Meeting Characters! (As an Adult.....or an adult that never grew up!)

Every time I see anyone going on any sort of Disney trip, one of the most exciting things to me is when people meet characters! I love seeing the pictures people take with all sorts of characters whether they be completely popular characters or very rare characters. However, having not been on a trip to any sort of Disney park for nearly 15 years when the time came to go myself I was completely nervous at the thought of it. 

I know that is probably a stupid thing to be nervous of but I was, I know I shouldn't be worried about what other people think but I definitely was. I was worried that the people in the queue would be annoyed with me for taking time with the characters when they were waiting with their children, I was worried that I'd look stupid in the photos and I spent my whole first day putting off meeting all sorts of characters for these reasons. I know all of these things sound pretty trivial and something I'd even myself say are irrational but they were still what I was thinking about. However, that all soon changed after I actually took the time to meet the characters! Obviously, having not met characters since I was around 6 years old meant I didn't really know what to do, so I just made it up as I went along. I don't know if other people worry about things like this but thought I'd put tips for adults (sort of) like me who are maybe nervous about meeting characters or worried about what to say!

1. Open your arms for a hug (If you want a hug that is) - I think that going up to the characters as if you're excited to meet them will 100% affect the sort of meet you have with them! The first characters I met were Tigger and Eeyore, I didn't know what else to go so I just opened my arms excitedly and Tigger was really happy to reciprocate the hug!

2. Ask questions! - With almost every character I met I asked them something, like how their day has been, if they're enjoying the day, saying its cold (or hot) depending on the weather obviously. This works better if you ask questions with a yes or no answer as characters like Mickey won't answer you with words but with gestures! Face characters will definitely be up for a full on question so make sure you ask them about their specific movies!

3. Wear something interesting! - Almost every character I met gestured toward my ears, they loved seeing them and interacting with them! Dale stole my ears from me and played with them which was so funny and Minnie absolutely loved them! Donald even tried to steal the daisy off of mine for Daisy. Donald wasn't pleased with my Mickey Mouse jumper however but I soon won him around by showing him my Donald pin on my lanyard.

4. Take an Autograph book (or something to sign) - This may seem obvious but not many adults I saw had autograph books however the characters were more than happy to sign mine, Mickey and Minnie even loved my ears so much they made sure to sign my autograph book in an extra special way. I'd say if you have a specific character that is your favourite to definitely make the effort when meeting them as you'll be rewarded with a great signature. Make sure you have your book and pen ready for the characters to use however as It can be difficult for them to see small biro like pens, I'd suggest buying the larger pens sold at Disney to make it easier for them. 

5. Be specific - When meeting a character I think it's always great to address them by their name and say things that they will know are specific to them. If you're meeting Donald, mention Daisy. If you're meeting Alice ask her about wonderland etc. When I met Chip and Dale I started by saying 'Good Morning Chip!' enthusiastically to him and he responded by giving me a massive hug and spinning in circles with me. Often people find it hard to differentiate the two, Chip has a black nose, Dales is reddish/brown. 

Although, it is not essential to do all of these things they're thing I found useful doing when meeting characters as it made it easier for them to react to me and made our meet a lot more special. The characters are fantastic if you like chatting to them or not! I saw a couple meet Chip and Dale who literally said nothing to them but Chip and Dale still managed to make them laugh and they took great photos with them. The characters will adapt to how you meet them, whether you chat to them or are quiet and shy. In my opinion, the characters were absolutely fantastic and made me feel at ease no matter how nervous I was initially. In the end I even plucked up the courage to meet Mary Poppins, a face character, which I didn't think I would and I'm so glad I did! My next mission is to meet some Princess'!

Here are some other photos I took I'd like to share! P.S - The people in my photos are my parents in case you were wondering!

I am by no means an expert in meeting characters at all! I had probably 7/8 meets in my whole trip but I thought it could be useful to those who are nervous like me to have some things in mind before they actually make their trip! I hope these tips are helpful to you, or if they're not that you enjoyed looking at some of my photos, I really enjoyed meeting characters a lot more than I thought I would!

I've got a whole list of Disneyland Paris posts to write so if you have any suggestions please drop me a message/comment on here or on my instagram/ twitter!

My twitter is @Adreamisawish96 and my instagram is @shereallyisafunnygirl

TTFN

Lauren

My top 5 Attractions - Disneyland Paris

I decided to write a post about the attractions I most enjoyed in both the Disneyland Park and the Walt Disney Studios Park - bearing in mind that I didn't get to ride every ride and some rides were also closed when I was there. Most notably both Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain: Mission 2 were closed for refurbishment during my visit. However, I did go on a fair amount of rides and these 5 out of all those I went on were my personal favourites!

1. Tower of Terror

Now my favourite ride I got the opportunity to experience was most definitely the Tower of Terror. Generally, I am a fan of drop rides anyway but this is definitely the best one I've been on. Everything about the attraction to me was perfect, the look of the ride from outside and in, the theme throughout as well as the cast members who were the perfectly spooky bell hops! The ride itself is unique in how as well as dropping you, it shoots you up and moves back and forth, giving you glimpses of the outside world as you tower above it. I don't know if my seat belt was too loose or not but for several seconds I was hovering up off of my seat. Overall I think Tower of Terror is a fantastic ride although not for the feint of heart!

2. Big Thunder Mountain

Another ride I really enjoyed was Big Thunder Mountain. One thing that I love the most about Disneyland is the attention to detail that goes into every part of both parks, including the rides. All rides have wonderful themes but I absolutely love that Big Thunder Mountain is set in the wild west and that the mountain itself is such a main focal point of Fronteirland. The ride is really exciting but not so thrilling that some of the younger guests wouldn't be able to enjoy it. I never experienced the ride without the new additions that have been made such as the effects so I can't comment on how the ride is without them. However the effects are amazing and I think they really add to the overall story of it being a runaway train in the wild west. 

3. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith

In terms of thrill level I think that the Rock 'n' Roller coaster is definitely top of the list. Out of all the rides I was able to get on this was definitely the most thrilling available within both of the parks. The ride is based around the concept of matching music to a roller coaster, in this case the music of Aerosmith. The coaster is themed well to its name with all the cast members dressed in leathers and jeans. As you enter the sound rooms you see Aerosmith in the production of the roller coaster just before you're let out of the sound rooms and going through into the loading area of the coasters. This fast paced ride is mainly in the dark with flashing lights giving the rider glimpses of the track all with music being played through the head of your seat. If you love roller coasters you'll definitely love this attraction. 

4. Buzz Lightyear - Lazer Blast

This ride was probably the most fun out of all of the rides I experienced due to the fact it was an interactive ride that allows you to both compete against your riding partner or just enjoy trying to hit the targets with your lazer gun. This ride is themed extremely well with no detail left out of both the ride itself and the queue. The interactive Buzz is great and is sure to excite any Toy Story fan. The ride is suitable for all ages, as well as being enjoyable to both young and old. My dad and I are generally quite competitive so we had a lot of fun playing against one another, especially when the ride got stuck and we racked up loads of points. This is definitely a ride for most people to enjoy, even those who don't enjoy rides very much. 

5. Ratatouille - L'aventure Totalement Toqée de Rémy

This is an attraction I knew I wanted to experience however I didn't want to wait the 60 minutes that the regular line would last, also having used my fastpass' for the day. However, luckily that was a single rider line that had a '5 minute' wait that was more like a straight walk onto the ride. I am so glad I managed to ride this because it was unlike any attraction I've been on. The ride itself is trackless, using screens and the motion of the rat you'r'e riding in to make you feel as though you're the size of a rat. The Ratatouille ride is an exciting ride and is one I'd definitely recommend the single rider line for unless you manage to get a fast pass for it. The trackless aspect of the ride is unlike anything I've seen and it's so exciting ride as It's something not a lot of people will have experienced. The fact this ride is also unique to Paris means it is a must ride for anyone visiting Disneyland Paris. 

Disneyland Paris as a whole has a wide variety of amazing attractions and these five just happen to be my favourites. Apart from these rides I really enjoyed all the rides I went on making a lot of use out of the extra magic hours available to hotel guests. 

What are your favourite rides in the Disneyland Parks? Are any of your favourite rides not on this list? Are there any rides you would like to be added to Disenyland Paris that aren't already there?

Thank you so much for reading!

TTFN

Lauren

Disneyland Paris Haul - 2017

As a majority of people reading this post will know I've recently returned from a trip to Disneyland Paris, it was a four day trip in which I stayed at the Sequoia lodge and I had the most amazing time ever! I hadn't been to Disneyland Paris since I was around 3 years old so it was really exciting for me to be able to return! Now, as I'm sure you can imagine I spent a load of money there, although not as much as I thought I would! I hope that nobody thinks this post is me bragging about the things I bought, I really just like sharing things available currently in the parks as It's something i often read other blog posts on and watch YouTube videos of hauls. So, if you don't like Haul posts I suggest you don't read on as this will not be for you! I saved for nearly a year to be able to take money with me that I could just buy things I wanted!

Like the bad blogger I am I didn't save receipts for a lot of the things or remember the colour coding price system they have on some items but I'll try my best to give an estimated price for most things! I also can't remember every single shop in which I bought everything but if I do remember I will of course include it!

This is a long one, so maybe grab a drink and some chocolate to have a chilled out read.

The very first thing that I actually bought on this trip was my lanyard, lanyard pouch and a few pins! I already have a few pins in a collection on a pin board but only a few, however on this trip I went a bit pin crazy, mainly because they're quite affordable and I liked being able to wear them on my lanyard around the parks. They helped me with interactions with characters as well, particularly Donald Duck who really enjoyed seeing himself displayed on my lanyard. The lanyard itself was €9.99 and the lanyard pouch was €7.99, however the lanyard pouch isn't pictured it was a star wars pouch and I mainly bought it to keep all of my tickets in but it broke near the end of the trip which was disappointing. I won't go into detail about each pin but they varied in price between €6.99 and €9.99, if you'd like me to do a full post just on my pins drop me a message and I'd be happy to do so!

I also got this amazing blanket which I've seen in several hauls and I've wanted it ever since I first saw it! It was on special as a purchase with purchase item which you could get for €9.99 instead of €19.99 if you spent over I think €25 in a single transaction. It's so fluffy and warm and really quite big, I think it was quite cheap for the price and I absolutely love the design.

I didn't actually but this item for myself but my parents kindly got it for me as a surprise within a few hours of us arriving at our hotel. They went to have a look in the hotel shop whilst I sat with our suitcases and arrived back with this for me. I was so surprised and I couldn't believe it, I absolutely love this snow globe, it's so adorable and I love the detail. unfortunately I don't know the price of this as it was a gift but i assume it may be around the €50 mark? It's very well packaged so didn't get damaged on the return trip to the UK. This is a musical snow globe that plays the song 'Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride'.

This is one of my best purchases on the trip, this amazing holdall which was only $9.99 in total! I absolutely love the design of this and it folds up really small so is ideal for over spillage of gifts if you buy too much for your suitcase like I did! We ended up buying them as gifts for people as well as buying a few for ourselves just because the price was so good! They're really roomy and lightweight and definitely worth the price. 

This is an item I've also seen in several hauls and something I really wanted so I'm so glad I managed to find it in a big enough size for my chunky fingers! It's a lovely ring and something that's subtle in it's disney-ness and is definitely suitable for everyday wear. It was 'green' on the pricing chart which I believe was around €18??

I saw these earrings and straight away I knew I had to buy them, They came in both gold and silver, but I much preferred the silver. For the two pairs of earrings they were in the 'blue' category and I believe they cost €24.99.

I got this necklace because I thought it was a lovely design and a little bit more exciting than just a plain mickey head necklace, I really like the varied size's of the mickeys and the layout. This necklace was in the 'pink' category and cost I think €34.99.

The last pieces of jewellery that I bought were these adorable minnie earrings! I love that although they're quite plain they have a bit of sparkle as well as coming in an adorable box similar to the necklace, these earrings were in the blue category and cost €24.99.

Another cheap purchase I made was this cute rain mac! It rained quite a bit in Disneyland Paris so I was lucky to have bought this as I used it pretty often in the end. I really like the subtleness of the design and the cute Mickey with his anchor. This mac was originally €60 and only cost me €10 so I was really excited to have found it for such a great price.

Another purchase with purchase item I found was this cute bowl! This came from the shop in the Ratatouille section of Walt Disney Studios and was only €4.99 when you spent over €25, luckily my parents bought some souvenirs in this shop so I managed to get this bowl! I really like the design of this bowl and I really wanted to get something ratatouille themed after really enjoying the ride! I'll be having all my cereal and porridge in this bowl from now on!

As soon as I saw this jumper from afar I knew I had to have it! I love the uniqueness of the design, especially as the Beast doesn't really have much merchandise. I was even more happy when I realised this jumper was on sale, instead of €50 it cost me only €14.99 which was a complete bargain for a lovely quality Disneyland jumper!

Another jumper but this time it was unfortunately full price at €54.99 which for me is a crazy amount to spend on a jumper but I got so excited by the cute design I just got it because I knew I'd regret it if I didn't. I'd also just been on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, so I'm going to blame my excitement of being on the ride on my purchase too, although I don't regret it because I love the jumper and know I'll get a lot of wear out of it.

Something I was really excited to get my hands on was this amazing BB-8 cup which cost me €12.99  with a drink! I'd seen this cup available online in the American parks so when I saw it was available in Paris I knew I had to get it. 

I only got one magnet from my trip and it was this amazing 'Dreams' magnet! Dreams is coming to an end and I absolutely fell in love with it when i saw it! To commemorate the amazing feeling watching Dreams I wanted to get something to represent Dreams and this was the only thing I could find, luckily I love it. This was I believe €5.99 and is a lovely magnet.

The majority of rides I rode on I absolutely loved but nearly above all I loved Tower of Terror, not just for the ride but for everything about it! The themeing, the cast members and just everything. I wanted to get something Hollywood Tower Hotel themed just because I love the whole story behind the ride, this keyring cost €6.99 and is quite a large keyring.

I had an amazing meet with Mary Poppins and two penguins so I wanted to get this beautiful little Mary Poppins ornament, I love the fact it has two penguins get like the ones I'd met earlier that day! This ornament is well detailed and also rather well painted for only €19.99.

The last thing I actually bought on my trip, just as we were leaving our hotel, was this adorable little Minnie Mouse plush! I was upset about not being able to find Dug wearing his cone of shame on my trip so bought this Minnie to make myself feel better as I don't have any Minnie's wearing her iconic red polka dot dress! This little plush cost €17.99 which is quite expensive however I couldn't leave her behind.

I knew I wanted to get myself an ornament to commemorate our trip and as soon as I saw this amazing piece I knew it was the one I wanted! I have this design in a pin and have wanted this ornament for a while but had no idea they sold it at Disneyland Paris so upon seeing it I was over the moon. It is so incredibly detailed and just a beautiful concept. The price of the ornament was €89 and I believe it was worth every cent I paid for it.

This last piece is something I will keep very dear to me and I think it's probably my favourite item I got on the whole trip. We were sitting on the Eurostar home waiting to leave when my mum pulled a small bag out of her handbag and put it on the table infront of me. I took out and 'Arribas brothers' box and was so confused, but when I opened it I could have cried. I'd wondered why earlier that morning my dad had disappeared when I was taking some of my final photos of the Disneyland Park and soon discovered it was because he'd gone to buy me this amazing glass Enchanted Rose. I don't know how much it cost but to me it's definitely priceless.

There we have it! The end of my Disneyland Paris haul, excluding any thing I got for people as gifts. Hopefully you've enjoyed this post, I know it was a long one but it was one I really wanted to write as I love reading them myself.

Have you got any DLP trips planned? If so when do you go? Is there anything you're looking forwards to purchasing?

Thanks again for reading this post!

TTFN

Lauren

See the line where the sky meets the sea.. it calls me...

This past Wednesday I finally got to see Moana! The new Disney 'princess' film that I've been waiting for, for a long time. Ever sine it was announce with the concept art, I was really excited for Moana to come out, another different type of princess for us to see! Especially when I found out Lin Manuel-Miranda was a part of the music I was completely excited for it. I'm a bit of a Lin fangirl ever since my friend introduced me to Hamilton over a year ago now (which I love a bit too much). Also if you have not seen Moana and do not want any sort of spoilers please don't read on as I will be discussing plot points in this review. 

So, now for the review, firstly I'll talk about the music! Disney songs are what I listen to often because I just love them, I'm a massive fan of Musicals in general (which I think Disney made me after a childhood full of West End worthy songs in animated films) so I just love any songs that take part in the narrative of a story. One of the best songs I feel in recent years to come out of a Disney film has got to be 'How Far I'll go' it is a classic 'want' song just like 'Part of that world', 'Reflection', 'Go the Distance' which are all also amazing songs. I love 'How Far I'll go' and I'm slightly obsessed with it, Auli'i Cravaiho has an absolutely wonderful voice, shes an amazing talent at only 15 (14 when the film was made) I'm so glad Disney chose her to play Moana as I think she is perfect. Another of my favourite songs from the soundtrack is 'You're Welcome' I mean, whats better than the rock singing and rapping? I also love 'I Am Moana (song of the ancestors) because it is highly emotive and is one of my favourite parts of the whole movie, where Moana realises her worth with the help of her grandmother. 

Overall I really enjoyed the narrative of the film, It was easy enough to follow and quite a classic one in terms of Disney Princess', they long for more than they have and have to face adversity from others (in this case Moana's father the chief of the tribe) before they can achieve their dreams. I loved learning more about Polynesian culture, from what I understand Disney did a lot of work to ensure they really captured Polynesian culture in a respective way for this film. I love that we go an insight into Moana's Island and the people that live there as well as the animals that dwell there. One of my only downsides about the film was the fact Pua, the adorable little pig, wasn't in the film a lot however I understand it would've been more difficult to have him in it a lot especially as he seemingly became scared of going out to sea when he and Moana crashed in their canoe. Hei Hei however pleasantly surprised me as I ended up loving him a lot more than I thought I would, he was very loveable and a great comedy character who bought comedy to places you didn't think he could, but also ended up helping in the end. Alan Tudyk really brings Hei Hei to life and is basically a Disney legend at this point! Lending his voice acting talents to Hei Hei, King Candy (Wreck It Ralph), Duke of Wessleton (Frozen), Alistair Krei (Big Hero Six),  Duke Weasleton (Zootopia/Zootropolis) and he's also starring in the newest addition to the Star Wars universe 'Rogue One - A Star Wars Story) as droid K-2SO.

Auli'i Cravaiho really steals the show for me as Moana as I think she is just a perfect fit to play the princess..sorry...daughter of the chief. She has great comedic timing in her acting and I just love how much emotion you can hear her lend to the character she is voicing. I think she is a real talent and will go on to be very successful. Obviously, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was a great addition to the film as Maui the demi God, I really loved that this film was more of a comedy than anything else because I feel like we all needed a film that was funny (although tear jerking all the while) after all thats happened this year. Maui was really bought to life by Johnson and was just as main a part of the film as the title character. I like that we get to see Maui move from being closed off in the beginning and disbelieving of Moana to putting his faith in her right in the end.

The animation within this film is absolutely stunning, It is crazy how amazing animation has become with almost photo realistic water and Moana's hair is AMAZING, properly. It is so seemless and beautiful sometimes you forgot you're watching an animated film.

One last thing I'll mention about this film is the fact that Moana is a strong female character, which is obvious for me to mention, but she for me is a fantastic role model. She follows her heart, what she believes in and the fact she can be a female and doesn't have to marry 'to become chief' is so refreshing to see.

So, there we have it, my review of Moana. I know, I'm really not the best at writing and I should really have structured this a lot more but I just wrote my feelings as I remembered certain things about the film. Thank you for reading my review of Moana and if you haven't seen it yet I highly suggest seeing it as soon as possible, It definitely continues the fantastic run of amazing Disney films that have arrived in recent years and is sure to go down as a classic. I can't wait for it to be released on Blu-ray so I can watch it over and over again.

TTFN

Lauren

Disney x Cath Kidston - Mickey and Minnie Collection!

Disney recently has been churning out the collaborations (much to the annoyance of my bank balance) and they've all been pretty much perfect. To be honest, anything Disney sells is popular, so when it's with a high profile brand such as Cath Kidston you know it's going to be popular. This is the second collection that the two brands have collaborated on, the first being Winnie the Pooh. With these collections Cath Kidston generally release the items online the evening before they're released in the shops in a 'private' sale for anyone that has signed up previously. The Winnie the Pooh collection crashed their website and famously half of those signed up didn't even receive they're codes and links to allow them to shop. This release was a Minnie and Mickey release and before the pre sale I think most people got their codes which may have been the cause of the website problems. This release was also pretty hectic, with so many people accessing the website at once it completely crashed for some people and a lot of the collection sold out after little time. I managed to get the majority of the pieces I wanted from the collection and everything is amazing! I think Cath Kidston weren't prepared for the release at all as it took them a long time to take sold out items off the website and most deliveries took a lot longer to dispatch than you would usually expect! One of my items however, came slightly damaged and I've been told I can have a refund as the item is sold out online which is upsetting. However I'll show you what I bought and some pictures as it was a beautiful collection, Cath Kidston have said they're doing another collection with Disney so I can't wait to see what it will be!

One of the items I knew I wanted before the collection was released was a purse, I have had Cath Kidston purses in the past and find that they're a very good size. This purse has enough card slots for 6 cards then some bigger slots behind those card slots. There's a slot for cash and a zipped coin purse section. I love the design on this purse and I'm particularly happy with the design I got on mine which is a cute little Minnie head! This purse cost £22 and had a matching bag but that sold out almost straight away.

This is the mug I got from the collection and I absolutely love this 'Mickey in London' design, I'd have gotten more things if the website didn't completely break, also I had a limit to how much I wanted to spend so I couldn't really go over that! This mug, as you can see, is chipped and came that way when I opened the parcel. I was so upset upon finding it chipped but I think myself lucky considering some people had their's completely smashed! Thankfully I spoke to a lovely woman from the customer services team and she was very apologetic and offered me a refund. It's a little smaller than the usual Cath Kidston mugs but I like smaller mugs, it's also made by Royal Stafford so is from quite a well known brand also. This mug cost £8.50 but is sold out online, however it may be available from stores!

This is the skirt I got from the collection with this lovely Minnie Mouse print on it! One of my favourite characters is the vintage style Minnie Mouse which is why I love the print on this skirt so much! The skirt is made from a jersey material and I love the way that the floral pattern hides Minnie and she matches the colours perfectly. This is a great design for a Disney fan who prefers to wear more discreet pieces of Disney in their outfits than just an all out picture of Minnie Mouse! This skirt was £40 and is sold out online however again If you check in store they may have it in stock.

My favourite item from the collection that I managed to get from the collection is this amazing Minnie mouse dress! I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it online and I was so thrilled that I managed to get it from the pre sale! It's such a beautiful design with the signature Minnie polka dots and an adorable Minnie peaking over the bottom edge of the skirt. I love the structure of the dress and It'd definitely make me consider getting more Cath Kidston clothing as I've never gotten any before! The dress cost £70 and It's now sold out like a lot of the collection online, however again the best thing to do is check in store!

Overall I think that this collection was completely beautiful, If I had endless supplies of money and storage I'd have bought it all, but alas I don't and I probably wouldn't have been able to anyway because the website kept crashing! As much as I love these collaborations I really hope that Cath Kidston manage to sort out their website and get some sort of queue system implimented for the release of the next collection! I understand It's hard for companies not usually coping with the amounts they did on the release but it would have been much better if they'd been more prepared.

I can't wait to see the next collection! I'll definitely be braving the online release no matter how much it crashes! What was your favourite piece from the collection?? Did you manage to get any of it?

TTFN

Lauren