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Old 20 Nov 19, 08:13 PM  
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WileyCoyote
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DLP Dash November 2019. The Middle. 14 rides and Dining at Captain Jack’s

Thursday 14 November

The alarm went off at 6.30 and we were downstairs ready for breakfast at just after 7 . No pics today as my phone still wasnt full charged so I left it in the room for a while longer. Pics tomoz

It was a decent selection though with hot buffet, pastries, continental cheese and ham, an egg station also with fresh pancakes and some delicious cakes.
We also took a couple of small rolls that we filled with cheese - came in very handy at lunchtime.

Not realising the walkway to the parks was at the back of the hotel we strode off out the front and soon realised when we came to a dead end that maybe the bus was a better option.

It was also raining lightly which hadn’t been on the forecast and I hadn’t got my poncho with me so I was hoping it would soon pass.`

Not an epic start so far

A bus turned up about 5 minutes later and we arrived at the parks just before 0810, walking into Disneyland at 8.15.



We headed straight for the castle and were able to have a look around with hardly anyone else there



We could see the crowds at the rope drop for Fantasy Land



and it didnt look too bad so we nipped out and down to see the dragon




- this was excellent and again really great as we were the only people in there

All done round the castle by 8.35 so 5 minutes into official EMH time

Our plan for the day focused on rides.

We had agreed that we were not bothered about character meets. Happily we saw lots of characters on their way to and from character spots( including Jafar and the princesses) but didnt queue to see them.

Our EMH plan was to ride as much as we could that didnt have a Fastpass and to get a FP as soon as we could once the park opened at 9.30

In to Discoveryland and straight on to Orbitron



- it was a bit damp but the ride was operational and no queue. Very similar to Astro Orbiters, higher and faster than Dumbo or Carpets.


Straight over to Buzz Lightyear which was another walk on



Look no people




and we were over at Hyperspace Mountain by 0900 - having discovered that Star Tours was closed and no FPS available yet either




Now this is where lack of planning came into effect as neither of us realised it goes up side down .


When we saw the over shoulder restraints we did wonder why but as we we were able to get on with bags we thought it must not have an inversion.



Well that was pretty wrong.

We absolutely screamed our heads off the whole way. The theming is brilliant but man its fast, brutal and scary . The worst bit though is smacking your head off the seat at the end. That hurts and we both came off feeling a bit sick and shaken up. 😱

It’s definitely thrilling but once was enough for us.

After assessing whether either of us needed remedial traction we had a look to see if nautilus was open (not)and decided to head to Fantasy Land.

That’s 3 rides in Discoveryland and it was now 9.20. Still 10 minutes till opening.



Peter Pan FPS machines were still covered and had a 20 minute queue so we headed for Pinocchio which took 10 minutes to get on.



We were on at 9.30. It’s very similar to the ride in California - quite dark both in layout and tone.

We headed over to Dumbo and were on by 9.55. Still a bit damp but only a 5 minute wait.



As we were going round on our pachyderms we could see the covers coming off the Peter Pan FP machines so were over there at 10, bagging FPS for 40 minutes later.



With a bit of time to kill we thought the longer ride of Its a Small World would be a good idea We joined the IASW queue at 1008 and were coming out of the ride by 1022. Thought this was lovely and great to get on and off so quickly.



How do they get heather this colour ?



A quick jog across the way to Snow White - which was very similar to Pinocchio except for the slightly creepy animatronic figures at the end which were a bit creepy. We were on at 1030 and off at 1040



Perfect as our FP window was now open . We decided to take a detour via Alices Labyrinth as it was now dry and it looked like another one that was best done with as few people in there as possible.



Really liked the theming in here - didnt quite catch all the characters as they popped up from their boxes but it was good fun.




we did decline to try out the big slide at the end though

We arrived at Peter Pan at 11 so just inside our window. This is a lovely ride, really well done and one that we really liked.



It was just after 11 and we had been on 8 rides, used one FP and been round the Castle and Maze. We could see the Storybook ride was down and didnt fancy the Casey Jr train so we headed over to pick up a FP for BTMRR ( with a return time of 1135-1205 and decided to warm up with a coffee.





We had hoped to go to Victorias but it was closed for a refurb so ended up at the Bake Shop. This was really busy so one of us queued while the other stalked a table. I took this pic the following morning in EMH when it was closed





We had two hot chocolates and two cinnamon cakes for ten euros which felt good value. It was nice to warm up and sit down for 20 minutes. I had expected the service to be slow but it wasnt at all.



This is it from the front later that day



We had a look around the arcades




We were at BTMRR for 1140 ( still people queueing while FPS available) and a short wait but it was every bit as good as last night.



Straight back to Discoveryland




and a walk round Nautilus.

This is quite dark - and hard to see -



I had walked away from the the portal and almost missed the arrival of the beastie so worth paying attention.




The attention to detail is really good but we commented that this was another ride that was so dimly lit it was hard to see and would be quite scary for smaller persons - quite a few “dark” themed things here.

Space mountain was still only a 10 minute wait even though it was near midday.


We picked up some fast passes for Star Tours



and decided to stop in Cafe Hyperion for some lunch.
or more accurately to eat our cheese rolls and various snacks with a drink from the cafe.



It was great watching the old school cartoons but not so great that the service on the drinks was very slow - so much so that we didnt use the fast passes and decided to head over at 1pm to stake out a spot for the 1.20 parade.

Edited at 08:04 PM.
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Old 20 Nov 19, 08:13 PM  
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By now the rain had cleared and there was even some sunshine. We positioned ourselves near the castle and right next to a bin so there would be no one sneaking in to the side . it was a perfect spot and the parade was brilliant.



We headed back over to Star Tours which was a walk on and at 2pm



decided to exit via the lovely arcades



and head over to the other park. The weather forecast for tomorrow had been getting increasingly gloomy so we were thinking we needed to get as many of the outdoor rides done today as possible and leave indoor stuff and shows to tomorrow. We also had a 4.30 reservation for dinner back in the other park so a bit of park hopping was inevitable.

We arrived in the Studios at 2.20 , the entrance via the food court was much busier today. We picked up FPS for ToT at 2.25



and headed for the Tram Tour getting on it at 2.30.



The Disaster scene was good but the static props and the commentary video are a bit meh. Jeremy love, comedy not your forte.

We had thought about saving that one till tomorrow but I am glad we didnt whilst the the trams are covered the rain would definitely have come in through the sides and it would have been a bit miserable .

Anyhow we were off at 2.55 and straight over to use our ToT FPS, another walk on with these and it was every bit as good as yesterday, possibly even better as todays cast members were really getting into character. Nothing like a bit of guest intimidation ha ha

From there we had just two left to do in this park , the Parachute Drop and the RC Racer. Not that I was terribly keen on the latter at all as it looked like a more terrifying version of those pirate swing boats .

The parachutes were a 10 minute wait - and a little bit scarier than expected . Good view of the park though as long as you had your eyes open. Reminded me why I dont really like outdoor drop rides like DR Doom. It may only be half the height but still scary enough for me . Ridiculous really when you consider we just came off ToT !



It was getting close to our ADR now so we walked back to the Disneyland park



and had enough time for another ride on PoC .



Adventure Island was much easier to navigate in the daylight and we realised that we really had taken the long way round in the dark last night.




Pirates was much busier but still only a 10 minute wait and we were on and off by 4.25 and the exit is right by the Captain Jack’s restaurant so we were bang on time for 4.30.

Another very dimly lit place




but very well themed and we got a table right by the boats going past which was fun.



One thing about having reserved on the Dutch site is that we were handed a Dutch menu, lol. Excessive use of Z,J and K in that language making it impossible to try and work out what things might be so we duly swopped for English.



Our premium voucher entitled us to any a la carte starter, main, dessert and a soft drink.

The food was nice. We had some bread service to start and then I had the black pudding starter - it all looked a bit intedeterminate in the dark so cunning use of flash and voila. The plantain was especially nice.



then i had the chicken and prawn curry . This was also very nice especially the coconut flakes and the rice was presented nicely



Dessert was the pineapple shortbread - also very nice. We had been asked to choose dessert when we first ordered which was a bit unusual but obviously a thing as they did the same at Remy the next day.



There was no additional charge so we left a tip and worked out that the meal would have been around 70 euros each. Which did feel quite expensive so very pleased it was pre paid.

With full tummies and just an hour left till park closing ( the meal had taken around 90 minutes as we had a 20 minute to be seated) we thought about a ride on BTMRR but fast passes were 40 minutes out and the standby queue was also 40 minutes.

After being inside we both felt really cold now and decided that we were not waiting an hour for illuminations and the mass exodus. Waiting for fireworks in Florida in the evening is definitely different to freezing in France for an hour.

We had a slow walk via the stores and arcades - which were a bit rammed at the top end of Main Street but thinned out by the entrance. The Storybook store was very nice, some fab artwork in here.



We were out and waiting for the bus by 6.50 and back at the resort with warming hot chocolate by 7. Warm bath and some of the mini bar cocktails while we planned out the next day. The weather forecast was completely grim . We packed up the cases and made sure we had extra layers and waterproofs out.

The bar and lounge area were pretty busy but we were too knackered from being out all day for any socialising




so a bit of trash tv and then I am sure I was already asleep before 10 pm. My legs and feet were telling me I had walked a fair bit and the Fitbit confirmed this with a 26k step count.

In summary then

8.15 arrive
8.35 round castle and dragon’s lair
9.20 Rides 1,2,3 done. Orbitron , Buzz and Hyperspace
9.30 Ride 4 Pinocchio
9.55 Ride 5 Dumbo
10.00 Peter Pan FP collected
1008 Ride 6 IASW (exited at 1022)
1030 Ride 7 Snow White
1045 Alice’s Labyrinth
11.00 Ride 8 Peter Pan using FP
11.06 BTMRR FP collected
Cake and Hot Chocolate stop
1140 Ride 9 BTMRR using FP
1206 Star Tours FP collected
1210 Nautilus
Lunch stop Cafe Hyperion
1pm Wait on Main Street by Castle for Xmas Parade
1.20 Parade start
1.50 Ride 10 Star Tours - walk on
Park Hop to Studios
2.26 Tower of Terror FP collected
2.35 Ride 11 Tram Tour (exited at 2.55)
3.00 Ride 12 ToT using FP
3.22 Ride 13 Parachute Drop
Park Hop to Disneyland
4.10 Ride 14 Pirates of the Caribbean
4.30 ADR Captain Jack’s
5.55 Exit Restaurant and park

And that’s how we managed 14 rides and 3 walk through attractions in one day.

A later ADR in Disney Village would have seen more accomplished but we had done Phantom Manor last night and there wasnt a huge amount left we wanted to do. We were also very glad of the early dinner after the busy day.

Edited at 08:28 PM.
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Old 20 Nov 19, 11:08 PM  
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Melbatb
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14 rides is excellent going! You didn’t miss much by not doing RC Racers (on the basis that it is the same as the one in HK)

Looking forward to reading about your last day!
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Old 21 Nov 19, 09:22 PM  
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You did do well, I like the timings to go along with the rides. Entry to small world at 10.08 exit at 10.22! Brilliant I love to know how long the wait times were. That Heather does look positively neon, it's almost glowing. It was a jam packed day I'm not sure I'd have fancied waiting around in the cold for the fireworks either, much nicer to go back to the room and relax with a bath and a drink.
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Old 22 Nov 19, 08:17 PM  
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WileyCoyote
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Originally Posted by Melbatb View Post
14 rides is excellent going! You didn’t miss much by not doing RC Racers (on the basis that it is the same as the one in HK)

Looking forward to reading about your last day!
Thanks. I really didn’t fancy that one at all

Originally Posted by Goldia View Post
You did do well, I like the timings to go along with the rides. Entry to small world at 10.08 exit at 10.22! Brilliant I love to know how long the wait times were. That Heather does look positively neon, it's almost glowing. It was a jam packed day I'm not sure I'd have fancied waiting around in the cold for the fireworks either, much nicer to go back to the room and relax with a bath and a drink.
Ha ha . I do like to be precise ! I thought it might help anyone else going this time of year

We were cold. I think having stopped for dinner tiredness caught up with us too. It was nice to just relax and get warm. The beds were also super comfy.
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Old 27 Nov 19, 10:53 PM  
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Excellent going Amanda! Next time do walk as I’ve always found it quicker and more pleasant than the bus. There are bars available to break up the trip
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Old 8 Dec 19, 09:03 AM  
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WileyCoyote
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Originally Posted by KarenG View Post
Excellent going Amanda! Next time do walk as I’ve always found it quicker and more pleasant than the bus. There are bars available to break up the trip
Good to know
Suspect would be a must if Andy comes along
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Old 9 Dec 19, 06:53 PM  
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Very good, love the photos. How many rides did you skip in the end? I guess I'll probably find out in the next entry (final day's report). Just wondered how many rides they had there. Looks lovely.
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Old 10 Dec 19, 09:30 PM  
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What an epic day - 14 rides is quite an achievement. You got off to a great start with the park being so quiet early on. In fact, it didn't seem busy all day, so it's obviously a good time of year to visit from that point of view.

I'm recognising loads of rides and areas of the park from your photos - really enjoying my trip down memory lane, even if the girls claim this was the worst holiday they ever had (it's a long story ). I agree that BTMRR is better here than Orlando, it so good and very fast.

Nice meal in the evening too, although it's a shame the restaurant was a little dark - it seems to be a running theme. Good idea to head back to the hotel when you did for some relaxation time, after a really long day out and about.
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Old 15 Dec 19, 03:47 PM  
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Originally Posted by GoodTVfan View Post
Very good, love the photos. How many rides did you skip in the end? I guess I'll probably find out in the next entry (final day's report). Just wondered how many rides they had there. Looks lovely.

I think we missed RC Racers, Casey Jr and the storybook rides. A few of the rides were closed for maintenance . It was mainly the shows that we ditched. I think in a return visit I wouldn’t do Phantom Manor or the Backlot tour again and would use that time to see some shows.


Originally Posted by Fuellady View Post
What an epic day - 14 rides is quite an achievement. You got off to a great start with the park being so quiet early on. In fact, it didn't seem busy all day, so it's obviously a good time of year to visit from that point of view.

I'm recognising loads of rides and areas of the park from your photos - really enjoying my trip down memory lane, even if the girls claim this was the worst holiday they ever had (it's a long story ). I agree that BTMRR is better here than Orlando, it so good and very fast.

Nice meal in the evening too, although it's a shame the restaurant was a little dark - it seems to be a running theme. Good idea to head back to the hotel when you did for some relaxation time, after a really long day out and about.
It was very quiet and I think the bad weather did help BTMRR was brilliant. Sad we didn’t get. Third ride but it was great. We packed so much in, we were really pleased ... and really tired
Yes lots of places were really dark. I know I’m getting on a bit but I could barely see in Nautilus and the PoC queue !
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