Wannabe Club 33 Member
After RnR we headed over to tower of terror, first we walked through the huge open courtyard where Disney junior and Stitch live is located.
Hollywood, 1939. Amidst the glitz and the glitter of a bustling young movie town at the height of its golden age, the Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star in its own right. A beacon for the show business elite. Now, something is about to happen that will change all that
We were taken upstairs to the top of the boiler room to enter our elevator. As we got our spots and waited for our elevator the CM was trying to be in character and interact with the guests. The girl next to us was not having it and told the CM “I don’t speak french…” He then proceeded to do most of the spiel in english before we got in.
Personally I love WDW version a lot more because you don’t just stay in one elevator shaft the whole time and its a lot longer. But the drop sequence makes up for it
After tower of terror we left Studios for the day and headed over to Disneyland. Today we had an early dinner at Walt’s an American Restaurant. Disneyland Paris doesn’t have it’s own club 33 like other Disney parks and although Walt’s isn’t a members only restaurant it is probably the closest thing I’ll get to Club 33. That being said Brittany and I were willing to pay extra to eat here.
Walt’s is located on Main Street USA and if you are lucky enough you can sometimes watch the parade from above.
When you enter the restaurant you check in at the podium and wait in the lobby before you head up the stairs for dinner. The thing I love about this place was all the photos around the lobby and upstairs in the restaurant itself.
Getting up the stairs took longer than planned with all the photos that lined the walls going up.
Walt’s is a very popular restaurant but we were the lucky American’s who are use to dinner at 5 (which the french find super early) and it was empty! I highly recommend getting reservations though because we were lucky enough to get a reservation on this day.
We were seated in the peter pan section of the room and we were more than happy with that
This restaurant can be pricey for what you actually get, but if you get that free dinning you can use your vouchers to help pay for it. We decided to go with the starter and main course deal and ended up paying 12 euros out of pocket.
We both started with a caesar salad, which might I add was basically all cheese. Some nice shaved parmesan and then baked crispy cheese sheets that was actually the best.
Then we both got the thanksgiving meal and were told how this was Walt’s favorite meal and why they put it on the menu.
The chicken was stuffed with stuffing and personally I wish it was regular potatoes than sweet potatoes but Brittany loved the sweet potatoes.
As we were finishing up with our entrees the parade started and all the kids in the restaurant lined the windows to watch it pass down below.
Overall I loved the look and feel of the restaurant, the price for what you got wasn’t worth it for me. It was good food but it was nothing spectacular.
We ended up leaving Walt’s at the wrong time. The parade just ended and the crowds that come after a parade ending was awful. We did the slow crawl out of the park with everyone else, this slow crawl lasted all the way to the Disney village until we got off Disney property and too the bus stop. We headed back to the room to change into warmer clothes for the night before we headed back to Disneyland for some nighttime fun!
This Is Your Invitation To Dream
We were back to Disneyland by 8 after we made a list of things we wanted to purchase.
We first made a stop into the christmas shop because it’s a tradition for Brittany, go on a disney trip bring back an ornament for mom. She took multiple photos of the options to send to her mother to choose from. Then we headed down main street to all the shops and I picked up a few things so I didn’t have to get everything at once on our last day tomorrow.
I think my favorite purchase of this trip was the 25th blanket and I only bought it randomly because it was cold and I could wrap myself up in it.
Once we made it in front of the castle we already saw people lined up for the fireworks. We didn’t really have a plan of when we were going to watch the show, today or tomorrow. But we knew we wanted to get something done before if we did decide to watch Illuminations tonight.
That being said hello beautiful Frontierland!
After entering it was very clear that we both had the same idea in our heads, phantom manor. This would be the attraction I quickly become obsessed with here and thats saying a lot because the haunted mansion isn’t my favorite at all. Its just the very well themed storyline to this ride that made us coming back.
After being creeped out once again over the scenes throughout the ride we left questioning the story again. If you don’t speak french theres a good chance you wont understand what is going on. By this time we decided to find spots for illuminations and while we waited we can find out as much as we could about phantom manor.
We found a spot in the middle of the hub area where we joined the rest of the crowd and sat before showtime.
When I found out they were switching from Dreams to Illuminations I was kind of actually really upset. I’ve heard great things about Disney Dreams and the fact that it was narrated by Peter Pan was even better. Although I never saw Dreams live I have seen videos and I will say I prefer it better for the sole purpose of actually having a story to it. I felt like Illuminations was just disney music put together with no story to go with it.
Within each of us is a dreamer just waiting to be awaken
We all have the magic to unlock this inner child
But sometimes that inner child needs an invitation to come out and play
This is your invitation to dream
Lion king was a huge part of the show
The lion king was followed by The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean and then the new rendition of Beauty and the Beast
Mickey the hops on a hot air balloon and you are taken to a galaxy far far away.
Then its everyones favorite ice queen, which I will say it was nice to hear Let It Go in a different language.
And then after she sings let it go they do the reprise of for the first time in forever, which was again all in french
The fireworks, projections, water and lasers are a lot but make this show great. The only downfall is that the castle is small so the further away you are the harder it is to see. Plus once it starts every rushes to try to get closer to the castle and in the end your view of the show looks like this….
After Illuminations we followed the crowd out to the bus stop. It is always that dreaded cattle call walk as you are smushed in-between strangers as you shuffle your feet down main street. I did appreciate being in the crowd because it cut the cold breeze but I also felt so bad as I watched the guy next to me ram his stroller multiple times into the lady in front of him.
The crowd opened up near the train station. This is when we heard an announcement come over the loud speaker of Mickey saying goodnight, I randomly looked over at the top of the train station and there was Mickey himself waving to all the guests as they left.
On the way out of the park we were following this family, there son probably 5-6 was just loving life humming some random song. Then out of nowhere he runs into the trash can. Like he should have noticed a trash can in his line of vision but he was just so into humming he didn’t see it. Brittany and I died of laughter right then and there. It was that laughter that you knew it really wasn’t all that funny but I had tears streaming down my face and I couldn’t stop laughing.
We hit the tired wall hard after this. We started saying goodbye in different languages which lead to us saying thank you in Japan. And we wouldn’t just say Arigatō, we would just randomly whisper it to each other and than break out into laughter, we were those people you can’t stand who are way to obnoxious after a long day in the park.
If I didn’t say it before I love Disneyland Pairs and the fact that you never wait for a bus! There was always one there waiting for us and it was wonderful. When we got off the bus back at Santa Fe I freaked out a little bit because the funny trash can boy was staying at our resort. “That’s literally my favorite thing from this trip” -Brittany
On the walk back to the room I serenaded Brittany with some Santa Fe because if I don’t sing it am I really back at the hotel?! Once we arrived to our building we were greeted by a party in the hallway, there had to be 10 people just sitting in the hallway hanging out. Thanks for the invite guys!
Before we called it a night I had to take pictures of all the merchandise I picked up and then Brittany found Hannah Montana in English on the tv and our night was made!
Our Last Morning In Disney
Today was our last day in Disney and our last day in Paris, so heres to our longest day of the trip because we planned on very little sleep so we could sleep on our plane back home tomorrow morning. But today we were headed to Disneyland for the morning. The bus stop was like the hunger games, how many people can we smush on the bus? A lot so be ready to be packed like sardines.
Today the park opened early at 8 for resort guests and although we didn’t get there right at 8 we did make it there before 9 when it opened to everyone. So we had to go to the side you flash our Disney Hotel easy pass to enter for EMHs. It was a cold cloudy morning in the kingdom but we hoped that would change later on in the day.
The first mission of the day was getting breakfast, we had 3 vouchers and weren’t planning on all of them going to waste. So off to Discoveryland we go.
Still bitter that Space Mountain was closed.
A quick breakfast turned into the longest time waiting in line ever. I honestly can’t get over how slow there quick services are here especially because all they have to do is grab the croissant and put it on a plate.
We decided to use 2 vouchers each this time because we could and because why waste them?!
I ended up getting the breakfast sandwich and the sweet croissant meal. The croissant meal was great because I could save that to snack on throughout the day.
After our longer than planned breakfast we made our way to the other side of the park. But not without one last pic of Discoveryland.
This previous tomorrowland space mountain CM holds this side of the park near and dear to her heart, even if it is called discovery land here.
We ran to frontierland because that side of the park just opened and we needed to get Thunder completed before we left. The line was OUT OF CONTROL! It was out of the queue line so I told Brittany to wait in that line while I jumped in line for fastpasses. The fp line just to get a fp was also super long. But this is when we realized the ride wasn’t up and running yet.
I got the fast passes and went to find Brittany and after about 5 minutes of waiting we were let in.
There is a point in the line when it says pick a side, Brittany was the leader and went to the left and I’m so glad she did because everyone went right. Like at one point as we were walking past everyone waiting I thought we went through a side we weren’t suppose too. But we read it right and it saved us 10-15 minutes of waiting.
The first thing that is completely different is that the whole beginning is all in darkness which makes sense once you realize that the track for the right is on a little island in the middle of the Rivers of the far west meaning you have to go underneath the water to get there. You also get your picture taken on this ride which was a little unexpected.
After thunder mountain we walked around frontier land and made it to the dead end where the train station is. It was completely dead over here so we decided to take the train around the park. Once we got into the station we were told that it would be about a half hour till the train came and we were not that interested in it after we heard the wait.
On our way out we passed by this poster and I wanted to take it
On our way back we found ourselves browsing the shops in adventure land were we kept finding these cool jungle book shirts that kept catching my eye. At a few points I was just going to get one but it ended up never happening.
Then I found this peter pan shirt that I wanted to pick up but my bank account can’t afford all the merchandise I want.
And as we walked around adventure land we stopped at the treehouse because that is one of my mothers favorite things aT WDW.
As we walked around adventureland we passed by the under refurbishment pirates.
Then as we kept walking we came across the Aladdin Enchanted Passage, which was just a walkthrough that told the story of Aladdin.
With Adventureland completed we were off to Fantasyland. But with every trip past the castle how can you not stop to take pictures?!
Behind the castle we found Cinderella’s carriage and wishing well
I spy an Olaf
We then got in line for Snow Whites Adventure. It was the longest line ever but I will always wait for this ride because I like to reminisce on the times I would be freaked out over this ride when I was little. And since Anna and Elsa moved into its old location at WDW I can only ride this at other parks.
The attraction itself was everything I remembered with a few differences here and there. But then at the end we came face to face with these imposters.
Afterwards we had on our list to go see the 25th anniversary show on the stage on the side of the castle. When we walked over there it was already in full swing so we decided to come back in an hour to watch the next one. So we decided to browse the shops on Main Street but as we walked passed the castle we stopped…
Brittany was on a mission to find things she wanted. I was on a mission to find a specific crewneck. I had no intentions on finding it since we have been in ever store for the past 2 days and I haven’t found it and they did have it in t-shirt form so I was just planning to buy that. So as we were browsing one shop Brittany walked into I saw it and ran. And I was SO HAPPY! Everyone was saying how it was hard to come across and if you find it grab it. There were only 2 left and I was glad one was my side.
Another thing I appreciate about Disneyland Paris is the selection of mugs. I love mugs but if I were to bring one home my mother would kill me because my disney mug collection is a little out of hand. We also noticed that ceramic bowls are big here I almost bought the 25th one but I controlled myself.
In one of the little shops they had it decorated with framed pictures of Walt and Lillian, relationship goals!
We headed over to the stage early in order to get a good spot for Mickey presents “Happy Anniversary Disneyland Paris” We had no clue what we were in for but we were excited!
Happy Anniversary Disneyland Paris!
We headed to the castle stage and got some good front row seats about a half hour before the show. This gave us time to relax before it started. But like every Disney show you wait for those come in rushing late once the show starts. 5 minute before show time this huge family comes in and starts pushing there kids up to the front, one was basically sitting in my lap, more were pushed in-between strangers while all the parents stood behind with strollers. Then to make it better they had them posing for pictures and giving each kid an autograph book because apparently they thought characters would sign during the show.
All I wanted was to watch a show and take a few pictures. The group of people who were all set up with there camera’s and was there longer than us ended up getting up and leaving because they couldn’t handle the family thats how bad it was. But this was the last show we could see so we just had to deal I guess.
Mickey presents 'Happy Anniversary, Disneyland Paris’
Overall I’m glad we stayed because the show was cute. It introduced every land of Disneyland with its own themed song and the characters to go with it.
When you walk down main street, Main Street USA
All the friendly faces will melt your cares away
A visit back to the good old times
and memories of a simpler day
from far and near, folks are gathering here
with a handshake and a smile
you’ll be wanting to stay
There’s never a care to be had in here
leave your worries far away
You’ll be welcome here any time of the year
with a handshake and a smile
You’ll be waiting to stay
Frontierland, your home away from home
where a friendly “howdy hey”
is greet your friends both new and old
Theres the spirit of the west
bringing out your very best
here in frontierland, your home away from home
Theres a jamboree awaiting and lots of celebrating
Here at frontierland, your home away from home
Adventureland, can you solve the mystery
The many secrets of adventure land
are the tales of carpets flying through the air
on the Caribbean sea we pirates plunder joyfully
its excitement that everyone can share
So come join us here in Fantasyland
come walk in the wood, arm in arm, and hand in hand
With just a pinch of pixie dust
you’ll soar into the moon
make your wish on a star and here you are
where dreams really do come true
in the dreams of yesterday and imagining what could be
the futures right before us in this land of discovery
tomorrows right here inside our hands
heading to a new frontier, in discoveryland
Happy anniversary, disneyland paris
celebrations starting so clap your hands and stomp your feet
gather all of your friends and bring your family
Shrinking Down To Rat Form
After the Happy Anniversary Celebration we had a few minutes to kill before we had to head over to Studios for some early dinner. The whole hub area in front of the castle had special statues just for the 25th anniversary.
The lack of Photopass CM are few, and I’m not sure if I even saw any. However the other Disney guests are more than happy to help another Disney lover take a photo in front of the picture.
With our castle photos we did the next best thing we are good at, throwing our money away. We still had time to go back to the room to drop off our bags if we decided to purchase anything, and I would be lying if I didn't say we didn’t pick anything up.
Let’s all appreciate the adorable baby clothes disney sells and my excitement of one day dressing up my future babies.
Not even half the anniversary merchandise.
Before we left for the afternoon I had to take in Main Street USA because at times I feel as though it gets overlooked since most people are running down the street to the castle and to their first attraction.
We headed back to the hotel and dropped off some bags of merch before getting back on the bus and heading to Walt Disney Studios. And of course we skipped down the roads of Santa Fe, not singing Santa Fe, but singing Nancy Mulligan by Ed Sheeran
Then it was back on a bus and off to Studios for our 3pm reservation at Bistrot Chez Remy.
This was the restaurant that I was looking forward to most, not only because the restaurant itself looks so well themed but because my sister told me that the food was really good too.
Welcome back to studios!
Then we finally made it to Remys in the back of the park
Once we checked in we had to wait a few minutes for a table. In the waiting room we met a family from New Jersey, the mom started talking to us because she noticed that we spoke english. The CM called our names at it was time to shrink down into rat size and enter Remy’s world. Hands down one of the most well themed restaurants I have ever been in at a disney park. 10/10 points for decorations and theming.
Paris is big on prefix menus so get ready to eat! And before we even started I was worried that this restaurant would have slow service like every other place because we needed to be back at Disneyland to get spots for the 5pm parade. So we shall see if we make it.
Let the 3 course meal begin!
Are you really best friends if you don’t order the same exact thing? Because just like Walts we had the same order.
First up was some salads
I scarfed this down, it might have been because I was hungry or for the fact that I love Paris and their love for cheese.
Then for the main entree, steak, fries and ratatouille. Best meal of this trip and my first time eating ratatouille and it was pretty good.
Picking the dessert was the hardest decision of this meal. Everything looked good! But I would like to thank the table next to us who ordered all the desserts so I could see what each one looked like. And in the end we both went with the chocolate cake
Flashback to Angelina’s when I was dying from the hot chocolate to the point of exploding. That is what happened here. That moment when you get to the last few bites and you feel like you will explode if you finish it. I grew up sharing chicken nuggets in the parks so we didn’t waste food so here I was in this pickle trying to finish my meal “I can’t but I have to and I’m going to vomit!” Brittany was dying from laughter and my poor current state, I’m here for you entertainment. Overall the meal was delicious and I definitely recommend trying it out if you ever find yourself at Walt Disney Studios!
That's A Wrap!
We ended dinner early than we had thought so this gave us time to browse the ratatouille gift shop where they had the shirt I was looking at at Disneyland. So why not pick it up? Plus I also found a Disneyland Paris pin for my pin loving father back home.
As we left studios we decided to walk through toy story land because its toy story land and I love it!
One big thing in the disney community is the famous walls, the purple wall, toothpaste wall, moss wall. Well lets make the domino wall a thing at Disneyland paris. And by that I just wanted to scale the wall to sit on top. Sorry Disney, Safe-D does not start with me.
Anna taught me how to be fetchingly draped
See that Vaiana sign? Every time we saw Vaiana Brittany would sing it in the “Moana, make way make way” tune and I died every time.
Then with one last walk through studio 1
which only led us to one more gift shop before exiting the park. There I found the cutest pin that made me wish I stayed at Hotel Cheyenne just so I could get it.
Thats a wrap! Walt Disney Studios might have been a small park but it had so much to see. It showed me what Hollywood Studios at WDW is suppose to be. And I can only hope our future toy story land is as cute as this one.
Once leaving Studios we walked the 2 minutes to Disneyland where we stopped for a few quick photos in front of the Disneyland hotel before going to find a spot for the parade.
Once we got back in Disneyland we found everyone waiting for the parade. There was no where with a good view. The parade ended on main street and the end was already packed so we decided to try to find something there because we felt like it would be pointless to try finding something down near the castle. With our hopes of finding a place to sit very slim, the disney gods were looking down on us because we found a spot that we knew would close off once the parade started. We plopped our stuff down to claim our spot and waited the next 20-30 minutes for the parade to come our way.
It’s calling, come meet with mystery come chase it face it, embrace it L’envie de magie est la!
You’re falling, delirious with the feeling, let it go! You can’t resist it now Free your imagination
'Cause for the first time in forever There'll be music, there'll be light! For the first time in forever I'll be dancing through the night
Although I wasn’t impressed with Anna and Elsa ending the parade, overall it was great and the soundtrack is very catchy.
After the end of the parade we decided to join the crowd and head out of the park. Having the hotel so close to the park is something we couldn’t get use to. It was great to just decide to head back to the room to relax for a bit and change into warmer clothes for the night ahead. Once we got back to the room I had to have a chat with my mother back home about the picking up situation for tomorrow since I wouldn’t have cellular service once we got back to Toronto. Once we got that all settled we put on our matching 25th shirts and headed back to Disneyland one last time.
Once we got back to the park we made a quick stop at the first store on Main Street because Brittany needed to make a trade, note for Americans clothing sizes are different aka UK clothing is smaller. But as long as you keep your receipt you can always make an exchange.
We then ran down main street to get some seats for the Princess waltz castle show.
Is Disneyland Paris 25 or 52? Clearly we are confused
And sometimes you have to entertain yourself while you wait for the show to start
Let the starlight Princess Waltz commence
Before the waltz could start they needed to announce all the princesses
Then once all the princesses were introduced it was time to get our waltzing on.
Every girls dream, every girls fantasy
is one day wake up and be somebody special
I see a princess, someone with a heart of gold
the beauty of your soul shining through
and I see a princess in you (here comes to rapunzel and flynn spam because they’re my favorite)
After the Princess Waltz we headed for the castle one last time for one last castle picture in our matching shirts before the sun went down.
The “Since 1992” crew
We walked around adventureland, where we found a neat little camel bench hidden away.
And then we had time for one last ride…and what a shocker, phantom manor we’re coming for you one last time.
As we waited for my new favorite attraction Brittany brought up our 7 year friendship and that means we’re stuck with each other forever. And now we have 7 years to start planning our next Europe trip together.
Phantom Manor thanks for living up to the high exceptions I have set for so many years.
We decided to get one last crepe of the trip so we made our way to the other side of the park back to Discoveryland. The line was hopping at the crepe stand tonight, but we didn’t have anywhere else to be so we waited in the long line. We were about 3 people back when I became best friends with the toddler in front of me. Peek-a-boo was the game of choice and it made me say 2 things. 1) I want a baby and 2) I miss my toddlers at work. Brittany told me to just worry about number 2 because at least with those kids I can at least send them home.
The toddler made me so happy that my mood came crashing fast when the CM closed the stand right before our turn…..I WAS SO MAD!!!!!
So the 2 of us, sad with no crepes in hand, headed back to Main Street. We found the bakery which threw us back in time before starbucks took over in WDW.
Brittany needed to pick up a few last things before we left so back to the shops!
While we were browsing I got really excited because I thought I saw a mary poppins dress but once we got closer I realized it was snow whites….awkward.
I also almost picked up the attraction posters but decided to put them back. But they were super cute (and there was a phantom manor poster, just saying.)
As we finished shopping, Illuminations was just about finishing up. Thats when we saw something you would never see back in the states.
Safe-D does not start with Disneyland Paris.
We stayed till the end put ran out of the park to beat the crowds.
Goodbye Disneyland Paris thanks for all the fun and adventure!
It was goodbye Disney and back to the room to pack up our life.
How much grey 25th march can one girl purchase?
Can we all just look at my disney haul compared to Brittany’s
We ended are night with Hannah Montana, we tried to stay up as late as we could because we had a long flight home that we hoped we would be able to sleep on. But we did end up sleeping for a few hours. But not for long because our alarm went off at 4:30am. We had to hand our room key in and then make the walk to the station. The real struggle of a morning flight out of Paris is the disney transportation doesn’t start that early so we were grateful that the station was a 20 minute walk from our resort. They also have a bus to take you but it didn’t run early enough for us to catch our flight. So 5am we made the trek
We walked by most of the disney hotels and came to a stop at the New York hotel. The quickest way to the station was to cute through the Disney Village but once again it wasn’t opened at 5am.
So I ended up going to the security inside the hotel to ask how to get there. It was another 5 minutes to walk around the hotel and walk along the street to get to the station. Once we got to the station the doors were locked, how can the station be closed? My phone was telling me different and panic soon started setting in thinking we wouldn’t make our flight. We waited maybe 5 minutes, I couldn’t think of a solution and I was running on little sleep. I ended up walking more to pretend like I knew what I was doing and thats when we saw people using a different door. Bless! But that wasn’t the only roadblock we hit. It was a morning of struggles, our bags were struggles enough to try and get through the stations ticket takers. So much of a struggle that we missed our original train and had to wait 20 minutes for the next one.
Our train came it was a long ride on the RER A back into the city and then to the RER B to take us to the airport. Once we got to the airport station we literally had to book it through all the terminals to get to ours where we made it to our gate 15 minutes before boarding. Now thats what I called luck.
We had a lovely 9 hour flight back to Toronto, where I tried to watch Moana but the guy sitting next to me kept turning it off by resting his arm of the armrest button and I ended up just giving up. The flight was not very exciting since I slept most of the time. We made it to Toronto safely, went through customs in a breeze, then it was a struggle trying to find my mother but we found her and made the 2 hour drive back to America. We took Brittany home and I arrived home to my friend spoiling me with an easter basket of all my favorite stuff, I don’t deserve this friendship.
I’m forever grateful for this spontaneous Paris trip to happen. I have never been to such a beautiful place with such history before. Paris needs to be on everyones list of places to go. I loved it so much!
Then theres Disneyland Paris, every Disney park I have been too always has that feeling of familiarity and home. This park was just that. It was beautiful, magical, and everything I needed. Happy Anniversary Disneyland Paris, I hope to visit again sometime in the future!
With my list of Disney Parks dwindling down, my last place to visit is china! Anyone interested in Shanghai and hong kong Disneyland?! Because you never know when I will randomly book a trip to visit. But before I do that WDW is calling me, and with just 2 more sleeps I will be back at the most magical place on earth!
I really enjoyed reading all about your Paris adventures. Good for you for heading back to Disney so soon. I guess that means another trip report coming our way.
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