My alarm went off at 7:45; I took a shower in record time, dried my hair, ran downstairs for breakfast, and by 9 am Eia and I were heading to the Metro. Us leaving the hostel by 9 was a huge deal, as we usually intend to start our days early and never seem to get out of bed. Like today, for instance; it's quarter past nine and we haven't budged.
Anyway, yesterday was amazing. It took us about an hour to get out to where the Disneyland Paris park is located by the RER train. We got there, had our bags searched, and stepped out into the park in all its Disneyland glory.
I am going to start by saying that yes, it is mostly similar to the park in California. A bit smaller, missing a few attractions, but for the most part, the parks are really alike. But the experience of walking around, having Goofy rap in French during "Mickey's Magical Party Time", hearing Buzz Lightyear first as Tim Allen and then with this deep scary French accent, and riding Star Tours with the recorded stuff being the normal American lines but the robots all speaking in French was just hilarious. Eia and I were having a blast making comparisons all day, and have even concluded that some of the rides were better than the ones in the original park.
The first ride we went on (aside from the general climb-around-on-things Wild West attraction in Frontier Land) was the Haunted Mansion. I think it was called the Phantom House or something here. The pictures in the elevator were all different, though the ride started the same. But then they added all these new rooms and made the entire experience so much better! And scarier!
So it was a good start to our EuroDisney experience. The first ride we went on was already superior to that of the ride we know and love back home (I say "home" - haha. Eia's the one who lived in LA, not me. But I have been to Disney enough times to call the California park home I suppose).
We literally rode just about every ride, so I am having trouble remembering which ones we went on in what order, but I will say that the one ride that disappointed us was the Indiana Jones ride. This is a favorite in LA, but here in Paris it was a completely different ride altogether. Instead of having a cool line area where you walk through caves and dare your friends to try out the "booby-traps", it was just a normal roped-off line to a basic outdoor roller coaster, the kind with overhead restraints that hurt the sides of your head as it knocks you around. Fail, Paris. Needless to say, we only rode that one once.
The BEST ride was Thunder Mountain Railroad. In LA, the appeal of this one is just that it's a rickety old wooden roller coaster. Here it was AMAZING. It took you hurtling through pitch blackness, then brought you outside, looped you around and around, and then sent you flying through the dark again. Eia and I were stunned at how good it was. We made sure to ride this one twice.
We spent a lot of the day wandering around, hitting up the little kid rides we always skip over in LA (like Snow White, Pinnochio, and Peter Pan - all of which were actually kind of scary! Aside from Peter Pan; that ride is just sweet) and browsing through gift shops and the rides that aren't actually rides but more just attractions you walk through (like Alice in Wonderland's Labyrinth and the Aladdin one). We also spent a portion of the day getting pictures with Disney characters; my favorite being the Genie, but also with Lilo and Mary Poppins and a bunch of others I can't remember because they're on Eia's camera. We wanted a picture with Woody, but the line was too long, and we also got completely snubbed by Chip and Dale. Stupid chipmunks.
I think my favorite part of the day (well, one of them) was when we rode "It's a Small World". Usually I don't really give a crap about this ride, because the song gets stuck in your head something fierce and there are things like Splash Mountain you could be riding on instead, but Eia and I really, really enjoyed it this time around. I actually felt a little emotional as our boat passed by all the places we've been in the last few months. Eia took pictures of England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, and France to signify all the places we've stayed, and then we snapped a bunch of America pictures because despite how much fun this last week has been, I think we're both a little homesick.
I realized how little I knew about other cultures before this trip, and was really impressed with myself at being able to point out different countries based on iconic landmarks and clothing and everything that I had no idea about before all of this traveling, but I also realized how many more places I have yet to go to truly appreciate the whole of the ride. So there you go! Deep, touching moments at Disneyland for the WIN!
Space Mountain. Was. Amazing.
We didn't think it would measure up, because the Space Mountain in LA, after being remodeled for years, is the best ride in the park, but the Space Mountain (Misson: 2!) here was somehow even better. We rode it three times. Two of those times were back to back in a 30 minute period. I cannot even explain to you what a sci-fi nerd I feel like sometimes and being given the opportunity to zoom around in space doing loops through the stars and super novas pretty much sums up everything that is right in the world. God I love that ride.
The Buzz Lightyear ride is awesome too, even though the lasers are hard to aim. I got a high score though! I always do crappily on that ride, but I must have unknowingly hit some awesome target or something.
The day was fun, and tiring, and even though Eia and I probably SHOULD have spent the day perusing the Louvre, I remember saying to her at one point, "I'd choose Mickey Mouse over the Mona Lisa any day."
I really do appreciate history and art and knowledge, and have experienced my fair share of all of that in the last week here, but I also appreciate letting my inner child out and reliving all of my favorite stories with my best friend in a foreign country. We do not regret our day at Disneyland Paris. It was worth every penny.
The train ride home that night was long and tiring, and when we finally lugged ourselves up to the 6th floor of our hostel, ready to collapse... there were boys sleeping in our beds. Um.
The four of us went downstairs and apparently the OTHER girls in our room were supposed to have checked out the day before, but since Eia and I are tidy people, the cleaning staff thought we must have left (even though our bags were still in our room and stuff). Anyway, the poor tired boys had to lug themselves and their stuff to a different room on the 3rd floor, and Eia and I finally, finally got to call it quits in our own beds. We were going to have some chips and salsa before bed, but neither of us could get the cap off the salsa, and we were both SO tired that the whole experience was hilarious. I threw the food on a chair and said "FORGET IT!" We went to bed.
This morning I woke up and finished Part 1 of the Hunger Games (heart-wrenching cliffhanger!) and decided to write a Disney blog before I continued on reading.
I fly back to London today! I'm not ready to leave... I really love Paris.
French airport all by myself, wish me luck. :/
Days until I leave: 9
