The 4th day in Paris was probably my favorite!
..Becaaaaaause we were going to Disneyland!!!!
We woke up early in the morning and decided to buy some croissants and pains au chocolat from what came to be our favorite bakery/sandwich shop, Brioche Doree, on our way to the metro.
For future use I'm going to write down the address here:
Brioche Doree
150, rue de Rennes It really is worth a visit if you happen to be in
75006 Paris Paris! The sandwiches are great and filling and
France the prices are very student friendly.
I paid about 5.3€ for 2 breads and a juice.
We bought the tickets to Disneyland while we were still in Denmark because there was going to be a 10 or 15% discount on the price (something us "poor" students like). However, we weren't sure which tickets to order since some of them included transportation to the park and back again. The tickets with transportation included were for both the actual Disneyland Park and the Walt Disney Studios Park and cost a lot more than the single ticket. Since we had no intentions in going to both parks, we found the situation a bit complicated and decided to call them (the number can be found on their website). The conversation was in English and we had a very nice and helpful French girl on the other end. She told us that we'd have to order a "normal" ticket and then use the train as transportation. She gave us the name of the train we'd have to take and the website on which we could buy the tickets.
So as soon as we had bought breakfast we went to the metro and bought tickets. We hadn't bought those from home since we weren't sure about what time we'd leave. The guy at the counter didn't speak good English but we did manage to tell him something like "Disneyland, Disneyland" and then he understood. We paid 15€ for a ticket there and back opposed to the 18€ we'd have had to pay if we had bought them online.
I was a little uncomfortable knowing we had to ride the train due to my weird fear of getting on the wrong train and ending up somewhere weird, but they were very good at putting up signs showing where to go and in the end I led the way.
I know the picture is bad quality but it was the only one I took down there and I wanted it for show~
We took the RER A4 from the station called "Auber" to "Marne-la-Vallée", which was literally right beside Disneyland.
When we went further downstairs, the train was already there and about 2 minutes after we boarded it it began moving. Perfect timing once again! The train was in two stories and before we went upstairs, our eyes met this map (or plan? I'm not sure what to call it), showing us that we did indeed board the right train.
As you see it was more than a couple of kilometres away. Riding from Auber to Marne-la-Vallée took us 43 minutes but we didn't mind. This way we could sit down quietly (there were plenty of seats to choose from), enjoy our breakfast and, of course, get hyped for Disney!
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| Picture: Wikipedia |
At first we had to go through this and have our bags checked. We didn't bring anything but our wallets so that was done pretty quick. The next step we took brought us to a biiiiiiiig garden-like front where tourists were already posing and taking salfies with the beautiful scenery.
It seems like entering a big building while actually we just walked under it. I believe it's a hotel upstairs and downstairs was where you bought your ticket and walked through those little metal gates. Since we had bought our tickets online, we didn't have to worry about that. We also arrived only half an hour after the park opened so there weren't THAT many people yet. It didn't take us long to get in.
When entering Disneyland, the first thing that meets your eyes is this lovely orchestra playing our all time favorite Disney songs. I no longer remember which ones they were playing but what I do remember is that it brought smiles to our faces when thinking of all the wonderful things we were about to experience. That day is was sunny, about 28°C, and not a single cloud in sight!
After listening to a song or two, we walked on and...
The place around the castle was like a big interception with different "lands" that you could go to depending on which direction you chose. We went leftmost and began our Disney journey in Frontierland.
When you first entered there were stairs leading up to the buildings surrounding the sign. There wasn't any attraction here but we had a pretty nice view up there~
To the left of the picture above you can see a bridge from which we took the next picture. The big cliff thing in the middle was the first attraction, called Big Thunder Mountain, that we had planned to try.
OH! BY THE WAY! When we were back in Denmark we found this app allowing us to view a map of the entire park and show us where we could possibly eat. It also showed estimated waiting time for the different attractions (and opening hours) so I'd say that it's a really useful app that you should definitely get! It's free and you can get it for both iPhone and Android. Just search "Disneyland Paris" and you will find it.
I guess we thought we'd get to the mountain by sailing because we went to the little artificial shore there and waited for a few minutes until we realized it was actually another attraction called Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing. Although it wasn't what we were aiming for, we decided to try it anyways.
The boat was like an old steamer and you could sit inside or outside at 3 different floors. The picture here only shows the front of the ship which was, in fact, much bigger in real life. When the ship sailed in and was about let us on, the workers walked around brushing spiderweb and other nasty things off the sides and at some point one of them brushed at a large spider. The spider then fell down on the pier and proceeded to run towards the half-scared guy while the crowd of tourists were gasping in unison each time he hit it with the broom! It was all very funny now that I think of it.
To the left you see the pier we were standing on and to the right: Phantom Manor! *evil thunder*
After having tried the haunted house in Lompoc, California (I wrote about it in my post The Lompocalypse), I really wanted to try this one although I'm easily frightened. Maria wasn't very happy about the idea but finally gave in the my pleading.
When we came to the manor, we waiting outside the door to be let in.
Maria suddenly said "I hope they're not letting us in in groups!" and we both froze for a second as a girl began asking people how many they were. I swear I heard screams once in a while and Maria noted that all the windows were blocked... Such a creepy detail.
Then the door opened and we were let into a dark room and you could hear the girl say "go to the back, please" while letting the rest in. A deep man voice said something in French and after that another door opened, letting us walk further into the mansion. We were now standing in an octagonal room with dimmed lights and paintings on the walls. The pictures were all very harmonic despite this being a haunted manor.. but soon we understood. The walls started growing taller. We were going down!
As the walls grew, so did the paintings and what had before been a nice painting of a girl sitting in a boat now became a painting of a girl sitting on a boat about to fall down a huge waterfall (and into death).
When the elevator stopped, a double door to one of the sides (of course the one we were standing closest to!) opened and a rather gloomy-looking butler appeared! We did NOT expect someone to be standing there and a nervous latter spread throughout the room.
As Maria describes it:
"I'd probably describe it as being taken straight out of a horror movie! He created a nervous atmosphere among people and when everybody started chuckling lightly, he hushed us and everyone went serious and remained quiet - probably because of the eerie aura he had"
And he did have an eerie aura! With cold, dead eyes, he proceeded to tell us the "rules" of his master and the one that hung on to both Maria and I the most was "Walk in the middle and stay away from the walls". "Oh my glob what have we gotten ourselves into?!" I thought.
Another door then opened and as we left the room and carefully walked in the middle of the room, Maria and I clung to each others' arms. Now was when the actual attraction would begin. I don't want to describe any further as I'd be spoiling the fun for you if you decide to try it out. Even if you are a scaredy cat like me, you should check it out! They have put so much effort into this attraction and both Maria and I agreed that this was probably one of the best attractions we went on that day.
When we got out of the manor, we walked to the first thing I had feared to try that day:
Big Thunder Mountain
I have this terrible fear or rollercoasters dating back to the first time I tried one so going on this one was out of comfort zone and I DID think it was too fast. I DID think I was going to fall out whenever we went down. I DID bend down when we came to the tunnel because I thought it was going to hit my head (even though I'm really not a tall person). But I also enjoyed it! When it was over, my heart was racing but I was proud of myself! We tried this one again later in the evening because I suggested it.
The time was now around 1pm and we decided to go grab some food. Luckily there was a Mexican themed restaurant called Fuente Del Oro literally right beside Thunder Mountain!
We both ordered the Menu #2 which you could modify a little.
Maria's menu: My menu:
Chicken and beef taco Chicken and beef taco
Mexican rice Side salad
Churros Sugared yogurt with fruits
Cola Water
2 tacos (guacamole), a side dish, a dessert, and a drink = 12.99€
The tacos were yummy! I'm not a big fan of beef so I wish I could have had two with chicken (I probably could if I'd asked). The yogurt was a delicious bonus but the "fruits" in the bottom was just a lot of raspberry, which I really dislike in large amounts like that. I didn't taste the salad because the tacos and yogurt were so filling but it looked fine. I'm satisfied with what we got for our money considering this is inside Disneyland.
Food in theme parks is always (at least the ones I've been to) really pricey!
Our adventures continued in Adventureland where I saw this cool I-don't-even-know-what-it's-called and begged Maria if we please could climb it!
We weren't sure how to get up there and ended up walking around in the maze-like cave underneath. When we got out I saw more of this stuff to climb on and asked Maria if we could try again. She said: "Yea sure but let's go look at this Indiana Jones stuff first!"
So we went and.... then I realized that she was pulling me towards another rollercoaster - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril ! I fought the best I could but DAAAMN that girl has got some strength in those arms! :O
The surroundings were decorated with small camps and things making it look as if it was taking straight out of an Indiana Jones movie - Maria used this to try to distract me but I was too disturbed to pay attention.
No matter how much I fought or tried to escape she stopped me! So I proceeded to complain and try to convince her that "I was brave before and that was it! I have left my comfort zone once today already and you should be happy!" but she didn't listen. The guys in front of us started chuckling because I was making a big scene and the closer we got to the ride, the more I tried to get away. Maria was literally pushing shoving me forward!
People in the back had heard our heated argument in Danish and, although I'm pretty sure they didn't catch me saying things to her like "Maria I hate you! Maria you're crazy! Maria you mentally disturbed child!", they did seem to understand what the fuzz was all about.
When we got THIS close I realized that it wasn't just EXTREMELY SCARY OUT OF YOUR MIND AND SUPER FAST.... it also had a loop!
As I saw this, by reflex, I burst out something that I don't even remember anymore but I was honestly panicking here and the people in the back heard my reaction to the terror and laughed.
A rollercoaster going that fast, that high, with such steep tracks was bad enough already. A loop would KILL me! I was sure of this! One of the many worst case scenarios playing in the back of my head had me throwing up while being on top of the loop and then get down just in time for the goop to hit Maria and I. I know it would (hopefully) be impossible but I was honestly that scared. As we were about to get on, my entire body was shaking and I caught a glimpse of a sign saying "keep your head backed up against the seat at all times" before the safety thingie locked. The ride started and I closed my eyes shut and screamed the entire however many minutes it lasted. I was practically blind but I knew exactly when the loop came! My head fell forward and no matter how hard I tried to keep it back, I couldn't! The loop was small when we looked at it from outside but it felt like we were in there for at least half a minute.
When it was finally over and we walked away, Maria poked my shoulder as a sign to turn around and the people walking behind us instantly applauded us and went "bravo!" and Maria laughed. I felt so weird after.. like.. I was dizzy and nauseous but at the same time not.
To calm down a little we went back to the cave (this time from a new direction) and walked around in there a bit. The dark and cooler cave was a great contrast to the sunny weather outside but it's a nice place to go if you need to cool down.
And the stones are shaped so you can act out your inner dream of being an evil Queen!
These pictures were taken with Maria's super flash! None of these colours were visible in the dark and you could barely see anything in there.
After the cave we went on adventures in the area around La Cabane des Robinson, La Plage des Pirates, and Adventure Isle.
Look who we found!
We had now walked into Fantasyland and made our way past the Sleeping Beauty Castle and into La Taniére du Dragon.
Fantasyland was our most favorite part of the entire park, mostly because it was all pink and princess'y, and we tried almost everything there! Most of the attractions there were aimed towards smaller children but we really didn't mind because there were some really neat rides there. Les Voyages de Pinocchio, Peter Pan's Flight, and Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains were all constructed so you could sit in some sort of flying boat thing (in lack of a better description) and watch the stories unfold before your eyes. Especially Peter Pan's Flight is really beautiful because of the stary skies. I will never forget the one with Pinocchio! When the ride was over and we got off, the worker making sure everybody got off looked at us and said "Goodbye princesses" when we left! Okay who doesn't want to be called princess in Disneyland?!
Maria's fabulous picture of the picture taken inside the attraction~
So after the quick break we went back to Fantasyland and into the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups! Through the entire time we spent standing in line, a Dutch guy behind us kept looking back and forth between us and his friend and then they laughed really suspiciously.. When we got on the ride he sent his friend a super inappropriate hand sign while looking our way -_-
The tea cups weren't that fun. In fact they were going to slow that it was easily to take pictures but also super awkward because you just sat there waiting for it to end.
It was getting late (dinner time) and suddenly we found ourselves in the middle of a big empty space where Disney employees were guiding people and telling them where to sit. Curious of what was about to happen I went over to one of them and asked.
[NOTE:] ALL the Disney employees we met were super friendly and super helpful! I know it's their job but kudos to them for doing their jobs so well!
Anyways, she told us there was going to be a parade there in half an hour.
Half an hour.. what could we do until?
There was an ice cream shop close to and we decided to go have some ice cream before it started. 5 minutes before the parade was about to start we hadn't moved an inch(!) and left the queue to find a place to sit an watch instead -.- A laugh of understanding escaped the mouths of the two British men standing behind us, who had been discussing how inhumanly slow the workers in the shop were.
But we found a place and soon the parade began!
First came the fairies from Sleeping Beauty
The the blue fairy from Pinocchio and... I forgot who the other one is
Then came the princes and princesses and look who made eye contact with us!
Maria and I both decided we were going to be Disney princesses when we grow up. We have to.
Hakuna matata!
My childhood right here~
Maria wasn't as impressed as me when Wendy ran right in front of Peter as she was taking a picture
High five, matey!
Mary Poppins anyone?
Tinkerbell was hiding in the back
As the parade passed, Disney employees walked behind the cart, removing the ropes keeping the guests away so they could follow the characters.
We also followed them a bit in hopes to meet and greet Peter Pan and Elsa but we never did. Instead we decided to get something to eat.
Of course we had checked out the different restaurants around the park when we were still in Denmark so we didn't have to walk around too much in search for food. We had our dinner in Cafe Hyperion in Discoveryland.
The food was good and very filling! We started with the burgers and none of us could finish the fries too.
A chicken burger, normal size fries, and a water = 10.99€For dessert we stopped by the Mad Hatter's unbirthday party before entering Alice's Curious Labyrinth! Alice in Wonderland is one of Maria's favorite movies so she was exceptionally happy about this one!
A very merry unbirthday to us! To who? To us!
The Mad Hatter also let us try hit hat before we took off for the labyrinth
And then we were off! Let the fun begin!
There must have been something in the tea because suddenly we were huge!
And look who we met! He wasn't of much help though..
Darn you sun for ruining the moment with the caterpillar!
A little overview~
If there's no rabbit with a watch, follow Maria!
Boo!
Once again my eternal enemy ruins a really cool picture
"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!"
We hid in the little castle and woah! Look at this view!
In fear of getting caught by the Queen of Hearts, we ran to the Sleeping Beauty Castle!
There are the most beautiful glass mosaic windows on first floor!
Maria had a quick kiss by her prince charming before we were off to Discoveryland again!
Maria REALLY wanted to try Space Mountain but I simply couldn't go. Indiana Jones was terrible and this one looked even faster and wilder in the videos we had watched. But Maria is an understanding person so we skipped without any further ado.
Instead we went through a droid workshop and traveled to the Moon of Endor with Star Tours! This is a kind of virtual reality ride but it really DID feel real! Don't forget to fasten your seat belt!
We did NOT want to miss the show at 11pm but we still had an hour or so to spend so we went to the souvenir shop and tried Big Thunder Mountain once again before sitting down in front of the castle.
The 2nd ride in Thunder Mountain was much better - partly because I wasn't scared this time and because the couple in front of us were super hyped, flaring their arms everywhere!
So we sat down and we waited and we waited while people gathered. It didn't feel so long though.
A voice came on the speaker and people started cheering!
"We inform you that Disney Dreams will begin in about 10 minutes"
So we waited a little more...
Then the speaker came on again... "And now! Disney Dreams!"
There was glitter, water, light, fire, smoke, fireworks, and music!
Peter Pan led the show in English and Wendy translated into French
I have NEVER in my life seem something like this. I can't describe how amazing it was! I felt the shivers down my spine several times and once in a while Maria and I would let out little fangirl squeaks because we simply couldn't believe what was happening before our eyes!
Every Disney fan MUST experience this at least once!
I can't describe it. I really cant't! You can easily find videos from the shows on Youtube but do yourself a favor and experience the real sound, smell, shivers, and the heat in your face when the fire comes!
After the show ended, the park closed and we were tiny droplets in an ocean of people. But it didn't take long to get out. We didn't move by ourselves though but were lightly pushed by the rest of the guests. Like waves we found our way out~
But when we were about to go home, the doors to the metro were closed!
.... or so we thought. After having walked around for about 10 minutes we went back and realized we had just overseen that one door we were supposed to be using (I guess they just let that one stay open during night hours)
This time there were many people in the metro but it was completely silent. People were actually sleeping! The many people took up all the spaces so Maria and I ended up standing all the way home. I didn't mind though. I was actually happy that there were so many people so we wouldn't have to be two young female tourists alone in the metro at night.
Souvenirs!
Here is what Maria bought
- You might get a discount if you order Disneyland tickets from home instead of buying them there.
- Some tickets to Disneyland include transportation
- The closing show begins at 11pm. If you wish to use the transportation provided by Disney you might miss the show. I'm not 100% about this though.
- RER A4 takes you to Disneyland
- Don't buy the metro/train tickets online. They cost more that way than if you buy them at the desk.
- "Sortie" means exit and is useful to know if you suddenly don't know how to get out of the metro.
- IF you happen to buy your Disney ticket online and print it yourself you will get through the entrance more quickly.
- "Disneyland Paris" is a great and free app that you should consider getting if you're going to Disneyland. It shows you restaurants, opening hours, waiting times, attractions, etc.
- Remember sunglasses and sunscreen because you will spend a lot of time standing in direct sun when waiting in the lines and you can easily get burnt without notice.
- Don't buy souvenirs before you are 110% sure you're done trying rollercoasters! There is no where to store your belongings and Disney employees are not allowed to watch over it.
- Be there in good time for the parade to make sure you'll get a good enough view to take pictures and even high five the pirates!
- If possible, stay for the show! You do not want to miss it! And be there in good time also! Like.. an hour before if you want to be close.
- If you don't know how to get home, don't panic! There are taxis, buses, and a metro to bring you home.
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