Par-ee Holds The Key To Your Heart. YOLO to Paris! Update 8/9

Dying In The Louvre

By this time we were probably in the louvre for more than 2 hours. And we had no clue how to get to the other side. We soon realized we would have to go back from the beginning and try another entrance point.

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A real life statue of what my children at work will look like when they realize I’m back after being away for a week.

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We should have followed the crowd in the beginning. The "Mona Lisa" side was PACKED! And it was fairly easy to find where we had to go to find her. Follow the crowd and you will find it.

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Once we made it in the room it was fun to see how many people there were but once your tried to join the crowd the fun stopped. Personally I feel like they could have a better system. Like a line walking up to the painting.

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However it is pure hunger games and I have never felt so claustrophobic in my life. At first everything was going good. We first got a selfie with her from afar.

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Inching our way in, I lost Brittany behind me and there was this random guy in between us. She decided her life was more important and left the crowd. I was already to deep into it that I had to go through with it. A few people exited and that's when I literally thought I was going to die…or at least pass out. There was a clear opening for me to get in and everyone behind me were pushing to get in front. Thats when this lady pushes me back to get in front of me but I had no where to move back when those behind me were pushing me forward and I just wanted to get out. The best part was that the lady then proceeded to turn around and ask me to take a photo of her and the mona lisa. Absolutely not! I looked at her like I didn’t understand what she was saying and she left me alone.
I was in desperate need of exiting, so I snapped and picture and jumped at the sight of the rope opening up in front.

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I was finally free and I will probably never do that ever again, once is enough.
After 3.5 hours of being lost in the louvre we decided it was time for us to head out. I couldn’t believe we were in there that long. Like what did we even accomplish? dying? yeah thats cool I guess. But we did the basic tourist picture because when in rome (Paris)

I might be a dreamer but its gotten me this far and that is far enough for me
(Amelie the musical anyone? Its about a girl in Paris so it seems fitting….)

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“I think I’m really starting to fall in Louvre with Paris”

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Next up on our list was Montmartre and we had to take the bus there because it was a cathedral on top of a hill overlooking Paris. We decided to walk to the bus stop which was about a 10-15 minute walk. On the way there we ended up walking into a little gift shop and decided we needed a classic tourist purchase. Brittany and I ended up buying matching crewnecks. And thanks to my Mary poppins bag I was able to stuff both in my purse so we didn't have to carry about the bags.

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As we got closer to the bus stop we ended up passing Laduree, another must do in Paris. I’ve never had a macaron before but I was hoping I liked them because they aren’t cheap. We were actually planning on going to Laduree tomorrow when we met up with my sister but if we liked them tonight we would be willing to buy more tomorrow.

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We decided to split a box and get 3 each. I went with rose, chocolate and raspberry. While brittany went with pistachio, caramel and chocolate. Once we got them I didn’t care if they tasted good because they just looked so pretty in the package

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Our bus stop was practically right outside so we decided to try the chocolate ones while we waiting for the bus to arrive. I understand the Macaron hype! It was delicious.
The bus came very shortly and we then learned that the bus stopped running because they were still on their winter schedule and they stopped at 5pm. This put a damper on our plans. I asked Brittany if it was in walking distance since everything in Paris seemed to be walkable. This however wasn’t. So we had to make a decision, not go or pay more for the metro. We decided to take the metro.
We found the closest station to take us to where we needed to get to and we struggled with trying to figure out how to get a ticket from the machine. We knew where we needed to go but we couldn’t find it on the screen. We probably spend a good 10 minutes trying to understand what we were doing. I don’t know how we figured it out but we did, team work makes the dream work. What I do remember was that it was super easy to do and we were just making things difficult. We found our metro, train, subway, whatever you wanted to call it and we were off to Montmartre!



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If you go to NYC for Christmas, Bryant Park shops have a little macaron place. I'm not sure if it was a Lauderee, probably not but all the same still really good!
 


If you go to NYC for Christmas, Bryant Park shops have a little macaron place. I'm not sure if it was a Lauderee, probably not but all the same still really good!
I do know there is a Laduree in NYC. But now that I like macarons I will have to try it out the next time I go to NYC.
 
Overlooking Paris

Once arriving to Montmartre we soon learned that this part of the city was all on a hill, prepare yourself for a nice leg workout. We headed to Sacré-Cœur, The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris which was located on top of the hill and over looked the city. But in order to enjoy the beautiful view you had to put in some work. So up and up and up we went and the stairs were awful! (if you don’t do stairs there is The Montmartre Funicular, which is like an elevator that you can use your metro card on) Instead of paying we decided to work on our fitness. I thought run up the stairs and hope you don’t die by the time you make it up to the top. While I did the double stair method Brittany trailed behind

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With the sore legs came the amazing view and it was all worth it

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There were a bunch of people here today and the steps leading up to the cathedral were full with people sitting around drinking and hanging out. Since the only major thing on the hill is the cathedral we decided to walk through it. Of course we weren’t allowed to take photos.
Then it was back down the stairs, which was definitely a lot easier.
Afterwards I wanted to go see the famous Moulin Rouge. It was in “walking” distance from where we were so off we went. I wouldn’t say it was in an awful place but Brittany kept telling me to be careful. And after walking for a good 15-20 minutes we made it. There was a good amount of people outside just to get the picture in front of it.

The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return

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Then from the Moulin Rouge we had a 25 minute walk back to our apartment. Although we walked a lot tonight it was nice because we got to see more of Paris than we would if we took the metro everywhere. I recommend that you walk as much as you can because you will see a lot more. On the way back home the Moana soundtrack was in our head the whole time.
And once we got back to the room we had to rest our barking dogs before we had to make a decision on what to do for food.
Brittany was all about that paris cafe life, while I was ready to just get a sandwich and eat it in the room. But when in Paris tiredness can’t win so off we went to pick a cafe near our apartment. We found a little place right around the corner and tried to figure out how to find something on the menu…

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We were lucky enough to have a waitress who spoke english and helped us out with the menu. Tonight we were doing like the Parisians do and drinking all the wine. We honestly had no clue what type of wine we even got all I know was that is was sweet and great!
Brittany got a board of meat, which she thought would come with cheeses as well. And I went with my basic chicken caesar salad.

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The main discussion was travel and my long list of places I want to go and see. But first China…its not on my top of my list but its the last Disney parks I need to go to. At this point in time Brittany told me I needed to find someone else to go with because she wasn’t feeling like going to China. So anyone wanting to go to Shanghai and Hong Kong disney?! We can even make a quick stop to Japan because I miss Disney Sea!!!
The slow service is what gets me in Paris, especially when all I want to do it sleep. There’s no such thing as a quick meal here, we didn’t leave cafe until 10:30. Thank goodness the apartment was super close. Once we got back to the room we were
curious to see how much we walked today since we were all over the city with the walking touring plus all the walking we did tonight and it turns out we walked over 13 miles today.
And with the 13 miles we walked we had our macarons still left to try. So we decided to try one more. My rose flavor one was not for me…I ended up throwing it up in the garbage and dying on the floor. That might have been a little over dramatic but the only way I could describe it was that it tasted like licking an old lady’s neck. You know just that perfume taste. However the pistachio one Brittany got…thats where its at! I never in a million years would have thought I would like it but I did and I regret going with rose.

We ended our night by finding my new favorite song, Champs-Elysées, on youtube. By the end of the week Brittany was ready to throw me out the window because I sang it so much. But it was so darn catchy!




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I would love to go to Shanghai and Hong Kong Disney with you! Not sure my bank account will let me right now though!

Lovin' the report! My parents went to Moulin Rouge when they were in Paris over 20 years ago.
 


I would love to go to Shanghai and Hong Kong Disney with you! Not sure my bank account will let me right now though!

Lovin' the report! My parents went to Moulin Rouge when they were in Paris over 20 years ago.
YES PLEASE! My back account is the same way but maybe in a year it will allow me too go.
I bet they paid a lot less then what its going for now. Tickets are now $100, no thank you I just want a picture of the iconic building.

Following long. What awesome pictures!
Welcome! Thank you

I am so down for japan and china ::yes::
I want to go back to japan so bad! But I know I have to go to china first. Sounds like we will have a group to go...disboard trip!
 
Sing The Bells Of Notre Dame

Today was our “relax” sleep in morning but it was also our last day in Paris before heading off to Disneyland! We needed the few extra minutes of sleep because it would probably be the only morning for it for the rest of the trip.
We ended up headed out to find some breakfast around 9. This morning we didn’t try something different and went with a suggestion from the lady who we rented the apartment from. So off to Julien’s we went. This was the hardest place to get to, yet it was basically the easiest bakery to get too. Google maps was not on our side this morning. We walked around for which seemed like forever until we found it.

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We both walked out with our usual croissant as well as a pain au chocolat. We had no time to eat there so we had breakfast on the go while we headed to the bus stop for our first morning adventure. On the bus ride we passed by the old lock bridge where I saw one of the famous paris scams in act. Poor tourists were just trying to get a picture while a very pushy girl tried to have them sign there clipboard…but from what I saw they weren’t falling for it at all.
Our first stop for today was Notre Dame and although we were there yesterday, today we were actually going to go inside. Before making it there we got off the bus at the stop before to see the “new” lock bridge. Brittany said she needed to put one on for her and her boyfriend but I suggested that he comes back here with her because I feel like that is how it is suppose to work. However she did tell me that a girl she knew put a lock on without her boyfriend and now they are engaged…so I guess whatever works for you.
If by some chance you find yourself here without a lock no worries there were a few people walking around the area selling them. The next question once getting a lock though is where do you put it? And how does one find theres if they ever return?

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So much love

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We walked the 5 minutes to the home of Quasimodo. Once we got there there was a nice long twisting line to get in. However it moved very quickly and we were inside in about 15-20 minutes.
Welcome to Quasimodo’s crib

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Morning in Paris, the city awakes
To the bells of Notre Dame


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I don't know if You can hear me
Or if You're even there
I don't know if You would listen
To a gypsy's prayer


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Yes, I know I'm just an outcast
I shouldn't speak to you
Still I see Your face and wonder
Were You once an outcast too?


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The church itself changed drastically from what it started off as too what it is now

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Once walking the whole inside we headed outside and walked around the gardens on the side of it.

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The famous gargoyles that watch over the city. Hugo Victor and Laverne is that you?
Can you come alive and sing A Guy Like You

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I guess I was to much in concentration of photo taking that I didn’t notice Brittany getting stopped by a fellow clipboard/ sign for a cause scam. Just say no and they’ll leave you alone and go off to find another person to bother.
There was no sign of Quasimodo and it was time for us to head off to our next stop. We walked the streets of Paris in search of the bus stop we needed. Today was scheduled to take the last loop for L’open bus tours and that means the Catacombs!

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We found the bus stop and waited FOREVER! and when I saw forever I really mean forever. we stood there for about an hour. During that time Alicia texted me saying that she was heading into the city and planned to do Notre Dame first. So we decided to take ride the loop around all the way just for some sight seeing and meet up with Alicia and Justin. By this time a bus coming wasn’t looking promising. So Brittany wondered off down the street to a crepe shop and got lost for 20 minutes. Of course the bus came just then and I watched it drive away with out us while Brittany walked out with a crepe in her hands. I was a little mad since I waited in the cold shaded bus stop for an hour for that bus and we missed it.
I wasn’t going to wait another half hour for another bus so we decided to head back to Notre Dame and meet up with my sister.




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I thought I read or heard that they took the lock bridge down. It is definitely very cool looking and I would think most of the tourist would want to go see it. I know I would.

Notre Dame is stunning! All the stained glass is just beautiful.
 
Oh, hooray - a new trip report! Always love reading about your adventures. I wish I had had the same adventurous spirit in my 20s that you have! Looking forward to the next installments.
 
I thought I read or heard that they took the lock bridge down. It is definitely very cool looking and I would think most of the tourist would want to go see it. I know I would.

Notre Dame is stunning! All the stained glass is just beautiful.
They did take down the original one, there is now another one in the works right down the street.

Oh, hooray - a new trip report! Always love reading about your adventures. I wish I had had the same adventurous spirit in my 20s that you have! Looking forward to the next installments.
Yay! Sometimes I feel like my need for traveling is bad because it takes all my money but it is so worth it.
 
Tea Time Denied

We waited out front because they were still walking around inside. Alicia texted me saying that Justin wanted to go up to the top. As we waited outside I told Brittany how we should have made a sign for when they came out, sort of like the airport drivers who are always waiting for people. Once they came walking out I instantly became their personal photography…was I surprised? Not a bit.

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To get to the top you have to wait in a line on the side of the building. We were not expecting that line to be as long as it was. After maybe 5 minutes into waiting we decided it wasn’t worth it we would be there for hours just to spend 5 minutes up there to see the view. Instead we decided to go in search of food. Brittany and I suggested Angelina’s because it was on our list of places to go, mostly for the hot chocolate. We all agreed that that would be good. They had a metro pass while we had our bus pass. We were planning on going our separate ways but instead we decided to buy the metro pass for the quick ride with them.
At this time Justin was in a hurry, he was always 10 feet in front of us. Alicia told us how this was his only day in the city and he wanted to see as much as he could, but she told him before that she wanted to hang out with us girls because its been a long time since we have all been together.
We got off at the Louvre and split up. They wanted to go take photos, so Brittany and I went to the restaurant in case there was a line. On our way there, there are a lot of shops along the way which we stopped in a few because Brittany still needed to get her touristy merchandise for her family back at home.

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Once we got there there was no line so we waited outside for Alicia and Justin to meet up with us. Angelina’s is a restaurant as well as a bakery.

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We were all ready to order the tea time menu but alas we were there a half hour to early. So I started with a good old fashion limonade, which was almost like a sprite.

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As we waited for our food we decided what to do for today, Justin was super pumped to be in a video (although I have yet to start said video) and we talked about all this big Disneyland celebration tomorrow and how some Prince paid for all these characters to come because Paris couldn’t afford to do anything big for their 25th.

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Angelina’s can be very pricey, which is why we were all about the tea time menu. So I decided to go with a croque monsieur because you can never go wrong there

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Brittany and Alicia got the french onion soup, which they said it was very sweet from what they are use too. Alicia also went with some salmon salad and Justin got eggs Benedict

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After our lunch we all knew what we wanted…hot chocolate! Every blog I read was try the hot chocolate at Angelina’s

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This was delicious! But it was also very thick and rich. I think we all were done after one cup of it. Brittany and I still had some left so I decided to take one for the team. Growing up we always had to share so nothing went to waste and I just couldn’t have that hot chocolate go to waste. I was so full and Justin kept telling me to stop if I was full, he just didn’t understand.

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We finally called it quits and struggled with the bill because Alicia needed her own. She got all her meals paid for while being in Paris for work, must be a hard life.
After lunch we headed back to our apartment because Alicia isn’t smart when it comes to bringing the proper footwear and I told her she could barrow my black booties for the rest of the day. After a few minutes of walking Brittany realized she left her bag of souvenirs back at the restaurant, so we ran back and luckily they had it waiting there for us.
We did the 15 minute walk back to our apartment, where we all laid around and made a plan for the night. Justin wanted to go to some art galleria, while Brittany and I were still set on going to the catacombs. So Alicia and Justin went off and did their thing while Brittany and I did our own thing and planned on meeting up at the Eiffel Tower later tonight.




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Didn't See That Coming

Brittany and I caught the bus down the road to Notre Dame and then transferred to another bus. This was the bus we waited for earlier in the day that took forever to come. This time however we saw a bus there and started walking fast pace to it, this bus stop though had 2 different colored lines running so it wasn’t the one we needed.
Once our bus got there we had a nice 20 minute ride to the catacombs. There was a long line that formed outside and around the block. After finally making it to the end of the line the person in front of us turned around and asked if we were in line for the catacombs. They worked there and was the cut off line for the night…if we were 5 minutes earlier we would have made it. They told us we could wait but there was no guarantee we would make it in. They let the last people in at 7:30 and close at 8:30, so if you ever find yourself in paris and want to check out the catacombs make sure to get there before 6:30…because 6:40 you’ll be turned away.
And if you want to see what I missed out on…It has such a haunting but so fascinating way too it. (Photos not mine)

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As we did the walk back to the bus stop we just added to it the list of reasons on why we need to come back. Then we complained about how nothing was working out for us today. And to make it all better the bus decided they didn’t want to get us. We were getting antsy and just wanted to do something on our last day in the city so we opted to take the metro to the tower to meet up with Alicia and Justin.
After finally getting back on track we were off to the Eiffel tower. And we had no idea of what we were about to experience. Like I stated before you have to pay to use bathrooms around Europe however if you are lucky there are a few free porter potty type bathrooms randomly on the side walks. Brittany was in need of one and we luckily found one of these right before we got to the eiffel tower. This is when it happened. Brittany was about to get in line behind this other lady. That’s when we noticed her pushing the button to open it, not one but constantly. After awhile she got fed up and walked away as we got closer to jump in line thats when it happened. The door started opening when this poor lady inside was doing her business….my first reaction was just turn around and give her her privacy. The poor lady was screaming in french, I’m sorry I don’t know french! We couldn’t do much but we also didn’t move. Then this young guy came running from nowhere trying to pull the door closed for her. It was just a sight to see and was THE story from this trip.
After viewing what we viewed Brittany didn’t feel the need to go anymore, I don’t blame her. And we headed closer to the tower. There we were able to find another restroom which came with a lock but also a very long line. Thats when we saw a mother let her fairly old son poop by a tree. Classy!
Finally after everything we saw that night it was time to meet up with Alicia. She snapped me a picture of the fountain area so we headed over there. Once we got there and didn’t seem them she texted me that they moved closer. We ended up finding them and right as we got to them Justin took of running…like sprinting as fast as I ever saw anyone run. This is when we learned that some guy tried stealing Alicia’s purse while Justin was in search of a bathroom. Since it happened while he was away he was on a mission to find the guy. Alicia told us what happened, how she was lucky enough to be sitting on the strap of her purse so she felt it, how the guy just stood there and didn’t run, how she grabbed his backpack as well because she thought it was Justin and how there 2 dads sitting next to her got right up to help her if she needed them.
Would Justin find the guy? There was a very slim chance but we all knew he felt bad for putting Alicia in that position by herself and wanted to be there to “save” her. After 10-15 minutes of waiting around for him I tried to ease the tension with my funny bathroom story, which in fact did cheer up the mood.
Once everyone cooled down we headed to the lawn area Brittany and I were at yesterday to grab some more pictures. The whole time Justin was overprotective, there are many guys walking around selling things, eiffel tower figurines, flowers, wine, beer. Whenever they tried to approach us he would yell at them to leave us alone. Not everyone is out to get you, a no thank you is just fine with these types of people.
We finally made it and I became my sisters personal photographer. Welcome to our set in Paris

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First up the happy couple

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The Dynamic duo

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and lastly the the three caballeros

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At this time they wanted to get dinner before we headed to the Arc, Brittany and I weren’t hungry but decided to just go and sit with them. They decided to go to a random indian restaurant to get some Butter Chicken and I wish I was hungry enough to get some. Instead I just got a strawberry milkshake because it sounded good and it was!

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After their slow dinner (which didn’t surprise us at all) Brittany wanted to go to a pharmacy to get some medicine to help her sleep, since she wasn’t sleeping much through the night. So we walked maybe 10 minutes to one to find out it was closed. At this point we were to far away to walk to the Arc De Triomphe so instead we got an Uber. Welcome to my first uber experience with a driver who spoke very little english, but had a great sun roof. we got there in about 5 minutes.
If you aren’t familiar with the Arc it is in the middle of a round about with multiple lanes of traffic. Some travelers try to dodge the traffic but the safer way is talking the underground walkway, which is what we did. Once we got to the entrance we ran to get in line…and what a surprise they closed it for the night. Ask us how happy we were? We were just so disappointed in our luck today.
We ended up heading back and taking pictures of what we wanted to go up on.

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Before we headed back to our homes for the night we found an open pharmacy for Brittany. Justin was able to figure out what type of medicine she needed to sleep and then we went our separate ways. We ended up taking the metro back and thats when I saw a singing in the rain poster. I LOVE SINGING IN THE RAIN!!!

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Once arriving back to the apartment it was time to pack everything up. Tomorrow bright and early we were heading to Disneyland! And before we we called it a night I had my last macaron, which was raspberry and SOOO much better than that rose one.




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Just Hold On Kid, Till That Train Makes Santa Fe

ITS DISNEY DAY!!!!!! We had an early morning because it was Alish’s big day and we had an hour train ride to Disneyland. We were out of the apartment a little after 6am where we walked to the metro station a block away. It was hard getting from Paris to Disneyland the only struggle we had was getting our suitcases through the turnstiles.

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We took line M to then transfer to the RER A all the way till the end of the line where we hit the Gare de Marne La Vallee Chessy…AKA the metro station right outside the Disney gate.
I put in my headphones as I watched Paris pass by, while Brittany took a little snooze for an hour. “Don't you know that we's a family? Would I let you down? No way. Just hold on, kid, till that train makes Santa Fe”
Once getting to Disney grounds Brittany asked if I knew where we needed to go. Honestly I had no clue but I faked it till I made it.
We found the Disney hotel bus stops, which are kind of sketchy compared to WDW. But once we got to our stop a lovely bus was waiting for us

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Our hotel was the “furthest” from the parks but it was actually just a 5 minute ride and I didn’t find that far at all.

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When entering the main building we noticed how tight security is around here, every time you entered the main lobby you had to be wand down by security.
It was only 7:30am and check in wasn’t until 3-4pm, we filled out our guest papers and received our package. When we booked we used the UK site giving us a super cheap package of a 3 night stay, 4 day park hoppers, and free half board dining, if we were to go through the US site we would have paid more than double for just the room and tickets so my tip is to check all sites to see their promotions.
Once checking in we had to go to another building that would hold on to our bags. There they gave us colored cards to hold onto. And before we headed to Disneyland we headed back to the main building to make some dinner reservations.
The Disneyland Paris dining is quite confusing!
First you can’t make reservations online, only over the phone or in person. I wasn’t going to make that long distance call so we opted to wait till we got there.
Second there are 2 types of dining plans, each having different levels, half board/full board
Third, if getting the dining plan you will receive meal vouchers, these were a real pain to a girl who was use to just scanning a magic band in WDW.
Fourth, on these vouchers they list which restaurants they are good for. We were on the half board standard free dining, meaning our dinners could be at different buffets.
Fifth, These vouchers can be exchanged for money, meaning you can upgrade to a “classier” restaurant and pay the difference out of pocket. This was nice because 2 out of 3 meals weren’t in our standard category.
The CM was kind enough to try to find us some reservations at such late notice and told us how much our vouchers were worth, ours we $28 I believe. She printed off 3 receipts with all our reservations and then we were off to DISNEYLAND!

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We got to the Disneyland entrance a little after 8am and got in line for the bag check.

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Walking up to the Disneyland Hotel was a dream, how cool is it that that underneath that beautiful resort is the park entrance?
Today was PACKED with people, but it was to be expected since it was the official 25th Anniversary! We didn’t understand how it could be so packed so fast since the park didn’t open until 8 and at this time it was probably 8:15. Everyone was already lined up and down main street so we were directed down the side paths of main street, which had the feeling of the world bazaar in Tokyo Disney.
We tried to join the crowd and stood around for a good amount of time, everyone was trying to push to get closer and once the big 25th celebration started we knew we wouldn't see anything. Sorry Alicia we were there in spirit, you rocked it…

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Our plan was to find the gold 25th minnie ears, grab some breakfast and get on some rides before the show ends and the crowds form.
The closest land that was open was Discoveryland and first thing we walked onto was Buzz Lightyear.

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The best thing about their buzz ride is that there guns aren’t attached and you actually get to take them off and shoot, this made it so much easier!!! But Brittany still beat me.

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After Buzz we walked around Discoveryland both upset that Space Mountain was down the whole time we were there. But star tours was also just added and opened for the 25th. I told Brittany that that was something we could pass on and not waste our time because we have it back at home. However Brittany is a new Star Wars fan and requested we go, so when there was no wait I decided I could make her happy.

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The whole time Brittany kept talking about the places we were going to and I remember turning to her and saying “I liked it better when we pretended to like Star wars and Star Wars weekend…” However what I will say is that I like the ending a lot more. R2D2 wasn’t driving us the wrong way and it was such a nice change for me.

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After Star Tours we really needed some food so we headed to Cafe Hyperion.

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Jokes on us though because it was closed for the morning, why? who knows and they kept telling us we could use our vouchers over at Walt Disney Studios. We weren’t switching parks so we headed back to the hub area since we did most of Discoveryland.
Once we got back closer to the castle the 25th celebration was still going on. So we found a nice spot by the fantasyland rope to be ready to see if the breakfast place was open back there after the rope drop at 10am.

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Once 10am hit the ropes dropped and we were off, we ended up walking around the castle and into fantasyland.

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It was “quickly take it all in” because everyone was running. And when I say everyone was running, everyone was running with their children to It’s A Small World and I was so confused but you guys do you!

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We finally found the other quick service that took our vouchers and just our luck not open. Cool disney make us think you are giving us free breakfast but then have all the places closed.

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No breakfast would not be a thing so we headed back to Discoveryland where we got the crepe special…a nutella crepe with some coke what a healthy breakfast.
But a crepe a day makes our day!

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My Obsession With Phantom Manor

With some non healthy breakfast in our bellies we were off to explore the other side of the park. Next stop my favorite land in all the kingdom…Frontierland!
The frontier land entrance reminds me of Tom Sawyers Island in WDW because you first enter through a fort with all those creepy dummies in the room scenes.

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I suggested Phantom Manor first because I had a feeling that I would be obsessed with this attraction. While this is Paris’s haunted mansion it has a whole different storyline compared to any other haunted mansions at the other parks.

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My favorite part about this section of the park is that the whole frontier land has a story line that connects Phantom Manor and Big Thunder Mountain. Backstories are my favorite because to many guests they don’t realize it but once you start reading about them they just become so interesting.
I’ve been obsessed with the back story of phantom manor for years now however if you don’t understand french and don’t know the storyline you will be completely lost while riding the attraction. Also this is by far the most “scariest” manor of them all…instead of happy haunts in a graveyard you are faced with creepy skeletons and in my opinion the singing busts just don’t seem to fit with this attraction.
The storyline itself is a long one to explain so if you are interested in it here ya go:

http://hauntedmansion.wikia.com/wiki/Phantom_Manor
Overall my obsession with this attraction wasn’t a let down at all! Although it was 100% more creepier than I would have imagined it is my FAVORITE manor!

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After Phantom Manor we headed to Thunder Mountain to see if we could get some fast passes for the day. When we passed by we saw that it was down…that was not good. We would have to hope that it would be up and running at some point because I need to go on it!
From there we just wondered, wondered all the way into Adventureland.

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We got to the dead end called Indiana Jones which had a huge crowd out in front. We made it just in time before it opened. And while it was a big crowd I left Brittany in line while I ran to get Fastpasses for it.

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Once getting us some fps the line opened so we decided to wait the 10 minutes and if we like it then we get to ride it again. Win Win.
Things I appreciate about Disney, well detailed queues

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The queue was a lot better than the ride. The ride itself was short, not all that thrilling and made my head hurt. All I can say is that we never used our fp to ride it again…save it for your scrapbook.
It was next time to find some lunch so we could go find a spot for the parade. There were a few options in adventure land that I wanted to try.
Colonel Hathi’s Pizza Outpost - which from what I read is themed like the tiki room

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or Hakuna Matata - which I read you needed to try the fries

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The fries won this round.

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Welcome to France where service is SLOW! Even in Disney, this is no quick service I have ever experience. Paul Paul Paul warned us but I didn’t think it would be like that in Disney. What about the four key basics? No Efficiency. We waited a good 45-50 minutes in a line that would take 15-20 minutes in the states. I was super unimpressed. Be prepared to manage your time wisely when it comes to food here.
Chicken fingers were the winner for us, which the meal came with the sweet corn fries, a soft drink and a coconut pineapple tart.
The chicken was sweet and I wasn’t prepared for that. They weren’t bad at all it was just not unexpected. But the fries were great and the dessert was gone in seconds.

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After lunch we headed to the hub to try and find a spot for the parade. Even an hour before and all of Main Street was packed. Luckily we were able to find a spot on the curb for the 2 of us.

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Everyday's A Celebration

Waiting an hour for the cavalcade was worth every second. Alicia told me how they got a lot of rare characters for it (made some costumes just for this) but I was not expecting so many characters!
The cavalcade was broken into lands like the morning show ceremony that we missed. It also had that very catchy Anniversary song.

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Everybody needs a place
A place to get away


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A place to share with family and friends
somewhere we can imagine
and live a fantasy


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where dreams never have to end
and the wonders never cease
here at Disneyland Paree

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Where Everydays a celebration
of wishes coming thru

(The scariest thing I’ve seen)

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you don’t need an invitation
we’re always here for you


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days and nights are filled with laughter
theres always something new


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in our world of adventure
enchantment excitement
from out of the blue its too good to be true
Could it be? Come and see


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You’re always at home
here at disneyland Paree



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You’re Always At Home Here At Disneyland Paree


From everywhere around the world
people gather at this place
a paradise for everyone to share


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as we join together
we can sing and dance all day


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finding hope and cheer
in every warm embrace


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theres always so much more to see
here at disneyland paree


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And even as you go
You’re never really gone
the memories that we make here will go
on and on and on


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Everyday’’s a celebration
of wishes coming true
you don’t need an invitation
we’re always here for you


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Could it be? Come and see.
You’re always at home here at Disneyland Paree


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After the wonderful cavalcade we walked up and down Main Street looking for the ears, at this point we basically accepted that they were all sold out.

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But what we did learn is that Moana is not Moana here…

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The liberty/discovery arcade walkways are so simple but one of my favorite things about main street. They are located on the other side of the shops along main street and I think they are the cutest little walkways.

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Once we got to the castle we decided to knock off another thing on my list I was really looking forward to this park…THE DRAGON! Brittany didn’t believe me when I told her that there was a dragon that lived underneath the castle and I was determined to prove her wrong.

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