Day 3 13th April 2007
Determined not to make the same mistakes as the day before we made sure that everybodys mobile phone alarms were set to go off at 6.00am and agreed that anyone who didnt attempt to move would get the wet flannel treatment!
Anyway everyone got up fine and was showered and seated in the Beaver Creek Tavern for breakfast by 7.30am
I think the threat of the wet flannel treatment must have worked
The variety of food offered was fantastic, there were four types of cereal, five types of bread (including Gluten Free), platters of meats and cheeses, yoghurts, fruit salad and of course pain au chocolat and croissants. The variety of drinks offered where just as fantastic, there was orange juice, a variety of teas and herbal teas and a vending machine that provided several different variations of coffee i.e. cappuccino, latte macchiato
etc
Around 9.00am and after packing a couple of croissants in our rucksack we were ready to hit the parks. As we had seen most of the parades at the Disneyland Park we decided that we would visit the Disney Studios first and then return to the Disneyland Park later as we had booked to eat at Walts at 9.00pm. This turned out to be a great idea as it was the hottest day during or holiday and most of the rides were indoors and air conditioned.
It was amazing walking through Studio 1 and seeing all the neon lights, giant palm trees and huge props all around but seeing the Tower of Terror ride looming over you when you exit certainly tops that. Im not sure if the physical building stage is completed yet but I know there were a few places that needed the Studio 1 paint before they start adding the Disney Magic
which gives the aged look i.e. cracks, broken windows and the lightning burn mark. I wonder if any internal work has been done yet and if so, what exactly?...I cant wait to ride this!
The first ride everyone decided to go on was the Armageddon attraction which we all agreed was out of this world, though the queuing took 25 minutes in the sun. We were in front of the flames that shot from the sides and boy was that HOT!, also the cast members were certainly alive and ready to give us a show
everyone applauded them.
The next ride was a little too much for my Mum and Sister so just Myself and Niece went on the Rock n Rollercoaster which is unbelievably fast, so fast in fact that my eyes were watering throughout the entire ride. My Niece was shaking with adrenalin when we got off and so the only cure was to ride it again straight away and as a bonus the waiting time had dropped from 10 minutes which we waited for the first time to just 5 minutes.
The last ride that I can clearly remember going on was the Studio Tram Tour. This too is a really great ride/tour and its amazing to see how much goes into creating a short action scene like that. I also was gob-smacked at how realistic the London scene looked, it was really like being transported back to the UK in seconds
hats off to Disney!
After this the Disney Cinemagique parade was due to start so we staked a place where we could see and watched it all the way through whilst cooking in the sun lol
I thought that the parade was rather short compared to the Once Upon A Dream parade, perhaps this was due to the heat?! When the parade had finished we had a look through all the shops and then proceeded to walk back to the hotel to unwind and freshen up ready for the evening.
At 6.00pm Myself and Niece were all dolled up in our evening clothes and left to try and ride the remaining rides at the Disneyland Park before meeting up later with my Mum and Sister to eat at Walts.
The park at this time was considerably less busy so we headed straight towards Big Thunder Mountain where we found the waiting time was 90 minutes so we continued up to Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril hoping that the waiting time would be greatly reduced nearer to park closing.
Now heres a creepy thing
my Niece had a nightmare on our first night that a ride would breakdown with either us on it or not and with Friday 13th being one of the days during a stay we hoped that it wouldnt come true. As we approached the Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril ride we were greeted with sounds of a pre-recorded ride breakdown spiel and they were getting people off the ride who were stuck at the very top
hows that for creepy?!
Both the ride operators and ride technicians were all unsure as to why the ride had given an alert and stopped itself
regardless of this we rode it twice straight off the moment it was reported fixed!
Our next ride was the Pirates of The Caribbean
and we only had to wait 15 minutes before boarding. Now in the park map it didnt mention it anything about their being a log flume otherwise I would have run a mile because Im petrified of them and boats too so you can only imagine the look on my face when I felt the front of the boat tip downwards and gazed upon the frothing water at the bottom of the flume
youll be happy to know that I survived and now I want higher log flumes (but lets not go too mad too quickly).
I must say now that this ride is incredible and I cant wait to ride it next time (with upcoming changes). I love the way it begins with a tranquil boat ride around the bay where people are eating in the restaurant and into deeper waters with the awesome projected skies and simulated tropical breeze
anyone for a cocktail?
It was now around 8.30pm and so we headed back towards Big Thunder Mountain for a chance to ride it. We got our hopes up as we got closer, it didnt look busy and the waiting time said 4 minutes but as we approached, our view of the board changed and it actually said 45 minutes meaning we would be late for or reservation at Walts so we left it until our next visit which I hope wont be too far away.
We met up with my Mum and Sister at the Central Plaza and headed to Walts where there was a queue of people hoping to get in without a reservation *tut tut*. We waited a few minutes in the beautifully decorated waiting area downstairs and admired the beautiful glass elevator whilst they prepared our table which didnt take all that long.
We were then told to go upstairs where we were shown to our table which overlooked the Cable Car Bake Shop in Main Street USA and met our waiter for the evening who was called Baptiste
.
For a report of our meal at Walts please see post
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=18143339&postcount=44
At around 10.30pm we left Walts and slowly made our way towards the exits of the now silent Disneyland Park with the remaining guests, taking a few last pictures of the park and Sleeping Beauty Castle with its lights on. I think everyone shed a small tear
because we knew this was the last time we would be in the park until the next time
we also had a few laughs too as my Niece was feeling the effects of the small carafe of wine shed had to herself and was trying to be a hip-hop dancing Tinkerbell
.
When we got back to the Disney Village it was alive with the sound of music (haha spot the line from a well-known Disney film) and people were singing and dancing everywhere
. We look around the shops for some last minute souvenirs whilst my Mum stood in the street doing the Macarena to the passing band
she does things like that!
After we had done some serious shopping we headed back to the Sequoia Lodge where I ordered everyone a cappuccino (in French) and we sat and watched the searchlight beams which lit the sky above Disney Studios.
Well thats it for Day 3, please check back for Day 4 (our last) soon.
! I can't wait to see and read them all!
