30 December 2016

Disney Halloween Day 5: Donald, Phantom and Saying Goodbye

Disney Day 5
It makes me very sad to say that this is the last post in my Disney Halloween series and it's going to be a short one because I've only got half a day's worth of magic to share with you. 
As it was our final day in the park, we said goodbye to our room and checked out of our hotel very early in the morning. We were absolutely shattered from our late night, but that didn't stop us from heading into the park to make the most of the magic we had left. We dropped our luggage off at the concierge and then made our way into the park to meet Anna, Vivi and Jade who were meeting Chip and Dale. 

Our only meet of the day, and our last meet of the trip, was with the lovely Donald. We queued with the Birthday Girl Anna, Vivi, Jade and Nicola and after half an hour, it was finally time for us to meet our favourite Duck. Donald has always been a character that I've wanted to meet, but it always seems that every time I'm in Paris, he's never out. As this was my first time meeting Donald, I was just as excited as Jade, who is his biggest admirer and to see those two meeting one another was adorable. He was one of the loveliest meets we had, and definitely the perfect character to end our trip, he was full of loves and cuddles and our photos are SO cute. I wish I was still having cuddles with him. 


We then bumped into Cara who was queuing to meet Goofy and I had an argument with a Welsh man who thought I was pushing in when I was just walking past. Anyway, we stood and chatted for a while and then took a very cute group photo. Saying goodbye to Cara, as it was the last time we would see her before we went home, Chloe and I walked over to the Frontierland barrier ready to run to Phantom Manor at rope drop. 

Chloe and I had one last ride on Phantom, and although it wasn't as spooky as normal, it was still fun. I don't think either of us wanted this whirlwind experience to end. I never expected to love this trip as much as I did, and I definitely didn't expect to make as many new friends as I did. The more we saw  on our last day, the more it hit us that we were going to be heading back to reality. The one person we really wanted to see before we went home was Laura; after spending every day with each other it was hard to imagine how we were going to cope with being apart. We all formed this really close bond and Laura is like an older sister to me, I absolutely love her. 

To pass time before Laura came into the park, Chloe and I went to walk around Frontierland to take in the atmosphere. I think that it was missing something without the screams of people riding Big Thunder Mountain and being able to watch the boat sail around the lake, but it still looked lovely. It was the spookiest of all the lands in the park; they'd really gone to town with the creepy atmosphere. 

One thing we hadn't done on this trip was go and look around the Castle. This is definitely one of the more underrated attractions in Disneyland Paris but it's the only Castle in a Disney park that you can actually go inside. It was a very cloudy day, but the park still looked so beautiful. We watched all the crowds rush around and even spotted Cara queuing up to meet Maleficent. It's so amazing to see how happy people are when they're in Disneyland, people lose their worries for a few hours and are enveloped in the magic. It's another world, but it's a world we never wanted to leave. We stood looking over Fantasyland for a very long time until we ventured into the Castle Dungeons to see the Dragon. That creature gets scarier every time I see it.

We left the Castle and went over to meet Anna, Vivi and Jade who had sat down to watch the Cavalcade. That was one thing we really wanted to watch before we left, and we made the most of it being our last one. I think us dancing, singing and hugging every single character that passed us made the Cavalcade the best we watched. When it ended, Laura joined us and then we had to say goodbye to Anna, Vivi and Jade as they were having lunch at Auberge later on in the afternoon. This was the most emotional goodbye we experienced, and if you know me well, you'll know I hate goodbyes. We all burst into tears and spent a good fifteen minutes avoiding leaving by hugging each other and promising that we'd see each other again soon, which I'm very sure we will. Then we had one last group hug and Laura, Chloe and I headed down Main Street to go and do some shopping.

The shops on Main Street are some of my favourites because they always stock the quirkiest things. I really wanted to get myself a Marie plush but I wasn't too keen on them, her eyes were a very strange colour of blue. Instead, I got myself a Marie and Mickey pen, Dr Facilier tsum tsum, a Baloo the Bear hat for my Dad, some tea towels for my Mum and a fridge magnet for my Grandma and Grandad. The Cast Members who work in the shops are so friendly, I had a conversation with the kindest French man who reassured me that I would return soon when I told him that I was sad to be leaving. It really is the Cast Members who make the Disney experience so magical, without them the Park would not be what it is.

Then it came to another hard goodbye with Laura. We stood in front of the band stand on Main Street, attempted to plan a meet up and became extremely sentimental by telling each other how amazing it had been to experience the Halloween Soiree together. We had a big group hug, and with tears in our eyes, Chloe and I walked through the exit gates for the final time, picked up our luggage and headed towards World of Disney.

I always say that letting me roam free in World of Disney is a massive mistake because I end up spending more than I need too, and this trip was no exception. Chloe and I spent a hour walking round, picking up items and putting them into our baskets and then putting some back because we thought we had too much. World of Disney is the biggest shop in the Disney Village and it has everything you could ever want, although you can find some of the things in the parks themselves so it really depends on where you want to shop. Whilst shopping I picked up another Marie mug and a Peter Pan snow globe to remind me of our trip; I do love a snow globe. And then, it was time to go home.

This is the part of our trip I was most apprehensive for; the travelling home part. I didn't like the thought of getting two trains at first, but after calming myself down, it really wasn't as bad as I thought. Despite our train getting delayed which almost caused us to miss our Eurostar, we had a fairly easy journey home. It's crazy how the bulk of reality just hits you when you leave the park, I feel sad just thinking about it. I want to stay there forever. When we arrived back in London, Chloe and I sat in Starbucks in Euston Station and reflected on what a magical trip we had experienced. Then we said our last goodbye of the day, to each other. This was the hardest for me because after spending everyday together, and making a friend for life, it was so hard to just say goodbye. I gave her the tightest squeeze, she hopped on her tube and I hopped on my train back to Liverpool. Until next time.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about my trip as much as I have enjoyed writing about it. I had the most magical time, it's something that I struggle to put into words because some of it is still a blur to me. I don't think I felt down once, and being there reminded me what true happiness feels like and it made me realise that I haven't felt true happiness in over a year. I'd just like to say a quick thank you to everyone who I met, who I watched parade with and who generally made the trip my favourite. I don't think anything will ever compare. But for now, see ya real soon!

Lots of Love,
Meg
xox

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29 November 2016

Disney Halloween Day 2: Meet Ups, Parades & Marie

Disney Day 2
Our second day in Disneyland Paris was definitely my favourite day of the trip. Chloe and I woke up really early to make it in for Extra Magic Hours so that we could try and meet some characters before the park became too busy and the queues too long.  It was also the first time we would be able to use our annual passes to gain entry into the parks which was a very big deal, we felt so important. Today the plan was to try and meet as many characters as possible, get a fast pass for Peter Pan's Flight, and attend a big meet up of everyone in the Disney Community organised by the lovely Mitch. 

Waking up to something as beautiful as Disneyland every morning made me so unbelievably happy. It always seemed to look more beautiful early in the morning than it did during the day, not that it didn't already look beautiful anyway, but there's just something about Disney in the morning fog that adds to the magic. It's the perfect start to any morning, I wish I could start all of my mornings that way. Before we could meet any of the characters, I went into one of the small boutiques to buy myself a pen; you can't have an autograph book without a matching pen. Chloe and I then skipped along Main Street until we spotted our favourite Mickey and Friends Characters; Chip and Dale. We got in line straight away, no questions asked. 

Chip and Dale were very excitable as I bounded up to them, opening my arms to give them a massive cuddle. I sometimes rate my character meets on how good their hugs are and I can honestly say that these two cheeky chipmunks definitely give the best hugs. I asked them about their day, and if they'd found any acorns to which Dale went searching for an acorn to give to me. We danced around for a little while, until Chip started to admire my ears and knocked them down my face, and then off my head. He then picked them up and put them on his own nose; they're so cheeky! Have you really had the proper Chip and Dale experience if they don't steal your ears? We then had some super cute photos taken, although the sun was in our eyes, blew some kisses and then headed down Main Street for a beautiful view of the Castle. 

Walking up Main Street is something I love to do every morning. I use the arcades to cut through when it's busy so in EMH, I take the opportunity to walk slowly down Main Street, listen to the music, smell the fresh croissants from the Bakery and take in the whole atmosphere. There's never any sadness in Disneyland, it's all about happiness, smiles and a little bit of magic. We stopped in front of the Castle to take some photos, and then headed over to meet Vivi, Anna, Jade, Beth, El and Mitch at the Princess Pavillion. They'd been queueing for a while to meet Ariel, and as we both loved the Little Mermaid, we thought we'd join them. This was also the first time we'd met Mitch, and he was so lovely, we got on so well and I absolutely love him. 

I've had the pleasure of meeting my favourite Mermaid on my past three trips to Disneyland Paris and  now I can say that she is definitely one of my favourite characters. Her dress is so beautiful, I really love the ocean blue colour, and talking about being a mermaid is something that I could do all day. We had conversations about Flounder, swimming and what it was like to be a Mermaid, had some very cute photos taken and bid her goodbye until next time. These photos are definitely some of my favourites from the trip. 

Next on the agenda was meeting Jack Skellington. Now, I've never actually seen 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' in it's entirety, BUT I absolutely loved meeting Jack; he was so lovely, definitely not as horrible as I imagined he might be. We queued for a very long time to meet Jack, but we were soon joined by Laura who had come dressed as Sally so being able to see her meet Jack was so lovely; he made such a fuss and they were so cute. When I met Jack, he asked me if I could hear better with four ears or two and we talked all things Halloween; including what our costumes were going to be and how much we were looking forward to Soiree. Apparently he's prepared for the next 10 Halloweens; he's very organised! 

After meeting Jack, we rushed straight over to the entrance of Fantasyland to try and catch the Cavalcade. I'd heard so much about this parade, but I made it my mission to only watch it for the first time in the actual park. I didn't know what to expect, I didn't know one word of the song; all I knew was that it was going to be magical. I can now inform you that the Cavalcade is definitely one of my favourite parades; the song is so catchy and the character interaction was amazing. I can understand now why people love it so much. It was during this parade that the Disney feeling hit me; the cast members and everyone around me was so happy, I'd never felt so much happiness at one moment and it made me realise that I hadn't felt true happiness in such a long time. The only way I can describe the feeling is overwhelming; I was overwhelmed by all the love and happiness. In my favourite place with all the people I loved; what could be better? I watched every single Cavalcade from that point forward. 

We'd heard rumours that the Princesses were going to be heading out of Auberge straight after Cavalcade so we ran straight over, behind the Castle, to see if we could meet some beautiful Princesses. We saw Cinderella, Belle, Snow White and her Prince and they were all so lovely. They couldn't stop and talk for long but they spoke to us for a little while and I was completely overwhelmed by how beautiful they were. I've never met Belle and Cinderella before so that was something I really didn't expect to be doing this trip. Also seeing Anna meet Belle was so beautiful, they're both Princesses and I love them to pieces. 

 Before we headed to the Pavillion, Chloe and I took it upon ourselves to get a Fastpass for Peter Pan's Flight. It was one of the only things that we really wanted to do, even if we only went on it once. We were on time for our fast pass and were stood in the queue until we saw Jade running over to us in a panic. We thought something had gone wrong until she told us that Peter was doing a surprise meet just around the corner, if we wanted to lose our Fastpass to go and meet him. At that moment, the fast pass that I had looked after like it was my child became meaningless to me as I grabbed my bag and followed Jade to queue up and meet my favourite character, and my idol, for the second time. 
If you know me well, you'll know that Peter Pan is my favourite Disney Character. He's been my favourite since I was a little girl so having the opportunity to meet him means the world to me. I don't feel like I made the most of my time with him in the Summer, so this time I really wanted to make sure that I spoke to him properly, and got a hug. As always, I had my 'Never Grow Up' necklace on, and I skipped up to him, saying "you're my absolute favourite, do you like my necklace?". I think he was a little bit freaked out by me because I probably came across as a little bit too excitable, so much so he actually told me to calm down...oops! We had a very long conversation about the importance of not growing up, Tinkerbell's pixie dust on my face and flying away to Neverland. I also got a hug, which just added to my perfect day. I can't begin to tell you how happy meeting Peter made me, but also being able to meet him with Vivi (a fellow Peter Pan lover) was so magical. We followed our meet up by going on Peter Pan's Flight which added to the magic; it really is my favourite ride and the refurb was so worth it; you can even see the little cars and lights in the houses as you fly over London. I'm sat writing this with the biggest smile on my face, it makes me so happy. 

Okay, so writing about meeting Marie is something that I've really been looking forward too. This was, by far, my favourite meet of the whole trip and Marie is definitely my new Disney character obsession. I actually love her, way more than I did before, so much so that I've got a lot of things dedicated to her and I'm getting all my photos with her framed. She is literally the cutest. 

A couple of months ago, I purchased these cute little Marie ears for a fancy dress party and it's been a dream of mine since I got them to be able to meet Marie whilst wearing them. In the queue to meet her, I swapped my Halloween ears for my Marie ears and waited in anticipation to give her the biggest cuddle. Well, she made such a fuss of me when she saw me wearing her ears. She came skipping up to me, grabbed me into a hug and spun me round whilst admiring my ears. I think she was as happy to see me as I was to see her; I can't put into words how much I love her. Marie kept telling me how hungry she was, let me stroke her fur and told me that she really loved my ears. We then had another big cuddle and took what ended up being my favourite photo of the trip. Marie is a one of the character meets that I will never ever forget, just the thought of it leaves me with a massive smile on my face. 

After meeting Marie, I changed ears again and got in the queue to meet Daisy. As she was one of Jade's favourites, I couldn't wait to see them both meet. I know how amazing it feels to meet your favourite characters so seeing my friends do that exact thing brought me a feeling of pure joy. The thing I loved the most about this day is that I met so many characters who I'd never met before, creating more memories and photos for me to treasure forever. Daisy was the sassiest duck, we had lots of hugs and she took my ears off my head whilst admiring their spookiness. I absolutely loved her Halloween costume too, she looked so cute! After the most fabulous meet with Daisy and a Casey's Hotdog, we headed over to Small World to go and meet so many of our Disney friends; and we just couldn't wait! 

I've spoken a lot about meeting so many wonderful characters but my favourite thing about this whole holiday was meeting everyone in the Disney community and making tonnes of new friends. I bonded with so many people and being able to watch the parade with people who love it as much as I do was so amazing. It was at this meet up that I got to meet Cara and Shawnee for the first time, something I'd been looking forward to for so long. We'd been speaking for months so to actually meet them in person felt so amazing, they're the loveliest most beautiful girls and I can't wait to do more Disney trips with them in the future. During this parade, I got overwhelmed again and cried a tiny bit; but I promise I wasn't the only one. We sang, danced and shouted as the characters all danced along; I had amazing interactions with the Mad Hatter who wished me a very merry Unbirthday, got a cuddle from one of Mary Poppins Penguins and had a chat with Tiana and Ariel too. We then had the cutest group photo taken and I can't put into words how much love I have for everyone. 

When the meet up was over, the group parted ways so Laura, Chloe and I headed on the teacups and Small World; they were the rides with the smallest queues and I was so desperate to go on Small World after the refurb; it's the ride that reminds me of my childhood. Plus the song is so catchy, I really don't know why people dislike it so much, yeah okay the ceiling isn't exactly great but it's just such a happy ride with such a positive message. Once we'd been on the rides (we went on Small World twice) we headed to Colonel Hathi's for some pasta. Laura mentioned pasta earlier on in the day and from that moment forward the whole group was just craving pasta. I must say, I wasn't really expecting much but it was SO good. If you know me well, you'll know how much I love garlic bread and I have to say that Disney does the best garlic bread ever, but Disney does the best everything. 

We then had a little photoshoot in front of the spooky castle, and the pretty jungle lights and then headed out of the park before dreams to get an early night. As we were going to be having a very late night for Soiree we wanted to get enough sleep; but not before knocking to see if Mickey and Minnie were in residence. They didn't answer the door. 

Seeing the Disney Hotel lit up at night makes me want to stay there one day, it's so pretty and the fountains add that little bit more magic. 

I hope you enjoyed reading about day 2 in Disneyland Paris!

Lots of Love,
Meg
xox


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