Parisians, and Germans, and Belgians . . .oh My! bert does Europe with TPR!

[SharkTums]

It's a capybara and it's amazing!!! World's largest rodent!!

I definitely want to go back to this park.  I think a lot of us just weren't in the mood for the cold and rainy weather at the end of the trip. The park was beautiful and had some really interesting ride.  I think one full size coaster to replace the boomerang and we'll be back for sure!

[bert425]

Other than the Lemur sweatshirt, the only other swag I got at Bellewaerde was this magnet.

yes, I have a Lemur problem...

 

[teacherkim]

I know I'm late here but just been catching up. You always impress me with how thorough your trip reports are, I'm way too lazy to devote the time and effort I know goes into these. I am truly hoping it's been therapeutic to work on this. While I haven't ridden Ride to Happiness yet, if it was one of your favorites you really have to meet Joel and I at SDC sometime to ride Time Traveler. While it's my understanding that RtH is more intense they are the exact same ride vehicles and steampunk theme. TT doesn't have the slow roll out of the station but the station exit is pretty awesome in a different way!

Also, small point of geography order. That was the North Sea you were enjoying on the coast of Belgium not the Atlantic Ocean. Sorry. It's the former teacher in me. I. Cannot. Control. It. You know I love you beyond words!!

 

 

[bert425]

Day 11:  Parc Astérix (part I):

we got up and ate breakfast, and then got ready to head down to the bus for 8am departure for Parc Astérix.

I realized I hadn't taken any pics of the IBIS Airport hotel on the 1st night (or at least thought I didn't. . I didn't bother to go back and check). . so snapped some quick pics before we left the room.

James ready to go for the day, and showing off the beds in the room.

small, but functional shower

tho it was like an airplane bathroom.   I guess appropriate for an Airport hotel

our view - facing away from the runways, but we had a view of the train station (not that it mattered today, as we were taking a bus to the park)

a shortish drive, and we were pulling into the empty lot for Parc Astérix.

we were getting there a bit before opening, as Robb had arranged for us to meet up with the Park reps at the onsite hotel, and we were going to be doing some pre-opening rides on the newly refurbished "Tonnerre 2 Zeus" - the park's massive wooden coaster.   A lengthy years long refurb that altered the layout, added more airtime hills, and reversed the final car of the train so the seats face backwards!

 

speaking of Tonnerre 2 Zeus. . here it is coming into view, as we go around the back of the park to the hotel.

and here we are at the entrance to the Parks Hotel/Resort.

the theming is really heavy here - which was an indicator to me of how heavily themed the park itself was going to be
(and let me say here. . it did NOT disappoint.   Disney Level (or more in some places) level of theming in this park).

this is the interior courtyard of the hotel!  (yeah)

while we were waiting for the park reps to meet us. . some of the Astérix characters (the King and Queen?) came out to meet hotel guests.

(and us, since we were there. . . so did I get in line for a picture?).

 

duh!  of COURSE I did.  

and I felt so thin too!

(thanks to Andy for taking this for me)

 

Eventually our guides arrived, and we headed into the park via the hotel entrance - which comes in right under Goudurix - an absolutely gorgous, and infamously awful, Vekoma.

it SURE is pretty tho, looks are completely deceiving

we were running a bit behind schedule, so the park was already getting ready to open to guests in the next 30 minutes, and several rides started testing, including Goudurix, so was able to get some nice pics with the train.

this is a fairly new attraction, I believe. . it's a lifting sky-bar.   you sit under the hat at a circular bar, and it lifts up to the top.

I didn't do this, but some of the group did partake and said it was fun, with a great view.

and before we knew it, we were in front of Tonnerre 2 Zeus, with it's famous queue-line . . that you enter between the legs of Zeus

hmmm. . but it didn't seem to be running yet?

we patiently waited, and judging from these pics, either others from the Hotel entrance had come in shortly after us, or the park had opened and people were starting to make their way over to T2Z.    (I think it's this 2nd one).

while the park was trying to get the coaster going, I continued to snap pics.

remember I noted the queue famously goes thru Zeus' legs?

yeah. . they put panties on him.

 

Pink panties with yellow duckies!

BWAAA-HAAAA-HAAAAAA

I honestly can not recall if we were able to get the morning ride in on Tonnerre 2 Zeus, as I think they were having maintenance issues.   But I really DO think we weren't able to get the morning planned rides, and as a "we're so sorry" the park reps decided to lead the TPR group to several of the other coasters, to let us cut in and get rides as the park had just opened to the public.

Our guide bypassed Goudurix (which had stopped testing strangely, so maybe it too wasn't ready to open yet), and brought us further back into the park.

but again look how beautiful it is:

along the way, I noted the fantastic theming all over the place.

this is Thor's throne.

I love me a throne, so of course stopped for a pic.

This is the face one makes when the entire throne starts vibrating your butt. . .

and then starts pouring out smoke. . . LOL

awww.. a little baby carousel, that no way would my fat ass fit on.   but snapped a pic as we went by.

wowza. . so many nicely themed areas!

another carousel. . this one more normal sized, but still rather small
(I can't recall if this one ever operated the day we were there. . I'm guessing no, as I don't have any pics riding it)

 

this giant themed structure is a restaurant.

the buffet where we would be eating lunch later in the day, actually.

and this seemed to be a show/ride experience that appeared to have been shut down, but since it fit in with the Bazzar theme of the area, they just left it up.

or maybe it was just off season (tho middle of Summer, as we were there in late June)

look back at the restaurant from the other side.

Oxygenarium was an inflatable raft ride. . it reminded me very much of the Penguin's Blizzard Falls ride that Astroworld used to have. 
(you sit in a giant blow up raft, and it's a water ride, but no one gets wet really).     I rode this later in the day, and it was .  . ok.  

looks like it would be way more exciting than it was. . but I mean, look how exciting it appears from the queue line!

we were headed over here to the Egyptian area. . . as the Park Reps were gonna give us a ride on Oziris - the parks Suspended B&M.

think Montu, but with heavy Egyptian theming thruout the area.

the park reps brought us thru the exit line, and we took advantage of the "never in America"  fluffy fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo (ie: locker) system.

yup.  you just dump your stuff into a luggage cart at the load station, then they just wheel the cart into the exit queue so anyone can grab anything they want out of the carts sitting there filled with stuff.   (I mean.. not even an operator on that side watching the bags)  

I guess Europeans are just more willing to follow basic human decency and not steal each others crap?

regardless. . I thought it was interesting that's how they handle it.

the ride itself is great tho. . intense in all the "right" spots, and was fun.   tho again, it really reminded me of Montu.

the area looks fantastic.

While still in the Egypt section, after our ride on Oziris, we were walked over to take a ride on SOS Numerobis - a Zierer family coaster.

whee!

it's another one of those with the really long trains.. .I think 18 rows?  

the park had been open for a little bit, but before we were cut loose in the park, the Reps wanted to take us over to one more ride.   So we left Egypt and followed him.

 

this looked like a fun Shoot the Chutes ride so stopped and took some pics of the splash down.

(when riding it later, we realized it's not JUST a shoot the chutes. . . it's a full on boat ride thru a hidden area up top in the foliage, with a really great last drop).

 

passing under more theming!   loved this park.

 

and we passed by a TON of rides, that I would come back to later, with a group of folks and we'd ride.

we'd made a giant loop of the park. . so got a nice view across the central lake area of where we'd come in behind Goudurix.

if this show was running during our visit, I don't recall it.

this is the sign for the park's Flying Carpet ride - Cheval De Troie   (I don't recall riding it, so maybe wasn't operating?)

our final ride with the VIP treatment from the Park Reps as "Vol D'lcare" which is a bobsleigh type coaster, that appeared to be themed to the story of Icarus.

it was a fun little coaster, and it was April's 300th!

 

I'm guessing I have to thank Elissa for this pic.     Look how happy I am!
(or maybe I'm just happy that Myself and Andrew got our own seats, and Ian/Daved & Jere/James had to share rows in the car behind us :p) 

 

while waiting for the rest of the group to cycle thru, snapped some pics of the "monster" ride next to Vol D'lcare.    Again, really nicely themed.

 

We all gathered at the entrance, Elissa told us when / where to meet for lunch, and we were surprised by an option to do a behind the scenes tour of the new coaster (just about to open I believe, but under construction when we were there), the newest Intamin, "Toutatis"     

Anyone that was interested was welcome to join the tour after lunch - and TPR was the first "outside" group of folks that would be able to see the coaster up close.

thru Robb's magic, we got a bonus from the park of some evening rides on Tonnerre 2 Zeus, as well as several skip passes each to ride it during the day - to help make up for the late start to the morning.   

and with that, we were let loose in the park. .

heading over towards Tonnerre 2 Zeus to see it's status, we were greeted by this line - yeah. . remember the ENTRANCE to the queue is under the Zeus statue.

we certainly didn't want to be "ugly Americans" and use skip passes - certainly not as a group at the same time - so we decided we'd ride some other things first.

 

and tho we KNEW it was awful. . . it was a first time park for me (and others) and I really wanted to ride ALL the coasters.    so we headed over to Gourdurix.

only to find it closed for technical issues!

the park op was a great sport so posed for a picture for me that I could share with the rest of the TPR group on the trip:

and our reaction to discovering it was closed, after we had made a good faith effort to ride it

Since we were over on this side of the park, and we all really wanted to ride it. . we headed back over to Tonnerre 2 Zeus and saw the line, while really long still, was no longer spilling out under the queue entrance.   So went ahead and got in line using our skip passes bringing us right up to the station.

originally we had gotten only 1 pass each that allowed for a back car ride (an upcharge for the reverse queue, I believe). . but the operators told us the skip passes would allow us to sit anywhere, including the back row (so I did end up getting a couple of back row rides).

here's how the train looks in the station, from the wait for back row. . with back car flipped backwards
 

 

after our rides, we noticed behind us were more TPR folks, including Robb & Elissa.   (that Robb is filming, tells me my memory isn't so bad.. we must not have gotten to ride in the morning, otherwise he would have filmed at that time.  (and that guy on the left with the camera? - that's the park rep group that has the camera on him. . so yes, he absolutely had permission to film on this coaster, people)

 

the line never really got any shorter than this thruout the day. . but thanks to the skip passes, we got a number of rides in rather quickly before going elsewhere in the park to ride lots of other things.

Front row was great too.

here's Ryan & Jere enjoying it.

Andrew and Ian in the back row.

 

Myself and Jon in the back.

I DID really like the ride facing backwards.  it was fun, and not knowing where you are going was great.

But I honestly did prefer it facing forwards.    In the forwards position, you *really* feel the 90 degree turns, and the drop into the tunnel.  Something you don't really notice when facing backwards - probably because you're hanging on for dear life, and laughing the whole way.

one final ride for the moment. . . this time waiting for Front row.  From the station queue:

Whee!

Ian and I on our front row ride.

(unfortunately, when riding backwards, the camera can't get a pic. . LOL).

you can see how much we loved this coaster.   Great job by the park. . from what I understand? the coaster had gotten a bit rough.  this refurb was really great!

and they even left one of the old trains, on an old section of the original track (remember the refurb changed the ride layout a bit. . so this section of old track, with the old train, is just sitting there in the middle of the coaster!  it's freaky when you pass it!).

pic from a still from Robb's video

but that's only the 2nd greatest thing about this coaster.

 

the 1st greatest thing?

yes, you can actually buy a pair of Zeus' pink panties with the duckies on it at the photo / gift shop.

 

to be continued. . .

[bert425]

. . .  continued:

Day 11:  Parc Astérix (part II):

 

Astérix himself was doing walk-around meet and greet, but had quite the line at the moment, so settled for a pic near him. . and we continued on

the coaster my group headed to next was "Pegase Express". . . a Gerstlauer multilple wheel launched coaster with a number of surprises up it's sleeve (which I won't spoil here, as the first time I rode it, it completely surprised me!).

it's a long coaster, so you can't really see the layout from inside the park.

theming is to a Greek Gods transportation station.. .

the ride is so long, it was operating, I think 4 trains at the same time. 

this is an interesting pic.  . hmmm. . where does the track go???  (as I said.. surprises up it's sleeve)

from the exit ramp, you can see some of the layout - and how it interacts with the parks river rapids ride.   and yes. .that is ALL the queue line for this coaster!
thank goodness for skip the line passes

 

wheee!   The group I spent most of the day at Parc Astérix hanging out with.    I think this pic is courtesy of AJ or possibly Andy?

fun "travel" theming all thruout the ride queue, even to the exit.

we started to make our way towards the area of the park where lunch was going to be, as it was getting close to that time.

what was over here that we could ride while waiting?    A pretty decent Madhouse (tho heard that they weren't doing the Pre-show since Covid, so probably why it wasn't as good as I had heard the raves about it.   it was fun, but not really a standout among the Madhouses I'd gotten to ride on this trip).

since in the area where we were shortly meeting for lunch, our cycle happened to include a bunch more of the TPR folks on the trip.

we all rode as a big happy family. . .

giant Astérix facing the front entrance to the park. . .

but what was this?   finally. . a full size Carousel.

and a heavily themed one at that. . to Astérix & Obelix.

with rocking carriages, galloping horses. . and a giant Obelix.

OH MY SWEET LORD.

you can ride inside Obelix' butt.   He's holding himself open for you!

the rest of the carousel is gorgeous as well. . .loved this "swinging" chair option. .

but (t) when it was our turn?  I bee-lined it for the Obelix butt option!

 

I almost pissed myself with glee. .  not only do you ride in his butt?  but it SPINS like a teacup.     Yup.  we crammed all 5 of us in the butt so we could get it spinning

chill bert, in da butt. . .

we spent the whole ride spinning and laughing like loons.

 

and posed for a pic the ride op. graciously took for me.

but (t) we needed the "proctology" pic too -   SHOW ME THE FINGER!  (tho Andrew didn't want to play along).

thanks to Andy for taking the pic for me

 

sufficiently dizzy, but still having a  little time before lunch meetup, we did a quick lap around the area and I wandered to the edge of the lagoon to snap a pic of the mobile bar in operation (seen here at the top of the tower it lifts up to)

 

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea???

apparently a healthy eating option restaurant.    (not what I was planning on eating today tho)

I don't really remember what was in this heavily themed section here. . was it a dark ride?

 

i know we walked thru it a couple of times. . and I have pics from inside where there is theming and shops.   did we ride something here?

quickly enough it was time for meetup, so we hightailed it back to the Circus restaurant area.

here we are listening to the servers/hosts explaining how everything works.

it's a buffet, but it's pretty spread out, and you order drinks (alcoholic or otherwise) before going to get food.

Round one.  . .    mostly cold stuff.

YUMMY escargot.

hey, when in France. . .

 

round 2, the hot stuff.
(luckily I'd had a VERY light breakfast and really was pretty hungry by this point. . as if you couldn't tell)

Round 3: desert.

that bowl of chocolate is from the chocolate fountain they had in the circus tent buffet.

nothing was super sweet.. but my favorite thing was the custard pastry at the bottom.

After lunch, those who wanted to join the backstage tour for Toutatis had a little bit of time until we met up over by the Bobsleds.

the Bobsleds, Trace Du Hourra, are a Mack bobsled.  which is super interesting in that it's unpainted/rust color.  I asked about that during the tour, and was told they leave it rust color to represent the color of the earth, as you are following the trail the cavemen took.   so it's actually theming that it's unpainted.   I found that rather interesting.

it was one of only two "coasters" we hadn't yet been on today. . . oh, and they accepted the Skip the lines.   So we hopped on for a ride.

the meetup for the tour was right around the corner from it. . so perfect timing.

we headed over that way. .

and after we were issued safety vests and (I think) signed the waiver, the park reps lead the group of us backstage, and onto the Toutatis construction site.

Twisty!!!

 

from back here you can see the main entrance Astérix high up on his perch.

 

that's important, because the direction from the park is that the spike aspect of the coaster can NOT be higher than Astérix sits. . he has to be the highest point in the park.

so how did they get around that and keep the height of the spike?   

they dug a deep hole, and put the spike down into it, so keeps the height, but starts underground basically. . .

sooooo twisty!!

 

and the bobsled nearby really is gonna interact with it fantastically. . .   if was able to get these kind of shots while walking around the construction site?  it's gonna be amazing from the queue line, and while on the actual ride when it's open.

from the layout?  I think this will be my favorite part of the ride, if I'm ever able to get back and ride it.

work being done on the queue-line.   Looking at pics of it now, it's incredible how this turned into what is currently there for the queue!

they told us at least 1, and possibly two, flat rides would be joining the coaster in this new section of the park.

you can see here how the spike is coming up from "underground" (ie: in a trench) to keep the height.

 

yes, we were able to get REALLY close to the coaster.

 

really close

 

I'd never seen this before and found this so interesting as well.

this is how they check "clearance". . they run this do-hicky down the track and make sure it doesn't hit any trees or blockages.

and pic courtesy of our tour guide (or maybe Elissa since I don't see her in the pic). . but the group of us who went back stage to check out Toutatis.

HUGE thank you to Parc Astérix, and to Robb & Elissa for this incredible opportunity.  

it really was so amazing.

after our tour, we all split back up to make the most of the rest of our day, prior to meet up at park close for more Tonnarre 2 Zeus riding

the gang I was hanging out with headed back to Oziris for another ride.

and then took a ride on that inflatable raft ride that I talked about when we walked by the entrance this morning in part 1.

we saw from nearby that Gourdurix had opened back up. . . so despite my brain screaming "NOOOOO". . we went over that way and took 1 ride on it.

why just one?   oh. . awful. just awful.    very glad I had Aspirin with me. . janky and shaky, and bangs the hell out of you.

literally the ONLY good thing I can say about it?   because I rode this today?  much later that night, when James and I got on Indiana Jones over at Disneyland Paris, that ride didn't seem to bad.  Because it wasn't even close to the worst thing we'd ridden all day.    So it made Indiana Jones adventure seem like a better coaster.  it has that going for it.

LOL. . but yeah.   1-and-done.

and look. . NOBODY in that front car looks "happy" to have ridden. 

 

after that ride on Goudurix, I really needed a hug.  

Luckily, Astérix was out and about again, and with no line, he was perfectly happy to give me a hug!

 

we even took a group shot.   and I think I have individual pics of each of us with Astérix. . so if you were with me and I didn't share the pic, hit me up, and I'll check to see if I have one I can send of you.

ABSOLUTELY zero recollection of what this is.

perhaps that dark ride in the castle?  if I didn't imagine that?

lots of props out and about to pose with too.. so of course I was in heaven. .

to be concluded. . 

[bert425]

. . .  continued

Day 11:  Parc Astérix (part III, the conclusion):

we made our way around to the section with the "slow moving" rides. . .my favorites, and perfect to help settle things after Goudurix.

we passed under the "skyview" as not everyone wanted to ride that, so saved that for after. 

Instead we headed to to the slow moving boat ride:

with the silly looking dragon on our ship:

full of people ready to be entertained by the Astérix characters (of whom I knew almost nothing about).

lots of scenes, and animatronics. . on a fairly long ride.

it even had a short dark ride / cave section

 

I'm guessing he's a bad guy?

it was pretty cute.

I think this is the name of the area we were in, as I can make out the sign says 2 attractions.   so that's probably the boat ride we just got off of, and the Aire traveler that I was headed to.

but also over here was this absolutely adorable kiddie flume ride (we rode the adult one that looked like a Shoot the Chutes - but must have had phone put away, as I have NO pictures of our ride on it.  but I recall it.   no other flume here tho.. just this kiddie one).  

Adults sadly not allowed to ride.

I think Jere and I were the only ones that like these kind of slow moving "elevated railway" type rides. . so we rode, and I'd guess the rest of the group headed over to reride Zeus, or Oziris again.

 

hmmm. . is Le Grand Splatch the Shoot the Chutes type ride?  it must be. . .I know we rode it.   maybe I DID get a pic of the sign, but from the elevated track ride.

Jere and Bert enjoying the view (and breeze)

passing over some of the scenes from the boat ride we just got off of.

 

AIRTIME HILL coming up!!!!   

 

ooooo.. we're coming back into the station, just as a parade is passing by?   what timing.

not sure whom I have to thank for this pic. . probably Jon?   

Hiya Obelix !   we rode in your butt earlier!

the cast members VERY much stayed in character.. I loved it.

heave!

 

no. . I didn't buy them.

but yes, I really wanted to!

after the parade, and the slower rides that let the Aspirin have time to counteract Goudurix. . it was time to head back to Pegasus for another ride.

I seriously loved this ride.

 

and had to pan down for the full pic, as this guy seemed to be really proud of the big blue banana he had won.

Having met back up with a few of the gang at Pegasus, we headed next door to squeeze our butts into the tiny teacup rafts of "La Riviere d'Elis"

whee!!

these type of rides, also seemed fairly popular at the European parks.   Not ALL of them had them, but most had some version of it.

I enjoyed them, even if it really is just slowly spinning among flowers in most cases.

it was almost time for park close. . so we headed back to Tonnerre 2 Zeus for evening rides.

man. . he looks kinda scary with the sun behind him. . . spooky!

they had the soda machines here where you buy it, and tilt the bottle upside down and the soda freezes into a Slurpee consistency.

thanks to Elissa for having change I could use to get this.  the pic doesn't do it justice, but I know Elissa has a TPR video where they demonstrate how it works.   it's very cool.

I don't seem to have any pics of us getting back onto Tonnerre 2 Zeus for our evening rides. . .but I know we rode it a number of times after official park close.   and have the pics others took  (so below are from the ride photo (we each got a free photo), Elissa, or from AJ/Brad/Andy

 

 

this one is a still from Robb's rider cam when I got to ride in the front during the evening ERT (you can see in the next picture how the camera is mounted for this amazing pic)
 

after a fantastic day at Parc Astérix, we all posed for a pic in front of Zeus 
(thanks Robb!!), and then it was time to head back to the bus

snapping a couple of pics as we made our way back to the hotel parking lot. .   the bar back down on the ground.

and owls.

it had been an amazing trip..and I hated that it was over.

but it wasn't really over for many of us.   although the bus was headed back to the Airport to drop off those who had flights tonight or tomorrow. . it was then continuing on to Disneyland Paris. . where many of us were staying an additional 2-3 days before heading back home.

I was one of those staying (along with my trip roomie James). . so we were headed to the Paris version of Wilderness Lodge for check in once the bus stopped at the airport.

it had been a long, long, day.. . but once we checked in at the Disney hotel and discovered that our multiday passes included check in day as an admission (and the park was open past 11pm (and it was only ~8:20 by the time we were checked in) ? 

you bet we went to Disney for a couple of hours.

But that's the next update.

 

for now, thanks for reading along!

 

bert

 

[bert425]

Parc Astérix swag. . .

 

Drink bottle (that was filled with Flavored Icee like drink - this was the only way to buy it, no regular cups.  but the refill in the container was cheaper, so it was worth it) but yes, I schlepped it all the way home:

 

T-Shirt (which I BELIEVE translates as "So, who's the boss?". . .but I prefer to believe it says:

"WHO'S YOUR DADDY???"

 

 

Tonnerre 2 Zeus magnet:  

 

and park magnet:

[Electerik]

Quote

perhaps that dark ride in the castle?  if I didn't imagine that?

Pretty sure you imagined that. There wasn't a proper dark ride that I could find. There was a mostly outdoor boat ride with scenes, a car ride with scenes, a walk through about the comic strip, and a mad house. The castle was one end of a short indoor section with shops that seemed like it used to have more stuff in it and maybe was once a more important part of the park.

At least, that's how I remember it. Of course, we were in pretty bad shape by then, and left early.

Still thought this park was pretty cool. I wonder how much more I would've liked it if I wasn't exhausted and unwell at that point.

 

[bert425]

I don't even remember the cars. . I must have completely missed that!      There wasn't a true dark ride in this park?    Weird!

I really did like this park. . it had two coasters I REALLY liked (Tonnerre 2 Zeus, and Pegasus). . a reason to come back (that new Intamin). . and THREE carousels.  

it wasn't my favorite park on the trip, but I did like it.

I wonder what that was a pic from tho. . maybe that was from the walkthru you mentioned?   really no idea - tho I had my mind on other things as well at this point in the trip, even tho Nick had told me he was doing better in the Hospital.

 

[JK]

Great trip report!  Many happy memories.

I believe that photo was from one of the themed Cottages around the boat ride, which had scenes inside.  We did not find any dark ride within the castle.  I vaguely remember from a previous visit a few years ago there used to be a dark ride (Searching the internet it was called Transdemonium)

- James

Edited February 20, 2023 by JK
Typos

[cfc]

I remember liking Transdemonium. It had this bizarre "devil" character at the beginning that looked like a marionette.

 

 

[SharkTums]

Yeah, Transdemonium was basically their Haunted Mansion and was a fun ride.  Hopefully they get a new dark ride at some point. They could use one. 

[Electerik]

 

On 2/20/2023 at 8:23 AM, bert425 said:

I don't even remember the cars. . I must have completely missed that!

 

I feel like you probably would've remembered it. It was really good!

 

If it makes you feel any better, we didn't ride Torrne 2 Zeus!

 

[bert425]

^ yeah. . I missed it completely.

 

darn. . . ok, another excuse to go back!

(tho I think maybe Japan again, or England 1st)

[bert425]

Day 11:  Evening. . .

 

after a quick stop at the Airport to drop off those leaving (I think it was only a couple of folks). . we continued on the bus to Disney.

and before we knew it, we were being dropped off in front of Sequoia Lodge (the DLP version of Wilderness Lodge, from what I gather).

not everyone was staying at this hotel. . some were at Hotel New York (newly remodeled with a Marvel Superheroes overlay) and other hotels nearby.

checking in was surprisingly easy, and as we were there just after 8pm, and the park was open until after 11?  we asked if tonight counted as admission for our multiple day tickets.    Upon being told "yes". . we went to the room, dropped off our stuff, and immediately headed out to the park.

but first some pics of the room - among the largest of the rooms we had on this trip - only slightly bigger than that room at Europa Parc that started off the trip.

very "earthy" / "Widerness" / "Sequoia Trees" colors

but the room DID have a slight "Bambi" theme thruout:

look how beautiful it is. . and after 8pm too.

here's the backside of Sequoia Lodge, as we exited towards the parks.(tho only Disneyland was still open, the other park closed I think at 7)

 

the view to the left - another of the Disney Resort Hotels (tho can't recall the name. . "Harbor Bay" maybe?)

and looking straight across the Lagoon, the Disney Village (with Balloon ride) and behind them the parks.

no way to cut across the lagoon tho. . had to walk around, either left, or to the right. . . so we headed right, to pass in front of Hotel New York - as that seemed to be the main entrance to the Disney Village area.

I'm here! (yes, I'm a Disney nerd)

Hotel New York really leaned into the Marvel Superheroes theme (Avengers Campus was opening soon - we missed it by a couple of weeks, but hey, reason to go back!).

out front of the hotel were these life-size statues that were quite cool:

 

the hotel itself:

 

coming fully around the lagoon and ready to enter into Disney Village.

that's our hotel in the back across the water. .

I was a little confused by the theming over here. . it doesn't seem to be related to any Disney IP (at least not one I could think of). . but it certainly was "whimsical"

Overview map of Disney Village

 

ah. THERE'S some Disney branding!

I don't recall if I ever went into this store. . .perhaps a quick stop on the way out on the final night?  
(there was so much merchandise inside the parks, that I didn't feel a real need to go in here and purchase anything more)

several "street" entertainers were out performing.

these folks were really good, but only stopped for a moment to watch.

based on his nametag?  I think this was a Disney Studios employee (probably the guy who mans the "Face painting" booths).  Makes sense, as that park was closed already . . . but I liked his Captain America face paint, so snapped a pic as we passed him.

and the heavens opened up. . and we were faced with massive construction walls (that I mostly managed to frame outside of picture) and we were facing the Disneyland Hotel.  

which is the entrance to Disneyland Paris.

the hotel was in the middle of a years long rennovation, so was not open to the public (boo. . would have loved to peek inside), but still pretty neat that you walk under the hotel to enter the park.

 

we made it!   It had been a long day. . but Disney perked me up.

James too, I think.  (that look is "Ecstatic" for a Brit )

thru the entry gates, and under the "train station". . .   all decked out for the 30th anniversary celebration.

Can't really recall, but I think those "flags" spun around the circular pictures?

 

Main Street USA. . not very busy as we were coming in towards the end of the day.

first view of the castle.

ooooo. .  so pretty.

surrounding the Castle Courtyard, on the Main Street USA side, are all these really amazing Metal Kinetic Sculptures.

I *loved* these, and asked if the park sold miniature models of them only to be told, sadly, no.    I'd absolutely buy a few of these. . they were so cool.
 

Dumbo & Tigger

Baymax!

Ariel & Moana

Tinkerbell

 

Timon & Pumbaa

snake from Jungle Book. . blanking on his name. .

people were lined up for a parade, I believe.  
(dont' think this was for the fireworks, as it was still a couple of hours away, but COULD have been for that).

 

James and I detoured around the crowd - we were here for 3 more days, so was more focused on getting on a few classic Disney attractions:   The Paris Version of Haunted Mansion (called Phantom Manor here), Big Thunder Mountain (super unique here at DLP and my favorite version of the ride now), and Pirates of the Caribbean.

going around the crowd gave some awesome opportunities for pics of the castle tho.  Some of my favorites from the Disney parks visit.

 

guess what we're headed for 1st. . .

 

ooooo. . but nope.

very pretty tho.

here's where we were headed:  Phantom Manor.

Molly Brown was already "parked" for the night. . . so we'd ride that later in the visit.

this late in the day on a Friday?   really almost a walk on.   Less than 10 minute wait.

view towards Big Thunder Mountain from the front doors of Phantom Manor

no real pics from inside on this 1st night, as was really enjoying the experience.   And knew I'd ride it multiple times during the visit (so the sub par blurry ones I did have, not sharing now). 

I THINK we might have ridden it twice, since it was a walk on?

this pic is from the ride exit path.

 

I mean I HAD to take a pic of a Mickey balloon. . . before we headed around the corner for BTM:

20 minute standby line. . . hmmmm. . . didn't look TOO crowded, and the line did appear to be moving quickly.

and 20 minutes isn't too bad.   so we hopped in line.

well, hello!

yeah. .my Selfie camera decides to brighten things up.

but me, Phantom Manor, and Big Thunder Mountain at DLP. . I adore this picture.

 

no Jungle Cruise Ride here at DLP. . so the best you're gonna get is: 

"the Back Side of the Castle"
 

Just gorgeous as the sun starts to set.

Chicken exit. . but we were so close to load station, no way were we gonna use it

Lucky row 13

tho 20 minutes isn't bad at all. . . the wait was long enough that we just rode once tonight (knowing we'd be able to purchase ride bypass tickets on other days). . and headed over towards Pirates of the Caribbean

at least we THOUGHT we were headed there. . .we didn't look at any park maps, and just headed where we thought we should go by following the signs in the park.    

and ended up in a "dead end" area, close to Pirates, but not actually there.   Instead, we found ourselves in front of THIS.

yeah. .

Was *not* looking forwards to this.   I not only knew it's reputation, but had ridden in in TDL, so I knew it was a rough mess.

BUT. . we were right there in front of it, and it was Walk On.   Like 0 minutes wait.

So we sucked it up, and got in line.

it wasn't AWFUL. . but I really do think that's only because we had ridden Goudruix a few hours earlier. . so the memory of that pain remained.  

LOL. . so there's your trick for riding Indiana Jones at DLP.

I think I asked a cast member where Pirates was, and she gave us the correct turn and we headed that direction.

Very cool. .walkthru not open still due to Covid restrictions (or staffing). . but still some great theming over here. (and the cave system WAS back open)

 

Yay!

it was getting fairly close to 10:20 at this point, so the back part of the Park had started to get deserted.  So Pirates was a walk on as well (tho the queue is quite lengthy)

restaurant in this version too. . . we'd eat here as a guest of John & Chris the next day. .

really well done.

and as you can see. . we pretty much were the only ones riding at this point. . .

so when the cast members at the exit asked us if we wanted to stay on the boat and ride thru again (apparently something fairly rare?). . we said "heck yes!"

 

so got to ride it back to back.   

We figured we'd catch the Fireworks, since were here. .   but parts of the park pathways had been closed off at this point for safety, so we had to take a really long path back towards the front of the park.   

Didn't stop me from snapping pics as we walked tho. .

we eventually came back to the front of the castle shortly before the show started.

ended up way on the left, so this first night didn't get a GREAT view (we could barely see the drones). . but some pics came out nice enough that I wanted to share.

Disneyland Paris Fireworks - THRU THE TREES !!!!!

when the show ends, there's a stampede to the exits.

Rather than get caught in that, we hovered around, and can get some nice pics of the castle lit up at night. .

as the crowd started to thin, the cast members start closing the stores one section at a time, moving the crowd towards the front exits.

I had been asked by a friend to please try to get her a DLP 30th anniversary Backpack (at the time, very hard to find) and had been told this store carried them.   

of course, Cruella. ..

they were JUST about to close off this section. . when I spotted over her rope she was pulling across. . one of the backpacks.

they had just restocked them for the morning.

I asked her could I please just go in and grab a backpack?  and she said "absolutely. . but I'd have to pay for it at one of the other registers, as she wanted to close off this area"

I thanked her profusely, and noted that I hadn't seen these at all since we'd been in the park, and she told me they sell out immediately with people buying multiples, but since my timing was good, I caught it just as they had put them out for the display.

them?  yup. .they had both versions:

I messaged Amy, to ask if she wanted both (but didn't get a response right away). . and I said, I guess i can come back in the morning  once I know which she wanted.     And the Castmember shook her head no, and said, "oh, they'll be gone 5 minutes after we open"!

So I gritted my teeth and just bought the one I thought she'd want (didn't want to buy both as these suckers are expensive!!).    Lucked out, in that the one I bought was the one she was missing, and already had the other one.

I thanked the cast member profusely, and we headed out.

it had been a very long day, but I was so satisfied and happy, and Nick had messaged me saying he was doing well and we'd talk in the morning.

So we slowly made our way back to the hotel and crashed hard.  

Tomorrow was gonna be a big day as well.. . not only Saturday, so the parks would be crowded, but I had made arrangements to go with Robb, Elissa, Kristen, and a few others to the Eiffel Tower!    So plan was to be in Studios, head out to Paris, then back and meet up with James in DLP that evening.

was gonna be another exhausting day, but well worth it.

 

[Nrthwnd]

^Awesome start to your DLPR part of the tour, Bert! A quick ask: where was your room located in the Sequoia Lodge? Last time we were there (2015), we stayed there, with the so-called "park view" that turned into a very limited-view of really neither park, lol. We hope to return in a few years or so. And are definitely wanting to stay at the Lodge, but maybe with the "garden view". The whole hotel was great, with access to the indoor pool, etc. And the Hunters Grill Restaurant there, was our fave of a lot of the 'buffet spots' everywhere (at that time).

Looking forward to more of your visit there.

 

[bert425]

the pool was closed for Renovation during my visit. *but there was a LOT of stuff undergoing construction/updates/renovation, so didn't really impact us.

 

we had a "parking lot view". . but the truth is we were barely in the room, so the view didn't matter all that much.   but a lot of greenery, was kinda nice.

lemme look and see if i have any pics from the window. . . here ya go. . I think these are from the hotel room window.

 

[Chiselphane]

I'm with you on those sculptures, I'd be broke if they had versions for sale. I LOVE that sort of thing.   Kaa is the snake's name.

[bert425]

Day 12, morning:  Walt Disney Studios

up and out for rope drop, as today was going to be a slamming busy day.

It was Saturday, so knew the parks were going to be PACKED.   as an alternate plan, I had weeks ago, booked a visit to the top of the Eiffel Tower Saturday afternoon, with the Alvey's  to get away from the crowds during the busiest part of the day.

James wasn't going to do that (tho a few others on the official trip did join us too), so we planned to go to the Disney Studios park at rope drop, I'd leave for Eiffel Tower around lunch time, and then would meet back up with James at Disneyland later that evening.

plan locked, and off we went:

 

Lovely entrance. . thru an indoor section (that I think was mostly shops - we never actually stopped here on any day - tho Brown Derbey looks like a food court)

Up ahead the main park, and the Walt & Mickey statue.

noted - we'll be back for you this morning. . . but first, we are following the crowd to the right side of the park.

 

Aladdin's flying carpets. . never really had much of a line, but I don't think we ever actually rode it here at Disney Studios.. . . I mean. . it's right next door to where everyone was going. . .

Crush's Coaster.

and yeah. . . STARTED off the day, at rope drop, with a 30 minute wait.

(we had some skip the line passes, and would use them later in the trip. . but we wanted to not waste one right away and joined the flood of folks headed here)

a few other TPR folks were in line here too first thing. . .
 

the theming, as expected, was well done.

it's a fun spinning coaster.

is it great?   no, but it IS fun, and if the line is shorter than a 30 minute wait (or you have skip the line), I'd say it's worth it.

Capacity seems to be pretty bad tho. . . so never really saw it with a "shortish" line

after a fun ride on Crush, we headed out to continue our way around the park.

during our trip, lots of construction walls were up - Avengers Campus area opened shortly after we were there.  So there really wasn't all that much to do at the time at Disney Studios.

But I did have a fun time there, and the rides they DO have, are mostly pretty great.

this ride  (cloned at several Disney parks) had really no line - I think maybe folks just miss it's there?  so James and I hopped in the queue for it.

it would have been better if it hadn't been out in the direct sunlight. . . . but with both of us in the back seat, we got some decent "whip/swing" action.

 

Crush's coaster does have this interactive section where the cars zoom by outside, enticing those walking by to come take a ride.

is it as Detailed as Car's Land at Disney California Adventure?   I dont' think so (tho never have been there since they opened it). . but I thought it was really well done here.

outside of Cars land is Toy Story area. . .

 

with a bunch of rides that LOOK way better than the actually ride.

but man, do they look good.

 

we passed by tho, as first we wanted to ride Ratatouille. . .

I'd only heard raves about this, and couldn't wait to experience it.

the Gusteau animation in the sign comes "alive" and chats with the people in the queue.

Ready for our 3D adventure!

trackless ride, similar to Pooh's Hunny Hunt system

and you ride inside a rat!   that's scurrying under counters and thru the kitchen during your adventure.

I LOVED this..and think we rode it at least 6 times during our visit.

thru the windows back there is Remy's. . the sit down restaurant, where you are shrunk down to the size of a rat for the meal.

the food there was good, but well worth it for the theming, which was amazing.

an

ok. .let's head over to Toy Story Land, entering thru the Barrel of Monkeys

 

really well done. .

 

the queue for RC Racer is great. . and the look of the ride is great.

peeking across the way at Slinky Dog. . we'd be there next

unfortunately, RC Racer looks way more thrilling than it actually is.

the restraints weren't my favorite, and the ride is really short and doesn't do much.   I think I got more airtime from a giant frisbee than this.

I'm glad we rode it, because it looks so neat. . but yeah, this was one and done for us.

 

same with Slinky Dog. . . it LOOKS just amazing.
 

and as a Toy Story fanboy?  I loved it and no way would I pass up a ride on it.

but it doesn't really DO anything.    (another 1 and done).

but it looks so great.

this is the only ride over here that I did more than once.

which is surprising, because it looks like just a standard Parachute Drop ride.

but it actually holds in spaces, and goes up as well as down during the cycle.   It was quite fun, actually.

Pic from Slinky Dog queue

 

 

too much of a glare. . but "I've been Packaged!"

 

Rex is eating his head!!!

 

ooooooooo

 

I have ZERO memory of what this is.

I recall it's from the food truck that was near the Cars Roadtrip tram ride. . but hell if I can recall.. it didn't make much of an impression, I guess.

ham and cheese?  hell if I know?

 

ah. .the infamous (ly) bad "Cars roadtrip". . the replacement for the Studios tour.

we're here, and it's a people eater, so let's ride it.

 

huge queue space, not many folks in line. . .

I know that look - "why do you wanna waste time riding THIS???"

but we did ride it.  

 

and even got a bit excited (tho that might be because we got to sit down after a full day yesterday and already a lot of walking today)

hmmm. . THIS looks . . . "familiar"

FIRE FIRE!!!

 

sparks!  and water!

lots of water

lots and lots and lots of water

 

yup

and once we saw the Eyefull tower , it was over.

really?

 

yup.

 

but the toilets over here had car part themed toilet seats. . which were cute.

I still had about 40 minutes until I had to head out to the train station, so we decided to hit the only other ride here we hadn't gotten to yet:  Tower of Terror.

the line wasn't "short". . but it was moving. . .

nah. .it was closer to 20. . but the sign was right there and with permission took a pic.

 

spooky. . .

and love the uniforms here too. . .

we moved pretty well, and made it all the way into the gas pipes room.. .

THIS close.. and the ride went down.

and stayed down.. . 5 minutes.  10 minutes.   15 minutes.

I started to panic, as I still had to leave the park and make it to the train station. . .

so at the 20 minute down time - KNOWING it was coming back up shortly - I flagged down a cast member, and told him I had to exit the line, as I had to meet up with folks.

and he walked me (and a couple of others - mainly parents with kids who had to pee ) out the back way and thru to the exit.

I powerwalked over the train station at DisneySprings.

It had been a really fun morning. . but I was pretty psyched for the trip into Paris and to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

to be continued. . .

[coastersandhockey]

I just got done reading through all the updates. You're such a wonderful trip reporter. I enjoyed every minute of reading. It has gotten me really thinking about making my own trip. I did Poland last summer, time to expand a bit.

And I am so so so sorry about your husband. You clearly have so much love for him. He was blessed to have you. I hope these writings have been therapeutic for you. Much love and I can't wait for the next update! 

[bert425]

^ thank you.

I'm actually working on the Eiffel Tower update. . it's just taking me a long time

 

 

it really has helped me in coping, tho I feel bad it's taking me so long to complete the trip report!

[Nrthwnd]

^ Take all the time you need, Bert! I am happily looking forward to your next installment.

[bert425]

again. .apologies it's taken me this long to get the next update up.

it's been a combination of two things:

1) I have well over 300 pics just from the Eiffel Tower proper - not to mention the trip there, surrounding area, etc
2) this set of pics as I saved them started with a pic Nick texted me from the hospital telling me he'd been released.  
He looks AWFUL in it, and I'm not going to share that. . but my response to him was, "they're releasing you?  you look terrible, why would they release you?"      
I do believe the reason they released him was the upcoming July 4th holiday weekend, and they didn't want to deal with patients that weren't critical over that weekend.   So yeah. . "good" news he was being released, but how he looked worried me. . . . and seeing that "blocked" me a bit from proceeding with the updates.

but. . got thru it, so here are pics from leaving Disneyland Paris, and the Eiffel Tower.  

not expecting a whole lot of commentary, as the pics speak for themselves.. but lots of pics.

 

hope you enjoy!   it was a pleasant afternoon away from what was a SUPER crowded Saturday at the parks.

 

here's the map of the Trains from the Disneyland Paris station.
we'd have to take one train into Central Paris, then switch to head to the tower.

the trains from Disneyland into central Paris were really nice double decker ones.  (I took the mask off for the pic)

 

gorgeous day. . .and lovely countryside.

the train we just got off of, to change lines once in Paris proper

 

and shortly.. we were pulling into the Tower station. . .  wowza

yeah. . these are the trains for inside the city. . . LOL. . SLIGHT step down from the one we rode on from DLP.

 

but walking from the station to the tower itself was fully immersive, and lovely.   didn't feel unsafe, even in this touristy area (tho for sure watch your pockets!)

stopped to get a quick drink from the many food carts, and street vendors that are all around the outside block of the Eiffel Tower.

 

it runs on farts!

 

stunning when standing right underneath it.

and surrounded on 3 sides by lovely parks/greenery.   We were a little early for our prebought tickets to the top, so walked around the outside of the tower to take in the scenery.

 

oh look!   "Mickey" is here. . .

gimme money kid, you posed for a picture!   

(just like Times Square, or Vegas)

it really is such a lovely space around the area. . and the beautiful day made it even better.   Clear skies.

one of the many vendors surrounding the tower selling souvenirs (official ones, I'm sure. . :P)

another quick stop for a snack, and then it was almost time for our tickets. . .

follow the signs!

so cool!

Ryan and I in line (with the Alveys). . .yup, even with the prebought tix, there was quite a line!

but it is absolutely imperative that you pre-buy, as they had signs up saying tickets to the top were sold out, so they were only selling tix to the level below that.

here's the line!

 

but eventually, you get thru the security checks, and get loaded into the elevators (there is no longer an option to climb the steps up to the 2nd platform as they had to rescue too many people. .. going down the steps from the top is still allowed tho).

the elevators get packed (mask back on for me!). . but very cool

the elevators bring you to the platform 2/3ds of the way out, where there are some gorgeous views:

 

but we had tix to go to the top.. so around the corner, and into another elevator - which has a cool window you can look up to watch as you climb up the tower

all the way at the top!

and wow, the beautiful day really helps with the view

 

up here at the top, there's a little window that sells Macrons (in a collectible tin), and champagne & caviar.

 

expensive, but you know what?  once in a lifetime, so I did the Macrons.

 

ooo..  is that a Carousel I see down there?

also up here, one staircase down, is a little museum about the Tower, who built it and with some neat little models:

zooming in on the Louvre from the top of the Eiffel Tower

 

and Notre Dame

ok. . time to head down.

Kristen wanted to take the stairs.. so most of us went with her that way.   But first we had to go down a level to catch the elevator back down to the lower level that we had taken the main elevator from.

 

to be continued with a more pics. .

[bert425]

Finishing up Eiffel Tower pics:

 

I touched the tower, and I liked it.

wonder if I made that woman who is married to it Jealous?

 

Albert & April posing for a pic for me, before we started the trek down the steps. .

the level the main elevators bring you to, and where you can take the stairs from.

shops and stores here too. . with less pricey macrons. . oh, still expensive, but not "in a fancy box bought from the top of the tower" expensive.

 

the best part of taking the stairs down, is how you can get some interesting views and pics of the structure of the tower.

 

and while we were going down the stairs, we had the elevator going up passing us.

what's cool about the elevator is that they have a mannequin sitting outside the lower level pretending to manually operate it - as they did in the "olden" days.

see?  cool

at the lowest level (that the public has free access to, I believe), there are shops, a restaurant, and the tower store.

oh, and a clear floor you can walk on that freaked a lot of people out while I was there.

 

and then it was back to ground level.

excursion over, and tho we had been gone for at least 4-5 hours, there was still plenty of time to do things at DLP (open till 11).

so we headed back to the train station.

here's that carousel I had spotted from the top.

 

confusing (to me) train map. . I was glad I had gone with the Alveys instead of trying to go myself.

at least the ride back is mostly in the nicer double deck trains

 

and that was my excursion to the Eiffel tower.      we got back, and I headed into Disney to meet up with James for the rest of the afternoon. . that report coming in the next few days.

 

hope you've enjoyed the pics!

 

[Nrthwnd]

Mmmmmmm, love that Tower! Every trip we've made to Paris, always included a trip up Eiffel's creation.

The 'architecture' of it is always amazing to me.

Thanks for all the wonderful views of it, and the surrounding area, Bert!