March 2017 (25th Anniversary Trip): Day 1 - Disneyland Park & a Big Surprise!

Ourdaybydesign · 5 Apr 17, 02:08 PM

Monday 27th March
16,400 Steps
6.73 Miles

It had been late by the time we got the kids to bed the night before so we decided not to rush this morning. We got up and dressed and I sorted through our vouchers. As we had full board and the tea time treats for 2 adults and 1 child we had a lot of them and had to make sure we had the right ones for each day.

We went down for breakfast and were directed to the Providence restaurant which is on the way to the conference centre. It was very different from the breakfast room we had been expecting at Santa Fe, not just with the selection of food, it was much quieter too. Suitably filled up we had a quick look in the shop as my son wanted the 25th anniversary chip n dale ears to wear and my mum swapped her voucher for the photopass. We also had to get our charge card / easy pass from reception and get our keys reprogrammed. I liked the actual contactless card we got to pay with this time, in comparison to the paper one we had had last year at Santa Fe. We then went back up to the room to get ready for the day.

By 11.15 we were on our way to the park in the beautiful sunshine and we had arrived at the park by 11.30. It was a gorgeous day and I was so glad I had packed extra t-shirts and my sunglasses.

We took a quick photo of the castle then went into Discoveryland and picked up a fastpass for Buzz and joined the queue for Autopia. We had our lunch reservation at 12.30 so we didn’t have much time which is why we didn’t walk any further into the park. My sister had asked us to meet her friend at lunch so she could pass over my mums mother’s day cards from her kids so we didn’t want to be too late. We all enjoyed Autopia including my daughter Eden who was now the correct height to ride. My son Holden loves doing the steering while someone else controls the pedals.

We ran over to buzz to use our fastpass which we all enjoyed and added the ride photos to my photopass app. We just added the numbers during the day then confirmed them when we could use the hotel’s Wi-Fi later on.

By the time we came out it was 12.45 so we had to run round to Plaza Gardens where we were let in straight away. There wasn’t a queue for reservations, only for guests without. They directed us to the till to show our vouchers and choose our drinks but before we got a chance someone came up behind us and said ‘fancy meeting you here!’ We turned and to our complete surprise saw my sister Ashleigh, niece Willow and nephew Enzo. They live in Dubai and as they only decided to come about a week before they thought they may as well make it a surprise. They had flown overnight from Dubai and just arrived in Paris this morning. My dad had followed then my husband as they were parking the buggies, so we had another round of hello’s before we had to pay and get shown to our table.

I don’t think any of us could believe they were there for ages so probably didn’t make the most of the buffet selection. We all enjoyed it although I didn’t have a chance to sample any of the puddings. We knew we had another Plaza Gardens reservation for dinner on Wednesday so I said I would try them then. We had paid on arrival using our vouchers and got one drink included so we didn’t have anything else to pay. My sister and family were staying at the B&B Hotel as they couldn’t get in to the Santa Fe. As we turned out not to be there anyway, it worked out for the best. Although basic, they got breakfast included and the found the shuttle buses great all week. They were going to be with us until Thursday then flying back to my parents in Edinburgh for a week. They couldn’t get on to our flight on the Friday as it was full. They had managed to book Plaza Gardens for lunch today and pre paid for Café Mickey for this evening with their original booking. That was as much information she had managed to get from me beforehand without asking too much and giving the surprise away.

Suitably fed we packed up and headed back into Discoveryland as everyone wanted to try Star Tours. Holden was finally over the 1.02m required so he was excited. We saw Stitch going past on the way which the kids loved. My dad offered to stay outside with Eden as she obviously wasn’t tall enough and needed to have a nap. Holden was measured at least twice by cast members at the start and end of the queue. We all loved it. Graham and I had been on it in Florida in 2015 but it was good to be able to take the kids on it and my mum was the spy which they all thought was fab. Once we came off we asked for a baby rider switch and my dad was able to go on with Enzo. We had a walk through the submarine while we waited for them.

We joined the queue for Orbitron as we could all go on it and Enzo joined us when he arrived. We wanted to go on in 2’s which started the week of discussions as to who will go on with who! Enzo is 7 so he was able to go himself when there was an odd number like today and the 3 adults all took a child. Eden came on with me and kept shouting more once we had to get off.

Next on the list was Thunder Mountain, another favourite that had been closed last year and that Holden could also now go on. The queue said 40 minutes but we knew it was always going to be busy so Graham and I stayed with Eden while the other 6 joined the queue. We asked again for the baby switch and were told to wait at the exit and ask the cast member there when they came off. Knowing we had some time we walked round to Cowboy Cookout to use our tea time treat vouchers as it was around 4pm by now. Eden wasn’t feeling great so we gave her some calpol, the eye drops we had had to buy at the airport and some water. Water and doughnuts obtained, we ate while we walked back to thunder mountain. The queue time had gone up so we knew they would still be a while. It was a beautiful day though so it was nice to stand in the sun for a while. Eden wasn’t great and was a bit sick after drinking the water. We told the cast member who got someone to come and sort it out quickly.

When they eventually got back we noted down the photo number, got our rider switch pass and went on to the ride through the exit. It didn’t take too long and we were off for our go. It’s one of my favourite rides and I loved the new version. It’s a lot better than the one in Florida too. They had all liked it too. My parents and sister took the kids to meet Jessie while we rode. They had tried to get their tea time treats but cowboy cookout was too busy. We hadn't found the 25th anniversary autograph books we wanted yet but all of the kids had their books from last time that they could use today anyway.

It was nearing 5.30 by now so we started walking towards the parade route and stopped via Hakuna Matata so they could all get their treats. We were a few rows back by the time we got to the central area but the kids went on our shoulders so they could see a bit. We knew we had other days to watch it so weren’t concerned but it was nice to see.

We knew we didn’t have much time until our Café Mickey reservation but we went for quick go on It’s a Small World.

After that we almost ran to Café Mickey. I think we arrived about 6.40 but there was a long queue and it was another 10 mins before we were seen. They were not impressed at all but I stood my ground as I knew the policy was the table was kept for 15 minutes and we had been there by then but obviously had to then wait in the queue. They made a big fuss but eventually told us to wait until they could get a table, as they had apparently given ours away. Once we got upstairs and seated around 7pm, there were loads of empty tables that were never filled so they were obviously just making a point. We made sure we were on time for every other reservation that week but we did find everywhere that they would get a lot more people in & served if they were more efficient at clearing / seating / taking orders / getting drinks etc. We know that’s normal in France but at Disney they would benefit more from the US system.

Anyway, the seating issue aside, we had a lovely server and got our drinks and food ordered. We had shown our vouchers and confirmed we knew had to pay a bit more. We all ordered just the 2-course menu which meant only a small top up was required, although we did order a bottle of wine to share too. The drinks did take ages but the characters had started arriving by then so nobody minded. We saw Mr Smee, Geppetto, Mickey, Eeyore and Goofy.

Eden would not go near them, she was happy to wave from a distance like at the parade, but not when they tried to come to her or give her a high five. She hadn’t wanted to have her photo with Jessie earlier either. Mickey and Goofy were happy to take a selfie with me.

The food we had was all lovely and we were very impressed. I had the caesar salad and sea bass which were delicious. Eden didn’t get any vouchers but she just shared with Holden as the children’s portions were quite big. He had the soup to start, pasta then ice cream.

We were in Café Mickey for over 2 hours so the kids were all flagging by then and needed to get to bed. It was a lovely short walk back to Newport Bay for us and my parents walked back with my sister through the village so they could get their shuttle bus. We stopped to get breakfast slots for the next few days at reception. None were the times we wanted but they didn’t mind what time we went every day. I don’t know if that is normal or just because we were eating in Providence.

My parents took Holden to stay in their room when they got back and we all went to bed quite soon after, ready for our first day in the Studios tomorrow.

Emma1987BTL · 5 Apr 17, 03:26 PM

Ah been waiting for this sounds like a lovely 1st day and what a lovely surprise that your sister came along too!

Love the pics of the characters 😍 I can't wait to meet them xx

Ourdaybydesign · 5 Apr 17, 10:13 PM

Originally Posted by Emma1987BTL

Ah been waiting for this sounds like a lovely 1st day and what a lovely surprise that your sister came along too!

Love the pics of the characters 😍 I can't wait to meet them xx

Aw thank you; we couldn't believe it when we saw them!

The characters were great at Café Mickey. Shame it's closed now. x

Emma1987BTL · 5 Apr 17, 10:37 PM

Hope we see lots around when we are there xx

Ourdaybydesign · 5 Apr 17, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by Emma1987BTL

Hope we see lots around when we are there xx

Yeah there are loads of meets in the parks too. You get a program with the times then there are also random ones.

Emma1987BTL · 5 Apr 17, 11:16 PM

Originally Posted by Ourdaybydesign

Yeah there are loads of meets in the parks too. You get a program with the times then there are also random ones.

So excited wishing my life away ATM lol 😂 xx

Tubbsy · 9 Apr 17, 06:34 AM

What a great surprise!
Wishing Cafe Mickey hadn't lost the characters.

Tubbsy · 9 Apr 17, 06:57 AM

Btw - Just visited The Merry Ear market... oh my! 😁

Ourdaybydesign · 10 Apr 17, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by Tubbsy

What a great surprise!
Wishing Cafe Mickey hadn't lost the characters.

Yeah it was amazing to see them all!

I know we think the same, we've been the last 3 times we've been and the kids loved it.

Ourdaybydesign · 10 Apr 17, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by Tubbsy

Btw - Just visited The Merry Ear market... oh my! 😁

Yeah her ears are amazing! Loads of people asked where I got mine while there.