Disney in the French quarter - completed, WITH NEW PHOTOS AT THE END! About This Page:

[chezp]

Thanks for the replies - it's obviously an American vs. British problem! It's a .co.uk website, which may be causing problems, as it's working perfectly here. I'll go and disappear for a while again and see what I can do to solve the problem...

[simbarel]

For those of us who don't mind a little extra work, you can view them one-by-one through copying and pasting the photo's http address. Right-click where the photo should be and go to "Properties," the url will be there.

They're great, Cheryl! What brand of camera was that again?

[chezp]

[ QUOTE ]
What brand of camera was that again?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's a Sony DSC-P8 Cyber-Shot, 3.2 megapixels. I went to an event just over a week ago and everyone there had Sony digital cameras. I couldn't be more pleased with the shots we've got from ours and would recommend it to everyone.

By the way, photos may be coming soon - I'm testing something else out in the driveway and if it works, then maybe I'll have photos in again soon.

[luvnwdwgal]

Great updates Cheryl! Looking forward to seeing the pictures!

[Mauimouse]

Thanks for another great day. Those photos of Natulius are great. Can't wait to be able to go over to Disneyland Paris in Sept 04

[ProChristo]

I just used Simbarel's copy/paste trick and saw all the pics! Thanks, Rachel.

Cheryl, those Nautilus pics are incredible, and Adventure Isle looks like it really lives up to it's name!

[poohsgirl]

<font color="purple"> I also cut &amp; pasted and was able to see your pics! That suspension bridge looks like fun! </font>

[chezp]

Saturday 27 September – part three: More dessert for me please!



As we were near the Pirates of the Caribbean, we made another trip on that, but this time was perhaps the least satisfying. There were various little things not working in it, like the chains which appeared to haul the boat up one of the slides and when it came to the obligatory ride photo, by the time it finally took it, I had given up smiling, as I assumed that this wasn’t working either. Even when it did go off, there was only one flash instead of the usual two. It all just looked a little sad and a bit in need of some attention. I'm glad this wasn't the first time for us on this ride, or I think we’d have come off disappointed.



We wanted to take another look at Frontierland to see what more had been added to it to create Halloweenland. There wasn't that much extra today, although there were now a few ghosts, along with all the pumpkin men, women and children. By now it was nearly 1 p.m. and only half an hour away from our lunch booking, but we thought we'd see whether we could squeeze in one more go on Phantom Manor before we ate.



The waiting time given was 15 minutes, but we didn't wait more than about five minutes. Here as well, the numbers in the park were more noticeable. We were pretty crowded in the stretching room and then we had to queue to get in our doombuggy. Just as we were about to get on, the ride stopped and then again as soon as we were seated, but that was it and then we were on our way to meet all the phantoms again. You always notice something new every time you go on this attraction and I don't think there’ll ever be a day when you can say you've seen everything on it.



We got off just in time to head over to the Plaza Gardens, which reminded us of the Crystal Palace when we went in. It didn't have the same splendour, but it certainly had to the same Victorian style and made a similar use of glass.





The Plaza Gardens



Our server really didn’t appear to have a very good grasp or English at all, so it was fortunate we only had to get drinks and the bill from her. Her French wasn’t very easy to understand either, so that wasn’t an option. She literally brought us our drinks and didn’t say a word about the buffet, obviously expecting us to go up and help ourselves, which we did in the end. It was a little odd though – even a gesture towards the food would’ve been nice, even if she didn’t know the right words to use.



We couldn’t fault the buffet though. First there was the salad, which had a great selection, even if a lot of it was coated in olive oil – something very popular on the European mainland. The main course did leave a little to be desired for me, but it did have calamari (squid), vegetables and potato wedges, along with three types of pasta, alongside chicken, veal and other meats.



But for me, the best bit was the dessert! I went straight for the chocolate mousse, but it was very rich, so on my second trip, I went for a cake with almonds on and the raspberry coulis, a great combination. They had obviously cut the cake very small, so that people would eat what they took, but for me, it wasn’t enough, so back I went for more of that!



We rolled out of there about an hour later, both feeling very stuffed indeed. We didn’t want to do a lot, so we sat at the central hub for a few minutes and I suggested getting a vehicle back down to Town Square, but although they were meant to be running until an hour before the parade and it was 2.50 p.m. by then (the parade was at 4 p.m.), they seemed to have stopped early. Time for some retail therapy along Main Street instead then!



At long last, I was able to find a present for Maureen (statelady01), who’d got me a present on her last trip to WDW. I can’t say too much more about it, as it’s a surprise when she and her husband come to see us in London in November! My grandmother’s Christmas present (or part of it!) was also sorted out in the same shop, so it was a profitable few minutes.



Next: our final encounter in Disneyland Paris and a little something!

[statelady01]

Cheryl,

You spoil me! I can't wait to see what it is and I was glad that it was part of your retail therapy! Great installment- this report has been absolutely wonderful!

[tikibird]

Another excellent installment - I think I would have gone back for seconds of that cake, too!

Hope you figure out how to post your pictures - and then you can let me know, 'cause I can't figure it out either.

More, please....

[chezp]

Saturday 27 September – part four: our final encounter in Disneyland Paris and a little something!



From there, we headed over to Frontierland again to see the Tarzan Encounter. I figured the 4.15 p.m. show should be quite quiet, as the parade was on at that time, but even with that, it wasn’t exactly empty! The worst part of this was queuing up outside – there was no shade and it was turning out to be a really hot day. I ended up having to go and sit down in the shade, while DH waited in line on my behalf. I was quite surprised that they only let us in with about 15 minutes to spare – usually they tell you to get to shows at the Disney parks 30 minutes early and they’re seating from that point onwards.



This was a great show, especially as we’re not the greatest fans of Tarzan Rocks at Animal Kingdom. This was a lot like Festival of the Lion King, with Tarzan, Jane and the monkeys all performing similar acrobatic stunts. Think of the birds that take to the air at FOTLK and that’s what Tarzan and Jane did halfway through the show.





The Tarzan Encounter



Thinking about it, there was very little to do with the Lion King at Disneyland Paris at all and we didn’t really see characters out from that film either, another subtle difference to WDW. I wonder whether the French didn’t perhaps receive the Lion King as well as other nationalities?



We were going to take the Railroad from Frontierland round the park to kill some time (and also because our feet were killing us by this time!) when the show finished, but it seemed we weren’t the only ones who’d had that idea, as hundreds of people who came out of the show were also heading that way. We quickly abandoned that plan and waited for the crowds to clear before going back to Adventureland for the Adventures of Aladdin, a short walk through exhibit. It only took a couple of minutes to go through, but it was another quick diversion now that the park was busy. By busy, I mean 60 minutes wait for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, 45 minutes for Peter Pan’s Flight and Dumbo and 30 minutes for about six other rides (according to the noticeboard we’d seen earlier at the central hub) – OK not excessively busy, compared to the waits I have seen posted in WDW, but bad enough!



We browsed a few more shops in Adventureland and Froniterland and ended up back in Main Street. Despite my huge lunch, I decided I could still manage a little something and ice cream was just what I fancied! Just as well the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlour was there then! I think I experience about the longest wait I’d had all week at Disneyland Paris there – about 15 minutes, but it was worth it! I got a triple scoop of coffee, After Eights Mints (I don’t know if you have that in the States?) and rum and raisin ice cream. As I’d already found with the cocktails, the rum and raisin ice cream was pretty potent stuff, more rum than raisin definitely!



We sat on Main Street as I ate my ice cream and then I came up with an idea to while away the time we had until we had to be at the station. Why not go and sit in the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel? So it was a final goodbye to the Disneyland Park – I didn’t feel nearly as sad as I do when we leave the parks for the final times at WDW, but having said that, I wouldn’t be adverse to the idea of returning someday. Somehow Disneyland Paris just doesn’t make you feel that sad to be leaving the Disney magic behind – I think unfortunately because the park is lacking that little bit of magic.



Luck was on our side when we got to the Disneyland Hotel and there was one sofa free, so we plonked ourselves down on that for 20 minutes before walking over to the station. It was lovely just to sit there and watch the world go by – very relaxing and a great break for our feet, which really were hurting by now! We’ve had sore feet by the end of two weeks in WDW, but never after five days – I was a bit shocked by just how much my feet did hurt. I really didn’t think we’d done that much walking around, but I wish in hindsight I’d taken my pedometer with me, so we could’ve found out for sure. I guess the walk to and from the hotels everyday was probably the best part of a mile, so maybe we did clock up more miles than I figured.



Next: the chaos begins.. and a very hot journey home

[tikibird]

I think that ice cream and relaxing in the DL Hotel lobby sounds like a wonderful way to wrap up a trip!

Sounds like things are going to get a bit rocky, though! Please hurry with more....

[chezp]

Saturday 27 September – part five: the chaos begins.. and a very hot journey home

Now, when we got to the station, that was when the chaos began! We saw, as soon as we walked in, that it was very busy in the Eurostar area and we at first assumed that it was the queue was for reclaiming your baggage at the Disney Express desk, but as a lot of people had already got their bags and suitcases, we quickly realised that the queue was in fact the one to board the train! Everyone was waiting for the gates to open, so we could go through the security and Customs check and then down to the platform.

We retrieved our suitcase with no problem and joined the mass throng of people. At one point, it got decidedly dangerous, the place was so crowded that someone on the escalator coming up had to hit the emergency stop, because there was just nowhere for people to go who were on the escalator. How there wasn’t an accident, I don’t know.

It was a very painful process to get through security and Customs, but at least once we were on the platform, we could get on the train, except… we couldn’t, well not as we thought anyway. Coach 17, ours of course, was out of action, because the emergency doors weren’t opening, meaning no-one could travel on it. So we were put into coach 16 and as the train was full, DH and I were split up, which I wasn’t at all impressed with, especially as we’d booked the trip six months ago. I vowed to myself at that point that if we ever came to Disneyland Paris on the Eurostar again, we’d go first class. I somehow can’t imagine they’d ever close a first class carriage somehow! It’s just not worth travelling standard class on Eurostar – we’ve gone first class to both Paris and Brussels and never had a problem before.

At least I didn’t end up with any screaming kids next to me, but there were plenty in our carriage. A lot of people commented on the late time of the service. It leaves Disneyland Paris at 7.35 p.m. local time and arrives at Ashford at 8.35 p.m. local time (there’s a one hour time difference between the two, so it’s a two hour journey). That’s a late trip for small children and the general feeling amongst people we spoke to was that if it left an hour earlier, it would be a lot better. After all, it would still give you most of your final day in the park.

Of course, we were a few minutes late in leaving the station and the reason? Well, because people were still waiting to check in upstairs and clear the security and Customs checks. That’s how bad the system was. They do need to look at this system urgently and do something to improve it, even if it’s only allowing people to start coming through the checks earlier on.

To make things even worse, the air conditioning on our carriage wasn’t working and within an hour, I felt really sick. I had no option but to go and sit in the area between the carriage (fortunately they had three fold down seats in there), as it was a lot cooler out there. DH came and joined me before long and we got talking to a great family (whose baby couldn’t sleep inside the carriage, as it was too hot), which did help to pass the time, but it wasn’t a good journey at all.

We were about 15 minutes late getting into Ashford and I have never been so pleased to arrive at a railway station and get off a train! It was so lovely and cool outside. As we walked back into the building, there were loads of Customs men out, waiting for us. It was very odd – I wouldn’t have expected to see so many waiting for people to get off a train from Disneyland Paris. It made me wonder if they’d had a tip-off and were waiting for someone in particular.

When we got through Customs, we easily found DFIL and DMIL, who drove us home. I found my next challenge, no modem and therefore no Internet connection to the boards! After the journey home we’d had, I was ready to explode on someone and so I was on the phone to the cable company, trying to get it sorted out. Within a few minutes, it was as if we’d never been away, except we had a couple of hundred excellent photos and some great memories. Disney in the French quarter had turned out to be lot better than either of us had expected. I had found my bit of Disney magic.

The weather today was sunny with temperatures in the low 70’s.
The best thing today was going on Nautilus.
The worst thing today was the awful journey we endured on the way home.
The funniest thing today was seeing all the final Halloween additions to Main Street.
Today we tried Nautilus
And the result was I wasn’t disappointed.
The most magical moment today was going on Nautilus.
Today we learnt:
- The train journey isn’t always fun and checking in can be a nightmare.
- Disneyland Paris is very busy on a Saturday, a lot worse than during the week.
- Some of the French CM’s really can’t speak English.
- The French ice cream is very nice, but a bit too alcoholic!

Next: Final thoughts…

[ariel1]

<font color="blue"> another great update! sorry for your rough ride home. i wouldn't have made it without air conditioning- i get terribly motion sick when i'm hot. well, i hope you get those pictures up. i'm dying to see the pics of nautilus! </font>

[tikibird]

Sorry for the uncomfortable commute, but glad you made it home safely! Enjoyed this installment, and looking forward to the wrap-up!