Annual Family Trip - Disneyland Paris Day 2

Down Town Disney

Going through security to enter Disneyland Village

Happy to say everyone agreed to catch an early bus so we could eat and get to Disneyland as early as possible.  The bus service from the Vienna House Circus Magic could not be better and we were very lucky to have this right at our front door.  The few times I have stayed in Orlando and used hotel buses were never as seamless as this service is.  Maybe it is because there are not quite the number of visitors here, but then this is relatively off season so who knows?

We chose not to eat at the hotel since breakfast was 16 Euro for adults and 11 Euro for children, seemed quite a bit to us.  For our first morning, we went too McDonald's.  Not ever my first choice for any meal, but it is predictable and relatively inexpensive.  When I say relatively, you have to remember this is Disney and food is typically overpriced and not as good as it should be. So McDonald's seemed a safe bet.  

Making a decision at the McCafe

Plus, I always to to the McCafe where there are always delicious croissants when in this part of the world!  Everyone else just had egg mcmuffins and that sort of thing, but with that over, lets go discover a new Disney!  (new to most of us anyway!)

The funny thing is, this does not feel "new"!  It feels as if we have been here before. The park is so well done that I imagine any Disney park in any part of the world must feel familiar.  Yes, Cinderella's castle is a bit smaller and there are other things just not the same, but all in all, this feels like home, with a bit of French thrown in!



We let our grandson lead the way and he discovered Dead Man's Cave and we wandered around that for a while.  It WAS fun, but we were there early to beat the crowds so eventually I herded them  out of that maze.

Since we were already in Adventureland, we decided to go on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and it was really fun to experience this again with a new generation!  Our daughter was unable to join us since there are quite a few rides that do not permit pregnant women to participate in. Some we did wonder about, like this one....but better safe than sorry.

Looks like we got our own
Captain Jack!

This was a great ride to start out with and our grandson wanted to do it again, I had to explain there is a whole lotta park out there to discover!

Everyone could do the Dumbo ride so that was next!  I never thought I would be doing these again, but so much fun to have a young person to share this excitement with!

Look closely under the pink turret and there they are planning!

Me as the Mad Hatter!

There is a maze close to Dumbo and the only two interested were our son and grandson. Alan and I sat and rested, well he walked around and took photos.  The others went in search of coffee and pit stops!   It was funny to see the two "boys" at the top of the castle in the maze planning how they were going to conquer it.  And they were successful!

And then we found this boat ride that I had not seen before, it goes through lovely fairy tales, and our pregnant daughter could participate.  We in we jumped!

Making this little train even more
exciting, such a great uncle!

Attached to this fairy tale boat ride is a train that goes around it, so those of us who could do this jumped on the train next!

Its a Small World

All countries are
represented, here is
Scotland

London!

Of course, no visit to Disney is complete without experiencing "Its a Small World" and that was our next stop!

Adios!

Lunchtime arrived and we went into the first place we saw - the Videopolis.  The menu was not extensive, mainly different types of burgers with different types of meal plans.  We all got beef burgers with fries and a drink.  It also offered an ice cream or yogurt.  As expected in any Disney park, they were overpriced but they were also ok.  Two of us got yogurt, my reason was so I didn't have to worry about my ice cream melting and that I could get one later!

We were so close to what I thought was Space Mountain with a simple name change of Hyperspace Mountain.  This is/was the only roller coaster I ever enjoyed and I was looking forward to doing this again, and the wait was not that long. So 3 of us decided to go after lunch.  The nearer we got to the beginning of the line and the more we got in the middle of the building, the louder the screams got.  And the rolling of the building really did not sound familiar.  This really sounded like a "real" roller coaster.  Then, when I saw the seats, I knew this ride was much different and I bailed out. The two guys went on it, loved it but agreed it was not my kind of ride!

Our daughter was really looking forward to the Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast since she has done well in the past.  So we all did this and it was even more fun than ever!  Such a simple concept but so much fun!

Add caption

We never got on this train.

The day just went on and on, I had been worried about time, but this was never an issue, we wandered aimlessly along and accomplished everything we wanted to. Well, expect the runaway train, that line was simply too long.

Haunted Mansion

The last things we did were the Haunted Mansion and the Riverboat Cruise. Then it was time for the parade. We cut it too fine and did not get in the front, so our grandson could not see as well as I would have liked.  It has been too long since we were at a Disney park, I forgot how early you need to get to the parade to be able to see it well!

the Molly Brown riverboat!

ready for the parade!

The floats were huge!  And there were loads of cast members accompanying the floats but it was almost impossible to see them.  It was such fun though.

It took us a while to realise how much Halloween decoration was all over the park, considering this is only the middle of September it surprised us.  But Halloween and Christmas are their busiest seasons, so it makes sense to begin decoration early, it is a lot to cover!

Dinner was a struggle since many places were busy and we were pressed for time to get back in time for the fireworks. We ended up dividing and some went to the Earl of Sandwich and some went to Starbucks.  Whatever worked, then we reconnected and enjoyed the end of day show!

The feel of this Disney is so much more relaxed and laid back, not sure why. Could be that it is smaller, or we were there off season, or the crowds are just not as unbearable as Orlando. Whatever it is, I am hooked and hoping we can return again next year!