PixTR: "The 3 Credits Tour" Walibi Holland - Disney Paris

[Nrthwnd]

A Few More Panoramagique Balloon Shots

 

Photographed without flash from our hotel window, these three shots came out.... wierd.

[Nrthwnd]

Day 4 @ DLPR... ends with Buffet!

 

Having now ridden several of the Fantasyland flats, we headed over to Adventureland, and killed some time there, before getting to our

late afternoon meal: Buffet at Agrabah Cafe.

 

Now I'd posted earlier, that this buffet was not the best of the three we had. But, the food was still good, just not memorable nor exciting

compared to Hunters Grill, or La Grande. And where we were seated was really "enclosed" and somewhat sombre in lighting. I know we were

supposed to be in massive colourful tents, but it still felt a touch more light would have been nice.

 

After the meal, we wandered around DL a bit more, then headed back to our hotel for a swim and relaxing evening,

before we spent our last full day at the Resort.

Castles are everywhere here! This one is owned by the Queen of Hearts. With a maze attached to it, too.

Toad Hall. Not the ride. But the fish and chips counter service restaurant!

Our meal is this-a-way. And I swear this sign looks like some kind of Eye Test!

I love these things.

They look especially nice at night.

Walked around the ship. Couldn't go on it, though.

One of the end scenes in the Aladdin walk-through. Cheesy and fun.

Here we are. Queued up and ready for Buffet!

My starters plate. Nothing jumped out at me in taste.

Main plate.

Lamps above us provided great lighting.... at the top of the tents.

Dessert. I even ate some marshmallows, for no apparent reason.

Back at the room - final balloon photo, the first of all the (previously shown)

photos I took that evening. (o;

[Nrthwnd]

Day 5 at DLPR - Our Final Day For Everything!

 

We started off this final day at the Resort, with myself going early to catch up on rides at the Studios,

then meeting up with David in Disneyland to ride more attractions, and then have our final meal of

the visit - our 'traditional' place, the Blue Lagoon Restaurant in Adventureland.

 

(To be continued...)

Good morning!

I headed to the Studios for more Ratatouille rides, etc.

Definitely worth a re-ride! I was shocked how still smooth this was, after all these years.

From the RnR queue. A set up for who knows what, lol.

Yeah. Pass on that. Once was enough. And no Stunt Show, either. Done it. Was fun.

After the Studios, into the main park to meet up with David. That castle looks awesome,

even against grey skies.

Our third try at improving our scores with Buzz.

"It's a rectangular world, after all..."

Buzz showing us how to use an Etch-A-Sketch.

Apparently, we have to get from there....to here.

And from right to left, easy to hard targets.

Boarding the cruise ships.

Hard to read, but David's score starts with a '3' and mine with a '4'.

Woo hoo! Level 5!

I would rather be a Ranger, 1st Classe, than a Pilote Interplanétaire (our previous scores).

Edited January 18, 2016 by Nrthwnd

[Nrthwnd]

From the Disney Paris Retro File...

 

Just discovered this photo in a folder I didn't know it was in!

It's of me and David on our very first visit to Disneyland Paris, in Sept. 2002.

 

Disneyland Park was just celebrating ten years of operation, the new

Walt Disney Studios had been open for just six months (and was definitely

a half-day park, at that time), and we celebrated our first visit there, with

what has become a traditional thing with us - having our final in-parks meal at

the Blue Lagoon Restaurant in Adventureland.

 

The meal was great, the surroundings and atmosphere was awesome, and we've

been going back to it ever since. Four times now. (o:

First DLPR days - Sept.2002 - Me and David at our 'canal view' table in the Blue Lagoon, DLP.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Nrthwnd

[Nrthwnd]

Day 5 at DLPR: Autopia & Orbitron!

 

After improving our scores greatly at Buzz Lightyear, we decided to hang around, and take in a couple more

attractions, before our meal reservation was due.

 

But, we did not realize that just two attractions would take over one hour combined in the queues! And when

the "20 minute wait" at Orbitron turned into over 40 minutes, we got a little anxious as our reservation was

coming up, very very soon.

 

However, we got our ride in, and as well took note that this attraction was based on constellations and Zodiac

signs. So we found our Aries sign (we're both Aries!) in spots and even rode an Aries spaceship as well!

 

And we got to our reservation in good time, too.

After Buzz, it's Autopia!

Hmmm.

Theming.

View From The Queue #1.

View From The Queue #2.

So when the family is driving...

Let the kid take the wheel, while Dad takes the shot!

Or, get two cars in a row, and then Mom (yellow) can snap away without any trouble.

The biggest traffic jam of this attraction, is lining up to bring the car back to the station. )o:

Maybe this was for an orchestra, or something? Dunno. Looks creepy.

Orbitron!

Also known in French, as Machines Volantes!

Here's a Sign...

There's a sign...

Even our spaceship is Aries! Thank you to the ride op who took our photo.

And after our flight, we headed over to AdventureLand...

Edited January 20, 2016 by Nrthwnd

[Morgan]

I think you were lucky not to have had to wait longer for Autopia, we never saw it under an hour earlier in the year. I took my eldest on after waiting 20 mins for it to open at the end of the extra magic hour in the morning, and when we got off the queue was completely full. It's a fun attraction if you don't have to wait long for it, but I've never understood people waiting over an hour for it.

[Nrthwnd]

^ I don't understand why people would wait that long, either. Of course there are first-timers in queue, like we used to be.

But, we did have the time before our meal reservation. And yes you're right, that wasn't too long a wait, compared to what

it could have been. Still, we got a bit anxious when the queues stopped and started at such - a - slow - pace. And

with the Orbitron queue, you are definitely "in the queue" with not too much space to back out, if we had to leave earlier.

 

And we 'thought' that just under a couple of hours' time would be fine to do just the two of them. It got intense, but we got the rides,

and got to our meal with some time to spare.

 

And now - unless we really really have to, we don't have to ride either of them again in future visits!

[Nrthwnd]

..and then we saw this...

 

It's self explanatory, but I was rather surprised when I saw this.

 

Ah well. Such is life at Disneyland Paris.

"Secrets of The Disneyland Paris Landscaping Dept. Revealed!"

[Nrthwnd]

Day 5 At DLPR: Our Meal at the Blue Lagoon Restaurant

 

After the 'discovery' of faux grass, we hurried across the central hub, through the Adventureland archway,

and made our way over to one of our favourite restaurants in DLP: The Blue Lagoon. And it also was

built with a "view" of the bateaux in the canal, on their Pirates of The Caribbean adventure. The whole

set up's backstory, is that the entire place is built from all the shipwrecked ships' wood. So everything

you see, when you look around the restaurant, nothing is repeated or the same in several spots.

 

We decided to go for the $$$ meal they were offering, since we weren't sure if we'd ever get this

chance to try it again, in the future. Had to pay the difference with our Dining Plan tickets. But that

was fine with us. Most of the meal was already paid for, so we didn't freak out when the bill arrived, lol.

 

It was all delicious, too! And we want to come back, again.

Castle shot, on the way to Blue Lagoon.

Actually, I DO see beady little eyes!

Over to here, walk by it...

...to get to here!

The menu posted outside.

We actually had the Captain's Chest Menu, on the right, there. Pricey but soooo good!

Entertainment on the way in. They were gone when we left. )o:

Looking into the restauarant.

The canal, where "boats" float by to Pirate Adventure!

A reminder of what we looked like, our first visit, in Sept.2002.

And how we looked, back in September. I think our posture has improved, immensely!

My starters. Mostly all fish, and all good.

David's main choice was gambas, which were big butt shrimps!

My choice was the rack of lamb. Great dipping sauce and a squash sidedish that was YUM!

Lone Roll Standing.

And - Lone Roll Survived!

David's dessert. Chocolate macaron, a long strip of chocolate, and a 'boat' of fruit.

Mine can only be described as something Carmen Miranda would wear! With a mangoe smoothie!

And the boats float by....

[Philrad71]

That's cool to have the restaurant overlooking POTC.

 

Lot's of interesting looking plates of food!

[Nrthwnd]

^ I think the Starters was the real "adventure" in this meal, lol. Having now figured out the photo of the menu...

 

(l. to r.) Lobster in shellfish jelly w/vegetables; Creamy beetroot with coconut foam; Swordfish tartare.

 

a/k/a "The Pirate Trio" And it was pretty tasty, too!

 

And after this meal, I definitely put it at the top of our 5 Main Meals List. With Hunters Grill and Bistro Chez Remy

following close behind. The other two...well, maybe we'll return to La Grange and it's Tex Mex buffet. But

not the Agrabah Cafe.

Pirate Trio ~ Captain's Chest Menu ~ Blue Lagoon Restaurant

[Nrthwnd]

From the Disney Paris Retro File...

 

Two early photos of Space Mountain, with me in front.

From 2002 and 2004. (Darnit, wish I'd had one, from this trip.)

 

Beard looks about the same. But it's amazing what a few

cans of paint can do for a Mountain.

Sept.2002 - DLP's 10th Anniversary - Our First Visit - And everything is starting to look...copper-y?

Two years later ~ Voila! ~ New paint job! ~ C'est Maginfique!

[805Andrew]

Your trip looked like fun. Five days at Disney Paris is a lot. That Blue lagoon restaurant looks really good, especially that Pirate's Trio appetizer.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Thanks! We actually planned the trip a good year in advance. And I knew I wanted to spend time at

the Disney Resort, not all at the parks. Which meant time for shopping in the Village, enjoying

all that the hotel had to offer, and having been there before a few times, it was easy to plan our days

without going crazy to fit everything in all at once, etc.

 

It was all paid in advance by the time we got there, so that was easy on our minds and wallets.

Same for the Dining Plan, too. We added that later on, no problem.

 

And if and when we ever get back to Tokyo Disney Resort, I/we intend to stay at the Tokyo Bay Hilton a

good week or so, if not a few days more.

 

Important pieces of paper at DLPR. They've just announced they're going to combine all this into an all-in-one

"magic band / card" type thing for guests. Not sure when. I'm sure they'll eventually let everybody know. (o;

[Nrthwnd]

Day 5 at DLPR: The End of The Day.

 

After our wonderful meal at the Blue Lagoon Restaurant, David and I strolled around the park,

riding Big Thunder and Phantom Manor one more time, etc. And then we left Disneyland,

separated (he went back to the hotel for another swim and sauna), and I finished up my visit

with re-rides on Ratatouille, one more tour of the Hollywood Hotel, and more ride on the

Rock 'n' Roller coaster.

 

And I have to say, the Single Riders Entry at Ratatouille is awesome. I got three rides in,

in less than 15 minutes, truth! The Tower of Terror had one of The Best Drop Sequences

I had ever ridden in it. And I was in line with a group of RnR virgins, who had no idea what

was really in store for them. I ended up riding with one of them, and I can't remember

somebody / anybody laughing so much through the ride! It was awesome to hear them all.

 

After that, I exited the Studios and headed back to the Hotel, pausing for a familiar

coffee break in the Disney Village. And then, to the hotel and a quiet evening before...

 

...departing for home the next morning.

 

But it was a great final day at the Parks and the Hotel...

Coming Up: Souvenirs!

After the meal, it's back outside to fake rockery and real plants! And water. (o;

I can see several elephants fly!

They were setting up more theming for the Halloween Season. But as we walked by...

...There was this. Cool!

After a final tete-a-snout with our friendly Dragon, it was back out into the crowds.

The kids look ready, but Dad's still fussing around. New character M&G for Boo Time.

Poor Molly Brown. Didn't move at - all during our visit. Turns out they were going to drain the Rivers, eventually.

From the Phantom Manor front porch.

"Or you can always leave...my way." (or words to that effect, lol)

I like this shot. Phantom Doom Buggies!

I like this shot, too. I don't know if the little boy is worried, excited, a bit scared...of giant rats you ride in?

But it's one of those shots that seems to work for me. I took it from the front of the Single Riders Queue.

On to my final (of this visit) Tower Tour!

It's all amazing, really.

Another dragon spotted!

I think the bird would fly a lot better, if all that 'stuff' is removed off it's wings, hmm?

First time ever on a second floor loading station! I always have been in the

lower queues, every visit, either here or Disney Seas' Hotel.

Yes sir, you need to use the bathroom?

"See Mickey? That's Shanghai Disneyland over there."

From the outside, through the inside, back to the outside. Bye bye WDS.

My coffee stop. Hmmm. At least they got the 2 'Ls' right, lol. And Mickey's just exhausted!

And this ends with somebody walking their pet electric floor cleaner. Good night!

[bbomser]

Bill,

 

I have to thank you for posting such an in-depth TR. You have actually really helped my Fiancée and I in terms of planning for our short stay at DLP when we're on our honeymoon!

 

Brian

[Nrthwnd]

^ Thanks Brian! And I wish you and your bride-to-be an awesome honeymoon, everywhere you go, including Disney Paris.

 

And now for something completely different... Retro DLPR Shots!

Two more photos I found, of our trip to DLPR in early November, 2004.

 

This was one of the years when Disney decided to run Indiana Jones and The Temple of Peril sdrawkcaB.

And it still didn't improve the ride. For myself, it made it worse with me tensing my neck, every corner

and drop that happened. Not fun. I was so glad when they put it forward again. But even with some new

maintenance work on it lately, the ride didn't improve much for me, last Sept.

 

Anyway, somehow David got a shot of me, going backwards, waving to the camera, lol. And the second shot is

of really neat theming they did for the (then) Halloween Season at the park.

 

Coming up soon..... Souvenirs! (Mostly from you-know-where.)

There I am! See me? Right there! (o; (This is what's called "blind flailing.")

Great Halloween lighting effects, during that visit.

[Nrthwnd]

Inside Disneyland Paris – (part of) A Meeting with Daniel Delcourt, Deputy CEO, Operations

 

(The following is the translation of a DLP Welcome interview with Chief Operating Officer of Disneyland Paris, Daniel Delcourt. The interview was conducted on December 21, 2015 at the Compass Lounge Club, Disney’s Newport Bay Club. There’s some good news ahead, so keep reading.)

 

Finally, there was discussion about a project that should see the light of day beginning 2017 for the 25th anniversary which he referred to as Smart Media. Today, if your family of four comes to a Disneyland Paris hotel for two nights, you have room key cards, park tickets, breakfast tickets, dinner-show tickets, etc., you have over 54 tickets to manage! It can represent a loss of time for guest and Cast Members alike. This new system, in the form of a smart card, will consolidate guest tickets. The tests will begin by January 2016 hotel by hotel, until its official roll-out in early 2017.

 

The final name of the program has not been determined yet. However, the card will be equipped with RFID technology.

 

(Written up by MAX of MiceChat.com - Thank you for the great interview, Max!)

So this will all "Become As One," eventually. (o: (But not the pizza place.)

[Garet]

I think you were lucky not to have had to wait longer for Autopia, we never saw it under an hour earlier in the year. I took my eldest on after waiting 20 mins for it to open at the end of the extra magic hour in the morning, and when we got off the queue was completely full. It's a fun attraction if you don't have to wait long for it, but I've never understood people waiting over an hour for it.

 

Isn't this a problem for all Autopias? We had our deadest trip ever to HKDL where everything was walk-on across the whole park including Grizzly, Mystic Manor and Space Mountain but Autopia and Parachute drop still hit an hour shortly after opening and never seemed to drop. We ended up doing Parachute 1st on the 1st day and Autopia 1st on the 2nd day to avoid the lines. When our child is born I guess we won't have a choice but to suck it up later though

[Nrthwnd]

^ I agree about Autopias, around the Disney World Magic KIngdoms. No matter how efficiently the cars are being unloaded/loaded

and dispatched, it seems - to - take - for - ever, waiting in the queue. And having never been on the Disneyland re-built Autopia

(two Autopias turned into one, remember?), I shall have to be patient for whatever upcoming hour+ wait it may have in store for me.

 

Or not. Time will tell, on my eventual visit back there.

 

Actually, I think more trackless attractions like Aquatopia in TDS or (soon) Luigi's Rollikin' Roadsters in DCA,

could take the place of Autopias, in general. It's my opinion, and I do understand that children still love "driving"

their own kid-sized cars (and several adults, too) around the great scenery etc. that Disney puts together.

Still, Tokyo Disney is (supposedly) getting rid of theirs (it's a Sign!), so who knows if the others will follow suit,

or never?

[Nrthwnd]

It's time for Tour Souvenirs!

 

And as always, the majority of all of it is from the Disney Resort. In fact, any of my tours that include Disney in any form or fashion,

automatically becomes "The Majority" of the souvenirs haul.

 

That said, here's the first part of it all: The paper stuff, with a few non-paper things thrown in as "accent", heh...

Some maps, some flyers and info.sheets. And an un-used ashtray. (I quit smoking cigs in May last year!)

The bunch of of it all.

Entry tickets to the museums we went through, in Paris.

Un-used Fast Passes.

BurgerBar; ANCO Hotel; Thalys Train ride.

Sequoia Lodge Hotel Pass, Park Hopper Tickets, Pizza in Paris and a plastic Remy Meat Marker.

[Nrthwnd]

Souvenirs ~ Cups, Glasses and Stuff...

 

Again, most of all the souvenirs I bought on the trip were from Disney Paris. And as before, when I souvenir shop,

I always try to find things that aren't only "just a souvenir," but something usable at home. Hence, a LOT of

coffee cups and mugs, some glassware, and a container or two to hold other stuff.

Here's all of what I got, for cups and glasses, etc. The blue terra cotta containers held yogurt

we bought in Paris. Then brought them back to hold things, like small whisks, inst.coffee packets...

This was the metal coffee cup I bought at Walibi Holland, which allowed me to have free refills

whenever I wanted them. Great deal, and I got to keep the cup. (o:

Back side of it, which shows it is obviously sponsored by Nescafe. It also has a base to 'stick'

on your vehicle somewhere, to hold your coffee cup when needed. Awesome!

This is one of a set (Minnie in Curlers!) of several expresso cups I found. Perfect 'reality' Disney-style.

Isn't that the truth?

And it ended up in the "small cups window" group, from other parks. A great Support Group, I hear...

Two glasses in my and David's fave colours; a kids' size shaker I got with a drink

at the Sequoia Lodge Bar. The drink was a non-alcohol milk shake. It was good...

Where the shaker ended up - beside the one I got at DLP in 2008 on the TPR Europe Tour.

Two coffee cups I thought were pretty cool. Definitely "Alice" inspired.

Here they are, where they (currently) ended up.

Note about this glassware - do NOT dishwash these! The "colour" peeled off at the top edges after a

dishwasher run. There was probably a warning in French about that. Now I know....

The Big Mug!

Heya Goof!

And Clara Belle, too! Who knew? (o:

Nothing says 'quality' like "Made In Thailand."

Up on the Big Mugs Rack it went.

And my little Walibi shot glass joined the collection of "bar ware" I have, from other parks.

[Nrthwnd]

Souvenirs ~ Bagged Pins, etc.

 

This was the stuff I collected and put on my touring backpack, care of a past TPR Tour.

How the bag looked, when I got back home. The Walibi Holland - Nescafe' metal mug was hooked onto

the other side of the pack. Ready for more coffee! (o;

The various pins on it. The three flowered pins were a set from the museum with the Monet Murals.

I :heart: Thrills was from Walibi Holland.

...With my PNE bag above it, 'pinned' etc. from last August.

Sorceror Mickey and my "personal" Hollywood Hotel key. And Remy.

They ended up with my other sets of pins, for now. (o;

[Nrthwnd]

On-Ride Photos, Revisited...

 

I showed these in earlier pages of my report, but I figured I should eventually group them all together in one main posting.

 

So, here they are! In the order I got them taken...

No coaster any more, but that was okay. Sept. 14, 2015.

I think David got the better end of the deal, here.

Is it?

Sept.12, 2015. Walibi Holland.

Great coaster, worth repeat riding. Definitely want to go back, especially with the new coaster opening.

At the Paris Carnival I found, via the Eiffel Tower. Sept.19, 2015.

Got it just to prove I was on it. (o;

The Crazy Mouse has a Touring Schedule too!

The Group Photo ~ Of The Photos (o:

Buzz Lightyear. Sept.21,2015. David looks so freekishly intense there. True concentration.

Here, we both decided to show our tongues in our merriment on Big Thunder. Sept. 21,2015.

Actually this is our "On The Plane Ride" Photo as we get ready to head back home to Vancouver. 25/9/15

[Morgan]

Great trip report. It's definitely brought back memories of our Disney trip last year.

 

Thanks for sharing.