It's A Small World ~ Pre Trip Report

[retiredkid]

so glad you are back. rest up now so that you can upload all those pics and then post another one of your terrific reports.

 

[lmillercrew]

Welcome Back!! Glad you made it home safe and sound. We'll all be here when you feel rested and ready to start your TR!!

 

[ariel2007]

Ok it's time to begin my Disneyland Paris trip report. Since the real fun started the day before the holiday, this is where my trip report will begin. So on with the show...

Thursday 30th October

We left home at 12pm with a very packed car and drove the hour to Bluewater shopping center. We had 30minutes to spare so had a little look around, or course stopping in the Disney Store.

We then went up to Showcase Cinema’s where we surprised Sophie with a ticket for High School Musical 3.

She was very excited as she had been wanting to see it. The queues to get tickets were huge, as were the queues to get drinks. The whole place was very disorganized and chaotic, whilst we queued to get drinks people just blatantly pushed in and were next to the sweet area where kids were picking sweets out with their hands and then when their parents saw how many they had they made them put them back, again this was done by hand, it was so gross. One boy stole several large handfuls of sweets, the man at the sweet counter could do nothing about it as he was not allowed to leave his counter and his Mum saw it all and did nothing, it was absolutely unbelievable. We finally got served after waiting 25 minutes for some drinks, and got in the cinema. The seats were quite large and really comfy, and we had a great view. The film itself was really good and upbeat and definitely put us in the right mood for our holiday to Disney.

After the film we went to TGI’s which was just across from the cinema and went to the bar for a drink whilst we waited for our table. Nick and I had a Barnamint Baileys cocktail which had mint choc chip ice-cream, baileys and Oreo’s, it was so good and Mum had a strawberry margarita, also good.

Sophie was excited about the holiday

We were seated quite quickly and ordered. Nick and I and Mum and Dad shared some sesame jack chicken strips to start which were so good, we always have these as they are so tasty. For mains Nick had the Monterey jack burger, Paul had Jack Daniels chicken, Sophie had the children’s burger, I cant remember what Mum had and I had the sizzling chicken. The food was all good except mine came about 10 minutes after everyone else’s and Dad realized at the end that half his chicken was still pink inside. The manager came over a told him some story about it being a vein or something but Dad used to be a chef so he knows when something is not cooked. They did offer him a free dessert but it was pretty bad for a big chain to be selling undercooked food :confused2
We did get some dessert, Nick and I shared the waffle which had caramel sauce, ice-cream and spiced apple and Mum and Dad had the popcorn sundae, both were really good but I was so, so full after.
After paying the bill we looked around the mall a bit more and the men got a Starbuck's.

We then drove on to the hotel which was about an hour away. We were staying in the Holiday Inn Folkestone, it is a pretty new hotel and the nearest one to the Eurotunnel. We checked in and the hotel was really nice inside with a nice bar and restaurant area and some computer desks. We went to our rooms, they were quite simple but nicely decorated with a double bed and sofa-bed, desk and LCD TV which welcomed us by name. The bathrooms were pretty cool as the door could be used to close off the whole bathroom or just the toilet so the shower and sinks could be used at the same time.

We dropped our stuff off in the room and then Nick and Dad went to Tesco’s to get some water and diet coke for the journey tomorrow and Mum, Sophie and I went down to the bar. We got all giggly and had such fun messing about, I think the wine went to Mum’s head as she was quite silly. For some reason we all decided to swap shoes so all had 2 different shoes on, a mix of trainers, UGG’s and black boots, and then they made me go to the bar and wouldn’t let me have my shoes back, I must have looked pretty silly.

Once Nick and Dad got back they joined us for some drinks, they had brought Mum some Halloween gloves and me a wand that made noises which made us all laugh even more, the wine had definitely had some effect.

After a couple of hours we went to our rooms where Nick and I watched James Bond before bed.

 

[ariel2007]

Our Spooky Disney Celebration
Day 1 ~ Halloween Party at Disneyland​

Today was Halloween and we were off to Disneyland Paris, we were so excited. We were up at 6.45am, got showered and dressed and met the others for breakfast at 7.15am. The bar area was set up for breakfast, which was included in the room price, and there was cereal, yogurt, fruit, croissants, chocolate danishes, juice and hot drinks. There wasn’t the hugest choice and it was only cold items but it filled us nicely.

We left the hotel just after 8am and drove the 5 minutes to the Eurotunnel. Check in was easy, we just had to type a number into a machine and it gave us a ticket to hang on the mirror. That was it, we didn’t have to show anyone our passports or anything, it was quite strange. We waited in the car for about 20 minutes before we boarded the train, we were one of the last cars on but were right near the front. We drove into a carriage which had 3 cars in and was shut off from the other carriages by screens and doors. We had to open our windows half way and were allowed to get out the car although there was nothing to see or do. The journey took about 40 minutes, although we left a little late, it was much quicker than getting the ferry and it wasn’t scary like I thought it would be. We arrived in France just before 11am their time (they are an hour ahead) and were off within minutes and on our way, again no passport control or anything.

The journey took around 3 ½ hours but we stopped for toilet breaks and to get some snacks a couple of times. The journey wasn’t too bad as we put on Disney music and sang and danced along in the back of the car. Before we knew it we were near Paris, we drove under Charles de Gaulle airport which is really cool, last time a plane was taking off as we drove under the runway.

Soon we saw the first signs for Disneyland, we were so excited, we were dancing around in our seats. About 2.30pm we arrived at Disney’s Davy Crockett Ranch where we would be staying for the next 4 nights. As we drove under the sign we all screamed, we parked up and then went in to reception to check in.

The reception area was decorated with a few cardboard bats and pumpkins, however it wasn’t all pretty like it was for Christmas last time we were there. We checked in and drove to our cabin, the road was pretty long and windy and had different trails along the way with the cabins. We were in Coyote Trail which was nearest to the pool and village area, it was literally a few minutes walk which was good. We dropped off our luggage and had a look around the cabin. This time we had a 2 bedroom which was new for us, although we were pretty disappointed as one bedroom had a double, one bunk beds and then a sofa bed in the lounge so someone still had to sleep in the lounge.

On the coffee table was a personalized welcome letter with some water and chocolate coins, this was a nice touch.

We freshened up and then drove to the Disney Village for some lunch/tea. We had to park quite far back but we didn’t care as we were excited to be a t Disney. As we rode down the travelator things we could see Space Mountain and Sophie and I screamed with excitement, we were at Disney again, we loved being back.

Driving under the magic sign

The walk to the village was a few minutes from the car park, opposite the village is the train station and where the Disney buses drop off/pick up and then the Studio’s Park is straight ahead and the Disneyland Park to the side of the station. We could see the main building of the Studio’s and the new Tower of Terror which towered above everything, and behind the trees we could see the beautiful Disneyland hotel all lit up, I was so happy to be here.
We walked through the village which was decorated a little for Halloween, Nick was worried as there was no-one dressed up for Halloween and was worried he would look silly. However we reassured him and walked to Rainforest Cafe which was near the back of the village.

Walking to Disney Village ~ The Studio's are in the background

We were seated straight away, right near some gorillas in the corner, it was a great table. RFC had decorated a bit with pumpkins and the staff were dressed up too. Our server started off normally and by the end he was fully dressed as a skeleton with fantastic face paint.

Mum and I ordered Margarilla’s to drink which were so yummy, Nick had a mojito and Dad a beer.

For food I had fajita’s, Nick had Maya’s mixed grill, Mum and Dad had chilli and Sophie had the child’s lasagne. The chilli came in 3 separate dishes, the chilli itself was in a taco, and then there were fries in one bowl and tortillas in another. They really enjoyed this, although the tortilla’s were weird, Nick enjoyed his but mine were completely different to last time. The meat was curried not spiced, and was little end bits of thigh not like the breast last time. It was ok but nowhere near as nice as last time and I wouldn’t pick it again.

Maya's Mixed Grill

Fajita's

Chilli

We enjoyed dinner, the atmosphere was great but it was pretty expensive (8.50E for the cocktails, 25E for fajita’s), especially with the low exchange rate at the moment. We paid the bill and then had a quick look around a few of the shops in the Disney Village before heading back to our cabin. We got dressed up, we all looked so funny, especially Dad, his costume was a little tight and we all found it hysterical. We got some photo’s and then left the cabin just after 7pm.

Our decorations

 

[ariel2007]

The witch and the 2 bad fairies

Captain Hook and Captain Jack Sparrow

We managed to park right near the front of the parking lot and as we walked to the park we saw loads of people dressed up, some of the costumes were so good, and some were just scary, but everyone had made a lot of effort.

The beautiful Disneyland Hotel in the background

We got to the parks, were given wristbands and then made our way slowly down Main Street which was decorated with naughty pumpkin men who had splashed paint everywhere.

When we got to the end of Main Street they were holding people until 8pm which is when the party started. At 8 they started letting people through but were checking wristbands so it took a while. We headed to Frontierland which had been turned into Halloweenland, it looked so good. At we entered through Fort Comstock, there was a smoking skull outside and a big spider web above with Pumpkins in. Frontierland was also covered with Pumpkin men, it looked so good.

We headed to Thunder Mountain, it was only just gone 8 but the queue was already 70 minutes. We grabbed some fastpasses which were for 8.50-9.20pm. The fastpass window was only 30 minutes and we couldn’t get another one till 10.20pm, an hour after ours was up, it seemed a little strange. Whilst we waited we walked over to Pirates of the Caribbean, on the way we passed the big pirate ship which was lit up all eerily and the skull had smoke coming from it.

As we got to Pirates the real Jack Sparow was coming out to meet people and as he passed Nick he stared at him and made a funny face, it was so funny. We walked straight on to Pirates, and luckily we didn’t get wet. This ride is better for drops than the one at WDW but it hasn’t been updated with Jack Sparrow yet, I still love it though.

The queue for Pirates

After Pirates we went back to Thunder Mountain for our FP return. We waited about 5 minutes and then rode, it was so, so good in the dark and there was an image of Jack from Nightmare Before Christmas projected on to the mountain. This ride is quite different from WDW as you go underground to start as the mountain is in the middle of the lake, and the ride seemed longer and slightly more scary. We all loved it.

 

[ariel2007]

After a great ride we walked to Phantom Manor but the wait was 60 minutes. We decided to head over to Fantasyland instead but as we walked over there there was really scary men on stilts with masks like Hannibal Lector. It freaked me out and as I tried to walk by quickly one of them stayed on his spot but followed me with his eyes, every time I turned round he was just staring at me, it was so scary. Then he started moving towards me, I freaked out and tried to run but the crowds were pretty heavy and then Nick stopped me. He came right up to me, stared into my eyes and then walked slowly off still keeping eye contact, the others found it so funny but my heart was beating so fast.

I walked pretty quickly to Fantasyland after that, we walked through the castle which is so pretty. We went straight to Small World as we knew there would be a small queue. We were straight on, we all love this ride, I know a lot of people hate it but I just love it. I have to ride it at least once everytime were at Disney, and everytime I take so many photo’s although I already have millions.

So after Small World we walked over to Peter Pan all singing “It’s a Small World After All”, that song really sticks in your head, though luckily we all love it (I know were weird). The wait for Peter Pan was 70 minutes so we skipped that and went over to the Voyage of Pinocchio which we were straight on. This ride is a bit like the Winnie the Pooh ride, you sit in a little car thing and drive through the story of Pinocchio. Of course it was in French but it is quite cute and something new for Nick.
By this time it was gone 10pm, the parade was on at 10.30 so Sophie and I got a spot for the parade near Small Word and the others got us all some hot chocolate and popcorn.

Some pic's we got along the way

Luckily it wasn’t too cold out and the rain was holding off so standing waiting wasn’t bad, especially when we got our hot chocolates. Unfortunately we met some rather rude people, whilst Sophie and I waited we spread out a bit to save room for the others. Now when we got there there was literally no-one else waiting in this area on either side of the path, but this man came along with a woman and child and stood right inbetween Sophie and I, we even had even put our wands on the floor and he just stood behind them. I told him we were together but he looked at me and then looked the other way, he knew exactly what I meant and was just so rude. So Sophie moved and stood next to me but once the others joined us this rude man didn’t move up for us at all, in fact he seemed to get closer, I really can’t believe some people.
Anyway it was the Fantillusion parade which was a bit like Spectromagic, it was great but not at all Halloweeny, apart from the villains part but that is in it every time. It was pretty different watching it tonight, last time we did it was New Years Eve, it was so cold, pouring with rain and we were so far away on the castle bridge we could barely make anything out.

Since the parade started right next to us once it had passed we ran over to Haunted Mansion. We queued for about 10 minutes which wasn’t bad, the manor had been decorated a bit with pumpkins in the gardens and the Jack silhouette was now on the manor. We got stuck on the ride for about 5 minutes but it was nice and warm so we didn’t mind. When we got out we had a bit of time before the fireworks at 12 so we walked towards the shops. This time those horrible masked men surrounded me on both sides but luckily walked straight by. We did a bit of shopping, I got Todd from Fox and the Hound and Sophie got a Copper, they were so cute. Just before 12 we got a spot on Main Street near the entrance, there wasn’t really many people there like we thought there would be, it had started trickling with rain so maybe that had put people off. Again last time we had watched the fireworks it was for NYE and we were squished onto Main Street like sardines, it took forever to get out afterwards and we could hardly breathe. The fireworks were late starting and it was raining lightly, and we were all pretty tired so we nearly gave up and left but I am glad we didn’t. It was a special Halloween show with lots of villain music and voices and images projected on to the castle, the show was definitely worth the wait.

 

[ariel2007]

As there weren’t many people left watching the fireworks we managed to get out of the park quickly and back to the car within 10 minutes, not bad at all. Once we got back we had a quick drink and then went to bed.

 

[disneydusted]

YEAH!!!! A HUGE update!!! It all looks so great!! I love the costumes! You guys had the right spirit getting into the occasion!

 

[retiredkid]

As ALWAYS, a terrific update and beautiful photos. You three ladies sure are beautiful.... and photogenic.
This is my first read about Paris, so I am thoroughly enjoying it.
Thanks for sharing

 

[ariel2007]

Thanks guys, next one up soon.

 

[ariel2007]

Our Spooky Disney Celebration
Day 2 ~ Nick and my 5 year dating anniversary at Disneyland​

We were up at 7.30am, got showered and dressed and Dad collected the breakfast from the little cabin at the start of our trail. We were given a little box and bag with croissants, sweet rolls, French bread, butter, jam, nutella, coffee, chocolate milk, juice and milk, it was a nice start to the day. After breakfast Nick gave me a gorgeous white gold ring, a Christmas Minnie and a grey bear for our anniversary and I gave him a grey bear and cat (as well as everything else we collect Me to You bears, its one of the very first things he gave me and we have given them to each other at every occasion since).

My beautiful ring

We left just after 8.30am, parked right near the front and got to the park just after 9am. It was an Extra Magic Hours morning which started at 8am for 2 hours but we found out last time only some of the Fantasyland rides and Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear were open so we just came for the last hour.

Traveling up the travelator things

The beautiful Disneyland Hotel

Main Street

We went straight to Buzz and then planned to do Space Mountain and Peter Pan and get to Thunder Mountain for 10am, of course this never happened. Well we got to Buzz, got straight on and then just before the end of the ride it broke down. We were stuck on the ride for about 25 minutes before they finally came and walked us off the ride. Nick won of course, but I came 2nd with 139,500. Space Mountain wasn’t open, we weren’t sure if it opened at 10am or was down so we went to head for Peter Pan. However they had let people in early and they were all heading for Space so we couldn’t get through. We headed for Space too and joined the queue, but of course being Europe no-one joined the queue they just piled in from all sides and we were stuck in the middle. We waited and waited, no-one was being told anything and we were getting seriously crushed, I was worried about Sophie as she is only small. Eventually at about 10.25 they opened the ride and everyone tried to pile through the gates. We eventually got though, being pushed and pulled in all directions, and then queued inside for about 25 minutes, poor Mum was just waiting outside the whole time (she doesn’t like big, big coasters). The ride was great, it is definitely one of the best and completely different to the WDW one. You sit in larger trains, 2 people wide, and you start by shooting off up a tunnel and then whizz off doing corkscrews, loop the loops and inversions, all in the dark. It was great.

After Space Mountain Mum wanted to do Peter Pan so we walked over to Fantasyland. This land is so pretty, slightly bigger and different to WDW. They have Belle's Christmas Village which is lovely, Alice in Wonderland gardens and a few more rides including a Storybook boat ride and Dumbo train.

The outside of Small World is huge - you can see it behind the world

The teacups

Belle's Village

Alice in Wonderland Garden's

The wait was about 60 minutes so the others grabbed Fastpasses and Nick and I grabbed fastpasses for Thunder Mountain. Whilst we waited for our times we went to Indiana Jones Temple of Peril which is an outside roller coaster. The wait was 35 minutes and the ride is so short only Dad and Sophie queued, Sophie was very worried as she hadn’t ridden it before but loved it. Meanwhile we went over to the Pizza Outpost and got some coffees whilst we waited for them. They met back up with us and then Mum, Dad and Sophie split up and went to Peter Pan and Nick and I had a look around the shops whilst we waited for our FP return. Nick brought me a really cute glass Minnie and Mickey and a blue glass screen to put it on, it was lovely.

Some pictures around the park ~ Adventureland

Frontierland by day

 

[ariel2007]

And the castle ~ it has quite a lot of land next to it with gardens and also a dragon underneath

We rode Thunder Mountain and then walked over to the Videolopis in Tomorrowland to meet the others. They had already got some food and had got a really good table in the front row above the theatre. There is a Lion King show in the theatre but the queue for seats were huge so the other option is to get a table in the fast food bit. Nick and I queued for food, we queued for over 30 minutes as they seemed rather inefficient and our server was so slow. Nick got a space burger meal which came with fries, a drink and brownie and I got a chicken burger with fries, a drink and Mickey beignet. The food was ok but at 24E for burgers it was very overpriced and not the best quality.
The show had started by the time we got back to the table so we watched whilst we ate. The show is very good and colourful, and also very different to Festival of the Lion King, more of the story.

After the show we walked back to the car, it was now pouring with rain. We left the park as it was very busy and we had done all the main rides that we wanted to do.

Some pictures as we left the park ~ City Hall

The Disneyland Hotel from the park ~ The Castle Club has its own private park entrance

Back at Davy Crockett we went to the pool for a few hours. The pool is very nice with the main pool bit, a lazy river bit, a slide, children’s bit and 3 spa’s joined into one. It was nice relaxing in the spa for a bit and then Nick and I got out and had a look around the shop and Nick brought me a Hound and I got Sophie a Fox to go with the others we brought last night. The village area has the pool and Crockett’s Tavern, the restaurant, and on the other side the shop and a bar. There is also a farm bit with ponies to ride and surrey bikes to rent, Sophie loved the ponies when she was little, she used to spend ages there.

Anyway we got ready and left the cabin at 6pm. We managed to park right at the front and walked to the village arriving a little early for dinner so we browsed the shops. We got to The Steakhouse for our 6.30pm reservation and were taken straight to our table in the conservatory bit. The restaurant is really nice and set up like an old Chicago meat packing warehouse with a lovely bar area.

It took a while to get served and then ages for the food to come, but we didn’t mind we enjoyed chatting. Mum and I got tequila sunrises to drink and Dad and Nick beers, for food Nick, Mum and Dad got the Chicago menu which was a 3 course menu for 33E. Mum got Mushroom ravioli, tuna steak and baileys crème brulee, Dad got carrot soup, chicken curry and apple pie which he gave to me, Nick got carrot soup, rump steak and baileys crème brulee. Sophie and I ordered off the main menu, she got the NY strip steak, she got it medium rare but it didn’t have enough blood for her (she is very strange), and I got the filet with baked potato, which was pretty good but slightly tough for a filet and slightly overcooked on the outside.

Mum's tuna

My filet

Sophie's NY strip

Nick's Rump steak

It was a very nice meal but again not up to the same standard as last time and at 82E was quite expensive, especially when were used to American prices.

We had a little look around the stores in the Disney Village for a bit, I got Nick a Remy plush and a Chip and Dale bowl and cup set as a surprise.

Sophie messing around

Nick's pressies

The Chip Nick brought me and the Dale I brought him

Some more souvenirs from today

When we got back to the cabin I gave him his gifts which he loved and we had some rose champagne which he had brought. Then is was time for bed.

Oh and one last cute picture of Sophie

 

[disneydusted]

You are so good about staying current with your posts! It's very fun to see Disneyland Paris. Interesting that people do the mob scene rather than line up. I love the pool you had, nice for an indoor pool. It's so nice that you, Nick, Sophie and your parents get along so well for all of your trips. Tell me again, is it Sleeping Beauty's castle in Paris? I am having a brain freeze on that. Oh oh... maybe it is Belle because it is French??? I think maybe Sleeping Beauty is in CA.

 

[retiredkid]

another great update and pics!!! I'm interested to know if it's Belle's castle too.

 

[ariel2007]

You are so good about staying current with your posts! It's very fun to see Disneyland Paris. Interesting that people do the mob scene rather than line up. I love the pool you had, nice for an indoor pool. It's so nice that you, Nick, Sophie and your parents get along so well for all of your trips. Tell me again, is it Sleeping Beauty's castle in Paris? I am having a brain freeze on that. Oh oh... maybe it is Belle because it is French??? I think maybe Sleeping Beauty is in CA.

Yes European's (not the British generally, and obviously this isn't everyone), but generally don't seem to queue, they think its ok just to push in all the time. This is one of the things I hate about DLP, it can get so frustrating

The pool is lovely, Sophie loves it as it has a slide, lazy river, nice main pool. And I just love the nice, hot spa's... so relaxing after a long day at the parks

Yes it is Sleeping Beauty's castle. Inside it has some really nice ornament shops and then underneath there is a cave you can visit. Inside is a dragon that is sleeping, you can see him breathe and everything. And sometimes he wakes up, he can be a bit scary

another great update and pics!!! I'm interested to know if it's Belle's castle too.

Thanks. And its Sleeping Beauty's castle. Its quite different to Cinderella's, it even has a dragon sleeping below.

 

[CoP Luv]

I love your report! I have been reading it for a little while now and am finally caught up! I read your last report too Thanks for allof your wonderful pictures! I really want to go to the Atlanta acquarium now!

 

[ariel2007]

I love your report! I have been reading it for a little while now and am finally caught up! I read your last report too Thanks for allof your wonderful pictures! I really want to go to the Atlanta acquarium now!

Thank you so much for your lovely comments I'm glad you are enjoying my reports and glad you have commented, I love speaking to new people, as well as my lovely old ones too

Definitely visit Georgia Aquarium if you can, we loved it. I cannot wait to go back.

 

[manntra]

Thanks for the great new report and as always wonderful pictures!! So the tunnel was pretty cool? I wonder about the passports? There must be something to that then? DLP looks so beautiful and very interesting....The creepy pumpkin guys creeped me out enough let alone the guys that were following/staring at you!
I especially liked the float in the parade with Sally and Jack from Nightmare, although Jack's head was a little eerie (well he IS a skeleton I suppose!)
I recently made reservations for next October as I have never been at that time of year.
Your accommodations looked very cozy and the pool was great...was it cold when you were there? A lot of people seemed to have heavier coats on.
It is so great to see you and all of your family vacationing together so often and so happily! You all seem to have so much fun together!
Take care!

 

[ariel2007]

Thanks for the great new report and as always wonderful pictures!! So the tunnel was pretty cool? I wonder about the passports? There must be something to that then? DLP looks so beautiful and very interesting....The creepy pumpkin guys creeped me out enough let alone the guys that were following/staring at you!
I especially liked the float in the parade with Sally and Jack from Nightmare, although Jack's head was a little eerie (well he IS a skeleton I suppose!)
I recently made reservations for next October as I have never been at that time of year.
Your accommodations looked very cozy and the pool was great...was it cold when you were there? A lot of people seemed to have heavier coats on.
It is so great to see you and all of your family vacationing together so often and so happily! You all seem to have so much fun together!
Take care!

Thank you for your lovely comment

It was really weird about the passports. Whenever we go on the ferry they always check carefully, but we didn't even pass anyone to show them. On the way back they had proper big booths saying 'UK Passport Control' and checked everyone. Obviously this is good for us from the UK knowing they are being stricter about who comes in.

Yes it was pretty cold, but only what we are used to in the UK. It didn't really bother us as we are used to it but last time we went at NY it rained too and made it so cold and miserable.

Thats so cool you have booked for October, your so lucky I really want to go to WDW for Halloween soon, and Christmas and F&W Festival... it all looks so good. DLP was good but nowhere near the scale as WDW.

Davy Crockett Ranch is really good, we love the rusticness of the cabins, they feel so cosy, especially in Winter. The pool is great, we could hardly get Sophie out of it. Then again she would swim in just about anything.

I am lucky with my family, but then its what we have always done growing up. We used to go to Cornwall every year from when I was a baby and it was always with my grandparents. Then we always used to go to France with them, something we still do and are planning for next year. Its only really the US we go without them as my grandma won't fly... its a shame as I think she would love the more natural side of Florida and my Grandad would absolute love the Smokeys and Dollywood (he is a big Dolly fan). Maybe one day

 

[disneydusted]

Wow! That is very cool that there is a dragon down in the basement of the castle! Sure makes it seem more like a fairy tale.