Emma & Liz's DLP Adventures: Part Two

[emmaness]

Note: I'm having to post it in, um... SEVERAL parts as I obviously take too many photos! That is especially true of this day! Umm... good luck reading it! You might want to set aside an hour or so!

Wednesday, 30th August 2006

Cast: Emma (ninth visit ) and Liz (first visit!)
Summary: Full day in the Disneyland Park including The Legend of the Lion King and the Princess Parade, Rainforest Café, Disney Village
Photos: Click on the small thumbnails to view a larger version of each photo, or view all the photos from the day here.

My fears that Liz wasn't a morning person were proved wrong when I heard her up and about at half past six - having been travelling all day yesterday! I myself had a fantastic night's sleep as the beds at Sequoia Lodge are heavenly. :cloud I was quite slow rising at first as I didn't want to leave that lovely bed, but I soon perked up when I realised: today is our first full day in the park... and it's looking like it's going to be a sunny day!

We got to the park just after 8, and who better than greet us than Mickey Mouse himself?



I've never seen Mickey out and about in the "free-for-all" format that we all love , but there were hardly any people there, so Liz managed to get her photo with him. Afterwards he wouldn't let go of her and you can see in the second photo that he's trying to get her to give him a kiss on the cheek! He was moved along before I had a chance to get my photo with him.

Then it was time for the first glimpse of that wonderful view down Main Street - when we arrived yesterday, it was too busy to appreciate it! Then of course I stopped off to say hello to some old friends of my sister Lucy: the blokes outside the Emporium. She had her photo taken with one of them at Christmas!



And after the obligatory attempt to extract the sword from that darned stone...



(I'm a bit worried that I look like I was taking it too seriously!)

...we went for our first Good Morning Fantasyland breakfast at Au Chalet de la Marionnette, which was a bit of a scrum, but I managed to get my traditional stash of pains au chocolat! I tried the tea but it was horrendous, nowhere near strong enough... an insult to Brits across the land! You have no idea how much I wanted a proper cup of tea by the end of the week.

After our breakfast we took advantage of what was left of the extra hour of park time and went on Peter Pan, followed by Dumbo! Peter Pan is one of my all-time favourites and we were sat in a Jolly Roger ship, so we were happy. I hadn't been on Dumbo for years, so it was really good fun. And I don't mind it if there isn't a queue - which there wasn't!



Then we gave It's A Small World another go, we headed over to Discoveryland. To our surprise Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast only had a 20-minute queue, which turned out to be more like 10! I'm rubbish at these kind of rides as I don't really "get" them... I spend too much time looking at the scenery and not enough time shooting things, and as a result I got a score of 1200... which I'm told is pretty bad!!



I did enjoy the ride but I can't help but think that it could benefit from a pre-show - perhaps something similar to Phantom Manor - where you get "shrunk down". The giant screws attaching the pictures to the walls were marvellous and I suppose that was trying to make you feel toy-sized, but it didn't really work for me! An uncharacteristic skimp for Disney, I must say.

By this time it was about 11 so time to collect tickets for The Legend of the Lion King show! I was really looking forward to seeing it again and I know Liz saw the show at the West End, so she was bound to love it too! We got tickets for the 2pm showing.

In order to miss the lunchtime rush, we shared a margherita at Pizzaria Bella Notte, followed by a giant two-scoop ice cream each from Fantasia Gelati! I should warn anyone who wants to get one of these that they are MASSIVE, and I had a scoop of the chocolate, which is really, really rich - not chocolate flavour as we know it!

 

[emmaness]

After this we were both stuffed and so Space Mountain was out of the question! So we decided to take a wander wherever we fancied, and on walking into Main Street Plaza it was character central!



We had great fun chasing various characters around. As well as those photos we saw Stitch, Friar Tuck, and some of the Seven Dwarfs! I've never seen Alice (in Wonderland) in my life so that was a nice surprise. In the picture of the Queen of Hearts on her own, she was just about to tell Liz off! She waggled her finger at her and tapped her on the nose. And yes, Smee is giving Hook a backrub there!

We were both a bit hyper after all this excitement and thought now would be a good time to go in search of Camp Captain Jack, as we had taken to calling him. He apparently appears "from time to time" opposite Pirates of the Caribbean, but alas, no luck this time! I did, however, manage to get a classic shot of the Castle à la tropical island, and I spotted a mystery Point Photo... I could not for the life of me figure out what you were supposed to be taking a photo of from that point, so instead I took a photo of the Point Photo itself! As you do!



I swear I haven't done anything to those photos to make them so bright. It was really sunny and I don't think my camera could cope with it!

Pirates of the Caribbean had a huge queue so we went back into Main Street, where we saw the Princesses were out on the Fantasy Festival Stage! You should have seen the massive queue to meet them.



We had a really good view from the raised bit opposite the stage, and thought to ourselves... could we watch the parade from here? We thought we would give it a go later.

We were still quite full from our ice creams, so we stuck to nice gentle rides and had our second go of the day on It's A Small World, gave the Mad Hatter's Teacups a miss (would have been disastrous!), and went on the Carousel, by which time it was just about time to watch the Lion King show! Woo hoo!

So off we went via La Tanière du Dragon - the steps down to the place were scarier than the dragon as you couldn't actually see them!



The Legend of the Lion King was amazing as ever. It needs no commentary! If you want to look at all the photos I took of the show, they start on this page.



After this we were buzzing but we didn't want to get too overexcited and wander off - it wasn't long until the Princess Parade! I wonder if you can guess where this photo was taken?



I would do a competition but I'm about to give it away with what I say next! It's actually in Constellations, the shop! Which is where we did a bit of shopping - I bought some really cute badges - one set with old Mickey Mouse posters and one set with vintage style Mickey and Minnie.

 

[emmaness]

It's funny how time flies when you're... shopping. So already it was time to find a good spot for the parade! The place I mentioned earlier - the raised bit opposite Fantasy Festival Stage - was completely empty, so we had an absolutely brilliant view right at the front by the railings. Completely unspoilt by human heads!



Liz and I spent the entire parade singing along to Dancin' (A Catchy Rhythm), which got us some very funny looks from the Spanish family standing next to us! We're really cool, honest! If you want to look at all my photos from the parade, they start on this page.

After this we headed over Frontierland, where we did Phantom Manor, followed by the Mark Twain Riverboat - yay! I love the steamboat. It's so relaxing, and it really does feel like you're stepping straight into the 19th century.

 

[emmaness]

On our way round we saw a lot of people standing on Big Thunder Mountain and painting it. I got a bit obsessed with taking photos of them for some reason. I was also quite disturbed by the duck standing on one leg. Surely that can't be right? Liz assured me that that is how they rest. I'm still not convinced!! We also saw a heron, which very kindly posed on a rock for photos. I'd never seen one before!

No matter how hard I tried I couldn't help being a bit upset that Big Thunder Mountain was closed:



By this time we were both quite tired, so we decided to call it a day and took the Disneyland Railroad back to Main Street.



There were several characters in the gazebo area of Main Street but there were huge crowds so we decided against chasing any of them!! Instead, we headed into Disney Village and straight to Rainforest Café, where we had planned to eat. There was a small queue outside, but here's the joy of being a party of two - we got past the first queue immediately and a table was free within a couple of minutes! Plus it was one by the wall and hence the animals.



I had the Rasta Pasta and Liz had a cheeseburger, and we both had Rainforest Ricky (non-alcoholic) cocktails. Overpriced for what it was but it's the atmosphere you pay for, and I just love it.

On the way back to the hotel we saw some people on the lake riding what looked like bikes!! Water bikes!!! It was so surreal. We checked out the price... €6 for 20 minutes? I'll give it a miss, thanks!

Besides, we were completely shattered - I can't speak for Liz, but I was still catching up on sleep from the previous night (when we had to get a taxi at 7am), so after a quick shop at the Disney Store (where I bought a fluffy Eeyore pen and a Minnie Mouse tote bag that matches my badges!), I was more than happy to crash in my looooovely cosy bed.

 

[isma]

Thanks again for sharing this great report! How cool that you got to meet Mickey outside the park, I never saw any characters in front of the entrance! And I love your photos, especially the parade and the ones at Adventureland, look like postcards..
I`ll be waiting for your next installment and don`t worry, make it as loooong as you like, we will sure be able to handle it

 

[sarahc]

Fantastic pics! I love reports with great pics!

 

[Cyrano]

Yet again another great report Emma.
Love all your photos

 

[Bexx]

Loving your report Emma!!!

So off we went via La Tanière du Dragon - the steps down to the place were scarier than the dragon as you couldn't actually see them!

I know what you mean!!! But I'm just so glad (and amazed) that they haven't had white lines painted on them for Health and Safety reasons!! It's much more atmospheric as it is!!!

 

[stargatebarbie]

I ,ve just loved looking at your photos ,what an excellent spot for the parade I must make a note of thet one,also there seems to be loads more charectorsin the parade than when we saw it in july (mind you it was about 100 degrees)

 

[wideeyes]

Brilliant report and excellent pictures

 

[emmaness]

Thanks so much everyone for humouring me... I mean, for your lovely comments! I will keep them in mind and make sure the rest of my trippies are nice and long.

Becky you're quite right, it would just spoil the illusion if there were white lines on the steps! You really do feel like you're walking down into a dungeon or something. Surely it must break some kind of health and safety standard though!?

I couldn't believe our luck when we saw Mickey just on the other side of the turnstiles - what I also forgot to mention was that he was the first ever character Liz saw and got her picture with! How perfect is that?

 

[marcus.ka]

Wow great great great pictures! Do you know this site?

http://pp.mousekingdom.com

If you would post your pictures there it think you would get top ratings!!! Give it a try!

 

[Cyrano]

You can always post them right here on the DIS
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=594

 

[Ware Bears]

what I also forgot to mention was that he was the first ever character Liz saw and got her picture with! How perfect is that?

Now that's Disney magic for you!

A lovely account of a wonderful day Emma and such fantastic photos!

 

[emmaness]

Thank you guys and I'm so flattered by the comments about my photos - it's a real passion of mine! I think if I put my photos on either of those sites they would take them over completely! I'm rubbish at choosing the best ones, I always think, "Oh, but if I put that one in, I've got to put that one in as well..." Nightmare!

 

[cstokell]

Big thank you Emma for your brilliant photos!!

I have been asking for a new camera for ages and after a little more moaning and showing my DH your fantastics pictures he agreed that I could have a new camera before we go in December. Just in case he forgot I took him straight out and I am now the proud owner of a new camera.