David's Diary: Tuesday, July 17, 2001

Disneyland Paris

We have been in France for almost a week, but we have not yet visited Paris. Last night we had a family vote on what to do today. I was out voted 4-1 to visit Disneyland Paris rather than the city itself. Traveling with children certainly provides a different perspective on what is important. I shouldn't be too hard on the rest of the family. I have been to both Disneyland in California and Disneyworld in Florida, while the rest of the family has been to neither. We were up early to make the long drive to Disneyland. The first hour was spent just getting our bearings and deciding what to try and do for the day.

Thunder Mountain

Disneyland Paris is similar to the American versions, although the food is more French and all of the workers speak French to each other. One of my favorite rides is Thunder Mountain and we made it one of our first stops. Karalee made sure to scream at every corner. Kevin didn't know what he was in for and as we rode the corners and dove underground all I heard beside me was "Holly Cow". At the end of the ride, I'm not certain whether Kevin had decided whether he liked it or not.

After lunch it started to rain heavily and lineups for many of the rides were much shorter. Jocelyn talked me into Space Mountain. This ride, which is almost totally dark, includes 360-degree turns and other gravity defying antics. In many ways, I'm glad that I couldn't see what was coming up.

We watched Mulan, visited the Pirates of the Caribbean, and continued to enjoy Disneyland Paris. By 6:00 PM we had had enough (eight hours of Disneyland in any one day should be a required limit), so we headed out to the parking lot for the long drive home. Then it was time to cook dinner and get the tired Greer family, including Mom and Dad, to bed.