A Day at Walt Disney Studios Park

After our first day in Disneyland Paris, the next day we made sure to be at the other park, Walt Disney Studios, right when it opened, since we’d heard there were a couple of popular rides that would get long wait times.  This turned out to be a really good choice since it ended up being super crowded.

They let us into the parks early, around 9:40, though the rides weren’t running yet.  Jason queued up for Crush’s Coaster while I ran to get fastpasses for Ratatouille.  By the time I got back to him in line we started moving just a couple of minutes later so it was perfect timing.  It took about 10 minutes to get onto Crush’s Coaster.  This ride was amazing!  My favorite in Disneyland Paris.  It’s got a track similar to a wild mouse coaster, but the cars spin and it’s much more intense and entertaining.  It’s themed really well like you’re riding the EAC and it’s so exciting!  I’m glad we rode it first because the ride doesn’t have fastpass, the lines are always long, and it was down for most of the rest of that day.

Across from Crush is a little Cars ride, which we decided to do to kill some time before our Ratatouille fastpass.  This did end up breaking down right before we got on it and it didn’t look like it was coming back any time soon.  Since we’d only waited about five minutes we decided to ditch it and head on.

We walked around the Ratatouille area and I took a bunch of photos, as it’s a really beautiful space (what I wish the real Paris looked like, rather than a bit dirty and smoky!).  We also window shopped in the store before using our fastpass for the Ratatouille ride.  The ride is a lot of fun and well done, with 3D effects mixed in to physical ones.  I love the movie Ratatouille so I appreciated this ride based on it.

The Studio Tram Tour had no wait, so we did that.  It’s basically what the Backlot Tour from Hollywood Studios used to be, but shorter and a little more exciting.  They have catastrophe canyon, as well as one other “special effects” area.  Speaking of special effects, we did the Armageddon special effects show next.  I have to admit that aside from one really cool effect at the end, it overall was a bit of a lame show.

The hunger was beginning so we headed to the nearby Blockbuster Café.  Not super impressed by the food here but it filled our tummies.  It’s got themeing from two films in it – Pirates of the Caribbean and IronMan.

We grabbed a fastpass for Rockin’ Roller coaster and then went to watch the show Cinemagique.  It’s actually a film as opposed to a live show and it was cute, and a nice break to sit for a little bit.  Rockin Roller Coaster had an identical track to the one in Florida, but the things you passed in the dark were different.

At this point I will admit I was in a bit of a funk.  I was feeling tired, and I think anxiety/stress was starting to get to me.  I had just gotten an email earlier in the trip that I had a job interview scheduled for 9:15am the morning after we got back.  It was gnawing at me the whole trip and it just kind of hit me then – not just the normal jitters of a job interview but knowing that I would have no time to prepare, I’d be jet lagged, and I didn’t even know if there were any clean interview appropriate clothes in my closet.  I also tried to get coffee from two different places and they weren’t serving it anymore and I just grumpy, so we just sat for a bit.  I have the best husband who is willing to sit and put up with me 🙂

Once I felt a little better we decided to go into the Art of Animation building, where they had a drawing class!  This was one of my favorite things in Hollywood Studios before they closed it, so I was glad I got the chance to do it again.  We drew Stitch.  Then we went across the way to see Animagique, which was a live show and was packed!  It was pretty neat, as Mickey traveled to several different Disney films and learned about the different types of magic they used.  The live performers were very talented.

Since we had the time we decided to wait for the Ratatouille ride, even though it was a 75 minute wait.  I’d rather have waited for Crush’s Coaster but it was shut down.  We figured we’d get off the ride right around 5:15, which was perfect for our dinner reservation at 5:30 next door.  And at about 5:10, just a couple of groups from the ride vehicle… it broke down.  We waited until about 5:25 and then I flagged down a cast member and asked for the easiest way to exit, as I didn’t want to walk back through the huge queue of people but we had to get to dinner.  She was kind enough to not only lead us out, but also give us a free fastpass to come back later!

Dinner was at Chez Remy’s – you can read my full review here.  The themeing in here was really amazing.  It’s supposed to be Remy’s restaurant for his rat friends and family, so you’re “shrunken down” to the size of a rat.  There is so much detail and so many things to look at.  The menu was a little limited and while the food was good it wasn’t anything special or outstanding and felt really overpriced.  However, I think it was worth doing once just for the themeing and the experience.

We exited the park after dinner, as I had to be up early for the half marathon the next morning!  While there were fewer attractions in Disney Studios, a number of the ones they had were quite good.  The highlights were definitely Crush’s Coaster, Ratatouille, and Animagique.

What would you be most interested in doing at Walt Disney Studios?