Millies Daddy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2007
- Messages
- 132
The day with the heavy heart, the drive home and back to reality!!
Our return journey began with the kids waking up at about 0700. We slowly got washed and dressed and hit the road about 0830. A quick fill up at the garage near the Santa Fe and we made our way back to Calais. The weather (unsurprisingly) was atrocious. Possibly the worse rain I have driven in. The Toll on the return journey was 20.20 Euros and only 17.50 Euros on the way down, how bizarre. We still made great time and managed to catch an earlier ferry again. Amazingly the rain stopped just as we reached Calais. The sea was a little choppier than last time but equally as quiet as the journey out. So we hit England at just after 1200 and got back to Oxfordshire at 1515 after a stop for lunch and to pick up milk and bread.
All in the entire trip was absolutely fantastic. The highs far outweigh the lows. If we have to make the choice in the future we will definitely consider the Christmas season. It was absolutely magical. The decorations and shows set the scene perfectly. The Park was absolutely beautiful. The lighting during the night was excellent and made the whole Disney experience completely new. I didnt see any areas of disrepair that I had read of recently. I guess that is because we werent looking for it and it wasnt obvious.
The whole dining experience was really good. We avoided the burger and chips route every day and found a lot of choices. The prices were always very high but if you come to Disney knowing and planning that you just take it as normal.
The parades and shows were outstanding as usual. I found the Christmas part of the main parade to be excellent and bring a real lump to my throat. The soldiers and elves were excellent. It was also the first time we had seen Fantillusion and it too was excellent. We particularly enjoyed the villains floats with the transformation half way through.
The first three days when practically every ride as a walk on. We were so lucky!!
The lows were the same as other trip reports we have read recently. The rudeness of some people was astonishing. We saw and have people pushing in while queuing and people shoving people out of the way waiting for parades. DW had a number of occasions when, after someone had forced their way into the smallest gap waiting for the parade only for them to start smoking. It is incredibly inconsiderate and rude.
The weather is something you cannot do anything about and we didnt let it really affect us that much. It did curtail some of our plans but it would have been nice to have some respite!
The crowds on Thursday and Friday were a nightmare. We were very fortunate with our first three days because we got everything done that we really wanted. We knew it would get busy due to the public holiday but I think we underestimated the French Public. We will obviously plan any future trips to avoid any holidays in France!
The merchandise was dire. It is the same old rubbish spread through all the shops. I feel Disney really miss out in this area. The kids saved their pocket money and money they were given from grandparents and couldnt find anything really decent to spend it on. DD really wanted a Lotso and there was none to be found. We feel there is better quality and variety in the Disney shops back here in the UK. I really wish that Disney would make shops that concentrated on one area. Imagine a Pixar shop in the Studios or a shop that solely concentrated on books, Cds, stationary etc, or a shop that concentrated purely on clothing. They have done it sort of with Main Street Motors for clothes and The Disney Gallery in the Village for paintings and more arty items but it could all be so much better.
Our return journey began with the kids waking up at about 0700. We slowly got washed and dressed and hit the road about 0830. A quick fill up at the garage near the Santa Fe and we made our way back to Calais. The weather (unsurprisingly) was atrocious. Possibly the worse rain I have driven in. The Toll on the return journey was 20.20 Euros and only 17.50 Euros on the way down, how bizarre. We still made great time and managed to catch an earlier ferry again. Amazingly the rain stopped just as we reached Calais. The sea was a little choppier than last time but equally as quiet as the journey out. So we hit England at just after 1200 and got back to Oxfordshire at 1515 after a stop for lunch and to pick up milk and bread.
All in the entire trip was absolutely fantastic. The highs far outweigh the lows. If we have to make the choice in the future we will definitely consider the Christmas season. It was absolutely magical. The decorations and shows set the scene perfectly. The Park was absolutely beautiful. The lighting during the night was excellent and made the whole Disney experience completely new. I didnt see any areas of disrepair that I had read of recently. I guess that is because we werent looking for it and it wasnt obvious.
The whole dining experience was really good. We avoided the burger and chips route every day and found a lot of choices. The prices were always very high but if you come to Disney knowing and planning that you just take it as normal.
The parades and shows were outstanding as usual. I found the Christmas part of the main parade to be excellent and bring a real lump to my throat. The soldiers and elves were excellent. It was also the first time we had seen Fantillusion and it too was excellent. We particularly enjoyed the villains floats with the transformation half way through.
The first three days when practically every ride as a walk on. We were so lucky!!
The lows were the same as other trip reports we have read recently. The rudeness of some people was astonishing. We saw and have people pushing in while queuing and people shoving people out of the way waiting for parades. DW had a number of occasions when, after someone had forced their way into the smallest gap waiting for the parade only for them to start smoking. It is incredibly inconsiderate and rude.
The weather is something you cannot do anything about and we didnt let it really affect us that much. It did curtail some of our plans but it would have been nice to have some respite!
The crowds on Thursday and Friday were a nightmare. We were very fortunate with our first three days because we got everything done that we really wanted. We knew it would get busy due to the public holiday but I think we underestimated the French Public. We will obviously plan any future trips to avoid any holidays in France!
The merchandise was dire. It is the same old rubbish spread through all the shops. I feel Disney really miss out in this area. The kids saved their pocket money and money they were given from grandparents and couldnt find anything really decent to spend it on. DD really wanted a Lotso and there was none to be found. We feel there is better quality and variety in the Disney shops back here in the UK. I really wish that Disney would make shops that concentrated on one area. Imagine a Pixar shop in the Studios or a shop that solely concentrated on books, Cds, stationary etc, or a shop that concentrated purely on clothing. They have done it sort of with Main Street Motors for clothes and The Disney Gallery in the Village for paintings and more arty items but it could all be so much better.
time had by the whole family. Your photos are gorgeous and brought back memories. 
You certainly didn't let the weather hold you back! Its a shame to read about rude q jumping people and awful smokers 
with no consideration for anyone else - so glad it did not spoil your fun too much. Your report is really getting us thinking about where to eat 
on our trip!
.
