jodyb
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 15, 1999
Trip Report
Disneyland Paris
Jan. 26 through Feb. 2 2004
Cast:
Liav (12)
Jody(Liav's mother and old enough to be that!)
Wednesday. Our second full day.
Woke up feeling rested, and looked out the big SL window expecting to see some sunshine. Imagine my surprise, when I saw snow falling, in big wet flakes, and no sign of let-up. It was absolutely beautiful, and since it was a bit warmer than yesterday, there was very little buildup on the ground, just the steadily falling flakes that melted when they hit the sidewalk.
We had breakfast at the SL our breakfast card said 7:15 but we arrived closer to 8, and it was no problem. This was the identical breakfast to what had been offered in Fantasyland. I was NOT impressed with breakfast. Anyone who likes a little protein for breakfast (sliced ham and cheese was not an option for me) will be disappointed here. Also, the coffee situation was quite surprising. I really did expect that at the hotel they would actually serve real coffee, so that was a disappointment. I got over it had a yogurt and a croissant, and Liav was perfectly happy with her cereal and hot chocolate (which I doctored by adding a lot of hot milk from the coffee machine the chocolate from the machine is VERY strong). The best part of breakfast was the view from the window of Hunter's Grill. Gorgeous snowfall! Just like a postcard again! I couldn't wait to get outside.
Since we had done Disneyland the day before, we decided to try the Studios today. Good choice, since it was really not a day to be outdoors and the studios is mostly a park of indoor attractions. When we arrived at the entrance we immediately saw several characters, and just like yesterday, they were very playful and friendly and gave my daughter (and me!) lots of attention, which was fun. There were even fewer people around than there had been at the other park the weather really was pretty "bad" I suppose you could say but we were very happy to be there I thought the cold and snow was an asset rather than a drawback! I was impressed with Studio One! There is nothing indoors like this at WDW, rather there is a Main Street type of entry with a Hollywood theme. We appreciated that we were inside today, and stopped at the large shop at the entrance to buy some souvenirs, which we had sent back to the room. (8 pins, which Liav picked out to give as gifts, and a couple of stuffed "characters") Coming out the other end of Studio one, we turned left toward Rock'nRollerCoaster, which is our all time favorite ride. Of course, there was almost nobody there, so we walked right on and rode twice. We loved it! The ride itself is very similar to WDW, but the visual effects are a a bit different inside the ride, and the pre-show is (thankfully) shorter. After riding twice (Liav wanted to go again, but I think I'm too old for more than twice without a break!) we walked over to Cinemagique which was just about to start. Only a few rows down at the front of the theatre were filled. It was weird to be in such a big auditorium with so few guests! The movie is very entertaining and we enjoyed it a lot. We had lunch at Backlot Express, which is very different from the place with the same name at WDW. This one is filled with props (are they real?) used in movies, and you could stay there all day and not see it all. The food is cafeteria style. We had some pretty good sandwiches, that same machine coffee, and some kind of dessert brownies I think. After this we went to Anamagique. A cute show just the thing for bad weather or when you want to get off your feet from exhaustion. Not a real headliner though. When we came out of the show it was time to "line up" for the parade, which starts at 1:45. I have never seen such a sparse crowd for a Disney parade! There were so few people I wondered if they would cancel the parade. There were more CM's walking down the parade route to keep "order" than guests waiting for the parade! Sure enough though, that music started up and the parade came down the road. The weather by the way had let up enough to make this possible, but because it had been so "bad" earlier, most people decided to skip the park, making it almost eerily empty! It was actually getting a little colder but the snow had stopped falling.
We did Armageddon, which Liav enjoyed and I endured.
Then we went back to RnR for a few more rides who could resist riding over and over when there is NO waiting !
Back in Studio One more characters interacting with guests (everyone seemed to be congregated in here getting warm) and some "streetmosphere" actors put on a little skit involving some of the guests it was very cute they managed to intertwine French and English so that everyone got the gist. We went over to Magic Carpets of Aladdin and rode that just once though since they had not really cleaned off the snow and we were sitting in puddles by the time the ride was over!
Overall impression of the Studios park? Everything we saw was okay but the attractions are few and far between and there is nothing at all to look at while walking between them. I hope in time this park will take on more of a Disney park feel - there just isn't too much magic there. The attractions are "magical" but the park itself has very little atmosphere. I'm pretty sure this is not just because of the weather.. I did do some walking around and looking... there just wasn't that wondrous Disney detail and visual "candy" that you get at the WDW (MGM) Studios. We missed the Great Movie Ride especially! I'm not a big fan of Tower of Terror but I know lots of people love it. Withough those two, it just didn't seem the same, although it's probably not fair to compare, and we did have a lot of fun. RnR did not disappoint!
By about 3 PM we felt we'd done all we wanted to at the Studios (the car stunt show was closed that day - stay tuned to my trip reports, we do return to the Studios...) so we headed out and over to the Disneyland Park. I should mention for those who haven't been here yet.. the two parks are right next to one another - their entrance gates are a one minute walk one to the other! I loved this about DLP! I also love that it's a short walk from the hotels, and a nice walk at that - around the lake and through the village... and of course from Disneyland hotel, it's no walk at all!
As usual, I got a little choked up walking down Main Street, listening to the music, and looking at the castle! (don't mind me I really am a Disney nut) We walked slowly through the castle (around the front court which was boarded up mysteriously for construction of something within ) into Fantasyland and rode Snow White, Dumbo, Small World and then over to Discoveryland and Space Mountain - all walk-ons of course. and as we walked back toward Main Street we realized we could catch the Princess Parade. They were announcing that it would start in 5 minutes. Again, very few people lined the street, although there were considerably more than at the Studios. We LOVED this parade! It turned out to be the music that my daughter's class used for their 6th grade graduation program! Someone had put Hebrew words to "Catchy Rhythm" and it had been the basis of the show the kids put on last summer!! So she knew a whole dance routine to the song, and of course danced around on the curb as the parade went by! I thought the parade was very well done although I can't figure out why it's called the Princess Parade it contains so much more than just princesses! Of course right after the parade we had to by the CD so Liav could teach herself the English words to the song! After the parade we went on a few more rides in Frontierland and Adventureland, and it started to get very cold as darkness fell We walked back to Main Street and discovered the indoor back part of the shops something that does not exist at WDW and which I think is really nice! Walking through there allowed our fingers and toes to thaw a bit. We left the park around 6:30 PM and went into the Village for a look around, ending up at Mcdonalds where we decided to eat, and from there it was a 3 minute walk back to the hotel. We were cold and tired and very happy when we got back to SL it had been a great day. Liav watched a Disney movie on TV and I took myself to the lounge for a Tennessee coffee (SL speak for Irish coffee!) next to the fire. AAAHHHHHH.
Disneyland Paris
Jan. 26 through Feb. 2 2004
Cast:
Liav (12)
Jody(Liav's mother and old enough to be that!)
Wednesday. Our second full day.
Woke up feeling rested, and looked out the big SL window expecting to see some sunshine. Imagine my surprise, when I saw snow falling, in big wet flakes, and no sign of let-up. It was absolutely beautiful, and since it was a bit warmer than yesterday, there was very little buildup on the ground, just the steadily falling flakes that melted when they hit the sidewalk.
We had breakfast at the SL our breakfast card said 7:15 but we arrived closer to 8, and it was no problem. This was the identical breakfast to what had been offered in Fantasyland. I was NOT impressed with breakfast. Anyone who likes a little protein for breakfast (sliced ham and cheese was not an option for me) will be disappointed here. Also, the coffee situation was quite surprising. I really did expect that at the hotel they would actually serve real coffee, so that was a disappointment. I got over it had a yogurt and a croissant, and Liav was perfectly happy with her cereal and hot chocolate (which I doctored by adding a lot of hot milk from the coffee machine the chocolate from the machine is VERY strong). The best part of breakfast was the view from the window of Hunter's Grill. Gorgeous snowfall! Just like a postcard again! I couldn't wait to get outside.
Since we had done Disneyland the day before, we decided to try the Studios today. Good choice, since it was really not a day to be outdoors and the studios is mostly a park of indoor attractions. When we arrived at the entrance we immediately saw several characters, and just like yesterday, they were very playful and friendly and gave my daughter (and me!) lots of attention, which was fun. There were even fewer people around than there had been at the other park the weather really was pretty "bad" I suppose you could say but we were very happy to be there I thought the cold and snow was an asset rather than a drawback! I was impressed with Studio One! There is nothing indoors like this at WDW, rather there is a Main Street type of entry with a Hollywood theme. We appreciated that we were inside today, and stopped at the large shop at the entrance to buy some souvenirs, which we had sent back to the room. (8 pins, which Liav picked out to give as gifts, and a couple of stuffed "characters") Coming out the other end of Studio one, we turned left toward Rock'nRollerCoaster, which is our all time favorite ride. Of course, there was almost nobody there, so we walked right on and rode twice. We loved it! The ride itself is very similar to WDW, but the visual effects are a a bit different inside the ride, and the pre-show is (thankfully) shorter. After riding twice (Liav wanted to go again, but I think I'm too old for more than twice without a break!) we walked over to Cinemagique which was just about to start. Only a few rows down at the front of the theatre were filled. It was weird to be in such a big auditorium with so few guests! The movie is very entertaining and we enjoyed it a lot. We had lunch at Backlot Express, which is very different from the place with the same name at WDW. This one is filled with props (are they real?) used in movies, and you could stay there all day and not see it all. The food is cafeteria style. We had some pretty good sandwiches, that same machine coffee, and some kind of dessert brownies I think. After this we went to Anamagique. A cute show just the thing for bad weather or when you want to get off your feet from exhaustion. Not a real headliner though. When we came out of the show it was time to "line up" for the parade, which starts at 1:45. I have never seen such a sparse crowd for a Disney parade! There were so few people I wondered if they would cancel the parade. There were more CM's walking down the parade route to keep "order" than guests waiting for the parade! Sure enough though, that music started up and the parade came down the road. The weather by the way had let up enough to make this possible, but because it had been so "bad" earlier, most people decided to skip the park, making it almost eerily empty! It was actually getting a little colder but the snow had stopped falling.
We did Armageddon, which Liav enjoyed and I endured.
Then we went back to RnR for a few more rides who could resist riding over and over when there is NO waiting !
Back in Studio One more characters interacting with guests (everyone seemed to be congregated in here getting warm) and some "streetmosphere" actors put on a little skit involving some of the guests it was very cute they managed to intertwine French and English so that everyone got the gist. We went over to Magic Carpets of Aladdin and rode that just once though since they had not really cleaned off the snow and we were sitting in puddles by the time the ride was over!
Overall impression of the Studios park? Everything we saw was okay but the attractions are few and far between and there is nothing at all to look at while walking between them. I hope in time this park will take on more of a Disney park feel - there just isn't too much magic there. The attractions are "magical" but the park itself has very little atmosphere. I'm pretty sure this is not just because of the weather.. I did do some walking around and looking... there just wasn't that wondrous Disney detail and visual "candy" that you get at the WDW (MGM) Studios. We missed the Great Movie Ride especially! I'm not a big fan of Tower of Terror but I know lots of people love it. Withough those two, it just didn't seem the same, although it's probably not fair to compare, and we did have a lot of fun. RnR did not disappoint!
By about 3 PM we felt we'd done all we wanted to at the Studios (the car stunt show was closed that day - stay tuned to my trip reports, we do return to the Studios...) so we headed out and over to the Disneyland Park. I should mention for those who haven't been here yet.. the two parks are right next to one another - their entrance gates are a one minute walk one to the other! I loved this about DLP! I also love that it's a short walk from the hotels, and a nice walk at that - around the lake and through the village... and of course from Disneyland hotel, it's no walk at all!
As usual, I got a little choked up walking down Main Street, listening to the music, and looking at the castle! (don't mind me I really am a Disney nut) We walked slowly through the castle (around the front court which was boarded up mysteriously for construction of something within ) into Fantasyland and rode Snow White, Dumbo, Small World and then over to Discoveryland and Space Mountain - all walk-ons of course. and as we walked back toward Main Street we realized we could catch the Princess Parade. They were announcing that it would start in 5 minutes. Again, very few people lined the street, although there were considerably more than at the Studios. We LOVED this parade! It turned out to be the music that my daughter's class used for their 6th grade graduation program! Someone had put Hebrew words to "Catchy Rhythm" and it had been the basis of the show the kids put on last summer!! So she knew a whole dance routine to the song, and of course danced around on the curb as the parade went by! I thought the parade was very well done although I can't figure out why it's called the Princess Parade it contains so much more than just princesses! Of course right after the parade we had to by the CD so Liav could teach herself the English words to the song! After the parade we went on a few more rides in Frontierland and Adventureland, and it started to get very cold as darkness fell We walked back to Main Street and discovered the indoor back part of the shops something that does not exist at WDW and which I think is really nice! Walking through there allowed our fingers and toes to thaw a bit. We left the park around 6:30 PM and went into the Village for a look around, ending up at Mcdonalds where we decided to eat, and from there it was a 3 minute walk back to the hotel. We were cold and tired and very happy when we got back to SL it had been a great day. Liav watched a Disney movie on TV and I took myself to the lounge for a Tennessee coffee (SL speak for Irish coffee!) next to the fire. AAAHHHHHH.
I wish they still did too.
!
