Cast Members
Me, Sarah Croote: organiser, driver, lover of all things Disney.
DH, Paul Not Disney again!?! Croote.
DD, Hannah aged 3, a proper princess or should that be madam?!
Our holiday buddies, the Fairhursts!
My friend, Katy, 5 months pregnant with number 3!!!
Katys DH, Pete aka Pirate Pete.
DD1, Eloise, aged 3, loves princesses, Mickey and Minnie.
DD2, Emily, aged 18 months, aka Millie Mouse! Loves Dumbo!
Day Four, September 22nd 2006
Last day in the parks today boohoo! Were up early as we have a 9.00 reservation for the Plaza Gardens breakfast which Im looking forward to as its not one weve done before. Hannah is almost wetting her pants with excitement as she climbs into her beautiful Sleeping Beauty dress.
We set off into the mist yes, more mist! and were at the gates by 8.20am. Unfortunately, they were not yet being manned and all we could do was sit and wait not something Im terribly good at, particularly when we have somewhere to be! Eventually, two men appeared and I watched to see which cabins they headed into; then like a bullet from a gun (kind of) I shot forwards, was first there and was first through the gates. I was so chuffed we were the first people in the car park! Paul had to take a photo to commemorate the occasion. I know its sad to get so excited but I dont care.
I think I must have been on a roll today as when we reached the bag check there was another queue which was already long. Were all these people really going to the same breakfast as us? However, I noticed that they were all queueing behind one gate and as there are three I moved forwards to join a couple of other brave/pushy people who had started a queue in front of one of the other gates. Sure enough, just before 9am, all three gates opened and we were off and one of the first again! Soooo proud of myself!
We ran, hell for leather, to the breakfast entrance which is off to the right-hand side of the main entrance, scattering several small children as we went. One unfortunate couple were not actually booked for breakfast and were turned away. I waved my ticket smugly and we were through, up Main Street and at the Plaza Gardens in a matter of seconds. It was at this point that I realised that most of the crowd seemed to be heading elsewhere and I suddenly remembered the Fantasyland Breakfast this explained the large number of people. Thank God we werent going there! All I can say is if you do this, make sure you are lined up at bag check by around 8.30 if you want to be at the front!
Anyway, we went in, again brandishing our ticket; paid and were quickly shown to our table which was very close to the door where the characters come out. Great, or so I thought! As we were one of the first, we were quickly greeted by Goofy and Tigger but Hannah was only really interested in the latter, much to Goofys disgust.
Several others followed but Hannah really wanted to meet Daisy who seemed to visit every table bar ours. This was to be a bit of a trend and in the end I practically had to rugby-tackle some of them to get them to come to us.
This was basically because there were so many people who did not seem to understand the etiquette of waiting for the characters to come to you, there were constantly people jumping out of their seats. This meant that the characters simply could not keep track of whom they had or had not seen it was dreadful. This is the first character meal I have been to like this and I would never do this one again. It filled up with people very quickly and was very poorly organised, mainly because the CMs did absolutely nothing to guide the characters or the people eating there. The only saving grace was the buffet which was lovely, particularly the coconut cake which was gorgeous but a strange thing to have for breakfast!
We left at around 10am to meet up with Katy and co. at Minnie Mouses meet n greet area as Eloise was desperate to meet her and we had always got to this area well before it opened. Ellie was absolutely thrilled to meet her, wearing her Mulan dress, and was still bubbling with excitement when we met up. Millie, however, was less than impressed. She may have been dressed like her but she certainly did not want to meet her thank you very much!!!!
We headed up to the castle so that the girls could pose for some photos in their dresses which was interesting! As they say: Never work with children or animals. Boy were they ever right; our monkeys found it pretty tricky, particularly monkey Millie!
It had been decided that we would go to the Studios today as Pete, Paul and I wanted to ride R&RC and the boys also wanted to see the stunt show. As we headed back out of Disneyland Park, Hannah fell asleep and I spotted some more dresses!!! They were the Christmas Belle dresses and they had been reduced from 55 to 20 Euros make that 18 with my AP!!!!! I could not resist! So, another dress purchased, we set off to the Studios.
At this point it started to rain not happy! We made it to the Studios without getting too wet as wed had the foresight to bring waterproofs with us. Always be prepared!!!! The three adventurers then rode R&RC which was a good laugh I love that acceleration and the boys raced off for the stunt show. By this time Hannah had woken up, so we headed into the Backlot Express for a delicious Croque Monsieur, a hot chocolate and a choc chip cookie which cheered and warmed us all up! In case you were wondering, we did have one each and not one of each between us that would have been very silly!
By the time the lads came back it was pouring down and Katy had changed Eloise and Emily out of their dresses. Hannah wanted to keep hers on and as it was our last day, I let her. It was about time for the Cinema parade but it was so wet out there we assumed it had been cancelled and set off for Disneyland Park again. We just love that place! As Katy said, it has all the magic that is lacking in the Studios, particularly for young children. Dont get me wrong, I do like the Studios, just not as much as Disneyland Park.
Like magic, by the time we entered the park the rain had stopped! Hooray! Paul and Pete grabbed a giant hotdog each at the end of Main Street and we headed back into, yes, youve guessed it, Fantasyland! By this point I must confess, I was getting a little Fantasylanded out and I think Katy must have sensed this as she handed me the pair of Minnie Mouse ears that went with Millies dress. I can thoroughly recommend these as they really do give you that magic Disney boost just when you need it! So much so that I wanted a pair of my own and I was on a mission!
Now, you would have thought that a pair of ears is easy to find but no, not so! The only Minnie ears I could find were the most uncomfortable plastic pair Ive ever had the misfortune to try on. They were something akin to an instrument of torture and, needless to say, I would not recommend them! My little bubble of magic had burst. Paul joked about buying me a Minnie dress just so that I could have the ears but I felt that would just be ridiculous or would it?!
By this point, the girls were desperate to go on a few rides so we set off for the carousel, good old Casey Jr and Le Pays des Contes de Fees; and then Fastpassed Peter Pan as it was time for our reservation at the Silver Spur Steakhouse!
This place is interesting sorry, but I cant find a better word to describe it. When you walk in the BBQ smell hits you and you are led down some steps into a dimly lit dining area, which made me feel like I was eating at around 8pm rather than the 3pm that it actually was! We sat near the open kitchen so it was really warm as well great on a cold day!
We ordered our food which basically consisted of pasta for the Eloise and Emily; nuggets and chips for my oh-so-healthy daughter; and steaks for the rest of us. This was followed by Raspberry Crepe cake for Pete and I; profiteroles for Katy; chocolate mousse for Eloise and strawberry and vanilla ice-creams in cute Donald Duck souvenir cups for Emily and Hannah. The food was lovely and the service good, and it was a lovely final meal together. Emily certainly enjoyed it!
We eventually walked back out into the sunshine
yay! We were a little late (40 mins!) for our Peter Pan Fastpass but gave it a shot anyway and after a few protestations from me, were ushered in rather reluctantly by the CM. Again, the girls loved this and I have no idea why. It is so dark and jerky and really is not one of my favourites. Give me IASW any day!
We had our last rides on IASW, the teacups, Dumbo and the carousel and then popped into Les Trois Fees sweet shop for some chewy, good-for-your-ears-on-the-aeroplane type sweets. At this point, Paul announced that he would be back in a minute and vanished. Bizarre! He returned around 10 mins later clutching another carrier bag and what had he bought? Yes, another dress!!!! This time a Minnie Mouse one and, unable to find one that would fit me (thank God!!!) he had purchased one for Hannah for when shes a bit bigger. The purpose of this was, of course, to get me a pair of ears which was very sweet of him ahh!
So, feeling very weary, sad and sorry for ourselves we headed back down Main Street to make our last few purchases. The girls really had been very good and our holiday had been a tantrum-free zone even when they didnt get their own way. As a little well done Pete bought Eloise a Minnie Mouse and Emily a Dumbo; and Hannah chose herself a Lady (Lady and the Tramp).
Hannah had loved wearing her princess dress today it made her feel really special. So special that she asked Eloise for her autograph book and pretended to sign it and pose for a photo! She does make me laugh!
With this, we bid a fond farewell to DLP and headed home to pack.
I really hate this part of the holiday it is a major downer, but Hannah managed to cheer herself up thinking about Florida next year! Shes just like me ha ha! We headed for bed really early tonight as we were shattered and had an early start the next morning.
Tomorrow: heading home and a little confusion!
Me, Sarah Croote: organiser, driver, lover of all things Disney.
DH, Paul Not Disney again!?! Croote.
DD, Hannah aged 3, a proper princess or should that be madam?!
Our holiday buddies, the Fairhursts!
My friend, Katy, 5 months pregnant with number 3!!!
Katys DH, Pete aka Pirate Pete.
DD1, Eloise, aged 3, loves princesses, Mickey and Minnie.
DD2, Emily, aged 18 months, aka Millie Mouse! Loves Dumbo!
Day Four, September 22nd 2006
Last day in the parks today boohoo! Were up early as we have a 9.00 reservation for the Plaza Gardens breakfast which Im looking forward to as its not one weve done before. Hannah is almost wetting her pants with excitement as she climbs into her beautiful Sleeping Beauty dress.
We set off into the mist yes, more mist! and were at the gates by 8.20am. Unfortunately, they were not yet being manned and all we could do was sit and wait not something Im terribly good at, particularly when we have somewhere to be! Eventually, two men appeared and I watched to see which cabins they headed into; then like a bullet from a gun (kind of) I shot forwards, was first there and was first through the gates. I was so chuffed we were the first people in the car park! Paul had to take a photo to commemorate the occasion. I know its sad to get so excited but I dont care.
I think I must have been on a roll today as when we reached the bag check there was another queue which was already long. Were all these people really going to the same breakfast as us? However, I noticed that they were all queueing behind one gate and as there are three I moved forwards to join a couple of other brave/pushy people who had started a queue in front of one of the other gates. Sure enough, just before 9am, all three gates opened and we were off and one of the first again! Soooo proud of myself!
We ran, hell for leather, to the breakfast entrance which is off to the right-hand side of the main entrance, scattering several small children as we went. One unfortunate couple were not actually booked for breakfast and were turned away. I waved my ticket smugly and we were through, up Main Street and at the Plaza Gardens in a matter of seconds. It was at this point that I realised that most of the crowd seemed to be heading elsewhere and I suddenly remembered the Fantasyland Breakfast this explained the large number of people. Thank God we werent going there! All I can say is if you do this, make sure you are lined up at bag check by around 8.30 if you want to be at the front!
Anyway, we went in, again brandishing our ticket; paid and were quickly shown to our table which was very close to the door where the characters come out. Great, or so I thought! As we were one of the first, we were quickly greeted by Goofy and Tigger but Hannah was only really interested in the latter, much to Goofys disgust.
Several others followed but Hannah really wanted to meet Daisy who seemed to visit every table bar ours. This was to be a bit of a trend and in the end I practically had to rugby-tackle some of them to get them to come to us.
This was basically because there were so many people who did not seem to understand the etiquette of waiting for the characters to come to you, there were constantly people jumping out of their seats. This meant that the characters simply could not keep track of whom they had or had not seen it was dreadful. This is the first character meal I have been to like this and I would never do this one again. It filled up with people very quickly and was very poorly organised, mainly because the CMs did absolutely nothing to guide the characters or the people eating there. The only saving grace was the buffet which was lovely, particularly the coconut cake which was gorgeous but a strange thing to have for breakfast!We left at around 10am to meet up with Katy and co. at Minnie Mouses meet n greet area as Eloise was desperate to meet her and we had always got to this area well before it opened. Ellie was absolutely thrilled to meet her, wearing her Mulan dress, and was still bubbling with excitement when we met up. Millie, however, was less than impressed. She may have been dressed like her but she certainly did not want to meet her thank you very much!!!!
We headed up to the castle so that the girls could pose for some photos in their dresses which was interesting! As they say: Never work with children or animals. Boy were they ever right; our monkeys found it pretty tricky, particularly monkey Millie!
It had been decided that we would go to the Studios today as Pete, Paul and I wanted to ride R&RC and the boys also wanted to see the stunt show. As we headed back out of Disneyland Park, Hannah fell asleep and I spotted some more dresses!!! They were the Christmas Belle dresses and they had been reduced from 55 to 20 Euros make that 18 with my AP!!!!! I could not resist!
So, another dress purchased, we set off to the Studios.At this point it started to rain not happy! We made it to the Studios without getting too wet as wed had the foresight to bring waterproofs with us. Always be prepared!!!! The three adventurers then rode R&RC which was a good laugh I love that acceleration and the boys raced off for the stunt show. By this time Hannah had woken up, so we headed into the Backlot Express for a delicious Croque Monsieur, a hot chocolate and a choc chip cookie which cheered and warmed us all up! In case you were wondering, we did have one each and not one of each between us that would have been very silly!
By the time the lads came back it was pouring down and Katy had changed Eloise and Emily out of their dresses. Hannah wanted to keep hers on and as it was our last day, I let her. It was about time for the Cinema parade but it was so wet out there we assumed it had been cancelled and set off for Disneyland Park again. We just love that place! As Katy said, it has all the magic that is lacking in the Studios, particularly for young children. Dont get me wrong, I do like the Studios, just not as much as Disneyland Park.
Like magic, by the time we entered the park the rain had stopped! Hooray! Paul and Pete grabbed a giant hotdog each at the end of Main Street and we headed back into, yes, youve guessed it, Fantasyland! By this point I must confess, I was getting a little Fantasylanded out and I think Katy must have sensed this as she handed me the pair of Minnie Mouse ears that went with Millies dress. I can thoroughly recommend these as they really do give you that magic Disney boost just when you need it! So much so that I wanted a pair of my own and I was on a mission!
Now, you would have thought that a pair of ears is easy to find but no, not so! The only Minnie ears I could find were the most uncomfortable plastic pair Ive ever had the misfortune to try on. They were something akin to an instrument of torture and, needless to say, I would not recommend them! My little bubble of magic had burst. Paul joked about buying me a Minnie dress just so that I could have the ears but I felt that would just be ridiculous or would it?!
By this point, the girls were desperate to go on a few rides so we set off for the carousel, good old Casey Jr and Le Pays des Contes de Fees; and then Fastpassed Peter Pan as it was time for our reservation at the Silver Spur Steakhouse!
This place is interesting sorry, but I cant find a better word to describe it. When you walk in the BBQ smell hits you and you are led down some steps into a dimly lit dining area, which made me feel like I was eating at around 8pm rather than the 3pm that it actually was! We sat near the open kitchen so it was really warm as well great on a cold day!
We ordered our food which basically consisted of pasta for the Eloise and Emily; nuggets and chips for my oh-so-healthy daughter; and steaks for the rest of us. This was followed by Raspberry Crepe cake for Pete and I; profiteroles for Katy; chocolate mousse for Eloise and strawberry and vanilla ice-creams in cute Donald Duck souvenir cups for Emily and Hannah. The food was lovely and the service good, and it was a lovely final meal together. Emily certainly enjoyed it!
We eventually walked back out into the sunshine
yay! We were a little late (40 mins!) for our Peter Pan Fastpass but gave it a shot anyway and after a few protestations from me, were ushered in rather reluctantly by the CM. Again, the girls loved this and I have no idea why. It is so dark and jerky and really is not one of my favourites. Give me IASW any day!We had our last rides on IASW, the teacups, Dumbo and the carousel and then popped into Les Trois Fees sweet shop for some chewy, good-for-your-ears-on-the-aeroplane type sweets. At this point, Paul announced that he would be back in a minute and vanished. Bizarre! He returned around 10 mins later clutching another carrier bag and what had he bought? Yes, another dress!!!! This time a Minnie Mouse one and, unable to find one that would fit me (thank God!!!) he had purchased one for Hannah for when shes a bit bigger. The purpose of this was, of course, to get me a pair of ears which was very sweet of him ahh!
So, feeling very weary, sad and sorry for ourselves we headed back down Main Street to make our last few purchases. The girls really had been very good and our holiday had been a tantrum-free zone even when they didnt get their own way. As a little well done Pete bought Eloise a Minnie Mouse and Emily a Dumbo; and Hannah chose herself a Lady (Lady and the Tramp).
Hannah had loved wearing her princess dress today it made her feel really special. So special that she asked Eloise for her autograph book and pretended to sign it and pose for a photo! She does make me laugh!
With this, we bid a fond farewell to DLP and headed home to pack.
I really hate this part of the holiday it is a major downer, but Hannah managed to cheer herself up thinking about Florida next year! Shes just like me ha ha! We headed for bed really early tonight as we were shattered and had an early start the next morning.Tomorrow: heading home and a little confusion!
And I could say it again and again: How cute!
Can't wait!
. I love that he bought another dress just to get you the ears,
I'm sure you'll enjoy yourselves and I'll look forward to the trip report! 
