Europe Trip 2015 (pt. 10, Disneyland Paris!)

I almost forgot to include one of the most exciting parts of our trip, Disneyland Paris! I love Disneyland California, and I treasure my many experiences there. I feel slightly bad saying this, but the rides and experiences get slightly repetitive. Disneyland Paris was familiar yet new and refreshing. Summer hasn't ever been to any of the Disney parks! This was her first time, and she loved it.


Although this may seem obvious to most, remember that Disneyland Paris isn't right next to the Eiffel Tower, downtown Paris. I recommend taking the long distance RER train. It's about 45 minutes, here's a great guide.

Our train ride was pretty crowded. There was a French Grandpa taking his grandson and several of his friends to Disneyland. The grandpa was teaching them about manners and how to be polite. He taught them to offer their seat to my wife. So the little boy said in his best English, "Lady, would you like to sit here?"

Differences vs. Similarities?

There are many, and I'll attempt to address some of them as I go along, opposed to a venn diagram. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!

California is the first Disney Park to be built out of the 4. (Cali, Florida, Japan, Paris) Paris isn't as big as California. The layout was grouped by theme better. I really liked it! Just like California has California Adventure to the south, Disneyland Paris has Walt Disney Studios. It was like a mix of Universal Studios and California Adventure. 

We started our adventure in Walt Disney Studios, and we worked our way up to Disneyland. We didn't have enough to time to go on everything! I'll narrate using pictures:

Walt Disney Studios

Here's Linsey anticipating entering the park.

One of our California favorites! Summer absolutely loved the sheer drop and the feeling of weightlessness! This was very similar to California.

Apollo 13, this was a multi-lingual immersive movie experience! We were on a space station as it was hit by a meteor shower! We felt the ground shake, and the heat of explosions as our station was pummeled! Universal Studios California has something similar to this.

These parks have many more roller coasters than California does! This roller coaster was in the dark like Space Mountain, except there was smoke machines, colorful stage lights, strobe lights, and Aerosmith music blasting. While waiting in line, you got to see an interactive video of the band in the studio. What I found funny was that there wasn't any Aerosmith music playing while in line.

Also similar to Universal Studios, they had a backlot tour. It was much different, and I really enjoyed it! 

This truck exploded and water came gushing at us! Yet somehow we didn't get singed or wet!

Monsters Inc! There were many Pixar related things in Walt Disney Studios.

We said hi to the cast of Cars.

Crush's Coaster was awesome. Lagoon, a Utah theme park has a spinning roller coaster named, The Spider. Not one ride is the same, the cart spins in different directions on different hills. There's something about going down a steep hill backwards. This was The Spider mixed with Space Mountain. This was all in the dark!

We survived Crush's Coaster!

We were amazed by the awesomeness of the Ratatouille ride! It was a 3D cart ride that took you through the story of Ratatouille, at the size of a rat!

Needless to say, we had a great time in Walt Disney Studios!

Disneyland Paris

Some shots of the family at the front entrance of the park.

More pictures of the family at the front entrance and by the castle!

 Pirates of the Carribean

Pirates of the Caribbean is one of my childhood favorites! I've been on it so much, I can pretty much recite every line of every character on the ride. This ride was amazing because it was the same beloved ride, with a splash of freshness. The entrance and the surrounding territory is themed and grouped much better here. It really felt as if we were entering a Spanish Fortress! They take your picture at the waterfall! 

I didn't take this video, but I thought that it would be fun to include to give you an idea of what it looks like! My parents showed this to me when they went to Paris their first time, and I've longed to go ever since! This was a dream come true.

Indiana Jones

This is an outdoor roller coaster. While much different than the beloved indoor California version, it is a fresh twist.

Buzz Light Year

I'm a sharp shooter when it comes to this ride. I always score a level 4. This is my favorite ride!

Haunted Mansion

The story is much different here. It has something to do with the father owned the Thunder Mountain railroad and he died. His daughter was in love with a guy that the father didn't like. The father made her suitor disappear. So she spends eternity searching for her lost lover!

It's a small world

This song is sung in every language in USA and France. The main difference is that there weren't as many people on it. Instead of being annoyed by the incredibly catchy song, I enjoyed it because it was my wife's first time. We got excited as we passed cultures we visited. Above are landmarks from Rome, Pisa, and Venice!

Food is expensive, but you gotta eat! We ate Doner kebabs at the Lion King themed Hakuna Matata.

We had an unforgettable and amazing time at Disneyland Paris! We'd recommend it to everyone! It was very different, yet very similar.

Europe Trip Video Clips!

I took some random video clips of our latest Europe Trip! You can view them here.

Europe Trip 2015 (pt. 6 Naples and Pompeii)

06/03/2015 - 06/05/2015

The great city of Pompeii.

Ever since I was a kid, Pompeii captured my imagination. An entire city buried in ash, preserved and forgotten for nearly a millennium. We read that a common way to see Pompeii is to stay in Naples and to take a private train to visit Pompeii. We originally planned on seeing some of the sights in Naples, but we ended up just seeing Pompeii and resting.

Our apartment was large and air conditioned!

Our first day was a bit of a fiasco that left us very tired. I had us walk from the Metro station to our apartment on foot. Maps can be a great way to navigate, but one of their downfalls is not knowing which direction you're going. I led us 1 mile in the wrong direction. Which made us a little late to meeting the host of our next apartment. The streets had huge cobblestone and left us exhausted. I finally found our street. Many people often approach you and try to sell you things, so you kind of ignore them. A man approached us at the beginning of the street and started talking to us in Italian. I could understand he said something about a Museum. The street was right in front of a museum. I thought he was trying to scalpel tickets. So only half listening I brushed him off and walked up this street. It was long, hot and uphill. Many locals looked at us funny. Finally, I checked my email and our host said that his friend would be waiting for us. Then I asked a local where I could find the house number. It was at the very bottom. Where the guy first talked to us. Very embarrassed, I went back down and got into the apartment. He was very nice. I was able to speak enough Italian to communicate with him.

After this whole ordeal, all we did that night was eat some of Naples famous pizza and watch movies.

Next day we left for our trip to Pompeii. The train ride over was a little bit confusing and really packed. But, this private train dropped you off right in front of the city, while TrenItalia dropped you off across town. Pompeii was incredible! Far larger than I ever had imagined. It was very hot and sunny, there was no protection from the sun. You could spend days in here. I've seen Roman ruins before. You really had to use your imagination. Not here. It was so well intact! My only wish is that instead of emptying the city of all it's artifacts, that they left them as they were, when they found them.

This was once the town square.

Many structures still had ceilings!

Many murals remain in good condition to this day.

There are many large warehouses that contain all the artifacts in Pompeii and back in Naples. Historically, the King of Naples is the one who discovered Pompeii and took most the artifacts.

One of the main arenas, they still use it for plays to this day.

The Main Colloseum, as seen in Pink Floyd in Pompeii! 

In the Colosseum, they had a display of all of the dead bodies. This is the positions that they were in when they died

 This really makes you think about life and how at any moment life could end.

Another one of the ampitheaters. They told us that nobility got the good seats in the front, and meet and greet passes, and the poor people got the cheap seats in the back... Not much has changed... haha

While we didn't get to do much in Naples, or see any of its castles, we still had a great time! We have some things to do next time we go to Naples. :)

Street performers in the streets of Naples.