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[Kellogs]

So this weekend just gone myself and my boyfriend headed over to France to explore Disney! This was my second time to the parks, and my boyfriends first ever time there, although he had already visited WDW.

Over 6 days we travelled and stayed in London, caught the eurostar to Disney, spent half a day in Paris, spent two days at the parks, one day in Val D'europe, back on Eurostar, and then a day in London, so it was a busy busy trip!

Day One:

Day one consisted of traveling to London so we could be up bright and early the next morning to catch our eurostar to Disney. We arrived in London in the afternoon, and due to a tube strike we had a bit of trouble getting to our hotel in Victoria, and eventually caught a taxi. This night we stayed in an Easy Hotel, and my gawd it was tiny. They do not lie when they explain the size of their rooms, and the fact there is no windows. The heat was unbearable in there and it was very hard to sleep. Although it sounds cheap, to get any of the normal service you'd exprect from a hotel you have to pay extra. Ok if you really are just going to sleep there, but even thats an issue, I wouldn't reccomend it, and will go back to paying just a little extra next time I stay in London for my normal hotel.

That night we had a stroll around London as the weather was lovely, dinner in Nandos Convent Garden, and a quick trip to the Hagan Daz Ice Cream cafe, a bit of a tradition for us. After this the tube strike had ended so after a walk through Trafalger Square and along the thames we caught the tube back to Victoria, for a rather bad nights sleep.

Trafalger Square:


Day Two:

Up bright and early, 6am to be exact, to catch our taxi to St Pancras International to check in for Eurostar. We arrived before check-in so we bought some breakfast and filled in our luggage tags.

Check-in opened and we proceeded to the departure lounge, taking advantage of their free wi-fi until our train was called to board. Eurostar journey was very pleasant and the 2 and half hour journey flew by and before we knew it we were in the heart of the magic. After a quick food stop in the train station, I purchased us both Paris Visite Passes for the RER as we were going to head into Paris after we had checked into the Ibis hotel in Val D'europe. Check-in for the hotel was easy enough and the hotel was perfect. Right next to the RER station entrance, and a clean modern hotel, perfect for our needs. Would reccomend it to anyone!

Onboard Eurostar:


Once we were all checked in and unpacked we headed to the RER station and caught the RER A train to La Defense to see the Grande Arche:

Grande Arche:


La Defense Business District in Paris:


Looking down towards Arc De Triomphe where we visited next:


The buildings around this area were really cool, and I really loved the architecture!

Next we got back on the RER and headed for Arc De Triomphe where a ceremony was taking place so they emptied the roundabout which was surreal!

Arc De Triomphe:


Firemen Ceremony:


After having a walk around and numerous photos, it was back on the RER to Notre Dame changing at Châtelet – Les Halles for the RER B line. I've wanted to visit Notre Dame since a child although I'm not strictly religious but I was still taken by the atmosphere of the place, and fell in love with it. Only downside was the line to climb to the top was so long we decided to give it a miss, but this gives me a reason to visit again!

Notre Dame Exteria:


The detail of this place is amazing!



Beautiful Rose garden at the back:


And a great view of the River Seine:


It was early evening now so we headed for the Eiffel Tower, and queued about 90 minutes for the north pillar elevator, grabbing some food while we waited. It was totally worth the wait as the view was incredible and i'm so glad we did it.

Looking Up!


North Pillar, our route to the top!


View from the top of The Eiffel Tower:





After exploring the different levels we headed down and had a slow walk back to Arc De Triomphe while the sun set, to catch the RER A back to Disney.



Me and my Boyfriend with the tower in the background:


Sun setting over Paris:


That bought the end to our first day in France.

Trip report from Walt Disney Studios and Disneyland coming next.

[Epcot_Boy]

Thanks for sharing the first part of your holiday with us

Funny, I've been to DL(R)P on numerous occasions but only spent one half day in Paris. Perhaps I should take a leaf from your book and have a day or two there :-k

Loved the last photo..very atmospheric =D>

Epcot_Boy :ears:

[kiki_304]

Lovely pictures.

Just need to get my 2 little ones to stay with family for a weekend so me and DH can enjoy those pictures in person.  

Looking forward to your next pictures and holiday report.

[Aveen2008]

great report and photos so far, really beautiful pictures!

can't wait to see and read more!

[paul]

Great photos, thanks for sharing... it's making me wish the next couple of months would fly by - I love Paris and can't wait to be there again!

 

[SophieD]

great start to your trip report kellogs! Your photos of Paris are lovely!! What camera have you got?    :mrgreen:

[Javey74]

Great photo's and report of your first day kellogs, looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip with more of those important photies..  

Thanks for sharing..  :wink:  

[Kellogs]

great start to your trip report kellogs! Your photos of Paris are lovely!! What camera have you got?    :mrgreen:

Thanks! And thanks everyone for your comments, just typing up Studios now. I have a just a Samsung P1000 digital point and shoot. I usually take my bigger camera, but for Paris and the parks this one was much more convient with its size, and does the job nicely.

[The Butlin Boy]

Thanks for sharing the beginning of your trip with us, I really enjoyed reading it and looking at your amazing photos

I'm glad you had a great time, and I'm really looking forward to reading the rest

[Kellogs]

Ok, so lets continue.

Day 3 - Walt Disney Studios:



So with being just a 3 minute train ride away, and as we'd already purchased our tickets from The Disney Store back in the UK, we were well rested and ready to take on a day at the Studios.

First thing we noticed? The weather. It was amazing! So sunny and warm. This made the park look lovely, but ofcourse bought in the crowds. When we arrived we got fastpasses for Tower of Terror for 12pm, and planned to go on Rock 'N' Rollercoaster, however it hadn't opened yet, so we headed to Studio Tram Tour which had about a 20 Minute queue.





Was a good way to pass the time, but I still think this ride needs something else added to make it more re-rideable.

Next we went and watced Stitch Live, which I love! Followed by Cinemagique, which I hadn't seen before, and was very impressed, and the water was a nice surprise in the ever rising heat! After this it was time for our fast pass slot on Tower of Terror, which left us with a very minimal wait, and we even managed an english elevator! My boyfriend who has been on the Florida version loved it, although he still prefers the appearance of that hotel compared to Paris.  :roll:

Tower of Terror:


I love the attention to detail!


Our on-ride photo:


After this it was lunch time so we headed into studio one to grab some lunch were we both had the magical mickey menu, which for me included a Mickey Pizza.

My Mickey Pizza:


After this it was time for our fast pass slot on RNRC so we headed over there and had a great ride:





Next we decided to brave the Crush queue which as expected was our longest queue of the day! It was rather hellish to queue in the heat before we got to the covered area, and I really do think the queue needs some adding to as its boring just going back and forth until you get inside.

Once we got inside we had a bizarre ride as our car launched up the lifthill and then just jolted to stop at the top, and the effects played on the actual ride, so by the time our car moved we were out of sync with the effects. It was still a great ride though, and still one of my favourites.







After this we stopped for drinks and High School Musical came out so we watched that for a bit before heading for another ride on RNRC.

Highschool Musical on Tour:


Tour Bus:


After this we had about 2 minutes to run to the final showing of Animagique for that day, so we bolted over and got there just in time!



I loved it as usual.

After this we parked our bums on the pavement ready to watch Star n Cars, which was good, but unfortunately we got stuck behind the 'VIP' area, but we still managed to see most of the action.

Daisy and Donald:


Mary Poppins and Bert:


Jasmin and Alladin:


All together:


It was nearly closing time for studio's now so we headed over to Tower of Terror for one last ride!







Once we left, the park was closing so just enough time to get some final photos:

Studio One















Waving goodbye to studios we headed to Disney Village for the evening. My boyfriend really wanted to eat in Rain Forest cafe, after loving it in Florida, so thats where we ate that night. I'd been worried about getting a table so near park closing but we walked straight in! It was really cool inside, and the storm every 30 minutes was a nice touch. I bought myself a Lightening Lemonade Cocktail and purchased the souvenir glass. Our food was nice, and came quickly. Overall a good place to eat, if a little pricey.

The weather was still brillaint, so we had a walk around checking out the shops before sitting outside the sports bar trying the arrangement of different cocktails on offer. It was close to midnight when we left to catch the RER back to our hotel.

The translation made us both laugh:


Rain Forest Cafe


My souvenir glass:








Was dark by the time we left!


Overall a brilliant day at Studios with fantastic weather. My only nags would be how little there is too do there. The park was busy but at times we were a little lost as to what to do other than re-ride. Also the Crush queue needs more detail to keep you entained! But other than that, this place has a lot of potential!

Day Four featuring Disneyland coming next!

[bigrossco]

you  got some great pics and love the pics from your trip into Paris!

[never2old]

You really have some amazing pictures!!!

Great trip report. Looking forward to the rest!!  

[The Butlin Boy]

Fantastic update, I really enjoyed reading it and seeing your photos. I'm looking forward to day 4

[kiki_304]

More great pics.

[Javey74]

Brilliant update kellogs, I really enjoyed reading it and seeing some more of your photos..  :wink:    

I'm looking forward to day 4..  /