DLPDreams
I am like a child in a sweet shop, hyper on sugar!
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2012
- Messages
- 2,906
Hi all
Back late last night from 6 days at DLRP. We all had an amazing time - really fabulous! This is just a quick summary so probably a bit all over the place....
Have had a quick look over a few of the last 'just back' highs and lows and agree with a fair few of them. Overall, the highs outweighed the lows but I would say I did find more lows than on previous trips unfortunately, not enough to spoil our trip though!
Highs:
Dreams - truly amazing (even in the rain!), just wow! We watched it 3 times and by far the best view we had was in the VIP Dinner roped off spot with our Walts Dinner wristband. We literally arrived 10 mins before the show started and got an amazing view. To get a view like that any other time would have meant a 45-60 mins wait time - unlikely with 2 small children!
VIP Fastpasses - one on the Tuesday with Shareholder's offer and then got one second half of Thursday & all day Friday due to problems I encountered in the DLH (due my complaining - will elaborate in TR). We definitely needed these as we found crowds/queues quite long.
Big Thunder Mountain - my DDs both went on this ride for the first time and LOVED it - so it became a firm family favourite and due to the fact we had the VIP fastpasses and DLH fastpass we didn't actually queue in the normal queue once for it! I think we managed it 6 times in one day - that was the record for us. On Friday we managed to shave off a 50 min queue!
Salon Mickey - although very busy, it is a nice area just to chill and getting into the park this way is lovely (but much smaller than I thought). I too loved the nut/chocolate pastry things - think I have become addicted to them
.
Cowboy Cookout - loved this place. The food was plentiful - obviously not really a la carte but the girls enjoyed it and we saw some great characters. This was DH's fave character meal and we did a few! Only downside was 35 minute queue just to order & pay for the food
. Will elaborate more in TR & reviews.
Blue Lagoon - my favourite meal of the trip - first time eaten here! Lovely meal although we did wait almost 25 mins for them to take our order! But, the food came quickly and we had a fab table on the beach area! Unfortunately though DH was sick afterwards that night!? I still enjoyed it though.
My girls - they had a truly amazing time, coped very well with the long days (we had a nap most afternoons - worked v well with DLH location). DD1 sobbed her heart out when we left yesterday
.
Lows:
Long queues - Monday & Thursday seemed the quieter days for us. We never made it onto the Parachute ride in TSPL due to queues and also the Princess Pavilion - 2 hour queue. We have been end August and found the queues on a level with that but then I have read others didn't find it that bad - wonder if it's because we were wanting to do more 'smaller children' rides - not big coasters etc?
Lack of characters - I totally agree that there was a distinct lack of ad-hoc characters around and the organised ones as a result were very busy! There did seem to be a few more in the Studios but we didn't spend that much time there - one and a bit day really and again these were scrums from what we saw. Thank goodness we'd booked 4 character meals otherwise my DDs would have met very few characters!
We did manage to queue for Duffy and met Jack Sparrow in the park - but it was a scrum for the latter. We also found that there was quite a repeat of characters in the restaurants/hotels - we saw Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto several times to the point where DD1 was saying "oh them again" 
. In the end, we just got their autographs again and again as it was getting embarrassing keep saying we didn't need them . I wish they would change the characters a bit more at the character meals.
DLH service - as a surprise I upgraded us to the DLH (we were due to stay at the HNY). IMO the service at this hotel has slipped quite a lot. So much so that I really had to complain after spending best part of 1-1.5 hrs at reception on 4 separate occasions trying to sort out the issues (will elaborate in my TR). To be fair the lady did try and compensate with VIP fastpasses but I don't feel they made up for the issues and certainly weren't the reason I complained if that makes sense - I was more disappointed about the drop in service and wanted that to be known. However, the location still made the place the best for us - after Dreams we were back in our room in 10 mins max due to being near an park entrance door.
Smoking - never bothered me in the past but honestly, it was REALLY bad this trip for me. The first night I was stood next to a bench near fence on central plaza with DD2 in pushchair and we had quite a good view, until a family of 5 adults and 2 children next to us (sitting on bench - they were there first) all lit up cigs (apart from the children obv!), blowing right at my DD2's level. We felt we had to move and so ended up with a fairly duff space on the road (not on pavement so not so high up) after that. The whole area smelled of cig smoke when waiting for Dreams - on each occasion. In the Studios yesterday I was sitting on the old parade stage area holding DD2 in my arms (asleep) and this man came and sat within a metre of me, and lit up a cig! I asked him politely to move or put out the cig but he refused!
If I had moved I would have woken DD2 and as she was shattered and we had a late flight home, I didn't want to risk it! So, I had to wait for DH to come back with DD1 (on rides) so I could move everything away from him - in that time he'd put one out and lit another one! Unfortunately these weren't the only smoking incidents. I think one of the biggest issues here is the fact it is just not advertised enough that the park is no smoking (is it?). I was a bit confused and I am not even a smoker? Are there designated smoking areas? I saw signs on the ride areas but that was it?
Queue jumping - I have again encountered this before but much more this trip. In particular waiting for the shows seemed to be the worst incidents. One family (a man & woman about 55-60 yrs and their mother) were particularly bad during 'Meet Mickey Mouse' - I don't know how they managed it but they cut about 15 mins off a 35 min queue by just cutting through the line - the man even fed himself through the bars to the next row at one point! Needless to say when they got to me they got no further!
I threatened that I would tell a CM when we got up to the front and they'd be put to the back of the queue! It really annoyed me what they did and actually spoilt this particular part for me. Not one person backed me up though and although you could see people seemed pleased that I said something, they did not speak up! Fortunately, it did not spoil the girls' enjoyment which was the main part for me! 
Having said that, as we'd seen Mickey so many times in the hotel/at meals by this point I did wonder why we queued for so long - I had it in my head it was a Mickey magic show as well as meet - DH was most unimpressed when it turned out to just be a meet! But it was nice to see the building - I actually quite liked it 
.
Weather - no-one can be held responsible for this but it was just so changeable it made going out a nightmare as we ended up with 3 coats/hoodies each day - and often wore all 3 during each day at different times!! On the Monday in particular it was cold, so much so that I ended up feeling a chill and sleeping in a fleece that night as I just could not get warm! I have always been really hot in the DLH bedrooms but not this trip!
I know the lows seem quite long but overall we had a great time. I still don't think I'll ever feel the magic again like our first trip in September 2008 but I think that is partially down to timing (term time) and it being a quiet season. Even then though there were tonnes of characters ad-hoc and most things were open unlike this trip?
Will get a TR done in the next few days - we've had work done to the house while being away and the place is like a bombsite.
Overall, I am still looking forward to going back in November although it will be a much shorter trip so we'll have to be careful with what we'd like to achieve I think. I think we may well tell the girls this time before we go. They really enjoyed the treasure hunt to spring the surprise this time but I think I'd like to give them a little build up for the next trip for a change. Christmas, I'm sure, will be fun!
Oh and finally, I managed to miss the Dis meet which was also a low! I remembered in the morning at breakfast and commented to DH that I must not forget. Plan was that he would take the DDs on Peter Pan with FP while I went to the Castle! Next time I looked at my watch it was 1.15 pm and we were on our way to Cafe Mickey for a late lunch! 
I was really disappointed! I do hope that the meet went well with those that did make it 
.
If anyone wants to know anything/questions please ask away and thanks for reading
.
Back late last night from 6 days at DLRP. We all had an amazing time - really fabulous! This is just a quick summary so probably a bit all over the place....
Have had a quick look over a few of the last 'just back' highs and lows and agree with a fair few of them. Overall, the highs outweighed the lows but I would say I did find more lows than on previous trips unfortunately, not enough to spoil our trip though!
Highs:
Dreams - truly amazing (even in the rain!), just wow! We watched it 3 times and by far the best view we had was in the VIP Dinner roped off spot with our Walts Dinner wristband. We literally arrived 10 mins before the show started and got an amazing view. To get a view like that any other time would have meant a 45-60 mins wait time - unlikely with 2 small children!
VIP Fastpasses - one on the Tuesday with Shareholder's offer and then got one second half of Thursday & all day Friday due to problems I encountered in the DLH (due my complaining - will elaborate in TR). We definitely needed these as we found crowds/queues quite long.
Big Thunder Mountain - my DDs both went on this ride for the first time and LOVED it - so it became a firm family favourite and due to the fact we had the VIP fastpasses and DLH fastpass we didn't actually queue in the normal queue once for it! I think we managed it 6 times in one day - that was the record for us. On Friday we managed to shave off a 50 min queue!
Salon Mickey - although very busy, it is a nice area just to chill and getting into the park this way is lovely (but much smaller than I thought). I too loved the nut/chocolate pastry things - think I have become addicted to them
.Cowboy Cookout - loved this place. The food was plentiful - obviously not really a la carte but the girls enjoyed it and we saw some great characters. This was DH's fave character meal and we did a few! Only downside was 35 minute queue just to order & pay for the food
. Will elaborate more in TR & reviews.Blue Lagoon - my favourite meal of the trip - first time eaten here! Lovely meal although we did wait almost 25 mins for them to take our order! But, the food came quickly and we had a fab table on the beach area! Unfortunately though DH was sick afterwards that night!? I still enjoyed it though
.My girls - they had a truly amazing time, coped very well with the long days (we had a nap most afternoons - worked v well with DLH location). DD1 sobbed her heart out when we left yesterday
.Lows:
Long queues - Monday & Thursday seemed the quieter days for us. We never made it onto the Parachute ride in TSPL due to queues and also the Princess Pavilion - 2 hour queue
. We have been end August and found the queues on a level with that but then I have read others didn't find it that bad - wonder if it's because we were wanting to do more 'smaller children' rides - not big coasters etc?Lack of characters - I totally agree that there was a distinct lack of ad-hoc characters around and the organised ones as a result were very busy! There did seem to be a few more in the Studios but we didn't spend that much time there - one and a bit day really and again these were scrums from what we saw. Thank goodness we'd booked 4 character meals otherwise my DDs would have met very few characters!
We did manage to queue for Duffy and met Jack Sparrow in the park - but it was a scrum for the latter. We also found that there was quite a repeat of characters in the restaurants/hotels - we saw Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto several times to the point where DD1 was saying "oh them again" . In the end, we just got their autographs again and again as it was getting embarrassing keep saying we didn't need them . I wish they would change the characters a bit more at the character meals.DLH service - as a surprise I upgraded us to the DLH (we were due to stay at the HNY). IMO the service at this hotel has slipped quite a lot. So much so that I really had to complain after spending best part of 1-1.5 hrs at reception on 4 separate occasions trying to sort out the issues (will elaborate in my TR). To be fair the lady did try and compensate with VIP fastpasses but I don't feel they made up for the issues and certainly weren't the reason I complained if that makes sense - I was more disappointed about the drop in service and wanted that to be known. However, the location still made the place the best for us - after Dreams we were back in our room in 10 mins max due to being near an park entrance door.
Smoking - never bothered me in the past but honestly, it was REALLY bad this trip for me. The first night I was stood next to a bench near fence on central plaza with DD2 in pushchair and we had quite a good view, until a family of 5 adults and 2 children next to us (sitting on bench - they were there first) all lit up cigs (apart from the children obv!), blowing right at my DD2's level. We felt we had to move and so ended up with a fairly duff space on the road (not on pavement so not so high up) after that. The whole area smelled of cig smoke when waiting for Dreams - on each occasion. In the Studios yesterday I was sitting on the old parade stage area holding DD2 in my arms (asleep) and this man came and sat within a metre of me, and lit up a cig! I asked him politely to move or put out the cig but he refused!
If I had moved I would have woken DD2 and as she was shattered and we had a late flight home, I didn't want to risk it! So, I had to wait for DH to come back with DD1 (on rides) so I could move everything away from him - in that time he'd put one out and lit another one! Unfortunately these weren't the only smoking incidents. I think one of the biggest issues here is the fact it is just not advertised enough that the park is no smoking (is it?). I was a bit confused and I am not even a smoker? Are there designated smoking areas? I saw signs on the ride areas but that was it?Queue jumping - I have again encountered this before but much more this trip. In particular waiting for the shows seemed to be the worst incidents. One family (a man & woman about 55-60 yrs and their mother) were particularly bad during 'Meet Mickey Mouse' - I don't know how they managed it but they cut about 15 mins off a 35 min queue by just cutting through the line - the man even fed himself through the bars to the next row at one point! Needless to say when they got to me they got no further!
I threatened that I would tell a CM when we got up to the front and they'd be put to the back of the queue! It really annoyed me what they did and actually spoilt this particular part for me. Not one person backed me up though and although you could see people seemed pleased that I said something, they did not speak up! Fortunately, it did not spoil the girls' enjoyment which was the main part for me! Having said that, as we'd seen Mickey so many times in the hotel/at meals by this point I did wonder why we queued for so long - I had it in my head it was a Mickey magic show as well as meet - DH was most unimpressed when it turned out to just be a meet! But it was nice to see the building - I actually quite liked it .Weather - no-one can be held responsible for this but it was just so changeable it made going out a nightmare as we ended up with 3 coats/hoodies each day - and often wore all 3 during each day at different times!! On the Monday in particular it was cold, so much so that I ended up feeling a chill and sleeping in a fleece that night as I just could not get warm! I have always been really hot in the DLH bedrooms but not this trip!
I know the lows seem quite long but overall we had a great time. I still don't think I'll ever feel the magic again like our first trip in September 2008 but I think that is partially down to timing (term time) and it being a quiet season. Even then though there were tonnes of characters ad-hoc and most things were open unlike this trip?
Will get a TR done in the next few days - we've had work done to the house while being away and the place is like a bombsite
.Overall, I am still looking forward to going back in November although it will be a much shorter trip so we'll have to be careful with what we'd like to achieve I think. I think we may well tell the girls this time before we go. They really enjoyed the treasure hunt to spring the surprise this time but I think I'd like to give them a little build up for the next trip for a change. Christmas, I'm sure, will be fun!
Oh and finally, I managed to miss the Dis meet which was also a low! I remembered in the morning at breakfast and commented to DH that I must not forget. Plan was that he would take the DDs on Peter Pan with FP while I went to the Castle! Next time I looked at my watch it was 1.15 pm and we were on our way to Cafe Mickey for a late lunch!
I was really disappointed! I do hope that the meet went well with those that did make it .If anyone wants to know anything/questions please ask away and thanks for reading
.
Never mind, perhaps this half-term holiday will become a regular Disboard affair. And there's always November to look forward to! 
glad you had a great time overall although it's a shame it didn't live up to your first trip.
