Trip Report 12 Parks in 12 Months.

Hi,

If you are here for a trip report about WDW, pleasecheck back in December. At the moment I'm in Disneyland Paris, the first of the 12 parks I'm planning to visit this year.

A little background about this trip,
This is me Mimi, today, half frozen.
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I'm travelling with my sister and we have both taken a year off work to cross some things of our wish list.
Visiting all 12 Disney parks was very high on my list. My sister likes Disney and is happy to indulge my slight obsession.
We started our trip around the world about 3 weeks ago but this is our first Disney Park. The rules for 12 in 12, that I totally made up for myself, are that I have to stay on property and visit each park for 1 day minimum. I'm hoping I can make 1 long trip report about all the parks, if someone is interested I can add some of my other travel as well.

But let's start with Disneyland Paris, First Park, First Day.
We've already been in Paris for about a week so all we had to do was take the subway from were we were staying, change trains once and exit at Disneyland. I woke up before my alarm and we were ready to leave an hour ahead of schedule. In the first subway I opened my big mouth and said we'd probably make Magic Hour as we'd left so early. Literally 1 minute later the subway slowed down to a crawl and an announcement was made. There was an issue and there would be a delay. 🫤
Apparently there was a person on the track at the major station we had to change trains at, so no trains were allowed in. Luckily our train terminated at a station where we could get a Metro that took us to a station where we could get on the train to Disneyland.
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The extra travel time swallowed up our Magic Hour but I wasn't too upset about it.
I've always wanted to stay at the Disneyland Hotel, as it's right at the entrance of Disneyland Paris, so for this trip that's were we are staying.
Our room wasn't ready when we got to the hotel at 9.30am so we dropped of our luggage and walked into Disneyland. It felt a bit strange to me, very familiar but different as well. I didn't take too many pictures today as I really wanted to just soak it in and get to know the park, also it rained A LOT today and I didn't want want my phone to get too wet. I did take a picture at the entrance.
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We were happy to be there, despite the weather.
First stop was Phantom Manor, there was no line so we rode it twice in row. As much I love the Magic Kingdom version I like this one a bit better. I'm going to try and get some pictures/film it tomorrow or Wednesday so I can show you.
We finished our second ride at 10am and walked past a stand where they sold these,
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A cappuccino and these churros where €7 I also bought a coke for €4.20. The churros were okay-ish but we enjoyed them as they were warm.
We walked over to the theatre after eating our snack to watch a Christmas Sing A Long.
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We got there late so didn't get the best seats but we enjoyed the show, Mickey spoke French but Minnie spoke English. The only other character that spoke English was Goofy. I thought the show was well done and easy to follow for everyone.
When we left the show it wasn't raining so we hopped online for Star Tours, wait time was listed as 35 minutes but ,as we found out throughout the day, the wait times weren't very accurate. Our wait was nearly an hour.
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My sister (P) and I really struggle taking nice pictures, we usually just stand there and take a picture. But we see all these, mostly much younger, people doing all these poses and expressions etc. So we decided to mix it up as well and try some new things.
Here's us "being serious" while waiting for the Star Tours doors to open.
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When we walked outside afterwards it was still dry and we saw one of my sister's favourites with no line.
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He was fun and very talkative.
 
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Go.Nijntje

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After meeting the Mandolarian we went under the sea, no not with Ariel but on the submarine Nautilus.
It's a beautifully done walk through experience.
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Another bonus of the walk through was that it was warm inside as we were struggling a bit with DLP in the cold, wet weather.
Quite a bit of crumbling was going on, mostly whose stupid idea was it to go to DLP in January? (Mine😬)
And who checked the weather report and said it would be wet but not cold? (P)
Once we returned from our voyage to explore the deep sea Mickey's PhilharMagic was open so we got in line for that. (This show is only open from 12pm till 17.00.)
While waiting in line outside we decided to eat our sandwiches that we had made before we left our rented apartment. I'd used the leftover paperbags from the baguettes we'd gotten earlier in the week. Unfortunately my paperbag had gotten a little wet and we all know what happens to paper when it gets wet. Only I hadn't notice the bottom of the bag was wet so I just took out the bag, reached in to get my sandwich only for it to fall out of the soggy bottom and right onto the wet ground.
It made a funny sound hitting the ground and after half a second of looking at it my sister and I just burst out laughing. I picked this now very wet sandwich up and rolled it in what was left of the paperbag because it was time to go inside. There were no bins in the queue or inside the second waiting area so I watched the show with that soggy smelly sandwich in my hands.😂
By the time we were finished it was pouring again so we went into the shops to look around.
Found some magic mirrors.
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The other one made us look short and fat and nobody needs that.
We also popped into City Hall to see if they had any buttons. I thought it would be a nice idea to get a button in each park. They only had Happy Birthday so I asked for one of those. After browsing the stores, and warming up, a bit more, it was finally time for the parade. Today was the last day of Christmas at DLP so it was our only chance to see some Disney Christmas. No pictures of this one as I just wanted to enjoy it. We picked a spot right by the entrance of the Arcade and the gates where the parade finishes.
It was very sweet and well done, again with a mix of languages.
As soon as Santa passed us by we walked to our hotel.
Staying at the Disneyland Hotel is such a dream come true. Being cold, wet and tired made it even better we only had to walk less than 5 minutes to get to the beautiful lobby.
 

Go.Nijntje

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'll do a post about our room later, I just want to finish our day first.
After the parade we picked up our bags and went to our room to make a cup of tea and put on some extra layers.
Very quickly it was time to go back to watch the second parade. This time I took pictures.
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It was lovely that it was getting dark so you could see the decorations much better. I especially enjoyed the end where they circled the big tree in Town Square and the tree and floats would all change colour.
 

Go.Nijntje

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We wanted to go to POTC but couldn't get across true to the sea of people so opted to do Buzz instead. Again the wait time was much longer then posted, this seemed to be the case on all rides.
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Unlike at MK, I was not victorious in my battle. Didn't even manage to beat my sister.🤨
Clearly this French version is inferior to my beloved Florida one.
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I did like this sign outside the shop.
People were already claiming spots for the night time shows at 18.40 but we felt that was way to early, also way to cold to stand still and wait for an hour.
We walked to POTC instead.
It's quite different, some scenes where completely new to us and it's also a bit more gruesome than the MK version.
Once finished with Jack Sparrow we found a spot on Main Street to watch the shows. 5 minutes to the start of the drone show the announcement was made that there would be no drones today. I was a bit disappointed but cheered up a lot once the show started and it was a projection of the Electric Light Parade. It was stunning and I adore the music, even have it on my phone to cheer me up on frustrating days. No pictures again, sorry.
Illuminations started a few minutes later, it was a strange transfer, the park just stayed dark but no music or announcements, we all just stood waiting until finally the projections started again as well as the music.
I liked it but Illuminations was very light on fireworks and it felt a bit repetitive to watch 2 projection shows in a row.
I did take some pictures of the castle while we waited so I'll end my first day with those.
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TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
Illuminations started a few minutes later, it was a strange transfer, the park just stayed dark but no music or announcements, we all just stood waiting until finally the projections started again as well as the music.
I was there too!!!! My last day in Europe!

The delay is not usually so awkward - I honestly think they were trying to decide if they could do pyro or not - it was very windy.

It was weird weather yesterday - it started out nice and then decided to rain and be cold.

This was my first trip to Disneyland Paris as well (spent 3 days, took 2 days to explore Paris, and then at the last minute decided to spend 1 more day at DLP!) - it’s such a beautiful park. Combines the charm of Disneyland with the scale of MK. Tony Baxter and team really did an incredible job.

Jealous you get to stay at the Disneyland hotel, I stopped to look around and it’s so beautiful! I stayed at Hotel Cheyenne which was very fun. Maybe I’ll get all 12 parks in this year as well!
 

Go.Nijntje

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We are travelling with just hand luggage this year so the plan is not to buy any souvenirs. However I saw someone in line wearing these
Paris ears and I thought they looked cute, I'm not a big Chip and Dale fan so it was easy to say no to them in the shop.
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But than I saw these,
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We watched the show today and it was amazing. So now I'm thinking about buying these... and maybe buying a pair of ears in every country? The plan was to buy pins, small easy to pack pins, not big bulky ears. But they are so cute😍.
What do you think? Ears or pins?
 

Go.Nijntje

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I was there too!!!! My last day in Europe!

The delay is not usually so awkward - I honestly think they were trying to decide if they could do pyro or not - it was very windy.

It was weird weather yesterday - it started out nice and then decided to rain and be cold.

This was my first trip to Disneyland Paris as well (spent 3 days, took 2 days to explore Paris, and then at the last minute decided to spend 1 more day at DLP!) - it’s such a beautiful park. Combines the charm of Disneyland with the scale of MK. Tony Baxter and team really did an incredible job.

Jealous you get to stay at the Disneyland hotel, I stopped to look around and it’s so beautiful! I stayed at Hotel Cheyenne which was very fun. Maybe I’ll get all 12 parks in this year as well!
How funny that we were both there. I hope you get to visit the other parks as well this year. If you are visiting another park, feel free to send me a message to see if our dates match up.
 

Go.Nijntje

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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Very hard decision, but I'd go with ears. Those are adorable!
Ears are more expensive and bulkier for your travels but pins are forgettable after time. Everyone loves a good set of ears 😁
You aren't wrong, as you can see in some of my pictures, I already travel with a pair of ears. They were a birthday present from my sister last year. I'm still mulling it over, we need to leave for the airport tomorrow at 17.00, so I have some time.
 

Go.Nijntje

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After a decent night's sleep I woke up around 6.30. P was still sleeping so I just laid in bed quietly, that is until I had to sneeze.
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It wasn't a demure little sneeze either so my sister was awake after that as well.
We made some coffee and preceeded to try and fit as many layers underneath our regular clothes as possible.
Sort of like this,
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Luckily there was no rain today but it was even colder then yesterday and windy. As we are visiting mostly sunny areas we have very limited warm clothes with us.
So today under my clothes I also wore my pyjamas, a set of merino wool base layers and a light merino wool jumper. I wasn't warm but I also wasn't freezing while waiting in line, and the wind was pretty brutal.
All bundled up we were ready for our second day and second park.
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Hollywood Studios is a bit of a mess with all the construction going on but we had an superb day none the less.
We arrived at 8.30am during the Magic Hour and walked straight to Spiderman W.E.B Adventure, which was a walk on. This ride was completely new and unknown to us and we loved it. First go around we really had no clue what we were doing, as soon as we finished we looped around and went for a second turn. This ride is so much fun, I like an interactive ride and I like Spiderman so double like from me.
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The pre show was funny and very realistic looking.
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Another picture of P and me in 3D glasses.
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Our score on the second ride.
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Go.Nijntje

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I vote ears!! Loving all of this! What a treat to be brought along on such a grand adventure. I wouldn't mind other pictures outside of Disney as well. Safe and magical travels!
Thank you, I'm happy to share what we get up to. It will be a nice record for myself as well. I'm leaning towards getting the ears...
 

Go.Nijntje

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After Spiderman we had a few minutes left before the park opened for the general public so we got it line for ToT. The wait time was listed as 40 minutes but it ended up being an hour.
It would have been fine except the man waiting in front of us clearly had a digestive issue and continually
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It made for an unpleasant wait.
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The ToT queue looks very similar to the one in WDW. I can't remember if they have the creepy doll as well.
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I'm sure I rode ToT when I was here 9 years ago but I didn't remember any of it. The drops took me completely by surprise and I laughed my head off.
After surviving the service elevator we made our way to the theatre and got in line for Together, a Pixar musical. It's a good thing we were early because this show was popular. Probably a combination of it being very good and the weather being very cold.
We got decent seats and enjoyed the central heating while we waited. Unfortunately you aren't allowed to take pictures so I can't show you anything. It's a live show with an orchestra and performers.
I did take some pictures entering the hall and while we were waiting.

I liked the effect of these lights.
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The stage with the instruments on it splits in two during the show.
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This show was so well done, I absolutely loved it. Beautiful set and the story cleverly incorporated several Pixar movies.
When the show was finished we decided to check out the rest of the park.
We walked past Toy Soldiers Parachute jump and decided to get in the single rider line.
Waiting in line selfie.
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Still working on taking more interesting pictures of ourselves.
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Nice theming in this area.

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Go.Nijntje

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We walked around a bit more and worked on our picture taking skills.
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I wanted a picture with the big Buzz Light Year and just did my usual boring pose when a lady walked into the shot. Obviously not an issue, this happens all the time in the parks. This lady's daughter however wanted to stop her mom from getting in the shot and pulled on her scarf to get her out of the frame. This was one of those long scarfs that you wrap around a few times so when the daughter pulled on the custard the mum started turning. She spun around like 3 times and it was hilarious.
Here's my reaction
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We wandered close to Cars Road Trip so that was what we did next.
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I remember the backlot tour so I was looking forward to the warmth of the fire.
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I thought it was a cute ride. One of my nephews was a big Cars fan when we was little so it brought back some memories.
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Another "trying to be cute and not just stand there" pose, this time by P.
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We continued walking and saw some nice food stalls near Remy.
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We don't like the Remy ride so we skipped it.
We were getting hungry and debating on where to have lunch when we walked past Crush. The single rider line only had a 40 minute wait, compared to 95 minute for the regular stand by line. Lunch would just have to wait a bit longer.
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I think we skipped this one last time because my nephew was too small to ride. It reminded P and I a little bit of Guardians of the Galaxy. Obviously not as good but it had some of the same elements.
 

Go.Nijntje

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After Crush we felt we had seen and done pretty much everything we wanted in Hollywood Studios.
There is so much construction going on, we could hear drill hammers the whole time we where in the park. This also meant several attractions were closed.
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All the attractions that we enjoyed in Hollywood Studios now had very long wait times and none of the food on offer appealed to us, so we decided to go to Disney Village for a late lunch.
Like most people that had the same idea, we ended up at McDonald's.
French McDonald's doesn't have disposable cups and containers anymore so you get your drink and fries like this.
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If you are wondering what that drink is, it's an Apple Sprite. I chose it with my Happy Meal, this drink did not make me Happy. I chose poorly. I like to try new things on the McDonald's menu which is how I ended up with an Apple Sprite.
I also got a McChocoNuts. With a name like that how could I not...
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This was a good choice, it might not look to appetising in the pictures but it was the star of our lunch.
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On the pathway between Disney Village and the parks you have these plaques.
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It was extra fun knowing we will visit all of these soon.
There was no plaque for WDW, just an empty circle, not sure what happened there.
 
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