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[never2old]

So as some of you may know, my mother is a teacher at a school here in Luxembourg, and for some time she wanted to take her students to Disneyland, with me as their all-knowing (well, at least as far as they were concerned  :wink: ) guide. Finally, we could get all the approvals and get everything organised to go for one day  / , on Monday 11th May. We had 12 kids (ages between 11 and 12), my mother and another teacher, and myself.

Our bus left Monday morning at 7am (sooooo early!! specially after a long sleepless night, I only got about 3 hours of sleep...), all in good spirits, and all (at least the 12 kids and me   ) quite excited! The journey was a long one... It was raining most of the time, so we were a bit worried about the weather in Paris. We watched Tarzan on the way, and talked about the one ride a lot of people wanted to do and we were not going to: the Tower of Terror. With only one day, we had gotten tickets only for 1 park, so a visit to the Studios and the Twilight Zone was not going to be possible     Another trip to Paris, this time including the Studios, is already being discussed for next year!

Finally around 11:00 we arrived into the car park (with cries of "Look, the Space Mountain!!" "Whoa, look at the Tower!!" etc). And to our great delight it was not raining! It was very grey, but at least it wasn't cold, and it was dry.

After a little introduction on Walt Disney and the first Disneyland, and about Eurodisney, I explained to them a little about Main Street, the two arcades, the names in the windows...



before heading down Main Street USA!

Group picture (very helpful CM offered to take it for us)


(my mom is the one standing next to me)

In the Liberty Arcade:


First destination was Frontierland. I first told them about the legend of Thunder Mesa, before going to get some fastpasses for BTM. The queue was 40 minutes long, and the fastpasses were for 40 minutes later  :roll:  We then went to the Phantom Manor (it looked great, it remains one of my favourite rides), had a walk around Boot Hill, and then strolled towards BTM

Listening to the beating heart....


That's us in the train (my mother didn't want to go on, so she waited for us taking pictures)


After Frontierland, our next destination was Discoveryland. On the way across the hub, we saw that Minnie's train was there, so we stayed a bit around there (OK, I made them stay  :wink: ... I wanted to see the train and hear the song!!!)

The infamous castle decorations (excuse the poor picture... but the light was really dull most of the day)




To be honest, I didn't hate them so much... Sure it looks better without all that, but it's not so bad when you see it "live".  And beneath it all, it still is the most beautiful, magical castle ever! The stage does look quite good - it doesn't dominate the area too much, which was my greatest fear.

Minnie's train (I love that song but Minnie's voice does get rather annoying after a while....)


Discoveryland next!

[never2old]

We made our way to Discoveryland. I talked to them about the differences between Tomorrowland and Discoveryland, and about Jules Verne, and about the Space Mountain, before quickly checking the information board for waiting times. And there, happy happy sight, 5 minutes everywhere  /  /

We started on Buzz Lightyear. Everyone loved that, and I had a decent score of 192,800 (only one girl beat me, but the ride had stopped with her in front of a good target, so her score doesn't really count, right   )

It was then time to go on the Space Mountain. Here some of the kids chickened out (but when I was their age I thought BTM was terrifying  :oops: , so I wasn't going to say anything). The rest of us went straight in – well, the kids run straight in, I walked with the other teacher (my mother stayed out with the other kids).

All the kids went together in one train, the two adults we had to wait to the next one... The train came, we sat down, and then we were told to get up again... They then took our train to the repair area (behind a curtain, at the start of the tunnel before the platform). They have a very cool system (had never seen it before), where a portion of the rails rotates, so one side has the rails going from the platform to the backstage area, and the other side has the normal track from the tunnel into the platform. I'm sure it sounds very simple, but I had never seen that before and it was very quick, very smooth, and very cool.

Anyway, the next train came so we could board and go into the ride. It's hard to tell (because I always take my glasses off in the SM so I don't see much inside it), but it did feel a bit darker than other times... But maybe it was just me. It was very exhilarating, and when we got out we had a bunch of over excited kids waiting for us, they had all loved it and couldn't wait to try it again. But next was the Nautilus.



I admit that most of them just run through it pretty quickly (I guess it's not very exciting, particularly after the Space Mountain), but my mother and I took our time, they have some beautiful things there, and some less beautiful but scarier ones. I don't go in it very often, but it's good to go every now and then....



I did say the light was terrible...



We still had plenty of time before lunch (we had booked Agrabah Café for 14:30), so we had a look around Discoveryland.  Dance Time was on, so we stayed there for a bit. And I have to say, I enjoyed it! I had big big doubts about it, but it's not that bad!! Not sure what Stitch was doing up there, not sure he adds much to the show, but the dancers were really good, and the whole thing had a lot of energy. There were a lot of little kids joining in, and a few adults as well...







We then headed to Honey I Shrunk the Audience.





And compared to last time I went, where hardly any of the effects were working, it was really good! We all really enjoyed it. And it was in English! It's the first time I've been on it when the main show was in English, it had always been in French for me before. Nice surprise!

By then it was lunchtime, and we were all starving! Time for the bazaar in Adventureland, and a very yummy meal in Agrabah Café! We had a big table for all of us, and when I told the kids that it was an all-you-could-eat buffet... Well, there were some very happy people there!
 


The parade next!

[kmara]

I LOVE your report! can't wait to read the rest!

[never2old]

Thanks kmara   !

Next (and last) part coming up soon

[never2old]

After lunch, we headed to Fantasyland (by IASW, definitely the best spot to see the parade). When we got there we were almost alone – and even when it started there weren't that many people    

Goofy said hello to us, Smee came to me and liked my glasses (they look like his   ), the princesses danced in front of us, all the floats were there looking great, it was perfect!

Here are some pictures from the parade... As usual I ended taking way too many  :roll:  (I wonder how many I have in total  )















Since we were just next to it (and once again there was no queue whatsoever), we went straight into IASW. We had the boat just to ourselves, and no one behind us (first time I see that)



Now, of all the rides we did, IASW was definitely the one in most need of some work... There were too many dolls that were not moving, some lights were off   ... It still looks OK, and I didn't hear anyone complain, but for me it was a bit sad to see it like that... Please Disney fix it all  [-o<

After IASW, and a little introduction to Fantasyland and the different European references there, we headed towards the Castle.



There were some lines here (20 minutes long in most dark rides... :roll: ), so we took a fastpass for Peter Pan, and headed towards Adventureland and Pirates of the Caribbean.



I talked to them a bit about the history of the POTC ride, how it was going originally to be a walk-through wax museum and how it evolved into the ride it is today, talked about Marc Davis, and in we went!

POTC was a great success, those who had never done it before came out very impressed – even if some of us came out with slightly wet bottoms...

When we came out, many were asking to go to Indiana Jones, so we did. It really is wonderful when there are no queues and you can just do most rides whenever you want!!



I have to say, Indiana Jones it's not one of my favourite rides... I rather do BTM or SM, and in fact I think the last time I did it was about 4 or 5 years ago. But the kids needed some adult supervision (and the other two adults didn't want to do it), so I went in with them. They liked it so much that they wanted to go straight in again, but by the time we got out and back to the entrance, they had just closed it   . It seems some rides were closing at 18:00 and not 19:00 like the rest of the park (later we saw that Pinocchio and Star Tours had also closed early). I guess that's the problem of going during the low season!

So it was back to Fantasyland for Peter Pan (which was working nicely, not going too fast, even though the cars were not moving much in London and the volcanoes in Neverland were not bubbling much... but I think I was the only one to notice).

When we got out of Peter Pan, we had about 20 minutes before closing time, so after a quick vote we decided to go back to Discoveryland,  and after another vote (and after seeing Star Tours was closed) we went for Space Mountain again





The sun was out for about 10 minutes  







This time a few more kids went into the Space Mountain (all feeling more courageous after Indiana Jones), and again all wanted to do it again! But by now it was 19:00, the park was closing, and we made our way back to Main Street for some shopping.

Again the Castle...


We were supposed to head back to the bus around 19:30 – so naturally we didn't leave the park until 20:00. We were going to, really  :wink: , but then Main Street was looking very empty so we had to take some pictures...



... and then do some last minute shopping at the sweetest shop there is...



... before the adults in the group (which by this stage definitely did not include me  :wink: ) had to pull us out. Which was a real shame, because when we got to Town Square, the characters from the Stars 'n' Cars parade were there, but we really had to go (with not too many people around) so coudn't stay to meet them  :cry:

So sadly we said our goodbyes...



... and made it back to the bus.



We really had a great time. The kids were very good, they paid attention to all my explanations, asked lots of questions, and were generally very interested in everything. Those who had never been  before were really amazed, and even those who'd been before were very surprised.

On the bus on the way back they were all busy planning their attractions (part of their assignment is to design their own attraction), and next Wednesday we'll be giving out prices to the best one – a few asked me if they could submit their rides to Disneyland, so who knows? For now I'm really looking forward to seeing what they come up with!

And that is all! Short trip and short (well, not too long) report  

(good thing I'm going back next month for 3 days  :wink: )

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!

[Epcot_Boy]

I really enjoyed the read  you are becoming a master trip reporter =D>  =D>

And what a happy looking bunch of children, more converts to the DL(R)P cause :wink:

Epcot_Boy :ears:

[never2old]

I really enjoyed the read  you are becoming a master trip reporter =D>  =D>

And what a happy looking bunch of children, more converts to the DL(R)P cause :wink:

Epcot_Boy :ears:

Thanks Epcot_Boy!   And yes, plenty of new converts! And so the addiction starts....  :twisted:

[The Butlin Boy]

Thanks for sharing your fantastic trip report and photos N2O. I'm glad that everyone had a great trip

(my mom is the one standing next to me)

You look very tall, a lot taller than your mother :wink:  

[SophieD]

A great trip report Never 2 Old!! Its great to see that everyone enjoyed themselves! I love all of your pictures! They're fab      :mrgreen:  :mrgreen:

[never2old]

@ TBB: 1,84m tall   Not counting the ears....

@ SophieD: thank you! We all really enjoyed it... Coming back to reality is hard!

[kiki_304]

Great trip report. Looks like the kids (and yourself) had great fun.

I was there on that day too but i'm afraid I didn't see you.  I saw another school all wearing yellow waterproof coats as I was walking to the park from my hotel, they were in the Disney village.

[Aveen2008]

Really enjoyed reading your trip report!

I wish I had been taken on a school trip there when I was their age! hehe Sounds liek you have a great knowledge on Disneyland, the rides etc...how did you acquire that? You could be a DLP tour guide hehe!

I wonder if the Stars n' Cars characters go over to town square everyday after performing in the studios..would be interesting to know.. i would love to have a photo with Mulan and Mushu!! [-o<

You seems to fit loads into one day and I think getting the kids to design a ride of their own is really a brilliant idea!

Loved your photos, everyone looks happy! /

[Disneydavid]

Looks like you had FUN! Good to see that !

[never2old]

Thank you guys   !

[never2old]

Little update...

Today I went to the school to see the kids again, and see their presentations on their rides (they had to design an attraction as part of their assignment).

I have to say, my mom and I were both very surprised at all the work that they had put into it. They had prepared big posters, with beautiful drawings, back story details, technical details...  Obviously the Space Mountain had been everyone's favourite, because 3 of the 4 groups had designed roller-coasters with some dark bits...

One group had come up with a ride based on Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. The ride followed the story, first with some bits in Germany and Denmark, then off to Iceland, up a volcano and straight into the the center of the Earth!!

Another group had a rescue mission to Mars, you first travelled (very fast and with lots of twists) to Mars, only to be eaten by a monster there, before escaping back to Earth.

The third roller-coaster was within a huge globe-like structure (like the one in Epcot, that's a good way to describe it), and inside it the trains would travel through various elements (the fires of the center of the Earth, the Ocean, the air, and finally space)

The last attraction was based around a treasure hunt, where people would travel in ships into different islands, looking for a hidden treasure.

And then during the presentations, everyone was asking questions (including technical questions) and coming up with solutions to fix the different problems... It was really very good! I guess the trip was really inspiring!

I really hope that next year we can repeat the trip and maybe visit the Studios...