TotallyAngelic
Disney Addict
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2005
- Messages
- 6,687
Summer 2007 Disneyland Paris Trip Report : Part 2
Cast Members:
Sarah: Totally Pirates of the Caribbean obsessed, Disney enthusiast, Pin
Collector, only rides indoor coasters!
Tony: Disney enthusiast, Pin Collector, Loves all extreme rides, eats for the
UK!
Taryn: Aged 16. Disney enthusiast. Pin Collector. Loves POTC. Tim Burton
Obsessed. Very theatrical and loves any excuse to dress up especially
Halloween!
Daniel: Aged 13. Disney Enthusiast but doesn’t like meeting characters unless it
is spontaneous. Loves POTC. Nintendo player and Tim Burton fan!
Stephen: Aged 17. My stepson. Not really mad about Disney but loves extreme
coasters.
Louise: Aged 16. My stepdaughter. Loves Disney and dressing up.
Part Two: Disneyland Park Here We Come!
I woke up slightly ahead of the alarm, and despite having very little sleep I jumped straight up, raring to go! The weather looked promising, with a clear sky, something we were very unaccustomed to seeing in the UK. We managed to rouse all the kids and rustled up some breakfast out of the instant cappuccino, croissants and muffins we had brought with us. Not quite the Holiday Inn breakfast, but enough to keep everyone satisfied for a while, even Tony whose stomach tends to protest if it doesn’t receive hourly input. While we were waiting for the girls to get ready, a process whereby the length of time taken is directly proportional to their age, Tony popped out for a wander and discovered a much quicker way to get to the little village area we had been in the previous night, and also discovered a supermarket and a patisserie, but unfortunately there was a note posted on the door of the patisserie to say that it was closed for the month of July. So much for freshly baked croissants and pain au chocolat of a morning
Before long we were all ready and we went out to wait for the No 34 bus at the stop just outside the complex. Before long the bus was there, and 9 euros and five minutes later we were pulling up into the familiar bus station. From there we walked down towards the entrance, as might be expected, and we joined a small group of people waiting to be let in at the bag check. It was not yet 8am so we waited around until it was and then we were through the cursory bag check and down to the turnstiles. It was amazing to be one of the first 20 people in through the turnstiles, and Main Street was very quiet as we wandered slowly along, having a look at all the 15th Anniversary decorations which were really effective.
We headed first of all into Discoveryland, as it was only Discoveryland and Fantasyland which were open for EMH, and were the first people onto Buzz Lightyear. Tony whooped everyone on the scores, with me coming a very embarrassing last – I think I am destined to be sacked from the Space Rangers.
From here we ventured over to ride Space Mountain, and needless to say Taryn and Daniel gave up the opportunity in favour of a ride on Orbitron. Space Mountain was excellent, but a really bumpy ride, and I spent most of the time trying desperately to force my head back into the headrest. I think it is getting worse, or my head is getting less tolerant.
Taryn and Louise then decided to have a go on Orbitron as Discoveryland was still so very quiet.
It was almost as though we had the place to ourselves. We then wandered into Fantasyland, where we whizzed around Never Never Land with Peter Pan, before making the most of the lack of any people and queues, by riding the teacups. I ended up in a teacup with Stephen and Daniel, who took great pleasure in spinning the thing as fast as it would go, to the degree that I very nearly revisited my breakfast, and apparently I was screaming like a banshee. It was a far more traumatic experience than any coaster I have been on, and it took me about 20 minutes to be able to walk in a straight line. A very strange feeling considering the absence of any alcohol whatsoever!
If you look closely you can see the evil look in their eyes....
Just to compound the dizziness, we decided to go on the Carousel, but fortunately this went at a far more sedate pace. We even got the lads on this one, and I got the evidence to show their mates later as payback for the teacups incident!
After this we wandered into the central Plaza to wait for Frontierland to open. Once it did, we whizzed to Big Thunder and went straight on for the wildest ride in the wilderness, and the instructions to hang on to your hats and glasses would become very pertinent later in the trip, though perhaps more appropriate wording would be hang on to your hats and cameras! From here we walked over to Phantom Manor, and had our traditional encounter with the goblins and ghoulies! We wandered into the graveyard and listened to the beating heart, before heading down to see the pirates. On the way to Pirates of the Caribbean we were unfortunately following a man had his top off, and who actually had visible bum cleavage, can you believe it! Perhaps I am being prematurely critical here, as it may just be that the pirates had plundered his top and his underpants! No photos were taken as it wasn't a pretty sight!
Pirates was fantastic as per usual, although a few old friends were absent, including the swinging pirate and the cat on the box. As there was no wait whatsoever we rode it twice! In the shop I was tempted by a taking skull, which was motion sensitive, and I thought it might make an interesting addition to the downstairs loo, but I managed to resist temptation. There was no sign of Captain Jack Sparrow on this occasion, and he was to remain very elusive for the duration of our trip.
From here we went up to Indiana Jones, which Tony, Stephen and Louise rode, whilst those of us with the wimp gene mooched about the shop and I was amazed to discover a block of public conveniences near Indiana Jones which I had never before noticed. It’s amazing how Disneyland Paris never fails to surprise you! After this we picked up some fastpasses for Big Thunder and popped into the Cowboy Cookout for some good ol’ cowboy grub! While we were eating the Country and Western band started playing and they were really good – we had a good old clap and stomp along with the music!
After lunch we had a second spin in Phantom Manor, and then wandered over to Discoveryland where we rode Star Tours. Despite it being early afternoon, the wait times were really reasonable, and we didn’t wait longer than 10 minutes for anything, with the exception of Big Thunder where we used fastpass. I didn’t find the new fastpass system a problem, in fact, by staggering the fastpasses over the whole day, it meant that they weren’t all finished by 1pm, as I have seen in the past! I think the new system works quite well!
On the way to use our Big Thunder fastpasses we rode It’s a Small World. On Big Thunder this time there was loads of water pouring in at the top of the first incline ramp, far more than the usual trickle. After this we stopped for some drinks in Fuente del Oro, before heading into the Tarzan Encounter. This show is always stunning, no matter how many times you see it! The particular Tarzan performing today had a lot more than a six-pack!
Following the show we headed in the direction of Pirates, and as we approaching adventure isle we spotted Capt Jack up ahead of us, lurking about – I think he was going off duty though as he eluded us in the caves, and we didn’t manage to see him again during the trip, to my intense disappointment. We had a whiz on Pirates and then Tony and Stephen decided to go over to ride Space Mountain. I didn’t fancy another head battering session so the rest of us went to have a look in the Main St shops. Hardly a minute had passed in the Emporium and Tony and Stephen appeared, Space Mountain had unfortunately broken down and they hadn’t managed to ride it. I was on the look out for the 15th Anniversary CD, but couldn’t find it anywhere in the Main St shops, but fortunately I remembered that the StoryBook Store tended to sell CDs and so we popped in there, and managed to find it!
We decided to leave the park and go into the Village to have dinner. While contemplating our dining options we popped to Billy Bobs and sat outside for a drink. Tony and I had our first 1664 of the trip, and I snapped the following photos while we sat outside people watching.
It was now time to go for something to eat, and we chose Planet Hollywood, having had a very nice meal there last October.
The food was very good, but we had a very miserable server who seemed to react as though every request was a real hardship, and he certainly hadn’t been to any Disney school of customer service. Unfortunately he also made a few mistakes with the order, and was even more reticent when he had to go back and rectify the errors. That said we had a nice meal, We had two platters of chicken strips for starters, and then I had an orange chicken and rice dish, Tony had a burger, Stephen had a wrap, Louise had lasagne, Daniel had a BBQ chicken sandwich and Taryn had a BBQ chicken breast with cheese. The girls also had their favourite “Pretty in Pink” cocktails.
We decided to give the desserts a miss on this occasion. After dinner we had a brief wander in the village and the girls did some posing...
By now the kids were looking and feeling really tired, so we decided to take them back to the house and then Tony and I planned to come back to see Wishes, as we have far more stamina than a bunch of lightweight teenagers. Once we had off loaded the kids, we wandered back to the bus stop, but found that the next bus was an hour later and it would be too late to catch Wishes – so much for the buses every 10 minutes – this only applies to peak times!
So we ended up reluctantly going back to the house and having an unplanned early night. Plan for tomorrow – Disney Studios and Crush’s Coaster!
Cast Members:
Sarah: Totally Pirates of the Caribbean obsessed, Disney enthusiast, Pin
Collector, only rides indoor coasters!
Tony: Disney enthusiast, Pin Collector, Loves all extreme rides, eats for the
UK!
Taryn: Aged 16. Disney enthusiast. Pin Collector. Loves POTC. Tim Burton
Obsessed. Very theatrical and loves any excuse to dress up especially
Halloween!
Daniel: Aged 13. Disney Enthusiast but doesn’t like meeting characters unless it
is spontaneous. Loves POTC. Nintendo player and Tim Burton fan!
Stephen: Aged 17. My stepson. Not really mad about Disney but loves extreme
coasters.
Louise: Aged 16. My stepdaughter. Loves Disney and dressing up.
Part Two: Disneyland Park Here We Come!
I woke up slightly ahead of the alarm, and despite having very little sleep I jumped straight up, raring to go! The weather looked promising, with a clear sky, something we were very unaccustomed to seeing in the UK. We managed to rouse all the kids and rustled up some breakfast out of the instant cappuccino, croissants and muffins we had brought with us. Not quite the Holiday Inn breakfast, but enough to keep everyone satisfied for a while, even Tony whose stomach tends to protest if it doesn’t receive hourly input. While we were waiting for the girls to get ready, a process whereby the length of time taken is directly proportional to their age, Tony popped out for a wander and discovered a much quicker way to get to the little village area we had been in the previous night, and also discovered a supermarket and a patisserie, but unfortunately there was a note posted on the door of the patisserie to say that it was closed for the month of July. So much for freshly baked croissants and pain au chocolat of a morning
Before long we were all ready and we went out to wait for the No 34 bus at the stop just outside the complex. Before long the bus was there, and 9 euros and five minutes later we were pulling up into the familiar bus station. From there we walked down towards the entrance, as might be expected, and we joined a small group of people waiting to be let in at the bag check. It was not yet 8am so we waited around until it was and then we were through the cursory bag check and down to the turnstiles. It was amazing to be one of the first 20 people in through the turnstiles, and Main Street was very quiet as we wandered slowly along, having a look at all the 15th Anniversary decorations which were really effective.
We headed first of all into Discoveryland, as it was only Discoveryland and Fantasyland which were open for EMH, and were the first people onto Buzz Lightyear. Tony whooped everyone on the scores, with me coming a very embarrassing last – I think I am destined to be sacked from the Space Rangers.
From here we ventured over to ride Space Mountain, and needless to say Taryn and Daniel gave up the opportunity in favour of a ride on Orbitron. Space Mountain was excellent, but a really bumpy ride, and I spent most of the time trying desperately to force my head back into the headrest. I think it is getting worse, or my head is getting less tolerant.
Taryn and Louise then decided to have a go on Orbitron as Discoveryland was still so very quiet.
It was almost as though we had the place to ourselves. We then wandered into Fantasyland, where we whizzed around Never Never Land with Peter Pan, before making the most of the lack of any people and queues, by riding the teacups. I ended up in a teacup with Stephen and Daniel, who took great pleasure in spinning the thing as fast as it would go, to the degree that I very nearly revisited my breakfast, and apparently I was screaming like a banshee. It was a far more traumatic experience than any coaster I have been on, and it took me about 20 minutes to be able to walk in a straight line. A very strange feeling considering the absence of any alcohol whatsoever!
If you look closely you can see the evil look in their eyes....
Just to compound the dizziness, we decided to go on the Carousel, but fortunately this went at a far more sedate pace. We even got the lads on this one, and I got the evidence to show their mates later as payback for the teacups incident!
After this we wandered into the central Plaza to wait for Frontierland to open. Once it did, we whizzed to Big Thunder and went straight on for the wildest ride in the wilderness, and the instructions to hang on to your hats and glasses would become very pertinent later in the trip, though perhaps more appropriate wording would be hang on to your hats and cameras! From here we walked over to Phantom Manor, and had our traditional encounter with the goblins and ghoulies! We wandered into the graveyard and listened to the beating heart, before heading down to see the pirates. On the way to Pirates of the Caribbean we were unfortunately following a man had his top off, and who actually had visible bum cleavage, can you believe it! Perhaps I am being prematurely critical here, as it may just be that the pirates had plundered his top and his underpants! No photos were taken as it wasn't a pretty sight!
Pirates was fantastic as per usual, although a few old friends were absent, including the swinging pirate and the cat on the box. As there was no wait whatsoever we rode it twice! In the shop I was tempted by a taking skull, which was motion sensitive, and I thought it might make an interesting addition to the downstairs loo, but I managed to resist temptation. There was no sign of Captain Jack Sparrow on this occasion, and he was to remain very elusive for the duration of our trip.
From here we went up to Indiana Jones, which Tony, Stephen and Louise rode, whilst those of us with the wimp gene mooched about the shop and I was amazed to discover a block of public conveniences near Indiana Jones which I had never before noticed. It’s amazing how Disneyland Paris never fails to surprise you! After this we picked up some fastpasses for Big Thunder and popped into the Cowboy Cookout for some good ol’ cowboy grub! While we were eating the Country and Western band started playing and they were really good – we had a good old clap and stomp along with the music!
After lunch we had a second spin in Phantom Manor, and then wandered over to Discoveryland where we rode Star Tours. Despite it being early afternoon, the wait times were really reasonable, and we didn’t wait longer than 10 minutes for anything, with the exception of Big Thunder where we used fastpass. I didn’t find the new fastpass system a problem, in fact, by staggering the fastpasses over the whole day, it meant that they weren’t all finished by 1pm, as I have seen in the past! I think the new system works quite well!
On the way to use our Big Thunder fastpasses we rode It’s a Small World. On Big Thunder this time there was loads of water pouring in at the top of the first incline ramp, far more than the usual trickle. After this we stopped for some drinks in Fuente del Oro, before heading into the Tarzan Encounter. This show is always stunning, no matter how many times you see it! The particular Tarzan performing today had a lot more than a six-pack!
Following the show we headed in the direction of Pirates, and as we approaching adventure isle we spotted Capt Jack up ahead of us, lurking about – I think he was going off duty though as he eluded us in the caves, and we didn’t manage to see him again during the trip, to my intense disappointment. We had a whiz on Pirates and then Tony and Stephen decided to go over to ride Space Mountain. I didn’t fancy another head battering session so the rest of us went to have a look in the Main St shops. Hardly a minute had passed in the Emporium and Tony and Stephen appeared, Space Mountain had unfortunately broken down and they hadn’t managed to ride it. I was on the look out for the 15th Anniversary CD, but couldn’t find it anywhere in the Main St shops, but fortunately I remembered that the StoryBook Store tended to sell CDs and so we popped in there, and managed to find it!
We decided to leave the park and go into the Village to have dinner. While contemplating our dining options we popped to Billy Bobs and sat outside for a drink. Tony and I had our first 1664 of the trip, and I snapped the following photos while we sat outside people watching.
It was now time to go for something to eat, and we chose Planet Hollywood, having had a very nice meal there last October.
The food was very good, but we had a very miserable server who seemed to react as though every request was a real hardship, and he certainly hadn’t been to any Disney school of customer service. Unfortunately he also made a few mistakes with the order, and was even more reticent when he had to go back and rectify the errors. That said we had a nice meal, We had two platters of chicken strips for starters, and then I had an orange chicken and rice dish, Tony had a burger, Stephen had a wrap, Louise had lasagne, Daniel had a BBQ chicken sandwich and Taryn had a BBQ chicken breast with cheese. The girls also had their favourite “Pretty in Pink” cocktails.
We decided to give the desserts a miss on this occasion. After dinner we had a brief wander in the village and the girls did some posing...
By now the kids were looking and feeling really tired, so we decided to take them back to the house and then Tony and I planned to come back to see Wishes, as we have far more stamina than a bunch of lightweight teenagers. Once we had off loaded the kids, we wandered back to the bus stop, but found that the next bus was an hour later and it would be too late to catch Wishes – so much for the buses every 10 minutes – this only applies to peak times!
So we ended up reluctantly going back to the house and having an unplanned early night. Plan for tomorrow – Disney Studios and Crush’s Coaster!
We are leaving tomorrow for a 5 night trip staying at Dream Castle Hotel. 
shame about the buses at night, hope you get to see Wishes later on.
