Our Honeymoon at DLP...But we're taking the kids and Mum too! Completed Trip Report

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

After taking the plunge and visiting DLP in March last year, we just knew we had to go again! In the meantime though we had a wedding to plan, but when there's a wedding there's gotta be a honeymoon and what a good excuse to go back to that magic place!! We had always planned to have a Honeymoon where the kids would come with us, I just can't imagine going away and leaving them behind, so DLP it is!!

Originally we booked the Santa Fe (to keep costs down) for 4 nights 14th - 18th March, but after much deliberation, I just couldn't go back to the same hotel we stayed in last time, because we had already stayed there and I thought it would be nice to try somewhere new, but also because this is our Honeymoon, we should do something a little more special. So I have upgraded us to Sequoia Lodge, but haven't told hubby or the kids, so will be a nice surprise when we arrive!

After a few weeks of planning, my Mum has decided she doesn't wanna miss out again and is fed up of hearing all these Disney plans which she is gonna miss out on , so she's decided to join us. I know traditionally Mothers don't come on the honeymoon, but at least she will be able to help with the kids and hubby and I can have some alone time lol She is also booked in Sequoia Lodge and we have linked our bookings, so we are hoping for interconnecting rooms.

So the cast:

Me - Hels - 26 - Disney Mad!!


I love everything Disney orientated! Specially High School Musical, Cars, Aladdin, Lion King, Toy Story and too many others to list I collect Pin badges and snowglobes, so looking forward to some pin trading and maybe buying a snowglobe or 2

Also looking forward to some amazing meals, riding Tower of Terror again and getting to see Buffalo Bills show.

Hubby - Jaime - 33



Not so Disney mad, but happy to go to DLP as he loves theme parks and rollercoasters.

He wants to eat in Annettes again, ride Tower of Terror and Space Mountain..LOADS! and try the new Toy Story rides.

Eldest DS - Dylan - 8



Is at that age where he just wants to play video games all the time! He is either on his Xbox or has his eyes glued to his DS! I think he is getting to old for the magic of Disney, but enjoys going as he like the rides and the food! (he can eat for Britain! So he enjoys the buffet meals at DLP!)

He's looking forward to eating at Cafe Mickey, riding BTM, and hopefully being big enough to go the Indiana Jones rollercoaster.

Youngest DS - Jack - 7



Loves Disney nearly as much as me! Loves sitting and watching Disney films with me, his faves being Cars and High School Musical.

He wants to eat at Pizza Planet, go in Alice's Maze and do some pin trading.

Mum - Judy - 53



Didnt wanna be left behind again!

Loves Disney films, especially the newer Pixar ones.

She's looking forward to eating in Agrabah, going on some rides (as she usually sits them out, but is determined to go on a few as it would be silly going all that way and not go on anything! ) and just going on holiday abroad, as the last time she left the country was nearly 40 years ago! I think she will be overcome by the magic when she gets to DLP!

The itinery is as follows:

Sunday 13th March - Travel to London from Cornwall, stay overnight at travelodge Kings Cross

Monday 14th - Eurostar to DLP, arrive around 5pm, check in Sequoia, then dinner at Inventions.

Tuesday 15th March - EMH, Disneyland park, salon Mickey, lunch at Pizza Planet, dinner at Buffalo Bills.

Wednesday 16th March - EMH, Studios, salon Mickey, lunch at Walts, dinner at Cafe Mickey.

Thursday 17th March - More relaxed day just doing things we fancy doing again, may pop to the Val d'Europe as I have heard this mentioned alot on here, lunch at Agrabah, dinner at Annettes, fireworks in the evening though we might give this a miss and go on the Paris by night trip (still undecided though)

Friday 18th March - Breakfast at Cafe Mickey, then Eurostar home

Obviously in between all that there will be pin trading, lots of yummy cocktails, shopping, shopping and more shopping! character meets and autographs and lots more. I can't wait!! 4 weeks to go!

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Congratulations on your wedding! You looked gorgeous!! Your plans sound fabulous and I hope it all goes well for you.

 

[Isila]

it's going to be a wonderful trip!!!!

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

We're off in the morning!! I am sick with excitement at mo!! More excited then the kids!!!

 

[Kazzabelle]

Sounds like you are going to have a wonderful time. I know it's a little late but congratulations on your wedding.

Have fun

 

[rottie155]

Lovely photos and a fabulous choice of dining too

I hope you all have a wonderful time and you enjoy your honeymoon!

May see you in one of our eating spots, will say hello if I do!!

Enjoy!!!

 

[miss_bell]

I hope you all have a wonderful time

 

[Mum to Belle]

Have a fantastic honeymoon!!!!!

It feels a bit odd to say, "Look forward to hearing all about it!" but you know what I mean!!

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Day 1 - Travel day

Not much to report on for this day, we travelled by train from Cornwall to London which took agesssssss as we were on the slow route which stopped everywhere and takes about an 1hr longer then a normal journey to London. The journey was ok though as Mum upgraded us all to 1st class as a honeymoon treat! Lots of room, comfy seats and complimentary refreshments helped the journey pass by quicker.

We arrived in London at 5pm and checked in at the Travelodge with no problems. We walked round the corner to Pizza Express for tea, then back to the hotel for a night cap in the bar before bed.

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Day 2 - More travelling and arriving at DLP

The plan today was to have a lie in as I knew we wouldn’t get any at DLP because of EMH and we also had time to kill as our Eurostar wasn’t until 12.58, but of course that didn’t go to plan! We were all wide awake by 6.30am and too excited to go back to sleep!

Last time we stayed in Kings Cross Travelodge the breakfast room was very busy as it’s only small, so I was preparing myself for a breakfast scrum. We turned up at around 9am to find the room empty and had the place to ourselves. A lovely relaxed breakfast enjoyed by all, but we still had more time to kill.

Jaime, Dylan and I took a walk to the local Tesco and picked up lunch to be eaten on the Eurostar, then we couldn’t sit around any longer, so decided to make our way to the Eurostar.

** Note to self book an earlier Eurostar next time! Lol**

Getting our tickets from the machine and check in was smooth and quick. Only downside is there were no Disney kids packs available, apparently they had run out, so the boys (and I!) weren’t happy L It wasn’t long before they announced which platform our train was on and we made our way to the train.

Non eventful journey to Lille then again onto DLP. It was such a great feeling to finally arrive and feel the magic! We made our way to the bus stops and as I passed the sign for Santa Fe stop the boys and Jaime started questioning where I was going! Lol So I had to come clean and tell them I had upgraded us to Sequoia Lodge as a surprise! They were all really happy and the boys were excited about having a pool to swim in!

We checked in at Sequoia and we were given a VIP breakfast pass and interconnecting rooms.

My only gripe was our room was out in the lodges away from the main building even though I had requested a room near the main facilities. They explained that we had been given a room in the lodges opposed to the main building as the lodges have been newly refurbished and they are now the better rooms. We were in Yellowstone lodge and we had a little welcoming gift waiting for us.

We dumped our bags, took some pics of the room

Freshened up and took a walk round the lake and through the village to Inventions for our dinner reservation at 7pm.

I was very excited about this meal and youngest DS Jack couldn’t believe we would be eating in the Disneyland Hotel. We arrived slightly earlier so took a look in the shop, Jack made his first pin trade with the shop assistant then a 2nd assistant came along and asked him if he liked any of her pins. He pointed to one and then went to look at his own to trade, but she said no, it’s a present, no need to trade. He was so chuffed, his first bit of Disney magic for the week!

We made our way to Inventions and were shown to our table, when we bumped into Adam. Such a friendly person! It was so nice to finally meet someone from off this site!

Dinner was good, but not sure if I would eat there again due to the price. I think the price you pay is more for the atmosphere and the feeling that you know you’re eating in the Disneyland hotel, rather then for the food you eat as there wasn’t as much choice as I was expecting for the price. Of course you get the characters too which is always a bonus., but for me the food wasn’t worth the money. I did like these those tiny salad dressing…so cute!!….I took a couple to take home lol

After dinner we walked through Disney Village and took a look in the shops.

We then headed to the bar in Sequoia and all had a drink before bed. Hubby and I had yummy Glowtinis, the boys had kids shaker cocktails and Mum was boring and had a Magners cider! (Have I not taught her anything? Lol)

I popped to the concierge desk to sort out the lunch reservation for the next day as we were meant to be eating in Pizza Planet which again was closed, so we thought we would try Blue Lagoon. The concierge desk said Blue Lagoon was also closed so I then had to choose on the spot where to eat instead…talk about pressure! Lol I need menus, reviews etc to make a decision!! I settled on the Silver Spur, but deep down I wasn’t totally happy with the choice. We went back to our room and all tried to get some sleep before EMH the next morning.

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Day 3 - Decisions decisions where to eat??

I tried getting some sleep, but I had meal reservations floating round in my head and I was really excited about getting into the parks. Even with the lack of sleep I was up and ready to go to breakfast for 7am.

We couldn’t get over how quiet it was at breakfast! We are used to the bun fight at Santa Fe, so arriving at breakfast with it practically empty was bliss! We filled up croissants, pastries, cheese, ham, yoghurts and fruit before setting off for the park.

We headed straight for Buzz, a family favourite with us plus something for easy for Mum as it was her first ride. Next it was onto Oribiton with the boys and Mum whilst Hubby went on Space Mountain. Mum doesn’t do heights and found Orbitron too high for her, so she made Dylan keep the rocket at the ground the whole way round lol

We then went over to Fantasyland via the castle

Went on Peter Pan, which I love! Next was Dumbo, Mum decided she didn’t wanna go on this after the Orbiton incident lol She can be such a scaredy cat! Then was the tea cups and the carrousel.

Then it was time for Salon Mickey!!

We thought we would grab a coffee whilst waiting for the other rides to open at 10am. Knocking on the door makes you feel like your part of a secret club! All very special and secret…I LOVED IT!! Lol I loved showing off my little shareholders card! we were shown inside, given a choice of pastries or a cookie then shown into the room where the drinks machine etc is.

We were the only people in there so had the place to ourselves which was even better. Whilst in there I said I wasn’t 100% happy about the lunch reservation at the Silver Spur so we thought we would change it to the Lucky Nugget. Quick trip to City hall and the reservation changed.

After our pitstop it was back into the park again and over to Fantasyland again. First IASW, then Casey Jr and Le Pays de Contes de Fees (I was chuffed they were open as I heard how rare it is to ride these!) I really enjoyed Casey Jr and sang along as we went around!

Then we went into Alice’s maze, the kids ran ahead and we ended up losing them! If anyone was in the maze at the same time as us, I was the woman frantically shouting “Dylan & Jack“, whilst Dylan ran around the maze in tears trying to find me (Jack had the common sense to make his way to the exit and wait there lol) After much searching we were all reunited and vowed never to go in the maze again!

I then had another change of heart regarding the lunch reservations (hence my title - decisions decisions!) I then thought perhaps a counter service would be better and couldn’t decided between Toad Hall and Fuente Del Oro! In the end Mum and Hubby got fed up of me changing my mind and took the decision in their own hands and settled on Plaza Gardens as Mum liked the look of it when we passed it earlier on that day.

** Note to self, make a thoroughly researched meal plan before arrival and stick to it! Lol **

We went on got fast passes for BTM, then went on Phantom Manor and the riverboat while we waited for our fast pass time.

Time for Plaza Gardens lunch and we were greeted with the band playing Disney songs and lovely food to choose from. It was a much needed break half way through the day and very enjoyable meal.

The weather was gorgeous by this point, blue skies, sunny and warm, so we took some gorgeous pics of the castle in the sun.

Hubby went over to ride Indian Jones a few times, while Mum, I and the boys did some shopping and had a couple more goes on Buzz. The boys and I went in lots of shop to check out the cast members lanyards for pin trading. We did a lot of trading through the week, we’ve all come home with some great pins!

We all went back to the hotel for a swim, something the kids were really looking forward to! The pool was FREEZING!!! The French must like their pools on the cold side! Lol You couldn’t stand still as the cold was unbearable, you had to keep swimming to keep warm. The kids loved the waterslide and the Jacuzzi was lovely and warm so we ended up spending most of the time in there.

It was then time for Buffalo Bills!!

We were all given cowboy hats, we were in the red team!

The food wasn’t that great if I am honest, I think you pay for the show more then the food here, but the beer was flowing nicely and I got quite a few top ups! *hiccup* lol The show was good, the boys were loving the cowboys and gun fights! Jack said it was his favourite meal out of the whole week. We did end of having a problem though, Hubby found a shard of wood in his apple crumble! It was rather big, similar in size and length to a cocktail stick though a little wider. I took it to the ticket office after the show to make a complaint, everyone was very helpful and although I didn’t want to complain I felt it needed to be brought to someone’s attention. The end result was we were given some fast passes for the rides of our choice. Result!! We chose Crushs coaster and Autopia. Another bit of Disney Magic

Then it was off to bed - Studios Park tomorrow

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Day 4 - Lights, Camera, Action!! - Studios day

As the studios didn’t open till 10am, we had a little lie in and went to breakfast later. We were then faced with the breakfast scrum we are used to! The queue to get into breakfast was massive! We thought about forgetting breakfast and heading to Salon Mickey for something until a CM came along asking along the queue how many people are in the party. I flashed the VIP Breakfast at him and whisked us all to the front of the queue!! (I loved this!! Felt very VIP! I could feel the glares I was getting from the people in the queue!! Lol) Usual bits for brekkie then off to the studios!

As we had fast passes for Crush we didn’t feel the need to run for it to beat the queue, we took a leisurely stroll to the new TSPL and had a walk on to the Parachute drop - woah that thing goes high! It’s scarier then it looks!! The kids loved it though!

Then we went on RC Racer again a walk on. This was a real adrenalin ride! I thought it was great! Hubby and Dylan didn’t like it at all! Dylan came off a shade of green! Lol

Next was the tram tour, this was closed on our last visit so we were looking forward to this. It was ok, not as exciting as I was expecting. The props are a little dated, so only the fire & water bit was interesting if I’m honest.

We headed over to the Backlot Café for a coffee as Mickey was doing a meet and greet. We enjoyed a seat down and drink while the kids got to meet Mickey for photos and autographs.

Hubby then dragged me onto the RnR coaster, which I didn’t enjoy at all!! That thing is fast!! My head was bashing all over the place. I’m glad I’ve tried it once, but wouldn’t go on it again!

Time for Tower of Terror my fave!!! Mum took the kids into Art of Animation whilst we went on. I thoroughly enjoyed this, by far my favourite ride ever!!

We hadn’t been keeping track of the time and realise it was 12.56 and we had reservations at Walts back in the main park for 1pm! Quick everyone leg it!! Lol We all made a mad dash back into the main park and made our reservation.

We were sat in the Fantasyland room and all ate from the express menu. The steak was perfectly cooked, the wine jus was a gorgeous accompliment and we washed it down with the best cocktail of the week a Barcardi Mai Tai, which was delicious!

It was followed by the Café Gourmand, which was a lovely end to the meal.

We decided to stay in the park rather then go back to the Studios and went over to use the fast pass on Autopia. (Nothing like trying to drive a car after a midday cocktail! Lol) The glares we got from people queuing as we went down the disabled entrance to use our fast pass! I loved using that fast pass!! Lol

Another go on Buzz, Orbitron and Space Mountain before over to BTM and Indiana Jones.

Before we knew it, it was time to start finding a place for the parade. We settled on the fountain outside Plaza Gardens. When the parade reached us we stood on the fountain edge to see over the crowds. (I was the crazy woman dancing around and singing “Just like we dreamed it!!” I thought I was gonna fall in the fountain at one point! Lol

Once the parade passed us, we made our way up through discovery arcade and realised the parade would pass again at the end, so we waited for it as it was quieter in this spot and we got a lot of better pictures.

We then went back to the hotel to freshen up before our reservation at Café Mickey.

A brilliant meal, we all love Café Mickey! we all enjoyed the character interaction especially the kids.

Stitch stole Jack’s hat

Captain Hook tried stealing his pin badges

Stitch stole my Minnie ears and messed up my hair

Dale stole Dylan’s Chip cuddly toy and threw it across the restaurant!

Captain Hook also got very friendly with Mum ;-) lol

We were there a good couple of hours and never felt rushed by the CM. I couldn’t fault the meal at all!

Hubby took the kids back to the hotel so Mum and I could do some shopping on our own. I picked up some pressies for people at home and bought some more pin badges to add to my collection. Then back to the hotel and straight to bed, more EMH in the morning!

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Day 5 - The day Mummy left the autographs books behind - Bad Mummy!!!

We were up early again so we could get to EMH. Breakfast was a little busier but still pretty quiet. I thought it was slightly busier as it was St Patricks day, that also made me remember that the parks would be probably be busier today too.

We set off to the parks to find it was bitterly cold outside.

After being treated to such nice warm sunny weather the previous couple of days this was the complete opposite. We thought it might start to warm up…we were wrong it was freezing. After a few rides in EMH, Hubby walked back to the hotel to get thick coats, hats and gloves for us all. As I had only packed thin waterproof coats and hoodies for the kids, I ended up buying them some thicker warmer coats from a shop to keep them warm.

We did all the fantasyland rides again

popped into Salon Mickey, had 2 gos on Buzz, another go on Orbitron and Hubby managed a few goes on space mountain. We managed a couple of goes on BTM and numerous goes on Indiana Jones all before our lunch reservation at Agrabah Café. Lunch at the Agrabah was a success again, we really enjoy it there as it is so themed and not like anywhere else to eat on the resort. I tried the Mint tea this time, which tastes amazing, not like the mint tea you get here in the UK, I would really like to find out how they make it.

We took the kids round to Pocahontas play area (we didn’t stay for long though as it was just too cold!) which we didn’t get to on our last trip and bumped into Woody and Jessie on the way round. (Characters we haven’t met before!) It was then that I realised I hadn’t packed the autographs books and pens this morning, so the kids were upset not to get Woody and Jessie’s autographs, especially as they are characters we don’t get to meet very often. As it was so cold I didn’t fancy the trek back to the hotel to get them so the kids missed out on autographs for the rest of the day.

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

We then went over to the studios to do the things we missed out on the day before. First up was Stars and Cars parade, it seemed really quiet in the Studios so we got a really good view of the parade.

We then walked on to the carpets and the cars rally ride.

I couldn’t understand why it so quiet, especially as there seemed to be more people because of St Patricks day. Then it was round to the parachute drop, it wasn’t a walk on but only a 10 min wait. Back to TOT to get a fast pass for Hubby and I then we watched Stitch Live and Hubby had a few more goes on RNR coaster. Jack and Mum wanted to see the stunt show, but Dylan didn’t really fancy it. At the same time Hubby and I were due to go on TOT, so we managed to persuade Dylan to ride with us (He really doesn’t like TOT!) Only thing was we only had the 2 fast pass tickets. I thought I would try my luck and ask the CM nicely if we could sneak him in with us…..she was fine with it and let us all through! A nice bit of disney magic again! J

We rode TOT, then the carpets and cars again while waiting for Mum and Jack to finish watching the stunt show.

It was then that a group of characters came out for a meet and greet. Dylan got very excited as there were characters he hadn’t met before Remy, Emile, Baloo, King Louis, but again was disappointed as I had forgotten the autographs books. He did manage to get a photo with Emile, but that was it as he only wanted to meet them for autographs.

After Mum and Jack had finished at the stunt show we made our way over to Annettes for dinner. There was no queue and we were quickly seated. Hubby and I had more cocktails and I had Annettes Greatest hits for my meal and ate every last bit! I followed it with a Café Gourmand and then couldn’t move! Lol

We took a leisurely stroll back into the park, just in time for the fireworks.

Found ourselves a good spot and enjoyed the show. Was exactly the same as last years display but still enjoyable to watch.

Then it was back to the hotel to pack as we were leaving the next day, but as we still had time to spare I couldn’t resist going for a quick swim even though it was freezing in there!! Again we spent most of time in the Jacuzzi and the kids going on the water slide.

On our way back to the room, we passed a family just arriving with their luggage. Jack turned to me and said “ Mummy, I wanna be like those people. Just arriving to Disneyland not going home tomorrow like we have to!” I felt extra sad after he said that, I didn’t wanna go home either!

Once back to the hotel room, we got the kids to bed, then Hubby and I went for one last walk through the hotel and I had one last shopping splurge in the hotel shop. Some more pin badges and a couple of snow globes for my collection!!

 

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Day 6 - I don’t wanna go home!

We had a little lie in, finishing packing and left our luggage at the luggage store as we had breakfast booked at Café Mickey. I spent most of the morning moaning “I don’t wanna go home” much to the annoyance to Hubby and Mum! Lol

We walked round the lake and over to Café Mickey and found a very packed restaurant. I was looking forward to meeting some characters and also some hot breakfast items on the menu, but didn’t realise it would be so busy. It seemed so different to the relaxed but fun evening meal setting, it was more frantic and busy as there was people helping themselves to the breakfast buffet, CMs clearing away tables and characters trying to get in and around everything going on. We spent an hour there and only met 2 characters.

We gave up in the end and came away disappointed. (But the breakfast food was yummy though! It was nice to have a cooked breakfast instead of just pastries etc)

** Last note to self - book Café Mickey for evening meals only! **

We still had a couple of hours till the Eurostar so we thought we would make one last dash to the park and go on Buzz one last time. Wish we hadn’t as I had been holding the highest score of the week, then Hubby beat it on this last go..typical! Lol He has fun rubbing it in that he had beaten my score!

We went back to the hotel to pick up our luggage, said many goodbyes to different things…goodbye Sequoia Lodge…goodbye Disney village…goodbye DLP and then it was time to go! L

Another wonderful trip over and so many memories!

Now time to start persuading Hubby to book another trip! Lol

P.S Thanks for reading, sorry if I rambled on! lol

 

[Ms Poppins]

What a great trip! Your boys look so happy all the time. Pictures are lovely - glad you had such a good time. I'm sure you'll be back

Thanks for posting

 

[mrsj2b]

What a great trip!! And loads of fantastic photos! We had our honeymoon in Dlp in Sept 09 with our 2 kids and had the best time ever!! Thanks for posting your trip report it has made me even more excited for our July trip We're looking forward to eating at agrabah cafe when we go so its nice to see you enjoyed it

 

[rottie155]

I loved the trip report! Brings back lovely memories too!! Glad you all had a wonderful time! What a lovely family
Was lovely meeting you too!!n

 

[tennisfan]

Sounds like you had a fab trip. Thanks for sharing

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Just enjoyed a lovely cup of coffee while I read your trip report - fantastic with such lovely photos - delighted that Disney made a gesture towards your honeymoon trip with the room upgrade and the VIP breakfast! Sounds like it was a magical trip for you all thanks for sharing!