Shoebox Full of Memories: A Paris and London Trip Report - March 2023 (Day 7: All the Disneyland Things)

Day 7: All the Disneyland Things!

The day dawned bright and early and off we went to get our tickets for the day. As is our nature we were outside the Walt Disney Studios park in plenty of time for “rope drop.”

The layout of Disneyland Paris, Downtown Disney, and the Studios park is reminiscent of the original west coast parks. It’s all interconnected with the resorts and very clear that the design was based off Disneyland in Anaheim. The difference being that this property felt like the only thing out here and certainly wasn’t sitting in the midst of a bustling city.

On our train ride the previous day, we noticed that Crush’s Coaster was under some sort of unexpected refurb, rumored to open back up the day we were leaving France. We were all so bummed about this, as it was our number one most anticipated attraction.

So instead of rushing to it, our first stop was the Spider-Man ride. It was so entertaining to hear Peter Parker speak to us in French, though fair to say we had no clue what was actually happening in the attraction because of it. :)

Brett and Lucas immediately went to ride Flight Force, which is essentially Rock n Rollercoaster, just rethemed. While Penelope and I went in search of a snack. After this, we all headed to the Pixar area of the park. You guys, this park is every bit the mess you hear it to be. It’s just a hodge podge of stuff, with no real balance or identity. The whole Pixar area felt a little underwhelming. I do wonder if it had something to do with the fact that Epcot recently got one of their two flagship attractions. And in my opinion, the ambiance of the ride is so much better in the France pavilion in Epcot. It fits so seamlessly there. Whereas in actual France (the irony), it was just a tiny courtyard situated beside a kiddie Slinky Dog ride.

Not going to lie… the kiddie Slinky ride was a hit for us. We appreciated it, in kind of the same way we appreciate Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. Silly fun.

We found our way to Stitch. This experience is very much like Turtle Talk with Crush. I have to be honest, I remember none of it because I was simply trying to stay awake and ward off all the weariness I was feeling.

Lucas wanted to ride Flight Force again, so he and I made our way back to Avengers Campus, while Brett and Penelope took a spin on the magic carpets. Quite honestly, maybe the most random attraction just sitting in the park near Crush’s Coaster.

The pre-show for Flight Force was hilarious because Tony would speak to Captain Marvel in French and then she would respond in English. You just know she was parroting what he said for those of us who didn’t understand. Exiting the attraction we, quite literally, ran into Bob and Josh, who were in Paris for the 30th celebration. We happened to be there on the exact day of the anniversary.

We immediately noticed Captain America and realized he was talking to Penelope, so Lucas ran up really quickly to talk to him, too.

The atmosphere in Avengers Campus was great. Characters out everywhere and just an overall vibe. While the masses flocked around Bob and Josh, we caught a glimpse of Thor and Loki and headed off in their direction. Lucas was chosen by Loki to be in a little show they did. He was over the moon!

That’s my son, Loki’s second in command, Skolmir. Turns out he isn’t worthy. Though he is quite the schemer.

We made our way over to Disneyland park for our lunch reservation at Walt’s.

Walt’s is a restaurant situated above Main Street. And that right there is exactly why we booked it. It might be considered finer dining, but the ambiance is what we after. This was probably the best meal we had at Disneyland, but doesn’t touch any of our favorite meals here in Florida.

That being said, it was a magical experience, dining above Main Street and getting to look out and experience the parade from this vantage point. I highly recommend it for that alone.

After a leisurely lunch, we made our way to Fantasyland for one very important attraction…

The park was pretty busy, considering it was the official anniversary of the 30th. Though no more busy than a summer day in Florida. We explored much of Fantasyland and then went off in search of pirates again.

We spent some time in Tomorrowland, where the boys rode Space Mountain, while Penelope and I indulged ourselves with Philharmagic. We found it so strange that it was tucked in the back of Tomorrowland. Even more strange than the fact that Ariel sang in both French and English. That, we were getting used to.

We wandered around Main Street and eventually made our way back to the resort to rest for a bit before heading back out.

After a much needed nap for me, and resort exploring for everyone else, we found ourselves back at the Studios park. We grabbed a quick dinner at the restaurant in Avengers Campus. It was some sort of so so pasta place. Sidenote here, when planning our trip we had a lot of trouble getting reservations. It wasn't until we got there that we realized many of the restaurants were only open for one meal a day. So this was a definite factor in why reservations were hard to come by.

I have absolutely zero photos from this night, not even iPhone shots, if that is any indication in my energy level. I know we rode Spider-Man again and did a lot of the stuff in the Pixar land, as well. And then we found a spot to stand for the Avengers drone show that takes place over the Tower of Terror. Unfortunately, due to wind in the area, they didn’t fly the drones, and we only got to see the projections.

Up next: our final day in Disneyland!