So yeah, we were crazy enough to leave our hotel and go to the park. We had only a limited amount of time to spend in Disneyland, because we wanted to see Paris as well. So no rest for the weary! After freshening up, we headed to Disneyland. We were in what Noah now refers to a "jet lag coma". We were exhausted, but still excited to get out and explore. We hadn't had a meal since we left London, so first stop was dinner. Nik always wants to try out the local McDonalds, so we headed there first. Our hotel is right on Disney property and McDonald's so it's just a short walk to the parks. I snapped a few pictures along the way.
Our hotel, Disney Hotel New York.
I could not get a room in the Disneyland Hotel, but was able to get a decent deal on Hotel New York. It's a nice deluxe resort, but we weren't that crazy about the decor. It felt very American and once we were there, we decided we wanted to feel more like we were in Paris. Oh well. It was clean and really close to the park, so we made the best of it. It is now going through a refurbishment and is supposed to have a Marvel theme, so we may very well end up in this hotel again for Noah's graduation.
The check in counter.
Our room.
The Lobby. You had to go through metal detectors to enter.
The restaurant. We never had a chance to try the food there.
Disney Newport Bay.
Hot air balloon.
Downtown Disney stores.
Restaurant
Western-themed dinner show.
My finger because I was in a jet lag coma and couldn't control my camera.
The mothership. McDonald's.
We walked inside McDonald's and were met by a sea of humanity. Paris loves McDonald's. We had to place our order on a computer screen. No human cashiers in sight. Did I mention that my brain was jet lag fried? I was too fried to order fries. Alex is used to international travel, so he jumped in to action and ordered our food while the kids and I found a table. It took forever to get our food, but we were so tired we did not give a care. We sat quietly sipping our sodas that I swear did not taste like the soda back home. Much like everything in Disneyland, the food was familiar, yet not exactly like home. It was so odd to be surrounded by the sights and sounds of Disney, with European languages being spoken all around us. The kids gave the food a thumbs up, and we carried on over to the park.
Look how good we look on only a few hours sleep!
The entrance to Disneyland is right under the Disneyland Hotel. It was a bit odd, but so was so much else in that park.
The park is huge, which allowed for more open space and elbow room. Man, I wish the American Disney parks had this kind of space.
By far, the castle was my favorite of the 3 Disney parks I have visited. Sorry this isn't the best photo, but you know, jet lag coma and all.
We headed straight to Dragon's Lair, which is under the castle. One of the things that puts this Disney park above the rest is the way they excel at carrying out a theme. The attention to detail is amazing. When you walk under the castle, you can hear the dragon roaring. It's fully animatronic, hissing, growling, moving around and blowing smoke. Noah loved it so much that I think we visited a few times during our trip.
That castle was pretty cool!
We walked around Fantasyland for a bit. Blanche-Neige line was short, so we checked it out. Snow White in French. Then headed over to Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast in Discoveryland. It's pretty close to the ride in California. Except the French thing.
From there we headed to Phantom Manor in Frontierland. We were pretty excited for this ride because we love the Haunted Mansion in California. It did not disappoint.
But halfway through the ride, jet lag coma took over and...I fell asleep. Noah was mortified and told me to get over it, but I just couldn't. We called it a night after that. We were all so exhausted and we knew the next day was going to be a long one. We headed back to our room for the night. Tomorrow Paris awaits!
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