Barry school pupils have a magical time in Paris. By MARK HUTTON and IAN PIEKIELNIAK
A group of over 90 Whitmore High School pupils and teachers eventually made it to Paris during the last week of term to have a fantastic experience in the French capital.
The trip was originally meant to go ahead in 2020 and pupils thought that it was taking the ‘Mickey’ when the trip was cancelled twice due to Covid and then at the last minute was threatened by a mega heat wave. Nevertheless, they were all a bit ‘Goofy’ as they jumped on the coach at 3.00am on Monday morning for the long journey to the continent!
Arriving late on the Monday evening, a meal followed by a visit to the famous Eiffel Tower got the trip off to an amazing start. Pupils were treated to a fantastic light show and the opportunity to take photos before sampling freshly made crepes under the shadow of the impressive monument.
The atmosphere at breakfast on Tuesday morning was nothing short of electric…this was our first day at Disneyland Paris! Arriving for a 10.00am start, the 45°c heatwave meant pupils were fully prepared with sun cream in one hand and water in the other. The weather was boiling, but pupils watched the parade, took on the Tower of Terror (it isn’t for the faint hearted!) and experienced Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain (space travel is fast!) and thoroughly enjoyed the day. We returned to the hotel, tired, but excited that another day at Disneyland lay ahead on Wednesday!
The next morning, the excitement levels remained the same, but the weather didn’t and Disney ponchos were the order of the day as rain hammered down throughout the first few hours of our visit. Nevertheless, this didn’t dampen the spirits of our intrepid pupils who braved a selection of Toy Story rides (who knew toy soldiers dropped so far or quickly from the sky!), marvelled at Aladdin’s flying carpet, and spun around with Ratatouille on a 4D adventure. There was also time to revisit some favourites including the Thunder Mountain rollercoaster and meet characters including Mary Poppins, The Lion King and Mickey Mouse himself! The day ended with the incredible midnight firework and light show which ensured that our Disneyland visit had a fairy tale ending!
On Thursday we were due to leave, but not before we’d had a riverboat cruise up the Seine taking in the Louvre, Le Gare Nord and Notre Dame and even when we did finally leave, we drove past the Arc de Triomphe to leave pupils wondering how they had experienced so much in such a short space of time!
The group arrived back in Barry early on Friday morning, exhausted but knowing they’d had an extraordinary few days! To say the trip was a huge success would be an understatement. It simply was amazing! This was largely down to the incredible people we shared the week with. Every day the pupils were amazing and it was a genuine joy to spend the time with them. Memories were made and these are sure to last a lifetime. We couldn’t have wished for a better group of people to spend the week with.
Walt Disney once said “Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, dreams are forever” – after last week Walt was absolutely right.
MH/IP
🌟 This article first appeared in the printed edition of the Glamorgan Star on 28.07.22. Read it in print first!
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