The Force is Strong

This year has seen a number of close friends celebrate one of those milestone birthdays that we like to mark with grand celebrations. While sat at one of these celebrations I asked Simon what he would like to do for his 'milestone' birthday next year...perhaps a weekend away he suggested...

Now one thing that we would both love to do would be to visit Walt Disney World during Star Wars Weekends but as these fall during school term time it really isn't an option for either me (as I work in education) or the kids! And there is no way they'd let us visit WDW without them!!

Then I had a bit of a brainwave. I thought I remembered hearing during reports from this years Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim that next year the celebration would be happening in London. So a quick Google search soon revealed that I was right...July 2016 Star Wars Celebration comes to London for 3 days - woo hoo!

I tentatively looked up the ticket prices expecting something extortionate but was very pleasantly surprised. A few minutes later and 2 sets of 3 day tickets were booked...eek we're going to Star Wars Celebration.

Little did I know what I'd started...

...we could go in costume...he said..

...wouldn't it be cool to cosplay while we're there...he said...

...I'm not wearing a metal bikini...I said...

Suffice to say costumes have been decided and the lengthy process of making them ourselves has begun. Please note that when I refer to 'us' making them I do of course mean that Simon will be making them whilst I offer lots of support, the ability to hold something still whilst it is cut and of course provide cups of tea and/or coffee as and when needed.

For those Star Wars fans out there we will be going as Mandalorians...think Boba and Jango Fett and you'll get the idea. So we are still in the early stages of creating our costumes but we have a template for the helmet and work has begun on our guns, I think I even know what colour scheme to go for! Suffice to say we have a corner of the house that is starting to resemble a work shop and plans are afoot to make a work space in the garage so that the task ahead can be tackled effectively.

The fun begins...

I shall endeavour to keep you updated with the progress over the coming weeks and I would imagine months!! I wonder what the theme for this year's Halloween party will be? Mmmm....I wonder.....

Disneyland Paris - February 2015 - Day 4

So here we are on our penultimate day of our little trip - day 4.

Despite being up nice and early for breakfast in the hotel we decided to take the morning at a leisurely pace and rather than heading for the parks we had a wander around the Disney Village and took the opportunity to get some shopping done!

But boy was it cold this morning, here's a few photos that hopefully capture what a beautiful, but extremely cold day it was!

Frozen river

Stranded duck in the ice!

Warning sign!!!

Ever so slightly frosty!!

Heading to Disney Village on a crisp, beautiful morning.











We decided to head for the large World of Disney store where I was able to buy some earrings, tea towels and a pin for my fellow 'Disney Dream Girl' Michelle.  Molly also bought herself a pin and was desperate to buy a Sulley pillow but alas there was not one in the store.  So we thought we would try the Disney Store only to find that it hadn't yet opened for the day!

Our next stop was Disney Fashion, probably my favourite of all the shops as this stocked my style of merchandise.

I love all the Disney Couture range, and anything that is a little bit different from the norm; whether it's the fabric, the pattern or the cut of a garment I always make a beeline for items that are just that bit unusual. Hence why I left with a tinkerbell long sleeve top, a grey Mickey bling t-shirt, a long sleeve Mickey t-shirt and a pair of Mickey ears!

Some of our shopping haul from the trip

Well all this wandering about and shopping had made us hungry and there was only really one place for us to go...Earl of Sandwich...our 'go to' restaurant of choice for this trip. Beautiful food and great prices in a nice warm building with free wifi!! After lunch we headed back to the hotel to drop off our shopping bags before heading over to Disneyland Park.

After taking a stroll down Main Street USA we headed over into Frontierland and straight to Phantom Manor.

View from the front door of Phantom Manor looking towards Big Thunder Mountain

View from the front door of Phantom Manor, the 'Molly Brown' was in dock having some maintenance work completed

When we exited the ride we went left and took in the sights of Boot Hill; this is a small area themed as a cemetery and is well worth taking a look as it is beautifully done. It is all too easy to turn right when leaving Phantom Manor to get back to the hustle of the park but then you miss out on what is a little gem of an area.

Photos of just some of the gravestones scattered around Boot Hill...

After Phantom Manor we braved the 40 minute wait time to ride Big Thunder Mountain, probably our favourite ride. We then went back over to Main Street USA and decided it was treat time; so despite the cold we headed over to The Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlour. The ice-cream choices here are all standard Ben & Jerry's flavours although they do serve crepes...I opted for a crepe filled with Nutella and a dollop of vanilla ice-cream.

About to order

 As we were on Main Street we decided to have a wander of the shops in search of the Sulley pillow that Molly was after, and sure enough she found one!

Yay we've found one!!

Now shopping can build up an appetite and stomachs were beginning to rumble so we wandered over into Fantasyland looking for food. We had a look at Toad Hall Restaurant but none of us were particularly taken with the choice of offerings; fish & chips, chicken nuggets and the same salads that could be found in every Disney restaurant. I do like the theming though of this restaurant so here's just a couple of photos.

We decided to look elsewhere for food and ended up in Adventureland, but as we passed by Pirates of the Caribbean we just couldn't resist taking a ride...after all a 5 minute wait is not to be passed up!

The first restaurant we tried was Colonel Hathi's Pizza Outpost but despite it only being 5.00pm (or thereabouts) it was closed, the lights were on and the doors open but no-one was around and there was no sign of it being operational...strange! We knew that the other counter service restaurant in Adventureland, Restaurant Hakuna Matata, was also closed as today was it's scheduled day to be closed. This meant we had to try the next land which was Frontierland, which was fine because I quite fancied some Mexican food from Fuente del Oro Restaurante...but we were faced with the same situation again...doors open, lights on but very evidently no food was being served! So we back tracked on ourselves and thought we'd try Cowboy Cookout Barbecue but guess what? Yep, exactly the same scenario again!  To say we were all getting a little frustrated would be an understatement...never mind the hunger!

We now just wanted food quick, so decided that one place we could guarantee being open was Casey's Corner. As it turned out our timing here was pretty good as the parade was just about to go by, so by the time we got our food we sat outside (yes it still was very cold!!) munching on hot dogs, chicken nuggets and fries just as the parade passed by!

By now the night was beginning to draw in and we were drawn to the lovely neon lights of Discoveryland and the fun of Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast.

Entrance to Discoveryland

The kids then wanted to ride Big Thunder Mountain...again. But there was a 40 minute wait...it was also very dark but more importantly freezing cold and I really didn't fancy getting even colder whizzing through the night-time air! The warmth of shops beckoned and a few more treats were bought; some cookies, chocolates for my team at work, a Phantom Manor t-shirt and some Nightmare Before Christmas PJ's!!

It was now time to go get our spot staked out for Disney Dreams! We headed towards the centre of the Central Plaza area and found a spot with the castle almost dead centre in front of us but more importantly we stood at some railings so that no-one else could stand in front of us and spoil our view - crafty!!

We had just over an hour to wait so the kids took their cash and went off in search of sweets. Simon and I needed something to keep us warm and hot chocolate seemed the ideal option. Now just a few yards from us was a cart selling drinks and crepes, but as we stood there we could see guests going up to the open window and getting turned away. It looked like they had stopped serving, which I thought was a bit strange as they had a massive captive audience all waiting for Disney Dreams to start. But I headed over there anyway and luckily for me they were still serving drinks but they had run out of crepes!! Knowing how good the service can be in the US parks I thought that this was really not acceptable...if they were running low more stock should have been brought in rather than just running out and having to turn people away! But hey that's just my opinion!

The kids returned and we munched on a few sweets, drank our hot chocolate and stood chatting to another British family who had joined our little viewing spot.  As it got closer to Disney Dreams starting the area around us began to get busy, but luckily our view was unimpeded as the spot we had picked prevented anyone from pushing in or standing in front of us. This meant that both Simon and Molly were in brilliant positions to get their respective video camera's out to film the whole show.

Our view ready for Disney Dreams to start

Now unfortunately despite grabbing this spot with over an hour to go we still found ourselves being pushed and jostled about by other guests. I have to say this is not something we have really come across in the US parks but this wasn't the first time it had happened to us in Paris. As we stood there enjoying the show a family pushed their way through and stood their two children on the narrow railing right next to Simon...they then began to push into Simon (almost spilling a drink over him) trying to move us out of our position. But we stood our ground and despite all their effort we didn't budge and still managed to get some fantastic video of the whole show.

The show itself is amazing, there is so much going on that it is definitely worth seeing more than once if you can. There are fireworks, and lasers, and projections, and water fountains and all set to a fantastic score. As much as I loved this show and was in awe of everything that was going on, and how long it went on for I still prefer Wishes over at Walt Disney World. There is something about Wishes that gets me every time, it brings about an emotional reaction in me that always makes me shed a tear or two which Disney Dreams just didn't manage to do.

By the time the show was over we were all extremely cold from having stood still for so long...in fact I have distinct memory of walking back to the hotel and not being able to feel my feet! Exiting the park took quite a while as Disney Dreams takes place at 'park closing' and so everyone is making for the exit at the same time. We thought we'd be crafty and walk down Discovery Arcade that runs parallel with Main Street which was easier to navigate but getting to an actual exit was hard work. The only turnstiles that were working as exits were to the far right, despite there being other turnstiles to the left and center...as no-one was coming into the park wouldn't it have been sensible to use all the turnstiles as exits and so speed up the process for all concerned...but hey that's just my thoughts!!

Finally we made it back to the hotel and warmth and to aid our defrosting we hit the hotel shop for beer, crisps and chocolate!

Just one more day to go...

One Year On...

Well this time a year ago I decided to take up a challenge for 90 days to see if I could lose some weight, get toned but more importantly eat healthier.

My target was to lose about 12lbs in weight in 90 days; starting at 10st 5lbs (145lbs) I wanted to get down to about 9st 7lbs (133lbs). So how did I do and more importantly how am I doing now?

Well if you've read my previous posts on this blog, or read the page entitled 'Getting Real' you will have a pretty good idea of the outcome. But for those of you who haven't let me give you a quick run down of what I've achieved over the last year and how I've done it.

So after seeing an inspirational film called 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead' and a chance conversation with my daughters karate instructor I signed up for a locally run scheme called 'Get Real Fat Loss'. This wasn't a diet, or a weight loss gimmick but rather a new approach to eating and exercise and making it all about a lifestyle choice. Everyone on the challenge was treated as an individual, with daily goals set for your intake of calories, fat, carbohydrates and proteins.

The big difference to my food intake at the time (which I thought was pretty ok!) was a big reduction in the amount of carbohydrates I was eating; this meant cutting out those high sugar, starchy foods - bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, cereals etc. And while it was a little tricky to get used to at first I soon found myself adapting to it and just getting on with it. In fact I wasn't really missing what had up until then been regular items in my day-to-day foods, and when I saw the pounds disappearing too I knew it was all worth it.

Now it wasn't just a change to the way I was eating that took place it was also a change to my exercise routine. Not a lover of exercise I had attempted to do some running and although this had been a bit hit and miss I had managed to keep plugging away at it. But now I stopped running and instead concentrated on core body-weight exercises twice a day; a combination of things like squats, planks, lunges, press-ups etc.

Then by about day 56 I found that I had reached my target of 9st 7lbs (133lbs). I was determined to see it through to the end of the 90 days to see just exactly what I could achieve. Besides I was loving the new me so much and I was determined to keep me that way!

By the time I reached day 90 I weighed in at 9st 0.4lbs (126.4lbs) a total loss of 18.6lbs. I had also managed to lose 6cm from my thighs and waist, 6.5cm from my bust and 7cm from my hips. I was thrilled with the results but also found that this new way of eating and exercising was now just the 'norm'. So I signed up for the 'Lifestyle' section of the 'Get Real Fat Loss' program which aimed to help keep me 'on track' as well as to offer support, advice and guidance.

Around the middle of November last year I had reached a weight of 8st 6.4lbs (118.4lbs), losing a further 1.5cm from my thighs, 2 cm from my bust and 4 cm from my hips. Since then my weight and measurements have remained constant; I have been able to maintain this weight for 7 months!!

So one year on and I have lost approximately 28lbs in weight and 7.5cm from my thighs, 8.5cm from my bust and 11cm from my hips!!

Now for the scary bit...the photos!!! I have worn the exact same set of clothes in each photo, and tried to take them in the same position each time. These have not been 'touched up' or altered, they are exactly as you see them here.

9th June 2014

6th September 2014 - Day 90

7th June 2015 - 1 Year On

Posing - just because I can ;)

This is not a diet, this is a lifestyle, this is the new and improved me! I shall not be going back to my old ways of eating I shall be staying focused and eating what I now know to be the right foods to keep my weight constant and more importantly, keep me healthy.

Disneyland Paris - February 2015 - Day 3 continued

So what else did we get up to on day 3 of our Disneyland Paris trip?

Well, after a morning in Disneyland Park we headed over to Walt Disney Studios for the first time this trip.

Entrance to Walt Disney Studios

Once through the gates the first thing we all wanted was food! Unfortunately we probably made the wrong choice as far as food goes. On entering the Studios you arrive in the Front Lot area and then enter a building called 'Disney Studio 1' which has two distinct areas. The left hand side is a large shop while the right hand side is a fast food restaurant called Restaurant en Coulisse which serves your traditional fast food; various burgers and a couple of salads.

The problem was we chose to stop here at lunchtime when everyone else had decided to do the same thing. We ordered our food relatively quickly but trying to find somewhere to sit down to eat was almost impossible; we tried the upstairs seating (which was very awkward to navigate through) before coming downstairs where we resigned ourselves to having to eat standing at a bar area (which had no seats!). But then we spotted some people leaving and we had to literally pounce to get the table. The tables were tightly packed in so you had no sense of your own space and because it was so busy you were very aware of other groups of people 'hovering around' waiting for people to leave. Plus the food was just very basic and nothing special...not a very enjoyable experience at all.

Anyway once we'd eaten we headed straight for the 'Toon Studio' area of the park and in particular the newest attraction at Disneyland Paris; Ratatouille: L'Adventure Totalement Toquee de Remy.

The wait time was 50 minutes but we decided to just go for it! Ratatouille is a new concept in dark rides and your ride vehicle operates on a trackless system as you enter different rooms that are a mix of film, special effects and props.  The ride is beautiful and I only wish we could have gotten to ride it more.

The area in which the Ratatouille ride is located is also beautifully themed, although it did remind me a lot of the France pavilion at Epcot;

Table service restaurant - Bistrot Chez Remy

We then headed towards another Pixar themed ride; Crush's Coaster...now unfortunately we did not have the best experience while waiting for this ride, an experience which ultimately resulted in never getting the chance to ride.

The queue was at around 45 minutes which we were all quite happy to join and initially the queue moved relatively quickly, but after 15 minutes or so the queue began to slow down until eventually it stopped. But that was alright, sometimes the speed of queues vary but then I noticed that the music that had been playing had stopped. By this time we were surrounded by some rather noisy individuals who all thought it was perfectly acceptable to start smoking...something that was clearly signposted as 'not allowed'. This seemed to be quite common practice for smokers to 'light up' wherever they liked rather than in the designated areas...but disappointingly we also noticed that no-one seemed to be enforcing the rules about where it was and wasn't acceptable to smoke!!

Anyway, back to the queue...over the group of noisy individuals I thought I heard an announcement, but there were two problems; firstly it was not being played at the far end of the queue system where we were located and secondly it was only being played in French. We stood and waited a bit longer and then heard the indecipherable announcement again...by this point I was getting a little frustrated to say the least so I made the decision that we were leaving the queue. But as the people behind us in the queue weren't moving out of the queue area we literally had to push our way through and climb over the barriers that split the queue into 'lanes'. When we finally made it out to the entry point of the Stand-by entrance we found the entrance closed and cast members turning guests away. Now I appreciate that rides will break down and accept that it is an unfortunate part of any theme park experience, but what really upset me was the apparent lack of care or concern that was shown for guests waiting in the queue once the decision had been made to close the ride. Not one cast member walked the queue area to explain what was happening, the announcements were inaudible and only in French and when leaving the queue area there was no apology or even any sign of concern that guests were still standing in line. Not a good experience!!

All four of us were feeling a little disgruntled to say the least so we decided to wander over to the opposite side of the park to see what there was to do. Now I think by this point we were all struggling to enjoy the Studios...we walked past The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (not a ride I would do normally) and despite a short wait of 10 minutes no-one was interested in riding it. We thought about the Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic, again with a relatively short wait time but couldn't muster any enthusiasm. We passed Armageddon: Les Effects Speciaux and Moteurs...Action! Stunt Show Spectacular but neither grabbed our interest. By now we were in front of Rock 'n' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith a ride which in Florida is always a must do (not me as I don't really like roller coasters!) and the wait time was 10 minutes...I turned to the kids and Simon expecting excitement but was met with a shrug of the shoulders and 'not really bothered' reply!

Oh dear the Studios were turning into a bit of a disaster for us so it was time for a re-fuel and somewhere to get warm. We went into Disney Blockbuster Cafe the only other counter service restaurant in the park and walked into an almost deserted restaurant. We then had to figure out how to get served as it really wasn't very clear; it was a help yourself counter service that when we were there was very poorly stocked, you then took your tray to a cashier to pay and order drinks. The drinks were self-serve but rather than in US parks where it would be a free refills drink station this was controlled by tokens. So one token meant one drink...no refills...

We decided to head back over to Crush's Coaster and see if we could get a ride, but alas no, the ride was still down. So instead we headed into Toy Story Playland, the only area of the park we had yet to do.

Buzz Lightyear guards the entrance to Toy Story Playland

This is a relatively small area of the studios which is home to three rides; Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop, Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin and RC Racer. and whilst the area is beautifully themed it didn't impress us enough to actually go on any of the rides. The Slinky Dog ride was definitely aimed at younger children, the RC Racer was basically a classic pirate ship swing ride but themed around toy cars and car-track and the Toy Soldier ride was your basic parachute drop affair. Nothing particularly unique and our two teenagers were not impressed and said they felt it was an area for 'little kids'!

We decided that we had had enough of Walt Disney Studios and headed into the Disney Village and partook of a little retail therapy!!

The obligatory trying on of hats!!

Playing with toy guns!!

Is it a cuddly Sully or is it a pillow? It's both!

Caught in full shopping mode...can't resist a bit of Disney jewellery....even if it's technically in the children's section!!

So a few purchases later we headed once more to our favourite eatery; Earl of Sandwich! We discovered their amazing soups on this trip which helped warm us up no end, followed by a yummy sandwich and we were all very happy. The day was now drawing to a close, so after taking advantage of the free wi-fi inside Earl of Sandwich, we headed back to the Sequoia Lodge. We stopped in at the hotel shop and bought a couple of beers and some chocolate before returning to our room for another well deserved sleep.

Disneyland Paris - February 2015 - Day 3

Here we are Day 3 of our short vacation to Disneyland Paris, and after a good nights sleep we headed straight into Disneyland Park and Plaza Gardens restaurant for our 'breakfast in the park'.

The day was still very cold but much brighter with clear blue skies and shining sun.

A much brighter but still freezing cold day

We arrived at Plaza Gardens at 8.45am, exactly the right time for our booked time slot.

Now the breakfast inside Plaza Gardens was pretty much the same as what we got at the Sequoia Lodge...there were some different breads to choose from but everything else was the same. Although there was a panic moment when I couldn't find the Nutella chocolate spread, thankfully Ethan managed to track it down and so a crisis was averted!

Inside Plaza Gardens Restaurant

Tucking into breakfast to keep us going for awhile!!

Before heading off into the cold we took advantage of the warmth and coffee refills to look at the park map and decide what we wanted to do first.

Checking the map!

Molly however had plans...she was determined that our first ride of the day be Autopia as we hadn't managed to ride it the day before. So despite it not being one of my favourite rides we agreed to head over that way to 'get it over and done with'!!

But there was a problem...the ride didn't become operational until midday and it was only around 10.00am so we had to find something else to do. Now one ride that I can never remember riding at any of the parks is Orbitron (or Astro Orbiter as it's called in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World). Or as I like to call it Dumbo with a space theme!! It's just one of those rides that has never appealed plus it always seems to have long queues and is known to be a 'slow loader', but on this bright sunny morning we decided to give it a go!

Hey let's do this!!

Beautiful but very cold day

Ride queue selfie! Well it's gotta be done!

We had such a laugh on this ride if only watching the kids trying to get in one rocket together! Now Simon and I managed to get in our rocket perfectly fine but the kids were a little squashed...and I have to admit we just sat there and laughed at, and with, them. Suffice to say we all had a great time and I was pleasantly surprised by the ride itself, so much so that I think next time we are in the US this will be on my list of 'must do's'.

As we still had time to kill before Autopia we jumped on Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast before heading over towards Sleeping Beauty Castle to explore La Galerie de la Belle au Bois Dormant. This is a walk through attraction located on the first floor of the castle which tells the story of Sleeping Beauty through stained glass windows, tapestries and illustrated books. It is a truly magical experience that has been done with the highest levels of detail and is one of the highlights of Disneyland Paris.  Here are a few photos to whet your interest but I shall save more for a future blog piece.

Stained glass window

One of a number of 'books' re-telling the story

Beautiful, detailed tapestry

Gallery ceiling is just...wow!

And then when you exit you find yourself on the castle battlements overlooking Fantasyland to the rear...

Amazing views over Fantasyland, gives you a new appreciation for the way this land has been constructed

Busy taking lots of photos!

...and Discoveryland to the front of the castle...

But that's not all the castle has to offer...oh no! Because we then paid a visit to it's resident who lives in the dungeon...La Taniere du Dragon...

Me and a dragon!

I shall have many more photos of this amazing and unique attraction to share with you in another blog post...promise!

To finish off the first half of our day we took a stroll through Le Passage Enchante d'Aladdin in Adventureland. This is another walk through attraction which depicts scenes from the film Aladdin and whilst it's nicely presented it's not a patch on the castle walk through! Hence no photos to share!

We then had a meander around Adventure Isle culminating in a visit to La Cabane des Robinson, otherwise known as Swiss Family Robinson; A Treehouse with a View! Adventure Isle is a great place to explore especially if you have younger children but with two teenagers who couldn't see the point to it plus the extreme cold it simply wasn't appealing enough to do in detail this trip. The treehouse was very similar to those stateside and whist nicely done we were now beginning to feel the cold or should that be unable to feel our fingers and toes and were desperate for some warmth.

So off we went in search of a sit down in a warm place with a nice hot drink; we walked through Frontierland but the offerings were slim so we ended up at Casey's Corner for coffees and hot chocolates before we decided what to do next.

Sizing up Casey's Corner

Feeling rather cold and trying to get warm

And then Molly reminded us that Autopia would be open and that we had promised to ride it...so that's where we headed next!

Even though it had not long opened the queue was already at a 25 minute wait!

About half way through the queue

We decided that the girls would go in one car and the boys in another. Us girls got in the car behind the boys, saw them drive off and then we were told to stay still...we waited for what seemed like an eternity before we were given the all clear to go. This meant that the boys were long gone and any chance we had of 'chasing' them was lost...wasn't quite the fun ride it could have been if we'd been 'after' the boys. In fact it was almost at the end of the track before we caught them up...

It was now approaching lunchtime and we decided that a change of park was in order, so we took a stroll down Liberty Arcade, which runs parallel with Main Street USA, and set off in the direction of Walt Disney Studios.

I think this would be a good place to stop and save the rest of the day for my next post :)