Day 41 - “That’s the real trouble with the world; too many people grow up”

See how early we arrived...the Sky is darkish
and the lights are still on!

If there's one thing that can give your child, teen or young adult inspiration to get out of bed early, it is a trip into Disneyland. With early access to the parks being given to hotel guests at 8:30, we were up by 7:00, and in the queue for Walt Disney Studio Park by 8:10. I don't remember being closer to the entrance of a Disney park ever. I had to look around for one of those weighted balloon ribbons to help hold Becca down.

Now, in case you don't know this already, but both Phil and Becca are project managers extraordinaire. Between the two of them, they could run the entire German train system and improve on its already precis service. So, at Disney, I just sit back and let the two of them manage Fast Passes, park schedules, wait-time postings, etc. so that we end up going on just about every possible ride over two parks in one day.

First up, the Ratatouille ride. I love to eat cook, so love this movie. We were among the first let in, and were soon riding a mouse around the kitchen floor of a Parisian restaurant complete with sights, sounds and oven heat. From here it was Phil and Becca on the
Aerosmith roller coaster while I declined under the guise of taking photos. It was only when they walked off still dizzy that they realized they hadn't eaten breakfast. A quick bite and we popped over to the main Disney Park, and it was then a whirlwind of haunted mansions, pirates, runaway trains ... you get the idea ... mostly all with dialogue in French, which does somehow add to the ambiance.

The parks were decked out for
Hallowe'en, although Jack Skelington
is really a Christmas character,
right Alex?

One doesn't expect much from the food at Disney, but we have to admit we had a really fabulous meal at ... wait for it... Captain Jack's Restaurant des Pirates. Everything was fresh, beautifully presented and tasty. It was a complete, but pleasant surprise...a proper French meal, which can be very touch and go in Paris itself.

"Whooo...are....you" to tell
me I can't smoke?

We stayed right until the end, watching the illuminations at the castle. Unfortunately, it is still a fact that many Europeans feel they have a right to smoke anywhere and everywhere they desire, despite no smoking signs everywhere. And so, five...yes five...extremely tall, Scandinavian young adults stood behind us at the last minute all smoking.  No regard at all for the kids everywhere. Talking to them didn't help. Oh well. We didn't let it ruin our day, but at least they didn't re-light another cigarette out of spite! Come to think of it, Walt Disney died of lung cancer, so maybe they were trying to channel him.

It was interesting, as we saw people smoking all day but never saw a person telling them to use the designated smoking area. Non-smoking areas are still relatively new compared to North America, so I'm hoping we see the phenomenon change over the next few years.

Glorious weather and beautiful autumn colours in the park.

My Fitbit said we walked 22km today, and the lead weights that found themselves in my shoes could attest to that.  But it was a fun day!