Toilet Paper & Disney - who wouldn't want to read this post?

June 11 & 12

Ok – here’s one of my pet peeves about traveling.  Maybe it’s because I usually stay in budget accommodations, but the toilet paper situation is often a pain in the butt (see what I did there?). First of all, many places must like playing pranks because they seem to replace the tp with sandpaper.  Now I am a thrifty traveler (my family might have other less flattering words to describe me), but I would gladly pay a couple of dollars more per night to any hotel / AirBnb that advertises (and follows through) that they provide soft toilet paper. 

Why am on this topic?  Good question as I’m sure that Becky will be mortified when she reads this.  We stayed at a fairly nice, otherwise adequate AirBnb that was a free-shuttle ride away from Disneyland Paris.  We booked it for 6 people (had 5 who actually stayed) for two nights, and in the apartment we only had one roll of toilet paper (and it wasn't even a double roll).  I had to get more, of course, which turned out to be a pain in and of itself.  I thought this might be an oversight on our host’s part until I met him a second time upon checkout.  He had clean towels and sheets for the next guests in hand, and you guessed it – one roll of toilet paper.  Come on, six people, two days and one roll of toilet paper?  It’s not that expensive – charge me a couple of bucks more a night and leave me with an adequate supply of tp that will cost you less than a buck.  It’s a win all the way around. 

Ok, done with my rant – back to exciting travel adventures.  I normally will not do this, but I will combine two days into one post.  We spent two days at Euro Disney – the first at Disneyland Paris and the second at Disney Studio Park Paris.  I know what you’re thinking – Pete is a history teacher, and he went all the way to Europe and goes to Disneyland? This trip is for the kids too, and it’s what they requested to do when we began planning. We saw a ton of sites in Paris and Versailles over the past two days, and after this we are heading to the D-Day beaches among other historical sites so letting the kids be kids for a couple days at a Disney park makes it a well-rounded vacation, right?

Besides, it makes financial sense in a weird sort of way.  My kids would have pushed for a Disney trip sometime in the next year, and Euro Disney at this time of year is way more affordable and less crowded than any of its American counterparts.  The attendance at this park has never been like in the US, and most European kids are still in school in early June so going on a weekday was great.  We bought the tickets online ahead of time, and they were significantly cheaper for weekdays in June which is still considered their off-season, and we were easily able to find a reasonably priced AirBnb with a free shuttle to the park.  I know this sounds crazy, but if you are considering a family Disney trip anytime other than July or August, you might be able to fly to Paris and go to Disneyland with less crowds for not much more than you spend on a trip to Disneyland in California.

While definitely not the crown jewel of the Disney empire, the first park is fairly large and has quite a bit to do.  I am bitter that the Phantom Manor (Haunted Mansion) was closed, but the Pirates of the Caribbean in California was closed the last time we were there, and this one was fairly similar and had short lines. Although it was among my favorite rides as a kid, 46-year old was Pete was ok that the Space Mountain was also closed although the rest of the family was disappointed.  Dee had never been on Star Tours and got a kick out of that, and even though it was a walk-through, Zac particularly enjoyed the Alice in Wonderland maze.  Rides like Peter Pan, It’s a Small World and Buzz Lightyear are similar to the ones in California, but the Indiana Jones ride is not nearly as cool although the Thunder Mountain RR is actually a little better than in CA. 

It did rain on us off and on during the first day, but we packed ponchos, and it was fine.  Becky’s foot is still bothering her, but she refused to be left behind or keep the kids from having a good time so she pushed through. 

The second park is quite a bit smaller, and we may have skipped it altogether if it weren’t for the nostalgia of the Hollywood Tower of Terror.  Our family is firmly in the camp who feels betrayed over changing the Tower of Terror ride in CA to Guardians of the Galaxy.  I loved watching the Twilight Zone as a kid, and that probably encouraged my love of Halloween.  The first time we rode Tower of Terror, our oldest Alex (who is now 19) was 5 years old, and I can remember her kindergarten teacher asking me after the first day of school, “You let your daughter go on a ride called the Tower of Terror this summer?”

Anyway, we went there to ride the Tower of Terror for old time’s sake, and we were pleasantly surprised by some of the other rides as well.  Although I am not a fan, Katie LOVED Aerosmith’s Rock N’ Roller Coaster (she went 4 times), and Dee and Becky simply loved it (I think more for the idea and music – funny how my normally conservative wife has this alter-ego that loves head banging music that makes me want to stab my eardrums out).  Zac was ok going once, and I endured it.  I really did enjoy the Ratatouille ride though which combines physical props with 3D animation like the Harry Potter rides at Universal Studios.  Crush’s Coaster was pretty cool, and I think the Studio Tram tour would have been okay if we had not been on better ones at other parks. 

The one thing that was kind of annoying (but actually turned out ok) was that because the park is small, there are not as many places to eat, and because it was a Tuesday in the off-season, a few of the less expensive restaurants were closed.  So the one only mildly-overpriced restaurant near the front of the park was packed and the lines were moving like escargot.  Without going into the whole story, we tried going to another place that ended up being closed.  At this point, it was almost 2, and Becky gets low blood sugar sometimes and needed to eat.  The only place close without a line was a pretty expensive buffet.  We bit the bullet, and while it was still overpriced, we were definitely impressed by the quality of food – good sampling of French cuisine as well as other choices.  Great cheeses and breads as well – especially the Roquefort.  There were also a ton of great desserts (which we may or may not have snuck a few out in a napkin for later).  So we stayed for an hour and turned it into a linner (combo lunch and dinner) so it was not quite as bad. 

It was a little chillier the second day, but the rain held off so overall, it was a fun day.  We went to the bigger park the first day because it was open later, and the 2^nd park closed at 7 so we were able to get on the road because I wanted to get on the far side of Paris that night and avoid the morning traffic.  We drove to Evreux where we have rooms in a cheap, cookie-cutter hotel chain called Formule 1 – each room has a double bed on the ground and a single bunk built into the wall.  There are no bathrooms in the room, but down each hall, there are several individual shower and toilet rooms (that are all self-cleaning – much more efficient here than with a big line near Notre Dame).  As I tell the kids – it’s better accommodations than camping (which we did a lot of on our last trip to Europe 10 years ago).