Disneyland Paris September 2017 │Day 3: Showers, Plaza & Disneyland Hotel

Before we embarked on our September adventure, we knew that the weather wasn't going to be great. Every day when we woke up we'd check the weather forecast so that we could make sure that we were indoors when the torrential downpour hit, but nothing prepared us for the amount of rain we got on our third day. The weather was absolutely dreadful but somehow Disney still managed to look beautiful, we had such a laugh and I'll never dread Disney in the rain again. It's all about making the most of what you've got. 

Day three was Plaza Gardens Day. Luckily for us all, I was a lot better this morning so I put my Eeyore Ears on, pinned my donkey bow to my pocket and headed into the park for a big cuddle from my favourite donkey. Our reservation was at 9:45 am and as we'd be meeting characters at breakfast, we decided to do some rides in Extra Magic Hours. Peter Pan's Flight had a very short wait time - we walked straight on and it was so magical. You don't need me to give you another talk about how much I love this ride - the part where you fly over London with 'You Can Fly' playing in the background gets me every time. 

When we came off the ride, we slowly walked over to Plaza Gardens to get our place in the queue. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting much from this character dining experience as our last breakfast at Plaza wasn't brilliant. I think the only highlight was seeing Eeyore's reaction to my bound - a reaction I was hoping to re-create this time around. We were shown to our table in the corner of the restaurant - which still has a poor layout - and knew that characters weren't going to be able to get to us. We went up to the buffet and filled our plates with all the pancakes and Nutella we could grab - if there's one good thing about this dining experience, it's that there's a really good selection of food for breakfast. I was really surprised at how busy it was especially because it was an off-peak season. 

Almost immediately, Pluto came running over the table. I love meeting Pluto, he's always so playful and he's one of my favourite Mickey and Friends characters. When I came for my Birthday when I was 18, I got the fluffiest Pluto plush and he still sits on my bed - he's my favourite plush I own. We had a big hug and I asked him if he was having a good day, he told me that he was hungry but that he was having a really lovely day. Then he noticed my ears and made a love heart with his paws, clearly, Pluto and Eeyore are the best of friends. We had a photo, another big hug and then he moved over to the next family. 

Next up was Mickey.

I'll admit that the character interaction in Plaza Gardens is very rushed which is probably why it's the cheaper character dining experience. Our interaction with Mickey was very quick - I don't think we got the chance to give him a hug or have individual photos taken. A lovely man on the table next to us offered to take a group photo for us and although the interaction was rushed, the photo is still super cute.

Before I became a regular visitor to Disneyland Paris, I didn't appreciate the ducks as much as I should. However, now I absolutely adore them. I'd been planning what I wanted to say to Daisy in hope that we'd be able to meet her on this trip and when she came over, the conversation didn't disappoint. She gave me a big hug and I told her that she was looking very beautiful, to which she told me that I was too. When we went to take the photo I told her that I didn't know how to pose and asked if she could teach me. This is one of the best things that you can say to Daisy  - she started to throw out some sassiest poses I've ever seen and got me to copy her. I wish I could be sassy like Daisy all the time. 

The characters took a quick break which gave us time to go and top up our plates and glasses. Then, it was time for the Hundred Acre Wood gang. Piglet came over and was overly excited about Charlotte's Disneybound - seeing those two meet each other was adorable. Piglet is so cute and I'm so glad that we got the opportunity to meet this time around (Piglet was taken away before we got the chance to meet last time). I received the tightest hug and he told me that he loved my outfit, again pointing out my ears. He was also a fan of the glitter on my face and I promised that I'd bring him some next time. We had some adorable photos taken, had another big hug, he blew us kisses and went skipping away to another family. 

So I'll admit, I was really disappointed with my interaction with Eeyore. I'd been waiting to meet him all trip so when he blanked me and didn't take any notice of my bound, I was pretty gutted. I went up to him and gave him a big cuddle, telling him that he was my favourite, that my outfit was inspired by him and that I'd been waiting to meet him. He didn't take me on at all, put his arm around me for a photo and then walked off to the family next to us as I was showing him my tsum tsum. That right, Sara, Charlotte and Michelle didn't even get the chance to meet him - he just ignored them too. 

I know it sounds childish but when you try to give the characters a good experience by talking to them, you expect that to be returned. I don't mean spend ages with people because I understand that they need to see everyone but surely it'd be a better experience for everyone if they didn't get ignored. I think that Plaza Gardens needs to sort out their dining arrangements - either have the same amount of tables, fewer characters and longer interactions OR fewer tables, the same amount of characters and longer interaction. It's the interaction that lets the restaurant down. 

Despite this poor meet with Eeyore, he's still one of my favourites, maybe he was just having a down day. 

The last character to come and say hello was Tigger. My love for Tigger has grown over this past year and I think he could tell that my Eeyore meet had got me down a little bit because he was full of love and very tight hugs. He was super happy to see his friends Piglet and Eeyore (Charlotte and I) and we had the cutest photos taken - as you can tell from my little face, he cheered me up so much and I'm the happiest little bean. 

We finished up at Plaza Gardens and walked over to Casey Jr where Pooh and friends meet regularly. I was still down about my poor interaction with Eeyore so we waited in hope that he would be meeting with Pooh and I'd get a better interaction than Plaza Gardens had to offer. However, Eeyore was nowhere to be seen and instead we saw Pooh skipping towards us with Tigger following closely behind. We were going to leave the queue until we realised that with Charlotte and I bounding as Piglet and Eeyore, the main 100 Acre Wood gang would be back together again. This was too good an opportunity to refuse. 

Michelle and Sara went on Casey Junior and then went over to Castle Stage to save places for the Anniversary show, leaving Charlotte and me in the queue. When we got to the front of the queue, we got talking to the lovely character attendant as she said that she loved our outfits. I asked her if she could tell who we were and she knew straight away, she promised that she'd make sure Pooh and Tigger made a massive fuss. She also kindly filmed the meet and took some adorable photos for us - the video will be on my vlogs (when I finally decide to upload them). 

The character attendant told us to come and stand next to her and when the previous family had left, she shouted 'POOH! TIGGER! EEYORE AND PIGLET HAVE COME TO SAY HELLO'. They came running over to us - Pooh went straight to Charlotte and Tigger came to me. He twirled me around and we swayed as we hugged. I swear Tigger gives the best hugs of any character I've ever met - it always reminds me of the hug he gave me in Inventions and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Then we swapped - Charlotte got Tigger to say hello to her Mum by jumping in front of the camera whilst Pooh and I shared a big hug and spoke about honey. Then the whole gang joined together and Pooh started to tell us that he was hungry because all the honey had gone. Tigger was super excited so I asked if he wanted to bounce around and he did, eventually, all four of us were bouncing all over the place. Then we posed for some adorable photos, one of which Tigger and I are laughing (which is my favourite). We got another set of big hugs, kisses on the cheek and then we said goodbye and went to find the girls. 

The sky was getting darker and I could feel the change in the weather - it was cold, windy and we were in for a storm. We sat in front of Castle Stage and told the girls about our adorable meet, and then we felt it. The first drop of rain. Then the second. Then the third. And then the bucket load. It was torrential. We gathered up our things and ran straight over to Star Tours - it was the only ride we could think of that was indoors. As we were walking through the queue, which is one of the best-themed queues in the parks (and that comes from someone who's never seen Star Wars before), Sara got a text telling her that Mary Poppins was meeting Guests in the Disneyland Hotel. Sara was out of the queue that second. She and Michelle ran straight over to the Hotel, Charlotte, Chloe and I following closely behind.

When the three of us finally got into the Disneyland Hotel, we walked straight up the grand staircase and then followed the corridor down to Cafe Fantasia. We were chatting about the weather (obviously) when Chloe just stopped talking and said 'oh my god it's Aurora'. Being the blind bat that I am, I didn't see her until she gracefully swished past me holding a young girls hand, taking her to the window to show her the castle. The minute I saw her I dropped everything on the floor and waited to go and say hello. I adore this Princess more and more every time I meet her. When she'd finished meeting the young girl, she came over to me and took my hand. I get so shy when I meet the Princesses - I turn into a little girl and I can't physically speak. I never know what to say because they're so stunning and I look like an out of date potato when I'm stood with them. I think I told her that she looked beautiful about three times before she told me that my outfit was made my good fairies and that I looked like a Princess too. Then she asked me to twirl with her. Yep, you read that right, she actually asked me to twirl. As you can imagine my little heart was going mad because this was a dream come true. She gracefully twirled whilst I looked like an unsophisticated elephant and as you can tell from the way I was looking at her, I was in complete awe. We had another big hug, posed for some photos and then walked hand in hand down to Cafe Fantasia. 

And onto another magical meet of the day - Mary Poppins. She stood waiting in Cafe Fantasia and she was practically perfect in every way. We had a big hug and we spoke about the weather - we agreed that it was very British and she said that if she could find some sunshine, she'd bring it out for us. Then she told me that she wouldn't be flying because she didn't want to get her coat dirty but that she hoped to see me on parade so that she could come and say hello. We had some photos taken and then before she left, she told us to keep safe, keep dry and if we were still there when she got back, she'd stay and have some tea with us. 

We sat in the hotel and tried to come up with a plan of action - we could go back to the room and chill out or take full advantage of the park being quiet and get lots of stuff done. As you can tell from the photo above, we went for the second option and had the most hilarious afternoon. When we got out of the hotel the rain was horrendous - it's potentially the worst rainfall I've ever seen - so what did we decide to do? Go on Big Thunder Mountain. I would 10/10 recommend doing this in the rain if you want a once in a lifetime ride experience and the funniest attraction photos. I'll be honest, we didn't think we'd get too wet because of how fast the ride goes, but when the train pulled up and we saw how wet other people were, we realised that maybe it wasn't the best idea. Nevertheless, it's one of my favourite things we did on the trip - I'm laughing just thinking about it. 

At this point, the rain was soaking into my shoes and it felt like I was constantly walking in puddles. We walked over to Studios and caught the last showing of Mickey and the Magician - another thing you must do if you're planning on visiting Disneyland Paris anytime soon. It's the most beautiful show with such a talented cast - it had me in tears. Then, Charlotte and Michelle went on Tower of Terror whilst Sara, Chloe and I took shelter in Studio 1. 

We headed back over to the Disneyland Park to do a few more rides, get some food and then call it a night. We did Snow White, Buzz Lightyear, Star Tours and It's a Small World and then stood to get a spot for the parade. I wasn't convinced that the parade was going to happen due to the weather but Disneyland shocked me - yep, you guessed it, the parade actually went ahead. It wasn't the full parade but we got some of the main floats and the interaction was brilliant - shoutout to the amazing cast members who brought us all a bit of sunshine on a rainy day. After the parade, we went to Colonel Hathi's for pasta and garlic bread and then headed back to the hotel for a hot shower and bed. 

Sorry for such a short trip report, not a lot happened because of the rain. I promise day 4 was full of lots of adventures and hilarious character meets!

Lots of Love,

Meg

xxx

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Disneyland Paris June 2017 │ Day 4: Captain Jack, Wishing Wells & Café Fantasia

The final day of the trip was somewhat of a shambles. The plan was for me to get up early, get into the park for 8 am and go and meet some characters. But, like everything with this trip, things didn't quite go to plan and I woke up in the morning feeling very sick. I came to the conclusion that I'd got a little case of sunstroke so whilst the girls went to the park, I stayed in the room with a big bottle of water and slept off the sickness. When I woke up I felt a lot better so I put some glitter on my face and arrived at the park at lunchtime. I was upset that the last day of my trip has started in such a rubbish way but I was determined that it was onwards and upwards from here. The girls had gone back to the studios and I didn't really see a lot of them on our last day. 

 No matter how sick you may feel, the music and atmosphere of Main Street have the power to cure. If I was feeling weak when I was travelling into the park, then all the feelings of illness had melted away. The first thing I did when I arrived was buying myself the biggest bottle of water that I could find. It's really important to keep yourself hydrated if you're suffering from sunstroke and it also helped that the weather was a lot cooler today. I strolled around the park for a while and then met the girls at the top of Main Street where we had yet another photo shoot in front of the castle. 

As most of you know, going inside the castle is one of my favourite things to do when I visit the park. It's such an overlooked attraction because really all you do is walk up and down some stairs, but the view of Fantasyland is so rewarding. Watching all the guests rush around like little mice whilst the cool summer breeze blows through your hair is one of the best feelings in the world. It's so peaceful on the Castle balcony and it's one of the places to visit if you're feeling anxious and need some time out. Also, I must add that the glass stained windows are so beautiful. 

As you come out of the Castle, there's a small wishing well. Again, it's an attraction that doesn't get a lot of attention because not a lot of people know that it's there. When I visit the well I always feel like Snow White and I make sure that I wish for something. I've made so many wishes into that well, I can't keep track of which ones have come true. The past few times I've visited Disneyland Paris, the wishing well has been closed to guests, so when I saw that it was open, I rushed straight over and did my best Princess pose. I like to think of myself as a real life Snow White, just without the Seven Dwarves and poisoned apple. After this, the girls and I went to queue to meet Mickey Mouse but it was clear that they just wanted to go back to the hotel so that's exactly what they did.

Once again, that saw me left to wander the park on my own and I didn't see the girls again until park closing time. With sunstroke, it wasn't the ideal situation but I made sure that I looked after myself by heading straight to Colonel Hathi's for, you guessed it, some pasta and garlic bread. What better way to console yourself about the fact that you're ill and on your own in Disneyland than with some of your favourite food? I decided to sit outside the restaurant, in the shade, so that I could watch the world go by and plan what I wanted to do with the rest of my day. As I sat enjoying my garlic bread I saw a shadow scurry behind me and as I turned around, Jafar jumped out of nowhere and scared the life out of me. I thought I was too late to meet characters so when I knew that he was out meeting people, I drank my coke as quickly as I could and headed over to Agrabah. 

If you read the blog posts from my April trip then you'll know that Jafar and I had a very lovely interaction. He was walking through Adventureland, I curtseyed as he walked past and then he put his arm around me and walked me to Agrabah before kissing my hand and twirling me around. However, our most recent meeting wasn't as positive. The queue to meet him was very small so I walked straight up to him and curtseyed but he didn't respond to my gesture. Instead, he just towered over me and glared at me. I don't know if it was awkward or scary. To lighten the mood, I told him that it was my birthday and that I knew he was lovely underneath all that evil to which he stepped forward with a loud bang of his stick, causing me to jump back. The queue to meet him had started to build up and they were all laughing at our interaction. This was yet another character meet that I did on my own and the Cast Member photos are wonderful. We posed for another awkward photo, I curtseyed him goodbye and he followed me as I walked away towards Fantasyland.

As I was walking past Adventure Isle I saw a man pass me who looked very much like Captain Jack Sparrow. I didn't really think much of it at first but decided to do a double take. Then I realised that it was, in fact, the real Captain and I freaked out a little bit. I've been wanting to meet him for so long, and as it was a surprise meeting, I joined the crowd and waited for him to choose me for a photo. As I was queueing, a woman tapped me on the shoulder to tell me that she'd just watched me meeting Jafar and that it was hilarious. It's so weird to think that other people in the queue watch you meet the character. I know that we all do it when we wait but when you're actually meeting the character, you don't think about the fact that other people are watching you. Anyway, back to my meeting with the Captain.

He was beautiful and had the most perfect face; everyone agreed. I think it's the first time I've ever been nervous to meet a character so when he picked me, I was like a little school girl walking up to him and twirling my hair around my finger. He took my hand and immediately noticed that it was my birthday to which he said 'You're the prettiest birthday girl I've seen all day' and I could feel my cheeks going red. Then he asked how old I was, I told him that I was twenty and he said that I was old enough to have some rum. We all know how much Mr Sparrow loves his rum so I asked if he knew where it was, he said that it was a secret and that he couldn't tell me but whilst it was my birthday we could go looking for some. And with that, he put his arm around me and took me around Adventureland looking for rum. It was the most perfect first interaction I have ever had. 

I decided not to watch the parade on the last day and instead queued to meet Mickey Mouse. The queue is always small when it's parade time so it's the perfect time to go and meet the Main Mouse. I was really nervous about going to meet him on my own, as the previous queuing experience with the girls didn't really go to plan. However, the Character Attendant and Photopass Photographer were so lovely and put me at ease. When I walked in to say hello to Mickey, he gave me the tightest squeeze, noticed my birthday badge, jumped up and down like an excited child and then hugged me as we swayed in a circle. I could hear the photographer snapping away as I told him that he was my favourite but not to tell Minnie as I think she'd be really jealous. He then noticed the glitter on my face, I told him that I got it from Tinkerbell and that I think he should get some because it would really suit him. Then we had the professional, standard smiling photos taken. I think the Cast Members could tell that I was nervous because as I was having the photos taken, the photographer said 'Isn't she the prettiest girl, Mickey?' to which he nodded enthusiastically and gave me another big hug. There's nothing like an adorable interaction with Mickey to cheer you up when you've been ill all day and your friends have left you. I'd never done the 'Meet Mickey Mouse' experience before but the theming of it was perfect. It was the best meet I've ever had with Mickey and I'd definitely recommend doing it if you get the chance.

After meeting him, I was on cloud nine. What started off as the worst day had turned into such a magical experience and all it took was a big hug from the Main Mouse. When I'd recovered from my emotional experience, I took a trip on Snow White and sat in the front carriage on my own like the complete child that I am. Then, I did some shopping in the boutiques of Fantasyland before getting my place on the balcony ready for the last Starlit Princess Waltz of the trip.

I've watched the Princess show from many different locations but I must say that watching it from the balcony directly in front of the stage was perfect. I could see everything that was happening and I got some beautiful photos. Don't worry, this isn't turning into another rant about how much I love the show because you've had a lot of them already and I think it's already clear that it's my favourite thing to watch. All I'm going to say is that it was perfect and that Snow White and her Prince actually melt my heart. They are so adorable and so perfect and I could feel the inner five year old in me screaming (if you didn't already know, Snow White was my favourite film as a child).

When I'd finished watching the show, Victoria messaged me to see if I wanted to go for a drink with her and her family in Café Fantasia. I quickly agreed, picked up some pins from the pin-trading wagon on Central Plaza and then made my way over to the Disneyland Hotel lobby to wait for them. We sat in the café which was more like a very posh jazz bar, just outside of Inventions. Café Fantasia is the epitome of class and as we sat drinking our cocktails and listening to the pianist play the Tangled soundtrack beautifully, I felt like a real life Princess. Or maybe just Audrey Hepburn. I can't decide. I'd never been to the 'Café' before and it's something I've been meaning to tick off my bucket list for a very long time. I never thought I'd ever be able to say that I've drunk cocktails in the Disneyland Hotel. Before we left the hotel to go back into the park, we had a browse around the Disneyland Hotel boutique where we picked up some gifts and keepsakes to commemorate the trip. 

Stepping back onto the cobbles of Main Street as the sun was starting to set created one of the most breath taking sights I have ever seen. We stopped in some of the shops to look for pins and then had a photo shoot in front of the Cast Member door. Now that I've found that door, you can guarantee that you'll be getting a photo of me in front of it from every trip that I do. We wanted to make sure that our last ride in the park would be one that we remembered and Big Thunder Mountain only had a 25-minute wait so we got straight in the queue. Being able to spend the last night of my trip with Victoria, Alice and Sian was wonderful. I couldn't have asked for better girls to share the Disney magic with and I'm so thankful to have them around; without them, I know that my special birthday trip would have been very lonely and very boring. As I'm writing this, I'm missing all of our laughs. Our last ride on Big Thunder Mountain was brilliant, we screamed the whole way round and I didn't let my hands touch the barrier once. I don't think I'll ever be able to put into words how much I love that ride. 

We then got our place for Disney Illuminations. We were right near the front and as everyone was sitting down, it was a really chilled out atmosphere. Victoria went to get some popcorn which we all shared as we waited for the fireworks to begin. As you can probably tell, things were going great. That is until two people proposed which caused everyone to stand up and no one sat back down again meaning that our peaceful enjoyment of Disney Illuminations turned into everyone pushing, shoving and trying to find the perfect view without someone having a child on their shoulders. Despite this, Illuminations was spectacular. I still hope they bring something new when the 25th celebrations are over because I think that Disneyland Paris deserves more, however, watching the fireworks is the perfect way to end any trip. 

In true tradition, I was last on Main Street. I met up with the girls and we had a photoshoot on an empty Main Street. There is nothing more magical and tranquil. Don't get me wrong, I love Main Street when it's bustling with people and there are Mickey ears and balloons everywhere you look, but my favourite Main Street is a quiet Main Street. It gives me butterflies just thinking about it. 

Then it was time to leave the park after what had been an eventful but enjoyable birthday trip. Again, a massive thank you to Victoria and her family for letting me stay with them and for making the trip as enjoyable as it was. I can't wait to be back in the magic in less than a month and I know there's going to be so many magical memories to share with you all! 

See Ya Real Soon! 

Lots of Love,

Meg

xox

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