I have just come back, and it was so magical, breath taking, beautiful, and happy! !! !! It really is 'The Hapiest Place On Earth', and I can't wait to go back!
If anyone has any questions at all about the park at the moment, feel free to ask away!
My most favourite parts were the Disney Princess Parade, and the sheer volume of characters that were in the Central Plaza; I have hnever seen so many! And the queues were minimal -- -- WONDERFUL!
Is there much scaffolding up and around the Park at the moment getting ready for the 15th Anniversary celebration? I'm really hoping the castle isn't obscured at all when I go.
How about new merchandise in the shops? Anything cool to look forward to? I'll be particularly looking out for pins, plushes and princess stuff - particularly Belle and Ariel figurines.
Is the Princess Parade an additional parade to the Main Street parade in the afternoon? That wasn't on when I went last March. Is it just a seasonal parade? Hope it's still on in March.
Right, I will try to answer all of your questions!
- Thankfully, there was no scafolding around the castle at all, as construction was mainly going on in the Studios. The only noticible closure was Lancelot's Carousel, which was closed off for construction. In the Studios, one of the entryways was closed off, and obviously a large area around the Tower of Terror was shut off. The tower itself has come along hugely, but as the moment, with so much construction going on, it adds nothing to the studios which were never as attractive as the Disney park.
-Plushes were sadly all over the place; but almost all of animals. The only Disney 'people plushies' were Tinkerbell and Pinoccio. I wanted to complete the Princess set of plushies that are found in the Disney Store, but sadly, there were none. There is a lovely new Ariel figure, sitting down with Sebastian, which was only about 15.00. A new Princess line of figures have come out as well; they are made of china or porceline on the head and arms and body, but their dresses are material. they are cool. On the more expensive side, they have got some lovely things for sale. The one I got was 75.00, and it features all of the Princesses coming down a magical staircase in the clouds, and it sings "Cinderella Main Title". Really breathtaking. Lots of pins around as well!
-The only Parade is the Princess Parade at 4pm, accompanied to the song 'Dancin To A Catchy Rhythm'. I LOVED IT! But there were no other parades in the park.
-As for pictures, my digital camera went mental on me, and refused to work, so I only got a few pictures with my friends. But, I used my lovely, non-digital camera loads, and when I develop the pictures I will scan them, and put them up!
If you want to know anymore, don't hesitate to ask!
The Princess parade sounds very much like the parade I've been posting pics from - that features the same tune.
I've got virtually all the Princess / people plushes now - the only one's I really need are Captain Hook and Pinocchio, and there's a new ltd edition Tinkerbell just been released in the Disney Store. I might get a Pinocchio if I see one. In plushes, I'm really looking for Baloo, Minnie, Daisy, Chip N' Dale, Timon and Pumba. Possibly Uncle Scrooge and Huey, Dewey and Louie as well.
There was a big snowglobe of the Jolly Roger last year with all the characters around it, and I was thinking of getting one of those if they had them again.
I also got a Belle figurine last year which was a keepsake box, the top half lifted off - they had all the princesses, and I was hoping to complete the set if they were still around. I know there's been a nice Beauty and the Beast snowglobe with the enchanted rose in the US parks too, but I don't remember seeing it at DLRP last year.
And I've seen a list of pins for February somewhere and they listed Jedi Mickey and Minnie Leia which sound cool.
Was the Ariel / Sebastian figurine a snowglobe? If it was, I got one of those last year. They had several of the Princesses sat with another character in a small snowglobe. Sadly none of Belle, but I did get one on Ebay of Belle and Lumiere, and a different Ariel - this time with Flounder in the globe.
If they are the plushies you are looking for, then you will be in luck, as they are in the shops at disneyland, so you are lucky!
There is a massive globe with all of the characters around Sleeping Beauty's Castle, and that is a must-buy, if you have the money, as its 90.00 ! So beautiful though.
I know the keepsake box you mean, and I got an Ariel one last time, but sadly they are not around anymore. I didnt see that Beauty and the Beast one at all.
Yes, they are the globes I mean. Sitting down with an animal friend in the globe. To be honsest, the main Princess stuff were the dresses, stationary, and a few globes and pictures.
Oh that's a shame if the keepsake boxes aren't there anymore. Oh well, I got my favourite - Belle, the last time. As I recall, they also had Ariel, Jasmine, Cinderella, Aurora and Snow White.
Did you see any of the Armani figurine's at all. I know last time they had a shop on Disney Village which had a few Armani figurine's in the window. That's what got me started collecting them - although I've only got 3 so far because they are so expensive. There was a beautiful Belle figurine in the window when I was there last year, and I ended up getting one on Ebay when I got home.
I guess I just need to wait and see what's there when I arrive. I'm sure they'll be plenty of stuff that I want.
I kind of expected that there would be lots of new stuff, and some of the stuff from last time would have gone.
In the glass shop on Main Street, there are 3 massive glass cases by the door, which hold lots of armani figures, and ones like that, you know? Expensive collectors items and things.
Don't remember seeing that shop last year, the one I remember was in Disney Village, and that had lots of other high end collectibles in it.
Thing is, this year, because I'm going over on my own, I'll be able to spend more time looking around. I'm also staying longer than I ever have before. First visit was just a day and a half in the resort, and I was with a group of 3 friends, so our emphasis was on rides and attractions.
Last year, I was with my parents, sister, niece and brother in law - and although I spent the second half of each day doing my own thing, again, that was mainly spent on the big rides that others weren't bothered about.
I hadn't really gotten into the collectibles quite as much until I got home either. This year, I should be arriving early on the Sunday morning, and then I don't have to leave until about late afternoon on the Friday. Really looking forward to it.
In the Princess parade, what dress was Belle wearing? Was it her traditional yellow ball gown, or the white version of it they're showing on the DLRP website at the moment?
What hotel did you stop in at Disneyland? Was it good? Did it meet your expectations?
Getting ready for the big drive down to Disneyland in a few weeks. I've got a Sat Nav now and got it programmed in for Sequoia Lodge, where I'm staying again. And I've got a good selection of Disney Compilation CD's for the long drive to get me in the mood.
In the parade, she was wearing her traditional yellow gown, but with a higher collar and long sleeves because of the cold.
I stayed at Hotel Santa Fe, and was lovely. To be honest, I only used it for sleeping and showering! The beds were very comfy, and has Disney Channel on the TV, and the radio.
I'm staying at Sequoia Lodge again. I stayed there last year and thought the theming was great, the rooms are quite large, and it has a nice pool which was quiet in the morning before breakfast.
The Princesses had those warm tops on last March, so it sounds as though it's going to be pretty much the same parade. I know Casey Jr. has been dropped, is Mary Poppins still in the Princess parade?
I've been budgeting and rebudgeting this last few days to see what kind of money I've got available. Intending to bring back a lot of souvenirs.
If there are any reasonably priced Armani statues, I might even buy one of those. I was thinking of getting either Cinderella in her ball gown or Ariel in Love next in the Armani range. Cinderella might be better, because I've already got an older Ariel, along with Belle and Sleeping Beauty, so that would get a bit closer to completing a set of Princesses.
