Surprise for my Princesses - Trip report 29/09 to 03/10

[disneynat79]

Hi Everyone,

Well it happened and we're back from the magic

To say we had a wonderful trip would be an understatement - will be doing a full trip report later (with photos if I can figure out how to put them on) so keep an eye!

I so want to go back...!

 

[Ms Poppins]

Glad you had a good time. Look forward to hearing all about it

 

[Anemone]

Glad your trip went so well. Looking forward to the TR and photos.

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Delighted it all went well would love to hear all about it and see the photos! Welcome back x

 

[cdsmiler81]

Glad you had a lovely time! Will keep an eye out for the TR!

C x

 

[petals]

joining in. Looking forward to the trip report.

 

[disneynat79]

Sorry in advance for the length!

Day 1

After setting up the Reveal display consisting of certificates, balloons, backpacks and gift bags the night before I did not sleep well to say the least!

But finally it was time to wake the girls up - I told DD1 (age 7) there was a surprise downstairs for her otherwise she would have taken ages to get out of bed!

We got downstairs and the girls saw the display and said 'WOW' and then when they realised that we were going to Disneyland that day, well - DD1 cried happy tears bless her!

Eurostar check in was straight forward, nearly burst with excitement when Mickey and Donald came over the tannoy to say the train had arrived!

Smooth straightforward journey, went and met a couple of folks from the DLP facebook page and chatted to a lovely family. The girls ate their snacks and played with their disney happy families cards and finally we arrived. Checked into disney express and headed off for Disneyland park.

Approaching the Disneyland Hotel made me emotional enough but then getting into the park and seeing the castle - well it never gets old thats for sure!

The weather was amazing the whole trip, I packed a bit of everything luckily so had t shirts but the hoodies and long sleeve tops I packed just weren't needed - it was warmer than summer!

We had decided on the train to go and meet Mickey first, to let him know we'd arrived. My littlest who is 3 just went silent when meeting the characters, she loved them but I think she was in awe - still gave lots of hugs and kisses though!

We then did Casey Jr which DD2 LOVED and Dumbo. During that day we also did the Carousel, Pinocchio, Snow White, Buzz, POTC and then went for our first ADR at Blue Lagoon. We ate here first on our last trip so it felt like a bit of a tradition.

I had the prawn cocktail thing for starter and the caribbean chicken and rice for main and....I had my first Glowtini of the holiday, yum! My hubby even had one too!

After dinner we did a couple more rides in Fantasyland, went into a couple of shops in Main street. DD2 chose 'red stitch' (I think he's called Leroy but I didn't correct her!) and then got a spot right at the front for Dreams. We were there over an hour and it was raining but it was worth it. Perfect view and yes, I cried (again)!

It absolutely heaved it down all the way out of the park and back to Sequoia Lodge so we got soaked and my red hair dye ran onto my new white disney top, wah!

Check in was straight forward, we collected our luggage and we to our room, 2323 Montana room. It was spotless and I'm sure it was a bit bigger than the room we had in one of the lodges last time? The girls were shattered and went straight to sleep, didn't hear a peep out of them all night!

Great first day, most of the rides were a walk on, even Dumbo was only a few minutes and Mickey about 10.

 

[disneynat79]

Day 2

We decided not to wake the girls too early as they had such a long day the day before. They weren't too long though I think once they stirred they quickly remembered where they were and ping - they were awake!

We got ready as quick as possible and went for breakfast but saw that Eeyore was there so let the girls meet him first, DD2 loved being able to choose her own things for breakfast and we ate plenty. I had to go back to our room to get the wet wipes that we left behind and saw that Goofy was now at the Meet n Greet. Of course on mentioning this, the girls wanted to go see him so we did this before heading to the studios.

In the park, we headed straight for Ratatouille after meeting Buzz Lightyear and saw it was only a half hour wait so joined the queue. It didn't seem too long and I was pleased to see a Cast Member hold back a couple of people that tried to jump the queue - this happened a few times on the trip so I think they must have had lots of complaints and finally decided to do something about it.

Ratatouille ride was really good - but not as good as I was hoping, I must add this is not anything to do with the ride itself, that was fab and so clever but more because I suffer with bad motion sickness so that set it off and I couldn't enjoy the ride as much as I wanted.

After this, we did the Stars n Cars meet n greet and that was great, we met Stitch (DD2 was very happy as she loves him), Jessie, Aladdin, Mary Poppins, Chip n Dale and Daisy Duck. The characters were great and were lovely with the girls - Dale took a real shine to DD2 and gave her a really long cuddle, she was beaming!

We had an ADR at Restaurants Des Stars so did that (was very nice and the desserts were a big hit) then went on a couple of rides, DD2 and I went on Slinky while DD1 and DH did Crush. DD2 giggled all the way round Slinky and then on our way to meet the other 2 Woody suddenly made an appearance so we quickly joined the queue that was forming and DD2 spotted us and came over. Woody was brilliant, so much fun, he messed up DD2's hair - we were all cracking up!

After that we did Animagique, Stitch Live and Magic carpet ride. DD2 and DH did Rock N Roller coaster - DD2 was determined to do it but freaked out a bit in the queue apparently and was crying. But once she did it, it became her favourite ride and she did it another few times during the holiday!

We then decided to go back into Disneyland Park and Lola bought Lilo's doll thing (Scrump??). We did Buzz again and Peter Pan! Yay! Did Dumbo again and a couple of others and chose Cafe Hyperian for tea. Wasn't very impressed with the cold cheap tasting (but expensively priced) burger but it filled a gap.

Back and in bed, shattered!

 

[disneynat79]

Day 3

Did our best to get into the park for EMH but after meeting Minnie at the hotel and breakfast, got there about 9am. We did Peter Pan and Dumbo and then joined the already long queue for Princess Pavillion - it was only 9.30am!

Saw Belle and Sleeping Beauty walk into the Pavillion around 10.15am (was hoping we would get Belle as we've never met her).

At 10.30am the doors were opened and we were in, from there we didn't wait too long - especially after chatting with a lovely lady from Ireland, whose daughter was busy chatting with DD1. The CM said the Princess would be a surprise but asked who the girls liked and DD1 said her favourite is Rapunzel but she also wants to meet Belle, Ariel, Snow White....

The CM directed us to the left and when it was our turn we got...Rapunzel! I was amused as we got her on our last trip - it was quite a magic moment as she's my DD1's favourite and we didn't think we would meet her, daughter was so, so happy!

Well Rapunzel (different actress to last time) was absolutely beautiful and was french doing an american accent so sounded quite squeaky but it was endearing! She asked if the girls knew her story and what their favourite part was - DD1 said when Flynn was tied up in the chair with hair and Rapunzel said about hitting him over the head with a frying pan and they all had a bit of a giggle - very cute. DD2 again went very quiet but she could not take her eyes off Rapunzel. Lovely experience and had 2 happy girls after!

We saw Maleficent appear on the castle balcony and then the villains came out, we headed to Gaston who was hilarious - we waited patiently (unlike others) and Gaston noticed this and gestured for the girls to go over - DD1 pointed out that little 'un was in a Belle dress and Gaston declared that he was the man of her dreams and got her to give him a little kiss on the cheek! He signed the books (we got through 2 books each for the girls during the trip!) and then said 'nice to meet me wasn't it?!' DD2 was giggling away!

We then went to Frontierland and DD1 and DH did Big Thunder Mountain as the queue was something silly like 5 or 10 minutes. I went into a nearby shop with litttle 'un and I bought a Jack Skellington Mickey for DD1, she is a huge NBC fan and then DD2 got upset so we got her a Sally soft doll - naturally we then went to meet Jack and Sally!

Again, they were just brilliant - Jack got the Jack Skellington Mickey and said 'Who is this and why is he wearing my clothes!', he then asked DD1 if she had a 'terrible morning' and whether she had spiders for breakfast! Sally tried to engage DD2 but she just went quiet again (she is not usually quiet I can assure you!) but they did get her to make monster 'rarrrs' and hands for the photo! DD1 was in heaven - she loves Jack and Sally

The halloween band was playing right by the meet n greet queue and played disney songs, they were great! Then we went to Phantom Manor and walked straight on, DD2 was a little bit scared but not too bad. Came out and Maleficent was there!

After that DD2 and I went and had a look around Skull rock and she played in the pirates play park whilst the others went to Big Thunder Mountain again!

Then we got a spot for the parade near the toilets next to Bella Notte - we were by the rope and this was a great spot, we were so close to the floats and characters!

Magical Moment occurred here - during the parade I caught Peter Pan's eye and pointed frantically to DD1, who adores Peter and believes wholeheartedly that Neverland is real...well he came straight over, took her hand and kissed it - I cried, DD1 was beaming from ear to ear (and she cried a little happy tear as well) - I will never forget it and will be forever grateful for that moment, and Peter gave me a cheeky wink when he walked away - I don't know if they realise how happy they make people

We were singing the parade song long after it finished, loved it!

We then headed off to what we thought was our reservation for Buffalo Bills.

This was our one and only disaster of the trip. When I booked it on Ticketmaster France, I booked for 1st October - I double, triple checked this when I booked and as I went through the checkout process - especially as it was in french, believe me I booked 1st Oct. Somewhere along the line, Ticketmast Fr has realised there is no BBWWS on Weds or Thurs at the moment so changed the booking (must have been as my debit card was being authorised as it was definitely 1st October when I paid) to Friday 3rd October! I realised this when we arrived at BB's and it was deserted - I checked the tickets that I printed off but annoyingly didn't check as I presumed it would be the date I clicked on and paid for, and indeed they said 3rd Oct - but we went home on that day so instead of saving money, we lost £132 and also had to pay for a meal for that evening I was pretty upset and wondering how on earth it could have happened but DH was lovely and didn't make me feel bad at all, so we went to Rainforest cafe which had no wait and had a nice meal.

So folks, please beware when booking and check your dates at all points during and after making your booking so if you get screwed over like I did, you might have time to rectify it in time.

 

[disneynat79]

Day 4

Decided to let the girls sleep again and after breakfast and a bit of a splurge in World of Disney, headed for the studios.

Would like to add that after the disaster with BB's the night before, DH let me go to Disney Fashion and buy a couple of bits so got an Ariel top and Mickey shoes!

Went into the studios and did the Toy Story parachutes and a couple of other rides (cars spin, magic carpets and crush), then headed to Cafe Mickey for our ADR.

This was a great experience as always, I had the fantasia mushrooms for starter which were delicious. Goofy came out first and gave the girls a big hug and danced around with them a bit, he then gestured for me to come over for a hug and photo and then got DH and gave him a massive hug!

Next Pluto came out, DD1 was beside herself, she got a pluto cuddly from her first DLP trip when she was 3 and he has been her bedtime cuddle every night since - I don't think they have ever had a night apart as he came with us on this trip and the one before that in 2012 as well! Needless to say, though she has firm favourites, out of all the characters Pluto is her top one. She did tell Pluto this as well and he was very pleased - got us to scratch behind his ears and gave lovely cuddles to the girls

Then Mickey came out and DD2 got quite excited - he was brilliant! The girls had t shirts on that had Mickey and Minnie sat at a cafe type table holding hands, Mickey made me re-enact this with him after I told him, he was MY fave character! He then put his arm around me and walked away with me, waving goodbye to my DH ha ha!

Then Chip n Dale came out and were delightful and so was Eeyore, he kept gently headbutting DD2 and she was stroking his nose, so sweet!

I had the sirloin steak, DH had the burger - he wasn't overly impressed and neither was I (though dessert was nice) but the kids faces during the character interaction was totally worth the 2.68 euros we paid after the vouchers!

We then went back into the studios and caught the last bit of Stars N Cars so met Gepetto and Donald then did the Monsters Inc section, the Motor stunt show which DH and DD1 loved but DD2 got a bit freaked out by the fire! DD2 had been asking to meet Spiderman for the last couple of days and the wait was only 30 (but more like 20) so we did that while the other 2 did Rocknroller coaster again!

Spidey was great but yep, you guessed it, DD2 went silent again. Some of the photos from the trip are so funny because DD1 is beaming in all of them but DD2 is either smiling beautifully or really serious looking!

We went back to the Monsters Inc bit for a few more pics and left for an early night so we could do EMH on our last day. Did a bit more shopping in the village, DD2 asked for a 'strawberry bear' - I said 'you mean Lotso?' and she looked and me and went 'no, just one!' Ha ha!!!

DD1 got a lovely Rapunzel figurine/snowglobe thing with her euros and a pin set. We went into the Disney Gallery and I drooled at all the lovely collectables then went back to the hotel and had dinner at Hunters grill. This was really enjoyable, one of our fave meals I think. DH was in his element and had a few plates worth! The girls loved the dessert selections again and they were on a bit of a sugar high after!

Picked up some shopping from the SL boutique and I got some photo frames and an album. We also got a decoration for our Xmas tree - it was pluto and stitch which was like fate as its the girls favourite characters!

Got to bed for a relatively early night after packing - then the blues started to sink in

 

[disneynat79]

Day 5 - Last day

Got the girls up at 6.30 which was difficult as they were knackered, got ready and took the luggage to disney express. Headed into DL, got a couple of balloons as DD2 had been asking all week for them and did all the things in Fantasyland that we hadn't like Alice's labyrinth, teapot cups (as DD2 calls them), Today it was really busy, you could see a massive difference between this day, Friday and earlier in the week. DD1 and DH went off to do Star Tours while DD2 and me did Casey Jr (they let us stay on twice in a row!) and the storybook ride. After the carousel, Captain EO (yay!!) and buzz a couple more times we went for our ADR at Auberge.

We were there for nearly 2 hours, service was very slow but our waiter was very polite and helpful and the girls loved the princesses. We met Aurora (same actress as our last trip!), Cinderella and Snow White and the Prince. Suzy and Perla the mice were lovely and DD2 gave Perla the longest cuddle with her eyes closed and everything, she looked like she was in bliss!

All the Princesses were lovely and Aurora asked the girls if they'd been inside her castle yet and told them to watch out because Maleficent is hanging around...

Cinderella was nice and DD2 just held her hand and stared at her! Snow White was really sweet but her Prince was the best! The girls were dressed as Elsa and Anna so he kept asking DD1 to build him an ice castle, he was really good with the girls

Dinner was nice, had another glowtini - but the girls didn't really eat a lot of theirs but I guess you pay for the experience!

Did Buzz again then had a look in the castle and visited the dragon - then for the horrible moment of saying goodbye - I always get so upset at this part but it had to be done. I tried to get a couple of bits on the way out, there was a photo frame I really wanted but couldn't find so that got me down a bit but we said Goodbye to Disneyland and headed to Eurostar.

Had a wonderful, magical time and cannot wait to go back, we're now saving for the big one in Florida for 2016 but DH has just casually asked how much it would be to got to DLP at Xmas, eek!

Will post some final thoughts tomorrow!

 

[disneynat79]

I can't figure out how to upload photos so here is the link to my Flickr pics, I hope it works!

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/56215144@N00/

 

[cdsmiler81]

Oh my word, what a lovely TR! Love the Jack and Sally meet, and the Peter Pan bit nearly made me cry too!! All the character interactions sound amazing!!

Sorry about your Buffalo Bills incident! But it sounds like everything else was perfect!! Off to have a look through your photos!!!

C x

 

[cdsmiler81]

LOVELY photos!!!!!! Your girls are gorgeous!! Looks like you had a fabulous time!!

C x

 

[disneynat79]

Thank you so much it was good to write this after enjoying so many other TR's and the effort that went into those - as well as all the helpful info!

 

[TheTizardFamily:0)]

Great report, it seems you had a wonderful trip

 

[Christieand]

Lovely TR, one of my favourite things is hearing about characters' interaction with children and you definitely had some lovely moments

 

[Ms Poppins]

Oh, lovely trip report I love all the interaction with the characters and Peter Pan sounded wonderful.

Photos are beautiful, your girls are so cute They look so happy with all the characters.

Shame about BBWWS, but you did well with a nice meal instead.

Love your surprise balloons and packages too - I bet they were on the ceiling!

So glad you had a good time - better get that Christmas trip planned

Thanks for sharing

 

[disneynat79]

Thank you everyone!

It was a wonderful trip - don't think we can afford Xmas but we might be able to squeeze in another DLP trip before Florida in 2016

The characters really were fab and so glad my girls still 'believe' at least for now!

 

[ILOVEDLP]

Fab trip report and lovely pics too.
I'm sure you will be back before you know it
Good luck planning WDW