Trip Report A Bird's Eye View of London and Paris March 2012 TR NEW! The END 1/12 p35

[Mndisneygirl]

After our runaway train ride, we decided we’d go visit the studios again.
Stopped in a shop near the entrance - I'm sure someone bought something but I don't know what! It was not these cute headbands.

I love how Peter Pan is flying around!

Do you see a hidden Mickey?

We headed to the Toy Story Playland and Dave and the girls rode the cars. I, of course, took more pictures!!
Crush's Coaster was closed during our trip - I doubt we would have ridden it because it looks a bit too much for us. But the theme-ing is super cute!

Cars stuff - maybe this will be part of the new Carsland area at DHS???

CLOSED - still no ice cream for poor Sarah!

We went to see if the Blockbuster Café was open - Nope, must have been closed for the season, although there was no sign or posting anywhere that I saw. Oh well.

We went back and we all rode SlinkyDog Zig Zag spin together. I thought it was okay (for someone who hates spinny rides!)

Shop near the Art of Animation - I wish I'd gotten the Marie picture for Paige and Tink for Sarah. Maybe in WDW in October...

This is where they do classes - none today, but it was a cool place to check out. There were lots of interactive things to do.

This you can trace, put in a canister thing that spins around and see how it "animates". It was cool. (I feel like I wrote about this already. I apologize if I am repeating things or pictures - it's because I am so long between updates!!)


cont. in next post...

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Here's what Sarah was drawing...

Then you put it in the spinning canister and the bird "flies!"

Anyone see a hidden Mickey in the carpet??

I saw some cool art - if only I had a place to put it. Yeah, that's why I didn't buy it.

Here's part of the queue to the Slinky Dog ride

Yes, I'm coming - I had to stop and take pictures!!

No, we did not ride the parachute drop ride. I heard a LOT of screaming though!

We did ride this - not sure if it was this day or before, but apparently I felt the need to take a picture of the sign!

Shopping on the way out...
Modeling

On our way back through the Disney Village, we noticed ARMED MILITARY GUARDS! We had not seen that before! I wasn’t sure I should take a picture, but tried to do it in a way that looked like I was just taking random shots. Of course, now I can't find those pictures and photo bucket is being all snarky with me. So I guess we'll see if we find those later!

Shopped a bit on the way back through the village.
Got myself my hoodie and some pins before heading back to the hotel. I still needed to pick up a thing or two for Sarah – her birthday is TOMORROW!

We were going to get some dinner and then it was time for our big trip to see the lights of Paris!!

Coming up next - The City of Lights - all lit up! Now, don't go getting too excited, my pictures were mostly through a bus window, so they're not too great. BUT, the best part was the Eiffel Tower. We did get out, so the pictures are better.

 

[MEK]

I love this picture. So cute!

Ugh. I hate when photobucket acts up. don't even get me started.

It looks like a beautiful day and you got a bunch of great shots. I am still surprised over the number of things that are closed for no apparent reason. Do think its because DLP is actually run by someone other than Disney? Just seems weird.

The girls look like they are having a great time.

 

[Carrie_Cat]

It looks like a beautiful day and you got a bunch of great shots. I am still surprised over the number of things that are closed for no apparent reason. Do think its because DLP is actually run by someone other than Disney? Just seems weird.

March is out of season so rehabs get done then - also this year with the 20th there was a lot to do preparing for Dreams.

Concerning the soldiers - they have been patrolling in groups of 3 around all major railway stations, tourists hubs and strategic sites since March 2003 when the Vigipirate risk level went to Orange alert.

The current level is red but it has been scarlet which is the highest risk

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great update! Love all the Carsland pics! So cute. That would be cool if they did a Carsland at DHS.

Looking forward to your next update of Paris at night!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Cool pictures from the Studios. It's always neat to see pictures from the rides that we don't have -- those parachutes are wild! I am pretty sure I wouldn't be riding them, either.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I love this picture. So cute!

Ugh. I hate when photobucket acts up. don't even get me started.

It looks like a beautiful day and you got a bunch of great shots. I am still surprised over the number of things that are closed for no apparent reason. Do think its because DLP is actually run by someone other than Disney? Just seems weird.

The girls look like they are having a great time.

Thanks - it's one of my favorites too! You know all about photo bucket trouble, don't you? Let's hope we don't have that anymore!

March is out of season so rehabs get done then - also this year with the 20th there was a lot to do preparing for Dreams.

Concerning the soldiers - they have been patrolling in groups of 3 around all major railway stations, tourists hubs and strategic sites since March 2003 when the Vigipirate risk level went to Orange alert.

The current level is red but it has been scarlet which is the highest risk

Yes, Carrie is the expert!! I was surprised that a couple things were closed, like that Blockbuster Cafe, since it didn't have any barricades or indication that it was under refurb.

Ah, security...I hadn't seen them there before that day, but there was a lot going on - they were setting up for some festival/convention thing at Disney Village.

Great update! Love all the Carsland pics! So cute. That would be cool if they did a Carsland at DHS.

Looking forward to your next update of Paris at night!

I've been reading a lot of reports that seem to indicate there will be a Carsland in DHS before too long!!
I'm getting the Paris at night update ready tonight!

Cool pictures from the Studios. It's always neat to see pictures from the rides that we don't have -- those parachutes are wild! I am pretty sure I wouldn't be riding them, either.

Thanks! There were definitely some things I wish we had at WDW, but I don't miss not having the parachutes!


Sarah is working on typing up her impressions of DLP, so look for that soon!!

But first - can I get a shout out??? I'm in the TEENS away from my October trip!!! I can't believe it is less than 3 weeks away! I've put together some loose plans, and have some lists, but have a lot to do - costumes for one! Sarah is pretty sure she wants to be Boo, from Monsters Inc. Paige has planned to be Rocky from Shake it Up (her friend will be CeCe for Halloween), but I don't know that anyone would recognize that! Dave and I are still in negotiations about our costumes if I can get him to agree to it....
Hopefully I will be able to post my general daily plans here soon.
But first - Paris at night!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

So I left off when we were going to get some dinner and prepare for our nighttime tour of Paris. I decided to get a sandwich at Earl while the kids wanted, you guessed it, McDonalds! I got my sandwich in 5 minutes and they were still waiting in line – it took them 30 minutes!!

So our tour left from the front of Hotel New York – nice and convenient for us!

This cab is parked there all the time - nice photo op!


We boarded a double decker bus, were given headphones and chose seats on the upper level.
Marie was ready for the tour!

During the tour we had an audio guide and some fun French music. They played a song called Oh, Champs Elysees so much, we all learned most of the words in French! We eventually downloaded it from iTunes. There was man sitting in front of us who happened to know the French national anthem, and he sang along a bit – we all encouraged him to keep singing! His grandkids were a little embarrassed.
Okay - I am going to post some of these pictures even though they are blurry. I apologize in advance. It's hard to take pictures through the windows of a moving bus!!

The ride into Paris took about 45 minutes and then we saw probably the craziest traffic I’ve ever seen! The city was bustling and there was cars going every which way! Some of the intersections got sort of clogged up and the motorcycles and bikes were everywhere, including driving on the sidewalk! I kept waiting to see someone get clobbered by our big bus!!

You can see a lot of car's lights!

There's a clear shot! There were a ton of little sidewalk cafes and all the chairs faced out to the street! I thought that was a little odd. Maybe it's so they can watch out for oncoming traffic!

Do you see any lanes?

We drove through the city, saw lots of monuments, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe (but we went by/through it too quickly and closely to get a good shot) and drove up around the Trocadero – we had a great view of the Eiffel Tower from here! Then we drove down to the tower and were allowed to get off the bus to see the light show. It runs on the hour and we saw it at 10 p.m. The lights all twinkle for 6 minutes. It’s called Illuminations (nice, huh?) It was a beautiful sight and I wish I had gotten some better pictures, but I don’t think they would do it justice.

Here's a weird shot!

There was a big full moon over the river that was just beautiful!! I might have gotten some better shots.

I think this was the view from the Trocadero.

Standing down the way from the tower.

cont. in next post

 

[Mndisneygirl]

cont.

I think I may have had DH take some video of the light show at the Tower - I'll look for it, but here's the rest of the pictures:

Sarah had her eagle along and Paige brought Marie!

The whole time we stood out there, we were bothered by these guys selling fake little cheap trinkets of the Eiffel Tower (you could see how cheap they were!). I had to get a little forceful with him to leave me alone.

This may be up at the Trocadero...I'm just not sure.

The River Seine - see the full moon?

Our tour guide actually lived in the city, so we dropped her off on the side of a road in Paris. I thought this was a little weird, but okay. Of course, this meant we couldn’t even try to tip her.

We all fell asleep on the way back to DLP. It was midnight when we got to bed!

The next day would be our last at DLP and it was also Sarah’s birthday!! Stay tuned to see how she had her longest birthday ever!!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

that traffic looks absolutely scary!!! YIKES!! I know I would never drive in that!!
and yes, it is crazy that they let your TG out without tips.

 

[dato63]

Did you think seeing the City of Lights/Illuminations via the Disney arranged tour was a good fit? Did your DDs enjoy it? Was it something you booked before your trip? Or were you able to get availability while you were there?

That is something on our list to see, just wondered if it was good through Disney - or if we should be looking for a tour for while we are in the city.

The pics of the Eiffel Tower lit up are really incredible. I can only imagine how it must have felt to see it in person.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Did you think seeing the City of Lights/Illuminations via the Disney arranged tour was a good fit? Did your DDs enjoy it? Was it something you booked before your trip? Or were you able to get availability while you were there?

That is something on our list to see, just wondered if it was good through Disney - or if we should be looking for a tour for while we are in the city.

The pics of the Eiffel Tower lit up are really incredible. I can only imagine how it must have felt to see it in person.

We liked doing it from Disney, but then again, we didn't stay in the city and didn't look at any other options. We booked the Paris Evening Tour online in advance of our trip - it was some kind of special that the kids were free and we paid about $130 total. According to the UK website pages that I had, it was 41 pounds per adult. I think you could probably book it there, but the kids free deal had to be booked in advance. I enjoyed the tour, but I didn't have anything to compare it with to determine if it was a good rate.
The pictures were lucky - I really don't know how to use my camera well, and just played around with the settings for nighttime shots and it worked! Of course, I only posted the good ones, but thank you!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

that traffic looks absolutely scary!!! YIKES!! I know I would never drive in that!!
and yes, it is crazy that they let your TG out without tips.

oops, I almost missed you Shawna!
Yeah, I was really glad we weren't driving AT ALL on this trip!!
I don't know - maybe she couldn't accept tips anyway. It was different for sure.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

And now, for a different take on Disneyland Paris! Presenting the opinions and reflections of my DD, Sarah, who turned 11 on our last day in Paris. I did not have any part in the writing of this, but she did ask me a few questions about what things were called. Otherwise, this all from her. ENJOY!

Sarah Mazzarese

Disneyland Paris

I loved Disney Land Paris because some of the rides were very alike Disney World and some were a little different. “Pirates of the Caribbean” was a lot like the Pirates at Disney World. Also Haunted Mansion was a lot like Disney World. But in Paris it was called Phantom Manor instead. However on Phantom Manor there was no hidden mickey in the Dining room scene. Also in the cue line, after the stretching room, when we walked down the hall, there were pictures of ghosts and the doorknockers banged automatically!
I loved the ride Casey Jr. because it was a mini version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The song was pretty catchy too! It was a small train with lots of colors on the train cars. Right next to the Casey Jr. train was
Storybook boats. The boats were moving slow and there were scenes from Disney movies, like Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.
On Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, it took us about five times to realize that in one of the dark tunnels we went underwater. We recognized it because we got on the ride on land and the ride was in the middle of the water, we got off on the opposite side we got on! My parents realized it before my sister and I did. They said, “How did we got on over here, and get off over there?” I thought about that for a minute then I looked at the big, brown mountain sitting on top of the small river in Frontier land.
“It’s a small world” was JUST like the Disney in Florida. I could barely tell the difference! Maybe one scene was different, but that’s it! I liked the Paris castle just as much as the Disney in Florida castle. The one in Paris was light pink and had some blue on it. Near by the Sleeping Beauty Castle, there was a Snow White wishing well. There was a bucket with a string on the ledge of the well too. It was fun to pretend to be “Wishing” in the sparkling water.
I liked Peter Pan’s ride because it was a lot like the one in Florida. It had the same scenes and pretty much the same order too. It was really fun comparing the rides in Florida to the rides in Paris. I am extremely glad I got to go to Disneyland Paris, I really enjoyed it!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

WOW!! Good job Sarah!!!! Very impressive...

 

[MEK]

That took a lot of time and thought Sarah. Thanks for your wonderful comparison

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hurray for being in the teens!!!

Gorgeous nighttime Paris pics!!!

Sarah's viewpoint was awesome! It is always neat to read the children's perspective.

 

[dato63]

How wonderful getting to hear it from your DDs perspective!!

And thank you for your thoughts on doing the Illuminations via Disney.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I realized that Sarah didn't comment on the Studios park. I'll have to ask her if she would like to do that. I know she enjoyed certain things there.
She'll be happy to read your comments! Thanks!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great update! The city at night is beautiful!! But what about that traffic??? That is crazy! I'm glad you didn't have to try to drive in that!

Love Sarah's thoughts. It's always nice to hear what children think of things.