We'll always have (DLR)Paris!

[dwheatl]

Thanks for the loving words, my friends. Now, what you've all been waiting for, the Disney parks!

We walked from our hotel, since we had no desire to ride the psycho-bus again. We walked through Disney Village, similar to DTD. We didn't have time to shop, plus, with the exchange rate, there were no bargains here, so we walked right through to DL park.

When we got to Disneyland, it was mid-afternoon. The entrance to the park is beautiful, with gardens and fountains. We love Main Street, but the castle looked small. Maybe that’s because we’d just been to Versailles.

Our first attraction is Phantom Manor. It looks very different from the Haunted Mansion at DL. It looks more like the Psycho house at Universal, and it’s in a Western setting. (This is another day where the pictures were lost). We ask a worker about the wheelchair entrance, and he tells us we need to stop at City Hall and show proof of the disability. It’s a good thing we had brought DH’s CA handicap certificate that goes with his parking placard. It had been misplaced, and we’d just found it the day before the trip. The CM was very kind, and let us on through the exit before sending us to City Hall.

The ride is a lot of fun. There are many similarities to HM, but the general theme is really different. We never could decide if the bride is planning to marry someone who turns out to be the phantom, or if the phantom has stolen her groom and taken his place. We liked the Western setting, but couldn’t figure out the graveyard. I guess there’s someplace to find out the back-story to the attraction, but I don’t know where it is. We just thought a great name to put on one of the graves would be Pierre Tombeau. That means tombstone in French. But no funny graves. Oh well.

Next we went to City Hall and got the green access card for handicap access. The CM who helped us was named Valentin, and he was a darling. He had recently returned from working at Epcot. He answered all of our questions, and we were on our way.

We headed back to Frontierland, and rode the riverboat. We saw the keelboats that used to be at DL, but we didn’t ride because we’ve heard that all the jokes are in French now, and my French just isn’t that good.

Next, we headed to Adventureland to ride Indiana Jones. I warned DH ahead of time that it goes upside down, but he was up for it. The upside down wasn’t so bad, but it nearly shook us to pieces. When we got off, we agreed that once in a lifetime is enough.

My favorite ride at any of the parks is POTC, and that’s true here, too. We love the pirate that swings out over the boat on a rope, and of course the French-singing pirates. No Jack Sparrow is on the ride, but we did see him in the park the next day. The one they had was too young, though. One of the things I like about Jack is that his face has character.

We also rode Peter Pan, where it was fun to look for London landmarks now that we’ve been there, Star Tours, and Buzz Lightyear. Space Mountain was closed, which was too bad, since that’s my second favorite ride. This is another ride that goes upside-down, so maybe it’s just as well that it wasn’t working.

About 45 minutes before the parade, we found a place on Main Street and waited. It’s at the corner of Edison and Main Street, so we were able to have some space in front of us on Edison to stretch out our legs until we stood for the parade. People kept stopping in front of us on Edison, but that’s where the break is for people to cross the parade route, so CMs kept chasing them away. It amazes us how, five minutes before the parade, people seem to be thinking, Wow, they kept this spot open just for me.

The parade was a pretty small deal, but fun. We stayed in our spot afterwards to watch the fireworks. Again, they don’t compare to DL, but we like that they feature the music from Enchanted. We also were amused that the golden Tinkerbell on top of the castle appeared to have pixie dust streaming from someplace besides her wand. An embarrassing place that I can’t mention on the Dis. Maybe it was just from our perspective, but it made us laugh.

After this, it was back to the hotel and bed. We wanted to make it to the early hour in the park the next day.

A borrowed shot of Phantom Manor. Thanks, White Lie 89.

A Main Street shop.

The castle at night.

The castle by day.

Another shot of the castle.

Space Mountain

 

[A Small World]

Great start

If you look on DLRPmagic it gives an overview of the rides and a brief summary of the Phantom Manor story.
I think there are quite a few funny gravestones - and there is one where if you listen carefully you can hear someone knocking trying to get out

 

[hildasmuriel]

Great start


I think there are quite a few funny gravestones - and there is one where if you listen carefully you can hear someone knocking trying to get out

We love those gravestones! Especially the one about the faithful chambermaid who kept the master happy. I also like to see people's expressions the first time they hear the knocking coming from the big tomb.

Enjoying reading a different perspective of DLP. BTW, on POTC the dialogue is French, (a bit of English and Spanish) but the singing is in English.

 

[karengr]

so enjoying this trip report.

 

[3Leafs]

so enjoying this trip report.

Me too

 

[Cyrano]

The "Gherkin" which is the head quarters for Swiss Re insurance company is a marvel. I have often wished I had been there on opening day for a tour of it. It had lines of 4 hours wait

Despite the influx of the pick-pockets Sacra Coeur has to have one of the most beautiful views of Paris. Watching or being painted by one of the many artists while having an pastis and a coffee is one of lifes pleasures

Interesting to read about your perspective of DLP

 

[dwheatl]

We love those gravestones! Especially the one about the faithful chambermaid who kept the master happy. I also like to see people's expressions the first time they hear the knocking coming from the big tomb.

Enjoying reading a different perspective of DLP. BTW, on POTC the dialogue is French, (a bit of English and Spanish) but the singing is in English.

We did see those tombstones, and laughed about the chambermaid. It's just a different kind of humor from DL in CA. I guess all the plays on words for the names of the dearly departed might not translate well.

My mistake on the POTC. We packed in so much fun, it really was a blur at times. A joyous blur, but a blur none the less.

The "Gherkin" which is the head quarters for Swiss Re insurance company is a marvel. I have often wished I had been there on opening day for a tour of it. It had lines of 4 hours wait

Despite the influx of the pick-pockets Sacra Coeur has to have one of the most beautiful views of Paris. Watching or being painted by one of the many artists while having an pastis and a coffee is one of lifes pleasures

Interesting to read about your perspective of DLP

We were not put off by the pickpockets at all. It's just part of the overall experience, as long as one remembers to keep an eye on one's things. We loved the view from Sacre Couer, and the whole experience.

BTW to A Small World, I checked the DLRPMagic site (thanks for reminding me about it), but I still don't "get" what happened to the groom. If you don't want to spill the beans on here, could you PM me? My friends would say I'm having a blond moment.

 

[A Small World]

Another of the grave stones is the Hole in the Wallet Gang with the date 1992. The date DLP opened and the names on it are of Imagineers who created the attraction

 

[A Small World]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterpanfan1953/3350649978/

Try this link - there is an explanation

or even better this one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Manor

 

[spongemommie05]

i love all your pictures ! beautiful,, i love the gargoyles ! that is so cool..
Can't wait for more ...

 

[Piglets Mommy]

We also were amused that the golden Tinkerbell on top of the castle appeared to have pixie dust streaming from someplace besides her wand. An embarrassing place that I can’t mention on the Dis. Maybe it was just from our perspective, but it made us laugh.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[Donald - my hero]

Wow what a great way to spend a night when i can't sleep to get caught up on my friend's anni trip! You have a great hubby to let you plan a trip of a lifetime. All the things you have written about and shown makes me wanna go! Also made me dig around in my stuff for a journally type book to pop in my stuff so i can write a report that is about 1/4 as good as yours!

 

[dwheatl]

Wow what a great way to spend a night when i can't sleep to get caught up on my friend's anni trip! You have a great hubby to let you plan a trip of a lifetime. All the things you have written about and shown makes me wanna go! Also made me dig around in my stuff for a journally type book to pop in my stuff so i can write a report that is about 1/4 as good as yours!

thanks Jacqueline. You have your own trip of a lifetime coming up, don't you! Can't wait to read about it.

And now, the next installment.

Sorry I took so long to get back to this. I’m a kindergarten teacher, and school started this week, so it’s been hectic.

Tuesday was Bastille Day, and we expected the parks to be very crowded. It was not too bad though, especially during the day. They certainly were not as crowded as the American parks on a holiday. We tried to make it to the early morning hours, but just couldn’t pull it off.

Because we were on the Admiral’s Floor, we thought that our breakfast was in the restaurant right at the foot of the stairs, but the sternest CM we ran into directed us to the far end of the building to a giant conference room where a breakfast buffet was laid out.

They took our tickets at the door, and a nice lady wearing Mickey mitts waved us over to an available table. We thought the breakfast was pretty good, although it was not nearly as substantial as the ones at the other hotels we stayed at on this trip. There were self-serve dispensers for café au lait, hot chocolate, double espressos (DH’s favorite), milk and fruit juice. The buffet table had fruit salad, cereal, cheese, yogurt, croissants, and my new favorite, Nutella.

For a conference room, we thought the breakfast area was pretty fun. They played up the nautical theme by decorating the end of the room so it looked like the bow of a cruise ship, and they had sound effects such as seagulls calling and buoys ringing. Between the sound effects and the many small children, it was pretty noisy, but we expect that when we are staying at Disney. If you want peace and quiet, better pony up for room service.

After breakfast, we walked to Disneyland. This was our one full day, so we enjoyed many rides. On It’s a Small World, I noticed that my camera wasn’t working right, and in fixing it, lost, the last three days worth of pictures. Thank goodness I had uploaded the previous three days onto DH’s laptop a few times over the course of the trip. Here’s a picture that worked once I fixed the camera – the U.S. represented on Small World.

Here we are, blessed out by the music of Small World (this is before we were stuck on it in Anaheim, and they would NOT shut off the music).

The entrance.

One of the attractions that was new to us this day was the Nautilus, Capt. Nemo’s submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. My sister tells me this used to be at Disneyland CA, but it was before my time. To access this attraction, you pass through an underground tunnel. It is a walkthrough, with a display of Captain Nemo’s things. There is a big shuttered window at one end that looks like a camera lens, and when it opens, you can see a giant quid in the water. The squid seems to attack, then is repelled by an electric charge. This attraction reminded me of the Swiss Family Tree House, and was fun in the same way. Low-key, but enjoyable to those who love the Disney live-action classics.
The Nautilus, as seen from outside.

For lunch, we stopped at Videopolis, which has delicious burgers shaped like Mickey, and a big screen that shows classic Mickey Mouse cartoons. From the Dis, I gather that this is where the Lion King show took place, but it was not happening while we were there, and I don’t know if it’s coming back. Here’s my Mickey burger, on a French roll. Yum!

In the mid-afternoon, we went back to the hotel for a break. DH took a nap while I went down to the pool. To get to the pool, you have to go through a unisex locker room and showers, which felt strange to me. Then you go through a little foot-washing pool to get to the indoor pool, which is made to look like the water surrounding a ship. Every few minutes, an icy fountain that looks like an oscillating sprinkler shoots out over the swimmers, and all the kids scream.

The pool was too cold for me, so I decided to try the hot tub. We have a hot tub at home, and we keep it around body temperature, not really hot. The hotel hot tub was even cooler than that. I soaked for a short while, but it wasn’t really relieving the aches and pains of all the hiking around I had been doing, so I went upstairs and had a hot shower.

When we got back to the park, we went through the Sleeping Beauty walkthrough in the upper floor of the castle. When you finish, you go down into the dungeon, and there is an amazing dragon. At first, it just looked like a sculpture. Then its tail started twitching. Finally, it lifted it’s head, roared, and let out a stream of smoke (steam). It was pretty creepy, and there were many small children crying or hiding behind their parents. True Disney magic! Here’s a stain-glassed window of Maleficent, Patron saint of slighted would-be fairy godmothers.

Here she is as the sleeping dragon.

We rode Small World again, and were sad to see that the Story Book boats and Casey Jr. train were closed still. We rode Buzz Lightyear again, and noticed that it looked a little shabby. There was a curtain around the animatronic Buzz Lightyear at the beginning, and the curtain was very faded and torn. DH also was unhappy that he was not allowed to transfer out of the wheelchair to ride. I think the CM was trying to be helpful by having DH ride in a special car that could accommodate the wheelchair and another guest, but DH had asked not to, as the wheelchair gets uncomfortable and confining after a while.

I’ll come back with more. With luck, I’ll get to it today.

 

[3Leafs]

Those Mickey Burgers are the coolest thing I have ever seen!

 

[DisneyObsession]

OMG! Great Report!

It was exciting to go through London & Paris with you. My DH says we will be going to DLRP someday...we'll see. That's one of the goals....go to every Disney Park in the world!

Can't wait for more....

 

[lexmelinda]

DLP looks pretty cool to me! I don't know much about it. Is there only one park? Is it bigger/smaller than the MK?

You're so right about Phantom Manor. It looks exactly like the Psycho house to me.

I remember 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at the MK and that submarine looks exactly the same!

Love the castle! And the dragon. Wish the castle at the MK was more of an attraction than a walk-through.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

Thanks for the update, Danielle! The submarine looks cool! The 20,000 leagues under the sea ride was Brian's favorite growing up. I'm loving the Mickey Burger!!!

 

[tennisfan]

Just catching up with your report. Love the last couple of days in Paris & the start of the Disney part

 

[AmyMoose]

Love this trip report! Has given me so many ideas for Paris - not quite sure how we're going to fit it all in though! And yay for being converted to the amazingness that is Nutella - I have been known to eat half a jar of the stuff in a day, it's so good (or maybe that should be :S)

 

[dwheatl]

Love this trip report! Has given me so many ideas for Paris - not quite sure how we're going to fit it all in though! And yay for being converted to the amazingness that is Nutella - I have been known to eat half a jar of the stuff in a day, it's so good (or maybe that should be :S)

The Nutella says on the jar not to refrigerate it, but if you do, it comes out in tasty little candy-like chunks that melt in your mouth. Yum!

And I'm of the persuasion that Paris merits more than one trip in a lifetime. Hope I can convince DH of that.

Sorry I didn't get back to more reporting. I promise I will this weekend.