Start time was the same as the day before. Up at 6:00a to the park for an 8:30a gate opening. We started at the main park this day and the line up was a bit longer though we were still at the front. As we were going in we saw Mickey and Minnie walking towards the front gate. Wherever they were going I feel they were late for the party. I would have expected to see them help open the park. No issue though as we are out of the character picture business. We didn't get any this trip. I think the lines are too long to bother getting pictures with grumpy looking teenagers.
Our first planned ride was Big Thunder Mountain but we were shut out again. More technical issues. Maybe we should be worried there were so many broken down rides. We went to Dumbo instead which was Dumbo like. This park just has the one so the line ups can get pretty long fast. I always try to keep Dumbo low to the ground because it's fun to see everyone flying above you but Carter insists on taking us to the top. I miss when we first went to Disneyland and you got a feather to indicate you had an elephant reserved for you.
Melissa found a popcorn bucket that she had to get. It was shaped like the carriage from Cinderella. Not a lot of room for actual popcorn. Even if we wanted such a thing we are out of room in our luggage. We have one large checked bag and then three carry on sized bags plus backpacks for everyone. Everyone was better than normal for packing because we kept to that space and didn't have extra bags on the way here. On the way back though we've added another large bag and we've checked too bags. We are filled to the brim.
Next up was Hyperspace Mountain. I had heard from a colleague at work that it was more intense than the ones in Disneyland or Disney World so I decided to sit this one out. Space Mountain has always been the peak of what I can handle. Turns out this one goes up side down three times. Callie was very much not impressed. She draws the line at upside down and no one noticed the signs indicating it until they went again a second time without her. Now the dilemma will be what the last ride will be since we typically do Space Mountain.
The line for Autopia was short so we headed there next. It can get quite hot waiting for this one and the cars are still gas powered so as they day drags on the area really starts to smell of exhaust. Not sure if they were just using more efficient engines or if there was a breeze but the whole ride was a lot less stinky. Carter got his first driving lesson from me. He gets his learners license in just 15 months. Driving on a track where you can't go anywhere but forward is a good place to start.
The group then split up for a bit. It can get exhausting trying to agree what to do next with seven people so it's nice go go into smaller groups once in a while. We went to do Star Tours. The rides at Disneyland Paris are interesting because they often have much of the writing in English, the verbal instructions can be in both English and French and you often hear both but when you're on the ride it seems sometimes you hit the loop at all English or at all French. We had C3PO translating for us and he does know 6,000,000 forms of communication.
We also took a walking tour of the Nautilus from 20,000 leagues under the sea. This is intended to be their submarine ride but rather than squeezing into a submarine and doing a tour you just have to walk through. This is way more efficient. The Nemo ride in Disneyland is often closed and it takes a long time to get everyone loaded and unloaded. I like the idea of walking through much better. This one isn't Nemo themed and was more about the ship then the fish.
After a few quick treats in the central square, we went to check out the dragon underneath the castle. This castle is intended to be Sleeping Beauty's castle and I'm not sure how the dragon fits in. It is fun to be able to walk underneath the castle though and into the dragons lair. The dragon is laying down across some water and is sleeping with just slight movements before coming alive and doing a bit of a show. No fire.
We had decided we would not try to do another 17 hour day. (I was only 15 hours as I went back early.) We headed back to our hotel after lunch for a nap and on the way out we got some pictures in front of Disneyland with the two graduates. We had bought them both graduate ears when we were in Disney World earlier this year and we brought them here for pictures together. Both Callie and Josh are now fully graduated from high school. Josh is already 18 and Callie turns 18 in August.
When we got back to the park our planned first ride was Pinocchio but once again it was broken down. Instead we did Sleeping Beauty and by the time that was done we Pinocchio was back up and running again. We had lunch on Main Street and then did Pirates, the Tree House and the Haunted Mansion. This park gets busy during the peak of the day but is pretty easy to navigate in the early morning and the evening. Ride times were getting much shorter for us.
Callie had not had anything for dinner yet so I was put in charge of finding her something to eat. We went to main street and had cheese cake at the bakery. It worked as she was able to make a decision on her Pandora bracelet addition. After that victory I headed back to the hotel and Kerry and the kids finished up at 11:00 with Big Thunder Mountain to replace Space Mountain as the last ride.
We were gone a total of 15 days with two travel days. Our average daily step count was 26,000 steps per day which works out to be about 20k. A great trip. Not looking forward to the credit card bill.
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