Paris, France: Part Deux

In the Spring, my mom came and visited me for a whole week. I was so excited and thrilled to see her. It was the first time I had seen her in four months. To mark the occasion, we traveled to Paris and Vienna. She had never been to Paris and I had never been to Vienna. So we compromised and did both. I'll do the Vienna post at a later time. Here are some more places I would recommend to go to in addition to my previous post on Paris.

I visited the Louvre again. Seeing all of the artwork is just an awe-inspiring sight. I'll write a post on how to work the four different wings and how to find what you are looking for later on, I promise.

Of course, you have to visit Eiffel Tower. There are multiple sides to view the Eiffel Tower from, and I recommend getting there early before everyone else to see all of these different views. The above picture was taken from across the river in the Trocadero Gardens.

This picture was taken from underneath the Eiffel Tower in the morning. We then rode it all the way to the top. I highly recommend riding all the way to the top. They even have a little champagne bar up there. FYI, its standing room only and ridiculously expensive. Then, we took a picture from the Champ de Mars, which is shown below. 

Next, I recommend the Musee D'Orsay. It holds works from two famous painters, Van Gogh and Monet. Monet is one of my favorite painters. I was very excited to see a lot of his works. Something I learned though, they rotate out different pieces of work. So I didn't see all of the pieces they have, but I did see a lot of them. Did I mention the Musee D'Orsay is in an old train station? Its beautifully decorated because of that.

No matter what, you have to see Notre Dame.

Did you know you could buy paintings in Paris for cheap? The students of a local art institute set up a shop on the north side of the Seine in between Pont Des Arts and Notre Dame. Its in one of those little, green shops attached to the wall of the river. They are actually reasonably priced as well. I would recommend those paintings over anything you can find at Montmarte.

The Arc de Triumph is a given, but did you know you can go up to the top? Its stairs all of the way, but it is so worth it. You get amazing views from on top. My last two photos are from the top of the monument.

My mother and I also went to the Opera and saw the Magic Flute. I've always wanted to see an opera and there was my chance! They have a youth discount as well. Oh and if you are worried about the fact that most operas are in a different language, they have a screen that shows the subtitles.

And last but not least, view the Eiffel Tower at night from a top the Arc De Triumph. Or just view Paris at night. It is absolutely breathtaking. 

Have you ever been Paris? What would you recommend doing there?

Top Tips for Disneyland Paris Resort: Walt Disney Studios Park

This park has some very big differences from the Magic Kingdom park in Disneyland Paris. For starters, they brought in the single rider line, which made it quite easy for me to conquer this park in less than 5 hours. So that makes a maximum of three different lines you could enter the ride by: the single rider, the fast pass, and the normal line. Please remember, the single rider line WILL split you up! So many people take it because it is the shorter line, and then get upset when their group is split up. You will also bypass a lot of the exhibits that usually happens along the way in the line. If you want to see those, best stick to the normal line.

Crush's Coaster does not have a fast pass line. It is the only ride I could find that would actually need it though besides Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller Coaster.

Bag storage is available on all rides when you cannot place it at your feet. If there is no bag storage, that means it is safe to wrap it around your legs and put the bag under your legs. My camera bag stayed safe and sound that way!

Like in Magic Kingdom, Disney Studios showcases similar rides as Disney World Florida or the Original DisneyLand. Rockin' roller coaster is one of them, but it is a lot more bumpy and jerky. My head started to hurt about halfway through. Tower of Terror also looked similar, but I have a fear of falling so I didn't try it.

Get here early! I arrived at 9:45 AM and was able to conquer a lot of the rides before 11:00 AM. It might have also been since that day was supposed to rain. Only the determined and those who already paid probably showed up.

This park is a VERY small park. If I had to guess, I would say this whole park is the about the size of Fantasyland. Maybe slightly bigger since it needed to be a whole park. Google says it comes in at 62 acres though.

Don't forget to pay your respects to Mickey and Mr. Walt Disney as you walk in!



And remember everyone, this all began with a mouse. <3

Tops Tips for Disneyland Paris: Magic Kingdom Park

As you could guess, traveling to every Disney park is on my bucket list. Since I was here in Europe I decided to go for a weekend. It was the best decision I have ever made. Here are some tips that I would like to pass on to the other Disney lovers out there.

There are a lot of the same rides as in the DisneyLand California or Disney World Park in Florida. Big Thunder Mountain is one of them. However, they try to make sure each ride is a little different. In this one, you actually go under a body of water so that means a long, dark cave. These are not lit at all. If you have someone who is afraid of the dark, this might not be that enjoyable.

Fast passes are available for everyone regardless if you stay in a Disney hotel or not. They still use the old system where you scan your park ticket and receive a ticket with a time slot. They have not upgraded to the new system yet.

Phantom Manor is one of my favorite rides at Disney World Florida. However, the one in Paris Magic Kingdom is super scary. It is kind of like a corpse bride story. It centers around a couple torn apart by death. The groom is killed by a Phantom, and the bride is waiting for eternity for him to come back. She is constantly haunted by the Phantom's laugh throughout the house. There is no joyous, singing ghosts in this house nor hitch-hiking ghosts either. If I had gone to this when I was young, I definitely would have been terrified. It doesn't have the same humorous tone that I was used to. It was a little unnerving.

The park seems smaller than Disney World. It is around 140 acres large, but it only has around 25 attractions and four different "lands". In comparison, Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom in Florida has only 133 acres, but six different "lands" and around 50 attractions. I was able to get almost all of the rides done in Magic Kingdom in one day. There were definitely things I left out (mainly small children rides), but this park can be conquered in one day if you are willing and able.

The main parade was small and short timed. The parade route is extremely small and it cuts the park in two. If you are stuck on the wrong side of the parade, you are forced to sit there until it finishes. It was still enjoyable, but it didn't have much diversity.

Characters are few and far between. Mickey closed at 7 PM and all of the reservation tickets to meet the Princesses were gone by 11 AM (park opened at 10 AM). I would recommend doing these two first since the lines were shorter, and the tickets were reserved so quickly.

Pirates of the Caribbean is another ride that is similar to the one in Disney World. However, this one has more uphill climbs and drops, kind of more like a roller coaster. You are more likely to get wet in this one.

I'm not sure why, but attractions and restaurants start closing at 8 PM. Even though the firework show doesn't start until the park closes, which was around 11 PM for me. I found a nice spot to sit and wait for the fireworks. OH! Something that was VERY different than in Disney World. The closer you get to the castle, the more you are expected to sit to watch the fireworks show. Please don't stand if you don't see everyone else doing it.

You can go in and under the castle! They set up a stained glass storybook story of Sleeping Beauty inside the castle, which leads to my next point.  There is so much more to do outside of the rides and attractions. You can go in and under the castle (BEWARE the dragon!). You can find buried treasure on Pirate's Isle, and travel to Skull Rock as well!

Just going to say it, Indiana jones is awesome. They have a ride completely dedicated to that fact.

There is no Bibbity Bobbity Boutique in DisneyLand Paris. Only princess face painting. They have different color schemes and designs for each princess. 

Since the park stays open until the fireworks show , this can be very late for young children. It was 11 when the show started and it immediately closed afterward. They have to do the show so late because in France the sun doesn't set until around 10:30 - 11 PM in the Summer. In the Winter, I am sure the park will close much earlier.

Most of the directions and storytelling is in French. Some cast members can speak English. Please don't assume everyone speaks English because its an American owned company. You are still in France! Funny thing is though, most of the songs for parades and shows are sung in English by British cast members. 

Everyone smokes every where. There are designated smoking areas but I'm not sure anyone notices or cares. Please note that when you go. 

I brought my purse on every ride I went on. Just tucked it around my legs and it was fine. I took it on multiple rides that went upside down. If a ride is a little more extreme, they will provide you with somewhere to put your bag safely. I saw back packs on rides as well. No need to worry about that!

Sorry for the bad shot, but you never know who you might see!

As with all Disney Hotels, staying in the hotel has its perks. You can get the Extra Magic Hours, less travel time to and from the parks, and I think more Fast Passes? I didn't stay in Disney Hotel because it was too expensive for just little ole me.

Driving to the park was so worth it. It costs $15 for small cars. I'm sure taking a train is much cheaper, but I loved the fact that I could just hop in my car and leave whenever I wanted. I do know for a fact that there is a train that goes straight there if you are traveling from Paris. 

Well thats about it for Magic Kingdom. I had the best day traveling around DisneyLand Paris. I felt like a kid again. Does anybody have any tips to add? I hope you all have a magical day!

You might also be interested in:

What To Do in Paris Part 1

Disney Castle Inspiration

Top Apps and Websites for European Travel

Top Tips for Visiting London, England