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Old 5 Sep 20, 06:13 PM  
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Goldia
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At Last I See The Light - DLP August 2020 Day 5 Friday 14th August 2020

Day 5 – Friday 14th August 2020

We’d decided that we wouldn’t rush to check out and get to the parks for EMT, instead allowing ourselves the luxury of getting ready slowly and taking our time. In the end I still woke up just after 7am, so no chance of sleeping in . I slowly got ready while Kate watched a bit of TV. She got a bit peckish for breakfast so we decided that we would pack up and head to Starbucks. We left just after 9.30am. It wasn’t quite as hot today and the forecast said it would be a high of around 26, which we were grateful for as we wouldn’t be able to go back to the hotel to shelter from the heat.

Kate took some photos as we walked through the Village for the last time.









I got an iced Americano and Kate ended up with a hot chocolate as unfortunately they didn’t have the frappe that she wanted.





We sat down and had our breakfast listening to the Disney Village radio, When will my life begin from Tangled was playing and we were happy just sitting there listening to the song and watching the people hurrying by.

I figured we would not want to come back to the hotel to collect the luggage to take it to the station later, so we decided to take it with us and leave at the luggage Guest Storage at the park entrance. While it felt like it took an age to check it in, actually it was only 15 minutes and cost 6 Euros.



As we walked up Main Street of course the Welcome Back song was playing which I loved and Kate loved a little less .





I was letting Kate pick all the rides as we had done everything we wanted on the previous days, so this was an opportunity to just do what we fancied.







First up she picked Hyperspace Mountain as she really does enjoy the thrill rides.





We figured we would have a last ride on Star Tours as the posted wait was 10 minutes, but as we got in the line we realised there was no way it was 10 minutes as the queue was backed up to the entrance, so we decided we had ridden it loads of times and we turned around.



We decided to go on Orbitron as it was posted as 15 minutes and we hadn’t been on this yet.







We’ve also never done the Astro Orbiter at WDW as it doesn’t have FP, the line always looks really long and the kids have assumed it’s basically just Dumbo but up in the air. Well, this was a great ride. I was quite impressed! The spinning does make it feel pretty intense. It was a bit of an effort to squeeze ourselves in the ride vehicle though and we were really giggling, I think it made for a good selfie.





We wandered through to Fantasyland.





And we headed around to Casey Junior.





It’s such a cute ride and given the very short wait time it’s definitely worth it.



There were two little boys who were very excited walking through the queue and were racing ahead of their parents and ran in front of us. I let their parents walk through and they made it onto the train that was in the station. This was a stroke of luck for us though as it meant we were first in the line and so we had the front of the train.





Can you tell that I’m really excited to have the front row?



Kate hadn’t believe me that the train puffs “All aboard, I think I can, I think I can…” before the song starts so I made her listen and recorded it on my phone. I like going round the back of the fairy tale boat ride and we waved a family in a boat and were really pleased when they waved back.

While we were here we went on the fairy tale ride and we had the boat Belle Marianne to ourselves.







Heading into the cave of wonders the boat stopped for a little while.



After we decided to head towards the castle just in case we could go upstairs, but no luck . Nevermind, Snow White was showing as a 10 minute wait.







The queue looked busy, but we were happy to give it a go and it was actually only a 3 minute wait.



We were in Sneezy, in the back row. The little boy in the front row was screaming throughout the ride and really didn’t like it at all. We both felt really sorry for him as he was really howling, not little whimpers, proper screaming. It is a very dark ride and the evil queen is pretty menacing at points throughout the ride.

We had a quick look at the app and saw that Big Thunder Mountain was only 15 minutes.



This was great as we had a lunch reservation at the Plaza at 1pm and I didn’t want to do Big Thunder after a big meal.







Kate picked the left hand lane and this was a brilliant choice as we walked through a lot of the line and it ended up only being 10 minutes.

It was a spectacular ride and we loved it!

It was now time for our lunch reservation so we headed over through the hub.



There were three groups in front of us. It didn’t take long for us to get shown in.



The lady at the check in desk explained gave us the menus and explained we could order as many plates from the appetisers as we wanted. She also explained that we couldn’t mix and match, so there was no swapping or substitutions. We could see that there were lots of plates ready at the buffet.





I ordered a beer and a coke as the soft drink is included as part of the price and Kate also had a coke.



We chose numbers 2, 3 and 4 on the appetisers.



The salads plate was to share, all of these were really tasty.



Kate had the smoked salmon and mackerel which she loved.



I had the charcuterie.



We were also given bread.



Here are the main course options.



Unfortunately the waiter misunderstood Kate’s main course order as she had wanted number 8 the shrimp pasta but she ended up with number 7, the fish and rice.



She does like both these, but was a bit disappointed not to get what she wanted.

I had the sirloin and vegetables, number 9. The beef was delicious.



We shared our mains as well, both having a little of each other’s. We could have asked for the main she actually wanted, but by now we were pretty full and we were wondering how we would fit in the dessert.



For the dessert we both chose the tasting plate, number 14. This was very cute, but we did struggle to eat it all.



We took our time in the restaurant as it was nice to sit in the cool, with our masks off and relax a little. By the time we had finished it was 2.30pm.



Goofy was doing a meet and greet as we came out and we had a quick look on the app and saw that Small World had a short wait. Well that was perfect as we love it and we knew it wouldn’t upset our rather full stomachs!



Hmm, no fountain today .



It was a magical journey of colour and song.







I didn't take many photos today as we wanted to soak it all up and I just enjoyed singing along, well I sang along and Kate alternated between scowling at me for singing and pointing out all the countries .

When we came off it was now 3pm and the app said Pirate’s was only a 15 minute wait, so we figured that would be good for a last ride.



When we got round to the entrance we could see people waiting in line. There was no way it was 15 minutes. Kate suggested we went shopping instead and so in the end Small World was our last ride.

We popped into all the shops on Main Street, but we were just browsing really. As we slowly made our way towards the station I took a look back and felt really sad to be leaving. Daisy was out doing her meet and greet. I took one last photo of the castle.



DLP had really won me over this time. We had been so lucky to have the luxury of a limited capacity park, to be able to just get on whatever ride we fancied and not to have to wait. Sure we missed the fireworks and atmosphere of the parks at night, but it wasn't a big deal. We hadn’t done character meets, but I don’t think the reason for that is down to the current restrictions, it’s more that Kate just isn’t that fussed in meeting them anymore .

So, this was it, the time was up.



I certainly had a frog in my throat as we slowly left.



And that’s the last photo I took today, a slow walk out the exit.

We collected our luggage, but as we still had about 20 minutes until we needed to check in for the train we went to World of Disney for a mooch about.

At the station the Eurostar check in had a long line, which took about 30 minutes to go through. But as the train was already at the platform there was no waiting around after going through security and we were straight on the train.

The coach we were in was a little busier than our outbound trip with around 20 people this time. We were both surprised there weren’t more people, as we had figured there would be a big rush of people wanting to get home today to avoid the 14 day quarantine.

I’d been keeping an eye on the news and seen that Calais had long traffic jams with cars full of families trying to get a ferry home. Kate was asking what difference it made really that we were coming home at 6pm and didn’t have to quarantine but that people coming home 10 hours later would have to quarantine. And, of course, there wasn’t much I could say to her as she was right there wasn’t any difference between us and them, it was just that an arbitrary time had to be set.

We settled in for the return journey and it went very quickly, we were soon pulling into St Pancras. We caught the train home and Dave picked us both up from the station. It was good to see him and he was relieved we had made it home without any trouble.

Not quite as many attractions today as previous days and less steps too. We’d both had such a good trip, we hadn’t felt we needed to cram in attractions on the last day. I suppose really we only needed 3 days in the parks, but it was good to have a longer trip and take our time. While we enjoyed our lunch at the Plaza, I'm not sure we would bother again if it's not a serve yourself buffet. It was more than double the price of the quick service meals we had, and while it was tasty, it wasn't double the price tasty, if you see what I mean. The final day of the trip we'd ridden Hyperspace and Big Thunder, we'd ridden the classic It's a small world and we had enjoyed a magical day.

Attractions: 7
Step Count: 18,771


As for future plans, well I’m thinking it would be fun to have a bit of Disney magic at Christmas and if the quarantine is dropped for travelling to France then I would seriously think about going for a few days after school breaks up so we could be home before Christmas Eve. I’m not booking anything in advance though, we got so lucky with our last minute booking and avoided the disappointment of a cancelled trip so I figure I’ll just leave it as a possibility and maybe we’ll have another last minute trip if circumstance allows. And if not then so be it. We have had a taste of the magic, which is more than a lot of people, and we are very thankful for it .

And finally, thank you to everyone who has read the report I hope we brought a little bit of sparkle and pixie dust to those who weren’t as lucky as us this year.
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2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston.
2018: Orlando. Berlin.
2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC.
2020: DLP.
2021: Jamaica. Rome.
2022: Orlando.
2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto.
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Old 5 Sep 20, 06:32 PM  
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MrsSilverStar
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Ooh, Christmas would be lovely! Please go and let me live through you 😄

The upstairs of the castle was closed when we went too - we’ll both just have to go back Abby!

What a great trip and fantastic timing in dodging quarantine. It’s been lovely to read along and share the fun.
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Old 5 Sep 20, 07:33 PM  
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It sounds like a great trip overall. It’s been lovely to read your trip report. I was hoping to go in June with my daughter after her A levels but obviously it wasn’t too be - hopefully we’ll manage our trip soon and it will be as successful as yours.

Glad your timing worked just right to avoid the quarantine. Fingers crossed for a Xmas trip for you (and a report for us! &#128521
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Old 5 Sep 20, 07:35 PM  
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Mrs Red C
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Thanks for all the magic, been lovely reading all your posts.

Quick Q, you mentioned leaving your cases at the Park entrance place? (not your hotel or the station)
Where abouts is this please?
Thanks!
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Old 5 Sep 20, 08:23 PM  
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Buggles94
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Another fantastic day Abby - really looks like a special time for you and Kate. A Christmas trip sounds wonderful. We went years ago just before Christmas. Freezing cold but absolutely magical!
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Old 5 Sep 20, 10:49 PM  
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A fantastic last day. A fantastic trip overall in fact! I wonder if having excellent weather helped it seem more magical?

I'd never considered doing a last minute DLP trip, but you've definitely helped me see the light on that possibility!


Thank you so much for taking the time to write up this trippie
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Old 6 Sep 20, 07:41 AM  
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Goldia
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Originally Posted by MrsSilverStar View Post
Ooh, Christmas would be lovely! Please go and let me live through you 😄

The upstairs of the castle was closed when we went too - we’ll both just have to go back Abby!

What a great trip and fantastic timing in dodging quarantine. It’s been lovely to read along and share the fun.
I knew I'd get balanced set of opinions from you guys if I mentioned the idea of a Christmas trip we will just have to wait and see, but it would be lovely to see all the Christmas decorations.

Originally Posted by mrsdjh View Post
It sounds like a great trip overall. It’s been lovely to read your trip report. I was hoping to go in June with my daughter after her A levels but obviously it wasn’t too be - hopefully we’ll manage our trip soon and it will be as successful as yours.

Glad your timing worked just right to avoid the quarantine. Fingers crossed for a Xmas trip for you (and a report for us! &#128521
I hope your daughter got the A Level results she deserved and that she is able to move on to the next phase of her life and follow the path she wanted. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you get to have your magical trip together soon.

Originally Posted by Mrs Red C View Post
Thanks for all the magic, been lovely reading all your posts.

Quick Q, you mentioned leaving your cases at the Park entrance place? (not your hotel or the station)
Where abouts is this please?
Thanks!
Leaving the bags at the hotel is free, but of course you have to go and collect them, which we decided we didn't want to do. There is also a transfer service where you can pay for the bags to be taken from the hotel to the station and you pick them up there, but we didn't do that either as we only had 1 small carry on case so it seemed a waste of money.

The left luggage at Disneyland park concierge service is to the right of the main entrance. The pricing varies depending on the size of your case, so that's why ours was only 6 euros as it was small. A larger bag would have been more expensive.

I've been looking through my photos to try and find a good one and I've not got any that are clear if you look at this photo.



Normally when you go to the turnstiles you go past the fountains and then under the hotel in the centre of the building. Instead of going in turn right at the building as the luggage storage is around the side of the main set of turnstiles.

This photo is from the queue for the luggage storage. The main part of the hotel is on the left. The luggage storage is to the right by the green umbrella and there is a set of turnstiles in the middle of the photo so you don't have to go back around to the front and go into the park the normal way.



I hope that was helpful

Originally Posted by Buggles94 View Post
Another fantastic day Abby - really looks like a special time for you and Kate. A Christmas trip sounds wonderful. We went years ago just before Christmas. Freezing cold but absolutely magical!
Yes I bet Christmas would be cold, we'd have to have lots of hot chocolate and waffles to warm us up I'd want to be back home by Christmas eve so similar to your trip by the sounds of it.

Originally Posted by Custancia View Post
A fantastic last day. A fantastic trip overall in fact! I wonder if having excellent weather helped it seem more magical?

I'd never considered doing a last minute DLP trip, but you've definitely helped me see the light on that possibility!


Thank you so much for taking the time to write up this trippie
Yes, I think you're right about the weather as it certainly felt Floridian. It was so hot, it made the parks feel more like home
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Abby
New pre trip report - Summer 2024

Link to all my completed trip reports
2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston.
2018: Orlando. Berlin.
2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC.
2020: DLP.
2021: Jamaica. Rome.
2022: Orlando.
2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto.
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Old 6 Sep 20, 09:09 AM  
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What a lovely mother and daughter trip you had! Thank you for sharing! I'm so glad you managed to get some disney magic after your cancelled trip.

I am toying with the idea of going when the schools break up for Christmas too - just trying to be patient and see how the next few months play out 🤞
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Old 6 Sep 20, 09:15 AM  
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Abby, what a lovely wee trip so glad you got to do it.
Thanks for sharing and I really enjoyed reading along as usual
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Old 6 Sep 20, 09:21 AM  
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Thanks for the baggage info, a very helpful and useful tip! 😁
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