Nrthwnd Posted August 13, 2008 Author Posted August 13, 2008 ^ Too bad about the Tripsdrill glasses, Joe. I managed to hold onto mine throughout the tour, plus a smaller drink glass I got from that park. They managed to survive every time we picked up and moved to the next hotel, lol. And from Disney, my hefty (and PINK!) coffee mug and my groovy little lemony yellow clear plastic 15th Anniversary bar drink shaker.... for kids! Got a slushy in it, but still. A children's drink shaker? They survived too, although that was at the end of the tour. And they and the glassware came onboard with me as carryon, which worked fine.
Nrthwnd Posted August 20, 2008 Author Posted August 20, 2008 And now, a bit of a look at Europa Park... I think what surprised most of us on the tour about Europa (me, anyway) was the vast size of the park and the attention to themeing and landscaping in it. That, and the wonderful variety of coasters, dark rides and attractions, food... well, a lot of us were just blown away by it. True there were a few unavoidable things like huge lines at some of the rides, and then sometimes it because a bit daunting trying to find a particular attraction, which sometimes we found was actually connected to another ride. Or inside of it or underneath it, lol! But we dealt with it all, got some great ERT at the park, did a TPR take-over at Euro Mir (mmmmm), and ended our full day there with a great buffet dinner back at the Hotel Colosseo, with the water show as 'dessert,' heh heh. We also got the morning (great buffet breakfast, too!) of the following day for more riding, before packing up and heading back to where we started, and our final park of the tour, Disneyland Paris Resort. On to some photos now... Looking at part of "France," with children's rides, including a Circus Train (red/blue tents) and a Puppet Boat (top of pic). More to come... Looking over "Italy" which had a couple of dark rides (bldgs. on left) and a Mack Rides Exhibition (bldg. on right). Eurosat on the right now. Parking lot up in the corner. And Poseidon water coaster where I experienced an unexpected long long line (and the heat), and a 20-minute shut-down when I got into the boat! But it all worked out okay. On Europa's Euro-Tower for some park views. Eurosat coaster is in the EPCOT-like dome there. Silver Star is there in the distance. And a big reddish convention "tent" lol. A statue I liked. Quick! Guess the country 'land' it's in! There were 12 countries repped at Europa. And Choco and Adventure"land" too. (o: Here we have Anneliese, checking out Europa's Tirol Log Flume. She looks happy - maybe at not getting wet in it, lol.
Nrthwnd Posted August 22, 2008 Author Posted August 22, 2008 More of this great park called Europa Park... And after we had had a great dinner the Wed.night at the Hotel Colosseo's main restaurant, and then next morning packed the busses up, spent some more time in Europa (including a TPR takeover of Euro Mir!)... We were on our way, back to where it all began*. Paris. (*But first, a little detour... Walygator Parc d'Attractions.) Last shot inside Europa, on the Jungle Rafts ride. Random, but appropriate to this park. Would love to come back again. Thanks Europa! And now.... the long bus drive begins (*with that detour to...). One of my last rides in Europa. The Jungle Rafts. Very cheesy, but a nice way to relax and get ready for the long bus drive to Paris, lol. My Money Shot. Clearly one of my all-time fave coasters, to look at AND to ride. A dream come true to ride this one. Thanks Euro Mir! I see you! More of the TPR section of the Euro Mir lineup. We did pretty good and actually did par-tay up the lift hill and outside on the track. Much fun! Part of our lineup, inside of Euro Mir as TPR attempts to do a subtle (hah) take-over, and then par-taaaaay! (o: I really liked this statue at Europa a lot. It almost looked like a real person was there - a "living statue," right? Very cool..
Team Thriller Posted August 22, 2008 Posted August 22, 2008 Europa Park is still my favorite European park. Euro Mir really does rock. Night rides on it are more than impressive. I love these good ol' fashion trip reports. The good thing is you must be very picky since you only have around 20 pictures. That means all the pictures will be good. Which yours are... --James
Nrthwnd Posted August 25, 2008 Author Posted August 25, 2008 ^ Thanks. Very much appreciated. I honestly think that it's going to be quite the while before I relent and go all-digital in my photos. I'm happy with several rolls of film and being, as you say, picky about what I take photos of. Still works for me, heh heh Which will make Jeff Johnson roll his eyes when next we meet, when he sees that I am once again, "Still using film???" And now, a quick very brief stop at Walygator Parc d'Attractions which was on our way back to Paris, and Disney, and the end (sniff) of this great awesome tour we'd been on. Walgator has been pretty much dissed by most of us who were there. My complaints with the place were it looked like it was half-closed, including their topple tower, something I was looking forward to having a first-ride on; hardly any food places open and when several of us did find such a place, most of the menu wasn't available; the ride ops and other people there looking like they really didn't want to be there... And the coasters. Three of them. The best one (IMhO) being the Wacky Worm, unfortunately. Anaconda was a rough, nasty ride; so much so that word got around very fast that nobody was interested in staying long enough for ERT on it, lol! So we cut the visit short by an hour or so. I think the weather there didn't help. It had probably rained and was still very grey and overcast when we arrived. But still. With several hours left for the park to be open, this visit felt like we only had several minutes to enjoy it. And we enjoyed what we could, with what we got. Poor Walygator. Here's the couple of shots I took... As you can see, I was NOT a happy tourer with Walygator. Oh well. On to DisneyParis, heh heh! (o: Yay Wacky Worm! Best of the bunch there at Walygator, I'd say.
eBen Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 It sounded daft when i first read that bit about the Worm being the best. But now I think about it that must be the reason those dam things are growing on me as something not shameful at all and a bit of a laugh. Hopefully this phase wont last long. I belive I spot a Bill in that last photo - Hi Bill!
RonFrost Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 ^And this was the first of a few hotels that offered us bunkbeds as well as main beds to sleep in! My roomie Ron, chose the bunks and I took the regular old bed, as I preferred not having to deal with going down a ladder at night, should The Call occur and the bathroom be.... needed? I remembered when I read this that I had started out on the top bunk thinking it would be cute and all. Then nature called in the middle of the night, and due to my somewhat intoxicated state I nearly tumbled off the the ladder. I returned from the bathroom, and slept the rest of the night on the lower bunk.
montezooma Posted August 27, 2008 Posted August 27, 2008 ^well at least you tried to be a top...but you are obviously a bottom...lol
RonFrost Posted August 27, 2008 Posted August 27, 2008 ^well at least you tried to be a top...but you are obviously a bottom...lol You funny man! And what do you mean "obviously"? My flame is pretty low, I think.
montezooma Posted August 28, 2008 Posted August 28, 2008 ^ Oh Ron, you must have misunderstood my post. I meant that because of your small physique it must be "obviously" easier to sleep on the bottom bunk, rather than climbing that ladder to the top...what did you think I meant???? XOXOXO
PKI Jizzman Posted August 28, 2008 Posted August 28, 2008 Great stuff, Bill! I'm loving the way some of these shots came out. The one of the sunrise/sunset looked more like a masterpiece painting to me! Can't wait for more! -JZ
Nrthwnd Posted September 1, 2008 Author Posted September 1, 2008 ^ Thanks for your nice comments, JZ. Till I get the film back home, I never know how some of these photos will turn out, let alone remembering what I took photos of! But I myself, get a kick out of how some of them turn out - and a few not too uuuugly, to enjoy LOL. And there are a few shots I took near the end of the DisneyParis visit, you might like... or not, heh heh. I'm going to start posting the DLPR pix very soon. And ^^ Shane (Japan roomie'07) and ^^^ Ron (Europe roomie'08) ? As far as I'm concerned, you'll both always be TOPS in my book! Hugs.
Nrthwnd Posted September 3, 2008 Author Posted September 3, 2008 And now the final stop on the tour, Disneyland Paris Resort. First of all, I had/have already been to DLPR a few times before this, in the last 6 or so years. So I felt a bit more relaxed about what I wanted to see, needed to go on again, etc. No big rush, which was great. And apart from the check-in which was slower than expected of Disney, there were a few things I enjoyed, unexpectedly, things I would definitely enjoy doing again when I come back to the resort. Like our room at the Santa Fe. It was a nice pleasant room, with a great shower and tub. And the walk to the parks? I had been led to believe it would take somewhere between 20-25 minutes to walk "from here to there." Turned out to be a mere 10-15 minues! That was great to find out. And the Magic Morning, coupled with having breakfast inside the park proved to be a perfect way to get the day going there. I did that both mornings we had, and found it wasn't that busy (even in a busy summer) if you made the effort to get up early and get there right at Magic Hours opening. And the breakfast was mainly a cold plate buffet, but still plenty of juices, coffee, yogurt and granola available. It was great. So, with Magic Morning, we got Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear and several of the Fantasyland rides done and out of the touring way, lol. And - the Big Surprise of this part of the tour turned out to be an ERT session on Big Thunder Mountain our second morning there! Word got around the previous night, that 'some ERT' was to happen the next morning. Well, we all met up near the entrance to Frontierland, were escorted through a service area and then in through the exit of BTM. And although it was only a couple or three rides (in a half-hour's time) on this great coaster, it clearly made our visit to DLP that more "TPR Special". The new attractions (Crush Coaster, Cars Race Rally, and Tower of Terror) at the Studios park were great, although Crush could use a better queueing system. But the "bellhops" at ToT were definitely into their parts, and that made the Tower all the more enjoyable, IMhO. On the Saturday night, we had a final dinner together at Mickeys Cafe in the Village, which turned into a character meal of sorts, with the finale having the Big Cheese himself show up for smiles and photos. After that, several went back into the park for the big summer fireworks, starting that night. I decided enough was enough, and just spent the twilight hours walking through both parks, then back to the room for a nice soothing tub. Enjoying it all, taking in all that had been done these past couple of weeks. And readying myself for the long flight home the next day. I still loved Tokyo Disney Sea's version, but this was pretty A-OK in my Tower of Terror travels, lol! I think the bellhops rocked too - very 'into' their roles, even if you didn't speak French. More to come... A sweet treat for all. Got to love the ice pops that some of these parks come up with, hmm? Yummy. Somehow I don't remember this big poster displayed in the Studios last time I was there. But a shout-out to one of my all-time fave Disney films "20,000 Leagues"... The Studios park. We're almost there. Anneliese, Jeff and Ginny in the BTM line. And after this ride, we headed over the to Walt Disney Studios park. Thar she goes! A BTM train almost in the mine tunnel exit, with Phantom Manor in the back. View from a queue, lol! In line for Big Thunder Mountain, looking back at the castle. Our Fantasyland Carousel Credit! Ginny, Anneliese and Jeff holding on. If you can see us, we're there, heh heh. Ginny, myself, Anneliese and Jeff in front of (what I call) Sleeping Beauty Castle, All Grown Up.
thrillerman1 Posted September 7, 2008 Posted September 7, 2008 Some great pics Bill. I really like the color saturation in the first castle pic. Thanks so much for sharing! ps...it would be nice to be back at Aventure Park relaxing on the veranda eating those cheese snacks you bought again lol!
Nrthwnd Posted September 9, 2008 Author Posted September 9, 2008 ^ Your mentioning the meat and cheese snacks, Mark, reminded me again of the great little breakfast I enjoyed both mornings at DisneyParis. I decided to have both my morning meals, during the 2 Magic Mornings we had available, and both at the same place, Chalet de La Marionette, opposite Peter Pan. A basic cold plate buffet with meats and cheese (there's the reference!), and breads and croissants and such. But also a nice cereal and granola selection, plus yogurts, some fresh fruits and several juice choices - and a lovely machine that made coffee up several ways. And after filling my tray up, I wandered outside to in front of the eatery, picked a freshly cleaned chair and table - sat down and watched the rest of Fantasyland slowly fill up and up. I also offered my services to those who wanted a real "group shot" to take home with them. That was fun to do, helping somebody else with their vacatiion memories. I also decided (before the tour started) to get a ride on one of the two KEELBOATS (after our ERT on BTM) that DisneyParis' Frontierland offers, the only park in the Disney chain that still runs them - and they were restarted last summer, so I had took a nice leisurely ride on one of these more charming Frontierland vessels that ply the Rivers of America, etc etc. That was enjoyable, too. So - these are from the SaturDAY part of the visit to DLPR. Then, that evening a Final Group Meal with some very special guest appearances, lol. My last shot of DLParis' Tower of Terror. Great attraction. Well worth a re-ride or three, heh heh. Back to the Studios for a nice shot of the way to the tram tour. Definitely more "busy" than last year, when this new stuff wasn't built yet. A bit of Big Thunder poking up, as well as Phantom Manor in back. And the Mark Twain paddle wheeler juuust up ahead, there. (o: The moose, however, are not. First shot from the KEELBOAT ride I took, after the awesome ERT on BTM. No lines, easy on, nice lovely cruise around the river. And that bird there IS a real one too, LOL! Got me a Dumbo Credit! And he really flies, too!!! The Magic Morning Crowd, all of us heading to the early stuff. In Discoveryland and Fantasyland.
Nrthwnd Posted September 13, 2008 Author Posted September 13, 2008 We had our (literal) final get-together as a group, for a dinner at Cafe Mickeys in the DisneyParis Village, Saturday early eve. And we had several Disney characters make their appearance during the meal, including The Big Cheese himself, so it sort-of turned into a "character meal" w/o it actually being one "officially." Here's a few photos from the meal... Mickey and me. (o: The Mouse Credit! Our tour hosts, The Alveys. And Kristen NOT looking at the camera, lol. Cameron, Stacey and me. A great mom and her great son. Hope we get to tour again in the future, guys. Ron, my room mate for this tour, and me. Thanks Ron - you were a fantastic roomie! And that DLPR logo on your hoodie is on my souvenir coffee mug. A pink mug! (o: Jeff being bookended by Lou and her friend Rachel. Is this your happy look, Jeff?
IggyACE Posted September 14, 2008 Posted September 14, 2008 Nice Tr Bill. Was a blast hanging out with you when we did. As for being picky with the pictures you take cause you use film to digital, with digital you can just take fun pics as this one of ours and not worry about it! Craig
Nrthwnd Posted September 17, 2008 Author Posted September 17, 2008 ^ Hey Craig, it was great doing some touring with you, Caitlyn and Gage! Your kids were great to hang around with, and I only wish I had a dad as cool as you, taking them on such an awesome trip as this one was. And yeah, I realize that pix taken on a digital cam can easily be picked through and .... well, I guess I will get on the band wagon - eventually, lol. But thanks for reminding me about that. In the meantime, here's the last few photos taken on my humble old thing, after we had our group dinner at Cafe Mickey's in the DLPR Village. A bit blurry, but I thought appropriate for the tour's ending... Sunset, over the Hotel Santa Fe. And a nice finish to the TPR Europe'08 Tour. Ye Olde Fuzzy Castle. I kind of liked the way it turned out, here. Discoveryland. Evening crowd in the Magic Kingdom.
Nrthwnd Posted September 23, 2008 Author Posted September 23, 2008 And last but not least..... SOUVENIRS! Yeah, I brought back another suitcaseful of them, including all the park maps from the tour, a few t-shirts, candy and such (all the Bountys are gone now, guys), a few pins, couple of drinking containers, small toys ... and great memories of course. So here's a look at what I brought back from this awesome tour. Onride photos! I outdid myself with bringing back 8 of them. And not all coaster pix, either. A couple of water rides, couple of drop towers... all for good memories of another great TPR Tour (o: All those park maps and some books from parks like Europa, Movie Park Germany, and Efteling. The t-shirts and stuff. A 15th Anny watch, mug and cocktail mini-shaker from DLPR; 2 small glasses from Tripsdrill; 2 park CDs from Europa and Efteling; and the all-important TPR backpak bag and green bus pillow! (o: The remaining candy and treats I bought (and got, thanks to all you Bounty traders!) and brought back with me. And THANKYOU to Lou for the wonderful Thornton's 'sampler' you gave me. It was great and some very nice chocolate was had - and finally finished up, lol! Everything, all together. In a bunch, lol.
Nrthwnd Posted September 26, 2008 Author Posted September 26, 2008 And finally ~ yes, this is The End of the TR here, lol ~ here's the close up of those OnRide Photos I picked up along the tour's way... While one picture speaks 1000 words - here's 8000 for everybody! And once again, many thanks to all of you whom I met for the first time on this tour, and to those whom I hadn't seen for a while, and to those of you I keep seeing again and again and again - great to tour with all of you! Hope we run into each other, again and again and... And THANK YOU to Elissa and Robb for hosting us though another amazing and awesome parks and coasters' tour. Big hugs, you guys. (The OnRide Photos are in order of when I got them on the tour) Tower of Terror - Walt Disney Studios / Disneyland Paris Resort Anaconda - Walygator Parc D'Attractions Tiroler Wildwasserbahn - Europa Park Free Fall Tower - Holiday Park Expedition GeForce - Holiday park G'sengte Sau - Tripsdrill Park Wildwasserbahn II - Heide Park Formule X - Drievliet Park
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