So... Disneyland

January 07, 2012

So... Disneyland

The past week seems to have gone by very quickly since we got back from Disneyland so i haven't had a chance to post and tell everyone how it went, but am finally grabbing some blogging time now to update everyone!

For those who don't know, we took all 3 kids to Disneyland Paris for new year, staying there 3 nights, 4 days from 30th Dec to 2nd Jan. The journey there was fine, the Eurostar service was great and the kids were all given special Disney kids packs though William wasn't at all interested in his and it only occupied Finn until we got on the actual train! But Poppy spent most of the journey there colouring in the pictures and talking about what she could see in the pack so that was useful for her. For the boys i took along some of their favourite toys and books and they were kept entertained (William even had a little nap on the train which was good). We had booked the Disney Express service so the Disney staff came and found us on the train and gave us all our tickets and hotel information plus we handed over our cases at the train station on arrival so we could get straight into the park - that was brilliant as the kids were raring to go by then!

The rides and shows and parades in the 2 parks (there's a Walt Disney Studios Park there too) were every bit as good as promised and the kidlets had an absolutely fantastic time. i'll detail each kid's favourite rides and moments and souvenirs a bit later. We got to go on all the rides we wanted to without queuing too much due to William being given a disabled pass which meant we could skip the queue and board each ride from the disabled entrance if it was a ride he was going on. For rides which Finn and/or Poppy wanted to go on without William, we got fastpasses to minimise the queuing and they were kept entertained by the music as they waited so that was fine. Sir and i did get to go on some of the adult rides by getting a fastpass and going on by ourselves while the other person looked after the kids, but to be honest i enjoyed the rides we went on as a family the most. The food was good, we ate in a variety of places and Finn and Poppy had plenty of choice - we took our own food for William due to his fussiness.

The Cheyenne hotel we stayed in was nice, we had a good-sized family room with a double bed for me and Sir, bunk beds for Poppy and Finn and a cot for William. Finn really liked the cowboy/Western theming too and there were saddles on stools for the kids to sit on, a DVD area for them and characters who popped in for meet and greet sessions each morning. Breakfast was included and it was a buffet-style which suited us well, we could fill up and find stuff that everyone liked and we actually managed to make it to the parks before the official opening time each day so that we got to go on the rides before the queues built up too much (a special perk for guests staying onsite). We managed to see quite a lot of the characters wandering round the parks and got to greet them without waiting for too long, thanks again to flashing William's disability pass at the staff members. Poppy took her princess dress and insisted on wearing it the first day, though she got cold even with thick clothes underneath so was happy not to wear it after that. But she did get to meet lots of the princesses and have her photo taken with them so she was a happy girl.

We saw all the main shows and parades - Mickey's Winter Wonderland show which was an ice-skating singing and dancing one with lots of characters, Princess Aurora's Christmas Wish (just for Poppy), Mickey's Magical Celebration with Merlin the wizard, the Christmas tree lighting ceremony, Disney Dance Express which popped up at random moments and got everyone dancing along the streets, the main Disney parade, Fantillusion the after-dark parade with lit-up floats, Cars and Stars parade in the Studios park, Stitch Live show and Sir and Poppy went to see the New Year's Eve fireworks over the castle (i was in bed with the boys by then). Also we'd booked tickets to see Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show on New Year's Eve which was fantastic - lots of horses, cows, bison, cowboys, lassooing, tricks, competitions, lots of fun and the kids loved the atmosphere and it came with a nice dinner and unlimited drinks. We got good spots for all the shows and parades, lots of them had a special reserved area for disabled guests so we made the most of that and the kids really enjoyed them all as did Sir and i!

Now onto each kid's favourites:

William - William's favourite rides were 'It's a small World' because of the music and singing and lots of colourful characters, 'Mad Hatters Teacups' because he loved the spinning motion, and the 'Slinky Dog' kids rollercoaster in the new Toy Story part of the Studios Park. i have a lovely photo of William meeting Mickey Mouse, where Mickey has bent down over William in his buggy and William is reaching up to tap his nose, though not all the character meetings went so smoothly - Santa Goofy patted him on the head and made him scream in protest! William loved all of the shops because of the bright colours and lots of things to look at, but wasn't interested in any of the soft toys - instead his favourite souvenirs are a light-up spinning Buzz Lightyear toy, a flashing Mickey Mouse keyfob and a book which has buttons to press to make noises and play music. William was a very alert and happy little man for the vast majority of the time we were there, taking in all the sights and colours and music. He loved all the shows and all the parades, especially the after-dark one because of all the pretty lights on the floats. And his seizures were at a minimum the whole time we were there, which was a blessing. He did get a little cranky on the journey back and had a grumpy day a couple of days after we returned, but on the whole i think it was a very positive experience for him and very stimulating for him in a good way, giving him lots of sensory experiences and opportunities to practise using his improved vision. And he didn't get overwhelmed by the crowds like i worried he might do, so it was all good.

Finn - Finn had many favourite rides: 'The Disney Railroad' because it was a train, 'Casey Junior Circus train' for the same reason, 'Autopia' and 'Cars Race Rally' because he could 'drive' a car, 'Pirates of the Caribbean' because of the boat and the music, 'Dumbo' because he could fly in an elephant, but his absolute favourite ride of all was 'Buzz Lightyear Lazer Blast' - he found it hilarious to zap the targets with his lazer gun with Sir's help and of course he fell in love with Buzz and Woody from Toy Story and had to get a Woody costume, Buzz and Woody toys and a lazer gun of his own to zap people walking past his buggy as well as several other toys! Finn also loved lots of the shows, especially the Cars and Stars one, the main Disney parade and the Stitch Live Show. He chose the Ratatouille character for his soft toy, maybe because we watched some of the film on TV on Christmas day, called it "rat rat" and cuddled it in his buggy the whole time we were there and in bed since getting home. He surprised us all by suddenly saying "fankoo" for the first time ever when i handed him his "rat rat" toy after paying for it, perhaps because Poppy had just said it when receiving her toy. And he got super-excited when he spotted the Ratatouille character meeting and greeting people in the Studios park, almost couldn't contain himself when waiting for his turn and then ran over and gave him a great big hug shouting "rat rat!" when beckoned over - another super cute photo! Finn was very good in the shops, not wanting everything like i thought he might but being content when told he could choose one thing. He thoroughly enjoyed himself and keeps wanting to look at the photos on the iPad since we have returned - a real pleasure to go on holiday with.

Poppy - Poppy loved Sleeping Beauty's Castle of course, but wasn't quite brave enough to visit the dragon underneath, especially after watching Finn go bounding in all confidently and then come out yelling a few seconds later! Her favourite rides were: 'Dumbo', 'Sir Lancelot's carousel' a traditional horses carousel ride, 'It's a small world', 'Slinky Dog', 'Peter Pan's Flight' and the 'Flying Carpets' ride. She wanted to go on the 'Snow White' ride but then got scared by the wicked witch so wouldn't go on again. Poppy absolutely loved meeting all the princesses and chatted their ears off when it was her turn to sit with them! She also persuaded Belle to dance with her and i have a lovely picture of the two of them dancing together. Poppy loved all of the shows, especially the ice-skating one and the parades with the princesses on the floats. And she was amazed by the horses at Buffalo Bill's show. Poppy wanted lots of the souvenirs in the shops but was happy to choose between them, especially when told we would be back another day - she is  now the proud owner of a princess colouring book, a set of princess dolls with accessories, some Minnie Mouse ears on a headband, a Mr Potato Head with parts she chose herself (like a 'pick and mix' counter), a Mickey Mouse soft toy and lots of other things too. Poppy was very well-behaved, very patient, very kind to her brothers, said 'thank you' for everything and was a delight to have with us.

**Edited to add my favourite moments and rides i went on without the kids:
- Big Thunder Mountain (which Finn was disappointed he was too small to go on but enjoyed waving as the train went past), Phantom Manor, Space Mountain, Star Tours, Rock N Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Armageddon, Studio Tram Tours, Crush's Coaster
- i loved seeing the look on the kids' faces when the lamposts in Main Street started twinkling and the fake snow came down - it was magic :)
- eating at the Rainforest Cafe the first evening was fantastic and all the kids were mesmerised by the decor - we were sat right by the large elephant which was moving and making noises the whole time and every 20mins or so there was a 'thunderstorm', the food was nice too!
- seeing the kids interact with the characters
- all the Christmas decorations, music and special shows and parades - even though we went after Christmas i was still in the holiday mode and it made things more special
- the Fantillusion parade
- the Buffalo Bill show (we had front row seats)
- seeing the kids' excitement when Santa brought up the rear of the parade - Finn was yelling "Sanny!" so loudly!
- the delicious traditional sweets and fantastic cakes, pastries and fudge sold in one of the shops along Main Street - i had lots of treats from there :)
- all the lovely photos we took of our special holiday to keep as memories forever.

All in all a great holiday and a lovely start to the new year.