Started off my morning with a 5am wake up call to try and stream the USC vs Cal football game... the team won so that was a good way to start the day. Next up breakfast at the Compass Club Lounge then a stop at Compass Club desk to check out/in since the reservation was split due to booking challenges. Then back to the room to get warm clothes and set off for the parks. Opted to take the bus today. First stop Walt Disney Studios Park. Spent some time in Studio 1 and listened to a live band perform Christmas songs. Then took a look into the park and wait times were already above our patience and the sun was out so headed for Disneyland Park. Spent some time on Main Street USA enjoying the sun and blue sky then walked around the hub before heading to Frontierland for a Molly Brown Cruise. Once ashore walked through Frontierland and out to Adventureland. Spent some time on Adventure Isle then continued on to Fantasyland. Decided to grab a bite to eat at Belle Notte. After lunch found a spot for the Christmas Parade. Ended up roaming around the hub taking pictures of it. Then circled Discoveryland before returning for the Royal Sparkling Winter Waltz show. After the show spent some in Fantasyland and grabbed a snack at the Old Mill. Next up a walk through Sleeping Beauty Castle then spent some time the Liberty Arcade warming up. Watched the Disney Stars on Parade at 5:00pm then back to the arcade to warm up and figure out the next destination. Ended up walking over to Walt Disney Studios Park and around the Ratatouille area then caught a Surprise Mickey performance since the rest of the group had not seen it yet. Returned to Disneyland Park and hung out in the Discovery Arcade for a while. Made our way out to Main Street and found a spot for the 7:45pm Mickey's Magical Lights performance then hung around for the 8:20 one to find a better vantage point. After the show walked back to the Newport Bay Club to call it a night.

• The plan this morning was to wake up early and stream the USC vs Cal Football game... I had my alarm set for 5am (kick off was at 8pm PST). I goofed though and did not notice that my alarm was set to weekday only.. so I missed the 1st quarter. I was hoping that early morning like this the in room Wi-Fi could handle a decent quality stream. I was wrong.. it was terrible. Many time a fairly low quality to no image. I had a second device and was able to get a fairly steady radio stream at least as a backup while the video was buffering or too bad to really see anything. I was disappointed in the network speed.
• When I booked my room the site I used would not allow for more than 7 nights. So to get the 8 nights I wanted I needed to break my reservation into two. After checking the prices the most cost efficient day to do this was today. So I had a 5 night and 3 night stay. I emailed the hotel ahead of time and asked that the reservations be linked and requested to not have to change rooms. On checkin they confirmed the request was made and we were all set. But we would have to stop by to pick up new room keys with the proper dates on them. We stopped by the Compass Club desk and they had the packet ready for us and it was a couple minute process to check out then back in.
• Started my park time at the Walt Disney Studios Park enjoying a band in Studio 1. They were great to listen to but a little awkward to watch with the only place to stand in the main walkway for the park, which meant being bumped into and causing traffic jams.
• The park felt busier than other days, being a pleasant Sunday this made sense. Wait times in the Studios climbed quickly and were beyond our patience by the time we entered. For example the Tram Tour was 40 minutes.
• The sun came out this afternoon and felt great! Decided to head to Disneyland Park to see it in the sun, and it looked good. Spent some time walking around enjoying the sun and views and then went for a cruise on the Molly Brown to see Frontierland and the Rivers of the Far West with the sun out.
• Giant cupcake statues were brought to each land. These were for Mickey's 90th Birthday last year and appear to be out for Mickey's 91st tomorrow. No listing of entertainment or anything so they may just be photo ops.
• Spent some time on Adventure Isle walking around and enjoying the sunny views. Considering it was a weekend and good weather I was surprised at how quiet Adventure Isle was as I walked around. There were people but plenty of space still.
• Decided to eat lunch at Belle Notte in Fantasyland. The line was maybe a half dozen groups per register. It was busy but since it was early it was not overly crazy feeling. The line moved sooooo slowly. It took almost 30 minutes to get to the register to order. Filling the order was done very quickly once you ordered but it seemed every group ordering had a question or problem and it took forever. Also the cast members did not seem overly efficient. We lucked out and got a table too. Indoor seating was at a premium and several areas were roped off because they were full and they were not letting guests in unless someone came out and you had your food. By the time we left the line was backed up to the parade route outside and guests were sitting outside. The pizza itself was not bad, not worth the wait or price, but tasted ok and filled us up.
• For Disney's Christmas Parade I decided to watch it while roaming around the hub vs from a fixed point. This was an interesting way to see it and thanks to a thin crowd not bad.. I was able to be in the 2nd to 3rd row in quite a few areas just walking around.
• This weekend a trio of shows for the holidays premiered. The first I saw was the Royal Sparkling Winter Waltz takes place on the Royal Castle Stage. It features several Disney princesses being introduced then dancing with their Prince. Judging by the reaction of the kids around me the children in the target demographic loved it. I thought it was ok for what it was. I prefer shows that are more than just an introduction and dance number. Sleeping Beauty Castle as the backdrop for this stage is always impressive and the show does use the fountains. I find it odd that it is part of the Christmas entertainment. I really did see/experience any sort of Holiday or Christmas tie in. It seemed to be a standard Princess show.
• One member of our group wanted a Mickey Waffle from the Old Mill. We walked by and there were two lines with four or five guests in each line. We choose one and then waited. I went and found a seat and checked email and they were still waiting. The issue seemed to be there were only three waffle irons and the waffles took several minutes. By the time they figured this out they had invested too much time and decided to wait it out. In the end it was over 35 minutes to get a waffle with only 4 groups ahead of them in line!
• #SurpriseMickey returned to Walt Disney Studios Park. This show was for Mickey's 90th Birthday last year. The show runs a handful of times per day and has three different flavors. There first two are the same standard character show but after sunset you get the extra projections on the Tower of Terror for the finale. Then the final show of the evening is called #SurpriseMickey Christmas Special. This is the same show except with a holiday tag on the end that includes projections and some fireworks. The regular show and projections were ok. It uses some of the same music as Mickey's Mix Magic at Disneyland for the finale. I enjoyed the holiday finale and thought that should run on more shows, at least the after dark ones, maybe without fireworks.
• Mickey's Magical Christmas Lights runs once a day on week days and twice a night on weekends. This is basically a tree/Main Street lighting event. Some Disney Princesses join the characters and Santa for the lighting. Sleeping Beauty Castle gets in on the show with lights, fountains and projections for the finale. I thought this was a fun character event. My only complaint was viewing was a bit limited. Most of the characters were on an elevated stage so you could see them but a portion took place at ground level which was hard to see from most vantage points.

2019 Disneyland Paris Trip Summary

Related Blog Posts From Today:

• Sunny Visit to Main Street USA
• Hub & Sleeping Beauty Castle
• Molly Brown Cruise (mostly Big Thunder)
• Mickey Mouse Birthday Cupcake Photo Ops
• Disney’s Christmas Parade
• The Royal Sparkling Winter Waltz
• L’Hiver Gourmand (Menus & After Dark)
• Mickey’s Magical Christmas Lights
  
  
• All my posts from today