The Disney Princess Tag

When I saw this tag on Hannah's lovely blog a few weeks ago, I knew I had to take part. Although my favourite Disney films will always be the animal-led ones such as 101 Dalmatians, The Jungle Book and The Lion King, some of the princess films are also among my favourites. My love for the princess films has definitely intensified due to visiting Florida's Walt Disney World regularly since 2012 and my subsequent love for the princess-laden Magic Kingdom!

(Photo taken in Walt Disney World, September 2015)

So, here goes... 

1. Which Princess do you like the least?
Snow White... I find her a bit irritating (and I think she has the worst singing voice). I do love the film itself though. Who doesn't?


2. Which Princess do you adore the most?
Belle, with Rapunzel a close second. 

(Photo taken in Disneyland Paris, December 2014)

3. Which Princess do you relate to the most?
Again, Belle. Why can't people understand that sometimes a good book is all you need?


4. Which sidekick do you wish you had?
Gus from Cinderella, closely followed by Dopey (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) and Flounder (The Little Mermaid). I've even got Dopey and Flounder teddies, but Gus unfortunately keeps eluding me.  

(Photo taken in Walt Disney World, May 2012)

5. Which best friend(s) would you like to hang out with?
The little fairies from Sleeping Beauty... not sure if they're classed as 'best friends' exactly, but they're hilarious and so caring in their own way.


6. Which Prince would love you?
Hopefully the Beast, mostly because I love him an inappropriate amount. I also adore Kristoff from Frozen, so he'll do if the Beast is unavailable. 

(Photo taken in Walt Disney World, September 2013)

7. Which parents would raise you?
It would have to be Merida's parents due to the hair similarities...


8. Which castle do you want to live in?
Rapunzel's castle. Small but beautifully picturesque! 

(Photo taken in Walt Disney World, September 2015)

9. Which dress do you wish to own?
It's between Belle's gold dress and Aurora's pink dress. I'd probably look ridiculous in both but they're so pretty!


10. Which voice do you wish you had?
Ariel's voice is beautiful... I wish I sounded like her whenever I belt out 'Part of your world'. 

(Photo taken in Walt Disney World, September 2015)

11. Which two Princesses would be best friends?
Cinderella and Snow White. They strike me as being quite similar and they could trade animal tips!


12. Which two Princesses do you think would hate one another?
Perhaps Rapunzel and Merida... they're both quite feisty and stubborn so might have a personality clash at some point.


13. Which two sidekicks would make a good duo?
Maximus from Tangled and Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast. I think this moody duo would produce some very amusing scenes!


14. Which two Princes would be best buds?
Flynn Rider and Kristoff.


15. Which scene makes you cry?
Hmmm, can I only choose one? I always get choked up when the Beast is close to death (because of my aforementioned love for him), and when Rapunzel is reunited with her parents. I chose two because I'm a maverick.


16. What scene makes you cheer?
When the curse is broken and Merida's mum is no longer a bear! And any scene where the 'evil stepmother' or similar character is defeated.


17. Which movie is your favourite soundtrack?
Beauty and the Beast probably has my overall favourite soundtrack. I See the Light (Tangled), A Whole New World (Aladdin), Reflections (Mulan), Part of Your World (The Little Mermaid) and Colours of the Wind (Pocahontas) also deserve a special mention for being amazing. 

(Photo taken in Walt Disney World, September 2015)

18. Which scene makes you cringe the most?
Perhaps when Anna and Hans first meet in Frozen. I love the song that precedes their meeting, but the meeting itself is a little cringeworthy.


19. Which story do you wish was your life?
Probably Beauty and the Beast as Belle is the princess I can relate to the most. I'd love to be as content as she is!


20. Which movie do you love the most?
If I'm just choosing the princess films, it would have to be Beauty and the Beast.

I really want to watch a princess film after all that so I've raided my Disney DVD rack... which one should I choose?

Let me know if you decide to take part, and please leave links in the comment box if you've discovered any other Disney tags which I should be aware of! 

Disneyland Paris... these are a few of my favourite things #2

I blogged about a few of my favourite things in Disneyland Paris last week, and this is the second instalment. So please read on with bated breath to find out what else I loved about Disneyland Paris...

Crush's Coaster

I have a disproportionately strong love for this ride. I screamed 'THIS IS AMAZING!' while we were hurtling around in our little turtle shell... it really was. I had no idea what to expect as this ride is exclusive to Disneyland Paris, just like the Ratatouille ride I described in my last post, so I just thought it would be a gentle teacup-type ride. It starts off gently enough until you've trundled to the top of a little incline. You then unexpectedly experience all manner of drops, twists and turns in total darkness, as well as going backwards for part of the ride. The queues for this ride were consistently massive but it was well worth it. I also loved hearing Crush speaking French in a vaguely Australian accent... that made our day!

Disneyland Park Hotel 

The beautiful Disneyland Park Hotel guards the entrance to Disneyland Park itself and I would absolutely love to stay here if we could ever afford it. You can literally hop out of bed and run down the stairs, straight in to the park. It's such an elegant hotel and the little details like the Mickey Mouse clock are key to its appeal. It's also pink which means it'll always seem extra appealing to me. Just imagine having a room in one of the little pink turrets with a perfect view of Main Street USA and Sleeping Beauty's Castle... I can dream! 

Landmarks in Walt Disney Studios

There are some iconic landmarks in Disneyland Paris' Walt Disney Studios which shouldn't be overlooked. The 'Earful Tower' is situated right at the entrance and, despite being much smaller than its Floridian counterpart, it's perfectly proportioned for this park. I also loved the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse (which was lit up beautifully at night), as well as the Sorcerer's Apprentice model and the 'hat' in the Toon Studio area. I'm gutted that they're taking down the hat in Florida's Hollywood Studios! There was also another Sorcerer's Apprentice landmark near the entrance... I think Mickey looks so cute in this little outfit and it's always how I picture him. As you can see, Walt Disney Studios definitely isn't just about the rides! 

Main Street USA

Unfortunately, I couldn't get many good photographs of the bustling Main Street USA due to the tricky combination of bad weather and big crowds. However, it's one of my favourite places in both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris. Sleeping Beauty's Castle lies at the end of the street, and Main Street USA runs from the entrance of the park to the castle itself. It's densely lined with merchandise shops, crystal shops, bakeries, ice cream parlours, toy shops... it's just a hive of activity and a Disney fan's dream. The Christmas decorations made it even more special and I just couldn't help breaking into a huge smile whenever I strolled down this street. 

Disney Princess Parade

This was another parade we stumbled upon by accident and I'm really glad we managed to catch it. I didn't used to be a big fan of the Disney princesses but they've definitely grown on me over the last few years after visiting Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris. Belle is my favourite Disney princess, closely followed by Rapunzel and Aurora. The princesses came out of the castle in all their finery then swanned past us one by one, waving to the crowds. Their dresses were beautiful and it certainly brightened up a rainy afternoon. 

What do you love about Disneyland Paris? Do you agree with my top ten? Let me know what you think! 

Café review: Pettigrew Tea Rooms

If you've read my latest blog post on my hen weekend, you'll already know that I have a new favourite place in Cardiff... Pettigrew Tea Rooms!

I'd never heard of Pettigrew Tea Rooms until a few months ago when I started researching the best places to go for afternoon tea in Cardiff. It had excellent reviews on Trip Advisor and was rated the 9th overall place to eat in Cardiff (out of 873!) so I thought it was definitely worth a try for my hen weekend.

Liz booked a table for afternoon tea last Saturday at 3pm and we were seated upstairs. As I mentioned in my last post, I walked in to find a beautifully decorated table with lots of Disney Princess goodies, confetti and bubbles!

The lady who served us was very friendly and accommodating right from the start and explained what came with the afternoon tea package when we were all settled in - a drink of your choice, a selection of finger sandwiches, a scone with cream and jam, and a slice of cake of your choice. So much food!

It's well documented on my blog that I don't like tea or coffee so I went for a gourmet hot chocolate. I was not prepared for the sheer volume of cream on this beauty...

I'd like to think the others were jealous of my spectacular drink but they all seemed to be enjoying their vast array of exotic teas. I've never seen such a big selection of tea in my entire life.

Back to my hot chocolate... I was starting to wonder if there was any actual hot chocolate in the mug when I hit the copious layer of marshmallows underneath the cream!

The hot chocolate was so beautifully indulgent, rich and delicious... I'll probably never have one quite like that ever again (until I go back to Pettigrew Tea Rooms, of course). In the meantime, I should probably go back to ordering my regular skinny hot chocolate with no cream or marshmallows for the sake of my waistline. I do have a wedding dress to fit into, after all!

Around ten minutes after our drinks were served, the finger sandwiches were brought out on little tiered stands. We had three different stands between us, along with one stand of gluten free sandwiches. I sampled a beef sandwich and a ham sandwich... I didn't want to eat too many as I knew I needed to leave room for my scone and slice of cake! The sandwiches were very elegant with a generous filling and tasty dressings. We couldn't finish all the sandwiches so the waitress boxed them up for us so that we could finish them later in the day. A nice touch!

Our scones were on the top tiers of the stands, so I eagerly tucked into mine as soon as someone else started theirs. The scone was lovely and light with a generous helping of currants (just the way I like them), and the jam and cream were just perfect. There actually seemed to be two types of cream on the table... one was more runny than the other. They both tasted great so the consistency didn't bother me in the slightest. Are you a 'cream then jam' person, or a 'jam then cream' person? I'd genuinely like to know.

I didn't think I'd have room for cake, then I remembered that my stomach always has room for cake. The waitress showed us the wide range of cakes they had available and again I was really impressed with the variety of choice on offer. I eventually went for the lemon drizzle cake after being extremely tempted by the carrot cake and changing my mind at the last minute. Who isn't tempted by carrot cake whenever they see it on a menu? Anyway, when my cake arrived I was very pleased with my choice. The lemon curd and buttercream filling was absolutely out of this world, and the sponge itself wasn't bad either. I also loved the 'bride to be' icing detail on my plate... so thoughtful! Again, a few people couldn't finish their cakes so they were boxed up so that they could take them away.

The afternoon tea was £14.95 each which was well worth the price. Just look at the sheer volume of food we ate! The experience was so lovely and we were made to feel very welcome throughout. We stayed there for three hours and weren't made to feel rushed at all. It's worth noting that I also love the cosy atmosphere and decor at Pettigrew Tea Rooms. It won't surprise you to find out that I'm a big fan of pink floral bunting!

I'm already trying to figure out when I can justify my next visit to Pettigrew Tea Rooms... I can't recommend it highly enough!

My hen weekend!

It was my hen weekend last weekend... I don't think I've ever eaten that much food outside of America. I had a really lovely weekend and I was very touched that everyone put in so much effort so I thought I'd try to summarise it in a blog post!

On a side note, as well as being my hen weekend, it's the weekend I finally mastered the art of applying eyeliner (subtly). It only took me 28 years!

I decided to stay in Cardiff for my hen weekend as it's somewhere we all know and, very importantly, we know all the good places to eat. Amy, Kirsty, Laura and Liz arrived on Friday evening so we went to the Gatekeeper for some food and a few cocktail pitchers. Can't go wrong with a good old Wetherspoons panini! The cocktail pitchers were also of a surprisingly high quality and much better than I remember, particularly the Mojito.

After finishing our food and drinks and chatting for a few hours, we walked back to our hotel. We stayed in the Nos Da budget hotel/hostel near the Millennium Stadium and I'd highly recommend it if you're planning a group trip to Cardiff. It was very reasonable, immaculate, spacious and in a fantastic central location. It was certainly much cleaner than any Travelodge I've ever stayed in, and even nicer than some higher end chain hotels I've been to. We had two rooms next to each other between the seven of us. How's this for a hotel room view...?

Nos Da serves a free breakfast every morning until 10am so we made the most of that before walking in to town. Again, the breakfast was much better than I expected with toast, a vast choice of spreads, lots of different cereals, tea, coffee and orange juice. We were all already extremely impressed, and the weekend had hardly started by this point!

We walked into town and went to a few shops to finish off our fancy dress costumes for the evening before meeting Fee, Jenna, Nicola, Sian and Sarah for the next leg of the weekend. Liz had booked afternoon tea at Pettigrew Tea Rooms for 3pm and I was VERY excited about this, to put it mildly. Believe it or not, I've never been for a proper afternoon tea! Very civilized for a hen weekend, but it's something I really wanted to do. 

We all got a bit dressed up before walking over the tea rooms, and I was given a personalised pink hen weekend sash with 'Beth's Disney Hen Do' emblazoned on it. Perfect! 

I'll be writing a separate blog post on Pettigrew Tea Rooms so I won't go into too much detail in this post, but let it be known that it was AMAZING. Liz had bought lots of Disney princess goodies such as tiaras, wands and confetti which meant the experience was extra personal and special, and the staff made us all feel very welcome. Does anyone else feel like a real Disney princess when they're wearing a pretty dress and a tiara? No? Just me?

Here are a few photos to whet your appetite before the more detailed blog post on our experience at Pettigrew Tea Rooms... my hot chocolate felt like a meal in itself! 

We stayed in the tea rooms for three hours and had such a lovely time. I really thought I'd have to be rolled out because I'd eaten so much, but I somehow managed to get myself down the stairs and out of the building. Even in my (small) heels!

We had a quick drink at the Nos Da bar before going upstairs to get ready for the evening celebrations. Their bar has an outdoor seating area which was perfect for such a sunny day. 

The theme for the evening was... you guessed it, Disney fancy dress! I decided to go as Minnie Mouse as I thought she was a very appropriate character for the bride-to-be. We also had a few princesses in the group (Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White), Russell from Up (best costume ever), Esmerelda, Neytiri from Avatar and a character from the Incredibles. Again, everyone put in lots of effort and I genuinely loved being Minnie Mouse for a few hours. My only regret is that I didn't take enough photos!

We'd booked a table in Bella Italia for 8pm... in hindsight, we should either have booked the table for much later or just had something light. Although I never thought I'd be too full for an evening meal, I was still pretty full from the colossal afternoon tea so I didn't manage to finish my spaghetti meatballs. It was still a very tasty meal and my two glasses of Prosecco also went down very nicely! 

Before we left Bella Italia, we played a game of 'Mr and Mrs' which Fee had prepared by secretly asking Neil to answer a few questions in the lead-up to the weekend. I loved this idea! I also did quite well with the questions and didn't get too many wrong, so I think this definitely proves that Neil and I are a good match. Obviously I'd have had to re-think everything if the game had gone badly. To ensure continuation of the Disney theme, I was given a Disney tattoo for every question I got wrong... 

Bella Italia is always a great place to eat and this time was no exception. The staff were accommodating as always and the food was up to its usual high standard. A great meal (and drinks) was had by all! 

After leaving Bella Italia, we got accosted by a few overly enthusiastic people who seemed extremely desperate to get us into their tiny and/or dodgy clubs... I started to get fed up of hearing 'free fish bowl for the hen!' I didn't want to go somewhere too loud and cramped where we couldn't sit down and have a chat (how old am I?), so we went to Charlie Browns for a few hours and played a lengthy game of 'I have never', among other things. A classic drinking game, I think you'll agree. I don't see my university friends very often and it was also the first time this particular group of people had all been together so I wanted to make sure we made the most of the opportunity to catch up (and embarrass each other during the drinking game). 

We were back at the hotel by 1:30am so it wasn't a wild night by any means, but I don't think it's important what time you stay out until on your hen night as long as you have a good time, make the most of the opportunity to catch up with people and laugh a lot. I did all these things so I was very happy!

We all had breakfast again on Sunday morning, checked out of our rooms, then sat outside the hotel bar until it was time for people to catch their various modes of transport. I had such a lovely weekend and just wish it hadn't flown by so quickly. Thank you to everyone for coming to Cardiff and for making it such a fantastic weekend (I hope you're all reading this)... see you all at the wedding!

I'm now mentally preparing for round two... my work hen night. Watch this space!

My Disney advent calendar

I have a Disney advent calendar. Is anyone surprised? I've always had an advent calendar for as long as I can remember, and I have no intention of stopping this tradition. It makes me feel extra Christmassy and enables me to eat a little piece of chocolate every morning for 24 days. Win win!

My Disney Princess advent calendar was £1 in Tesco, so the cheapest one I could find. I do love advent calendars, but I won't spend a fortune on them. You can tell it's cheap as it doesn't have a little foil covering over the chocolates and doesn't have an image behind each window, but luckily I love the taste of cheap advent calendar chocolate. 

I would have preferred to have seen Belle (from Beauty on the Beast) on the front instead of Cinderella as she's my favourite Disney princess, but unfortunately I don't work in Disney's design team. Cinderella is at the bottom of my Disney princess list... I have a feeling most people will disagree with me on that. Love the film, dislike the princess. 

6 windows down, 18 to go!

What advent calendar did you buy this year?