The very cold, cocktails at Walts TR

[noodlesmum]

We woke up bright and early on the 27th to get down to Folkstone for our crossing. We were booked on the 1:30 but hoped to make better time and catch an earlier crossing. We knew the travel had been disrupted over Christmas due to snow but the Eurotunnel helpline suggested all was well with the car train.

We arrived at the Terminal at 10:30am raring to go - only to find that there were no earlier crossings and 2 hour delays So we decided to make the best of it, parked up went inside and had a Full English Several hours later we finally got on the 2:30pm crossing, which meant we hit France at 4:00pm local time just as it was getting dark

DH put his foot down but with all the best intentions we couldn't do it without a break and after a few loo stops we finally goto the Cheyenne at 8:00pm (missing our reservation at Beaver Creek ) However the advantage of arriving at this late hour was no queue to check in! We checked in, hired a kettle (25 euro) and asked the lady to call SL to see if she could re-arrange our dining reservation but Beaver Creek was fully booked until 10pm! I started to think the resort might be busy....

We drove round to the North car park and unloaded our bags into our rooms in the sundance building, the rooms were lovely, so warm, and connecting which was great Outside however was a totally different story - it was SO COLD and slippy, the snow had melted to slush and pushing DS in his pushchair was nearly impossible - the final temp on the car that night was -4 degrees.

We were starving and decided to stretch our legs and walk to the village, I'd hoped that by now (9:30pm) we might get into Annettes - but no there was a queue about 15 deep outside the door. Everywhere was busy so we decided to go to King Luds. We were really tired, cold and hungry and King Luds seated us straight away which was great - we ordered a few beers..

And a Flam for starters which was yummy...

We all had the set menu of 1/2 chicken and chips followed by crepes, though I was gutted we chose to eat somewhere where we couldn't use shareholders discount I have to say the food was really nice and we'd eat there again if we needed to.

Then very tired and cold we trudged back to the Cheyenne for a well deserved rest!

 

[sarahb74]

Great start! Its such a pain when you're in the right place at the right time but the tunnel messes you up - we didnt end up having anything to eat our first night as it was 10.30 when we arrived at the Kyriad so we had a few Pringles and went to sleep! King Ludwigs looks yummy, havent made it there yet................ so many restaurants, so little time

 

[noodlesmum]

Yeah it really was frustrating! Especially seenas we were wasting park time - but we got there safe and sound and that was the main thing!

The next morning we had a late breakfast booked at 9:30am in the hotel. It was heaving as expected so in the end we decided not to get into the queue for a hot drink and walk to the park and have drinks in Salon Mickey instead. The snow at the Cheyenne was still pretty bad - no more had fallen but it had frozen overnight. On the walk down to the park we all nearly fell over and saw some other guests fall over - including an old man who went all his length but was fine thank goodness! Good grips on your shoes are essential - we were really pleased we had approriate footwear!

We got to the bag check at the front gates, which is now operating with x-ray machines, the queue was really slow but we finally got through after about 20 mins.

This pic really doesn't do the walking condition justice...

However from the village onwards there were lots of snowploughs and CMs shoveling snow out of the way.

We had a warm up and a coffee at Salon M and then went into the park - the sky was heavy with snow as you can see...

As we were walking up main street we saw some festive characters

The fountain outside Plaza Gardens was freezing whilst it was running!

We headed straight to Fantasyland where the poor blue caterpillar was smoking alone - Alice's Maze had been shut for the day due to ice...

We got a fastpass for Peter Pan and got in the queue for IASW

 

[noodlesmum]

IASW look great with it's Christmas overlay

and once we got off we walked straight onto Peter Pan which was great

Fantasyland was HEAVING at this point so we decided to leave it to EMH and go elsewhere today. We walked to Buzz and grabbed a fastpass and then walked over the square to Frontierland which was just as busy - The queue for BTM fastpasses was about 15 mins long - I've never seen the park so busy.

By the time we had wandered round to realise the queues in Frontierland were to big to contend with with a one year old in the cold our time slot for Buzz was open so we headed back and rode Buzz...

I got the high score out of all of us so I was pretty pleased with that DH was less pleased

We decided after Buzz to pop into the arcade and have a hot drink, Mum and I shared a massive baguette from main street deli, we made the decision that the park was far too busy and we would head over to the studios and return to the park the next day with a clearer plan of attack!

 

[kizzabel]

what footwear did you have???

its looks so festive and beautiful. you were there from nov 27th yeah?

cant wait to read more

 

[mommy2ash]

what great pics. i cant wait for more

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Brilliant start with gorgeous photos can't wait to read more!

 

[noodlesmum]

what footwear did you have???

its looks so festive and beautiful. you were there from nov 27th yeah?

cant wait to read more

No the 27th Dec! We must be mad! We have been there at that time of year before but it's never been so snowy and cold!

Mum had Uggs, I had Emus which are like Uggs and DH had goretext walking books - all with thermal socks!

Brilliant start with gorgeous photos can't wait to read more!

what great pics. i cant wait for more

Thank you

 

[noodlesmum]

Since we last visited there seems to be a new opening/gate that allows you to take a more direct route to the studios than before so that was welcomed! Mum had never seen the studios as the last time we visited was when we were kids in 1999 so she set about snapping away!

By the time we got outside of Studio one it had started to drizzle ice cold rain So we decided to queue for the magic carpets and see if it would pass off.

We all went on the carpets which was fun but DS cried through most of the queue - we were all starting to feel the cold and decided to get him somewhere warm sooner rather than later - but first a quick detour to TSPL to check it out...

The sky in this picture tells you how very cold it was - brrr!

I though DH might want to go on RC racer but he said not lol! The other rides had really long queue times and DS was crying so we decided to head to SL for a quick drink before dinner in front of the fire

 

[noodlesmum]

That evening we ate in Annettes - we arrived early, about 5:00pm but still had to queue, it was just so busy everywhere! We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the set menu is such good value for meny in the resort but we were so tired and cold we didn't take any pics! That night we collapsed in bed exhausted from the busy day I have ever seen in the parks.

The next morning we were up bright and early for EMH - we had a plan to attack the rides first thing and then come back for a break midday to warm up before going back in the evening. This morning we had our park breakfast at Plaza Gardens which is SO much nicer than at the hotel.

After breakfast we attacked the rides! Dumbo, Buzz, Peter Pan before rope drop - then out of Peter Pan at the adventureland rope drop for Pirates. It worked a treat..

We headed over to BTM to get faspasses and then to IASW again.

After all of this we stopped for coffee and decided to head back to the hotel - it was about noon so we stopped via New york sandwiches and picked up some baguettes to eat in the room with a cup of tea!

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Lovely photos - this trip will be our first time to see TSPL, can't wait! Breakfast at Plaza Gardens - how do you book that?

Trip report is great can't wait to read more!

 

[noodlesmum]

I'd highly reccommend the breakfast in the park All you do is ask when you check in - this time they didn't have any for our first day but we took it on the second and were offered it on the third (but didn't take it as we needed to get off and drive into Paris). Last trip we got it every morning! The breakfast is so much nicer - fresh fruit, individual yoghurts (rather than a big open bowl) and MUCH less people, you are seated at a table its lovely! And this time we had a window seat overlooking the castle - a great way to start the day!

 

[noodlesmum]

Today the weather was warmer and the park was quieter so we were tempted just to push on through to our reservation at Walts at 7:30pm - but we stuck to plan A and actually really enjoyed the rest. DH and DS has a sleep and Mum and I watched TV (we had joining rooms). At about 3pm we all got up - showered and smartened up a bit for Walts (we'd never been before and didn't want to look too scruffy!) and headed back to the park.

It was getting dark now but no way near as chilly as the day before - this made such a difference. We headed back to Fantasyland and I was really chuffed that both the storybook ride and Casey junior were open (they hadn't been earlier in the day - turns out they opened at noon). There were no queues so we walked onto both.

We then had a look around Belles village and turned our thoughts to gifts for home...

We decided to head back to main street to do a bit of shopping...

We popped out of the shops on to the street just outside of the sweet shop to watch the Christmas tree lighting. The snow falling and the lights coming on down main street was magical - though we had plenty of real snow to contend with!

A little shopping later and it was 7pm - half an hour early for our table but we thought we would pop in anyway to see if they could squeeze us in. The lady at Walts said they couldn't fit us in but we were welcome to sit in the reception which we did - it's lovely there just to look at all the curios and it was warm! While we were waiting another British family arrived - they had brought VIP fastpasses for the days and had really got thier moneys worth! They had done TOT 9 times! And Space mountain 6! They said they were going back on Space mountain after dinner! I noticed that VIP fastpasses were subtly advertised for sale at the Cheyenne the next day when checking out. Loads of people tried to get tables while we were waiting but that night you were getting nowhere without a reservation.

At 7:30 our table was ready - as we went up a waitress was clearing another table right by the window. DH stepped up and asked if we could have that one - they said we could but would need to wait 5 mins - result!!

When we were seated we could see crowds starting to gather for the parade...

We felt quite smug tucking in to our drinks watching the crowd below

The meal here was amazing and to top things off between starters and the mains we were treated to...

Watching the parade like this was amazing - I'd highly reccommend it!

Walts was a beautiful meal - not cheap but amazing. Mum and I ate from the set menu and DH ate a la carte (he wanted the burger! honestly!) We also had (don't judge!) 2 beers, a bottle of rose and 2 glowtinis. The total bill with shareholders was 155e which wasn't too bad seenas I'd been saving up for it. I'd do it again!

By the time we left it was nearly half ten!! The park was officially closed but still clearing out. We said goodbye to the castle now lit up for the evening and started the walk back to the Cheyenne. We took the shortcut back to the Cheyenne and wearily got into bed, ready for an early start into Paris the next day.

 

[kizzabel]

lol fair play to ya!! im not brave enough to chance a christmas trip!

thanks for the heads up on the thermal socks, theyre top of the shopping list now

cant wait to read more

 

[Mum to Belle]

Ooooohhhh what a lovely evening in Walts! Great view to enjoy while you sip your cocktails too!!

And Casey & Paye des doodah both open - that is nothing short of miraculous!

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

What a fabulous day! I love Walts and have booked for our trip - have never been there at night though it looked magical overlooking the parade! Buy VIP Fastpasses????? how much????? where???????? Very sensible having a rest - we are usually beyond tired when there and thats with the parks closing at 6! Brilliant photos again! Looking forward to more

 

[the_princess]

Wow DLP looks so magical all covered in snow Great TR!