When I was very young, I visited Disneyland Paris with my family. It was one of my last trips to France as child, and I’m sorry to say I don’t remember most of it. All I have are the snapshots of our day at what was then called Euro Disney.
This past spring, I finally had the chance to re-visit Disneyland Paris as an adult. I was eager to see that gorgeous pink castle, ride Phantom Manor, and see how the park compared to Walt Disney World, where Dan and I hold annual passes. We didn’t know much about the park. We hadn’t watched any videos or made any advance reservations in preparation for our visit. We hadn’t even planned on going to Disneyland Paris at all when our plane touched down in France earlier that week. Since we wound up arriving in Paris one day earlier than planned, however, we figured we might as well take advantage of the extra time and take a little day trip.
Getting to Disneyland Paris
We left for Disneyland around 9:00 AM with our freshly-printed park tickets, a screenshot of our intended train travel route, and the vague knowledge that the park opened around 10:00 AM. Hopefully this would not be a repeat of our Versailles experience, in which three consecutive trains were cancelled, leaving us waiting at the station for over an hour just to get out of the city.
It turns out, getting to Disneyland is surprisingly easy. The RER A runs from various points outside the city center, makes several stops along the right bank of Paris, and terminates at Disneyland itself. Easy enough! We took the train from the Auber station, near the Palais Garnier, and found it very easy to navigate.
The journey took a little under an hour by train, through various suburban commuter stations. Our train remained relatively empty, though the trains headed in the opposite direction were packed with commuters. For once, I was glad to be merely a tourist, rather than a true Parisian. We got off the train at the final stop and found ourselves in Disney Village, the French version of Downtown Disney. From there, we had a choice to make: should we start out at the classic Disneyland Paris, or begin our day at neighboring Parc Walt Disney Studios?
Parc Walt Disney Studios
We opted to begin our day at Parc Walt Disney Studios, simply because we expected long lines at the popular Ratatouille attraction later in the day.
What can I say about Parc Walt Disney Studios? If you’ve never been to a Disney park before, you might enjoy it. After all, it features rides like Crush’s Coaster, Ratatouille, and Tower of Terror.
If you have been to a Disney park before, and especially if you’ve been to Hollywood Studios in Florida, then this park will likely be a major disappointment. Just look at a park map and you’ll see that Parc Walt Disney Studios is tiny compared to the original Disneyland park next door. There just aren’t that many shows or rides, and the majority of the ones available are equal or lesser versions of attractions that can be found at better Disney parks around the world. We were eager to give the Studio Tram Tour a shot, but found it both boring and confusing, with very little to see aside from a couple of special effects scenes. Much of the park is comprised of sound stages and children’s rides. It seems that a third of the park is shuttered to make way for the upcoming Marvel expansion. We only went on three rides, and by the time we left (just one hour later), the overwhelming sentiment was one of that’s it?
The good: we did enjoy Ratatouille. I thought the area was beautifully done, though it was a bit funny to think that we’d departed actual Paris to come to this fake miniature version of the very same city. The ride was adorable and I look forward to having it at home in Orlando. If we had planned our Disneyland visit in advance, I would have loved to make a reservation to eat at Bistrot Chez Remy, a full-size reproduction of the restaurant Remy opens for mice at the end of Ratatouille. At any rate, I was glad to be able to walk past it and get a glimpse of the interior as we exited the ride. Since the wait time was low, we rode a couple of times before making our way over to the other park.
I regret that we didn’t get the chance to ride Crush’s Coaster. It had a long wait time, and with just one day to see it all, we chose to prioritize the classic rides at Disneyland and come back later if we found the time later in the day. Aside from that, though, I don’t feel like we missed out on much by leaving the park so quickly. If I do come back in the future, I will probably just stick to Disneyland and skip this park out altogether.
Disneyland Paris
“Real” Disneyland, as I call it, is another story entirely. Opened in 1992, the formerly-named Euro Disney is similar to Walt’s original Disneyland in concept. It has various themed lands and many of the same rides as the parks in the States, some of which are improvements over their U.S.-based counterparts. Disneyland Paris, however, has its own distinctive fairy tale charm. The park is a visual delight, with flowering walkways, charming architecture, and creative surprises around every corner. The entrance to the park is located under the picturesque pink Disneyland Hotel, which we sadly did not have time to explore this time around. Isn’t it gorgeous?
After a quick breakfast of coffee and pastries at the Cable Car Bake Shop on Main Street, we started our day in Discoveryland, where we grabbed old-school paper Fast Passes for Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain and toured Les Mystères du Nautilus, a walkthrough of the submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I initially thought we were in an intricately-themed queue for the classic 20,000 Leagues ride, and was a little surprised to realize it was a simple walkthrough with no ride at the end. Still, there were a lot of interesting things to see, like the captain’s quarters and various navigational instruments.
Our first ride at Parc Disneyland was Hyperspace Mountain, which was…interesting. The coaster was surprisingly rough and left us a little banged up, but it’s hard not to get excited about a ride that blasts off to the Star Wars Main Title music. Still, this is my least favorite iteration of Space Mountain. Give me classic, rickety, “will I die or won’t I” Magic Kingdom Space Mountain any day.
Next, we paid a visit to Sleeping Beauty Castle, or, Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant.
We were delighted to be able to ascend the steps within the castle and admire the stained glass windows and tapestries on the upper levels. These miniature works of art tell the story of Sleeping Beauty.
There is also a charming little balcony overlooking the pastel-hued buildings of Fantasyland, and a scary surprise lurking beneath the castle. Not only is this the prettiest of all the Disney castles, but it’s also the most interactive of the three I have visited.
Next up: Adventureland! I loved the wide walkways and abundance of flowering bushes and gently hanging trees, not to mention the exciting rides and unique restaurants.
The best ride in Adventureland was, of course, Pirates of the Caribbean. I found it to be superior to both Stateside versions of the ride, with more thrills and a slightly more ominous vibe. Nearby, there is an enormous themed play area for kids which includes caves, waterfalls, a pirate ship, and more. I wanted to explore it myself, but we were off to the next destination: Frontierland.
Big Thunder Mountain was temporarily closed when we arrived, and we never got the chance to ride later in the day, so I unfortunately can’t share much there. Luckily, the ride I most wanted to see, Phantom Manor, was working just fine.
I loved Phantom Manor. It was spooky, it was a little kooky, and it had a unique story that fully set it apart from the original Haunted Mansion ride. Like Pirates of the Caribbean, this felt much darker than its U.S. counterparts, and if you ask me, dark is good. (This coming from the girl whose favorite Disney movie is The Hunchback of Notre Dame.)
Last, we visited Fantasyland, a pastel daydream of brightly spinning teacups and enchanted hedge mazes. Here, we indulged in a bit of nostalgia at Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains, spun ourselves dizzy on the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups, revisited beloved fairy tales in miniature on Le Pays des Contes de Fées, and enjoyed the cutest version yet of it’s a small world.
After a rough start at Parc Walt Disney Studios, I’m happy to report that Disneyland park was just the experience I imagined when we purchased our tickets. Phantom Manor was incredible, the park was beautiful, and we were able to see almost everything we wanted by the time we left to catch the train. All that’s missing is a fireworks fairy tale ending! We’ll have to visit with our kids and make up for that one day.
Leave a Reply