Trip Report - Summer 2014...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cast Members AKA The Family - Myself, Sarah, 31 years old, loves everything Disney, especially Minnie Mouse wearing her iconic red and white spotty dress with yellow shoes. I've previously been to Disney in a Florida when I was 5 years old, and once to DLP on a day trip when I was 15. No one else has been to a Disney Park before.  Kevin, 36 years old, quite reluctant to go but will to spend time with the family. He's not really into all things Disney at all, so will be interesting to see how he copes with the trip. Next up is Aimee, our 7 year old daughter. She's loves everything about Disney, which could probably be to do with me, but I love it that way. She is a true princess, loves Belle and Aurora and has now got a new obsession with all things. Frozen. Finally there's Jade, my 16 year old half sister who has lived with us since she was 9 years old, so is part of the fixtures and fittings. She loves Disney too, but is more of a Pixar girl rather than Classics and loves the likes of Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Stitch and The Incredibles. 

 

The Reveal - I was so excited to have booked that straight from the travel agents Kev and I went to the Disney story and got both girls a pair of Minnie Mouse ears to give them as a gift. That night we went out for a meal - it was Jade's birthday - and mid way through the meal we presented them with the ears! To say they were excited was an understatement, they were ecstatic! 

 

The Plan - 28th July to 1st August staying at Sequoia Lodge, half board basis, travelling via Eurostar from St Pancras in London. Travelodge booked in London Kings Cross for the Sunday night before we leave. 

 

Pre-planning - For the next four months after I threw myself into trip planning, researching the rides, food, gifts, things to pack, how to save money, best way to make the best of our time, where to stand for parades etc. A lot went into the pre planning, and I'm glad to say I spent so long doing it as I found it made our trip run so much easier and more pleasant. I'd definitely recommendations the Disboards and the Dibb forums online as the information, hints and tips gained from their members are invaluable when planning a trip to Disneyland Paris. 

 

 

Trip Report

 

Saturday - Today was a busy day, what with packing and making sure everything was sorted ready for the trip. The guinea pigs had already gone to Granddads, the Euros had already been bought, the house was tidy-ish, and all that was left to do was iron and pack. Kev took Aimee swimming whilst I made a start on ironing and packing. It was so hot outside for a July morning so ironing was a bit of a mean feat to say the least. Mid way through ironing it was time for a cool drink and sit down, and thought I’d check the day bag once again for things like holiday documents and passports. 

 

I was worried about only having the letter from Disney which said to hand in upon arrival so to put my mind at ease I thought I’d ring Thomas Cook, the travel agent we’d booked with. All seemed to be well, until I mentioned the Eurostar and tickets. Her response was “You need tickets for the train, do you not have them?”. Calmly, I asked what she meant, when really I wanted to scream “What do you mean tickets?? If I had tickets, I wouldn't be here at home worried?!?!” Turns out Thomas Cook has sent me a letter 3 weeks earlier instructing me that the Eurostar tickets were ready to collect from their store - a letter to this day I have never received. Kev then needed another trip out that day to pick up the missing tickets - good job I’d double checked!

 

The rest of  the afternoon consisted of lots of packing, cleaning, tidying, unpacking, repacking, checking, ticking off lists, before finally settling down in the evening to watch some TV and paint my nails Mickey and Minnie Mouse themed. 

 

Sunday - Woke up today feeling excited but also nervous, especially after the whole ticket fiasco yesterday. I didn't want to forget anything important. Bags were finally ready to go and Kev’s dad came about 2.30pm to collect us to take us to the train station to catch our train to London at  4.27pm. 

 

We arrived at the train station with plenty of time to spare - my motto is better early and late! which in this situation didn't really matter seeing as the train was cancelled!! We had to wait now to catch the later train, the 17.13pm train, so killed time by drinking Costa Coffees, and eating cheese toasties from Subway.

 

It was almost time for the train to arrive and the platform by now was heaving with people for this train, but also the people who should have been on the previous train. I was anxious we wouldn't get on the train but we did. I told the girls to find a seat whilst we sorted the luggage, so off they went. Caught up to them a few minutes later to find them sat separately, surrounded by strangers and hardly any seats left. A few seats were spare and had bags on, and I chose not to argue, primarily as it was too hot to argue and I’d have probably just blown up at people given how stressed I was feeling. Kev and I looked for a seat with no joy, so we ended up stood up for the entire journey to London in the connecting carriages bit with the bags, in the heat. Not a good start! 

 

The journey went quick enough (luckily) and we arrived to a busy and very hot London Kings Cross Station. Quick walk to the hotel and 10 minutes later were in our rooms at the Travelodge. The rooms were basic but it was only to rest our heads for one night and it would suffice. 

 

At the hotel we gave Jade and Aimee their Disney goody bags which I had made for them. They were very excited at the T-shirts, minnie ears, bags, pens, notepads and trading pins that we had bought them. 

 

A quick freshen up and we were ready for some food. We went to the Travelodge bar and ordered some drinks whilst we looked at the menu, but decided it was too expensive, so we went for some dinner to a little cafe in Kings Cross. Jade and I had lasagne and Chips and Aimee and Kev shared a pizza and chips. We had visited the cafe, cafe Plaka, previously on a London trip and were a little disappointed with the food compared to last time. We got back to the hotel about 9.30pm and we  were all beat, especially Aimee as it was past bedtime. Didn't take long to get to sleep really, although it was a broken nights sleep for me as it was far too warm in the hotel to sleep properly. 

 

 

Monday

Today was an early start as we were on the 8.58am indirect Eurostar to Lille, followed shortly after by the TVG to Disneyland Paris. Woke up at 6am, and woke everyone else, which was one mean feat as everyone was tired. We had breakfast in the hotel, English and Continental, which pleased everyone and we all left feeling full and satisfied. We left the hotel just before 8am and set off to St pancras station. stepping out of the hotel was like stepping into an oven - it was far too hot and far too humid, especially for me. It was rather busy on the way to the station with the commuters but we got there with plenty of time to spare. We checked in and sat waiting for our train. I had a mild panic over our Eurostar luggage as it hadn't hot any luggage labels, but this crisis was soon averted by simply picking up some paper labels from the information desk. 

 

It was time to board and we found our seat easily enough. The Eurostar train was lovely, very  clean and spacious. We were seated with a table so a Jade and I sorted some of the trading pins whilst Aimee did some drawing and played on her iPad. Kev went to the buffet cart and came back with some red wine for himself - great start to a holiday, drinking before 10am! 

 

The stopover in Lille was painless enough and quite easy, with the exception of Aimee being scared of the openness of the 3 storey station. To keep her occupied, Kev bought some french flan pastry for them to share and spent time riding the escalators. She was also interested in a police dog working with some officers, which was called Tanyo. We boarded the TGV and found our seats. They happened to  already be occupied by some guy but after Kev tested out his French he soon moved and we were settled again. Both girls were very excited now, and even more so when they saw a couple of rides out of the window on approaching the station. 

 

We arrived at 14:07pm and departed the train, which was a bit hairy as we needed to leave quickly as the train was going to it's next destination but some rude man stood in the doorway and tried to push his way on whilst others were getting off. 

 

We walked to the Disney Express Service, where we could leave our luggage and hit the parks straight away. Looking back, if we were going again I don't think we'd use the  express when arriving as I wish we had found our room and hotel in the daylight and freshen up a bit. 

 

Having picked up all of our park passes, meal vouchers and paperwork at the Express, we walked to the Disneyland Park. It is so close to the train station and looks so beautiful when arriving. We arrived in front of the Disneyland Hotel at about  2:45pm, and went through the ticket turnstiles. I thought it was busy but not as busy as I'd expected it to be given it was high Summer season. 

 

Then we finally saw it, the Sleeping Beauty Castle. It was beautiful, even more than I remember. Aimee was amazed by it and thought it was awesome, as did Jade. Firstly, we explored Main Street USA, a beautiful street full of shops filled to the brim of Disney merchandise. We bought each of the girls an autograph book, Aimee a princess one and Jade one where she could put photos too. The weather was lovely, a little bit overcast, but sunny with a breeze. It was perfect for me. The girls continued to explore Main Street USA and really got the hang of Pin trading with the Cast Members. 

 

As we were half board plus we had Pause Gourmande vouchers meaning each afternoon between 3pm and 7pm we could get a free drink and a snack from certain places. We went to Casey's Corner, near the castle and got 2 chocolate brownies, 2 donuts, 3 fantas and 1 coca cola, not bad for 'free' as it rung in at 22€!  

 

After a quick refuel we went yo explore the castle, something Aimee was very excited with at this point. We went to see the dragon underneath the castle and the stained glass windows and tapestries. The castle is absolutely gorgeous and really fit for Princess Aimee. 

 

Aimee was very giddy and full of energy, probably something to do with the sugary snack and drink we'd let her have. We then had a quick look around the start of Fantasyland, and the girls explored the shops again, doing a bit more pin trading, which they were getting really hood at considering it was their first time. Such a good idea to buy a bulk of pins from eBay before we went got them to trade, as the  ones for sale were so expensive. It was like shopping for both girls, without spending any money. Great for me and my purse.

 

Afterwards we went and got a place in front of the castle to watch the parade, Disney's Magic on Parade. The parade was fab, Aimee was amazed at all the characters she saw, and was so excited to see Anna and Elsa from Frozen. Jade was excited too, especially at seeing the Toy Story gang and Winnie the Pooh, and friends. I personally thought it was great and took so many photos. only downside was the people pushing and shoving, but we stood our ground and wouldn't leg them through. 

 

After the parade we went off to explore Adventureland, and I though the theming was great, We explored the Aladdin passageways, the shops, the Swiss Family Robinson tree house, the pirate ship, and the pirate playground. Pew went on our first ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, a boat ride with a few climbs and drops. Everyone, apart from Jade, thought it was brill and at this point we didn't know it would turn into one of our favourite rides in the whole park.  

 

It was now getting to about 6pm and we were hungry. I hadn't  booked any restaurants for today so we popped into Agrahbah Cafe, a Moroccan themed restaurant. Kev and I were impressed, but the girls not so much. After eating we were pretty beat, having been on the go for over 12 hours at this point, so we decided to go to the hotel. On our way back to the entrance, the girls did more pin trading, they were a bit obsessed by this point, and I bought them some Frozen themed pins they wanted for their lanyards. 

 

We caught the shuttle bus to the Sequoia Lodge hotel, which was busy but manageable. Check in was easy, and we picked up our luggage which was waiting for us. Our room was in the main building and was a lovely room, Bambi themed and had air conditioning, which was a must  your me. 

 

For a first day in Disneyland Paris, with all we’d seen I’d have been happy just experiencing that. To think we had another 3 and a 1/2 days there really excited me at the thought of all we could see and do. We were all pretty tired by now, and it showed in both girls as they were both bickering. We quickly unpacked, and showered before climbing into bed with a well deserved glass of wine. 

 

Tuesday 

We woke up early today again, feeling really tired from all of  yesterdays exploring. We had breakfast in the hotel and it was nice. There were plenty of choice from bread, meats, cheeses, cereals and croissants. We made sure we filled up on breakfast and then went and got ready for a fun filled day. I wore my homemade disney t-shirt which i had made into the park that day, and we arrived in the main park about 9am. We had planned to do as much of the main park as we could, leaving the studios until the Wednesday.  

 

It was relatively quiet, but it was still the Extra Magic Hours, which only Disney hotel guests can access. We went on Dumbo, and my Minnie ears blew off in the process, luckily they landed on the floor next to the ride and not in the water! Next we did Peter Pan, which still remains a firm favourite of Jades. 

 

I went to queue for a reservation ticket at the Princess Pavilion whilst lev and the girls went to meet Mickey Mouse. They really enjoyed seeing the big man, their first Disney meet and greet and their very first autograph in the books. I queued for about an hour for the ticket giving us a return time of  12:10pm. 

 

Aimee wanted to explore Alice’s Curious Labyrinth, as did I, it was on the list of attractions to do, so we went in there. It was great to explore, even if it did begin to rain. Out came the rain coats, which were fairly uncomfortable as even though it was wet it was hot so we all ended up being sticky. We explored the maze and the castle, taking lots of photos in the process. 

 

Afterwards it was time for a refuel so we stopped at the little snack bar outside the maze for drinks and crepes. Whilst waiting Alice and the Mad Hatter arrived for their meet and greets so we joined the queue and had some photos. The Mad Hatter was a strange one and he was definitely in character. The girls were glad of meeting a few more characters and getting more autographs.

 

Back to the rides, we rode the teacups, much to Aimee's delight who laughed all the way round, as well as going on Its A Small World, one of my all time favourite rides. I love the song and no matter how many times I hear it it never gets annoying.

 

By this point it was almost our time  slot at the Princess Pavilion, so we went there. We went in and found a huge queue of people. We still queued for almost 90 minutes even with a time slot, but it was more than worth it when we went in and saw Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, dressed in her blue dress rather than the pink one. Both Aimee and I were overjoyed, me more so with the blue dress as Disneyland Paris is the only Disney park where she wears this dress. I am a firm believer that Aurora dolls, posters, pictures, any merchandise for that matter should have the blue dress as she wears this for most of the film. More photographs  and autographs obtained it was time to go back to the hotel. We had decided that morning to go back for a sleep in huge afternoon so we could watch Disney Dreams that evening.   

 

Up Main Street USA we walked and noticed both Winnie the Pooh and Tigger doing meet and greets at the top of Discovery Arcade. The queue wasn't too bad so we waited for more photos and autographs. Both girls were pleased at the amount of autographs they had already, not knowing we would meet many more characters over the course of the week. 

 

A quick stop at the sandwich shop in the train station and then we were on the shuttle bus back to the hotel. Sandwiches eaten it was then time for an afternoon snooze to recharge the batteries. After a couple of hours sleep and a freshen up we went to Cafe  Mickey in the Disney Village for our evening meal. It was a really good meal, we all ate well and the character interaction we very good. We met Minnie Mouse, Mickey again (although technically it was the first time for me as earlier I’d been queuing) Pluto, Eeyore and Goofy. Aimee really liked the characters especially Goofy. 

 

After the meal we decided to head through the Disney Village  shops to escape the rain which was by now chucking it down. I was worried about things being closed or Dreams cancelled if we tried to reenter the park but was assured by the kind waiter at Cafe Mickey that everything would still be running as usual. Our rain coats came in handy once again, and after weaving in and out of the shops to avoid the rain as well as trading some pins, we were soon back in the park.

 

We headed straight down Liberty Arcade, another great shortcut to escape the rain and headed to Frontierland. I dragged everyone onto Phantom Manor, a ride I’d been on the last time I came. Both girls were dreading it and were petrified but I knew they’d be amazed at seeing the ghosts on the doom buggies at the end. Much to my disappointment there were no ghosts, I was gutted. 

 

Even though our tummies were still so full from Cafe Mickey, I suggested we rode Big Thunder Mountain as the wait time was 10 minutes. I couldn't guarantee a better wait time than that so off we went, well all minus Jade who chickened out and sat in the rain watching the bags.

 

We followed the intricate weaving queuing system rather quickly, choosing the left hand side when the line splits and found ourselves to be at the front very quickly. Aimee sat with Kev in the front of the second train carriage with  me behind. The front train carriage was empty, so it was as if Aimee was at the front. It set off, and blooming heck, it was faster than I remembered it all of those years ago. Aimee screamed the whole way through and I was scared I’d put her off roller coasters for life, but was so happy and proud of herself for  doing it when she got it. She still talks about it today and how she was big enough to go on it. 

 

It was now time for Disney Dreams, something I had been looking forward to since booking the trip in March. I had refrained from watching any youtube videos and was very excited to be finally watching it. Well what can I say, it was beautifully breathtaking. I snuggled Aimee through it and we laughed and danced too. The part from Tangled made the hairs on my body stand up and I stood and cried, to top it off Aimee at that point said “Mummy, you are the best Mummy in the world because  you brought me here and here is the best place in the world”. Definitely a big highlight of the holiday. 

 

Leaving the park it was very busy as everyone was leaving, so we walked through Liberty Arcade and Aimee found a coin machine, so got a Lightning McQueen coin, the first of many she collected over the next few days. A short bus ride to the hotel and we were back in bed after another long, but enjoyable, day. 

 

Wednesday 

We were up early again today for a breakfast reservation at Cafe Mickey. We were all very weary this morning, me probably more than the rest. My legs were killing me from queuing yesterday and  I moved only at snails pace to begin with. I still blame the shoes I wore, converse-style pumps, which I swore I’d never wear again should we ever return to Disneyland. After a nice, slow, albeit slightly painful, walk around the lake we arrived at Cafe Mickey for breakfast. Jade was pleased on account of the hot items such as bacon and eggs, I was just pleased to sit down. I could have quite easily circled back up in bed.

 

The characters came out and it was almost the same as the previous night with the addition of Chip and Dale. They were very naughty in the breakfast room and gained lots of  laughs from Aimee. Another two autographs in the book. 

 

Took a bit of a wander through the Village and the girls traded more pins. Jade realised she only had a couple more pages left in her book so we bought her another one, Aimee’s book was bigger to begin with so she chose an Ariel pen instead. I also bought a present for myself, a Disney Traditions figure of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, which I had sent back to the hotel to save carrying it round all day with me. 

 

We went into the Walt Disney Studios and headed for the Flying Carpets over Agrabah ride. Jade sat this one out, but Kev, Aimee and I had lots of fun lifting the carpet up and down as well as titling it. Then we began  queuing for Buzz Lightyear meet and greet. By they time it was so hot and I was worried about Aimee as she wouldn't wear her hat and the heat was making her grouchy. lucking we found some shade in the queue and had taken plenty of bottles to refill from the water fountains.

 

After meeting Buzz, Aimee and Kev went on Cars Quatre Roues Rallye, then we headed over to wait for the Stars and Cars Parade. We thought the Stars and Cars Parade was fantastic. For 2 hours, two different groups of characters would come out for 15 minutes each and spend time in a circle  doing meet and greets and signing autographs. We saw and met so many different characters this way, and in hindsight should have made more time to do it again in the trip but unfortunately we didn’t. 

 

Aimee saw Minnie Mouse first in the car and got lots of waves and kisses blown to her as Aimee was dressed in Minnie’s red and white spotty dress. Once the cars stopped Minnie made a mad dash over to where we were stood and gave Aimee the biggest hug ever. Aimee was so happy and felt really special. Throughout the course of the 2 hours Minnie kept coming back to see Aimee, blowing kisses and making love heart shapes at her. She was so pleased to have received this extra social attention. 

 

In the next round of characters Jade was ecstatic to see both Lilo and Stitch, her all time favourites. Jade was so happy, she was wearing a Stitch shirt I had made her at home, burning the  carpet in the process with the iron, as well as her Stitch lanyard and her collection of Stitch pins she had collected over the last few days. 

 

She was so excited when Lilo began to approach us and had a huge smile on her face when posing with her. She told Lilo that her and Stitch were her favourites and Lilo gave her a hug. Whilst signing Aimee’s book, Aimee told Lilo about her T-shirt and how Mummy had made it. Lilo stood back, admired the shirt and gave it a thumbs up. Aimee then said “Will you go get Stitch so Jade can show him her shirt please?”. And like a flash Lilo was off, running to the other side of the circle to grab Stitch. By this point Jade was almost jumping up and down in delight, much to the dissatisfaction to the other people Stitch had been with but had abruptly left. Stitch came over and signed the books, posed for photos, checked out Jade’s shirt, gave me a hug for  making it, and generally gave us all lots of attention. I didn't realise just how popular Stitch is, as when he came to us, the people around us moved in closer, squashing us to try and get closer to him. The CM’s soon took him back to where he had been previously to try to make up for him running away. It was safe to say by this point that both girls were very happy, having some special one on one attention with their favourite characters. 

 

We saw a whole host of characters who signed the books including Aladdin, Jafar, Minnie, Daisy, Woody, Pinocchio, Rabbit as well as Donald Duck, Jessie, Ariel, Mushu, Tigger, Goofy, Chip and Dale, Remy and Emile. 

 

A quick refuel with crepes and drinks and we were good to go again. We watched the Moteurs…Action! Stunt Show Spectacular giving us an insight into how to do stunts as well as a chance of get off of our feet after being stood at the parade for over 2 hours.  

 

Passing The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror we decided to watch the lift going up and down, deciding that it was a bit too scary for us. Snacks and a refuel once again with the free cakes and drinks. We then went to the Art of Disney Animation and was taught how to draw Mickey Mouse. it was great fun. After that we headed towards Toy Story Play land and rode the Slinky Ride as well as take lots of photographs of the scenery, including the giant Buzz Lightyear and Rex. 

 

We headed to the new Place de Remy, having only opened a few weeks before, in hope of riding the new Ratatouille ride. We checked out the queues, as there were no fast passes available, only to find the queue at 120 minutes! No way could we have all queued for that long, so had to give it a miss. I wasn't too bothered at this point but found once home it was one of the things I wish I’d have done whilst there. 

 

Next up was the Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic, which we all found enjoyable, especially the canyon part with the fire and water and earthquake. it was very cool. We then decided it was getting late, we were getting grouchy and hungry so decided to head to Annette’s Diner in the Village. As we were leaving Aimee found another coin machine to add another coin to her collection, which pleased her greatly. 

 

We had dinner in Annette’s, which consisted mainly of burgers and fries, some sharing starters and some awesome milkshakes for puddings. I could hardy move when we came out of there, and it didn't cost us anything as our half board vouchers covered the whole cost. As we were in the Village we did a bit of shopping. Aimee bought a  Stitch and Angel soft toy, Jade was indecisive as she was tired and grouchy and I bought a bag for the trading pins. We got back to the hotel, picked up the gifts bought earlier in the day, had a quicker shower and climbed into bed. Although we’d had a good day I didn't think much of the Studios, with the exception of the meet and greets, as I didn't feel we did much whilst in there. It was busy and hot and everything seemed to have huge wait times and felt a bit disappointed. I was determined to get the most out of our last full day in the main park tomorrow. 

 

 

Thursday

Having felt we wasted most of the day yesterday just queuing for things I was on a mission to achieve as much as possible today. We headed for breakfast after waking up, and I sorted the pins into the pin bag so Aimee knew which ones we had that were still up for swaps. We went on the shuttle bus to the parks and headed straight for City Hall to make a reservation for our evening meal. I was hoping for Walt's but it was fully booked so instead we chose the Silver Spur Steakhouse. 

 

Firstly we began queuing to meet Rapunzel at 9:40am, finally getting to the front of the queue at 10:45am. We found it to be really warm today, even more so that earlier in the week. After Rapunzul we went to Discoveryland and went on Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast which was fab! We were all really competitive! Next we explored the Les Mystères du Nautilus, Captain Nemo’s Submarine. Aimee really liked the  part with the octopus. 

 

Then we watched the train shoot out of Space Mountain: Mission 2 and heard the people scream.  We chickened out of this one too. We walked past Star Tours, which no one seemed too interested in and Captain EO, which was closed. Then Aimee got changed in to her Princess Aurora costume. before we headed towards Auberge de Cendrillon, for our Princess Dinner. Jade was apprehensive about this having seen the menus, but I assured her she would enjoy it. 

 

It was a great character experience, with us meeting Cinderella, Snow White and her Prince, and Ariel. Aimee was so pleased that Ariel was there having seen her in the Stars and Cars Parade the previous day but not having her photo with her or her book signed. Also at the restaurant were Suzy and Perla the mice from Cinderella, so even more names and photos for the books. 

 

The interaction was fantastic and Aimee loved watching the princesses and the prince dance. The food was also very good. It was high quality french food, and was thoroughly enjoyed by all of us, with the exception of Jade and Aimee's starters. I had the soup and beef, kev had the trio of salmon and the seafood stew, and Jade had the grilled vegetable salad and the monkfish risotto, all followed by the chefs desert, which was a flaming profiterole filled with ice cream. Aimee had the ham salad, and  the burger followed by the Cinderella’s delight dessert. 

 

Even though the meal was very expensive, it was more than worth it in terms of the food you had and the interaction. In the time we spent queuing in the Princess Pavilion, we saw 6 characters, had an awesome filling meal sat in a beautifully decorated restaurant. I’d definitely recommend it to  anyone who asks. 

 

After Auberge de Cendrillon we went on the train all around the park, which gave us chance to allow our food to settle and have a little snooze. We joined the train at Fantasyland station then it went to Discoveryland, Main Street, Frontierland, back to Fantasyland, then Discoveryland again before we finally got off at Main Street. Quick toilet stop then we saw the Main Street  dancers dancing at the beginning of Main Street. Once finished they all then began photo opportunities and Aimee was lucky to have her photo taken with 2 pairs of dancers. She was very excited as she thought one was Mary Poppins. She still looks at the photos today and feels part of the cast, as she was dressed in her Princess Aurora dress. 

 

We did a bit of shopping and more pin trading than anything. Kev then went to Casey’s Corner for our free snack, more brownies,  doughnuts and drinks and then we got a seat for the parade. The parade was the same as that which we watch don Monday but today we sat in a different place. It wasn't the best place in terms of the sun shining and i was worried it was going to be a bad spot for filming from, but by the time it started the sun moved behind the trees and we got an awesome video that Aimee still enjoys watching today. Only thing I missed about todays parade compared to Mondays parade, were the fairies from Sleeping Beauty, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, were missing

 

After the parade it was time for out 6:00pm reservation at the Silver Spur Steakhouse, although none of us were particularly hungry. I was pleased with my first impressions of the restaurant, the thumbing fitted in very well within frontierland, but other than they I was  not particularly impressed with the restaurant at all. We all ordered steak, apart from Aimee who order fish and chips, and we found it all to be fatty, under cooked for our liking and greasy. We all left our food but ate the desserts. Luckily I am pleased our vouchers covered the cost of the meal, as if I had been paying I would have complained I thought the food was that bad. Anyways, apart from that we continued to enjoy the rest of the day.

 

Aimee had a go at shooting in Frontierland, before exploring the shops for more pins. We went to the castle and got some lovely pictures at dusk. Aimee believed she was Princess Aurora and that she had arrived home. it was very cute to see. 

 

Kev and Aimee then had an etched glass cube made from the castle shop and Jade an engraved Stitch glass. Aimee and I went on Le Carrousel de Lancelot and then Les Voyages de Pinocchio. After Les Voyages de Pinocchio a lady handed Aimee a Mickey balloon, believing it was hers, and Aimee accepted it letting the lady think she was right. i looked around and no one was complaining of a missing balloon so Aimee claimed it for herself and it spent the next 2 days following us  around attached to Aimee’s bag. 

 

After a quick walk to Adventureland Kev, Aimee and I went on Pirates of the Caribbean again, which Aimee really enjoyed. We then walked back through Fantasyland and Discoveryland and got a seat for dreams. By this point jade was really tired so decided to miss Dreams and go back to the hotel. Secretly I think she was missing Facebook and the free Wifi in the hotel. 

 

Dreams was just as good as earlier in the week with the same goosebumps there at the Tangled part. We only watched half of it tonight as Aimee was falling asleep, having done a 16 hour day, the little trooper! We begun to head to the bus, and things got pretty  busy as Dreams finished and everyone else had the same plan. 

 

We got back to the hotel and crashed. I was sad it was our last night in Disney and that we were going home tomorrow but also pleased as we were all shattered and needed to rest. 

 

 

Friday

We got up a little later today and headed to breakfast. we took our time and then did a bit of shopping in the hotel shop. A bit of shopping turned into a lot and we were in there almost an hour, much to my dismay as it was Disney time we were wasting, but I was having my photo’s printed from the rides and meet and greets, so that was of equal importance. 

 

We packed the bags and took them to the Express Service, checking out on the way. Getting into the park later than the other mornings, we only really had time to do a bit of pin trading and ride Buzz Lightyear laser Blast and Autopia before it was time to leave. 

 

We collected some sandwiches in the train station to take  with us and headed for our bags. After getting our bags we soon realised the TGV train to Lille had been cancelled and the later train also meant we would not make our Eurostar train or the train waiting for us in London King’s Cross.  

 

Panic set in and I sent Kev to the information desk whist I rung the travel insurance for their advice. Luckily with Kev asking so quickly we were able to get seats on the next Eurostar, leaving within the next hour, and we were able to make our London train. It was nice that the Eurostar was direct meaning we could relax having not needing to get off until the final stop in St Pancras. 

 

Arriving in St Pancras, the queue was massive for passport control but we were soon heading to King’s Cross, only to find our next train had been cancelled too. Luckily we were on the next one, but we knew from Sunday’s experience that it would be busy. As soon as they announced the platform it was a mad dash to the train where were all got seat together luckily. Unfortunately we had to change onto another train, which meant another mad dash but we made it. Kev’s dad was there to pick us up from the station and we arrived home at almost midnight, very tired and ready for our own beds.