Something Old, Something New, Nothing Borrowed, Something Blue

[tiggrbaby]

The transport ended up working out well for you!

The one time we stayed in Paris, we stayed in an older hotel that had a similar lift. It actually did not even go to the top floor!

Your meal looked delicious!

 

[franandaj]

Sounds like an interesting travel day. I love a Moroccoan restaurant. The first time I went to one was in Paris and I have been recreating my version of the menu at home ever since.

I can't imagine us traveling with that little luggage or in that small an elevator!

 

[dgbg100106]

Corrina,

Your travel seemed like it was nice, and yay for the pixie dust upgrading you to Business Class.
I saw that you were in Pais at Gare du Nord, the hotel I have booked for Paris is near this station. I was excited to see it in your plans.

The train travel is what I am most concerned about for our trip.

So glad you were able to find your way to the hotel and that you liked it as well as you did, and that is a tiny lift. Many moons ago when I was in college and I went to Paris, the hotel we stayed in had a lift like this, only one person with luggage at a time.

That restaurant in the station looks so pretty, but the food at the Moroccan restaurant looks devine.

 

[Malia78]

The brush with the car in the street must have been a jolt to the system--glad you and your bag did not sustain serious damage.

I'm quite impressed with the efficiency of cleanup after the demonstration.

The Moroccan meal looks delicious--cous cous is a favorite of mine too. Have to say, those portions did look huge.

--Karilynn

 

[PrincessInOz]

Glad you got there safely in the end, with the Biz Class upgrade and what a bonus about the freebie breakfast!

The hotel looks great! And the Moroccan meal looks amazing.

 

[Flossbolna]

Would you mind sharing the name of the hotel? Sounds like a good place to be in for exploring Paris and taking side trips to DLP. I once stayed in the Gare de Lyon area as well and rather liked the area.

On my last trip, I had an app from RATP in Paris and we used that to figure out buses that would take us from place to place. That turned out great, especially with the luggage: no stairs!! Those metro stations can be as horrible as the London Underground in that regard!

 

[dolphingirl47]

The one time we stayed in Paris, we stayed in an older hotel that had a similar lift. It actually did not even go to the top floor!

It kind of added to the charm of the hotel.

Sounds like an interesting travel day.

It was an interesting and for the most part very relaxing travel day.

I love a Moroccoan restaurant. The first time I went to one was in Paris and I have been recreating my version of the menu at home ever since.

I love Moroccan food. I used to make couscous quite a lot, but Graham does not like it and it is a lot of work for just one person.

I can't imagine us traveling with that little luggage or in that small an elevator!

Graham would not agree with you that I travel with little luggage. He is always teasing me if I have booked the cargo plane.

I saw that you were in Pais at Gare du Nord, the hotel I have booked for Paris is near this station. I was excited to see it in your plans.

This is still nice an central and well linked to public transport, but I think the area by Gare de Lyon is a better location.

The train travel is what I am most concerned about for our trip.

Travelling by train in France is easy and comfortable. If I can help in any way, just let me know.

That restaurant in the station looks so pretty, but the food at the Moroccan restaurant looks devine.

The restaurant in the station was a real surprise.

The brush with the car in the street must have been a jolt to the system

It was.

glad you and your bag did not sustain serious damage.

I would have been so upset if my bag had been damaged. This was my Dooney and Bourke Haunted Mansion weekender. Fortunately the traffic was flowing very slowly.

I'm quite impressed with the efficiency of cleanup after the demonstration.

That was both impressive and amusing.

The Moroccan meal looks delicious--cous cous is a favorite of mine too.

This was a real find.

Have to say, those portions did look huge.

This is somewhat unusual for Europe where the portions tend to be smaller.

Glad you got there safely in the end, with the Biz Class upgrade and what a bonus about the freebie breakfast!

We got quite a few freebies that trip considering that in the planning stages switching from an inside cabin to a balcony saved us £400, too.

The hotel looks great!

We really liked it.

Would you mind sharing the name of the hotel?

Not at all. It was the Hotel Trianon Gare de Lyon.

Sounds like a good place to be in for exploring Paris and taking side trips to DLP. I once stayed in the Gare de Lyon area as well and rather liked the area.

I thought this area was just perfect.

On my last trip, I had an app from RATP in Paris and we used that to figure out buses that would take us from place to place. That turned out great, especially with the luggage: no stairs!!

I have to look into this if we end up staying in central Paris again.

Those metro stations can be as horrible as the London Underground in that regard!

Actually, the London Underground is getting better. Most stations are now accessible, which means they are luggage friendly, too.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

The chocolate dessert sounds divine!

Smooth travel day, bonus about the free breakfast and upgrade on the train.

The hotel looks great too. The restaurant at the train station is gorgeous!

 

[dolphingirl47]

The chocolate dessert sounds divine!

It was really nice.

The restaurant at the train station is gorgeous!

I could not believe what a gem was hiding in a station.

Corinna

 

[EJ4Disney]

WOW, everything just looks wonderful. Nice and smooth travel day and you were able to get out and about to get your bearings.
I can't wait for the next day.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Nice and smooth travel day and you were able to get out and about to get your bearings.

It all worked out quite well. We had originally planned to do a tour that evening, but then that kind of went on the back-burner and we both were quite sick the week before the trip so we decided to just go with the flow.

I can't wait for the next day.

Coming right up. I just need to add the photos.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 3

After a somewhat restless night, I gave up at 7:00 and got up. I checked stuff online and then got ready. In the end I headed out at the same time that my alarm was supposed to go off. I walked the short way to Gare de Lyon. It was a beautiful morning. I entered the closest entrance for the RER. This was a little confusing as although I could see signs for the RER, there were gates for the metro between me and where the signs were pointing. I went back upstairs and found some ticket machines. I got my ticket and headed through the gate. After going along the platform, up a flight of stairs, through an endless corridor, through another ticket gate and another flight of stairs, I was finally at the right platform. I just missed a train, but did not have to wait long for the next one.

The train journey was nice and smooth. I was surprised that I even got a seat considering that it was rush hour. The train did not even look particularly full. I ended up on a semi- fast train, which was nice, too. I worked on my trip report during the journey and had some sparkling water and the bag of Cadbury Mini Fingers that I still had in my bag. It was not exactly the breakfast of the gods, but it would do.

The line for security was very short and I was through there reasonably quickly even though somebody in front of me had something in the bag he should not have had. It was a little confusing where the turnstiles for Magic Morning were, but I figured it out and there was only one family ahead of me.





When I got to Town Square, the band was playing and Pluto and Goofy were out. I was delighted that Goofy was wearing his spring outfit. So I got in line. While I was in line, the park officially opened. Not long after this, I got to see Goofy and Pluto. Pluto was a little distracted at first, but Goofy was happy to meet. Pluto came over eventually and he kept tickling me. Unfortunately they did not have a Photopass photographer with them, but one of the cast members was happy to take a photo with my camera.







Once I was done with Goofy and Pluto, I headed over to Liberty Arcade. Minnie was out in her spring dress. She was only due to be out until 11:00 so at best this would be touch and go. My heart stopped when the phone in Minnie's house rang when I was two families from the front. Minnie went in and Marie came out. I suppose that gives me an excuse to get an annual pass next year so that I get another chance to see Minnie in her spring dress. Marie was so enthusiastic about seeing me that she nearly knocked me over.





I decided to watch the first showing of Goofy's Garden Party. I still had plenty of time so I stopped to see Scrooge McDuck on the way. He was a lot of fun again. I still had time after seeing him to take some photos of the topiaries around the hub and to find a spot right by the kerb. They have now planted real flowers around the topiaries. This looks really nice. I also managed to get a photo of the castle against blue sky. Then it was time for Goofy's Garden Party. I had chosen the opposite side of the hub in the hope that I would get to see Donald's and Daisy's car. Unfortunately they have switched this around so I still got to see Mickey's and Minnie's car. I really enjoyed this again.

 

[dolphingirl47]

After Goofy's Garden Party, I decided to break for lunch. I went to Earl of Sandwich at Disney Village. The Panoramagique balloon was up. I had not seen this for ages. Lunch was nice again. I had a cup of tomato soup, the cannonball sandwich, a Coke and a brownie. After lunch, I had a quick look at the shops at Disney Village, but I did not buy anything. Then I crossed over to Walt Disney Studios.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I quickly paid my respects to Uncle Walt and then I headed to the Studio Tram Tour. I had wanted to do this in March, but the waiting time was crazy. I had thought that this would already be down for an extensive rehab, but when I realised it was not, this went to the top of my to do list. This time round the waiting time was only 20 minutes, which was much more to my liking. I had forgotten that they have Catastrophe Canyon there and I very much enjoyed this again. I am sure that there some elements that were missing. I seemed to remember riding past the costume department. Still, I very much enjoyed it and I was glad that I got to do this once more in its original form.











































My next stop was the Ratatouille ride. The standby line was 80 minutes, but the single rider line was a very reasonable 10 minutes. I enjoyed this very much again. I then did Slinky Dog Zic Zac Spin. The posted wait time was only 5 minutes, but the actual wait time was about twice that. Still, I was happy with this. As I walked towards the other side of the park, I spotted that Minnie was out and the line was not too long. So I decided to stop and see here.













There was one last thing at Walt Disney Studios and that was to see Spider-man. Meeting Minnie had taken longer than I had anticipated and by the time I got there, it had just gone 16:00. This was when the meet and greet was supposed to close. I asked the cast members if I was too late and was told to go in. The posted waiting time was 30 minutes, but in the end it took me 8 minutes from entering the line to leaving the building again and about half of that was spent with Spider-man. This was rather sweet.







By then I was done with Walt Disney Studios. I quickly stopped by Guest Services as I had heard that Dole Whip was now available at Disneyland Paris and I wanted to find out where I could find this. Apparently it has not made an appearance quite yet. So I saved myself some time on a fruitless search. I then headed back to Disneyland. People sometimes puzzle me. There were four turnstiles open in the area where I entered. Two had long lines, one had about half a dozen people in line and the last one had one person just going in. That is the one I picked.

 

[dolphingirl47]

When I was back in the park, I quickly had a look at a couple of shops and then I headed for It's A Small World, which had a posted 5 minute wait, but in reality my wait was about as long as it took me to walk to the loading dock. I enjoyed this very much again.

























I decided that this would be my best opportunity to pay a visit to Princess Pavilion. Every time I have wanted to do this, you needed a return ticket and by the time I got there, they had all been given out. This time round they just had a standby line. The waiting time was 45 minutes, but I was cool with this. I have to say that I was more curious about the building than about the princess in residence. The building did not disappoint. They had various stained glass windows showing different castles and illuminated props like Belle's rose and Cinderella's glass slipper. My favourite though was the enchanted mirror from Snow White.









Again I could just shake my head about people. I know the signposting at Disneyland Paris can be a little confusing, but I really did not understand how the family behind me could get it so wrong. I was kind of surprised as all the kids in the family were boys, but figured that maybe the mum wanted to see the princesses. The cast member showed the family just ahead of me a card with the princesses that take turns meeting people and suddenly it dawned on the family behind me what they were queueing up for. They got rather upset as they thought they were in line for It's A Small World. I was however only too pleased to meet Aurora. The actual waiting time was 30 minutes.





Once I had seen Aurora, I figured that if I tell everybody that I have a date with Monsieur Mouse, I better make the effort to see Mickey. The posted waiting time was 25 minutes and this was pretty accurate, give or take a couple of minutes. It was nice to get to see Mickey.











After this, I had some rides to get through. I definitely wanted to do Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This had been closed for refurbishment in November and was due to reopen on my birthday. However, things worked out rather differently. In March for one reason or another, I did not get around to it. So this was a priority. The posted waiting time was 20 minutes. As soon as I entered the line, I realised that this was far off the mark as there were only half a dozen families ahead of me. Actual waiting time was 3 minutes. I could get used to this. The story was similar with Pinocchio's Daring Journey, which also had a posted waiting time of 20 minutes. There I waited 8 minutes. I enjoyed both rides.





I decided that it was time for something to eat. I decided that I quite fancied the Bavarian hot dog at Au Chalet de Marionette. However, they had only 4 tills open; the lines were insane and did not seem to move at all. I decided that I really was not willing to wait longer for food than I had for the attractions. So I moved on. I headed to Pirates of the Caribbean next, which had a posted wait time of 5 minutes. The line for this in Paris is so long that it takes longer than that to just walk through it. Indeed, it was a walk on.









When I came off the ride, I decided to make another attempt to get some dinner. I tried Cafe Hakuna Matata, which was much better. I ended up having Beef Meatballs with African Sauce and Rice and a Coke. This was very nice and definitely hit the spot. I then decided to go over to Phantom Manor. There was a slight problem with this. Where there is normally a path through Frontierland there was a construction wall. The cast member, who I asked how I could get to Phantom Manor shared that they are currently painting the floor in that area. Talk about attention to detail! I ended up having to backtrack through Adventureland to the hub and then access Frontierland from there. From that side it was much more obvious how big the area they are working on actually is.



I did make it to Phantom Manor. I hoped that it would be nice and quiet, but at 15 minutes waiting time, it was the busiest it had been all day. I used the time to take some photos of Big a Thunder Mountain, which is now an impressive building site. Not long after that, I did get to ride Phantom Manor and I enjoyed this again.

 

[dolphingirl47]

By then, we were well into the evening and I still had not set foot into Discoveryland. I was about to put this right. I checked the waiting times and Space Mountain was showing 5 minutes. They had actually closed the single rider line. I decided to go for it. I walked straight through the line and then had a very short wait on the stairs leading to the loading platform. One set of rockets was loaded and left while I was waiting. Then it was my turn. I ended up being by myself in my row. When I got my photo, they added an alien companion. This time I thought that I had worked out were the loop is, but I am still not 100% sure.



I then headed over to Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast. I ended up doing Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast three times in a row. I made a steady improvement, but I did not do too well over all. For some reason, there was no photo taken on the last ride.





I had doubted all day if I would make it until Disney Dreams. I still had not seen the original version as they had a special holiday version in November. Still, by the time I came out of Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast the last time, it was not long until this was due to start and I decided to go and find a spot to watch this. I ended up on the Discoveryland side again, but a bit closer to the hub. It was a nice location. I had heard and read many glowing reviews about Disney Dreams and my expectations were therefore quite high. Well, it did not match my expectations. It is not that I did not enjoy it. It is a good show, but in my opinion it is not as good at World of Color and World of Color Celebrate or even Fantasmic at Disneyland. Taken on its own merit, it is quite clever and enjoyable, but I don’t think it is that special. Still, I am glad that I have now seen it.













































Even though it had felt busier than when I had seen the Christmas version in November, leaving the park afterwards seemed to be easier. In November, they had directed everybody down the arcades, which caused an impressive bottleneck. This time round, I could not even see cast members until we were nearly at the exit. Letting it flow naturally seems to work a lot better. The only issue I had is that a lot of people were smoking while walking down Main Street and because it was still quite crowded, the smoke had nowhere to go. This in turn set off my cough again. Still, fortunately it did not take me too long to get out of the park.

This was the first time since I have started to go to Disneyland Paris again that I got to the station and there was no train. Still, the wait was not too long. There was a bit of confusion though. There is an indicator at the station from which platform the next train leaves. However, a train pulled in at the other platform first and a lot of people got on that. When the train arrived at the platform that I was waiting at, it left again very quickly and the other train was still sitting in the station when we left. I think quite a few people ended up missing the train. The journey back into Paris was smooth. This time we stopped at every stop until we got to the city centre, but it still did not take too long. The walk back to the hotel did not take too long either although I ended up exiting closer to the mainline station. There were plenty of people around and I felt completely safe. I was back in our room just before midnight. I got ready for bed and it did not take long until I was asleep.

 

[tiggrbaby]

What a full day!

Love your ears and jacket.

The flowers, parade and eggs were lovely!

 

[dgbg100106]

Well that was a fun filled packed day at Disneyland Paris.

You were non stop all day, and I really love those ears, perfect for the Garden Party.

And those wait times were not bad at all.

Glad you enjoyed it.

 

[EJ4Disney]

Great fun day. I loved all of your pictures.

 

[Pinkocto]

Fabulous day, wow!

I'm a bit confused, how did Mickey and Minnie change cars in the Garden Party? They didn't have twins at the party did they???

I'm very impressed they were painting the floor. Disney's attention to detail is just amazing.

You caught a bunch of characters as well, great pictures

Too bad Disney Dreams wasn't fantastic. Good to see it though, now you know.