Disneyland Paris - Day 3

Sunday started off a little more chaotic than we had planned.  We got up and we knew we had a voucher for breakfast for 9:15. We took our time getting ready and around 8:45 I took a look at the voucher to see where in the hotel the meal was taking place. Hmmmm… interesting…this voucher actually says the meal is in the park. Shit!!!! Josh still hadn’t showered and it was at least a 15 min walk with the kids thru the hotel, over to Disney Village (we have to walk by another hotel and around the water to get to the Village), thru security and then thru the ticket gate and the meal was being served in FantasyLand, clear across the park. We raced there… poor Aidan was practically in tears and I felt bad, especially when you know that the free meal isn't going to be all that spectacular. Then I find out it’s just counter service and it probably didn’t really matter what time we got there – however, it meant we got to get into the park 45 mins before the rest of the people were allowed in. Hindsight is 20/20 – now I’ll know for the “next” time that we don’t have to rush to get in.

It was nice that the park was relatively empty when we got there for breakfast!

We had planned on hitting the Disney Studios (which is like MGM at home) on Sunday but since we were already in the park, we figured we would go to the Peter Pan ride since it was highly recommended (according to our flyer) and we didn’t make it on there the day before since it was an hour wait and the kids were getting toasty. So we hopped on that and again it wasn’t mind blowing enough for Aidan though he grudgingly admitted he enjoyed it – and Liam loved it. So I’m glad we did that. 

On our way to look for a Goofy hat - we ran thru AdventureLand!  Aidan thought the Swiss Family Robinson tree house was pretty cool!

And while in Disneyland, we just had to get a Goofy and Pluto hat for the boys - Aidan insisted. And he wore it all the rest of that day and the next but of course has yet to wear it since he's been home...shocker I know.

With our newly acquired hats...

For days I've been trying to get Aidan to pose... if only I had known I just needed to buy him a Goofy hat and he'd instantly want to be in pics!

Posing some more with his new hat!  And Pluto aims to shoot!!

Then we went over to the DisneyStudios. I was disappointed to see that the entire section of ToyStory rides was closed for renovations. And given it’s much much smaller than MGM it definitely did not require and entire day to be allotted to checking everything out so it's probably a good thing we went to Disneyland first.

Random shots upon entering the park.

We went to the Animagique show which was a live action play set to the music of a few Disney movies including Dumbo, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and The Jungle Book. It was well done and the kids really enjoyed it.  However, what Aidan really wanted to go on was the Crush Coaster – with Crush the turtle from Finding Nemo. A 90 minute wait and they did not allow Fast Passes (of course). So we put him off and did some other things til towards the end of the day.

The boys got to meet Sully from Monsters Inc. Liam was psyched til he got up close then he tried to make a break for it. I loved that Aidan asked if we could stand in the line to meet him – in 2008 I had to beg him to stand in a line to meet the characters. Oh how he’s grown!!

From there we went over to the CARS ride – Liam was in HEAVEN!!! OMG, he got to ride near McQueen… so excited. Again, the look on his face said it all. In just 2 days he got to see his favorites up close and personal – Buzz Lightyear, Lightning McQueen, Stitch and Mickey Mouse. Seriously this kid is so happy!! The McQueen ride was like teacups only in little cars. It was very cute and the boys seemed to like it. I being of the Type A personality was concerned that at some point the cars were going to collide. But I made it thru.

One of the rides/shows we were looking forward to was the Stitch Live from Lilo & Stitch. This is supposed to be like Turtle Talk with Crush in DisneyWorld. It was the same thing but just not as good. First of all, Stitch doesn’t really do a whole lot of talking in the movie (nor in the cartoon) and the words he does say tend to not be very clear. So he was kind of a poor choice of character for this “ride”. Aidan was clearly disappointed but again Liam was in 7th heaven. Aidan mentioned that he really liked the Crush one better – good memory!!! And even he said that Stitch just didn’t sound anything like the movie. Ok, if the almost 6 year old is saying it, perhaps it’s true!!

After seeing Stitch we decided the time had come for Aidan & Josh to go the Crush Coaster. I would go walk around with Liam and see what I could find to do with him (this is when I found out the Toy Story area was closed). But first Josh wanted to get coffee so I decided to try to help them out and get in line. But of course Liam is too small for the ride. So I said to the woman at the check point, “my husband is getting a coffee and then I’m getting out of line”. I had to explain it to her at least 2x that I had no intention of taking my 2 year old on a large roller coaster (similar to Space Mountain – it was inside). Once I was in line I got some strange looks from people waiting and then another employee approached me. I have to say, it’s good that they are vigilant about this stuff but seriously did they think I was going to take my 2 year old on a roller coaster??? He looked at me kind of doubtfully when I told him I was just waiting on my husband. Oh well… to each their own. Liam and I made an attempt to ride the Magic Carpets of Agrabah but it started to pour rain so we schmoozed the shops instead. After it cleared we met up with Josh and Aidan to head back to the hotel. Aidan loved the ride (except a scary part with Bruce the Shark) and said it was his favorite of the trip. Josh thinks Thunder Mountain is better. I won’t ride either so my thought is that I'm proud that Aidan has more courage than his mom and that I hope he maintains that for the rest of his life!

The boys at lunch

Liam was soooo excited to meet Buzz!  That's his blaster that Buzz was holding too - notice he doesn't take his eye off it!

Right before we left to meet up with Josh and Aidan we came across a parade - Liam was so excited to see his favorite characters!

After Disney Studios we went back to the hotel for some much needed decompression.  I attempted to get Liam to take a nap with little success while Josh and Aidan went down to the pool.  It was a few short hours of just nothing and it was nice after a few days of go-go-go.  The kids have been amazingly well behaved, especially compared to our trip to Valencia last week.  We've been lucky to have very few meltdowns and the ones we have had have been quickly resolved.  Dinner was in the hotel and sadly the best meal we've had so far where they combined the buffet with a regular meal - buffet for appetizer and dessert and a regular meal choice.  Works for us!  Aidan loved picking his own meal yet again - he's going to be a buffet junkie ;)  Then off to bed - we've got one last short day left before heading home on Monday!!  We're going to try to hit Disneyland one last time for one more Buzz Lightyear ride and then off to the airport!!

Julie

Disneyland Paris - Day 2

Day 2 we started off the day with a character breakfast at Cafe Mickey. The kids absolutely loved it. I have to say compared to how Aidan reacted when we went to Disney in 2008 this was night and day. He was in his element and trying to convince his little brother that it was ok to say hi to the characters. Oh how far we’ve come ;) However, while Liam was apprehensive about meeting and touching the characters, his face was that of every parents’ dream that comes to Disney – that of true awe. That is the face I was hoping to get from Aidan when we came in 2008 that never showed up. It is the face of the believer and the child who’s imagination will take him away and let him experience Disney for what it is supposed to be – Magical. And this weekend has been pure magic for Liam and I could not ask for anything more. Sure DisneyParis pales in comparison as far as quality compared to DisneyWorld Florida, but it doesn’t seem to affect how my kids feel about it. They don’t care about the quality of the food or the cleanliness of the park or how many rides there are or aren't. To me, personally, as an adult, I think Disney Florida is 100x better. But that’s not the reaction I’ve gotten from the kids and that’s all that really counts.

This is Cafe Mickey which is in the Disney Village.  Liam was excited from afar about Baloo but when he got a little too close, Liam ran for the hills!

Liam appears to be in total awe of Goofy!  He's still a bit unsure about Mickey.  Aidan did great with both of them - much better than in Disney 2008!

The only way Liam would get close to Baloo this time was with me holding him.  And even then he was quite unsure.  He didn't even try to take a picture with Gideon from Pinochio!  Aidan's still all smiles!!!

Aidan with Smee

Both boys with Chip and Dale - Liam was much better this time since they got a little goofy (no pun intended!) with him!

After seeing Mickey, Goofy, Baloo, Gideon (from Pinocchio), Chip & Dale and Mr. Smee at our breakfast, we were high on life and off to Disneyland for our first time. Already excited from meeting some of the characters we looked forward to the rides and hopeful clearing of the weather. And maybe the possibility of seeing more characters!

Left:  Entrance to the actual park from Disney Village and on the right is Main Street USA which looks almost identical to the one in Disneyworld FL.

Main Street USA with Sleeping Beauty's Castle at the end.  Liam caught sight of Mickey hiding behind this sign and had to check it out.  And yes, it was that cold out that he needed a hat and mittens!!

Ahhhh Aidan the shopper.  Now there is my child.  He looked in every window he saw and tried to go into every store but we made him hold back at least a little bit!

Sleeping Beauty's Castle - it pales in comparison to Cinderella's in Disneyworld.  I do like the fairy at the very top though!

The lines for the rides were astronomical. The shortest line was 35 minutes for any ride. Suffice it to say we didn’t go on a ton of rides but the ones we made it to were good ones that the kids really loved. Highlights of the day:  I highly recommend the Buzz Lightyear ride – Liam especially enjoyed shooting the blaster. At the end, my sociopathic child clearly stated “I shot Zurg. I killed him.” Need I remind you he’s not quite three yet. Yeah, he’s going to be the interesting one – perhaps a little too much tv for this one.

Josh and Aidan did the Star Tours ride as Liam was too small.  They both enjoyed it but of course the only picture we have is of the outside.  The plus was at the end of the ride there was an arcade so there was something Liam and I could do while we waited for Josh and Aidan without having to deal with the very cold temps outside! 

We did the Alice in Wonderland Labyrinth as well which Aidan took the lead on and got us to the castle at the end. He was incredibly proud of himself!

Entrance to the maze... and does anyone remember what the caterpillar was smoking?  Remember back when movies weren't so PC??

This way to the castle!  See, I told you we would make it!

"Off with their heads!"  and Aidan inside the castle.  He was so proud to have led us here all by himself!

We stood in line for over 40 minutes for the Dumbo ride – Aidan was quite disappointed in the results of that one. He’s a rollercoaster fanatic and if it didn’t scare the daylights out of him he considered it “boring”. He and Josh took a ride on Big Thunder Mountain and he loved it!!

The very exciting Dumbo ride.  Liam really liked it though - he got off screaming MORE MORE MORE!!

While Aidan and Josh went on Thunder Mountain, Liam and I took a stroll down to Main Street to check out the shops and perhaps warm up a little bit with a chance to be inside.  Sure there were probably rides I could have taken him on but he didn't seem to care and I was a much happier mom when I was warm.  And if we hadn't gone to Main Street we would never have come upon this parade (albeit a VERY short parade with just this one train with 3 cars) which he loved!

We came back to the hotel in the late afternoon for a quick rest (no naps) before heading out to dinner. We went to a Chicago style steakhouse in DisneyVillage and it was pretty good. I did have to send my steak back which I hate to do but I asked for medium and it came out mooing – a bit way too rare for my taste. But it was a decent meal.

You would think since Disney makes money on everything else they would have a better stocked bar.  All the restaurants and hotels were like this.  If the drink you wanted was not on the menu they would not or could not make it.  Rather frustrating!!  It's hard enough to get something other than wine and cava in Spain...all I wanted was a decent martini!

By the time we finished dinner and got back to the hotel it was late by kid standards and Josh and the kids were in bed by 9 – I managed to read til 10 before turning out the light as well. We all knew we still had one more busy day ahead of us before returning home.  The weather has been terrible but you can't keep these kids down - they (as well as Josh and I) are having so much fun.  Though I won't be sad to go back to warmer temps and to the sun again!

While he may have some sociopathic tendencies, it didn't prevent us from buying him a ray gun which he has proceeded to use constantly ever since it's purchase.  I pray those aren't Duracells in there or we may be in for a long haul!

Julie

Disneyland Paris - Day 1

Today was the big day we’ve been waiting (a whole 2 weeks) for – Disneyland Paris!! For those not in the know, we booked this trip just under 2 weeks ago on the spur of the moment. Josh had a long weekend available and Aidan is off of school for Semana Santa (Holy Week aka April vacation) and so off we go to Paris!! Or a suburb thereof…


Our flight was uneventful – thankfully the worst thing that happened was that apparently you need to let EasyJet know ahead of time how many bags you intend to bring with you. And if you would like to bring bags, you must go to a separate counter to pay for those, then go back to your original check in counter with proof that you have paid. Why they can’t just do everything at one counter here in Spain is beyond me – it seems the thing to do – go from this counter to this counter and then back to this counter. We did the same thing with our NIE numbers if you recall (though we actually had to do this again upon our return so apparently France is of the same mindset).

Every airport should have a playground inside - what a great idea!!!  Josh and the kids watch as they prepare our plane.

Anyways, I’ve gotten off track. The flight was uneventful and thankfully short – less than 2 hrs from Barcelona. Not too bad! The Disney Paris website was not so great and I found the information on it regarding transportation to be a bit on the vague side which meant that we were kind of winging how we were actually going to make it to DisneyParis.  On the way to searching for the Disney shuttle we needed to get the kids something to eat, so where did we go?  To everyone's favorite American restaurant - McDonalds!!  I swear to you we have eaten McDonalds more in the 3 months we have lived in Europe than we have consumed in over 10 years!!  And yet, I find it more appealing here for some reason than I did at home.  It doesn't taste any different - I think it's just the "American-ness" of it if you can call it that. 

We finally found a DisneyLand shuttle that we thought was supposed to cost us money but in fact was free… turns out that was the free shuttle to take us to the one that actually did cost money. Of course…how could I expect something Disney to be free??? Sorry to my Disney obsessed fans that I know are out there (specifically Lisa and Sue) but you know that Disney sucks every last dime out of you possible.

I say this as I write this in MS Word because I don’t have wireless in my room that I paid an insane amount of money for and if I would like access to the internet, I have to go up to the main floor of the hotel (which is the only part of the hotel with wireless) and I then have to go buy a card to use it. That doesn’t really do me any good since my two kids are in our room sleeping and therefore means that I need to be in our room.

Our first day didn’t amount to much which is fine - low key with 2 small kids works for us. We made it to the hotel unscathed and the kids seemed to like our room. It was raining out so we did a little exploring in the hotel and went to the really really nice indoor pool. This may not be Coco Cay in Danvers with it’s huge indoor slides but I have to say for a hotel pool, it’s the best indoor one I’ve seen. It had a good sized water slide, a hot tub, hamman baths (which I didn’t get to try) and a sauna. No spa (they had that at my original hotel that we had to change from though!! Josh!!!) but really I wasn’t going to have time to spa anyways right? The kids had a blast in the indoor pool and didn’t really want to leave but we had made dinner reservations in the hotel for 6:30.

Lots of fun in the pool!!

Now I’m not trying to be Ms Negative here so please note that I know we are going to have an awesome time and in fact we are having an awesome time – but there are just certain expectations I have when I shell out a lot of money. And one of them is good food. We shelled out close to 100 euros for a buffet – yes, you read that right. And it was crappy. I hate wasted money. But I also know from my previous Disney experiences that most of the restaurants are crappy. There are definitely exceptions to the rule and I have had some nice meals in Disney before but I’ve also had more not so good ones than good ones – at least as far as the bang for the buck goes. The buffet wasn’t bad, but was it 100 euros good? No way!  

We don't buffett very often and so this was Aidan's first recollection of doing one.  He was completely and totally enthralled.  Every day and every meal he asked us if he was going to go to the place where he could make his own meal.  He ate a ton of shrimp and bread, apparently two of his favorite things this week.  Never have I seen someone so excited for a buffett!

Left:  Boys hanging out in the hotel watching tv.  Right:  At the DisneyVillage

More of DisneyVillage - on the right has got to the be largest Disney Store I have ever seen!

Does this really need an explanation?

Like father, like son... and the Force is with you my friend...

After dinner we figured we would take a schmooze over to the Disneyland just for a stroll. We wanted to get a lay of the land though most of it looks to be very similar to DisneyWorld in Florida – not just the rides but the layout too (at least according to the website). They do have a place called Disney Village just outside the entrance to the park. It was very nice with lots of shops and restaurants. At first we thought it was part of the park, like Main Street USA (which they also have here) but then we realized that this was the part between the hotels on property and the actual park. When we made it as far as the park we saw tons of people coming out and no one going in – turns out they close at 8 which was rather surprising to me. For some reason I expected them to be open til closer to 10. If I could get on the internet right now I’d double check that but alas, no wireless.

So since we really didn’t want to waste time going into the park and not be able to accomplish much we just strolled thru the stores (of course making some purchases). Josh’s favorite had all the Star Wars stuff. Liam, Buzz Lightyear and Aidan, Lilo & Stitch and Star Wars. They had these little action figure guys that were take offs on Disney characters and Star Wars – so Mickey Mouse as Anakin Skywalker, Goofy as Darth Vader, Stitch as Emperor Palpatine, etc etc. Josh also like the hats as you can see from the pictures.

Day 1 ended well – we may not have accomplished much but given the state of the kids last weekend on our travels I’m feeling pretty good about this weekend. Their moods overall have been good and they are excited to go the park on Saturday.

Julie