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[TR_Wolf]

Firstly, a couple of things I missed yesterday:

Star Tours, despite being completey French, was just as fun as Florida, but a fair bit more violent!

Disney Railroad for some reason was only going to and from Main Street... you could disembark at other stations, but not embark at them, you could only get on at Main Street, where the wait was constantly 60 minutes... this was really weird, and although a cast member told me that it's normal for that during the week, that it would be back to normal at the weekend... but come the weekend, it wasnt! Same situation, same 60 minute wait. So sadly, we never got on the train, which is one of my favourite attractions!

I still love the Sleeping Beauty story on the first floor of the castle, shame it has no English translation.

I also love the flame effects on the candles in the castle (and some parts of Fantasyland), they flicker and move in the wind, you can even blow them, but you can touch them too... superb. From a distance, you could swear they were real!

Okay... on to day 3!

I woke up with my ankle still being sore, possibly a sprain? I took some Ibuprofen, which along with walking a bit, helped it.

Breakfast was good again, but it was jam packed, and we had to wait in a big queue before we could get in.

On exiting the hotel, we noticed the Panoramagique balloon was high up in the sky. Couldn't pay me enough!!



When Phil and I last visited DLP in 2003, we bought one of the comemmorative bricks which can be seen around Disneyland Hotel and Disney Studios, with peoples names and dates on, etc. We knew ours was around Disney Studios, but we couldn't find it! So we made an enquiry at Guest Services, filled in a form, and were to look at City Hall the next day, for the info.

As we exited Guest Services, right next to us from a door came Donald and Daisy duck! Daisy ran up to me, and gave me her hand to kiss, which I did... Donald stood there tapping his foot, with his arms folded, then did the thing with the fingers as if to say "I'm watching you". They both posed with me



We liked the little Monsters Inc area, despite there being no characters there to pose with:




RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!

After riding Flying Carpets Over Agrabah, we went to the new Radiator Springs area.



There was what is basically the same as the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups, but using cars, so it has a great effect of looking like cars out of control, but only one of the sections was working, which spoiled the effect a bit, plus the line was so huge that we never got chance. Same with Crush's Coaster, which was constantly at 60 minutes wait, and has no fast pass, which is bizzare!
 
There's not much in this area right now, but there was a very large construction area to the back, so something is definitely underway!

Next was the Tower of Terror, which is based on the Californian design, and in a nice new 'Sunset Boulevard' 1930s style area of the park:



The bellhop on the front gate was in full character. I asked where the fastpass entrance was, he asked "why? Fastpasses haven't been issued yet", so I showed him our VIP fastpasses, he took mine in his gloved hand, looked at it, then looked me in the eye, no hint of a smile, and just went "mmmhmmmmmm", same with Phil, then he opened the gate, "enjoy your stay, gentlemen". Superb chap, had the look too.

The library bit with the video is French with English subtitles, but the room is better than I recall at Florida, the way the lights dim and flicker is better, and there is a superb lightning effect outside the window, synced with great thunderclaps, one perfectly timed for when the TV comes on and goes off. Excellent.

The hotel itself seem smaller inside, less rooms and the sort, but just as well done.

As we got to the end of the line, I wanted the chicken exit, but unlike Florida, which has an 'Express Elevator' as the chicken exit door/facade, in Paris, you have to go in through the elevator door, after which there is a door, before the main elevator itself, so I was a bit hesitant, especially as the bellhop who told me that the exit was through there had bulging eyes, and one eyebrow up and one down... another one in great character.

The loading was good, another insane bellhop who warned riders not to lose baggage, cameras, or stomach contents. He spoke in English and French, then asked if anyone spoke Spanish... no one replied, so he said "Gracias". lol

After Tower of Terror, there was a photo op with Remy from Rattatouile, in his own little set, but as we got in the queue, he buggered off. Ah well.

We walked towards the Studio Tram Tour, which had a queue coming right out of the queue area, and along part of Sunset Boulevard... we didn't bother getting in line, as we've done the tour before, and aside Catastrophe Canyon, it's actually rather poor.

Animagique was good fun as always, a great show, although it sort of feels like Mickey's Philharmagic-lite

One thing we did do was Stitch Live... and we LOVED it! It's much better an interactive show than the Laughter Floor in Florida, it had some very clever tricks too, which I wont spoil, but we loved it. They ran alternate French and English shows.

After this, we noticed that the Motor Stunt Show was taking in guests, so we joined the line and got settled on the uncomfortable bench seats, and waited what seemed an age for everyone to get in, before the show started. Again, a good show for the action parts, but some parts really did drag, and the show has changed a bit since we last saw it.

We also noticed that the back of the Tower of Terror blends perfectly with the Motors Action stunt set! See for yourself:



Now as we were heading out of the park to go to Disneyland Park for lunch (we'd arranged to try Walt's), we encountered a load of face characters near the entrance, including Gaston, Snow White, the Evil Queen, Mary Poppins, Bert, Aladdin, and Jasmine (in a horrible skin tone body suit which made it look like she was wearing a cheap t-shirt with a bra painted on).

I finally got a moment alone with the Evil Queen, having watched her give exasperated and judgmental looks at various people wanting autographs etc. I went over to her and said "I've been called an evil queen myself", a little grin entered the corner of her lips, "I'm not evil, I'm just a queen", I grinned and said "that's what I try to tell them, darling, they never believe me!" which got a big smirk out of her. After posing for a photo, instead of dismissing me like she did with the others, she thanked me and wished me a pleasant day... what can I say, I get on well with the villains!



Speaking of villains, the other person I got to talk with was Gaston. This particular Gaston was the best I've seen, he had the complete look, the big toothy smile, the chiselled jaw, and the right voice and personality. I found it hilarious when he crouched down to talk to someone in a wheelchair, as he suddenly turned to them and went "HEL-lo!" making them jump. Someone was going to take a shot of him and the person in the wheelchair together, when Gaston stood and held his hand up, big bulging eyes, and went "WAIT!!!... I am not ready!", he then turned away, straightened his hair, and licked his teeth, giving them a clean with a gloved finger... the perfect Gaston... then turned around and smiled, "okay!"

 He rested his arm on my shoulder and said "Why am I so great? ...not that you'd know..." and then I pointed at Phil with a camera, to which Gaston said "oh, hi!" and posed with his best Gaston grin.



So we went back to Disneyland Park, to have lunch at Walt's which we'd heard so much about, and had seen in the foyer, to realise it was a classy looking place.

The lady on the reserve desk in the beautiful lobby asked how many it was for, and we said 2, for now... she said "one moment" then ran across the lobby and leapt 2 steps at a time up the stairs to the restaurant, then came down again (we saw her do this with other reservations too, she must've been knackered doing that in full Victorian garb all the time!).

She then, with a smile, gave us a ticket and sent us upstairs, where we were seated in the beautiful Nautilus Room. Our server, Dominique, was nice enough to take a photo for us.



It felt like a really stylish and posh place to eat, beautifully decorated, padded tables, and even the ketchup came in little sealed jam jars!

Suffice to say, Phil and I left Walt's after our meal, and declared it the best meal we'd ever had... seriously... better than anywhere we'd been in Florida, England, anywhere... the best meal we'd had! Well and truly worth the money, if you ever go!

Back at the studios we went to Cinemagique... I forgot what a wonderful, clever, funny and uplifting show that is, and we really enjoyed it

The one thing we really didn't like about Disney Studios was the CONSTANT High School Musical thing... there was a show called High School Musical Party, which drove round and performed loudly at one part of the park, then would drive around and do it all over again on the other side... it seemed to be running ALL THE TIME at some point in the park, and was so loud that we could hear it in Cinemagique!

The Art of Animation was okay, same show as always, but it gave a great trailer for The Princess And The Frog (coming out Jan 2010) which looks superb! The only thing we were dismayed at, is that before the show, the video of Roy, then Walt talking, have been dubbed into French, and given English subtitles... that's just wrong!!

Sadly, that evening was our worst meal yet... The Rainforest Cafe. We'd previously ticked off Planet Hollywood, as Paris's version is abysmal, but we hoped for better with Rainforest...

The girls on the front desk were lovely, but after being called, we had to wait at the 'wait here to be seated' area for ages, waited ages for someone to take our drinks order, ages for them to come, ages for them to take our starter order, ages for those to come, then when they came they were 'okay'.... I ordered potato skins with cheese and bacon, but the cheese was so runny it was like liquid, and I was able to pour it out of the potato skins, which wasnt very pleasant. Took ages for them to take our plates away, then an HOUR for our mains!! They were nice, but not worth an hour! We'd been deciding what dessert to have, but it had taken so long that we decided we didnt want one, as the service had been appalling. The server came over to take our plates away (after ages), and without eye contact, "Dessert?" I replied a stern "no", then "Coffee?" again, "no. The bill, please".

He brought it, and on it they'd tried to charge us for 3 drinks each, when we'd only had 2, so I asked him to rectify it, and perhaps give us one set of drinks for free, to make up for the terrible service. He agreed, after talking to his boss.

We won't be eating there again. It cost a lot of money, and we feel like we'd thrown it away by eating there, spoiling our evening, and not even getting a dessert. Ah well.

On the way back, we went past Cafe Mickey and saw inside that Friar Tuck was there... now we noticed Friar Tuck as a character in the parks, and even on Minnie's Party Train, but never with Robin Hood or anyone... just him... Friar Tuck isn't a particularly big character, and the costume looks nothing like the film version, so why was he there? We noticed him about a fair bit, but couldn't quite work out why, as he was such a secondary character... same with Gepetto who we'd noticed without Pinocchio on the Party Train and in Cafe Mickey too.

What was nice is that from our room, you could still see into Cafe Mickey, so we'd play 'who can you spot?' now and then, to see which characters were in there, hehe.

Another evening of chilling out watching TV, which is nice, but sadly pretty much all there is. There's not a lot of nightlife at Disney when the parks close at 6/7pm. There's Hurricanes night club, which doesn't appeal, and I've only heard bad things about it... Buffalo Bills, which we've done, and costs FAR too much for a dinner show... Billy Bobs, which claims its a Country Music place, but we only ever saw Salsa Lessons (in French) there, and the man on the door wouldnt let us stay in there to watch, it was either to go in the restaurant upstairs, or leave it seemed. The cinema would've been nice, but the films were all French only, which seems a bit unfair.

I don't mean to whinge, it was another lovely day!

[Pete's Dragon]

the bellhop who told me that the exit was through there had bulging eyes, and one eyebrow up and one down... another one in great character.

Kinda short, twitchy fingers, sideburns He was fantastic, deserves a pay rise or a CM of the Month award.

Yeah, HSM is really loud. They should organise the shows better so that Cinemagique isn't on at the same time.

[davewasbaloo]

I am really enjoying your report, thanks for sharing. But there are a few things I would like to add:

There was what is basically the same as the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups, but using cars, so it has a great effect of looking like cars out of control, but only one of the sections was working, which spoiled the effect a bit, plus the line was so huge that we never got chance. Same with Crush's Coaster, which was constantly at 60 minutes wait, and has no fast pass, which is bizzare!

Couple of points here - firstly, Cars appears like the teacups, but the difference is you have no control over the spinning. It really is fun, like Francis Lady Bug Boogie in DCA and the Whirlpool ride at TDS. I am concerned by how few cars are working these days though, and it is another reason why I am against TSPL.

As for Crush, those were good wait times - in our experience it's usually between 75mins to 2 hours. Fastpass does not work on this ride, having been there when they have tested it, it is an even bigger mess. Pure evil. This ride has a smaller capacity than Peter Pan, that's why it has the stupid waits. But you should have tried it out.
 

The library bit with the video is French with English subtitles, but the room is better than I recall at Florida, the way the lights dim and flicker is better, and there is a superb lightning effect outside the window, synced with great thunderclaps, one perfectly timed for when the TV comes on and goes off. Excellent.

It depends on the group, both the library and elevators can run in English and French, have had the pleasure of experiencing both. In terms of size, it is very similar size to Florida (with more shafts). The big difference on feeling is that the ceiling is vaulted in WDW and it is flat in DCA and WDSP.  Just a bit of triv  :wink:

After this, we noticed that the Motor Stunt Show was taking in guests, so we joined the line and got settled on the uncomfortable bench seats, and waited what seemed an age for everyone to get in, before the show started. Again, a good show for the action parts, but some parts really did drag, and the show has changed a bit since we last saw it.

Sadly the delays are needed to set up the stunts and make sure they are safe. As we know, this is a dangerous show. I find the wait times in between are on par with Indy in the main. I think the big difference is the use of language, but as I am multilingual, I really enjoy it).

So we went back to Disneyland Park, to have lunch at Walt's which we'd heard so much about, and had seen in the foyer, to realise it was a classy looking place.

Glad you liked it, setting wise, it is one of my favs in any Disney resort around the globe. It is even nicer than Club 33.

Suffice to say, Phil and I left Walt's after our meal, and declared it the best meal we'd ever had... seriously... better than anywhere we'd been in Florida, England, anywhere... the best meal we'd had! Well and truly worth the money, if you ever go!

Glad you liked it. However, be sure to visit the Napa Rose next time you are at Disneyland, Victoria and Albert next time you are in Florida and California Grill next time you are in Paris, they are even better. And in my experience, in the main we have had consistently better meals at the Silver Spur and Steakhouse at DLP too, though I think this may have changed since they keep enticing the voucher people to the Silver Spur.

The Art of Animation was okay, same show as always, but it gave a great trailer for The Princess And The Frog (coming out Jan 2010) which looks superb! The only thing we were dismayed at, is that before the show, the video of Roy, then Walt talking, have been dubbed into French, and given English subtitles... that's just wrong!!

I agree. Even though I have been in there 20 or so times, I always shake my head.

Buffalo Bills, which we've done, and costs FAR too much for a dinner show....

I just want to point out that the ticket price is almost identical to the Luau and Hoop Dee Doo at WDW, Arabian Nights, Pirate Times and Medieval Times in the US, and Pirates in Mallorca, and I think BBWWS is the best of the bunch.

Next time though, may I recommend a cocktail at the DLH, they do non alcoholic versions, and the pianist is excellent.

[Annet]

Another entertaining report!
I especially enjoyed your little chat with the evil queen :lol:

[Aurora]

I liked reading your trip report a lot. I `m counting days until we go... 4 more...
I showed my daughter the pictures, an she hopes to see a lo of characters, maybe some we never saw, like the evil queen or Gaston(or in that line the Beat and Belle would make her jump up and down, me too by the way)
And that surprise with Mickey in your room is just the best!! Congrats on your wedding!
Aurora

[Masamune]

Eeee, Gaston! :wink: Isn't he handsome? I agree, he's the best Gaston ever! I met him in April and I was blushing so much! He just kept on grinning at me and I couldn't even look at him because he was so gorgeous! Gaston is one of my fave Disney characters, so seeing him represented so well really made my trip.

It's a real shame about the Rainforest Cafe, but so far that seems like the only bad thing to happen in your wonderful trip, so don't let it get you down too much!