Value Resorts and Inside Staterooms? Bah Humbug! 30 days of Disney fun! 02/10 Day 30

[Stefy]

Yikes sounds like a busy day, but cool pics of the Backlot Tour.

 

[dizneeat]

Yikes sounds like a busy day, but cool pics of the Backlot Tour.

It was C-R-O-W-D-E-D!!!!!!!!!! But since we go often enough we don't have to spend all day at the parks!
Love the backlot tour - it is always fun and lots of photo ops!

 

[englishrose47]

Loved those Spotted Cars !!Backlot Tour is a favorite of mine at WDW!!!

 

[podsnel]

I felt so horrible for you with all that parking lot mess!! How exhausting! Glad you had fun on the Backlot tour- that is something I always mean to do, but always forget about when I am there-

So exactly how often do you go to DLP?

 

[dizneeat]

Loved those Spotted Cars !!Backlot Tour is a favorite of mine at WDW!!!

They have an aweful lot of cars from different movies. The spotted ones stand out though!

I felt so horrible for you with all that parking lot mess!! How exhausting! Glad you had fun on the Backlot tour- that is something I always mean to do, but always forget about when I am there-

So exactly how often do you go to DLP?

I could not believe how unorganized the garage was! They should have had a pre-pay system that night! Well, next time we'll know better!

Sometimes the backlot tour is the only thing we WILL do at the Walt Disney Studios. If the parks are packed it is the only thing that has a shorter line, and it is a nice tour!

How often do we go to DLRP? At least twice a year, but we have been known to just go at the stur of the moment and spend a long weekend there.
Those spontanous trips were cut a bit short when we decided to do two trips to WDW a year - airfare cuts into our budget quite a bit!

 

[dizneeat]

Bonus Mini Trip Report

Halloween Fun at Disneyland Resort Paris

Still Day 3, November 1

Will the crowds ever subside? - Part 2

After picking up the few things we still wanted to buy we walked over to Disneyland Park.

The park was packed and after walking over to Frontierland and seeing the crowds we thought it might not hurt to ask if we could get in at the Silverspur Steakhouse.

Sure, but it was a two hour wait. So, while walking back to the hub we talked about what to do for the rest of the day. In the end we decided against the Silverspur Steakhouse and went back to Annette’s.

The line started way outside the door, but we were greeted by a Cast Member who handed out menus and informed us that it would be about 20 minutes until we would be seated. And he was right, within 10 minutes we were inside the door and in a warm environment and within 20 minutes we were seated. We even had the same server we had had on our first day and we both ordered the same drinks too, two Diet Cokes. Since we had had enough time to study the menus we were ready to order right away.

Tom ordered the Sweet Boeuf and Chick Combo Burger. A grilled chicken breast and a burger, served on a bagel with bacon, cheese and sweet chili sauce, with a side of fries. Since Annette’s is famous for its burgers I had to order one as well.

I went for the All New Frenchie Blue Cheese Burger. A beef burger, a Spanish potato tortilla, bacon, blue cheese, sour cream, served with French Fries and coleslaw.

We also ordered a side of Caesar salad to go with it, which we shared. It was just nice sitting there, eating and watching the servers on rollerskates “roll” by. Once we had finished our main course we thought about dessert. It didn’t take long to decide that we wanted dessert!

Tom ordered a Deluxe Shake, with Oreo cookie flavour.

I had The Sticky and Sweet Chocolate Cake, rich gooey chocolate cake, strawberry sauce, light vanilla flavoured custard cream, grilled almonds and whipped cream. We both enjoyed our sweet treat and when we finally left the restaurant we were sure, it made no sense going back to the parks as people were streaming in and they would be packed. So we decided to drive over to the Val’ d’ Europe shopping centre and do some more shopping. The parking lot was packed with cars but we finally found a spot, parked the car and walked over to the shopping centre.

We walked through the Disney Outlet that is part of the shopping centre, then walked around the shops, mostly doing window shopping. We picked up a few more small things before we called it a day and drove back to our little villa. I wrote all our postcards, we checked our mail accounts, and finally had dinner. There were still lots of goodies in the fridge that were waiting to be eaten.

While Tom cleaned up the mess in the kitchen after dinner I went upstairs and did the packing for our trip back home the next day. Once I had finished packing I went downstairs again and we watched an episode of CSI before we went to bed hoping that we would be able to get up and out of the house early the next morning.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Wow! Your DD must be so excited to go to Washington DC! We have had three very short visits and I always loved it there! How long are they going to stay?

The tour is 4 nights and 5 days. But reality it is 5 nights as the first night is on a plane. Once they land they start touring at "full" speed. They will check into their hotel that evening around 10 pm. Crazy if you ask me. Anyways, I'm glad I'm not chaperoning. It should be a great trip for them. We've been once when our kids were very young (under 5 years old). So, we mainly enjoyed the zoo and some of the museums.

Thanks for taking the time to write out trip reports!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Wow....that park is SO CROWDED even at this time of the year! Is it mostly because of the Halloween party?

I loved those Stitch and Angel posters outside the Disney Outlet.

I'm so craving burgers right now.....I think I'll buy some for lunch tomorrow

 

[englishrose47]

Karin those Burgers looked fantastic !!!I also had my eye on Tom'e Oreo Milkshake !!!!

 

[Kellybelly777]

Great updates of course! Too bad for crowds That oreo milkshake looked sooo good!!!

 

[dizneeat]

The tour is 4 nights and 5 days. But reality it is 5 nights as the first night is on a plane. Once they land they start touring at "full" speed. They will check into their hotel that evening around 10 pm. Crazy if you ask me. Anyways, I'm glad I'm not chaperoning. It should be a great trip for them. We've been once when our kids were very young (under 5 years old). So, we mainly enjoyed the zoo and some of the museums.

Thanks for taking the time to write out trip reports!

Wow! That sounds like some kind of trip - a night on the plane and jumping right into sightseeing! The kids will be shattered when they get back to the hotel! Hope that gives the teachers a quiet night!

But it sounds like a wonderful trip - it's so important for kids to travel and get to know their own country!

Wow....that park is SO CROWDED even at this time of the year! Is it mostly because of the Halloween party?

I loved those Stitch and Angel posters outside the Disney Outlet.

I'm so craving burgers right now.....I think I'll buy some for lunch tomorrow

Nov 1st is a catholic holiday in France (and Austria as well). So everyone (or nearly everyone, as some shops were open) has the day off and I guess half of Paris came to DLRP! It was a much different story the next day!

Karin those Burgers looked fantastic !!!I also had my eye on Tom'e Oreo Milkshake !!!!

I just loved those burgers. We had not been to Anette's in quite some time, but I guess we'll go back next time we go to DLRP!

Great updates of course! Too bad for crowds That oreo milkshake looked sooo good!!!

We don't mind the crowds too much. As we can only go there during my holidays we know that we will most likely encounter crowds, as the holidays are the same in France. If we are able to ride something - we love it, if not we'll try another time!
That was one really nice and creamy milkshake! Tom loved it!

 

[dizneeat]

Bonus Mini Trip Report

Halloween Fun at Disneyland Resort Paris

Day 4, November 2

From Halloween to Christmas in just one night! - Part 1

The alarm went off early and we asked each other if we felt like getting up and ……. Nay!

We went back to sleep for a while and got up around 8am. After taking showers and getting ready we got into the car and drove over to the little boulangerie to pick up some more baguette and sweet treats for breakfast. We still had cream cheese, ham and salami in the fridge, which we needed to use up, so we had a nice breakfast and even enough stuff to prepare some baguette to take with us for lunch.

I had another chocolate éclair and

Tom had decided on a raisin pastry. After finishing breakfast we loaded our stuff into the car, walked through the house one more time to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything and took the keys back to reception.

We left the villa around 9.45am and drove over to the parking garage. After paying the AP holder ticket we walked over to Disneyland Park to spend the day there until it would be time to leave again. There were considerably less people trying to get into the park and in the park. We walked under the railway station and were so surprised to see that they had already put up the huge Christmas tree in the middle of town square.

Most of the Halloween decorations on Main Street and in the shops were gone and Christmas had started to creep in. We walked through the shops and I was able to take a few photos of the cookies they offer at the sweets shop.

When we got to the hub we admired the wonderful decorations they had put up at the hub.

We walked over to Frontierland and got a Fast Pass for Big Thunder Mountain, before we walked over to the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril roller coaster.

It only had a 15 minute wait and was as fun as always. They have made a few new modifications to the waiting area and there even is now a Hidden Mickey in the queue area!

We both still wish they would reverse the ride to going backward again, but it still is a fun ride. Next stop should have been Pirates of the Caribbean, but we just should have believed the sign outside, which said 25 minutes. It WAS 25 minutes, the line started outside the building and when we saw that we turned around and walked out of the ride again.

We slowly made our way into Fantasyland, past Peter Pan, which had another long line and walked down to Belle’s Christmas Village, to see if the shops were open and if we would find some neat photo ops. We did find the stores to be open, but unfortunately all of them sell the same stuff. While we were walking through we saw that the back part was kind of deserted, so we stopped to take some photos.

When we walked further towards Discoveryland we found out that “It’s a small world” had been closed for refurbishment.

Good thing we got to ride it during the Halloweenparty.

The shortcut walkway to Discoveryland was open, so we walked through there and made our way over to Space Mountain. There was a neat WallE display and after taking a few photos we decided to pick up a Fast Pass for Space Mountain.

 

[YukiPhnx]

Wow, what a difference from the day before! And it's amazing what they were able to get done in one night. Those cast members sure work hard! I like the wooden horses on the tree.

Those cookies.....look SOOOOO good! Are they mostly sugar cookies?

Wow, an Indiana Jones rides! The queue looks very cool. I love discovering Hidden Mickeys when you're not looking for them.

I love that Wall-E display! It's soooo cuuute!

 

[KatMark]

Great update, Karin.

 

[Linda67]

Hi Karin

I don't often pop by this way

Great TR as always and love the photos of DLP. They have helped to get me excited about my trip in Feb

 

[Stefy]

Wall-E and Eve look so cute, would be cool if they made noises too

Christmas looks so magical in DLRP have you seen the latest snow pics on the Disney Blog? Looks so beautiful. Hope there's snow when we go

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi! I really enjoyed reading about your DLRP trip! So interesting to see the things that are the same, and the things are are different than WDW and DLR.

Wow! You got to take your school class on a great trip! Looks like really well behaved kids, too

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

My mom has been telling me about your trip report for months (she lurks) so now that I am on my Christmas holiday I figured I better come check it out! Really enjoying your report, your food pictures are making me hungry! I also love reading about Austria and DLP! Looking forward to more.

 

[dizneeat]

Wow, what a difference from the day before! And it's amazing what they were able to get done in one night. Those cast members sure work hard! I like the wooden horses on the tree.

Those cookies.....look SOOOOO good! Are they mostly sugar cookies?

Wow, an Indiana Jones rides! The queue looks very cool. I love discovering Hidden Mickeys when you're not looking for them.

I love that Wall-E display! It's soooo cuuute!

It was amazing! We could not believe that they had put up the tree overnight! You could see they were still working hard, but the transformation had begun!

The Indiana Jones ride is fun - it is a "small" rollercoaster with one loop. But it was WAY more fun, when it was backwards! They used to put the ride vehicles on backwards, so you would not see where you were heading! It was the ultimate fun, even though you bumped your head quite a few times!

The cookies are mostly shortbread, the white ones are meringue and the pink ones are marshmallow.

Great update, Karin.

Thank you, Kathy! I have been grately neglecting this thread, since there was lots of work to do for school and I wanted to push my dining review out. But I have actually typed a few more days and I am going to post them over the next few days. I guess I should get this one finished before I start my February one!

Hi Karin

I don't often pop by this way

Great TR as always and love the photos of DLP. They have helped to get me excited about my trip in Feb

Hi Linda! It's nice to have you visiting here too!

You are really going to enjoy DLRP! So many things have changed and it is really wonderful in the winter with all the snow!

Wall-E and Eve look so cute, would be cool if they made noises too

Christmas looks so magical in DLRP have you seen the latest snow pics on the Disney Blog? Looks so beautiful. Hope there's snow when we go

No noises from Wall-E, sorry! But I really liked the display, it really fits there next to Space Mountain!

I did see the photos and we have seen the snow "in person" quite a few times. It's really magical, BUT, be warned .......... it is COLD there!!!! So you better bring a cap, a scarf and gloves!!

Hi! I really enjoyed reading about your DLRP trip! So interesting to see the things that are the same, and the things are are different than WDW and DLR.

Wow! You got to take your school class on a great trip! Looks like really well behaved kids, too

You are absolutely right, many things are the same, or look the same as WDW
and then there are those that are totally unique to DLRP. The layout of the park is a bit different too, which sometimes gets me all mixed up!

Our Vienna trip was wonderful! I really enjoyed it and YES, the kids were VERY well behaved! I was truely proud of them!

My mom has been telling me about your trip report for months (she lurks) so now that I am on my Christmas holiday I figured I better come check it out! Really enjoying your report, your food pictures are making me hungry! I also love reading about Austria and DLP! Looking forward to more.

Hi! Welcome and welcome to your mom, the lurker , too! Hope she comes out of lurkdome some time!

I am glad you enjoyed the report so far. I have not had enough time to really work on it and get it all done, real life gets in the way, but my Christmas holidays start on Thursday and they last until Jan. 10, so I hope I can get a lot done!
Stay tuned!

 

[dizneeat]

Bonus Mini Trip Report

Halloween Fun at Disneyland Resort Paris

Day 4, November 2

From Halloween to Christmas in just one night! - Part 2

We decided to pick up a Fast Pass for Space Mountain. By that time the skies started to become grey and we were sure it was going to rain rather sooner than later.

Our Fast Pass time for Big Thunder Mountain was already on, so we slowly made our way over there again, but not without hitting another store and picking up a few small bits and pieces for some of our friends. The regular line was long, but Fast Pass was only a 5 minute wait,

Tom asked if we could ride at the back and we got to ride in row 13 and had a lot of fun!

Once we got off the ride we decided to try and have a look if we could find a table at the Cablecar Bake Shop.

Yip, several tables were free and we got in line to pick up some goodies.

Tom had a Café au lait, I had a cappucchino and a Halloween cupcake. The coffee was hot, but we both had had better and the cupcake was horrible. Most of it went in the bin.

But when we had finished our coffees it was time to ride Space Mountain. We walked to the Fast Pass Entrance, up the stairs, handed in our tickets and found out that the regular line started right where the Fast Pass line met the regular line!
There were some kids pushing through the line which always annoys me, but within 10 minutes we made it to the front of the line and onto the ride. To our huge amazement the ride had a lot more light than we remembered. You could actually see the props in there and see where the ride was heading. But it all didn’t help, I bumped my head and shoulder several times!

After the ride we noticed that we had not been in the store next to Startours and went in. Right in the very first container there was the Tower of Terror Stitch we had been looking for, for our friends Stefy and Dave! In no time one of them belonged to us!

We only had about an hour and a half left until we had to leave and since we wanted some lunch we walked back to Fantasyland to see if we would be lucky at Mr. Toad’s. No way, people were already sitting outside the restaurant.
Same was true for La Chalet de Marionette and the Hakuna Matata Restaurant. There were only a few more choices and our time was running out.
Next stop was the Cowboy Cookout, but they had a band playing and the restaurant was full. So the only restaurant that was still a possibility was Colonel Hathi’s Pizza Outpost.
When we entered we were surprised to only find a short line and several open tables. It was good we did not know what was in store for us! The line moved very slow. The people on the left were very undecided and it took forever for them to make their minds up, while on my side, the ride side there was a huge group ordering their meals. It took forever for them to place their order, then for them to pick it up. And even though there were only 4 or 5 people ahead of us it took about half an hour to place an hour. There are only little choices. So we both had a pizza.

Tom had the Pizza Royale, which had ham and olives,

while I had the Four Cheese Pizza.
By the time I made it to the table with our food and drink the pizzas were only lukewarm. We did not have either the time nor the nerve to complain, so we ate our lukewarm pizza and off we went.
We used the shortest way out of the park and over to the parking structure. Since we had paid beforehand, we could walk straight to the car, hop in and off we went. We stopped at the gas station next to the hotel Santa Fe

to fill up the car and were finally on our way. The drive to the airport was uneventful and we reached with plenty of time to spend before having to say goodbye.

We returned the rental car, loaded our stuff onto a trolley and went down to check in with Lufthansa. We had checked in the day before so we thought that we only had to pick up our tickets at the little “do it yourself” check in desks. Tried the frequent flyer card, didn’t work, tried the booking code, didn’t work, tried by name, didn’t work. So there was no other way than to walk to the actual check in and do it the old fashioned way. Luckily I checked the tickets as they had changed our seats and we were now seated rows apart. I asked about having different seats and was granted my wish. Once we had sent off our luggage we found a seat, had a sandwich that we had prepared earlier and some of our leftover drinks, before we headed to the final security check and the boarding gate.

Our flight was on time, we were handed some Ham Sandwiches

and were offered some drinks and in no time we landed in Frankfurt. Our second gate was across the airport, so we made the hike, plopped down on some seats when we finally arrived and waited for the second half of our trip. The flight was full,

our snacks had been put on the seats before we were allowed on board and we were nibbling the baked Pizza Snack while taking off. About 55 minutes later we landed back home in Linz, picked up the car and I dropped Tom off at his place before I drove home and fell into bed shortly after midnight. I even managed to fit in a few hours of sleep before I was back to everyday life at 5.30am in the morning.