Our offsite trip 13th-16th August 2014! First ever TR!!!

[BabyAriel]

Let me start by saying this is my first ever TR so do bear with me! I love reading other TRs even though they seem to cause me to 'lose' evenings on end

Cast

Me (38) - loves everything DLP and spending time there with DH and our girls
DH (39) - queue veteran & FP acquirer, doesn't quite get my obsession though
DD1 (8) - adores Pluto
DD2 (5) - loves Ariel and all things princess - strictly no fast rides or scary things

This was our 5th visit to DLP since having DD1 and our 3rd in high summer season. Last year we got bargain Fantasy APs through CE Multi Avantages, think they came to about £300 for 2 adults and 2 children. Oh how I am praying they let visitors from the UK take advantage of such offers again!

Planning

We booked a great deal through Travelrepublic for the Campanile in Bussy St Georges. The hotel has free, secure parking and breakfast was included in the rate, and we'd been impressed with it when we stayed there last year. About a week before our trip, I booked Plaza Gardens for our last night and decided we'd like to try Fuente del Oro and the Lucky Nugget Saloon as we'd never been before.

Aside from that, I hadn't planned much at all, apart from deciding that our Ratatouille day would follow our night seeing Dreams! as it would give us all a bit of a lie-in. Our girls are used to 11 or 12 hours' sleep a night so I always feel a bit guilty having to wake them for EMH!

So here we go...

 

[BabyAriel]

Day One

Despite our best efforts, as per usual the night before a holiday DH and I were late to bed. Very late...about 1am. Nevertheless I was up soon after my alarm went off at 4. The girls didn't stir so it gave me time to shower and pack the last-minute bits before they got up.

By about 4.30 we'd left home in Essex and were on our way to Folkestone for our Eurotunnel crossing. After about an hour we were on the QE2 Bridge (Dartford Bridge) and heading for the toll barriers but there was nothing to pay as it was only 5.30am



We were disappointed Burger King was closed at the terminal - it was after 6.30 - but I had a very tasty 'Porridge of the Gods' (banana, chocolate, honey) from Leon. Service was slow. DD1 had a bacon and egg muffin, DD2 had a Full English pot but neither finished them. Great news for DH!

Made our Eurotunnel crossing and drove for a couple of hours before stopping for a picnic. I was itching to be on our way again but appreciated that DH needed the break so we took our time really. Then, at last...



The car park was really full as you'd expect for 1.30pm (we were at the end of the last moving walkway) but we were too excited to care as the girls skipped happily along to the entrance and through to the main park. After a quick shop in Emporium for autograph books and pens, we made our way to the castle which looked stunning in the sunshine.

 

[cdsmiler81]

Fabulous start!! Can't wait to read more!

C x

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Brilliant start! Love those early morning Disney starts to the day despite a late night you always manage to jump out of bed with excitement

Such a beautiful photo of the castle too

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[BabyAriel]

Fabulous start!! Can't wait to read more!

C x

Brilliant start! Love those early morning Disney starts to the day despite a late night you always manage to jump out of bed with excitement

Such a beautiful photo of the castle too

Looking forward to reading more!

Thanks!

 

[BabyAriel]

Day One cont'd

Traditionally we make IASW the first ride of every trip but DD2 surprised us and asked to visit the dragon so we took a little detour. I love that it's rarely busy in there. After that we went on IASW. Even when there's a long queue, it's so fast-loading that you never seem to wait too long. DD2 talked the whole way through, pointing out different bits to DD1 (as if she'd never ridden it before).



After that we rode Le Pays des Contes de Fees (got caught in a shower - really bad timing) then had fun exploring Alice's Curious Labyrinth. Time to put the pacamacs away again as the sun came out, and when it did it was actually quite warm Followed this with POTC (25 minutes) before taking our positions for the parade about 20 minutes before it began at 5.30. There were cheers when the Frozen float appeared!



Thinking the restaurants would all be packed after the parade, we followed the last float to Central Plaza and nipped straight to the Lucky Nugget Saloon. We needn't have worried, it was virtually empty. Entry wasn't very well organised, nobody seemed to know that you ordered at the till then were seated at a table and the CMs didn't help much. I adored the theming and the food was good though (I had the burger and chips, girls had chicken and chips, DH had the ribs). Would definitely return By the time we left at 7, it was much busier and a band was setting up but it'd been a long day and we decided to head to our hotel, via the village for a look in the Lego shop. Really cool, especially the light fittings!



A simple check-in at the Campanile and, once settled in, we were all soon asleep after a looooong but fab day! My bed felt good that night!!!

 

[markpsych]

Thanks for sharing

 

[Neeny17]

Good start and great pictures! The Lucky Nugget sounds nice - what are the prices like?

 

[kizzabel]

Great start and your pics are brilliant. Looking forward to reading the rest of your lovely adventure.

 

[BabyAriel]

Good start and great pictures! The Lucky Nugget sounds nice - what are the prices like?

It was €17.99 for adults, €8.99 for children, for a main, dessert (ice cream) and a drink. With AP discount, €48.56 (about £40) for the 4 of us

 

[dhidra]

Following along! Busy day!

 

[Ms Poppins]

Lovely day - I love your pic of the castle

Look forward to more

 

[BabyAriel]

Wow the past week has flown by with settling back into the school routine, I can't believe it's almost a month since our trip Thanks for all the kind comments!

Day 2

We were up by 7.30, had breakfast at the hotel and made up a couple of sandwiches to take with us then were on our way, arriving at the car park at 9.10. By the time we'd walked to the park and got through bag check, we thought we'd better head to the Rapunzel queue, and DH left us to queue for Princess Pavilion tickets.



DH and I kept in touch via text and he got two PP slots (one for 11.40-12.10 i think, one for 2.50-3.20) and then Buzz FPs Yes, we were still queuing for Rapunzel. We got talking to some other families which helped pass the time but really it was painfully slow moving. Eventually we met her at 11.20 (so a 1hr 40 minute wait) and the girls were thrilled , then met DH back at the Pavilion and saw Cinderella at midday. The queue inside the PP wasn't too bad at all during our whole trip, usually about 20-30 minutes (though we did see the sign outside say 45 sometimes).

The girls and I went on IASW while DH got another PP ticket for the evening, then we all went on Buzz. DD2 was too scared to use her gun! Such a great ride though, I love it. Time for a pitstop so we sat and watched Big Thunder Mountain and the Molly Brown whilst eating lunch.



DH then picked up FPs for BTM while us girls quickly rode the storybook ride. A much more pleasurable experience when it's not raining Wandered and noticed the carousel queue looked manageable...the wait to board was short but once we were on it took AGES to get going. DH and DD2 were in a carriage (not brave enough for a horse) and DD1 and I were on horses facing them. After 5 minutes of being strapped in and waiting to go, DD1 decided she couldn't wait for the loo We had a real should-we-shouldn't-we get off moment and I was worried the ride would start after we'd unstrapped ourselves!!! All fine but DH said the ride was very strange, one full circle and it stopped for a while before going again.

It was time for our second PP visit of the day after that. Yay it was Ariel this time and both girls were so happy Fab experience.

Next was BTM for our FP slot. There was no way DD2 wanted to go on so I rode with DD1 and we took advantage of baby swap so DH could ride afterwards. Theoretically DD1 could've gone back on with him but after our turn she said 'don't say it's doing another loop' and 'oh thank goodness for that' so we just watched!

By now it was getting on for 5pm so we decided to take our places for the parade...

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Wow long queue for Rapunzel thank goodness for partners that can use the time wisely for ff and pp passes

Another lovely day sounds like you had an amazing time....looking forward to more

 

[Anemone]

Lovely TR BabyAriel. Your girls have some stamina waiting all that time. Glad they enjoyed the meet.

 

[BabyAriel]

Wow long queue for Rapunzel thank goodness for partners that can use the time wisely for ff and pp passes

Yes, it's definitely a team effort

Day 2 cont'd (with lots of pics!)

We were in a similar position to yesterday for the parade but marginally closer to the castle.



Went straight to Fuente del Oro after the parade, it was very quiet. We debated sitting outside as it was warm and sunny but were so glad we didn't because soon after the heavens opened! DH and I had tacos and rice, DD1 had chicken pieces/nuggets and rice, DD2 sausages and rice. It was okay, nothing special really.

Another go on the storybook ride and then straight to the Princess Pavilion for our 3rd meet of the day. The CM on the door recognised us and gave us a ticket to hand in at the front of the queue so that they could time the wait (30 mins). Saw Snow White at 8.40 - she was fantastic and seemed genuinely excited to see the girls in their Frozen costumes - then all went on IASW. I do love the parks in the dark, there's a different atmosphere to daytime When we came out it was POURING!!! So much so that nearly all paths were clear. We ran to the teacups and DD2 and I reluctantly joined DH and DD1 in riding. As much as I wanted to enjoy it, my stomach just does not like that kind of motion, I was glad when it was over. It looked beautiful though. And we were dry!

It was still raining so I took DD2 to sit in Videopolis. A lot of people had the same idea, nevertheless I was grateful to have a break and DD2 liked the cartoons. DH took DD1 on Star Tours then brought her back to me and I got both girls changed out of their dresses into some dry clothes while DH rode Space Mountain alone.




At 10.30 I thought we'd better go and find a spot for Dreams! and we found plenty of space in the middle of Central Plaza. To be honest we expected people to come and stand in front of us but they didn't. I'm guessing the rain put a lot of people off. By the time it started the rain had stopped, well I thought it had but there are still umbrellas in my pics...



It was fabulous and I got really emotional watching it again. I wish we could've seen it every night of our stay but I think 11pm is pushing it with little ones if you want to do EMH too. It must've been at least 12.15am before we were all in bed. Worth it though

 

[BabyAriel]

Lovely TR BabyAriel. Your girls have some stamina waiting all that time. Glad they enjoyed the meet.

Thank you! They did so well and passed the time playing both together and with another little girl they'd befriended in the queue!

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Gorgeous photos! It's too hard to do late nights and emh....I needed a holiday after our efforts last year!

 

[kizzabel]

I love your photo of the Molly Brown and your little ones are great to stay going. Another great day. Thanks for sharing

 

[Ms Poppins]

Lovely update - your lo's seem to be holding up well. The tea-cups at night are just gorgeous

You did well with Dreams - it is so hard deciding to both or not - it's such a long day.

Look forward to more