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 September 2017 │Day 2: Snow White, Pirates & Proposals

Our second day didn't start too well for me - I woke up feeling incredibly ill and spent most of the morning being sick. At first, I thought it was some kind of anxiety attack but then it became quite clear that it was something that I'd eaten (I'm blaming Vapiano). However, I didn't let it get me down, took a few paracetamol and headed over to Walt Disney Studios to finally get Charlotte her annual pass. We arrived at the small ticket office located near the entrance of the Studios at 9:30am and were served within half an hour. Considering we had such a fuss purchasing the pass the previous day, actually getting the pass was very easy. Charlotte handed in her ticket along with some ID, signed some forms, had her photo taken and voila! I was expecting it to take ages (I know getting my pass took a good hour) but I was really impressed with how quickly it was handled and very happy that we could make it into Studios in time for the opening. 

We initially wanted to start queuing for Crush's Coaster but even getting into the park at opening time wasn't enough because when we got there, it was already a 90-minute wait. We decided to leave Crush for another day and headed over to the Ratatoullie section which, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated areas in the Studios. The theming is beautiful - when you walk around, it feels like you're actually part of the movie. We stopped for some photos in front of the classic fountain posing like the Spice Girl Princesses that we are. It looks lovely, doesn't it? Well, don't be deceived. It was actually peeing it down with rain and we were all freezing but what can I say, you've got to get that perfect group photo. I was obsessed with my Snow White disneybound - I was so nervous to wear it as it's the most obvious bound I've ever done but I'm extremely happy with the way it turned out. 

Once we'd finished our photoshoot, we jumped into the single rider queue for Ratatoullie (which was only 5 minutes). If you don't mind going on rides on your own then the single rider queue is definitely worth it - Kathryn and I ended up on the same mouse anyway. I've been on Ratatoullie once before and I remember thoroughly enjoying it, however this time I wasn't as impressed. Don't get me wrong, I still loved it but if it wouldn't have been a five-minute queue then I don't think I would have bothered waiting. It's one of those rides that you only need to do once. 

Next stop was Toy Story Land. It's my favourite land in the park and so unique to Disneyland Paris - as you walk around the giant building blocks and statues of classic characters, you actually feel like a toy. The girls decided to queue for RC Racer whilst Marie and I opted to take shelter from the rain.

Our morning in Studios had come to an end which could only mean one thing - it was time to twirl down Main Street USA. The sun made an appearance as the band played on Main Street and we headed over to Adventureland in search of food. There's so much food option in Disneyland Paris, it's hard to choose where to eat. Eventually, we settled on Hakuna Matata. However, our journey was cut short when we spotted a certain Street Rat and his Princess greeting guests in Agrabah. It's very rare to see Jasmine and Aladdin out together as their meeting spot is normally taken by Jafar or Genie so as soon as we saw them, we joined the small queue. 

It's very safe to say that I was beyond excited about the concept of meeting Jasmine and Aladdin - I've never met them before and I've seen so many beautiful interactions with them, I knew it was going to be one to remember. I walked up to them and Aladdin noticed my bound straight away saying 'Oh look Jas, it's Snow White'. He then made a fuss of my small Dopey tsum tsum whilst Jasmine and I spoke about her outfit and how beautiful she looked. Jasmine told me that I was one of the sweetest people she'd met all day and I asked Aladdin how Abu was - he said he was probably around here somewhere stealing apples. We posed for a photo, had another big hug and they promised they'd take me on the magic carpet someday.

By the time we'd finished meeting the Sultan's Daughter with a sense of pride (gold star for you if you got that reference) we were absolutely starving. Hakuna fries and chicken strips were definitely in order and although I didn't eat much (due to being sick), I stole a few of Kat's fries and was force fed some chicken by Charlotte. Then we checked the Disneyland Paris App and noticed that Pirates of the Caribbean was only a 5-minute wait - perfect! We met up with Kat's Mum and friend and then weaved our way around the dark corridors. Pirates have one of the best queues in terms of theming and as this was my first time on the ride since the refurb, I was both anxious and excited. Well, let me tell you now that it did not disappoint. If Pirates was amazing before the refurb then it's just wonderful now. It's still the same concept but the scenes are so vivid and relevant - and the Jack Sparrow figure is so realistic. I absolutely love it and our ride photo of us all doing the YMCA was pretty iconic! 

Princess Pavillion was next on our agenda. We found out that Rapunzel was meeting and due to Sara and Marie bounding as her, she was the perfect character to meet. I've met Rapunzel once before and she was lovely - sometimes meeting the Princesses can be awkward but Punzie is so much fun. I gave her a huge hug and told her how beautiful her hair looked, she told me that Flynn had picked out the flowers to go in her hair (personally I think he did a good job) and we also spoke about Pascal who was hiding again. We posed for some photos and then it was time for Marie to meet her favourite. Seeing Marie meet Rapunzel is beyond magical - I can't describe something more pure and beautiful, we were all close to tears. We joined together for a group photo, had our last set of hugs and then headed over to Main Street Bakery for some sugary treats. The weather was dismal so it was the perfect place to take shelter. 

Within 10 minutes the weather had cleared up, the skies were blue so we made our way to Central Plaza for a Princess photoshoot in front of the castle. I cannot begin to describe how weird the weather was  - the bottom of Main Street was still in a torrential rainstorm whilst we were in beautiful sunshine. Despite the rain, it was still warm. Whilst we posed, a lovely Cast Member watched us and offered to take our photos. The girls found him creepy (I thought he was lovely) and when we left, he kissed our hands and told us we looked beautiful - what a gent! 

As we had yet to watch Princess Waltz, we strolled over to Auberge to see if we could catch the Princesses on their way to the show. It's a good place to stand if you want a brief interaction with the royal couples. When Snow White came out, she noticed my bound straight away and told me I looked beautiful. In true Meg style, instead of acting cool, I let out a small squeak that sounded something like 'thank you' and proceeded to say hello to the rest of the Princesses as they walked past. There's footage over on my vlog which will be up in a few weeks! 

To escape the next downpour of rain, we took a ride on Snow White - it would have been rude not too. When we got to the front of the queue, a lovely Cast Member called Ema named our bounds as we walked past and told us that we all looked beautiful. It's little things like this that make my day - everyone is so happy and so full of love, it's no wonder I wish I lived in Disneyland. I'd just like to take this moment to tell you about my beautiful ears which were made by the lovely HannahMarieMagic - she makes so many different themed ears which are beautifully designed and such a great quality. I definitely think you should go and check out her Instagram.

The rain was still coming down so we took shelter underneath the Fantasyland toilets. We were convinced that parade was going to be cancelled - which we were extremely gutted about as we'd been looking forward to it all day. We were sheltering for around half an hour then all of a sudden, the skies were clear and people were getting their places for the parade. I've never seen weather with such drastic mood swings. We stood next to the Fantasyland Arches and Kat joined us to see her first ever Stars on Parade. 

'Today is Tuesday, you know what that means, we're gonna have a special guest'

A song lyric that will be embedded in my memory forever - it doesn't feel like a Tuesday if this song isn't stuck in my head. If you didn't know already, Tuesday means it's special guest day on Parade and Vanellope from Wreck it Ralph came out to say hello. She was super cute and the interaction was amazing - it was the perfect way to get the crowd buzzing for the main attraction. However, I was more fascinated by the dancer's outfits, I mean...HOW BLOODY CUTE!? We'd seen them once before on April 12th but to see them again was an extra bonus, I'd forgotten just how much I loved them.

Stars on Parade was the best parade experience I have had to date, the interaction was phenomenal, the music was amazing and being able to sing and dance with my friends, the cast members and the characters was something that I can't put into words. Wendy came over to give her Princesses a hug and said that she'd include us in some of her stories, Phillip fought the dragon and Flynn stole Marie's crown. However, the highlight for me was being noticed by Snow White and her Prince. As most of you know, my dream is to meet those two together and I think that's as close as I'm ever going to get. They stopped right in front of me and when she noticed that I was dressed like her, her face lit up and she pulled me in for a big hug, telling me that I looked beautiful. The Prince also gave me a hug and said that I looked very pretty, he bowed and then they continued to dance. It was beyond magical and I know that 5 year- old me was squealing with joy inside. 

 We followed the parade route down to castle stage and got our front row seats for the Waltz. It was one of the most magical and emotional experiences of my life. Snow noticed me as soon as she came onto the stage, blew me a kiss and couldn't stop laughing when she saw that I knew all the words to the songs. Throughout the show, the other Princesses pointed me out to her and she kept waving and making a big fuss. Then 'I see a Princess' began to play and when Snow was stood right in front of me, she pointed directly at me when she said the line 'the beauty of your soul comes shining through, and I see a Princess in you'. I could feel the tears stinging my eyes. But that's not it, oh no, at the end of the show when the Princesses walk in front of the crowd she stopped and told me that she loved my outfit, that I looked beautiful, blew me another kiss and waved me goodbye. It was like all my dreams came true at once and when I told my Grandma about it, she was close to tears. 

After the show, we left Michelle and Sara and went to meet Kat to spend some time with her as it was her last night in the park. We took a spin on the teacups where we met the cutest Cast Member called Alexis who stole my ears from my head and swapped them for his hat. I think he suits them better than I do. Also, can we please take a moment to appreciate how aesthetically pleasing Mad Hatter's Teacups are?? It's Pastel Princess heaven! 

Our next stop was Star Tours which we managed to get Fast Passes for. The whole group took up a full row as we ventured into space to fight Darth Vader and defeat the dark side. I love the fact that the ride is different every time you go on it and also the fact that Kat was chosen rebel spy. I should also mention that I made a new friend called Chloe who is the loveliest, kindest, funniest little gem. We stood together and chatted about all things Disney and Uni related whilst the other girls took a spin on Hyper Space Mountain. 

We ended the night by watching Disney Illuminations which was the perfect end to a perfect day. There's nothing better than standing on Main Street singing Disney classics with the people that you love and so many like-minded people who have come to Disney for the day. When the fireworks had ended, Kat, Charlotte and I waited around on Main Street to take some very special photos. However, nothing could prepare us for what happened next. 

Once the crowd had dispersed, we made our way to the castle when we saw a guy get down on one knee and propose to his girlfriend. As Main Street was pretty much empty, no one was there to document the moment. Charlotte pulled her phone out and started filming and I clicked away on my camera as the lady nodded her head and threw her arms around her fiance. We let them have their moment and then introduced ourselves and told them what we'd done. They were so grateful and asked if we could take some more pictures in front of the castle which we happily agreed to. Kat lay on the floor taking photos on their camera, I was crouched down taking photos on my camera and Charlotte stood taking candids on her phone. As I was snapping away, I felt a light tap on my shoulder and turned around to see a couple stood behind me. They'd just got engaged and asked if I could take some photos of them too. So, I left the girls and went over to take some shots of another newly engaged couple. Then another tap on the shoulder, another couple who'd got engaged and wanted some photos taken. It got so bad that we actually had a queue of people waiting for their photos - I swear they must've thought that Disney offered a free photography service. I made over 10 new friends on Facebook that night but on the plus side, they loved their photos. 

Also, I'd just like to add that Charlotte and I are not engaged, we just wanted to join in on the fun. 

We finally got around to taking our photos on Main Street - sat on the cold cobbled streets as the Castle glistened in the background. I wish Main Street could be like this all the time, it's beautiful during the day but pure magic at night. When we left the park we joined Kat's Mum and friend in Planet Hollywood for a very late meal and then headed back to the hotel ready for our early morning breakfast at Plaza Gardens. 

Have you ever witnessed or experienced a Disney proposal?

Lots of Love,

Meg

xox

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