Disney in the French quarter - completed, WITH NEW PHOTOS AT THE END! About This Page:

[ProChristo]

Your report continues to be entertaining!

I noticed in your photo with Eeyore that he has no thumbs. Maybe that's why he can't sign autographs? Does Eeyore have thumbs in Orlando? I can't remember...

Sounds like Cafe Mickey was a winner for the character interactions. Maybe you caught the chef on a bad day.

[statelady01]

Just catching up with this Cheryl and as usual, I am enjoying it so much!

Looking forward to more!

[chezp]

Friday 26 September – part four: some old favourites and a new show



After lunch, we went back to the Newport Bay Club for an hour or so’s break, as it was my plan to head back to the parks later until closing, something we hadn't done since we'd been here and I liked the idea of seeing the parks at night. I was quite hopeful that even though the Disneyland park closed at 8 p.m. and it was still quite light then, they'd be starting to illuminate things and I could get some photographs.



We left the hotel at about 3:45 p.m., so we'd be at the studios in time for the 4:15 p.m. showing of Animagique. There were no buses for the parks when we walked through the lobby and even the little train which runs to the Disney Village wasn't running at that time of the day, so it was more walking for us!



We made it to the studios by 4:05 p.m. and managed to get closer to the front for Animagique. Interestingly enough, the CM's did tell quite a few people off for videoing and taking photos, it seems we got away with it last time because we were further back! After Animagique, it was off on another Backlot Tour. Of course, we knew not to sit on the left side of the tram and as it wasn't full for the tour that wasn't a problem. But others didn't have our knowledge. You should've seen them move when the water came down in Catastrophe Canyon!



What we got off the tour, it was 5 p.m. and I thought we had 15 minutes before the next showing of Cinemagique, but then DH noticed the final showing of the day was in fact that 5 p.m., so we ran over to it, egged on by the CM us. They can be rotten, because they let about another dozen people in before closing the doors, so we needn't have run.



After Cinemagique, we went over to the Disneyland park, as there were no more shows off Moteurs, Action - the only other thing we wanted to catch again at the Studios.





Outside the front of the Studios



It was odd walking into the park with so many people leaving, but despite the late hour, it was still quite busy. We hopped on the same Main Street bus we caught earlier and again we were on the top, but this time we managed to get the front seats, so we had a great view.



The whole time we'd been at Disneyland Paris, we had kept seeing offers for annual passports for 30 Euros, which we thought was too good to be true and very cheap, so we went to find out more from their annual passport bureau. Of course it was too good to be true, the 30 Euros rate was only opento residents of certain parts of France and for the rest of us, it would be another €149. Taking off the price of your existing tickets still left us with €109 to pay, not the great deal we hoped for somehow.



After that disappointment, we made our way over to Vidoepolis in Discoveryland for Mickey's Showtime, a show with Disney characters and young dancers and singers. It was a great show and the singers all had amazing voices. I don't know where Disney find so many great performers. Even more impressive, they sang in both English and French.





Mickey's Showtime



As we came out, I asked DH what he wanted to do next, but he didn't have any ideas. I was feeling brave, so I suggested we go on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I’d heard it was more violent than in WDW, so I figured if I could cope with this one, then the version at WDW would be simple by comparison. If I couldn’t cope with this one, well, then I might still be able to manage the one in WDW anyway!



The queue said 10 minutes wait and I think it probably was about that long. When the queues are that short, you do look at the queuing area that isn’t being used and think how awful it must be to have to queue for up to an hour – or sometimes, at the busiest times of the year, for even longer than that. The last time we'd waited a long time (an hour) for something was ironically for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on our honeymoon in November 1999. Only DH went on it, but I queued with him to keep him company. Now I can't ever imagine queuing that long ever again. In 1999, DH kept trying to persuade me that I should join him on BTMRR, but couldn’t manage it. The further I got through the queue, the more uptight I got and by the time DH was about to board the train, I was in a real state. I found myself repeating that this time – getting more uptight and worried, the further we got through the queue, so would I actually have the bottle to go through with my suggestion?



Next: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – to ride or not?

[ariel1]

do it, cheryl! do it!

[WishIwasinDisney]

Hi Cheryl,

I am so enjoying your trip report. I missed so many things on my quick trip in July. I love all your pictures too!

Just wanted to say that I really liked Mickey's Showetime too, the singers were excellent, it was great how they could just go from French to English in the song, made them even better! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Jen

[tikibird]

Great couple installments - loved the character interaction at lunch! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Hope you made it on BTMRR - can't wait for more! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[simbarel]

Originally posted by ariel1:
do it, cheryl! do it!

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">That's what I say, too!


I love the photo of you, hidden Mickey, and Captain Hook! What fun!

[statelady01]

Go, Go, Go Chez!!!!!!!!!!!

[chezp]

Friday 26 September – part five: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – to ride or not?



Soon enough, it was time for us to board our train and although I was pretty apprehensive about this ride or we were in the queue, I did feel strangely calm as we actually got in, more than I thought I would. The first part of this ride took us under the lake and onto an island in the middle. Luckily I'd read about that in a guidebook and was prepared for it. I’d also seen the route the train takes as its circles the Mountain on the island, so again I was little bit prepared for the various twists and turns. I don't think DH had a clue though how long the ride was. Reassuringly, he told me that there wasn't long left to go after the camera took our photo. I knew there was still quite a way to go, from having watched this ride over the last couple of days, and guess who was right?!



The worst bit was saved right for the end, when we went back under the lake and into complete darkness. I couldn't believe how much we got twisted around and kept hoping that every bend and bump would be the last. That last bit did go on a bit longer than I'd have liked and DH came off telling me that was indeed was rougher than in Florida. Well, I guess I'll find out in May, because that experience hasn't put me off the ride, although I’d think twice before doing the DLP version again. The theming here was certainly excellent and you got to see a lot – I did manage to keep my eyes open while we were in daylight, but ironically I found it easier to close my eyes when we were in the dark, as somehow seeing the odd flash of something was more frightening – I think it also brought back very nasty memories of Space Mountain…



My hands hurt when I got off, from how tightly I’d clung on to the bar in front of me! Another one conquered, after Star Tours earlier today and Splash Mountain in WDW last Christmas. I am doing well with these rides now! Just think, if my dad hadn't taken me on Space Mountain when I was a kid and told me it was a gentle ride, I might be doing all sorts of thrill rides now!



After we got off, we went to look at the ride photo, which wasn't bad and DH said we should get it to prove that I'd been on the ride (he told me I could post it on the boards to show everyone!) so we went off to purchase it.





Us on BTMRR!



After the excitement of BTMRR, I wanted to go on something a bit more gentle and I knew exactly what, Dumbo! Again DH sat this one out and again, I must’ve waited less than 10 minutes to get on it. My luck really is in with this ride.



As we walked towards the castle, I noticed Pinocchio was still running and I was surprised as no one seemed to be on it, so off I went on my own again. When I got to the entrance I got a whole car to myself and the CM operating the ride decided he should jump in and accompany me! He did make me laugh, but of course he couldn't get in as he needed to send the car off. I was able to video some of the ride and I did enjoy it a lot more the second time around.



We went to another look at the dragon below the Castle, all the while waiting for it to get a bit darker, so everything would be lit up. I got the shots I wanted of the Castle, Space Mountain and then we had to race over to Frontierland to get shots around there, as by then it was 8 p.m. and they were very quick to close the park.





The Carousel at night



The Castle lit up



Space Mountain at night



Adventureland



Frontierland



Big Thunder Mountain Railroad



... Continued

[chezp]

Sure, BTMRR was still running, but that was about it and as I took my final shots of Phantom Manor, the CM’s had already made it to the entrance of Frontierland to herd us all back into Main Street.





Phantom Manor at night



A quick browse in the shops and another couple of photos and we were out of the park by around 8:15 p.m.





Main Street



I was very pleased with how all the evening shots came out – this was one of the main reasons for purchasing the digital camera for me, having seen some of the wonderful night-time shots that other people had posted on the boards. And I wasn’t disappointed with what came out. I was able to experiment with the settings to find the best one and by the time I’d finished, I was getting some excellent results.



Next: … but I only want a snack!

[jakenjess]

Good for you, going on BTMRR! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] That was a great picture of both of you. You really looked like you were enjoying it.

Those nighttime pictures were fantastic. The parks are so magical when the sun goes down.

Looking forward to more!

[Colexis Mom]

Great updates Cheryl [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img] Love the pictures of you guys on BTMRR [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Looking forward to more [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[statelady01]

I think that is one of the best ride photos I have ever seen. Way to Go!!! BTMRR is my very favorite ride at WDW!!

[ProChristo]

I'm so impressed that you're going on the thrill rides. That can't be easy for you. Love the BTMRR pic too! Your nightime shots are just beautiful, especially the one of the castle. Thanks for another great set of updates!

[tikibird]

Way to go Cheryl!!!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

You look like you are really having fun on the ride photo - congrats to you for braving it! [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img]

Just LOVE the nighttime shots, too - you did a great job with them!

Great installment - ready for more! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]