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[davewasbaloo]

Day 3, 12 April 2011, DLP's 19th Birthday (though nothing special going on), we opted for the Walt Disney Studios (now very much more than a full day park).

Went to WDSP's as per the kid's choice (though a big part of me wanted to be in DLP - even though I like the Studios).

In before opening, but the queue for Crush was posted at 90 mins before we even started.

So we opted for a walk on to cars instead, followed by a brief visit to Toy Story Playland where Slinky dog was a 5 min wait (it was broken down last time). Cute, but to quote the kids (boring - the one at Legoland is better). We refused to queue the 50 minutes for the Parachutes, and as only 50% of the family can ride RC Racer, we skipped it. Most of the photo locations have now disappeared, quite a disappointment.

We then decided to try the kids in Armageddon as they are now older. Lol, they still were not old enough. It was hilarious!

So it was time to see our fav, cinemagique, where we had the pleasure of sitting behind Martin Short ;-) we still love this after at least 30 viewings.

As we came out, we bumped into Samnintysix and his family and had a lovely catch up.

Then we decided to have lunch with Remy from Ratatouille. Although I hate buffets as a rule, we have heard many good things, and decided to try it. We had a good time and the kids loved it. The amount of pushing and shoving at the buffet was ridiculous. But the food was good quality and quite good value by DLP standards, and the kids loved the encounter with Remy as a part of the living character programme. Remy interacted and danced, visiting us three times during our meal.

The food choices were not bad, there were various salads, olives, greek mushrooms, stuffed vine leaves, cured meats, couscous and other things besides.

For main courses there were mussels in garlic sauce, rice pilaf, rosemary potatoes, pasta, beef bourginoine, ratatouille (of course), salmon in white potatoes, green bean salad, corgette's au gratin, andouille sausages and other dishes too.

The deserts included crepes, tartes, cakes (chocolate, cream, nougette), brownies, apple tarte, mousse, jelly, fruit salad, chocolate confections in many guises.

Coffee and tea were included. It was really not bad for 69 euros inc our drink prices.

Afterwards, we decided to enjoy the Art of Animation, where we enjoyed ourselves for over an hour in the hands on area. We created some great zoetropes to take home. When Sarah went to the ladies, she bumped into a Jazz band - awesome (when - went, I only bumped into ToT Bell Hop Goofy.

Then we decided to Fly on Aladdin's carpet, before taking in a showing of Animagique, which the kids seem to enjoy more and more as they get older.

We then decided to visit Stitch Live, and we are glad we did. Stitch asked Jessica to be a monster and we all cracked up when the picture came on screen, Jessica was over the moon, but she kept being a monster for the rest of the day.

We rode the tram tour, and in catastrophe canyon, it hit home how scary the quakes in Japan must be. But overall, they enjoyed it. But man, TSPL has had a real negative effect.

Last attraction of the day, we got in the Crush Coaster queue 2 mins before park closing, 25 mins we were on the ride and because it had warmed up, it seemed even more wild than usual! Cool.

With the park closed, although we could have gone into DLP, we decided heading back to the villa for a snack, bath and bed was a better option, for Paris beckoned the next day.

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[DLP-Photos.com]

Lovely start to the report and great pictures.. You and your family always seem to enjoy it fully and once again it seemed like you had a great start to your trip :-)

I cannot wait to see all the improvements for myself in july :-) Looking forward to the remaining parts of your report :ears:  :ears:

[MrsPirate]

Welcome back, the boards were very quiet whilst you were away!

Sounds like you had a great time, I look forward to reading the rest of your report.

[kmara]

Following your report with great interest! Can't see the pics though because my internet lay down and I can only read it from my iphone. Therefore I will reply more when everything works again, which I hope will be soon. Can't wait to read more!

[SM:M3]

Hope you had a good trip! I've been to Brugge a couple of times now, in fact the best chips I've ever had were in a little restaurant just off Minnewater Park there, and don't get me started on the waffles; they're simply incredible :mrgreen:
Anyway, awaiting your Phantasialand report with great interest, should come in handy for my trip planning.

[davewasbaloo]

Lol, thanks guys. More fun to come. we had a fab holiday!

[davewasbaloo]

On this day, it was right to head to the City of Lights. Although the kids have traveled a lot in their short lives, we were nervous in the past to take them into Paris. But they seem to take much more interest in art and architecture now, so we thought, why not?!

We drove to the Disneyland Paris car park as our annual passes gives us free parking. We got parked up and a little girl in the Alfa Romeo next door then opened her car door very fast, denting my car...grrrrr. But I would not let that ruin the day.

We proceeded on the moving walkways to the Esplanade (if you are a Disneylander, imagine there was a major train station in front of Tomorrowland, it is so cool). We bought 4 Paris Visite tickets and were on an RER train into Paris within 10 minutes.

On the train, we secured 4 seats together for the 40 minute train ride to Etoile Charles De Gaulle near the Arc de Triumphe. There was a Parisian accordion player plying his trade on board, adding to the ambiance. We then transferred on the Metro to the Trocadero for the splendid view of the Eiffel Tower. It really captured the children's imagination. Shame about the minions of street vendors trying to agressively shill the public. A lovely Spanish couple asked us to take a picture of them and they did likewise for us.

We then took the stroll down to the Seine. Although a German friend of mine tried to persuade me to take a canals cruise (which we would have loved), we had free tickets for a Seine Cruise which was lovely.

An hour long cruise taking in the main sites of the city including the museums, the Legion of honour (which the President of the USA's White House was roughly modeled on), the spot where Lady Dianna died, Notre Dame and many more places. It was lovely.

After our cruise, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch on the Seine with a commanding view of the Eiffel Tower. I had a very good french onion soup with gruyure(sp?), followed by confit of duck with new potatoes and mixed green salad. Sarah had carpaccio of beef followed by a wonderful chicken and mushroom risotto, the most tasty we have had. Washed down with a cheeky bottle of cote de provence. Mikey had steak hash and fries, and Jessica had white ham and fries. It was lovely, and cheaper than the mouse, despite the tourist trap location.

After lunch we went for a stroll under the Eiffel tower to look up at it. We decided not to go up as Mikey is very much frightened by heights, the crowds were heavy, and to economise. In our experience, looking at the Tower is better than being on it (then again, I am not keen on heights either). We then walked through the park to the Military museum and Napolean's tomb, but decided to save it for another time.

We then hopped the bus to the Champs Elysee and a little stroll to the Place de le Concorde, where Ramesis' Oblisk stands and their are commanding views of the Arc de Triumphe, the parliament building, the opera and the Louvre.

We then proceeded to the Louvre through Le Notre's Italian Garden - Jardin de Tulleres. The Louvre was open until 10pm, but by the time we used the facilities and had a chat, it was clear the children's energy levels were subsiding. So we strolled along the Seine, hopped a bus to Chatlet, and hopped the RER back to DLP. I had forgotten how huge this station is!

We got to DLP as the park was closing at 9pm. Going back to the car was very disappointing. Half the moving walkways were not working, and several lights where no on or were dim. Thank goodness parking is free for us, but considering they charge 15 euro a day to park (£13.50, $20), we thought that was terrible, and it was even harder being so tired. Lol.

At the villa, we had a light snack and a Leffe Ruby and then fell into bed, exhausted. Thankfully we had planned on a relaxing day at the resort for the next day.

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[Laura678]

I love reading your reports! Cant wait to read more and more and more!  

You have such a happy family!

[dagobert]

Thanks for the wonderful trip report and the great pictures. It seems you and your family had a great time at Disneyland.

After seeing your pictures of Paris, I want to return as soon as possible. It's one of my favorite cities, I have been there several times.

DLRP looks good. Hopefully the parks will not look that bad again in a few years.

Can't wait for the rest, especially Europa Park!

[davewasbaloo]

We did have a good time, thanks. And yep, my family and I try to have a good time. I am away with work or work weekends very often, so I try to make it up when we go away.

[davewasbaloo]

Day 5, Thursday 13th April 2011 - Rest Day at the Marriott Village Ile de France

After a few heavy days, and with the days to come, we decided to have a fairly easy day and simply stay at the resort.

We had hoped to sleep in, but typically the kids were up shortly after 6. We watched cartoons and had some breakfast - croissants, yogurts, and coffee, mmmmm.

At 10:00, we took the kids to the complementary kids club, which they adore. As we checked them in, we bumped into Jo the general manager, who asked us where we were the night before. We asked him why, to which he replied, he had expected us in the bar to enjoy the live music. Apparently Carlton Moody was playing, we were really bummed out we missed it. You see, he used to be the band leader of the Moody Brothers, the resident band of Buffalo Bill's and Billy Bob's in the first 12 years of DLP., and more to the point, the band Sarah and I used to go dancing to when we were courting and first married. Bummer.

We then attended a great French class where Sarah, Mikey and I were the only participants. It started with some basic chalk and talk, but then ended up with a tour and discussion around the resort shop, business centre and Giverny gardens to develop our skills.

We then picked the kids up at the club (for Mikey decided to go back to playing when the tour kicked off), and went to the villa for some hot camembert and baguettes with salad for lunch. The kids had played and did face paints.

We then took the kids swimming and spent time in the jacuzzi. After a while, they asked if kids club was on. It was, and they got changed and went while I chilled in the jacuzzi watching the ducks in the pond and the golfers on the DLP golf course. Sarah and I then enjoyed a quiet afternoon together while the kids painted, made origami frogs and easter bunnies, and played some more. We all had a great time.

After we picked them up, I made Mickey Mouse stars and moons pasta and salads with parma ham and emmental for dinner (and a lovely bottle of Beaujolais). We had chocolate mousse for desert, and then let the kids play in the playground for a while before their bath and bed. Sarah and I fell into bed soon after. A nice relaxing day.

I know a lot of Disney fans will think us crazy for not going to the parks all the time, but to be honest, we have been so many times, it is more important not to kill my family with such a long trip away. Also, the kids actually always wanted to stay at the resort and not bother with the parks, well, until we got to the parks. Lol.

Pictures:

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[davewasbaloo]

Day 6, Friday 15 April - Disneyland Paris

Typical, the day we want to get up early and go to Extra Magic Hours, the kids oversleep and fart about. So much so, I said they were spoilled about Disney, making them complacent and contemptible and I would not bring them back. Thankfully they later redeemed themselves.

We were in the park for 9am for emh heading to Buzz Lightyear Lazer Blast while Sarah went on Space Mountain. Sadly I got a broken gun, so I gave up and Jess won (which annoyed her brother). It was then my turn for space mountain which seemed to be running a little smoother. The park opened at 10 and for rope drop we headed through Adventureland to grab a fast pass for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. With half an hour to spare, we headed over to Phantom Manor which really needs some tlc.

When we got off Big Thunder was 101 and they were evacuating the attraction. After receiving confirmation that we could return at any time once it was back up, we proceeded to Pirates of the Caribbean, then we grabbed a fast pass for peter pan and took a break with popcorn and a chocolate covered waffle in Fantasyland. There were huge crowds for Alice, Mad hatter, the white rabbit, Belle and Sleeping Beauty meet and greets. Avoiding the throngs, we hit up Its A Small World, which was in fairly good condition.

We rode peter pan which was being loaded well. We then went to watch the new "show" Following the leader. It was mainly in french and only really good if your were one of the 8 chosen. The human form of Smee and Hook were interesting looking.

Back to Frontierland for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, still the best version, great fun, though very few effects were working (which was disappointing).

We did a little window shopping, though very little worth buying in frontierland, same rubbish as everywhere else.

Into our fav DLP restaurant, the Silver Spur for a 2 o'clock lunch. Just like the old days in the States, you can reserve, but there is space for walk ups like us. After 5 minutes and a complimentary chocolate, we are seated.

They no longer offer the complimentary kir or OJ for Dream passes (which is odd since the Restaurant de Stars did a few days ago). But the waiter comped us some lovely virgin cocktails. The kids opted for salads with Jess going for the fish and chips and fruit salad. Mikey went for the hamburger and brownies and ice cream. I had a great prawn cocktail in a tortilla, followed by a rump steak with roquefort and potatoes and a chocolate caramel oreo cake. Sarah opted for the chicken Caesar salad, rump steak and a flaming creme brullee, we all got a kick out of watching the dish flame. Washed down with a bottle of Beaujolais and vittel water. It was a sublime 2 hour dining experience. The kids noticed the cost cutting though, no toys for them.

After lunch, we were stuffed and opted for another trip on Phantom Manor, followed by a cruise on the newly refurbished Molly Brown. Now Molly Brown is a story I used to love as a boy, with my grandmother telling me of her courageous spirit. This refurb is lovely, all the areas have been fully refurbed, and the indoor bench areas have some lovely touches, where the fire stove is actually warm, and the flags are totally accurate to the time period. The narration is excellent, hinting at the mythology in the greatest frontierland in Disney's universe.

After our relaxing cruise, we decided to explore Boot Hill and "wake the dead" hearing the tell tale heart in the crypt. Looking at the geysers was very sad however, for I fear they will never erupt again.

Time for a hot chocolate break, using the voucher for a free drink we got earlier when we bought the belgian waffle. Then we decided to sit in one of my favorite seats in the world, hidden on a dock in Frontierland.

We then decided on a ride around the park on the train, opting to skip the show on the hub. The mad house and propensity for French instead of the 50/50 mix DLP used to have as a policy (not a major problem for me, but for the kids, it is an issue), meant we opted to skip the subpar hub show. We also skipped the parade, now that they have taken the proper show stops out in favour of "interactive" segments. But sitting on the Eureka, in the Monterrey car, is pure Disney bliss for me.

Off the train and hot foot it to Storybookland before it closed at 8. Rode as the tigers on Casey Jr and then one of the last people on Storybookland Canal boats. Rapunzel has moved in, but it has not been a smooth transition. After Storybookland closed, we took some pictures at the new tea party area, followed by a ride on Snow White and a visit to the dragon. Pinocchio and the Castle gallery were under refurb. Well overdue, sad for newbies, but much needed.

Then we dashed for the last ride of the day, Big Thunder in the dark. We managed to have a fab ride at the back, where in the evening, that last dash under the Rivers of the Far West is incredible. As we disembarked, the park was closed and we had a leisurely stroll down Main Street and stopped for a sit in town square for a drink.

It was 10pm before we made it to the car, and I was very proud of the kids managing 13 hours and 16 attractions in the park! Into the villa, put them to bed, and we followed shortly behind them.

Pictures including the new offerings for the Magical Moments Festival, some much needed refurb areas, and the sublime Silver Spur:

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[davewasbaloo]

Day 7, Apr 16 Walt Disney Studios Paris

We were exhausted, so we let nature wake us from our tourist induced slumber. We watched cartoons from bed and then the girls decided to take a trip to the bakery on site for fresh croissants, pan au chocolat and pan au raisin for breakfast.

We made our way to the DLP car park which was heaving, and security bag control, even more so. We grabbed some Fast passes for Tower of Terror and Rock and Roller Coaster and then hopped in a monster line for Moteurs Action. We got awesome seats centre stage! The show was spot on, and although I thought the Lightening McQueen was a waste of time, I was very much in the minority as the crowd oooohhed and ahhhhhhed. But the show was great as always.

As we exited, our fast pass time was due on ToT. Although the kids wanted to do it, after their experience last time, and earlier in the week with Armageddon, we decided to take turns. I rode first with an exciteable irish group (hilarious). Sarah took the kids to see bell hop Goofy and Sully, but the crowds were crazy. Gone are the quiet days of the Studios - lol.

When we swapped, I took the kids to Studio 1 for some slushies and to listen to the band. It was there that Mikey announced that WDSP was his fav park, Jessie disagreed proclaiming DLP is better. It's all good. The band were fantastic playing a number of jazz greats. Sarah caught up with us and we had a great time together. To me, this is far more Disney magic than any rubberheads, but then again, I have wonderful memories of enjoying the live performers with my family at Disneyland as I was growing up.

Afterwards I scored a great spot for the Stars and Cars show (for those of you who may not be aware, Stars and Cars is more than a parade in Paris, it also has a stage show with all the characters and some dancers). While we watched, Mama went on Rock n Roller Coaster, coming back grumpy because she had no sound track. I felt guilty because on my run, I got Walk this Way and Love on a roller coaster (love in an elevator) soundtrack with full smoke and light show, it was awesome. She was not amused when she found out. Lol. In all seriousness though, it has been about 5 years since Sarah has had a working soundtrack. That warrants a letter.

The kids had fun posing on the Paraplus de Cherbourg and Narnia sets while I was riding.

We then decided it was time to eat, so we went to Annette's for our final DLP meal. Mikey had yet another burger served in his frisbee with ice cream to follow. Jessica had chicken nuggets and ice cream. I opted for the Rockabilly - a double bbq bacon cheese burger with fries and a double dash cherry coke, with a chocolate shake to follow. Sarah had a chilli burger and fries with a cherry coke and chocolate shake. It was very good. The one little disappointment was the lack of roller skating cast members.

We then did a little shopping in the Disney Village, snapping some pictures of the new Earl of Sandwich and World of Disney (seems very small) under construction. Got the kids some cute clothes - mickey jedi shirt and embroidered Stitch jacket for Mikey, a Jack Skellington shirt and Angel embroidered jacket for Jess and some surprise birthday presents for them both. Mama got a new coffee cup, and I snagged a cool LGM cereal bowl, also, despite not buying any pins, I did succumb to a TRON Vinylmation (I know, so wrong). Lol.

We then headed back to the villa for a swim, bath and bad. Tomorrow is an early start with a visit to Metz and Strasbourg. Then onto Europa Park on Monday night

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[davewasbaloo]

Thanks for the comments so far folks. So, general thoughts on the first week at DLP. Hmmmmm, mixed, as always. We had a wonderful time, and still so many things I never tire of such as Cinemagique, PotC, and being with my family.

There were some wonderful surprises such as a the great jazz band in Studio 1 of WDSP, sitting in with the drummers in adventureland, great service at the Silver Spur, fun experience with Remy in Rendevous de Stars, and how much my kids adored the city of Paris. The refurbs and staff improvements are fantastic. And although I am not happy about the colour change of the Molly Brown, the restoration, accuracy of the flags and the new narration are all excellent.

Rock n Roller Coaster was mixed - I had a perfect ride, my wife once again had no soundtrack - for 5 years this has happened to her and now she refuses to ride again.

But I cannot give DLP full marks again. Besides the obvious issues of the pirate ship and the state of the It's a Small World fountain area (Europapark had people in waders cleaning their pools every day if rubbish ended up in them -all fountains worked and the shows were excellent - it really highlighted how DLP has still fallen from the Disney standards). And Big Thunder really was only a well themed coaster - virtually none of the effects worked and I was not fully surprised to hear about the accident when we got home. Phantom Manor needs a refurb. And dining was mixed, they dumbed the menues down again since our last trip - though the Hakuna Matata offerings were a great surprise.

We were sorry that Pinnocchio and the Nautilus were closed, but it they get the refurbs Dumbo, the Castle and PotC enjoy, then it is totally worth it.

Overall, we had a great time and are hopeful for the 20th after all these refurbs. But they need to sort out the entertainment.  I cannot say I enjoyed any of the Magical Moments save the photo spots with the kids. And relegating the tamtams to a meet and greet side show is a real travesty. If we left DLP and came home straight away, we would have felt more positive in the end. But after seeing how other tourist sites, Europa Park and Phantasialand do things, it showed me that DLP is not necessarily the best in europe any more. It rates my kids' 4th fav place now,

For me, I still love it, but there are so many other cool places too. The rest of the trip report still has Disney links - amazing Disney confectioneries in Metz and Brussels, PotC and TRON music in Europa Park and more.

I will update as the work load will allow this week.

[davewasbaloo]

Day 8, April 17th on the road to Strasbourg via the Champagne district, Verdun, and Metz - 300 miles in total.

We were up and breakfasted, checking out at about 9:45 and set off on the next part of our adventure. We headed out on the toll road out to the East. As we travelled through the Champagne region, the sight was somewhat sad. Where vinyards used to crowd the sloping hills, there now seemed to be more oilseed rape than anything else. It impacted our hay fever, but more to the point, was this another symbol of our modern economy?

As we continued further East, we passed more and more WWI graveyards, a stark reminder of the fortunes of modernity, the lack of perspective our generations consider, and a reminder how the US has been very fortunate in not fighting wars on domestic soil in living memory. On with the journey, and our first major stop in Metz.

We got into town with the children proclaiming their hunger. Having seen only the expensive brasseries open or sandwich shops, we decided to try the family chain of Flunch. Here, you get your drinks and salad or dessert, and then you pay for it and your entrees. We ordered confit of duck, a fish of the day (soup), and what we thought was a pork stew (turned out to be pork kidneys - not to our taste ;-) with french beans, creme spinach au gratin, potatoes, garlic butter beans, rice pilaf, and cauliflower.

After lunch, we went to the amazing gothic cathedral, visiting the 1200 year old crypt, the holy relics, and the 800 year old gothic structure. It was so beautiful and very humbling as these places often are. We then strolled through the old town to the Temple and then took some wonderful pictures of the French part of the Moselle. And then a visit to the chocolatier was a must. They really are a work of art. And they tasted great too.

We then made our way back to the car park. There was an elderly French woman who could not find her car. I helped her find it as she babbled away, I understood some of it, but a challenge. I loved that I was able to help - she not only said thank you, but hugged and kissed me goodbye. Lol.

We then got underway again and got into the Holiday Inn at Strasbourg for about 7. We had a Junior Suite on the top floor, thanks to my Holiday Inn points, it was free. Two flat screen tvs, huge work area, king size bed and a double sofa bed, overlooking the European Space Agency training centre and in the distance, the Strasbourg Cathedral. The light rail trains that run look like monorail trains, it is very cool.

The kids were hungry, so we went down for dinner. They had steak and pasta with chocolate ice cream to follow. Sarah had a faux fillet bierenaise and potatoes au gratin, I had the faux filet au poivre with the potatoes au gratin. We tried a wonderful local Alsacian Riesling with it. And the staff were great. They got a kick out of the kids trying to order in French. Lol.

Then up to bed, and the kids flaked out.

The next day we took the tram into the Le petit france part of the city, then in the late afternoon, off to Europa Park's Hotel Colloseo. Good times.

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