Ah, Disneyland. Having enjoyed the Parisian version in our lives before Meredith, we were looking forward to introducing the girlie to the Disney esperience. As is true in the greater Orlando area, residents of the Paris region are eligible for annual passes to the Disneyland Resort (a.k.a. Eurodisney, a.k.a. Disneyland Paris). So, a couple of quick flashes of our lease (yet again!), and we’re good to go. We bought the passes in advance of our first trip to the park at the Disney Store on the Champs Elysees, saving us time at the gate.
We didn’t wake up super early, but got on the RER (that’s the metropolitan train line, in between the metro and the national railway system in terms of size and scope) for the 40-minute ride to Marne-la-vallée, which was once a sleepy outer suburb of Paris and now is home to a Disney multiplex. During the ride, we talked with Meredith about what she wanted to do at Disneyland. Her main response, “I want to hug Mickey,” followed by “I want to see Mickey and Minnie.”
Once through the gates, we picked up the day’s schedule at Town Hall and noted that Mickey was having an audience right then. Since we wanted to be sure to fulfill Meredith’s wishes, we headed straight up Main Street, USA to the designated spot. Alas, we were not alone. In fact, we waited for about an hour so that Meredith could, in her words, “jump to his [Mickey’s] arms.” Mickey took two breaks during our wait. Of course we had no idea if it was the same person in the same Mickey outfit with a bladder problem or if they switch off every 20 minutes or what. In any case, Mickey was great with all the kids and, unlike some visits with Santa we have witnessed, not a single child seemed scared of Mickey. He’d squat down to greet the smaller children, reach his arms out, and let them take the lead if they wanted to hug him or hold his hand or whatever. Plenty of adults squeezed him, kissed his nose, and got their pictures taken. Meredith and I posed with Mickey both for Bill and for the Disney photographer (more on that later).
From there, we crossed the park, met Stromboli and Honest John, and picked up “fastpasses” for Space Mountain. The Fastpass is a Disney innovation for extremely popular rides (aside from Space Mountain, they’re available in the Paris park for rollercoasters Thunder Mountain Railroad and Indiana Jones, as well as for Peter Pan’s Flight, which is the single most popular ride. If you slip your ticket into the Fastpass machine, it spits out a voucher for your “no waiting” time to enjoy the ride (many hours later, in most cases). You get a half-hour window to show up and show the Pass, which puts you way ahead of the boobs waiting an hour for Space Mountain. You can only repeat the process after you’ve taken your turn, which may be too late in the day to qualify for a second round. So if you want to ride these rides multiple times, you’re in for a lot of waiting around, but if once a visit will satisfy, this Fastpass business is marvelous.
Then we went over to Fantasyland and Meredith and I rode on Lancelot’s carousel (a beautiful one at that) while Bill picked us up fastpasses to some other rides. I should note here that the park is much more compact than DisneyWorld, and therefore quite manageable on foot for adults. The three of us rode “Les Voyages de Pinocchio,” which was rather dark and jerky, but Meredith loved it, especially the part where Stromboli put us in a cage. After that, we went to ride Space Mountain, making use of the “baby switch.” This is a second, far less-known, option for grown-ups who don’t want to miss out on rides simply because they are toting young children with them. Bill went to Fastpass his way into Space Mountain himself, while Meredith and I found the exit and “swam upstream” to the loading dock. The staff at the ride are familiar with this process, allowing Meredith and I to wait until Bill finished his turn, allowing me to hand Mer over to him and then take a ride myself. Not quite as much fun as riding together, but certainly better than foregoing one of my favorite roller coasters ever! Space Mountain in Paris has two full loops, one with a twist. It’s beautifully decorated, besides. A triumph of thrill and artistry. Okay, I’ll shut up now…
(to be continued)
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