Bonnie and Claire's DLRP Trip - Day Five

Bonnie

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 5, 2005
Tuesday June 14th 2005

Cast: Me (23) and my girlfriend Claire (25). In the photos, I'm the blonde with glasses, and she's the brunette.

NOTE: Click the little thumbnail images to see larger versions of the photos! I'm having to post the reports in sections as I have too many images! The board won't let me post more than 20 at once! :(

We were up for 7.10am this morning, which meant that <em>finally</em>, on our last day, we made it to breakfast on time. As we left the room, we found our invoice from the Express Check-Out service hanging on the door handle. This meant that we didn't have to go to reception to check out; instead, the charges we'd incurred (by using the hotel charge card to pay for meals and merchandise) were simply listed on a piece of paper and charged to the MasterCard. <em>Very</em> convenient, and there were no problems with it whatsoever, although I do recommend keeping a note of your spending in a little notepad if you're going to use this, so that you can quickly check that everything's in order before leaving! Also, you can't use it on your last day (or on your first day before arriving at the hotel), so make sure you take some Euros or credit cards as well!

We went to the Beaver Creek Tavern for breakfast again, as we prefer it. Our card was for 7.00-7.45, and we got over there for 7.35 - it's much quieter at this time of the day! As we were leaving, we spotted Tigger in the foyer and took a couple of photos. Then we headed back to our room to pack, where I started to feel very sick, stressed out, and sad. I had really bad tummyache and I think most of it was due to nerves about travelling, but it made me feel horrible. I cried quite a bit as I didn't want to leave and felt really stupid as a result. Luckily Claire was sympathetic! I had wanted to go swimming for the last time this morning, but neither of us really felt up to it and didn't feel like packing wet swimming stuff, so we didn't bother.


After making sure everything was packed, we made our way over to reception for 10am. Our bags needed to be checked into the Disney Express service before 11am (so that they could be sent to the train station), and here we handed them over and were given the little green stubs we'd need to collect them later. I will repeat what I said on day one and say that this service is fantastic. <em>So</em> convenient. They'd even put a little box on the wall next to the luggage room for people to post their room key cards in, which we duly did. We also posted the little hotel comments card in the box marked with the picture of Pluto.


We were then luggage-free and ready to head to the parks. We had made a brief plan for today, which we intended to stick to, so it was over to the Walt Disney Studios Park first of all. On the way, we bumped into a strange man who seemed to want us to pose together at the entrance to Disney Village. I am gullible and naive and sort of went along with it, thinking he just wanted a photo of two young ladies as a souvenir (because that would be fine, of course! What is WRONG with me, I ask!?) but Claire pulled me away and then told me he had a Polaroid camera, and was probably going to try to sell the photo to us. Honestly, I don't know where I'd be without that girl. We ran away from him.

We arrived at the park in time for the 10.30am Good Morning Walt Disney Studios parade, which seems to pass through Production Courtyard and then turn left outside Cinémagique. There are a few characters in this parade, such as Lilo and Stitch, Minnie Mouse, Cruella de Vil, etc. and it has different music to the main parade. It doesn't last very long at all and once we'd got to the Cruella de Vil car (and realised we'd seen it from this point a couple of days ago) we decided to go to Cinémagique for the 10.45am show. Claire pointed at a couple of seats in the front central area and suggested we sit in them, so we headed towards them and were "told off" by a cast member. I thought this meant that we couldn't sit near the front, so I headed for the back and promptly started to cry! I was really emotional today and I don't cope well with being told I've done something wrong, so it just set me off. Claire said that she thought the seats we'd tried to sit in were actually disabled seats, and that we could sit closer to the front if we wanted to. So I followed her (reluctantly) and we sat four rows back, in the centre. I was pleased we did this, as some of the special effects in the film seemed to affect only the first block of seats, though I'm not sure. In any case, we had a good view and really enjoyed the show.


The show was finished by 11.10am and so we wandered over to Animagique for the 11.30am show. Make sure you get here early if you want a good seat! We were there fifteen minutes early and the theatre was almost full, but we managed to get seats near the front (albeit quite far to the right). The show is very sweet, and we both enjoyed it, though it is primarily designed for young children. I think I would've died of embarrassment watching it as a teenager, but as an adult I could appreciate the cool special effects. It is very well done and I enjoyed the Little Mermaid scene, though I did wonder where the Monstro, Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio scene was! You know, the one printed in all the brochures! I had been looking forward to that in a silly kind of a way.

The Lilo and Stitch Catch the Wave Party must've just ended, as Lilo and Stitch were signing autographs when we left Animagique at 11.55am. I had a quick stroke of the back of Stitch's head (the first and only character I touched during the entire holiday!) which was very soft, and then we headed over to Backlot to try our luck at getting into the 12.15pm Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectacular. There were loads of people in front of us, and the queue was already moving when we got there, but we got into the arena and were directed to fairly decent seats, which were quite close to the back but had a good view. I was impressed with the way the set looked and amazed at the huge number of people there! The show itself was clever and some parts of it were very fun to watch, but there was far too much chit-chat, which made it a little boring for us, I'm afraid. Claire said it was a bit "boyish" (which is strange coming from her, as she's quite a tomboy sometimes!) and I know what she means. The benches do get quite uncomfortable and there's no back support, which I really need as I get quite a painful back sometimes. There is also a lack of leg room and I kept kicking the person in front of me by accident - oops! I don't mean to moan, but we'd heard such praise for this show and I suppose we were expecting it to be better. I don't know! Maybe we were just in a bad mood because it was our last day!


The show finished at 1pm and we headed straight for Armageddon: Special Effects, which was good and very clever, but I could've done without the pre-show! The cast member presenting it was very annoying indeed and I didn't really see why that huge introduction was necessary. They could've done that on a screen in the queuing area or something! In the little spaceship pod thing (not sure what to call it), we stood on the outer edge of the circle, near to a sort of vent. I said to Claire, "I bet something scary comes through there" and she didn't believe me... until a huge fireball exploded in it and we really felt the heat! I also hurt my neck a bit, but I can't remember how! There were several crying children by the end of the "ride", and I wouldn't really recommend it for under-fives. Some people had taken babies in there!
 
By that time it was 1.30pm and so we decided to go for lunch in Disney Village, spotting Minnie Mouse on the way. (She's everywhere!) Claire had been keen to take me to the Rainforest Café as she likes the one in London, so we went there and both ordered the Rasta Pasta and drinks. You get a lot of pasta in rather huge bowls, but I found it sickly. I think there was too much of the cream sauce and not enough chicken, and neither of us could manage to eat that much. It all seemed a bit too "slimy" and definitely not worth the 37 Euros we paid for it (not including drinks). It was one of the more expensive places we ate at during the holiday, and I wasn't all that wowed by the atmosphere in the café either. Claire thinks the London café is much nicer. I don't like complaining about things, but I'm just trying to give an accurate account of our experience! It seems like a popular place so maybe we were just having an off day.


We finished lunch by 2.15pm and decided to have a go on the Panoramagique balloon, as we knew we'd regret it if we didn't! We bought tickets for the 2.40pm "flight" (24 Euros for the two of us) and then sat and waited, watching the balloon and panicking slightly! When we finally got in, I panicked a bit more and decided I was scared! I was holding the camera and I think this made me feel even more unsafe, because I was shaking and worrying about dropping it into the lake! It's a very weird feeling and my ears popped slightly as we got higher and higher, and when we reached the full height above the ground (330 feet), I started to panic about what would happen if someone cut the tether and we floated away! Once you reach the full height (the ascent is very slow), you stay at the top for a couple of minutes so that you can have a look around you. The balloon turns and tilts slightly at this point, as people move around to have a look. There is room to sit or kneel down on the floor, though, which was appreciated as I was a bit wobbly! I did manage to take some photos and videos, and Claire took a photo of me, but I do <em>not</em> look happy in it. I'm pleased we did it, but I just felt really unsafe for some reason. I don't understand why! I was very pleased when we got back down to the ground. The "flight" lasted about five minutes in total.


We headed back to the Disneyland Park for 3pm and decided to grab a FastPass for a second go on Space Mountain: Mission 2, to see if it would be better this time. FastPasses were still being issued, so we picked up tickets for the 3.35-4.05 timeslot and then started queuing for the Orbitron. After a few minutes, though, we realised that: a) it looked just like the Dumbo and Flying Carpets rides; and b) every single one of the spaceships had either two little kids in it, or an adult (in the back) and a child in the front. We seriously doubted that our bums would fit in the ride, and decided to give it a miss. The Autopia queue was also big, so we decided not to bother with that one, either. Instead, we sat in the shade outside Videopolis (and took a photo of ourselves reflected in the side of the building!) with our little mini fan, and got a few funny looks, too. Why? Are battery-powered mini fans a British thing or something?!


At 3.40pm, we headed for the Space Mountain: Mission 2 FastPass entrance, and we had a five-minute wait. This time, we went down the left-hand set of steps and boarded the train in the left-hand station, whereas on our first day, we'd boarded the train in the right-hand station. On my previous trips to DLRP, when I've always loved Space Mountain, I've never used the right-hand station. For some reason, I just felt much more comfortable and safe using the left-hand station this time. I don't know why. Anyway, we boarded our train and we were off. When we got to the canon, we seemed to start the ride further up than we had the previous time - kind of halfway up the canon, like in the old Space Mountain. We then heard the "3... 2... 1" countdown, but nothing happened. I thought we were stuck (and had another minor panic!) but then the countdown started again. "3... 2... 1" and we were off. The launch was very slow and didn't give you that breathtaking, stomach-leaving-behind feeling like before, and I wondered if we'd been launched too far the first time, and then not launched properly the second time. Who knows! There was also no audible "BOOM!" as we shot out of the canon. Oh well! Once we actually entered the mountain, however, the ride was fantastic. I could hear the music this time, and see so much more than I'd seen on the previous ride. I don't have a clue why, but Claire had the same experience. She said it was like an entirely different ride to the one we'd been on just a few days ago. Are different tracks/routes used for the two different stations? It just goes to show that you can't judge a ride based on the first time you ride it! And if today's ride had been the first time we'd been on it, we would've thought the launch was a bit crap, too! It's strange.

 
After that, we were feeling much better about things, and Space Mountain: Mission 2 was safely back in fourth, or possibly third, place in my "Top Five DLRP Rides" list. Claire decided she wanted another go on It's A Small World before leaving, and as the parade was about to start, we thought it would be quiet. We wandered past all of the crowds and into Fantasyland, but then realised that the path in front of It's A Small World was roped off for the parade, and that we were on the wrong side of the parade route. Oops. Another young couple seemed to be in the same predicament and they ran across the parade route (just before the parade had started) and got a very stern and disapproving shake of the head from a cast member, so we weren't about to try the same trick! We were in a very quiet area of the crowd (at the very start of the parade route, just next to the special area for patrons or something) and there was a gap big enough for both of us right next to the rope, so we stood there and decided to watch the parade, despite the fact that I hadn't enjoyed it on our first day. Well, the parade turned out to be the same as Space Mountain: Mission 2 - I hadn't enjoyed it much on our first day, but it was lovely on our last day. We had a great view and I got some good photos and a couple of videos, too. This sounds kind of silly, but it felt sort of "magical" that we'd happened upon the parade by chance like that, and ended up in the right place at the right time. I was really pleased that we'd got to see it again for a second time, because I liked it much more. This time, the Cinderella float was missing from the parade, but the Aladdin one was there (unlike on Friday). How odd!


After the parade had passed, both of us were feeling quite cheerful and skipped across to It's A Small World, which wasn't very busy at all as the parade was still going on. This is probably a weird thing to say, but we really love the smell of this ride. I think it's just the smell of chlorine in the water, but we both find it very comforting! (In fact, after returning home, Claire said she missed the smell of the water!) Claire didn't seem to be tiring of this one and I wasn't finding it annoying after the fourth ride, which surprised me. After that, still feeling happy and chirpy, we headed over to Adventureland for a fourth and final ride on Pirates of the Caribbean. The queue was the shortest we'd seen it so far and this time, we decided to sit at the very far edges of our seat (i.e. as far away from each other as we could go) to see how wet we'd get. I was on the left, and I think I got more wet than Claire did, because there's a part near the end (on the left-hand side) where the waves keep hitting a small rock and the water splashes into the boat. Just before the final drop, the boats all piled up and we were waiting there for several minutes in the scene where the guy is leaning over the bridge with a mug of beer. The music started to get horribly repetitive at this point (I think you're only supposed to hear it the once, but we heard it about seven or eight times!) and I wondered what was going on. Gradually, though, the boats went down the drop and I told Claire we should put our arms in the air for the photo. So we did. The ride seemed even better this time, possibly due to our high spirits, and we were very amused to see that one of my arms had been "amputated" on the photo! Nice!

 
By this point, I think we were ready to leave. We felt like we'd done enough and there was nothing else we desperately wanted to do (or do again), so we decided to take a casual stroll through the park and take some photos. We didn't feel like rushing around in our last hour or so. I was approached by another two couples who asked me to take photos of them, which Claire found very amusing, as that brought my total to four, whereas she hadn't been asked once! I have decided I must look like a really serious photographer, because sometimes I kneel down to take photos. If only they knew!


We eventually left the park at 5.40pm, took some more photos of Fantasia Gardens and the Disneyland Hotel, and then made our way to the train station for 5.55pm. It took us a little while to figure out where to go, but then we spotted the escalators going up to the Disney Express desks. There was already a queue of people waiting for Eurostar check-in (with their luggage) so we squeezed past them. You don't go to the same desk as you go to when you arrive; you have to turn right and go down a little corridor until you come to the correct desk for your hotel. Sequoia Lodge was the first desk we came to, and we handed over our little green stubs to get our bags. When the cast member handed over the last bag, he said "à bientôt!" ("see you again soon!" or similar) and it just set me off. I don't know why and can't explain it, but I just burst into tears. What a wally I am! We got in the queue for check-in and I pretended I'd just sneezed and therefore required a tissue, while a little boy took great amusement in my Itchy and Scratchy t-shirt. Check-in, passport control and the security check went smoothly this time (as I had remembered to take off my watch), and we were ready to board the train by 6.20pm. The bloke in front of us on the escalator looked incredibly familiar, and I thought he was a footballer. I asked Claire, and she told me he was <a href="http://www.theinternetforum.co.uk/popstars/daniel1.html">that bloke from One True Voice</a>. Oh dear.


Once into our snazzy First Class coach on the train, the lovely hostess showed us where our seats were, but mentioned that there were two seats free which were next to the luggage compartment and had a little table, so we could face each other. We had looked at these seats on the incoming journey and thought they were quite cool (they seat two at a table, as opposed to four) so we took those seats. We were then asked if we would like an <em>aperitif</em>, which I thought we'd have to pay for (being a commoner who's not used to First Class treatment!) but Claire said it'd be free, and quite right she was. We had apple juice, but they had all sorts of wine, beer, Coke, fruit juices, etc. We were seated opposite a family of four with two children, both of whom seemed very excitable and were talking about their holiday, which made me feel quite happy. The mum apologised to us because the little boy was being quite noisy, but I thought it was lovely and said to her, "At least he's happy!" I just felt very contented for some reason. Our dinner trays were brought around quite soon after that, with a bottle of Vittel water, a "proper-looking" French chocolate mousse for dessert, a little chocolate Disney lolly (so cute!) and bread rolls. The main course was a chicken breast with either a little potato cake thing, or rice. I really wanted the rice, but the hostess served the family opposite first, and they all wanted the rice. When it came to serving the dad, she had run out of the rice ones and had had to have the potato one, as did we. I wouldn't have been bothered, but then I noticed that the children and the mum didn't even so much as <em>touch</em> their dinners! The dad was the only one eating, and he had the potato cake one when he really wanted the rice one! So he and I could've had their rice ones! I know it sounds like a silly thing to get worked up about, but I found it all a bit silly. The dinner was nice, though, and the French chocolate mousse was the nicest chocolate mousse I've ever had. Tea, coffee and water were brought around after that, so we had our Disney lollies with cups of tea.


The journey was completely uneventful, really, and we arrived back at Waterloo on time. We can't believe how smoothly our holiday has gone, but it's not over yet - we still have a few days left in London, and plenty of time for things to go wrong!


<strong>Afterwards...</strong>
But nothing did go wrong, despite the fact that I had a tearful couple of days following our return to the UK, and I'm still not "quite right". I'm still very emotional, and I think it's due to the build-up, the reality of actually getting there and things going smoothly, and then the weird feeling of being back at home and realising that it's over. We've both noticed how much we miss the sunny skies and carefree way of life we'd had at Disneyland, and decided that we just have to go back again at some point in the not-so-distant future. We've started to plan for a Christmas 2006 visit, and the sad thing is that I'm only happy when we're talking about it! I think Claire has now picked up on that because I was a right miserable bugger last night, until she got out Simon's book and the brochure and asked me to tell her about what happens at Christmas. Of course we have to save up plenty of money and Christmas 2006 is over a year away, but it's good to have something to look forward to, isn't it? :)

PS - I still have some panoramic photos and videos to post, and I'll do that soon! :)
 


Bonnie - thank you so much for a wonderful trip report. So much detail, and those fabulous photos - it's been a real treat!! :goodvibes


We've started to plan for a Christmas 2006 visit, and the sad thing is that I'm only happy when we're talking about it!

I understand just what you mean. :hug: I think I've got over being sad now, but I'm definitely at my happiest when I'm thinking about Disney! :love:
 
Well done Bonnie - those were really excellent trip reports - so detailed and interesting. You do seem to have had a lot of tears but that just goes to show how much Disney means to you and how the "magic" touches people's lives. Absolutely nothing wrong with that!! Getting back to real life can be a bit of a downer even if you enjoy your normal life!! We are the same - always planning and looking forward to the next trip!! Thank you so much for all the excellent photos too. You obviously had a great time and it sounds like Claire is now well and truly converted - she'll never be the same again!!! :teeth: I've enjoyed getting to know you through your reports :sunny:
 


Thanks so much for these reports Bonnie. So well written and you obviously put a lot of care and detail into them.

I know what you mean about thinking/planning your next trip. We're going next month and again in November and I'm already thinking about when we can go next year!
 
Thanks for the great report! Im sorry you got so emotional - although it amused me as thats how me and my girlfriend are, im always bursting into tears and she's standing by wondering what exactly went wrong this time!?

I totally understand the upset/happy tears of Disney, 'Circle of Life' still makes me cry because it reminds me off my last day at WDW, even though we've been back since, and even though the film and musical/show were also tearworthy, thats why it makes me well up! Has the same effect on my mum who's not even as Disney-holic as I am! I think Disney can force sadness as well as happiness, imagine the power!
 
Thank you Bonnie for sharing your experiences. DLP sounds wonderful. I got more excited about our Oct trip as I read each of your reports. You are a very good photographer. I am very sad after my Disney vacations also. But it does help to be able to start planning your next trip! :earboy2:
 
Fantastic trip reports Bonnie. I really enjoyed them, all the detail and photos especially.

I hope you will enjoy planning for Xmas 2006 now :)
 
Hi Bonnie,

Thank you so much for your lovely reports. I am actually sad they are now at an end. :sad2: However I did wonder after reading them if you would be plotting your next inevitable trip....it just goes too quickly!!

We've started selling things on ebay, to get the holiday fund moving, its amazing how much "stuff", you accumulate. By the way course books sell well on ebay and amazon - so now you have your 2:1, you could off load all those expensive course books and have a tidy sum towards your next DLRP trip :Pinkbounc .

Thank you again - you've made me more determined than ever to get something booked ..............and soon. :cheer2:
 
Hiya Bonnie!

Thank you very much for the fantastic trip report - I was gripped by every part, and am really sad it has now finished:sad2:

Just to solve the parade float mystery, all the floats are being completly stripped down, then repainted and re-built. Aladdin's float has been away in rehab since early May, and just returned the week you were there, Cinderella has now gone into rehab and will be back sometime in July.
 
Hi Bonnie,
shame it is the last day. But all those photographs and memories are what makes DLP so magical :)

Reid
 
Thank you everyone. :) I'm pleased nobody thinks I'm a loon for getting all emotional like that!

bonhoga - Yep, eBay is a good plan. We've already shifted some stuff on there and I probably will try to sell those course books! I'd quite like to see the back of them! We're living out of boxes at the moment (and have been for about two years now as we're renovating our house) and keep coming across boxes of potentially sellable stuff!

Poppy - That's sooo interesting about the floats! How funny that we just happened to be there on two separate occasions in the same week and managed to see both floats! Very strange indeed.

Thanks again everyone for the lovely comments you've left me over the past week. I've really enjoyed writing these but I'm kind of glad I don't have to write any more as it takes a wee while! Luckily I'm fast at typing. :bounce:
 
Bonnie, thanks for sharing all your wonderful memories with us. I have so enjoyed reading them and looking at all your photos.

Don't worry, Christmas 2005 brochures will soon arrive and that will make Christmas 2006 seem even closer, just think of all that planning you can do! :goodvibes
 
Thank you Elaine. :) I have enjoyed writing them and putting all of the photos together. (And those were only a few of them... we took so many!!!)

I can't wait to pick up the Christmas 2005 brochure. :goodvibes :flower:
 
Lovely trip report Bonnie I've reallly enjoy reading about all your adventures!
I have no idea what that roped off area was for in Cinemagique. They had one in Animagique too. I sat in the seats marked with the disabled symbol just before the roped off area as directed by a CM. Intriguing.....!
I know how you feel about being sad when you come home. I hate coming home after a nice holiday, its not that I don't like my home but I know I am going to feel miserable for a few days as 'reality' hits me. Back to life, work & bills. Boo!
 
I've really enjoyed your reports Bonnie, and your photos are great! It's not surprising you felt emotional after waiting and planning for so long beforehand. It's always hard to come back to reality, but now you've got another trip to plan for (I thought it was really nice how Claire asked you about Christmas at DLP to cheer you up!) :goodvibes

Rhiannon :wizard:
 

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