We started off with Finley's favorite, Teacups (favorite video seen here.) After that it was onto It's a Small World. Two rides in and I was feeling confident. Finley wanted to meet Mickey, which opened at 10:30 am. We got there at opening (10 am) and after two rides it was about 10:45 am. And Mickey had a 45 minute wait. We convinced Finley that maybe we could visit him later (thank goodness) and I got nervous. The Alice in Wonderland maze was amazing. Finley actually got scared at one point because she really thought we were lost. We decided to leave Fantasyland for Discoveryland (aka Tomorrow Land) for Buzz Lightyear. The sign said 30 minutes, not bad, but it turned out to be more like 45. I was nervous again and our reservation at Auberge de Cendrillon were fast approaching. I went to Fastpass Peter Pan while Clifton and Finley rode the carousel. I got in line for our reservations at resturant opening and waited. And waited. And waited. I made it to the host stand and checked in. This isn't like Disneyworld where you have to wait. They want to seat you straight away and Clifton was not back yet. And we don't have operational cell phones. They finally made it over, apparently the carousel here is serious business and took longer than expected.
Finley got to meet Cinderella, Prince Charming, Aurora, Snow White and two mice during lunch. She hated her lunch, it was major bribery time to get her to even eat a few bites of it. I on the other hand loved my salmon tartar and the scallops with truffle risotto. I didn't love the price. At 66 Euro a pop (28 Euro for Finley who didn't eat,) let's just say this is probably the most expensive lunch we have ever shared. But it was worth it because Finley loved meeting all the princesses. And in exchange for eating a few bites, we promised her that we would get Goofy, to go with her Minnie, Mickey and Daisy dolls. We went on Peter Pan, then headed out to shop at the Emporium on our way over to Walt Disney Studios Park. The Emporium didn't have much in the way of Goofy. They only had one option and he was larger than her current set. We decided to wait and headed out.
In WDSP, we decided to check the shops on the walk in. There were only four Goofys left and we decided to go ahead and get the bigger one, I think it was the best we were going to find and it made Finley so happy. It was off to the Tower of Terror, where at first Finley measured to be an acceptable height. We got the cvoucher and all, but she was measured again and didn't make the cut. So we went to Toy Story Playland to ride the Army Parachute ride and Slinky Dog ride. Clifton rode the RC Racer while Finley and I played with Rex. She was having so much fun! It was off to the Cars ride and just as we disembarked it was time for the Cars and Stars parade. And as luck would have it, we were at the start of the route. We headed out right as the parade ended and were shocked to see Minnie at the exit. That does not happen in Disneyworld. And it was a free for all, just like a I remember as a kid.
Back in Disneyland Park, we rode Phantom Manor, Pirates of the Caribbean and played in the pirate ship and skull. There are so many interactive play areas here, Finley adored it. We checked on the time for Mickey, 20 minutes! Done. Back in Fantasyland we rode Teacups again, the Storybook Canals (walk on) and Finley's new favorite ride: Casey Jr. Train. She has ridden it in Disneyland, but they didn't let her go THREE times in a row without getting off. The operator kept motioning for us to stay on. It was awesome!
As we walked out of Fantasyland it was time for the 20th Anniversary Parade. We walked over with two minutes to show time and happened to be at the start of the parade route. This was a much bigger parade than Cars and Stars, more like what I was used to. That being said, both parks only had those two parades once each day. So we were so lucky to make them. We rode It's a Small World again since we were right there and decided to grab some dinner. After dinner it was Dumbo with a short wait...which is also a stroke of luck. We headed over to Discoveryland to ride Space Mountain (just Clifton and I,) Orbitron (aka Astro Orbiter) and Buzz Lightyear a couple more times. It was starting to sprinkle and was getting late. After 10 pm...but it was still light out. The rain finally forced our hand and we headed back to the train. I hope you can see the joy in Finley's face in all the pictures...there are a lot!
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