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[Riebi]

WOW! Sounds like a lot of fun! It´s good to hear that crush is more a prober coaster than a little one. I´m excited about the pics wich will follow  

[Nala_84]

I must confess that reading so long English and pink texts was not that easy for me   But anyways, I could really feel with it, as if I walked behind you

It really sounds as if you had a magical time there with your mum, really great!
It's not that I'm just jealous that you've been there while I have to wait almost 3 months - you're sooo lucky meeting princesses beside the Castle Stage/Parade!!! I can absolutely feel with you, I'd surely have almost cried, too ! In 1992 I had my first visit at DLP, I was 8 years young and my dad took a picture of me and a pretty Snow White (that must have been at nearly the same place where you now met them!!). Although my view was quite strange, I love to watch the picture today, it's just magical to have a photo together with a princess!

Now I'm really curious to see the pictures!

[Masamune]

Thanks for the comments guys! I'm glad to have been able to get you all excited for your own 15th Anniversary trips.

@ Nala - Like I said, that was the first time I had EVER seen Princesses outside of a Parade, so it was such a special moment. Moments like that are definatly timeless, so no doubt I'll treasure my photos with the Princesses also! I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I look OK on them. :lol: It may turn out that I had an insane smile on my face because of how excited and happy I was.

On to Day 3!

Day 3

We made sure we didn't sleep in today, as we wanted to be at the Studios as soon as it opened. We had packed the night before, so we dropped off our suitcase at customer services and headed off to breakfast. Our breakfast at the Santa Fe was meant for 9:15am, but because we had forgotten where the entrance to the breakfast all was, we ended up just walking through the exit at around 9am, so we got in 15 minutes early. :lol: I had forgotten how disorganised breakfast at the Santa Fe is, and it took me ages to find the milk station, so it's a good job we got in early.

We reached the Studios just in time for them to announce the opening, and for the big doors at the end of Studio 1 to open up. Of course, everyone made a bee-line for Crush, so instead, me and mum headed for Aerosmith. We knew we would have to que up for Crush no matter when we went, so we figured it would be better to do other things first.

:lol: As I've mentioned, my mum hates roller coasters, but she was feeling brave this trip. She actually quite enjoyed the Rock n' Roller Coaster! The only thing she didn't like was the launch. :shock: She actually thinks Crush is scarier than RnRC, but I'll talk more on that later.

For some reason, no FastPasses were available in the Studios that day, so I didn't get to go on Aerosmith again. After RnRC, we decided to catch the Good Morning Walt Disney Studios Parade. I love this little Parade, and I was really chuffed when I could see Scrooge McDuck on one of the cars in the distance. I managed to get my picture taken with him and a few others. :lol: Donald was acting really funny. He stole someone's WDS map and looked like he was trying to get somewhere, with a flock of kids following him all the way.

After that, we headed towards Animagique, and I got my picture took with Abu nearby. I still say this is the greatest Disney show ever, and if you haven't seen it yet, you NEED to! As always, the show was flawless, and there was THREE pink elephants on stage during the pink elephants routine! The most I've ever seen in that show is two, so that was a real treat, as I love pink elephants!

After Animagique, we decided to go and catch the Lilo and Stitch show. By now it had started to rain a bit, but it didn't dampen our spirits one bit! The Lilo and Stitch show was really great. It was very interactive, especially when they got some kids from the audience to come on stage. The presenters of the show were a little bit too enthusiastic for my liking, but I guess that's not a bad thing.

Right after the Stitch show, mum pulled out the WDS event leaflet and pointed to something that filled my heart with dread. :lol: The High School Musical show was just about to start. By this time I was DYING to get in the que for Crush's Coaster, but as you guys know, I promised that I'd give this show a chance. So with a heavy heart, we made our way towards RnRC, where the show had just started.

As you may have read in the High School Musical thread, I hated this show. It was cheesy, it was weird and it was pointless. The dancers were great, but the fact is that they were dancing to songs that hurt my brain and wearing outfits that hurt my eyes didn't help. If you love the film, or are easily entertained (like my mum), you'll probably love this show. If you hate the film (like me), or high-pitched singing and in-your-face dancing gets on your nerves, then you'll hate it. The Cruella show was much better than this, and more universal too I think.

As soon as the High School Musical float began to move, we quickly made our way to Crush. On our way, we stopped to take a picture of the Tower of Terror. That thing is HUGE. I still can't believe how big it was. It looks like they're building a proper hotel, not a ride! As we passed by Animagique again, we saw Sulley and Chicken Little, but I was too eager to get into the Crush que to meet them.

Once we got in the que, we spotted some familiar faces just ahead of us. It was the family who we had met at the airport, who's first time it was at DLRP. We managed to reach them ( we didn't push if that's what you're thinking, we just managed to slide past a few people ) and we chatted about what they had done on their trip for the rest of the que.

They had had a brilliant time, which was nice to hear. The only bad thing was that they had done the Princess meal at L'Auberge, and the food was apparently rubbish. Since they were a family of four ( 2 adults, 2 kids ) it had cost A LOT of money, and all their kids ate was some berries. :shock: Even the Cinderella slipper was so sweet that the kids didn't like it. Of course they were glad to have met the Princesses, it's just a shame the food wasn't any good.

We qued up for Crush for about 50-60 minutes, which wasn't too bad considering the sign outside had said the wait was 75 minutes. This ride was easily the best ride I've EVER been on. It was SO much fun! It starts off rather tame, with a few small dips as you go around various parts of the Finding Nemo story. The best part was when we went through the submarine and Bruce had poked his head through. His head was so big and it looked just like how he looks in the film, so I was very impressed. Then when we dropped into the East Australian Current, the ride really became a proper roller coaster. Seriously, it was incredible! I think the fact that I didn't expect it to be this good was what made it so great. This ride is well worth an hour long wait, or even more!

When we got off and met the family from the que, both their kids were crying. The poor things had no idea the ride was going to be like that, so they were both very upset. This ride definatly isn't for kids, but I wouldn't say it's as extreme as Space Mountain. It's like a soft version of RnRC I think. o-o; But my mum thinks it's WORSE than RnRC because she felt like she was going to fall out the whole time. I loved this ride though, and I think everyone should give it a chance, even if they're not a fan of roller coasters.

When we got off Crush, it was raining. A lot. So we jumped in the que for Cars which only had a 20 minute wait. :? I really don't know why we bothered, as we could see before we went on that the ride wasn't all that great. The Tea Cups in Fantasy Land are much better. :lol: All the adults that went on this ride looked bored, but all the kids had a blast. This ride is definatly for kids, and I'd probably only go on it again if there was only a 5 minute wait.

After Cars, the Heavens had opened completely, so we ran to Studio 1 where it seemed that most of the guests in the Park had taken shelter. We bought 2 15th Anniversary rain ponchos ( for 8 Euros each, which I think is great ) and went back out to go in the Art of Disney Animation. Sadly, the Disney Cinema Parade has cancelled. We wasn't too upset though, as we were just glad that this rain hadn't happened on Day 1 or Day 2. Both of those days were 100% sunny.

As always, I cried at the Disney video they play in the first show room. :cry: Some of the bits they show in that vid are some of my most traumatising Disney moments ( Mrs Jumbo rocking Dumbo through her cage, Bambi's mum getting shot, etc ), but I can never help going into that building and putting myself through that. At least we got to see a preview of Ratattouie after the little Mushu show. It looked really good actually, definatly my kind of Pixar film.

After we left AoDA, we decided to go on the Studios Tram Tour, hoping that it had improved since April 2005. It had, but not by much. They now had Narnia costumes instead of Pearl Harbor, which was good. And it was interesting to see people actually working in the costume department. There was loads of woman running around doing stuff, which was very interesting.

After the Tram Tour, we decided to have a look around the shops in the Park and then leave to get some food. By then it was about 3:20pm, so we had a change of heart and decided to catch the 3rd and final Once Upon a Dream Parade of our trip. We had to speed walk to get to the place where we were on Day 2, but we stood further up where we knew we could view the Princess stop properly.

It wasn't raining as heavily by now, but the floor was still very wet. By 3:55pm we still couldn't see the orange sun of the first float over the big gates, so we were worried that the Parade had been cancelled. It hadn't though, it was just delayed. To make up for the delay, they sent out a bunch of characters to interact with guests, which was nice. The Parade of Day 3 was probably the best of all days, as they seemed to be using more performers. Maybe they were trying to cheer people up because of the bad weather, either way, it worked!

Again, after the Parade had passed, we made our way all the way down to where the Parade ends, just in time to watch it all again. It started to rain heavily again, but no one seemed to mind. Only at Disneyland Paris would you see so many smiling faces during a heavy rain shower. After the Parade, we did some last minute shopping before making our way to McDonald's and then finally our hotel.

After we had picked up our suitcase, we went to look at the Pin Trading Night that was being held. :oops: There was so many crazy pin collectors, and a massive que to get vouchers to buy the Pin Trading Night pin. Actually, there was two, so I got one of each and so did mum. One's of Bambi and one's of Thumper and Miss Bunny. I traded for a few pins, and my mum surprised me by trading two of her Limited Edition pins for two Limited pins that I badly wanted; the Stitch one dressed as Chernabog from last Halloween, and a Ratigan pin from the Villainous Voyage held by Disney Cruiseline. Obviously I was really chuffed, so it was a perfect end to our trip.

:lol: Sadly there was a two hour delay at the airport because of the rain, but considering how perfect the rest of our trip was, we were due at bit of bad luck on the way home.

I hope you guys have enjoyed my trip report! I'll probably type up the in-depth report about the Once Upon a Dream Parade later on today, and then I'll let you all know as soon as pictures arrive. We've took so many ( almost 200 ) that I can't even remember what they're all off! The films were posted this morning, so fingers crossed, we'll have the pics back next week!

[giorgio1712]

Another amazing day and a really entertaining report, thanks!!  

[The Butlin Boy]

Thanks for writing such an interesting trip report Masamune, I'm so jealous of you right now

[RnRCj]

Once again, I can't believe I read all of that Glad you loved Crush's Coaster! It just makes me look more and more forward to riding it Sounds like there were a lot of characters as well, which is great!

[Nala_84]

Great to read the 3rd day, too

But let me ask you something... you said your mother hates roller coasters, well, I don't really hate them but I'm always scared of them a bit  :oops:

I love BTM and I'm ok with Indiana Jones, but I never tried SM and R'n'RC. So, in your/your mother's opinion *g*: Would you say Crush's Coaster would be okay for me? I'm really scared of ever trying RnRC, but you said your mother found Crush more scary than it?!?

I'm so confused how frightening Crush is, some people say it's okay, others swear it's not good for children - and I am 22

[tubbsy]

Brilliant Masamune. Makes m want to go sooner
By the way, did teh Cheshire Cat stay on top of the castle?  :lol:

[Masamune]

I'm so glad you've all enjoyed reading it!

@ Nala - My mum loves BTM too. Her main problem with roller coasters is when they have big drops, or if they're very fast. It gives her the feeling that she can't breathe, which is obviously quite distressing. She actually mostly enjoyed RnRC. The only bit she didn't like was the launch, which is extremely fast. There isn't many dips at all on RnRC, so apart from the launch, she was OK throughout the ride.

Her problem with Crush was the part in the East Australian Current. There was a few dips, and it was all very fast. Also, as the cart turned, at some points you ended up looking straight down at the track, as if the cart itself was going to fall off! I felt perfectly safe, but my mum felt like she was going to tip out of the cart the whole time, so she would never go on it again. It was that feeling of possibly falling out that made Crush more scary to her than RnRC. As a big fan of roller coasters, I can't really say which one is more/less scary. I think you should give RnRC a chance though, and I don't think anyone should miss Crush, as it's too much fun! If my mum can try them, so can you.

@ tubbsy - Yes, it did. :lol: I decided that everyone deserved to marvel at his greatness, so I left him where he was.

[Suzy]

Thanks so much for this trip report, I loved reading it and it's certainly got me even more in the mood for my trip.

Can you tell me anything about the shopping and 15th anniversary merchandising?  What did you buy??  

[Masamune]

@ Suzy - We found that there was tonnes of 15th Anniversary merchandise to choose from, and all of it was pretty reasonably priced. Here's all the 15th Anniversary stuff me and my mum bought;

2 Pens
2 magnets
2 large boxes
4 15th Anniversary Pins (the oval ones)
A photo album
A small magnetic photo frame
A mini tray thingy (for my gran to put her change in)
A cute mobile phone charm
2 rain ponchos (it rained on the last day)

You should look in all the shops, as some had different 15th Anniversary stuff than others.

[Masamune]

Once Upon a Dream Parade: Part 1

Dreams of Imagination (Mickey and friends float)

Float: This float is really gorgeous. When it's sunny, the golden sun of the float glitters beautifully. Although I wasn't very fond of the faces on the sun and the moon, it was still a very lovely float. To me, the scent that followed this float smelt like bubbles. :lol: But then, that may have been the actual smell of bubbles coming from the bubble machine at the back.
Characters: Pluto, Chip and Dale walked along with this float, and Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy were on the float itself. All of their 15th Anniversary costumes were really nice. I especially liked what Chip and Dale were wearing.
Performers: No performers with this float

Dreams of Laughter and Fun (Alice/Pinocchio float)

Float: :lol: Obviously, I loved this float. The Cheshire Cat is lay down on the right hand side of the float, so I took a few good pictures of him. The Alice side of the float was great. Alice blinked and moved her eyes, and the March Hare would call out in French when Alice moved the cup with him sat in it!

The Pinocchio side of the float wasn't great, as it was a bit plain. On Day 3 though, they had bungee artists attached to the float, which made it like 10 times better!
Characters: At the front, the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts were accompanied by some playing cards; one of every suit. On Day 2 and Day 3, the White Rabbit was there too. :lol: The Mad Hatter was brilliant, running around and getting right in people's faces so they could take pictures. He had a laugh just like the Mad Hatter in the film, but it was his REAL laugh and not a recording coming from the float!

Pinocchio was stood on his part of the float, but no Geppetto!
Performers: The people dressed as cards were kind of like performers, as during the Parade stop they were dancing in unison, which was great. The performers on the Pinocchio side were stilt-walkers who had puppets much like from Stromboli's show in the film. They were really awesome, and there was 3 of them on all 3 days.

Dreams of Friendship (Toy Story/Winnie the Pooh float)

Float: I was a bit worried about this float, as I wasn't sure how Pixar would translate into such a classic Disney parade. I wasn't worried for long though, as both sides of this float were great. Both sides were very detailed. The Toy Story side had a working Etch-a-Sketch on the right hand side, which I loved because it brought back many childhood memories. :lol:

The Winnie the Pooh side was adorable, and I thought it was a nice touch that they had made it look like the 100 Acre Woods was celebrating the party properly, with decorations and cake. The Pooh side of the float smelt fruity to me!
Characters: On the Toy Story side, Buzz and Woody were sat on the float. On Day 3, Jessie was there too. I could see many excited little boys trying to grab Buzz's attention. On the Winnie the Pooh side, Pooh himself was stood on the float, and he was followed by Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet. All the Pooh characters were wearing party hats, which was very cute. And on Day 1 and 2, Tigger was wearing some bouncing shoe things and he was bouncing very high as he went along.
Performers: In front of the Toy Story side, Green Army Men were dancing along. There was 3 on Days 1 and 2 and 4 on Day 3. I love Green Army Men, and the people dressed as these guys were brilliant. One minute they were marching along all serious, and then they were doing the can-can!

Dreams of Fantasy (Peter Pan/Mary Poppins float)

Float: This float was VERY impressive. Although it isn't among my fave floats, it was definatly one of the "wow" floats, because of how detailed and big it seemed. There was lots of talking/singing going on with this float, so the characters on it were very interactive. The Peter Pan side was brilliant, and the boat kept making noises of shooting off cannon balls, accompanied by smoke and lighting effects.

The Mary Poppins side was beautiful, and the carousel actually moved! It was a tad plain in regards to other floats, but I've always loved the carousel in Mary Poppins so I loved this side very much.
Characters: On the Peter Pan side, Peter Pan and Wendy moved around the boat and Big Ben. :shock: The guy playing Peter Pan on Days 1 and 2 was gorgeous. He was supposed to be some scary ginger-haired guy, and he was actually better looking than some of the Princes! :lol: I was so confused. Walking ahead of the Peter Pan side was Captain Hook, Smee and some pirates. On the Mary Poppins side, Mary rode the carousel whilst Bert danced around her. The songs "Jolly Holiday" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (I spelt it phonetically) were played with the float, so Mary and Bert mimed to it. It was all very convincing, just like being in the film itself! Following the Mary side were some adorable Penguins from the film.
Performers: The pirates that ran along with Hook and Smee at the front of the float were also flag twirlers. They were really good, and highly entertaining too. :lol: The song "Step in Time" played as part of the Mary Poppins side, but they actually danced to it! I really loved that, as where else would you see pirates dancing to a Mary Poppins song?

I'll go over the last 4 floats later. :lol: It's almost Midday and I haven't had breakfast yet.

[giorgio1712]

Sounds amazing, so did the smells work well then? I cant wait to see this parade!!

[Tigger/Nemo]

hey, my cousin is a drunken pirate in the parade with hook .my auntie saw it and sed it was really really good. I go to disney in 2 months and 1 day with my cousin and we r staying in the santa fe hotel. small question: Is the luggage hold in the station for everyone who comes off the eurostar and do they deliver ur luggage to ur hotel.    

[Masamune]

@ giorgio - Some scents were stronger than others, but when you got a whiff of any of them, it was very exciting. :lol: I know it sounds weird to get excited over smells, but I was just so surprised by them that when I actually started to smell them, I was really thrilled.

@ Tigger/Nemo - That's awesome! Sadly, I know nothing about the Eurostar, as I've never used it. All I know is that the train station is right next to the shuttle buses that take you to the hotels, so you won't have to take your luggage very far.