I really don't know how we kept the secret. For two months! Especially with everyone asking what our plans were for Spring Break, within earshot of the girls. I would have to tell a small fib (sorry friends) and say that we were just staying home...no real plans. I almost caved when Stinkerbell started crying because her friends were all going to gymnastics class on Friday, but I had told her it was cancelled. (I explained that it was because the girls were making up a missed class, but since we hadn't missed one, we couldn't go). But finally the day had arrived and the taxi was outside. I guess it was time to tell them...
MadHatter got over her shock and by the time we were in the taxi, they were all giggles and excitement. Which meant no sleeping on the flight, or the van to the resort. Which is amazing for both of them because we didn't hit our beds until just after midnight! We all fell into bed, knowing that it would be a short night.
And we were right.
The girls were up and ready to go in record time. Which was fine with B and I, since we love Disney as much as they do. But first, a quick snap of the girls...
I take a shot of them each and every time we go out - and always with my phone. I don't do it to showcase their cuteness (though they are cute and I love having their pictures with me). I do it, so that on the off chance we get separated, I will have a picture of what they look like, and what they are wearing, that very day. You can describe with words as much as you want, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand of them.
And Stinkerbell wanted one of me just in case I got lost too.
We shrugged on our rain coats, and stepped outside our hotel right into the puddles. It is Spring after all, and it had been raining all week. Thankfully, it stopped just moments before we headed out, and wouldn't start again while we were there. The rain had left the day a bit chilly, and gloomy, though. Since it wasn't supposed to clear up until the next morning, we decided to spend the day at the smaller of the two parks - Walt Disney Studios.
Opened in March of 2002, it was themed after a working film studio. It took a beating when it first opened, but after being revamped in 2007, it now houses some very popular rides. And some that are exclusively found in Paris. One of them was our first stop - after some pictures, of course.
Crush's Coaster is by far the most popular of all rides in the Studio's. Wait times can reach up to two hours, even on low attendance days, so we thanked our lucky start that the wait time was less then 45 minutes when we joined the queue. And then fate stepped in. We waited about 30 minutes, before we heard the dreaded announcement that there were technical difficulties. And then about 10 minutes later, we heard it again. Finally, the line started moving forward again, but not because we were really any closer to riding the ride, but because people were leaving the line in droves. As luck would have it, we were still out in the elements and in an area that acted as a wind tunnel. We were chilled to the bone - and just about to give up - when the line started moving, really moving. All in all, we probably waited a bit over an hour. But it was worth it.
Crush's Coaster is a spinning, diving, in the dark roller coaster. They seat you in groups of 4 in turtle shells and send you "Under the Sea". We explained it all to Stinkerbell before we got on (she dislikes roller coasters) and she agreed to try it - ONCE. And that was all we were going to get out of her. She didn't scream, and she didn't cry but she didn't like it. And I can understand it - it is fast, it does spin, and it is DARK. We got off and she said, "I did not like that". But I was still proud of her for trying.
On our way out we warmed up a bit in the store attached to the ride. It is funny to see how the Star Wars/Disney merger has affected merchandising. There are a lot of new "characters" - including this Yods Stitch...
Back outside we hit the Scream Academy...
Where Stinkerbell filled her scream can with no effort at all...
And then we took a picture for the next time they misbehave... :)
Stinkerbell said it was her turn to pick a ride - one that didn't involve roller or coaster. So we hit the Flying Carpets over Agrabah...
And then we headed to another, unique to Disney Paris ride - Ratatouille. We all loved this one. It is a 3D adventure that is shown to you from the vantage point of Remy, the mouse. You sit in the car and twist and turn while under the feet of the human characters of the story.
Into the elements again, this time to hit up the Toy Story Playland. First we stopped to hitch a ride on the motorcycles...
And by then, it was late afternoon, the skies were threatening to let loose and we were sick of the wind. So we made the decision to head out of the park and back to the hotel. Which conveniently happens to have a water park in it. Didn't take much to convince the kids (and that includes B)
We spent some time playing around in the water and then dried off and headed to dinner at the Disney Village (about 300 yards outside of our hotel). Of course, since this is Disney, we were surrounded by shopping opportunities that the girls just had to explore. We only had time to hit the Lego store before the littlest of us was so exhausted she could hardly keep her eyes open.
We headed back...
And after leaving out their empty Easter baskets, the girls were sound asleep in seconds.
As for me, I had to wait up for the Eater Bunny to show so I could help with creating an egg hunt for some very excited little girls.
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