Legends of the Force

Hugging a wookiee and other adventures in the Walt Disney Studios Park.
For our 17th anniversary, Bert and I decided to take a trip to Disneyland Paris. I wanted to go to Legends of the Force, and Bert loves shooting shows and parades, so he was interested in the Pirates and Princesses festival running in the Disneyland Park. 

 

We didn’t book an on-site stay, because prices are frankly ridiculous. Instead we had booked our usual place: the Ibis in Champs-sur-Marne. Which is considerably cheaper. 
We did get up at stupid o’clock (2.15AM!) to leave on the 17th, so we could still enjoy as full a day as we could in the Studios. We didn’t quite make it to park opening because we had pretty bad traffic along the way (but not as bad as for our December day trip) so we got there a little later than we hoped. 
We did go to the hotel first to leave our car (with our bags) on their parking lot (which is private and secure and FREE for hotel guests) and then take the RER to Marne-la-Vallée Chessy. 
I’m not entirely sure whether going to the Disney parking would have been faster, because that can be notoriously tricky to get on (it’s very badly indicated), plus it’s super expensive. Parking there for a day costs €30, which amounts to €15 per person. The RER is €8,30 per person for a round trip. That’s the kind of price difference that buys you a Pauze Délice! 

What we first noticed when we got onto the grounds properly is that security had gotten a lot more chill. They still had a scanner going, but they were also doing traditional bag checks. We went through those because the line was shorter, and the security guys were super friendly and relaxed. They noticed we had nothing dodgy on us straight away so we didn’t spend much time there at all. 

After that, it was straight to the Donald Desk for Bert’s carer ticket. There was a bit of a queue going on for that, so Bert went in the line whilst I went to the window right next to it because that was the disability access card one and it was open. So it saved quite a bit of time to get my green card sorted there. The CM manning that window was SO nice! Seriously, she was fabulous. Because I had already purchased tickets for two days, she made my card out for two days, meaning I had it sorted for our entire trip. Very excellent. It’s CMs like her that really make a stay extra nice! 
 

We were talking to people in the queue for the Donald Desk, who were also Flemish, and the girl told me that she heard that you can not only get a free carer ticket, but you can also book an on-site hotel and bring a carer in on the booking free. 
She had only heard it as well, so whether or not it’s true I don’t know, but I’m putting it here just so people that want to stay onsite and have a person with disabilities in their party can check that out. 
I’m fairly certain that even with a free spot, the Ibis we stay at will still be cheaper (as it costs us about €120 for the stay, breakfast and the RER tickets for 3days/2nights, including cancelation option until 6PM of the first day). 
And here’s a note to the people that INSISTED on skipping the queue just because one of them had a visible disability. The queue starts at the BACK. You’re not supposed to stand to the side and just demand someone else gives you your spot, and then be utter twats to the CM manning the desk because you feel that you should be given all the things just because you are visibly disabled. The only reason I let them get away with it is because I did NOT want the drama that would launch me into an anxiety attack and ruin my day. But seriously, NOT OK! 
 



It was about 25 past 10 when we entered the Studios Park, so we weren’t actually there that much after opening! Because the first Imperial March wasn’t happening ‘till 11.25, I pretty much dragged Bert along to Rock ‘n Roller Coaster. 

 

And looked at Star Wars merch along the way, because I was looking for the Darth Vader popcorn bucket. 

 

Bert had never been on it, and our friends Charlotte and Marie swear high and low it’s the best coaster. I couldn’t ride it, but the chicken exit is right at the end of the loading platform, so at a 10 minute wait I could still queue with Bert. Which I did. And he did agree that it was amazing.

 

We still had some time to spare ‘till the Imperial March, so I tried to get a Mickey waffle whilst Bert was holding my spot on a bench. Not that he had to, because there were plenty of benches and space for everyone as there weren’t many people in the park at all. 
There were only 2 people in line before me, that had already ordered, and it still took about 5 minutes (because the staff was so slow) before I could even place an order. And of course, then I was told that the waffles were sold out… The CM was really friendly, and it’s not her fault, but I do wish that DLP would give them “sold out” signs to put up so people don’t queue for nothing wasting time!





 

But yeah, we went to the Imperial March, and took photos :).  

To be followed with picking up a return ticket for the Chewbacca meet and greet. 
We had just enough time to go and hunt down the Darth Vader popcorn bucket, but alas, it was sold out everywhere. 
By the way, if a CM tells you that you’ll be able to buy it on Central Plaza in the Disneyland Park, that’s a lie. You can’t. It’s available at TWO places in the Studios Park. One was sold out (and also should have put up a notice) and the other one was closed.

 

The Chewbacca meet and greet was a ton of fun. I really enjoyed that :).

 

We were a little pekish after that, which wasn’t surprising as it was lunchtime, so decided to go have a look at the food stalls at Place Remy. Bert settled on a pancake with with sugar, and I tried one with ham and cheese. Which I didn’t like at all, and the cheese tasted a lot like the cheese on the grilled cheese I had back in October that made me really ill. So Bert had to eat mine and I decided to get a waffle later.

 

Because we were already at Place Remy, we went into Ratatouille first, which was only a 5 minute wait (with disability pass, but the regular queue was also about 35 minutes if I remember correctly). We both really love Ratatouille and hadn’t been on it in years, so it was nice to be able to ride it again. Afterwards we had a look at Chez Marianne, the shop next to it, but didn’t find anything we liked. 



 

Because I like having my photo taken with Rex, we walked back to where the Star Wars food was via Toy Story Playland.

 

And lo and behold, the Darth Vader waffle was NOT sold out! The CM manning that Galactic Canteen was also super friendly :). 

Now, as for the seating. 
February 7th was a really nice day, especially for it being the heart of winter. No rain, no wind to speak of (at least not that time of day) and it felt more like late autumn than winter. So it was ok to sit outside to have a meal. 
Which you pretty much had to do, because the only places that were open with indoors seating was Au Coulisse (a counter service, and not a very good one) and Restaurant des Stars (all you can eat buffet). 
Everything else was the little food trucks (both the ones that are there year ‘round and the temporary ones). 
Had it been properly cold, raining or snowing, or just super windy, this situation would have sucked. 
I do understand that it’s low season. But surely, instead of opening up nearly all the food trucks, they could have just closed those down and opened up more places with indoor seating. 

 

We decided to do a bit of shopping, and went to have a look in the store in Studio 1. I didn’t find the Tsum Tsums I was looking for (for my friend Marie), nor the Darth Vader watch Bert had promised to buy me. But I did find a super cute pin for my friend Lora’s upcoming birthday and an adorable plushie Chewbacca slap bracelet. I asked the friendly CM for a big blue bag, so I could just use that for all my shopping the entire weekend, and he immediately offered to give me the XL sized one. Which was very kind of him, but entirely unnecessary, so I declined (sorry Craig! Just to clarify, Craig is my friend that collects Disney bags).  
Because we had such fun at the Chewwie meet and greet, we also went to the store at Place des Frères Lumière to check out the photos made by the photo pass photographer. I ended up buying two, and because of how the deals worked that day, it was €1 cheaper with two frames than without. So obviously we got frames. There were a lot of thing on sale, because in France the sales period was still running, but we didn’t see anything we liked.

 

Instead we went back into the Park to see if we could catch a showing of Mickey and the Magician. Which, thanks to the crowds being so low, we totally could. We literally walked into the queue 10 minutes before the start of a show, and it was fine. We both really liked the show, and I can definitely recommend it!

 

Bert suggested that we go into Tower of Terror after that, but I told him that instead of queuing to go on a ride he doesn’t much like, it would be better to go on Rock ‘n Roller again, as he actually likes that one. 
We did watch the tail end of a showing of Legends of a Galaxy Far, Far Away first though! Even though it was well in the afternoon at that point, the queue for Rock ‘n Roller was still only 15 minutes! When we got out, we caught the tail end of an Imperial March, so that was fun, too :).

 

We did go check out the gift shop of Tower and Terror, and take an outfit shot at one of my favourite spots in the Studios :)

 

At that point, we wanted a bit of a break from the Studios, and decided to visit Disney Village. 









I was taking random photos inside Studio 1 when the band arrived to play Star Wars tunes, Jazz style, so of course we stayed for that!

 

After taking more photos on Place des Frères Lumière, of course! We did consider doing the director Goofy (or as I call him: Dieselpunk Goofy) meet and greet, but the disability return tickets for the day were all used up, and whilst the queue was short, Goofy was about to go on break and the weather looked like it might rain, so we decided against it. 
It didn’t rain in the end, but with Bert’s expensive equipment, that he can’t put away very quickly, it’s not a risk we like taking.



 

Because of the sales, there was a bit of chaos going on in a lot of stores. For example, a lot of them didn’t have their usual Tsum Tsum stands out, but instead had baskets full of Tsums on sale (none that I wanted). Which was a little annoying for those looking for specific ones. 
It was also amazing just how much Incredibles 2 stuff was on sale, all 50 and 70% off. Which leaves me to wonder if the movie was that unpopular or whether they overstocked that badly. 
But yeah, we didn’t find the Vader watch or the Tsums I was looking for at World of Disney. 

 

But we did find the watch at the old Disney Store. Of course we also checked out the other stores, but we didn’t buy anything at those.



 

Here’s some pictures of the LEGO store though :)

 

Because we wanted to ride Ratatouille again, see Galactic Celebration and get food, we went back to Studios. Where we went to eat at Au Coulisse. Whilst the food we had there in June was perfectly fine, this time it was a nightmare. 
First of all, the CM was RUDE AF. 
I asked her about the other chicken burger (not the Star Wars menu one, which is more expensive and which I didn't want anyway regardless of the the price) and she claimed there wasn’t one (there were two). 
And then she proceeded (Bert had started to order in English, and she had taken his order first) to bitch about me in French to her colleague. 
To which I pointed out that I actually spoke French and understood her. 
She didn’t even apologise, but the other colleague did point out I was right and clearly felt very awkward about the situation. 
She did get the allergy information book because I was worried about ingredients. But only after I told her that I didn’t want to risk a serious crisis of the level that would involve an ambulance. 
Come the fuck on people! 
But yeah, we ordered, it took ages for us to get our food because the kitchen staff was slowly faffing about and when we sat down, our fries were practically cold, our burgers were lukewarm and Bert had been given another burger than the one he ordered… 
So no, I would NOT recommend going there for the Star Wars menu, or eating there full stop. 
Situations like those are also things I find super stressful so I wasn’t in the best headspace afterwards.

 

Even though Galactic Celebration was still on, a lot of people had already left the park so there was literally no queue left for Ratatouille.



 

And the rides in Toy Story Playland also had super short queues. 
Bert thought it’d be hilarious to go on Slinky Dog, so we did. 
I think he didn’t believe me when I said it’s actually super slow (I rode it with Sam and Charlotte back in 2010). 

At that point, even though I really wanted to see Galactic Celebration, I was knackered. So I figured we’d do better to go back to the hotel, rather than me pushing myself and potentially being sick. 

Sadly, when we arrived at the station, our RER tickets didn’t work. 
And there was NO assistance staff present. 
We did press the assistance button, and we got the “your call has been received” auto response, but no one could actually be bothered to give us an actual response. 
Meaning we had to queue for 20 minutes at the desk. 
Only to realise that the jackass at Noisy Champs station had neglected to activate our return tickets (he was super busy moaning about some customer or other to his colleagues when we bought our tickets that morning, apparently too busy to properly do his job). 
Luckily, the guy manning the window was super efficient and he just issued us new tickets. I was so tired when we finally got in the station that we didn’t even go to the supermarket (even though it was still open) and we just spend the rest of the night relaxing in our room and trying to get it warm. 

That’s the thing about the Ibis in Champs sur Marne. 
It’s a very decent hotel. 
They have a good breakfast buffet (not entirely sure how accommodating it is to vegans and people who need to eat gluten free, you’d have to check that yourself), the staff is friendly and competent. 
The rooms are clean, yet small. 
BUT… there are never enough towels (I have long since developed the habit of packing towels no matter where I stay) and now, in winter, there was only the one thin duvet for the bed (which is there all the time). 
They provide an extra pillow, but not an extra duvet/blanket. 
And there’s only one small heater for the room. 
You can get the room warm, but it takes HOURS. 
Seeing we didn’t get into our room close to 8PM, it meant neither of us slept well because it wasn’t warm enough. 
So I’m not sure that if we were to do another trip in winter we’d go to the Ibis again. Because I’m not in the mood to carry extra blankets on top of extra towels and everything else. 
But you know, when it’s warm outside, it’s an excellent hotel. Especially if you’re only there to unwind and relax a little in the evening etc. If you’re not spending actual time in your room it’s fine. 

So that was our first day of Disney! 
All my photos of the Studios have been uploaded already, so you can see those here, as well as some other ones from our trip :). 

---- 

Find me online: 
twitter - instagram - website 

---- 

Disclaimer: Google is trying to fob off a lot of their GDPR responsability by pretending the responsability to safeguard privacy is with bloggers. I can assure you that I don't collect ANY data on my followers or people that read this blog what so ever, so when it comes to this blog, it's entirely on google.  I will continue to post links to secondary sites, I have no stake in this other than to provide my readers with a handy link, so if you worry about your data when you enter those sites, you'll have to take it up with them. I hope that helps!