Danauk
<font color=green>I would be sitting on the patio
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
Wednesday 9th April
We got up bright and early again and were having breakfast by 7:20. Breakfast again was good and we were soon full and heading off for early entry. We got to bag check at 8:55 and there was only one other family there. We were soon let in and I was the 1st person into the park again!!
We lingered along Main Street for a while to take some more photos of the empty park.
We headed over to Space Mountain and Buzz which we rode 3 times each, all walk on. In fact one go on Space Mountain we were the only 2 people on the ride!!
The park still seemed empty.
By now it was 9:00 and we decided to head over to the Studios ready for openening as we wanted to ride Crush again. We grabbed a coffee to drink along the way.
When we got there a few other people were milling around, but most then decided to go to the Disneyland Park instead.
I choose a gate to wait at and soon some characters appeared to keep us company whilst we waited.
Donald was getting very impatient and kept tapping his feet and pointing to his watch. He also kept trying to open the turnstyles early!!
Pluto decided he wanted to have a go as well and decided he would work the ticket booth.
Soon it was 9:30 and the green light lit up on the turnstyle. I was 1st in again!! I was quite impressed that I was the 1st person into both parks that day!!
So we headed over to Crush and were 1st in line. We chatted to the CM for a bit and then at 10:00 we were let on. We were on the 1st shell of the day. Today we started off on the ride facing forwards (we started backwards yesterday) and the ride was diffrent as you got to see different things so I really recommend riding it twice and starting off in a different direction.)
Next we decided to see what the line was like for ToT, but it was quite long and the fast pass return times were for 11:00 which was when we had to meet our tour guide so we decided to wait again. Instead we went over to RnRC which we rode a few times as a walk on.
By now it was nearly 11:00 and we had to go and meet our tour guide. Again we were the only people on the tour so felt like VIP's. Iris our guide was good. Christophe our guide from yesterday and been to see her that morning to tell her about us from our tour with him yesterday which I thought was a nice touch.
The tour started in the front lot where we learned that the roof on the Anamagique and Cinemagique buildings are like roofs in the real Hollywood Studios in that they are clear because they want the natural light to come in. Also in the summer they can open all the way back like the roofs in the Hollywood Studios. Then we went into Studio One where we learned about the stories behind the shops and we played with the lighting boards and changed the lights in the studio. We also learned that the studio was built as a working sound stage and is the 2nd largest in Europe. When the doors are closed the building is 99% sound proof.
From here we headed out into Prodution Courtyard. On the way I asked why the Partners statue was in the Studios and not in the Disneyland Park like it is in the other Disney parks around the world. She said there was no official reason, but the unnofficial one is that if they had put it in the Disneyland Park Walt would not have been pointing at anything and Europeans who do not know the Disney story might interpret his raised arm as a Nazi symbol!! Where as in Studio One they can say he is pointing to the studio building!!
In Production Courtyard we had a little look at the Stitch Live building (including the hidden Mickey) and learned a bit about how films are made in the production area. We also looked at the Tower of Terror. The ToT had always been intended to be built there when the park was origionally built. The plans were made, but it was decided to not build it at that time. Instead the tower that was designed for Paris was built in Disneys Californian Adventure instead. As a nod to the fact one would be built in the Studios one day the courtyard area in front of the tower used to have HTH on top of the archway that you now look through to see the ToT. Whilst we were passing we got a set of fast passes to use later.
We then went over to the Back Lot area. Here we learned about how effects are added to films and we looked in the Backlot express restaurant at all the props in there. The items in there have all been used in Hollywood films. A lot of the props are from Armageddon. We then headed over to the stunt show area. Here we learned that the cars all have 06 on their plates as 06 is the area code in France that the village backdrop for the stunt show is based on. We then walked around the back of the ToT (the Studios is the only Disney park where you can walk all the way around the ToT) and looked at some of the vehicles you see on the tram tour.
This was where our tour ended. Again we had a great time and learned a lot about the attractions and about the movie making process.
By now it was lunch time so we headed over to the buffet lunch at Rendez-Vous des Stars. The food was OK, the deserts especially were yummy!! They had a little jazz band playing as you ate which was nice too.
By now it ws time for our ToT fastpasses (ToT straight after lunch!!) Now I don't know why I go on this ride, yet I do every time I am in a Disney park that has one, and I know I will go on it when we go to Disneyland in the summer. The details in the ride were amazing and the view from the top was great too (I wasn't expecting to have the doors open at the top 2 times!!) On the way out I decided to do a little more shopping and bought a towel set for my bathroom at home!
By now it was raining a little, but as most of the attractions in the Studios are indoors it didn't really matter. Next we decided to watch Anamagique which I really enjoyed, followed by Armageddon. By now it was time to line up for the stunt show which we did and really enjoyed. It had changed slightly from when we last saw it.
By now it was 5:30 and we decided to head back to the room for a rest.
We also had to get ready for our evening meal at the California Grill. We did some more shopping and pin trading in Disney Village along the way.
On the way out of the studios I noticed these on the floor which I thought were really neat.
They tell you the direction and distance from DLP to the other Disney parks in the world.
At 7:00 we headed over to the Disneyland Hotel for our meal at California Grill. When ever we go to WDW or DLP a meal at California Grill is a must. We were given a table by the window and could see the castle as it got dark which looked really pretty.
The meal again was really nice. After our meal we headed over to Cafe Fantasia for an after dinner drink before heading back to the hotel New York, I needed to pack before going to bed as tomorrow we were going home.
We got up bright and early again and were having breakfast by 7:20. Breakfast again was good and we were soon full and heading off for early entry. We got to bag check at 8:55 and there was only one other family there. We were soon let in and I was the 1st person into the park again!!
We lingered along Main Street for a while to take some more photos of the empty park.
We headed over to Space Mountain and Buzz which we rode 3 times each, all walk on. In fact one go on Space Mountain we were the only 2 people on the ride!!
The park still seemed empty.
By now it was 9:00 and we decided to head over to the Studios ready for openening as we wanted to ride Crush again. We grabbed a coffee to drink along the way.
When we got there a few other people were milling around, but most then decided to go to the Disneyland Park instead.
I choose a gate to wait at and soon some characters appeared to keep us company whilst we waited.
Donald was getting very impatient and kept tapping his feet and pointing to his watch. He also kept trying to open the turnstyles early!!
Pluto decided he wanted to have a go as well and decided he would work the ticket booth.
Soon it was 9:30 and the green light lit up on the turnstyle. I was 1st in again!! I was quite impressed that I was the 1st person into both parks that day!!
So we headed over to Crush and were 1st in line. We chatted to the CM for a bit and then at 10:00 we were let on. We were on the 1st shell of the day. Today we started off on the ride facing forwards (we started backwards yesterday) and the ride was diffrent as you got to see different things so I really recommend riding it twice and starting off in a different direction.)
Next we decided to see what the line was like for ToT, but it was quite long and the fast pass return times were for 11:00 which was when we had to meet our tour guide so we decided to wait again. Instead we went over to RnRC which we rode a few times as a walk on.
By now it was nearly 11:00 and we had to go and meet our tour guide. Again we were the only people on the tour so felt like VIP's. Iris our guide was good. Christophe our guide from yesterday and been to see her that morning to tell her about us from our tour with him yesterday which I thought was a nice touch.
The tour started in the front lot where we learned that the roof on the Anamagique and Cinemagique buildings are like roofs in the real Hollywood Studios in that they are clear because they want the natural light to come in. Also in the summer they can open all the way back like the roofs in the Hollywood Studios. Then we went into Studio One where we learned about the stories behind the shops and we played with the lighting boards and changed the lights in the studio. We also learned that the studio was built as a working sound stage and is the 2nd largest in Europe. When the doors are closed the building is 99% sound proof.
From here we headed out into Prodution Courtyard. On the way I asked why the Partners statue was in the Studios and not in the Disneyland Park like it is in the other Disney parks around the world. She said there was no official reason, but the unnofficial one is that if they had put it in the Disneyland Park Walt would not have been pointing at anything and Europeans who do not know the Disney story might interpret his raised arm as a Nazi symbol!! Where as in Studio One they can say he is pointing to the studio building!!
In Production Courtyard we had a little look at the Stitch Live building (including the hidden Mickey) and learned a bit about how films are made in the production area. We also looked at the Tower of Terror. The ToT had always been intended to be built there when the park was origionally built. The plans were made, but it was decided to not build it at that time. Instead the tower that was designed for Paris was built in Disneys Californian Adventure instead. As a nod to the fact one would be built in the Studios one day the courtyard area in front of the tower used to have HTH on top of the archway that you now look through to see the ToT. Whilst we were passing we got a set of fast passes to use later.
We then went over to the Back Lot area. Here we learned about how effects are added to films and we looked in the Backlot express restaurant at all the props in there. The items in there have all been used in Hollywood films. A lot of the props are from Armageddon. We then headed over to the stunt show area. Here we learned that the cars all have 06 on their plates as 06 is the area code in France that the village backdrop for the stunt show is based on. We then walked around the back of the ToT (the Studios is the only Disney park where you can walk all the way around the ToT) and looked at some of the vehicles you see on the tram tour.
This was where our tour ended. Again we had a great time and learned a lot about the attractions and about the movie making process.
By now it was lunch time so we headed over to the buffet lunch at Rendez-Vous des Stars. The food was OK, the deserts especially were yummy!! They had a little jazz band playing as you ate which was nice too.
By now it ws time for our ToT fastpasses (ToT straight after lunch!!) Now I don't know why I go on this ride, yet I do every time I am in a Disney park that has one, and I know I will go on it when we go to Disneyland in the summer. The details in the ride were amazing and the view from the top was great too (I wasn't expecting to have the doors open at the top 2 times!!) On the way out I decided to do a little more shopping and bought a towel set for my bathroom at home!
By now it was raining a little, but as most of the attractions in the Studios are indoors it didn't really matter. Next we decided to watch Anamagique which I really enjoyed, followed by Armageddon. By now it was time to line up for the stunt show which we did and really enjoyed. It had changed slightly from when we last saw it.
By now it was 5:30 and we decided to head back to the room for a rest.
We also had to get ready for our evening meal at the California Grill. We did some more shopping and pin trading in Disney Village along the way.
On the way out of the studios I noticed these on the floor which I thought were really neat.
They tell you the direction and distance from DLP to the other Disney parks in the world.
At 7:00 we headed over to the Disneyland Hotel for our meal at California Grill. When ever we go to WDW or DLP a meal at California Grill is a must. We were given a table by the window and could see the castle as it got dark which looked really pretty.
The meal again was really nice. After our meal we headed over to Cafe Fantasia for an after dinner drink before heading back to the hotel New York, I needed to pack before going to bed as tomorrow we were going home.
