Started off the morning with my eyes popping wide open way too early.  It was around 5am local time.  Not quite sure why that happened.  Decided to check some emails and write up my thoughts from Day 1 then went to roam around the hotel just before 7am.  At 7am the breakfast started in the Golden Forest Lounge so I made my way there and had the place to myself for 10-15 minutes.  The rest of my group joined me closer to 8am.  I went up to the room and prepared for the day.   Then we all headed out around 9am.  First stop the RER station to purchase our rail ticket for the week and then we headed for Disneyland Park since it was the only one open.   Stopped by City Hall and made a lunch reservation for Walt’s then wandered up Main Street USA and into Discoveryland.  Walked onto Buzz Lightyear and then strolled through the Nautilus walkthrough.   Next up Star Tours and then we walked around Sleeping Beauty Castle and into Fantasyland near Small World.  Stopped for a spin on the Tea Cups since it was a walk on.  Then continued through Fantasyland and into Adventureland.  Went for a cruise on Pirates of the Caribbean and then walked back toward the hub.  Stopped by Sleeping Beauty Castle to check out the dragon that lurks below and then went up to the second floor for a quick look around.   .  Made our way onto Main Street and headed for Walt’s.   After lunch spent sometime in Frontierland and paid a visit to Phantom Manor.  Walked through some stores then out to the BBQ and Cotton Wood Ranch area which was mostly closed.  Ate a snack there and then spent some time roaming around Adventure Isle.   Stopped by Le Passage Enchante Aladdin on my way back to Main Street.  Ended up going back up to the 2nd floor of Sleeping Beauty Castle and then  out to Alice’s Curious Labyrinth  then visited Pinocchio before heading back to the hub to catch the 5:30pm parade.   After the parade decided to go try to get a bite to eat which turned out to be a mess.  Belle Notte was closed..  then Toad Hall..  then stopped by their Village Haus and it was crazy and nothing we really wanted as part of the meal plan.  Ended up in Tomorrowland and Toy Story Pizza was closed so ate a Jedi burger at Café Hyperion since it was one of the few places open and we did not want to walk any further.  After eating walked the shops of Main Street USA and then explored the Discovery Arcade before finding a spot for Disney Dreams.  After the show made my way back to the hotel to call it a night.

• For some reason I was up way too early..  before 5am..  I tried not to wake anyone else and got through some emails then went and roamed around the hotel after 6am with the plan to kill time till breakfast opened at 7am.    I had wanted to go walk the hotel grounds but two problems with that.  One is the sunrise was not until around 8am and the other is it was in the 40s outside!
• As I walked around the lobby area the hotel was really a ghost town before 7am with not even cast members out and about.  I did start to see signs of life the closer it got to 7am.  I went to breakfast in the Golden Forest Lounge when it opened at 7am and I did not see another guest until close till 7:30am.  By the time I left around 8am the place was alive with activity as guests were getting ready for the day.  Disneyland Park opened at 8am for Magic Hours..
• On the way to the parks this morning we stopped by the RER station and bought our train ticket for the week.  We purchased a Navigo Discovery Card.  This allowed unlimited use of the RER, Metro, buses, etc.. from Mon->Sun and including the card was about 26 euros.  We would not need it for a two more days but I did not want to have to wait in line and if there was a problem wanted time to figure out a backup plan.  The process was very simple and the agent at the ticket counter was helpful.  The transactions went smoothly and within a few minutes we had our tickets are were on our way to Disneyland.
• We were on a meal plan for the trip but I did not want to be tied down with dining reservations so I opted to wait and not make any ahead of time.  This turned out to work really well due to it being a very slow week in the parks and no real waits anywhere.    Today we decided we wanted to go to lunch at Walt’s so after entering the park stopped by City Hall to make a reservation.  This took only a few minutes and we got the time we wanted with no problem.
• The park opened to resort guests at 8am and regular guests at 10am.  We arrived in the 9am hour and found they were letting everyone in and on Main Street but at the entrance to Fantasyland and Discoveryland there were cast members checking room IDs to let you into the park.
• First attraction this morning Buzz Lightyear since there was no wait.   The ride is more or less the same as Anaheim.  One difference is the on ride photo quality was much better and you could purchase, no free email.
• Next up walked through Les Mysteres du Nautilus.  I thought this was an interesting concept to have a modern walk through and a nice plus for the area.  Each land had an attraction like this that anyone could walk through and look at scenes/props/displays.   Adventureland had an Aladdin set of scenes, Frontierland had the fort with some scenes in it, Fantasyland had Sleeping Beauty Castle, even Main Street had a short scene on the Statue of Liberty in the Liberty Arcade. 
• Star Tours is in the back of Discoveryland.  It felt out of the way, but I guess if the train was running it is by the train station so it would have traffic.  Today it was very quiet with no wait posted so I thought I would go for a ride.  The attraction is still the original 2D film.  The non existent wait turned into nearly 20 minutes since they were only running one cabin this morning.  As I was boarding they were bringing a second and third online.   The film and simulator were really showing their age.  Kind of fun to see the original again but it really looks bad compared to the new 3D HD versions running in other parks around the world.  I believe they are slated for an upgrade in the coming years.
• In Fantasyland went for a spin on the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups.  They are the same attraction as elsewhere.  They seemed much easier to spin than the US versions.  The attraction as a whole seemed a little worn and in need of some fresh paint and renovation.
• Next up Pirates of the Caribbean because the rest of the group had not experienced it.  There was a 15 minute wait today.  They were only using one load station again (throughout the trip I never saw the second station used).  On a second pass through I was as impressed as the first time through and it confirmed many of my first impressions.
• Walked through the second floor of Sleeping Beauty Castle.  The stained glass windows looked incredible and the view of Fantasyland is great.   One note the elevator was having some issues.  One of the retired geeks had knee replacement surgery about 8 weeks before we left so I was trying to minimize steps and had him try the elevator.. after 10 minutes he gave up and took the steps.
• Went to lunch at Walt’s.  The dining rooms were great to look at and the service was good.  The food was just ok.  I had read online that on the meal plan you could use the prix fix menu or you could order a la carte and pay the difference.  The cast members shot this plan down and made me order from the menu..  so I went with the beef.  It was ok but as I came to learn you have to ask for things to be extra well and sometimes still send it back if you do not want it to be pink!
• After lunch it was time to head to Frontierland.  First up the Phantom Manor for those who had not ridden.  They were not impressed with it.  They found it a little too “out there” and “creepy” for their tastes and like the traditional mansions at the other parks more.
• We ended up at the Cowboy Cookout BBQ area to use our snack option for the day.  We came to learn very quickly the meal plan limitations and snacks were one of them.  There were not many places the voucher would work and you basically had your choice of a drink and then a doughnut or ice cream bar.  Nothing else was allowed.  This was a little disappointing and very limiting. 
• We wandered into the Aladdin diorama displays in Adventureland not knowing what was inside and was pleasantly surprised by the number and detail of scenes.  It was a nice break from outside.
• I paid a visit to Alice’s Curious Labyrinth not so much to experience the maze but because I wanted to go up in the castle and have the elevated view of Fantasyland.   Of course since I had a goal the maze seemed long to me.
• Les Voyages de Pinocchio seemed about the same as the versions in the other parks.  The cars had three rows where as the others have two rows only.  It also felt slightly longer to me.
• Found a spot in the hub for Disney Magic on Parade!  I was quickly learning that the guests at Disneyland Paris are substantially more rude than those in other parks around the world.  The experience at the parade confirmed this as I was pushed, shoved, bumped into, etc.. more times than I can remember.  Then add in those smoking around you plus those that decided rules did not apply to them and they were standing on railings, in the grass, etc.. and it was really a free for all in the area.  The few cast members I saw did nothing except try and keep them off the parade route.  One interesting note they would not let guests sit on the curb with their legs in the street.  You had to stand or back up and keep all on the raised part of the curb.
• The parade itself was ok. It fell into the trap of many of the parades of just repeating the same song over and over and did not change for the various units so it grew tiresome over time to me. The concept of different films represented on the front half and back half of the floats was interesting and worked well. It felt like a typical parade nothing special or different. It could have been anywhere.
• After the parade which was about 6pm we decided to try and find some dinner.  We were not overly hungry so thought a quick service option would be best.  As we walked the park quickly learned this is not a wise thing to try and do at Disneyland Paris.   It seemed just about everywhere was closed for the day already.  Most seemed to close at 5 or 5:30.  Plus several did not even open for the day.   Eventually we ended up in Tomorrowland at Café Hyperion since it was open.  Then we learn what we read online with the meal vouchers was not true.  We read that they were worth up to face value and could basically be used as cash.  Well turned out not to be  the case.  You can order one meal per voucher.. which means you are taking a substantial loss on the value (the cast member even told me this).  We were hungry and did not want to go try to find a place so just went with it but in the end used just over half the value of the voucher each only.
• With an 8:30pm closing tonight Main Street and Disney Dreams were slightly more crowded than last night’s 10:00pm, but still nothing compared to the madness we are used to in Anaheim now a days.
• Was back to the room relatively early due to the park closing but still took me until almost midnight to sift through the day and prepare for tomorrow since I did very little yesterday in terms of unpacking.
  

Daily Summaries & Pictures:

• Sunday - September 27, Day 1 - Arrival and 1st Visit to Disneyland Park
• Monday - September 28, Day 2 - Disneyland Park
• Tuesday - September 29, Day 3 - Walt Disney Studios Park & Disneyland Park & Hotel New York
• Wednesday - September 30, Day 4 - Paris Sightseeing
• Thursday - October 1, Day 5 - Versailles Sightseeing & Disneyland Park
• Friday - October 2, Day 6 - Disneyland Park Halloween
• Saturday - October 3, Day 7 - Normandy - D-Day Beaches
• Sunday - October 4, Day 8 - Disneyland Park, Hotel Cheyenne, Hotel Santa Fe & Disneyland Hotel.
• Monday - October 5, Day 9 - A soggy afternoon at Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park as well as Newport Bay Club.
• Tuesday - October 6, Day 10 - A quick trip to Disneyland Park then heading home.