We had a bit of a rough start to the morning. Well, Penelope and I did anyway. We were both struggling (me with whatever virus I had caught and her with the exhaustion of travel and miles). So Brett and Lucas took off ahead of us so they could get in a couple of big rides before the park became busy, and Penelope and I followed behind at a more leisurely pace. We stopped for coffee at Starbucks and strolled through Downtown Disney.

A word about this particular Downtown Disney… it straight up feels like the 90s. Like we took a portal to the past. But not in a nostalgia way (as is the case with the original Disneyland), more in a dated way. It’s definitely in need of some love and new life.

At our leisurely pace, we explored Main Street and the castle while we waited for Lucas and Brett to ride Hyperspace Mountain.

We met up with the boys for croissants on Main Street. And then made our way to the Fantasyland attractions. Casey Jr. and the Storybook Canal being at the top of our list of attractions we hadn’t experience yet.

We all found it quite strange and surprising to see the Emerald City of Oz tucked amongst all the storybook lands on the canal, seeing as how it isn’t a “Disney story.”

I love that my kids still enjoy a good Fantasyland attraction. Because we went right back to ride Casey Jr. again before leaving the area.

Pretty sure I used up my allotted strength for the day documenting those few attractions, because after that my camera went into the backpack and I just followed my family from one attraction to the next. I know there was more Pirates and Phantom Manor amongst other things. And I believe lunch was Casey’s corndog nuggets.

After an afternoon of attractions, we made our way back to the resort to meet some Avengers. For anyone staying at the resort, you can prebook a time to do this meet and greet. It was really great because the kids got ample time to actually talk with Black Panther and Ant-Man while we were there.

The room also had lots of fun photo ops!

We grabbed drinks (and ice cream for the kids) in the Bleecker Street Lounge and then returned to our room to pack/rest for the later afternoon. When we ventured back out, we headed to the Studios park to ride a couple of favorites again. And we lucked out because Crush’s Coaster was finally and unexpectedly open! It was a long wait, more than an hour, but we were so excited to get to ride it that we didn’t mind.

It was fantastic. Honestly, it felt a little bit like a precursor to Cosmic Rewind, with the way the ride vehicles moved on the track and through the dark. Worth the wait.

After Crush’s Coaster, we rushed over to Disneyland to make our dinner reservation at the Plaza. This is a character meal and it was total chaos. If our experience is any indication, they definitely don’t approach character meals in the orderly fashion they do here. We waited for quite some time and eventually had to track down the characters via cast members that were not character attendants. And the food was pretty bad, so I don’t recommend it. Walt’s on Main Street was a much better overall experience from start to finish.

After our late dinner, Lucas and I went to ride Hyperspace Mountain. Space Mountain was an attraction I was really looking forward to in Disneyland Paris, because of the Jules Verne vibe and the exterior launch. The choice to overlay Star Wars on it was really strange to me. Thematically, it was a disaster, especially in the queue. But the thrill of it was fun.

Unfortunately, when we exited the attraction it was raining pretty hard, so we had to forego the fireworks.

We made the trek back to our resort, a little sad that our vacation was over, but mostly really appreciative for all the new experiences and fun that was had.

I don’t have a single photo, iPhone or otherwise, of our travel the following day. Not even a family selfie, that is how sick and out of it I was. Our train from DLP to the airport was cancelled that morning (again due to the protests), so we ended up taking an Uber to Charles de Gaulle instead. Security was nearly an hour wait, so I was glad we arrived early. Our return trip took us through Miami, where we sat on the plane for an hour after landing, nearly missing our connection to Orlando. But the kids were troopers through it all.

Final Thoughts…

There is truly nothing I love more than vacationing with my family.

Traveling brings what’s real to the table. Nothing forces our most honest selves into the open like unfamiliar environments, unexpected situations, and tight quarters. There were meltdowns from children and parents alike. In all these moments though, someone stepped up to pick up the pieces, to bring levity to the situation. We each faltered. We each took our turn smoothing the ruffled feathers. That’s family. And the experiences and the memories are priceless to me.

We haven’t decided quite where we are going next, but there is definitely more international travel in our future. The world is both so big and yet so small and we can’t wait to experience more of it.

Shoebox Full of Memories: A Paris and London Trip Report - March 2023 (Day 8: Magic at Disneyland Paris)