Libby_Darling
Flippin' Her Fins
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2010
- Messages
- 385
The Cast!
Me Libby, just turned 23.
Ben 22.
5 days/4 nights at Santa Fe
If you want to know the background of this trip feel free to peruse my over-long pre-trippie http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2539172
Day 1 Sunday 26th September 2010-10-02
We woke up pretty early today and got ready to go down to breakfast at about 8. The Eurostar was leaving at 9.53 and we wanted to be there in plenty of time. We headed down for breakfast and there was a huuuuuuuuge queue arghhh, like a million Spanish people on some kind of coach tour all pushing in to join their friends so the queue wasnt going down at all!! We ummed and ahhed for a while but decided to stay in the queue and if we werent in by 8.30 wed just grab our stuff and go to McDs which was right by the station. I was pretty keen to stay though because I thought Id feel a lot more like Id got my moneys worth if we got a yummy cooked breakfast.
We eventually got in about 8.20 and even though it was super busy the poor staff were really working hard to clear tables and keep everything moving. I was impressed with the food, there was cereal, toast, croissants and lots of hot stuff which was just what I wanted! I had bacon, sausages and scrambled eggs
Poor Benji went up after me and there wasnt much left in the way of vegetarian stuff so he just had beans on toast!! I felt so bad for him but he said it was fine and then got a croissant after so he was full up. We went up to grab our suitcases, dropped our roomkey in the box at reception and got the heck outta there!!
We found the Eurostar bit easily, pressed our e-tickets onto the barcode reader, went through the passport bit and the bag check bit and were finally in the waiting area. Benj went to get us some water but while he was gone they announced boarding was starting! I panicked a bit as everyone else got up and rushed up the escalators, Ben came back minus the water as there was a huge queue so we decided wed just get some on the train (priceyyy!).
We were in coach 3 and found our seats straightaway. We put our suitcases in the luggage bit (making sure Minnie and Mickey were safely on top so they wouldnt get crushed!) and sat down. Ahhhhh it was comfy, bit of a squeeze as we are both tall but it was fine for the amount of time we were on there. There was a mix-up with the first and last carriages where theyd mixed up the numbers (!?) so there was a lot of milling around and people double checking they were in the right carriages but we just stayed put and relaxed as we were definitely in the right one! A really cute little girl who was sat next to us was on her Mums phone at one point telling whoever was on the other end that she was going to see Mickey! awwwww I was welling up already haha. During the journey we bought a couple of bottles of water and some crisps which came to £6 eeeee!! I just played my new Harry Potter game mostly and Ben listened to his iPod.
My shiny new iphone changed the time automatically for me and sent me texts about data charges etc so I turned off my data roaming and didnt actually use the phone the entire holiday! Too much of a worrier haha.
When we got to DISNEYLAND station we grabbed our suitcases and our coach had stopped right by the escalator which was handy! Off we went outside where it was raining a bit booooo and we decided to walk to Santa Fe as we thought the shuttle would be mega busy. It was actually a really pleasant walk and helpful for us to get our bearings. We were pretty tired by the time we got to the hotel though because as I said before, my suitcase was NOT small I had all our booking confirmations in my folder and was prepared with the breakfast times we wanted and everything. Reception was lovely, really big and airy and super quiet as I think we just missed the shuttle crowd so that was a bonus.
We had a really nice lady check us in and gave me my first bit of PIXIE DUST!! I handed over our confirmation and she looked through them a bit then went away, came back and said please just wait a moment! I was quietly freaking out because I thought there was a problem with our confirmation (I really am a worrier). Then the phone next to us rang, she picked it up and handed it to me with an Oh its for you! I was like whaaatttt, picked up the phone extremely confused and MICKEY MOUSE was on the phone wishing me a very happy birthday!!!! Hahaha it was sooooooo cool, I went bright red and was all embarrassed and happy, turned around to Ben like whaaaaaat and he was just grinning!! The rest of check in is a blur because I was so happy! But we got pretty much the breakfast times I wanted and the lady said we could just go earlier or later if we needed so that was a relief as I wasnt sure if wed be doing EMH every day. She gave us our key, wished us a happy holiday and we were off!!
We were in block 49, room 20, which turned out to be literally across the road from the reception block! We could see the queue for La Cantina out our window which was very handy for deciding when to go for breakfast!! We were on the ground floor and our room was GORGEOUS!!!! We had a brand new flatscreen TV, cars duvet and Lightening McQueen painting on the wall I also love the way they put a little welcome message on the TV when you first arrive, it made me feel so special!!
We also had Disney water and chocolate coins which was very exciting. We relaxed on the bed for a little bit just taking it all in, me harassing Ben about the Mickey phonecall but he wasnt giving anything away, only saying I didnt know about THAT so I knew something was going on!! Then I said I was going to change into park clothes and he said he was going to go and see his friend Yvonne and hed be back in a bit!! YVONNE!? WHO IS YVONNE???? I was very curious at this point!!! I got ready and waited for him to come back, watching a bit of channel 1 which is an endless repeat of The Top 10 things to know before you go! presented by a very enthusiastic girl which I could probably recite by heart as we watched it so often haha.
I noticed our Disney Channel wasnt working (it was just showing a repeat of a Sky TV presentation :s) so made a mental note to mention it to the Help Desk. Ben came back from his mysterious meeting .and off we went to get the shuttle It was raining yucckkk and we were not prepared for the rain, I thought it was going to be sunny 
I was prepared for it to be busy and for us not to get much done today so I wasnt too worried.
We got off the shuttle (which was packed!) and walked past Disney village getting all excited and toward the Disneyland Park. I screamed a little bit when we saw the castle for the first time as I was so excited!! We took a few photos on Main Street but I was planning to take a million during EMH. We decided to shelter in the castle first and we went to look at the stained glass windows which I love looking at ☺
Then we went down to look at the dragon which we didnt see last time and I knew Ben would love. Eeeek he was scary! Very atmospheric, took lots of photos of him!
Then we headed over to Phantom Manor as the queue was 15 minutes and looked to be the shortest. Here I had my first and only encounter with rudeness in the queues Half the queue is under shelter and the first bit isnt. We were queuing just outside the sheltered bit but obviously couldnt duck under because there were people in front. We werent bothered as we had our hoods up but I was being jostled by a woman behind me who was muttering and I just ignored her. Then she HIT ME on the shoulder!!! I turned around in shock and she pointed in front of us and gestured us to moved forwards!! I said to her (remaining quite calm under the circumstances I think!) that we couldnt move forward and then I turned back to face the front, SO ANGRY!! She didnt speak English so couldnt understand me anyway. Cannot believe she hit me, I was so shocked! We moved under the sheltered bit like a minute later so the whole thing was completely pointless, urgh. Anyway, the ride was awesome and we loved the bit in the lift, spooooky!! Made a really good first ride and Im glad we went on it
We wandered over to Boot Hill as I wanted to show Ben the funny gravestones but it was raining mega hard by this point so we quickly abandoned this idea! We were both peckish so we decided to shelter somewhere for lunch. I hadnt put a lunch spot on the itinery as we figured wed just wander round and stop wherever was convenient, but I hadnt figured in the rain! We didnt want to wander far at all so just ducked into Hakuna Matata! There was no veggie option So Ben got vegetable rice (a tiny portion!) and chips! I got the chicken sandwich and chips which was not good Verrrrrry dry and the meat tasted horrible. I ate about half of it though because I was hungry!
The chips were gorgeous and they came with a sauce in a little vine leaf cup which we thought was a nice touch! Overall not a good meal though, our only bad meal of the trip really. They played Lion King music though which we lovvedddd!! I took this photo of these two highchairs because I just thought they looked really cute
Back out into the rain we went and it was so horrible that we immediately looked for somewhere dry again! This came in the form of the shooting gallery. Benji paid his euros and had a little shoot, I took photos and a really funny video where at the end he tries to shoot again but his money has run out and nothing happens!
This killed about 5 minutes so off we went again! We went to Discovery Land and got a FP for Space Mountain as the queue was a bit excessive, then I saw Captain EO and we got in the queue!! I LOVE Michael Jackson and couldnt believe my luck that theyd bought this back because I was hoping it would bring back memories of my trip from 1992 when I was teeny tiny!! It didnt, but I remembered bits from the old Euro Disney adverts which was very nostalgic. Im listening to the two songs from the show as I write this!! Im very sad.
We moonwalked out the theatre, grabbing our crotches and singing the songs and went to SPACE MOUNTAIN to use our FastPasses. WOWWWW we loved this, amazing ride and such a thrill! We actually went on this 7 times during our stay so clearly big fans. After this it was about 5.30 I think so we walked to the shuttles, quite pleased with what we had achieved given the weather and the relative busyness. I was all ready to go via the petrol station and pick up some vino but Ben was keen to get back to the hotel so I reluctantly followed. Once we got to our room he barged in, let out a happy squeal and beckoned me in. And what should I see on my bedside table but a MINNIE BALLOON and a BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE!!!!!!
What an absolute babe my boyfriend is, arranging all of this for me from across the seven seas I did a little happy dance and took a million photos of my little treat, then we cracked open the champers! We had a little toast to my birthday and the beginning of our lovely holiday and enjoyed our drinks mmmmm. Unfortunately, literally as I was sipping my champagne (in a Mickey paper cup!! Ben would like me to add that he requested champagne flutes but due to health and safety we werent allowed) I began to feel really ill and had to lie down with really bad stomach cramps!! It was really weird and I cant think what caused it apart from the stupid chicken sandwich at Hakuna Matata grrrr. I felt like I was going to be sick and couldnt even manage the rest of my cup of champers (turning down alcohol is a BIG SIGN that something is wrong with me!!) We watched TV for a while with me writhing about in pain and decided we wouldnt go out for dinner as I was feeling rough and it was nearly 9pm anyway and we were planning to be up early the next day.
I kept apologising to Benj but he told me to shush and said it didnt matter and wed have more money for the rest of the week ☺ I had planned Annettes for us this night but we said wed do it later on in the week. So we went down to the Rio Grande bar and Ben asked for pizza to take back up to his room which they didnt mind. I wasnt going to get anything but then suddenly decided a cup of tea might make me feel better so I ordered one. The barman was really funny and was like a cup of tea!? I thought you were a pina colada girl for sure, you came all the way to France for a cup of tea!? which really made us laugh!! So we went back to our room, Ben ate his pizza and I drank my tea which really did make me feel lots better! Then we went to sleep, mega excited for the next day
Me Libby, just turned 23.
Ben 22.
5 days/4 nights at Santa Fe
If you want to know the background of this trip feel free to peruse my over-long pre-trippie http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2539172
Day 1 Sunday 26th September 2010-10-02
We woke up pretty early today and got ready to go down to breakfast at about 8. The Eurostar was leaving at 9.53 and we wanted to be there in plenty of time. We headed down for breakfast and there was a huuuuuuuuge queue arghhh, like a million Spanish people on some kind of coach tour all pushing in to join their friends so the queue wasnt going down at all!! We ummed and ahhed for a while but decided to stay in the queue and if we werent in by 8.30 wed just grab our stuff and go to McDs which was right by the station. I was pretty keen to stay though because I thought Id feel a lot more like Id got my moneys worth if we got a yummy cooked breakfast.
We eventually got in about 8.20 and even though it was super busy the poor staff were really working hard to clear tables and keep everything moving. I was impressed with the food, there was cereal, toast, croissants and lots of hot stuff which was just what I wanted! I had bacon, sausages and scrambled eggs
Poor Benji went up after me and there wasnt much left in the way of vegetarian stuff so he just had beans on toast!! I felt so bad for him but he said it was fine and then got a croissant after so he was full up. We went up to grab our suitcases, dropped our roomkey in the box at reception and got the heck outta there!!We found the Eurostar bit easily, pressed our e-tickets onto the barcode reader, went through the passport bit and the bag check bit and were finally in the waiting area. Benj went to get us some water but while he was gone they announced boarding was starting! I panicked a bit as everyone else got up and rushed up the escalators, Ben came back minus the water as there was a huge queue so we decided wed just get some on the train (priceyyy!).
We were in coach 3 and found our seats straightaway. We put our suitcases in the luggage bit (making sure Minnie and Mickey were safely on top so they wouldnt get crushed!) and sat down. Ahhhhh it was comfy, bit of a squeeze as we are both tall but it was fine for the amount of time we were on there. There was a mix-up with the first and last carriages where theyd mixed up the numbers (!?) so there was a lot of milling around and people double checking they were in the right carriages but we just stayed put and relaxed as we were definitely in the right one! A really cute little girl who was sat next to us was on her Mums phone at one point telling whoever was on the other end that she was going to see Mickey! awwwww I was welling up already haha. During the journey we bought a couple of bottles of water and some crisps which came to £6 eeeee!! I just played my new Harry Potter game mostly and Ben listened to his iPod.
My shiny new iphone changed the time automatically for me and sent me texts about data charges etc so I turned off my data roaming and didnt actually use the phone the entire holiday! Too much of a worrier haha.
When we got to DISNEYLAND station we grabbed our suitcases and our coach had stopped right by the escalator which was handy! Off we went outside where it was raining a bit booooo and we decided to walk to Santa Fe as we thought the shuttle would be mega busy. It was actually a really pleasant walk and helpful for us to get our bearings. We were pretty tired by the time we got to the hotel though because as I said before, my suitcase was NOT small
I had all our booking confirmations in my folder and was prepared with the breakfast times we wanted and everything. Reception was lovely, really big and airy and super quiet as I think we just missed the shuttle crowd so that was a bonus. We had a really nice lady check us in and gave me my first bit of PIXIE DUST!! I handed over our confirmation and she looked through them a bit then went away, came back and said please just wait a moment! I was quietly freaking out because I thought there was a problem with our confirmation (I really am a worrier). Then the phone next to us rang, she picked it up and handed it to me with an Oh its for you! I was like whaaatttt, picked up the phone extremely confused and MICKEY MOUSE was on the phone wishing me a very happy birthday!!!! Hahaha it was sooooooo cool, I went bright red and was all embarrassed and happy, turned around to Ben like whaaaaaat and he was just grinning!!
The rest of check in is a blur because I was so happy! But we got pretty much the breakfast times I wanted and the lady said we could just go earlier or later if we needed so that was a relief as I wasnt sure if wed be doing EMH every day. She gave us our key, wished us a happy holiday and we were off!! We were in block 49, room 20, which turned out to be literally across the road from the reception block! We could see the queue for La Cantina out our window which was very handy for deciding when to go for breakfast!! We were on the ground floor and our room was GORGEOUS!!!! We had a brand new flatscreen TV, cars duvet and Lightening McQueen painting on the wall
I also love the way they put a little welcome message on the TV when you first arrive, it made me feel so special!!
We also had Disney water and chocolate coins which was very exciting. We relaxed on the bed for a little bit just taking it all in, me harassing Ben about the Mickey phonecall but he wasnt giving anything away, only saying I didnt know about THAT so I knew something was going on!! Then I said I was going to change into park clothes and he said he was going to go and see his friend Yvonne and hed be back in a bit!! YVONNE!? WHO IS YVONNE???? I was very curious at this point!!! I got ready and waited for him to come back, watching a bit of channel 1 which is an endless repeat of The Top 10 things to know before you go! presented by a very enthusiastic girl which I could probably recite by heart as we watched it so often haha.
I noticed our Disney Channel wasnt working (it was just showing a repeat of a Sky TV presentation :s) so made a mental note to mention it to the Help Desk. Ben came back from his mysterious meeting .and off we went to get the shuttle
It was raining yucckkk and we were not prepared for the rain, I thought it was going to be sunny I was prepared for it to be busy and for us not to get much done today so I wasnt too worried. We got off the shuttle (which was packed!) and walked past Disney village getting all excited and toward the Disneyland Park. I screamed a little bit when we saw the castle for the first time as I was so excited!! We took a few photos on Main Street but I was planning to take a million during EMH. We decided to shelter in the castle first and we went to look at the stained glass windows which I love looking at ☺
Then we went down to look at the dragon which we didnt see last time and I knew Ben would love. Eeeek he was scary! Very atmospheric, took lots of photos of him!
Then we headed over to Phantom Manor as the queue was 15 minutes and looked to be the shortest. Here I had my first and only encounter with rudeness in the queues
Half the queue is under shelter and the first bit isnt. We were queuing just outside the sheltered bit but obviously couldnt duck under because there were people in front. We werent bothered as we had our hoods up but I was being jostled by a woman behind me who was muttering and I just ignored her. Then she HIT ME on the shoulder!!! I turned around in shock and she pointed in front of us and gestured us to moved forwards!! I said to her (remaining quite calm under the circumstances I think!) that we couldnt move forward and then I turned back to face the front, SO ANGRY!! She didnt speak English so couldnt understand me anyway. Cannot believe she hit me, I was so shocked! We moved under the sheltered bit like a minute later so the whole thing was completely pointless, urgh. Anyway, the ride was awesome and we loved the bit in the lift, spooooky!! Made a really good first ride and Im glad we went on it We wandered over to Boot Hill as I wanted to show Ben the funny gravestones but it was raining mega hard by this point so we quickly abandoned this idea! We were both peckish so we decided to shelter somewhere for lunch. I hadnt put a lunch spot on the itinery as we figured wed just wander round and stop wherever was convenient, but I hadnt figured in the rain! We didnt want to wander far at all so just ducked into Hakuna Matata! There was no veggie option So Ben got vegetable rice (a tiny portion!) and chips! I got the chicken sandwich and chips which was not good
Verrrrrry dry and the meat tasted horrible. I ate about half of it though because I was hungry!
The chips were gorgeous and they came with a sauce in a little vine leaf cup which we thought was a nice touch! Overall not a good meal though, our only bad meal of the trip really. They played Lion King music though which we lovvedddd!! I took this photo of these two highchairs because I just thought they looked really cute
Back out into the rain we went and it was so horrible that we immediately looked for somewhere dry again! This came in the form of the shooting gallery. Benji paid his euros and had a little shoot, I took photos and a really funny video where at the end he tries to shoot again but his money has run out and nothing happens!
This killed about 5 minutes so off we went again! We went to Discovery Land and got a FP for Space Mountain as the queue was a bit excessive, then I saw Captain EO and we got in the queue!! I LOVE Michael Jackson and couldnt believe my luck that theyd bought this back because I was hoping it would bring back memories of my trip from 1992 when I was teeny tiny!! It didnt, but I remembered bits from the old Euro Disney adverts which was very nostalgic. Im listening to the two songs from the show as I write this!! Im very sad.
We moonwalked out the theatre, grabbing our crotches and singing the songs and went to SPACE MOUNTAIN to use our FastPasses. WOWWWW we loved this, amazing ride and such a thrill! We actually went on this 7 times during our stay so clearly big fans. After this it was about 5.30 I think so we walked to the shuttles, quite pleased with what we had achieved given the weather and the relative busyness. I was all ready to go via the petrol station and pick up some vino but Ben was keen to get back to the hotel so I reluctantly followed. Once we got to our room he barged in, let out a happy squeal and beckoned me in. And what should I see on my bedside table but a MINNIE BALLOON and a BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE!!!!!!
What an absolute babe my boyfriend is, arranging all of this for me from across the seven seas
I did a little happy dance and took a million photos of my little treat, then we cracked open the champers! We had a little toast to my birthday and the beginning of our lovely holiday and enjoyed our drinks mmmmm. Unfortunately, literally as I was sipping my champagne (in a Mickey paper cup!! Ben would like me to add that he requested champagne flutes but due to health and safety we werent allowed) I began to feel really ill and had to lie down with really bad stomach cramps!! It was really weird and I cant think what caused it apart from the stupid chicken sandwich at Hakuna Matata grrrr. I felt like I was going to be sick and couldnt even manage the rest of my cup of champers (turning down alcohol is a BIG SIGN that something is wrong with me!!) We watched TV for a while with me writhing about in pain and decided we wouldnt go out for dinner as I was feeling rough and it was nearly 9pm anyway and we were planning to be up early the next day. I kept apologising to Benj but he told me to shush and said it didnt matter and wed have more money for the rest of the week ☺ I had planned Annettes for us this night but we said wed do it later on in the week. So we went down to the Rio Grande bar and Ben asked for pizza to take back up to his room which they didnt mind. I wasnt going to get anything but then suddenly decided a cup of tea might make me feel better so I ordered one. The barman was really funny and was like a cup of tea!? I thought you were a pina colada girl for sure, you came all the way to France for a cup of tea!? which really made us laugh!! So we went back to our room, Ben ate his pizza and I drank my tea which really did make me feel lots better! Then we went to sleep, mega excited for the next day
.
bonus points to your BF for the forward planning!!! 
How cool to get a phone call from Mickey at check in - FAB!!!
Thanks! Sorry you were ill - I know how that feels - not fun
. Glad you had an excellent room at the SF and little extras that make a trip special.
