A Birthday Trip without a Birthday - 2/16: Conclusion and Bonus Birthday Tea

[Flossbolna]

Just came by to wish you a very happy Easter, Ladies!!!! Hope your day was wonderful!

Liesa, thank you! I hope your weekend was wonderful as well.

Wonderful pictures! Is it me, or do the buildings appear to be much taller on main street in DLP than in WDW? Especially the picture of the gentlemen standing against one of the columns? They look extremely tall.

Pretty cool about the car dealer actually selling cars on main street.

Thanks! I think the buildings are the same scale as in WDW, at least that's what I read recently. But it did feel more spacious to me as well. I think part of it might be that the castle (called Sleeping Beauty's Castle, or in French: Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant) is smaller than at WDW? It's only 167 ft (80 m) high as compared to Cinderella's Castle in WDW

I wonder who that could be?

I hope you had a wonderful Easter holiday and enjoyed your time off!

Thanks! I hope you had a wonderful Easter as well.

I loved all the photos! But I have a question. There are two building that are flying the American flag on top. Why is that? Shouldn't they be flying the French flag since DLP is in France?

It is still Main Street, U.S.A. It is still themed after a country town in the Midwest of the USA around 1900. You would not find a street like that in Europe. The two "European Lands" are Fantasyland and Discoveryland.

PS: on a side note DD is going mad with planning YFU stuff! She has been reading up on it alot and well something must have clicked because she's been like a mad women brainstorming! Thought you'd like to know.

Sounds great!! She is welcome to email me if she has any questions!

 

[englishrose47]

Awesome pix of MainStreet DLP It is very much like Orlando Main Street !!I think I spied a few differences though !!! I was surprised that the signs were in English not French !!!!

 

[dekkerdisneydreamer]

Looks like there is quite a bunch of DISers there at the same time! I guess from your ticker that you are staying at AKV? Wonderful place!! If you are up for it, we should check wether we are going to be at the same places at the same time to meet up.

I am so excited I cannot wait for AKV!! We have a savannah view at Kidani. I know there are so many DISers that have stayed there before, I have gathered some really great information about the resort.

I will PM you our tentative itinerary for now and we can see if we match up anywhere.

 

[Flossbolna]

Awesome pix of MainStreet DLP It is very much like Orlando Main Street !!I think I spied a few differences though !!! I was surprised that the signs were in English not French !!!!

Thanks! DLP is quite interesting, it is very much a bilingual park. Most signs and also menus are in English and French and it depends on where you are which language is more prevalent. For example Main Street and Frontierland are "American" so English is the language that is used for signs (even though if you only spoke French you would still be able to find your way around). Fantasyland is in many areas more French as well as Adventureland. Also nearly all CMs speak both languages - in the past we had problems a few times, but this time with our very limited French we did quite well communicating with all CMs. It is a very international atmosphere!

I am so excited I cannot wait for AKV!! We have a savannah view at Kidani. I know there are so many DISers that have stayed there before, I have gathered some really great information about the resort.

I will PM you our tentative itinerary for now and we can see if we match up anywhere.

AKV is definitely a resort where you ought to spend time to experience it! They offer so many special activities like the Cultural Safari, the Culinary Tour etc. It is quite a distance from the MK, but I think this adds just to the vibe, it feels like a true Lodge in the nature!

Looking forward to your PM! I am planning to post a bit more about our park plans soon.

 

[pooh'smate]

Just wanted to let you know I am following along. I love your reports and though I don't always comment I am reading along.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Lovely pics!

 

[Poolrat]

The pictures are wonderful. What a great look down Main street. It is sort of comforting that it is "Main street". Gives me a sense of familiarity for the park in general. Familiar yet different all at the same time.
Looking forward to the next batch.

 

[lovealldisney]

It is still Main Street, U.S.A. It is still themed after a country town in the Midwest of the USA around 1900. You would not find a street like that in Europe. The two "European Lands" are Fantasyland and Discoveryland.

Did you ever have one of those DUH momments! I just did!


Sounds great!! She is welcome to email me if she has any
questions!

I will let her know she can email you, she has made a binder will all info she has collected and a notebook for notes. She came up with a list of questions and is planning on calling YFU this week since the kids are off of school.

 

[nodnol]

By the way, what was it like in Nowhere? Did you start to turn into a ghost?

Don't think I'm stalking you, but I was interested enough to google the restaurant name that appears in the picture and find out a little more about the area since I don't know the geography well enough. It looks like you were about halfway between Nuremberg and Prague.

That's correct. It is a very rural area, as it was "the end of the world" for 40 years. A lot of young people left to study or find better jobs, so it was kind of forgotten. Not many Germans could place it, if you asked them where the Oberpfalz (that's what the region is called) is.

Wonderful pictures and update, Katharina!! Truly a lovely place you got to visit again. I can really sense your sense of nostalgia in going back. The stories that must have come out of the people must be incredible- full of heartache, and eventual joy! AMazing times we live in, and have seen.

Thanks for your insights!

You are very welcome!

I always love it when you both share your life in Germany with us- thank-you so much, Katherina!!! Fascinating!!!

I totally agree !!! We have no idea what it was like and I soooo appreciate all the insights !!

I'm glad you all enjoyed it, so I guess I should take my camera on more trips....

 

[manntra]

Beautiful pictures! It all looks so foreign yet familiar if that makes sense
Great ADR's....we have some similar....Cali being one. The hours are out but I think that they might be adding some MNSSHP dates so we shall see about them.
I am so excited for our trip this Saturday. The weather looks beautiful and it will be so much fun to meet new disfriends and see old ones again! The only thing I am sad about is the space shuttle going up on Friday...just one little day before I arrive
Katherina, thank you for sharing your weekend trip/hike with us. I always look forward to your "history lessons" and all of the extras that you both share with us

Tracy

 

[Flossbolna]

Just wanted to let you know I am following along. I love your reports and though I don't always comment I am reading along.

Thanks! It is always great to read that people appreciate what I am writign, but I understand that not everyone can comment all the time!

Lovely pics!

Thanks!

The pictures are wonderful. What a great look down Main street. It is sort of comforting that it is "Main street". Gives me a sense of familiarity for the park in general. Familiar yet different all at the same time.
Looking forward to the next batch.

I know what you mean, however Katharina and I were so shocked when we saw it for the first time in 1995 because it looks so different from DL's Main Street which was the one that was familiar to us at that time.

Did you ever have one of those DUH momments! I just did!

I will let her know she can email you, she has made a binder will all info she has collected and a notebook for notes. She came up with a list of questions and is planning on calling YFU this week since the kids are off of school.

Don't worry about the DUH moment! I think it was actually not stupid at all to expect a lot of signs in French!

Great to hear that she is so motivated!

Beautiful pictures! It all looks so foreign yet familiar if that makes sense
Great ADR's....we have some similar....Cali being one. The hours are out but I think that they might be adding some MNSSHP dates so we shall see about them.
I am so excited for our trip this Saturday. The weather looks beautiful and it will be so much fun to meet new disfriends and see old ones again! The only thing I am sad about is the space shuttle going up on Friday...just one little day before I arrive
Katherina, thank you for sharing your weekend trip/hike with us. I always look forward to your "history lessons" and all of the extras that you both share with us

Tracy

You think that they will add additional MNSSHP nights? So far I had assumed that they had all those 7pm closings at the MK down as party nights and have been planning according to that... Need to check park times!

Have a wonderful trip! Spring at WDW sounds like a wonderful time!

 

[All7OfUs]

Loved the pictures, Magdalene!! A couple of things struck me as I watched the slideshow:

The entire Main Street area seems so much bigger in general- both wider and taller. Like someone else mentioned the picture of the man against the columns makes it look really so much larger!

The second thing was that it was odd to see people dressed so warmly! Certainly adds a new view to things. I am so used to seeing tanks and shorts and flip flops that it would take some getting used to seeing MS with coats and boots.

I"m curious what was the Lilly's place? Did you go in??

 

[Flossbolna]

Loved the pictures, Magdalene!! A couple of things struck me as I watched the slideshow:

The entire Main Street area seems so much bigger in general- both wider and taller. Like someone else mentioned the picture of the man against the columns makes it look really so much larger!

The second thing was that it was odd to see people dressed so warmly! Certainly adds a new view to things. I am so used to seeing tanks and shorts and flip flops that it would take some getting used to seeing MS with coats and boots.

I"m curious what was the Lilly's place? Did you go in??

Thanks, I am glad that you enjoyed them! I think you would love DLP a lot, it is a large park like the MK, but still has a lot of the charm of Disneyland. In a way, this is the park where all the experience they had until then came together to create a master piece - which unfortunately was not based on a sound economic base and hence now suffers from a very large debt load and therefore lacks money to maintain everything the way it should be...

I did some searching for a picture of WDW's Main Street:

and compare this one from DLP:

They look pretty much the same size to me... I think it is an illusion because you see the smaller castle at the end of the street and think that therefore Main Street must be larger...

But it did feel very spacious to me as well.

I know what you mean about people in winter clothes, but it was actually warmer on most days than on our days at the MK in 2010...

I have pictures from inside Lilly's! It is a shop. The shops at DLP were wonderfully themed when it opened and had specific merchandise for the different shops. Now it is all very much like at MK: just one big space. But there are still lots of pretty things along the top of the walls etc.

But the next update will about the WDW trip again...

 

[marvali]

Just wanted to say HI! I will have to check out the links to your last update when I get home later.....

 

[glennbo123]

Great pictures Magdalene. Everything seems familiar, but...a little different.

 

[MRYPPNS]

I'm late but I just found the link to your report.... I can't wait to read along!

 

[Flossbolna]

I think it is time to talk a bit more about our plans for WDW! Did anyone notice that Mickey in our ticker is nearly already all his way through the first picture? Time is running away and I am sure before we know it, is summer and then autumn and time for our trip!!

This update will be the first of a series called "Trip Special Features". So far we have covered the basics of the trip: where will we sleep, what will we eat. I guess everyone assumes already correctly that we will visit the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom. But is there anything else that will happen during our trip? Of course! We have 11 days at WDW and that is plenty of time to add something a bit out of the ordinary, something that is new (at least for one of us, but some will be new to both of us).

The first special feature I want to write about is something that I was very sad that we missed on our last trip - because of the weather: the waterparks! We have plans to visit both of them during our WDW vacation and only severe thunderstorms or really freezing temperatures are going to keep me away from the waterparks!! This is actually a very good side effect of having to reschedule the trip to October: both parks are going to be open, in November one would have been already down for refurbishment!

Plans for Blizzard Beach:

I am very excited about this park! I haven't been there since 2007. We are planning on going there on our first full day at WDW. Might sound like an odd choice?? Not for us! The plan for our first 24 hours at WDW is as follows: we will arrive around 8pm at the BWV, drop luggage in the room, head out for a little walk and possibly a snack (depending on time this might lead us into Epcot which actually has evening EMH that night. Considering that we will still be on German time which is 6 hours ahead, I don't think we will make it longer than until 10pm! Which will give us plenty of sleep for an early start the next day (we do hope that we won't get up and have a shower in the middle of the night again... in case you weren't along for the TR, the story can be found here). So, still being more on German time, getting up early won't be too bad for us and we will head out to the AK for morning EMH! Run around there, get a very early lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue and then get on a bus from AK to Blizzard Beach where we then spend the rest of the day. The great thing about going to the water park on the first day is that it is a place where you can also relax and don't have to tire yourself out from running from one ride to the next. When BB closes it is back to the BW for a shower and then off again to AKL for dinner at Jiko. Sounds like the perfect first 24 hours to me!!

I am planning of taking lots of pictures of BB, I don't have a single one. I loved the whimsical theming there and am very excited about exploring the park. I remember that I loved all the slides - did not do the two really fast ones though and won't be bothered waiting in a long line for them this time either. But I am very much looking forward to be able to drag Katharina along for the Teamboat Springs family raft ride and the other tube rides where there are two in a tube!! Of course there will be some hanging out in the lazy river as well.

Plans for Typhoon Lagoon:

For some reason which will be revealed at a later point, there is one morning where we most likely don't want to have to rush to a dropping rope... Since the water parks open at 10 am, this is a good choice for a day when we might want to sleep in and some relaxing about two thirds into the trip will give us some necessary rest. If we still are awake way too early, we might head to Olivia's for breakfast before Typhoon Lagoon. Otherwise we will eat a late lunch at Olivia's after TL.

I am looking forward to the Crush 'n Gusher with Katharina and some other slides. I did not like the wave pool here and can't see Katharina falling in love with this. I think I might do the Shark Reef even though it is cold, but it is pretty cool as well. I think there is less for me that I "must" do at TL, so it will be a much more relaxing vist...


So, that's it for Trip Special Feature #1!

 

[Flossbolna]

Just wanted to say HI! I will have to check out the links to your last update when I get home later.....

Hi Marv, great to see a bit more of you around again! And now there is even another update to read as well!

Great pictures Magdalene. Everything seems familiar, but...a little different.

By now I seem to know WDW and DLP well enough to not get confused, but the first few times when I went from one to the other, I was just so disorientated because you would turn a corner and then be somewhere totally unexpected! But actually, as soon as we leave Main Street, it will be much less familiar!

I'm late but I just found the link to your report.... I can't wait to read along!

You really aren't too late, there isn't that much to catch up. I am glad that you found me!

 

[All7OfUs]

I wish I could get really excited about water parks too, but unless it's just roasting hot outside, I can't see myself enjoying it very much. Between that and the price to add it, I can't justify adding that option on.

Ah well... you've certainly put some thought into what sounds fun to you, and for than I"m excited!! ENjoy!!!

THanks for the comparison pix. I can now see there really isn't that much difference. So I have no idea what gave me that impression. Just for some reason looked bigger/more spacious. I wonder if indeed, the streets ARE wider?

WHat a shame that the merchandise has gone to generic junk. Very sad, indeed!

 

[tiggrbaby]

I LOVE the water parks! I can never decide if I like the racing slides and group tube at BB or the wave pool and slush gusher at TL better! I am a Jersey girl, so I love body surfing in the waves, but I know it's tough for people who aren't used to the ocean. The shark tank is fun, but the water is cooold!