Hey Disney, you let me down. Can't say it was the best of experiences. Lucky for me, this is my 3rd visit and one more planned shortly.
Two things, not Disney, that colored our day. Even though we left at 9AM for the hour ride to the park, we had to switch trains a couple of times and one of the exits we needed to take to switch trains was closed. We got turned around and ended up on the wrong train. So we did not arrive until well after 10.30AM. Not too terrible but we had two parks to see in one day so every minute counts.
Second, it was hotter than Hades. Who turned up the heat? Who knew it was going to be a major heat wave in Paris this week?
OK, that out of the way, Disney you could have done better. There are several E ticket rides that are a must for this Disney fan. Why, oh why would you close both the Phantom Manor AND the Pirates of the Caribbean ride for refurbishment at the same time? Seriously Disney -- bad planning! It appears Disney has permanently "temporarily" closed the Jules Verne walk through. It was closed last October and it was closed now.
We went to the Studios park first and made a beeline to the Ratatouille line.
The three of us went as single riders and got on within 15 minutes. Hurrah! Great start. This ride uses glasses and 3D imagery but one of the scenes had a screen stuck. Not a big deal but I took off my glasses to check if it was me or the ride. It was the ride.
Next Libs wanted to ride the Tower of Terror. The Disney app said the wait was 45 minutes so we decided to take a chance. Bad choice. Libs and I waited nearly 2 hours when all was said and done. Of the 6 elevators, only 2 were running and they kept putting all the fast pass people on those elevators so the standby line (half of it in the blazing sun) was barely moving forward at all. After having spent so much time waiting we kept thinking, OK this time. A disappointment.
But wait, the disappointments keep coming...
We were hungry so we stopped in the large dining area - fast food burgers and such. FAST food, right? 45 minutes later Rich and Libby got their meals, they did not get my order and then when I complained, I got a "chicken" burger instead of beef. OK, moving on...
Time for the Magic Kingdom!
We went into Sleeping Beauty's castle and found the dragon.
Rode the Snow White ride and the Pinocchio ride. Found a great spot in the shade to watch the afternoon parade, which was awesome.
The way to the Indiana Jones roller coaster was blocked so had to find the other way in to discover the ride was temporarily out of service. We decided to wait 15 minutes on the clock ONLY and luck finally shined on us and the ride opened. It's a jerky ride and although the theming is great, the ride gave us all a headache.
Time for future world. I really wanted a fish and chips dinner so those two headed off to Star Tours and I went to the English style pub to discover -- you guessed it -- it was CLOSED. In fact it seemed like well over half of the food establishments were closed or only running one register with the corresponding 45 minute wait.
Don't French Disney fans eat????
We were not going to miss the Illuminations show so we headed back to Main Street and found the hot dog stand was still serving food -- Go figure! We found a table in the shade and ate with a view of the castle. We could see the clouds starting to come in.
Then Libby and I did some souvenir shopping. We came back to the table with about 15 minutes before showtime. Cast members had closed all the umbrellas and then it came. The lightening and the thunder. And then a little rain. And then a lot of rain. And then the sky just opened up and poured down buckets of rain. We were not allowed to open the umbrellas. So we debated the question if we should leave like everyone else but by golly we were here and wet already, what difference did it make? The illuminations show went ahead, minus the fireworks.
And then, my friends, we saw magic.
Along with the projections from many of Disney's movies being shown on the castle, there were lasers shooting out and the rain showing up through the lasers was one of the most spectacular sights we've seen. Watching the illuminations show in the downpour was a magical way to end the day. With the rain coming down so hard, I did not risk getting out my phone to take pictures.
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