The trip that I introduce my family to DLP - TR - 5th to 9th Jan 2016

[Anemone]

Very good thank you very much. I'm already back at work though. <sigh> lol

C xx

I remember how difficult it was to go back to work when they were still so small. Big hugs. xxx

 

[Anemone]

I am never going to get a proper, day-by-day TR done for this so thought I'd just share some of our photos with you.

Shopping
The sales were on while we were there so I bought loads. But before I did I bought this. 10% off food and 20% off merchandise.


My haul


These were presents for Catherine






Christmas decorations









Gifts for friends/family





A new Lanyard and some new Pins for me





A bargain for spending a certain amount in Harringtons


Disney Mugs - these were actually bought without discount on our first night




Cosy new hat and scarf - I'm wearing the scarf at home but not the hat


Bought lots of things for the little one as well but don't have photos apart from this one. He had wanted a light sabre in the shop beside star tours but they were far too big for such a little one so when I saw this light up wand from the cart selling Light up Ears I bought it as his light sabre.


More tomorrow.

 

[Anemone]

Characters

Tyler was very wary of characters. He had been the same with Santa at Christmas so it wasn't a big surprise and to be honest it was a relief not to have to queue at every meet and greet like I do when I'm with Catherine. But we went and saw Pluto in the hotel



and Spiderman for the boys



and did a character meal at Inventions.

Loved how he characters interacted with Tyler once they saw he wasn't too keen. They were very playful but gave him lots of space. Tigger scared the life out of me by approaching from behind and putting his arms around me.













The kids also bumped into Daisy and Donald one day in the studios and got some pics and autographs while I was away getting sponsored by the lovely Samantha for my AP.

 

[Anemone]

Food

I don't do photos of food - I mean to but then I'm hungry and I forget - so this will be narrative rather than picture.

Hakuna Matata - we were all pretty disappointed. We were given wedges instead of Hakuna Fries and I didn't even know we'd been short changed, never having eaten here before. Ruth and I had Chicken Strips and Fries and the boys had kebab sandwiches and fries. It filled us up but was nothing special. The kids meal we got for Tyler was actually yuck - frankfurter sausages and very plain rice and he ate more of our wedges and chicken than he did of his own food.

Earl of Sandwich - we brought these back to the hotel to eat after Dreams on our first evening as we were all shattered. They gave us the wrong kids meal and we had to wait again for the right one which was a pain in the posterior. My sandwich (Chipotle Chicken Avocado) was yummy as always.

Colonel Hathis - we had lunch here on our second day and really liked it. Mark and Ruth had pizza and I had lasagna and John pasta bolognese. We didn't buy Tyler a meal of his own but we all shared a bit with him and he ate plenty.

Inventions - I loved it here as I always do but had started to feel unwell by that evening so couldn't eat as much as I would have like to. I woke up the following morning with absolutely no voice and didn't get rid of that virus for nearly 4 weeks.

Fuente del Oro - by far my favourite counter service restaurant of the trip - by a long shot. Most of us ordered chicken fajitas and mexican rice and John ordered tacos. The fajitas were superb (John regretted having the tacos which he said were fine but nowhere near as good as the fajitas) and the rice was full of flavour - everything Hakuna Matata's hadn't been. Again we didn't order a meal for Tyler but he ate most of my rice and some of John's.

Cafe des Cascadeurs - John had managed to get separated while we were in the studios and Tyler was starving so the rest of us ate without him that day. We ordered 3 burgers and an extra portion of fries for Tyler. The restaurant is tiny but was almost empty and the food was delicious. We really enjoyed it - a hidden gem.

Planet Hollywood - I'd managed to get the French groupon offer the night before we arrived which allowed us a choice of 4 or 5 different burgers, a drink and a sundae. We were seated quickly but waited ages to order and then more ages for the food to arrive. Poor Tyler was past himself and had started begging people at tables around us for food. Fortunately I don't think they understood this as he isn't talking coherently yet but a few people played with him which kept him entertained a bit. I had stupidly not bought a kid's groupon voucher but decided to just buy him a drink and some fries. That cost more than the kid's groupon meal would have. Anyway the burgers were superb - beautifully cooked and presented and the value was unbeatable but I wouldn't go back with a baby again as the slowness of service was a real problem.

Cafe Hyperion - we ate here on our last day and all had Jedi burger meals. We enjoyed the food and the kids were impressed with the theatre style where we could watch films on the screens.

The kids also ate at McDonalds one evening while I wasn't feeling too good so stayed in hotel and ate crisps and drank tea.

 

[Anemone]

Rides

The queues were minimal from Tuesday to Friday but on Saturday, our last day they were up to peak wait times. I said I was going to scare myself this trip and I did - several times!!! I did Space Mountain a couple of times, Rock n Roller Coaster which was the boys' favourite ride, Indiana Jones and Crush. I missed out on ToT as the kids did it together while I minded the baby but we were rushing straight off to do Ratatouille with fastpasses straight after. Then on the Saturday the queue had gone from 5 minutes in the week to 50 minutes so I gave it a miss. I had done it in California last March.

We did lots of family rides too - In the main park we did Dumbo, Peter Pan, Tea Cups, Le Pays des Contes de Fees, Small World and Alice's Labyrinth but the queue for Casey Junior was too long on the Saturday so we gave it a miss. We did Star Tours which I thought was poor having been on the newer version in California, everyone loved Buzz but the boys were not pleased that I beat their scores and Ruth, Tyler and I did the Nautilus walk through while the boys were single riding Space Mountain. Queues for Orbitron were mental so we gave it a miss [I still remember how difficult it was to get out of this ride when I went on it with Catherine]. We did POTC, Indiana Jones and Phantom Manor.

In the Studios we did Ratatouille, Slinky Dog and Cars together. I did Crush in the single rider queue with a 20 minute wait. The kids had already done Crush while I minded Tyler one evening not long before the studio closed and he and I had gone on Flying Carpets 4 times back to back. He really enjoyed toddling around and, although we could have stayed on the ride and had more goes because it was empty and the CMs were letting people stay on, it was part of the fun for him to get off and run back round each time. When the ride closed we went and stood outside Crush and waited for the others and caught them coming outside screaming their heads off while we waved. I went to Cinemagique by myself as nobody else was interested but it's a must-see for me. They weren't interested in Animagique or Disney Junior Live either.

Some ride photos

My face is a picture - it was my first go but not the boys'.


Look at our little helper in this one!


I knew the photo was coming, they didn't




Boys did single rider on Space Mountain on Saturday when the queues were too long




John must have been minding Tyler during this one - poor Ruth hated it

 

[cdsmiler81]

Fabulous!!

I have the same scarf as you!

Love that Goofy Phantom Manor snow globe!! I wonder if it's there normally.....

C x

 

[Anemone]

Thanks C. Clearly a lady of good taste! No idea about the snowglobe I'm afraid. x

 

[Anemone]

Last words / photos from our trip.

Ezyshuttle were great. I know they cost more than RS transports but it was a pleasant, stress free journey both ways which made it well worth it. Not sure I'd drive it without a Sat Nav, Beauvais is much farther away than CDG.

















And this one is for Julie!


Thanks for reading if you got this far.

 

[ShellB8585]

Anemone, I have not been on these boards for a few months so missed all of this, sorry!! Looks like you had a good time did the family fall in love with DLP? where was your character breakfast? We booked yesterday to go March 2017 with our friends and their children (DD who will be 4 and DS who will be 22 months) and I'm now into planning mode and looking for new things to do this time around

 

[Anemone]

Thank you Shelley. Yes, they absolutely loved it and we've been discussing going back next year. I've a deposit paid for a May trip that isn't going to be possible now so will ring to move it to a January 2017 family trip instead. Just need to check if John is onboard but Mark, Ruth and Tyler are very keen.

Our character meal was dinner in Inventions. The only character breakfast is at Cafe Mickey and is 17 euros if staying in a Disney hotel. I would have booked it for our last morning as a special treat but Tyler wasn't too keen on getting up close and personal with the characters so I decided to leave that for another trip.

It will be lovely for you to see the park through your friends' kids eyes. I so enjoyed doing baby stuff because Tyler was there and it was lovely to watch his smile.

 

[Ms Poppins]

Awww, Anne - how have I missed this post!! Love the socks!

You all look like you really had great time and I love all the things you've bought. I've got that Olaf mug too

Let's hope you've given them all appetite for Disney now and you get to go back for a wee shot on BTM!! xx

 

[Anemone]

Thanks Julie, glad you liked the socks.

I haven't gotten round to new tickers yet but have re-booked the May trip for me, Mark, Ruth and Tyler for next January. John is going on holiday with a girlfriend this autumn so didn't want to commit to both. We'll be sharing a room this time in Sequoia Lodge, Golden Forest.

I was very lucky - by rights I should have had to add a meal plan to bring the cost up to the value of the May trip but they didn't ask me to. They've transferred the full value of the deposit I've already paid and this trip is only 2/3 of the cost. I've only booked for 2 adults and an infant and will add the other adult at check as I have my AP.

 

[dhidra]

Haven't been on here in ages Anne! Looks like you all had a fabulous trip. And great news that the others loved it so much that they want to go back! Love the massive haul, especially the pins, mugs and xmas decorations.
And you'll have SLGF sussed for them beforehand. ;-)

 

[Anemone]

Thanks Dee. It was a great trip. So looking forward to taking Tyler back a year older and seeing how he changes.

 

[dxexcxlxaxn]

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[Anemone]

Loved reading about your experiences! My boyfriend and I are going in January 2017 from New Zealand and are very excited (well I am anyways!)

Hope you enjoy your next trip!

Thank you dxexcxlxaxn. We'll be back next January from 22nd to 26th. What dates are you going to be there? x

 

[dxexcxlxaxn]

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