TotallyAngelic
Disney Addict
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2005
- Messages
- 6,687
Summer 2007 Disneyland Paris Trip Report : Part 4
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 doesnt 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 Four: The Crush Crush Revisited.
We woke up at 10 to 8, roused the troops and made breakfast. We then caught the bus to the parks and whizzed into the Studios to await the infamous Crush crush for the second day running. The plan was to stick to our previous days tactics, as this had given us a good position in the Crush line, but unfortunately the best laid plans of mice, men and obsessive Disney freaks often are doomed to be thwarted and on this occasion the plan-thwarters were a group of cast members tactically positioned and stopping anyone from entering the area near the side doors! Drat and double drat!
But not to be defeated, we immediately put plan B into action. This involved edging along the side of the large group of people gathered in Studio One, until we were positioned at the far end, behind some of the restaurant tables nearest the main doors. There were people sitting at these tables, but we anticipated that these people would get up and move forward as it got closer to opening, leaving a space for us to move into. As it got close to opening, some other people started to employ even more impressive tactics ..including coming up from the back and asking the cast members if they could use the toilet ( the one on the top left at the rear of the shop). We noticed that once they came out of the toilet, they didnt bother to go back from where they had started from, and they stayed right at the front of the mass of people waiting to go through the doors.
Fortunately our plan B was a success, and as the countdown started the table occupiers stood up and surged forward, and we managed to edge past the unoccupied tables and ended up right behind them. The doors opened and everyone made to run towards Crushs Coaster, only to be stopped in their desperate tracks by a long line of cast members who had linked arms and were basically slowing everyone down to a walking speed. To be honest it was a much more sensible idea and we all reached the ride without any serious pushing and shoving. Plan B was an undisputed success, by the way, as we ended up in the first 20 and were straight into the ride building!
The waiting area is really well themed, and I particularly liked these guys:
We watched as they tested a few empty shell vehicles, and then they started letting people on.
You dont really have long to get on, as the vehicles seem to keep moving, and they have to unload and load up both sides before it gets to the end. We ended up facing forwards, and the four kids were in the shell ahead of us. I always feel that the first time on a ride is an incredible experience, and certainly one that you can never repeat, and this was certainly that. It was also certainly NOT what I was expecting, as it was FAR, FAR better than my expectations and the second part of the ride is truly amazing! I am not going to go into details as there are a lot of readers who wont have ridden this yet and I would not want to spoil the experience, as it really is stunning.
It would have been great to ride it again, as you miss so much detail the first time around, but by the time we exited the ride, there was already a 60 minute wait time posted. Not to be disappointed though I was already hatching a plan for the following day!
As we wandered away from Crush, we encountered the Disney Studios Good Morning Parade, which consisted of a few characters in cars,
including this guy, who I must say I have never seen in a Disney movie can anyone enlighten me.
We then headed straight for Rock and Roller Coaster, and rode it twice as there was once again no wait. After R&R we took a few phtos in the surrounding area
before heading for Armageddon, where we had to wait in the holding area for a while, but Daniel was kept entertained by a small boy who kept shooting him with a toy gun. The child was fascinated with Daniel, especially when Daniel began to act as though he had been shot each time, including a full over-the-top, falling-on-the-floor death scene, much to the amusement of the kid, his family and everyone else in the holding bay!! Armageddon was very good as the cast member was very much into his role, and as per usual there were a large number of terrified kids screaming and crying once the effects started!
We then decided to go and see Animagique, and while waiting to go in we had a laugh at Jafar sneaking up on unsuspecting passers by, and then chasing them!
Inside the theatre I was amazed by the number of people who persisted on trying to video record the show, despite being told there was no flash photography or video recording permitted. You could see little LCD screens lighting up all over the auditorium, and some kept trying to film it even when told not to personally by a cast member. In my very humble opinion they should be asked to leave if they persist to do this after being told not to it is nothing short of ignorance! There were also a lot of people continuously trying to sit in the roped off disabled areas, and then arguing with the cast members when they were asked to move what is it with these people!
Now that I am having a good old whinge, I will move onto our next attraction which was The Art of Disney Animation the noticeably annoying thing here is that people will insist on sitting down in the theatre right in the middle of the row, instead of moving along to the end of the row as instructed. This leaves no seats for a lot of the people coming in after them, who then have to walk all around the front and come into the row from the far side. I am constantly amazed by the amount of people in Disneyland Paris who are completely incapable of following simple instructions, or who for some reason believe that the instructions do not apply to themselves!
Okay, now I have got all that off my chest, on with the report! We decided that we had spent enough time in the Studios at this point and headed over to Disneyland Park where we had lunch, catching the Character Express train on Main Street on the way everyone except Dan and myself opted for the Cowboy Cookout again and Dan and I chose Fuente del Oro, as he wanted some hot wings and I wanted the taco salad I had seen other people having and always wondered what it was like. We grabbed our food and went back to Cowboy Cookout to join the others. The taco salad was actually delicious and made a nice change from all the fast food type meals on offer. Woody was also there doing a meet and greet with people outside the Cowboy Cookout
We picked up some fastpasses for Big Thunder after lunch, and while waiting we rode Phantom Manor and Pirates of the Caribbean.
We also did a bit of shopping until our fastpasses were active and then we rode Big Thunder Mountain, and on the way out we grabbed yet more fastpasses for later on. After this we decided to go and do some shopping in the Disney Village, and while there we stopped for a drink in the Sports Bar, where we sat outside. I was completely amazed by the amount of people smoking in this area at one point I counted 15 tables occupied and ALL had someone smoking except the one we were on. Most of these tables also had children and / or people eating at the same tables. Obviously I had too much time on my hands, but it was just an interesting observation. We then wandered down to the lake and had a close look at Panoramagique, which I have yet to go on, but with Daniel having a heights phobia, it is something we will have to save for a future child-free trip.
It was very peaceful down by the lake and quite a relaxing break from the hustle and bustle of the parks.
We then went back into Frontierland for our second ride on Big Thunder. There were some innovative individuals at the fastpass entrance trying to get in using the tickets you get out of the machine when you already have a fastpass for something which hasnt become active. Needless to say they didnt get past the eagle-eyed cast member. Sometimes I feel this ride is wilder than others, maybe it depends upon where you sit in the train, but on this occasion I was completely lifted out of my seat on the drop where the water gushes up.
Tony and Stephen decided to go and ride Space Mountain, while the rest of us decided to explore the Swiss Family Robinson tree-house, which was a first for us.
We then went to Pirates and took some photos at Capt Jacks photo spot, although to my intense disappointment the good Captain was once again nowhere to be seen. Taryn tried to steal Capt Jack's gold:
We popped into the shop to see if one of our favourite cast members, Julien, was there, and he had actually brought in his entire pin collection, in case we happened to pay him a visit. He traded a pin with Daniel but refused to trade me the one I was after!
We then headed over to Pizzeria Bella Notte to watch the parade. There were a few changes from the previous day, when a few of the princes had been missing, but today all of the prince / princess couples were in evidence. We had an off duty cast member standing to one side of us and all the walking characters came up and interacted with him, so I was able to get some good videos on my camera. Once the parade had passed we did our usual whizz up the Discovery Arcade and out into the Disney Village ahead of the crowds, where we went straight into Annettes Diner and were seated immediately.
The food and service in Annettes was very good. We also had the added entertainment of watching the antics of the street sellers, or cat men as we tend to call them because of the incredible annoying squeaky walking tacky cats they sell, and particularly what they did when the police were about. The mats they laid out their wares on actually doubled up as a bag, and when they spotted the police they gathered up the items in the mat / bag, put them into a holdall and then they took off to a safe vantage point, where they hovered around until it was safe to get their things out again. They could do this pick up and run routine in a split second, and it was very amusing to watch. The servers on roller skates and the Greased Lightning dance routine was an anticlimax after such an entertainment highlight! Anyway, enough of the entertainment lets get back to the food: Tony, Stephen, Taryn and I had a burger, while Daniel and Louise had a hot-dog.
For dessert Tony had an apple pie, which looked delicious, Stephen opted for a strawberry milkshake, Daniel had a fudge sundae, while Taryn, Louise and I did something we were highly likely to regret later we ordered the Elvis the King dessert to share.
This was a concoction made from brownies, ice cream, cookies, and was covered in about 3 ft of whipped cream! It looked lovely, and tasted divine, but in the end it defeated us this is what was left!
Unfortunately I could now no longer move, and struggled to lift myself from the seat to leave the restaurant. We wandered a while in the stores, and I managed to buy the pin I had being trying to trade from Julien, so I was happy! We decided to head for home at this point, as we planned to get up early the following day for EMH in the Disneyland Park. We caught the bus back to the town-house, where I think I collapsed into bed with an incredibly heavy stomach and an even heavier heart tomorrow was our last day!
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 doesnt 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 Four: The Crush Crush Revisited.
We woke up at 10 to 8, roused the troops and made breakfast. We then caught the bus to the parks and whizzed into the Studios to await the infamous Crush crush for the second day running. The plan was to stick to our previous days tactics, as this had given us a good position in the Crush line, but unfortunately the best laid plans of mice, men and obsessive Disney freaks often are doomed to be thwarted and on this occasion the plan-thwarters were a group of cast members tactically positioned and stopping anyone from entering the area near the side doors! Drat and double drat!
But not to be defeated, we immediately put plan B into action. This involved edging along the side of the large group of people gathered in Studio One, until we were positioned at the far end, behind some of the restaurant tables nearest the main doors. There were people sitting at these tables, but we anticipated that these people would get up and move forward as it got closer to opening, leaving a space for us to move into. As it got close to opening, some other people started to employ even more impressive tactics ..including coming up from the back and asking the cast members if they could use the toilet ( the one on the top left at the rear of the shop). We noticed that once they came out of the toilet, they didnt bother to go back from where they had started from, and they stayed right at the front of the mass of people waiting to go through the doors.
Fortunately our plan B was a success, and as the countdown started the table occupiers stood up and surged forward, and we managed to edge past the unoccupied tables and ended up right behind them. The doors opened and everyone made to run towards Crushs Coaster, only to be stopped in their desperate tracks by a long line of cast members who had linked arms and were basically slowing everyone down to a walking speed. To be honest it was a much more sensible idea and we all reached the ride without any serious pushing and shoving. Plan B was an undisputed success, by the way, as we ended up in the first 20 and were straight into the ride building!
The waiting area is really well themed, and I particularly liked these guys:
We watched as they tested a few empty shell vehicles, and then they started letting people on.
You dont really have long to get on, as the vehicles seem to keep moving, and they have to unload and load up both sides before it gets to the end. We ended up facing forwards, and the four kids were in the shell ahead of us. I always feel that the first time on a ride is an incredible experience, and certainly one that you can never repeat, and this was certainly that. It was also certainly NOT what I was expecting, as it was FAR, FAR better than my expectations and the second part of the ride is truly amazing! I am not going to go into details as there are a lot of readers who wont have ridden this yet and I would not want to spoil the experience, as it really is stunning.
It would have been great to ride it again, as you miss so much detail the first time around, but by the time we exited the ride, there was already a 60 minute wait time posted. Not to be disappointed though I was already hatching a plan for the following day!
As we wandered away from Crush, we encountered the Disney Studios Good Morning Parade, which consisted of a few characters in cars,
including this guy, who I must say I have never seen in a Disney movie can anyone enlighten me.
We then headed straight for Rock and Roller Coaster, and rode it twice as there was once again no wait. After R&R we took a few phtos in the surrounding area
before heading for Armageddon, where we had to wait in the holding area for a while, but Daniel was kept entertained by a small boy who kept shooting him with a toy gun. The child was fascinated with Daniel, especially when Daniel began to act as though he had been shot each time, including a full over-the-top, falling-on-the-floor death scene, much to the amusement of the kid, his family and everyone else in the holding bay!! Armageddon was very good as the cast member was very much into his role, and as per usual there were a large number of terrified kids screaming and crying once the effects started!
We then decided to go and see Animagique, and while waiting to go in we had a laugh at Jafar sneaking up on unsuspecting passers by, and then chasing them!
Inside the theatre I was amazed by the number of people who persisted on trying to video record the show, despite being told there was no flash photography or video recording permitted. You could see little LCD screens lighting up all over the auditorium, and some kept trying to film it even when told not to personally by a cast member. In my very humble opinion they should be asked to leave if they persist to do this after being told not to it is nothing short of ignorance! There were also a lot of people continuously trying to sit in the roped off disabled areas, and then arguing with the cast members when they were asked to move what is it with these people!
Now that I am having a good old whinge, I will move onto our next attraction which was The Art of Disney Animation the noticeably annoying thing here is that people will insist on sitting down in the theatre right in the middle of the row, instead of moving along to the end of the row as instructed. This leaves no seats for a lot of the people coming in after them, who then have to walk all around the front and come into the row from the far side. I am constantly amazed by the amount of people in Disneyland Paris who are completely incapable of following simple instructions, or who for some reason believe that the instructions do not apply to themselves!
Okay, now I have got all that off my chest, on with the report! We decided that we had spent enough time in the Studios at this point and headed over to Disneyland Park where we had lunch, catching the Character Express train on Main Street on the way everyone except Dan and myself opted for the Cowboy Cookout again and Dan and I chose Fuente del Oro, as he wanted some hot wings and I wanted the taco salad I had seen other people having and always wondered what it was like. We grabbed our food and went back to Cowboy Cookout to join the others. The taco salad was actually delicious and made a nice change from all the fast food type meals on offer. Woody was also there doing a meet and greet with people outside the Cowboy Cookout
We picked up some fastpasses for Big Thunder after lunch, and while waiting we rode Phantom Manor and Pirates of the Caribbean.
We also did a bit of shopping until our fastpasses were active and then we rode Big Thunder Mountain, and on the way out we grabbed yet more fastpasses for later on. After this we decided to go and do some shopping in the Disney Village, and while there we stopped for a drink in the Sports Bar, where we sat outside. I was completely amazed by the amount of people smoking in this area at one point I counted 15 tables occupied and ALL had someone smoking except the one we were on. Most of these tables also had children and / or people eating at the same tables. Obviously I had too much time on my hands, but it was just an interesting observation. We then wandered down to the lake and had a close look at Panoramagique, which I have yet to go on, but with Daniel having a heights phobia, it is something we will have to save for a future child-free trip.
It was very peaceful down by the lake and quite a relaxing break from the hustle and bustle of the parks.
We then went back into Frontierland for our second ride on Big Thunder. There were some innovative individuals at the fastpass entrance trying to get in using the tickets you get out of the machine when you already have a fastpass for something which hasnt become active. Needless to say they didnt get past the eagle-eyed cast member. Sometimes I feel this ride is wilder than others, maybe it depends upon where you sit in the train, but on this occasion I was completely lifted out of my seat on the drop where the water gushes up.
Tony and Stephen decided to go and ride Space Mountain, while the rest of us decided to explore the Swiss Family Robinson tree-house, which was a first for us.
We then went to Pirates and took some photos at Capt Jacks photo spot, although to my intense disappointment the good Captain was once again nowhere to be seen. Taryn tried to steal Capt Jack's gold:
We popped into the shop to see if one of our favourite cast members, Julien, was there, and he had actually brought in his entire pin collection, in case we happened to pay him a visit. He traded a pin with Daniel but refused to trade me the one I was after!
We then headed over to Pizzeria Bella Notte to watch the parade. There were a few changes from the previous day, when a few of the princes had been missing, but today all of the prince / princess couples were in evidence. We had an off duty cast member standing to one side of us and all the walking characters came up and interacted with him, so I was able to get some good videos on my camera. Once the parade had passed we did our usual whizz up the Discovery Arcade and out into the Disney Village ahead of the crowds, where we went straight into Annettes Diner and were seated immediately.
The food and service in Annettes was very good. We also had the added entertainment of watching the antics of the street sellers, or cat men as we tend to call them because of the incredible annoying squeaky walking tacky cats they sell, and particularly what they did when the police were about. The mats they laid out their wares on actually doubled up as a bag, and when they spotted the police they gathered up the items in the mat / bag, put them into a holdall and then they took off to a safe vantage point, where they hovered around until it was safe to get their things out again. They could do this pick up and run routine in a split second, and it was very amusing to watch. The servers on roller skates and the Greased Lightning dance routine was an anticlimax after such an entertainment highlight! Anyway, enough of the entertainment lets get back to the food: Tony, Stephen, Taryn and I had a burger, while Daniel and Louise had a hot-dog.
For dessert Tony had an apple pie, which looked delicious, Stephen opted for a strawberry milkshake, Daniel had a fudge sundae, while Taryn, Louise and I did something we were highly likely to regret later we ordered the Elvis the King dessert to share.
This was a concoction made from brownies, ice cream, cookies, and was covered in about 3 ft of whipped cream! It looked lovely, and tasted divine, but in the end it defeated us this is what was left!
Unfortunately I could now no longer move, and struggled to lift myself from the seat to leave the restaurant. We wandered a while in the stores, and I managed to buy the pin I had being trying to trade from Julien, so I was happy! We decided to head for home at this point, as we planned to get up early the following day for EMH in the Disneyland Park. We caught the bus back to the town-house, where I think I collapsed into bed with an incredibly heavy stomach and an even heavier heart tomorrow was our last day!
and your photos are fabulous. 
