Disneyland Paris - February 2015 - Day 4

So here we are on our penultimate day of our little trip - day 4.

Despite being up nice and early for breakfast in the hotel we decided to take the morning at a leisurely pace and rather than heading for the parks we had a wander around the Disney Village and took the opportunity to get some shopping done!

But boy was it cold this morning, here's a few photos that hopefully capture what a beautiful, but extremely cold day it was!

Frozen river

Stranded duck in the ice!

Warning sign!!!

Ever so slightly frosty!!

Heading to Disney Village on a crisp, beautiful morning.











We decided to head for the large World of Disney store where I was able to buy some earrings, tea towels and a pin for my fellow 'Disney Dream Girl' Michelle.  Molly also bought herself a pin and was desperate to buy a Sulley pillow but alas there was not one in the store.  So we thought we would try the Disney Store only to find that it hadn't yet opened for the day!

Our next stop was Disney Fashion, probably my favourite of all the shops as this stocked my style of merchandise.

I love all the Disney Couture range, and anything that is a little bit different from the norm; whether it's the fabric, the pattern or the cut of a garment I always make a beeline for items that are just that bit unusual. Hence why I left with a tinkerbell long sleeve top, a grey Mickey bling t-shirt, a long sleeve Mickey t-shirt and a pair of Mickey ears!

Some of our shopping haul from the trip

Well all this wandering about and shopping had made us hungry and there was only really one place for us to go...Earl of Sandwich...our 'go to' restaurant of choice for this trip. Beautiful food and great prices in a nice warm building with free wifi!! After lunch we headed back to the hotel to drop off our shopping bags before heading over to Disneyland Park.

After taking a stroll down Main Street USA we headed over into Frontierland and straight to Phantom Manor.

View from the front door of Phantom Manor looking towards Big Thunder Mountain

View from the front door of Phantom Manor, the 'Molly Brown' was in dock having some maintenance work completed

When we exited the ride we went left and took in the sights of Boot Hill; this is a small area themed as a cemetery and is well worth taking a look as it is beautifully done. It is all too easy to turn right when leaving Phantom Manor to get back to the hustle of the park but then you miss out on what is a little gem of an area.

Photos of just some of the gravestones scattered around Boot Hill...

After Phantom Manor we braved the 40 minute wait time to ride Big Thunder Mountain, probably our favourite ride. We then went back over to Main Street USA and decided it was treat time; so despite the cold we headed over to The Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlour. The ice-cream choices here are all standard Ben & Jerry's flavours although they do serve crepes...I opted for a crepe filled with Nutella and a dollop of vanilla ice-cream.

About to order

 As we were on Main Street we decided to have a wander of the shops in search of the Sulley pillow that Molly was after, and sure enough she found one!

Yay we've found one!!

Now shopping can build up an appetite and stomachs were beginning to rumble so we wandered over into Fantasyland looking for food. We had a look at Toad Hall Restaurant but none of us were particularly taken with the choice of offerings; fish & chips, chicken nuggets and the same salads that could be found in every Disney restaurant. I do like the theming though of this restaurant so here's just a couple of photos.

We decided to look elsewhere for food and ended up in Adventureland, but as we passed by Pirates of the Caribbean we just couldn't resist taking a ride...after all a 5 minute wait is not to be passed up!

The first restaurant we tried was Colonel Hathi's Pizza Outpost but despite it only being 5.00pm (or thereabouts) it was closed, the lights were on and the doors open but no-one was around and there was no sign of it being operational...strange! We knew that the other counter service restaurant in Adventureland, Restaurant Hakuna Matata, was also closed as today was it's scheduled day to be closed. This meant we had to try the next land which was Frontierland, which was fine because I quite fancied some Mexican food from Fuente del Oro Restaurante...but we were faced with the same situation again...doors open, lights on but very evidently no food was being served! So we back tracked on ourselves and thought we'd try Cowboy Cookout Barbecue but guess what? Yep, exactly the same scenario again!  To say we were all getting a little frustrated would be an understatement...never mind the hunger!

We now just wanted food quick, so decided that one place we could guarantee being open was Casey's Corner. As it turned out our timing here was pretty good as the parade was just about to go by, so by the time we got our food we sat outside (yes it still was very cold!!) munching on hot dogs, chicken nuggets and fries just as the parade passed by!

By now the night was beginning to draw in and we were drawn to the lovely neon lights of Discoveryland and the fun of Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast.

Entrance to Discoveryland

The kids then wanted to ride Big Thunder Mountain...again. But there was a 40 minute wait...it was also very dark but more importantly freezing cold and I really didn't fancy getting even colder whizzing through the night-time air! The warmth of shops beckoned and a few more treats were bought; some cookies, chocolates for my team at work, a Phantom Manor t-shirt and some Nightmare Before Christmas PJ's!!

It was now time to go get our spot staked out for Disney Dreams! We headed towards the centre of the Central Plaza area and found a spot with the castle almost dead centre in front of us but more importantly we stood at some railings so that no-one else could stand in front of us and spoil our view - crafty!!

We had just over an hour to wait so the kids took their cash and went off in search of sweets. Simon and I needed something to keep us warm and hot chocolate seemed the ideal option. Now just a few yards from us was a cart selling drinks and crepes, but as we stood there we could see guests going up to the open window and getting turned away. It looked like they had stopped serving, which I thought was a bit strange as they had a massive captive audience all waiting for Disney Dreams to start. But I headed over there anyway and luckily for me they were still serving drinks but they had run out of crepes!! Knowing how good the service can be in the US parks I thought that this was really not acceptable...if they were running low more stock should have been brought in rather than just running out and having to turn people away! But hey that's just my opinion!

The kids returned and we munched on a few sweets, drank our hot chocolate and stood chatting to another British family who had joined our little viewing spot.  As it got closer to Disney Dreams starting the area around us began to get busy, but luckily our view was unimpeded as the spot we had picked prevented anyone from pushing in or standing in front of us. This meant that both Simon and Molly were in brilliant positions to get their respective video camera's out to film the whole show.

Our view ready for Disney Dreams to start

Now unfortunately despite grabbing this spot with over an hour to go we still found ourselves being pushed and jostled about by other guests. I have to say this is not something we have really come across in the US parks but this wasn't the first time it had happened to us in Paris. As we stood there enjoying the show a family pushed their way through and stood their two children on the narrow railing right next to Simon...they then began to push into Simon (almost spilling a drink over him) trying to move us out of our position. But we stood our ground and despite all their effort we didn't budge and still managed to get some fantastic video of the whole show.

The show itself is amazing, there is so much going on that it is definitely worth seeing more than once if you can. There are fireworks, and lasers, and projections, and water fountains and all set to a fantastic score. As much as I loved this show and was in awe of everything that was going on, and how long it went on for I still prefer Wishes over at Walt Disney World. There is something about Wishes that gets me every time, it brings about an emotional reaction in me that always makes me shed a tear or two which Disney Dreams just didn't manage to do.

By the time the show was over we were all extremely cold from having stood still for so long...in fact I have distinct memory of walking back to the hotel and not being able to feel my feet! Exiting the park took quite a while as Disney Dreams takes place at 'park closing' and so everyone is making for the exit at the same time. We thought we'd be crafty and walk down Discovery Arcade that runs parallel with Main Street which was easier to navigate but getting to an actual exit was hard work. The only turnstiles that were working as exits were to the far right, despite there being other turnstiles to the left and center...as no-one was coming into the park wouldn't it have been sensible to use all the turnstiles as exits and so speed up the process for all concerned...but hey that's just my thoughts!!

Finally we made it back to the hotel and warmth and to aid our defrosting we hit the hotel shop for beer, crisps and chocolate!

Just one more day to go...

Disneyland Paris - February 2015 - Day 2 continued

So where had I got to? Ah yes we were off to Discoveryland...or in other words Tomorrowland.

In Disneyland Paris Discoveryland incorporates all the aspects of what you'd expect to see in Tomorrowland in the other Disney parks but does so with a Jules Verne/Victoriana/Steampunk style themeing.

Entry to Discoveryland

However at the time of our visit there was an awful lot of refurbishment work going on. Space Mountain: Mission 2 along with it's neighbouring attraction Les Mysteres du Nautilus were both closed along with Cafe Hyperion which also houses the Videopolis theatre.  It did make the whole of Discoveryland feel like a construction site as there was the infamous boarding up everywhere.

But we took ourselves over to Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast which we always love playing...I never get the highest score but we normally have a good laugh playing it.  In this version, like the Disneyland version, you can remove the laser blasters from their mounts to help improve your accuracy...supposedly!!

We then headed in the direction of Star Tours another of our family favourites but this version was the 'old skool' version! And whilst it was fun to ride it really does make you realise just how awesome the new and improved versions are in Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios, but it was fun to take a trip down memory lane.

At this point Molly was desperate to ride Autopia but the rest of us were desperate to get warm, so as she was out voted three to one we headed off in the direction of Main Street USA in search of hot drinks and inside seating. So we popped into Cable Car Bake Shop and ordered hot chocolates, muffins and chocolate cake, but there was no where to sit! However, we'd noticed that Victoria's Home Style Restaurant at the top of Main Street USA, although not serving food, was actually open with plenty of seating...so we took our drinks and food and went and found a table in there.  I think this had been left open in error because not long after we sat down (and we weren't the only ones in there) a cast member appeared and although she was clearing tables as people left we got the distinct impression her mission was to close up shop as soon as she could.  Why, therefore, it had been left open in the first place I do not know. As it was because the number of restaurants open was limited it actually made sense to leave the door open to provide more seating for when other places became full!

So warmed and recharged we headed off into the cold once more and headed over to Fantasyland where we were able to ride It's A Small World, Peter Pan's Flight, Mad Hatter's Tea Cups and Dumbo the Flying Elephant.

Letting the kids get dizzy on Mad Hatter's Tea Cups!

We also took a wander around the shops of Fantasyland partly to look at merchandise and partly to get warm!

I wonder if they do it in my size?!!

We then took a wander underneath the castle to visit La Teniere du Dragon; this is an attraction completely unique to Disneyland Paris and is a fully audio-animatronic dragon living captive in it's lair underneath the castle. It is a breath taking attraction and worth spending a good deal of time there taking in all the details, we made sure we visited on numerous occasions over the duration of our stay.

By now we were getting hungry...again...so we headed into Frontierland to see what food options were there but found that the first two we tried were closed. This meant a walk round into Adventureland and a visit to Restaurant Hakuna Matata which had the yummy Hakuna Fries!!

By now it was getting close to park closing so we did a little more 'shopping' down Main Street USA and then just a few minutes before the night-time show 'Disney Dreams' was to begin we made our way out onto Main Street itself and took up position.

Main Street selfie just before 'Disney Dream's'

'Disney Dreams' is an amazing show; a combination of music, animation, lights, fireworks, lasers, water and projections and seems to never end. This is a 'must-do' for anyone visiting Paris and if visiting like we were for a number of days has to be seen more than once. Having seen it today we knew that we would make the time to see it again and to pick a spot closer to the castle to get the full effect of the projections.

We made our way out of the park taking our time going through the Disney Village by wandering through the World of Disney shop and the Disney Store. We had plans to pop into Earl of Sandwich to pick up something sweet to have back at the hotel but the queue was way too long so we headed straight to the hotel. We decided to stop in the Redwood Bar for a drink before having a look in the hotel gift shop - Northwest Passage. We had hoped on picking up something to eat from here and although there were some food items to buy there was not a lot to choose from and were mainly confectionary - not the same as stopping in the hotel shops in Walt Disney World!

Another day done, and all four of us well and truly worn out!

10 days and counting...

Well it's not long to go now until we head off for Disneyland Paris and to say that me and the rest of the family are ready for this small vacation would be an understatement!

Especially as the last few weeks have been a testing time with sudden family illness, broken cars, work demands...you name it and it seems to have fallen our way.  But everything is now looking much better and we are getting ourselves back on track ready for some Disney time :)

So in getting ready for this trip I thought I ought to be prepared for the cold weather...I've already got my snow boots and this week my new hat arrived...

Hat selfie!!

We're already to go with cameras as we treated ourselves to a new video camera at Christmas and my daughter has a 'Go-Pro' camera which should mean we can get some brilliant footage on rides.

I'm just about to order some Euros to go spending with and then I think we'll be all set bar the packing!

One of my Disney community friends (Jenni) has just spent a few days in Disneyland Paris celebrating her birthday so I was able to find out from first hand experience about something that I had resigned myself to not seeing - Disney Dreams.  I had presumed that because we are visiting in the low season and we won't even be there over a weekend that the show wouldn't be happening, but guess what I was wrong!  Jenni confirmed that Disney Dreams (or to give it it's full title A Night Time Spectacular Show: Disney Dreams!) runs every night at park closing come rain or shine!!  I am now one happy person.  I have heard so much about this show and about how good it is that I was pretty gutted when I thought we might not see it but now I can't wait to see it...and I've been told I'll want to see it again and again.  The show is a mix of fireworks, lasers, projections onto Sleeping Beauty's castle and water fountains and sounds amazing.  I have resisted the urge to look at videos on the internet and am looking forward to experiencing it for myself with no preconceptions just the hope that I will be blown away by it all.  I love the Wishes Night Time Spectacular at Walt Disney World and it always brings me to tears so it will be interesting to see what the effect of Disney Dreams will be!

The more pre-trip reading I do the more I am remembering things from our previous trips and the more I am looking forward to going.  I am really looking forward to experiencing those attractions that are unique to Paris like La Taniere du Dragon (a dragon underneath the castle!) as well as being able to compare and contrast the classics like Pirates of the Caribbean.  And having children that are that much older with us this time I am hoping that we will be able to experience the whole resort with fresh eyes.

10 days to go....

Getting Ready

So we are now about 28 days from our trip to Disneyland Paris and I'm beginning to think about the practicalities of the trip and what I need to be doing before we go.

Now we will be there in early February...two reasons for going at this time...firstly it is during a school holiday and secondly it is much cheaper going in February than in one of the other school holidays like Easter or Summer.

This does however mean that we have to contend with some sacrifices, the weather being the most obvious.  It is going to be cold....it should be very similar to weather here in the UK but still it will be cold and as we shall be outside for a good amount of time we will need to be prepared!  I suffer with poor circulation so this is quite a big deal for me because if I get really cold I struggle to get warmed up and it becomes really painful.  So I have already bought myself some snow boots that are lovely and snuggly and I've even got some ski socks to give me some extra protection for my toes!

Hoping these keep by feet warm and dry!

I think that layers will be the order of the day, plus hats and scarves and winter coats...definitely a different wardrobe to what I would usually take on a Disney vacation!! But provided we can wrap up nice and warm and have plenty of stops to warm up...this will of course mean lots of opportunities to wander around shops or stop for a warming cup of coffee/hot chocolate plus snacks...I'm sure we'll be fine.

We also have to accept that by going at this time of year we will be visiting in the 'low season' and that this will mean some attractions being closed or operating with restricted opening and closing times and probably parades/entertainment not being operational.

Having checked various websites already, and keeping an eye on social media, I know that Space Mountain: Mission 2, Les Mysteres du Nautilus and Les Voyages de Pinocchio will be closed whilst we are there.  I don't think this is too bad (especially as I'm not a big roller coaster fan!) and some of the other rides I thought may have been closed like Casey Jr - Le Petit Train du Cirque and Le Pays des Contes de Fees actually re-open just a few days before we arrive, which I am really pleased about as I love both of these rides.  Just shows what a softie I am as both of these rides are very gentle and really aimed at the very young...oh well I'm just the very young at heart!

At the moment I am not sure about daytime parades (Disney's Magic on Parade) but I am pretty convinced that we will not be able to see Disney Dreams their night time spectacular :( Looking at the information I can find it sounds like Disney Dreams runs daily during peak season but only on weekends during the low season and unfortunately we will not be there over a weekend.  It's a real shame because I have heard such amazing things about this show but I suppose it just gives me another reason to re-visit at another time.

I had thought that the parks operating hours might be shortened too but looking at various websites I'm quite happy as both parks open at 10.00am with Walt Disney Studios closing at 7.00pm and Disneyland closing at 8.00pm. This gives us plenty of time to explore as much as we want without having to worry that 'parks are closing early and we must run around to fit everything in'.  I think over the nearly 5 days that we will be there we should be able to get everything done that could possibly be done and most importantly that we want to do.

Which is why I am now trying to do a little reading before we go; a way of refreshing my memory of what is there as well as filling me in with all the new additions since 2006.  And whilst the internet is great for information there is something about having a book to flick through that just makes the whole impending trip seem that more real.  There are not that many books around about Disneyland Paris and I have had to download one book onto my phone - The Independent Guide to Disneyland Paris 2015 - but I have also got an actual, physical book too!

Better stop writing and get some reading done...