Miss_Lumiere
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2005
A little bit of background: I booked our DLP trip back in February as a surprise for my BFF for her 30th birthday (she would be 30 in the middle of our trip). I managed to keep it a secret for over 6 months, then finally told her a couple of weeks before going. I thought long and hard about the best way to tell her and finally decided on a video. One of our favourite films is Beauty and the Beast and our favourite song is Be our Guest (which I very often break out in song and sing to her during our trips), so I rewrote the song and used it as a backing track and put a video together of pictures of us, slowly revealing the trip! We have been friends for about three and a half years and visited DLP for the first time together (and her first time) for New Year 2013/2014, and then again for Halloween last year. Needless to say she was very excited! I’d decided on the NPB as the price was good and it had air-con, plus it’s the one hotel we’ve both always wanted to stay in.
Highs
Getting an earlier crossing on Eurostar, meaning we arrived two hours earlier at DLP
Extra Magic Hours
Character interaction during our birthday dinner at Cafe Mickey
The Newport Bay hotel
Swimming Pool at the NPB
Ratatouille Ride (always a favourite)
Random character meets in the main park
Photopass+
Meals at the Cowboy Cookout
Stitch Live
Meeting Tigger and Eeyore, and the Genie
The Frozen Singalong
Being first in line to meet Mickey Mouse in the Studios by accident
Character interaction on my BFF’s 30th birthday, including a present from Tigger and a proposal from Mickey
Lows
Queues, queues and more queues
The heat on the Wednesday and Thursday
Lack of characters in the Studios
Lack of parades (just one)
Day 1
Our crossing for the Eurotunnel was about 3:30am, and because of all the issues Eurotunnel had the previous week we decided to leave about 10pm, giving us two hours of extra time in case we encountered any problems. We napped that afternoon and left on time. We had absolutely no issues and arrived extremely early: 12:30am! Luckily we were put onto an earlier crossing of 1:20am which meant we had just enough time to go to the toilet and then we had to board. We drove to DLP for the first time for our Halloween trip last year and found it so much better (previously I have travelled by coach, car, plane and Eurostar), we like the fact that we can take as much as we need (and bring back as much as we can fit!). We ate dinner/breakfast on the crossing and then set upon our onward journey to DLP, tired but excited! The journey took the expected three hours and we arrived at the Newport Bay at about 6am. The NPB was deserted and inside there was very little evidence of any renovations. I collected everything we needed, but was told our room wasn’t going to be ready until 3pm which was as expected. We chilled until 7:30 when the luggage room opened, and then headed to the park for EMH. Despite staying in the Disney hotels before, I’ve never done EMH as there hasn't been characters previously so we were excited to see who would be about.
We entered the park, spotted Donald Duck and joined the queue for him. I love the location of this meet and greet, with the castle behind.
We spotted Minnie and Mickey, and Goofy and Pluto but decided to wander down Main Street and see if there were any other characters around. We spotted Chip and Dale so joined the queue. Unfortunately a few minutes into waiting, Chip and Dale disappeared “for 2 minutes”, which ended up being about half an hour. I guess French time works differently to English time! Anyway, it gave my BFF time to go and purchase the Photopass+ pack. We met them, they were lovely and again the castle is in the background. We appreciated having the opportunity of meeting them together, as on recent trips we had only met them separately while in Cafe Mickey.
Next we joined the queue for Pluto and Goofy. By this time it was getting hotter (the temperature would reach around 95 degrees) and we were getting irritable as the queue wasn’t really moving. As mentioned, our previous trips have been at peak times during in school holidays, so we are no strangers to queueing, but it was getting a little ridiculous. We stayed in the queue and I think we must have waited for about an hour an a half (during this time I’d got us a cup of tea - which helped a little).
We both recognised that we were tired and hungry by this point so decided to have lunch even thought it was only 11am. The best meal we had during our Halloween trip was at the Cowboy Cookout so we decided to head there - we weren’t disappointed - it was amazing! Plus it had air-conditioning!
Once we recharged our batteries we left the Cowboy Cookout and headed towards Agrabah, on our way there we spotted Timon and Raifiki doing a meet and greet and decided to wait in line. I can honestly say that by this point it felt like we were actually in The Lion King stood on the plains of Africa as it was so flipping hot! I’m really pale and burn easily, so was covered up and wearing a hat. We probably waited about three quarters of an hour before meeting the characters, which wasn’t too bad. Afterwards we headed to Agrabah, and spotted the Genie, however it was so hot we decided we would come back at a different time as we needed to get out of the sun. We headed to Disney Village to do a little shopping, then went back to the NPB and were allowed to check in an hour early.
I must say we absolutely loved the NPB, it didn’t even dampen our spirit that our room was literally the furthest room away from Reception, that just meant we burnt more calories so could have more treats! After unpacking we chilled for a bit, then went for a swim. The pool, both inside and out, was good and it was lovely to cool off. In the evening we headed to the Earl of Sandwich, then went back to the NPB to get some sleep as by this point it was about 11pm and we had only had 2.5 hours sleep in the last 40 hours, travelled 325 miles and walked 10 miles!
Day 2
We had an early breakfast in the NPB which was very civilised compared to the Santa Fe, then headed to the park for EMH.
We originally joined the queue for Minnie, but it was too long and wasn’t moving whatsoever so we gave up and headed towards Fantasyland and got some amazing pictures around the castle.
We then joined the queue early for Daisy Duck - who was amazing and so funny. Originally she refused to have her picture taken with me as I was wearing a Minnie Mouse top!
We then headed round to the Genie to see if we could meet him and was told the queue was closed but we were given the time he would be back. We headed back and were second in the queue and got to meet him pretty quickly. My BFF was really pleased as Aladdin is her favourite Disney film.
Next, we headed over to meet Mickey Mouse to get out of the sun as it was scorching again. When we got to the front we were asked if we had a camera as there was no photographer; when we got our Photopass+ card out they let us wait for a Mickey with a photographer which we were grateful for.
We wandered around the park for a bit, then headed back to the NPB to have a swim, then got ready for dinner and headed to Auberge for the princess meal. Until we walked outside we had no idea there had been a huge storm and the temperature had dropped by about ten degrees which felt amazing We headed straight to Auberge: this is the first time we’d eaten here and I still really wanted to meet Belle, but the princesses were Cinderella, Snow White and Aurora, plus the prince and Perla and Suzy. I wasn’t too disappointed about not meeting Belle, as I always say it gives me a reason to come back! The service was very good, the food was okay and we met all the characters so we were pleased we’d done it. We also took some lovely pictures inside Auberge.
Next we saw Anna and Elsa’s ride by, and then watched the Frozen Singalong which was really good fun, we definitely did the right thing leaving it until the last showing as it was so much quieter.
Day 3
We had a character breakfast in Cafe Mickey this morning. We’ve done this before and enjoyed it and today was no exception. We met Mickey, Chip, Dale, Smee, Pluto and Goofy. The only thing disappointing about Cafe Mickey is the odd lighting which means some of the photos (whether taken by iPhone or camera) are a bit dull. Coincidentally we have had four breakfasts at Cafe Mickey during three different trips, and 3/4 we have been seated at the same table - the location of which is amazing as we usually get to meet the characters as soon as they come out.
Next we headed to the Studios and were let in twenty minutes early. We ran to Ratatouille and got a Fastpass ticket and then joined the queue for Buzz. When Buzz came out so did Mickey, although no one was queueing for Mickey so we quickly ran to the front. Mickey was amazing! He pointed out my friend’s Mickey backpack and noticed that our iphone case it a picture of us meeting Mickey in the Studios last Halloween!
Once we had met Mickey, we rejoined the queue for Buzz, then headed back to Ratatouille to use our Fastpass - we love this ride and for the first time we took the other route. When we came out we went to the Fastpass machine and were given the time of 20:10, which was perfect as we were planning to see Dreams that night so it gave us a reason to get motivated and back into the park that evening. Next we headed to Stitch Live - we were never fans of Stitch until last year, so this was the first time we’d seen it - it was amazing! I cried with laughter: “Errrr Lilo the lions are very sick today!”
We checked the timetable and there was a meet and greet scheduled so we headed to that thinking it would be similar to Stars and Cars when we got to meet about twenty characters - but it was just Donald Duck - very disappointing! We then went on the Flying Carpet before wandering around the shops then heading back for a swim. We decided not to wash our hair or put make up on as we were only heading back into the park for a wander around and to watch Dreams so we headed out to use our Ratatouille Fastpass, then went to the main park. The park was really quiet so we got to do POC (for the first time), Dumbo and the carousel and Buzz (I won!) before a spot of shopping. I managed to spot a Stich pin that said “Happy Birthday” which I bought to give to my BFF the following day. We then found a spot to watch Dreams - which was good (despite the rain!). As we were leaving we walked past a sign which I thought said “Winnie the Pooh” but as everyone was walking out at the same time I couldn’t stop to check, so I made a mental note to check the sign the following day.
Day 4
My BFF’s 30th Birthday! While she was in the shower I decorated the room and got her presents ready.
She was really surprised and also found out we would be eating at Cafe Mickey that night for her birthday. I gave her a birthday badge to wear, a pink birthday sash and “30” ear poppers.
We went to breakfast and she was wished a “happy birthday by all the staff (and a few guests); on the way out there was some new staff on the door. One of the ladies said “oh my gosh is it your birthday?” and when my friend confirmed it she literally grabbed her hand and pulled her down the corridor to a telephone, where upon she dialled the telephone, handed it to my BFF and Mickey Mouse wished my BFF a “happy birthday!” Amazing! (I also sent her to City Hall for her birthday badge once we got to the park).
Once ready we headed into the park and joined the queue for Minnie. I popped to the loo and checked the sign from last night - Winnie the Pooh had a meet and greet! Yes! We spent two hours in the queue for Minnie! Some of that was down to the growing Fastpass queue - I don’t have an issue with people having Fastpasses for medical reasons but I think it’s counter productive to hand them out to guests who have the money to spend on hotel suites - it just makes everyone else have to wait even longer. Plus some of the families were massive and wanted 22 different photo combinations while the rest of us just stood there.
After Minnie we headed to Pooh and were stood behind a lovely lady with a little princess. We talked about the characters we had met previously and during our current trip - she mentioned meeting Tigger and told us where they were - which was amazing! After meeting Pooh we headed to Tigger and met Pinochio and Gepetto on the way - when we arrived Eeyore was there too! I was genuinely excited about this! I’ve always been a big fan of the Hundred Acre Wood characters. Both characters made a fuss of my BFF and Tigger brought her out some leaves as a birthday present!
Next we headed towards Agrabah and met Abu who did a monkey dance to celebrate my BFF’s birthday - very cool! Then we happened to arrive at the Merida meet when she was doing an extra one, so we met her too.
We ate at the Jedi place, and got free chicken nuggets because it was a birthday! Also, I lost count of the cast members and guests that wished my friend a happy birthday during the day
We found a good spot to see the parade, then headed back to get ready for our Cafe Mickey meal.
When we arrived at Cafe Mickey we joined the queue for people who had already paid. For some reason the queue of people who hadn’t paid/reserved were seated first. We were eventually taken upstairs and the waitress went to sit us in the dark part of the restaurant. We asked if there was any possibility we could sit at the front, there was an empty table and we just wanted to sit somewhere where the photos would be clear. The waitress said she didn’t think so but went to check with her manager - she returned and the answer was no. We explained we were celebrating my friend’s 30th birthday - which was obvious as I had made her wear her badge, sash and ear boppers. We pointed to a couple from the non-reservation queue who had been seated (before us) in the lighter area, and asked why that happened when I had paid for this in Feb - she went to check again and came back saying we could sit in the light part so we could have clearer photos - hurrah!
The characters were Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Tigger. Character interaction was incredible - with the exception of Minnie who I think did the whole of the upstairs in about 3 minutes. Mickey led a birthday cheer for my BFF and danced with her. He later came back and proposed to her! All the other characters also made a huge fuss of her which was amazing! The food was also good, although the dessert took an hour to come out.
After the meal we wandered around Disney Village, and picked up some goodies before heading back to the NPB to pack ready for the morning. I bought a Belle t-shirt and we bought some Christmas decorations.
Day 5
We got ready, had breakfast and packed as we were heading home later that afternoon. We checked out and left our luggage at the NPB before heading to the Studios. We got a fastpass for Ratatouille again, which was only for 30mins later, so we took pictures by the Ratatouille fountain, by Rex, under Buzz and by Mike, before returning to the ride - this is definitely our favourite ride in the world! It’s the only ride we have ever used the Fastpass for.
Next we went into the main park and took more pictures, wandered around and did some shopping. We ended our trip at our favourite eatery: the Cowboy Cookout. Amazing again! We picked up an EOS on the way out to eat for dinner on the Eurotunnel. The only traffic we encountered during our 750 mile drive was when we were leaving the NPB as we had to get petrol - other than that the drive was fine, we also were put on an earlier shuttle coming home which meant we arrived back about midnight.
All in all it was an amazing trip; we travelled 750 miles in total, walked 50 miles, celebrated one 30th birthday, met 26 different characters and got 88 photos on our PhotoPass+: a very successful trip!
Highs
Getting an earlier crossing on Eurostar, meaning we arrived two hours earlier at DLP
Extra Magic Hours
Character interaction during our birthday dinner at Cafe Mickey
The Newport Bay hotel
Swimming Pool at the NPB
Ratatouille Ride (always a favourite)
Random character meets in the main park
Photopass+
Meals at the Cowboy Cookout
Stitch Live
Meeting Tigger and Eeyore, and the Genie
The Frozen Singalong
Being first in line to meet Mickey Mouse in the Studios by accident
Character interaction on my BFF’s 30th birthday, including a present from Tigger and a proposal from Mickey
Lows
Queues, queues and more queues
The heat on the Wednesday and Thursday
Lack of characters in the Studios
Lack of parades (just one)
Day 1
Our crossing for the Eurotunnel was about 3:30am, and because of all the issues Eurotunnel had the previous week we decided to leave about 10pm, giving us two hours of extra time in case we encountered any problems. We napped that afternoon and left on time. We had absolutely no issues and arrived extremely early: 12:30am! Luckily we were put onto an earlier crossing of 1:20am which meant we had just enough time to go to the toilet and then we had to board. We drove to DLP for the first time for our Halloween trip last year and found it so much better (previously I have travelled by coach, car, plane and Eurostar), we like the fact that we can take as much as we need (and bring back as much as we can fit!). We ate dinner/breakfast on the crossing and then set upon our onward journey to DLP, tired but excited! The journey took the expected three hours and we arrived at the Newport Bay at about 6am. The NPB was deserted and inside there was very little evidence of any renovations. I collected everything we needed, but was told our room wasn’t going to be ready until 3pm which was as expected. We chilled until 7:30 when the luggage room opened, and then headed to the park for EMH. Despite staying in the Disney hotels before, I’ve never done EMH as there hasn't been characters previously so we were excited to see who would be about.
We entered the park, spotted Donald Duck and joined the queue for him. I love the location of this meet and greet, with the castle behind.
We spotted Minnie and Mickey, and Goofy and Pluto but decided to wander down Main Street and see if there were any other characters around. We spotted Chip and Dale so joined the queue. Unfortunately a few minutes into waiting, Chip and Dale disappeared “for 2 minutes”, which ended up being about half an hour. I guess French time works differently to English time! Anyway, it gave my BFF time to go and purchase the Photopass+ pack. We met them, they were lovely and again the castle is in the background. We appreciated having the opportunity of meeting them together, as on recent trips we had only met them separately while in Cafe Mickey.
Next we joined the queue for Pluto and Goofy. By this time it was getting hotter (the temperature would reach around 95 degrees) and we were getting irritable as the queue wasn’t really moving. As mentioned, our previous trips have been at peak times during in school holidays, so we are no strangers to queueing, but it was getting a little ridiculous. We stayed in the queue and I think we must have waited for about an hour an a half (during this time I’d got us a cup of tea - which helped a little).
We both recognised that we were tired and hungry by this point so decided to have lunch even thought it was only 11am. The best meal we had during our Halloween trip was at the Cowboy Cookout so we decided to head there - we weren’t disappointed - it was amazing! Plus it had air-conditioning!
Once we recharged our batteries we left the Cowboy Cookout and headed towards Agrabah, on our way there we spotted Timon and Raifiki doing a meet and greet and decided to wait in line. I can honestly say that by this point it felt like we were actually in The Lion King stood on the plains of Africa as it was so flipping hot! I’m really pale and burn easily, so was covered up and wearing a hat. We probably waited about three quarters of an hour before meeting the characters, which wasn’t too bad. Afterwards we headed to Agrabah, and spotted the Genie, however it was so hot we decided we would come back at a different time as we needed to get out of the sun. We headed to Disney Village to do a little shopping, then went back to the NPB and were allowed to check in an hour early.
I must say we absolutely loved the NPB, it didn’t even dampen our spirit that our room was literally the furthest room away from Reception, that just meant we burnt more calories so could have more treats! After unpacking we chilled for a bit, then went for a swim. The pool, both inside and out, was good and it was lovely to cool off. In the evening we headed to the Earl of Sandwich, then went back to the NPB to get some sleep as by this point it was about 11pm and we had only had 2.5 hours sleep in the last 40 hours, travelled 325 miles and walked 10 miles!
Day 2
We had an early breakfast in the NPB which was very civilised compared to the Santa Fe, then headed to the park for EMH.
We originally joined the queue for Minnie, but it was too long and wasn’t moving whatsoever so we gave up and headed towards Fantasyland and got some amazing pictures around the castle.
We then joined the queue early for Daisy Duck - who was amazing and so funny. Originally she refused to have her picture taken with me as I was wearing a Minnie Mouse top!
We then headed round to the Genie to see if we could meet him and was told the queue was closed but we were given the time he would be back. We headed back and were second in the queue and got to meet him pretty quickly. My BFF was really pleased as Aladdin is her favourite Disney film.
Next, we headed over to meet Mickey Mouse to get out of the sun as it was scorching again. When we got to the front we were asked if we had a camera as there was no photographer; when we got our Photopass+ card out they let us wait for a Mickey with a photographer which we were grateful for.
We wandered around the park for a bit, then headed back to the NPB to have a swim, then got ready for dinner and headed to Auberge for the princess meal. Until we walked outside we had no idea there had been a huge storm and the temperature had dropped by about ten degrees which felt amazing
We headed straight to Auberge: this is the first time we’d eaten here and I still really wanted to meet Belle, but the princesses were Cinderella, Snow White and Aurora, plus the prince and Perla and Suzy. I wasn’t too disappointed about not meeting Belle, as I always say it gives me a reason to come back! The service was very good, the food was okay and we met all the characters so we were pleased we’d done it. We also took some lovely pictures inside Auberge. Next we saw Anna and Elsa’s ride by, and then watched the Frozen Singalong which was really good fun, we definitely did the right thing leaving it until the last showing as it was so much quieter.
Day 3
We had a character breakfast in Cafe Mickey this morning. We’ve done this before and enjoyed it and today was no exception. We met Mickey, Chip, Dale, Smee, Pluto and Goofy. The only thing disappointing about Cafe Mickey is the odd lighting which means some of the photos (whether taken by iPhone or camera) are a bit dull. Coincidentally we have had four breakfasts at Cafe Mickey during three different trips, and 3/4 we have been seated at the same table - the location of which is amazing as we usually get to meet the characters as soon as they come out.
Next we headed to the Studios and were let in twenty minutes early. We ran to Ratatouille and got a Fastpass ticket and then joined the queue for Buzz. When Buzz came out so did Mickey, although no one was queueing for Mickey so we quickly ran to the front. Mickey was amazing! He pointed out my friend’s Mickey backpack and noticed that our iphone case it a picture of us meeting Mickey in the Studios last Halloween!
Once we had met Mickey, we rejoined the queue for Buzz, then headed back to Ratatouille to use our Fastpass - we love this ride and for the first time we took the other route. When we came out we went to the Fastpass machine and were given the time of 20:10, which was perfect as we were planning to see Dreams that night so it gave us a reason to get motivated and back into the park that evening. Next we headed to Stitch Live - we were never fans of Stitch until last year, so this was the first time we’d seen it - it was amazing! I cried with laughter: “Errrr Lilo the lions are very sick today!”
We checked the timetable and there was a meet and greet scheduled so we headed to that thinking it would be similar to Stars and Cars when we got to meet about twenty characters - but it was just Donald Duck - very disappointing! We then went on the Flying Carpet before wandering around the shops then heading back for a swim. We decided not to wash our hair or put make up on as we were only heading back into the park for a wander around and to watch Dreams so we headed out to use our Ratatouille Fastpass, then went to the main park. The park was really quiet so we got to do POC (for the first time), Dumbo and the carousel and Buzz (I won!) before a spot of shopping. I managed to spot a Stich pin that said “Happy Birthday” which I bought to give to my BFF the following day. We then found a spot to watch Dreams - which was good (despite the rain!). As we were leaving we walked past a sign which I thought said “Winnie the Pooh” but as everyone was walking out at the same time I couldn’t stop to check, so I made a mental note to check the sign the following day.
Day 4
My BFF’s 30th Birthday! While she was in the shower I decorated the room and got her presents ready.
She was really surprised and also found out we would be eating at Cafe Mickey that night for her birthday. I gave her a birthday badge to wear, a pink birthday sash and “30” ear poppers.
We went to breakfast and she was wished a “happy birthday by all the staff (and a few guests); on the way out there was some new staff on the door. One of the ladies said “oh my gosh is it your birthday?” and when my friend confirmed it she literally grabbed her hand and pulled her down the corridor to a telephone, where upon she dialled the telephone, handed it to my BFF and Mickey Mouse wished my BFF a “happy birthday!” Amazing! (I also sent her to City Hall for her birthday badge once we got to the park).
Once ready we headed into the park and joined the queue for Minnie. I popped to the loo and checked the sign from last night - Winnie the Pooh had a meet and greet! Yes! We spent two hours in the queue for Minnie! Some of that was down to the growing Fastpass queue - I don’t have an issue with people having Fastpasses for medical reasons but I think it’s counter productive to hand them out to guests who have the money to spend on hotel suites - it just makes everyone else have to wait even longer. Plus some of the families were massive and wanted 22 different photo combinations while the rest of us just stood there.
After Minnie we headed to Pooh and were stood behind a lovely lady with a little princess. We talked about the characters we had met previously and during our current trip - she mentioned meeting Tigger and told us where they were - which was amazing! After meeting Pooh we headed to Tigger and met Pinochio and Gepetto on the way - when we arrived Eeyore was there too! I was genuinely excited about this! I’ve always been a big fan of the Hundred Acre Wood characters. Both characters made a fuss of my BFF and Tigger brought her out some leaves as a birthday present!
Next we headed towards Agrabah and met Abu who did a monkey dance to celebrate my BFF’s birthday - very cool! Then we happened to arrive at the Merida meet when she was doing an extra one, so we met her too.
We ate at the Jedi place, and got free chicken nuggets because it was a birthday! Also, I lost count of the cast members and guests that wished my friend a happy birthday during the day
We found a good spot to see the parade, then headed back to get ready for our Cafe Mickey meal.
When we arrived at Cafe Mickey we joined the queue for people who had already paid. For some reason the queue of people who hadn’t paid/reserved were seated first. We were eventually taken upstairs and the waitress went to sit us in the dark part of the restaurant. We asked if there was any possibility we could sit at the front, there was an empty table and we just wanted to sit somewhere where the photos would be clear. The waitress said she didn’t think so but went to check with her manager - she returned and the answer was no. We explained we were celebrating my friend’s 30th birthday - which was obvious as I had made her wear her badge, sash and ear boppers. We pointed to a couple from the non-reservation queue who had been seated (before us) in the lighter area, and asked why that happened when I had paid for this in Feb - she went to check again and came back saying we could sit in the light part so we could have clearer photos - hurrah!
The characters were Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Tigger. Character interaction was incredible - with the exception of Minnie who I think did the whole of the upstairs in about 3 minutes. Mickey led a birthday cheer for my BFF and danced with her. He later came back and proposed to her! All the other characters also made a huge fuss of her which was amazing! The food was also good, although the dessert took an hour to come out.
After the meal we wandered around Disney Village, and picked up some goodies before heading back to the NPB to pack ready for the morning. I bought a Belle t-shirt and we bought some Christmas decorations.
Day 5
We got ready, had breakfast and packed as we were heading home later that afternoon. We checked out and left our luggage at the NPB before heading to the Studios. We got a fastpass for Ratatouille again, which was only for 30mins later, so we took pictures by the Ratatouille fountain, by Rex, under Buzz and by Mike, before returning to the ride - this is definitely our favourite ride in the world! It’s the only ride we have ever used the Fastpass for.
Next we went into the main park and took more pictures, wandered around and did some shopping. We ended our trip at our favourite eatery: the Cowboy Cookout. Amazing again! We picked up an EOS on the way out to eat for dinner on the Eurotunnel. The only traffic we encountered during our 750 mile drive was when we were leaving the NPB as we had to get petrol - other than that the drive was fine, we also were put on an earlier shuttle coming home which meant we arrived back about midnight.
All in all it was an amazing trip; we travelled 750 miles in total, walked 50 miles, celebrated one 30th birthday, met 26 different characters and got 88 photos on our PhotoPass+: a very successful trip!
