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Andy shared these pics with me. . taken from a more central location for the fireworks. .and as he's a really good photographer? way better than my pics. so sharing these too, from the same showing we saw, tho we were off to the right near Tomorrowland entrance, and he was dead center with a real camera, not an iPhone

ok, almost a year later. . . . so have GOT to finish this TR. let's get back to it (with hopefully not a lot of commentary). . . .back at Disneyland Paris post Eiffel Tower. . . coming back from the train station, I stopped to snap some pics of the under re-furb Disneyland Hotel, and the main entrance (way less people in the shots now that it was afternoon) tho still very busy in the park. Main Street USA, Paris style the castle here really is stunningly gorgeous. . .love the topiaries around it. in front of the castle, pointing back towards the main gates. coming out thru the castle into Fantasyland. . get a beautiful view of the Lancelot Carousel. . and people trying to pull the sword from the stone. even from the back, love this castle! and those that know me? of COURSE I stopped on my way to meet up with James. . I had a pony to ride I believe he met up with me at the Carousel, and we decided to hit some of the other Fantasyland rides. Luckily we had the "quickpass" option here at DLP, and I believe most of the Fantasyland rides were on that option. . tho we still had some short waits. tho we DID have to wait in the line for Pinocchio. . I think that's why I have a pic of this queue. . as no fast option, but the line moved really fast. the Dumbo setting here is really impressive. Huge lines tho, so think we didn't ride it until the next day, or day after. line on the right? standby (*estimated 40 min) line on left: Quick Queue (or Premier Access). . . walk on. worth EVERY penny. we were going to meet up with Chris and John for dinner over at Captain Jack's (think Blue Bayou) as they had reservations with extra seating for two and had invited us along. but we still had some time. . . so we braved the Cheshire Cat and the other animatronics (and water features) in Alice's Maze. and then headed over to Pirates to meet up with Chris & John. the food was comparable to what I recall the food being like at Blue Bayou in TDL. . but my biggest memory was this was my first exposure to "Parisian dining". we were dying of thirst (myself in particular, as hadn't stopped to have a drink since got on train back from Eiffel tower). . but the service was. . . . "relaxed" this meal took, almost 2 hours, if I'm recalling correctly. the waiter was charming, and I LOVED the atmosphere. . but did start to get a bit annoyed at how long everything was taking, as the evening started to slip away from me - and I realize I probably wouldn't have minded taking a nice long break in the relaxed atmosphere (and air conditioned) if i hadn't been gone most of the day and really wanted to spend less time eating and more time out in the park. but be warned, the meals take time, so block at least 1 1/2 hours and possibly longer. the company was excellent tho. . so no complaining about that menu atmosphere. . our charming - and VERY flirty - waiter. he was cute. . but in my head kept thinking. . . "speed it up a little bit, please?" as with the versions at other Disney parks. . the restaurant is basically inside Pirates, so you can watch the boats go by as you eat. (we were seated right along the water too) I believe the fish soup? and I believe the baked Mahi Mahi with pineapple shortbread for desert the meal was good. . but it was already beginning to get dusky by the time we finished. . so we headed to Tomorrowland right away. wanted to get some rides on a few "must do" we hadn't gotten the prior evening, and I really wanted to see this section of the park at night (spoiler: it does NOT disappoint at night) Autopia.. Star Tours the main load area of Hyperspace Mountain is. . .impressive. . Buzz Lightyear. . even the bathroom areas in Tomorrowland are really pretty. . no quick queue for this one either. . . so with a 20 minute standby noted, we just hopped in line. as the neon really started to kick in? wowza. . . this STILL makes me laugh. that poor little girl. . of COURSE she spent the whole ride crushed by momma's back. . . LOL (we were wondering if the attendants would tell them to swap seats. . but nope! checked seatbelts and thumbs up!) by the time we got off the rockets, it was almost time for fireworks, so we headed into the main plaza and secured a spot to watch the presentation. wow. . (my camera makes it look a bit lighter than it was. . it was already close to 11 at this point, so nice and dark) drones. . . so cool. .. and when you realize it makes a mickey hat "30" even cooler. with a better angle, it would have been right over the castle. when the show ends, and everyone POURS out of Disney. . . the two "hidden" walkways - behind Mainstreet USA on either side, are nice, way more quiet, ways to get to the front gates. and they are beautiful. can spend a while just enjoying the atmosphere back here, and the window displays. puts you out right at the main circle by the train station. exhausted by this point, but have to walk back to our hotel thru the Paris version of Downtown Disney (Disney Village I believe it's called) blurry. . but an iconic sign, so had to include the pic. back at our hotel, while cutting thru the lobby, I noticed this fun little animatronic display - so of course, snapped a pic. and then into the room, where I talked to Nick. . . who told me he was home, and felt fine (tho it still scared me how awful he looked in that pic he had sent earlier), and then I crashed. today had been super busy, but tomorrow was another full day at Disney, and I couldn't wait!

some news from SFOT the other weekend when I went up for Lonestar Coasterthon, and bumped into - and had a VERY nice conversation with Chris Kearsing, Director of Operations at SFOT (he recognized me from my trip reports here on Theme Park Review, and specifically for my input into the conversation on the Six Flags St. Louis thread about the length of the refurb of their carousel). We talked about several things. . but - and he told me it was ok to post this, as I didn't want to get him in trouble - very soon, Six Flags Over Texas will begin an extended, multi year, refurb of it's classic, 1928 Silver Star Carousel. So while it will be sad that it won't be available for a while once they start the refurb? I'm thrilled this classic ride will fully Re-furbished, and they are planning on taking the time to do it correctly!

It's part of the entire experience. Otherwise, it's just another (really good) park. OK, so GTFO.

Nothing gets me hyped like a video of a logo!

It's a discussion forum, not a "support for the park" forum. Here's the issue, dude. You're acting like there's some small percentage of "skinny" people demographic the park's restraints are designed for. I'm "supporting" the park when I say they don't "need" to spend a lot more money redesigning a restraint system that fits the vast majority of guests. You would need entirely new trains, as I believe the seats on Banshee are wider overall. That's spending a lot of scratch on a clone over 20 years old. It's nothing against you, and on another note, it certainly doesn't mean that those of us who fit without assistance are "skinny." The ride restraint systems at the park are more than adequate for the majority of guests.

You realize the seatbelt is a safety device that 1. Is a backup in the event the shoulder restraint fails. 2. Ensures the shoulder restraint is down far enough. “A few more inches” would allow the restraint to be dangerously loose for a child who barely meets the height requirement. Unfortunately it’s a balancing act between ensuring the smaller riders are secured and allowing larger riders to fit.

Sounds like she's a master at creating her own job security. Hopefully she hasn't convinced them yet that she wants to take on refurbishing the Log Flume logs. I heard she was also the same person in charge of figuring out what to do with the Hannibarrels area the season after it closed.

It's taking forever. At this rate, it will only be open a couple years before SFSTL finishes their carrousel.