really wasn’t worth it. Grr, we wouldn’t be doing that again!

We then used our fastpasses for another ride on Big Thunder, picking up a couple more afterwards. I could seriously ride this coaster 20 times a day and never get bored of it. I don’t understand though why people wait in 60 minute queues when they could get fastpasses and make better use of their time?? We more or less walked straight on with fastpasses every time.

Alice’s Curious Labyrinth was only open from 12pm during our stay, so this is where we headed next. Another trip down memory lane for me, this was my favourite attraction as a six year old with a big imagination! According to my mum, I used to spend whole afternoons in there and claimed the castle as my own. Mind you, we were there for ten whole days and the park didn’t have the attractions it does now so I guess we did have time to spend all afternoon in one place! Am I right in thinking there is no labyrinth in any other Disney parks? Certainly we didn’t see one in Florida. My sister liked this, but not as much as I do because I still kind of see it through 6 year old eyes. She was only one on that trip so doesn’t remember anything.

We had made a reservation at the Lucky Nugget so started to head back that way. On the way past the castle, we caught some of this lovely show. Unfortunately we had to leave before the end so as not to be late for lunch.

Hands down, Lucky Nugget was the best meal of our trip!! If you are doing to DLP with half board plus vouchers, you MUST use one of them for the Lucky Nugget. The characters are fantastic, the atmosphere is authentic and fun, and the food is surprisingly good for a buffet (especially the fajitas yum yum)
After a morning getting mainly annoyed by trying to meet characters, it was a lovely change to have them come to us. We were really lucky to get Tigger, Eeyore, Pluto and Mickey himself during our meal. Pluto in particular spent loads of time with us, sniffing around our plates and stealing our pens and headbands! Mickey loved my “I heart MK” t shirt hehe. Here are my photos with them all.

We also enjoyed the band who were playing onstage throughout our meal. It’s nice as well, to watch the characters interacting with children at other tables. The restaurant really wasn’t that busy so each table got loads of time with each character and hardly had to wait at all for the next one to come along. The place was buzzing with happiness and laughter, even more so than the park as a whole, and we stayed as long as we possibly could!
Full after this, we couldn’t quite face Big Thunder again so took a gentle ride on the big riverboat. It had been a bit foggy all morning, but when we emerged from the restaurant the sun was shining and the sky was clearing right up, as you can see from these photos from the boat.

The boat ride is really pleasant in the nice weather, you see bits of the park you can’t see otherwise and get to wave at the jolly Big Thunder riders. This put us in the mood for another go on our favourite ride, so we used our fastpasses again!
We headed to Adventureland next to try to find Aladdin and Jasmine. We weren’t sure where they would be and were about to ask a cast member when we spotted them walking towards a corner near the Aladdin experience. Not many people around, we got a photo quickly. Aladdin and Jasmine were interacting well with each other and with guests, chatting about magic carpets and Abu in American accents, sounding very like the characters in the film. This was a really nice touch as obviously you don’t usually hear the characters talk. Thanks to a nice Spanish family for taking a photo of both of us with them, we returned the favour ☺ I knew my higher Spanish would come in useful! Lol.

We spent time wandering around Adventureland again, which is my favourite land to just absorb as it encompasses so many genres. We made our way back to Pirates, although we expected a queue. Nope, again we managed to walk straight on! I don’t know if this is always the case off season on the Wednesday, or if we were just insanely lucky but we only had to wait for rides about 5% of the time. Indiana Jones was deserted, so we had another go on this too.
Having experienced a bit of all the lands, we weren’t quite sure where to go next. So we headed to the castle, and explored inside it; oohing and aahing at the stained glass windows, the fountains and the carvings. All Disney critics should just spend some time inside the castle to see that Imagineering produces attractions that are truly tasteful and beautiful.

The sound of loud music drew us outside to watch MMP again. This time we sat on a bench at the side, as we felt it would be silly to join in since nobody else seems to bother (boo). Second time around I was able to look at MMP more objectively. The overall feel of this show is good, but the story gets a bit lost. I know it is difficult to incorporate the different languages, but the way they do it I don’t think you can make out any of them! Nobody knows they are supposed to be doing a Mexican wave until it happens, and the dancing goes too fast and it too complex to keep up, especially for kids I imagine. Still good fun though, glad we saw it a second time.

Next I wanted to try the Disneyland Railroad, which I have never been on before. We got on at Discoveryland, but then everyone had to get off at Main St so it wasn’t a very long ride! Unfortunately didn’t get to see the diorama. It was 4.30pm. so we found a nice bit of kerb for watching the parade. After the parade, we were going to maybe try another ride but we couldn’t face it! Our feet were really really sore by this point, so it was back to the hotel.

After a couple of hours in the room watching TV we went for a swim in the lovely big HNY pool. It wasn’t that busy, and we were pleased to get towels offered to us. I am quite a keen swimmer at home, but only managed a few lengths with my tired legs! We then spent about 40 minutes soaking in the deliciously warm Jacuzzi, before heading into the changing rooms where a sauna and steam room provided even more opportunity to relax. This was the perfect way to unwind after such a busy day. We were getting hungry again after this, but didn’t want to spend too much as we like spending our money on Disney stuff! So we had a nice simple McDonalds – the food is the same as anywhere, but the interior of the restaurant is a nice surprise. We enjoyed sitting there for a good while having a chat, nice relaxing atmosphere. It doesn’t feel like a McDonalds at all!

These reports are getting longer each day and I’m afraid day 4 will be the biggest because it was a ridiculously busy day with loads of jumping around between parks. I will try to get it done tomorrow however. Hope you are all enjoying my report!

 

[loladelorean]

Day 4 – Thursday, September 24

Get ready guys, because this was a reaaally busy day for us! It was our last full day so we really wanted to make the most it, squeezing in all our favourite attractions as well as those things we hadn’t managed to do so far.
Breakfast was in the Parkside Diner again and again very enjoyable. At breakfast we pored over the park maps and timetables to work out a plan for the day.
Then it was into DLP for EMH – Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan, Dumbo and Space Mountain. We love EMH!

At 9.30am we headed to the gates of the Studios again, prepared this time for the Crush rush! We ran straight to it and only waited about 15 minutes. We enjoyed it even more this time, it seemed like there was a lot more spinning action than on our first ride. Are we just imagining this or does the action of the shells vary?

After Crush, we ran to ToT as we knew it opened a little later. Again we were near the front of the queue and didn’t have to wait long at all. All the CMs on ToT are fantastic, they get so into character and I think they really make the experience extra creepy! We picked up fastpasses after we got off.

Next was time for the first Animagique of the day, once again we had no idea what to expect with this. It was a fun show! Always good to see the characters! Kind of a silly story, but some clever ideas with the puppets and the glow in the dark effects. It went down really well with the children in the audience.

We used our fastpasses to ride ToT again, and had a wander around the Studios to take some silly photos!

Back to the Disneyland Parc, where just as we got in the Mary Poppins show was starting in Town Square. This is one of my favourite Disney films so it was great to catch this show.

We didn’t hang around to meet the characters though as we had seen the scrum the previous day. We popped in the Cable Car bake shop for lunch, which was really tasty if a little pricey for sandwiches! Then we headed to Frontierland and picked up fastpasses for BTM. These were in only 20 minutes so we just browsed around the shops a little until it was time to go back on our ultimate favourite ride!

We had liked the look of the Sleeping Beauty show and wanted to see it all, so this was next on our list. We saw the whole thing this time – it’s a lovely show and it’s great to see all the wee girls loving Aurora. We waited ages for an autograph at the end, but again just gave up.

Another favourite had been the Robinson cabin, so we climbed up it again to take some more photos.

Whilst up there we heard some music drifting through the trees – it was the African tam tams. So we headed quickly back down to get a better view. This was a fun wee show, especially the guy furthest left. Anyone who has seen the tam tams will know he pulls some hilarious faces and really winds up the guests who jump in for photos!

We kept listening until it was time to head back into the Studios once again (told you, lots of walking!) This time we were going to see Art of Disney animation. This was great, glad to have the translating headsets which I think should be incorporated into a few more things. Mushu is a good choice of character to use for this as he has such a big personality. We also loved the nostalgic montages at the beginning, we welled up at a couple! Can’t beat a good montage lol.
We also took some time to explore the final room and read more about the animation, this is such an interesting attraction and is really in the spirit of Disney.

When we came out we took a few more photos around the area, and look who I found! Hercules!!! This is my favourite Disney film so I’m always annoyed that there aren’t many signs of it around the park. Happy to see he hasn’t been forgotten completely!

Then we found a few characters. Friar Tuck was there, and although the other characters were getting mobbed nobody wanted to speak to poor Friar Tuck. We felt really sorry for him, so we took quite a few photos.

Poor Friar Tuck...

Then we tried to get King Louis, waited for quite a while but he was really rudely ignoring us. He could see us waiting but actually went up to kids who weren’t even waiting instead of acknowledging us. We were a bit annoyed so again gave up!

It was time for Stars and Cars again, so we got a place nearer to Place de Stars in order to see the show better this time. We were right next to it but the way the rope was cornering people off meant we couldn’t get near to the characters at autograph time. Essentially there were four ropes in a square with nothing inside, for no apparent reason. Goofy jumped over the rope though to see all the people stuck at the other side so this was really cool! His CM gave him into trouble for it lol.

After the show we raced back to the attraction we had been looking forward to all day, Stitch Live! We were amazed at how different it was from the first time. Yes the basic format is the same, but it was a very pleasant surprise how much was different. The funniest part is always when he picks a lady in the audience to fall in love with!

The next thing on our list was the stunt show, we were quite early but decided to just head in that direction anyway. Next to the HSM blockbuster café we spotted Mickey and Minnie all dressed in wildcats gear! The weirdest thing was, this area was nearly deserted, nobody seemed to even know they were there. One family was sitting outside the café eating lunch, and both Mickey and Minnie sat down at their table for ages, interacting with the children. What a lovely surprise for that family!

They were obviously there to promote the restaurant as they kept pretending to go and read the menu and rubbing their tummies etc. We got some fun photos, and loads of time with them. A small crowd gathered but only about a dozen people. Mickey got everyone to do some exercises with him!

This was a really fun character experience which we weren’t expecting, the best meet and greets are the ones you don’t know about. I would like to see more characters just wandering around the parks like this, there is a lot more of this in Florida than in Paris.

After this we had to rush to the stunt show, but made it with five minutes to spare. This was a really professional and impressive show, on a much bigger scale than we had expected. Finally something I know for sure my boyfriend would love if I can ever talk him into coming to DLP! To anyone who hasn’t seen this show, it’s not to be missed. I’m certainly not into cars at all, and even I loved this.

Obviously our feet were taking a beating on this day, but it wasn’t over yet. Time to trek back to the Parc for the parade again. On both previous days we had viewed the parade from Main St. so this time we found a spot at Central Plaza to get a different viewpoint. We were glad we did as we had a great spot for the princesses getting off and dancing near the end – we didn’t even know this part happened! We were a bit teary as we knew this would be the last time we saw the parade. ☹

Sore feet or no sore feet, we were determined to squeeze as much as possible into this day! So we picked up more fastpasses for BTM, and rode Indiana Jones and Pirates again while we waited for our time slot. After one last ride on BTM (sitting in the very front train, we didn’t have to wait long for this and it was definitely worthwhile!) it was time to head back to HNY.

We had booked to go to Café Mickey at 8pm, so we got ready and made sure we were there 5 minutes early. There was a huge queue outside the door, but because we had booked we walked straight up to the door…only to be told that the queue on the right was for those who had booked. I found this pretty bizarre, but we waited all the same. It was 8.25pm before we got a table, we didn’t complain but many others who had made bookings did. I work in the restaurant trade and I was pretty annoyed about this system – they are obviously overbooking, and they need to realise that when you book for a certain time you don’t expect to get in nearly 30 minutes later.

Anyway, once we got in we quickly forgot about the wait thanks to all the characters! We were sitting upstairs, but on the way to the table we spotted Stitch, Rafiki, Pluto, Tigger, Mickey and Pinocchio. Later on Chip and Dale made an appearance too.

We were using our half board plus vouchers for their cash value, which the waiter told us was 26 euro each – pretty good considering the current exchange rate! So we ordered from the Mickey Menu which is 30 euro for 3 courses. Just after ordering some very loud music started (Aretha Franklin’s Think – random we thought!) and the waiters dragged us and two other young girls up onto a bar top to dance! We were really taken aback but just had a laugh and enjoyed it.

Things took a strange turn though, we noticed the waiters hanging around our table a lot, checking on us far too often etc. We were having a bit of a joke about it but when I got back from the loo before our mains arrived, my sister was pretty freaked out. Three of the waiters had come over to her and said they wanted us to go out dancing with them that night. At only 16, she isn’t used to this and didn’t even answer them poor thing. After our mains the same three came over again and asked me if we were coming to Paris with them. I made it quite clear we didn’t appreciate their advances lol, and they disappeared sharpish when I told them my sister was only 16.

Looking back, I was probably more annoyed about this than I should have been but we were just totally immersed in the Disney magic and getting chatted up was the last thing we were expecting. If we had been in Ibiza it would be par for the course, but in Café Mickey?! I just think it’s totally inappropriate.

Anyway, moving swiftly on! The food was hit and miss. For starters, my sis had soup and I had Caesar salad – very nice. Mains were the slightly disappointing bit, sister said the fish and chips were okay but I didn’t really enjoy my pasta, it was very bland. The desserts made up for it though! The crème brulee was out of this world, and my sister enjoyed the chocolate sundae.

The real experience here is the characters. We were so chuffed to get so many, and they were really interacting with everyone. Rafiki took a bit of a shine to us!

Stitch was laughing at me for asking for his autograph…

And we met Mickey AGAIN! You can never get too much Mickey…

Here are the rest of the character photos. The experience with the characters makes it worth every penny…just watch out for the waiters. (this one dancing with Stitch was a nice one, not a creepy one lol)

We did our usual trail round the village shops before heading back to the hotel to start packing (boo hoo). We were happy that Lizzie McGuire came on that night – finally a programme we recognised! Unfortunately we fell asleep halfway through.

 

[paulinefc]

great trip report, and love all your photos

 

[poppyears]

Fab trip report.

Will watch out for the waiters as taking 2 14 year olds in a few weeks that look more like 19 year olds.

 

[Rosabelle]

I'm loving your tr you're enthusiasm and happiness at being in disney is really coming through. BTm is a firm fav with us too and we rod eit 7 times on our last day
I esp love the part where you're in the labrynth and it's bringing back all your lovely childhood memories so lovely.
i have a 6 yr old and i'm hoping he looks back as warmly as you are now at our trips .

regarding the amorous waiters, how indiscrete and inappropriate are they being . you're right that's not what you go to dlp for, well maybe some do?? well done looking after your little sis

rosabelle x

 

[loladelorean]

I'm loving your tr you're enthusiasm and happiness at being in disney is really coming through. BTm is a firm fav with us too and we rod eit 7 times on our last day
I esp love the part where you're in the labrynth and it's bringing back all your lovely childhood memories so lovely.
i have a 6 yr old and i'm hoping he looks back as warmly as you are now at our trips .

regarding the amorous waiters, how indiscrete and inappropriate are they being . you're right that's not what you go to dlp for, well maybe some do?? well done looking after your little sis

rosabelle x

Thanks, I'm glad you like it
I'm positive your 6yo will feel just like i do when hes in his 20s. My memories of that first trip are always clear but when im actually in the park its amazing how much comes back. My mum was really pleased when i told her this, and she cant wait to come with us this year (so she can pretend we are 6 and 1 again and not all grown up i think!)
i was so annoyed at those waiters, but as i said somewhere else on the forum, i dont think theyll act the same when our mums there this year lol no man is that foolish!

 

[Mum to Belle]

Thank you so much for sharing your TR with us, I really enjoyed reading it! We were there the same week as you, from the Tuesday, and it brought back some great memories! The weather was so kind and the park so quiet it was wonderful!

We're staying at the New York in December so it was also really nice to read such a glowing report!

 

[A Small World]

Great report - sounds as though you both had a great time and pleased to see your other thread about going back again with your BF

 

[LoodlesNoodles]

Loved your report!

It is annoying that if you're not a small child the characters tend to ignore you. Us big kids want hugs from characters too!
I'm rather jealous that you met Aladdin and Jasmine, they had a line a mile long in May. And we didn't even attempt to meet Aurora (though one day I will get my photo taken with her!

 

[loladelorean]

Thanks everybody, I'm glad you like my report! I must admit, I wasn't very organised before that trip but now I feel like an expert thanks to the wonders of the internet especially this site.

 

[Ware Bears]

I'm so glad you've posted this over here ~ I really enjoyed reading it.

I love your 'I heart MK' T-shirt. Did you get it at DLRP? If so, I hope they'll still have some next May.

 

[loladelorean]

I'm so glad you've posted this over here ~ I really enjoyed reading it.

I love your 'I heart MK' T-shirt. Did you get it at DLRP? If so, I hope they'll still have some next May.

Thanks Elaine I'm so glad you enjoyed it
Yes I got the Tshirt on that trip and they had quite a lot of I heart mk stuff think there was a hoody too!

 

[hazelj27]

Thanks Elaine I'm so glad you enjoyed it
Yes I got the Tshirt on that trip and they had quite a lot of I heart mk stuff think there was a hoody too!

I've been on here for a few days and have just started reading some TR's. Yours and your pictures, are really great! I'm intending to go again next February and am trying to decide what hotel to go for. We stayed at the SF this year, and found it to be perfectly adequate. However, with your description of HNY it's making me want to spend some extra pennies for that little bit of luxury. I'm pretty sure I've read that the pool is open until 10pm (maybe another thread?) which would be great, as in Feb the parks shut at 7pm so although tired, there isn't much to do of an evening. I've yet to work out whether the half board premium vouchers are worth investing in, but would you say Cafe Mickey is definitely worth a visit? I know all too well missing out on meeting characters in the park. Usually because there is no queuing or general decency amongst people. Very frustrating because I make my daughter wait patiently, only for people to push in...then the characters walk off. I'm sure for the character interation alone, the money might be well worth spending. Hopefully with no pervy waiters!

 

[loladelorean]

I've been on here for a few days and have just started reading some TR's. Yours and your pictures, are really great! I'm intending to go again next February and am trying to decide what hotel to go for. We stayed at the SF this year, and found it to be perfectly adequate. However, with your description of HNY it's making me want to spend some extra pennies for that little bit of luxury. I'm pretty sure I've read that the pool is open until 10pm (maybe another thread?) which would be great, as in Feb the parks shut at 7pm so although tired, there isn't much to do of an evening. I've yet to work out whether the half board premium vouchers are worth investing in, but would you say Cafe Mickey is definitely worth a visit? I know all too well missing out on meeting characters in the park. Usually because there is no queuing or general decency amongst people. Very frustrating because I make my daughter wait patiently, only for people to push in...then the characters walk off. I'm sure for the character interation alone, the money might be well worth spending. Hopefully with no pervy waiters!

I would really recommend HNY - we are returning there in November this year having booked it at 40% off again. If you can get it at that price it's definitely worth it - the closeness to the parks is amazing and the breakfast as well. There's nothing I don't love about HNY! And yes, I think the pool is open 3pm-10pm each day.
We have decided not to use half board vouchers this year. A few reasons - 1) We are going with our mum this time therefore spending will be more sensible! With just the two of us last year, we would have spent all our money on souvenirs and left nothing for food. 2) I worked out the average spend for the restaurants we want to eat in and we will save more money by joining the shareholders club than by using vouchers, so we are doing that instead.
The vouchers are great for being organised with your budget but it doesn't seem that they save you much money.
I recommend both Lucky Nugget and Cafe Mickey for character interaction, as you say, much preferable to the scrums in the park. it's not too expensive either, check out the menus on dlrpfood.com.
Any more questions, please ask

 

[hazelj27]

I would really recommend HNY - we are returning there in November this year having booked it at 40% off again. If you can get it at that price it's definitely worth it - the closeness to the parks is amazing and the breakfast as well. There's nothing I don't love about HNY! And yes, I think the pool is open 3pm-10pm each day.
We have decided not to use half board vouchers this year. A few reasons - 1) We are going with our mum this time therefore spending will be more sensible! With just the two of us last year, we would have spent all our money on souvenirs and left nothing for food. 2) I worked out the average spend for the restaurants we want to eat in and we will save more money by joining the shareholders club than by using vouchers, so we are doing that instead.
The vouchers are great for being organised with your budget but it doesn't seem that they save you much money.
I recommend both Lucky Nugget and Cafe Mickey for character interaction, as you say, much preferable to the scrums in the park. it's not too expensive either, check out the menus on dlrpfood.com.
Any more questions, please ask

Thanks for that I'm sure I've checked out some menus before, although i'm not sure how up to date the prices are. I've just realised that a lot of my posts around the forum are about money...i'm not tight just frugal My Mum looks after my daughter when i'm working, so to say thank you, I take her away with us. Therefore, I have to foot the bill for most things (she does help out a bit!). I was definitely wondering about the pros and cons of the meal vouchers. On the main site it says that the half board options can save up to 15%, which is also what the shareholder club info says...so i'm guessing, for where you want to eat, going half board makes no difference? I'm working with the fact that the all meals for free special offer might not return. That really was a great offer, however, because it included lunch as well, it felt like we were always eating I would really like to do Cafe Mickey, however the mixed reviews do put me off a bit. I guess it's a case of trying to work out the best time to go to avoid it being full...

 

[loladelorean]

Don't worry, we all have to try and be frugal with DLP trips. The most up to date menus are to be found on a French forum, i'll try to find a link for you.
Once we decided where we want to eat in November, I literally sat and worked out average cost of meals, took off the shareholder discount, and compared the total for our trip with the cost of vouchers. It worked out to be less, partly because a couple of the places we want to eat are not included in the vouchers.
Of course, the shareholder card also gives discount in all shops in the park and access to cafe mickey for free morning snacks, so we are in no doubt that this is the best option for us this time.
In order to be organised with food budget again we are loading up a holiday card from tesco with euros (these are fab) with all the food money and keeping that separate from the rest of our spending money.
I've read about about people going to cafe mickey around 6pm and it being pretty quiet.

 

[hazelj27]

Don't worry, we all have to try and be frugal with DLP trips. The most up to date menus are to be found on a French forum, i'll try to find a link for you.
Once we decided where we want to eat in November, I literally sat and worked out average cost of meals, took off the shareholder discount, and compared the total for our trip with the cost of vouchers. It worked out to be less, partly because a couple of the places we want to eat are not included in the vouchers.
Of course, the shareholder card also gives discount in all shops in the park and access to cafe mickey for free morning snacks, so we are in no doubt that this is the best option for us this time.
In order to be organised with food budget again we are loading up a holiday card from tesco with euros (these are fab) with all the food money and keeping that separate from the rest of our spending money.
I've read about about people going to cafe mickey around 6pm and it being pretty quiet.

Excellent. Lots to think about! When are you going to purchase your shares? You never know, the price might go down by that time, and so missing out on the buying fee waiver deal, might not matter
Tesco holiday card? Hmm, not heard of that one. I've heard of the post office one, but that really is a good idea! Especially if you get clubcard points too I do like organisation as I'm the one who's gotta spend and budget the money ! I'm still veering towards inventions...although I am worried it might be a little too pretentious for us! Decisions, decisions!!

 

[hazelj27]

Just googled the tesco holiday card...you might want to check this link out...

http://www.tescofinance.com/personal/finance/travel/travel-card/index.jsp