Paris and DLP Kids 1st Trip Overseas COMPLETE

[sweetlovin']

April 2nd Continued

As we said goodbye to Rachel, we decided to get into the long, but moving line to head up the steps of the Notre Dame tower. Before we left the States, I made sure everyone was aware that there are a plethora of steps. I explained that it was similar to the steps you watch Sleeping Beauty walk up before she touches the spindle. They had all been warned We started up the steps and about 2/3rds of the way, all the kids are laughing and sighing at the same time. With Julianna in the front, she would get so excited when she saw a beam of light streaming ahead. “I see it I see it, we are almost there” she would exclaim every 75th step or so, only to laugh and say, “Oh no, that was just a window!!”

We all made our way to the top and looked out. Nico stood as far away from the edge as possible, but he was up and about taking pictures.

I love the gargoyles watching over the streets of Paris. My favorite is one sticking his tongue out at the world below.

As we made our way around the building, Nico was over the sights below and ready to head back to solid ground. We made our way to the exit and started to head back down the steps. “No, no” the guard at the top was calling to us, “You have to go up!” Poor Nico, we walked up the tower another 150 steps to where the bell tolls. We went inside to take pictures of the bell and decided to walk to the exit.

There was a long line to go down and Nico was starting to cry. Poor little guy. I did tell him how amazingly proud I was of him for taking on his fear and doing all of the sites. I admire that child, he is such a trooper! We were stopped right before the steps and told to wait, we would be the next group down. Finally, we started to make our descent down the long, winding, narrow staircase. Diego, Julie, and Nico walked down first, then Samantha and I , followed by the entire rest of the people. Julie and Nico made their way easily, but Samantha walked the steps as if she was debuting in a wedding. One very slow step at a time. I kept apologizing to the people behind me as we tackled each individual step giving each one it’s due consideration and time. Finally, about 200 steps down, I saw a landing. I called out to Julie and Nico to wait for me at the bottom of the steps as I pulled Samantha to the side to let the others pass us by. They all gave a smile and a chuckle as they came around the bend spotting the little 6yo culprit of their torpid decline.

We made our way down and met the others who had been waiting for quite sometime. The kids were starving by this point, so we decided to find a taxi and head over to Champ Elysees for some food. All of our taxi drivers were fabulous and extremely friendly. They were willing to answer all of our questions and spoke wonderful English! I was impressed. It was Saturday and Champ Elysees was packed with people. It had turned out to be a beautiful day, low 70s, and it seemed everybody in Paris was out for a shopping spree.

We headed down a side street and found a restaurant off the beaten path. We were the only customers!! YAY!! We were greeted and sat right away, by a lovely friendly French woman. We practiced ordering and speaking (albeit very slowly) in French and this seemed to delight the waitress and she sat there patiently listening and correcting us when needed. I think this was one of our favorite wait staff anywhere we had been. She was wonderful. The meal was ok, nothing great, but hey, it was food and after asking for the addition, we left happy and full.

We decided to head over to the arc de triomphe, which I explained we could go up to the top as well, but it wouldn’t be quite so high as the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame. As we made our way over, Nico stopped in front of it and looked up, “I thought you said it wasn’t high,” he said pointedly. “It isn’t as high as the others, I really think you will be ok this time.”

I went to go pay and found out the kids were free. BONUS!! So we started to walk up the steps. Now, Diego is not used to walking so many steps, so while the kids and I were ok, he had to stop on every level to catch his breath. We finally made it to the top of the Arc and Nico was completely fine! He was taking pictures, laughing, and enjoying the views. After soaking in the warm sun and the gorgeous Parisian views, we made our way down the Arc to the subway line and walked back to the hotel.

We were exhausted by the time we got into our hotel room when Samantha turned to me and said, “Mommy, I don’t like Paris. I only like Disneyland Paris. When do we go there?“ I laughed, “But you have never been to Disneyland Paris, so how do you know you like that better.“ “I saw Disneyland Paris on your computer all those times, so I do know I like that much better.“ She had walked an insane amount of steps and a long way throughout Paris. I had a feeling she was right. She might just be a bit too young to appreciate Paris. But she did all the walking without complaint, so I was very proud of her. Julie had offered to switch beds with Samantha and we all settled down for what would hopefully be a peaceful deep sleep.

 

[stargatebarbie]

just loving this i think you a really brave seeing paris with 3 kids but they all did so well you should be very proud ,i think they have earned their disney time ( they wont even notice the walking round disney it will be a piece of cake )

 

[sweetlovin']

just loving this i think you a really brave seeing paris with 3 kids but they all did so well you should be very proud ,i think they have earned their disney time ( they wont even notice the walking round disney it will be a piece of cake )

Thanks! I really lucked out because they are easy kids. I tell them all the time I prefer hanging out with them than I do most adults.

You are right about the being in shape for Disney. They had no problems walking anywhere

 

[TennVolTony]

Great report....but something is mising...just can't put my finger on it yet....

 

[sweetlovin']

Sunday April 3rd The Unplanned Day

The sleepless nights continued for me, as I tossed and turned to the loud snores. With nothing planned, I decided to let the kids sleep in and have a relaxing morning. When everyone was awake, we headed to the bakery again. It was closer to lunch, so we got the kids some sandwiches and chocolate croissants. YUM! I have fallen in love with this little French neighborhood.

This was our last day in Paris before heading to DLP and we needed to decide how to spend the day. We settled on spending the day at Versailles. Just past the Eiffel Tower is the RER heading right to Versailles!! This hotel was perfect for us as we walked to the RER we found a tulip garden just beside the Eiffel Tower. This is one of my favorite pictures

We got our tickets and boarded the train.

As we started from the train station to the palace, we noticed some shops. The girls and I were freezing (it wasn’t even 50F) and we grabbed some mittens to help ward off the cold. We bought our tickets and entered the Palace to get the audio guided tour.

Now, I should tell you all that I hate crowds. I will do almost anything to avoid a crowded place and Versailles palace was extremely crowded. The kids and I attempted to push in the numbers and listen to the tour. Keeping everyone as close as I can, there was literally wall to wall people walking from one room to the other. I am convinced that all Samantha saw was every person’s butt and maybe the painted ceilings.

It was beyond ridiculous and I think the crowd was barely inching along. I was quietly freaking out as I grabbed onto my kids and forged ahead. I don’t think any of us enjoyed the palace and we were happy to see the exit.

Once outside, we went into the gardens. Now we are talking! If you have never gotten to the Versailles gardens, pick a beautiful warm day and spend some time exploring this beautiful place. The fountains, walkways, trees, and hedges are just unbelievably gorgeous. We promised to head back here on a non cold rainy day to take advantage of the horseback riding, ice cream, boat rentals, and such. Versailles gardens have a lot to offer.

The kids and I were hungry and cold so we started our walk back to the train station. When we got back to the hotel, we decided to walk around the corner to the neighborhood café. It was boisterous and lively with the local French people so we sat down and ordered our food. Samantha had a really good chicken dish and Julianna had a wonderful pizza. The rest of the food was ok at best, but again, it was food and after a day of walking, we were happy to be eating. Another wonderful friendly waiter, patient with my French ordering and quick service was appreciated! I was so delighted to find French people so friendly and helpful!!

We walked back to the hotel and asked the front desk where we could find some ice cream. Just a few steps up from the bakery was a Gelato Store. This was the most delicious Gelato I have ever have.

The creamy concoction was some of the most flavorful and tasty goodness I have put in my mouth. With all natural ingredients melting in my mouth, I forgot about the cold sitting outside the shop, savoring every last bite. Why did I only find this place on my last night??!!

We went back to the bakery (it was going to be closed Monday morning) and grabbed some treats for the next day. We went back to the hotel and much to Samantha’s delight, we packed up all of our clothes, ready to head off for our first time in DLP! Believe me, I was sharing in her enthusiasm. Diego explained could have spend a day or two longer in Paris, but the kids and I were ready for the Disney portion of our trip.

 

[stargatebarbie]

Dont be to long writing the next bit enjoying this so much

 

[sweetlovin']

April 4th Disney At Last

I scheduled a wake up call for 6am and the hotel called. “Bonjour Mademoiselle, it is now 6am.” the cheery male voice sung. And you don’t know it’s rude to call someone this early!! I shouted in my head. I refrained and said, “Well, that is just wonderful news.” I laid back down and looked up to see Samantha smiling down at me. “Is it time to go to Disney?” she asked. "Yes, it's time to go to Disney." "YAY!!! Hey everyone it's time to go to Disney!!" She was so happy!!

Tio Shuttle was scheduled to pick us up at 8am. My goal was to get to the Disneyland Park for Early Morning Entry. We ate our delicious pastries, packed our bags, and said goodbye to our lovely hotel. It was such a pleasant quaint hotel. After the kids and I agreed (except Sam) to come stay at the hotel again, we made our way to the lobby. The Tio Shuttle guy was there, right on time, waiting for us. YAY!! It was about a 30 minute drive to DLP and we were all so excited.

We pulled up to Newport Bay, paid the driver and entered the Lobby. There were characters waiting to sign autographs right there in the lobby of the hotel, but my kids went to the TV area and waited for me to check in (except for Samantha).

There was no one at the Admiral’s Floor check in line and the girl at the front desk was extremely helpful in answering all of our questions. She informed us that the room wasn’t ready, took our bags, gave us the tickets and meal vouchers, confirmed all the scheduled meals, and we were off to Disneyland Park.

As we walked through the village into the park entry we spotted Hollywood Studios was not open yet. YAY!! We made extra magic hours!! This trip had just been going so smoothly I could hardly believe it.

We walked down main street and over to Fantasyland.

We discussed a few rides before settling on It’s A Small World. Which we loved seeing the different dolls.

After we rode Buzz Lightyear, another huge hit, Orbitron,

and the older kids and I rode Space Mountain while Samantha was too small and had to wait with Diego.

It was here that I truly became upset for the first time this trip. As the kids and I walked onto Space Mountain there was a group of teenagers walking (almost stepping on our heels) right behind us. Julie walks a little slower than the average hyped up 15 yo boy, but she was walking fast for an 8yo girl. We were stopped in the front to board the next train when three of boys pushed their way through us to run to get the first car. None of the Cast Members were paying attention. I put my hand across the bar and stopped the rest of the group while shouting, “Hey, Stop it. No!! No! No!!.” The 3 boys waved to the rest of the group to push forward and at first they didn’t. Then, I felt this force break my hold of the handle, almost like a game of Red Rover, and the rest of the teens burst through. I was mad and I yelled at the CM. “Those kids just pushed their way through us and I have 2 little children standing here. They knocked them over to get the front car.” In all honesty, he was apologetic, but I was mad. Ironically, if the teens had just asked, Nico didn’t want the front car, but they obviously were use to doing this.

 

[sweetlovin']

Disney At Last Continued..

We all loved Space Mountain!! What an awesome ride We laughed and giggled and screamed. When it was over, one of the teens walked a little too close to me and for some reason my hip swung out and knocked into him. Much like a hip check in a hockey game. My hips do that sometimes.

Autopia was our next stop. Nico and Julianna got very fast cars, but Samantha and I got a car that sputtered along very, very slowly.

Everyone was well off the ride before we were able to move. After, we watched Captain EO and rode Star Tours. Star Tours was very similar to WDW. I’m not a huge fan of Captain EO, but Nico and Diego loved it

By this time, the kids were hungry, so we stopped in Café Hyperion for a quick bite to eat. We went to the top level of the restaurant and watched the old movies while we ate. The kids laughed and giggled at the older cartoons. They were very entertained. The two girls ordered chicken nuggets and fries and they enjoyed their food. Nico and Diego ordered Cheeseburger meals, but it was awful! I took half a bite of Nico’s sandwich. It tasted as though it was cardboard, not warm and barely edible. But he was hungry, so he finished it. I had a hot chocolate. The warm chocolate was perfect as it slid down my throat and warmed me from the inside. Yummy!!


We headed over to Adventure Land and walked over to Pirates of the Caribbean. Unfortunately, it was closed for technical problems. So we decided to head to Big Thunder Mountain and stood in the line. After waiting for a long time, they announced Big Thunder Mountain was closed due to technical problems. (Another ride closed for technical problems?!) Oh well, off to Phantom Manor!! We all loved this ride. It is very, very different from WDW’s Haunted Mansion. It is much creepier and more authentic, realistic, than the Haunted Mansion. After the ride, we watched a bunch of people getting off the train and walking down the side of Big Thunder Mountain. We were so glad we weren’t one of those poor souls! My kids would have been scared to walk down the hill of a coaster.

We walked back to Pirates and it was now working. We had no wait at all as we walked up and got right on the boat.

The kids sat in front and Diego and I sat in the back. The kids LOVED this version better than the Johnny Depp back in WDW. My favorite scene was the guy on the rope swinging over our heads as the boat passed. However, this was the only time this would occur. All of the rest of the times, he was stationary. Glad I was able to see it the first time!! That was my favorite effect.

Big Thunder Mountain was still closed, so we headed over to Snow White and the Tea Cups and grabbed a Fast Pass for Peter Pan. Snow White seemed very rushed. I remember thinking to myself, “What is the hurry?” Tea Cups are always a huge hit, although these tea cups are more difficult to spin! I am completely fine with not spinning on the Tea Cups. I prefer that, but the kids were having a tough time making the tea cup spin faster.

The fast pass time was just after the parade. Perfect! Another spin on Pirates and finally Big Thunder Mountain was open. The last sequence of hills and turns has to be on of the best sequences on any BTM! We all enjoyed it so much, we rode it a 2nd time before camping out for the parade.

 

[Disney-fan]

Fantastic trip report!!! Look forward to reading more

 

[sweetlovin']

Disney At Last Final Chapter of the first day

After the parade, the kids were hungry and we all started dragging our feet. We were tired, however, we still had the fast pass for Peter Pan. We walked over to Peter Pan and you guessed, closed for technical problems. Oh well, we walked through the castle and saw the dragons den. What a cool effect to have an attraction inside the castle. As we started walking down into the dungeon, I felt a tug on my arm, as Samantha stopped suddenly. "Mommy, I don't want to see the dragon. Is the dragon real?"

Our reservations for Café Mickey was for 7pm, however, we were hungry. We walked over to Café Mickey’s 2 hours early and asked if we could get an earlier seating. They accommodated our requests. YAY! However, the wait staff was slow to greet us and even slower to take our order. I was surprised that our waiter spoke less English than any of the wait staff in Paris, but we managed to order in French with English mixed in as best we could. That being said, when the order was finally taken, the food arrived quickly and correct. This was by far the best meal I had the entire time in Paris/DLP.

I ordered a decent ceaser salad, a wonderfully cooked cheeseburger, and the most delicious chocolate cake. Diego had seafood bisque and pizza. He was expecting the seafood bisque to be a thick creamy white soup with chunks of seafood. It came out and it was brown, thin seawater with 1 chunk of lobster. Needless to say, he was not impressed with his appitizer. The pizza was HUGE!! And while it was very tasty, he wished he hadn't ordered something that big. I think he was a little jealous as I moaned and sighed after each scrumptious bite of my meal. I clearly ordered better than him.

I did however share that amazing scrumptious chocolate cake. If I hadn’t been so stuffed, I would have stabbed his hand with my fork at the slightest attempt of tasting that heaven of chocolate. But I was full, so I didn’t mind sharing this time. The kids had cheeseburgers and pizza and they all finished every drop. I don’t think the kids dessert buffet is all that great, but they found a few little treats they liked.

Café Mickey had great characters that were very interactive.

My kids loved the singing and dancing right in front of the restaurant.

It was different than our usual Chef Mickey’s at WDW and the food was so much better than Chef Mickey’s. Towards the end of the meal, I noticed the manager was Asian . I asked her where she was from and she said, “I’m from America.” “Oh, I must have been mistaken, you look so much like a Filipina.” I responded almost shocked that she wasn’t from the Philippines. “Oh, yeah I am Filipina. She responded. I explained that Diego is from the Philippines and I have been there a few times myself. She fell in love with us right then. Hugging me and the kids as thought she was our Tita Lisa (Aunt Lisa in Tagalog). She told us to stop by for breakfast and she hugged and kissed us all goodbye. What a sweet woman and so nice for the children to meet such a warm friendly person.

After our dinner we walked back to the hotel to get our room number and our keys. A quick stop at the Admirals Floor check in and we were told our bags were already in our room. Our room was on the 7th floor just around the corner from the elevator. We opened the door and a huge sigh of relief. The room was so spacious, there were two double beds and two fold out single beds. It was decorated and for the most part cleaned. The only complaint I would have is that the staff needs to clean the fingerprints off the doors (especially the bathroom door.) Other than that, this room was perfect for my crew. We were thrilled. We set up the two extra beds, put our room service request on the outside door and decided to sleep in and go to the Studios the next day.

 

[TennVolTony]

I ordered a decent ceaser salad, a wonderfully cooked cheeseburger, and the most delicious chocolate cake


So this along with pastries and you good to go I guess??

1st day sounds fun. I've heard at the parks outside the U.S. that line busting is very commom.

 

[sweetlovin']

I ordered a decent ceaser salad, a wonderfully cooked cheeseburger, and the most delicious chocolate cake


So this along with pastries and you good to go I guess??

1st day sounds fun. I've heard at the parks outside the U.S. that line busting is very commom.

I'm not sure if it happens in Tokyo Disneyland or Hong Kong Disneyland, but I have heard that it isn't uncommon at DLP. WE met a guy from England whose neice was pushed over as well to meet a character. If Nico hadn't been oppose to sitting in the front seat, I would have told the guy to throw them out of the front seat and put us there. Since it was our turn. If they wanted the front seat badly enough, they could have waited for the next train. Obviously, not a concept these kids could grasp or conceive.

 

[sweetlovin']

Tuesday, April 5th Hollywood Studios

I awoke to a loud banging noise on the door. I crawled out of bed and opened the door to find room service standing there with food, hot chocolate, ice water, and fresh fruit!! At this point I am feeling a little on the spoiled side and loving every second of it. The cart was pulled into the room and my crew woke up to the tasty goodies as well. I don’t think my kids have ever had room service before, what a treat for them.

We got dressed and headed off to the Studios. The first ride of the day was Crushes Coaster. The line was about 30 minutes, but it looked as though it was moving faster than that. We waited about 10 minutes before they announce that the ride was closed due to technical problems.

What is up with all the rides going down so often??!! We waited a little while longer and all of the sudden, two little boys were standing in front of us that weren’t there before. I looked at them and asked Diego if he thought they were Filipino as well. Diego agreed that they were and we started speaking in Tagalog (the official language of the Philippines) to make sure we were right. If they looked at us or laughed, we would know they understood what we were saying. What are the odds? Who would think we would run into so many Filipino‘s in Disneyland Paris!!

So, I turned to them and said, “Are you two Filipino?” They answered, “Yes” and I said, “Then I know for a fact that you two know better than to jump the line and cut in front of people. I have been to the Philippines and little boys from there know how to stand in line and what is right from wrong. I know you were taught better than that.” They knew they had been caught and after the Space Mountain incident, I wasn’t about to keep my mouth shut. The conversation went on from there asking in Tagalog what part of the Philippines they were from, their names, how old they were.. and so on. Finally, it was announced the ride was fixed, only to have it go down right away again. They gave all of us Fast Passes for the ride to be used later that day (or tomorrow) I warned the little boys not to cut in front of lines and we all left.

We headed over to Aladdin and walked right on that ride. Up in the air and around, this is almost exactly the same as WDW magic carpets.

Right after that, we all needed to warm up for a bit. We decided to watch Stitch live.

This is similar to Turtle Talk with Crush, but for some reason, this one seemed funnier. I loved the picture transport and the jokes had us laughing.


We got off decided to head to Aerosmith. Samantha was beaming with delight when she stood up to the measurement stick and was approved for the ride. She is not tall enough to ride Aerosmith in Disney World, so this was so special. We walked right in with no wait at all. Sitting next to me she looked so tiny. I reached over to her during the loop and the twists to make sure she was still there . As she got off, she had the biggest smile. She loved it so much we walked right back on and went again.

We got off the ride and walked over to the boards to read the show times. Animagic was playing in 20 minutes so we decided to queue for it and wait. The kids loved this show, Diego and I weren’t as impressed. It looked as though it was an attempt to recreate the story of Philharmagic in WDW, but fell way short in carrying it out. It was cold this day and pretty blustery, so we decided to head to Cinemagic. There was a show right after the Animagic show so we rushed over to the next theater. Diego and I were highly entertained by this show, but the kids didn’t like it at all. By this point, everyone was hungry, instead of grabbing a counter service we went to a cart and grabbed some snacks. We sat inside Blockbuster café, and plotted our next attack.

Diego wanted to head to Armageddon. We didn’t even get through the first scene when Samantha fell asleep in my arms. We headed into the next scene only to hear that the ride had technical difficulties and we needed to exit the building. Seriously??!! This is crazy! We decided to split up. I headed to TOT and the others headed to the Rally Cars. I have done Tower of Terror many times on my own and I expected it to be pretty much the same as Disney World. So we went through the first TV showing then queued for the elevators. As the elevator door closed we were shown the people’s ghosts from the movies, and then the floating door scene. At WDW, the elevator moves forward into a different elevator shaft before dropping you. Here at DLP, the doors close and you drop!! I was totally taken off guard and laughed and laughed the entire time. It was so funny how shocking that is when you have no idea that you are dropping. I met the gang at the cars and we decided to check on Crushes coaster.

We walked through the exit and got right on the ride. This is by far my favorite ride in all the Disney Parks thus far! I loved this ride. The turning and twisting with the up and down motion, it truly feels as though you are riding an ocean wave. This was the best ride!! We queued again and rode it a 2nd time. This was a huge hit with everyone!!

We headed back to Toy Story land and rode Slinky Dog Zig Zag. Now, I was not impressed with this ride and having just come off a ride like Crush, this seemed more like a cheap carnival ride. With a queue that inched along, it wasn’t something I wanted to ride again. However, my kids have never been to a carnival and they loved this ride.

Next, Samantha and I rode RC Racer. Again, she has never been to an amusement park other than Disney, so they have never done a pirate ship ride that is similar to this. We got on the ride and I reached over to her again as we hit the top going backwards, just to make sure she was staying in the seat!! Another hit, she loved this ride and asked to go right back on it.

Since the others were too scared to ride, I told her we needed to pick a ride they all wanted to do.

 

[sweetlovin']

Tuesday April 5th Continued

Bring on the Parachutes. This queue is terrible!! It barely moves and it takes forever to load and unload the people from the ride. It was not worth the wait at all, in my opinion. However, Nico loved it and for him to opt into a ride that goes up and down is pretty amazing. So the ridiculous line and the long wait was worth it to see him happy.

We walked down and tried to figure out what we wanted to do. We decided to ride Crush one more time, but as we walked up to the ride, we found out it was closed due to technical problems.

We sat down to have a quick drink and discuss the next ride. As we got up, Crush reopened. I rode backwards this time and I loved it even more!! What an awesome ride. Finally, the kids asked to ride Aerosmith one final time. It was so nice that all of us could ride this. I told Samantha, “We had to come all the way to Paris for you to ride this ride.” ‘I just love it!” She responded. Unfortunately, the park was closing and we were turned away from the ride. We were all hungry, so we decided to head back to Disneyland to get some dinner.

Now, I had reservations at Inventions for 7pm. However, we were only on the half board plus and I knew Inventions would put is over our vouchers. We had gone over at Café Mickey’s, so we were trying to find a place to eat instead. We headed back to Disneyland Park and went right into City Hall for a new reservation. Silver Spur had an opening right away, so we booked the reservation and walked there.

As we were seated, we were given a limited menu. I knew my crew was hungry, but there was nothing that sounded even the least bit decent. We debated leaving as again, it took the wait staff forever to greet us.

Finally, we were greeted and we asked for the regular menu and ordered our meal. My salad I asked for No Anchovies, and he came out with Caesar Salad with a different type of dressing. This was actually tasty and I really enjoyed the salad. Our food came out quickly, and the kids loved their fish and chips (although it was really a small portion of fish.) I ordered the chicken. I realize that this is a steakhouse so chicken isn’t their specialty, but the chicken came out black and crunchy! It was burnt so badly I barely ate a few bites. Diego ordered the 58 steak and his was overcooked as well. The menu says you’ll be surprised at how tender and flavorful it tastes. He was surprised that it was neither tasty nor tender. It was terrible. The French fries were ok though. Finally, the kids were given dessert and they all dug in except for Julie. “Mommy, this brownie has nuts in it.” Julie is allergic to nuts, but it is not on the menu that the kids sundae has nuts in the brownie. The waiter came back and I explained she was allergic. “Is there anyway you could bring her a sundae?” I swear this man looked at me as though I asked him to get her the moon! He shook his head no, as if that was the most impossible task ever, so I asked if he would just bring her some vanilla ice cream. We stayed under the prepaid budget, so there was no bill and we left. We should have stuck with Inventions or even hit Lucky Nugget Saloon, but as they say live and learn.

The park was closed at this point and another waiter from Silver Spur was escorting us out of the park. He was friendlier than our server and funny as he kept infering that he has a much better personality than our waiter. As we were walking along, there were plenty of other people walking without an escort, but for some reason, we were required to have one.

The park is so beautiful at night. Too bad they don’t light the castle, but this was my favorite moment to be at the park. In the still of the night with the buildings on main street lit, it was just beautiful.

We walked back through the village and it was then that I saw a major flaw with the whole system. The Village was packed with people heading to bars and out for the evening. All we wanted to do was get back to our hotel and sleep, yet we were stuck fighting crowds at the end of the day. They need to build another walkway just for resort guests staying at the resorts. With all the money we have spent to stay onsite, the least they could do is give us a back way to walk to our hotels and avoiding the crowds. We finally made our way through the crowds and down to our hotel filled out the breakfast order for the next day and went to sleep.

 

[jothp]

I am loving your trip report It sounds like you had a really great time. My daughter is a dare devil too and I know how much it means to them when they meet that height requirement

 

[TennVolTony]

You guys sure do seem to cause a lot of technical ride problems !

I am really enjoying (and extremely jealous)reading these reports.

 

[sweetlovin']

Wed April 6th The Last Day

Room service came at 7am sharp and again I was awaken by fresh hot cocoa and yummy pastries. The perfect way to start the day. A girl could get use to this We ate up and decided to head to Early Morning Hours at Disneyland Park.

We rode the rides we were not able to get to the first day in Fantasyland. Dumbo and Peter Pan were the first two up.

Dumbo is very similar to Magic Kingdom, however, I liked this Peter pan better than the one at Disney. Peter Pan seemed to sparkle. A spin around the carousel since we had skipped this the previous days.

We headed back to Tomorrowland. Diego and Julie rode Space Mountain (this was Julianna’s favorite ride and he wanted someone to ride with) while I took Samantha and Nico on Buzz Lightyear. We all loved this Buzz ride much better than WDW because it gives you the ability to pick the guns up out of the holster. When we got off Buzz, Diego and Julie were waiting for us.

Apparently space mountain was a walk on. At this point we decided to ride Autopia one more time before heading back over to Fantasyland.

Julianna had asked if she could drive with me in the car. She had not been on one ride with mommy this whole trip and it was her turn. Samantha’s face and smile deflated as if someone had popped her balloon. When Julie saw how upset her sister got at the idea with having to ride with Diego, Julie agreed to ride with him and let Samantha ride with mommy. I think Julianna is the most caring and thoughtful sister! If I had the ability to choose someone to be my sister, she would be my choice without hesitation! She really pays attention to her siblings feelings and is very empathetic to people for being an 8yo.

The kids were begging to ride Pirates again and again, they laughed the entire time. But we had to wait for Adventureland to open

Finally, we walked over to Indiana Jones. Julie didn’t quite measure up, so Diego stayed with the girls. Nico and I were the first and only two people on the ride!!

It was fabulous as we twisted and looped around. Nico came off so happy. This was his favorite ride so he agreed to give it another go with Diego. Again, they were the only two on their coaster!! I love when the parks are so empty. After waiting for a while, Julie and Samantha asked to ride Big Thunder Mountain. We gave it two more spins before it was time to go to lunch. My kids loved Big Thunder Mountain!! They laugh and giggle the entire time.

The kids were so hungry by this point, so we walked over to Walt’s Restaurant for lunch. We were a tad early, but we had a seat in the lobby and looked around while the restaurant opened for the day.

We were seated on the 2nd story of Main Street! This was awesome!! We have never been on a 2nd story of Main Street in WDW so we were thrilled to be up there (and eating!)

We were greeted in an ok amount of time, but longer than you would wait in the States. I ordered the salad, steak, fries and chocolate cake. Julie and Samantha ordered the Fish and chips and tomato basil soup,. Nico ordered the Tomato soup and cheeseburger. I didn’t care for the salad, but I loved the tomato soup!! For the record, I hate tomatoes and I have never in my life been fond of Tomato soup. But this was really good. I ended up finishing Samantha’s. Yummy!! Diego ordered the Tomato basil soup, hamburger, fries and a coke. He had never eaten Foie gras and this delicacy came on top of his burger. He loved it so much, he took it off the burger and ate it on it’s own. I took one bite, that is enough for me in one lifetime, but he went on raving about it. (For those that are not aware, Foie Gras is fatty duck liver.) It was a gelatin texture and really, I won’t say anymore. He liked it and he ate it.

My steak was good, the French fries were tasty and the chocolate cake was excellent. The kids all loved their food as well. I still think my best meal was at Café Mickey’s, but Nico loved Walt’s! I will say, I was blown away by the ambiance. Truly magical.

We finished up and everyone agreed to head back to the Studios. Samantha wanted another turn on Aerosmith and I wanted a go at Crushes Coaster. We asked for the “Addition” and off we were for our last Hurrah!!

We decided to have another go on Aerosmith right away. Samantha rode with Julie and Nico and I rode together.

When we got off, the kids wanted to ride again, but Samantha pulled my arm. “Mom, can I ride with you? When I ride with Julie the seatbelt thing doesn’t feel very tight. It feels like I am going to fall.” “YES!!” I explained to Julie that I didn’t want Samantha to ride with her. She said she understood and she would ride with Nico.

After Areosmith we decided to look at the lines for Toy Story Playland. They were all 30-45 minute waits. So we decided to ride backlot tours. As we started to board, Samantha asked if she could ride RC Racer again. I said, “I will make a deal with you. You ride Tower of Terror with me and I will take you on RC Racer.” We left the backlot tours line and let the others ride.

We took off for Tower of Terror. We were in an elevator with all guys and Samantha was just this little tiny girl. They all smiled at her as we stood waiting for the elevator to open. She loved this ride. She loves it in Disney World, but I think she was just a little older riding this one, and she laughed and screamed the entire time. Then, we headed off to RC Racer. She was laughing and screaming again with pure delight. She loves the big rides.

At this point, Nico started really not feeling well. We sat down and got him something to drink, but it wasn’t helping. Samantha and Julie asked to head back to Aerosmith, but Nico didn’t think he could handle that coaster at this point. We waited a little longer and Nico was starting to feel better. At that moment, Crush reopened. So we queued for that, but by the time we got inside Nico wasn’t feeling well again. He sat on the bench right at the end of the ride and waited for us to finish. We got in line for one last go on Crush and we all laughed and laughed.

 

[jothp]

Hi, can you tell me how long you had to queue for Autopia

 

[sweetlovin']

The Last Day

We decided to head back to the Disneyland park for the Tea Party. I was pretty sure Nico needed to eat. Now, we were a little late arriving so we were greeted and rushed to the cashier. $95 EUROS!! I saw the food listed on the menus above and thought that was included at first. Then I remembered the information on this board and realized it was only the pastries that were included. The band was just finishing their last song as we were seated behind the stage where the band played.

The characters were all out dancing with the other patrons, but walked away when the band was done. UGH!! I asked the CM if the characters were going to come out again, “They should be” he responded. So, I went up and grabbed as much food as possible. I told the kids to eat up!! Finally, the characters did come out again and they were very interactive. Woody and Nico interacted with soccer and Julie got in the mix.

He was probably the most fun character as he related with them through their sport.

Apparently, he is a soccer fan too!

Minnie and Jessie were cute with the kids.

Mickey and Pluto were ok as well.

I promised myself I would never do this again because the cost was not worth the food, but it was a learning experience. As we were walking out, Samantha was smiling. “Mommy, that was my favorite meal” she exclaimed. Ok, that made me feel a little better about the price, but not enough to go back!

We decided to ride Big Thunder Mountain before we left for the evening. However, before we did that, we discussed all the rides we hadn’t done or would like to do. We went on Small World a 2nd time, and walked through Alice’s Labyrinth. My kids loved this maze. And they were great at leading the way right to the exit. We wandered back a little bit and found Storybook Lane and Casey Jr. Casey Jr. line was long, but we walked right onto Storybook Lane.

On Samantha’s request, we took one last spin on Pirates of the Caribbean and finally Big Thunder Mountain! With a little bit of time left, we decided to have one more go on Phantom Manor. It would be the last ride as the park was closing for the evening. “You know what would be ironic? If we walked all the way down there and Phantom was closed due to technical problems.” I said joking to my group. Only, as we walked all the way there, we realized it wasn’t a joke. Phantom Manor was closed for the night due to technical problems.

The park was closing and the kids were hungry. With tears shed, we said our last goodbye to Disneyland Paris. Julianna was so sad. She did not want the vacation to end. She is such a sweet girl who just doesn’t handle goodbyes well. With her brother and sister consoling her, we walked back to Newport Bay.

Once inside, we looked at ordering room service. There wasn’t a very good selection for the kids. Then we decided to go to a buffet. The kids walked through the restaurant in the lobby and said they would eat something there, but it was expensive for the choices. We are exhausted at this point, but we decided to make our way to Santa Fe Hotel for the buffet meal there. We walked a long way and found the hotel, but we couldn’t find the restaurant. We turned around and all agreed to walk to McDonalds in the Village. We were all praying it wasn’t crowded.

It was, the village was crowded, but the McDonald’s was packed full of teenagers. I waited in line for a while and Diego said he was going to walk to Annette’s Diner to see if the wait was better there. He was not in the mood for crowds! He explained it wasn’t crowded so we all went there. Once seated, the waiter took a long time to come greet us. So long in fact, that Samantha fell asleep at the table!! The other two children and Diego ordered burgers which they all enjoyed. While they were eating (and Samantha sleeping) I headed to McDonalds. I had to get food for Sam! I met the others outside and we walked back to Newport Bay. We got to our hotel room and the key didn't work. Back down to the lobby to fix the key and at this point, Samantha woke up starving! Finally in our room, we were all ready for bed. What was suppose to be an easy night turned into a very late and exhausting evening!!

 

[sweetlovin']

The Flight Home

The next morning, I missed my hot chocolate and room service. We woke up at 5:30am packed our bags and left. Tio Shuttles was in the lobby waiting, but Diego had bought a souvenir at the Christmas shop in Disneyland park. He had it shipped back to the hotel, but the gift store at Newport Bay was closed. So, after asking the front desk staff, they went into the store and found his ornament and we took off for the airport.

Once at the airport, Nico remembered that he promised a friend he would bring something back for him. We found an Eiffel Tower magnet and Nico spotted a France Soccer Jersey for himself. I bought that along with two shirts for the girls. Normally, we don’t go shopping, but it worked out fine and the kids were all happy with their new shirts. We boarded the plane and noticed there were a lot more children on this flight. Spring break must have started for France. My kids opted to sit together again and the plane ride went very smoothly. My only complaint is that the airline played very adult movies. It really should offer kids movies especially if they know there are a lot of little kids on the flight. Other than that, my kids behaved beautifully again and watched out for each other when they were offered drinks and food. It was nice to watch them together.

With a really long layover in Miami, we walked the airport, got some food and found the Hagan Dazz stand again. YUMMY! The kids watched a movie, called their grandparents and my brother, and finally, it was time to board the flight back to Atlanta. It was a 45 minute drive home and we arrived at our house just before midnight. I walked in and the floors were beautiful!!

It made all that work before I left worth the effort!! I was so happy, but exhausted. I got the kids into their beds and enjoyed a peaceful night’s sleep.


Final Thought's

My thoughts on the trip. Paris was never my first choice to go for a family vacation. Nico wanted to go overseas and Julie and Sam wanted to go to Disney. So, Paris fit the bill. I actually had a great time in Paris, the tours and the hotel, and the little French neighborhood were wonderful. However, I loved DLP!! We have only ever been to Disney World, so this was an adventure. I went in telling my kids, think of this as a completely different park. Not Disney World, but a new Disney theme park. We all loved this park. Julianna had so much fun that she already said for her individual trip in 2014, she is choosing DLP. YAY for me!

I loved that my kids get along well. And I truly believe that spending time and laughing together forms stronger bonds between people. So I feel it is very important for the 4 of us to travel together. I think this trip over all, Nico and Julie were able to become closer this is one of my ultimate goals for them. The three of them to grow up and have a close relationship.

Be that as it may, I cannot wait for my time with each kid individually. As you may know, every other year I take my kids on a Mommy and me trip. So 2012 is the year for Individual trips. I treasure those times!! I was not able to ride one ride with Julianna this entire trip and I only got to ride one ride with Nico. I need that time with each kid to grow and laugh with them, before they grow up and I’ve missed the opportunity! Nico asked to go see a Champions League or EPL game for his trip. I loved DLP so much, that I am taking him back for 3 days next March, before heading to London for the games. There is a lot he wants to do in London, but I couldn’t pass up DLP being so close! Every time we walked pass Hotel NY, he kept telling me that he wanted to go ice skating. So, my plan is to stay at the Hotel NY for two nights and take the Paris Night Tour. He has no idea he is even going overseas. He thinks he is going to WDW. He will be so happy and I am so excited to revisit such a wonderful park!!