Um, Where's the Ice?! - A July 2012 European and DLRP Adventure*UPDATE 12/15 Pg.29*

[IheartDDuck]

The Disneyland Hotel looks very, very pretty...Loved seeing your dinner at the California Grill which was ever so Frenchy

It is interesting how much later the Europeans go out for dinner... I remember when we ate in France at 7... we were definitely some of the first patrons... and in Italy? When we ate at 7:30...as we were leaving at 10- there were people coming in -some even with children... Well when in Rome...

It is really interesting to me... I kind of feel that you travel to see and experience new things/ways of doing things...it would be boring if it was all the same...

It was definitely a very frenchy dinner.

It's so true. They don't stick to these early kind of schedules that we do and the kids just roll with it. I agree, it's been like that across the board at most of the countries in Europe that I've visited.

 

[peloha86]

I LOVE YOUR TR!!!!


I'm only on page 10. Soo, I'm doing my DLP research becuase my dad threw at me, "we're going to Europe next year".

O.M.G...

Thanks for your TR!!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I LOVE YOUR TR!!!!


I'm only on page 10. Soo, I'm doing my DLP research becuase my dad threw at me, "we're going to Europe next year".

O.M.G...

Thanks for your TR!!!

Thanks!

I'm a bit behind, as it was a really long trip, but I should be writing an update soon. That's totally exciting that you're going to Europe! It's incredible. You're going to love it.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Day 3 - Monday July 2, 2012

Hi everyone!

I'm back and going to get started on keeping you up to date on what happened on this trip. I've got 4 TR's going at the same time (yes, that many. I'm insane!), but I've got a pattern down now, so let's go!

This was our last day in DLRP. We were going to be spending the day at the Walt Disney Studios, and then head back to Belgium around 4pm.

We woke up at about 6:30am, as we had our breakfast time at 7:30am.

I didn't bother putting on makeup first thing, because the Studios didn't open until 10am. So our plan was to eat, get everything packed up in the room, get the car packed, and then head into the park for the day.

My breakfast was the usual yummy selection.



Mmmmmmm. I miss European breakfasts. They are so my favorite!

After a quick bite, we headed upstairs to finish packing up. I got dressed, and was excited to wear my new Paris Disney shirt!



They don't do automatic checkout, so Mom headed down to the front desk to get that sorted out while Dad and I packed the car.

Look! Electric car parking!



Bye bye Hotel New York! It was great seeing you!



Very soon we were getting to the Studios to have some fun!



International Travel Tip #34 - Europeans as a whole do not have the personal space issues that we in the US do. So, if you plan on going over there, make sure you get over that just a bit. It's not that they're being rude. It's just that's how they all are.



We made a bee-line over to Crush's Coaster. This is my favorite thing they have in Disneyland Paris. And the line was super long already! 60 minutes posted!



Hi momma!



Aladdin's Magic Carpets on the way.



I was soooooooo excited!





In case you're curious what the cars look like.



While we were waiting in line, we were behind a group of girls from the Netherlands. That meant my Mom understood everything they were saying. I understood some too, but not everything.

They were talking amongst each other where we were from, and had mentioned English. They weren't sure at first what language we were speaking.

International Travel Tip #35 - Do not under any circumstances assume that the people around you don't speak your language. People in Europe know TONS of them! Don't assume someone won't understand you and don't talk smack about people.

We finally made it inside!



The wait time was really 60 minutes. This is definitely a slow moving line.

MINE!



Too much fun.



Dad gives it an enthusiastic two thumbs up!



They had a small Radiator Springs area with a ride or two.







I love the theming of the Toy Story area. We didn't ride anything, since they're all geared towards kids.













Up next: We get our drop on, and leave. *sniff*

 

[Poolrat]

Hopping around after to you to make sure I stay caught up.


DLP and WDS look neat. That Crush's coaster looks like a ton of fun.

How neat that Toy story was a kiddie area. I guess like a bug's life at DL.

Cute Paris Minnie shirt

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

Looking at the pictures brings back great memories. Disneyland Paris is amazing.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Hopping around after to you to make sure I stay caught up.


DLP and WDS look neat. That Crush's coaster looks like a ton of fun.

How neat that Toy story was a kiddie area. I guess like a bug's life at DL.

Cute Paris Minnie shirt

I know! I really wanted to get them all updated today. I can't even stay caught up myself. Hopefully I finish one of them up soon! Jeez......

The park is nice. WDS is a little on the lacking side, so there aren't tons of attractions. They have ToT and RnRC, but not much else.

The Toy Story area is really cute. It is like the Bug's Land at DCA.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Looking at the pictures brings back great memories. Disneyland Paris is amazing.

I know! I want to go back.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

YAY! This one's back too! Time to get my DLRP on!

Awww, last day in DLRP All good things must come to an end I guess. Love your breakfast choices. I mean, nutella just triumphs any idea or thought that that would be a bad breakfast. Nutella makes anything a GOOD breakfast!

Electric Parking?! So advanced and so cool. Americans are so 1960 after that lol Love your new DLRP shirt, looks like Minnie's sticking her tongue out. In the words of the all-mighty Stacey: "Sassy!"

Ooooo, Walt Disney Studios! Very cool. I love how they have the Partners statue in this park versus the main park. So pretty! And Crush's Coaster looks so cool! I've seen some videos and it looks awesome! So wish they had one like it in the US of A.

The Toy Story Area looks really nicely themed. If they had decided to make Pixar place more of a thing in DHS, the Toy Story land in WDS is probably what they would've gotten. The ride with the RC car from Toy Story looks really fun, surprised you didn't at least get on that one.

Can't wait to read about the rest of your day at Walt Disney Studios!

 

[IheartDDuck]

YAY! This one's back too! Time to get my DLRP on!

Awww, last day in DLRP All good things must come to an end I guess. Love your breakfast choices. I mean, nutella just triumphs any idea or thought that that would be a bad breakfast. Nutella makes anything a GOOD breakfast!

Electric Parking?! So advanced and so cool. Americans are so 1960 after that lol Love your new DLRP shirt, looks like Minnie's sticking her tongue out. In the words of the all-mighty Stacey: "Sassy!"

Ooooo, Walt Disney Studios! Very cool. I love how they have the Partners statue in this park versus the main park. So pretty! And Crush's Coaster looks so cool! I've seen some videos and it looks awesome! So wish they had one like it in the US of A.

The Toy Story Area looks really nicely themed. If they had decided to make Pixar place more of a thing in DHS, the Toy Story land in WDS is probably what they would've gotten. The ride with the RC car from Toy Story looks really fun, surprised you didn't at least get on that one.

Can't wait to read about the rest of your day at Walt Disney Studios!

Haha, glad you're happy it's back on.

You're correct, all good things needed to come to an end. Fortunately for us, we still had a large amount of our vacation ahead of us.

Walt Disney Studios is a pretty cool park. I have high hopes for it once they open the Ratatouille coaster. The Toy Story area is pretty nice. We didn't have tons of time this morning, and the wait for Crush's Coaster really took a big chunk out of it.

 

[teekathepony]

Mmmm Eurobreakfasts. But... on that note... I don't miss the lack of personal space. It's a really strange thing to try to get used to.
Crush's coaster looks awesome! I can't get over how much things changed since I was there.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Mmmm Eurobreakfasts. But... on that note... I don't miss the lack of personal space. It's a really strange thing to try to get used to.
Crush's coaster looks awesome! I can't get over how much things changed since I was there.

Haha, yeah, I don't miss the lack of personal space either. I put it aside for when I travel there, but it's definitely not my favorite thing.

I can't wait for all of the changes that are coming to that park! The new Ratatouille attraction that will be opening next year sounds awesome! Just another reason for me to visit again.

 

[TinksThree]

Crush's Coaster looks so cool!!

The tip about the languages is so true! My cousin speaks 7 languages. Once in Tennessee we ran into Japanese tourists who were talking about the tourists...needless to say it wasn't nice. But it was HILARIOUS when my cousin turned to them and began conversing in Japanese with them!! Their faces were ...it was !!!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Crush's Coaster looks so cool!!

The tip about the languages is so true! My cousin speaks 7 languages. Once in Tennessee we ran into Japanese tourists who were talking about the tourists...needless to say it wasn't nice. But it was HILARIOUS when my cousin turned to them and began conversing in Japanese with them!! Their faces were ...it was !!!!

Holy smokes 7 languages! That's insane!

It's so true though. You can just never assume that someone doesn't understand what you're saying. And people do it all the time.

 

[IheartDDuck]

We left off having just ridden Crush's Coaster and exploring the Toy Story area. We contemplated what we were going to do next (also please note to all who haven't been to DLRP and to Walt Disney Studios there, but there aren't that many attractions at the Studios), because we were going to need to leave soon for the 4 hour drive back to Belgium.

Dad and I decided on Tower of Terror. Woo hoo! Mom opted not to go, because she is not a fan. But she was fine, because she wanted to sit and people watch.

Hello beautiful.



The wait time was posted at 45 minutes, but we only waited around 30.





The ride was good as always. Similar to the one in Disneyland in California, and not like WDW. However, Dad and I could not stop cracking up during the ride. See, we were the only goobers to have our hands in the air on the ride. Everyone else was screaming in terror and hanging on for dear life.

Yzma, put your hands in the air!



After our ride on ToT, and before we left, I wanted to go see Cinamagique as our final attraction. It's unique to DLRP, so it was a must see for me.



As usual, my Dad was being a goober.



And apparently trying to do something to my Mom's face.



Waiting for the show to start.



And taking some selfies in the meantime.



The show was pretty cute. It had Martin Short in it and a few other famous people. The premise is that he gets pulled into the movies, and they blended him into famous movies and scenes. It was entertaining.

At that point, it was sadly time for us to leave and head back to Belgium.

We decided to stop and get something to eat before hitting the road. It was already almost 2pm, and we had a 4 hour drive ahead of us. It's kind of a good thing that the Studios isn't really a dense park.

We stopped at a place in the Village to get lunch, simply called Sports Bar. Haha.

I got a chicken sandwich and fries.



Dad had fish and chips.



And Mom got chicken nuggets and fries.



Not super exciting stuff. It was good though, can't complain.

At this point it was time to hit the road. We plugged our address in the TomTom and were on our way.



I had my reading material.



And my iPod (old school yeah!).



I fell asleep at some point. We had some major excitement later though, because Dad wasn't listening to the TomTom very well. Not a wise thing to do when you're IN ANOTHER COUNTRY!

We got off on an early exit. Had some additional scenery. And then were back on the highway.

I didn't say he was a good listener.

Soon we were getting into Belgium.



We made it to the house and Chris and Heinz had dinner waiting. I'm telling you, this trip was doing nothing to help my diet.



She is an INCREDIBLE cook by the way.





Ach. Beer!



We were all having a great time.



After dinner, we talked and had coffee. We stayed up for quite some time filling Chris and Heinz in on our adventures in Disneyland. They've never been, so they were interested in hearing our stories.

All in all, the trip to Disneyland Paris was tons of fun. And we still had tons of trip ahead of us!

Up next: Beautiful Antwerp, my Mom's home town.

 

[Poolrat]

WDS looks like a neat place. Glad you took the day to explore an enjoy.

Glad you made it back to Belgium even with the wrong exit adventure.

 

[IheartDDuck]

WDS looks like a neat place. Glad you took the day to explore an enjoy.

Glad you made it back to Belgium even with the wrong exit adventure.

It was pretty cool. Some people find it to be a little underwhelming, because it doesn't have tons of attractions. But I love everything Disney, so I'm typically not underwhelmed.

Ha! I know right?! Just listen to the TomTom Pop!

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

We made it to the house and Chris and Heinz had dinner waiting. I'm telling you, this trip was doing nothing to help my diet.



She is an INCREDIBLE cook by the way.





Ach. Beer!



We were all having a great time.



After dinner, we talked and had coffee. We stayed up for quite some time filling Chris and Heinz in on our adventures in Disneyland. They've never been, so they were interested in hearing our stories.

All in all, the trip to Disneyland Paris was tons of fun. And we still had tons of trip ahead of us!

Up next: Beautiful Antwerp, my Mom's home town.

You are right that Chris is one awesome cook. It is also wonderful that a lot of the food they grow in their garden so it is super, super fresh

 

[IheartDDuck]

You are right that Chris is one awesome cook. It is also wonderful that a lot of the food they grow in their garden so it is super, super fresh

I know! Everything there was so fresh and yummy.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

What a great way to end your time at DLRP with ToT and a more unique attraction! Cinemagique sounds wicked cool. I feel like they used to have something like that at DHS at one point or so I've heard.

Mmmm, all this food in Europe looks delicious whether European or not! Hope your dad's little slip up with the GPS didn't add too much travel time after that.

Again, all of the food in Europe looks so good! You're so lucky you know someone who is that great of a cook. Wow, what a tasty looking spread!

Glad to hear DLRP was fun for you overall! Can't wait to read about the rest of this European adventure!