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| Was not ready for the pic (for you Chel) |
1.
Disneyland Paris: I know I have been saying this
quite often, but I never thought I would be in Disneyland. Today was the
day. It was out of the world. I have never seen anything like this in my life.
The last time I was completely enthralled by a show/performance/entertainment
piece was when I watched The Lion King in New York. And of course Shreedhar and
Sharukh’s student Irfan Khan’s rapid fire answers in the year end showcase. But
I was completely unprepared for Disneyland. The objective of the park is very
obvious- they want children (and adults) to believe in dreams, which has been
my mantra for years now. I thought I would write about the experience but words
cannot describe what I experienced. I thought I should click pictures, but how
much would I click? I am not a video person, so I didn’t video much. I highly
recommend this experience to anyone visiting France- as in, if anybody sometime
in your life asks you if you would like to see Disneyland, please say yes.
2.
The Roller Coaster ride: Now, if you know me,
you would know I am really scared of things that move on their own- with me in
them- escalators for example. I have never been to Essel World and when I was
in Fantasy Land when I was 12, the only scary ride I tried was the Dragon-
which was pretty safe, but I remember feeling sick after that one ride. When I
heard there were rides in DL, I regretted having agreed to visit it, because
now, I had to face my fears or live with the fact that I was a scary poo. I
researched, yes you read that right, I researched a lot on the rides and I
decided that I need to face my fear. Along with my aunt (who is such a sport) I
entered Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril ride. I had a blast. I had no
heart attack, no nerve splitting in my brain, no heamorrrage, no vertigo, no fainting-
all of these were my fears for 27 long years. I got off feeling so so
victorious. And every time I even considered going on Dumbo, the Flying
Elephant, I felt fine. Not as if I was choosing something because I was afraid
of something else.
3.
The Parade: We missed part of the parade and
felt like we missed a lot. So Aunt and I decided to wait for the second one.
The first one was at 7 and the second one was at 10.15. We waited those extra
hours just for the parade. Fortunately, a huge number of people left the park
after the first parade. We got to take the Disney Railroad and were
surprised at the various sights. We saw some ‘must-see’ experiences and then
waited at the parade route. The second parade is called Fantillusion and was
very different from the first one. It was followed by a Dazzling Dreams show,
which we got to see by chance. The Dazzling Dreams Show took my breath away. I
was awestruck. It was like watching TV- these things are supposed to be unreal!
I clicked no pictures- as I didn’t want to fix my eyes on a 5 inch screen- when
everything was happening life size. Again, if you ever get a chance to visit
Disneyland, please go and stay till the end.
4.
The Children and families: It is one thing to
see people of different countries and totally another to see children. There
were babies and toddlers, dressed like princesses and warriors. Most of them in pink, lavender and white. There were some
really endearing sights to see- like one boy who fell asleep while waiting for
a visit (I shall upload the picture when I can), there was one little girl who
kept playing stone-paper-scissors with her father and sister and they didn’t seem
to care, children who were afraid of fairies/princesses and just about
everything in general. I saw parents who looked like wonderful parents- those
who were listening to their children, those who were waiting in the queue for
things that they would not enjoy at all (like Princess Pavilion) and those who were
soothing their very frightened children. Fathers especially, kissing and
entertaining their kids was a great sight. How do these families decide to go on a vacation? Do they sit together and just say, let's go on a holiday? I have experienced a family initiated holiday that I remember only once- I don't know what it looks like in families. I am glad a lot of kids know it.
5.
Not letting me see this when I was a child: I am
glad I did not visit this as a child. I would never understand that those Princess
Dresses are a waste. I also think I would want to be a Princess and live in a
castle with a Prince all my life. As much as I think the bigger message of
dreams coming true is a great one- I would pay attention to what the dreams
are. Of course, I would grow out the dreams but, would still have to return
home that one night feeling common, probably not pretty enough (which I felt by
the way in the Princess Pavilion) and wondering when I would find a fairy
godmother, a prince, a glass slipper, a lamp, or a frog- all short cuts to a ‘better’
life. Again, I think there is a bigger message there- but as a 9 year old, I am
not sure if I would get it.
6.
The relief: wait times sometimes were 60 minutes
for a ride that would last a maximum of 2 minutes. I tried to explain to my
aunt the concept of return on investment but then she said that every place the
wait times are this long. However, when we reached the rides, we felt such
relief. At the end of the ride, we would feel sad that it was so short. It was
great.
7.
The Small World Cruise: tagline goes “the
happiest cruise that sailed the world” or something like that. It’s true. I was
so happy that I felt a tear (of joy) in my eye. It is the only thing we went
for twice. It is the thing I would want all my 50 children to see.
8.
The train: We waited back too long. Aunt was
extremely worried about getting a train back. But we did. We got both the
trains and returned home safely.
9.
The guy who offered his seat to my aunt. My Aunt
was really tired- she was pushing herself to do all things because she wanted
me to have a great time. She was incredibly tired and I could see it. We
entered a train that was full of people but then a guy offered his seat to her
and sat with his son. I felt so grateful but I didn’t have the words to thank
him the way I wanted to.
10.
The safety I felt: I got a bit afraid when two drunken
guys sat next to me. I got up feeling uncomfortable. I am not sure how safe I
felt, but then I knew I was fine. That one episode though made me wonder if
Paris is a safe city for women tourists. Maybe it is, but it is sad that the
thought crossed my mind.
11.
These cities that have a romantic feeling. Paris
is one of them. It celebrates romance. I
think it is a blessing for couples who are trying to revive the magic in their
relationship.
