DLP Half Marathon Weekend - Day 2

tinker82 · 10 Oct 16, 07:07 PM

Friday 23rd September 2016

After very little sleep we were wide awake and full of excitement at 6am! Extra magic hours were scheduled for the main park so we got ourselves up and ready and headed over to the main building for breakfast.

Breakfast was a buffet of ham, cheese, bread, croissants, cereal, yoghurt and fruit as well as hot drinks, apple juice and orange juice. As someone who tries to avoid gluten (IBS issues) I knew in advance I was going to struggle and had packed gluten free porridge pots to get my carbs in!

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We were so excited to get into the park that by 7.40 we’d gone through security and walked right up to the turnstiles …. Unfortunately we shouldn’t have made it that far and we had to be escorted back behind the main gates to wait for the official opening at 8am!

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After waiting impatiently we were among the first guests in the park and managed to get some elusive photos of an empty Main Street

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We headed straight round to Space Mountain and were the first guests of the day to ride! The cast members were all waiting at the entrance and we walked behind them to the ride. We rode the front row and were the only 2 people on the ride, then walked all the way back though the queue area and got straight back on to ride the back row!

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Next we walked straight on to Buzz Lightyear. Unfortunately my sister’s bad luck with this ride in Florida continued and it broke down - eventually the lights were turned on and we were escorted out!

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Next we headed round to Fantyasyland and by 9.30 we had ridden the Teacups, Peter Pan, the Carousel and Dumbo with almost no wait times! We bumped into our Facebook friend in the queue for Dumbo so we had a quick catch up and collected the wristbands she’d brought over from America

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The Snow White dark ride had just opened so we rode that too then headed towards Pirates of the Caribbean ready for that area opening at 10.

There was a really cute opening ceremony for Pirates & a child was picked to officially open the ride and everyone else followed him and his family to the boats

We knew Thunder Mountain was shut for refurb but were disappointed to find Indiana Jones was shut too. We decided to ride Phantom Manor so that we’d ticked off all the main rides then head round to the Studios Park.

On the way we called in at Salon Mickey to make the most of my shareholders perk by having a well-earned rest on the comfy chairs, a couple of drinks and a snack before heading over to the Studios park at around 11.30

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Top of our list of must do’s in the Studios Park was Crush’s Coaster, so we were disappointed to find it shut due to technical difficulties.
Not to be deterred we headed round to Ratatouille which was showing a 40 min queue. We decided to make the most of the single rider queue which was showing 5 mins and ended up walking straight on! I really enjoy Ratatouille, it’s totally unique and great fun

Next up was RC Racer, which I had never ridden before as the queue had always been crazy on my previous trips. We waited around 15 mins and I have to say I loved and hated the ride in equal measure! It’s similar to a pirate ship but seems to have a much greater curve at the highest points!

By this point the lack of sleep was starting to catch up with us but we were determined to tick off as many of the big rides as we could!

I was relieved to find a big queue at Tower of Terror and a bit of background is necessary to explain my love hate relationship with this ride ….. As a teenager we frequented the Orlando parks and every year I would queue up to ride and every year I would cry and shake as soon as the ride set off! I think the anticipation got to me as I always went on it more than once! As a parent I have had to accept that my children want to ride and keep my tears under control (that doesn’t stop the shakes though!) I did however have to promise my sister that we would head here first at the party and ride in the dark!

Rock n Roller Coaster was a 15 minute queue so we decided to ride, eat then head back to the hotel to recharge our batteries for the Inaugural Party later that night.

Rock n Roller Coaster was awesome as always and we came out humming away.

Blockbuster Café was opposite the exit so we opted to eat there. As there aren’t many gluten free options in Disneyland Paris I took my chances with the chicken salad, which mas pretty mediocre.

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It was only 1pm when we left Blockbuster Café and we couldn’t resist seeing if Crush was open again …. It was and we waited 35 minutes for a totally awesome experience (dude) I love this ride, it’s one of my favourites across all the parks

It did break down momentarily just after we passed Brucey but we were soon on the move again.

By this point we really were ready for a rest and freshen up so we started to make our way back to the hotel. We were in no rush and meandered our way through the shops, trading 2 of the Vinylmations along the way.

I spotted the Ben & Jerrys stall by the hot air balloon and as it was 3 scoops for the price of 2 I treated myself to 3 different flavours! The service here was ridiculously slow and it was 2.15 by the time we set off on our 15 minute walk to the hotel.

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We were both so tired that after a quick drink we both fell asleep for around 1.5 hours!

tinker82 · 10 Oct 16, 07:15 PM

By the time we woke up my running buddy from home had messaged to let me know she had arrived with her friend and checked into Sequoia Lodge. We arranged to meet them by the lake and walk round to the expo with them as we had realised we’d been given a French info booklet for the races instead of English!

The expo was lovely and quiet again and we had no problems exchanging the info booklet and showing our friends where to collect all the different components.

As we were headed to the Inaugural Party and our friends were heading into the Village to eat we arranged to meet up before the 5k and went our separate ways.

The party was due to start at 7pm and as we had some time to spare we headed into the main park and squeezed in a quick ride on Buzz and Space Mountain!

We got to the Studios just after 6.30 and joined a rather large queue.

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Thankfully once the turnstiles opened the queue moved very quickly and it took less than 10 minutes to get inside. On the way in we were handed a leaflet outlining the available rides and eateries.

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We were disappointed to discover that Crush wasn’t open that evening – as there is no fast pass for this ride we would have really appreciated the chance to ride with a low wait time.

The park seemed eerily quiet, presumably as most people seemed to be queueing for characters? But we were happy to be able to walk straight on to the rides that were open.

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First up was Tower of Terror as promised. It wasn’t actually as bad as I thought but I was still shaking when I got off! Next we wandered round to the Toy Story area and walked straight onto Parachute Drop, Slinky and RC Racer. I wasn’t keen on the parachute drop and I’m not sure I’d like to ride it with my kids!

Looking at the map we thought there was food near Ratatouille so we headed that way. It was actually a very talented artist carving fruit so after a taking some photos we rode Ratatouille.

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We eventually found food and I have to say I was really disappointed. I had expected a buffet but it was quick service food and as I try to avoid gluten my options were severely limited. In the end I ordered a burger, which I ate with the salad and threw the bun away.

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After a very disappointing meal we headed over to Rock n Roller Coaster to get back in the party mood. We rode 3 times, twice on the front and once on the back We had some great cast member interaction on this ride – my sister was wearing her Buzz Lightyear hoody & each time we got to the front the cast member shouted ‘Andy’s coming’ and of course my sister had to play dead

I agreed to ride Tower of Terror again and I let go for the first time ever! It was only for a brief moment but I was ever so proud (and shocked lol)

I was so excited I wanted to ride again but when we walked back round from the exit it was shut! In fact we were really disappointed to find out that all the rides shut at 10!

With all the rides shut we had little choice but to leave the park and called in at the Studios café to pick up some more free drinks on the way past.

Although we were initially disappointed to be leaving the park at 10.30 it actually meant we got back earlier and had some much needed extra sleep.

KarenG · 10 Oct 16, 09:37 PM

Crikey, they didn't push the boat out with the food, did they?!

Great that you got on so many rides though - shame about Crush

Emma1987BTL · 6 May 17, 10:22 PM

It sounds like you did so much I bet the extra sleep was much needed 😁

10 Oct 16, 07:07 PM	#1
	10 Oct 16, 07:07 PM tinker82 Serious Dibber
tinker82 Serious Dibber Join Date: Jun 11	DLP Half Marathon Weekend - Day 2 Friday 23rd September 2016 After very little sleep we were wide awake and full of excitement at 6am! Extra magic hours were scheduled for the main park so we got ourselves up and ready and headed over to the main building for breakfast. Breakfast was a buffet of ham, cheese, bread, croissants, cereal, yoghurt and fruit as well as hot drinks, apple juice and orange juice. As someone who tries to avoid gluten (IBS issues) I knew in advance I was going to struggle and had packed gluten free porridge pots to get my carbs in! [IMG][/IMG] We were so excited to get into the park that by 7.40 we’d gone through security and walked right up to the turnstiles …. Unfortunately we shouldn’t have made it that far and we had to be escorted back behind the main gates to wait for the official opening at 8am! [IMG][/IMG] After waiting impatiently we were among the first guests in the park and managed to get some elusive photos of an empty Main Street [IMG][/IMG] We headed straight round to Space Mountain and were the first guests of the day to ride! The cast members were all waiting at the entrance and we walked behind them to the ride. We rode the front row and were the only 2 people on the ride, then walked all the way back though the queue area and got straight back on to ride the back row! [IMG][/IMG] Next we walked straight on to Buzz Lightyear. Unfortunately my sister’s bad luck with this ride in Florida continued and it broke down - eventually the lights were turned on and we were escorted out! [IMG][/IMG] Next we headed round to Fantyasyland and by 9.30 we had ridden the Teacups, Peter Pan, the Carousel and Dumbo with almost no wait times! We bumped into our Facebook friend in the queue for Dumbo so we had a quick catch up and collected the wristbands she’d brought over from America [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] The Snow White dark ride had just opened so we rode that too then headed towards Pirates of the Caribbean ready for that area opening at 10. There was a really cute opening ceremony for Pirates & a child was picked to officially open the ride and everyone else followed him and his family to the boats We knew Thunder Mountain was shut for refurb but were disappointed to find Indiana Jones was shut too. We decided to ride Phantom Manor so that we’d ticked off all the main rides then head round to the Studios Park. On the way we called in at Salon Mickey to make the most of my shareholders perk by having a well-earned rest on the comfy chairs, a couple of drinks and a snack before heading over to the Studios park at around 11.30 [IMG][/IMG] Top of our list of must do’s in the Studios Park was Crush’s Coaster, so we were disappointed to find it shut due to technical difficulties. Not to be deterred we headed round to Ratatouille which was showing a 40 min queue. We decided to make the most of the single rider queue which was showing 5 mins and ended up walking straight on! I really enjoy Ratatouille, it’s totally unique and great fun Next up was RC Racer, which I had never ridden before as the queue had always been crazy on my previous trips. We waited around 15 mins and I have to say I loved and hated the ride in equal measure! It’s similar to a pirate ship but seems to have a much greater curve at the highest points! By this point the lack of sleep was starting to catch up with us but we were determined to tick off as many of the big rides as we could! I was relieved to find a big queue at Tower of Terror and a bit of background is necessary to explain my love hate relationship with this ride ….. As a teenager we frequented the Orlando parks and every year I would queue up to ride and every year I would cry and shake as soon as the ride set off! I think the anticipation got to me as I always went on it more than once! As a parent I have had to accept that my children want to ride and keep my tears under control (that doesn’t stop the shakes though!) I did however have to promise my sister that we would head here first at the party and ride in the dark! Rock n Roller Coaster was a 15 minute queue so we decided to ride, eat then head back to the hotel to recharge our batteries for the Inaugural Party later that night. Rock n Roller Coaster was awesome as always and we came out humming away. Blockbuster Café was opposite the exit so we opted to eat there. As there aren’t many gluten free options in Disneyland Paris I took my chances with the chicken salad, which mas pretty mediocre. [IMG][/IMG] It was only 1pm when we left Blockbuster Café and we couldn’t resist seeing if Crush was open again …. It was and we waited 35 minutes for a totally awesome experience (dude) I love this ride, it’s one of my favourites across all the parks It did break down momentarily just after we passed Brucey but we were soon on the move again. By this point we really were ready for a rest and freshen up so we started to make our way back to the hotel. We were in no rush and meandered our way through the shops, trading 2 of the Vinylmations along the way. I spotted the Ben & Jerrys stall by the hot air balloon and as it was 3 scoops for the price of 2 I treated myself to 3 different flavours! The service here was ridiculously slow and it was 2.15 by the time we set off on our 15 minute walk to the hotel. [IMG][/IMG] We were both so tired that after a quick drink we both fell asleep for around 1.5 hours! Edited at 09:01 PM.

10 Oct 16, 07:15 PM	#2
	10 Oct 16, 07:15 PM tinker82 Serious Dibber Thread Starter
tinker82 Thread Starter Serious Dibber Join Date: Jun 11	By the time we woke up my running buddy from home had messaged to let me know she had arrived with her friend and checked into Sequoia Lodge. We arranged to meet them by the lake and walk round to the expo with them as we had realised we’d been given a French info booklet for the races instead of English! The expo was lovely and quiet again and we had no problems exchanging the info booklet and showing our friends where to collect all the different components. As we were headed to the Inaugural Party and our friends were heading into the Village to eat we arranged to meet up before the 5k and went our separate ways. The party was due to start at 7pm and as we had some time to spare we headed into the main park and squeezed in a quick ride on Buzz and Space Mountain! We got to the Studios just after 6.30 and joined a rather large queue. [IMG][/IMG] Thankfully once the turnstiles opened the queue moved very quickly and it took less than 10 minutes to get inside. On the way in we were handed a leaflet outlining the available rides and eateries. [IMG][/IMG] We were disappointed to discover that Crush wasn’t open that evening – as there is no fast pass for this ride we would have really appreciated the chance to ride with a low wait time. The park seemed eerily quiet, presumably as most people seemed to be queueing for characters? But we were happy to be able to walk straight on to the rides that were open. [IMG][/IMG] First up was Tower of Terror as promised. It wasn’t actually as bad as I thought but I was still shaking when I got off! Next we wandered round to the Toy Story area and walked straight onto Parachute Drop, Slinky and RC Racer. I wasn’t keen on the parachute drop and I’m not sure I’d like to ride it with my kids! Looking at the map we thought there was food near Ratatouille so we headed that way. It was actually a very talented artist carving fruit so after a taking some photos we rode Ratatouille. [IMG][/IMG] We eventually found food and I have to say I was really disappointed. I had expected a buffet but it was quick service food and as I try to avoid gluten my options were severely limited. In the end I ordered a burger, which I ate with the salad and threw the bun away. [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] After a very disappointing meal we headed over to Rock n Roller Coaster to get back in the party mood. We rode 3 times, twice on the front and once on the back We had some great cast member interaction on this ride – my sister was wearing her Buzz Lightyear hoody & each time we got to the front the cast member shouted ‘Andy’s coming’ and of course my sister had to play dead I agreed to ride Tower of Terror again and I let go for the first time ever! It was only for a brief moment but I was ever so proud (and shocked lol) I was so excited I wanted to ride again but when we walked back round from the exit it was shut! In fact we were really disappointed to find out that all the rides shut at 10! With all the rides shut we had little choice but to leave the park and called in at the Studios café to pick up some more free drinks on the way past. Although we were initially disappointed to be leaving the park at 10.30 it actually meant we got back earlier and had some much needed extra sleep.