We're No Cowboys, but We'll Say Howdy to You - A Sept. 2016 DL Paris TR *Complete and New TR Link

Empty Emporium ... I can't even wrap my head around that. I hate that place, it's wait too busy for me ... and I'm not even trying to navigate with a stroller. I don't understand how parents can move with strollers in that place ... I'm always impressed. I guess Parisians just don't shop like we do...

I really think you would love Disneyland. Park hopping there is so easy. I once started my day by grabbing a FP at DCA and was inside Disneyland less than 15 minutes later. So easy to park hop there!
 
:rotfl2::rotfl::lmao: It was more crowded than that in the Emporium in MK when we were in there before Rope Drop and they hadn't even had time to open the cashiers stations yet!

::yes:: It is soooo difficult to do at WDW. It seems the past couple of trips, just going from place to place feels like it takes longer now than it ever did before. I'm sure security plays a role in that, but I really didn't feel like we waited long for security in most cases.

::yes:: I LOVE IT! Once you're through security, you're good. And within a couple hundred feet you walk out of one park and into another. Just perfect!

:rotfl2: I didn't realize it was a smaller tower. What's the point of even putting one in if you're not going to build it to it's full potential?

I've come to hate Disney shops with strollers. Most of the time I flat out refuse to brave it, knowing I'll either end up running over someone's foot or hitting a corner display. Too much work for a souvenir. This last trip, I went inside 2 shops and that was only to buy a birthday and Christmas gift for Alex.

I'm not sure why Tower of Terror was smaller. But that's an attraction I skip, anyways, so it was no bother to me!



The studios didn't even exist when we visited Disneyland Paris. Brilliant it's so close between parks. Can't wait to hear what there is to enjoy :)

I think the Studios had a lot of pros and cons going for it, and I would even go so far as to say you weren't missing much with it not being there on your last visit...


Empty Emporium ... I can't even wrap my head around that. I hate that place, it's wait too busy for me ... and I'm not even trying to navigate with a stroller. I don't understand how parents can move with strollers in that place ... I'm always impressed. I guess Parisians just don't shop like we do...

I really think you would love Disneyland. Park hopping there is so easy. I once started my day by grabbing a FP at DCA and was inside Disneyland less than 15 minutes later. So easy to park hop there!

I rarely go in shops now since I've had the kids. It's just too stressful trying to avoid people and displays with the stroller and keep the children from grabbing stuff.

Disneyland in CA is on the top of our dream vacation list! Alex and I would not be disappointed if our next base was in California and we got the opportunity to visit DL a few times.
 
Whoo-hoo! I finally went through and fixed all my photo uploads in each update. So while all my past reports still need to be worked on, at least this one is good to go. Progress!
 


Whoo-hoo! I finally went through and fixed all my photo uploads in each update. So while all my past reports still need to be worked on, at least this one is good to go. Progress!

I was lucky enough to see @Dugette mention the Photobucket issue in her TR because I didn't get any emails about the change, so I was at least able to go through and save all of my old TRs into Word documents so they weren't ruined forever. Hopefully I can tackle changing over the photos a little at a time. It's going to be quite the challenge though.

I absolutely LOVE the park hopping at DL and DLP. It's a lifesaver with kids not to have to struggle with the hassle of getting them from one park to the other by car or bus.
 
I was lucky enough to see @Dugette mention the Photobucket issue in her TR because I didn't get any emails about the change, so I was at least able to go through and save all of my old TRs into Word documents so they weren't ruined forever. Hopefully I can tackle changing over the photos a little at a time. It's going to be quite the challenge though.

I absolutely LOVE the park hopping at DL and DLP. It's a lifesaver with kids not to have to struggle with the hassle of getting them from one park to the other by car or bus.

I wish I had saved my reports to documents before it switched over, but I just wasn't quick enough. I tell myself this gives me the chance to go back and revisit my old trips. See how much my family has changed over the last 7 years.

I think one of the reasons we end up staying at Shades as often as we do is because we're able to walk to the Polynesian and board the resort monorail to the MK. The kids get to stay in their stroller, no folding or unfolding the stroller or forcing them to sit in a bus seat. I tell Alex one day they will be older and we can stay at AKL without worrying about the hassle of transportation!
 
September 15th, 2016: Part 5

Inside the Walt Disney Studios Park, you really have two options. You can head left to get to some of the coasters or head right and reach the newer, more popular areas of the park.

My family veered right.

I had heard the wait times for Crush’s Coaster – one of the first attractions we stumbled upon – were outrageous, but I was naïve and thought that since the crowds had been low all morning we would miss the hour long standby times.

No chance.

Crush was sporting a welcoming 90 minute wait time and as interesting as the ride appeared to be, nobody in my party was willing to waste that much time for an attraction. As we continued on, it suddenly became clear why Disneyland was so empty.

Everyone was in the Studios!

The streets were much more congested and there were mobs of people at every ride entrance. I guess the majority of folks visiting that week weren’t into the classic Disney rides that graced the other park but instead were more interested in the thrill rides that made up a lot of Studios.

Everyone has their own tastes…

My group as a whole had agreed we wanted to visit a part of the park that was unique to Disneyland Paris.

Toy Story Playland.

Obviously, this isn’t going to be solely Paris’s gem for much longer. By next summer Disney’s Hollywood Studios will have their own version of Toy Story Land, and I hope for its sake it lives up to its predecessor.

Because this Playland was adorable and energetic and fun.

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My one complaint about the whole area is that it’s quite small. The place holds three rides and all of them are right next to one another. You could park your stroller somewhere and walk to the three rides while probably keeping your stroller in sight. Pixar Place in DHS most likely covers the same distance.

I am hopeful that since the new Toy Story Land will have a large family coaster, its section will have a tad bit more walking around room. I would have loved to spend more time exploring Disneyland Paris’s Playland, but in truth there really wasn’t much to see once you were in the middle of it.

One attraction, the Parachute Drop, was under refurb and was closed until the 17th (yes, the day after we left) which left only the RC Racer and Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin.

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Evie had fallen asleep in the stroller, so I offered to stay back and let her finish out her nap while Alex and my mom took Landon on Slinky Dog. The wait for this attraction said five minutes, but really it was walk on. Once you made it to the front of the queue, all you had to do was wait for the next round and you were able to grab a seat.

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Out for the count...

Slinky Dog Spin essentially went round and round in circles with two or three small hills interspersed throughout the track. Not exactly what you’d call a coaster – not even a kiddie coaster – but Landon wanted to ride it the moment he spotted Slinky’s long brown ears and baleful eyes.

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And as it turned out, he had a blast. He came running off the ride to find me seated near the queue entrance, begging me to “do it again, do it again.”

How could I say no to my three year old’s insistence? Especially when it was still walk on…

So I joined my mom and Landon for my turn on Slinky. In the short time it took us to go through all the switchbacks, Evie had woken up and Alex was killing time taking pictures of her.

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I’m pretty sure she could have joined us on the attraction; I don’t remember any height restrictions, but Alex and I felt it was best to let her hang out on the sidelines and let Landon have his “big boy” moment.

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I think half the fun of going on Slinky was the fact that he got to do something without his baby sister for a change. Moments alone with Mom and Dad are rare when there’s only 2.5 years separating you from your sibling and therefore, any opportunity to get their undivided attention is coveted.

My son is a creature of habit and insisted I sit in the exact same row that he rode in the first time.

Thank goodness nobody else grabbed it before we did!

Would’ve been meltdown central if that were the case.

Three year olds…


Overall, it was a cute attraction and a nice interpretation of the Slinky Dog toy, but no way would I ever wait in a line longer than 10-15 minutes for it. Barnstormer has more “thrill” than Zigzag Spin, and we all know how short THAT ride is.

I sort of feel like Disneyland Paris put this attraction in as a time killer for the RC Racer ride. As in, while one parent is off waiting for that coaster, the other parent can entertain the younger kids with Slinky.

Which, if that’s the case, isn’t a terrible idea and makes complete sense.

But is Slinky Dog’s Zigzag Spin worth traversing across the park in order to say you’ve ridden it?

No way.

Well, unless you have a Landon in your party.
As you’ll see later on…


Having seen Playland, Alex led my group out the other entry point to the land and made a quick walk through of the Ratatouille section. I apologize for not knowing what that part of the park was called; we simply called it “Ratatouille" because that was the big draw of that corner of the Studios.

Alex and I were very curious to see how Disneyland Paris’s Rock N Roller Coaster measured up to the Walt Disney World’s version, and because it had been years since we’d gotten the chance to ride it, we sweet-talked my mom into watching the kids while we went and rode it.

Our begging was helped by the fact that the wait time was listed at 10 minutes and my there weren’t many things in the park my mom was interested in.


Alex asked for front row on RNRC (always) and off we went!


A super blurry photo to prove we did it.

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I liked the ride, but again, it was really rough! I was bounced around a lot more than I expected to be, and as a result, I walked out with a headache. Afterwards, Alex tried to convince me to sneak onto Tower of Terror since the wait for that was short, too, but I didn’t think that was the wisest course of action.


I could tell Alex was more than a little bummed by my decision, but I wasn’t going to risk it. Instead, we headed back to my mom and the kids, where I grabbed some Motrin and water and tried to self-medicate. My mom was feeling a little tired, and so with the two of us basically out of commission for the moment, we couldn’t do more than sit around and people watch. I told Alex several times to take Landon and go see the Mickey the Magician show that was playing, but he didn’t want to do that without me.


We were a lovely bunch for a little awhile. Me, waiting for the medicine to kick in and the lightning between my eyes to diminish. My mom, just about Disney’d out. Alex, energetic but alone in his enthusiasm. And the kids, wondering what the heck they were going to do next.


My group stayed that way for close to fifteen minutes, where in that time Alex found a nice lady from Ireland to chat with and my health improved by leaps and bounds.

We discussed what to do next, and since I was not in the mood to keep the kids entertained for the length of the any of the shows, Alex gave up on the park and suggested we go back to Main Street and wait for the 5:30 parade.


I’m a fan of parades.

Landon’s a fan of parades.

My mom’s a fan of anything non-coaster related.

A parade worked.


Up Next…We Might’ve Scarred Evie for Life
 


Yikes! Sorry the Studios were so crazy! Glad you got a taste of it, though. Did you try the Ratatouille ride?
Sorry that RnR made you feel ill! Is the track basically the same as WDW?
Hope the parade was great!
 
That Slinky Dog ride looks adorable. So sorry it's not all that great.

How are the parades in Paris? I love a good parade.
 
Glad you are back and had a nice time! I am sure it was tough being there without Alex :(

I am sure it was nice exploring some gift shops! Those Beauty & the Beast plushes are adorable!

You would love the park hopping at DL California..SO close to each other!

Toy Story Land is so cute. Makes me excited for the DHS version! Funny that there is a ride out there that makes Barnstormer thrilling!

Glad you and Alex could get on RnR..and with a 10 minute wait! Something that's hard pressed to find at DHS unless you're there at rope drop! Not so great that it got the best of you though :(
 
Toy Story Playland looks like so much fun! Sad that it's so small though ... that seems like the kind of area where you want there to be a lot to explore.
That Slinky Dog ride kinda looks like a better-themed version of something I would have ridden at one of the random amusement parks I went to as a kid. I used to love those things, so I can definitely understand Landon's excitement, but ... I'm glad WDW is getting something better (or at least I hope it's better).

Sorry to hear that RnRC made you sick - that's such a bummer!
 
Yikes! Sorry the Studios were so crazy! Glad you got a taste of it, though. Did you try the Ratatouille ride?
Sorry that RnR made you feel ill! Is the track basically the same as WDW?
Hope the parade was great!

We weren't able to pull a Fastpass for Ratatouille that day but we did manage to go on it before we left.

I'm pretty sure RNRC had the same track. But I don't remember 100%. I'm failing at my Disneyland memories!



That Slinky Dog ride looks adorable. So sorry it's not all that great.

How are the parades in Paris? I love a good parade.

As a coaster fan, my idea of fun attractions is a little different than some. I, personally, didn't love Slinky but my mom enjoyed it more than I did and she doesn't even ride Big Thunder Mtn. And Landon fell head over heels for it, so it's just perspective I suppose.
I was really glad we went back and watched the parade!



Glad you are back and had a nice time! I am sure it was tough being there without Alex :(

I am sure it was nice exploring some gift shops! Those Beauty & the Beast plushes are adorable!

You would love the park hopping at DL California..SO close to each other!

Toy Story Land is so cute. Makes me excited for the DHS version! Funny that there is a ride out there that makes Barnstormer thrilling!

Glad you and Alex could get on RnR..and with a 10 minute wait! Something that's hard pressed to find at DHS unless you're there at rope drop! Not so great that it got the best of you though :(

As soon as we're back in the states and settled into our next home, I'm planning a vacation to Disneyland in CA! So many people have DL TRs going that it's making me want to see the parks for myself! Plus, it's sort of funny to think I've been to DLP before I've been to the one in CA...

It's hilarious to think of a ride less thrilling than the Barnstormer.
I know people have been freaking out over Star Wards Land, but I'm pretty impartial to the franchise. But when I heard there'd be a Toy Story Land after seeing Paris's version...now there I was excited!


Toy Story Playland looks like so much fun! Sad that it's so small though ... that seems like the kind of area where you want there to be a lot to explore.
That Slinky Dog ride kinda looks like a better-themed version of something I would have ridden at one of the random amusement parks I went to as a kid. I used to love those things, so I can definitely understand Landon's excitement, but ... I'm glad WDW is getting something better (or at least I hope it's better).

Sorry to hear that RnRC made you sick - that's such a bummer!

I hope the Toy Story area in Hollywood Studios is bigger, because I'd love to have more of that theme to explore. I mean, who doesn't love those films? They're a classic.
Yes! That's exactly what Slinky Dog reminded me of, those rides I'd go on at the state fair. I am happy Landon found something he loved, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy our Slinky will be more of a family coaster variety.
 
And as it turned out, he had a blast. He came running off the ride to find me seated near the queue entrance, begging me to “do it again, do it again.”

How could I say no to my three year old’s insistence? Especially when it was still walk on…
Gotta love when they get that excited about a ride. Especially if it is a ride that is a walk on. Much better than having to explain you can't do it again because the line is 2 hours long.

My son is a creature of habit and insisted I sit in the exact same row that he rode in the first time.

Thank goodness nobody else grabbed it before we did!

Would’ve been meltdown central if that were the case.

Three year olds…
Yeah, three year olds.

Just keep telling yourself that.

It will totally stop at four... :rolleyes1

I sort of feel like Disneyland Paris put this attraction in as a time killer for the RC Racer ride. As in, while one parent is off waiting for that coaster, the other parent can entertain the younger kids with Slinky.

Which, if that’s the case, isn’t a terrible idea and makes complete sense.
I completely agree. They should do this more often. I think it is great to have something that the little kids can do next to a height requirement ride so that they don't get bored and closer to that dreaded meltdown. In Disneyland, they have a Little Mermaid themed carousel right literally feet away from the entrance to California Screamin and I thought that was the most genius thing I'd ever seen in a Disney park. The kids could ride as much as they wanted with no line while Mom and Dad enjoyed the big kid ride.

Well, unless you have a Landon in your party.
As you’ll see later on…
:rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:

Our begging was helped by the fact that the wait time was listed at 10 minutes and my there weren’t many things in the park my mom was interested in.
Always good to have an extra set of hands so you don't have to ride by yourself all day!

We were a lovely bunch for a little awhile. Me, waiting for the medicine to kick in and the lightning between my eyes to diminish. My mom, just about Disney’d out. Alex, energetic but alone in his enthusiasm. And the kids, wondering what the heck they were going to do next.
Oh no...

I’m a fan of parades.

Landon’s a fan of parades.

My mom’s a fan of anything non-coaster related.

A parade worked.
But what about Alex?

What about Evie?

Up Next…We Might’ve Scarred Evie for Life
:scared1:
 
And for some reason, all the technological items in the house have gone on strike.

I hate when that happens.

household things love to break when the mechanically inclined person is away. It’s inevitable.

Same thing happens to me. DH is so good at fixing things, but when he's not home I have no clue.

but ironically enough neither Landon nor Evie ever plays with the toy.

Always seems to happen. We still have Danielle's box of Potato head parts. When take them out for the youngins' to play with.

In addition to the Head, I also found a princess plate and bowl set that I purchased for Evie. This turned out to be a good buy, because she still uses the bowl for breakfast and the plate for dinner. Plus, they say Disneyland Paris on the back, something we won’t run across on a day to day basis…

Good choice. I have a plate, bowl and forks set I got from the Disney Store. Gia used it when she came over but she's getting a little old for it now. I need to get a boy set for John Paul.

The framed photos were set up in such a casual way that you would have thought we were in his parlor room at his house. The arrangement on the mantle felt very organic and transported you away from a merchandise store; I wish all shops at Disney could have such a personal feel to them.

I love this, it's so personal.

And once I looked up and spotted the stunning seashell arrangements, I had to point them out to my mom and together we took a closer look around:

Just beautiful!

And while we’re at, we can throw this ceiling in the transfer order, as well?

Yes please!

Nothing wonderful to report in this shop, except that it was unusually quiet inside. I didn’t know what to make of a Disney gift shop being so deserted.

I can't even imagine. I'm getting nervous about doing WDW with a stroller. It's been many years since I had to fight that battle.

Yep, we were definitely not in Walt Disney World.

::yes::

If it took us five minutes to get from gate to gate, I’d be surprised. I want to say the entrance to Studios was where the monorail station is in WDW, but it might be a couple hundred feet farther back. Maybe a better comparison is the bus stops at AK from the tapstile machines.

Wow! I would love this.

And now we REALLY want to check out Disneyland in California to see their setup.

I was thinking the same thing when you were describing how close the two parks were.

None of us had any idea what was in the Studios and therefore needed a minute to look at a map and decide on our afternoon’s plan of attack.

I would need to do the same thing. :earseek:
 
Whoo-hoo! I finally went through and fixed all my photo uploads in each update. So while all my past reports still need to be worked on, at least this one is good to go. Progress!

What did you do to fix them? Are you directly downloading or using another site? I started directly downloading but now I'm starting to use Flicker.

Everyone was in the Studios!

:scared1:

Obviously, this isn’t going to be solely Paris’s gem for much longer. By next summer Disney’s Hollywood Studios will have their own version of Toy Story Land, and I hope for its sake it lives up to its predecessor.

Because this Playland was adorable and energetic and fun.

I'm really looking forward to this. It will be great for boys.

I am hopeful that since the new Toy Story Land will have a large family coaster, its section will have a tad bit more walking around room. I would have loved to spend more time exploring Disneyland Paris’s Playland, but in truth there really wasn’t much to see once you were in the middle of it

I'm hoping it's bigger too.

Out for the count...

Awwww so sweet.

And as it turned out, he had a blast. He came running off the ride to find me seated near the queue entrance, begging me to “do it again, do it again.”

I love that he found a ride he loves!

I think half the fun of going on Slinky was the fact that he got to do something without his baby sister for a change. Moments alone with Mom and Dad are rare when there’s only 2.5 years separating you from your sibling and therefore, any opportunity to get their undivided attention is coveted.

It is really hard on the big brother/sister once the little one comes.

Well, unless you have a Landon in your party.
As you’ll see later on…

Foreshadowing.

I liked the ride, but again, it was really rough! I was bounced around a lot more than I expected to be, and as a result, I walked out with a headache.

This is my reaction to Space Mountain.

We were a lovely bunch for a little awhile. Me, waiting for the medicine to kick in and the lightning between my eyes to diminish. My mom, just about Disney’d out. Alex, energetic but alone in his enthusiasm. And the kids, wondering what the heck they were going to do next.

Don't you just hate this moments. Sucks the magic right out of the day. Sounds like you were able to turn it around.

We discussed what to do next, and since I was not in the mood to keep the kids entertained for the length of the any of the shows, Alex gave up on the park and suggested we go back to Main Street and wait for the 5:30 parade.

I love a parade! :jumping1:

Up Next…We Might’ve Scarred Evie for Life

Looking forward to reading about this.
 
Yeah, three year olds.

Just keep telling yourself that.

It will totally stop at four... :rolleyes1

I know, I know. Landon is about 4.5 now and surprises me every day with his tenacity and determination. At least here soon he can go to school and spread that joy to his teachers and fellow classmates.

I completely agree. They should do this more often. I think it is great to have something that the little kids can do next to a height requirement ride so that they don't get bored and closer to that dreaded meltdown. In Disneyland, they have a Little Mermaid themed carousel right literally feet away from the entrance to California Screamin and I thought that was the most genius thing I'd ever seen in a Disney park. The kids could ride as much as they wanted with no line while Mom and Dad enjoyed the big kid ride.


But what about Alex?

What about Evie?

That is a smart move on Disney's part. Everybody wins. They need something like that in front of Everest and RNRC. It'd be a game changer.

Alex just wanted to do something. He hates sitting still, especially at Disney.
And Evie was so young, she still didn't have an opinion. I miss that phase...



Always seems to happen. We still have Danielle's box of Potato head parts. When take them out for the youngins' to play with.

Good choice. I have a plate, bowl and forks set I got from the Disney Store. Gia used it when she came over but she's getting a little old for it now. I need to get a boy set for John Paul.

I can't even imagine. I'm getting nervous about doing WDW with a stroller. It's been many years since I had to fight that battle.

You can never know what kids will decide they want to don't want to play with until you buy them. I'm happy Landon is getting old enough to like certain types of toys, because it makes it easier around the holidays to just buy new sets of those same toys. (Like right now he loves Legos...makes my life easy!)

You still have a little while before he'll need it, but you'll want to have something for your sweet grandson. Makes it easier to convince the parents to bring him over for visits...

Disney with a stroller is a learning curve, but you all will do just fine. The worst part is having to park the dang thing before going on attractions. The one at the Land is practically by Nemo...


What did you do to fix them? Are you directly downloading or using another site? I started directly downloading but now I'm starting to use Flicker.

Looking forward to reading about this.


I have started directly uploading them to my posts. For a while I was using imgur, but I'm so afraid they will go the same route as PB and block third party hosting. Some DISers are paying a small monthly fee to use Smugmug for their photos, but I chose not to go that route.

The biggest challenge with direct uploading is that you can only do 10 pictures a post, so I'm having to break my updates into several posts. Annoying, yes, but at least I don't have to stress about losing my pics anymore...
 
September 15th, 2016 Part 6:

On the way out of the Studios, my mom and I stopped for some coffee and pastries at a stand and that did wonders for our energy and moods. Apparently, the coasters weren’t the only thing to blame for my headache.

I was suffering from caffeine deprivation, too.

Rejuvenated, my group helped my mom pick out some shirts for my brother’s two boys (who also live in Germany) and then walked back to the Disneyland Park. It was around 5:15 pm, and I assumed we’d find a spot a few rows back on Main Street to watch the coming parade.

However, down in Town Square there were still plenty of open spots right on the curb – something downright impossible to find at WDW.

My family sat down and let the kids play around in the street.

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The space around us filled in about five minutes before the parade, when an announcement came through the loudspeakers telling guests about what was about to happen.

Could you imagine that kind of last minute crowds at WDW? It was like the Move It, Shake It parade.

“Wait, something’s happening. We should stop right here and see what it is…Oh, look there’s the start of the parade!”


My Disney veteran son knew what we were waiting around for:

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The Fairy Godmother, Blue Fairy, and Merlin were the first characters to pass by. Start with the engineers behind all the good stories. The grunt workers. The guys who, if not for their talented skills, would have left our favorite princes and princesses as ordinary guys and gals.








Speaking of royalty, Aurora and Cinderella and their beaus were next.




I was thoroughly enjoying this new parade and the new floats.

Evie wasn’t sure what was going on.

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We had a repeat visit from the Arrandale girls next, and unlike Festival of Fantasy, they had a float to their own.




Following them were Flynn and Rapunzel, my personal favorites, on a float that didn’t do them justice. Fortunately, they were awesome characters and devoted themselves to their roles.




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In addition to the princesses, the parade also included Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh.





A sweet bee tried to say hello to Evie, but my bashful daughter was the wrong kid to try and interact with. She stared at the nice lady, unsure about everything in the world at that moment.

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A Lion King float was next, and no matter how generic the float looked, I was a happy camper. Lion King is my favorite Disney film, and any parade that chooses to include the decades-old movie in their show is a winner in my book.




It was as the float was going past that the most memorable moment of the trip occurred. Rafiki was walking alongside the float, waving to guests and dancing around, when he spotted Evie on the curb and approached her.

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Well, Evie didn’t do well with a pretty lady in a bee costume. You can imagine how well a giant monkey getting right in her face went over.

And not to be mean to Rafiki, but he was kind of creepy. He got two inches from Evie’s face and turned his head sideways really slow, like he was some scare actor from HHN TRYING to freak her out.

Not cool, Rafiki. Not cool.

Okay, it was kind of – in a cruel parenting way - funny. But only like ten percent hilarious.

And 90% guilty for putting my poor daughter through that kind of torture. Because she screamed and buried her head in Alex’s arms and refused to turn around for the rest of the parade.

Her trust in Disney shows was gone.

She completely missed out on Peter Pan and Mary Poppins.




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And who else would finish off the parade but the main man and his best buds?



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And Tinkerbelle, apparently?




Seems an odd spot to put the pixie, especially when Peter Pan came out on his ship earlier in the parade, but hey…whatever works. Landon was happy to see her.


Throughout the show, it was overcast and chilly to the point where my mom was using her rain poncho as a jacket, but right around the time we were standing back up the skies cleared and we were gifted a beautiful evening.

With the first glimpse of sunshine all day, there was only one thing I wanted to do.


Grab more photos in front of the castle!


Continued in Next Post:
 
Continued from Previous Post:


Sleeping Beauty’s Castle was stunning in the evening light.

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Evie was feeling a tad restless from the parade and wanted to practice her walking skills. She was only taking a few steps here and there at that point, but with Alex’s assistance she was strolling around the hub like a Disney champ.

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Like earlier, I couldn’t resist standing around taking a million shots of the same thing.

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And the occasional silly one of myself:

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I tried to get another photo of Evie standing in front of the castle, but she was more interested in watching the girls behind her.

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The ladies were having a blast trying different poses and looking back on this picture, I hope Evie took in their carefree attitude. My daughter is as shy as they come; it wouldn’t hurt her to see more people embracing their happiness and living a “hakuna matata” life.

Truth be told, that’s advice we could probably take heed of…


Evie’s little legs grew weary and she decided to let her dad pick her up and toss her around for a while.

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Meanwhile, I took yet another photo of the castle.

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Sick of seeing this sight yet?

I would understand if you were.

I kind of inundated this report with the building.

I’d say sorry, but it’d be a fib…


My group once more went through the castle and came out on the other side.

We had not noticed it earlier, but there was a small seating area to the right of us with a carriage parked behind some chains.



It was a cute little carriage (although showing its age, a little bit) and made for a nice photo spot for the girls in the group.

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Right after we took this picture a family walked up and climbed over the chains and INTO the carriage.

Uhm, what?

I do believe that’s what the ropes were set up for.

For the express purpose of making sure guests didn’t touch or sit on the vehicle.

This shocked everyone in my party, because it was such an outright blatant disregard for the rules. However, we came to understand that this was not as unusual as we first believed it to be. This family jumping into the prop was only the beginning of our crazy guest experience.


Up Next… A Return to a Few Favorites
 
The space around us filled in about five minutes before the parade, when an announcement came through the loudspeakers telling guests about what was about to happen.

Could you imagine that kind of last minute crowds at WDW? It was like the Move It, Shake It parade.

“Wait, something’s happening. We should stop right here and see what it is…Oh, look there’s the start of the parade!”
If only it were that easy to see parades and shows at Disney World!!

Following them were Flynn and Rapunzel, my personal favorites, on a float that didn’t do them justice. Fortunately, they were awesome characters and devoted themselves to their roles.
Poor Flyn and Rapunzel. Always underappreciated. They get an inadequate float in Paris and a restroom in Orlando.

Lion King is my favorite Disney film, and any parade that chooses to include the decades-old movie in their show is a winner in my book
Ouch... decades old? Did we have to go there? Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella... those are decades old. The Lion King came out when I was in 6th grade. It is only 23 years old! It isn't decades old! :rolleyes1

My daughter is as shy as they come; it wouldn’t hurt her to see more people embracing their happiness and living a “hakuna matata” life.

Truth be told, that’s advice we could probably take heed of…
::yes::

Sick of seeing this sight yet?

I would understand if you were.

I kind of inundated this report with the building.

I’d say sorry, but it’d be a fib…
Honestly, I get it. I've never seen this castle in person, but just based on pictures I think it might be my favorite Disney castle.

This shocked everyone in my party, because it was such an outright blatant disregard for the rules. However, we came to understand that this was not as unusual as we first believed it to be. This family jumping into the prop was only the beginning of our crazy guest experience.
Interesting...
 
That is awesome that you were able to find a curb spot! Definitely not something that would happen at WDW so soon before a parade.

I love parades myself so it's nice seeing photos of a different one! Poor Evie, she just wanted to be left alone!

I'm glad the skies cleared up so you were able to take more photos! I'm definitely not sick of seeing the castle :)
 

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