Value Resorts and Inside Staterooms? Bah Humbug! 30 days of Disney fun! 02/10 Day 30

[dizneeat]

What a great update...love all the pics.

Can you PM me your email address? Our "mutual" friend in Florida would like to email you.

Thank you!

I just sent you a PM! Working on the next update! I need to get away from school work now and then!

 

[dizneeat]

Disneyland Paris - Day 2


We woke up even before the alarm went off! A look outside the window showed a beautiful blue sky and the sun was shining brightly already. We both had a shower, got ready and headed over to the bakery for some fresh baguette for breakfast. Once we had found a spot to park our car we joined the line for fresh bread. Tom picked an almond pastry and I got two more éclairs as the bakery would be closed the next morning.

When we were back at our villa we made some tea and had a relaxed and wonderful breakfast.

The parks only open at 10am, so we thought we had plenty of time when we headed over to the parks shortly before 9am. Up until now we had always parked at the Disney hotels as this used to be a perk that had come with the annual pass, but since they took away that perk as well the main parking lot was the only option. So we headed there and hit a huge traffic jam at the toll station.

It took us nearly 20 minutes from the time we joined the lines until we actually went through the entrance to the parking lot. Right when it was Tom’s turn to park his car, they decided to leave about a third of the parking spots open and start a new line at the FAR FAR end of the parking lot. Well, we decided to give it a miss and try again, went all around the parking lot and got in line again, this time being pointed into a spot more than halfway down to the main walkway to the entrance.

We joined the masses who headed towards the entrance and were stunned on HOW many people were already there to get into the parks. Like the day before the security check at the Disneyland Park entrance was LONG, so we headed over to the Walt Disney Studios entrance and even though there was a line it was much shorter than the other one. So we got through there and finally up to the turnstiles shortly after 10am!

Once you enter the park there is this square where you can meet the characters and to the left and right are some shops and guest relations. Since it was quite packed with the characters being out and about we headed for the shop on the left side of the entrance and browsed through their stuff. Tom, the good sport that he is tried on a few of their hats. It would NOT be a complete trip to a Disney park, without a few hat photos! And this one is especially for my good friend Kathy!!

We then headed inside the first building which is kind of a walk through LA street set with another shop on the left and a restaurant on the right.

It was packed in there as well and we slowly walked through the shop and out into the park. Our first stop was the Tower of Terror to pick up a fastpass.

We then walked pasted the new part of the park, which is supposed to open in late summer. You can already see parts of the new rides but not enough for a good photos. We then walked past the Cars ride and the Crush ride, which had another long line to the Sorcerer hat and the animation studios.

They have a nice little store which we explored and took this photo especially for our friend Dave, who likes this lady a lot!

and then we wanted to walk over to Rock’n’Rollercoaster, but once we passed the tip board we found out that it was down. We were not in time for any shows, so we decided to just hop over to Disneyland Park.

This day it was packed!
While we headed towards the side walkway we heard the Character Caravan going by.

We walked through Discoveryland and people were shoving each other along the way. There was no way to get in on any ride so we just decided to try and get to our lunch reservation early. We were half an hour early, had to wait for about 10 minutes while they were seating walkups!

 

[dizneeat]

Stefy, I thought you might want to see who else we met on Main Street!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Yeah, another great update - thank you!

School doesn't end until July 9th??? Are the students ready to revolt?
Seriously though, when does the school year start?

 

[dizneeat]

Yeah, another great update - thank you!

School doesn't end until July 9th??? Are the students ready to revolt?
Seriously though, when does the school year start?

Thank you!

Last day of the school year here in Upper Austria is July 9th! Yip, that's the date,
Pupils AND teachers then have a 9 week break. No summer school or else - just 9 weeks paid leave!
We start our new school year on September 13th - guess when we return from WDW - September 12th - and there is a 6 hour time difference. Should make for a "fun" first Monday, back at school!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Those Angel and Stitch dolls are to DIE FOR!!!!!!! I LOOOOVE Stitch and Angel is just soooo cute.

Wooow, the park is so crowded! Do they always open so late?

 

[DaveInTN]

Tom picked an almond pastry

My mouth is literally watering!!! I LOVE almond pastries!

They have a nice little store which we explored and took this photo especially for our friend Dave, who likes this lady a lot!

 

[tinacaplan]

Another great update, Karin! I'm telling you...I am going to miss you so much when you're here, but can't wait for your TR after your summer trip. That is going to be epic. All the food looked great...very French. Maybe you can answer a question for me: do they sell bottled salad dressing in France? Just curoius. Weird, I know!

In answer to your question, yes, I am teaching during my "holiday". I work in an inner-city school where the kids come in several grade levels behind where they should be, so they have a couple of weeks of school in the summer to help catch them up. Its really only one small part of what we do, but there it is! I still get more time off than most people, though, so I can't complain.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Last day of the school year here in Upper Austria is July 9th! Yip, that's the date,
Pupils AND teachers then have a 9 week break. No summer school or else - just 9 weeks paid leave!
We start our new school year on September 13th - guess when we return from WDW - September 12th - and there is a 6 hour time difference. Should make for a "fun" first Monday, back at school!

WHOA! That is going to be an interesting first day of school for you! Do the kids go back on 9/13? Our teachers start a few days before the kids - is it different there?
Sorry about constantly asking you questions, I'm just fascinated with these things!

 

[PrncesKMW]

Subscribing - just sat here and read this for about an hour - think my boyfriend thinks I am a total weirdo now

 

[KatMark]

Disneyland Paris - Day 2



Once you enter the park there is this square where you can meet the characters and to the left and right are some shops and guest relations. Since it was quite packed with the characters being out and about we headed for the shop on the left side of the entrance and browsed through their stuff. Tom, the good sport that he is tried on a few of their hats. It would NOT be a complete trip to a Disney park, without a few hat photos! And this one is especially for my good friend Kathy!!

Karin, I absolutely love it. Tom, you LOOK GREAT in that hat. You are such a sweetie to think of me while on your trip. Thanks, friend.

 

[Linda67]

Hi Karin

Just caught up with your PTR, not long now until your trip

Loved hearing about your plans, sounds like you are going to have an amazing time

I'm sure that WPE will already have a table reserved for you both

 

[Stefy]

Stefy, I thought you might want to see who else we met on Main Street!

Yay Stitchy and Angel What an awesome display window, thanx for the pix

Great updates, love your first night dinner. I love making up deli type stuffs for dinner or lunch, esp when you have a fresh baguette to accompany it

Can't believe I missed three updates already!

Sounds like you are a busy bee right now with school, don't stress yourself out too much though

I can't believe how busy it was on your last update, it looked crazy! Is May a very busy time of year at DLRP?

 

[Kellybelly777]

Once again i could move to europe just for the food (not that RI food isn't good )!
DLRP is absolutly beautiful, and you were deffinetly right about BTM being better (or at least it looks that way). Someday im going to make it there (college maybe?)
Hopefully you'll be able to get through your busy schedule! Keep your eye on the prize: summer vacation and Disney!!!

 

[dizneeat]

Those Angel and Stitch dolls are to DIE FOR!!!!!!! I LOOOOVE Stitch and Angel is just soooo cute.

Wooow, the park is so crowded! Do they always open so late?

They had such a lot of fun window decorations and I especially loved the "Napoleon" Stitch one!

Please keep in mind that we visited at a LONG holiday weekend (Whitsunday) and the parks are ALWAYS real crowded on holidays.
Because of the holiday they stay open late (10pm - yes that IS open late! ) but 10am is regular opening time.
They don't have Evening Extra Magic Hours, just Morning ones and then there are only Dumbo, Peter Pan and the Caroussel that are open. So no big deal to go there, the only thing that makes it worthwile is that you can get a shot of the castle without lots of people in the picture as they rope off the area at the hub.

My mouth is literally watering!!! I LOVE almond pastries!

I was hoping you would like one thing or the other! And I am happy the almond pastry impressed it was YUMMYYYYYYYYY!

Oh, and by the way we met Ms. White in person (not one on one, just in a parade) but she is hard to catch - such a jumpy person!

Another great update, Karin! I'm telling you...I am going to miss you so much when you're here, but can't wait for your TR after your summer trip. That is going to be epic. All the food looked great...very French. Maybe you can answer a question for me: do they sell bottled salad dressing in France? Just curoius. Weird, I know!

In answer to your question, yes, I am teaching during my "holiday". I work in an inner-city school where the kids come in several grade levels behind where they should be, so they have a couple of weeks of school in the summer to help catch them up. Its really only one small part of what we do, but there it is! I still get more time off than most people, though, so I can't complain.

Thank you, Tina! You might not even miss me all that much while we are going - we intend on checking in on you all with a few teaser photos during the trip! Can't live without my laptop!

Thanks for clearing up Summer Academy! Sounds like a good idea to get some pupils up to where they should be! Is it ALL day or just mornings? Even though I think it's a good idea I am VERY happy we have the whole time off can't imagine having to go back during the summer!

WHOA! That is going to be an interesting first day of school for you! Do the kids go back on 9/13? Our teachers start a few days before the kids - is it different there?
Sorry about constantly asking you questions, I'm just fascinated with these things!

Yes, totally interesting first day of school! But to be honest we did it the same way last year and day 1 worked out quite well, even though I asked a friend to pinch me should I fall asleep during the teachers' meeting.
And to answer your questions (never mind asking them - I love learning new things too!) - YES, pupils go back to school the same day as the teachers do. There is a mass to start the new school year with and then the pupils stay on for another 2 hours. Teachers have a break then we have a meeting, which usually ends around 2 - 3pm.
The thing last year was, that even though I was able to sleep the first night back home, come day 2 my body was still on US time and I just could not fall asleep at night, so I was pretty beat the next few days.
But since Tom doesn't have a chance of getting another week off to "recover" from a vacation we decided to both suffer through WDW withdraw and work!

Subscribing - just sat here and read this for about an hour - think my boyfriend thinks I am a total weirdo now

Welcome! There's going to be a lot more to read! Once school ends I guess I will be able to update and fine tune my planning!

 

[dizneeat]

Karin, I absolutely love it. Tom, you LOOK GREAT in that hat. You are such a sweetie to think of me while on your trip. Thanks, friend.

I am glad you did! I love Mark's hat photos too! Tom does a Christmas Countdown calendar for Christmas with his hat photos - it is just such a fun thing!
I need to send you the link once Christmas rolls around!

Hi Karin

Just caught up with your PTR, not long now until your trip

Loved hearing about your plans, sounds like you are going to have an amazing time

I'm sure that WPE will already have a table reserved for you both

Well, I hope WPE rolls out the red carpet once we fly in!
Thanks for joining in Linda!
In exactly 8 more weeks from today we will be on the way to the airport (plane leaves at 11am) for our summer fun! I am so looking forward to cruising on the Wonder again (and hoping to get a discount deal for next summer on the Dream ) and our 3 weeks at OKW.

Yay Stitchy and Angel What an awesome display window, thanx for the pix

Great updates, love your first night dinner. I love making up deli type stuffs for dinner or lunch, esp when you have a fresh baguette to accompany it

Can't believe I missed three updates already!

Sounds like you are a busy bee right now with school, don't stress yourself out too much though

I can't believe how busy it was on your last update, it looked crazy! Is May a very busy time of year at DLRP?

When I saw that window display - all that came to mind was - Stefy would LOVE this!

Yes, Sunday was crazy busy, but we knew that it was a holiday weekend and expected the crowds.
A year or two ago we went to Paris and Disneyland Park was actually closed, because it was at capacity! It was even worse than!
Plus we didn't expect to just walk on rides, so we were alright with it.
It's not the whole month of May that is so busy, it is just the weekend and holidays! The only time we can go!

Once again i could move to europe just for the food (not that RI food isn't good )!
DLRP is absolutly beautiful, and you were deffinetly right about BTM being better (or at least it looks that way). Someday im going to make it there (college maybe?)
Hopefully you'll be able to get through your busy schedule! Keep your eye on the prize: summer vacation and Disney!!!

European food is real yummy! Lots of variety - and not that I am biased - but Austrian food is the VERY best!

I hope you can go and visit DLRP (and Europe - don't forget to pay Austria a visit, no Disney here, but it's beautiful!!) one day!

Hope you can make it to the meet on Aug 20!!!! Our trip and meeting all those DIS friends is keeping me sane those last few weeks of school!

 

[HeatherBelle614]

The food all looks so great! I'm jealous! What a comparison to our fried junk here!

Stitch is one of my favorite Disney characters; I'm in love with those display statues! I just sent that post to DH and told him that he must somehow figure out how to bring those statues to our home. Haha. (He did buy me a stuffed Angel to go with my Stitch on our last trip, but not NEARLY as good enough as those statues!)

 

[dizneeat]

The food all looks so great! I'm jealous! What a comparison to our fried junk here!

Stitch is one of my favorite Disney characters; I'm in love with those display statues! I just sent that post to DH and told him that he must somehow figure out how to bring those statues to our home. Haha. (He did buy me a stuffed Angel to go with my Stitch on our last trip, but not NEARLY as good enough as those statues!)

No need to be jealous! CS in the parks is your usual McD, pizza and prepackaged salads, nothing to write home about. But French food in general is very nice. That's why we like to have either a TS meal in the park or self catering.

Hm, maybe if your DH can't bring those statues to your home, maybe he can take YOU to them - DLRP is real nice!!

 

[dizneeat]

Disneyland Paris - Day 2 continued

There was no way to get in on any ride so we just decided to try and get to our lunch reservation early. So we headed over to Frontierland for our reservation at the Silver Spur Steakhouse.

The Silver Spur Steakhouse is right opposite the Riverboat! (A)

We were half an hour early, had to wait for about 10 minutes while they were seating walkups! We were then finally led to a two top and our server came around quickly to ask for drinks. Soft drinks are pretty expensive in the parks and there are NO free refills in the restaurants, so we opted for a bottle of water. We both decided on going with a menu and Tom got the Cowboy’s Menu and I chose from the Sheriff’s Menu.

For his starter Tom got the Salmon Three Ways, which included salmon mousse, smoked salmon, “graved lachs” and toast. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the menu, so I don’t know what this is really called.

My starter was the Chicken Cesar salad, which is really nice. The dressing is very well seasoned and the chicken was moist and slightly warm.

Then our server brought out some rolls, but we did not even try them.

For his main course Tom chose the 58 hour beef. All I remember about it is that it was “cooked” slowly for 58 hours and it was very tender and yummy. It came with herb mashed potatoes and horseradish sauce.

I went for the Grilled Rumpsteak with Roquefort sauce and Steakhouse fries and a grilled tomato. They always underdo the meat, so it was more to a medium rare than medium, but it was still very nice. The sauce was real strong, but it was nice to dip the fries in. I didn’t like the grilled tomato as it tasted like gingerbread! Don’t know what spices they used, but it was a bit odd.

For his dessert Tom than ordered the Pineapple Carpaccio with lime sorbet, which was a perfect match! The sweet pineapple paired with the tart lime was wonderful.

I had opted for the Pecan and Caramel Chocolate Cake with Chocolate sauce. Wonderful but heavy! I was not able to finish it all! Once we had finished our desserts we asked the waitress for the bill and showed her our annual passes as there is a 10% discount. She disappeared and we did not like how long it took for her to reappear as we wanted to head over to the Studios park for the Stars and Motor Cars Show. Once she was back she kind of ignored us and we had to ask again for the bill. Well, after some time she brought it, but she had forgotten the discount and now she had to go find a manager to correct her mistake. It took her another 10 minutes to do so and time seemed to fly by until the parade. Well, the manager did the trick and applied the discount, we paid and left in a hurry. Thankfully we know some of the shortcuts and were out of the park in no time. We found an open turnstile no one wanted to use and were inside the Studios without any wait! So far, so good! Now, on to find a spot for the show.

Last time we were there to watch the Show it was announced as a parade and we waited along the route not knowing that they stopped at the stage and had a dance routine! This time we knew better! We found a spot right opposite the stage, with only people sitting on the ground and some kids in front of us and we waited for about 15 minutes for the show to start. Some people started pushing their kids and themselves in front of the sitting people, but thankfully one of the CMs stepped in and told them to go back. I don’t mind having a kid stand in front of me, but I am not happy with their parents barging in front of myself, if I have stood and waited. So, if you asked yourself where the Stars and Motorcars Parade went once they stopped it in the Hollywood Studios, then come to the Walt Disney Studios and you will find it. The cars rolled in, the passengers all got out and went up on stage.

They use the same music they had in WDW with a few changes and all the characters sing and dance and put on quite an act. After the show the characters stayed around to sign autographs but we made our way over to the Tower of Terror to use our Fast Passes.

More updates tomorrow (hopefully!)

 

[YukiPhnx]

That salmon appetizer looks so good! And that 58hr beef makes me wanna slow cook some beef for dinner tomorrow.

I can't believe that waitress too so long. Maybe she was new and just had no idea how to AP discount worked, so assumed you weren't right? Some people can be like that.

That's such a great show! So many characters you wouldn't normally see