Starring in a Disney Movie (France)

Trip Details
Where: Paris, France
When: 8th April 2012

Have you ever wished your life was like a fairy-tale? Well, that wish can come true in Disneyland!

On our last day of our trip to Paris, me and my friend decided to go there. We took the train.. the right one this time (check Bonjour, Paris for the not so right one), and got there in less than an hour. The atmosphere took over the minute we found ourselves in the middle of a big square between the two parks (Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studio Park) facing a lovely hotel with Mickey Mouse made of flowers in front of it.

Disneyland

We'd only decided to visit one of the parks that day - the one, that's supposed to be more entertaining for grown ups (which, according to our IDs, we are.. though you'd never guess judging by the way we behave), so we found our way to the ticket office. While we were on the queue, a lady started talking to us explaining how she had 4 tickets but suddenly had to go home so she was looking for someone to sell them to. We didn't fall for that. It may have been the truth, but these days you never know. It's hard to trust a stranger. So we declined the offer and kept waiting in the line.

In a few minutes we had our tickets. We had to choose the park before buying them so I asked my friend if we were sure Disneyland Park was the one we wanted to go in. The answer was yes so we headed over to the entrance. And the fairy-tale began.

Disneyland Park

We walked for a few minutes when we saw a train with some Disney characters in it, playing some kid's song and behind it - a castle! A maginificent Disney castle - one that I've always wanted to see.

Disney Castle

But also one that wasn't supposed to be in the park we wanted to go in. We were in the wrong park!

We sat for a bit to rethink the situation. As fairy as it was, we couldn't stay there all day. So we decided to ask someone of the staff if there was anything we could do. A very helpful lady showed us where to go and who to talk to and they agreed to change our tickets. Whew!

A few minutes later we were in Walt Disney Studios. And the real fun started.

The park was divided into different studios. As if you're on set.

Studio 1

Studio 1, which was the entrance, featured a shop and a food court, besides all the Disney relics.

Inside Studio 1

On the other side of the studio, Mr Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse greeted us.

Walt Disney

We headed over to Studio 2 - CineMagique.

CineMagique

We went inside just in time for a short movie they were about to present. It started as a silent black and white movie when suddenly there was a phone ringing in the hall, a man running to the screen and some ushers trying to stop him. He stood in front of the screen talking about his missing luggage. He must have talked really loud because a few sentences later the movie characters started pointing at him. Weird, huh? Some chaos fell in the movie and soon a magician did some spell and the guy ended up in it. In a few minutes it was no longer a silent movie, but went through the Godfather to Indiana Jones and Titanic. It was really intriguing to watch but I'm not spoiling it any more for you.

Our next stop was Armageddon - a studio for special effects.

Armageddon

First, they explained what was happening. We were shooting a scene of Armageddon, the one in the satellite with the Russian commander when they realized a giant asteroid was coming towards Earth. We were playing the crew. So we went inside, it really looked as if we were in a space ship, which started shaking and falling apart and burning. Huge flames came out of the side we were at, so close to us. But you know how it ends, thanks to Mr Willis. We survived.

Right across Armageddon was the Rock & Roller! The peak of our visit.

Rock & Roller

It's a roller coaster in the dark, very fast with lots of turns and Aerosmith accompaning the ride. I really loved that one.

In the lobby there were guitars and records of famous rock bands.

Rock & Roller's lobby

Right next to the Rock & Roller was a stunts studio - Moteurs Action.

Moteurs Action

Inside they shot a scene with car and motorcycle stunts. It was very intriguing. There was a red car - the good guy, and some villain cars, chasing each other, firing guns, doing stunts. The most impressive one was when the red car jumped form a platform... backwards! It turned out, though, that they used a reversed double. On the outside it looks just as any car, but on the inside, the driver is turned to the back of the car.

Reversed Car 

They also picked a volunteer from the audience who would have the unique chance to take part in those stunts. He sat next to the director on those special chairs with the names on their backs. When the time came, they called him and gave him a remote control. A car with no driver in it arrived. They tought him how to use the control so he started. But very soon the car stopped obeying him. It started going back and forth with no warning. When it finally made a turn we saw that there was a basket attached to the other side of the car, the one we couldn't see, and the real driver was in it.

Remote Control Car

There was a special guest in that show - Lightning Macqueen. He and Mater were on a mission, chasing a villain spy with a secret weapon.

Lightning Macqueen

I can now officially say I've met a world famous star. I didn't have time to grab an autograph though.

It was really late when we got out of this one, so we hurried to the Tower of Terror or The Hollywood Tower Hotel.

The Hollywood Tower Hotel

First, we were gathered in a room, where they played a black and white movie explaining how some years ago a family checked in the hotel, got in the elevator and when the doors opened, hell was unleashed. "Today, the doors have opened once again."

When we finally got to the elevators, we went inside, sat in the seats and buckled up. The hotel staff, a stone-faced girl, explained what we should do and asked if we had any questions. "It's now or never," she said. "Never it is," and the doors closed.

The elevator started going up. It stopped and the doors opened. The story about the family was told once again. Ghosts started wandering in the hallway. And then.. the elevator started going up really fast. When the doors opened we were at the top, enjoying a beautiful view of the city.. for a few seconds. The doors closed again and the elevator dropped a few levels. For over a minute it was going up and down, opening and closing its doors. Good thing we hadn't had lunch.

There was one more ride we wanted to try - the Crush's Coaster but the line was too long and it was nearly closing time, so we skipped it. We went to grab a quick bite instead and that's how I ended up with a broken camera. Who knew dropping it in front of a pancake's stall on the stone ground could do such damage. So no more pictures. Okay, I'm kidding. It still works. It's just the display that's broken. So I was able to take a photo of the evolution of The Beast.



The Beast

Oh, by the way, pancakes in French is crêpes (read 'crep' or something). It may come in handy when the girl selling them looks as puzzled at you when you say pancakes as you'd look at her when she says crêpes.

We did a final walk around the park and when we heard 'That's a wrap,' it was time to get out. To my surprise and as an after-breaking-my-camera-mood-booster on the outside there was a group of street dancers. And I love street dancing. I've seen all Step Ups and whatever other movies with street dancing you can think of. And now watching it live was even more awesome!

Street Dancing

Even when the rain started. I was starting to imagine the final scene from Step Up 2 The Streets, the one in the rain. But they stopped before it turned into it.

So despite the small misunderstandings and misfortunes, the day was super cool. And what I loved most about Disneyland was that it's not like any other theme park with roller coasters and similar rides only, but it also features other kinds of entertainment. Hopefully, I'll manage to try them all next time!

And that's a wrap!