First trip to DLP...First trip abroad!! Trip report now included with piccies!!

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Hopefully I am doing this right...

I am not too sure where to start!!....

Well there's me (Hels) (25), my partner Jaime (33) and my 2 boys Dylan (7) & Jack (6)

We live in Cornwall and this will be mine and the boys first time abroad! Jaime has been abroad previously but not for many years.

I am Disney mad!!! Love everything Disney and have wanted to go to Disneyland since I was a child. I will one day get to Walt Disney World in Florida, but taking my first step by going to DLP.

After much persuasion I managed to convince Jaime to go to DLP. He was hesitant as we are currently saving for our wedding, but after much bribing and explaining the kids will not be young enough to enjoy it for long, he was convinced! So we booked on the free offers meals for March

After booking, we then had a few stressful weeks of sorting passports, but thankfully they are all now sorted and in place

We were originally going by plane, but after a very steep hike in flight prices we have now changed our transport plans and are going by Eurostar, which includes a night staying over in London.

Our plans at the are.....

I am sure these will change and differ as the week goes on as we find different things to do whilst there!...

14th March: Travel to London, dinner Planet Hollywood, stayover Kings Cross Travelodge

15th March: Catch Eurostar 12.57, arrive DLP 17.10, check in Santa Fe, Dinner Annettes

16th March: Breakfast Santa Fe, Discoveryland, lunch Pizza Planet, Fantasyland, dinner Cafe Mickey

17th March: Breakfast Santa Fe, Studios, lunch blockbuster cafe, more studios, dinner at Walts (maybe), St Patricks fireworks display

18th March: Breakfast Santa Fe, Adventureland, lunch agrabah cafe, frontierland, dinner La cantina

19th March: Breakfast Santa Fe, pack up, get last min purchases before going home!

I hope to fit in some EMH, breakfast at Fantasyland, lots of yummy Disney Cocktails and other extras, if and when I can!

I can't wait!!!

I will post a full report with lots of piccies on my return!!!

Hels xxx

 

[Cyrano]

Great pre trip report Hels

 

[jesuslovesyou]

Have a great time

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I think your boys are a great age for a first Disney trip!! Have a magical time!!!

 

[Mum to Belle]

Woo hoo only 2 weeks to go!!

Hope you have a fab time!! I am sure you will and will soon be planning a return trip!

Looking forward to your TR when you get back

 

[steamboat will]

Hey ICECUBE QUEEN

looks like you've got your trip super planned.

Let me say Eurostar is the best way to travel to DLP. not sure if you're going direct or via paris? but either way it beats flying.

Annettes is one of my favourite places to eat be sure to leave room for dessert!!!

I think you'll be surprised how quickly you'll move through the theme park I'm pretty sure it won't take you a whole day to see just Discoveryland and Fantasyland even if you do everything in these areas. But this means on you second day in the Disneyland park you can revisit all of your favourite attractions again, maybe even hop back to the studios if you fall in love with any of the attractions over there.

If you're thinking about Dinner at Walts be sure to make reservations on your first day as it can get booked up. Or you can call restaurant reservations before you leave home. You can always cancel these if you plans change.

Have a great trip

SW

 

[Shelly2010]

Have a fab time! You have planned your trip really well.

Look forward to reading your trip report when you get back & pics. We are off there soon after you so sure to get some tips/ideas.

 

[Dawn19]

Have a great time bring photos

 

[zinderella]

Hope you have a lovely time...I'm so impressed with your trip planning...my plan is as follows..
get to Disney, do parcs, eat something

I'm from Cornwall too....sadly no pasties available in the park, i think they are missing a trick there!!!!

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

This time next week we will be on our way to London and that little be closer to getting to Disneyland

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I'm so excited for you! Well for me too - I'll be there right after you. I already have my luggage in the guest room almost ready to pack. Have a quick week and a lovely trip!!

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Well about 29hrs before we set off tomorrow!

Don't get to Disneyland till Monday, but start our trip tomorrow, travelling to the in laws, then on from the in laws on Sunday to London!

Most of our stuff is packed, will do the last bits tonight and tomorrow, in between playing taxi for the kids, one has a birthday party to attend, whilst the other has swimming lessons tomorrow morning.

Slowly my list is being checked off bit by bit, though it feels like everytime I check one thing off, I add 2 more things to do to the list! it's a neverending list!!

Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything!!

so excited!!!!!

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Hey Guys!!

We are home after an amazing trip!

We got home yesterday lunchtime, but just haven't had a chance to pop on here yet.

I hope to get my report done later, but have mountains of washing and unpacking to do first.

I have over 600 photos (though I wont post them all, as I will be here all day!) and lots of info for the restaurant reviews.

We had such a brilliant time, I am already want to book another holiday!!

 

[Maxi-Minnie]

So pleased you had a great time.

Can't wait to see your photos and read your trip report.

 

[Mum to Belle]

Welcome back!!

Look forward to seeing some of your photos - when you've finished all your chores Cinderella!!

Book your next trip while the 40% offer is still on!!

 

[tennisfan]

Welcome back, glad to hear you had a fab trip

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Day 1:

We stayed over in London at Travelodge Kings Cross, which is just round the corner from the Eurostar station. We got to the station early as it was really easy picking up the tickets then checking in. We got the tickets from the ticket office, went round to check in where our bags were put through the Xray machine and our passports checked. We were then let into the departure lounge, where we waited to board the train. Whilst waiting the kids were handed Disney activity packs, which kept them quiet! We were then on the way to Disney!!

We had an indirect train, which changed at Lille. I had prepared myself for this change after reading advice on here, but again it really wasn’t that hard to do. We got off the train, made our way to the main concourse on the upper level, where you wait for your train to display on the departure board, telling you which platform your train will be on. Our train to Disney was a double decker train and much to the children’s delight we had seats allocated on the top deck.

After about an hour we arrived at Disney. We quickly exited the station to find the Disney Village right there in front of us…..excitement took over us all!! We saw a Santa Fe bus waiting at the station, so quickly ran over to catch it to save waiting for another. It wasn’t at all busy and we were able to all get on and the kids got a seat. Within 5 mins we had arrived at the hotel, where we checked in and got given all our meal vouchers, park passes and info needed. After seeing the map of the hotel, I thought knowing our luck we will have one of the furthest rooms away from the main reception / restaurant building, but our luck must have been in as our room was as close as you can be…result!!! I got a safety deposit box for our important documents which are free to use and easy to access so I didn’t need to worry about our passports etc left in the room.

After reading horror stories about the Santa Fe hotel I was wondering what we had in store, but we found the room was really OK. It was basic, but had everything we needed and we only planned to spend time in it sleeping, the rest of time would be spent in the parks. I squealed in delight like a child upon finding the Mickey soap and shower gel in the bathroom. Little things please little minds I guess lol

We made our way back to the village as the plan tonight was to eat at Annettes and I wanted to get there early to beat any queues. There was a little queue, but we were seated within 5 mins. The food was great, the atmosphere was brilliant, we got to see the staff do the Grease Lightning dance and we got served by waiters on roller-skates! The kids got to keep the souvenir cups and their dinners were served on Frisbees. I would certainly eat there again.

After dinner we hit the Disney store and spent a small fortune before heading back to the hotel, where we had a couple of drinks in the bar and I managed to have some cocktails, so I could get a light up tinkerbell! Lol We saw Pluto in reception, so got an autograph and photo, then we had an early night as we wanted to get up early the next day for EMHs!

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Day 2:

We set the alarm for 6am and actually managed to get up! I can’t remember the last time I saw 6am! Lol We had the 7am slot for breakfast, so nipped in for an early breakfast then straight off to the park.

We went on Buzz Lightyear first which the kids really enjoyed, then on the rocket ride (orbitron is it?) whilst Jaime tried out Space Mountain. Have you tried squeezing 2 children, 1 adult and 2 backpacks in one of those rockets? Lol Very tight squeeze and nothing to hold onto! The kids found it hilarious, where as I was grabbing at everything to hold on! Jaime came back from Space Mountain saying it would be alright for Dylan to go on, so I took his advice and took him on…..he HATED it! Don’t blame him though it was scary…he was not happy with Daddy!! Dylan came off looking a shade of green! Lol

Next we went over to Fantasyland, straight on to Peter pan, followed by the teacups and Dumbo. Not long after IASW opened to we went straight on, hardly queuing. The kids really loved this ride and we went on it another 2 times. We then went on Pinocchio and Snow White before making our way back to Discoveryland as we had planned to go to Pizza Planet for lunch. On arrival we found it was closed, so changed out plans and ate in Café Hyperion. The food was typical fast food, but the kids loved their Mickey burgers and were happy sitting eating their lunch and watching old Mickey cartoons on the big screens. After lunch we attempted to go on Star Tours and Autopia but both had large queues of 45mins+ so we couldn’t be bothered to queue.

We headed over to Frontierland and bumped into Goofy on the way over and experienced our first character scrum, some peoples just don’t know how to queue and wait their turn! We went on the Phantom Manor and BTM, both great rides, but the kids wouldn’t go on them again lol

Jaime wanted to go on Indiana Jones so we headed to Adventureland. Whilst the kids and I waited for him a family sat down near us, but when they left I realised one of them had left their handbag behind. I went looking for them and returned the bag and the owner came to find me after and gave me 10 Euros to spend on the kids to say thank you!!

We took the kids to play in the Pirates play area for a bit, then headed back to the hotel for a rest before our dinner reservation at Café Mickey. We decided to head to Café Mickey a little earlier then our reservation but we were seated straight away upstairs. We had a table right next to the dessert buffet and it turned out to be a great table as it was the first table the characters came too, so we got to meet loads! The food was really nice and the character interaction was great!! Even though the meal seems disrupted due to the stopping and starting of the meals every time a character came along, it was still worth it because the kids enjoyed it soooo much. I was wearing Minnie ears and every time one of the cheeky characters went past they would knock them off my head, the kids found it so funny! We part paid using the meal vouchers and paid the extra in cash.

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Day 3:

We tried getting up at 6am again, but it just didn’t happen! We got up at 7am, made breakfast for 7.45am and then got to the park for around 9am. We had a quick go on Buzz Lightyear again and waiting for Jaime while he had another go on Space Mountain. We then headed back out of the park as it was our day in the Studios today.

We go in at 10am and headed straight to Crush, as I wanted to get this out of the way before a big queue formed. It took us about 25mins to get on it and again the kids didn’t like it! I think the fact that these rides are in the dark doesn’t help as you can’t see where you’re going.

After that we went on the Cars ride, then headed for an early lunch at the Blockbuster Café. My youngest son loved it in here as it was High School Musical themed and we are big fans of the film. The lunch in here was good, loads of it though, so we saved the cakes and crisps and just ate the sandwiches.

We then went to watch the stunt show, which the kids had been looking forward to as they love all things dangerous and car related, so guns, fires, motorcycles and racing cars was just their thing!

After the show Jaime went on the Rock N Roll coaster 3 times as it only had a 5 mins waiting time.

We then went on the Tower of Terror, which was sooooo cool! Jaime and kids hated it, but I really loved this ride, I could go on it again and again. The themeing it great and the CMs make the ride, as they are all in character. We then went to find a good spot for the Stars & Cars parade.

After the parade we went on the carpets which said it only had a 15min queue, but seemed to be stuck in the queue for ages, it was so slow moving.

Then we went to watch Stitch Live, which is sooooooo good and funny! Gotta love Stitch, so clever how they do it, definitely a must see!

It was now time to go back to the hotel and chill out as we were all pretty tired and it was so hot, we couldn’t handle the heat! We are just not used to the weather I don’t think!

We had dinner back at the hotel that night, and even though there seemed to be a big selection of food we weren’t that impressed, the kids were more interested in playing in the play area then eating any food and the food they did eat, they didn’t like. So big thumbs down for the Santa Fe dinner buffet!

We made our way back to the park for the fireworks, which were just amazing! We stopped at the candy store and treated the kids to Candy Floss, which were huge! They got in a right mess with them lol We watched the fireworks, which were so magical. So glad we went while they were on, as they completed the Disney experience.

On the way out of the park, we popped into Victoria’s Café and ordered 2 coffees in souvenir cups. The CM allowed us to use kid’s lunch vouchers to pay for them as we had them to use up.

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Day 4:

This was our last full day here, so wanted to get as much done as possible, but things didn’t go to plan.

I woke with pins and needles in my feet, which I thought nothing of, but as the day progressed they got worse and worse and then my legs started cramping. This then made walking pretty much unbearable.

We didn’t get to the park till opening this morning, but headed straight to Star Tours to beat the queue. We had to wait 5 mins and we went on, the kids loved this ride as they love Star Wars. We then tried again to get on Autopia but the queue was 45 mins and the kids just didn’t want to queue. I then popped into Café Hyperion to use up some of the spare meal vouchers we had and I was after the souvenir lunchboxes you can get with the kids meals. I ordered 2 kids meals with the extra mickey mouse lunchboxes and we kept the drinks and ate the burgers, the rest was put in the bin, as we only ordered the meals to get the souvenir lunchboxes to keep. We headed to fantasyland and did the Alice Maze and IASW again! Then it was over to the Agrabah Café for lunch. This meal was amazing, even the kids loved it. I would recommend this place to everyone.

After lunch Jaime wanted to go on BTM but it had broken down and people were stuck in a carriage at the top! By now I was in so much pain I had to head back to the hotel. The kids came with me as they were tired and Jaime headed back to the studios to go on all the big rides again.

I tried resting, having a bath to relax and taking pain killers but nothing shifted the pain. We planned to meet at 4.30 to watch the parade in the park, so had to hobble my way back to the park again. I had read on here one of the best places to sit was to sit on the stone be benches near the castle. These are great seats! Not only have you got a place to sit instead of sitting on the kerb or floor, but also a great view and the characters came over and interacted with the kids. The parade was everything I expected and more!!

We then had to decide where to eat for dinner, as the plan was to eat at La Cantina that night, but we had eaten their the night before and definitely didn’t want to eat there again! It was shame the restaurants in the park closed early as there were many places I wanted to eat within the park and not a lot of choices outside it. By this time I was not really bothered where we ate as the pain I was in made me lose my appetite and now I was feeling quite queasy and sick. We made our way out of the park and thought we would eat in Inventions, but I thought I didn’t want to spend all that money when I wasn’t really up for eating. Then we came to the steakhouse but the kids didn’t want to eat here. We made our way round to Hotel New York but their restaurants were fully booked until 9.30! They suggested we made our way to Sequoia Lodge. You can imagine how I felt with the thought of walking any further! So I hobbled round to the Sequoia where we were seated in Beaver Creek. The kids were again distracted by the kids corner, so they hardly ate anything, but then again they didn’t have much choice for their dinner, so it wasn’t very exciting for them. I had no appetite but ordered a main meal as I didn’t want to sit there without ordering. Jaime opted for the main course and dessert buffet. I pushed my food around the plate waiting for the meal to end I just wanted to get back to our hotel and put my feet up! The little I did eat of my meal was good though. I would like to eat there again when I am not feeling so ill, as I am sure it would be a very nice meal.

After the meal we thought we might as well walk back to the Santa Fe, because by the time we walked to the bus station to catch the bus, it would probably be the same distance to just walk to the Santa Fe from the Sequioa. It turned out not that long a walk, but took longer then normal I’m sure due to me having to hobble along.

I was so glad to get back and put my feet up, I have never felt so much pain!

I had planned to pack as we were leaving the next day, but couldn’t get back out the bed, so early night for all of us.