"Don't anger the dolls"-A France and DLP Trip, June '18-COMPLETED (4/22-ride comparisons)

Wow! The photos and stories from Normandy were fascinating. My Grandfather fought in WW2 but I don't think he was a part of D-Day. I wish I had talked to him more about the war when he was still alive but he really didn't like talking about it.

Beautiful flower pictures from Monet's garden!
 
You really cannot imagine the enormity of this place and just thinking of how many people died is just… (honestly I can’t come up with a word that fits).
That's all I could think about as I was looking at your pictures and reading the information. Just wow!!

Monet's home and garden are just gorgeous! I love that kitchen, and how could you not fall in love with the view! Lots of great family pics there, too :)
 
Thanks for sharing your Normandy experience. It was a very subdued read; I can't imagine how chilling it must have been to visit Juno Beach and those bunkers followed by the American Cemetery and Omaha Beach (or in your case, parked by it).

Sorry the morning didn't start well! It can be difficult when you've got so many people, especially when some wake up tired and want to change plans last minute. It happens... And I guess it all ended up being fine since you guys still made it to Monet's Gardens.
 


I seriously love how much history you include in your trip reports! I feel like you are missing your calling as like an Adventures by Disney Travel Guide! haha

And how cool to end up in Normandy on the anniversary of D-Day. Couldnt have planned it better if you tried! lol
 
Again, sorry for the big delay in posting again! (I feel like a broken record in that respect!)

Haha, sorry for the big delay in reading!

Caught up again. We never did manage to make it to Bigot (I think we tried once, but it wasn't open when we needed it). Loved seeing Normandy/D-Day touring, as we didn't include that in our trip. We did make it to Giverny, though, and it really is beautiful there. We enjoyed some quiche at that same cafe - really nice!
 
Ok, yet again another insane delay in posting! Just very busy at work and then preparing for my trip to Walt Disney World. But I'm back (overall it was fun and great to see all the Christmas decorations, even though I did catch an annoying cold midway through the trip). I'll be starting up a TR for that one soon enough, but I want to get this one more finished first!

Day 14 - Bye bye family!


Another travel day, which means pretty light on the photos. But it was also the start of my solo trip!

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We got up and finished up packing – we had to be out of our Airbnb by 10am.

We tried to scare Joey with the various hats around the house. Unfortunately Lauren spoiled our fun and told him!

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After we left, we were all so bummed out that we didn’t take a big group photo with the hats and the pool table – it would have been epic!

For breakfast, we went back to the patisserie, with croissants for everyone. I also got a choux pastry (basically just sweet dough roll) with big chunks of sugar on top. It was ok, but not as good as the croissant!

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Croissants: 16, Crepes: 9

On our way out of Courseulles, we made a stop at the Canadian Normandy cemetery. I don’t know if you can call a cemetery beautiful, but this one was. It was very peaceful (at one point we were the only people there), with colorful flowers along all the gravestones. They also had books at the front where you could look up people (we didn’t have any relatives there though).

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Then we were on the road. I did get hungry, so ate the last of my chocolates… Also, notice Lauren’s shoes on the dashboard? Well the cemetery was very dewey, so our feet and bottom of pants were just soaked! She ended up trying to dry out her shoes via the sun!

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We eventually arrived at CDG, pretty uneventfully. First we looped around to drop everyone and the luggage off at the Sheraton CDG (mom and dad were staying there that night). We still needed to get gas for the rental car (Dad missed the turn-off before the hotel), and return the actual rental car. Dad was going to go by himself, but I realized he would have gotten so lost, so I stuck with him and directed him first to a gas station to fill up the tank, and then back to Terminal 1 to drop off the car. Thankfully drop off was quick and painless. We then hopped on the inter-airport monorail to get to Terminal 2. We met with everyone at the Sheraton lobby, which was very centrally located (it’s the only airport IN the terminal; the others are a shuttle ride away). It’s also located right above the train station, so worked well for everyone.

We all said our goodbyes and then split up. Mom and Dad were flying home the next morning (7am flight – ugh!), Lauren, Joey and Anthony were headed to Brussels via the TGV. And I was headed to Disneyland Paris! Lauren looks very excited to be left alone with those clowns!

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First, I did have to make a detour to exchange my broken travel wifi unit for a working one (in Amboise I realized the screen had stopped working; while I still could get internet service, I couldn't actually tell the battery level. It also was an insane power suck, so I ended up basically connecting it to my mobile charger constantly whenever we were out and about, which was pretty annoying. I contacted TravelWifi and luckily we were able to set up that I could exchange it at the tourist desk at CDG). The guy working the desk was a bit confused, but once he called the main office, they said go ahead; the replacement worked just fine and didn't suck as much power either.

Then, I headed back to the train station. Unfortunately I was 5 minutes too late to get on the next TGV going to DLP, but there was another one 30 minutes later. It was definitely busy there, with large lines at all the kiosks to buy train tickets (RER tickets; the TGV kiosks were pretty empty). I then found a place to wait until the train began to arrive and the gate was shown. Of course, I forgot to take photos, but I didn't want to miss the announcement for the gate number!

It was a pretty easy process. The seats were all assigned (though the train was not full at all, so not really necessary for me since I was only going 1 stop). They also have markers up all along the platform, and then the screens indicate which cars will be arriving near each marker, so you know where you need to wait for your assigned train car.

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It arrived on time, and everyone boarded without issue. I stored my suitcase and took a seat, but really that wasn’t necessary as my stop was the first one – 10 minutes! Yay! TGV is awesome ($ but fast).

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A video of my train (the video is 8x speed but the gif is the regular speed, so you get the idea of the feel of the train).

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I arrived at Marne la vallee – Chessy (DLP stop), but rather than exiting the train station, this time I had to buy another ticket (1.95 euro) to get the RER one more stop away to Val d’Europe where I was spending the night. In reality, it would have been cheaper to take the RER all the way, but it would have also been about 1.5-2 hrs, and required taking RER into Paris, changing, then RER back to DLP. So, I decided to sacrifice money for time and comfort!

Anyways, I quickly arrived in Val d’Europe. It was pretty warm afternoon. I picked a hotel that was only 2 blocks from the train station…if you left from the right exit…which I did not. Oh well, another 2 blocks didn’t kill me. It was annoying though because one entrance to the hotel was permanently blocked off, so I had to walk all the way around the block to get to the other one.

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I ended up getting a room for 1 night at Relais Spa Val d’Europe. I could have gotten a room at DLP but this was relatively cheap online (<$100) so just went with that. (Note: if you get DLP rooms online, it is automatically a package with tickets. I think there are ways around that by booking with a 3rd party website (expedia, priceline, etc), but all the listings were twice what I paid and since I literally was just looking for a place to sleep for the night, I went with one off-site.)

Check-in was pretty easy. It did take some time and I think there was a guy next to me who needed an accessible room but was given a non-accessible room, so they were trying to figure things out. I had booked the cheapest option, but when I got to my room discovered I must have been upgraded, because I had a rooftop patio!

Overall, the room was very nice. Small, smaller than the one I would eventually get at DLP, but it had a kitchenette, which would be helpful if that’s what you needed! (And now that I've stayed in a DVC studio I can say the Relais Spa kitchenette is much more extensive, with an actual cooktop and dishwasher). And everything was very comfortable.

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I considered going to the mall a couple blocks away, which is supposed to be very big, but I knew I had 5 long days ahead of me, and really, from my view of the town walking from the train station, it definitely seemed fake. Not good-disney-authentic-fake, but like try-too-hard-fake. So, I decided not to bother.

I did try out the spa, which included an indoor pool, jacuzzi, steam room, sauna. Though everyone else was a couple, so it felt uncomfortable. That’s something about the hotel – it’d be good for a singleton or a couple, but not good for kids. (Also no photos allowed in the spa but here is an official hotel photo)

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I did want to soak in the hot tub, but it was pretty small and there were like 5 people already in it (I tried to get in, but it was weird and like an infinity hot tub, so no handles to get in/out and I almost fell; I did wrench my back getting in/out, and even then I only sat on the top step). The people in the hot tub also just stayed there forever, so I never got a chance to actually relax. So, I didn’t stay too long downstairs.

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Came back to room and got cleaned up and decided to just order room service (a 4-cheese pizza, but I didn’t realize one of the cheeses was goat cheese, so I cut around that). Also repacked my bags (and set up my park bag) to make it efficient for Disney! I think I set out my clothes and maybe watched an episode of American comedy show, but then it was lights out!

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Coming up - starting my Disneyland Paris adventure!

 


I didn't realize you spent a night at a nearby hotel before your DLP stay. That kitchenette was pretty extensive, though. And the patio seemed really large, compared to typical hotel balconies.

Ugh, I hate when people hog the hot tubs for themselves. Everyone knows they aren't very large, give someone else a chance to enjoy it.

Not counting tweaking your back at the spa and the goat cheese on your pizza (and directing your dad with the rental car) your day seemed pretty slow and easy going. Kind of the perfect day to rest from your France travels and regroup before starting your Disney time.
 
We took the RER A (I think?) to DLP and loved how clean and pretty the trains were! My Mom still says how it felt like the Polar Express to DLP!

The Marne la vallee – Chessy stop always sticks out in my mind because it looked like Cheesy to me and cheesy - mouse - mickey mouse :rotfl2:

I can't wait to hear about your DLP adventures!
 
I just love this pic LOL

Sounds like a productive travel day!

I hate hot tub hoggers!!! Sorry you didn't get to relax as much that night, but you're going to Disney in the a.m.!!!! Can't wait to hear all about it :)
I still laugh when I think about that airbnb and that photo!

This is hilarious! I love it!

Can't wait for the next installments!!!!
Hopefully I'll get them out quicker. Next week is always slow at the office so maybe I can do more then!

I didn't realize you spent a night at a nearby hotel before your DLP stay. That kitchenette was pretty extensive, though. And the patio seemed really large, compared to typical hotel balconies.

Ugh, I hate when people hog the hot tubs for themselves. Everyone knows they aren't very large, give someone else a chance to enjoy it.

Not counting tweaking your back at the spa and the goat cheese on your pizza (and directing your dad with the rental car) your day seemed pretty slow and easy going. Kind of the perfect day to rest from your France travels and regroup before starting your Disney time.
It was a good relax day!

We took the RER A (I think?) to DLP and loved how clean and pretty the trains were! My Mom still says how it felt like the Polar Express to DLP!

The Marne la vallee – Chessy stop always sticks out in my mind because it looked like Cheesy to me and cheesy - mouse - mickey mouse :rotfl2:

I can't wait to hear about your DLP adventures!
Haha, the Polar Express!
 
Ok, so a quick disclaimer. Know how I took a lot of photos during the non-Disney portions of the trip. And if you’ve read my other Trip Reports, you know I tend to take a lot of photos in general. Well…I sort of took that to an extreme at Disneyland Paris. So be prepared…

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Day 15, Part 1 – Arrival and Check-in at Disneyland Paris!


I definitely didn’t need to set my alarm this morning, because I was up and ready to go by like 7:30! First, I grabbed breakfast in my hotel – it was included with my hotel rate. It was fine, a basic breakfast spread. (I’m not counting this breakfast croissant-only the actual flaky French ones!). And yes, I do tend to pile on my plates at a buffet, that way I don’t need to get up again! I also didn’t take a photo of the spread since I was feeling self-conscious enough as a solo diner!

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I also realized when I looked out the window it was super foggy outside. Which, bummer, things will be hidden in mist. Wait…things will be hidden in mist. PHOTO OPPORTUNITY! Need to get there before the sun burns it all away!

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I then went back to my room and grabbed my bags (the rolling suitcase, my larger backpack, and my park backpack). I was also rocking a WDW shirt today, which got plenty of compliments from CMs!

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I ended up grabbing an Uber from the hotel to Sequoia Lodge. In theory I could have walked. Or I could have taken the Rer (1.95 euro). But Uber ended up being like 6 euro with tip, so I just did that for convenience. They actually did a semi-thorough security scan of the car as we came in – mirrors underneath and then had the driver pop the trunk.

They scan in all bags going into the hotel (even though SL isn’t in the security perimeter), so I had to put everything in the machine. Of course I stupidly put my bag wheels down, so at first it just kept rolling without going thru. Eventually I realized and pushed it on it’s side – probably exposed my hand to x-rays… They also had a guard wanding people down at the entrance doors.

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It was definitely a bit chaotic inside, with huge lines at check in/check out, kids racing around, people sitting with suitcases everywhere, and a long line to check in bags at left luggage (I thought I had taken a picture but I guess not).

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HOWEVER, I was able to skip all that and go direct to the Golden Forest Club desks, where I sat down in a quieter place and have a CM go over everything and have me sign forms.

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They gave me a little packet with the park map, flyer about extra magic time, printouts of all my reservations (even ones I had made online and never linked to my resort – that summer they had finally started a pilot program of online dining reservations, though it was only through the Netherlands site, but it was easy enough to figure out what was being asked for me to make the reservations. I had also called in some via phone), magic pass, and fastpasses. So much more relaxing than waiting in the insane line for the front desk.

My packet of dining reservations:

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They also took my luggage right there and gave me a call ticket, so when I returned at 3pm to get my room key and assignment, they would take my bags right up to the room (regular rooms do not have this service so people have to drop their bags off at left luggage and then pick it up again when going to their room). Oh the Golden Forest level was so worth it just for this!

For Sequoia Lodge, Newport Bay Hotel, and Hotel New York, they have levels that are sort of like “club level”, though not as fancy (and not as much of a cost upgrade) as at WDW or DLR. Golden Forest Level was one of these; it only cost me about $100 total to get this vs a regular room and was SO WORTH IT! In addition to the dedicated check-in area, and bell services, you had access to a lounge (breakfast, afternoon snacks, and bottled/can beverages during the day), plus one hotel fastpass per person per day.

So, about fastpasses. Anyone who’s read my WDW trip reports closely knows I like to use loopholes to my advantage and often figure out ways to get extra fastpasses. No such loopholes were really discussed about DLP, which uses the paper FP method like Disneyland (CA) used to use. But as I was getting ready to book my hotel, I did some internal brainstorming (I have a 1-hr commute each way, so usually end up thinking up schemes in my head all the time). The deal I was booking was a “Buy 2 nights, get 2 nights free, and kids under 7 are free”. At first, that last part wasn’t going to make any difference to me. But…wait. Golden forest rooms get 1 FP per person per day. Kids from age 3-7 will be free in the system. What if I add 3 “ghost children” to my reservation…wouldn’t that mean I would end up with 4 FPs per day without costing anything? And, yes, yes I did! (I got magic passes for each of them, who btw I named after my cats, but those just stayed unused). So behold, 20 fastpasses were mine to use! (Technically it was 4 FPs per day, but I really didn’t run into any CMs who gave me issues about using ones that were dated wrong; plus the Golden Forest people said I could bring any back at the end of the day and they would re-date them for the next day. There are no specific ride-blackouts, but the FPs can’t be used from 1pm – 4pm.)

So this is what 20 FPs look like!
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Anyways, after I got all checked in and organized things I was headed out to the parks. Also something nice they do at the hotels is have a character meet and greet every morning. I saw Goofy twice, Mickey once, and signs for Pluto twice. I don’t know who else meets at SL. I think princesses often meet at DLH.

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So anyways, I headed out of SL and towards the park. Here is a map of the overall resort area, if you aren’t familiar with the layout of DLP. The thick blue line is the security perimeter (yes, the Disneyland Hotel is in the perimeter - so convenient for people staying there). The red dashed line (if you can see it) is my route to the parks.

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It’s about a 15 minute walk to the parks, with a security booth at the entrance to Disney Village (that booth never had a wait no matter what time). So both parks, the majority of Disney Village (a couple spots aren’t), and the Disneyland Hotel are all within the security perimeter. (There also is a shuttle that takes you from the hotel up to the train station closer to the park entrance but I never actually used it.)

The fog certainly made it cool with the wilderness theme of the resort. And some cool peacefulness on the walk in. Couldn’t even see Newport Bay Club on the other side of the lake!

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Baby ducks. Still feel a bit guilty about my food choices that week, but duck was delicious.

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I did stop at the Disney store in Disney Village to pick up some French ears (you’ll see them in later photos).

I had planned to go to Disneyland park first, but made a brief detour to the Walt Disney Studios. There were these turquoise ears that came out with the special Fandaze event a week earlier. During the week there were some reports that they still had some in the stores, so I was hoping they would, but unfortunately I was thwarted.

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Postscript: I did see them on someone and fell in love with the color…so I fed the ebay pirates and ordered. But look- how cute (a preview photo from my December WDW trip):

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Part 2 A Dragon and the Frontier

Anyways I skipped any rides at the studios (just checked the gift shop) and headed to Disneyland where I was hoping to get photos of the castle emerging from the mist. I was a bit too late though, and that darn Casey scrim, so didn’t quite get the effect I was hoping for (I’m also not a professional photographer at all. All my photos are done with iphone 8).

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That castle really is gorgeous.

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Modelling my Paris ears:

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And for my first attraction (well if you don’t count that Hyperspace mountain trip 10 days earlier)…

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…it had to be the dragon lair!

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I always have hard time adjusting from light to dark, so when I walked in I didn’t quite know where everything was and tried to figure out where the dragon was, until I saw movement and red eyes right next to me! It’s so cool! Love it so much!

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I did take a video, but this one from Mousesteps is so much better:

Next, after taking even more photos of the castle…

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… it was Frontierland time! Again, outstanding details. The entrance is a full fort, that you can walk up and around. I would explore this on a different day.

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I decided to grab a fastpass for BTMR. Of course ½ of the machines went down and people kept cutting in line, but eventually I grabbed on for about 1 hr later.

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In the meantime, I took some more photos, and then decided to go ahead and hang out in Frontierland a bit. (They also had these nice backdrops for the 25th anniversary and I think characters would meet occasionally but I never really bothered to get in those lines. They also don’t have roaming photopass photographers, which was a real shame!)

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I shed a tear for the closed Phantom Manor. Though that scrim is pretty awesome. They were still working on the queue landscaping (some of these were taken from the boat); I’ve seen the photos of the result and it looks so awesome! Though it still doesn't have an re-opening date (it was supposed to open by Halloween), so it could end up being a 1.5 yr refurbishment!

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Part 3 – Rivers of the Far West

The Molly Brown was gorgeous with, again, amazing detail. I sort of delayed going up to the top and by then the best spots were taken at the bow. So I decided to take the outside edge and focus on that side, rather than run back and forth across the boat for photos. I figured I’d go on the inside edge another time… oops.

Photos of the boat:
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Great view of Big Thunder Mountain (if you didn’t know, it’s on an island!)

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And more details along the river. Oh and it’s Rivers of the Far West, not Rivers of America!

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Some construction going on for the new theatre which will have a Lion King show

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Love the geysers!

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Coming up: Adventure awaits

 
Well…I sort of took that to an extreme at Disneyland Paris. So be prepared…
I am ready!

So this is what 20 FPs look like!
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I can hear the angels singing.

This is seriously amazing! I want to go just for this. But it also looks scary for kids!

Did you get to keep any of these? I know you need to give them to use them, but they would be great to keep one or two.

Those pictures make it seem like a nice ride! Love it.
 
Yay for solo trip time and Disneyland Paris! Just as I finally finish up college and have all the free time in the world. Bless. I'm also 110% ok with the fact that these chapters have extra photos. DLRP is so pretty! I cannot wait to be able to go and see the dragon for myself or Phantom Manor once it's refurb is finished. Ugh, so much to see. I geeked out hard when I saw you got a pic of the Mike Fink Keel Boat they have on their Rivers. Oh, I cannot wait to hear about the rest of this first day in the parks! :mickeyjum
 
I can hear the angels singing.
Yup - you'd totally understand my FP strategies!

This is seriously amazing! I want to go just for this. But it also looks scary for kids!
I think it depends on the kids. I worry I may have scared Landon when I took him in there, because he needed to be held up and wrapped his arms and legs around me! There is a viewing area that is above everyone else, so that could be a good option to reduce the fright!

Did you get to keep any of these? I know you need to give them to use them, but they would be great to keep one or two.
No, I didn't end up keeping any. It's like the older FPs where you have to turn them in to use them. I supposed I could have grabbed some at different times to save for a scrapbook/album and then actually used my hotel FPs, but I didn't bother.

Looks really cool, the dragon would be very fun to see
It was great! I think I did 3 visits, though I was bummed I forgot to say goodbye on my last day! I only realized when I was at the airport hotel and seriously considered taking the train back to DLP, but realized time wasn't on my side!

Im so sad Phantom Manor was down for your visit, that was so cool!

A reason to go back! haha
Definitely! And I want to see Halloween/Christmas decorations too!

Yay for solo trip time and Disneyland Paris! Just as I finally finish up college and have all the free time in the world. Bless. I'm also 110% ok with the fact that these chapters have extra photos. DLRP is so pretty! I cannot wait to be able to go and see the dragon for myself or Phantom Manor once it's refurb is finished. Ugh, so much to see. I geeked out hard when I saw you got a pic of the Mike Fink Keel Boat they have on their Rivers. Oh, I cannot wait to hear about the rest of this first day in the parks! :mickeyjum
It really is gorgeous! Glad you are enjoying reading along!
 

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