Well, here we are, back to reality. [Quelle domage!]
I met the coach at Peterborough bus station and we got the shock of our lives when Sharon Osborne got out to load the case! At least thats who she reminded us of although she was, we were told, called PAT. I still think our drivers were Ozzy and Sharon moonlighting!
I was quite glad when I got on because I had a double seat all to myself so I was able to spread out, which was nice. It was certainly a big help to me later on. I have rheumatoid arthritis and was quite worried about coping with the long journey via the chunnel without a break. Id had, as you might know, some problems with Leger Holidays over the planning of this journey and should have gone via ferry to give me a break from the battery hen situation of coach travel.
The journey was quite dull, to be honest. It being half term, the coach was full to the rafters of young 'uns but for the most part they were good kids and we cleared the channel tunnel without any incident. Thank goodness.
We arrived at Sequoia Lodge at about 7 oclock and here we met our first minor obstacle. The drivers did their usual trick of off loading passengers and luggage before disappearing, leaving us to stumble about in the dark without a clue where we were going. Luckily one member of our little group had been to the Sequoia before and knew the lay of the land so it wasnt too long before we were staggering, bag and baggage, through the door of Yellowstone Lodge.
The room was nice, if basic, but clean. Having read a couple of other postings since booking for the Sequoia I was glad to see that my room, at least, was spotless. Having unpacked a few bits, I decided to head for the Disney Village and see what was going on there.
One sad change I noticed since my last visit, were the searches we had to go through before being allowed to enter the Village. Sad, isnt it, that these precautions are necessary, even at Disneyland? However, got though there without being arrested as a danger to life and limb and began to wander through the village.
It was absolutely heaving. The Wild West Show had just bailed out and everyone was walking about wearing their cowboy hats and yehaa-ing at each other. For a while I watched folk risking their necks on the bucking bull and the bungee ropes far too intrepid for me!. It was a very friendly atmosphere.
I do have one small gripe though. Pushchairs and backpacks! I dont know what it is with folk but it does not matter where you are, there are those in charge of pushchairs who seem to think that they are charioteers in Ancient Rome, vying for Caesars favour! I appreciate how difficult it must be for people with youngsters, especially somewhere like Disneyland, but a bit of consideration for other peoples legs might not go amiss! Some Mums seem to develop a Boadacia complex and you lose an inch of skin off your ankles every few minutes. Backpacks are also a menace if you are only 5 3 tall. I lost count of the number of times I was nearly laid out by someone carrying the equivalent of a camper van on their back. At the very least they should wear rear view mirrors so they can avoid knocking out unsuspecting pedestrians!
Anyway, having spent a couple of hours investigating the shops and noting things to look at again the next day, I decided to beat a retreat to the hotel, intent on conserving some energy for the following day.
Up at the crack next morning to be in for breakfast at 7.30. Cocopops and Croissants an odd mix but nice, especially when I found the teabags. I cant cope unless Ive had a couple of cups of tea first thing. Then back to the room to collect my things for the day.
I decided to walk to the park and made my way around the hotel to find Lake Disney. Sequoia has some lovely grounds and it wasnt too cold to have a slow walk around the lake and through the back door of the Disney Village where they were just waking up for the day. I was glad to be able to take a look at the shops without running the gauntlet of amateur cowboys, charioteers and camper vans. But I couldnt wait any longer and hurried through the park gates.
My previous visit to DLP had fallen in the few days gap between the summer and Halloween seasons so I had seen some of the Halloween decorations being set up. This time, however, the pumpkin men were in full cry, dangling from lampposts, sleeping on benches and in every available crevice. Watching the kids faces was a real treat, especially when they realised that not all of the pumpkin men were models. There was a huge pumpkin parked in front of the Castle and everyone seemed to make a beeline for it. It was enormous!
The first place I wanted to visit was the dungeon of the castle. [Im a fan of dragons!] Took no end of photos then wended my way back up to the little shop. The glassware and other little things in there were a great draw for me last time.
I was disappointed to see someone trying to force their obviously terrified son down to the dungeon why do that? and couldnt stand to watch any longer when she resorted to dragging him kicking and screaming. It was hardly going to be a festive day for her with a grizzling, distressed child, I thought.
Having explored the castle, admired the tapestries and windows and checked out the view from the top of the castle, I decided to give the Snow White ride a whirl. I hadnt been on anything like this since my sister and I rode the Jungle Ride at Skegness pleasure beach and got terrified when some idiot decided it was a clever idea to frighten two under 11s by climbing on the back of the truck. It was great fun though, well designed and with the requisite happy ending. I wouldnt recommend it for very tiny children though.
I looked at Peter Pans Flight but the queue even for the fastpasses was huge and I decided to try later. Unfortunately I never did get back to see if I could get on this one, so it heads my next time list.
Prior to going to the park I had made myself a list of things I wanted to go on and top of my list was the Pirates of the Caribbean as Id heard so much about it. I got briefly distracted by Alices Labyrinth and actually caught sight of the Story Book ride from the top of the Queen of Hearts castle. As a fan of Beauty and the Beast I had really hoped it would still be open however it was firmly closed. Shame!
Finally arrived at the Pirates of the Caribbean and surprisingly the queue here was not too long so I only had about a 10 minute wait before my bum hit a boat seat. Cast Members handling of the various queues I encountered around the park was a bit like the curates egg, good in parts. Sometimes they seemed to have little control over the queues and folk who had waited ages got trampled underfoot by those who hadnt the manners to wait their turn. No such problem on PoC though, it was very orderly and the theming along the queue was something to behold.
The ride itself was terrific fun and I can well understand why so many people have raved about it. I tried to get back for a second ride later but once again got defeated by the size of the queue. With so much else I wanted to do, I had made myself a promise that I would not wait ages queuing if I had already been on a ride this visit.
I decided to walk through to Halloweenland via Adventureland. I propped up a barrier and watched the young uns pretending to be Jack Sparrow on the pirate ship near skull rock and then wandered through the maze of little paths until I got to Halloweenland.
They had really gone to town on the Halloween theme here. There were more pumpkin men than you could shake a scythe at. Id decided to give Big Thunder Mountain a miss I felt it would be just a bit too rough a ride for me although I must admit I did stand and have a dither. It looked so much FUN.
I beetled round and joined the queue for the Mummy Cruise Line, sadly more my speed, and waited for a good forty minutes until they let us through to the landing stage to await the steamers return. Then disaster struck! Just as the boat began to turn into the jetty, it suddenly came to a standstill and there it remained for a good 20 minutes. We couldnt figure out what was happening until one of the Cast Members told us that the steamer had somehow managed to run aground, complete with a load of passengers. We could either wait or pop back later when theyd sorted it out. I decided to go and have a look at Phantom Manor and then go and find a spot of lunch. By the time Id read all the tombstones in Boot Hill and chickened out at Phantom Manor, it was approaching 12 and the poor stranded souls on the Molly Brown were still awaiting rescue. I decided to go and grab a pizza at Colonel Hathis.
Surprisingly it was warm enough to enjoy my pizza sitting outside the restaurant. It wasnt the best pizza Ive ever had, but it kept the wolf from the door and the sit down was welcome. Having done that I went back to Halloweenland to see if the steamer was running again. They were just beginning to ferry off the poor beggars who had been trapped on the steamer in little boats and I had to wonder how long it had taken for some wit to mention Dunkirk. Obviously there was nothing doing steamer wise so I ambled back and found a performance taking place on the stage set up to one side. Great, a steel band. I dont know what it is about steel bands but they always seem to bring a smile to the faces of folk. There were also some terrific dancers - all of them dressed up as pumpkin men. Break dancing always looks insanely difficult to me, I cant imagine how much more difficult it was wearing a giant pumpkin on your head.
I then made my way back through Halloweenland and decided to give DiscoveryLand a try. Id decided to leave this one till last as I didnt feel there was as much of interest to me as in the other lands. Space Mountain wasnt one I tackled but I went and had a look at the Nautilus. This one wasnt open during my previous visit but I enjoyed the detailed theming although I did feel they could have made a little more perhaps of the squid attack. It seemed to be over rather quickly.
One problem I encountered repeatedly throughout the park was the queue length. Even with fastpasses there were considerable delays and if I had fastpassed all the rides I wanted to go on Id have been back and forth across the park like a yo-yo and at the speed I walk I would never have managed it. I had planned to visit during a quieter part of the season however, a cancelled booking [thanks Leger] meant that I was in the parks during half term week and the place was completely heaving. Sadly that meant I missed out on a great many of the rides I wanted to go on. Still, I now have a next time list that is as long as your arm.
I was surprised at how quickly the time went. I stopped to take a couple of photos of the carousel I love carousels - and realised that I needed to get a wriggle on if I was to get a decent view of the parade. I headed to the festival theatre and managed to bag a front row seat just as they were beginning to rope it all off.
I cant praise the parade highly enough in fact I enjoyed it so much that I galloped back the next day for a second look prior to returning to the hotel to meet my home going coach.
The Disney Villains were in full cry along with a complement of Pumpkin Men to assist them. From Gaston to Snow Whites wicked step mother, all were present. My poor camera ran hot throughout with the number of pics I took of the parade. The Queen of Hearts appeared, accompanied by a pack of orange cards, Jafar and a gang of warriors from Mulan [what IS the name of the villain in that it isnt one Ive seen and Ive a photo of him that I cant put a name to.] As usual, the parade music was so infuriatingly catchy I had to dash round and find a copy to buy in Main Street. I managed to play it about 8 times on the journey home.
When the parade was sadly over, I decided it was time to hit the shops. Id promised myself I wouldnt be spending too much until after the parade but I had several presents to get for folks, mainly my poor mother who desperately wanted to come with me but had to remain behind to care for the animals. I found a beautiful little crystal slipper in the glass shop in Liberty Arcade.
Finally feeling weary I decided to head back to the hotel and put my feet up for a bit before returning for round two.
The village was packed again on my return but I managed to finish the rest of my shopping. One note I will make is that the shops do seem to stock so much of the same kind of thing and quality does vary. They seem to cater for the extremes of cheap, pocket money type toys to the really expensive glass and crystal ornaments with very little in between. Sadly there was very little relating to my favourite, Beauty and the Beast so I had to console myself with a handful of Disney pins. I finally found one that actually had the Beast himself on it. You can find a great deal in the cheap plastic tat line for Belle, but almost nothing Beast-wise. Shame!
The little open-air theatre had a show going on, a magician and a rope spinner among the acts, all with a Halloween theme. The friendly atmosphere in the village is always something I enjoy greatly and it was gone 11 when I finally decided my legs had had enough for one day. Id tucked my pedometer onto my belt before I left the hotel that morning and it was telling me that I had walked nearly 18 miles! No wonder my legs felt like they belonged to someone else!
Next morning it was off to the Studios Park. There were several things here that I had not tried out last time and most of them I did manage to get around to doing. Animagique and Cinemagique among them. However my first port of call was the Studios Tram Tour which was a big favourite of mine at my last visit. And hooray for our side, I actually managed to get a half-decent shot of the Reign of Fire dragon working off his breakfast.
Having overdone the walking a good bit the day before I was glad that the Studios Park had a few more sitting down kind of events. I like the Animagique black light show although I met the same queuing problems as before. I dont know what it is about some folk who think they can barge to the head of any queue! Next on my list was Cinemagique and this I really enjoyed. I thought it was very cleverly worked out, weaving together the different films although several of the mothers in the auditorium were rushing to protect their childrens eyes on a couple of occasions.
Hurrying out of Cinemagique, I headed for the Stunt Show. Here we had to queue for ages before they let us into the stadium and sadly I found myself right at the very back of the stands. The view wasnt too bad with the big screens however. The stunts were spectacular without a doubt although personally I felt the dual language presentation did make things drag out a bit and there were occasions where it was hard to follow what was going on. I wouldnt have missed it, however. The stunts themselves needed no translation.
Pouring out of the stadium after the show we found they were getting ready for the Studios Parade. It was hopelessly crowded and almost impossible to see anything. I did manage to get a couple of pictures in between bobbing heads but it wasnt a great success as far as I was concerned. It does not seem to have the magic of the parade in the main park and since I had decided to go back to the main park for a second bite at their parade, I hurried over for a bite to eat. A brief tour of the shops in the Studios then over to the main park for a wander around their shops before the parade.
This time I decided to watch from the corner of Main Street and found the view here in some respects better than that at the Festival Stage. I was able to see the floats coming and get a good view head on rather than just from the side but I was struck again with the enthusiasm of the dancers and performers. You certainly wouldnt need to be afraid of heights!
By now my phone was beeping, telling me that I had to leave and return to the hotel to meet the coach and with great reluctance I left the park for the last time. I did have time for one last turn around the shop in the hotel and managed to use up a few more of my euros - a nice key ring for Mother! then baggage collection and meet the coach. We all stood around waiting like lost souls, I dont think anyone really wanted to go home although we were all slumped with exhaustion.
I wonder why it is that the journey home always seems a lot quicker than the journey going. Ive always held that the reason time flies when youre having fun is because there is some nasty little goblin who speeds up the clock when theres fun things happening and then slows it right down when you are at work.
Ive no idea when/if I will be able to go back. I think I found the park more exhausting this time than last and I never can tell how my arthritis will behave in any given situation but I really hope that I can revisit the park and catch up with the rides I didnt manage to go on this visit.
Heres to the next one!
Nikki
I will happily post some pics, but was having problems pasting them in. I will try and get the posted at some point!
I met the coach at Peterborough bus station and we got the shock of our lives when Sharon Osborne got out to load the case! At least thats who she reminded us of although she was, we were told, called PAT. I still think our drivers were Ozzy and Sharon moonlighting!
I was quite glad when I got on because I had a double seat all to myself so I was able to spread out, which was nice. It was certainly a big help to me later on. I have rheumatoid arthritis and was quite worried about coping with the long journey via the chunnel without a break. Id had, as you might know, some problems with Leger Holidays over the planning of this journey and should have gone via ferry to give me a break from the battery hen situation of coach travel.
The journey was quite dull, to be honest. It being half term, the coach was full to the rafters of young 'uns but for the most part they were good kids and we cleared the channel tunnel without any incident. Thank goodness.
We arrived at Sequoia Lodge at about 7 oclock and here we met our first minor obstacle. The drivers did their usual trick of off loading passengers and luggage before disappearing, leaving us to stumble about in the dark without a clue where we were going. Luckily one member of our little group had been to the Sequoia before and knew the lay of the land so it wasnt too long before we were staggering, bag and baggage, through the door of Yellowstone Lodge.
The room was nice, if basic, but clean. Having read a couple of other postings since booking for the Sequoia I was glad to see that my room, at least, was spotless. Having unpacked a few bits, I decided to head for the Disney Village and see what was going on there.
One sad change I noticed since my last visit, were the searches we had to go through before being allowed to enter the Village. Sad, isnt it, that these precautions are necessary, even at Disneyland? However, got though there without being arrested as a danger to life and limb and began to wander through the village.
It was absolutely heaving. The Wild West Show had just bailed out and everyone was walking about wearing their cowboy hats and yehaa-ing at each other. For a while I watched folk risking their necks on the bucking bull and the bungee ropes far too intrepid for me!. It was a very friendly atmosphere.
I do have one small gripe though. Pushchairs and backpacks! I dont know what it is with folk but it does not matter where you are, there are those in charge of pushchairs who seem to think that they are charioteers in Ancient Rome, vying for Caesars favour! I appreciate how difficult it must be for people with youngsters, especially somewhere like Disneyland, but a bit of consideration for other peoples legs might not go amiss! Some Mums seem to develop a Boadacia complex and you lose an inch of skin off your ankles every few minutes. Backpacks are also a menace if you are only 5 3 tall. I lost count of the number of times I was nearly laid out by someone carrying the equivalent of a camper van on their back. At the very least they should wear rear view mirrors so they can avoid knocking out unsuspecting pedestrians!
Anyway, having spent a couple of hours investigating the shops and noting things to look at again the next day, I decided to beat a retreat to the hotel, intent on conserving some energy for the following day.
Up at the crack next morning to be in for breakfast at 7.30. Cocopops and Croissants an odd mix but nice, especially when I found the teabags. I cant cope unless Ive had a couple of cups of tea first thing. Then back to the room to collect my things for the day.
I decided to walk to the park and made my way around the hotel to find Lake Disney. Sequoia has some lovely grounds and it wasnt too cold to have a slow walk around the lake and through the back door of the Disney Village where they were just waking up for the day. I was glad to be able to take a look at the shops without running the gauntlet of amateur cowboys, charioteers and camper vans. But I couldnt wait any longer and hurried through the park gates.
My previous visit to DLP had fallen in the few days gap between the summer and Halloween seasons so I had seen some of the Halloween decorations being set up. This time, however, the pumpkin men were in full cry, dangling from lampposts, sleeping on benches and in every available crevice. Watching the kids faces was a real treat, especially when they realised that not all of the pumpkin men were models. There was a huge pumpkin parked in front of the Castle and everyone seemed to make a beeline for it. It was enormous!
The first place I wanted to visit was the dungeon of the castle. [Im a fan of dragons!] Took no end of photos then wended my way back up to the little shop. The glassware and other little things in there were a great draw for me last time.
I was disappointed to see someone trying to force their obviously terrified son down to the dungeon why do that? and couldnt stand to watch any longer when she resorted to dragging him kicking and screaming. It was hardly going to be a festive day for her with a grizzling, distressed child, I thought.
Having explored the castle, admired the tapestries and windows and checked out the view from the top of the castle, I decided to give the Snow White ride a whirl. I hadnt been on anything like this since my sister and I rode the Jungle Ride at Skegness pleasure beach and got terrified when some idiot decided it was a clever idea to frighten two under 11s by climbing on the back of the truck. It was great fun though, well designed and with the requisite happy ending. I wouldnt recommend it for very tiny children though.
I looked at Peter Pans Flight but the queue even for the fastpasses was huge and I decided to try later. Unfortunately I never did get back to see if I could get on this one, so it heads my next time list.
Prior to going to the park I had made myself a list of things I wanted to go on and top of my list was the Pirates of the Caribbean as Id heard so much about it. I got briefly distracted by Alices Labyrinth and actually caught sight of the Story Book ride from the top of the Queen of Hearts castle. As a fan of Beauty and the Beast I had really hoped it would still be open however it was firmly closed. Shame!
Finally arrived at the Pirates of the Caribbean and surprisingly the queue here was not too long so I only had about a 10 minute wait before my bum hit a boat seat. Cast Members handling of the various queues I encountered around the park was a bit like the curates egg, good in parts. Sometimes they seemed to have little control over the queues and folk who had waited ages got trampled underfoot by those who hadnt the manners to wait their turn. No such problem on PoC though, it was very orderly and the theming along the queue was something to behold.
The ride itself was terrific fun and I can well understand why so many people have raved about it. I tried to get back for a second ride later but once again got defeated by the size of the queue. With so much else I wanted to do, I had made myself a promise that I would not wait ages queuing if I had already been on a ride this visit.
I decided to walk through to Halloweenland via Adventureland. I propped up a barrier and watched the young uns pretending to be Jack Sparrow on the pirate ship near skull rock and then wandered through the maze of little paths until I got to Halloweenland.
They had really gone to town on the Halloween theme here. There were more pumpkin men than you could shake a scythe at. Id decided to give Big Thunder Mountain a miss I felt it would be just a bit too rough a ride for me although I must admit I did stand and have a dither. It looked so much FUN.
I beetled round and joined the queue for the Mummy Cruise Line, sadly more my speed, and waited for a good forty minutes until they let us through to the landing stage to await the steamers return. Then disaster struck! Just as the boat began to turn into the jetty, it suddenly came to a standstill and there it remained for a good 20 minutes. We couldnt figure out what was happening until one of the Cast Members told us that the steamer had somehow managed to run aground, complete with a load of passengers. We could either wait or pop back later when theyd sorted it out. I decided to go and have a look at Phantom Manor and then go and find a spot of lunch. By the time Id read all the tombstones in Boot Hill and chickened out at Phantom Manor, it was approaching 12 and the poor stranded souls on the Molly Brown were still awaiting rescue. I decided to go and grab a pizza at Colonel Hathis.
Surprisingly it was warm enough to enjoy my pizza sitting outside the restaurant. It wasnt the best pizza Ive ever had, but it kept the wolf from the door and the sit down was welcome. Having done that I went back to Halloweenland to see if the steamer was running again. They were just beginning to ferry off the poor beggars who had been trapped on the steamer in little boats and I had to wonder how long it had taken for some wit to mention Dunkirk. Obviously there was nothing doing steamer wise so I ambled back and found a performance taking place on the stage set up to one side. Great, a steel band. I dont know what it is about steel bands but they always seem to bring a smile to the faces of folk. There were also some terrific dancers - all of them dressed up as pumpkin men. Break dancing always looks insanely difficult to me, I cant imagine how much more difficult it was wearing a giant pumpkin on your head.
I then made my way back through Halloweenland and decided to give DiscoveryLand a try. Id decided to leave this one till last as I didnt feel there was as much of interest to me as in the other lands. Space Mountain wasnt one I tackled but I went and had a look at the Nautilus. This one wasnt open during my previous visit but I enjoyed the detailed theming although I did feel they could have made a little more perhaps of the squid attack. It seemed to be over rather quickly.
One problem I encountered repeatedly throughout the park was the queue length. Even with fastpasses there were considerable delays and if I had fastpassed all the rides I wanted to go on Id have been back and forth across the park like a yo-yo and at the speed I walk I would never have managed it. I had planned to visit during a quieter part of the season however, a cancelled booking [thanks Leger] meant that I was in the parks during half term week and the place was completely heaving. Sadly that meant I missed out on a great many of the rides I wanted to go on. Still, I now have a next time list that is as long as your arm.
I was surprised at how quickly the time went. I stopped to take a couple of photos of the carousel I love carousels - and realised that I needed to get a wriggle on if I was to get a decent view of the parade. I headed to the festival theatre and managed to bag a front row seat just as they were beginning to rope it all off.
I cant praise the parade highly enough in fact I enjoyed it so much that I galloped back the next day for a second look prior to returning to the hotel to meet my home going coach.
The Disney Villains were in full cry along with a complement of Pumpkin Men to assist them. From Gaston to Snow Whites wicked step mother, all were present. My poor camera ran hot throughout with the number of pics I took of the parade. The Queen of Hearts appeared, accompanied by a pack of orange cards, Jafar and a gang of warriors from Mulan [what IS the name of the villain in that it isnt one Ive seen and Ive a photo of him that I cant put a name to.] As usual, the parade music was so infuriatingly catchy I had to dash round and find a copy to buy in Main Street. I managed to play it about 8 times on the journey home.
When the parade was sadly over, I decided it was time to hit the shops. Id promised myself I wouldnt be spending too much until after the parade but I had several presents to get for folks, mainly my poor mother who desperately wanted to come with me but had to remain behind to care for the animals. I found a beautiful little crystal slipper in the glass shop in Liberty Arcade.
Finally feeling weary I decided to head back to the hotel and put my feet up for a bit before returning for round two.
The village was packed again on my return but I managed to finish the rest of my shopping. One note I will make is that the shops do seem to stock so much of the same kind of thing and quality does vary. They seem to cater for the extremes of cheap, pocket money type toys to the really expensive glass and crystal ornaments with very little in between. Sadly there was very little relating to my favourite, Beauty and the Beast so I had to console myself with a handful of Disney pins. I finally found one that actually had the Beast himself on it. You can find a great deal in the cheap plastic tat line for Belle, but almost nothing Beast-wise. Shame!
The little open-air theatre had a show going on, a magician and a rope spinner among the acts, all with a Halloween theme. The friendly atmosphere in the village is always something I enjoy greatly and it was gone 11 when I finally decided my legs had had enough for one day. Id tucked my pedometer onto my belt before I left the hotel that morning and it was telling me that I had walked nearly 18 miles! No wonder my legs felt like they belonged to someone else!
Next morning it was off to the Studios Park. There were several things here that I had not tried out last time and most of them I did manage to get around to doing. Animagique and Cinemagique among them. However my first port of call was the Studios Tram Tour which was a big favourite of mine at my last visit. And hooray for our side, I actually managed to get a half-decent shot of the Reign of Fire dragon working off his breakfast.
Having overdone the walking a good bit the day before I was glad that the Studios Park had a few more sitting down kind of events. I like the Animagique black light show although I met the same queuing problems as before. I dont know what it is about some folk who think they can barge to the head of any queue! Next on my list was Cinemagique and this I really enjoyed. I thought it was very cleverly worked out, weaving together the different films although several of the mothers in the auditorium were rushing to protect their childrens eyes on a couple of occasions.
Hurrying out of Cinemagique, I headed for the Stunt Show. Here we had to queue for ages before they let us into the stadium and sadly I found myself right at the very back of the stands. The view wasnt too bad with the big screens however. The stunts were spectacular without a doubt although personally I felt the dual language presentation did make things drag out a bit and there were occasions where it was hard to follow what was going on. I wouldnt have missed it, however. The stunts themselves needed no translation.
Pouring out of the stadium after the show we found they were getting ready for the Studios Parade. It was hopelessly crowded and almost impossible to see anything. I did manage to get a couple of pictures in between bobbing heads but it wasnt a great success as far as I was concerned. It does not seem to have the magic of the parade in the main park and since I had decided to go back to the main park for a second bite at their parade, I hurried over for a bite to eat. A brief tour of the shops in the Studios then over to the main park for a wander around their shops before the parade.
This time I decided to watch from the corner of Main Street and found the view here in some respects better than that at the Festival Stage. I was able to see the floats coming and get a good view head on rather than just from the side but I was struck again with the enthusiasm of the dancers and performers. You certainly wouldnt need to be afraid of heights!
By now my phone was beeping, telling me that I had to leave and return to the hotel to meet the coach and with great reluctance I left the park for the last time. I did have time for one last turn around the shop in the hotel and managed to use up a few more of my euros - a nice key ring for Mother! then baggage collection and meet the coach. We all stood around waiting like lost souls, I dont think anyone really wanted to go home although we were all slumped with exhaustion.
I wonder why it is that the journey home always seems a lot quicker than the journey going. Ive always held that the reason time flies when youre having fun is because there is some nasty little goblin who speeds up the clock when theres fun things happening and then slows it right down when you are at work.
Ive no idea when/if I will be able to go back. I think I found the park more exhausting this time than last and I never can tell how my arthritis will behave in any given situation but I really hope that I can revisit the park and catch up with the rides I didnt manage to go on this visit.
Heres to the next one!
Nikki
I will happily post some pics, but was having problems pasting them in. I will try and get the posted at some point!
tracy
* years ago this week. Weird to hear from someone this week in particular.
