Day 2 was another scorcher. As a result we got out early to be able to slink away if it got too hot. Off to extra magic hours for 8am (2 hours before the park opens to the general public, on site guests and Dream pass holders can enter the park for a few selected attractions - Peter Pan, Dumbo, the Carousel, the Tea Cups, Buzz Lightyear, Orbitron and Space Mountain). It means you can get a lot done before the park opens to the public.
We drove to the main parking lot, and got to see some major maintenance. They were resurfacing the car park, and as we moved towards the parks, we saw them preparing the flower beds for replanting (as always, there was an amazing transformation by the time we returned to the car).
Into
Disneyland and off to Fantasyland, which we all loved as normal. I will only do these attractions with short queues, so with less than 10 min waits, we were laughing.
Then into Discoveryland where my mother in law watched the kids so we could go on Space Mountain together as a couple rather than Baby switch (the first time since becoming parents). For those of you that have not been before, Space Mountain at Paris was Disney's 1st launch coaster, and the 2nd coaster to have a synchronised sountrack (Casey Jr at DLP was the 1st). And unlike the American and Asian versions, ours is a Vekomas coaster with 3 inversions, as well as great special effects. I miss the original Jules Verne style with the orchestral sound track we used to have, but this is still great. Only a 5 minute wait, and sitting at the back, because of the heat, it seemed to be going fast 1st thing in the morning. I can only imagine how it was running in the evening.
Off to Buzz, and it was my MIL's 1st time. I miss Le Visionarium that is replaced (Like Timekeeper that Florida used to have), but the Nine Eye robot is still hidden in the attraction. I kept my eyes peeled, but still could not see her.
My score was not great - 193500, but I still beat everyone in my party (my record is 598000 - I cannot seem to beat it). A rest stop in Discoveryland, where I was pleased to see they have introduced another victorian electric car condiments bar. I am saddened to see that the wonderful Videopolis theatre has been been turned into a glorified cartoon cinema, but still, it is better than sitting empty I suppose.
By this time, the park was well and truly open and the crowds were starting to build. Surprisingly it was busier than the Sunday. we got in line for Star Tours which was at a 25 minute wait. As always, we enjoyed our attempted journey to the Forest Moon of Endor. You would think that after all these years, they would stop using rookie pilots ;-)
Next over to Frontierland to see what the wait for Big Thunder was like. At 50 minutes at 11:30, we thought fastpasses were in order. At this point we were getting a little hungry.
We went over to the Silver Spur in frontierland. It is one of my fav restaurants in the area, and is modelled after the rich cattlemen's clubs of the west, and takes some reference from Virginia city in particular. Inside are pieces of art on loan from the American western museum in LA. It has a great show kitchen and wonderful meals - a frence/bbq fusion if you will.
we popped in before it opened and made noon reservations. We then hopped over to Phantom Manor, modelled on the mansions of Virginia City (though some think it looks more like the Psycho house). Ours has a more cohesive back story that brings the story of Thunder Mesa, the mining town in Frontierland to life. Because of the languages, we have an orchestral score rather than the ghost host (which is awesome) and instead of the graveyard, we have a ghost town, with lot's of hidden in jokes in Disney history and some parts of Marc Davis's Western River Expedition thrown in (this was going to be in WDW next to Big thunder, but when East Coasters complained about no Pirates, the management back burnered WRE and built Pirates of the Caribbean instead (the most inferior version at WDW, best IMHO is a split between Disneyland and DLP).
We then had a wonderful lunch. We started with our complementary apparetifs of Kir (blackcurrent liquer and white wine - worth 9 euro $13.50) I had a meddly of shrimp, guacamole and salsa, followed by a perfectly cooked rump steak (medium in France is like Medium rare in the US, slightly more cooked than rare in the UK), and a wonderful sundae with 5 different flavour ice creams and sorbets/sherberts, as well as a dark chocolate hourseshoe and an expresso. Sarah had a chicken ceaser salad, the steak and a pecan chocolate cake. Nana had the chicken ceaser, maple seared salmon, and a tequila and lime creme brullee. The children shared a steak hash with potatoes, salad and fruit salad. We opted to not have a bottle of wine to reduce the costs a little. Once the discount was applied, it was 88 euro ($122). the service and food as always was excellent. But poor Mikey, fell asleep at the table and didn't wake up until we were at the car a little while later. Because he was asleep, we missed Big Thunder Mountain.
We walked slowly to Main Street and saw the new Mickey's Magical Party. It is definately not my cup of tea, and my 3 year old daughter was board of it too. But I was pleased with the enthusiasm and talent of the dancers, the way Mickey leaves the stage is cool and Jessica loved catching a golden streamer as a souvenir. I had very LOW expectations of this show, but it was not as bad as I feared. I would never specifically try to see it, but to stumble on it is ok. Personally I would rather have more streetmousphere such as the return of the barbershop quartet and the Main Street Vehicles.
Proceeding down Main Street, we then watched Minnie's toon train go past. My daughter smiled and waved, but when I asked if she wanted to see them, she said not really. The kids have a similar opinion as there father. the characters are a pleasant diversion, but not what the Disney park experiences are about (and like their Dad, they love the themed atmosphere and entertainment).
we headed back to the car for 4 to get a little rest before the owner's reception at 6. It was very hot, so we enjoyed a DVD in the air conditioned environment. Then changed for the party.
As it was so hot and sunny, they opened the pool bar. On offer were red, white, and rose wine (nice too) as well as Orange Juice. Then they brought chicken, fish and onion rings around.
We had a great chat with the duty manager - who sorted out some issues we were having in the villa, and they are all fixed by the time we returned home.
I had a chance to practice my german with one of the activity team, so that was fun. The kids played with the toys and we played giant chess too.
And we met a lovely family from the UK who also bought for the same reason as us, huge Disney fans but saw they could take it slower, enjoy the resort, and the rest of what France could offer. We chatted and swapped advice on MVCI and the area, and it was lovely to meet them. Their cute daughters also got on well with the kids. I like most MVCI owners I have met around the globe.
What is interesting is they are focussing most of the sales activity for our resort now in the middle east. Apparently that is where the best sales are right now. there is only a skelleton sales staff on site now like at Marbella (apperantly they are nearly sold out).
We had a lovely time, but Mikey's hayfever started to play up. But Nana kindly took the children back to the villa. We continued talking and then explored the gorgeous Giverny garden in the resort, inspired by the works of Monet (I will get some pictures up), popped in the shop for some bread (it is twice as expensive as the Champion 1/4 mile down the road, but it is fresh and we get a 10% discount as owners.
Then back to the villa for dinner, followed by a soak in the great tub! That night however, there was a maginificent Lightening and Thunder Storm, and the 80+ degree temps plummeted to the mid 50's by the next morning.
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