Trip report, Paris 10-16 july 2010, day four – Oo-de-lally, Oo-de-lally, Golly what a day

After our usual morning coffee with croissants and pain-au-chocolat from the local boulangerie we headed for the Châtelet metro/RER station, where we bought tickets for Disneyland. Again a smart way to avoid queues and save money.

Having been to Disneyland a few times before we picked out a few favourites, starting with the Dragon in Sleeping Beauty Castle. Of course we didn't miss Pirates of the Caribbean, Phantom Manor and the little train Casey Jr/the fairytale cruise. In the old days (a few years ago) people used to wave at each other when the train an the boats met. Nowadays everyone seems to sit with a video camera in front of their face. How sad!

The weather was a bit unsteady, at times there were some really dark clouds but it never started raining. Possibly this had an effect on the number of visitors at Disneyland that day, there were never any really long lines anywhere and in the afternoon we had done everything we wanted to in the park. We did some shopping in Disney Village and decided to go swimming in the Sequoia Lodge hotel. We do know the swimming pool is for hotel guests only, but when we stayed there two years ago there seemed to be little control. Of course the man at the pool desk asked for the little card you get when you check in to the hotel and then, as we didn't have one, for our room number...

No swimming for us! Instead we had some refreshments in the hotel bar, waiting for the buffet at La Cantina in the Santa Fe hotel to open. This was the first Disneyland hotel we stayed in and we still go there for dinner when we get the opportunity.

The buffet was pretty much the same as we remembered it, plenty to choose from and a nice dessert table. We stuffed ourselves, then had a nice walk back to Disney Village along Rio Grande. It seems like we are ready with Disneyland now, at least for a few years. That's nice, because it takes a full day of the itinerary. You don't pay 45€ each just to spend an hour or two there.

The Navigo cards, by the way, were a success! I adviced the girls to put them in the back zip pocket of their hand bags and then simply wave the handbag over the ticket reader. Especially the youngest one (who would actually have been cheaper of with a 5 days Paris Visite pass) looks like she has never done anything else... And so handy not having to hand out/collect those tiny paper piece tickets every time we've passed a ticket control in the metro!