We got back (eventually) on Tuesday night after a fun but tiring trip. Here's the traditional highs and lows...
HIGHS
* Seeing Dreams again. I could watch this over and over again. It was brilliant only having to wait until 7pm to see it, rather than 10pm like we did in May, and we got a great spot by the railings just across the road from the control building so we all got a good view without me having to hold anyone up. Plus the weather was dry and mild.
* The Christmas Cavalcade & Tree Lighting Ceremony. Both fab and the tree lighting ceremony brought a tear to my eye - so magical and Chante C'est Noel is now my favourite Christmas song!
* Someone on here very kindly sent me a spare under 7s Dream pass ticket which I was able to use even though I'd only bought Fantasy passes for me and DD. The free pushchair each day was a godsend as was the free luggage storage on the last day.
* The Cheyenne - love this hotel (although get to breakfast before 7.30!) and the themeing. I was planning on using the buses alot but we ended up walking back a few times as it's not far at all (especially as we were in Sundance which is one of the closest blocks to the park)
* Low queues on Monday and Tuesday. The parks felt busy but the wait times were short to non-existant. We only used fastpass once for Peter Pan and that was because we didn't want to queue for the 15 minutes showing on the board! BTM was about 10 minutes at around midday (although it helped that I'd remembered a tip about taking the left lane so we jumped a large part of the queue!). Pirates and Small World were a walk on the whole time on both days, as was Star Tours.
LOWS
* Getting our annual passes. OH. MY. GOODNESS. This took AAAAGES!!! I read reports of people being in and out in about 10 minutes so I was anticipating this being a quick detour on our way round the park but when we got there the queue was all the way out of the building, down the path and beyond. A CM suggested we came back at 9pm when it would be quieter but we were all so tired I decided to bite the bullet and get it done. It took about an hour and a half in the end
My poor children were going crazy but I had no choice but to get it done.
* Our return journey on the Eurostar. When we arrived at Ebbsfleet the door wouldn't open and we couldn't get off! All of a sudden the train was pulling away from the station and there was nothing I could do. I freaked out at the train staff for a bit but it turned out ok in the end as we just went on to St Pancras and caught the Javelin train straight back again, which I was told they'd reimburse me for.
* My lack of energy. I hadn't been well the week before so wasn't feeling 100%. As a result I took things quite slowly and we didn't do as much as we could have done. Not the end of the world though - we'll be back.
* The second time we went to Salon Mickey they didn't have any of those chocolatey croissants left
If you've ever had one you'll understand my disappointment!
Other Comments
* We took the Eurostar via Paris which was ok, and quite straightforward, but I don't think I'll do it again in a hurry. I didn't know that the RER ticket machines only accepted coins so I had to queue for the ticket office which took ages and waiting for the RER to get to Marne la Vallee was torture! I also missed the more cheerful atmosphere of the direct train. Only a small thing really but I missed that bit of the magic. Plus Ebbsfleet doesn't have all the Disney decor like Ashford.
* The free pushchair hire with the Dream pass was great but I was told I couldn't take it out of the park like you usually can, even if I left a deposit! They said it was because I only got one free hire per day which didn't make any sense at all
* I wanted to have breakfast in the park but was told they didn't do that after the end of September
I don't when we'll be going back as a family but I'm seriously considering a solo trip next year as I have my annual pass now. It's great fun with children but I'd love to take it at my own pace and spend more time mooching round shops, having leisurely meals etc without having to chivy anyone along or arguing over which ride to go on/not go on!
HIGHS
* Seeing Dreams again. I could watch this over and over again. It was brilliant only having to wait until 7pm to see it, rather than 10pm like we did in May, and we got a great spot by the railings just across the road from the control building so we all got a good view without me having to hold anyone up. Plus the weather was dry and mild.
* The Christmas Cavalcade & Tree Lighting Ceremony. Both fab and the tree lighting ceremony brought a tear to my eye - so magical and Chante C'est Noel is now my favourite Christmas song!
* Someone on here very kindly sent me a spare under 7s Dream pass ticket which I was able to use even though I'd only bought Fantasy passes for me and DD. The free pushchair each day was a godsend as was the free luggage storage on the last day.
* The Cheyenne - love this hotel (although get to breakfast before 7.30!) and the themeing. I was planning on using the buses alot but we ended up walking back a few times as it's not far at all (especially as we were in Sundance which is one of the closest blocks to the park)
* Low queues on Monday and Tuesday. The parks felt busy but the wait times were short to non-existant. We only used fastpass once for Peter Pan and that was because we didn't want to queue for the 15 minutes showing on the board! BTM was about 10 minutes at around midday (although it helped that I'd remembered a tip about taking the left lane so we jumped a large part of the queue!). Pirates and Small World were a walk on the whole time on both days, as was Star Tours.
LOWS
* Getting our annual passes. OH. MY. GOODNESS. This took AAAAGES!!! I read reports of people being in and out in about 10 minutes so I was anticipating this being a quick detour on our way round the park but when we got there the queue was all the way out of the building, down the path and beyond. A CM suggested we came back at 9pm when it would be quieter but we were all so tired I decided to bite the bullet and get it done. It took about an hour and a half in the end
My poor children were going crazy but I had no choice but to get it done.* Our return journey on the Eurostar. When we arrived at Ebbsfleet the door wouldn't open and we couldn't get off! All of a sudden the train was pulling away from the station and there was nothing I could do. I freaked out at the train staff for a bit but it turned out ok in the end as we just went on to St Pancras and caught the Javelin train straight back again, which I was told they'd reimburse me for.
* My lack of energy. I hadn't been well the week before so wasn't feeling 100%. As a result I took things quite slowly and we didn't do as much as we could have done. Not the end of the world though - we'll be back.
* The second time we went to Salon Mickey they didn't have any of those chocolatey croissants left
If you've ever had one you'll understand my disappointment!Other Comments
* We took the Eurostar via Paris which was ok, and quite straightforward, but I don't think I'll do it again in a hurry. I didn't know that the RER ticket machines only accepted coins so I had to queue for the ticket office which took ages and waiting for the RER to get to Marne la Vallee was torture! I also missed the more cheerful atmosphere of the direct train. Only a small thing really but I missed that bit of the magic. Plus Ebbsfleet doesn't have all the Disney decor like Ashford.
* The free pushchair hire with the Dream pass was great but I was told I couldn't take it out of the park like you usually can, even if I left a deposit! They said it was because I only got one free hire per day which didn't make any sense at all
* I wanted to have breakfast in the park but was told they didn't do that after the end of September
I don't when we'll be going back as a family but I'm seriously considering a solo trip next year as I have my annual pass now. It's great fun with children but I'd love to take it at my own pace and spend more time mooching round shops, having leisurely meals etc without having to chivy anyone along or arguing over which ride to go on/not go on!
hope you're feeling better now. 
).
