Hey Steemit!
So if you didn't catch the last post, I started writing about our trip to Paris way back in June 2016 when we went there for summer school! Both of us enrolled in a Luxury Management course at a college called HEC Paris! The course itself was 2 weeks long, but we booked our flight a week earlier so we could travel and explore the city.
In the last post, we just arrived at our Airbnb in the suburbs of Paris and spent the day settling in and exploring our neighbourhood. And today, we're off to Disneyland!!
9 June 2016. Thursday.
We got up pretty early since we wanted to make the most of our day at Disney. And also because I was really excited! This was the first Disneyland we're going to together, and my second overall (at the time I'd only ever been to Hong Kong Disneyland but that was many many years ago).
Please excuse my crazy bedhead, um I mean I totally meant to style my hair that way, pfft.
We walked to the station (which we checked out the previous day so we wouldn't get lost) which was pretty near to our place, thankfully.
Before long, the train arrived!
That was the first time we saw double-decker trains and it was so cool! Granted, not as cool as bullet trains but still.
Of course we decided to sit on the upper deck.
We had pretty good weather that day, thankfully. It wasn't raining, but it wasn't sunny, so it was pretty cooling.
The train ride wasn't very long since Disneyland is even more east of the city center than where we were staying, which was southeast from the main part of Paris.
45 minutes later, we arrived!
We expected more crowds, but then again, it had only been a couple of months since the November 2015 Paris attacks. Our parents were actually concerned for our safety since we knew we were going to Paris since January. But by June, it was pretty safe. Although some of the train lines were still having issues.
But anyway, the good news was shorter lines at Disneyland so yay!
So Disneyland Paris is actually made of 2 parks: the Walt Disney Studios Park, and the Disneyland Park. Here's a map:
We didn't know what the difference between the 2 parks were, so we decided to go explore the Disneyland Park first.
And here's a map of Disneyland Park (which I believe is the bigger of the 2):
While walking in we saw these 2 kids riding in a small trolley, which was so funny and cute.
We're here! I feel like every time I enter a big theme park like Universal or Disneyland it really feels like I walked through a portal into another world. But then I see the huge crowds of people and I know it's the same. But not this time!
Compared to our trip to USJ just after New Years', this was a real treat! I actually saw a section that was completely void of people!
Which also makes for great photos!
As always, our tactic to theme parks is to walk around the entire park first; enjoying the sights and taking lots of photos, while also seeing which rides look cool and which had acceptable waiting times. At the time, we were thinking we could ride them all since there wasn't much of a crowd anywhere.
But of course, there were still people around, especially when going up to the castle (which is Sleeping Beauty Castle, apparently).
Although it was pretty good that we still managed to get this shot:
Excuse the selfie stick, we were newbies
The castle was really pretty, but really short! It was pretty much just a fancy archway if I recall correctly.
Soon, we reached Adventureland!
Adventureland is themed to recreate the feel of the Caribbean, North-Africa, Africa and India. Lush landscaping is abundant throughout the land to give visitors the impression of being in a remote jungle.
It had Aladdin themed rides and displays, where there was a Genie mascot.
We also saw Snow White with one of the Dwarves (sorry I don't remember their names)!
They also had Pirates of the Caribbean, which was the first ride we took since there wasn't a line!
If you're familiar with 'It's a Small World', the Pirates ride had a similar concept, where you ride in a small boat on the water and go on an adventure. The boat steers you along where there are specially lit scenes and performers on either side of you singing songs and stuff. It's pretty cool.
The ride starts during an evening in a Louisiana bayou, in a peaceful country setting, then you plunge down a waterfall into an underground cavern! There's a thunderstorm, and pirates fighting over treasure and lots of singing and dramatics. It was pretty fun!
As always, we ended up in the gift shop, which means commemorative photo with silly hats time!
And also swords, 'cos we're pirates, matey!
The shop itself was pretty cool, and well decorated.
It also sold some other stuff like Finding Dory plushies!
And we even caught a glimpse of Captain Hook and Peter Pan!
I think I'm gonna call it right here since this is getting kinda long. Tune in next week for the continuation of our EuroDisney journey! Next up: Fantasyland!
Thanks for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
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