Meeting Rafiki

Well it started very wet indeed, but in some ways that was a plus as the park was very quiet and they opened Pinocchio and Snow White early, so that by 09.45 we had managed Buzz x2, the horses, Snow White and Pinocchio. Not a bad start to the last day.

William was adamant he wanted to try Thunder Mountain. None of us were sure this was a good idea as he didn't really like the Troublesome Trucks at Thomasland, which are much, much tamer. He however insisted. So we though we would be sneaky and at rope drop we went through Adventureland and into Frontierland, arriving at Thunder Mountain before those who had the rope drop at the entrance to Frontierland! Between us we must have checked William was sure he wanted to do it, because when we were actually in our seats waiting to go, Carys said "William are you ready?" and his reply was a rather annoyed "I'm sure, I am really sure!" But in the end he loved it and was even persuaded to put one hand in the air by his adventurous sister.

Off to the studios to do the tram tour, only to find they had a technical fault as did Crush's Coaster! As it was raining we dived into the Animagique show, hoping it would be more successful than the cinemagique and it was. A fab stage show with Donald Duck and a little bit of Mickey along with songs and cast members from Dumbo, Jungle Book, Little Mermaid and Lion King to name a few. Kids loved it and so did I to be fair. Trams still broken we managed the flying carpets before stopping for lunch and meeting Ratatouie in the Restaurant des Stars. The trams remained broken but a small consolation was that the children met and had their photo with Buzz Lightyear.

Back in the main park we headed back to Thunder Mountain on to find that it too had a technical problem, much to William's disappointment. we wandered through Adventureland and saw a queue to meet King Loius. We were three from the front when King Louis retired, but his handler said she would be back with Rafiki. Both children were more than happy with that exchange as I think Rafiki means more to both of them than King Louis. From there we went to A Small World, only for it to develop a technical fault and we were stuck on a boat for over half an hour before walking down a ramp to be evacuated. Disney, your maintenance schedule may need an over haul!

Carys and I then queued to meet Minnie Mouse and Duffy Bear, whilst Daddy tried to firstly get W on a car down Main street, then a horse drawn carriage, only to be told that they had just finished for the day. So he gave William a snack while we waited. With about 6 families in front of us the telephone in Minnie's house rang and both characters disappeared inside. Oh no we thought, but it was obviously a cast member change as very quickly a slightly different looking Duffy and a slightly thicker legged Minnie came out of the house and continued to mess aroundmeet the children. Carys was literally bouncing with excitement when it was her turn. She got a big huge from both characters and we have a great photo too. Well worth the wait, but then it wasn't me entertaining the little boy!

We decided to try and squeeze in another ride on Buzz before the parade, but something must have been wrong as the queue didn't move for ages. So Carys had to make a decision. W was happy to risk missing the parade to ride on Buzz for the last time, Carys not so happy. So Carys decided to fore go the ride and go and sit and wait for the parade, so she could be one the front row again. It was a good decision as she got some more high fives and plenty of waves and Captain Hook doffing his cap at her. Daddy and William managed to see most of the parade but only by virtue of W being on Jim's shoulders.

All too soon it was time for Jim to head back to get the suitcase and the three of us had about 45mins to wander round. We planned to do A Small World but C was unhappy incase we got stuck again and missed our train, so we did the teacups again instead. Went to say Goodbye to the Castle and Tannier the Dragon and headed home.

Journey home was smooth. W fell asleep 15mins from St. Pancras and remained asleep all the way home, despite being jogged around as we speed walked to Kings Cross to catch the train home. I think I speak for Jim, Carys and William when I say we all had a fantastic few days. Disney isn't always my cup of tea, but despite the technical issues their parks delivered an amazingly good experience.