It’s a true Disney blogging community team effort today at 20 Days to 20 Years. Beth, Manda and I are so grateful that Janine, @disneynine, and one of the amazing Minnie Moms, is sharing her Disneyland Paris Trip Planning Series with us and Growing Up Disney!
2012 is a very special year for Disneyland Paris. Not only does it mark the 20 year anniversary of it’s opening, it is even more importantly the year of my first visit! I am honoured to be part of this anniversary blog special, as not only is it great fun to write, it has been helping me to plan my trip also.
2006 was a pretty uneventful year for DLP.
2005 had seen the opening of Space Mountain Mission 2, the Wishes premiere and the PanoraMagique Balloon.
There were plans galore ready for 2007, including the opening of my personal favourite, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (I can not wait to try this out).
But the only significant event for 2006 was the opening of the Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast on the 8th of April, in the Disneyland Park.
The attraction features everyone’s favourite Space Ranger and 88 targets for guests to shoot at, with the aim of scoring as many points as possible. Once certain targets have been hit, others are revealed within the sets.
There are now 5 interactive Buzz Lightyear dark-rides around the world, one of the few selected attractions to be featured at every magic kingdom park.
This will be one of the rides my DD is most looking forward to because, for the moment anyway, she LOVES Toy Story and especially Buzz, whom she calls ‘brum brum’ – think car noise, well, he does have a jet pack to fly with, she’s only 2, work with me here!
But enough of the Disneyland Park – for those of you following my planning series over on Growing Up Disney (and if you’re not, why not huh?) you’ll know this month it is time to look at Walt Disney Studios.
This park is not unlike the Hollywood Studios at WDW asides from it is much smaller.
It is split into 5 distinct areas – Front Lot, Production Courtyard, Toon Studio, Backlot and Toy Story Playland. If you’ve just read my above comment regarding my DDs current obsession with all things Buzz and Woody, you can guess where we’ll be spending most of our time.
Production Courtyard holds 2 must do’s for us – Playhouse Disney Live on Stage (we will all enjoy this) and for me of course, the Tower of Terror. I was unable to ride this last time I was in WDW as I was pregnant with Tink so I am extra excited about this one. In fact, I would forgo all other rides and attractions just to experience this, to see how it compares to the one in Florida. I will also be having a good look in Tower Hotel Gifts to pick up a few goodies.
Backlot holds the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. We are big fans of this at HS and would like to try it in France. Again I was unable to ride it last time so will be good to try this. We are travelling with DMIL and DFIL who are also enjoy this one, so we will definitely be making use of Baby Switch and Fastpass.
In Toon Studio I would love to do the Art of Disney Animation. I love the version at WDW. But it may not be too much fun for a 2 year old. I think our best bet here will be Animagique. This is a stage show combining puppets and live action and most importantly for Tink, features Mickey and a naughty Donald. What more could a 2 year old want huh? We will definitely take a look in the Disney Animation Gallery to try to pick up another print to add to our collection of Disney Artwork.
Most importantly for the smallest member of the family will be Toy Story Playland. Fairly new, it only opened in 2010, she’s either going to love it and never want to leave, or be over awed and hate it … Those of you with toddlers know you can never 100% predict which it will be. I can also see a lot of Euros being spent in the shop here …
So there is a lot to look forward to whilst touring the Studios. However, as with Disneyland Park, any rides and attractions we get to see will be a bonus. It’ll mainly be a walk around and time to soak up the atmosphere. And find a few characters. And spend some money!
Thanks for reading along!
It’s been exciting to follow Nine and her Disneyland Paris research over the past 8 months. You simply MUST review the first 8 parts of her trip planning series. For certain, Nine is going to have a magical 2012!! And a very special thank you to Amy at Growing Up Disney for “loaning” Nine’s talent to us!
Beth Greene @adisneymom, and blogger at A Disney Mom’s Thoughts, writes for us tomorrow; bringing 2007 and a 15th Anniversary for Disneyland Paris to the series!
Beth Greene @adisneymom, and blogger at A Disney Mom’s Thoughts, writes for us tomorrow; bringing 2007 and a 15th Anniversary for Disneyland Paris to the series!
Oh Janine I'm SO EXCITED for you!! You're going to love it! 😀 You've definitely done your research! I can't wait to see what you'll think of Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster! 😀 Ps. Your 2 year old is adorable calling Buzz Brum Brum! 😛 SO cute! 😀 xxx
Nine, I am also impressed with your planning- it means you won't miss a single thing that is important to your family, and neither will your readers! Please add Crush's Coaster to your "must-dos"; I know your DS won't be able to ride, but the adults MUST!! When you get back, be sure to let us know how the Ratatouille building is going 😀 I think we're saving our next trip for THAT opening… Thank you so much again!