Day 3 - Walt Disney Studios (mostly)

We started Day 3 by sleeping in a bit. After a late breakfast at our hotel, we headed to Walt Disney Studios!

We meandered to the Toon Studio area of the park and queued for Ratatouille: L'Adventure Totalement Toquee de Remy which was well worth the 70+ minute wait! This is probably one of the most advanced rides at any Disney park. The area around the ride is themed to look like downtown Paris with great little tie-in details.

We then continued through the Toy Story Playland section of the Toon Studio area. Everything is themed to make you feel like a toy. There we rode Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop which is also excellently themed.

The Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic ride was next. While similar to the same ride that existed at Walt Disney World, this one was a little more extensive with two special effects areas and several additional props to observe. Then it was back over to Toy Story Playland for Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin.

We then walked back to our hotel to pickup the raffle gift Peggy created for the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon Facebook group meetup. We arrived at the gazebo area outside Disneyland Hotel shortly after the scheduled start time and there were about 30 people present from all over the world.

After the raffle we ducked into Disneyland Park for dinner at Pizzeria Bella Notte which filled our desire for race-night pasta. The afternoon parade was wrapping up as we finished our meal. We took our time working our way out of the park, along with several hundred of the other guests (I understand why they say no one stays for the fireworks...it's true, they all left at 6PM).

A short call home to talk to our sons and we were headed back to Walt Disney Studios. We went to Armageddon: les Effects Speciaux which was an interesting exhibit, and then decided to call it a night.

We're now back at the hotel, race attire all laid out and alarms set for 5AM. Tomorrow, we tackle Le Disneyland Paris Semi Marathon Val D'Europe!

-Sean

Day 2 - Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios

We started day 2 with breakfast at our hotel. There was a good selection of cheese, cold cuts, bread and crossiants. After breakfast we walked to the parks.

We started in Disneyland Park. As soon as we walked under the train station and into the park it was 100% Disney. Things were a little off, but also felt like home (Walt Disney World). We ventured down Main Street, stopping to visit Goofy and Pluto along the way, and into Fantasyland where we rode my mother's favorite ride, It's A Small World" first. The ride is slightly different than at Walt Disney World. It starts outside, under an amazing clock which chimes in a very unique way at the hour and half hour.

We continued through Fantasyland visiting Mad Hatter's Tea Cups, Alice's Curious Labyrinth and Peter Pan's Flight before continuing on to Adventureland. In Adventureland we rode Pirates of the Caribbean. The ride is significantly longer, including floating past the Blue Lagoon Restaurant and a very exciting drop. We passed across Adventure Isle, taking time to explore the various paths and continued in to Frontierland.

Sadly, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril and Big Thunder Mountain are closed for refurbishment. We moseyed through Frontierland to visit Phantom Manor, the equivalent of The Haunted Mansion which didn't disappoint. Then, it was time to walk back to our hotel to call our sons (as it was about 7AM Eastern) and take a short lunch break nap.

After lunch we headed to Walt Disney Studios, the equivalent of Hollywood Studios. We had a targeted visit in mind to ensure we were back in Disneyland Park for the end of the night fireworks show. We went directly to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith, a faster and much harsher version of the Walt Disney World version. Then we checked in to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. 

We then went back to Disneyland Park to eat dinner (the first two restaurants we selected were closed...at 5:30PM...and then the next two we walked past were also closed). After dinner we made our way to Discoveryland and rode Space Mountain: Mission 2. This ride is Space Mountain on steroids. The ride starts with you being shot out of a cannon (see the photo below with the cannon in view on the side of the roof. The ride is much more violent than the original and includes a loop. After Space Mountain: Mission 2 we walked through Les Mysteries du Nautilus which was pretty cool.

We ended the night by viewing Disney Dreams! on the side of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Tomorrow we will head to Walt Disney Studios after breakfast to catch the rides we missed this afternoon and ride Rock 'n' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror again.

A bientot et bonsoir!

Day 1 - CDG, Disnelyland Paris and Val D'Europe

We landed at Charles de Gaulle airport at 0800 Paris time (that's 0200 Eastern). Our flight left Toronto at 1900 Eastern the night before. About an hour in to the flight we were served dinner. We had the choice of chicken or pasta. Peggy and I both opted for the pasta and it was pretty good. The brownie for dessert was fantastic! Drinks were also served and then the entire cabin needed to be cleaned up. This took up the first 2-2.5 hours of the 7 hour flight.

Then we had some downtime. I spent most of that time watching episodes of Big Bang Theory and an interesting documentary titled Last Man On The Moon about Gene Cernan. Peggy did the smart thing and took a nap. The flight attendants passed through the cabin a few more times offerring drinks and water. Around the 6 hour mark they started serving breakfast which woke everyone up...this was the equivalent of 0100 Eastern (after a full day of travelling).

When we landed we took our time deplaing (mostly because we had switched our seats (row 52) with two people (sitting in row 22) who were travelling with the person sitting next to us in row 52. This meant we had carryon baggage stowed around row 52, but spent the flight at row 22. Upon arrival it was like a trout swimming against the rest of the school trying to go from row 22 to 52. We then went through passport control, which was surprisingly efficient and easy. We gathered our checked luggage and proceeded to the main terminal to wait for our private transfer.

Our driver arrived around 1100 Paris time to pick us up. He was a friendly South African transplated to France via London by love who is named of Chris. It was nice to have a spacious van and personal conversation for the 45 minute drive from the airport to Disneyland Paris.


We arrived at the hotel, checked in, and immediately went in search of lunch (after FaceTiming with our sons at approximately 0645 Eastern). We went to Disney Village, the Disneyland Paris equivalent of Downtown Disney and had a tasty sandwich and fries from a small sandwich stand. We then got in line for the expo...at about 1400 Paris time...which didn't open until 1500. The line was already a hundred or so people long and grew behind us and around the corner until 1500.

We went straight to the Disney official race merchandise booth and purchased some souveniers. We then spent the next several hours picking up our bibs, getting our Castle to Chateau wristbands and checking out the vendors (many of whom travelled from America) at the expo. After the expo we ventured to Val D'Europe via the RER train. It's only one stop away, but it proved to be quite a challenge (especially the return trip) since it felt like 1400 Eastern with little to no sleep since the day before.

We went to a grocery store and a small corner bakery to gather dinner and dessert in Val D'Europe. We successfully, eventually, navigated back to our hotel and we're settling in for the night now while waiting to talk with our sons after school (approximately 2230 Paris time).

Tomorrow we're headed to Disneyland Park which is open from 1000 to 2200 (with 0800-1000 available as extra magic hours to those staying on property).

Bonsoir de Paris!

-Sean

Bienvenue au Paris!

Bonjour! Peggy and I arrived in Paris at 8AM local time (2AM Eastern). We're currently sitting in the terminal waiting for our car to Disneyland Paris. We cleared customs and picked up our bags without much delay. In an effort to combat jet lag we're fighting to stay awake until this evening.

The seat back display on the Boeing 777 provided this neat view. Nearly in Paris, we flew just south of Ireland and could see the lights of the southern cities. Then we clipped the bottom of England before passing Charles de Gaule to the north and circling to land to the west.

With this view I feel like I'm flying the plane! Airspeed, altitude, heading, vertical speed, ground speed and more!

-Sean

Next Stop Paris!

Peggy and I safely arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport today. We'll be flying on a Boeing 777 operated by Air Canada. Seven hours from now we'll be in Paris!

-Sean

T-minus Four Days

We very quickly transitioned from two months to four days. By this time on Wednesday, Peggy and I will be cruising at 30,000' on our way to France.

We are packing our bags and ensuring all documentation for our race, our hotel and our apartment are in order. The event guide for the half marathon was released on Thursday which finally made the race "real" and allowed everyone to see the course selected for the 21.1km path through and around Marne-la-Vallée.

I am looking forward to the two Disney parks. I've been to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida many times. It will be very nice to experience the magic of Disney for the first time at Disneyland Paris. They have many similar rides to Walt Disney World, but everything will be slightly different; I will be slightly lost and it will be awesome!

After our race we're off to Paris for 5 days. We will explore the tourist attractions as well as some local highlights. I also plan to get some International geocaching in.

Four more days. It seemed like the race was a long ways away two months ago...

-Sean

T-minus Two Months

In two short months Peggy and I will be jetting off to France. Our first stop will be Disneyland Paris (well, technically our first stop will be Charles de Galle airport) for their half marathon weekend. This is the first such event there and we are excited to be among the few hundred who complete the inaugural race. We will receive the Castle to Chateau medal since we completed the Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon at Walt Disney World in April.

After our four days at Disneyland Paris we will head to Paris proper for a week of sight seeing. We'll be staying in an AirBnB apartment. I travelled to Paris for 14 days after my senior year of high school. I'm looking forward to returning!

-Sean