30th anniversary trip - March 2022

[Karin1984]

I haven’t done a trip report in a long time, but I am in the mood. It was a very good trip these past 2,5 days. Truly magical. There is a bit of an intro, and I love travel day reports, if that’s not your thing. Be patient, I’ll get to the actual park part eventually.

To give some background: I have been an AP holder to Disneyland Paris for the past 10 years or so, and in the past years (even during Covid) I do about 3 – 5 trips a year. I have been to DL once, WDW twice, Asian parks once. I am from the Netherlands, my preferred mode of transportation is the direct train. However, due to Covid, this route got cancelled and only recently restarted. Downside: The train only goes on Fridays and Saturdays. So, usually I fly.

I usually travel with my best friend, who lives in Belgium. We have been to WDW in 2015, the Asian parks in 2017. We were supposed to go to California, the last castle my friend still has to see, but Covid intervened. We have a trip to WDW in 6 weeks, because a great offer came by on the UK website. California has to wait. When we travel to Paris we both arrange our own transportation and park reservations, I take care of the hotel, restaurant reservations and planning of what to achieve on each trip.

Because we go to DLP so often, we are not really regular guests anymore. We don’t do a lot of rides, we are there for the entertainment and characters. We are fine with skipping rides, because we know there will be another time. When we went in 2020 right after the Covid reopening, we realized how much time we spend time in line waiting for shows and characters.

This trip all started about two months ago. I had no trips to DLP planned. There is a vague plan about going to the park on the 12th of April for the actual 30th birthday, but nothing set in stone.

Then the announcement comes on Facebook, in the middle of a work day. I am busy and stressed. My friend texts me: ‘There is an AP party planned! I booked my ticket!’

I am too stressed to really look into it. Also the day before the party is my father’s birthday, who passed away 4 years ago, and usually we go out for dinner with the family the weekend around his birthday. So I am not really able to make a quick decision.

I quickly book a hotel stay at Cheyenne via Booking.com, and decide to look into it when I am at home. I get home around 17:00, about 6 hours after the party was announced. I open Facebook to look for the details and just now a message appears: SOLD OUT!

I curse out loud. And start texting my friend. She feels guilty for not booking a ticket for me as well. All AP holders could bring 2 guests (that was one thing that annoyed most AP holders. Many probably couldn’t get tickets due to guests of other AP holders). I tell her it’s fine. My friend has done most of the AP parties, I have only done the disastrous Character party in 2019. A night such a disaster I never felt the need to do a party ever again. I tell her, she should go tot he party, I will just chill in the hotel. These parties are unpleasantly busy, because a park with only AP holders… These people can be brutal. Especially around rare characters and shows. I will not enjoy myself. She should go and have fun. But deep down I am still a little bummed, but try to convince myself this was not meant to be.

I do however send an e-mail to DLP if they please please please can sell me a ticket, explaining what happend. Tickets were surprisingly cheap, only 49 euros. Maybe that helped in the decision for some AP holders to go. Of course, the customer service center is overloaded at the moment (understaffing due to Covid, and with special events everyone starts calling at the same time). I get an automated response that it will take a while.

The next day, I do call the service center. I didn’t have any expectations, but I do want to have tried it. I speak to a very nice cast member from Germany, best service I ever got to be honest. He was pleasant to talk to, helpful. A true example of a cast member. He only couldn’t help me to get me a ticket besides telling me to keep hope, you never know when magic happens. I send in a cast compliment, also referring to the e-mail I have sent the day before.

Live goes on.

A few weeks later, I realize, I have received a reply to my cast compliment message, but never got a reply to my e-mail with me begging them for a ticket. I send another message, referring to my previous message and please please please, I still want a ticket. Still not expecting much, because I have read the complaints online from other AP holders who couldn’t book right away, or just missed the announcement on Facebook completely. I assume they are too overloaded to answer, or don't want to send out apology e-mails.

Fast forward to 10 days before the event. I get an e-mail from DLP! With an apology for the delay and that they have put me on the guest list! I can pick up my party ticket on the day of the event at the registers at the park entrance! I can’t believe the amount of pixiedust I get. Polite persistence (and a little bit of luck) can get you very far! I really am in shock that it worked.

So, now I have a ticket! Only… we have no information about what the party is going to be about! It’s for the 30th anniversary. It will be fun! Crowded. But fun! Hopefully.

Also, originally, I was supposed to be on my own on Thursday, my friend would join on the Friday (party night) and then Saturday a park day as well. My friend decides in the end that she will take an extra day off as well, and join me on Thursday. Normal trips are about 1,5 day, we are now there for 2,5 days.

Fast forward to 7 days before arrival. I get an e-mail from Booking.com: “Hi there, your credit card bounced, so we have cancelled your booking at Cheyenne, have a good day!” (summary of the message). Nothing about that they ask me to contact them within 24 hours, to pay differently. Just: POOF! Reservation gone.

Excuse me?

I start calling Booking.com while texting my friend: 'Houston, we’ve got a problem.' The girl on the phone is polite and friendly, but she cannot reinstate my booking. All she can do (after consulting with her supervisor) is asking me to make a new booking online.

A new booking. Onsite at DLP. For a weekend, when there is an AP event… One week in advance…

Almost everything is sold out. Cheyenne was already more expensive than I wanted it to be (150 euro a night) The only room that is still available is club level at Sequoia Lodge at (422 euro a night). Over 500 euros more expensive for these two nights.

There are partner hotels available for only 100 euro a night, but… Park reservations. At Disneyland Paris, if you are staying at an onsite hotel, you do get a park reservation included. You do not need a separate reservation. This is the same for AP holders and regular guests. There are no park reservations available (by the looks of it) for the Friday. On top of it: The party will last till about 2:00. I do not want to wait for a bus at the end of the night to go to a partner hotel.

I discuss it with my friend and luckily we are both in the financial position that we can afford it. We just normally don’t do club level. We are usually in the park from open till close. We don’t go back to the hotel room during the day. Also because we often stay at Cheyenne or Santa Fe, which is a bit of a further walk, we usually don’t bother. We sometimes go to the hotel bar in the Disneyland Hotel to retreat, but that is closed.

If we do club level, it’s normally during the Run Weekends. Then we make more use of the room, then we take the time to appreciate the lounge. Club level is really nice in our opinion, but not always worth the money.

However… given the circumstances, we decide to close our eyes and pay for Club level at Sequoia Lodge. We come up with all the benefits of Club level, from the included breakfast, lounge, being located in the main building, etc. to convince ourselves this is the right decision, even though it’s incredibly expensive. I know for some it’s normal to pay over 400 euro a night for a hotel. That’s not how we travel, we want a cheap hotel, that has a good location, and is clean. Around 100 – 150 euros is our normal.

Now, everything is settled. We have a nice hotel, we have party tickets, we can relax. (No foreshadowing, we can really relax).

 

[Karin1984]

Travel day

I wake up at 4:00. I did set the timer on my wake up light, but forgot to switch it on… I usually do not sleep very well, so I wake up before even my two back up alarms go off. I have packed the night before and I am off to train station at 4:45, take the train at 5:00 and at the airport around 5:45 for my flight at 7:20.

I love Amsterdam airport, I love flying. I have worked for KLM for over 12 years (office job, not a flight attendant). I know this place well. At check in I have paid fora n upgrade to businessclass. While I have taken the flight Amsterdam-Paris countless times, it’s a 1 hour not special flight, I do like to pay for Businessclass if I get a good offer at check in. European Businessclass is not a lot, but I like the perks that come with it. I really appreciate having priority at customs and boarding when travelling during the morning rush hour. Also, getting a good breakfast at the lounge and having a quiet place to sit and relax, is all really nice. It’s not necessary, but this is where I do like to pay for convenience.

I grabbed some really random things from the breakfast buffet, potatoes, sausages, scambled eggs, pancakes and a diet coke.



The lounge opened at 6 and I was one of the first people in, so nice and quiet.



Around 7 I go to the gate (realizing while walking there I was cutting it a bit close!), take my seat in 1A and enjoy the ride.

My purser was the best. Businessclass wasn’t very full that morning, so he had time to take good care of his passengers. I think about 6-8 passengers.

My purser got points for: He used my name, asked if I was travelling for business, did I want ice in my diet coke (yes, at 7:20 in the morning, I drink coke to wake up, no coffee for me, I do need caffein), if I wanted the full can or just a glass of coke, did I want salt on my egg. Really attentative, without being too much.

Also he scored points on starting his talk on the plane in Dutch. Nowadays, KLM often does their announcements only in English. Which is a pet peeve of mine. You are a Dutch airline, everything should be in both Dutch and English. I did my thesis for KLM on inflight services, and I still pay attention to service given. Not that I really care about the service I get, but I find it interesting how each flight attendant gives service in their own way. One of the things I found in my research is that it is a pet peeve of other Dutch passengers as well. Not everything speaks English well enough.

My purser did his first talk in Dutch and explained why they would only do it in English (when the majority of the passengers is non-Dutch). Giving a reason usually helps. When the purser was making conversation with me, I complimented him on this and on what my thesis was about.

Also the pilot scored points with his announcements. He did a really good job on explaining everything that was going, in a calm polite manner, but also with a little bit of humor. He wished us a pleasant flight and hoped that we had a pleasant person sitting next to us: “Get to know each other!” He spoke about wearing masks, apologizing for any confusing due to different measures in different countries, and he hoped it would be all over soon.

So, great flight!

Sunrise at Amsterdam airport through some very dirty windows (last week we had a 'storm' that brought in sand from the Sahara. It's still everywhere)


My breakfast on board. It had fresh fruit, yoghurt, cereal, a small bread roll, jam, a boiled egg, salmon, lemon and some kind of dairy spread.



Other perk of flying businessclass: First of the plane. I had about 1 hour to get from the plane to the train station, which is plenty, but you never know where you get delayed at an airport.

I text my friend who is on the train, that I am at the airport, it’s 8:45, train at 9:45 and at DLP’s train station around 10. My friend texts back that she is delayed for over 45 minutes. She was supposed to arrive at 9 at DLP. Her train comes through Paris airport before going to DLP. This means, I might be able to catch her on the train!

I text her back that I will try to get on an earlier train, however, I do know French station staff. The French like to stick to the rules. In the Netherlands, normally they don’t really care. It makes sense: Your train is delayed, there is an earlier train: get on it. Nobody really cares, as long as there are seats available and you keep in mind reserved seating.

When I get to platform, my ticket is scanned. I ask: please let me on the earlier train. The young girl checking me asks her older colleague, he is fine with it and off I go!

At the station there is a delayed train to DLP waiting. It’s the one going all the way to the South to Marseille. I ask the train chef to let me on, explaining what happened. It’s alright, I can get on. Then another train arrives at the station, also going to DLP. This train is more of a local train, not cross country. And I hesitate. This train is not delayed. And I know, once a train is delayed, it’s easier to get delayed even further. I hop on the not delayed train (after asking the chef if it’s alright).

Once I am seated, my friend texts me: ‘why did you leave the train!’

I didn’t know she was on the train with direction Marseille! I told her my suspicion that her train probably gets even more delayed. And wouldn’t you know… I was right! My train departs on time, and I get to Marne-La-Vallee station about 45 minutes before I planned. Only now my friend is still stuck at the airport!

The picture of the spot where I waited for my friend



About another 15 minute wait, she finally arrives as well.

We are in Disneyland Paris! And what is very special about this visit: No more vaccine or health pass needed. No more masks. No more keeping distance. Fireworks is back. Parades and shows are all back. And HUGGING CHARACTERS is allowed again!

As the park is ready to open, we decide to go to the hotel first to drop off our bags, and then go to the park. Also, we need our hotel magic pass to get access to the park without reservations.

Golden Forest Club has a dedicated and private check in desk. We are checked in immediately. That was perk #1, perk #2 i forgot about, you can also access the baggage storage from here. It has 2 doors, one for club level guests, and one for all other guests. It can happen that there are lines for the non-club guests, which is a quite a pain if you need to catch a train/plane back home, or if you want to go into the park.

So two perks in!

We cannot get into the lounge yet, that’s only available on arrival day after breakfast, but that’s fine, we are not hungry. We get our hotel passes and make our way to the park.

Our room with coffee (Nespresso I think) and tea facilities, we have a fridge, plenty of storage. No pictures of the bathroom, small bath tub, but it served it's purpose.



Our view

 

[Karin1984]

There is currently a lot of contruction going on. At the entrance, they are remodelling part of the security area. At the Disneyland Hotel they are redoing the roofs at the moment. Because of this, they have closed off about a 3rd of the entrance gates at Disneyland Park.

There is still a dedicated line for AP holders, so it is a short wait to get in. Eventhough it’s a Thursday, it is busy in the parks. A lot of AP holders came in the day before the party, the weather is absolutely gorgeous which attracts locals. It’s after 10 we are not able to do our ‘normal’ routine of meeting characters on Main Street first. Also it’s Winnie the Pooh, we don’t have any special feelings for Pooh (He was not a thing in the Netherlands when I grew up, and I don’t think he is now). So we skip him and make our way to the hub.

Our view



We are just in time for the first show of Dream… Shine Brighter. In French it’s called Un Monde Qui S’Illumine (A world that lights up). And, Oh. My. God. This is one of the best shows I have ever seen in a Disney Park. Disneyland Paris has done so incredibly well the last few years with the entertainment. With Pirates and Princesses Make Your Choice in 2018, Jungle Book Jive and Rhythms of the Pridelands in 2019 and now this one… They are new, original and just so well done!

I almost do not know where to start with Shine Brighter.

The floats, characters and dancers come from the beginning of Main Street and end at the hub.


I will start with the song. It’s so incredibly catchy! Yes, I have been to shows before where people are clapping along, or cast members humming a long. People danced and just let it out when the song started. It might be the best song ever. It has 3 mash up of songs from all kinds of movies through the ages, from Peter Pan to Moana and everything in between. And they all blended in so incredibly well! They are still the songs you now and love but modified in such a way that it all feels like the same style. I think the Coco part is my favourite part, I have a soft spot for this movie and in particular the songs Proud Corazon and Remember Me.

You would think that this contains a lot of classic characters, but that’s not the case. It’s a great mix of old and new characters. You have: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Clarice. And then Peter Pan, Alice, Hatter, Genie, Woody, Jessie, Rapunzel, Tiana, Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps, Miguel and Joy. So a really diverse group. There is something for everyone.











Let’s go to the dancers. Also here, Disney has stepped up in diversity. A decade ago, basically all dancers looked alike. Now there are so many difference sizes, shapes and colors. Everyone is dressed differently, there is not one uniform hairstyle or make up. I have the feeling when the dancers come in, they go to the costume department and just have a whole rack of things to chose from. We saw the show several times, and I noticed at least one dancer who changed costumes between shows. Maybe that was out of necessity because it was hot and dancers are getting a good work out. A lot of sweaty people on stage But I’d like to think each has their own personality.

Show 1 he was in all pink



Show 2 he had changed into blue!


Then on to choreography / staging. For the past few years Disneyland Paris has 4 stages at the hub for shows. They used to have one set of stairs for characters / dancers to get on and off the stage. For this show they have added set of stairs on the opposite side. So people can get on and off stages in more directions, making it more dynamic. And also keeps the show going. Especially fur characters have to go up and down the stairs carefully because their vision is partially blocked. Having more stairs helps to speed things up.

So that’s an improvement, but even more than with the previous hub shows Pirates and Princesses and Jungle Book Jive, they made sure that there are basically no bad spots to stand. Yes, there are places I would consider better, but overall, as long as you are facing a stage, you will be fine. Also the floats move around several times, so if you have a float in front of you, it won’t be there forever.

If you like characters and shows, you really cannot miss this. If you don’t like shows, take advantage of the shorter lines at rides.

I can tell you all about the show, but if you do not like spoilers, it's probably better to just watch the show.

** Edit:: I have way more pictures, but Disboards is acting up and rejects several of my pictures...

 

[Araminta18]

Loving your report! Trying to get all the ideas for our trip in September, so this is great. Also, good job picking the not-delayed train!

 

[Jansr]

A trip report from the fabulous Karin. Yes, please.

 

[Karin1984]

I am trying to go through my 800 pictures I took and I noticed something about the parade.

Have you ever seen biceps like this on Peter Pan? The rest of his physique is too small & scrawny to play our tall, dark, strong and handsome brute, but as the French say: Ooh la la!

 

[becauseimnew]

yay! recent DLP TR. Can't wait to read all about it.

 

[KEK1]

Enjoying your TR, hope it continues!

 

[Karin1984]

Yes, I will! I am currently in WDW, and had a lot of work/life stuff to handle before my trip. When I get back, I will finish it.

It is written, I only had issues with uploading the pictures

 

[minniemimi52]

Yes, I will! I am currently in WDW, and had a lot of work/life stuff to handle before my trip. When I get back, I will finish it.

It is written, I only had issues with uploading the pictures

I have planned my first trip to DLP in July -- I am enjoying your trip report and especially the transportation information. I will be arriving at CDG airport from Italy, so the train info/tips was really interesting and helpful. I look forward to the rest!

 

[Karin1984]

We interrupt this trip report for another trip report!

I hadn't planned to be in Disneyland Paris yesterday. My next trip was going to be the first week of July. However, I didn't pay attention when I ordered my new AP online.
I hadn't realized things had changed since the last time I had ordered a new AP. My last few AP's I had bought at the park after a very annoying bureaucratic process to set up payment in installments online. France is not a fan of arranging things online. I don't really know why I thought it was a wise idea to order online, but probably I thought: I am paying in full instead of installments, it should be alright.

It was not, as I forgot to read the smallprint. When you order an AP online, you get a temporary pass which you have to exchange for a physical pass within 2 months. I ordered my AP late April, making late June 2 months later, not early July when my next trip would be.
I called DLP and I could get an exception that I had to order a new AP when it's within 2 months from July and then cancel the first one and get a refund. As I did not have the money at that moment for a 2nd AP and I have not a lot of faith in DLP's capabilities to refund in a timely manner, I decided to squeeze in a trip.

I was late with deciding on how to get to DLP. Amsterdam airport has been a mess for weeks (staffing problems at customs), lines are incredibly long and it's chaos. The train was expensive. Also, the train arrives a lot later. Taking the train back the same day meant I was paying a lot of money for a 5 hours visit, and I would travel for about 10-12 hours for a 5 hours visit.
To make it a little better, I booked an overnight stay at Magic Circus, spend this morning/early afternoon in the city of Paris and took the train back from Gare du Nord.

So how did my trip go?
Well, a few days before my trip I checked the weather and it said Friday 35C/95F degrees, Saturday 38C/100F degrees.
I don't do well in heat. I do not do well in extreme heat.
I wanted to travel light, so I decided on Summer dress I wore on both days, clean pair of underwear and a toothbrush. That was basically it. Due to the heat I decided not to bring my fancy camera as cameras do not like heat either. I had my phone.
I did bring my work laptop, making my backpack a little heavier. I did so as 1. I had some big deadlines on Thursday, and I knew I would check my work e-mail on my day off in case something went wrong. With my work laptop with me, I could troubleshoot if needed. 2. I am addicted to being entertained by screens.

At 4:40 my alarm goes off, I pack and leave the house at 5:30. Train at 6, arrive at 6:30.
I walked around Amsterdam airport to see if the lines were as long as they said they were on the news. As I was there before rush hour started the lines weren't that bad, but they sure were long. Be aware if you are travelling to Europe this Summer. Amsterdam is not the only airport with staffing issues.
At 7:34 I boarded the Thalys with direct service to Marne-la-Vallee. There was a slight delay in Belgium and we arrived with a 10 minute delay at 11:10.

It was way after opening time so lines at security were non-existent and I was at the Studios at 11:14.
At this moment all AP stuff is handled at the registers at the studios. This wasn't very eventful, but if you want to read about it, you can read it here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/t...n-and-questions.3094378/page-21#post-64088536

It was 12:15 when I was done and I decided to get a sit down lunch first. The park would be open till 23:00, it was hot outside and I hadn't eaten since 5:30.
I went to Annette's in Disney Village. I waited for about 10-15 minutes before I was seated. I love Annette's. I got the blue cheese burger and the amount of blue cheese on my burger was amazing. Annette's is definitely one of the better places to get a burger. Definitely better than any park restaurant. I didn't go for a milkshake this time, as I wanted to get the 30th anniversary milkshake later today, but they are also very good.
Interesting fact about Annette's, they cannot add tips when you pay by card. You have to leave your tip in cash. Very friendly server.

I had 3 goals for this trip: 1. Get my AP, 2. Have the 30th anniversary milkshake and 3. See the 30th anniversary show.
The next show was at 14:45. So I had about 1.5 hours for something else.

The day before I left I checked my reservation at Magic Circus and it said I had till 22:30 to check in. The park was closing at 23:00.
That didn't really make sense as most people staying at Magic Circus are there for Disneyland Paris. I probably could have risked it, but decided not to. The plan: Go to the hotel, hopefully my room was ready and if not I could at least leave my backpack at the hotel.
There is a bus between the partner hotels and Disneyland Paris, 3-4x hours. Strangely enough the bus stop for the partner hotels wasn't on the map at the beginning of the bus area. I was tired, so I took an Uber. An Uber costs about 8-10 euro from DLP to the partner hotels and the pick up point is next to the bus stops.

Magic Circus is currently undergoing a major refurbishment at the main entrance. The reception was now hidden in a dark corner in a side building.
Check in was smooth, I forgot I had breakfast included. My room wasn't ready, but I could leave my backpack. This did not go well. I recently purchased a new backpack and I didn't select one I could put a lock on. The zippers were without any holes to put a lock through and I had my work laptop in it. The luggage room was far away from reception. This is not just during the refurbishment (although it is probably worse now). I got a key card to open the door to the luggage room, which I could keep, and every guest who had to store luggage had a key card they could keep. People could walk in and out at all hours of the day. So, I had valuables in my backpack, I couldn't lock the bag, the room was not secured properly. I decided to take my backpack with me to the park again and leave it at the luggage storage at the park. The luggage storage at the park is only accessible by CMs, so if something got lost/stolen, Disney is not responsible but at least I would know who would have done it.

The layout of Magic Circus is confusing, especially now with the refurbishment, and I got lost on my way to the luggage room. I ran into a housekeeper, who only spoke French and didn't know either where the luggage room or the swimming pool was. The swimming pool was next to the luggage room.
Pro tip: Most CMs and hotel staff around the park and area will speak English. This is not necessarily the case for housekeepers. Housekeepers normally do not interact with guests, and therefore speaking English is not a requirement.

So back to the park it is, this was technically an hour lost, I took another Uber back to the park.

14:00
The park is sold out today.
Due to the refurbishment at the Disneyland Hotel guests were referred to the entrance to the right of the hotel. This is the entrance where you can also find the luggage storage. There were CMs checking tickets and reservations. I said I had to go to the luggage storage, they didn't check my ticket or my reservation. I drop off my backpack and go to the park entrance. I get in without anyone checking my reservation. I had one, but I could have gotten in without.

I have some time before the show starts and it's hot. So I roam around the hub, which was still empty. No one lining up in this weather in full sun. I walk through Passage D'Aladdin in Adventureland, I get some water.

14:45
The show is adjusted to just the parade due to the heat. The 30th anniversary show is really fun and energetic, therefore I fully understand that fur character actors do not want to dance around in this heat. And it's probably not safe. It does mean: The parade is over very quickly. The music is still catchy and you saw CMs and guests dancing as the parade goes by.

Next stop is one of my favourite rides that usually has a short line: Pays des Contes Fées at the back of Fantasyland. Posted time was 15 minutes, reality was less than 10.
I get with this weather it's very tempting to stick your hands outside the boat to cool down in the water, but it's not safe. So many people on this ride and on Pirates were going with their hands through the water...
I love the ride, it's nice and quiet, the models are pretty. A perfect way to relax.

15:25
I get in a 30 minutes line at Pirates. This estimation was correct.
10 minutes outside queuing in the sun, 5 minutes outside under cover, and 15 minutes queuing inside.
Pro tip: When it's hot, go to Pirates, as part of the queue is inside, but also the stone walls inside are cooler than the temperature. Leaning against a stone wall to cool down is the best.

16:15
I went back to Main Street to go to Victoria's to get my milkshake! I queued for about 10 minutes before getting a table.
Victoria's is a favourite as well. It's a little restaurant that just serves drinks and some pastries. They didn't have the 30th anniversary milkshake (apparently only a thing at the hotel bars & the sports bar in the Village), but they did have another one with raspberries. I love raspberries. Their special milkshake came with a cupcake, but I also had a plate with 5 pastries. They were all delicious.



The parade today was at 17:30 and when I left Victoria's it was about 17:00 so people started to gather around Main Street and the hub. I decided to skip the parade and see if I could get on Big Thunder Mountain without the long wait. It was 55 minutes, but I didn't really believe it as the line was outside the entrance. I saw a manager CM walk by, she suggested to wait a bit and the wait time was correct, but it would go down during the parade time. I waited another 10 minutes, and then it jumped to 70 minutes waiting time, which made more sense.
Phantom manor had a 25 minute wait when I arrived at BTM, but while I was second guessing myself at BTM, it broke down.

17:45
I decided to leave Big Thunder Mountain till later today and walk over to Indiana Jones. 15 minutes wait time posted, reality 5.
Pro tip: Indiana Jones is a 90 second roller coaster. It's in a remote corner. It has a 360 degree loop, which results in a severe height restriction. Getting on this ride with a short wait somewhere during the day, even on crowded days (like today), is easy. Spending money on this to buy a Premier Access pass is a waste of money.

18:10
No one can do without some luck. Phantom Manor was back up, it said 25 minutes again, but in reality when I arrived it had just reopened and it said 5 minutes at the door. So I walked right in.
Surprised how many people kept talking in the foyer and the stretching room.

By now I was getting very tired of the long day, the travel and mainly the heat. One of the pros of staying overnight was that I could stay in the park till close, getting as many park hours in as possible. However, by now I didn't know how I could manage to stay awake and sane till 23:00. And actually... I don't really like the current fireworks show. The only reason to stay was to see the 30th anniversary pre show with all the drones, Disney D Light. I haven't made up my mind yet so I am going to continue.

18:45
I enter the single rider's line at Space Mountain, it said 25 minutes and it was around 20 minutes. The best thing was: moving at such a high speed... I was able to cool off

I would really like to do Big Thunder Mountain, but the lines are still long. Staying till park close for Disney D Light it's not going to spark much joy. But there is one thing I do want to do, ride Crush Coaster. Normally I am not solo at Disneyland Paris, and due to the lines we skip this ride often. I love this ride, so I know my next destination.

19:30
I hop over to the Studios and enter the single rider line at Crush Coaster. Posted wait 45 minutes, while the Studios will close at 20:00, the actual waiting time was around 25 minutes.
Pro tip: At Crush it's much harder to determine how much time a single rider will take. This posted wait time is often inflated. Often doesn't mean always. But something to keep in mind.
At Space Mountain the single riders line moved quite steadily. About 1 - 3 single riders per train. At Space it could have gone faster but one CM was really not good at filling the lines at more than once he missed the opportunity to fill to capacity with a single rider.

It's 20:00 the Studios are about to close, BTM is still at 40 minutes wait, I'll do it a next time and I'll see Disney D-light next time. I leave the park and make my way to the bus area. I plan to take an Uber, but the drivers around the park do not accept my ride! I ask an employee at the bus stops where I can find the bus, he points me in the right direction and there is quite a crowd. I want to go back to find an Uber, but the employee convinces me it will be alright. It was, as there were two buses lining up.
(btw, I had almost forgotten that I had left my backpack at the luggage storage at the park!)

Around 20:15, 20:30 I am back at Magic Circus, I go by reception to pick up my room key.
My room is wonderful, besides a weird pink stain on the carpet, it looks new. It's at the end of a hallway, a corner room with windows on two sides. And it's quite big, lots of empty space, same for the bathroom.
I take a shower and lay down on the bed and start watching videos on my laptop.

At 21:30 I hear a lot of noise outside. A lot of people talking. So much that I pop out to see what's going on. I am not happy with what I see: A group of at least 50 Spanish teenagers! Who are all assigned rooms per 2 or 4 in my wing and hallway! I do not see a teacher or another adult... I put in my headphones and keep watching videos but I am fearing what will happen. The sound doesn't really go away. They keep walking / running down the hallways, going in and out of rooms. At one point there are two boys knocking on my door as apparently they thought my room was also part of their group...

At 22:30 I have had enough, I call reception, no answer. I go downstairs again, explain the situation and ask if they can give me a new room. The girl has to ask her manager. But within a minute or two she has returned and it's no problem. She says she will give me an upgrade and a room on a different floor and on the opposite side of where I was. The teenagers and 1 teacher see me leave with my things, and I think they realized that I am leaving because of them.
The upgrade in reality was that I was in a family room instead of a double ;-) But still a nice room very spacious for me on my own. I sleep like a log.

Day 2
For my train back it was cheaper and at a better time to leave from Paris city center, from Gare du Nord, So I had decided to go to the city today. Due to the heat I needed somewhere inside (with some sort of airconditioning), so I booked a ticket for the Louvre at 9:30.
Breakfast was good, I do like it better at Campanile, I think they had a little bit more choice. But overall no complaints about the breakfast.
The breakfast room is like the hotel, huge. So it was quite loud and crowded this morning, partially due to the big group of teenagers.
I came in at 7:30 and could get a table right away, I left around 7:50, and there was a small line to get into the restaurant.

Pro tip: Buses to the parks from the partner hotels do not start running till 8:15. If you have access to EMH because you have an applicable AP and you want to get there well before opening time, take an Uber or walk.
Pro tip 2: When you Uber back to the park, the drop off area is at the South side, next to Five Guys in Disney Village. Meaning you can use the security at this side of the Village which is much quieter. If you are using an Uber ask to be dropped off at this side. You will save time here before park opening. If you come from the bus area (because you stay off site or use the bus from the hotels) you might run into a closed security area till 8:30 when EMH starts, while all the hotel guests who decided to walk will pass you by as their security opened at 8:00.

At 8:10 I walk into the station, get myself a ticket to get into town. I will make a separate thread about using the RER, I took some pictures that might help.

The next train is at 8:25, and I get into Chatelet Les Halles the stop nearest to the Louvre, about 10 minutes walk.
Pro tip: If you decide to stay in the city and do a day trip to Disneyland Paris consider staying near Chatelet Les Halles as it is a central point within Paris with loads of direct trains/subways, DLP being one of them.

At 9:30 I arrive at the Louvre and the lines are huge. They divide the people into the different time slots, if you have a timeslot at .00 you go to the left, if you have .30 you go to the right. The line doesn't start moving till it's .00 or .30. The line moves quite fast. We do have to go through a scanner, our bags are scanned, and then you are in.

I have some thoughts about the Louvre, let me know if you want to hear them ;-)

My train back was at 14:25, I wanted to go by the Notre Dame to see how the reconstruction was going and I needed to have lunch. I left the Louvre around 11:30 and started walking. I miscalculated a bit the distances between the Louvre, Notre Dame and Gare du Nord, so it was a lot of walking in a lot of heat. I just walked by Notre Dame as you cannot get close during the refurbishment after the fire. In 2018 I stood in front of Notre Dame while listening to the opening song of the Disney movie, an experience that made me cry. Alan Menken was able to capture a building into music. Genius.

I wanted to have lunch close to the station in case something goes wrong and I need to rush. Lunch is at a French/Italian restaurant. I have the veal which was great, but the best thing about the lunch was the bread. We have some sort of Dutch version of a baguette in the Netherlands, but it is not nearly as good as a real French baguette.

I got to Gare du Nord at 14;00 with 25 minutes to spare. The 12:25 train to Amsterdam is delayed for 1,5 hours so it's still at the station, this would turn into 2,5 hours delay. There is a lot of confusion going on. There is a train from Amsterdam coming in, also delayed. Gare du Nord is not a great station, it's so crowded and it was so warm. Station workers were handing out bottles of water. No one of the Thalys workers knew what was going on either with all the delays, we boarded a train and then had to get off again. It was a mess.
Pro tip: This is probably a Dutch thing, but in the Netherlands I know far in advance which platform my train will depart from. This is not the case in every country. At Gare du Nord your platform is only announced short before leaving.

I left Paris about 90 minutes delayed. When we left a Belgian train manager announced in French and broken Dutch that our delay was caused by an accident involving a person. This is usually a nice way to say 'suicide', could also be a car accident or other accident on the tracks, but usually it means suicide.
We get to Brussels and the Belgian manager is replaced by a Dutch manager. Dutch are known for being direct and very clear. And he announces to the passengers getting in: "We got delayed because they found a body next to the tracks in France. sorry for this!"
To make up for the delays, we are handing out snack packages with mini pretzels, 2 cookies, apple juice/sauce, a bottle of water and a piece of paper with a sudoku. Quite nice .

So I get home a little later than planned. But it was a good, short and sweet visit.

PS:
As soon as I figure out how to solve the picture problem I am having, I will continue my March trip report. Hopefully before my next trip in 2,5 weeks.

 

[steve_rob]

Pro tip: When it's hot, go to Pirates, as part of the queue is inside, but also the stone walls inside are cooler than the temperature. Leaning against a stone wall to cool down a bit is the best.

Actually Pirates is a great all-weather ride. One time we were there in December when it was snowing and minus 4 degrees C outside and we kept on going round on Pirates because the indoor part of the queue was really warm - I don't think it was specifically heated or anything, it just managed to stay a nice room temperature; so much so that to this day our family still calls it "Cosy Pirates"!

We would stand still in the line and let people go past us while we warmed up - to be fair it was only like a 5 minute wait (you could walk pretty much all the way up to the point where the line split before you actually started queueing) so it wasn't like you were losing place in a line or anything.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Love this trip report! You've already commented on my pre-trip report so you know I'm planning to go in November. Please keep writing and drop any tip or trick you can think of!

 

[Karin1984]

After the show, we walk around, I think we do Phantom Manor, lunch at (the very slow) Casey’s Corner for hotdogs, and go shopping. My friend wants to get the special spirit jersey for the 30th anniversary, but we find it to be sold out everywhere. We go basically in every store in both parks and the village to find it, but alas… no spirit jersey. We decide it’s not meant to be. And it was for the best, as the jersey is white, and my friend had several spills this trip, and for originality… so many people were wearing this jersey.

While going through the stores in the village, we slowly make our way to the hotel. Around 14:15 we got a message our room was ready.

We are on the 6th floor, just above the main entrance. Nice view over lake Disney and Disney Village. Tower of Terror in the distance. The room has a nice size. Downsides: only 3 outlets in the entire room, the outlets were not very conveniently located, no brush in the bathroom for the toilet and the flush button worked, but it felt a bit wonky. We were located directly next to the elevator, and I feared that I would hear people going in and out, but that was unfounded. Only when it was completely quiet, I sometimes heard the bell.

My friend had a business call to make, and we decided to do it from the room, instead of from a quiet place in the park. Which was good, in the end she was on the phone for an hour. I just chilled in the room. It is strange to hear a friend go into her business-personality.

By then it was 16:00 and it was time for tea time in the lounge! Now that we were in Club level we were going to make good use of it.

There is a nice selection of savory and sweet snacks and free sodas and water. My friend ordered a glass of wine, which cost her extra. The snacks are like mini sandwiches with meat, salmon, cheese spread etc. and for sweet, think stuff like brownies and muffins, but also more French items like madeleines, pear tart and crepes. We had a nice quiet time, and ate enough to skip dinner later. We also grabbed a bottle of water and then made our way back to the park for the parade.

We are Infinity AP holders, the highest tier, and that currently still comes with reserved seating for the day parade and fireworks. You do need a reservation, which we have for today.

The parade, Stars on Parade, is finally back, and it’s very nice to see it after two years of absence. However, it’s not my favourite. I do not like the song and I just wish they had done a better job with sticking to the steampunk vibe. That vibe is in the first float with Mickey & friends and in the Maleficent dragon, but not in any of the other floats, characters/costumes. When you then look at the Toy Story float, Frozen, Princesses etc. they mostly match their movie (Frozen not very, but it's okay), but how cool would it be if they could find a mix between steampunk and Toy Story. For all Frozen & Princess movies, it should have been easy, when you look at how they did the Maleficent dragon.





Charming Wendy.






It’s a fun parade, a great set of characters and some fun costumes for the dancers in between floats. One change is that the princesses are now on their own, on the old float from the previous parade. The princesses used to be with their prince, either in carriages or dancing between floats. I can’t really tell why this is. Covid measures are over, people are dancing close in all other shows, so no idea. Maybe due to Covid they have a limited supply of princes?
Good thing: Merida is in the parade as a princess without a prince she was not in the normal Stars on Parade.









I’m not exactly sure what we do after, I think we walk around still looking for the spirit jersey, we do ride Phantom Manor and Indiana Jones with both a 10 minute line. All other rides are too busy for our liking.

Oh, when we wanted to go from Adventureland to the hub, we were blocked at the entrance. They had closed of the part for the fireworks, which is not normally the case. Only the back of Fantasyland is normally closed (near Pays des Contes Fées) for the fireworks. So that’s probably a change fort he 30th anniversary drone show.

Around 19:15, 19:30 we get to the VIP spot for the fireworks. It is already quite crowded. But we get a good spot in front of the castle. It’s quite warm, as long the sun is out, so most people are sitting. Very happy almost everyone stayed seated for the show, as I was tired. As always there are people trying to get in via the wrong entrance (not gonna happen, 2 different check points for VIP reservations) and people trying to sneak in (not gonna happen either, either the CM or the other AP holders will tell you not to). This time, everyone stayed polite and friendly.

If you are visiting for the 30th anniversary and want to see the drone show, try to get a space somewhere opposite the castle. Don’t go too far to left or the right. The show is designed in perspective, even more than the fireworks. You will enjoy it, wherever you stand, but it just looks better when you see it from this point. If everything is blocked or you need more space, go to the right. Go towards the Castle Stage right of the castle, in the direction of It's a Small World.

I do really love the drone show. It is some new, something original, it’s modern. And it uses the music from Shine Brighter.

After this is the fireworks, Illuminations. Also not my favourite, I am fine with skipping it. We did see it because it has been two years. One of the critiques of the 30th anniversary is that they didn’t update Illuminations. I have to agree with this. They had 2 years to add one or two new scenes. The 2017 movie of Beauty and the Beast, that’s a long time ago now, for example. The downside of Illuminations is that the scenes are too long. So you only get a handful of songs/movies in one show. I was amazed there still is the audible gasp from the crowds when they hear the first notes of Let it Go. Also the Frozen part… it’s too long, they are really milking it. If they still wanted Frozen, update it to Frozen 2. Frozen 2 has Into the Unknown and Show Yourself. Great songs that need to be heard.

Ah well, after the show, we slowly make our way back to the village and back to the hotel. When we pass the sports bar, my friend sees on the big screen that Portugal is playing. My friend is Portuguese and a big football fan. We decide to stay for the first half. We go in and ask for a table outside (the game Portugal is playing is shown on the big screen outside, inside I think it was Italy vs. Macedonia). Outside is full, and the server is kind of confused that we do not want to sit inside, and that we ask if we can wait. Yes, we can wait. We go outside, to watch the game standing. 2 seconds after standing outside, we see several tables outside being cleared. So I go back in, and tell the server some tables outside opened up. He seemed to regret his decision to allow us to wait. He reluctantly brings me to a table first (there were other people waiting, and I passed the line to go back in, that could also be contributing to his mood). But we have a great table in front of the big screen, Portugal is playing well, so my friend is happy.

From the special 30th anniversary menu you can get in Disney Village and at least at all hotel bars, I order the non alcoholic smoothie Tout Doux. And it was amazing. I had it 3 times this trip, but the first one was made the best: Banana, coconut and blueberry purees, Greek yoghurt, Almond vanilla milk, and whipped cream. Plus a dried slice of lime with the 30th anniversary logo on top.

Absolutely delicious.



Back in the hotel, my friend watches the second half, shower, and off to bed!

 

[Karin1984]

Day 2: Party day!

We wake up early automatically. We go to the lounge for breakfast, at 7:00. Also here a good selection of hot and cold foods. There are hard boiled eggs, but I prefer soft boiled eggs. I try to make soft boiled eggs myself. But apparently you have to set the temperature on the cooker yourself first. It wasn't set to boiling already. So my eggs almost come out raw… Better luck tomorrow!

We go out to stand in line for security. The weather is already beautiful, and it’s going to be another lovely day. We are there around 7:30, security is going to open at 8:00. We chat in line with a dad/expat from the US with his 3 kids (mom was sleeping in) and a couple from the UK. Time goes quickly.

Normally our first stop is Starbucks for coffee in the village, but we had breakfast included, so no need for coffee!

I have to pick up my party ticket, which I can do as of 8:00. We find the right register, but they are not open yet. They are still setting up, and this is one thing I really do not handle well. It’s probably being Dutch, but things not opening at the time advertised… I can get really frustrated about this. But today I am not going to let it bother me. Yes, it’s only another 10 minutes or so, but we will roll with it. I pay for my ticket, and get paranoid about carrying it with me the entire day. I have my annual pass, my photo pass, my hotel key card in my phone case with my other cards. Because of constantly taken one or more passes out, I decide to put my party ticket (which is just a small piece of paper) in my passport. An item that is in a specific pocket in my bag, that I don't take out. It should be safe there. (It was )

At 8:30 the gates open and we go in. Mickey and Minnie are in their 30th anniversary gear at the station to welcome everyone to the Shine Brighter music. It’s really nice that they kept this from the Covid years. Keep in mind, Disneyland Paris doesn’t have a welcome show like Magic Kingdom has. It is just fun to have characters waive you in. It's a shame that Disneyland Paris doesn't really have a good place to do a welcome show. On the other hand, I do think they could do it at the Main Street Gazebo, loads of people to stand and watch, they can rope it off... Should be possible.



We walk down Main Street to see which character is meeting at the end near Casey’s Corner.

It’s Stitch! And while I have never been able to finish the movie Lilo and Stitch. I do like Stitch as a character to meet. You never know what’s going to happen! Wait time is maybe about 30 minutes, with one character break. The Stitch before the break was a hoot! He was laying on the ground, making guys do push ups, he did push ups himself. Stitch after the break was a lot sweeter and with kids.

It was great meeting him! And even better to hug him! The first character hug in over two years! It felt really special.





We go around the hub to take pictures of the Gardens of Wonder. These are abstract statues of Disney characters installed for the 30th anniversary. They are grouped together: like princesses, villains, water, aliens, critters, animals, magical creatures. They got some critique that they don’t have any special 30th anniversary on them. I don’t really care about this. I like the style. It’s well done, and now they can use them for a longer period without modifying.

Cinderella




Sleeping Beauty



Brave


Snow White



We ride Big Thunder Mountain with a 10 minute line.

Pro tip: When you get to the inside part of the line: TAKE THE LEFT LANE. It didn’t make much difference this time, but at least one train. Also a benefit of taking the left lane, when the full line is used, the left lane goes on the outside of the building -> Fresh air. When you take the right lane, you will be mazing through the inside. If you do not like crowds, take the left lane to don't feel so closed in.

After this, it’s about 9:15 when we go to the Studios and get in line to meet Goofy! I love meeting Goofy. I am taller than average for a woman (1.72 / 5ft6) and hugging Stitch, Mickey, Minnie, etc. the pictures always look weird, because I forget to stand up straight. So I am kind of hunched over in these pictures. It's apparently a natural response to try keep your heads at the same level. Weird habit.

But not with Goofy, with Goofy I can stand up straight We are in line for about 30 minutes and had a great meet with Goofy. Best hug ever.



We do want to ride Tower of Terror, but the line is 50 minutes at park opening… Yikes. Today is going to be busy. Which was expected with the party. We check a few more stores for the spirit jersey, no luck.

We decide to go back to Disneyland park to catch the first show of Shine Brighter. We decide what will be the best spot and camp out. Because with so many fans in the park, good spots are taken quickly.

The weather is beautiful and we enjoy the sun. While we wait, the programme for the party is released by ED92. ED92 is (one of) the biggest Disneyland Paris fansite. They have reporters in the park daily and are usually one of the fansites Disneyland Paris uses to release news. DLP probably does it like this, so they don’t have to deal with negative comments on their own social media channels.

As I posted in the news thread, the programme was vague. We could determine (with the help of Google) that two shows C’est Magique and Le Livre Magique de Mickey were shows from the opening years of Disneyland Paris. There would be a show to open the event, after this opening one show of Shine Brighter after dark and the drone show.

There were show times posted, but no times for which character was going to meet when. Also, only vague descriptions of the characters. Like it said ‘Olympic Heroes’, yes, that means characters from Hercules. That is easy to determine. But Galactic Heroes, I assumed it was going to be Buzz Lightyear. It turned out to Stitch switching off with Angel. Eternal Heroes was Beauty and the Beast (the main song in French is Histoire Eternelle), we had assumed characters from The Eternals, the new show.

I am assuming they really didn’t want to get people’s hopes up too high after the disasters from previous party when people were just disappointed. My friend is a Hercules fan, so we made some kind of plan to see Hercules first, while Shine Brighter and the drone show are going on.

So, that's how we spend our time while waiting for the Shine Brighter show. It's nice to have an idea of what will happen at the party. We can make some sort of a plan.
Pro tip: If you ever find yourself at a Disneyland Paris party. Come in with a plan.

One of the best things of Disneyland Paris is CM Sergio Paulo. He’s a Portguese cast member working in crowd control for years. He’s an older gentleman, short, with absolutely the best spirit. He is the embodiment of Disney magic. When moving people in the right direction, he is strict, but does it with such a great smile and sense of humour, nobody minds. He is singing and dancing while the music going on encouraging the crowds to do the same, he is joking with guests, he was adorable with a little toddler, mimicking his moves. He is the cast member you will remember and he is always more than happy to pose for pictures. He is your preshow entertainment.

The show itself is so much fun, and we decide to watch it again from a different angle. And we discover new things each time. There is so much to see. We discover driver Lukasz who is dancing along from his driver’s seat.

After some walking around, and taking a photopass picture with a 30th anniversary frame, we decide to go back to the hotel.

it’s about 15:00 when we get back to the hotel. We decide to get some drinks in the lounge, stay for tea time and then decide from there what we will do for the evening.

My friend gets the 30th anniversary wine (it was ok) and I get the smoothie again. This time it wasn’t as good, the ice wasn’t fully crushed. But as it was my second, I wasn’t really sure what the right version was. And I wasn’t in the mood to argue and send it back. At this moment, 12 euro for that smoothie was definitely too much.

After chilling in the lounge we decide to go back to Disneyland Park watch the end of the parade, and just see whatever we can do. I do not remember what we did during this time.

 

[Karin1984]

The party is going to start at 21:15. The regular fireworks is at 20:00, meaning the crowds will leave the park around 20:15. When the park is cleared, we can get in. We have some experience with these parties by now, and we know people who are only going to the party, will start queuing as of 18:30 / 19:00. So at 19:00, we go out and join the line. We are lucky. We are reasonably at the front and we are under the hotel, so we are covered. It is a warm day, but as soon as that sun is gone, it cools down quickly. It’s late March after all. During the character soiree in 2019 we were late and were queuing outside in Fantasia Gardens. It was cold and just uncomfortable in the crowds. Where we are in line under the hotel, people keep a little bit of distances between groups, and we pass the time by chatting to the others in line.

At exactly 21:15 the gates open. First improvement: They have checked the tickets already when they let you in the queue. So the turnstiles just open and everyone can walk in. At the Main Street Gazebo the fab five are posing (not meeting) in their anniversary outfits, but almost everyone is on their way to their first activity. We want to go Small World where the Hercules characters are meeting, but we cannot get through. We are stopped, CMs say nothing is going to happen till after the opening show.

We go back to the hub and have a front row spot for the opening show. It’s called Follow the Light, and there is a lot of light, castle projections, fountains, and fireworks. It is fireworks near the ground (loads of firemen/women around), so only Mickey is there as a character to open the evening (only in French on one stage). Bit disappointing.



After the fireworks, we go back to where we were stopped. There is some confusion among cast members about what is going to happen when and which roped off areas they will be opening. It becomes clear that first they will do the Shine Brighter show on the hub, then the drone show, and only then open Fantasyland. It is always amazing how ill-informed CMs are on nights like this.

We see some parts of the Shine Brighter show from where we are, and we see the drone show out of perspective. Again: for the drone show, watch it opposite the castle. While we wait, we see some pictures on social media, making it clear that Hiro and Baymax are switching off in Discoveryland. I like Big Hero Six, but it’s not my favourite movie, and I do not necessarily need to meet these characters.

Then CM Adrien is there to rescue us. He shows us a picture on his phone, and let us take pictures of the picture. It is a park map with which characters are where.

Picture of the picture on Adrien's phone


My friend and I have been going to all kinds of Disney parks for the last decade, we participate in events and run weekends. We have seen our share of rare characters. For tonight there were some we would have liked to see, but as no one really was a must, we changed our game plan and just went to see the shows.

In the end this was a good decision, every time we passed a character lines were so long! When you go for characters on nights like this, you will get disappointed on not being able to do it all. Also with the characters, there were no groups, they were switching off each 30 minutes. Most characters were selfie spots.

Characters that were meeting:

• Ping and Mushu - Mushu is on our list to meet, Ping we have seen during a run weekend.
• Jack Sparrow on the balcony at Pirates – Jack we have seen often enough.
• Oswald & Girlfriend – This is not a very well known character in Europe, I have no emotional attachment to him, so easy to skip.
• Belle and Beast – We have met Belle often enough, Beast we have met in WDW at Be Our Guest. I prefer to meet Belle with her prince, instead of Beast. Years ago we once had a load of pixiedust and luck and we spend about 20 minutes with Aurora, Belle, her prince, Cinderella and the Mice in an almost private audience. There is not a lot of reason to stand in line for these.
• Robin Hood characters – These were often around in the 90s and the early 10s. No emotional attachment.
• Megara – Just Megara without Hercules wasn’t special enough. Plus she was in winterwear, which doesn’t look very good.
• Hiro and Baymax
• Stitch and Angel
• Goofy and Pluto
• Mickey and Minnie
• Donald and Daisy
• Chip / Dale / Clarice
• Oogie Boogie – This one I would like to meet one day, but it will happen when it happens.
• Dr. Facilier and Louis – I want to meet Louis, but maybe if I ever get on the Disney Wonder cruise ship that can happen. I do not like to bash character actors for their appearance as a disney character, but this Facilier was not the best. Which is a shame, as through the years they had some great actors for Facilier. This is one of the characters that improves on speaking French. Just like Gaston. Somehow when these characters speak French, and add French arrogance to it, the character meets improve.
• Horace and Clarabelle

So it was a good selection, but with the crowds, we preferred to get our money’s worth by seeing all the shows.

That is one thing that definitely improved. They had programmed the show in such a way, it was possible to see them all. You could go from one to another, no overlaps.

First show, Le Livre Magique de Mickey, I had looked it up on youtube, and I knew we would love the best. So from where we waited, when the rope dropped we would run (not really necessary in the end) to the elevated viewing area overlooking castle stage.

Le Livre Magique stars Sorcerer Mickey and we go by Snow White + seven dwarfs, the witch and the apple. Cinderella, the mice, getting the dress (strangely enough no transformation on stage) fairy god mother and the prince, slipper. Aurora, the three fairies, Maleficent and Phillip. A great little show, with really outdated costumes for Jacques and Gus. All and all, a great start of the evening. Next to me was probably a Disney employee recording to show and half way through he tapped on my shoulder to notify me that the Witch from Snow White was lurking in the shadows! That was nice of him.

We walk around to check character lines and catch the end of the show Mickey’s Magical Souvenirs. We couldn’t really find anything about it. It turned out to be a new show. It’s a compilation show with songs and castle projections from the 1st / 5th / 10th / 15th / 20th / 25th anniversary, ending with a bit of Pirates and Princesses (yay!) and Disney Dreams, the beloved fireworks show of Disneyland Paris. The crowd went wild when they realized this.

This was a really fun show and we decide to mix up our plans, first go see C’est Magique in Videopolis and then the last Magical Souvenirs show to end the night. Magical Souvenirs was upbeat and really made the crowd happy. When the programme came out, we wondered why there was no parade announced. That’s usually how the end parties like this, but with this show, it makes sense.

We go over to Videopolis, but the line is already long and I wonder if we will be able to get in. The good thing about Videopolis is, there is the theater auditorium (for which you had to get in line), but the seating area upstairs is free for all. This is the seating for the Hyperion restaurant during the day.

Of course, all the good free seats were already taken, but we asked if we could join a table of some people we saw in line earlier that night, and we had a decent spot to watch C’est Magique. Again, lucky. We have been lucky with being near the front of the lines at the start, for the Livre Magique and now to get a decent seat for C’est Magique. The evening is going really well. The atmosphere is great, no running / pushing (only a bit at the beginning)..

This is a show from the early days, and it’s a show about Disneyland Paris where you go through all the lands/rides they had. So it starts with a song about Main Street USA, about Frontierland with cowboys (the Indians were there in the 90s show, but wise enough cut from this 2022's version), Adventureland with pirates, etc.

I think this show is an easy one they could return. It’s practically ageless, the lands and rides are still there. Update it with new costumes/sections once in a while and bring it back!

The time has flown by and it’s time for the final showing of Magical Souvenirs. It’s getting cold, so while my friend guards our good spot (wasn’t really necessary, crowds died down already). I decide to go to Casey’s corner to get something warm. Lines were so incredibly slow, I do not know what was up with that. I get some chicken nuggets for myself, a coffee for my friend, which warms us up again.

The final show was amazing. It hyped up the crowds. The CMs, dancers, characters, everyone was in such a great mood! The finale made everyone return to the hotel in the best of spirits.

It’s about 2:00 when we are ready to get to bed. It was a great day, and a great night.

 

[Karin1984]

Day 3:
Even though it was about 3:00 in the morning when I finally fell asleep. I still wake up at 6:30. So does my friend. We are used to getting up early and the party doesn’t change that.

We get up, go for breakfast and decide to go to the park for early opening. With a lot of caffeine, fat and sugar we will get through the day.

At breakfast, I gave making soft boiled eggs another try, this time it worked! We had mini Mickey waffles this morning. I only at half of it. The quality of breakfast was pretty good, except for this thing. The waffle was very chewy and just tasted awful. Waffles are not a common thing in Europe and they are probably made in bulk, which cannot be good for the quality.

We are at Disney Village security around 7:45, and today, they are late with opening security. It’s 8:05 – 8:10 I think when they finally open. Luckily they do have two security men doing manual checks, which speeds up the process.

When the park opens we do decide to go hug Winnie the Pooh, because the line is short, and we want to hug characters again. Winnie was a lovely little meet. The CM and photopass photographer remembered us from the day before. Yassine, the character handler, was at Goofy yesterday, and Maria Ines was our photopass photographer with the 30th anniversary frame. We have a nice conversation with them. Yassine was great at interacting with the guests, and Maria Ines is one of the few photographers who knows to take pictures of the interaction as well, and not just wait for people to pose for pictures.

We walked into Fantasyland and rode Snow White and the Caroussel. We then made our way to Space Mountain, which was a 15 minute wait. Only shortly after getting in line the ride breaks down, so we decide to get out again.

One of the things we do on most trips is make a wish at the wishing well. It’s accessible at the moment (due the construction works that was not always the case all day).

Park opens and we start with riding Pirates again, Pays des Contes Fées and Casey Junior all with hardly any wait. We pay a visit to the dragon under the castle and by then it’s almost 11:30.

At 12:30 Cinderella and Prince will be meeting at the carriage in the Auberge courtyard. The last two days, the lines for Cinderella got long and closed quickly. She only has two sets and she is the only princess meeting at the moment.

We are tired and hungry. We go pick up lunch at Bella Notte (food was okay, service was spotty) and take it to the courtyard and sit and wait.

We find the guests who we shared a table with last night at C’est Magique. So we have someone to talk to. The line here is a bit of a puzzle, as it’s partially a walkway. We are in the courtyard, and an older CM closes the gate on one side. No one can get in anymore to take pictures of the carriage. On the other side of the gate is the walkway, and then another little courtyard, where the line continues. We are on the good side. Only from the other side, people constantly come into the courtyard to take pictures. This is a spot the CM cannot see from the other courtyard. So it’s a constant struggle for him to keep the place cleared. Also guests who are waiting for Cinderella in the courtyard near the carriage, are constantly walking in and out to get drinks or go to the bathroom.

Maybe a map is clearer.
Red line = Guest queue
Red dot = Cinderella's carriage in the restaurant courtyard.
Yellow dot = The courtyard in front of the restaurant, where the queue continues. People with DAS, wheelchairs etc. wait between the two queues under the cover.
Blue dot = the gate on the other side of the restaurant courtyard.
When the CM has his back to the carriage, he cannot see people coming in via the blue dot.



Then something strange happens, about 10 minutes before Cinderella is supposed to arrive, two young CMs arrive. I hear they speak Dutch, so I quickly explain what the situation is and what their colleague has been doing for the past 45 minutes. The CMs weren’t aware that someone had been managing their lines already. Only then I realize, the CM that had been closing the gate and managing the area is dressed in all black, without a normal CM badge (he had a key cord with a pass). In hindsight he looked more like security. I wonder who he was. And I also wonder how this line would have looked if the mystery CM wasn't there.

Also, that’s something else we encountered during Shine Brighter. Sergio Paulo is an older CM and was managing his area at least half an hour before showtime. At a later show, there were other, younger, CMs in charge. They only showed up 10 minutes before. This is a concern. With Shine Brighter there are specific areas at the hub where guests can stand. There are green lines where you have to stay behind. If you are not behind them, you are send away. Imagine standing somewhere for at least 20 minutes on what you think is a good spot, and then send away 10 minutes before showtime when the crowds have formed everywhere else already. I wonder if they are on different kind of schedules, or if there something else going on.

Aaaaaanyway...
Cinderella and prince arrives, and we get to meet her. Strangely enough, you cannot hug her or ask for autographs, they are behind the gate and not accessible. However, you can stand right next to them for the picture. Cinderella was very very pretty.



Ah well, the wondrous rules during Covid.

Somewhere after this I get a cookie



Fatigue is now really starting to set in and we just hang around the hub to watch Shine Brighter one more time, and then make our way back to the hotel. Our train back is at 16:30. We first go to the bar at Newport Bay. The Manhattan Bar in the Marvel hotel was closed, and in the bar in Sequoia they messed up my 30th anniversary smoothie earlier this trip. So we will try the Captain’s Quarters in Newport Bay.

There the smoothie is made correctly and delicious. A perfect way to end a perfect trip.



We go back to Sequoia to pick up our luggage, get a soda in the lounge, at 16:00 we grab some sandwiches and water for the train ride and then make our way back to the station.



This was a magical trip for several reasons: Very lucky with the weather. In hindsight this room was perfect, because we wanted to get our money’s worth we spent a lot of time in the lounge, this slowed us down. During the party we were lucky several times. Everyone, from guests to the CMs everyone, seemed happy. We loved the 30th anniversary shows.

Call it luck, pixiedust or maybe just being in the right mindset. This was a trip for the books.

 

[Karin1984]

Ok, the story is up, and I am trying to put in the pictures. So far so good! I'll keep trying!