'Dream'ing of a Disney Birthday - May 2012 - Full TR

[rottie155]

Day 1 – Monday 14th May 2012

After what has felt like an eternity of waiting, DBF and I are finally back off to the magic to celebrate our birthdays.

With a 6:30 alarm set – I am up and ready by 6:25 (the excitement got too much for me in the end) and I am armed with a suitcase packed with everything except the kitchen sink and clothes to dress an entire continent waiting for DBF to arrive as we were going to travel from Ebbsfleet.
At Ebbsfleet we pass through Passport Control where the security man tells us that if we don’t come back on Friday wearing Mickey Mouse ears then he will not let us back into the country (suits us fine haha). First stop was a coffee – I need my caffeine in order to pass as a relatively sane person – then sooner than we knew it we were on board the Eurostar giddy with excitement.

We arrived at the Disneyland Hotel by 2pm and oh to be back home again! The heavenly scent of the hotel was enough to bring a tear to my eye and playing discretely in the background was the tune to ‘Magic Everywhere’. Smiles all round by this point as we made our way to the reception desk. As we checked in the man on reception said ‘we understand you are here to celebrate your birthday with us, and as a gift from us we would like to give you two VIP Fastpasses for the duration of your stay, and we are placing you in a quiet room with a park-view’. At this point DBF and I just looked at eachother with the biggest grins imaginable. The Disney Magic has begun and we have only just stepped foot inside our hotel! This was already turning into a perfect trip.

We were then taken to our room (just at the top of the stairs in the hotel – amazing location) where a bottle of Champagne was sitting waiting for us in a bucket with ice. I was soon torn away from the Champagne with the promise that we would enjoy it later in the evening – we had a Magic Kingdom to explore!

Stepping through the park gates together in brilliant sunshine was breath-taking. The music was roaring, the sun was shining, people were laughing and the castle was gleaming at us at the foot of Main Street USA. We’re officially back... and hungry it seems!

No time for anything fancy – let’s grab a hotdog and a drink from Casey’s and sit and take it all in. As we sit, the Disney’s 20th Anniversary Celebration Train begins to pass us and we had our very first glimpse of the Disney Greats donning the 20th Anniversary costumes – fantastic!!

Stomachs fed, it’s only fair we put our complimentary VIP Fastpasses to good use and head over to Space Mountain : Mission 2. We pretty much walked straight onto Space Mountain and it was a great way to get our adrenaline going to see us through the afternoon. Next stop, and with a flash of our VIP Fastpasses, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast (we love this). The only problem we seem to encounter on Buzz is that it brings out a deep, dark evil side in us both – COMPETITIVENESS – aaawkward! That being said – I won with 350,000 points against DBF’s 237,000 points (not that I kept score or anything).

After a few words about cheating / playing unfair / guns clearly not working as well as others – we thought it was probably best to have a ride on It’s A Small World and remember we are in Disney and that silly little laser games really do not matter (even though I won). After IASW we retrieved the VIP Fastpasses from our pockets and skipped across to Peter Pan’s Flight (one of my all-time favourites) where we managed to slice a nice 30minutes off of queuing thanks to the fastpasses (result)!

Next we had a little walk around Adventureland just to take it all in. It was so nice, especially seeing the Pirate Ship restored back to its former glory. Aaah, this really is such a beautiful place. **ok, back in the room**. Time for Pirates of the Caribbean I think me-hearties! We must have only queued for minutes before boarding our boat and sailing through the pirate-infested Med! We were both thinking what a result we were having and if the park stays as quiet as this – we will be riding everything a dozen times over!

Whilst on a Disney-high, we rushed over to Big Thunder Mountain (a new firm favourite of ours) and flashed our VIP Fastpass (which seemed to catch the Cast Members eye a bit when they realised we had these for 5 days) and, again, within 3 minutes we were sitting on board our runaway train and scouting for gold! Yeehaaa!!!

After crying with laughter at DBF’s Goofy scream (the sound he makes as he falls off cliffs etc) all the way along Big Thunder Mountain and also mixing this with the sudden heat in the bright sunshine – we needed an ice cream and a sit down on our little wooden bench we love to rest on by the rivers of Thunder Mesa. “What do you mean you’re out of Magnums?!” – you could see the disappointment in our eyes too – still, we got an ice lolly instead (it did the job).

It was now approaching 6pm and so we thought we would have a stroll through the shops along Main Street USA and make our way to our parade-spot at the end of the parade route (the parade was scheduled to start at 7pm) and grab a space. Aaah, the parade was lovely. So pretty and full of bright, vivid colours. Magical! I LOVE the new costumes so much! The only thing we were disappointed with was that it all seemed to be over with too soon. There’s no show-stops, and with the villain float being removed it just seemed to be a bit, fast?! I don’t know. Like I said, the parade quality was beautiful and stunning – the quantity did lack slightly (for me anyway).

After the parade we headed back to the hotel to have a quick fresh-up and change – when we noticed that birthday balloons had been placed on our bed posts! MORE Disney Magic?! Somebody pinch me!!

We needed to take a moment to gather our thoughts and have a break so we headed down to Café Fantasia in the hotel and ordered our favourite cocktails (Bacardi Royale). Yummy!!! This is still my favourite drink of all-time.

After discussing our eventful day and all of the pixie dust that had been sprinkled over us (and our glasses were empty) we made our way back into the park to use and abuse our VIP Fastpasses a little more. We had a ride of Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast (which I won again... just saying), Phantom Manor and then Big Thunder Mountain (in the dark... pretty cool!).

Then at around 9:40pm we made our way to the front of the Castle (amazing spot) and sat down and awaited Disney Dreams. I guarded our space with my life as DBF ran off in search of cookies from the Cable Car Store for us to munch on during Dreams (they were devoured before the first announcement was even made). Then... oh my... at 10:30pm the Castle was literally transformed and there was not one person around who was not mouth-opened and in awe of the – I will say it – most incredible spectacle on Earth. I really do not know how to put in words how breath-taking Disney Dreams really is. Videos and photos do it no justice whatsoever. If you get the chance – go and see it!

After Dreams it was now 11pm and we headed along Main Street USA towards the Disneyland Hotel which was sparkling at us in the distance. Returning to our room I reminded DBF of the Champagne which was waving at me from the table (I’m certain it winked at me too) and within moments the cork was popped and we were sitting at the table, looking out of our room window at the guests leaving the park as we sipped on our Champagne. Once the bottle was empty and by the time our heads hit the pillow – we were having Disney Dreams of our own.

 

[rottie155]

Day 2 – Tuesday 15th May 2012


I was woken up by my DBF standing in front of me smiling “Happy Birthday Adam – you’re 25!!” whereas my response wasn’t as perky “yes. Thank you.” – I needed more sleep!

Wait, it really is my birthday isn’t it?! AND I’m in the Disneyland Hotel! Within seconds I am bouncing out of bed and gratefully receiving my cards and presents (how DBF managed to pack all of these lovely surprise gifts for me in his case is beyond me)! My phone soon starts coming to life with messages from London wishing me a Happy Birthday and I can’t hide the excitement in my eyes. DBF had also made a surprise purchase of the 20 Years of Dreams – Disneyland Paris book for me whilst here. It was so kind and thoughtful.

We soon got ready and made our way for breakfast at 8am where Mickey Mouse himself was waiting to wish me many Happy Returns (of course he was there as part of his meet and greet – but I liked to believe he was actually there for me LOL). We then had a lovely breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs, potato slices, sausages, pain au chocolat and coffee. I struggled to move after devouring a mountain of food so early.

We decided to start the day in the Disneyland Park. It’s not a real birthday unless there’s a big Pink Castle involved right?! As DBF told me he had never actually seen the Dragon under the castle before we made that our first stop. He loved it and thought it was really clever. Another little DLP gem which makes the park that bit more unique and magical in our eyes. After a wander around we decided to wake-up with a ride on Space Mountain. We then had another challenge on Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast (I know you’re all wondering – I scored 144,400 and DBF scored 122,200... we chose not to speak of the points... I just jotted them down on my iPhone quickly instead hehe).

It was now 9:30am and we thought that if we were quick enough we could make our way to Disney Studios and be there for opening. We were right. We made it just in-time to be one of the first hundred (there was quite a queue) in the park and once inside there was no time to stop and think – we ran like our lives depended on it over to Crush’s Coaster. I love Crush’s Coaster. I think it is one of the cleverest attractions in the park and also one of the most fun. As the park was relatively quiet still after Crush we had a little peek around Toy Story Playland and walked straight onto RC Racer (which we really enjoyed – and kept trying to pretend we were flying... we are both children in adult bodies). We noticed that there was only a (what appeared to be) short queue for Parachute Drop and neither of us had been on this before so we joined the queue. Turns out this was the longest queue of our entire trip (at around 25/30mins) but we really enjoyed it. We said we probably wouldn’t go on it again as it wasn’t really exciting enough for us but we could see how children must love it.

Now for the real thing – Tower of Terror! Oh, there’s a 30minute queue for that too? No problem, we have VIP Fastpasses! On we walk with a devilish grin on our faces. This is DBF’s favourite ride in the resort and we laughed and screamed at the top of our lungs as we were dropped. So fun! As we came out of Tower of Terror we noticed that the next showing of Cinémagique was about to begin so we rushed over to that. This is my favourite. I think it’s so clever, unique and magical. I love the new additions to the movie too. I did get a bit disappointed that the water effects were not working... but I soon got more than I bargained for as we left the theatre and the Heavens opened on us. I have never seen rain like it! It was insane! Ponchos. We need Ponchos!!! And yes, we bought them and styled it out.

It was now 1:30pm and our tummies had a little grumble so we headed over to the Disneyland Park in search of food. When we got there we just couldn’t agree on what we wanted to eat and found ourselves walking on Space Mountain instead. As fun as it was – it didn’t satisfy our hunger needs.

We had a little wander around and nothing caught our eye. It’s really annoying when you’re hungry but just do not know what you want to eat isn’t it?! However, me being me, I had an idea – COCKTAILS IN THE DLH!! I thought we could go and have a nice Bacardi Royale whilst we decided on what we wanted to eat... see, very productive of me!

Our lunch ended up consisting of Barcardi Royale’s at Café Fantasia along with complimentary bowls of BBQ Doritos. Classy.

As we left Café Fantasia and walked through the lobby we noticed that Mickey, Minnie and Pluto were about. Pluto is DBF’s favourite Disney Character so we went over to say ‘hello’. This turned out to be a hilarious interaction after I told Pluto that DBF is a huge fan of his. Pluto followed us around the lobby everywhere we went and kept hugging us and kissing DBF. It was so cute. We had our photo with Mickey and then turned to notice Pluto was all alone again. Pluto spotted us and ran over for a cuddle and we asked if he was ok and he mimed to us that he is sad because Mickey pulls his ears, tongue, tail and hits him. We couldn’t stop laughing. The best was when we turned to see Mickey holding onto the wall and pretending to head-butt it. It was the funniest, yet oddest, moment ever.

Giddy with excitement (and maybe the effect of one or two cocktails) we ventured back into the Disneyland Park for a birthday ride of Pirates of the Caribbean. It began to rain again and we realised that we haven’t had a ride of Indiana Jones yet – it was working fine and we had our ponchos so we thought it would be a nice little experience for us to ride it in the rain. And it was. We laughed so much when we did the loop-the-loop and both of our poncho hoods came off.

We then had a walk around the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (which had been closed for renovations for what seems like years). It was nice to see it all back up and functioning again. It’s not the best attraction by any means – but it’s still a nice way to pass the time and also have a little birds-eye view of Adventureland. We then used our VIP Fastpasses and had a ride of Big Thunder Mountain before heading back to get changed and ready for my Birthday Dinner at Café Mickey.

We arrived at Café Mickey in time for our 6:15pm slot and sat down ordering a nice bottle of wine and the garlic bread pizza for starters. We got talking to the families on the tables around us (it seemed like all of the English were sitting in a row together which we all laughed about). Then after 30minutes we all noticed that something was not right... there’s no characters?! Being the inquisitive person that I am, I found the manager and asked what was happening. He then explained that “due to a technical problem – there will be no characters in the restaurant today”. I was a little, um, annoyed to say the least. I won’t tell you what I was really thinking, but you can imagine. DBF called the manager over to our table and said that we were there to celebrate my birthday and the only reason we chose the restaurant was for the character interaction and if the characters had been cancelled then it should have been mentioned before we were seated. Everybody began to complain and we told them that we were not going to eat in there and our wine/starter bill was waived.

Fuelled with a bottle of wine we strutted back to the Disneyland Hotel to speak with the concierge and explained what had happened. He apologised and told us that there is a problem and that the only place to see characters would be in Inventions and he would happily get us in the restaurant immediately if we wanted. We were really happy with how helpful the concierge was and that they were able to put it right for us so quickly. It turns out we actually had a fantastic time in Inventions and it turned into DBF’s favourite restaurant. We ordered a bottle of wine, ate like Kings and took plenty of photos with the characters who happily played around with us. Apparently my head makes a good autograph-rest for characters too! haha

After dinner we had time to kill before Dreams was coming on so out came the VIP Fastpasses and we rode Space Mountain twice in a row, Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast and then Big Thunder Mountain before grabbing a hot chocolate from Casey’s and claiming our spot in front of the Castle dressed in our amazing Ponchos. I grew rather attached to it by the end of the day.

Dreams was... aaah... even better second time around. And afterwards we made an agreement that we would watch this every night. We had to. It was the Disney law!!!

 

[rottie155]

Day 3 – Wednesday 16th May 2012



Today I had my special Annual Pass prevue of Meet Mickey Mouse in his new location at Fantasyland, so I needed to be up and ready early to collect my pass at 8am from Donald’s Bureau Desk at the park gates. I got ready at the speed of light and collected my pass ready for my meet and greet at 9am.

DBF and I headed for breakfast at 8:15 where I had the shock of my life. Goofy’s son, Max (who I LOVE), was actually doing a Meet and Greet in the DLH outside the breakfast lounge. For those who don’t know – it is virtually impossible to meet Max in Disneyland Paris. He is classed as one of the ‘extremely rare’ characters and in my 17 years of visiting DLP I have never once seen him before. This was like spotting Her Majesty The Queen just popping into DLP for me! Haha! I was in my element. DBF took my camera and said “go” – but unfortunately, Max was just finishing his final photos and was about to be taken in. Quel Dommage! My little heart sank and I was so disappointed not to have my picture taken with him. However – I was really glad that I had seen him. It kind of made my little day! Haha.

It was soon approaching 9am so DBF and I took a wander down to Fantasyland. DBF doesn’t have an Annual Pass and therefore knew he wouldn’t be able to come in with me and I kept saying how awful I felt and that I was more than happy to leave it but he insisted this was something special and he wanted me to experience it. I certainly experienced something – “due to a technical problem – it will now not begin at 10am, please come back”.

We had a quick ride of Space Mountain and then Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast (our new morning tradition) and then headed back to Meet Mickey Mouse for 10am... to be told that there is still a technical problem and it will now be working between 1pm and 3pm.

We needed caffeine! We headed over to Disney Studios and sat and had a lovely Cappuccino before the VIP Fastpass abuse began again and we walked straight onto Tower of Terror. As we came off we saw that the Moteur Action Stuntshow was about to begin so we went and watched that together. DBF and I really enjoyed it and he was glad to see Lightning McQueen.

After the show we Fastpass’d our way onto Rock n’ Rollercoaster which seems to be a bit slower now. We remember it being quite a fast and exhilarating ride – it felt a bit slow today?! Maybe it’s all the food we ate at Inventions last night weighing the car down?! Ooops!

Speaking of food, it’s 1pm and we’re getting peckish again. The closest food to us was in Blockbuster Café where I had a lovely (and huge) Croque Monsieur whilst DBF had two slices of Pizza. After lunch we thought it was only fair to have another ride of Tower of Terror (you know, just to make sure that it was still fun enough for the guests) and then we queued (WHAT?!?!) for the Studio Tram Tour.

DBF noticed it was 2:30pm and didn’t want me to miss Meet Mickey Mouse today so rushed me back to the Disneyland Park and into Fantasyland where apologetic Cast Members were now explaining that the “technical error” has not yet been resolved and there will be no special Meet and Greet for annual pass holders today. However, if we came back tomorrow and rang the bell at the disabled entrance of the Meet & Greet attraction and showed our invitation badge (which was given at Donald’s Bureau this morning) then I could enter through that entrance and not queue. As we walked through the park DBF noticed that there were no characters about at all... then we noticed that it was time for the celebration train but that was not running neither?! It was definitely cocktail-o-clock for us... but as headed out of the park we saw that there was a queue building at City Hall and people were completing forms (I’m guessing reimbursement or complaint forms?) so I went inside to ask what was going on to be told “the characters / entertainment department are on strike as of yesterday afternoon and they do not know how long this will last – in the meantime there would be no characters / parades / shows”.

We thought this was bizarre and couldn’t help but giggle as we remembered Pluto telling us he gets beaten yesterday – it was a little ironic, albeit and bad-taste joke on our part knowing now the reasons behind it all. We were told that Inventions would be the only place hosting characters during the strike and so we decided to ask our concierge to make reservations there for tomorrow evening (our last night) and cancel our Café Mickey reservation. The concierge was rather rude with us and simply said “I can’t make you reservations at Inventions for tomorrow – it is impossible – it’s full. Besides, there will be no characters”. We were a little disheartened and had a walk up to Café Fantasia for our Bacardi Royale. DBF then told me to go speak with the Inventions restaurant itself and ask to see if we were able to get in at all – and what do you know, a very helpful person at the restaurant told us that it wouldn’t be a problem at all and they happily made us reservations and guaranteed that characters will be there as well.

We then headed back to the park and had a ride of Big Thunder Mountain (our VIP Fastpasses really have made getting on this ride a Godsend for us!) before our 4:30pm reservation at Blue Lagoon. We chose an early dinner slot so that we could get out in time for 7pm to watch the parade.
Blue Lagoon was lovely and we had a table next to the water. It really does feel like you are eating in the Caribbean. So perfect and pretty. I had the lamb cutlets with sweet potato mash and roasted pineapple and DBF had the spicy chicken – and we shared a nice bottle of wine (of course).

As we left dinner – an announcement was made in the park that the parade had been cancelled. This means that with our Inventions reservation tomorrow at 6:30 – we would now not see the parade again this week *sad* Only one thing could pick us up again – a ride of Space Mountain and then back to Café Fantasia for cocktails (writing this down I know it looks really bad, but I promise you our cocktails were a good few hours apart... and we were on our holidays...).

After cocktails we had a walk around the hotels. We thought it would be really nice to wander through them all just to see it all. It turned out to be a really good idea and DBF had never even seen Hotel Cheyenne before and he loved the theme of it.

Our gentle hotel stroll took us upto 9pm so we had a slow walk back into the park and used our VIP Fastpasses again on Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain before setting down for Disney Dreams. We decided to watch it without taking any photos this evening so we could just enjoy it and become immersed in it. And we did! “Clochette? CLOCHETTE!!!!” became the phrase of the evening. It turns out I can do a pretty mean French Wendy Darling impression calling out for Clochette (Tinkerbell). This new skill of mine amused us all night!

 

[rottie155]

Day 4 – Thursday 17th May 2012



Today we needed a well-deserved lay-in and so we slept in until 8am. It was strange waking up to hear the park gates saying “welcome” to everybody except us. It was quite nice slowly getting ready whilst watching the crowds rush into the park too. Wait? Crowds? Oh my – it looks heaving out there!

We went for breakfast and it was beginning to look a little busy... by the time we finished breakfast there was a queue going from Inventions all the way down to the shop inside DLH (I’m not exaggerating neither). Today is Ascension Day in France and it is their Public Holiday. We knew this all along but didn’t quite prepare ourselves for this type of crowd! Wow! Oh well, it’s only just 9:15am – I’m sure we could get a quick ride of Space Mountain in before we run over to Disney Studios to attempt Crush again right?! RIGHT! We did just that!

When we arrived at Disney Studios we were somewhere in between a crowd of thousands queuing for the park opening. We didn’t think we’d get a look in at Crush but we said we may as well queue regardless. We did just that. And it wasn’t too bad – everybody seemed to have the same idea and ran to Crush’s Coaster but we only queued for around 20minutes so was pleased. After Crush we had a ride of Tower of Terror (which was showing a 45 minute queue already!!!) – thank the lord for our VIP Fastpasses!!!

Cappuccino time! It was really hot out and the sun was shining on us already so we sat down on a bench and just watched the world rush by us. It was quite nice actually – but scary at the same time. I’ve never seen so many people! I kept thinking about what it will be like after midday and that was a troubling thought! After our caffeine fix we thought we’d try our luck with Rock n’ Rollercoaster but this was closed because of a ‘technical problem’ (what now? Aerosmith are on strike too?) so we made the most of our Fastpass and DBF asked if we could go back on Tower of Terror (oh go on then, if we must!). Afterwards we had a mooch into the Art of Animation where DBF and I recorded a scene from Lion King and then we sang Hakuna Matata too... we got all embarrassed and left pretty swiftly (secretly loving it).

It was now 12:30pm already (this morning has flown by and I had a pang of upset inside me about going home tomorrow) and DBF said we should go and speak to our concierge about moving tonight’s Invention reservation from 6:30 to 8pm so he can see the parade one last time. Unfortunately, it really was fully booked (and we could see by the crowds) so we kept our reservation for 6:30pm and made a lunch ressie for Walt’s for midday tomorrow (you can’t not eat in Walt’s whilst in Disney and we wanted to go back there for old-time sake). Heading back into the park we hunted for food and everywhere was ridiculously busy but we noticed Hakuna Matata had a short queue and neither of us had eaten from there before. I wasn’t overly struck by the menu and I don’t really do “spicy” food – so when it looked like the chicken was going to be a spicy chicken I was a little worried, however this turned out to be the TASTIEST counter service meal we had. We both kept saying that the food was delicious and we wished we had it back home. Thumbs up!

The character strike was resolved and so DBF said he’d like me to go over to Meet Mickey Mouse and go experience it (on the basis I took plenty of pictures for him). I didn’t like the thought of experiencing this by myself whilst he waited outside – but the queue to Meet Mickey was showing as 70minutes!!!!!!!! DBF escorted me to the disabled entrance where we were told to ring the doorbell and show my Special Invitation Badge from yesterday. When the Cast Member answered the door to take me through to meet Mickey without needing to queue I thought I’d try my luck a little and so I said “after all of the trouble and inconvenience from yesterday, would it be possible if we both come inside? There’s just the two of us together and I don’t want to ask him to wait alone – our day was spent coming here backwards and forwards yesterday too” – and the Cast Member quite happily said “of course it’s not a problem whatsoever, I understand” and invited DBF inside with me! YAY!!! The Disney Cast Member Magic is back in full form! The Cast Member showed us where everybody was queuing and said to us “you can have a look through the attraction and take photos all you want, just let me know when you are ready to Meet Mickey and I will take you through”. It was so lovely inside. We loved the clever references to Disney movies and even the “good luck” note from Minnie to Mickey. So cute! The Meet and Greet was very cleverly organised and (not spoiling Disney magic for anyone) we counted three rooms... guests are taken (in small groups) into one of the three rooms in order to meet Mickey. Such a good idea and it did seem to keep the queue moving quickly.

After our Rencontre avec Mickey Mouse the park was HEAVING, however we noticed that the attraction now hides the Fantasyland Railroad entrance (good tip for you all to note) and so there was not a queue for the Disneyland Railroad here and we managed to catch the first train in. Every other station was packed solid. So if you want to ride the Disneyland Railroad, goto Fantasyland – walk along the right hand side of the Meet Mickey Mouse attraction and you can catch the train effortlessly from there! It was lovely to have a restful train ride around the Park and we did a full loop. We both kept pointing out different things we had not noticed before too.

To give you an idea of how busy the park was – after we go off the Disneyland Railroad we went to have a walk around Alice’s Labyrinth but the queue was going as far down to Dumbo for it! It was 2pm and we decided that the park was far too busy (I suffer with panic attacks when I feel claustrophobic) and DBF could see that I was getting anxious so he decided to get me away from the crowds and we went back to the Disneyland Hotel for a Bacardi Royale (oh go on then, spoil me!) – we met Chip and Dale in the lobby too which was a lovely little surprise!

After cocktails we went to Disney Studios to see if that had quietened down a little? Nope, if anything – it was worse! We utilised our VIP Fastpass for a quick go of Tower of Terror (you’ve got to really, haven’t you?!) and then decided we would go shopping in Disney Village and buy all our of gifts and souvenirs this afternoon. Two hours later we headed back to our room to get ready for dinner at Inventions. We had an hour to kill and we had Champagne in ice waiting for us again (I made a bit of a complaint about the rudeness I received from our concierge when attempting to book Inventions yesterday – and this was placed in our room as an apology and gesture of goodwill, which was actually a lovely surprise and shows how much the Hotel really does value its guests)... so whilst we got ready for dinner we decided to crack open the Champagne.

We just about made our reservation in time (we got there around 6:35pm but then joined a queue) and were taken to our table by the restaurant manager who was extremely friendly and welcoming to us. We had wonderful character interaction and the food was delicious – it really was mouth watering. We ordered a bottle of wine for our meal too (oh dear, right after Champagne as well) and after we had eaten and digested our mains I noticed DBF nod to our waiter who then disappeared and came back with music playing, the staff and managers, Mickey Mouse and Tigger and a chocolate birthday cake! Mickey Mouse was standing next to me with a birthday cake – it was surreal yet a lovely experience I will never forget. Once everybody had sung Happy Birthday I asked Mickey if he would blow out the candles with me and he counted to three and helped me! It was so cute. There was a lovely French family sitting next to us who we had been speaking to throughout the meal and they said to us “if you want any photos of you together please just ask and we will happily take them” which was a lovely gesture. So as soon as plates were brought over I asked the family next to us if they would like some cake too. They politely declined and said “oh no, it’s your birthday – you enjoy it” and I replied “please help us, there’s two of us and this cake is made for 12!” whilst I was placing a quarter of it on their table! LOL. I gave the little girl the Minnie Mouse icing on the top and she loved it.

We asked for the box to put the rest of the cake in and as we left the little French girl next to me said “Au revoir, joyeux anniversaire !!!!” with a beaming smile on her face – and it was that moment that really did make my evening. It was just adorable!

DBF then checked the weather on his phone and said “there’s a 20% chance of rain... I’ll bring the ponchos!” (my hero). And with that we took the rest of the cake back to the room and VIP Fastpass’d our way onto Big Thunder Mountain, then Space Mountain, then Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast (which DBF beat me on – I let him, of course... or the Champagne and wine let him beat me should I say! Haha) before settling down in our ponchos ready for Disney Dreams.

It started to rain a little but only the fine rain and we got talking to a lovely Irish family next to us and we all stood together and watched Disney Dreams. It was the perfect ending to the perfect week in Disney. I got a bit emotional at it all. Honestly, words really cannot describe it!

After Dreams we did a final bit of shopping down Main Street USA (there was a beautiful old-fashioned Mickey and Minnie statue we liked and wanted to get – luckily they had one left!). We didn’t expect it to be as big as it was though and the lady behind the counter said “how are you going to get this home?!” We did laugh – nervously...

Getting back to the room we packed our cases ready for the morning and I shouted out for “Clochette? CLOCHETTE!!!!!!!” in my best Wendy impression.

 

[rottie155]

Day 5 – Friday 18th May 2012



Oh no. It’s morning. “Clochette? CLOCHETTE!!!!!” Nope – Clochette isn’t going to extend the trip for us any longer *sad*.

We set our alarm for 7 and got up and ready then finished our packing. The magic is over and it all seems to have ended far too soon. As we walked glumly along to breakfast, Clochette waved her magic wand for me one last time and guess what – Max was just walking through to begin a Meet and Greet! As you know – Max is my favourite and I was gutted on Wednesday when I didn’t get a picture with him – well this morning, I was actually the first person in the line and managed to get my picture taken with him – after all these years! Merci Clochette! Merci!!!!!!!!!

Breakfast was being served in California Grill this morning and we enjoyed getting to see it in there. It was very luxurious! No time to be in awe – we only have a few hours of the day left! Must. Get. To. The. Parks.!!!!! After breakfast we collected our bags, realised we had no way of carrying these to the station later (honestly, there was far too much stuff here) so we paid for the Disney Express service (€11) which saved us carrying it all, and then checked out.

By 8:50am we were on Space Mountain and we were going to have a ride of Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast but it was already showing a 45minute queue! Even with our VIP Fastpass it would have been a queue and we wanted to get over to Disney Studios for opening to get a final go on Crush’s Coaster.

We made it in time and queued for Crush’s Coaster and then RC Racer. After RC Racer we met Mickey and Mickey put us into position for a really lovely photo.

VIP Fastpass came out and we dropped-by (see what I did there?) Tower of Terror!

It was now 11:30 and we had midday reservations for Walt’s so we made our way over to the Disneyland Park where my heart dropped when I saw the queue to get in! I have never seen a queue like it for the park! I had a cunning plan that we could knock on Salon Mickey and enter the park that way using my Shareholder card – I explained that we wasn’t going to stop in there and eat their food or drink, it was just we had reservations and the queue was insane outside. The lady then scorned us and said “Salon Mickey is not used for this! You must not do this! This is meant for guests to come in and relax not to enter the park in this way!” – she then looked up and must have seen the look in my eyes and realised she was moments away from hearing some choice words back. I am more than entitled, as a Shareholder, to enter Salon Mickey (for as long as I so choose) between the hours of 9 and 12 once per day. Today I chose to visit Salon Mickey without eating or drinking and stay for approximately 2 minutes. That was my choice and I have PAID and INVESTED INTO THE DISNEYLAND PARK in order for that privilege – it is not something that Madam on the desk is doing as a favour to me free of charge, I am a customer who has paid for this service. And in not so many words – I explained this to her. She soon quietened down and said “on this exceptional occasion, you may pass into the park through Salon Mickey today”. I may or may not have muttered a few things back in response... and then made our way down to Walt’s in time for our midday reservation.

In Walt’s we had a lovely meal. We both had the Steak (cooked to perfection) with Béarnaise sauce, new potatoes and a lovely fresh salad. We ordered a bottle of Château de Sancère wine to enjoy with it (lovely) and then the pièce de résistance was the dessert!! Oh my!! I had French Toast made with spice bread – served with spicy chocolate sauce and cinnamon ice cream – and let me tell you that this was the single most delicious thing I have ever tasted in my life! Scrumptious!!!

As we left Walt’s and I was still on cloud 9 from my dessert – the Celebration Train was coming along and we managed to grab a photo with Clarice (who I adore) before heading down for our final ride of the day – Big Thunder Mountain at 2pm.

We then decided to have a final shop around for souvenirs which we had seen in the week and wanted for ourselves. It was extremely busy in the park so a calm peruse around the shops would be a nice treat, we thought. We stopped by the Disney Hotel Store first and en route bumped into Donald Duck and Minnie Mouse – we then did a shop around Disney Studios and caught a showing of Animagique (still singing the catchy music now!!) – before heading back to the Disneyland Park to say our farewells to the Castle. As we did so, the Celebration Train was on once again and we were able to meet Mickey Mouse dressed in his 20th Anniversary costume (I love it)!

It was now 4:30pm and time for us to say Au Revoir to Disneyland Paris and make our way to the station. It was so easy and convenient using the Disney Express Service on our way back – what a little gem! We were soon on board the Eurostar and had a nice little dinner (and some wine) as we made our way back to England.

All in all, the trip was full of magic from start to finish. We will both be dreaming of Disney Dreams for the rest of our lives. The trip also proved one thing – you’re never too old for a bit of Pixie Dust and Disney Magic.

 

[Jonjo]

Fantastic trip report! Thanks for sharing.

 

[RoseBug]

Wow!!! Fantastic TR, thank you for sharing! It sounds like you truly had a wonderful time, I thoroughly enjoyed reading!

 

[DLPdaft]

Oh Adam, that was amazing

Meeting Max, flashing those VIP fastpasses everywhere, all that shopping - and all those pressies on your birthday .

Thank you sooooo much for posting all your photographs too. I love the one of the DLH lobby with the 20th anniversary purple carpet.

 

[jothp]

What a magical birthday trip. It must have been great to have those VIP fastpasses for the whole trip. at the competition on buzz.

 

[Ms Poppins]

What a wonderful trip

Love all your photos, and you are so lucky with the DLH! I want to come with you next time

So glad you had a great birthday trip and got to see Max

 

[Mum to Belle]

Welcome back Adam!

What a fab TR (as usual!) I tried reading it earlier but DD kept scrolling up & down to see your photos so I couldn't read it, but I have now, and you've had me chuckling out loud as usual!!

I have to say - how did your DBF manage to get all those presents in his luggage along with 6 pairs of shoes...?!!! Clearly a packing guru!!

I am so pleased that Disney managed to sprinkle you with some extra special pixie dust for your birthday (25 - bless! You're still a baby!) So many special touches - especially the VIP Fastpasses & champagne...

Lots of gorgeous photos too, you are both so photogenic!

I am very impressed at the quantity of cocktails consumed AND the fact that you still made it to EMH in the morning AND Dreams at night - you must be exhausted!

Your dessert in Walts looked divine, I could eat that right now... and that is the second photo I've seen on here recently of the chicken strips - they do look good... ( may have to re-work dining plans... again!)

Thank you for sharing your special birthday trip - I really enjoyed reading it!

 

[Strawberryblush]

Another great trip report of yours i've enjoyed reading all your reports! Thanks for sharing.

I'm glad you posted pics of your dessert at Walt's. After looking at Walt's menu the other day I was planning on having the same dessert when i'm there - i'm now definitely going for it after reading how good it is!

Glad to see you both had a fantastic time and enjoyed your trip.

 

[thephoo]

Ok a few things!

Firstly, I think that is one of the best trip reports I have ever read.

Secondly, I want to come on holiday with you...!! I never manage to squeeze more than a couple of cocktails into my DLP trips

And thirdly, Where's Wally? wrapping paper? You have the best DBF ever

 

[rottie155]

Fantastic trip report! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed it!

Wow!!! Fantastic TR, thank you for sharing! It sounds like you truly had a wonderful time, I thoroughly enjoyed reading!

Thank you, you're welcome! It really was an amazing trip! I wish I was back there =(

Oh Adam, that was amazing

Meeting Max, flashing those VIP fastpasses everywhere, all that shopping - and all those pressies on your birthday

Thank you sooooo much for posting all your photographs too. I love the one of the DLH lobby with the 20th anniversary purple carpet.

Elaine it really was one of those perfect trips! I wish I took a photo of all the bags we had to bring back... seriously - you would not believe it!! haha

The DLH lobby did look fantastic all decorated for the 20th! When the characters make their appearances - they come down the steps and walk along the purple carpet! I thought that was a cute touch.

What a magical birthday trip. It must have been great to have those VIP fastpasses for the whole trip. at the competition on buzz.

It really was a magical birthday too! Those VIP Fastpasses became invaluable to us - especially Thursday and Friday during the Public Holiday!

Buzz was one of those "off-limits" conversations! LOL

What a wonderful trip

Love all your photos, and you are so lucky with the DLH! I want to come with you next time

So glad you had a great birthday trip and got to see Max

Thank youuu!! It was so perfect! Let's all plan a DLH trip together and see if we get extra pixie dust - there's strength in numbers!!!!

I did get a little bit over-excited when I saw Max come out! If you look at my face in the photos - I even look quite nervous. Ridiculous! Disney brings out the worst in me lol

Welcome back Adam!

What a fab TR (as usual!) I tried reading it earlier but DD kept scrolling up & down to see your photos so I couldn't read it, but I have now, and you've had me chuckling out loud as usual!!

I have to say - how did your DBF manage to get all those presents in his luggage along with 6 pairs of shoes...?!!! Clearly a packing guru!!

I am so pleased that Disney managed to sprinkle you with some extra special pixie dust for your birthday (25 - bless! You're still a baby!) So many special touches - especially the VIP Fastpasses & champagne...

Lots of gorgeous photos too, you are both so photogenic!

I am very impressed at the quantity of cocktails consumed AND the fact that you still made it to EMH in the morning AND Dreams at night - you must be exhausted!

Your dessert in Walts looked divine, I could eat that right now... and that is the second photo I've seen on here recently of the chicken strips - they do look good... ( may have to re-work dining plans... again!)

Thank you for sharing your special birthday trip - I really enjoyed reading it!

Hello you!!!

Thank you so much! It was just the most magical trip possible - and it was so lovely getting to experience the DLH with DBF We both had such a lovely time.

I have no idea how he managed to get the presents there. I kept telling him not to get me any birthday presents because I knew he was going to get me the 20 Years of Dreams Disneyland Paris book as it was all I kept talking about before we left - then when I woke up on my birthday and saw all of those presents he had brought. I'm clearly going out with Houdini! There is no other explanation for it!!

Each time we visited Café Fantasia for a cocktail (or two) or ordered wine with our meals I was jotting it down on my phone (for the TR) and I kept saying to DBF, 'this is going to look terrible - it looks bad enough on my notes' The AA Meetings will begin next week....

Honestly - the chicken strips at Hakuna Matata were DIVINE!!!! They were on 'Menu 1' in there. If you need a 'quick-fix' for something to eat - give it a try! Oh, I want them now

Another great trip report of yours i've enjoyed reading all your reports! Thanks for sharing.

I'm glad you posted pics of your dessert at Walt's. After looking at Walt's menu the other day I was planning on having the same dessert when i'm there - i'm now definitely going for it after reading how good it is!

Glad to see you both had a fantastic time and enjoyed your trip

Aww thank you!!

Oh my - DEFINITELY go and get the Spiced Toast dessert in Walt's! You will not be disappointed at all - I promise you!!! It is the single most delicious thing I have ever had for dessert in my life!!! I had to keep fighting DBF away from it - he was happily eating it with me (although I'd like to point out he didn't share his chocolate cake with me... just saying).

Ok a few things!

Firstly, I think that is one of the best trip reports I have ever read.

Secondly, I want to come on holiday with you...!! I never manage to squeeze more than a couple of cocktails into my DLP trips

And thirdly, Where's Wally? wrapping paper? You have the best DBF ever

What a lovely thing to say, thank you!!

One thing you will learn with me - there is always time for cocktails! Disney is no exception to the rule - in fact, it's a challenge for more!!!!

I must admit - when I saw the wrapping paper, I was extremely impressed! We downloaded the Where's Wally game on the iPad and we get quite addicted to it - DBF was telling me off because I wanted to sit and find Wally on all of the presents before I would open them!

 

[tennisfan]

Fab TR with lovely photos. A fantastic way to spend your birthday. FYI I think Max is only ever in the DLH as that is where I saw him a couple of years ago

Thanks for sharing

 

[sammie1884]

OMG! This is a fab tr! Thanks so much for sharing! Whilst reading it I have had 2 cups of tea!
I am now even more excited for our trip in a few weeks! It made me laugh so much about the Buzz Lightyear scores as me and hubbie do exactly the same! (He normally wins though booooooo!) Also thanks for the dreams photos, I am so so looking forward to this!

 

[loladelorean]

It took me a couple of days to read it all in detail, but I'm finally done and I LOVED IT! Look at your wee smily faces! And so much wine!
Your photos are amazing, thank you thank you thank you for all the food photos
You had a real VIP experience again - champagne?! Only you!
I will definitely read this another once or twice in the next 2 weeks....did I mention that in 2 weeks time I'll be in Walts....
BEST TRIPPIE EVER

 

[TheTizardFamily:0)]

What a wonderful trip report with fantastic photos, you and your DBF make a gorgeous couple!!

Thank you for sharing with us

 

[jnjusoioa]

Pretty awesome trip report. How do you get the stuff like that in your hotel room for your Birthday?? That is pretty neat. Is it an extra cost? Thank you in advance.

 

[irongirlof12]

I have loved every bit of your TR, your photos are amazing, the pile of presents, the birthday cake and the great time you both enjoyed at the parks