Trip Report The one where we got to ride at the front...ALOT - NOW COMPLETE!

[MelanieRavenswood]

DAY 1
Sunday 13th May

Well, after an uneventful journey on Eurostar from King's Cross St Pancras we arrived at the Disney gates and headed out on our much shorter than usual walk to the hotel! HNY.

No check-in queue and Minnie, Mickey, Goofy and Donald were there to greet us! The room wasn't quite ready so we left our bags with the concierge and headed to the village for half an hour to look at the shops. Weather was great - really hot!

We returned to the hotel and got to the room which was lovely! We were so comfortable. Bathroom floor had a few unfamiliar hairs on it but I gave it a quick clean and we were very happy . We were amazed at how big the hotel was!

It was lovely and warm so we got out of our British cold weather gear and into some more suitable summery stuff . We headed to the park and saw the 20th anniversary sign - loved it! Main Street was busy but all looking lovely and spruced up.

We kept with tradition and our first meal was a hotdog at Caseys! Being a TR newbie I forgot to take a pic but fear not! I soon got into the habit! Food pics DO follow We ate outside and saw the shiny castle looking lovely and listened to those brilliant Main Street tunes.

Once we had finished we thought we'd head to Fantasy Land and try Snow White. The queue time was 35 mins so we changed our minds and wandered to the Blue Lagoon (our fave Disney restaurant) to book dinner! We booked a table for 8pm.

Then we continued to wander around and went to look around one of our favourite in-park shops - The Curious Giraffe in Adventure Land. DBF bought a very cool Indiana Jones hat and I bought a fridge magnet photo frame with Mickey and Minnie kissing.

Back to Fantasy Land to see if they queues had gotten any better. They hadn't so we headed to Frontier Land (our favourite!) to get a FP for BTM. This was at about 5pm and the FP time was 21.10-21.40! Good news was that meant we would be riding in the dark!

We wandered back through the Main Street and village shops to rest our tired legs for an hour or so at the hotel. It was also getting a bit colder so we wanted to head back for warmer evening attire! On the way I bought a Minnie 20th anniv beanie (the small one) and one of the Mickey letter keyrings - an F.

Ok - more frequent photos from this point on folks! We realised when we got back to the hotel that we had packed the camera but without the memory card!! So I used my phone instead.

We headed to Blue Lagoon at about 7.30pm. We had a very short wait even though it seemed to be quite busy. We took a seat on one of the benches and looked at the lovely paintings they have in the waiting area!

(Light not so good in here so pics are quite dark)

After a few mins we were seated on the beach at the far end right next to the ship that houses the crab and octopus! It was so nice and just enough out of the way.

We both had the Surf and Turf which was beautiful, and our FIRST EVER GLOWTINIS!! How have we not tried these before?? We loved them and they were flashing lots of pretty colours.

We paid and went for our BTM ride - we sat in the second carriage - we like the back seat but after our meal it still felt pretty hardcore . This is one of our favourite rides and it felt great to be on it again after over a year!

By the time we got off it was 9.45pm and silly me, not looking at the park schedule, I thought that Dreams started at 10pm. So we got a GREAT spot and waited...and waited...and waited. Then 10.30pm came and boy was it worth the wait for our great view. We were right in front of the castle. We loved the show so much and squeezed hands in all the romantic bits. I had a tear in my eye I can tell you - real Disney Magic.

The park began to empty after Dreams and so we sat on a bench in front of the castle waiting for the crowds to disperse rather than joining the crush to leave. It got to the point where it was just us and the street sweepers at that end of Main Street and it was lovely! We were expecting to be hurried on but no-one did.

I saw the Plaza Gardens sign all lit up and told DBF I wanted to take a pic so we headed over to the fountain area.

Got the pic and was getting cold so I suggested we head back through the arcade. I took one last look at the castle before heading off. Tried to take a photo but couldn't get it to look good with my phone. I was faffing and then felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned round and he was down on one knee!! Words cannot describe the shock. He said "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I always have. And I'd be so proud to be your husband. Will you marry me?" I had absolutely no idea he was going to do this - it felt like a complete whirlwind moment. I cried and said yes and one of the street sweepers who had noticed what was happening smiled and gave us the thumbs up .

I managed to unwittingly take a pic of the moment on my phone as I clasped it to my chest in surprise. You can make out his shirt through my fingers.

We loitered for a few minutes more trying to take in what had just happened. Then we headed back to the hotel and started making plans! We stayed up late nattering away excitedly and then eventually went to sleep. I felt like I had been dreaming since Dreams started. As we drifted off, DBF (or should I say, DF?!) muttered to me "Stick that in your trip report!"

 

[DLPdaft]

omg Melanie - a proposal, how wonderful!!!!!

 

[torsie24]

Eeee! So glad I clicked on your TR!

Congratulations!! How magical. :

Xxxxxxxxx

 

[RoseBug]

Wow - huge congratulations! How wonderful!

 

[Carrie_Cat]

Aw how fabulous Congratulations

 

[jothp]

Congratulations, what a special moment

 

[Ms Poppins]

Oh, that's so lovely.....congratulations

"Stick that in your trip report!"

Love it

 

[aliscrapper]

Congratulations! What a magical proposal!!

 

[scampbunny]

oh wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how magical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and what a start to ur trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!! huge congratulations!!!

 

[bonhoga]

Congratulations, what a start to your holiday .
DBF to DF and it's only the first night

Kaye

 

[neobear]

Awww wow!!! Congratulations!!! xxx

 

[MelanieRavenswood]

Thanks so much everyone for the congrats! We're both so happy and excited and busily planning away (and I thought a trip to Disney took a lot of planning!! )

Time for DAY TWO!

So the first thing I had to do was buy my first ever Disney pin! With a wedding theme of course. I wore it with pride to the park!

The first thing we did was go back to the proposal spot for some pics! It was such a whirlwind I had to get DF to show me where it was!!

Then off to the Market Deli for a croque and Mickey brioche!! (The custard tart was DF's but thought it worth including)

Then we went off to the castle shop to buy me a temporary ring as the lovely one he'd proposed with was a bit tight! We chose one of the mickey shaped ones with the clear crystal in the middle.

While we were in the are, we thought we'd investigate the refurbed dragon - he was looking gorgeous! And then out the other side of the castle to see the band playing.

Fantasy Land was so busy again - there seemed to be lots of parents holidaying with tiny ones which I think explains the queues - we got a fast pass for Peter Pan and then headed to our first ride on PIRATES! Queue was just 5 mins! Love that ride so much! Bit sad to see they'd covered up the duel but hopefully they're sprucing it or something!

Then we thought we'd check out the queue for Indiana Jones - it was about 15mins but time passed quickly - even for us unenthusiastic queuers). The CM spotted my pin and put us in the front row!!! It was AMAZING! We loved it!.

Then we headed to Thunder Mesa to get our FPs for BTM and while we were there did a quick tour of Phantom Manor - again, a 5 min queue and the ride was looking fab - but they've taken away the guy on the back of your buggy at the end - anyone know if this is permanent?

Love Boot Hill - had never noticed this one before:

Back to Main Street and we saw the psychedelic train!!

The we did the Nautilus which was fun - and quiet! Then we geared up to do Space Mountain which was brilliant! And I think I've just about perfected my position so that my head doesn't get bashed about!

After SM it was time for Peter Pan FPs - it always feels like cheating getting on that ride via the FP queue but SOOOO the way to do it! Brilliant ride and we liked seeing a bit of home (London hehe) - and pointed out our flat

Then it was time for a rest!! Back to the hotel to put our feet up for an hour before heading back out to Annettes! I had the Euro Chick Burger which I can highly recommend:

DF had something massive - I can't remember the name but it looked amazing! Service was a bit slow in Annettes but we weren't in a rush.

Then used our BTM FPs from earlier and got more for later. I always think it's good to never be without a FP!!

Then another go on Phantom Manor and some more Boot Hill photos:

Then Swiss Family Robinson Tree House was soooooo quiet and the light was lovely so we thought it would be romantic to wander round that - and it was!

Then it was time for another ride on BTM in the dark! Woop! We kissed at the photo point and bought the photo. There was a lovely Brit serving at the photo counter who spotted my pin and asked about the whole story.

Then we decided to watch Dreams again from our proposal spot this time:

Waited for everyone to leave again so that we could enjoy the quiet in our special place and then headed back up Main Street taking a pic of this cute ice cream sign I never noticed before:

And more of the 20th anniv decs:

And then to bed at the end of a second magical day - all day we had been commenting on everything we were doing for the first time as an engaged couple - like BTM etc. hehe. Tomorrow...the rain cometh

 

[Ms Poppins]

Another lovely day

We noticed the same on PM. Wonder where they've gone

I think your DF picked a fantastic proposal spot - I always think that the area outside Plaza Gardens is beautiful

Lovely pin too

More please

 

[DLPDreams]

OMG Melanie how did I miss this!

A HUGE congratulations to you both - how wonderful, I had a tear in my eye reading the proposal. What a lovely place for it to have happened and when the park was so quiet too - how romantic is your DF! .

Can't wait to read more .

 

[MelanieRavenswood]

Sorry for my delay in posting DAY 3! Started a new job and have been working all hours and been going back to my parents' most weekends sorting wedding things but it's time to finish this report!!

So on day 3 we got up and headed straight for our engagement spot to have a quiet moment before the park got too busy!

We then were feeling a bit peckish so headed towards one of our favourite counter service restaurants - Bella Notte! Only to find that it was closed . Then the heavens opened so we decided to run round to the castle to take cover and look at the Sleeping Beauty tapestries.

Bit disappointed to see stuff left around maybe from the work on the castle refurb or installing Dreams:

Took some pictures of the inside of the castle in the rain!

And the rain passed so we thought we'd head back to Bella Notte to see if it had opened! Still nothing - but signs saying that if we wanted Pizza we could go to the Outpost. We wandered in that direction only to find that also closed! So we decided it might be time to visit Walt's for lunch instead and booked a table. While we were waiting we looked in Lilly's Boutique. I never noticed all of the pictures of Lilly and Walt in here before but we thought it was really sweet:

When we got to Walt's we were seated in the Frontierland room which was great! Only one other family in there! We ate the same food here - started with the asparagus, then the Steak and creme brulee for dessert - it was a fantastic meal and the service was great. We also treated ourselves to a lunchtime Kir "hic"

Then I discovered that with all the running about in the rain etc. I had lost my wedding pin and we scoured all the shops for a replacement but couldn't find one so we headed for the studios!

No luck there either re pins but we had some real luck re show timings in the studios and started off with the Rock n Roller Coaster which is one of my favourites!! When we cam off Animagique was due to start so we legged it over there and made it in just in time. It was busy so we ended up quite far away from the stage but we actually thought you could appreciate the illusion better from further back.

When Animagique was over it was just time for Cinemagique! So we legged it back across the studios, again making it just in time and sat right near the front for the first time. We were quite close to the "Martin Short" which was exciting. We didn't feel the rain though - is this what happens at the front or have they stopped that bit?

Then we headed to the Tram Tour - Jeremy Irons always makes us giggle on this ride - esp the bit where he says "Oh, if you see any dragons out there, do me a favour and slay them for me will you?"

Took some pics:

Then it looking suspiciously like it might rain again so we loitered in the shops and then dashed back to the hotel for a rest - stopping at the HNY shop where we found a replacement pin! Hooray!

We came back out in the evening and the first thing we did was get a FP for BTM - then we rode Phantom Manor and then used our fast passes! We headed to watch the parade but it was cancelled. We were gutted as this was our last opportunity to catch it.

On the plus side, Fantasyland had finally quietened down a little so we did Snow White which I love! Followed by a go on the carousel:

(You might have noticed we bought matching 20th Anniv varsity jackets - cheesy but fun - I put my pin on mine.

We decided to see if Bella Notte was open for dinner but no such luck. Instead we rode It's A Small World and decided to give Earl of Sandwich a go - liked it so much by the time I remembered to take a picture I'd eaten it all!

Then we looked at the shops for a while in the Village before heading back to the hotel for some Disney Channel action!

Coming up...our final day

 

[Ms Poppins]

Hello again

Lovely update. There have been lots of reports of restaurants not being open in recent posts, hope they sort that out. We missed out on Toad Hall too when we were there.

No rain for us either in Cinemagique, and we were near the back - again I've read a few post where this is mentioned. Please bring it back!

Love your 'cheesy' jackets

 

[MelanieRavenswood]

DAY 4 - our final day - we said goodbye to the hotel room feeling a bit sad but excited to get to the park. On our way our we took picture of the figurines we liked but couldn't afford

BOY was it busy!! We headed to the studios as we were keen to do Crush but the queue was coming all the way back past the magic carpets! We decided to go on the carpets instead. The queue for this was long and the staff grumpy. We weren't getting good vibes from the studios today so decided to head back to the main park and focus on our classic favourite rides.

We did POTC and got to ride at the front - AND see the train go through the cave!

Then we did BTM - again from the front which was great fun! A final ride on Phantom Manor was followed by a relaxing trip on the Molly Brown, which we love.

Back to Discoveryland to do Space Mountain - again at the front - it's so good at the front when you get fired off and then going into the black hole - we loved it!

Then we had a final hotdog - and my first EVER Disney hot chocolate - how could I not have had this before - it's AMAZING! And a Mickey Brioche.

We did some final souvenir shopping and headed back up Main Street for the station taking one last photo:

The train ride home was good - the staff gave us extra mini bottles of wine to help pass the time and were so friendly. The only thing that wasn't so good was the family sitting opposite us. The wife was shouting at her husband for most of the journey home, having some kind of argument. They also changed their baby's extremely dirty nappy on the table while everyone was eating and were taking it in turns to go to the hostess's trolley when it had been left unattended, taking the bottle of mineral water and drinking straight from it...Luckily the train was quiet so once we had set off and made the first stop we were able to move away from them further down the carriage.

When we got home we used our 20th Anniv champagne flutes to have a glass of bubbly to celebrate - with the glowtini icecubes for extra good measure! It was a fantastic trip we'll never forget and now Disneyland Paris is even more special for us. Here's to the next trip!!

Thanks for reading!

 

[Ms Poppins]

Aww, love that picture at the end - a really special trip for you that I'm sure you'll never forget

Where do you get the glowtini ice cubes?

 

[MelanieRavenswood]

Thanks for reading! We took them out of the glowtinis we had at Blue Lagoon, wrapped them in napkins and put them in our pockets. They have a switch on them so you can turn them on and off. Think I might be starting a collection

 

[the_princess]

What a lovely report, and congratulation :-D