HELP!!!!!! More Disney Dreams to fulfill! 09/04 Exciting news!

[dizneeat]

Disneyland Paris, April 28 - May 1, 2012

Day 1, April 28

Business class and an Annual Pass - Part 4

Once inside the shopping centre we were disappointed to see the Disney store in there had been closed, so we decided to head right over to the supermarket to do some shopping.
We had a few items on our list we wanted to bring home, so we went to pick those up first, then went on to pick up some groceries for our stay. We spent about an hour and a half in the supermarket, then loaded everything back into the car and went off to check in at our hotel.
On the way there we made a short stop at our favourite bakery to find out when they would open for the afternoon and luckily for us it was only about an hour later. Our hotel is just around the corner from the bakery so we went over there, parked the car close to the lobby and went to check in.
There was no one in line ahead of us, so it didn’t take long to check in and be handed the key to our “residence”. It was situated at the back of the property and we didn’t take any luggage with us when we went to check out the location. It was pretty easy to find and we were pleasantly surprised to see that it was a corner villa and that the bedroom and kitchen windows overlooked a nice park.

After having checked out that everything was in order, we headed back to the car and hauled our luggage and all our shopping back to our villa. We unpacked, stocked the fridge and connected to the internet and when all that was done we were ready to head out again and go over to the bakery to pick up some baguette and pastries.

By then it was nearly 4pm and we were getting hungry and since there were lots of yummies waiting in the fridge, we had a nice picknick in front of the TV once we returned from the bakery.

To be continued ............

 

[jedijill]

Ah...Viva la France. I love Business Class....I was ruined for life when Delta bumped me up to Business on a flight from Frankfurt to the US. The picnic looks great! I don't see any croissants thought....how can you go to Paris and not have one (or 2 dozen!)

Jill in CO

 

[dizneeat]

Ah...Viva la France. I love Business Class....I was ruined for life when Delta bumped me up to Business on a flight from Frankfurt to the US. The picnic looks great! I don't see any croissants thought....how can you go to Paris and not have one (or 2 dozen!)

Jill in CO

Tell me about being spoiled by flying Business Class. We got bumped up on our Christmas trip a few years ago and it was like heaven, but unfortunately it is more than twice what I pay for a regular flight (and that is high enough ).
Never thought about going business on short flights. But we enjoyed it a lot.

We love our picnics in Paris. And NO, there were no croissants - I am not a huge fan (I only love the chocolate filled ones ) and Tom didn't feel like any.
But we had some towards the end

 

[jenseib]

That place is very spacious!!!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

How cool to get Business class~ I didn't know you would get the VIP treatment, like First Class!

DLP is so quaint, and looks more "real" to me. I am excited to see your visit, and hope we can go there ourselves some day. Your accomodations are interesting to me. Kind of a fresh, almost Scandanavian look. Thanks for sharing the pictures!

 

[dizneeat]

That place is very spacious!!!

It actually is a little house! We love that vacation village and that house can sleep up to 6 people. The couch in the living room/dining area converts to a bed.

How cool to get Business class~ I didn't know you would get the VIP treatment, like First Class!

DLP is so quaint, and looks more "real" to me. I am excited to see your visit, and hope we can go there ourselves some day. Your accomodations are interesting to me. Kind of a fresh, almost Scandanavian look. Thanks for sharing the pictures!

We really enjoyed our business class trip!
I wasn't sure what to expect on the short flights, but the service was really good!

We like DLRP, if only Europe learned how to queue up for something.
I am sure you would enjoy a visit to DLRP and just let me know if you need a guide. I'll gladly volunteer.
The fun thing is that some of the ride are the same as the ones in WDW, but then a lot different. I don't know if that makes sense. But the ride and layout of Phantom Manor is the same, the story and some of the scenes are totally different.

 

[dizneeat]

Disneyland Paris, April 28 - May 1, 2012

Day 1, April 28

Business class and an Annual Pass - Part 5

By then it was nearly 4pm and we were getting hungry and since there were lots of yummies waiting in the fridge, we had a nice picknick in front of the TV once we returned from the bakery.

There were lots of

ham, cured and cooked, some salami and

salads, wonderful

fresh baguette and

several cheeses we had picked up. There were also some

tomatoes and some fresh radishes and several

bags of chips. For dessert

Tom had some

cookie flavoured pudding and I had picked up some

Crème Caramel, which I truly love. Once we had filled our bellies we relaxed before we got ready to head out and over to the park again.
Again, we parked at the Parking structure opposite the new World of Disney, showed our AP to the attendant and got our ticket validated, so our stay there would only be 2 Euros. By then the crowds had picked up quite a bit and we just took our time walking towards the Disneyland hotel,

taking in all the decorations for their 20th anniversary.

Once inside the park we were stunned.


To be continued ............

 

[Wicket's Mom]

I love your groceries! Deli meat & crusty bread, there's nothing better!

 

[jenseib]

Lunch looks great!

 

[dizneeat]

I love your groceries! Deli meat & crusty bread, there's nothing better!

As much as we love dining out, we enjoy having a nice "rustic" meal at home too! And there is nothing better than fresh French baguette, cheese and a few salads!

Lunch looks great!

We just love a leisurely lunch at "home". And staying in those little villas gives us a much needed fridge!

 

[dizneeat]

Before I update, here are just a few bits of news!

I was able to secure another Palo brunch and dining reservation for the second leg of our back to back this summer!

We are now only 11 weeks away from our summer vacation!

And on Friday we drove to Germany, to Passau, a nice small town on the border to Austria.

Here are some pics for you all to enjoy!

Passau is an old city, located at a spot where three rivers meet, so it is very special.
But we did not just go there to do some sightseeing, we went there for a reason.

Two weeks ago, when we went there to do some shopping, Tom had seen some chairs and a table for our garden. He wanted to think about it and had now finally decided to buy them.
Shock horror when we checked on the internet and they no longer offered it. So, since it was a nice day we drove to the shop in Passau where we had seen it and low and behold they have one set left. But that was the set that had been sitting out and we were contemplating if we should buy it or not (the table has one or two light scratches). Now the sales assistant was quick to offer us a 20% discount on the whole set and since the scratches are really minor we went for it.

We got some pillows to go with the theme and here is the finished product!

 

[dizneeat]

Disneyland Paris, April 28 - May 1, 2012

Day 1, April 28

Business class and an Annual Pass - Part 6

Once inside the park we were stunned.
The parade was just coming towards the town square. It was past 7pm and the afternoon parade was running? Well, it turned out they have changed the time of the afternoon parade to 7pm and we were lucky enough to see about half of it.

Score, as I had wanted to see it that day, but had been sure I had read it would be at 5pm. Tom took a lot of photos and when it was over we walked over to Guest relations to get some reservations for the next two days,

which we cancelled lateron in the trip as we were not really excited about anything on the menus after all.
Reservations done we walked outside and when we past Duffy’s meet and greet area we were intrigued by the suitcases and labels on them. All of them were from Disney destinations and he had a blast finding them all.

After that we were swept up Main Street to the Hub, where we had a look at the tip board, just to find out that most main attractions had quite a bit of a line. So we decided to just wander the park and take in the sights and sounds. We walked towards Adventureland first. Usually Indiana Jones doesn’t have a really long line, so we wanted to try there, but the ride was down and people were streaming away from it and we could watch some Cast Members evacuating some guests from a higher point of the ride. Next stop Big Thunder Mountain.


To be continued ............

 

[jenseib]

Gorgeous Germany pictures. We just don't have places like that here...well not in Swanton OHio at least.
Whats with the lady in blue down that narrow street?

And another question...Is stars and stripes a patriotic theme over there for a country? it just looked very American. I loke it, but I didn't know if it meant anything different there.

Now to catch up on the DLP update....

 

[Teri1]

Hi Karin, Great pictures of Germany thanks for posting them. I would love to visit Germany again someday and Austria of course! I like your patio furniture they look very festive. Too bad the rides at the park were so busy, but it did give you time to enjoy all the details they put into the Disney parks. I sure am counting down the days till we return to WDW! Getting near double digits!

 

[jenseib]

Yay for getting to see the afternoon parade....It's nice that worked out for you.

 

[dizneeat]

Gorgeous Germany pictures. We just don't have places like that here...well not in Swanton OHio at least.
Whats with the lady in blue down that narrow street?

And another question...Is stars and stripes a patriotic theme over there for a country? it just looked very American. I loke it, but I didn't know if it meant anything different there.

Now to catch up on the DLP update....

I am glad you like the photos of Passau. It's such an old, cute little town and only an hour's drive from where we live, so we often drive there to do some shopping.
As for the "blue lady" - there was an Art Festival going on and she was part of it.

As for the Stars and Stripes .......... that is just what it is! They had "American Weeks" and had those pillows on display with the furniture and we thought it looked rather cute, so we stuck with it. AND we thought it was more than apropriate for someone who spends 5 weeks a year in the US!

Hi Karin, Great pictures of Germany thanks for posting them. I would love to visit Germany again someday and Austria of course! I like your patio furniture they look very festive. Too bad the rides at the park were so busy, but it did give you time to enjoy all the details they put into the Disney parks. I sure am counting down the days till we return to WDW! Getting near double digits!

Teresa, you should definitely think about coming back to good old Europe. There is a lot to see in Austria too ... I am sure you would love it!

As for the busy rides ..... we no longer go to the parks for the rides. It's more an "experience" kind of thing. If we can fit in a few rides with a short wait ...... GOOD, if not ...... there is always a next time.
We are at 76 days until our summer vacation now. I cannot believe we are actually only a little under 11 weeks out! SOOOOOOOO looking forward to it!

Yay for getting to see the afternoon parade....It's nice that worked out for you.

I was so surprised to see the parade at 7pm! And it became a running gag to just ask each other at what time the 3 o'clock parade at 7pm was.
They had a lot of new elements in the parade and it was great to get a first impression and then lateron to see the whole parade!

 

[englishrose47]

The pix of Passau are great !!! I love the older Eurpean towns, they have sooooo much character and charm!!The Picnic lunch looked yummy !!Yay for making the parade too!!!

 

[LuvEeyore]

Karin,
Thanks for sharing the pictures from Germany and Disneyland Paris!! I would so love to travel in Europe. I have been to Frankfurt (only the airport on the way to Moscow)
Share some pictures from Austria too. I would so love to visit there as well.

 

[dizneeat]

The pix of Passau are great !!! I love the older Eurpean towns, they have sooooo much character and charm!!The Picnic lunch looked yummy !!Yay for making the parade too!!!

Thanks Rosie, I couldn't agree with you more - the older European towns have so much charm and are so beautiful!
We just love a good picnic lunch.
I was SO surprised to see the "afternoon" parade at that time, but it was nice to be greeted by it, when we entered the park.

Karin,
Thanks for sharing the pictures from Germany and Disneyland Paris!! I would so love to travel in Europe. I have been to Frankfurt (only the airport on the way to Moscow)
Share some pictures from Austria too. I would so love to visit there as well.

I am so happy you all seem to enjoy the photos of Germany and Disneyland Paris so much. Once I have finished my DLRP trip report I still have a few of our trip to Italy to post.
And guess what .... I had to when you mentioned I should post photos of Austria .... I was just thinking the same thing!

Oh, and let me tell you .... Europe has far MORE beautiful things to offer than Frankfurt airport!

 

[dizneeat]

Disneyland Paris, April 28 - May 1, 2012

Day 1, April 28

Business class and an Annual Pass - Part 7

Next stop Big Thunder Mountain.

Thanks, but no thanks as that line was really long. There are a few shops in the area and we went through to check on the merchandise and my eyes caught something. Bags, hand bags from Dooney and Bourke. We walked up to the display and while still trying to figure out I was ordered to step back as those bags were linked to an alarm system and touching them would result in an alarm.
Okay, dude, I didn’t want to steal them, just LOOK at them. So we asked if we could have a look and he told me that he would just be a second, as he had to finish serving a customer. Now three customers later, who had all come to his counter later than us I decided that I had had enough and we left.
We walked towards the Molly Brown,

but they had just closed the gates, so we walked over to the Silver Spur restaurant to check their menu. We had made a reservation for it earlier, but still wanted to think about it as the menu didn’t appeal to us as much as we wanted.
We looked over to Phantom Manor

and it appeared that the line was fairly short, so we checked the time

they were predicting and it was only 5 minutes, so we hopped in line. There is quite a walk up to the doors and we were only waiting for about 2 minutes before the doors opened and we were led into the Stretching room. Knowing where the doors are helps as we were the first in line for the carriages through the manor.

After the ride Tom was determined to find Dooney bags for me in another store and so we went to hunt for them.
We thought about which one of the stores might have them and decided on one of the clothes stores along Main Street. Low and behold they had them on display as well and we asked if we could have a look at them and even though they were linked to the same alarm system we were allowed to have a closer look. They did only have one of the styles I was interested in and the bags on display did not have the icons on the front that I wanted, so I asked about other bags in the same design and was assured that they would all be the same and these were the only ones they had in the whole park.
Well, if you shell out all that money for a Dooney, then I want one, which has absolutely the right icons on the front. We left without purchase and strolled through some more of the shops on Main Street.
Back at the hub

we took a sharp right and headed towards Discoveryland.

We both decided against Space Mountain as it is a really bumpy and dark ride and I always bump my head at some part or another. The line for Buzz Lightyear was long, but what about Star Tours. We walked over and no line whatsoever until you hit the last room.

Finally we were put into rows and right when the doors opened the lady in the next row decided to “jump rows” and got right in front of me with her kid. Once we had all sat down she signalled us to get out of our seats so her family who were all in the row ahead of us could sit together. No way would they have all fit, so she had to move instead of us. The ride itself is cute, but not all that fun, as it is in French. After the ride we decided to stake out a spot for the show in front of the castle.

We tried lots of different spots and finally found one that we thought might be nice.

To be continued ............