Trip Report 06.05.2012 - 10.05.2012

[Katney]

Hello Everyone

As promised, here my Trip Report for our trip from Sunday, 06.05 to Wednesday 10.05.2012.

"We" were myself, been to DLP three times previous and my Boyfriend, who has never been to DLP, but has been to DL Anaheim and to WDW.

My Goal for this Trip was pretty much to do it all. And celebrate the 20th Anniversary. And get my BF to fall in Love with DLP so he would be ready to go back at any time!

As for my Photos: I tend to just photograph everything, mostly without stopping or focusing properly. I just snap everything and in the very end sort out the pictures that actually turn out ok. So if the Pictures are blurry and the quality isn't the best... I'm sorry!

 

[Katney]

OK, here we go:
After a Night of little sleep - partly because of excitement, partly because of the Cat wanting to sleep on my pillow - I was up at 5 am.
On the Bus to the Trainstation at 6am, on the Train to the Airport at 6:30 and on a plane to CDG at 9am.
This was all very uneventful, even though I hate travelling. We arrived at CDG around 10 am, took the shuttle that would bring us to the shuttle and then got on the VEA Bus. The Busride was also very easy, it took about 20 Minutes until we were dropped off at our Hotel, the Sequoia Lodge.

It was our first stay at the SL and from the very first moment, I loved it. I always read about the "amazing smell" the Hotel New York has (- and I agree!), the SL also has it's own smell that I loved, a pine-scent lingers in the air around the reception.
On our way to check in, we literally walked into Parkranger-Goofy, who was standing at the entrance, greeting new Guests.
We were checked in in a matter of Minutes. The Cast Member checking us in surprised us by telling us that our room was already ready and then asked if this was our first stay at DLP. I told him that I had previously been and that I try to come back as much as possible. So as a "thank you" (I guess), he stuck a VIP-Breakfast Sticker on our Easy Pass, which ment we were allowed to go to Breakfast whenever we wanted and didn't have to pick a slot for breakfast. The Day before, my BF and I had a huge discussion over when we wanted to go to breakfast and until we reached the reception desk, we still hadn't decided, so this was perfect for us!
So the CM sent us on our way with a map and everything else we would require and off we were, past the concierge and past the Bar and the huge Fireplace I'v read so much about. Our Room was on the 2nd Floor, so the same floor as the Reception.
We walked along a long corridor, then left, then another long corridor, then another left and another long corridor, until we found our room, the very last one, Nr. 2360.
It looked like a very nice room, with only one double bed (fine for us, obviously), but it wasn't until we opened the curtains that we realized what an awesome room we've actually gotten. It was a corner room, it had two windows and it had a balcony! Something that I wasn't expecting.
For those of you who know the SL Hotel. If you come from the Parks or the Village, walk around the Lake, and then take a left turn to head towards the SL Entrance, the Beaver Creek and the Hunters Grill, there is a Room with a Balcony at the corner. That was our room. I loved it!

We quickly unpacked, but even though I thought our room was awesome, I wasn't going to spent too much time in it, I was ready to head to the Park. So off we were again (we walked all the way back to the Restaurants, only two days in we realized that there was a staircase pretty much right across from our Room..) We walked through the Village and headed straight towards the Park and were through the gates at around 1pm I'd say. We walked down Main Street, through the Castle, and headed straight to the Pirates, which is my favorite ride and had to be our first. We had to queue for about 40 Minutes, which was the longest we had to queue overall. I loved the ride, just as always, and so did my BF. Sad to say that the swining Pirate swings no more and is just sadly hanging there.

After the Pirates we were really hungry, so we headed to Toad Hall, which was the first Restaurant on our list. I had the Fish and Chips, BF had the same but a double portion. I thought it was nice, but it didn't overwhelm me.

Once we were done eating, we headed down to Frontierland and to Phantom Manor, another favorite of mine. I was a bit disappointed by the Cast Member that let us thrugh the door into the elevator, she was way to cheerful!

The ride itself was lovely as ever.

For our last ride of the Day, we took the Disneyland Railroad from the Frontierland Depot to the Main Street Station.

By then, it was between 3 and 4pm and we were starting to get really exhausted and I was pretty freezing. I forgot to bring a scarf, something I usually always wear since I am prone to sore throat. So while we made our way back to the hotel, we stuck our heads into various shops, hoping to find a nice Disney Scarf, but no luck.
It was around that time that I discovered my Boyfriend has the hots for Tinkerbell, when he started looking at all the merchandise. Some of which he then also ended up buying. This turned into a recuring theme over the next days, him constantly talking about "Tinks" or "Tinky"… Thankfully I am not the jelous type.

Once we got back to the Hotel Room, there was a lovely letter from the SL Manager on our table, welcoming us back, along with some chocolates. I quickly headed to the Concierge desk, where I bought a Tea-Making-Kit, while they sent someone to bring us a kettle.

We were set to meet one of my best friends who lives in Paris for dinner that evening, though we didn't know when exactly he would show up. So while my BF had a Nap, I took a Shower and watched the "10 Things to know before you go" in three different languages and some Disney Channel. I was counting on my Friend to call us around 6 or 7 and didn't set my Alarm because I thought him calling me would wake us up. So I fell asleep as well and it wasn't until 8pm when my friend finally called that I woke up. I was pretty upset that we spent half our first day sleeping, so I was ready to get going again. According to my friend, it would take him at least an hour to make it from Paris to Marne-la-Vallée. So my BF and I headed down to the Bar and had a drink. It is so lovely. While sitting there, looking at the fire place, you pretty much forget you are in Paris. After a while I almost believed we were in Northern America somewhere. After about half an hour sitting and relaxing, we headed towards the Village. I wanted to try Annettes, and as expected there was a queue in front of it. But since we had to wait for my friend anyway, we decided we might as well stand in line. We waited and got closer and closer and hadn't heard anything from my friend. We were seated and still hadn't heard anything from my friend. After about 20 Minutes of just sitting there, we were asked to order. So my BF and I both ordered a Cheesburger and I ordered my Friend a Maxi Burger. At about quarter to ten, he finally showed up. The RER Ride apparently took more than an hour! At least he arrived just in time for our food being served.
Again, I wasn't too overwhelmed with the food. It was good but not as amazing as I expected after reading all the reviews.
Well, we hung around and had dinner and unfortunately missed our first chance to see "Dreams". We headed back to our Hotel about two hours later and were ready for bed.
In hindsight, it wasn't the perfect first day, which was no ones fault other than our own. Can't believe we spent half the afternoon asleep!!!

OK, more to come later today.

 

[Katney]

For the Second Day, we decided to give the EMH a miss and not get up too early, so I set my Alarm for 8am. However, I woke up at 7 and couldn't stay in bed any longer, the view from our bedroom was so awesome! So I woke up my poor sleepy BF and we were off to breakfast at the Hunters Grill.
Breakfast on all three Days were a delight. The Cast Members were exceptionally friendly and helpful and there wasn't the pushing and showing that I expected, that I previously had to experience at the Cheyenne.

Before we headed to the Parks, I handed my BF the Map and asked him what he wanted to go check out. After studying the map he simply said "everything with a Thrill-Ride-Sign... and Autopia!".
So we headed off towards the Park again, surprisingly still making it for an hour of EMH. We headed towards Discoveryland, where we hadn't even been the day before. Autopia was still closed, so for the first ride of the Day, we chose SM:M2! Now, I have a spine de-formation, resulting in a bent between my C7 and my TH1. That basically means that I have a weak neck and my Doctor wouldn't approve of me riding Rollercoasters. But like I previously had, I decided to do one ride on each. SM:M2 on Monday morning was awesome, it was a smooth ride (we were at the very front!)
When we came out, Autopia had just opened so we got in line. We were debating if we wanted a Car each or who would get to drive. (We both have a licence!) In the End, I let the BF drive and got in with him. It was so much fun! And it is so adorable to see the little children driving and smiling.

Over all four days, we didn't do any sort of character meetings. Not that I think that I am too old for them, but they don't give me the sort of joy they do for other people. I don't collect Autographs and I hate Pictures of myself, so this isn't much of a joy. I'd rather leave that to kids (and big kids ) who enjoy this much more.

Anyway, so after our carride we headed back to Fantasy Land where the Storybok ride just opened and was a total walk-on. So we… walked on! I was a bit worried that my BF wouldn't enjoy this very much, but he actually loved it and so did I. It is so well done! I just wish the boats weren't so fast, you barely get a closer look and I would love to analyze everything more carefully.
After the ride we went on to Casey jr., one of my firsts. The last couple of times I was in DLP, this Ride was closed. It's very cute and much faster than I expected it to be. And I loved the view you have from up there. Once we got off, the queues on both Casey Jr. and the Storybooks got much much longer, otherwise we would have gone again!

We were getting hungry, so we tried to decide where we wanted to have lunch. Our Nr. 1 choice was the Fuente del Oro, but unfortunately, it was closed. (this was also a theme for the rest of our vacation) So we went to the next best thing, which was the Hakuna Matata just on the other side. We both had the Chicken strips with the Fries and it was gorgeous! According to BF, the best meal of the entire trip. It was so good that we ended up having the same thing on our last day.

After our meal that we ate outside in the sun, we went back to Frontierland and took a ride on Molly Brown.

At this point, my BF had a break in motivation and wanted to go and take a nap. So we headed back to the hotel, where he had a Nap and I took a shower and watched some TV.
We had Dinner Reservation for 7pm at the Blue Lagoon. While I reserved it, I didn't realize that that ment we would miss the Parade for the second Time.
We headed back into the Park with some time to spare, so we headed towards Star Tours, that was also on the BF's List of Rides to do. We didn't have to wait too long, but when it was time to "board", it turned out that we couldn't sit together. So I sat in the back and let the BF sit in the front. Once the ride was over and we met outside, he was a slight green shade and all he said was "never again!!!"

So my slightly queasy BF and I comfortably strolled over to Adventureland and on to the Pirates Ride.
This is where I had the only really annoying, really negative experience this trip with another Guest. As already mentioned on my highs and lows thread, i was so annoyed by all the flash photography going on in dark rides, especially the Pirates. And I feel it has gotten worse over the years. It is just so disturbing. So there was this couple on the bench in front of us and the guy took Pictures of everything, and that alone was really annoying. But he then started trying to take a "self-portrait" of himself and his girlfriend… still with the flash on. After his third attempt (by that time we were only seeing stars and nothing else), I told him to stop it. He turned around and asked me if I "had a problem with his flash" and I told him that it's not allowed and that it's rude. His first excuse was that "everyone else is doing it also, look around you"… so I told him that just because everyone else does it doesn't mean it's ok to do it (I was all ready to bring on the "if everyone else would jump off a cliff, would you jump too?" - Speech, but I didn't have to). He then told me that he just wanted to "enjoy his holidays". He got pretty agressive and was all ready to have a full blown argument with me. And I am not usually intimidated by guys like that, but I started to feel that we were bothering the entire boat with our arguing, so I told him to do that and enjoy the ride and turn back around, which thankfully, he did.


Once we got off the boat, we headed to the Blue Lagoon. We were seated right away at a lovely table for two right at the beach. And then we sat there for nearly 30 Minutes until our waiter finally showed up to take our order.
I had the Buccaneers Cocktail (Ginger Prawns with Vegetables and Salad) with the Caribbean Chicken as Main and Crème brulée for Dessert, which was all very very good. The BF had the Pirate Trilogy (Sea Bream, Avocado and Octopus Salad), Veal Medallions and the Chocolate Cake and he also enjoyed his food very much.

After his Main, he was talking about cancelling the cake because he couldn't eat anything else anymore that he was all full, not another bite would fit. Once the cake arrived thought, he forgot all about it and ate the whole thing!
I would rate the experience a C+. The Food was good though not outstanding. (I've been in 2009 when the Food was out of this World. But maybe it was just my order) The Atmosphere was amazing as always. Just the Service was way way way too slow. Also, the Toilet in the Blue Lagoon is the worst I have seen in the entire Park over these 4 days. It was dirty, one toilet was broken and on the only one left, the door wouldn't close.

Once we were out of the Restaurant, we went for another ride on the Pirates, to yet again have someone on the boat taking flash photographs of everything. But this time I didn't bother saying anything…

We got off the boats and it was time to head towards the Castle to see "Dreams" for the first time. We were there about 1.5h in advance and already the square was packed. So we just sat and waited, watching all the People and seeing the castle change while the sky when from Twilight to Night…

I had very high hopes for "Dreams", especially after seeing the special on Channel 5 a couple of weeks ago and I got so excited once it started. And I was not disapointed at all. I just stood there, staring at the castle, smiling and grinning and getting way to emotional! I could have watched it 10 times over and I wouldn't be bored. I love all the different elements, that there was water, fire, fireworks and the projections they do onto the castle were beyond fantastic. The creators of "Dreams" are genius, IMHO.


More on "Dreams" on the next Day, where I sat more close and took Photos. A lot of them!

 

[Ms Poppins]

Lovely first days We were there the same time, and probably in Blue Lagoon at the same time too!!

People with flash annoy me too, especially on Pirates

You got a lovely room at SL, great to have a balcony

I wouldn't worry about having a rest on the first day - I think you really need time out to appreciate the time in the park, otherwise you're just running from ride to ride without really 'seeing' the park.

Look forward to more

 

[DLPdaft]

loving this trip report - more please!

 

[Katney]

On Day three, I made sure we got up for EMH, waking the BF at 6:30. We were at breakfast at 7am and chose the Beaver Creek this time. We were the first ones in the Restaurant and for about 15 Minutes, it was just us, which was fun. We were the first ones to choose from the Breakfast Buffet, and had some peace and quiet… at least for a while.
By the time we were all fed and ready for the Park, it was only a couple of Minutes after eight, yet we weren't the first ones in the park by far!

We headed passt a quiet Main Street, through the Castle and into Fantasyland, where Peter Pan was our first ride of the Day. Like pretty much everyone else, I loved it and so did my BF. (This, again, might have something to do with "Tinks" )
Once we were out we headed over to Discoveryland and straight on to Buzz. My BF instantly got a really good score, while I did really really badly on our first turn. Next we went on Orbitron, which I thought was awesome, but once again made poor BF slightly queasy. This is when he told me he wouldn't do anything anymore that would go in circles. So we cancelled Dumbo, the Tea Cups, the flying Carpets and even the Carousell!
Instead, we sat on a bench outside of Buzz and my BF told me that this was his favorite ride so far. It was still a walk-on, so I asked him if he wanted to go again. He looked at me quite surprised and asked if we could go again… so of course, again we went.
This time, the ride broke down while we were pretty much in the middle of it. So while my BF tried to hit all the different "Z"s everywhere, I just kept shooting at the target right behind us, watching my counter go up and up and up. This time I got a much higher score than my BF, which still bothers him… because he still doesn't know how I did it!

By then, it was about 9am, and we headed towards the Studios, planning on making a run on Crush's Coaster. We stopped by the Market Deli for a cup of tea as it was still quite chilly outside. Once we arrived at the Studios, the doors were already opened and People were already queueing to get in. It was a public holiday in France and it was beginning to show. Once we were in, we jogged straight towards Crush, to find the Queue was already huge. But I decided to get in anyway. Pretty soon, we moved on very swiftly and I realized that the ride had only just been opened. All in all, I'd say we didn't end up in line for more than 30 Minutes. Now, I'm not sure if that was worth it. The ride is very cool and I enjoyed it, but it is so unbelievably short! You barely get time to get really into it and you're back out. If it were longer, I would more happily queue for it for an hour or more.
Now, since we pretty much ran past everything on our way in, we walked back towards Studio 1 so my BF could take it all in. We ended up walking all around the Studios once and ended up back at Crush's, where the queue was now 95 Minutes. It started to rain slightly, so we slipped into Animagique. Even thought this is more ment for Children, I loved it. It is so cleverly done, and the big pink Elefant is just so cute! Fortunately, my BF loved it too and was clapping along happily.
After Animagique, we already got pretty hungry, so we stopped for a Hot Dog, which we ate on a Bench between Cinemagique and Playhouse Disney. We sat there until they opened the Gates for Cinemagique, so in we went. I knew what to expect and being a Film and Cinema Lover big Time, I loved it! Not sure what my BF thought of it. He wasn't quite as enthusiastic as I was!

By the Time we left Cinemagique, it was raining properly. The only time it actually really rained during our stay, if you don't count the middle of the night. So we headed straight into Stitch live, which I have never seen before. But I love Stitch, he is my favorite Character, so this time this was a must.

What I expected from this was a cute show where the Parents sit in the back and watch the Kids interact with Stitch. I am not at all big on interaction, so I figured, let's sit in the back and make sure I don't get picked on. I also communicated this to my Boyfriend and he agreed. So when we got in, we sat at the very back, with my BF sitting at the isle. At the very beginning the Cast Member asked everyone who speaks English to raise their Hand "really really high so he could really tell"… I found that really suspicious and while my BFs Hand shot into the air, I decided against it. If you don't speak English, you can't get picked on, right?
So Stich chatted away with a couple of Kids until he said "oh, I see someone I know! In the very back row! (I thought "oh dear, please don't"), the one with the glasses!" So Dave, our CM, came down to us and asked my Boyfriend for his Name and where we were from… Stitch then went on to tell my Boyfriend that he is "a very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very bad guy" and that he had escaped from galactic space prison. - at that Point they showed a Picture of my Boyfriend on the Screen with a "wanted" sign. Stitch then told my BF that he was "so ugly" that Stitch would wear him as a Halloween Costume! I was on the floor laughing, it was sooo funny!!! And fairplay to my boyfriend, he played along nicely and actually enjoyed it. Dave, the CM, appologized profoundly several times, even told my BF that it would be "over soon". I just regret that I neither got a Picture nor a Video of the whole interaction, it would have been nice to have.

Well, after that awesome encounter, the rain outside had also gotten lighter. We saw that there was only a 15 Minute wait for TOT, so we decided to queue. I really wanted to do this ride the last two times I was there, but the girls I went with those times just didn't want to go and I wasn't up for going alone, so I was really excited. The inside of the Hotel and the backstory and everything is really well done. When it came time for the ride itself I was so nervous! We sat on the second row, myself all the way on the side. The drop was awesome! I screamed my lungs out and I dug my hand into my boyfriends leg, poor guy, and I wasn't prepared for all the "in-between" drops. I just thought up-down-up-down and that was it. I had a big fat grin on my face when we came out!

At this time, BF decided it was time for his Nap. So we headed back towards the Hotel, but took a detour into the Disney Store in the Village. BF bought a plush Stitch, which he felt he almost had to, now that he and Stitch were friends. I bought a plush Yoda-Stitch, which I thought was adorable. Also a little Plush-Pluto and a coffee mug, some cups, three what I would call "breakfast-bowls" that had Kaa, Scar and Baghira's Faces on it, a couple of pens (one with Stitch hanging on it that I now have at work, so I can play with it during Meetings), a Kaa Face T-Shirt, a Stitch T-Shirt and a 20th Anniversary T-Shirt.
We stopped by the Earl of Sandwich since BF was still a bit hungry, then walked to the Hotel. He took a Nap while I did my usual routine. I stopped by the concierge at the Hotel to book the Agrabah Café for Dinner, just to be told that it wasn't open in the Evenings. All in all, our nicely made Dinner- / Lunchplans were all pretty much ruined by Restaurant closures. OK, blame that on me for not booking from home.

 

[Katney]

We headed back towards the Park at around 5pm, I finally wanted to see the Parade! We stopped by the Market Deli for our free water and coke, then headed towards IASW, where the beginning of the Parade is. The Plan was to see the very beginning of the Parade so we could enjoy the Park while most of the Visitors were still watching the Parade. I really wanted to head towards the Pirates and try and get a Boat all to ourselves as I figured this would make for an awesome on-ride Photo. At least that was the Plan.

So we sat in front of the Bella Notte, right across from the Gate, and waited. Once the Floats came up, we stood up and stood on the rock-fence in front of the Restaurant to get a pretty good view. It was really funny to see the first float coming up to the gate, with the Fairy from Pinocchio standing on her little tower. She had her back to us and stood there for a couple of Minutes before the Music started. Once the Music started, before the gate opened, she took her position and exactly as the Gates opened, she started with the Dance Routine.

I liked the Parade, and I am happy they added the Fairies and I loved the 20th Anniversary Float. However, the Parade seemed a bit short, I somehow remember it being longer. But maybe that was because we've seen it from the very beginning. My Boyfriend was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a Tinkerbell... It was a great spot to watch, though we didn't get any Character Interaction and the Photos didn't turn out too great either.

As soon as the Parade had passed us, we swam against the flow towards Adventureland to hopefully get my Single-Boat-Pirate-onride-Photo, but to my big disappointment, the Ride was closed!
So we decided it was time for dinner. We headed towards the Fuente, but once we arrived, my BF decided that he'd rather have a Burger. So first, we headed to the Lucky Nugget, which was closed. So we decided to give Hakuna Matata another shot, but it was also closed. The Chalet des Marionettes in Fantasyland was also closed. The Bella Notte was closed. So we halfway already decided that we were going to head to the Village and to Planet Hollywood when we stopped by the Hyperion Café, which was opened and served Burgers. So my BF got a Burger with Fries while I got a Chicken Salad.

The Food was ok-ish. The salad looked like the one at McDonalds that I happen to like a lot, but it didn't quite live up to it. The Burger was apparently quite tasty. We sat at the Hyperion for only about half an hour because they didn't show any Cartoons. And once we saw a Mouse (an actual one) run by our table we decided it was time to leave. On our way out, we once again stopped by the shop, where I bought a Plush Alien from Toy Story. It wasn't even 9pm then when my Boyfriend decided he was tired and wanted to head back to the Hotel Room. I desperately wanted to see "Dreams" again though, so we decided to part ways.

I walked him to the exit and while he headed to the Hotel, I again went through the Shops on Main Street (i remembered I wanted to bring my Friend from work something "Bambi"- related, which turned out to be impossible. The only "Bambi"-Thing I found was a pink T-Shirt with a Bow on it and since my Friend is a 21 year old Male, I didn't think he would be too pleased )
I walked up Main Street and through the Castle, into the 3 Faries Sweets Shop and once I wanted to head back through the castle, it was already closed. So I walked around the Castle to see that in front of it, People were already sitting and waiting. Since I was on my own, I figured why not. I considered joining all the People sitting on the curbs, but they were all already pretty much occupied. However, the "first row", right behind the line in front of the castle, was pretty much still empty. So I sat down there all by myself and leaned my back against one of the poles. While waiting, I entertained myself with some TV Shows I had loaded onto my Phone and by watching the People.
There were two Cast Members "guarding" the Line and I watched them work for a while. At least every two Minutes, someone came up to them and asked them what was going on. If there was a Parade of sorts. Or why all the People were sitting here and when the "Parade" was going to start. I found this pretty surprising. I understand that I am a freak and I know a lot about Disneyland Paris, definitely more than the usual visitor, yet not as much as many on this forum probably . Still, I am pretty surprised how you can spend your day in the Park(s) and possibly one of the Hotels and not know about "Dreams". It's everywhere!
Anyway. Once the 5-Minute-Warning came, I expected the People to stand up, but noone did. I would have had a better view of the castle when standing, but I thought it was really nice that everyone stayed seated. It was a much better view for the People that were seated all over Central Plaza. (the Day before, everyone stood…) The Show was just as magical as the day before, I was so happy! This Time I remembered to take Pictures. I'm pretty pleased how some of them turned out. Though Pictures and Videos both don't do it justice, how amazing it is!

 

[Katney]

OK, Picture overload:

By the way, on Monday when we saw "Dreams" the first time, the second star to the left was slightly broken, one of the LEDs (or what I figure were LEDs, I'm not sure) was broken. And I was very pleasantly surprised that the damage had been fixed the next day!

 

[Mum to Belle]

Wow! What fantastic photos!! I'm so glad you watched it again!!

I did laugh at your BF and Stitch - my DH hasn't got picked on yet but I live in hope!

Also, your colleague & the pink Bambi T-shirt...

We had a similar restaurant experience to you on our first trip, I just hadn't realised how many CS places are shut off-season! I've not been caught out since though!

I love your room at the SL - what a great view!

 

[SleepingX3Beauty]

A very fun tripreport to read and wow, what an amazing pictures of Dreams! I'm looking forward to the rest of it, I'm really enjoying the reading!

 

[Ms Poppins]

Another fabulous update! I think we might have been watching the parade at the same time - we were up beside A Small World - and then we went to pirates and it was closed!!

I love our pictures of Dreams - amazing

 

[Katney]

Hi All, I'm so glad you enjoy the Trip Report, I will write the rest tomorrow... have to do some work every now and then as well!

Another fabulous update! I think we might have been watching the parade at the same time - we were up beside A Small World - and then we went to pirates and it was closed!!

I've actually checked all your TR Pictures to see if we were in any, but I couldn't find us!
I will read your TR once I'm done writing mine... and done some work!

 

[Ms Poppins]

I've actually checked all your TR Pictures to see if we were in any, but I couldn't find us!
I will read your TR once I'm done writing mine... and done some work!

Was this Tuesday 8th May? I'll have a wee look on the pics i've not posted as there are some views down beside the Bella Notte

 

[jothp]

I have really enjoyed reading your trip report - thanks for posting. The pictures of dreams are fantastic. I think it is the part of our trip I am looking forward to most (along with staying in DLH)

 

[Katney]

Was this Tuesday 8th May? I'll have a wee look on the pics i've not posted as there are some views down beside the Bella Notte

Yes, on the 8th of May. Standing on the wall at the Bella Notte. Pretty much exactly at the corner, where the floats turn. Next to a Tree!

 

[Katney]

Wednesday was our last day, so we of course were once again up for EMH. We got up at 6:30 and were at Breakfast again at 7am, thought not the first ones this day, though we were about 3rd or so. (not that it's a race! )
I stopped by the Concierge to make Lunch Reservations for the Agrabah Café, but of course just our luck, it was closed that day. Again, my own fault…
Then we headed back to our room to pack our stuff together and then off past the Lobby to drop off our Luggage for the day.
Now, I am a big fan of carry-on luggage and I haven't checked in a suitcase in decades. Meanwhile, I've become somewhat of a packing-genius, if I may say so myself. On our way in, i packed a backpack into my carry-on suitcase and just packed everything else on top. Now I took the backpack out, so all my shopping fit perfectly fine into the suitcase and even left room for more!

We had a busy day ahead of us and were off to EMH in the Park. As far as I remember we headed straight towards Buzz, which, apart from Pirates, is the only ride we did more than once. No, actually, we also did Phantom Manor a second time on our last day. So Buzz was the only ride apart from Pirates that we did more than twice! We both got a really good score, and I almost beat the BF again… though not quite. I was pleased with myself though. We took another little stroll through Discoveryland and Fantasyland, then headed to the Market Deli for a coup of tea and unfortunately my one and only Brioche of the Trip By then, it must have been around quarter to 10. In front of Frontierland, People were starting to wait for rope-drop and we joined them, as we hadn't yet done Big Thunder Mountain because it was closed the first day (at least when we wanted to go and get fastpasses). So now was as good a time as any.
While we stood there and waited, BF asked me if this was going to be like Crush's Coaster and if we were going to make a run for it. Silly me told him that we should just walk over there straight away but that there wasn't any need for running. Rope-drop was at exactly 10am and People immediately started running for Big Thunder Mountain, much crazier than I thought it was going to be. Well, pretty quickly we started running along. Funniest thing, in front of us were two Teenage Girls who were all ready to run to be the first ones on BTM. So once the rope was down, they ran off like crazy. Unfortunately, instead of turning right, they went left. Once they realized their mistake, they turned around and sprinted past us. However, they ran straight into the Fast-Pass-Line before realizing that they - again - had missed the entry.
By that time we were already in line… we walked all along the queue and ended up on the second train of the day. The ride was awesome and so much fun, my BF loved it!
We got off and figured that we hadn't done Indiana Jones yet. Unfortunately, we found out it only opened at 12, so we postponed it. Instead, we headed back towards Fantasyland and straight on to IASW, which was also a walk-on. Like everything that is ment for families with children, I was expecting my BF to be a bit bored, but he loved it!
We then went on with our "to do" list, so we went for another visit to Phantom Manor. This time the Cast Member that opened the door to let us in (my absolut dream job, btw), was so awesome, glaring at everyone and frightening the children!
Once we got out, we realized we were already hungry, and since our Lunch-Plans for the Agrabah Café were dismissed, my BF wanted to go once again to the Hakuna Matata. I didn't really feel like fries again, so I figured I could get a Pizza at Col. Hathis and carry it over to the Hakuna to have Lunch there with my BF. But of course, Theme of our Trip, the Col. Hathis was closed. So I ended up again with Fries and Chicken Strips from the Hakuna Matata. They were really really good. (I miss them!) My Boyfriend had the Kebap.

(Kaa and Zazu, never ever seen them before, are they new?)

After Lunch we figured we were done with the Park for now and headed over to the Studios, where the Studio Tram Tour was our first stop. I made sure that my BF was the first one into the carriage, hoping that he would get wet at Catastrophe Canyon, but that didn't really work. However, behind him sat an elderly indian lady who screamed like crazy, poor woman had the shock of her life!
Off Studio Tram Tour we headed towards the Stunt Show, to find out that the next Show wouldn't be on until 15:45, which would possibly be too late for us, as we wanted to spend our last hours in the Park. So we would have to give it a miss, which is a shame, because my BF would have loved it and I wanted to see McQueen. Ah well, it's a reason to go back soon!

(never seen those before, so funny!)


Since we were there, we went for RnRC, which was also pretty much a walk on. While waiting, I told my BF that I just didn't want to be in the front row… so of course we ended up in the front row. But it turned out that this wasn't that much of an inconvenience. The ride however was horrible, very bumpy and terribly bad for my neck. (again, my own fault here…) I immediately got a headache and felt dizzy for the rest of the day, which was very uncomfortable especially for the flight home. Anyway, I trooped on and we went to Toy Story Play Land, where I have never been before. I thought it was very well done and very cute but extremly crowded. And by that I don't just mean the People. The three rides in there are very squeezed together. While the Rest of the Studios is very spacious, it looks like there was barely any room for Toy Story Playland. My BF wanted to do RC Racer but I wasn't sure since I still felt a bit weird after the RnRC ride. So instead, we decided to queue for the Parachute Drop. We went for the Single Rider Line, and even though it said 5 Minutes, we ended up waiting a good 20 Minutes. In the End however, we got seats vis-a-vis from eachother, which was fun. Now, while waiting, we've seen the Parachutes go up and down about 20 Times, mostly with little children on it, laughing their hearts out. So I though, "oh, this is gonna be easy." I did TOT the day before and was fine. And I've never had a thing with hights. But those Parachute Drops, oh my god, I hated it! It scared me half to death. In hindsight, I can not tell you why I thought this was so horrible, probably because I didn't mentally prepar myself for it. But I was glad when I was on the ground once more. My Boyfriend wanted to do RC Racer next. I wasn't sure how I was going to handle it, but after calling him a wuss for two days after his "Star Tours" encounter, I didn't want him to return the favor. So we went. It was pretty much a walk-on as well, we only waited for a couple of minutes. But of course, again, we were the first ones in line. This time I wasn't ashamed to tell the CM that I neither wanted to sit in the front nor the back and she thankfully let us sit in the middle of the Car. So the ride: I loved it. I thought it was awesome and so much fun. OK, I had my eyes closed for half of it… but I will definitely do that again. I would choose the RC Racer over the Parachute Drops any day!

This concluded our time at the studios and we headed back to the Park, but we were starting to be really really tired. So for our very last ride of the trip, we chose - of course - Pirates of the Caribbean! And it was an enjoyable ride with no flash photography!
On our way out of the Park, we each bought a slushi (sp?) in one of the really fun long mickey-ears glasses, and sipped on them all the way to the Hotel. I also stopped by the Marked Deli to get our free little Vittel and some 20th anniversary cookies that I wanted to bring home. I only bought 3 and I hadn't tasted them before, I had my first one at home on Thursday. I should have bouth 30. Or 300. They are absolutly gorgeous! They are even better than the Brioche! I am so sad that I won't go back this year because I probably won't have a chance to get any more. By now, of course, they are all gone, eventhought I tried to save them…

Anyway. We headed back towards the Hotel and collected our luggage and just sat in the SL Reception Area for a while, being envious of all the people that came to check in, and we were enjoying our slushies.

After a while, we headed out and took a little walk along the Rio Grande, checked out the Swimming Pool at the SL, that we hadn't even had time to use. We sat there on a bench, relaxing, and feeling sad, until we got bored and headed back towards the Village. We had a Drink at the Sports Bar and I did some last minute shopping, bought a pair of Disney Flip-Flops for my Mother as a Thank you for looking after my Cats during my absence. I also bought some other stuff, various things that hopped into my basked, a few pens, some chocolates, various 20th Anniversary Merchandise.
My Boyfriend was very disappointed he didn't find a plush Tinkerbell Doll "to cuddle with" (his words, not mine!) (Being the good Girlfriend that I am, I've since ordered him one from the Disney Store )
We also stopped by the Earl of Sandwich to get some Food for the way home. I got a Tuna Melt, which is my favorite. I didn't end up eating it until we were on the train home. It was pretty good and surprisingly still slightly warm. It didn't compare to my alltime favorite Tuna Melt, which is from "eat". I'm not from England, so whenever I come to England, mostly on business, I end up buying 10 of them to take home.
Anyway, drifted off a little, there.

Well, sadly, by then it was time to leave. We had booked the TGV for our way to the Airport, so we waited at the station, while our train was more and more delayed and I started to panic that we would miss our flight because we were very tightly calculated. Once we made it to the Airport (getting into the TGV was crazy! Apparently, the TGV doesn't care if there are still people waiting to get on, the doors just close.) Thankfully we made it in time, had a quick and uneventful flight home. I was really excited to get home and see my Tigers, so I wasn't too sad to leave.

Let me just say, for the record, that we had no Problems with other Guests (apart from mentioned encounter on Pirates), no queue-jumping, no pushing, no shoving, no smoking in queues. The CMs were overall very, very friendly, though we did have quite a few CMs, especially in shops and Restaurants that didn't speak English. I found the Park to be reasonably clean, though there could have been a bit more effort. Overall the Toilets weren't as bad as I expected, though some of them were pretty smelly. I would say the majority of them were very acceptable. One other negative I have to mention, just a minor negative: the Hotel Room didn't have enough Powersources. There were two, and one was included in the piece of furniture that held the TV, so I couldn't really plug the kettle in there. The only other power source was in the Bathroom and it was so high up that the cord didn't really reach and the kettle didn't stand properly.
And, Spoiler coming up, don't let your kids read this! During our Trip, we came across Cinderella, Ariel, Belle and Aurora (on different occations), and though they are all pretty girls, I am very sorry, but they put way too much make-up on the Princesses! During the Parades as well. I'm sorry, but some of them looked like drag-queens! (hope I don't offend anyone with this!)


We had a great time and the fact that we didn't get to do everything we wanted just gives us an excuse to go back!
Though not anytime soon. We are planing on a Trip to Florida next May (so in exactly a Year), and eventhought I've been to WDW, I am not too familiar with it. So now I have a year to study, plan, decide, get excited about WDW!

Thanks for reading, everyone, I hope you liked it! And sorry for all the spelling mistakes!

- Kat

 

[zinderella]

Your trip report was excellent, thanks for sharing it and happy planning for your next one!!!

 

[Ms Poppins]

I've actually checked all your TR Pictures to see if we were in any, but I couldn't find us!
I will read your TR once I'm done writing mine... and done some work!

Can you find yourself in these?

 

[loladelorean]

I'm spending this evening on a train from London to Glasgow, so I've got plenty of time to kill and thanks to Virgin's free wifi, I'm killing it on the DIS and getting excited for my trip (less than 3 weeks to go!)
Just read your whole TR at once and loved it, thanks so much for all the detail. Made me laugh a few times too, especially the Rope Drop madness. I experienced this for the first time with BTM last June, my friends and I got caught up in it and started running full pelt, whooping and cheering.
It's a shame you were disappointed with restaurants being closed and also felt let down by some of your meals - but it still sounds like you had a fabulous time.
Best of all, you've got me extra excited to return to Sequoia Lodge in a few weeks time
Well done for converting the BF too! Happy planning for WDW

 

[DLPDreams]

Great TR - so pleased you converted the BF to Disney!

Your photos were lovely although I skipped the Dreams ones a little as trying to keep it 'new' for out trip shortly .

I really like the look of the SL hotel - we are going at Christmas this year (early Dec) and I'm so tempted to book here as it's meant to be a lovely seasonal hotel.