Category Archives: Plus size Disney

Jul 02 2018
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Beauty, Disney, Disney Inspired, disney jazz, disney music, Disney parks, Disney Princess, Disney Villains, Disneybounding, Disneyland Paris, fandaze, Fashion, Fat Disney, Fatshion, Hand made, Make up, Makeup, OOTD, Plus Size, Plus size Disney, plus size fashion, Uncategorized

A Plus Size Perspective – Disneyland Paris Resort. Part Three

Hellooo Friends!

Welcome back and thanks for sticking with me through this series! This is my final post at the moment, but as I’m sure you know there are a lot of changes ahead at Disneyland Paris so I’ll be updating you all as they happen!

Shows and Parades

As shows have been changing quite a lot at DLP recently, I thought it best to review them by venue/area instead of by show 😂

Videopolis

This theatre has bench style seating and is very comfortable, I fit fine and really enjoy this theatre as a venue – not turnstiles either! 😂 Wheelchair accessible with and without transfer, hearing induction loop. Venue is quite dark.

The Chapperal Theatre

Currently closed for refurbishment. Was bench style seating and although a bit chilly in the less warm months is a really comfy and nice theatre. Wheelchair accessible with and without transfer and has a hearing loop.

Animagique Theatre

Mickey and the Magician is currently residing in this theatre. The seating is snug but fine for me, the chairs have arm rests so make it a bit of a squeeze getting in and out. This theatre is wheelchair accessible with and without transfer and some shows have a sign language interpreter.

Studio Theatre

The new Marvel show will be in this theatre, I have not been inside since the refurbishment but If the seating is the same as before then the fit is very much the same as the Animagique theatre.

Production Courtyard

The Guardians Of the Galaxy dance off and the Stark expo will be held on this stage. The area is large and flat. Towards the back there are some benches which you would have limited view from and to the left there is a green/orange passholders area where you are able to watch the shows separately if you have a pas.

Stars on Parade

You are able to select your own viewing spot along the entire parade route, I would advise arriving at least an hour before the parade start time to get a front row view. You are able to sit on the floor along many parts of the route (this is more difficult on Main Street due to the busy route) it is definitely worth choosing your parade spot early for ease of access and is a great opportunity to rest weary feet! There is a sectioned off parade viewing area for green/orange passholders as well as for infinity Annual Passholders should They wish to use them.

** during other seasons the parade route is utilised for seasonal shows and parades. It is always worth getting a place early to avoid disappointment

Castle Stage

This season sees the return of the princess waltz to this stage. There are plenty of concrete stalls in this area as seating which you may still be able to see the stage from if other guests have remained seated and/or planned and not arrived last minute. If you so have a green/orange pass then you are able to use the cordoned off area. It is always worth arriving early for shows to get the best spot possible.

Merchandise and Clothing

I am sad to say that this is an area that for the plus sized community is a HUGE fail on Disneyland Paris’ part.

The largest size offered is a men’s xxl, this however comes up to the equivalent of around a standard XL in the U.K. and probably a standard Large in the US.

The ladies clothing comes up extremely small and I think this may be something to do with European sizing. A good friend of mine is a size 10 top and had to purchase a ladies Large at DLP for it to fit, that’s really not sending out a very positive message.

I long ago started buying custom Disney clothing and have recently started making my own from Fabrics that I have purchased online. If you would like more info on who I recommend for Disney clothes then please leave a comment and I will do a blog post about it.

General note …

I hate to have to add this as a warning but it has happened to me on every single trip I have been on to Disneyland Paris so I feel I owe it to my fellow Plus Size community to share it.

Unfortunately fat shaming from fellow guests is rife within the park. I have had photos taken of me without consent, filmed without consent, been shouted at, surrounded by groups of teenagers filming me and laughing, mocked in queue lines, stared at, laughed at and treated like a piece of shit. I would say, it is rarely British guests that do this, but on occasion it has been. Obviously this is a small minority of narrow minded guests, but I did feel I needed to address it as it has happen at least once on every trip.

Now, I do dress up for the parks, I always wear full makeup and Disney inspired clothing, so I can stand out and for that I guess I should expect it to a degree, but I do still find it hard.

An example of one of my many fabulous outfits

I have received nothing but positivity, love and respect from the cast members at Disneyland Paris. I cannot praise them enough for always being kind, friendly and polite. I just wish that magic rubbed off on some of the guests 😂

That being said, it doesn’t stop me going to Disneyland Paris and it doesn’t stop me loving it there. I’m lucky to have the most supportive group of friends who always help to make me feel better if I’m impacted by fools on our trips 😊

I do hope that this series has helped you if you are planning a trip and are Plus sized. If you have any questions at all do not hesitate to ask me.

Thank you for your time

With Love

Alyssa xx

** This blog is entirely made up of my personal experiences and opinions, you may find that your experience differs from mine as we are all different shapes and sizes. I have been as transparent as I can be about my size and shape but please do contact me if you have any further questions **

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Jun 07 2018
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Disneyland Paris Inaugural FANDAZE – Character Madness Exclusive package review

Hello Friends!

Thanks for joining me again to hear my thoughts on the inaugural Fandaze Party and the packages offered as part of it at Disneyland Paris.

In this review, I am going to do a full review of the Character Madness Exclusive Package and what was included in the cost.

The Character Madness Exclusive Package was advertised as

Can you imagine our excitement when we managed to secure one of those coveted 16 places? We were over the moon, as was the lovely lady who booked our package as she couldn’t quite believe we had managed to bag 3 of the places either!

When we asked we were told that the 16 packages were individuals, so our group would only have 13 more people in it to give us the maximum experience possible in our package … but more about that later.

Mark and I decided to allow the other member of our party to enjoy the Santa Fe room we booked as part of the package and we booked a room in the DLH separately on the buy 2 nights get 2 nights free offer which worked out a really good deal.

Checking in

We had a booking for a party of 3 staying at the Santa Fe as part of our package. Early on Saturday morning (pre 7am) one member of our party was able to check us all in and receive the packs for our Fandaze package.

Inside this pack were 3 tickets to collect our package from the dome and 3 tickets to collect our Fandaze photopass from any of the shop locations listed.

This was all very straightforward and hassle free for us.

Collecting our Package

While one member of our party checked in, the rest of us waited in queue early for the 8am opening of the dome to collect our package information. We arrived at just gone 7am and were the first in line, other guests started arriving around 7:20am and a queue formed behind us very quickly after that. The doors didn’t open until around 8:10am and we were then held in a queue inside for a further 15 minutes before we were seen as they were still not ready.

Once inside, only the lead name was required to show ID despite being told the entire party would need to be present. The initial desk we were sent to weren’t aware of our package, we were then sent to a second desk area where we collected our package.

Inside this package was a party map, our lanyard, pin and a card detailing our package meet and greet times and our weekend schedule.

The organisation of the collection of this information was OK, but realistically could have been done at check in at the hotels for people with packages. It wasn’t convenient to take time away from our park enjoyment, or in our case sleep enjoyment as we decided to go early, when all of the information they needed is already provided to check into the hotels.

So, to improve this process next year, I would highly recommend that stand alone tickets are collected from the dome. However, anyone that has spent the extra money on a package should have the convenience of being able to collect their pack at check in.

Fandaze Party Night

The queue system outside the park was good, as Package holders we were given priority entrance … sadly this was entirely pointless! See my previous blog for details.

This was the extent of perks for people with packages on the night aside from our exclusive meet and play that I will come on to shortly. We did not get fast passed any queues or allowed through first because we had packages despite anything that has been reported on social media. We waited in line like everyone else, the entire duration of the party.

Meet and play pre-farewell parade with Disney Fandaze VIP characters

This was at 1am and had a 30 minute time slot, we were so excited! 16 people meant we would have at least a couple of minutes each to get photos and group shots and actually have time to ‘play’ with the characters.

This is where we discovered that it was not 16 people. It was 16 groups, so our expectations of a cozy meet up was actually 37 people scrambling to take photos.

The characters were initially in couples having photos taken, Mark and I didn’t manage to get photos with all the pairs and I shouldn’t imagine all the group did. We did get a couple though.

As the meet was nearing the end they realised they needed to bring all the VIPs together to enable everyone to get a photo with them all. This should have been done from the start and any time left over once everyone had a group shot should have been allocated do individual and couple shots. I do hope that everyone managed to get a group shot like we did

This meet was poorly organised and could have been managed much better. Having said that, I got the shots I wanted and have them to treasure forever so It was a success for me, I just felt like I had to push my way through to get it.

This was the end of our package experience for the actual Fandaze Party, our remaining perks were scheduled for the next day.

Sunday 3rd June 2018

Character encounters with Mickey and Minnie

We had been allocated a 10:30am time slot for this meet, which was a bit of a struggle to get up for after a 3:30am bedtime! We met at the Disney jnr ride and were pleased to see it was a far smaller group this morning.

Once inside we were greeted by the happiest and most enthusiastic group of cast members and photopass photographers, it was amazing!!! We went through and had photos individually and then hung back while everyone else had there’s .. and then left. There was still 15mins left of the set & we were told we could have as many photos as we wanted! So we had group shots and couples and some funny shots and generally just had fun with the main mice!

This encounter was excellent, I really enjoyed it. It was definitely a highlight of the package.

Sunday Brunch with 8 VIPs in exclusive outfits.

Now we love a brunch, if our trip falls over a Sunday we will always do the brunch and have even been known to do a one night stop over for a theme we like. We usually spend the entire 3 hours allowed for brunch at our table to enable maximum engagement with the characters and a leisurely un-rushed meal.

When we saw that we only had a 2 hour allocation for brunch before our next meeting we had concerns as that really only left us 1 hour and 45 mins to get everything done.

Brunch for the event was in the California Grill. We were sat in wine room at the top, right next to the doors through to inventions. There were 4 tables in our room.

Fortunately we were a group of 3 so were allocated a table for 4. If you were a table for 2, you were paired up with strangers for your meal as there weren’t enough 2 person tables. This wouldn’t bother me, but other guests were voicing that it made them uncomfortable.

The brunch was for both exclusive and premium character madness packages. Everyone was seated at the same time, despite the fact that the exclusive packages had to leave before the end to get to their next appointment. Exclusive packages should have been priority seating to allow enough time to meet all the characters and eat enough food.

The food was not to the usual standard I expect at inventions brunch. It was being carried through from the normal restaurant and was at most warm when we got to it. The selection wasn’t as wide as the counter space was far smaller and in all was just a disappointment. It’s the first time I’ve come out of a brunch feeling like I hadn’t had enough to eat due to the lack of time and selection.

During the first 40 minutes we didn’t see a single character, after speaking to an ACC it turned out that they didn’t know that there were guests in the room we were in. This meant that we started to get them coming to us, sometimes in quick succession so we got some combination photos.

Sadly Mickey didn’t make it to us before we had to leave, so this was the best photo I could get of him.

Considering the amount we paid for our package, it shouldn’t have been like this. The characters should have been easily accessible to us all during the brunch, especially considering the limited time we had allocated to meet them all before our next appointment.

Private encounter with 2 special VIP characters

We ran over from inventions to studios for our next meet. We entered the room to be greeted by the same photo pass photographer and ACC group we had in the morning meet and that made it even better!! We had SO much fun!

The same as the morning meet, people were coming in, having photos and leaving, so we hung around until the end again to get lots and lots of amazing shots!!

This encounter was really amazing. Meeting Ortensia in her first ever park appearance and Oswald who has only been to DLP a handful of times was truly special. So thank you to Fandaze for giving us that privilege.

I loved everything that we got to do as part of our package and do think it was worth the money. There are things I would change and improvements that could have been made, but I will talk about that more in a future blog.

Would I do Fandaze again? Yes, I’m a heartbeat. Would I do the same package again? That very much depends on whether changes are made. If Characters Fandaze outfits remain the same and if the brunch isn’t extended then possibly not, but I’d have to look into it when the information is released.

My next blog will be my thoughts on how Disneyland Paris could improve Fandaze and what I would do differently.

Lots of Love

Alyssa xx

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May 21 2018
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Last Minute Fandaze outfits with Redbubble …

Hi Friends!

It would appear that not everyone is as well planned outfit wise as me for Fandaze weekend … so I thought I’d lend a helping hand to those who may still be wondering what to wear!

I have found that Redbubble have the best selection of items as they carry a lot of fan art, so here are my fave items …

Ducktales Design

Magica Design

Duckberg Design

Louie’s Design

Higher for Hire Design

Darkwing Design

Monterey Jack Design

Rescue Rangers Design

Kuzko Design

No Touchy Design

Roger Rabbit Design

Mike Design

Oswald Design

Just a few selections of my faves to give you an idea.

The majority of these designs are available across a variety of items, T Shirts, Hoodies, Vest Tops, Dresses, Scarves etc .. just search through from the links.

Redbubble often have discount codes and offers so make sure you’re subscribed to the mailing list!

Are you outfit ready for Fandaze?

Lots of Love

Alyssa xx

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May 05 2018
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Disney, Disney Inspired, Disney parks, Disney Princess, Disney Villains, Disneybounding, Disneyland Paris, Fashion, Fat Disney, Fatshion, Plus Size, Plus size Disney, plus size fashion

Plus Size Disney – EMP Review

Hey Friends!

We have previously discussed how Plus Size Disney clothing is limited in the U.K. and how annoying this is, especially as customs charges are so high to ship from the US.

Well, over the past few months EMP have made a huge impact on the Disney online community as a company offering Disney clothes from American brands like Hot Topic and Torrid in the U.K and the best news is that those shops make clothes for fatties!

Having now placed a few orders with EMP I wanted to share my experience, so hopefully other Plus Size shoppers can get an idea what they need to look out for when buying from EMP.

The primary shops that EMP offer plus size Disney clothing from are Torrid and Hot Topic. Now, both of these shops do offer plus sizes, however, Hot Topic is Plus Size Junior/ Girls which is a slightly smaller measurement and definitely a different cut than the Torrid range which is standard US plus size.

Below are the two sizing charts of those stores …

Hot Topic sizing Chart

Torrid Size Chart

As you can see there aren’t huge differences in sizes, but the fact that Hot Topic only offer bust sizes in their size 6 shows that they stop making dresses and trousers at a size 5XL. Also, as I said above, I find the cut of Hot Topic items to be slightly different and I think this is because it is aimed at a more ‘teen’ market.

EMP However, offer sizing up to a 7XL – of this very same clothing! The EMP size chart differs once again!

EMP Size Chart

So, for comparison on EMP a size 7XL bust measures 53inches – 55.5inches … which is considerably less than a 6X in Torrid or Hot Topic 😱

Basically, the EMP size guide is rubbish. I have purchased multiple items from the site in sizes 6XL and 7XL which have the same measurements as a 6XL on Torrid! Sooo … working out the plus sizing is a little hit and miss.

The vast majority of items on EMP are still live on the other websites, I find that it is best to compare between the sites and try to work out what sizing you would be from that. If it’s a Torrid item, the 7XL on EMP is usually a 6XL on Torrid, so you can work back from there to figure out your size.

Another issue I have with the website and app is that it’s not easy to find the plus size Disney clothing. The ‘plus size’ search is RUBBISH! Don’t bother using it. I follow this route to search from the home page …

Categories > Women > Clothing > Show all Products > Filtering and Sorting > Size > select 6XL and 7XL ( for my personal size preferences) > Finish > Apply

It’s pretty long winded but it’s the only way I’ve found that works!

I have purchased quite a few items from the EMP app and have been happy with them all. I knew I would be as the quality from Torrid has always been something I have been happy with. I’ve mostly purchased casual/ chilled clothing so far though so don’t have any photos of me in any of it 😂

Instead, here is my current wish list from EMP of items available in my size

Alice floral blue Dress

Tropical Lilo & Stitch shirt

Snow White kimono

Wonderland Tee

I would order each of these in a size 7XL to allow for my chest, but do sometimes find I could have purchased a 6XL.

Do you have your eye on anything at EMP at the moment? Have you had similar issues with the sizing charts?

With Love

Alyssa xx

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May 04 2018
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A Plus Size Perspective -Disneyland Paris Resort. Part Two

Hello Friends!

Welcome back and thank you for joining me again if you are doing so on the back of my last blog post about this topic!

Today’s post will mostly be covering rides. Now, I’m not the biggest fan of rides, I have the ones I love to do (Phantom Manor and ToT are my faves) but rides are not my priority on a Disney Trip. Having said that, I have been going to DLP long enough to know which rides do and do not work for fatties, so let’s hop to it!

Disneyland Park

Town Square/Main Street/The Hub

There are often vehicles and horse drawn carriages available to hop on to take you up and down Main Street. The majority of these vehicles have a step up to get into them and then a wooden benchseating system, I have been on a couple of these and had no issue at all with getting on/off or the seating so I’d say they’re all pretty fat friendly.

Disneyland Railroad is accessible from Town Square and then each and every land throughout the Disneyland Park. There are stairs to the platform in Town Square but there is also a lift if you have mobility issues with staircases. The seats are very comfortable on the train and although it often has long wait times is a cute and comfortable way to travel between lands or do a tour of the park.

Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant/La Taniere du Dragon

These are both walk though attractions, to see the sleeping beauty story in the stained glass windows you have to go up a small staircase, it isn’t many stairs and they are fairly wide. I can use them no problems.

The dragon is under the castle and has step free access from the side, again this is a walk through attraction. Please be aware that it is very dark, if (like me) you have very light sensitive eyes then you may find in the brighter months you struggle to see for some time while your eyes adjust to the darkness.

Discoveryland

Buzz Lightyear laser blast – The turnstiles for getting into the queue line for this ride are the biggest issue, they are tiny. I am able to do them if I stand on tippytoes and go through sideways – you can ask the CM at the front to let you through the gated entrance though. The ride vehicle is big enough for both me and my partner so there are no issues with that whatsoever.

Orbitron – The rockets on this ride are very small, my sister is a size 16 and her and my niece fitted but she said that the vehicles are very small and I wouldn’t have fit in them. Not such a bad thing as she said all the going round in circles fast made her feel a bit sick anyway 😂

Autopia – The cars on this ride are all perfectly fine for people of size, I had no problems fitting into one when we took my nieces.

Space Mountain – This is a firm no. The coasters which have over the head seatbelts mechanisms in DLP are not designed for people with large chests. I believe that the maximum chest width is 50″ but cannot find anything to support that, it may have just been what I was told. I have also been advised that Plus Size/muscular or wide shouldered men on the taller side may have issues with this ride too.

Star Tours – This is a simulator with chairs and a lap seatbelt. I have no issues at all with fitting on this ride … I just can’t deal with the motion sickness afterwards 😂

Fantasyland

Small World – large boats with bench type seating, they allow you to say how many will be sitting on each bench so I usually make the party split so I feel more comfortable the boat is balanced (that’s just my paranoia though as I have done it with 4 of us in the front row squished in like sardines with no issues too – that’s a story for another time though) This is a ride that you have to step down into and step back out of as well.

Mad Hatters Tea Cups – This is a seated spinning ride, the actual hole that you get into the cup through is really small and a bit of a squeeze but once inside it’s snug but not uncomfortable for me. Handy tip, if going on with a child, hold the middle to prevent them spinning it so much you end up feeling sick 🤣

Carousel – The horses involve a reasonably high step up and you need to be able to hook your leg over the back of the horse, adults do not need to wear the safety straps though (they definitely wouldn’t fit me) if you are worried about the transfer on to the horse there are carriages that you can ride in too.

Alice’s Curious Labyrinth – This is a standard walk around maze, there are some smaller doors you can go through in the maze part but I have never had any issues with any part of this attraction. The end allows you to go up the Queen of Hearts tower, the steps are narrow and steep but the view at the top is amazing. I only tend to do this on less busy days as it can be tricky passing people in the stairwells of the castle when you are larger and there aren’t many crossing points.

Les Voyages des Pinocchio – Wooden bench style ride vehicles with a lap bar that comes down. I fit in these absolutely fine, what I would say as with all of these type rides is if you are going on with a small child the bar will be too high for them so I do not do these kind of rides with my nieces for that reason.

Blanche neige (Snow White) et les sept Naine – Wooden bench style ride vehicles with a lap bar that comes down. I fit in these absolutely fine, what I would say as with all of these type rides is if you are going on with a small child the bar will be too high for them so I do not do these kind of rides with my nieces for that reason.

Peter Pans Flight – The flying boats are suspended from the ceiling, they are a bench style seat once again with a bar across you. I fit in these absolutely fine, what I would say as with all of these type rides is if you are going on with a small child the bar will be too high for them so I do not do these kind of rides with my nieces for that reason.

Dumbo – I have no issue fitting into the elephants for this ride and they still go up and down with my weight

Casey Jnr – I have not ridden this, so I have no idea if I will fit to be honest. The carriages don’t look particularly small though.

Le Pays des Contes de Fèes – These boats have plenty of room, again bench style seats and you do need to be able to step down and out of the boats to access.

Adventureland

Pirates of the Caribbean – The boats are similar in designs and accessibility as small world. They are wide bench style seats which you need to be able to step down into and up out of. Please be aware that it is very dark in the queue area, if (like me) you have very light sensitive eyes then you may find in the brighter months you struggle to see for some time while your eyes adjust to the darkness.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril – This is another rollercoaster with an overhead seatbelt system, so I am unable to do this ride.

La Cabane des Robinsons – The Robinson’s treehouse looks lovely from a distance and I’ve been underneath it, but frankly I do not fancy walking up all those steps to see the top. I’m assured that it’s not too bad as they aren’t steep and that the view is worth it, but it’s not something I can be bothered to do 🙈

Aladdin’s Enchanted Passage – This is a walk through attraction, it’s cute and accessible to everyone.

Frontierland

Big Thunder Mountain – The wildest ride in the wilderness! The seats on this ride are bench style with a pull down bar, myself and my partner fit in this ride together fine, I have even ridden this wearing my huge petticoat underskirt and still fit ok.

Phantom Manor – The doom buggy’s are nice and wide and have a pull down bar which stops no where near your body so this ride has loads of room. It’s also one of my faves 💜

Molly Brown – huge boat that you can wander around or sit on while it floats around the lagoon. No access issues at all.

Walt Disney Studios

Flying Carpets over Agrabah – Ride vehicles are plenty large enough for me, similar to dumbo sizing.

Crush’s Coaster – I haven’t tried this ride as I was advised by the cast member at the front that it was unlikely I would fit in the vehicle and nobody wants to wait as long as the crush’s coaster queue just to not fit at the end of it 😂 . I understand that it is a tight lap bar. My friend is a size 22 and quite tall, she said she struggled with this ride but fit with help from a CM forcing the bar down.

Cars Rallye – The back seat of this ride is larger than the front. I can fit in this if I sit in the back and my nieces sit in the front. This ride makes me feel a bit sick though 😂

Ratatouille – wide bench seats in your rat-mobile I found that I fit easily, bar comes down over you. The CMs usually notice you are larger and don’t add a single rider with you, if they do then I can be a little snug, but not unbearable.

Toy Soldiers Parachute drop – this ride is fine, has a lap belt and a bar that comes down. The bar was tight on my legs and stomach but fitted over me, I didn’t find this comfortable though and wouldn’t do it again.

Slinky Dog – I haven’t actually tried this to know, the vehicles don’t look particularly small though. I would try it but my nieces didn’t want to queue for it so I wasn’t going to do it on my own. 😂

RC Racer – This is an overhead seat belt which I cannot fit in. There is a plus size seat in the front row which has a blue headrest to identify it. This chair is used for anyone who may need more room so you may have to wait longer for it.

Tower of Terror – very narrow turnstiles again like buzz. If you go up in the lift to the right there are less steps once you come out, the lift to the left has a few flights of stairs to walk up to get to your lift. Once on the ride there is a lap belt which fits me with plenty of room to spare … word of warning about TOT it would appear the larger you are the more ‘air’ you get in the drops! I come out of my seat to full extension of the seat belt 😂

Armageddon – This is a walk through attraction so is accessible to all.

Rock and Rollercoaster – This is an overhead safety harness so once again I am unable to ride this rollercoaster because of my chest.

I have found that the cast members are super helpful on the rides, so if you are at all unsure whether you will fit then please ask them and they will advise you accordingly.

Well, that was another long blog post so it looks like there will be a Part Three. I will cover Plus Size shopping at DLP, The Disney Village and Access to shows and parades as well as any other little tidbits I can think of 😊

Thanks so much for sticking with me on this blog and for all the lovely messages on Twitter about the first part – I’m glad people are finding it useful

With Love

Alyssa xx

** This blog is entirely made up of my personal experiences and opinions, you may find that your experience differs from mine as we are all different shapes and sizes. I have been as transparent as I can be about my size and shape but please do contact me if you have any further questions **

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May 03 2018
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Plus size Disney – All my outfits from my last trip.

Hello Friends!

I am often asked about my outfits both when and I am in the parks and when I get back and post photos. So, I thought it might be a good idea to share my Disney trip wardrobe rundowns in a blog when I get back. (Sorry this one is excessively late)

We arrived on the Friday lunchtime and didn’t actually go into the parks until the evening event. The event we were attending was the Hollywood Tower of Terror 10th anniversary party which was specifically for Annual Passholders. When it was announced that we could attend in 1930s fancy dress, I couldn’t resist! I made myself an off the shoulder floor length navy sequin gown and Mark wore a dinner suit with a mickey bow tie and cummerbund. (A full review of the night is in an earlier blog post)

Saturday was my Pirates day! I knew that the Pirates and Princess season was starting this weekend and decided to support the pirates team with my outfit this day! I made this dress and ears with pirate themed fabric I purchased on eBay

With my pirate (close up of ears)

Easter Sunday is always my fave Disney day of the year, For as long as I can remember Easter Sunday brunch is Alice in Wonderland themed! This means all my fave characters and usually my Cheshire Cat makes an appearance too 😍

This year I decided to wear my Queen if Hearts themed dress from Be Ba Go the interaction from characters was amazing. I had the best day!

Finally on the Monday Mark and I decided to wear our Muppets outfits. My dress and Mark’s shirt were made by the lovely Kaz at Frockasaurus and I made the ears to match myself

I hope you have enjoyed seeing what I wore on my latest trip! What was your fave one?

I will be back tomorrow with part 2 of my Plus Size at DLP blog.

Thanks for Stopping by!

Alyssa xx

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May 02 2018
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Disney, Disney Inspired, Disney parks, Disney Princess, Disney Villains, Disneybounding, Disneyland Paris, Fashion, Fat Disney, Fatshion, Plus Size, Plus size Disney, plus size fashion, Uncategorized

A Plus Size Perspective – Disneyland Paris Resort. Part One

Hey Friends!

I have been intending to do this post for some time and it wasn’t until I sat down to write it that I realised that I would need to break it down into a few blogs!

Going to any Theme Park as a Plus Size person can be a daunting prospect, I know before I came to DLP for the first time I spent ages googling to see what I could find out about rides, walking distances, waiting lines and anything else I could think of that might pose a problem for me. There really wasn’t very much information. I’m hoping to help with that here on my little blog.

A bit about me

In case you’re wondering what qualifies me to speak on this subject, I’ll let you know a few things about me. I’m just over 5ft 6″ tall, am a size 32/34 top half and a size 26/28 bottom half so am very much more top heavy in my Plus Sizeness. I would qualify as a ‘super fat’ within the given names we have for ourselves in the Plus Size community and have always been in that scale since visiting Disneyland Paris. My fitness isn’t amazing, although that’s something I’m working to improve. I have attended the parks whilst recovering from DVT so can advise in a ‘less mobile’ capacity too.

This is what I look like in my happy place

Before you go

The first question I think you need to ask yourself when booking a trip to Disney is where do you want to stay?

A day on your feet in a Disney park is no laughing matter, especially when you are larger than the average person. So where you stay and the distance you have to travel at the end of a long park day, with painful Disney feet, is something to seriously consider.

When you decide to book Disneyland Paris you will see that there are six ‘on site’ Disneyland Paris hotels to choose from as well as many ‘partner hotels’ which are near the resort.

The Disneyland Hotel is the closest (and most expensive) of all the hotels. It’s the beautiful pink building that makes up the entrance to the parks and is by far the most convenient of all the hotels.

To get from the parks to any other hotel is initially an uphill walk through fantasy gardens into the Disney village. Once in the village you can turn left and exit towards the train station where there are bus stops to take you to all of the other on site hotels, as well as many of the partner hotels. Should you choose to walk to your onsite hotel, you go through the village and out to the right hand side of the lake to go to;

The Newport Bay Club, this is approximately a slow 15 min walk from the park. The hotel has been recently refurbished and for design and comfort is the nicest hotel after the DLH in my opinion.

You turn to the left hand side of the lake to go to;

Hotel New York, this is approximately a slow 10 min walk from the park. This hotel is a business centre so is not to everyone’s taste, it is being refurbished later in 2018 though and will have a Marvel theme

Sequoia Lodge, this is approximately a slow 15 min walk from the park. This hotel appears to be a family favourite. It has a wooden lodge design and a lovely bar with a huge open fire.

Cheyenne (Cowboy/Toy Story Themed) and Santa Fe (Mexicans/Cars Themed) are also available to walk to, but as I have never done it I cannot tell you how long it would take me. I have always caught the on site bus when staying at these hotels, both of which are the budget options for Disneyland Paris.

All of the on site Disney hotels have disabled access, disabled/adapted rooms and the buses are wheelchair accessible. I have had no issues with any of the beds in the on site hotels, they are adequately sized and comfortable. They all have over bath shower facilities with those annoying shower curtains that stick to you. The baths are small, I doubt I would fit comfortably laying down but have never tried, all of the baths have handles to help with access though. Overall, they are easy to access and adequately sized as a shower facility, again I have had no issues with the bathrooms or toilet facilities in the on site hotels.

In the Parks

Accessibility

I hate that the first thing I have to list is a negative thing, but the very first obstacle you will encounter as a Plus Size visitor to DLP are the access turnstiles. Now, the ones at the entrance to the park aren’t to narrow, I can fit through them sideways without issue. There is an alternative to the turnstiles though as there is a door in the middle of each set of turnstiles, some cast members will notice and offer you to go through, others you may need to ask, but I’ve never found it a problem.

While we are on turnstiles, you will notice that they are a continuous nightmare throughout the parks. Access to some rides is via turnstile, these turnstiles are smaller than the ones at the entrance to the parks. I can fit through them on tippytoes sideways but it’s a bit of a squeeze. You can ask the CM if you can go through the access gates instead if you are worried you won’t fit.

Turnstile bruises are something you accept as a Disneyland Paris fan, my legs are always bruised after a trip!

Getting around

Be prepared to walk for miles and miles on an average day at a Disney Park. Disneyland Paris’s two parks are relatively flat so you won’t be trekking up and down hills or steps constantly but even flat walking can take its toll when you are a plus sized person.

Should you struggle with the walking, you are able to hire a wheelchair at Disneyland Paris, if you have an infinity Annual Pass this is a free service, you just have to pay a deposit which is returned to you. There is a daily fee if you do not have an annual pass though and the seats on the wheelchairs are quite small, if you may need a chair to assist you during your trip, I would advise bringing your own.

Disneyland Paris do not have a relationship with a company offering mobility scooters, there are some which will bring one to your hotel for you to use though this site seems to the be the one that most people use. Please be aware that they do not offer mobility scooters for anyone over the weight of 18 stones, so you may need to bring your own. Also, mobility scooters cannot be left unattended so if they need charging during the day, you will be required to stay with the device as it charges.

Walking around the park there are plenty of benches, tables and chairs for you to rest on should you need to, It is also allowed to sit on the pavements when waiting for parades and shows. Queue lines often don’t have anywhere to sit/rest/lean, these are the times I feel the fatigue the most. Standing still can put a lot of pressure on your feet and joints as a Plus Size person, in some instances you may be able to sit off to the side and join your party nearer the front of the queue, however, many rides will not allow this. If you have a physical condition which hinders you standing for a long Period then you may apply for a disability pass which will allow you to be given a return time equivalent to the time you would have waited in the queue. You will need a Dr’s letter to be considered for one of these passes.

To prevent you getting blog reading fatigue I am going to stop this part of the blog here! The next parts of the blog will cover; the accessibility of rides at Disneyland Paris, show and parade access, plus size shopping at DLP and the Disney Village.

I hope you have found this section useful and come back for future instalments!

With Love

Alyssa xxx

** This blog is entirely made up of my personal experiences and opinions, you may find that your experience differs from mine as we are all different shapes and sizes. I have been as transparent as I can be about my size and shape but please do contact me if you have any further questions **

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Apr 13 2018
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Disney, Disney Inspired, Disney parks, Disney Princess, Disney Villains, Disneybounding, Disneyland Paris, Fashion, Festivals, Plus Size, Plus size Disney, Uncategorized

Pirates and Princesses – My thoughts on DLP Spring season 2018

Are you a Princess? Are you a Pirate?

Be prepared to make that choice a lot during the Spring season at Disneyland Paris this year!

Festival of Pirates and Princesses runs from 31st March until the 31st May 2018. I was lucky enough to experience the opening weekend of this lively new season so thought I’d give you all a run down of my thoughts!

Let’s run through a day in the Pirate and Princess schedule …

So, What’s new?

  • The Pirates vs Princess Parade/Show “Disney Pirate or Princess – Make your choice” which runs 4 times per day.
  • The Princess Promenade with Elena of Avalor and Sophia the First which runs 4 times per day.
  • Hoist the flag Mateys with Captain Jack Sparrow which runs 6 times per day.

The not so new …

  • Mickey presents – Happy Anniversary Disneyland Paris which runs twice a day
  • Meet and Greets with characters throughout the Park and various locations
  • Disney Stars on Parade which runs daily at 5pm and
  • Disney Illuminations Which is at park closing daily.

Positives

  • The Spring Season is back with gusto at Disneyland Paris!! A fully interactive day packed full of fun, colour, music and entertainment is what you can expect from this season if you are attending . The atmosphere throughout the park when so many shows are happening during the day is electric, with the entire parade route being used as well as the castle stage and the hub – there is always something to see.
  • ‘Disney Pirate or Princess – Make your choice’ – WHAT A SHOW! This parade has everything you could want from a Disney show; Beautiful colourful floats, Princesses, Pirates, Mermaid Ariel 💜, dance routines, live singing, acrobatics, audience interaction, amazing costumes, Prince Mickey, Pirate Minnie … it is AMAZING. There are three key places to watch this parade. Each team stop and perform a brief show on the way into the Hub, the team heading down from Small World stop at the castle stage and the team heading up from Town Square stop on Main Street. The team in each location alternates each show. The floats then head into the hub where the teams then do dance routines on the stages. Please be aware, whilst the centre of the hub is an amazing viewpoint for all the stages, you cannot get out of the hub until the parade has moved on. This show/parade was by far my highlight of the season, I could easily watch all 4 shows every day and see something different each time.
  • The Princess Promenade is cute, it confuses me slightly why they are not included in the parade as Jake the pirate has been incorporated into the pirates section of the show, but their dance through the park is well received and the younger children seemed to really enjoy seeing them out as they are rarer characters that are aimed at the younger audience.
  • I personally loved that despite having so many shows throughout the day in the theme of the season, they have still kept 2 showings of the Happy Anniversary show. I love this show on the castle stage and even though I’ve seen it many time I still watched it this trip because I love it!
  • Seasonal treats have been released, one of my friends sampled the Princess cupcake and said it was delicious, there is also a Pirates version. Other seasonal releases include the Cinderella carriage popcorn bucket, a Princess candy apple and Princess vs Pirate ice cream cones! I do love themed treats!

Negatives

  • Hoist the flags mateys … well, I’m not sure if it was opening weekend teething issues but what a shambles. There is limited access for viewing each show and frankly what you do see isn’t worth the bun fight to get a spot in my opinion. However, this was my only disappointment of the season.

In summary …

I went into this season expecting to hate it because it was replacing my beloved Swing into Spring, but was pleasantly surprised how much I actually loved it.

For me, Pirates and Princesses is taking Spring back to where it was a few years ago in DLP, a vibrant engaging season which keeps you entertained throughout the park all day long.

Bravo to the wonderful entertainment team who make these shows so high energy and engaging. It’s impossible to cast compliment the entire show/parade crew and performers but they are the guys that provide the magic of bringing the season to life.

Keep up the good work DLP, if the Marvel Summer Of Super Heroes is a patch on this season then we have lots of magic to look forward to!

Much Love

Alyssa xx

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Apr 12 2018
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Disney Inspired, Disney parks, Disney Princess, Disney Villains, Disneybounding, Disneyland Paris, Fashion, Fatshion, OOTD, Plus Size, Plus size Disney, plus size fashion

Plus size Disneybound – Mr Smee

Hello!!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted one of these but inspired by the Pirates and Princess season at Disneyland Paris I have a few coming up for you!

Let’s start off with Team Pirates!

Mr Smee

Trousers – ASOS Curve

Tee – ASOS Curve

Sandals – Yours Clothing

Hat – Jensnerdyknitting Etsy

Glasses – Firmoo

I think this would be such a cute spring look at DLP and I can guarantee that Mr Smee would be thrilled to see himself in a Disneybound!

All links and prices accurate at time of posting on blog.

I will be posting my blog on the Princess and Pirate season at Disneyland Paris tomorrow!

Much Love

Alyssa x

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Apr 03 2018
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Disney, Disney Inspired, Disney parks, Disney Princess, Disney Villains, Disneybounding, Disneyland Paris, Fashion, Fatshion, Hand made, Make up, Makeup, Plus Size, Plus size Disney, plus size fashion

‪Hollywood Tower of Terror 10th Anniversary AP Event – Review

I’ve seen lots of negative posts about the event so thought I’d share my feelings on the night.

Positives

* The light show on the building was amazing, I understand that people were disappointed that it wasn’t a new projection, but from what I understand that one was only previously seen live at a press event, so was new for me. Yes, the tech was a bit dated, but for me, that added to the fact that we were celebrating something that’s been in the parks for ten years.

* The Goodie Bag. We were all given a printed tote bag, a beautiful leather key ring and a programme of the night which I thought was a lovely touch .

* My fellow attendees. Wow! What an amazing turnout of people. Pretty much everyone had made an effort to dress in theme. It was fabulous to see and everyone looked spectacular!

* The actors. Throughout the entire event there were actors walking around. It was sometimes tricky to tell the actors from guests as everyone had made such effort but they were really interactive and fun. All through the queue for the ride you had actors being really earie and creepy, then outside the actors were joining in the dance party and getting everyone going, it was an amazing addition to the fun of the night.

*Photo Location. I was so glad to see a photopass location for the night, a really cool backdrop and actors to pose with as well. This had a short queue for most of the evening. Our photos turned out really well as a fab memento of the event.

* Dance Party. This was a strange one, the music was perfectly fine, a broad range that would suit most people that wanted a dance, but the party was for such a small amount of people that when it kicked off everyone was either waiting to get the LE merch or on the rides. It was lovely to have music playing in the park as we walked around, just a shame it didn’t really work as a ‘dance party’. It may have been more effective if the party had gone on a bit later.

*Rides. I’ll be honest, I only rode ToT. We were able to walk through without queueing, the actors inside were AMAZING and the ride itself was fab as always. If I were a more ride orientated person then I’m sure I’d have taken the opportunity to ride crush a few times without the crazy daytime queues but, I’m not a ride person – so I didn’t 😂

Negatives

* The key debacle. The programme said that a limited edition item was available for sale in the gift shop once the projection finished. Seemed everyone decided to go get that immediately and the shop was MADNESS. It took well over a hour for them to get security in an sort out the mess, by which time there had been much shouting and fighting in the queue. What made matters worse was that we were limited to one per person on the night so you had to go buy them individually. Turns out though that they made more than people attending, so everyone could buy the key from the next day anyway 🙄 This part was incredibly poorly organised and disappointing.

*Food and Drink. The restaurant in Studio One was open for burgers and nuggets etc but that was all. It would have been nice to have had some pop up booths with special snacks/drinks for the night.

*Characters. This was the biggest disappointment for me. I expected to at least see bellhop Goofy at the event if not all the VIPs, but sadly there wasn’t a single character at the event. This was a shame.

Overall, I really enjoyed the event. I don’t think that €38 was too much to pay for it as I had an amazing experience. I have heard a lot of people complain about the price, but honestly, I am unsure what more they could have wanted than what I’ve mentioned above.

If circumstances allow then I will definitely be looking to attend the next AP event mentioned in the email following from this one and I encourage any AP holders to do the same!

Did you go? What did you think?

Alyssa xxx

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