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

[teacherkim]

Well, thanks. Now I have to go to the one french bakery here and buy Macrons. Tasty tasty love child of a cookie and a piece of cake  I'm sure I gained at least a few pounds eating them in Paris when I was there. 

Glad you enjoyed Paris, it really is a lovely city to explore.

[bert425]

Eiffel Tower Swag. . .

 

[Nrthwnd]

Great Eiffel souvenir stuff there, Bert! I think though, I have the Full Version of the Tower, above there.

From our 2015 Tour de Paris et Amsterdam.

[Satchboogie3]

Did you get to try Laduree macarons?   Pierre Herme are great, but Laduree are the best 

[bert425]

2 hours ago, Satchboogie3 said:

Did you get to try Laduree macarons?   Pierre Herme are great, but Laduree are the best 

I did!   I picked some up at the airport to take back home as well

[Satchboogie3]

I've passed Walygator soo many times now driving back from the Alps, but just never worked out.   Closest was during covid, I stopped by the park, but got denied entry due to the just instituted covid passport at the time.   I actually would have stopped yesterday as I was driving back from Italy, but of course the park closes at 5pm so I wouldn't have had enough time.    One day... (but honestly the Alps take priority )

[bert425]

ok, almost a year later. . . . so have GOT to finish this TR.

 

let's get back to it (with hopefully not a lot of commentary). . . .back at Disneyland Paris post Eiffel Tower. . .

 

coming back from the train station, I stopped to snap some pics of the under re-furb Disneyland Hotel, and the main entrance (way less people in the shots now that it was afternoon)

tho still very busy in the park.

Main Street USA, Paris style

the castle here really is stunningly gorgeous. . .love the topiaries around it.

in front of the castle, pointing back towards the main gates.

coming out thru the castle into Fantasyland. . get a beautiful view of the Lancelot Carousel. . and people trying to pull the sword from the stone.

even from the back, love this castle!

 

and those that know me?

 

of COURSE I stopped on my way to meet up with James. . I had a pony to ride

I believe he met up with me at the Carousel, and we decided to hit some of the other Fantasyland rides.

Luckily we had the "quickpass" option here at DLP, and I believe most of the Fantasyland rides were on that option. . tho we still had some short waits.

tho we DID have to wait in the line for Pinocchio. . I think that's why I have a pic of this queue. . as no fast option, but the line moved really fast.

 

the Dumbo setting here is really impressive.    Huge lines tho, so think we didn't ride it until the next day, or day after.

line on the right?  standby (*estimated 40 min)

line on left:  Quick Queue (or Premier Access). . . walk on.

worth EVERY penny.

we were going to meet up with Chris and John for dinner over at Captain Jack's (think Blue Bayou) as they had reservations with extra seating for two and had invited us along.

but we still had some time. . . so we braved the Cheshire Cat and the other animatronics (and water features) in Alice's Maze.

 

and then headed over to Pirates to meet up with Chris & John.

the food was comparable to what I recall the food being like at Blue Bayou in TDL. . but my biggest memory was this was my first exposure to "Parisian dining".

we were dying of thirst (myself in particular, as hadn't stopped to have a drink since got on train back from Eiffel tower). . but the service was.  . . . "relaxed"

this meal took, almost 2 hours, if I'm recalling correctly.     the waiter was charming, and I LOVED the atmosphere. . but did start to get a bit annoyed at how long everything was taking, as the evening started to slip away from me - and I realize I probably wouldn't have minded taking a nice long break in the relaxed atmosphere (and air conditioned) if i hadn't been gone most of the day and really wanted to spend less time eating and more time out in the park.

but be warned, the meals take time, so block at least 1 1/2 hours and possibly longer.

the company was excellent tho. . so no complaining about that

menu

atmosphere. .

our charming - and VERY flirty - waiter.

he was cute. . but in my head kept thinking. . . "speed it up a little bit, please?"

as with the versions at other Disney parks. . the restaurant is basically inside Pirates, so you can watch the boats go by as you eat.
(we were seated right along the water too)

 

I believe the fish soup?

and I believe the baked Mahi Mahi

with pineapple shortbread for desert

 

the meal was good. . but it was already beginning to get dusky by the time we finished. . so we headed to Tomorrowland right away.

wanted to get some rides on a few "must do" we hadn't gotten the prior evening, and I really wanted to see this section of the park at night (spoiler:  it does NOT disappoint at night)

Autopia..

Star Tours

the main load area of Hyperspace Mountain is. . .impressive. .

Buzz Lightyear. .

even the bathroom areas in Tomorrowland are really pretty. .

 

no quick queue for this one either. . . so with a 20 minute standby noted, we just hopped in line.

 

as the neon really started to kick in?  wowza. . .

 

this STILL makes me laugh.

that poor little girl. . of COURSE she spent the whole ride crushed by momma's back. . . LOL
(we were wondering if the attendants would tell them to swap seats. . but nope!  checked seatbelts and thumbs up!)

by the time we got off the rockets, it was almost time for fireworks, so we headed into the main plaza and secured a spot to watch the presentation.

wow. .  (my camera makes it look a bit lighter than it was. . it was already close to 11 at this point, so nice and dark)

drones. . .

 

so cool. ..

and when you realize it makes a mickey hat "30" even cooler.

with a better angle, it would have been right over the castle.

when the show ends, and everyone POURS out of Disney. . . the two "hidden" walkways - behind Mainstreet USA on either side, are nice, way more quiet, ways to get to the front gates.

and they are beautiful.  can spend a while just enjoying the atmosphere back here, and the window displays.

puts you out right at the main circle by the train station.

 

exhausted by this point, but have to walk back to our hotel thru the Paris version of Downtown Disney (Disney Village I believe it's called)

blurry. . but an iconic sign, so had to include the pic.

back at our hotel, while cutting thru the lobby, I noticed this fun little animatronic display - so of course, snapped a pic.

and then into the room, where I talked to Nick. . .  who told me he was home, and felt fine (tho it still scared me how awful he looked in that pic he had sent earlier), and then I crashed.

today had been super busy, but tomorrow was another full day at Disney, and I couldn't wait!

[bert425]

Andy shared these pics with me. . taken from a more central location for the fireworks. .and as he's a really good photographer?  way better than my pics.

so sharing these too, from the same showing we saw, tho we were off to the right near Tomorrowland entrance, and he was dead center with a real camera, not an iPhone

 

 

[bert425]

Gigantic photo dump from Day 3 at DLP Complex (trying to finish up before I leave for next adventure).

 

We started out Day 3 at Studios, then headed to DLP, then back to Studios for dinner reservation at Remy's before finishing night off at DLP (Studios closes much earlier than DLP, so by the time dinner was over, we were really the only ones left in the park and just headed right to DLP).

hope you enjoy the pics!

not the greatest coaster on site - but it's a fun spinner, with some excellent effects, so we started the day here, before the line got huge.

I believe we also took a spin on Ratatouille & Tower of Terror, before heading into Toy Story land to pick up what we had skipped the prior day . . . wandering the park - which is pretty empty in the mornings, other than Crush's Coaster (but recall, this was before Avenger's Campus opened. . so that might have changed)

overall the rides in Toy Story Land are kinda "meh". . tho the parachute drop was way more fun than I had expected.

but the design work over here is incredible.

a photo op?

why of course!

wheeeeee!

 

we hadn't eaten yet today (we didn't get meal plan with the booking James and I had). . so we decided to grab some Mickey Waffles. . . but check out the 30th specials they had going.

 

that's what I want. . a Mickey waffle with Nutella.

sitting down to wait for our waffles, looking at the almost open Avengers Campus (it would open about 10 days after our visit. . . so an excuse to come back!)

 

umm

 

i THINK there's a Mickey under there.

 

OMG. . If I liked Nutella before?   I hated it about halfway thru this. . SO cloyingly sweet, I couldn't even finish it.

but we had a good laugh over just how much was on the waffle and how it just obliterated Mickey!

headed out of Studios, we passed Mickey waving hello to all those coming in (who didn't have early entry from the hotels)

and Goofy out doing photos (he had a big line, so didnt' stop)

a short walk over to DLP, and we got stopped by the 1st parade of the day. . . but it worked out pretty good, as we had a fantastic view as they were coming out from the start of the parade.

I still have nightmares over this Genie! 

I swear. .it might be small-ish, but the castle here really is stunning.

we headed into Fantasyland to hit the rides that are not covered with the "Fast Pass" option they have here as early as possible.

1st up was Snow White.

yeah.

tho the lines do move pretty fast. . . lots of short "back and forth" queues.

 

and right next door to Pinocchio . . this one I think we did wait almost 30 minutes for.. but we wanted to get a ride on it, and not covered by the skip the lines options.

 

after getting Snow White and Pinocchio out of the way, we headed over to Peter Pan - which thankfully IS included in the skip the lines passes we got.

that's a huge (mostly outdoor) line, that's hidden behind the building.   But happily, the "Premier Access" was less than 2 minutes!   Worth every penny.

 

and then it was time to explore Alice's Labryinth. . . one of the many "walk thru" attractions unique to DLP.

spoiler - I LOVED this, and could have easily spent another hour in here.

the queen's tower, that looms over the labyrinth. .

with some pretty fantastic views

this is looking towards the storybook boat ride, and Casey Jr. train)

towards the front of the park/castle

down to see those lost in the Labyrinth

there are "hidden" pop up figures of the Queen thruout the Labyrinth. . not all of them were working on our visit, but the ones that were?  really startle the hell out of you when they pop up (they must be motion activated)

funhouse mirrors in the tower (and what looked to be a slide that is no longer in use . . it was blocked off and full of people's trash)

exiting the tower. .   or maybe the entrance?  there are all kinds of ways to go in the Labyrinth

if you know me? 

you know I DO love me a good throne. . .

 

onward to the Storybook minatures boatride!

the land of Oz. . .  at Disney????

 

to be continued in part II . . .

[bert425]

Part II:. . . .

 

after the boats, we headed next door to the Casey Jr. Train. . .

 

 

the best way for Children to travel - in cages.

 

ooo. . we were gonna be "Poneys" 

(and James' arm directing the little girl that she's exiting the wrong side of the train. . LOL)

I really do love how the two rides back here interact with each other. . . and it's TOTALLY separate from the rest of the park.

it's really like you're not even in a theme park.

 

we then (at my begging) went back to Peter Pan - it's among my top 3 dark rides. . and besides, we had been gifted "Skip the lines" from some folks that had to leave the prior day, so we had two times access to this (the way the Skip the lines work here, is you get one time skip on a list of certain rides. . but since they had left, they sent us photo-snaps of the passes they didn't use so we could use them).

I mean. . I'm really only happier when on a Carousel.

(I also had gotten that message from Nick that he was out of the hospital, recall, so I was really enjoying this day)

blurry as hard to get a shot of the indoor, moving, dark ride with my phone. .

but then the ride stopped (probably to load a Handi-Capabble person). . so was able to get some nice pics of Capt. Hook!

and the mermaids

heading over to Pirates of the Caribbean (which I think we rode while over here?), we did another DLP walkthru along the way - a massive Cave Complex on Skull Island.

 

looks like this was intended at one point to be a Jungle Cruise type ride (that DLP does not have). . . not really missed, but would fit in well here, I'd think,

 

blocked off entrance to what seemed to be a "raft" type attraction that perhaps existed at one point over here. . . I mean there were some figurines set along the riverside, so there must have been some reason they were put there ?

see?  the folks from "Up"

 

and then we just happened to stumble across a photo op with King Louie !

we took a wrong turn and ended up at Indiana Jones (the paths in DLP are a bit confusing).

can't recall if we rode it again or not.. I know it was included in our Premier access, so we probably did.

and passed Baloo !   (tho he's no King Louie, so didn't stop. . LOL)

 

but we eventually found our way to what we wanted to go on next. . the best version of BTM.

and with our pass, was a pretty short wait.

and since over here. . . .of COURSE gonna go take *another* spin on Phantom Manor

pics from the walk over to that.

but along the way? 

a snack.

 

I'd seen Kristen have one of these the day before over at the Eiffel tower. . and really wanted to try it.

it was amazingly good.  Highly recommended if in Paris.    Kinda like a Sherbet pop.

'

Unlike in the USA?  they still have the shooting galleries here.

ok. . now in the Phantom Manor line.

the queue wasn't long, and I really wanted to see the theming in the queue.. so we did Standby so I could take pictures.

 

 

hmmm. .what's this?

thru these gates is a "graveyard". .that's similar to the queues for the USA versions of this ride.  I wonder if this was at one point the main entrance to the ride?

it's off to the right of the main ride, and we were really the only ones over here. . but the tombstones had a theme, and some of them "groaned" or "breathed". . . so I guess you could count this as another DLP walkthru experience

 

speaking of Walk Thru. . we then went thru another of DLP's signature walk-thrus. . the Legends of the Wild West fort.

a real bird made a nest among the mannequins. . LOL

pretty nice break from the crowds, so even if not SUPER interesting? the walk thrus are a good way to get a bit of a breather.

 

our dinner plans tonight were at Chez Remy over in Studios. . but tomorrow we had lunch booked at Cafe Agrabah. . and we hadn't been into Adventureland yet.. . (no real rides over here. .not even an Aladdin's Flying Carpets - those are over in Studios).

let's check it out.

 

a cast member told us a story about this chandelier. . which I don't really remember now.   but I think it's a replica (or maybe the original) that was given to the Premier of Paris from an Egyptian leader?  

it was very cool tho.

 

found where we need to go tomorrow!  (and the food was excellent by the way)

 

ohhh. .what's this?  

(folks were rushing thru it, as if it were a ride queue, but it's actually another Walk Thru attraction, telling the Aladdin story via miniature dioramas)

 

to be continued in Part III

 

[SharkTums]

She does love that Super Twister ice pop! 

[bert425]

^ I'm shocked how good they were!

I've had middle of the night cravings for it.. . no, really!

it's like rasperry, and orange sherbet. . so good!

 

[bert425]

cont. . .Part III

I had heard of fantastic things within the Castle, but we hadn't made it over that way yet.

so that was the next stop.. if we could navigate the weird pathways in the park, after we left Adventureland . . LOL

pretty tho!  (and NO ONE back here)

ah. .we came out along side the castle. ..

 

One of my favorite pics from this day (and one I sent home to Nick)

some of the kinetic metal sculptures over here that I hadn't seen yet:

and down this path. . not really marked, but it SEEMS to be leading somewhere. .

 

ahhhh. . . I had heard there was something evil living in the basement of the castle!

 

a bit hard to see in the pics, but an INCREDIBLE animatronic dragon Malificent that moves and puffs smoke at those who dare come to look at it.

 

as they say in the infomericals tho. . . .BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!!!

upstairs?  you can actually enter the castle, where the story of Sleeping Beauty is told via a walkthru filled with Tapestries and Stained Glass Windows.

this is probably the most stunning walkthru at the park, and highly recommended.

 

*and* the walkthru allows you to go outside on the Castle walkways, to get some lovely views of not just Fantastyland, and the castle itself, but also other areas of the park:

(I see you Lancelot's Carousel. . .. and I hear you calling my name)

 

yeah. the Carousel is huge, and can seat a lot of people.    but there's also a lot of people in line.

but you bet your butt I waited to ride it.

beautiful!

 

I have absolutely NO idea what this is from.   My gut says "Snow White" and I do recall we rode it again at some point, as it had just come back up from downtime, so it was basically a walk on as it opened as we were passing.

but that's too many folks in front of me - do they stack ride vehicles at the end?  maybe that's what this is?

and I spotted Cinderella's chariot!  off by itself with no one around.

this park has so many "hidden" things all over. . you just have to really pay attention to the details.

it was almost time to head over to Studios. . tho we had a bit of time before dinner.

this appears to be Star Tours. . tho I can't recall if we rode it in DLP before heading over to Studios?  or if it's actually in Studios?

I just know we rode it.

ok..Star Tours must have been in DLP. . because here we are going back into Studios. . .

 

not super busy over here today!  (it was a Sunday if I recall). . but DLP was pretty crowded.

my camera says we took a ride on Tower of Terror

 

and then Ratatouille

awwwww. . how CUTE!!!

 

the Ratatouille ride exits with glass walls that let you peek into Remy's Restaurant!

hi TPR folks enjoying a meal

our reservation still wasn't for about 30 minutes. .

 

so we just relaxed in the area.

 

the lobby of the restaurant - which is themed as if you're a mouse, so everything is giant.

the attention to detail is pure Disney level. .tho still not exactly sure what this is!  (tho we took guesses.. LOL)

the Menu. .

looking thru the other side of the glass.. into the Ride exit.

 

wanna see the food?  sure you do!  (and yes, it was all very good)

this was the Duck Pate en crute (with fig jam).

my main was the roast Cod

and desert was the lava cake.  Not quite "lava-y" enough, but still pretty good.

 

as noted earlier, meals in DLP complex are "take your time, sloooooow"  so I think this meal took about 1:45. .and by the time we were done, the park was closed.

At least allowed me to get some good pics on the way out:

Mickey waving goodbye on the balcony on the way out.

back over to DLP. .which is open a good 3 hours past Studios.

and folks had already staked out places for fireworks.

good.. we saw them the prior two nights. . . .we're gonna do other stuff!

Like buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin

and Hyperspace Mountain

 

and why not?  Autopia
and I'm so glad we did. . Autopia was SO much fun. .and absolutely beautiful as it got darker.

Don't miss this one if at DLP

 

they had this Star Wars meet and Greet (think it was Darth Vader). . but the hours were so weird, we were never by there when it was open.

we went the back way around to Fantasyland

(no Small World for us, as it was down for refurb during our visit)

 

but I'm pretty sure we rode the teacups (under this lovely covering)

and based on her uniform, we swung by Pirates too.

and most likely a night ride on Big Thunder Mountain.

 

ooooo. . pretty.

I'm pretty sure we were wiped out, so left just before the fireworks started. . .so we beat the crowd out.

which would be why everyone is coming towards us, as exiting here.

 

back at the hotel. . I did some wandering and found a Chip & Dale themed "event" area. . basically a scavenger hunt around the property, if I'm recalling.

with video clues.

 

if you noticed me carrying a big vinyl DLP 30 bag in some pics?  it's because when we rode Tower of Terror earlier in the day, I got talked into purchasing a picture as they were running a special where a lovely (heavy) cardboard frame comes with.

they DIDN'T tell me that the hugely awkwardly shaped thing was *not* one of the items that you could buy and have sent back to the hotel to hold for you.  Tho they gladly sold me the bag to carry it around in all day.

yeah.. . .still. . it IS a great picture, and it survived the whole trip home!

 

and that ends Day 3.

 

thanks for following along!

 

[bert425]

Day 4 - 4th of July, and final day in the parks

Not everyone had stayed for 4 days after the end of the official trip, so several of the TPR folks had already headed out.

James and I still had a full day - as did a few others, and we ended up meeting up with a couple of them to hang this day.  Taking it easy, doing things we hadn't done yet (like the riverboat, the train, and some shows).

we had a lunch reservation at Aggrabah Marketplace, and made plans to meet up with Jere there.

early entry today for hotel guests was DLP, so we got up bright and early and headed over.

but first a peek out the window at our view from our room at the Paris version of Wilderness Lodge:

Lobby "decorated" for 4th of July

tho not sure this would fly as politically correct in USA these days.

it was early enough, and a Monday (I think), so there weren't a whole lot of folks around and finally got this photo op I'd been eyeballing for a few days!

Mickey waving hello to guests at 8:30 as we entered the park

 

I swear. . I think this might be my favorite of the Castles. . . just so damn pretty.

we headed directly into Fantasyland to reride the dark rides. . . but since no one was around?  I tried to pull the sword from the stone.

fail

 

but, I mean, this is why we headed to Fantasyland first:

the queue for Snow White

the queue for Pinocchio

the queue for freaking Peter Pan !!! 

(this is the hidden outdoors part I mentioned in yesterday's pics)

by the time we knocked out the 3 dark rides, folks were starting to show up in Fantasyland, and the standbys were starting to get some folks in them.

still only a 5 minute wait at this point tho

and Dumbo was almost a walk on. . so headed to that "not yet ridden" gem. .

Great views of the surrounding area from up high on Dumbo. . and a pretty long cycle too, if I recall.

whee!

after Dumbo, we decided to head towards Pirates for a ride, stopping for random photo ops, or walkthrus along the way.

in Adventureland. . I guess I thought if I didn't just rub the lamp, I'd get more wishes?

 

bed of nails, make me holla!

oh look. . we ended up at BTM, where the Maintenance guys were intensely watching the loading of the trains. . . .I guess they started out with a rough day here?  but it was running fine when we got to it.

the Molly Brown from the BTM exit queue. . we were gonna take a ride on this today.

would have done the balloon as well - it hadn't been flying on prior days - but we simply ran out of time..

it was NOTICEABLY less crowded today, as it wasn't the weekend any longer. . . . and the park had out all the "other" transportation running.

including the horse-drawn trolley on Main Street

and the Antique Car rides on main street.

I know I did these in TDL/TDS. . but I can't recall if we rode these here?  (as you can see, no line at all, so I'm betting we did take a spin around Main Street USA)

then over to Hyperspace Mountain.

the design on these trains. . . so wonderful.

Nemo's submarine in front of Hyperspace Mountain!  I hadn't noticed that prior.

and yet more metal movement sculptures I hadn't seen yet.

DLP really should sell miniature versions of these. . I'd buy a Genie in a heartbeat.

we decide to do the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse - which hadn't been open the prior days (maybe staffing??). . but was open today.

along the way tho we passed the caves and Skull island, and one of the folks hanging with us today hadn't been inside the caves yet.. so we did a walk thru.

 

inside the giant skull, looking out

and headed into (and up) the treehouse.

 

a closer look at the Shooting Gallery (cropping out the kid who was staring at me taking a picture - something that happened a LOT, you may notice. . the kids always stare right at you when you're taking a picture.  in many cases, can't crop em out. . here I could)

 

another spin on Phantom Manor.. think this was #7 or #8 during our visit.   such a well done version.

 

geysers!   part of the show for the riverboat, but visible from the exit of Phantom Manor

it was time for lunch, so we headed over to Adventureland to go to the restaurant.

easily one of my favorite themed Disney restaurants. . I mean. . look at these pics!  it's like you're eating on the streets of a city.

(and it didn't hurt that the food was very good too.  nothing super fancy, but if you like Mediterranean food? highly recommended)

 

stuffed full. . we needed something really relaxing. . so it was time for the Riverboat. . . we went into the upper deck (some great views, but man did it get hot up there in the direct sun).

a nice 20 minute or so ride tho.. . really enjoyed it

cleverly disguised docking area for when the boat needs maintenance  (or where they keep the backup boat)

plastic animals. . LOL

 

and the geysers from the boat!

 

and since BTM is on the island that the Riverboat goes around?  you really can get some great pics from it.

upon re-docking, we took a quick peek thru some of the interior rooms on the lower deck as we were making our way to the exits.

 

still a bit full tho, and not ready for anything.. "thrilling"    

but luckily, the Train Station is closeby the Riverboat Dock. .and the train was gonna be by momentarily.

and I DID want to ride it.. . .

real animals on the other side of the station, here.

 

nerd shot for you train surveilance fans

the cars really are quite lovely.

I can't recall if this station by Fantasyland was open. . I'm thinking it wasn't, as I only recall the stops in Frontierland, and at the front gates.

 

but it does go behind Alice's Labyrinth . . and you get a nice view of the park & castle from the train.

 

including a great shot of that closed slide I mentioned that was in the Queen's tower in the Labyrinth

 

oh, this was pretty neat.   A drained "it's a Small World" (which was down for refurb during our visit)

 

pulling into the Tomorrowland station - which I know for certain was closed down.. . so we just stopped there for a moment, before continuing on.

the Engineer said that they hadn't used this station for a while (it's above the Star Wars Meet and Greet)

 

some lovely views of Hyperspace Mountain from the train.

 

but we exited at the front gate stop.

there were several things we wanted to do in Studios, so we headed under the DLP Hotel, and over that direction. . .

 

to be continued. . .

[bert425]

Day 4 Part II:

we made the short walk from DLP over to Studios. . noting the Balloon was still flying - tho it was all the way over on the other side of Disney Springs. . .so wasn't going to make that detour . .

 

and here we are back at Studios.

I THINK we may have headed over to Ratatouille and gotten a ride, before getting in line for the next showing of Frozen - we had tried to make the showing, but it was completely full, so we joined the other folks who missed the showing and just queued up for the next one.  Reminded me very much of how you have to do it in Tokyo Disneyland as well.

(again. . taking a picture, so the kid (and mom in this case too) stares right at my camera)

 

 

at least the queue has some very interesting animation style drawings to look at while waiting (tho no benches)

eventually they let us into the cooler lobby - filled with all kinds of neat animation stuff to explore.

it's a show about the Sister and her boyfriend (and Sven) throwing a birthday party for Elsa in her Ice Castle. . and we're all invited too!

but they don't tell you it's a standing show. . . so tho very entertaining, and I enjoyed it immensely. . my feet were hurting a bit.

you start off in the cabin for a few scenes/songs.

and they teach you the moves to "Let it Go". . so when we're at the Ice Castle we can surprise Elsa by moving along.

and then you move as a big group into the next theater (also standing).. for a pretty impressive light-mapped set.

and an impressive Olaf puppet

 

Let it go!  

Everybody move along and sing!  

(lol. the number of shots I got with arms in the air, that I had to edit out. . .LOL)

 

overall a very entertaining show, and I recommend it.

we exited, and realized we were less than 20 minutes from the showing of the "big" show on property. . . Mickey the Magician (or something similar) that features many Disney Characters, and magic, while also performing songs from the films.

big theater, so no issue getting into this one. . tho we were pretty far back.

I enjoyed the show, and really didn't pull out camera for any pics until the curtain calls. . . but it was very good, and I'd absolutely see it again

(and best part?  seats!)

 

 

from there it was over to Tower of Terror for another ride (or two)

 

LOVED how they sell the Mickey & Minnie ears.. with a mirror in the center, so you can "see" how you'd look wearing them

there was still one ride here I wanted to go on, and we hadn't yet - the Cars Jamboree. . .(or whatever it's called). .so we popped in over there and found no line this late in the day.

 

whee!

a quick stroll thru for a last look at Cars Land - tho we didn't' ride anything in here.

seriously, as impressive as RC Racer LOOKS. .it's lame, and really not worth waiting more than 5 minutes in line for (same with SlinkyDog here)

 

but the Parachutes were fun, and I'd ride those again.

headed out to close out the evening in Disney. . we found no line at the Monsters Inc photo op.

 

Don't mind if I do!

 

even James got in the spirit

we rode a few other things and did some shopping.

I LOVED this, and really, really wanted it.  but didn't want to schlep it home.   I

also had a text from Nick telling me that he had been brought back to the Hospital. . so I was kind of freaking out
 

 

as a distraction, we went over to Tomorrowland, and rode Hyperspace Mountain again.  and walked around a bit. . .

 

the steampunk soda machines were pretty cool.

if I recall, this was a stage that was not in use any longer (since the pandemic), but it was attached to a big food/beverage complex.  

So it was just being used as seating to relax and eat.

i'm sure they'll make use of it again, it's too good of a stage to be wasted as just rest area.

 

. . but I clearly was in a state where I wasn't gonna enjoy the rest of the night. . and as there wasn't really anything we still wanted to do, we made the call to close it down just a little early and head back to the hotel to rest up for my flight back the next day (James was taking a train)

but as we passed the area where the Balloon launch is?  yup. already closed for the night.   Just wasn't meant to be.  oh well.

reason to go back, as I say.

James went into the room and I called Nick on the phone while I strolled around outside, as reception in the room was terrible.   I knew it was super early in the morning in Texas, but he had texted me earlier he had been put in a room now and call when I could.

he sounded good. . he told me that he was having trouble breathing again so he called his friend Sharm to bring him to the hospital (after i yelled at him for driving himself the prior time, so he did good on that).   The diagnosis was that his other lung had now collapsed, and they had him on machinery helping (which is why he sounded good). 

tho the specialist we had been seeing had tried to avoid any surgery (since he never reacted well to it after) we were at the point where they HAD to operate, as both lungs were now failing.   

They had scheduled the surgery for Wed (the day after I got back)..and I warned him I was worried I wouldn't be able to be there if I had been exposed to anything while on the plane - but the universe looked out for me and I never got Covid. . not for the entire time he was in the Hospital.

Since my flight was in the morning, there was no point in trying to do anything sooner, as he was where he needed to be, and told me just to rest and that he'd see me Wed morning.

feeling a bit relieved, I took a couple of pics of the area:

including one I sent to him. .

and then went to the room to pack up for the flight home the next day.

end of Day 4 at DLP - thanks for reading along!

[bert425]

DLP swag:

 

this is one of my favorite things I bought.   it has glow in the dark sections.
(too bad in Texas it's so hot, I've only worn it once since I got it)

[bert425]

Finishing this up. . .well. .it only took me almost a year after the trip started to finish!

the final day - flight home.

Up way too early. . and I didn't get too much sleep (was worried about Nick, and also there was an airline workers strike going on while I was in France, and I was concerned it might impact my flights)

 

but I was the only one from my Disney Hotel who had booked an airport shuttle. . and only a couple of others joined. . . so I had almost my own private bus to get to the airport.

sat close to the front so could chat with the driver during the trip.

only 3 other passengers

my last glimpse of the French Countryside (for THIS trip at least)

soon enough we were at the airport, and was pleased that my flights (via United) were not affected at all by the strike.

luggage checked, and thru security rather quickly. . I made a stop at some of the stores in CDG airport to pick up some macrons for folks at home.

and enjoyed some Starbucks and a waffle to wake me up and get me perky for my flight.

 

soon enough it was time to board.   I believe I was in Premium Plus for the long flight back. . which meant "not nice enough to get silverware & plates" but still a decent meal.

tho it looked much better once unwrapped.

 

later in the flight, we were given "breakfast"

 

eventually we landed in USA, and had to go thru Customs.  

can't really recall what airport, but I'm guessing from this photo I took by Customs exit, it was Newark?

change of plane, and schlep my bag over to the other flight check in. . and I was almost home.

but there were some slight delays. 

luckily, my best friend was willing to pick me up super late at the airport and drive me all the way home (as Nick had dropped me off at the start of the trip, I had no way home since he was in hospital).

I texted him and told him I had made it back safely, and that I would test in the morning and then be there.
 

THANK G-D the universe looked out for me:

I was at his room by 6am, and he seemed to be in good spirits.

soon enough they had him prepped for Surgery:

. . which WAS a success, by the way.

it wasn't until 3 days after the surgery (the morning of when he was supposed to be released) that I got a call from him at 4am telling me they had moved him down to ICU.

but "don't worry, go back to sleep and he'll see me when I get there later". . . yeah.. .I was at the hospital (an hour away) 40 minutes later.

He was in ICU for 2 1/2 weeks - and tested Negative for Covid the whole time.  Despite the nurses telling me to leave, I refused, and was there with him the whole time (other than running home every few days to shower and change). 

when they told us we needed to be "prepared". . . I got him home (his final wish was to pass at home). . and he was here for 9 1/2 hours of really good time before he started to go downhill quickly.  
(won't share any pics of that. . . . because.. well, I just won't)

it's been just over 10 months, and I'm still brokenhearted and it hits me often how much I miss him. . . but I'm glad the therapist told me to start working on this Trip Report.

it really did help.

 

and I think he'd be thrilled knowing that I'm headed out on another adventure soon.

 

thanks for reading.

bert

[Coastinmiller]

Still have my deepest condolences, Bert.

[teacherkim]

I am POSITIVE he would be/is happy that you have pushed on and are going on another adventure. Have a blast my friend!!