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[geomelin]

Hi everyone,

we have returned from our magical summer trip in Disneyland but mentally we are still there. We had a great, perfect, fantastic time !!! I believe that a detailed report will destroy the magic, so for the start I am sharing with you only colorful images from our trip. The detailed report will follow.

But first, a small "identity" of our trip:
2 families with a 5-year-old girl each!
7 nights at the Hotel Cheyenne!
4 days in Disneyland Park!
2 days in Walt Disney Studios!
1 day excursion to Paris!
1 day excursion to Brussels!

Watch the following videos I made and enjoy the magic!

Main Street, USA:
[youtube:29hpamfd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSrCr9K7_dg[/youtube:29hpamfd]

Frontierland:
[youtube:29hpamfd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WHfKxJDvW4[/youtube:29hpamfd]

Adventureland:
[youtube:29hpamfd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtLSOlRUHus[/youtube:29hpamfd]

Fantasyland:
[youtube:29hpamfd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLZlg7jfCJM[/youtube:29hpamfd]

Discoveryland:
[youtube:29hpamfd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj-t9iSuwUQ[/youtube:29hpamfd]

Walt Disney Studios:
[youtube:29hpamfd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x86YOixtBWE[/youtube:29hpamfd]

Meet 'n' Greet:
[youtube:29hpamfd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs_LgSSp850[/youtube:29hpamfd]

Hotel Cheyenne:
[youtube:29hpamfd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKp7nQ3asMY[/youtube:29hpamfd]

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show:
[youtube:29hpamfd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JInCPSzNLvc[/youtube:29hpamfd]

Later on, I will write down some random thoughts I made during my stay there!

George

[The Butlin Boy]

I'm glad you had a great time George

Thanks for sharing your fantastic videos too :wink:

[MizzRabbit]

Cool videos! Love the magic! Glad you had a great time!!

[Aveen2008]

Aw great videos, that will be great to watch back when the 2 girls are older as well, they are so cute and great wee dancers hehe! /

[geomelin]

So, here I am back for some tips about avoiding the queues.

Our daily programme was the following:
Wake up at 6!
Breakfast at 7!
Shuttle Bus at 7:30!
First in the park for the Extra Magic Hours!

Until July 31st the attractions that are open during EMH are:
Tea Cups, Dumbo, Carrousel, Peter Pan, The Castle, Orbitron, Space Mountain and Buzz!
We did Peter Pan 4 times in a row and we reaaally enjoyed it!

At 9:30 a lot of people start gathering in front of Frontierland's entrance (for Big Thunder Mountain) and in front of Adventureland's entrance (for Indiana Jones). So, by that time you have to finish with the EMH attractions and wait for the others. It's better to wait there than in a long snake-like line afterwards!

With that programme we did all the attractions we had planned until lunch and afterwards we had the shows, the parades, the shopping etc!

The same with the Studios. They open at 10, but that's not completely truth. The gates open at 9:30 so people start making lines in front of the famous attractions (Crush's Coaster, Tower of Terror, etc) by that time. At 10 o' clock there is already a very long line. For Crush's Coaster the line was reaching the exit of Studio 1.

Ok, it was a little difficult to wake up so early (we slept at 10:30-11:00 in the evening), but it was worth it. It was the only way to avoid the crowds and the signs "45 minutes from this point", "65 minutes from this point".

That's for now!
George

[Annet]

That's how we tried to avoid queues last year too, worked fine.
Like your videos!

[-breeno-]

Glad to hear you  had a great time Geomelin

Your videos are fantastic!  Great shots and brilliant editing, well done =D>

Also, i was there the same time as you, and i admit i was searching the vids to see if i could see myself walking past in the background :lol:  Sadly i couldn't  

[Epcot_Boy]

Great vids =D>  Thanks for sharing them with us

[Camthalio]

? , ?? , ? ? ?. ?? ??. (Translation: Hi George, great videos. I like them a lot. Greetings from Germany)

[geomelin]

Day 1, 8/7/2009

We arrived at CDG airport at 14:00 and we had only 40 minutes to catch the VEA Shuttle for Cheyenne Hotel. After 35 minutes we managed to be outside Gate 30/Terminal 1 waiting for the bus. We were expecting to get the red VEA Bus (like we did in 2006) but with disappointment we found out that we had to take a free bus to take us to Terminal 2 where we were going to get the red bus. This was not mentioned in VEA's website. If we knew it we would prefer to go to Terminal 2 and get the TGV instead.

We arrived at Cheyenne Hotel at about 16:00 and we happily found out that there was no one in the reception waiting. So, we checked in very quickly and by 5 o' clock we entered the gates of Disneyland Park. We felt extremely good as it was our 3rd time visiting the park. The whole atmosphere of Main Street was very promising of a magical week.

We headed straight to Central Plaza where we took our places for the show "It's Party Time with ... Mickey and Friends". We were wearing our ponchos because there was some light rain. But we did not let ourselves to get disappointed by that. The show was OK. Nothing special. My daughter was excited with the colored ribbons thrown at the end of the show, so we ran to collect some. It's obvious that children get enthusiastic by small things!!!

Then we visited the Caste, La Galerie and the Taniere du Dragon. Mikaela (my daughter) was a little frightened with the dragon but it was only the first time. When she realized that it was well tied, we visited the dragon every single day playing the braves ones.

Our first day in Disneyland Park ended with visits at "It's a small world", "Mad Hatter's Tea Cups" and " Le Carrousel de Lancelot". Strangely, we didn't find any queues for that attractions.

For dinner, we went to "Annette's Diner" at Disney Village. There we waited about 15 minutes to be seated. The food was OK. I expected a better atmosphere. We were seated downstairs so we had the chance to be served with a waiter in rollers. We also had ... Elvis visiting our table for some chat.

[img]Back to the hotel. We were surprised because it was already 10 and there was light outside (in Cyprus it gets dark at 20:00). It was a little difficult to convince a 5-year-old that it was time to go to bed.

Next: Day 2, Disneyland Park

[The Butlin Boy]

Great report of your first day Geomelin, I'm glad to hear that you all had a great time. I'm looking forward to the rest of your report

[Javey74]

Looks like you had a great time there George  /

Thanks for sharing those fantastic videos too..  :wink:  

[Pete's Dragon]

Great video, and I have one big question now...

Pick'n'Mix ?? Where is the DLP is the Pick'n'Mix ??
I must be blind, or too busy keeping an eye on the kids, but I never once saw Pick'n'Mix.
I must have some. Where? Where? Oh God Where?

[geomelin]

Pick'n'Mix ?? Where is the DLP is the Pick'n'Mix ??

It' s the first shop on your right after Town Square towards the Castle.
It is called Boardwalk Candy Palace!

g

[geomelin]

Day 2, 9/7/2009

Today it was my birthday and what a better way to celebrate it in Disneyland!!!

By 8 o' clock in the morning we entered the park to take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours. So, we went straight to Fantasyland and did Peter Pan (we actually did it twice without even getting off the flying boat since there was no line at all - only us), Dumbo, Tea Cups and the Carrousel. It was already 8:30 and it was time to go to Discoveryland. Unfortunately, we found out that Space Mountain was not working due to a major technical problem. So, we went to Buzz Laser Blast (with no queue again) and then to Orbitron. By that time more and more people were entering the park and the lines begun to form.

Then it was time to return back to Fantasyland and do the rest of the attractions. We stood in line for the Snow White attraction, since it was opening at 10. It was our first time waiting  but only 20 minutes. Later we visited It's a small world (no queues - probably not so popular anymore) and we ended our morning rides visiting Alice's Curious Labyrinth. According to our program we would visit "Le Pays des Contes de Fees" and "Casey Jr. Le Petit Train du Cirque" but a sign saying "Not open today" changed our plans.

Before lunch we had some time for shopping in Fantasyland and of course we visited "La Chaumiere des Sept Nains" for buying some costumes for the little girls. We spent more than an hour there because Mikaela couldn't decided who was her favorite princess costume. Finally, she chose an Ariel's white dress and accessories. And of course we left the shop dressed as Ariel !!!

At 1 o' clock we had a reservation for "Auberge de Cendrillon" restaurant. We went there 15 minutes before and the lady there didn't let us to enter. She didn't speak english, so she just said a NO and I have to admit that I found her refusal very unreasonable. Of course, later on I realized that there was a purpose for the NO. At exactly 1 o' clock there was a magical announcement welcoming us at the restaurant and then Cinderella came at the entrance to welcome each guest personally having some time with the little ... and big girls for photos and autographs. She surprised us when she could speak some greek so she asked Mikaela "Ti kaneis;" (which means "How are you?"). After the photos we were seated at our table. From our table we couldn't see the little stage where the Princesses dance, so we missed that part. But all of them came to our table for photos and autographs. So apart form Cinderella, we saw Suzy and Perla, Ariel, Snow White, Aurora and Prince Philippe. We missed Belle (but we ... caught her our last day!!!). The food was excellent (starter, main course and desert) and although it is pricey I highly recommend it. For the little girls there was also a little princess gift at the end. At the restaurant we also celebrated our birthday with a birthday cake. Perla joined the party as well.

After lunch, we stood in line for Pinocchio ride which was opening at 3 in the afternoon and then we headed for Adventureland. First stop, the Pirates of the Caribbean. We liked very much this ride. Although, it was our third time we didn't remember a lot of things and we had a lot of surprises. Then, strolling around the area, visiting Adventure Island and the Cabane des Robinsons. Personally, I like very much this area: all the decoration and every detail are so well organized giving you the impression that you are actually in a jungle! By that time it was time for the group to be separated: the brave fathers went to Indiana Jones and the mothers went to La Plage des Pirates playground with the girls. In Indiana Jones it was the first time to face the long-queue experience. We waited for 35 minutes, but at the end it didn't worth it, because for one more time I realized that I don' t like this roller coaster. I don' t know the exact reason: maybe it 's because after finishing it I always fill a little dizzy (and I am roller-coaster addicted) or because during the ride my neck is not so comfortable in the seat and I feel a little pain. I do not know! The only sure is that I will not bother again to wait in line for that ride.

After finishing the ride we almost ran for the Chapparal Theater to see the new show "Goofy's Summer Camp". Wifes and kids were already there reserving some seats for us, too. The show was ok but nothing special. It had some interaction with the audience, but I believe the winter show is way better. I haven't seen Tarzan to compare.

Exiting the theatre we saw Pocahontas Indian Village and we thought it was a good idea to spend some time there before the parade. Between the two playgrounds we saw today, I think the pirate one is better, especially if you have older children.

And then it was the parade. Oh my God, I couldn't believe that people sit on the pavement more than an hour before the parade. It was 45 minutes before the parade and there was no "place" available to sit. Luckily, a cast member was closing Flower Street in Main Street with the white rope and we found the perfect spot behind that rope. We had great view and we enjoyed it the most. Personally, I rate this parade 9 out of 10. The missing point is because I would prefer if there were more walking and dancing people in front of each float.

It was almost 8 and we were hungry. We went to Fantasyland for the search of Au Chalet de la Marionette restaurant. Anyway, it was the only open in Fantasyland that time. We tried this restaurant in our previous visit and we really liked the chicken. So, it was chicken time!

Tired but happy we tried to do Autopia but no way to wait 40 minutes, so we headed towards the exit making some stops at the shops of Main Street. We had a great time in Disneyland Park.

Next: Day 3, Walt Disney Studios Park