7 August 2017

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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