Tuesday - Disney Studios
We all slept in until quite late due to a quite hectic previous day, our breakfast slot was scheduled for 09.30, which we just made!
Breakfast was pretty good, typical Disney buffet style (cereal, breads, meats, yoghurt etc.), typical Disney scrum (lots of pushing and shoving for one more cup of 'coffee' I guess is what it's called). There seemed to be a lot of Spanish people staying at the hotel and visiting the parks (oops, I forgot to check their national holidays as well as ours, France, Germany etc.). I noticed lots of folks openly preparing impromptu packed lunches with breakfast fodder for the day, we nabbed a couple of Pan au Chocolates for the kids to eat during the walk to the parks.
When we eventually set off on our walk to the Studios Katie and Jake spotted the ponies tethered nearby so we went back to the General Store for two tickets. It was actually quite relaxing, it felt like we had the place to ourselves (probably because everyone else had hightailed it off to the Parks by then). We were quite surprised that parents actually lead the ponies while the kids ride them, but it was fine. When we took them back a horse box arrived to collect them, apparently they are only there until noon. Talk about good timing!
I always get a buzz out of passing through the front gates of the Studios, I've been a huge movie fan all my life so I guess it's no surprise.
I LOVE this place!
The first thing we did was visit the new attractions. The Cars Race Rally ride had a 30 minute wait but we didn't mind as we were taking it easy today. It's actually pretty good! It looks like a typical fairground ride with a fair sprinkling of Disney 'Pixar' dust (!) but it does work pretty well. You feel like you are going a lot faster than you actually are. Be prepared for the inevitable sprint to the red Lightning McQueen cars!
Next we hopped on the Studios Tram Tour which had a 20 minute wait. We made sure to sit on the left of the tram as we did last year in preparation for Catastrophe Canyon. The video commentary (featuring Jeremy Irons and Irène Jacob) didn't actually kick in until we exited Catastrophe Canyon, even then it was only allowed to play to deliver some Canyon facts and figures. I feel the lack of the video commentary really let the attraction down as a lot of people didn't actually know what they were looking at! What we got instead was a female cast member shout over the PA "Ooo..." "Ahh..." "Everybody scream!!! LOUDER!!!!!!"
Then we went to watch the Motors, action stunt show. We didn't take Jake to this last year as I felt he was a little too young for the various effects. But he's three now and he loved every minute of it! Katie was shuffling around a bit, probably due to it being a bit too 'talky' in some places. I think she might have a point. It's a great show and the stunt drives are fantastic but a good fifteen minutes could be dropped out of it if you ask me (such as the audience volunteer segment). But I guess it does give you something to watch between 'takes'.
And Fonzie thought he was cool!
Jake got cold feet despite loving the show.
When we came out I nipped into Aerosmith's Rock n' Roller Coaster while Michele and the kids watched the High School Musical street show. 0 - 60 in 3 seconds! That'll do me! It's a great ride, I'm pleased the interior isn't in total blackness and you get a chance to look around... a bit!
The queue for Crush's Coaster was now down to a 60 minute wait so we decided to join it, it was the shortest it had been all day! After standing a good while in the pre-queue queue Jake was denied entry at the turnstiles due to the height restrictions. We were asked to go back to the entrance and get him measured, if he was tall enough he would be allowed in. Which is fair enough, it's just a shame that nobody was there to measure him in the first place. So as an act of solidarity I stuck with him and let Michele take Katie onto Crush's Coaster. I knew there had been a lot of head scratching regarding the restrictions on Crush's Coaster prior to our visit but I guess it's all sorted now. However, I'm still a little bemused as to the rationale of building a coaster based on a movie which is such a big hit with pre-school children of which probably a good 50% or so would be refused entry. I might have been tempted to tame it down a little and make it a true family coaster. Having said that, it does look like tremendous fun from outside.
Jake was really crying, he loves Finding Nemo (I don't see the attraction and repeated viewing only enforce this). So I popped onto Flying Carpets over Agrabah with him and let him 'drive' (big mistake!). I think the queue was only five minutes.
After we perused the Art of Animation gift shop (where has all the cool stuff gone?) and then nipped into the interactive sketchy / drawing area. I try to show Jake the various fantastic illustrations on display but he didn't care. He had seen crayons! So we settled down for a while at the various tables etc. and took part in the various activities, which was actually pretty good fun.
While we waited for Michele and Katie near the exit of Crush's Coaster I staredt to talk to an English woman. Part way through polite conversation (consisting of queuing tactics, adults pushing children out of the way for a character autograph - tut, tut, tut - and the cost of drinks and snacks) she commented that The Phantom Manor was... open for business! I think my reaction shocked her a little. Tomorrow we ARE most definitely there!
Eventually Michele and Katie show up raving about how good Crush's Coaster was, but I don't hear them that well... my head is full of Doom Buggies
Everyone was feeling a little exhausted, it's very hot and humid and the sky is overcast so we decide to have a slow walk back to the hotel via the Disney Village (Michele tells me not to worry, several times, The Phantom Manor will be there tomorrow...)
What? Time to go? But we only just got here!
The Disney Village was pretty quiet as Disneyland is still open, so we called into Planet Hollywood.
Me: Garlic Chilli Shrimp
Michele: Deep Fried Lasagne
Katie & Jake: Two kids meals both Pasta and ice cream
Drinks: x2 45cl Coke & x2 Orange Juice with Kids meals
Cost: 65.90 EURO
We had Simon's book and managed to get 20% off the bill. Don't expect it to be easy, there was a lot of head scratching and the manager had to get involved in the end!
Jake slept throughout the meal (we couldn't rouse him!) so we got his to go (along with a spare fork, which we returned the next day).
When we got back to the hotel Katie & I decided to have a walk through Hotel Santa Fe to the garage for some drinks and sweets while Michele fed Jake his Planet Hollywood meal. It was a pleasant (much shorter than expected) walk and you get to nose around another hotel en-route. On the way back Katie spotted the (now empty) Fort Apache and had a go on every single piece of playground equipment as I grabbed a much needed sit down.
Thirty minutes or so after we arrive back at our room we popped across to the Reception to get some extra cash out of the safety deposit box as Michele has decided she and Jake will pop into Paris again in the morning (after our Good Morning Fantasyland breakfast), as long as they are back in time for our Character Tea at the Plaza Gardens!
While we were in the Reception the heavens opened! Not only did it rain heavily but a mother of a thunderstorm started! The rain lashed down and a combination of sheet and fork lightning light up the sky. Katie squealed with excitement as we exited via the back doors of the Chuck Wagon Cafe, I picked her up and ran across the street where we sat on a covered porch bench below our hotel room and watch the storm.
We all slept in until quite late due to a quite hectic previous day, our breakfast slot was scheduled for 09.30, which we just made!
Breakfast was pretty good, typical Disney buffet style (cereal, breads, meats, yoghurt etc.), typical Disney scrum (lots of pushing and shoving for one more cup of 'coffee' I guess is what it's called). There seemed to be a lot of Spanish people staying at the hotel and visiting the parks (oops, I forgot to check their national holidays as well as ours, France, Germany etc.). I noticed lots of folks openly preparing impromptu packed lunches with breakfast fodder for the day, we nabbed a couple of Pan au Chocolates for the kids to eat during the walk to the parks.
When we eventually set off on our walk to the Studios Katie and Jake spotted the ponies tethered nearby so we went back to the General Store for two tickets. It was actually quite relaxing, it felt like we had the place to ourselves (probably because everyone else had hightailed it off to the Parks by then). We were quite surprised that parents actually lead the ponies while the kids ride them, but it was fine. When we took them back a horse box arrived to collect them, apparently they are only there until noon. Talk about good timing!
I always get a buzz out of passing through the front gates of the Studios, I've been a huge movie fan all my life so I guess it's no surprise.
I LOVE this place!
The first thing we did was visit the new attractions. The Cars Race Rally ride had a 30 minute wait but we didn't mind as we were taking it easy today. It's actually pretty good! It looks like a typical fairground ride with a fair sprinkling of Disney 'Pixar' dust (!) but it does work pretty well. You feel like you are going a lot faster than you actually are. Be prepared for the inevitable sprint to the red Lightning McQueen cars!
Next we hopped on the Studios Tram Tour which had a 20 minute wait. We made sure to sit on the left of the tram as we did last year in preparation for Catastrophe Canyon. The video commentary (featuring Jeremy Irons and Irène Jacob) didn't actually kick in until we exited Catastrophe Canyon, even then it was only allowed to play to deliver some Canyon facts and figures. I feel the lack of the video commentary really let the attraction down as a lot of people didn't actually know what they were looking at! What we got instead was a female cast member shout over the PA "Ooo..." "Ahh..." "Everybody scream!!! LOUDER!!!!!!"
Then we went to watch the Motors, action stunt show. We didn't take Jake to this last year as I felt he was a little too young for the various effects. But he's three now and he loved every minute of it! Katie was shuffling around a bit, probably due to it being a bit too 'talky' in some places. I think she might have a point. It's a great show and the stunt drives are fantastic but a good fifteen minutes could be dropped out of it if you ask me (such as the audience volunteer segment). But I guess it does give you something to watch between 'takes'.
And Fonzie thought he was cool!
Jake got cold feet despite loving the show.
When we came out I nipped into Aerosmith's Rock n' Roller Coaster while Michele and the kids watched the High School Musical street show. 0 - 60 in 3 seconds! That'll do me! It's a great ride, I'm pleased the interior isn't in total blackness and you get a chance to look around... a bit!
The queue for Crush's Coaster was now down to a 60 minute wait so we decided to join it, it was the shortest it had been all day! After standing a good while in the pre-queue queue Jake was denied entry at the turnstiles due to the height restrictions. We were asked to go back to the entrance and get him measured, if he was tall enough he would be allowed in. Which is fair enough, it's just a shame that nobody was there to measure him in the first place. So as an act of solidarity I stuck with him and let Michele take Katie onto Crush's Coaster. I knew there had been a lot of head scratching regarding the restrictions on Crush's Coaster prior to our visit but I guess it's all sorted now. However, I'm still a little bemused as to the rationale of building a coaster based on a movie which is such a big hit with pre-school children of which probably a good 50% or so would be refused entry. I might have been tempted to tame it down a little and make it a true family coaster. Having said that, it does look like tremendous fun from outside.
Jake was really crying, he loves Finding Nemo (I don't see the attraction and repeated viewing only enforce this). So I popped onto Flying Carpets over Agrabah with him and let him 'drive' (big mistake!). I think the queue was only five minutes.
After we perused the Art of Animation gift shop (where has all the cool stuff gone?) and then nipped into the interactive sketchy / drawing area. I try to show Jake the various fantastic illustrations on display but he didn't care. He had seen crayons! So we settled down for a while at the various tables etc. and took part in the various activities, which was actually pretty good fun.
While we waited for Michele and Katie near the exit of Crush's Coaster I staredt to talk to an English woman. Part way through polite conversation (consisting of queuing tactics, adults pushing children out of the way for a character autograph - tut, tut, tut - and the cost of drinks and snacks) she commented that The Phantom Manor was... open for business! I think my reaction shocked her a little. Tomorrow we ARE most definitely there!
Eventually Michele and Katie show up raving about how good Crush's Coaster was, but I don't hear them that well... my head is full of Doom Buggies
Everyone was feeling a little exhausted, it's very hot and humid and the sky is overcast so we decide to have a slow walk back to the hotel via the Disney Village (Michele tells me not to worry, several times, The Phantom Manor will be there tomorrow...)
What? Time to go? But we only just got here!
The Disney Village was pretty quiet as Disneyland is still open, so we called into Planet Hollywood.
Me: Garlic Chilli Shrimp
Michele: Deep Fried Lasagne
Katie & Jake: Two kids meals both Pasta and ice cream
Drinks: x2 45cl Coke & x2 Orange Juice with Kids meals
Cost: 65.90 EURO
We had Simon's book and managed to get 20% off the bill. Don't expect it to be easy, there was a lot of head scratching and the manager had to get involved in the end!
Jake slept throughout the meal (we couldn't rouse him!) so we got his to go (along with a spare fork, which we returned the next day).
When we got back to the hotel Katie & I decided to have a walk through Hotel Santa Fe to the garage for some drinks and sweets while Michele fed Jake his Planet Hollywood meal. It was a pleasant (much shorter than expected) walk and you get to nose around another hotel en-route. On the way back Katie spotted the (now empty) Fort Apache and had a go on every single piece of playground equipment as I grabbed a much needed sit down.
Thirty minutes or so after we arrive back at our room we popped across to the Reception to get some extra cash out of the safety deposit box as Michele has decided she and Jake will pop into Paris again in the morning (after our Good Morning Fantasyland breakfast), as long as they are back in time for our Character Tea at the Plaza Gardens!
While we were in the Reception the heavens opened! Not only did it rain heavily but a mother of a thunderstorm started! The rain lashed down and a combination of sheet and fork lightning light up the sky. Katie squealed with excitement as we exited via the back doors of the Chuck Wagon Cafe, I picked her up and ran across the street where we sat on a covered porch bench below our hotel room and watch the storm.
