It's a Small World After All

Life mottos and advice for visiting the most magical place on earth: 

So Melissa and I visited Disneyland Paris and I was trying to think of a fun way to share our adventures. Nobody wants to read an overly long paragraph about someone else's travels (I apologize in advance thats London's post). With that we thought up some mottos/ advice/ warnings when visiting this place that indeed summarized our trip, but may help you with yours.

1. Embrace the small things- they will make you the happiest

Yeah Space Mountain is fun and all, but lets be honest, really the most fun come from the rides and things with no lines. So with that when your feeling tired instead of agreeing to stand in a long line because thats your way of "relaxing" (which by the way nobodys friendship got any better by standing in the hot heat doing nothing with a bunch of rowdy kids and strangers) get some ice cream and sit in front of the castle or anywhere else that has good people watching. Disneyland of all places has the best people watching and should never be ignored. So with that- sit down on a bench or curb, get your ice cream whipped cream and cherry on top and watch the stupid tourists.. and don't forget to laugh.

Its the small thing... lets change that last word shall we? Its a small world. Go on it once... maybe twice. Your already there the song will be in your head anyways, so you might as well make it worth it! Its those great rides that have lines that let you walk right on with little or no wait with the catchy tunes, simple plot, and sometimes a very famous Johnny Depp character. Go on Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Its a Small World- the rides with no wait don't let you have time to build up the anticiaption. Therefore are more enjoyable without letting you down from exaggerated expectation.

And when you find something you like, whether it be parade, show, or ride, go with it! Keep attending the show, riding the ride, etc. For example, the first day we saw the most amazing Disney show Tarzan. Best. Show. Ever. and we literally saw it three times. It was a great way to relax and they redid it in such a way that the music was all to the same beat, but in many different languages. Phil Collins you are brilliant.

Ladies, with a body like Tarzan's how can you not show up all three days for some entertainment? 

2. Pass it along

Pass the good luck along. Leaving later in the day? Get a fastpass you won't use, scout out your audience, and give it to the most deserving (whatever that means). We did this with the famous Thunder Mountain Railroad and its more fun that you think. Judging others but with good karma at the end. Family looking like they want their picture taken? Just do it because chances are you will want a picture now or later on in the day. OR they will be the family with the power of the fastpass later on. Also, bring a thing of those 1$ packet of glow stick bracelets that you can get at Michaels or Target. Giving a kid a glow stick is like giving an adult a million dollars.. but cheaper and even better facial expressions. They will look at you like you are Superman, the parents will give you an exhausted smile because you just gave their child a distraction,.... and may offer to buy you beer. So a win win for all!

3. Play along. You're there to be a kid, this is the place to get away with it

One of my favorite times of the trip was when we went into Phantom Manor (Paris' Haunted Mansion) and a cast member was trying to be freaky and stare at everyone. Well as I am the competitive one I stared right back and we got into a staring contest. Naturally I won and I thought that was that. Little did I know when we got off the ride he was waiting at the exit. In my defense it was a lot darker and as we left he jumped out and starred (quite creepily) at me. Well I screamed and ran away and Melissa was laughing the entire time. I certainly gave him a  story to go home with. Point is play along, you're there to be a kid so do it. These cast members are just as bored as you think they look, so play along make their day. As someone who once worked there someone who plays along makes all the difference in an 11 hour shift.

 


4. Even if you don't think it will work- try it! You will never know if you don't ask

A new ride opened up and the wait time was 70 minutes. We were not going to wait that long, but right when the park was closing and the man was closing the  line, Melissa RAN (gave those Olympic athletes a run for their money) and asked the man if he could squeeze two more people. He said yes and we waited 30 minutes for a great new ride that we would have never gone on before! Ask to be in the front or back of the ride- one time it worked for us and another it didnt, but you will NEVER know if you don't ask.

5. People will never do exactly what you want them to do- its called life so let it go

One word to describe this: Pictures. Some advice: if someone asks you to take a picture in front of a historic landmark, the Disneyland castle, or whatever what they are really asking is for you get the whole special landmark and only part of themselves. I look at myself in the mirror when I brush my teeth twice a day, I know what I look like, I don't need a picture to remind me of that. However, I don't see the Eiffell Tower or Disneyland Castle twice a day, so when I spend all of this money I would rather get pictures of these things instead of my whole body. This joke all started when Melissa came to visit me in California with the Golden Gate Bridge and has carried on until today. Its amazing how many people will do this... but sometimes you will do it yourself. Check it out:

6. Go with someone you can be frustrated, exhausted, and will stick up for you even when your too tired to. Most importantly go with someone you will still love at the end of the day. 

True statement. This may be the most magical place on earth, but it can also be the most stressful. Or maybe I am just mildly claustraphobic. Either way, it can get quite exasperating, so go with someone you are really good friends with or plan to be so very quickly. We were sitting and waiting for a parade, when many families starting walking over us to get to the next "land." One father decided he was going to step on my leg. I totally understand the stepping of the leg with big crowds, but I dont get the apology that did not come next. If I felt flesh under my foot I would apologize, I didnt think I was even that big on manners! I was so tried that I just let it go. Meanwhile, Melissa looked him right in the eye and yelled "OW OW OW!" I just looked at her and asked if he had stepped on her too. She quickly replied, "No, it just looked like that hurt." Ladies and gentlemen, that right there is the kind of person you want to take traveling and Disneyland. The kind of person that will stand up for you when you are too tired to fight the battle.

We literally asked three different people to take our photo and they all turned out like this. And we found they zoomed it! Well thank god I got a picture with the girl wearing yellow pants..



 
 I don't understand this zooming in with a castle in the background thing

Literally our last photo of the trip at the Harry Potter Studios. It just makes you laugh after a while.


And sometimes your gonna do it yourself:

Apparently I think that London should try and inspire generators. To be fair, it was REALLY early in the morning that day. 

7. No regrets! This should just be your general life motto anyways
I used my life savings to go to London. I have my whole life to make money, but I had only one time to really take this trip. No regrets.

All in all, don't stress out about getting the first seat on Space Mountain, finding the best souvenir, or taking the perfect picture- just enjoy what you got, I promise it will be a lot more enjoyable and a lot less stressful! It took me a day to figure that out and the other two were so much better... not get caught in the "perfect vacation" trap.