Trip Report In A World of My Own - Jan 2013 Complete TR

[singsweetnightingale]

Me, Myself and I: Sarah, 24, English Lit Student and all-round Disney addict. Currently on the waiting list for a job at Disney World!

I took at solo trip to DLP, stayed in the Sequoia Lodge from 7th-11th January and traveled direct on the Eurostar from St Pancras.




I decided I needed a solo trip after my stay for my birthday in August! I had an amazing trip then but I wondered what it'd be like to be completely selfish and do whatever I wanted in Disneyland. I found out ... it's pretty amazing. A few weeks after I returned from my last trip I booked this one! It was a long wait from September, but it was so worth it! This is my first trip report, so bear with me!

On we go! ​

 

[singsweetnightingale]

Day 1

It felt like Christmas! But Christmas when you're a kid and everything's magical!

I slept for about an hour overall but still got up all full of beans and got ready for the exciting day ahead. My dad was kind enough to give me a lift into Oxford so I could catch the bus to London! It only takes an hour and half to get to London on the coach so I was there in no time. I decided to get the bus to St. Pancras from Baker Street so save some serious suitcase lugging around the underground! It was super easy and cheap and I was at St Pancras within 15 minutes.

It was 8.30, dark and drizzly but I was too excited to notice! I had a little rest for a few minutes due to my heavy suitcase, headed to M&S for some lunch for the train, and decided to get breakfast in Le Pain Quotidien. It was gorgeous. The atmosphere was really chilled and the food was delicious. The perfect start to my trip.

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After that I picked up my Eurostar tickets, checked-in and sat around people watching for a while. I remembered how last time on the Eurostar my ears wouldn't stop popping so I made sure to get some cherry drops from Smiths before I left. Within no time at all I was on the train, comfy and ready to start my Disney adventure! My coach was really quiet, everyone was down the other end! I actually nodded off as it was so peaceful and woke up as the journey was nearing the end.

That scream of joy as everyone first catches sight of Space Mountain! You can't beat it. I'd never been to any Disney park as a kid, and this was only my second trip to DLP so I get properly excited at everything.

It was good to be home! I totally forgot I paid for Disney Express so I headed to the bus and onto Sequoia Lodge! First stop HNY! It was really beautiful and I got all excited at the Christmas decorations. I'd definitely like to stay there in future. The Sequoia Lodge is SO beautiful. All the Christmas decorations were still up too and it just felt so warm and welcoming. I hadn't planned on going into the park on the first day but maybe the Christmas decorations were still up, so I knew I had to head in and check. Check in was fast and I was in the Yellowstone Lodge, like I'd requested! Room 161, right by the lift. It was actually nice and quiet and so convenient, I was so near everything.

I had reservations at Inventions with fellow DISboarder(?) Heather so I wasted no time on heading out. I caught the bus and had to go pick my tickets up from the Disney Express window in the train station, as I'm a numpty. Then onwards to Disneyland Parc! The tree was still up! My breath caught as I first saw it.

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It was almost time for Magic on Parade so I headed in search of hot chocolate and returned with a doughnut too! It wasn't long until I had to meet Heather outside Inventions so I headed to the start of Main Street and perched on the wall under the railroad.

The park's so pretty lit up in the dark!


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Turns out Heather was sat right by me! We got chatting and then the parade started! I am in love with this parade. I still can't get the song out of my head. Most of my photos were awful, (my dad's camera confused me!) but I am proud of this one.

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Me and Heather headed to the Disneyland Hotel which of course the halls were still decked!

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Quite breath-taking really. We still have to time to kill before Inventions was open so that only means one thing. Cocktails!

My beautiful Glowtini. Can't even complain about Tink instead of a cube! I can't remember what Heather had but it looked amazing!​

Soon Inventions was open and we were sat right at the furthest end near the desserts. In all the excitement I forgot to take photos of the food but it was pretty standard. I loved the muscles, crab claws, beef .. hell, I loved everything! There was this really amazing white chocolate cake that I've been fantasizing about it was perfect. We met Pinocchio, Pluto, Goofy, one of Mary Poppin's penguins, and the big cheese himself! I won't post the photos as I was slighltly tipsy and travel-worn But I had a really good time, and it was a pleasure to meet you, Heather

After that we said our goodbyes and I headed back to the hotel for a movie and an early night. Big day tomorrow!

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

WOW great start....... love the photos! Lovely to be able to meet up with somebody on here for Inventions! Love the look of the glowtini - will definately get one in June! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[heatherelam]

It really was a wonderful time Sarah! I hope you get the opportunity to come work in Orlando and we can get together again- excited to hear about the rest of your trip!

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

Enjoying your TR!

 

[Isila]

what a cocktail

 

[singsweetnightingale]

WOW great start....... love the photos! Lovely to be able to meet up with somebody on here for Inventions! Love the look of the glowtini - will definately get one in June! Looking forward to reading more.

Thank you! It was! We had a great time in Inventions. The glowtini was yummy, although it made me a bit tipsy because I hadn't drunk in a while I will hopefully post more later today!

 

[singsweetnightingale]

It really was a wonderful time Sarah! I hope you get the opportunity to come work in Orlando and we can get together again- excited to hear about the rest of your trip!

Hey Heather! It was! Thank you so much for meeting up with me! Well I've applied for the UK pavilion now, so you never know

 

[singsweetnightingale]

Enjoying your TR!

Thank you! I've had a busy week but I plan on writing more later today

 

[singsweetnightingale]

what a cocktail

It was amazing!

 

[singsweetnightingale]

I woke up at the crack of noon after a restless nights sleep and headed over to Walt Disney Studios! On my last visit I only spent half a day here and I'd regretted it since! I made it my mission for the day to head straight into the Studios and straight to Tower of Terror which I'd been dying to ride!

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I had a wait of 5 minutes to get into the library and 10 on the other side. I absolutely loved it! I don't think my seatbelt was tight enough so that was slightly terrifying as I flew towards the ceiling and I got smothered by my scarf but I loved it so much I got straight back into the queue for another ride! There was a really hilarious cast member who kept telling me (on both rides) that he loved me and I was so cute! I don't know what that was about but it made my day!

Next was a quick magic carpet ride to Agrabah and a hop, a skip and a jump to the Toy Story Playland (which I never even visited last time so it was all very exciting!)

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Then it was time to try the Parachute Drop, which was a walk-on, got to love that single riders queue!

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I watched RC Racer for a bit but went on the Slinky Dog ride when I chickened out! Another 5 minute wait.

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I did actually work myself up to going on but it was broken down when I got off the ride!

Instead I wandered around for a few minutes before I realised it was just about time for Stars and Cars! I grabbed a hot chocolate and a Nutella crepe (which were absolutely delicious) and secured a spot for the parade.

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I loved this parade so much! I loved the music, the characters ... everything! I followed the parade down and hopped on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster! I was so excited by the David Bowie poster in the queue! The music was on (which I was happy about as I know that's not always the case, but the lights were off! Boo!) I loved it though, definitely a less bumpy ride than Space Mountain!!

I'm just so excited for this it's ridiculous.



And this!

I decided leave the Studios and to head into Disneyland Parc after a wonderful start to the day. After saying a see-ya to the Partners statue I made my way over to the DP and I caught a ride down Main Street in one of the cars, the best way to do Main Street as I found out!

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I headed straight on over to Big Thunder Mountain with a wait of about ten minutes! You can't beat it, can you? I was really loving the queue times. I'd got so much done in such a small amount of time, which just can't be done in summer. After that I headed to Hakuna Matata for some of the chicken strips and shelter from the rain which was getting heavier. Then it was on to Fantasyland where I took a couple of trips to Neverland with Peter. By this time it was getting close to Disney Magic on Parade so I wandered back through the castle and perched on a bench with a drink and my book for a little while!

Next I decided to go watch Captain EO! I'm a huge Michael Jackson fan, I'd already watched it a million times but I'd never seen it in the park so I was super excited to finally get that chance.

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Seeing it in the park was something I'd been looking forward to for ages and I left feeling so happy and uplifted. I really wish they sold the plushies in the park though!

Then it was off to get a front row seat for Disney Dreams! I sat on a bench facing Plaza Gardens Restaurant reading my book for a while and spun around when it started. I had the best (and comfiest) view! A little trick I was proud of, there.

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It still makes me cry and gives me goosebumps every time. I think it's just so beautiful. I did miss Fantillusion though. After that I headed out with the crowd and made my way to Annette's. The wait was quite a long one but it was worth it! I had the onion burger and a coke float which were delicious. I was too tired to take photos then though! I felt like I had a really productive day, even if I did get wake up late! To save my feet I caught the bus back, headed to the hotel room and fell asleep watching 13 Going on 30!

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Loving your trip report! You got to do so much! Your photos are great too despite your Dad's camera

Looking forward to reading some more

 

[cinderslg]

Cant wait tp hear more of your solo trip, sounds heavenly

 

[HappyPanda]

Loving your TR so far... I've always wanted to do a Solo trip.. but just never plucked up the courage to actually do it!

 

[singsweetnightingale]

Loving your trip report! You got to do so much! Your photos are great too despite your Dad's camera

Looking forward to reading some more

Thank you! I can't believe how much I got done! It was totally worth being freezing for the amount of stuff I got done.

I'm just going to get started on the next part now

Cant wait tp hear more of your solo trip, sounds heavenly

I'm just about to start on the next installment

It was, I really want to go back!

Loving your TR so far... I've always wanted to do a Solo trip.. but just never plucked up the courage to actually do it!

Thanks hun! Oh you should! It was so fun and productive! I could be totally selfish and do everything I wanted when I wanted! I did get a bit lonely when I got back to the hotel but I always rang home and watched films on my laptop so I didn't mind!

 

[singsweetnightingale]

After another restless night (I fell asleep early, woke up at 1 and couldn't get back to sleep) I decided to get showered and dressed for breakfast at 7.

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The bar and reception area all pretty in their Christmas decorations.

I didn't take any pics of breakfast but I tucked into a couple of pain au chocolat and had some bread with nutella and loads of hot chocolate! After breakfast I went back to bed feeling rather ill and shaky. I woke up with a call from Mickey at 12ish and got ready for my reservation at Walt's! I'd been really excited about Walt's and even though I was still feeling unwell I was rather giddy! I'm not sure which room I was in, and I didn't get a window but I loved it.

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All the food was mouthwatering. Just thinking about it now I get very very hungry! I had the caesar salad, sirloin steak and the creme brulee. (totally forgot to take pics before I started eating ) The 20th anniversary train went past when I was in there too. I loved seeing Main Street from another perspective. I'll definitely eat at Walt's again. The waiter was lovely, the food exquisite and I just love the whole themeing.

It started raining just before I left, but I was ok as I had a scarf and a snood on so nothing was getting through my winter warmers! I headed over to Phantom Manor and it was pretty much a 5 minute wait. Phantom Manor is one of my favourite rides so I was excited to be back! After that I headed into Boot Hill.

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I couldn't resist another ride in the doom buggy's, but I stopped myself from riding it a third time! Now it was time for the wildest ride in the wilderness! Which I also rode twice!

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It was still raining and I was starting to get cold so I went in search of gloves! The only ones I found for women I didn't really like, but after wandering off and looking for others I gave in and bought them from a cart in Fantasyland! They're pink ones with Minnie on but they were warm and fleecy so I left happy.

I wanted to go flying with Peter Pan again so I caught a ship to Neverland. I never get tired of Peter Pan's Flight. It was about 20 minutes til the parade when I got off the ride so I decided to go wait by the gates by IASW. Even though it was raining, best idea ever! Everyone waiting was spaced out so when the parade started I got loads of waves, hellos and high-fives! It made my day!

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Back to Fantasyland it was, first stop - It's a Small World. I was surprised that the Christmas version was still there! It was a nice surprise though. Then onto the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups and Dumbo the Flying Elephant. I heard a cast member trying to round people up to Meet Mickey Mouse. I thought 'what the hell' and wandered in. I was allowed to go straight through the exit into the room to meet Mickey! As I never did any of this as a kid I got extra silly. The character attendant told me to kiss Mickey's nose I'm not showing you the pics though as I look like a drowned rat! I had a bit of a long trek though Fantasy and Adventure land as everything was blocked off for Dreams, but I went and secured my bench again! I only took one photo of Dreams that night as I wanted to watch it properly. Goosebumps as usual!

After that I followed the herd out of the park and made my way into Disney Village! I did my first ever Vinylmation swap (my sister was kind enough to give me one of hers to swap to start my collection) and I ended up with Sebastian which I was thrilled with! I bought a couple of pins and some of the Mickey birthstone earrings.

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And then it was time for tea in Earl of Sandwich! This one was called Cannonballs, and it was delicious! I took advantage of the free wifi for a little bit and was about to make my way around the lake when the train pulled up! Of course, I had to take the train!! I loved it, a great way to see the hotel and lake and save my feet at the same time! It really is beautiful around the lake.

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I called home from the payphone (silly broken mobile!), wandered around the gift shop, and settled into bed with some movies.

 

[Isila]

train? what train? the white thingy? how's the ride? We are staying in SL this time too, so I wonder if...

 

[singsweetnightingale]

train? what train? the white thingy? how's the ride? We are staying in SL this time too, so I wonder if...

Yep, that white train thingie that goes around the lake! It was nice! I really enjoyed it, as short as it was! If it was there I'd go for it! I liked seeing the hotels from a different perspective.

 

[Isila]

thanks, will ride this too. Should be fun after a long day in parks

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

Oh I love the Christmasy look of everything and Disney Dreams looks really amazing!!