Imogen's first trip to DLP - Day Four - Thursday August 27th 2015

[muggle3000]

I’m up just before 7:30am. The alarm was set for 7:30am anyway. I leave Imogen & Deb until 8am before waking them up. I jump in the shower. The forecast today is for heavy to light rain all day. I have a look behind the curtains. It is indeed raining. Oh well. We’ve come prepared for this weather.

Once we’re all ready we go off to breakfast.

On our way through we stop at the shop & buy ponchos for us all (€25.00). A double layer of rain protection. Triple including the umbrellas.

Breakfast is very busy. It looks like a 15 minute plus wait before we would get seated. The crowd around the buffet looks like a nightmare too. So we forget having our hotel breakfast. We head into Disney village & stop at the McDonalds for something quick (€7.90). However it is the slowest most useless McDonalds I have ever been too. Perhaps we should’ve waited until we were in the parks for breakfast snack. Oh well, we now know on any future visit to stay away from Mcdonalds.

Today we are going to spend the day at Disney Studio’s. We arrive at about 8:45am. They have just started letting people in. Our target for today is to get on Crushes Coaster. So the plan is to head straight to that. We go through Studio 1. When we get out on the other side the queue for Crush is already at Walt’s statue. So we join the end of the line.
Imogen hiding from the rain.


The fanfare for the park opening begins & finishes. Yet the queue does not move into the ride waiting area. After 5 minutes I walk down the front of the line to ask the CM what the problem is. I am told there is just a short delay.
I take some photos while we wait.




The ride is working & we will be allowed in soon. At 10:15am the queue is finally allowed in. The wait time is posted as 80 minutes! They have local Wi-Fi in the queue area so you can play Crushes game. This helps the time pass & keeps Imogen & me entertained.


Shame the Wi-Fi isn’t throughout the park.


An hour later we’re on the ride. I’m surprised to hear that Imogen didn’t really like it & kept her eyes closed for the ride. I thought it would’ve been right down her street. I think, as she couldn’t see the track she was nervous about drops. However I loved it. My favourite ride at Disneyland Paris.

Next we get out of the rain & go into the Animation Art area to have a go at drawing characters. Unfortunately there isn’t enough room for me to draw so I help Imogen with hers. We draw Pooh bear.
Debs effort:


Imogen's drawing:


Once they finish Deb & Imogen have a look at the other exhibits in the area. I stay to queue for the next drawing session. This time we all get in & draw Mickey. Imogen wasn't happy with hers & got a bit upset. She didn't want to lift it up to show at the end of the session. If she can't do things straight away brilliantly she gets upset. She won't let me post it here either. We've since bought her a how to draw Disney characters book to practise.



We should’ve stayed for the following drawing class as it was Olaf. Doh!

We’re hungry after the poor breakfast. So we go for an early lunch again at Restaurant en Coulisse. It’s much quieter in here today. We sit on the same table as yesterday. Imogen has the fish burger Menu 1. I have the Angus burger Menu 3. Deb has a three cheese salad & fries (€37.46). We have a look at the shops whilst they a quiet before heading out. Imogen buys another Hoodie, this one has Minnie written across the front & Minnie on the back (€34.99).

Next we go for Cinemagic. So far we are doing well at staying out of the rain. It’s a really great show/film. Even Imogen enjoyed it. I’m glad they have edited in some newer film sequences. As it’s so old I was expecting it to have dated a bit, but it hasn’t.

When we come out we check the next English time for Stitch Live. Imogen wants to see him again. It is on in 35 minutes. The wait time for Tower of Terror is 45 minutes. All the Fast Passes have gone. Plus we don’t want to wait in the rain. I know Armageddon isn’t great but it’s better than just waiting. I think we can squeeze it in. However by the time we wait to be let in we don’t have enough time to get through the show. So we give up & head back to Stitch.

The Stitch show is pretty much identical to when watched yesterday. Imogen was hoping to get picked out to say hello to Stitch but didn’t. She still enjoyed watching him again though.
When we come out we discuss what else we could ride. Imogen doesn’t want to ride Rocking Roller Coaster. We tricked her into riding it at Disneyworld after telling her it didn’t go upside down. We thought she’d enjoy it, but didn’t. Deb & me weren’t that fussed at riding it. We couldn’t be bothered to do a parent swap. We weren’t interested in the backstage tour or the stunt show. We’d already seen the Stunt show before as it was copied across to Disneyworld. Deb & Imogen didn’t enjoy it. So apart from waiting in the rain (which we don’t want to do) for the rides in Toy Storyland we were pretty much done here. So we head out & go to Disneyland Park. We plan to come back for a few hours tomorrow to do some more drawing & maybe squeeze in a Tower of Terror ride.

On the way into the Disneyland Park I take a couple of pictures.



Our first stop is to go to the Ice Cream Company on Main Street. I know it’s not the weather for Ice Cream but we wanted to have a nice sit down with a yummy snack. We all have a two scoop tub of ice cream with toppings & Deb also has a Latte (€18.66).


We decide what we want to do whilst here. I want to ride Pirates. It’s a classic & has an indoor queue. Deb has a look around the shops whilst Imogen & me check out the queue time board. All the rides are not surprising have the shortest wait times we have seen so far. Buzz has the longest at 35 minutes. Pirates is only 5 minutes. We hot foot it over to Buzz to get a Fast Pass (4:15 – 4:45) & rush back to meet Deb. She has bought a nice pair of Mickey earrings (€39.00).

We make our way through Fantasyland. Going via La Taniere Du Dragon again. We walk pretty much straight on Pirates. The Blue Lagoon restaurant looks quiet. At one of the drops the water splashes over the side of the boat & I get a wet bottom.


When we come out we go over to Buzz to use out FP. This time Imogen beats Deb.



It’s still raining. We are still a bit tired from the long day yesterday & the early start today. So we opt for the easier day. We decide to go for dinner at Annette’s Diner. We’re going to shop for things we’ve seen & wanted. It’s our last chance to buy them, as we need to do the packing tonight. Anything we buy tomorrow will go into the hand luggage. On the way out I spot a hidden mickey. It's the top of the Mission Space building. At this angle the top looks like a classic Mickey head shape.


Imogen buys some plush toys. She loves them, her bed is full of them. She gets an Elsa pin badge. A Pegasus & Leroy plush (€59.97). I also buy some Pins. A Disneyland Paris pin, a 2015 pin & a Sequoia Lodge pin (€24.97).

It’s just after 5:30pm when we get to Annette’s. There are a few families eating. One couple in front of us the queue.



They only want to eat a dessert only though. The waiter tells them that it’s dinner only. So they leave. We notice a sign at the desk which tells us the toilets are broken & out of order. Which isn’t very good for restaurant. The waiter is a nice friendly chap. He leads us to one of the bench seat tables. The themeing is great. The food is tasty. Imogen has a milkshake & the children’s hot dog meal. I go for the Chilli Burger, Deb has the onion Burger & both have a large pint of beer (€72.64 plus €3 tip).


A bit more shopping in the village. I buy a Baymax pin & the Disneyland Paris Parks CD (€21.99). Deb buys a Doug plush (which Imogen has now adopted as her own). Imogen buys three more pins badges. A ratatouille one, a Big Thunder Mountain pin & a Stitch pin (€43.96) Deb buys a T-Shirt & a scarf from the Disney Fashion shop (€50.98). It’s just before 7pm when we walk to the hotel.

We plan to go & have a quick swim in the pool before starting the packing. Then to finish our last evening, go back to the Redwood Bar for some cocktails. Deb decides not to go swimming so Imogen & me leave her to chill out.

The pool is not too far from our room. We walk down with our raincoats on. I show our hotel pass & ask for two towels. The CM seems a bit miserable. Every other CM we’ve met has been very friendly, happy & smiling. We don’t get that friendliness from this one. She asks how old Imogen is. We tell her she is eight. She replies “she can’t go in the Jacuzzi!”. Okay! As it’s just Imogen & me, she has to come in with me in to the men’s changing room. It’s a bit small, but there is a changing cubicle free. We get changed & put our stuff in the locker. Which are free. I had brought a euro with me just in case. We then wonder out the changing room the same way we came in. Of course this doesn’t lead to the pool. We turn round & head back into the changing room. We eventually find our way to the pool. It’s not packed out, but is busy. The water is chilly, but you soon get used to it once you’re in. For some reason the water slide isn’t working. Which is a shame. We have fun for a bit in the pool. It was great sitting on the ledge by the Jacuzzi as all the hot water overflows over you. It’s a shock when you get back in the cool pool though. There are also little seat ledges around the edge of the pool. To sit & chill in. We stay in for about 45 minutes before getting back out. There are only two changing cubicles. One is occupied. The remaining one however doesn’t have a lock on the door! I lean on the door whilst Imogen drys & gets ready. She does the same for me. The towels go into the used towel bin & we walk back to the room. Our first experience of a Disney Hotel pool is a good one.

We start packing away our stuff. We have one large bag, two carry on trolley bags & the small back pack. We should have just enough space to get all our stuff in. We finish it off tomorrow morning.
We go off to the bar.

When we get into the main building we go into the shop for some more shopping. We go a bit mad.
I get a pair dinner trays, a nice picture frame & a photo album which was half price (€78.96). Deb buys an Alice in Wonderland cup, a Frozen bowl with Olaf on it & a T-Shirt (€44.97). Imogen buys another pin badge (€7.99).

It’s pretty busy in the bar, but we get lucky & get one of the corner bench seats that has just been vacated. The waiter is very friendly chap, who is working extremely hard. Imogen orders another vanilla frappe that comes in a cocktail shaker keepsake. She now has both colours. She doesn’t enjoy it quite so much this time. It does taste different than when we had it a couple of days ago. I get another cocktail with a glow cube again (in the menu it’s called a light & colours). When it arrives the cube is set to flash different colours.
I'd already drank half before I remember to take a photo.


Deb has a Pina Colada. Whilst we enjoy these & chat about the things we’ve done. A couple on the table by us buy a massive cocktail for two. The whole bar stops to look. Once Deb & me finish our first drinks I ask the waiter how much this cocktail for two costs. He tells me it’s €20 & there are a few different ones you can choose from. We go for it & order a Mesa Verde which had a peachy taste. It was lovely.



We pay the bill (€56.46 plus a tip €3). It’s a lot of money for drinks, but hey we’re on our holiday at Disney. We have the food budget to cover it.

We walk back to our room happy (from the alcohol) but also a bit sad as it was our last evening.
We re-arrange the packing to get all the stuff we’ve just bought to fit.

Tomorrow is our last day. I hope to make an early start & make the most of it. I hope to get in the park for EMH. Our transfer to the airport collects us from the hotel at 3:45pm.


Here's the link to the next day.
Day Five - Friday 28th August 2015 - The Last Day

[collybird]

I didn't enjoy Crush either, I was so disappointed but it looks amazing but it made me feel really ill.

Imogen's Pooh is very good!

[Magic Mouse]

Loving your report, especially as my DD is off to DLP for the first time with her school next March so it's great to read about it and see your lovely photos

[piglet100]

Great report! Shame about Crush I love it! Where did you find the parks CD? I've never seen this and would love one!

[muggle3000]

Imogen's Pooh is very good!

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Loving your report, especially as my DD is off to DLP for the first time with her school next March so it's great to read about it and see your lovely photos

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Thanks very much. She'll have a great time.

Great report! Shame about Crush I love it! Where did you find the parks CD? I've never seen this and would love one!

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Yes, I loved it too. I think the worry of the unknown got to her.
The Cd was from one of the Disney shops in the Village. Opposite King Ludwigs.

[piglet100]

Thanks, will have to try and track it down next time!

[Gill H]

Was the parks CD the one with the IASW designs on it? We have that one.

I really love your drawings, very impressed. And how brave is Imogen? I have never made it onto Crush or ToT and don't think I ever will! Brave girl.

Loving your Buzz Lightyear faces too. I always intend to smile for the photo but I get too caught up in trying to score points!

[kansaskitty]

A shame about the rain but a good day nonetheless. And hey, it could have rained in WDW in August anyway! Bless little emotional Imogen, young girls can get so anxious. Her Winnie the Pooh is fab!

[kansaskitty]

I also agree about being brave, I wouldn't go on crush or ToT when I went to DLP!