The Return to The Magic Trip Report!! - Day 4

[Libby_Darling]

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 4 – Wednesday 29th September 2010

And onto Wednesday, day four and my favourite day! I just loved every single second of this day it was perfect, hopefully you’ll agree

So up we got again at 6am, watched Disney channel through our bleary eyes and got ready for our 7am breakfast slot. Breakfast was the usual affair of bread rolls, cheese and ham, although I experimented with chocolate curls cereal today which I’m happy to report was delicious, the sugar hit was just what I needed!

We had written A Plan the night before in bed which was designed to take in all the attractions we hadn’t yet seen and was NOT TO BE DEVIATED FROM!!

So we got the shuttle at the insanely early time of 7.45, it was really quiet and we were very excited at the thought of being among the first into the park!

Salon Mickey!

And we were I think, the second people in! A family in front of us had a pushchair and were understandably moving slowly so we were able to get to Main Street for some amazing photos!! There was a man in front of us who was taking photos too and slightly ruining mine haha, I plan to photoshop him out at the earliest available opportunity!! Luckily quite soon he ran off to Discoveryland to meet his friend so we really were alone on Main Street. Took A LOT of photos here and it was so lovely, much prefer the park this way!!!

Outside Walts!

My fave shop <3

Then we went to the castle to do some photos, we had earmarked this time so weren’t in a rush to go anywhere else ☺

We had a huge amount of fun with trying to pull the sword out and I’m afraid I’m going to have to include each and every photo taken here because they just crack me up so much!!

And meeee

Then we had a few photos of me pretending to be a princess

Ben loves this picture and I must say he did do a very good job!

I filmed Ben doing a hilarious little move that pretty much summed up our whole holiday! He walked into the castle and jumped and kicked his ankles together in an expression of pure joy, it was so funny! It’s only about 7 seconds so I won’t bother putting it online or anything though! Here is a photo just before it happened!

Then we headed over to Discoveryland!

After these photos we did Buzz twice,

 

[Libby_Darling]

then Space Mountain twice as per The Plan, then we were going to do Orbitron but I think it was raining so we decided not to! We went to Main Street on our way out the park as this is my favourite area and took some photos as it was still quiet.

We went to the Liberty Tapestry which I loved!

Another car picture! I don’t even like cars very much :/

I saw the ‘Souviner Medallion” machine and we had to get one, we got a bit of a lame design though (can’t remember what it was…) and saw there were lots of other machines around with better designs!! Schoolboy error there but what can ya do.

A truly shocking photo but I love the way it’s glowing! Maaagiiicc!!

At about 9.30 we left and went over to the Studios as per The Plan, where there was already quite a queue. We watched a family get called into the park and I wasn’t sure what was happening really, anyone shed any light? I know in Florida families sometimes get called to open the Park, is this what was maybe happening? It was really cute to watch anyway I loved it, the children were so happy!!!

As soon as we were let in at about 9.40 (early?) we walked straight through the inside bit and the doors were open so we carried on through and walked very speedily to Crush’s Coaster! We were about 8th in the queue (some people actually sprinted, I was not up for that!) and we were led in by a CM. I thought the queue was really cute and it was a shame we didn’t really get a chance to check it out, but I also was very glad we didn’t have to queue!!

So the ride itself. It was good, but not amazing, we both enjoyed it a lot and it was nice and long but no way would we have queued an hour!!! Just no way!! We just think its crazy that there isn’t a FP for this ride, as I’m sure everyone else does! I feel sorry for people who are unable to get there when it opens and have no choice but to queue for crazy amounts of time

So, with Crush in the bag we went to Toy Story Playland where people were waiting in front of a line of CMs.

It was about 9.50 by this time so we just waited, and once they walked back and we were let in we walked straight to the left toward the Parachutes!

We were on the first ride of the day which was a bit of a treat. I thought this was a good ride, a bit brief though, Ben liked it more than I did. I just thought I’d rather be on TOT haha, with all the creepy theming!!

SPEAKING OF, I decided I really would like to be on TOT so we went over and walked right on!

Creepy photos of creepy hotel guests!!

 

[Libby_Darling]

Then we went over to Cinemagique. I absolutely loved this!! All the classic Disney songs of my childhood, I was overcome with emotion I think Ben was a bit embarrassed haha!! Although I did not enjoy Under the Sea sung in French, when pretty much all the others were in English! I guess we were in France though and it was actually pretty funny hearing the lyrics, we were singing it all day!

This really made my day, one of the highlights for me. I can see how children might get a bit bored as it’s not a ride obviously, but for me it was one of the hidden gems.

On leaving the theatre we saw Stitch outside and I ran over to get my photo taken with him He’s so cute and cuddly and little did I know the next day I would have an even more exciting encounter with him!

By this time we were peckish, breakfast seemed like an age ago and we decided to go somewhere for lunch. We went to Pizza Planet in 2007 before it became a buffet and we were keen to try it again, in spite of the bad reviews I had read!

So we walked back to the DLP and over to Pizza Planet. It wasn’t very busy even though it was about 1 o clock so we were pleasantly surprised. We paid our money, think it was about 16 euros which we thought was really good considering the counter service burgers were 12 euros, and we got unlimited food and drinks!

We both grabbed trays and hit the buffet. Ben was slightly more organised than me and got a little bowl which we think was meant for desserts, and put his pasta and sauce in it! Whereas mine was just slopped all over my plate, messyyyy I had read a review on here by a veggie who was a bit sickened by the blobs of meat sauce in the veggie sauce so I was worried, but luckily the vegetarian sauce was at the back ☺ no drips! I had a couple of bits of pizza, some pasta and carbonara sauce and some salady bits.

I thought the pizza was a bit stale tasting but it was definitely edible; the salad was all fresh and there were 3 types of pasta and pasta sauce which was all really nice! And I got peach iced tea which I became a bit addicted to so was thrilled to see it was in the unlimited dispensers!!

Ben found lots of stuff he could have too, there was a tomato pasta sauce, margarita pizza and obviously all the salad stuff. I took photos of the food but it was so dark in there that the food doesn’t look very appetizing!! I’ll share them though…but don’t let them put you off haha!!

After lunch we decided to go in each and every shop on Main Street I am very lucky to be blessed with a boy who doesn’t mind shopping, especially when it’s fun things like TOYS!!

However after a little while we became increasingly disappointed that all the shops pretty much sold the same stuff. There were obviously some differences but on the whole it was samey samey. We just felt a bit tricked I think! I loved all the theming in the shops though, so detailed and they were all really tidy and organised so that was good. We couldn’t really find much to buy though!

Before we left I bought Ben a Mr Potato Head from Play.com as I’d read there were stands where you could pay for a box and fill it up with lots of pieces for your potato and you could fit loads more in if you’d already bought one! Obviously.

He was really excited about buying stuff but we went to both stands (one in Disney Village and one in the Studios) but they were both rubbish We even made sure we got there early in the hope it would be fully stocked but it wasn’t!

There were only about 5 pieces to get, it was so lame!! He felt bad because obviously I’d bought the potato with the box in mind but I told him not to waste his money, because it really was a waste of money!! So that was a bit annoying, I wouldn’t recommend anyone do it tbh, unless we were just seriously unlucky the holiday!!

ANYWAY. We bought a DLP photo album for all our photos and I bought a Woody pez dispenser for my brother. I also became a bit obsessed with finding a nice “commemorative glass” as it became known. I just wanted a nice cocktail glass with a nice design on but apparently this was impossible!

The only martini glasses were too plain and low-key, I wanted something really Disney but I didn’t want to spend too much! So….in the end I bought a plastic Minnie cup with attached straw which I think you’ll all agree was the best decision as it is amazing!!

This is a really bad photo but you get to see the glass

As we were leaving the photography shop we saw that the parade was just going past!! Obviously we stopped and watched, danced around and waved our hands and generally were quite silly

Loving Tiggers Night Fever moves in this one

It was about half two I think at this point so we decided to leave the park and go on PANORAMAGIQUE!! I hadn’t even factored this into the plan but as soon as we saw it Ben said we had to go on! Really didn’t think it was his cup of tea but he never ceases to amaze me!

 

[Libby_Darling]

I loved all the vintage posters

We paid our 12 euros and waited for a little bit behind the gate. There was only one other couple waiting with us, we were so lucky! Every other time we saw it, it was mega busy with people all the way around it, but we pretty much had a side each!! Once the guy let us on we went up slowly and I took a million photos, it was so cool! As mentioned in the Brits Guide it was really cool to see all the hotels and how everything fits together ☺ It was over too soon though but I got lots of photos!

Amazingly cool McDonalds! Gutted we didn’t go here tbh!! I love me some Happy Meal goodness

After this we walked back to our room, taking a slightly different route because I wanted to see some of the details of the hotel.

Block 49 woooo!!

I was telling Ben about the volcano I had read about but we couldn’t find it, then both cracked up on our last morning when we saw the massive thing just outside reception! We’d walked past it twice a day and never seen it

 

[Libby_Darling]

When we got back to the room we were sleeepppppyyy and decided to try and have a little nap before our date night. I set the alarm for 4.30 but then we snoozed til 5.15! Bit behind schedule so we quickly got ready and had a couple of drinks (as always) and watched the Disney channel. We dressed up a bit tonight as we were planning to go somewhere poshhhhhh

Now the plan was to go to Newport Bay, Disneyland Hotel and then dinner and drinks at Billy Bobs for the rock n roll show at 8. However, the plan changed a bit but it was for the best!!! It was a gorgeous evening and we strolled to Newport Bay, me getting excited as it is such a pretty hotel and it looked gorgeous as we were walking around the lake.

When we got there, we looked for the bar and this is going to sound really silly but we couldn’t find it!! We went upstairs and downstairs and must have completely missed it because before we knew it we were outside again, slightly embarrassed about looking so clueless in such a nice hotel!! Undeterred, I quickly revised the plan to include a visit to Sequioa Lodge which I’d heard had a gorgeous bar

So we found the Redwood Bar really quickly and headed to the bar for a drink. Ben OBVIOUSLY had a Desp and I chose a new cocktail, can’t remember what it was called but it had raspberry puree, lime juice, vodka and brown sugar it was 10 euros and it was AMAZING, possibly the best drink I’ve ever had!!!

It was quite busy in the bar and I spotted a little outdoors bit so we headed there. There was no-one out there apart from a couple of smokers so we grabbed a gorgeous spot right next to the balcony, overlooking the lake. It was sooooo nice here, sipping our drinks and chatting about the holiday, looking out at the sun setting on the lake. AND as an added bonus, we got given olives and peanuts in a cute little tray! We’ve never been anywhere nice enough to get bar snacks so we were pretty excited.

Neither of us are huge fans of olives but we forced them down as it would have been rude to leave them!

Our gorgeous view.

We could have sat here aalllllll night but we had places to be so reluctantly finished our drinks and left the hotel, beginning our walk to….THE DISNEYLAND HOTEL!!!

I was so excited for this, the minute we booked the holiday I decided I’d love to go for a drink here, just to see what it’s like

We walked in and were just wowing at everything we saw hehe, I really do think this is a gorgeous hotel, and the smell was a-maze-ing!!!!

!

 

[Libby_Darling]

As we walked toward the Fantasia Bar I just couldn’t believe how close we were to the park, pretty much in it!

Was so cool seeing Main Street all lit up. When we reached the bar I was just speechless, it was so perfect! I know I’m gushing and I’m honestly not being paid to write all this haha, I just thought it was gorgeous! There was a pianist in the corner playing Disney songs which we thought was amazing, such a nice atmosphere in there. We went to the bar and ordered drinks, MY they were expensive but I honestly think it was worth it. Ben had a Desp and I had a cherry concoction. We loved the fact the barmen put on a real show of making the drinks, they were really skilled and I also got a ton of fruit in mine that I doubt I would have got at La Cantina!

We wandered into the seating area and sat in some seriously comfy chintz armchairs, we both went ahhhhhhh as we sat down! Now my only annoyance here was that we didn’t get any bar snacks? Everyone else seemed to, a lady came round once they were sat down and bought them a little tray of nuts and tortilla chips out, but we got nothing Not sure if we were doing something wrong? It didn’t matter anyway as we were going for dinner after but I was just wondering.

We stayed here about an hour just chatting and people watching. I just can’t express how enjoyable this was, everyone should do it!!

We verrryyyy reluctantly left and started walking to the Disney Village, talking about the DLH all the way!

BUT when we got to Billy Bobs there was a sign outside saying there was no food being served tonight!! Absolute nightmare we were both quite miserable because we ate here twice on our first visit and were really looking forward to trying it again. But undeterred, we decided to head back to the hotels to try one of the buffets there that I had read about.

It was a toss up between the SL and NPB ones, both were the same price and both sounded good but we went for the NPB as we loved the look of it. As we walked in this time we saw the bar straightaway and were so confused how we could have missed it!!

The buffet was really busy even though it was about 9pm and we got seated in quite a snug corner but it was a window seat so I was happy I didn’t take any photos of the food as we were so close to the family on the next table but I took a couple of the restaurant as it was so lovely!

There was soooo much gorgeous food, this was probably my favourite buffet as there was so much seafood which is my fave!! There was roasted salmon, mozzarella and tomato salad, seafood salad, smoked salmon, pancetta ham, mussels, prawns and all the usual salady stuff like roasted vegetables etc.

I was really pleased with this selection as I had wanted to go to Inventions but found the price wayyyy too high and this seemed like the perfect compromise at 27 euros!

The mains were all really nice too, there was chicken and beef being carved, along with roast potatos, courgette gratin and vegetables and the usual kiddies stuff, including some vegetable nuggets which Ben thoroughly enjoyed!

There was more than enough choice for him too so don’t let all the seafood put you off if you’re a veggie. And then we had the usual dessert options, I had chocolate mousse and chocolate brownies and Ben had crepes with strawberry sauce!

It was a really nice, leisurely dinner, we didn’t feel rushed at all even though it was quite late which was really good, and our server was really good

We walked slowly back to our hotel about 11 and fell into bed as it had been a verrryyyy long day! We should probably have packed but we decided to just do it in the morning!!

 

[DLPdaft]

Sigh - what a day

 

[Libby_Darling]

I knowwwww It was absolutely amazing. One perfect day Very well documented photographically too if we do say so ourselves

 

[loladelorean]

Amazing day! I can't wait to have cocktails in every hotel bar (that's our mission for this trip)
I felt all happy just reading about your lovely day
xx
ps Peach iced tea is my favourite drink too! I'm starting to think we're secretly twins lol!

 

[dlpSteve]

The photos from Panoramagique are amazing - I'd love to take on a ride on it, bur that would mean I stop being a wuss about it first! The picture of the pizza from Pizza Planet, well, the least said about that the better, but I did wonder if Thumper had been on the buffet before you appeared! Great read - so much great detail

 

[CRITCHK]

Love the report and the photos of Panoramagique. Can't wait to go on it now.

 

[Ms Poppins]

Lovely pictures

We planned to visit all the hotels in the evenings too, but after dinner we were just too tired - always need a reason to go back

 

[Mum to Belle]

Another brilliant day - I love the photos you took from Panoramagique!!

Sounds like the perfect way to spend the evening too