November 2013 - "Jingle Shells" - Full Trip Report

[rottie155]

Day 1 - Wednesday 13th November 2013


It has been exactly six months since our last visit to Disneyland Paris and, after what feels like an eternity of waiting, we are going back for Christmas!!!

After a terrible night sleep (I think I was just excited about going back to the Magic), my 4am alarm burst into song and up I shot with a huge grin on my face! All dressed and ready, DBF picked me up at 5:30 and so the journey began!

The journey was pretty uneventful it comprised of a complete selection of every Disney song on my iPhone & surprisingly, I had over 2 ½ hours worth of classics to enjoy!

Arriving at Calais, we decided that we would stop off at Cité Europe to load the car with goodies for the rest of the journey. I love Cité Europe! So many lovely shops to peruse! I was promised that we would return on our way home and I could look properly then I am a sucker for a shopping centre!

We left Cité Europe at around 10am and began our drive to the Magic! It was finally real to me, we were in France and going back to our home away from home!! YAY!!!! Take that yay back, two hours in and we were faced with a traffic jam due to an accident. It was a complete halt. Ironically, Hakuna Matata started to play in the car and DBF and I just burst out laughing. After sitting for an hour and 20minutes in traffic, we managed to move approximately 3 miles & then we saw the reason for the jam and it didnt look good at all! Luckily, once we passed the accident we were 10minutes away from Disney! HURRAH!!!

It was now 13:25 and we were pulling up to the reception at the Disneyland Hotel, handing over the car keys to the Valet (I've now become more accustomed to this practice and didnt suffer the same embarrassment as I did in May when DBF had to convince me that I wasnt being robbed!) and checking in at front desk. At reception, we were welcomed back home and it was good to see us again this year (a lovely touch) and that the Disneyland Hotel was pleased to tell us that they have given us our usual room just at the top of the Grand Staircase. Perfect! We were then told that we had chosen a great time to visit as the resort was extremely quiet and we wouldnt have to queue for anything (even better)!

Previously, this would be the point where we would run to the room, receive our luggage, then I would be itching to get into the park& However, we had a Christmas Themed Room (ooooh) and I needed to have a good look at it! Walking into our room, with the curtains drawn and our own little Christmas tree sparkling in the corner was an absolute dream come true. This was the first time I can truly say that I felt real magic just by standing in our room. We were given a champagne welcome with fruit, chocolates, biscuits, soft toys and a gorgeous Snow White mug. It felt like we were in a Disney movie, sitting inside our very own palace. Aaaaah.

It was now 2pm and the room-awing had to stop, a Christmas-Disneyland MUST be explored!! Walking through the gates (to a muffled robotic welcome), looking up at Main Street Station gorgeously decorated with classic Disney Christmas images of the Fab 5, and we were immediately back where we should be. We slowly walked through the station and stepped onto Main Street U.S.A. and took in the sight of the enormous Christmas Tree, the sparkling decorations on each building and then finally turned the corner and peered down toward the Castle engulfed underneath a long line of Mickey Mouse Wreaths above the street. It was a hugely emotional, magical, warming and festive feeling. We had wanted so much from this Christmas visit (when DBF and I were courting, our first trip away was to Disneyland Paris in November for the Christmas season) and Disney certainly did not let us down.

After standing in Main Street USA, completely awestruck, for some time we decided we probably should make way to our first ride of the trip. As tradition dictates, we headed straight for Pirates of the Caribbean!... Which was closed! What? Noooo! There were technical difficulties and the attraction would be open later in the day Phew!

We then realised that we were feeling quite peckish after all the excitement of being back and so we headed for the Cowboy Cookout in Frontierland which we ate at for the first time earlier this year in May and both loved it in there. We had Inventions booked for the evening so decided we would only have a small lunch and went for Menu 1 the chicken strips! They are delicious!! I dont think either of us said a word to eachother when we sat down with the food in front of us, Im surprised I didnt lose any fingers to be honest with you it all got a bit intense!

With full tummies and a need to see some more Disney, we checked out the programme and noticed that Jack Skellington was currently appearing in front of Phantom Manor dressed as Sandy Claus! I pulled some puppy-dog eyes and sweetly asked DBF if we can go see Sandy Claus Jack no matter how long the queue may be and how this is my only wish, nay DREAM, for the trip! How could anyone say no to that? Ha!

It was 2:45pm and walking through Frontierland was absolutely manic. I have never seen so many people!! We decided that our hotel receptionist (remember the one who said it was really quiet and we wont queue for anything?) lied to us! Haha. DBF suggested getting a FastPass for Big Thunder Mountain whilst we were passing (hes a genius) which gave us a return time of 3:30pm. We then queued for 25minutes to see Jack but oh was it worth it! He was fantastic and in character engaging with each guest he met and making references to Nightmare Before Christmas with each conversation he had. We posed for photos with Jack, our favourite was our Whats This?! pose (we found it apt). We were wished a very Merry Christmas (which excited us even more) before naturally heading onto Phantom Manor.

After Phantom Manor it was 3:28pm and we were right on schedule for a trip along the wild west upon Big Thunder Mountain, yeehaaa!!! It would be rude not to after obtaining our FastPass wouldnt it?! Ive decided that I LOVE Big Thunder Mountain! I know, I know I am a late bloomer here. But it never really bothered me either way before but now, I am in love. I shall be making this a daily ride makes mental note.

I am a person of traditions and my tradition of Pirates of the Caribbean being the first ride had already been broken today& I needed to go and check if it was back up and running so at least I could squeeze it in as one of the first three rides of the day (same thing, right?). We were in luck! It was back open with a 5minute wait - more lies (I blame the receptionist for jinxing us) - we waiting a good 25minutes! But I do love the queue inside the building, the theming is amazing and we love the ride. It was definitely worth waiting

After Pirates, we noticed that the parade was due to start in 15minutes (4:45pm) and so we picked out a little spot by the entrance of Fantasyland. If anybody was around at this time, they certainly would have spotted us we were the two singing, dancing and bouncing with excitement throughout the entire parade. We loved the Christmas Elves at the start, seeing Santa, the new Frozen float!!! Everything was as magical as ever!

After the parade we walked onto Its A Small World (Celebration) which was completely decked up for Christmas& and I LOVED it! We were in fits of laughter as we approached the mermaid in the attraction and DBF realised she wasnt singing Jingle Bells she was, amazingly, singing away to Jingle SHELLS! Well, that was it, the rest of the trip every moment of silence was filled with the words jingle shells. Hilarious!

It was now 5:30pm and we realised we still had our hotel fastpass to use (couldnt just leave it could we), so we chose to use it on Space Mountain:Mission 2 to save our little legs and used our hotel fastpass to walk onto the ride. Lovely!

I dont know what happened whilst we were in outer space, but upon our return to Earth, the zip on my jacket completely broke. I was trapped inside my own coat! Must have been the gravity! It was freezing so DBF said we should run back to the hotel and change coats before standing and watching Dreams but naturally, not before posing for a Superhero pose in my coat-come-new cape!!

Coat changed, it was now fast approaching 6pm and the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony was about to start in any moment, we barely made it back but oh were so glad we did. There were no characters calling children up to light the tree like previous years, it was all synchronised to a track with Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket narrating and it was beautiful. The ceremony was simple yet magical. There was a part where a child on the recording wishes for snow, and then out of nowhere, snow began to fall across Main Street and DBF looked at me and said "Adam, its snowing!!" we both welled up at this point. It was like a dream come true and so magical as neither of us expected it to happen. I even feel emotional each time I think back to that moment. You can see how emotional I look in the photo - I still had tears in my eyes (awkward)!

After the ceremony, we joined the long queue at the Cable Car Bake House for a hot chocolate to try and warm us up for Disney Dreams of Christmas.

And then, the moment we had been so excited for since booking this trip, we were standing in front of the Castle watching Dreams of Christmas which was presented by the hilariously cute Olaf from Frozen. The show was incredible, I thought it was even better than the usual Dreams. There was loads of comedic moments, the fireworks were gorgeous and the music well Im humming away to it as I type this make a wish thatll last forever tra-la-la-la-la-laaaa, hold it close, and never let it go!! So magical.

After the show, we made our way back down Main Street all lit up and magnificent back to our room to shower and change ready for our 8:15pm reservation at Inventions.

Inventions was as lovely as ever. As we were seated we were greeted by our waiter who said I remember you, you come here a lot dont you! How are you both? which I thought was lovely and funny because we always seem to have the same guy look after us when were there. We ordered our wine and before leaving the table, the main mouse himself came over to welcome us! We had a lovely meal together and enjoyed every morsel of food that hit the plate probably more than we should have done, I couldnt stop myself!

Throughout the course of the meal we met (in order oh yes, thats how good I am!); Mickey Mouse, Mr. Penguin from Mary Poppins (DBFs favourite film and he had never met Mr. Penguin before so he loved that), Dale, Goofy and Chip.

During the meal, we took a little food-break half way through and was both on our phones sending photos home to friends and family, then out of nowhere somebody snuck up behind us and slowly a head appeared in-between the two of us (mid-status update might I add) and began to cover my phone. As I looked up, I saw Dale standing there laughing away and gesturing that we were both on our phones and not even speaking to one another! Dale then took my phone and began to pretend to send messages on it so funny!

Another great moment was Goofy and Dale playing around for a good 5 minutes, Goofy was trying to chase Dale across the restaurant and Dale was pulling out chairs, hiding under tables (stopped to mock me and DBF about our phones again) and was running all around the place. It was so much fun and everyone was in fits of laughter watching them both!

After our banquet of food and wine, we sluggishly left Inventions completely intending on going straight to bed - Until we spotted Café Fantasia was still open and decided on having a Bacardi Royale instead in the lounge as the pianist played us out to Jolly Holidays from Mary Poppins& A wonderfully magical start to our Christmas trip.

 

[rottie155]

Day 2 – Thursday 14th November 2013

It was 7am and the phone alarms were going off, I was very tempted to hit the snooze button until I opened one eye and realised that I was in the Disneyland Hotel!! WIDE AWAKE NOW!!!! DBF got up and made us a coffee (we became a little obsessed with the coffee machine – by we, I mean, DBF did).

Up, dressed and ready we made our way to breakfast which was lovely. We sat with our food and hot chocolate looking down Main Street whilst the Castle beamed in the distance at us. It was calling us – honest it was!

As we left breakfast we noticed that poor Gepetto was out for meet and greets in the hotel and nobody was going to him for a photo – we soon changed that!

It was 8:15am and we were walking into the Disneyland Park just in time for the rain. I looked at DBF and said “nothing is going to put a dampner on this trip, not even a bit of rain”, and so we embraced the weather and made our way to the Castle to have a good wander through it and gaze out on the balcony across an empty Fantasyland. The park was ours.

An empty Fantasyland only means one thing... Peter Pan’s Flight! I love Peter Pan’s Flight, it is one of the most beautiful rides in the resort, no matter what age you are, and has the power to make you smile. As the ride came to an end DBF suggested we stay on... so we did – and we rode it again! YAY!!!

Next stop, Dumbo!! This is the one we didn’t think through very well. We were both so excited to ride Dumbo (which we spend the duration waving to eachother across Elephants... not a phrase I ever expected to say) that as we sat down on the seats, we forgot to notice just how wet the seats were. Oops. As Dumbo flew me across Fantasyland, I turned to DBF shouting the words “I think I have a wet bottom!” – this was confirmed as I stepped off the ride and my jeans look like I’d had a little accident, or a big accident as it seems!

Losing the battle against the rain, we decided to go and visit our mermaid friend aboard It’s A Small World and sing “Jingle Shells” with her... we got so comfortable on board our own private boat that when it came to an end, we flashed a smile and batted our eyelids at the Cast Members who happily offered to let us stay on board for another ride. YAY!!!!! JINGLE SHELLS, JINGLE SHELLS, JINGLE ALL THE WAY!!!!

After a trip around the world and the words “Jingle Shells” being firmly embedded in to our heads, we decided it was time to take a trip to outer space! Onwards and upwards – or not, as the case turned out to be!

We walked straight through the empty line and were at the very front of the ride, brilliant! Passengers before us had just been seated and were sitting patiently waiting for their space-craft to blast off… unfortunately, 20minutes later the poor souls had still not left Planet Earth due to a technical problem. An evacuation was being prepared for those stuck in the cannon and whilst this took place, we were told that unfortunately, there will be no lift off this morning. Sad times.

It was now 9:50am and we decided that we would leave the very wet Disney Park and head on over to an even wetter Disney Studios. We made it just in time to see the gates being opened and guests being allowed inside – hurrah! First stop, Crush’s Coaster!

We love Crush’s Coaster; it is one of our favourite rides in the entire resort! We seem to spend the duration of the ride shouting “mine, mine” and laughing as we’re spun through the E.A.C!

After our underwater adventure, we still thought we were underwater when we saw the weather outside! DBF suggested that we should go and start a trend by sporting a pair of ponchos – his treat!

After making a rather mess of things as I tried to scramble myself into my new poncho inside the store, off we strutted to Tower of Terror! It was only as we were queuing for our elevator that DBF pointed out to me that my poncho was on back-to-front. I quickly defended myself by stating there was no back or front… to which I was corrected with a simple point to the words “DISNEYLAND PARIS” written backwards across my back. Ah man! Oh well, it was wet now, I was just going to have to work with it!

After a drop on the Tower of Terror, we made our way to Rock n’ Rollercoaster. We were really impressed on this visit as lately it seems to have been hit and miss with regards to the music working, but today the music was loud and perfect – the ride seemed a lot faster and the lights were flashing about. Our Rock n’ Rollercoaster was back and better than ever!

It was now 11:20am and it was still pouring down. We were certainly getting our money’s worth with the ponchos! Woo!! We had booked Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show for tomorrow night as DBF hadn’t seen it since the introduction of the characters, so off we went to Disney Village to go and pay. Upon arrival, the BBWWS counter was closed, Doh!! Ho hum, we would come back and pay tomorrow instead – but now, we were cold and wet and thought that, as we were passing our hotel, we would stop off at Café Fantasia for a nice hot chocolate.

You can imagine our disappointed little faces when we arrived to find that Café Fantasia doesn’t open until midday… and we had 30minutes to go until then! It was a very upsetting moment for us both.

Luckily for us, we had a back-up plan in the form of the Cable Car Bake House! They won’t let us down! And they certainly didn’t! We were now armed with hot chocolates and just in time to watch the Christmas Cavalcade! YES!!!!

I cannot express my love for the Christmas Cavalcade enough! It was absolutely breathtaking. We stood just outside the Emporium watching float after float and character after character fill the street all dressed in their best Christmas attire. Then, as soon as the “toy” characters arrived – SNOW!! I became a little obsessed with the fake snow – it just made me well-up every single time! By now, we were in awe and singing and dancing to the music as we waved to every character we saw. Then, the moment that made my trip, Santa arrived on his sleigh, whilst we were being covered in fake snow, accompanied by none-other than Huey, Dewey and Louie!! I had a beaming smile and as the sleigh passed us I found myself shouting out “MERRY CHRISTMAS!!” to Santa who smiled, held his hands to his heart and shouted back “thank you very much and Merry Christmas to you!” as the snow blocked our paths. It was truly a magical moment and one that I won’t ever forget.

After the Christmas Cavalcade, filled with festive cheer in our hearts, we took a stroll along the shops of Main Street. It was lovely to look at all of the Christmas window displays and see all of the decorations inside the shops as well as outside.

Whilst shopping, DBF and I spotted a lovely little coat (seeing as mine went a little wrong yesterday after Space Mountain) which I stood and umm’d and aah’d about for a while before deciding that I was definitely in need of a warm a comfy coat, especially one from Disneyland Paris, and that it was pretty reasonable with my 15% Shareholders discount… yeah, the coat got bought. I was easily swayed.

There’s no time like the present with new-purchases, so DBF and I went back to the hotel so I could change coats over, and as we left our room we had a rather pleasant surprise. The time was 12:50pm, and there, at the foot of the Grand Staircase in the hotel lobby was Donald Duck – AND – Suzy, Perla with Cinderella herself! What a lovely, magical, surprise!

After posing for a few photos, we realised we had minutes to reach Walt’s for our 1pm lunch time reservation. Sorry Cinderella, we can’t stop and chat – we have lunch plans!

Lunch was delicious and very filling – I don’t know how we’re going to squeeze in dinner later, I’m sure we’ll try! Ha! We had a nice bottle of wine (has to be done) and I had the Chicken Caesar Salad to start, the steak for main and, of course, the pistachio crème brullee for dessert. It was all Heaven on a plate.

After lunch we noticed that poor Duffy was all alone, and sporting a nice little Christmas outfit, so it was only right that we went to say hello to him. I know a lot of people don’t like Duffy, but he is actually one of my favourite characters in the park! Bless him!

After our photo with Duffy, DBF asked if we could go on his favourite attraction in the resort, the Steam Train at Main Street Station. With a 10minute wait time showing, who could say no really?... 45minutes later we boarded the train, I may have had an uphappy bunny face on – but DBF was just happy to be on-board, bless! As the train began to move, the Heavens absolutely opened and I was actually quite pleased to be sitting down and dry on the train whilst taking in the sights of the park. I think I’m warming to the train… I especially love going through Adventureland Caves and seeing inside Pirates of the Caribbean – this never fails to put a smile on my face! YAY!!

 

[rottie155]

After a full-circuit of the Disneyland Park, as the rain fell, it was now 4pm and so we decided to go back to our Christmassy Room and open our Christmas presents. On our way back to the room we were just in time to see the character meet and greet at the Disneyland Hotel.

Before the trip, knowing we had our own little Christmas tree in the room, we decided to buy eachother three little gifts to wrap up, take with us and put under the Christmas tree in the room. We thought it would be nice to celebrate a mini-Christmas in Disney together. So that’s what we did!

We had a lovely little time sitting beside the lit Christmas tree, popped open the bottle of Champagne and opened our presents together. It was such a lovely way to celebrate Christmas and it felt even more special being in Disney.

After the present opening, we ventured back into the park in time to catch the parade.

After the parade, it was now 5:20pm and we thought we would attempt Space Mountain as we kind of missed not going on it this morning. As we arrived we saw a steady flow of guests heading onto the ride – this must be a good sign – and as we reached the front of the queue, it was working!! HURRAH!!! We were back off to the moon and back!

Upon return to Planet Earth we were right on time to catch the 6pm showing of the Tree Lighting Ceremony. We watched this from the road on Main Street, just under the Christmas Wreaths, and enjoyed the magical moment when the snow fell as the tree dazzled its brilliant lights. *sighs* simply beautiful.

We then made our way towards the castle (via a hot chocolate from the Cable Car Bake House) and noticed that there was a bench free with a lovely view, so we sat ourselves down – DBF played games on his phone whilst I sat, sipping my hot chocolate, smiling away as I took in the atmosphere of the bustling street. Dreams of Christmas began after 25minutes and words cannot describe how wonderful it felt to watch the most perfect Christmas show, in my most perfect place, after having the most perfect day. The finale always gives me goosebumps and plants the biggest smile on my face.

After Dreams of Christmas, we went back to our room to change into warmer clothes (it was becoming rather chilly to say the very least, but at least the rain had stopped), and we had reservations for Inventions at 8.15pm but DBF pointed out we had already done this last night and he would prefer to do something different instead this evening. Neither of us feeling relatively hungry (we began to regret such a big lunch at Walt’s) we put on our coats and went for a walk around Lake Disney and see the other hotels.

It was so nice to have a leisurely walk through the resort and see the wonderful Christmas decorations and trees at each hotel. We did visit the Redwood Bar in Sequoia Lodge because I adore the huge log fire, especially at this time of year, but it was completely packed – and rightly so, it’s a gorgeous bar and a beautiful way to end an evening. We chose to carry on with our little walk and see where we ended up food-wise.

Well. Anybody that knows me will know how shocking I would find this, especially at Disney anyways, but we ended up in McDonalds! And to make matters worse, they had no BBQ sauce…. And we sat outside!

DBF thought it was hilarious, especially my face. I couldn’t quite work it all out. I looked at him with my most sincere and innocent face and said “but where’s the characters? WHERE’S THE WINE?! I just don’t understand?!” – And I really didn’t. I was distraught. DBF said, “well you couldn’t make your mind up about dinner so…” to which I shot back “hang on, I’m pretty sure there’s a table in Inventions with our names on it – just saying!” We both just burst out laughing and I was promised Mulled Wine from the Christmas Stalls in Disney Village en route back to the hotel, this cheered me up.

…The stalls were closed on our way back… DBF took one look at my face and burst out laughing again.

As I slumped back to the Disneyland Hotel, DBF uttered the most magical words I had heard all evening “Bacardi Royale at Café Fantasia?”. YES!!!!

And that’s where we ended our evening

 

[rottie155]

Day 3 – Friday 15th November 2013

Determined to get the most out of our last full day at the magic, we were wiping the sleep from our eyes at 6:55am and rushed to get ready for breakfast.

Breakfast was the usual affair, I filled my plate with the most random of things (bacon, eggs, pancakes, croissants, sausages, honey…) – well, I’m on my holidays aren’t I?!

We made it into the park at 8am and decided to spend some time taking photos of the park all dressed up for Christmas whilst it was empty as well as posing for a few photos together in front of the Castle. Aaaah

DBF revealed to me that he had never tried to Star Tours ride before (I know!!) so we made our way across to Discoveryland so he could see it for the first time. We were the first two on the ride of the day so we walked through the queue enjoying the intricate details throughout. The ride was fun but Simulators do tend to make me feel a little sick and this did give me the wobbles afterward – my heart sank when DBF said we should ride it again!

Whilst in Discoveryland and on a bit of a space-trip, it was only fitting that our next ride of the day should be Space Mountain. We were looking forward to tomorrow morning when Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast will re-open; we’ve missed it during the mornings this week!

Feeling the need to come back down to Earth a little bit, and secretly wanting to go and sing Jingle Shells with our new Mermaid friend, we made our way to It’s A Small World at 9am. Aaah, sadly, this is my new favourite thing in Disneyland Park. Loving the Christmas version of the ride, so cute!!

Leaving Fantasyland through the caves of the Castle (tiptoeing past the sleeping dragon, of course) we discovered there were caves we had never yet found which led to the cascading waterfall at the front of the Castle and even underneath the magnificent drawbridge. We loved that we had found something completely new to us after all these years and it made for a lovely start to our last day.

As we passed the wishing well we saw that a horse-drawn cart had stopped at the foot of the Castle drawbridge and was completely empty, what a lovely way to travel back down Main Street together.

Whilst aboard we checked the programme and noticed that Mickey Mouse was due to do a Meet and Greet in front of the Christmas Sleigh in Disney Studios at 10am so we headed over to the Studios and began to queue. Considering we were near the front of the line we ended up waiting for 30minutes whilst large groups of guests each wanted group photos with the main Mouse, then individual photos, then autographs, then couple photos… it got a little tiresome after the fourth group did this. Still, when our moment came, it was great to get our photo with the Big Cheese himself! We got some lovely photos taken by the professional photographer which we loved so much we ended up buying.

After meeting up with Mickey and purchasing our fab photo, we thought it was only fitting that we should go and say hello to Minnie Mouse too.

Without giving too much away, my friend is a very close friend of Minnie Mouse (wink wink) and so it was lovely to meet up and take a few photographs – we were very luckily then taken to go say a hearty Space-Ranger Hello to Buzz Lightyear afterwards, with an iconic pose of course!

It was now 10:50am and seeing as we had just had a chat with Buzz Lightyear himself, we thought it would be nice to have a wander around Toy Story Playland. DBF noticed that there was only a 5minute wait time for RC Racer and we love that ride (I just wish we had longer on it!), so on we went!

DBF isn’t a fan of Cinémagique but it is my absolute favourite thing to see in the Studios. It was 11:00am and a showing was about to commence. Reluctantly, DBF agreed to sit himself through it with me – I tried justifying the fact that it was ever so cold outside and this would be a welcome rest in the warm.

After the show I was treated to a lovely hot chocolate whilst we shivered with the backdrop of Tower of Terror behind us. It was a welcoming beverage (we are both obsessed with Disneyland’s hot chocolates, they’re so smooth and chocolately… mmmm, oh great, now I’m craving for one as I type) in the icy winds.

It was now 11:45am and from behind Cinémagique, we were greeted with a huge collection of characters who came out for Meet & Greet. The characters who appeared included; Snow White, Mulan, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Woody & Jessie, Lilo and ELVIS STITCH (!!!!!), Emile & Rémy and Mushu. What a fantastic group of characters. We managed to meet everyone we hoped for and got loads of exciting photos! I was a very happy bunny!!

 

[rottie155]

We decided to go and leave the Studios to pay for BBWWS (which was tonight), but en route out we spotted Mickey Mouse next to the Studio Photography Store all by himself – it was only fair we went and say hello again… he remembered us!! We then felt we had to explain that one photo with the Big Cheese is never enough!

We then officially left the Studios and popped by BBWWS to pay. By this time, I was in need of a cocktail (it was 12:45pm to be fair) so we headed back to the Disneyland Hotel where I got us a table in the lounge and ordered two Bacardi Royale’s whilst DBF went for a wander around the hotel shop. Bless his heart he came back to the table and told me he had got me a little gift – the Hotel Fragrance!!! YAY!!!! We then sat, looking through the photos of the morning, smiling away and enjoying the ambiance of the hotel whilst sipping at our cocktails. It was a small slice of Heaven.

After a moment of solitude in the Pink Palace, we kept the relaxed pace going and had a leisurely wander through the shops of Main Street U.S.A. where I made lots of mental notes for souvenirs and gifts I was going to purchase tomorrow (I have a tendency to buy everything on my last day instead of as I go along). After a peruse around the shops we had built up a little appetite so we headed to the Cable Car Bakehouse for a naughty treat in the form of a cookie! Hurrah!!!

Whilst still battling it out with my cookie we stood on Main Street and watched the Christmas Cavalcade where I did more waving, singing, smiling and getting emotional as the snow fell on us. The reality of going home tomorrow had started to hit and I didn’t want the trip to end. Must. Keep. Positive.!.

After the Christmas Cavalcade we have received word that a dear friend of ours, who was now a very good friend of a certain canine going by the name of Pluto, was soon to appear for a meet in the Studios, so we slowly made our way over to go and say hello.

En route, we noticed there wasn’t a queue for Cars Rally (which neither of us had ever been on before) so we thought it would be fun to try it out. Well. We spent the entire duration of the ride laughing our heads off. It was so fun on the ride and we loved the way the car seemed to glide from one part of the track to the other. It must be a great ride for kids (it was for us!).

We still had some time to spare before Pluto was due to pop out for walkies so we ventured into the Disney Gallery to look at the ornaments and then popped inside the Art of Animation Studio to have a go at the Sound Booth (we took on the roles of Baloo and Mowgli and sang The BareNecessities – we were a hit!).

After utilising our angelic voices for the sinister Ursula, it was time to go and say a big ‘Bonjour!’ to Pluto! We had a lovely group photo taken (he’s DBF’s favourite) and got a big hug. Awww, we like Pluto!

It was now 15:15pm and our tummies were rumbling, we made our way back to the Disneyland Park and decided to see if Hakuna Matata was open (we love their Spicy Chicken Strips). Much to our delight – it was open, there was hardly a queue – and the African Band was playing the drums inside the restaurant, it was a great atmosphere… and we had FOOD!!!

Stomachs lined with food, we had a little walk around the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. I love the treehouse, it is classic Disney in my eyes and always gives me a sense of nostalgia when I make my way through its branches. It was lovely to see the watermill running again too.

After the treehouse we found ourselves in Fantasyland when DBF stated that he had never been on the Pinocchio ride. There was a 10minute queue showing so we decided to get in line so he could see it. We enjoy the Fantasyland rides and think the details are fantastic, it just all seems very dark – I wonder how children fare on them? They must be terrified on some!

We had a little time left to spare before the Disney Magic on Parade was due to start so we journeyed through Alice’s Curious Labyrinth and had fun getting ourselves lost in the maze and then climbing to the top of the Queen of Heart’s Castle, taking a look across Fantasyland from a beautiful perspective in the dusky skyline.

It was now 16:45 and DBF ran to get us a hot chocolate from Bella Notte whilst I secured a position next to the entrance of Fantasyland as we awaited the parade. This would be the last time we would see the parade this year and we were both excited (and emotional) to watch it go by. We love the Elves at the start of the parade who dance along with the Mickey Mouse wreaths. So Festive and fun!!

We then took a little voyage through the Caribbean aboard Pirates of the Caribbean (it was a nice way to have a little sit down and warm up at the same time – plus it’s one of my favourite rides).

After POTC we made our way to Indiana Jones et le Temple de Péril, which had a 0minute wait time, and sat ourselves down. As we pulled the seat-brace over us and it locked into place, ours kept springing back up in the air. Each time we put it back, it did it again. In the end I noticed a Cast Member standing by us laughing as it happened, so I said “c’est lui qui le fait !”, and the Cast Member then pulled an innocent face as our brace clicked back into place… before spinning around and waving his hands in a magic motion as our seat-brace flew up into the air one last time. We thought it was great interaction and made the ride that little more fun and special.

It was now 17:50pm and we still had our hotel fastpass to use and we couldn’t think of any better ride than Big Thunder Mountain to use it on. You really do cut a huge amount of queue out with the BTM fastpass! We had queued, on the ride and off again within 15minutes and even had time to squeeze in a visit to Phantom Manor before making our way to Main Street U.S.A. in order to catch the final showing of the Tree Lighting Ceremony of our trip.

I had tears in my eyes and felt all emotional as I watched the tree dazzle us with its magical lights and the snow fell upon us for the final evening in Disney. It was perfect.

With a hot chocolate in hand it was now our final chance to watch Dreams of Christmas before we saw the moon-lit Disney sky for the last time of 2013. Dreams certainly did not let us down and we sang along, smiles beaming, emotional chills filling our bodies as the final explosion of song and firework illuminated the Castle. It was over.

We still had one last thing to look forward to this evening, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. I love the show personally and have always had such a great time there – DBF hasn’t seen it since the characters have been incorporated, and he loved it! We laughed, shouted, screamed, raised our glasses, waved our hats, stamped our feet, banged our cutlery and yelled a hearty YEE-HAA!! as we celebrated our final Disney evening. We even got to meet Sheriff Mickey before the show (he only stayed out for 10minutes) which was great.

Donning our cowboy hats back through the village and into the hotel, we slugged back to our room with sad faces and began to pack our cases. I couldn’t quite understand why the trip was ending so soon

 

[rottie155]

Day 4 – Saturday 16th November 2013

This morning we woke up super early and got up and ready at 6:30am. This is it, our last day in the magic. I could burst into tears at any moment – I had to keep moving and pretend it wasn’t happening.

At 7:15am we made our way to breakfast, not saying a word, and sat down at our usual table looking down an empty Main Street U.S.A. as the Castle whispered its final “Bon Matin” to us in the distance.

After breakfast we ran down to the gates of the park and actually had to wait to be let in – we beat the park opening time! YES! Get in!!! I was so excited when the Cast Member told me I was going to be the very first guest to put a ticket through the barriers today – my face brightened up with a beaming smile.

Strutting into a misty, yet empty, park feeling like it was all just for us, we stopped for a few photo opportunities in front of the Castle before making our way to Buzz Laser Blast (we were the first and only guests on this too – loving this morning already!). For those who were wondering, the scores were as follows; DBF 180,700 – Me 236,900. Needless to say, I didn’t see the need for a rematch, the scores don’t lie.

We then walked straight onto Space Mountain and were seated at the front of the rocket – perfect start to the day! We knew we needed to do as much as we could before the official park opening as it was going to get busier – and boy did it get busy!

After our intergalactic morning in Discoveryland we felt it was time to savour the magic on our final day at the park so we journeyed into Fantasyland; first stop – the Carousel. Such a simple little thing, but it is amazing just how magical and enchanted it feels when you atop your own horse gently spinning past the sword in the stone, the giant beanstalk and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. DBF videoed the little adventure on his phone as he went round – at the time, this amused me, but when we watched it back afterwards – it was a great little viewing (especially when the group on their horses behind me were smiling and waving at the camera each time DBF panned around – hilarious!).

Stepping off the saddle, we needed our final fix of Jingle Shells so off we trotted for a trip around the world for the very last time this year. Oh how I loved it. Splashing through the foam, on a seahorse open sleigh… It’s A Small World : Celebration! I salute you!

Still wanting to savour the magic of the morning, we walked onto Peter Pan’s Flight at 9am. This is one of my all-time favourite ‘small’ rides in Disneyland Paris. One of my earliest childhood memories of Disney is riding this attraction with my parents and believing I was actually flying over London. It brings back so many memories; it will always hold a special place in my heart.

After soaring across the City of London all lit up at night, we made our way across to Disney Studios at 9:30am just in time for park opening. When the gates were opened we literally ran to Crush’s Coaster and we were so glad that we did. Within 5minutes of getting in line, we turned around to see (no word of a lie) hundreds of people queuing behind us. To give you an idea, the queue went from Crush’s Coaster – through the make-shift rope line in the front of it – along the studios and ended at the Walt & Mickey Statue outside Studio One!! This was just for Crush… a similar queue was forming for Tower of Terror too! We knew that this would probably be the last attraction we was going to be able to get on today, and what better way to end the trip than with Crush’s Coaster?

Crush did not disappoint. We made the most of every twist and turn as we ripped it, rode it, punched it through the E.A.C. as I shouted “Righteous, righteousss!!!!!” through the waves.

We took a stroll through Disney Studios to see if there was any rides we could jump on, but there was nothing with queues less than an hour – and it was only just approaching 10am! There was no way, no chance, no how that I was going to get in any of those lines. So we decided to go back to the Disneyland Park to enjoy the remaining few hours soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the beauty that the park has to offer.

It was absolutely freezing. Bitter, even. The Disneyland Park was just as busy, if not more so, as Disney Studios. DBF and I had never had our photo taken with Winnie the Pooh and seeing as he was all dressed up in his Christmas attire (which I have loved seeing each time we’ve passed him on this trip), I asked DBF if we could go join the fast-growing queue and have our photo with him. There wasn’t much else we could do attraction-wise so DBF happily agreed and decided to go get us hot chocolates from Cable Car Bake House whilst I joined the queue. It worked out perfectly, just as DBF returned with the hot chocolates, we pretty much downed them just to keep warm, it was time for us both to meet Pooh Bear! YAY! I was shivering so Winnie the Pooh gave me a big hug to warm me up, bless his honey-coated heart, and the Cast Member snapped away taking loads of natural and beautiful photos. We were so pleased with how the pictures came out with, what was to be, the last character we would meet during this trip.

We knew we were probably pushing our luck, but we decided we would go and give Big Thunder Mountain a go, we did have our hotel FastPass to use still afterall. Unfortunately, as soon as we approached Thunder Mesa, BTM broke down. Sad times.

It was now 11am and I checked the programme for the day and saw that Santa alongside Christmas Disney Characters was doing a meet and greet in Frontierland. It shouldn’t be too busy there should it? Ooooh, how wrong I was, there was an hour queue for Santa alone! An hour?! Oh my! We started to feel a bit better about going home today…

Well, at least we had the Christmas Cavalcade to look forward to! Woohoo!!! Can’t get enough of this parade, I really can’t! I loved every moment of the Cavalcade and was so sad when it was over.

It was now 11:45am and we had a 12:00 lunch reservation at Blue Lagoon. We ran back to the room quickly to get some Euros out of the safe and then galloped along to the restaurant, grateful of the warmth. As we approached the counter, we were advised that I actually booked the reservation for 12:30pm. Oh man! I was sure I did it for 12 – and it was super busy. The lady said we could either wait on the bench in the warm or come back in 30mins but wouldn’t have to queue again as she had checked our names in. We decided to go on an adventure instead (may as well make the most of every moment in Disneyland, right?!), and off to the caves we went. We explored all of the caves and even found some new hidden details which we had not spotted before – the roots of the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, it was amazing! We love finding new details in the park, it just reinforces how many hidden secrets there really are and how intricate the designing of the park was. Huge thumbs up for the Imagineers!

We then had a walk across the ‘Pont Suspendo’ and gazed across Adventureland, just like real explorers – before bravely boarding Captain Hook’s Pirate Galleon!

It was now 12:30 and we were glad we used the extra time to have a little exploration – but we were even gladder to be back in the warmth of Blue Lagoon (my hands were like ice)!

DBF isn’t overly keen on Blue Lagoon but, bless his heart, will always make an effort to go there once a trip for me because it’s my favourite. I just find the restaurant one of the most beautiful places to eat – anywhere! It is so warm, inviting, tranquil and romantic. I am a big lover of the food there too! Unfortunately, as DBF was driving us home shortly, there was to be no bottle of wine for us to share – so DBF had a coke whilst I ordered a glass of Sancerre (would be rude not to).

For starters I had the Prawn Cocktail – I love it – it’s one of the tastiest I’ve ever had with the pickled veg underneath the shrimps. Delicious! It’s especially nice when enjoyed with the complimentary warm bread which is brought to the table. DBF had a salad…

For my main I had the Grilled Swordfish, again – this is absolutely to die for. DBF had the one main he enjoys at Blue Lagoon which is the Chicken Curry.

For dessert – I had the Crème Brullee (which I love) and DBF had the Mango Surprise… only when it was brought to the table did he remember that he had this on our last visit and the surprise was that he didn’t like it one bit! Oops!!

As we left Blue Lagoon it was now 2pm and we were pushing it a little bit as we needed to be on the open road by 3pm… I guess we over-indulged in the time spent at Blue Lagoon, but it was lovely all the same. We still had our shopping to do! We spent 30minutes on Main Street shopping for our souvenirs, gifts and Christmas decorations before taking our final glance of the Disneyland Park and heading back to the room to finalise our packing. We were musically greeted back to the hotel with a lovely band playing Christmas songs atop the balcony on the grand staircase.

Packing done, it was dead on 3pm and we had collected our car-keys from the valet and were officially leaving the magic. We couldn’t face any Disney songs on the journey as we were too depressed to be leaving. Instead, we opted for some chart songs from my iPhone.

We had enough time to stop off at Cité Europe and do a little bit of shopping before it was time to check-in at the Eurotunnel at Calais and officially leave the best Christmas we had ever had behind us in our own magical bubble in the middle of Marne-La-Vallée. There was no need for me to “make a wish that would last forever” (as is the song of Dreams of Christmas), because I had just LIVED a wish that will last forever in my heart.

 

[itsrainingitspouring]

love your trip report................makes me even more excited to be going soon! I may have to book a 'Christmas trip' after reading this though!

esp love the empty main street pics, how special to be the first ones into the park, I must try to be organised enough to make it to the park so early when we go!

 

[dawnydoo]

Adam, Thank you for yet another fabulous TR. We were there just before Christmas too & loved it also. Your TR has brought back such happy memories again.
We are going again in May & now I can't wait ( I would ideally like to be back there today! )
Dawn.

 

[micksn]

Thanks for saving this for a cold January day! It helps to chase away the post Christmas blues

 

[cruisingteacher]

Great trip report!

I love reading your trip reports because they are so engaging I can almost feel the magic

 

[LunaMini]

You really do write the most fantastic trip reports! Thank you so much for sharing, I couldn't put it down! So glad you guys had such a fantastic time! x

 

[cowza]

I loved reading this. I've become a bit of a park snob since I worked in Florida but have to say your pictures and report have made me reconsider Paris!

Ben

 

[DLPdaft]

You really do write the most fantastic trip reports! Thank you so much for sharing, I couldn't put it down! So glad you guys had such a fantastic time! x

seconded - and I love your Christmas jumper Adam !

 

[tinian]

What a wonderful TR! I really enjoyed reading it. Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[addverbaan]

One of my favourite TR's ever We were there a week after you and reading this has bough back all the magic

Second re the xmas jumper!

 

[kizzabel]

Loved your TR. And the fact you are still finding things you hadn't before. Good idea keeping hydrated with Bacardi Royales & hot choc. Perfect way to stave off chills & colds
Your mermaid is on our list of must sees for November. We'll say hi to her for you

Some fab meals again this trip! Think we may have to try the prawn cocktails in the Blue Lagoon. McDonalds with no BBQ sauce or wine to soften the blow! The horror!

Promise there will be another lovely TR like this one in March? really enjoyed this one, thanks for sharing.

Kiz
X

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Wonderful trip report! Makes me so glad I have booked Christmas season next year.....your report really catches that special Xmas magic. Thank you for shsting

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Lol......that should of course read sharing!!!!!

 

[rottie155]

Bless you all - thank you so much for your lovely comments Glad you enjoyed reading the TR as much as we enjoyed being there

I did get a little worried that all my cocktail talk might have had a bit of an affect on disneyfanswicklow

Kiz my lovely ! Make sure you do go and see our Mermaid friend in the Christmas Small World, she was actually hilarious - although I don't think that was the intention when the Imagineers placed her there. McDonald's only gives you BBQ sauce if you have nuggets... but I didn't want nuggets? I couldn't quite work it all out

Hand on heart, I promise there will be another Trip Report in March... I am so excited for my March trip because I get to show the magic to my friend from Canada who has never visited Europe before - plus DBF will be joining us for our last day too - it's going to be so exciting!

 

[rottie155]

Elaine, I'm glad the Christmas Jumper did not disappoint! I bought it especially for the trip to make me feel even more Christmassy! haha You should have seen DBF's face when I took it out of my suitcase - it was one of disbelief, embarrassment and envy all in one