Trip Report We're going to DLP, We're not?, We Are?, OK!

Last November, we spent 2 weeks in Europe and were able to get to Disneyland Paris for a day. I figured I'd finally get this trip report finished since we'll be back to WDW in a week.

This trip included me, my mother (Moms), her younger sister (Jules), her older sister (Nina), Nina's husband (Uncle D), their youngest child (Cuz).

Nina's bucket list city was Paris; Moms, Jules and I had gone to Italy in '11 and upon our return being the instigators that we are, were telling her let's go. Moms & I had been to Paris, but we were down to return. The initial plans were Paris & Rome. Then Cuz wanted to go to London, so we added that to the beginning. Moms & I were like Venice is beautiful and amazing and impossible to describe without being hyperbolic and eventually they agreed to add that in between Paris & Rome. In figuring out how to get from Paris to Venice, we decided to take a train to Milan and spend a night there.

Nina and fam are frequent visitors to DLR and often have APs. Moms and I are also frequent guests there as well. Being the Disney fans, DLP was added to the itinerary pretty early on. Then their was some hesitation about going & it was taken off, since apparently other people weren't as excited as I was to go there. I spent about a week thinking of leaving them all in Paris to go to DLP solo. Mind you, I'm pretty much the tour guide and the one who knows how to get to places on trips, so they'd be left to fend for themselves if I did this. Eventually I figured I wouldn't leave them, but I'd just have to return to Paris after the Ratatouille ride opened. I'm not sure what made the others change their minds, but once again DLP was on the books. Hence the title of the TR.

Since this trip wasn't on a Disney Cruise and our DLP day was the only Disney part, that's the only part I plan to post here. I'll put a link to my blog which has the rest of the trip for those who want to see it.

Full Europe 2013 Trip Report can be found here, if you want the full story. If you just want to see and hear about DLP, then you stay right where you are.

We spent one night at the Residhome Val d'Europe. It is one stop away from DLP on the RER and the RER entrance is located right next to the hotel, so it's super convenient. The RER is a part of the Paris Metro that covers the suburbs and you pay based on how far you'll be travelling.

Since I am starting in the middle of the story, let me get you caught up. We had been to London and it was our last night in Paris. We were back in the hotel at the end of the day and I was looking up the cost of the RER tickets we'd need the next day. I was finding some high prices on their site, it was gonna cost our group €90 each way, since we had to come back to Paris to catch the train to Milan. I'm not sure what I was searching for, because looking now and it's like half of that. We started looking for alternatives and found a car service that would take us there and back for €200, which seemed worth it since we wouldn't have to haul our luggage around subway stations. We booked that last minute over email, then went to bed.

Hopefully, the next part makes some sense now.

 

[gsrjedi]

What Did I Get Myself Into - part 1​

Our driver from ACS Transfer arrived a couple minutes early in a van big enough to fit all of us and our luggage. It was a weekday but we didn’t really hit any traffic on our way out of town. We arrived at our hotel, Residhome Val d’Europe, about 40 minutes later. Our rooms were ready, so we went up to drop our stuff off. The Residhome Val d’Europe calls it self an apparthotel and our rooms had a kitchen, living room, a bedroom, and a balcony with a view of Tower of Terror. The bed dominated the bedroom and you had just enough room to walk around and with the couch opened up to a bed there wasn’t much room left in the living room either. Jules isn’t the Disney fan the rest of us are, so she was planning on relaxing at the hotel and doing laundry. She said she might join us in the afternoon though. The rest of us planned to do our laundry when we got back from the parks. Residhome Val d’Europe is one stop away from Disneyland Paris on the RER and there is an entrance to the train next to the hotel. This entrance isn’t manned though and only has the automated ticket machines which I’ve used before to buy Paris Metro tickets. The RER though uses a different type of ticket and I didn’t fully read what I was buying and our tickets didn’t work. You put your ticket in the gate, the gates open and you go through and collect your ticket. When you get to your stop you do the same thing to get out. For some reason, I followed someone else through the gate and got stuck on the other side. Eventually, the others figured out what tickets we needed to purchase and joined me just as the train was coming in.


The RER drops you off directly in front of the security gate for the resort. Which is nice because the parks are close like Disneyland with Disney Village next door and you can go between the three without having to go back through security unlike at Disneyland. They also have lines with x-ray machines you can set your bags on to make the process quicker.

There are two parks that make up the Disneyland Paris Resort. Disneyland & Walt Disney Studios. The Studios is considered to be a travesty and the only redeeming item there is Crush’s Coaster. We decided we’d hit that up first since we heard lines for it can get quite long.




Passing through the gates of Walt Disney Studios Park you first go through The Front Lot. An enclosed building with lots of food and the main shop. Cuz was already rushing through so we didn’t really spend much time here for now.

- Front Lot

We got to Crush’s Coaster and the ride was down. Cuz and Uncle D went to ride Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith since he was too small to ride it when they visited Disney World. I’m not a big coaster guy, so I went with Moms and Nina to ride Flying Carpets Over Agrabah.



– Flying Carpets Over Agrabah

Crush was still down so we went next door to Cars Race Rally; a kiddie ride that was not made for large people, I had to suck my gut in to get the seatbelt to close and I had to turn my legs sideways since my knees wouldn’t fit. There’s not much to it, the cars spin around the big disc in the floor like Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree in Disney’s California Adventure, but unlike Mater’s you don’t go from disc to disc. Definitely one for the littlest kiddies, but they did a good job of getting a lot of Cars theming into the queue. When we got off that, Crush was finally open, Nina texted Cuz to let them know. I hopped in line figuring I’d join them for a second go round depending on when they got back. Turns out they were already in line and we saw each other as they were getting on a ride vehicle.

– Cars Race Rally
– Cars Race Rally queue
– Cars Race Rally queue
– Cars Race Rally queue

The easiest way to describe Crush’s Coaster is that it’s a bit like Space Mountain. The coaster is in the dark and there are lots of little lights all around. The difference is your turtle shell spins around as it goes through. It started off calmly and as it climbed the hill for the drop I was backwards and when we started going down I thought to myself “Oh crap, what did I get myself into?” It was awesome though! It felt faster and like it had steeper banked turns than the Disneyland Space Mountain. Coupled with the vehicle spinning around slightly, makes for one of my favorite Disney rides.



– Crush’s Coaster load area

After flying through the EAC, we went to Toy Story Playland. This area is a clone of the same land at Hong Kong Disneyland. The theming is kind of cool, but the rides aren’t that appealing. There’s a parachute drop, a half-pipe coaster that has you going back and forth, and Slinky Dog ZigZag Spin which has you riding Slinky Dog as he chases his own tail in a circle. We rode the Slinky Dog ride. It was a big circle.

 

[gsrjedi]

What Did I Get Myself Into - part 2​

It was just about time for Cinemagique to start so we decided to watch that. This is a movie show starring Martin Short and Julie Delpy. It goes through different periods of film history as the main characters try and connect and find love. It’s in both French and English and is really easy to follow. It’s a unique show and I enjoyed it, but I don’t think anybody else in the group really did.



– Partners statue

By now we were done with this park and were excited to visit the main attraction next door. We did some shopping in the Front Lot before we left though.

– these are pretty awesome, Nina couldn't resist buying a set



– the entrance to Disneyland Paris

Jules was having trouble getting the washer/dryer at the hotel to work so she wouldn’t be joining us.

 

[gsrjedi]

A 5 Minute Wait!?! - part 1​

We made our way to Disneyland Paris and the approach to that park is great. All you see is the Disneyland Hotel at first, you walk underneath that to give/buy your tickets. Then you’re in a little open area with the hotel to your back and the Main Street Railroad Station in front of you. You pass under that like the other Disney parks into Main Street. The park was ready for Christmas and that initial impression with the Castle down the street did not disappoint.

– Disneyland Hotel park entrance
– the classic sign with a French twist





As a Disneyland regular, I know in my Disney World trip report I went on and on about Cinderella’s Castle. I hate to sound like a broken record, but I have to do it again. The Disneyland Paris version of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle (Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant) is spectacular. If this Castle was in another park and not in Paris, it would be out of place. It works so well in this park.







We were on a mission to get some food. Au Chalet de la Marionnette was our choice. The map description mentioned roast chicken which sounded good to Moms, but she changed her mind by the time we got there and got a burger like the rest of us. The meal included burger, fries, drink, and a Magnum ice cream bar for the price which was cool. I don’t remember anything about the food being either particularly good or bad. While we ordered Cuz went to get Fastpasses for him and Uncle D to ride their version of Space Mountain. It includes a corkscrew, which does not interest me in the slightest.




– I don’t know why a ghost was stamped on the bun. We were there about a week after Halloween so that’s probably the culprit.

After lunch, it was time for Cuz & Uncle D’s voyage into space. Moms, Nina, & I saw Peter Pan’s Flight, a favorite, across the way and decided to ride that. I couldn’t believe the posted wait time though. If you’ve been to Disneyland or Disney World and rode Peter Pan’s Flight, you know the ride is very popular and tends to have a perpetual 30+ minute wait. This sign said the wait was only 5 minutes! I thought it was a malfunction. We were visiting on a Thursday in November and the parks were dead, but it was still a surprise. The normal wait times tend to deter from riding Pan frequently, so I can’t say all the minor differences, but it had the same feel and was a very similar ride. Their pirate ship ride vehicles though can seat 4 people.

- yep 5 minutes for Peter Pan's Flight

 

[gsrjedi]

A 5 Minute Wait!?! - part 2​

After our journey to Neverland we walked around Fantasyland a little and ended up in the castle when Cuz & Uncle D regrouped with us. You can walk through a part of the castle and relive the Sleeping Beauty story through stained glass windows and tapestries. You can also go outside and walk along some of the turrets.



– I just love the styling of this castle






– Space Mountain 2.0 in Discoveryland

There is another walk-through attraction in the Castle if you go underneath. La Taniere du Dragon. You walk through some caves and come into a cavern with an animatronic dragon. I thought it was awesome. It’s a very elaborate area you could easily miss, but just goes to show you Disney’s level of detail for their parks.

 

[AndyS2992]

Loving it so far, can't wait for the rest. Not very often you come across a DLP trip report here.

 

[gsrjedi]

Loving it so far, can't wait for the rest. Not very often you come across a DLP trip report here.

Thanks

 

[gsrjedi]

Disneyland Paris Gets Unique​

After escaping the dragon, we made our way to Frontierland. Our destination? Phantom Manor. That is Disneyland Paris’ version of the Haunted Mansion. Spectacular. It’s a different take on the Haunted Mansion formula of the US parks. It didn’t seem as light-hearted and was a little darker in tone. I could see it freaking out little kids more so than the US versions. I loved it though and I wish I could’ve rode it some more.



– Phantom Manor
– Big Thunder from the Phantom Manor queue


After our visit in the Manor, Cuz, Uncle D, & I rode Big Thunder Mountain while Moms and Nina sat it out. Big Thunder Mountain (they dropped the Railroad part of the name in Paris & Tokyo) sits on an island and the ride goes through tunnels to get you there and back. It didn’t feel like it whipped around as much as I’m used to with more straights, but it ends with a high-speed blast through the darkened tunnel on it’s way back to the station which was a lot of fun. Like Phantom Manor, it gives you a unique take on Big Thunder. Another win in my opinion.






After our ride we joined back up with the ladies and started to make our way to the Frontierland Railroad Station. On our way we were distracted by a store. It was a big store and we spent quite a bit of time there. I’m still kicking myself for not buying the Phantom Manor print they were selling. I guess I’ll just have to go back. After lightening our wallets we boarded the Disneyland Railroad and rode one stop to Fantasyland.

– this area was next to the train station and was empty during our visit so I’m not sure what they normally have there, but they had fake snow at this time of year



Our goal was to ride Pirates of the Caribbean before taking a quick break. I don’t remember much about this version of Pirates unfortunately. I remember the ordering of the scenes being different and this version doesn’t have the characters from the films in it. In an effort to be more comfortable I had left my backpack in the room since I knew we’d be coming back for a break. The bad thing is my memory card wallet was in there and I only had about 200 shots when we got to the parks that morning. By this point I was down to single digits worth of photos left, but Moms came through and let me use here card as we exited the park. We stopped in the Emporium on our way out and Moms bought a Goofy version of the Disneyland Paris Eiffel Tower statue that I showed in part 12. Nina had bought the Mickey & Minnie statues at another store, and when Moms bought her Goofy one the lady grabbed a box for her. Nina was standing next to her wondering why she didn’t get a box for the two she purchased. They got her some boxes and we headed back to drop off our packages.

 

[gsrjedi]

A Disney Dream - part 1​

We returned to our hotel later than we had originally planned. When we got back Jules had just finished her load of laundry which worried us since we’d be doing ours when we got back from the parks later. The break ended up being really short because we wanted to get back in time to catch Disney Dreams! their nighttime spectacular at Disneyland Paris. I changed out memory cards and we were on our way. Most of us. Cuz was too tired to go back and didn’t want to go back since we had to be up early to catch our train to Milan the next day. So just the four of us went back.



Moms, Nina, & Uncle D grabbed a bite to eat at Market House Deli while we waited for the show to start. I wasn’t hungry, but I should’ve got something anyways. I explored Main Street as they were chowing down. It started sprinkling right before the show started, but luckily I had my rain sleeve for the camera and it stayed a light sprinkle.

– one of the arcades that run along the back sides of the Main Street shops. Each arcade is themed differently and you can access the stores from these.

Disney Dreams! uses fireworks, mist screens, lasers, music, and castle projections; so it’s basically a hodge-podge of Disney’s other nighttime show ideas. In a word, fantastic. I’m pretty sure it’s Disney’s newest nighttime show and it feels like a culmination of their best ideas. I didn’t take too many photos and instead I just stood and enjoyed the experience. The parks were empty during our visit and one of the nice things was during the show people didn’t crowd. I had room to put my arms out and spin around without hitting people. It was just such a different experience than I’m used to in those kind of situations.


– here’s a short video of the Tangled section (there are much better videos of the entire show on YouTube that are worth checking out)

After the show, the others left to get started on laundry. The park was closed so I stayed to get some photos.

 

[gsrjedi]

A Disney Dream - part 2​

– the closest I got to Discoveryland today
– I love how the rain added that extra dimension to my photos

– attraction posters

I quickly checked out the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel before making my way to Disney Village to get my shopping done.


By this time I was getting hungry and was looking for something to eat. Everything I was seeing was sit-down, closed, or the lines were long. I figured I’d get something in the little shopping area down the street from the hotel. The RER stop at Val d’Europe has two entrances/exits. One is next to our hotel, the other is a block away and leads to some shops. We had been using the entrance near our hotel all day so far, but I knew there were shops at the other end so I went that way to see what was around. I was just looking for something quick and nothing looked appealing to me. Luckily, when Moms and them left the parks, they met Jules at Earl of Sandwich and got food for her and Cuz; and Moms still had half a sandwich left. Which I scarfed down. The washer and dryer at the hotel were just completely foreign to us. Not the language, Jules had been using them all day and had that part figured out for the most part, but they were super slow. We didn’t get finished and to bed until around 1 in the morning. The good thing is the driver would be back to pick us up at 5:30, so we would be able to get plenty of sleep.

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I didn’t see all of Disneyland Paris and my time there was short. What I saw I loved. I’m a Disney fan anyways, but I felt this park offered more unique takes on the same rides in comparison to the two US parks. I hope to get back there and spend a couple days. I didn’t notice any glaring issues, nor was I looking. I saw a beautiful theme park that apparently gets empty during certain times of the year. Coming from Disneyland recently, that’s a huge plus.

Walt Disney Studios Park isn’t a place that requires a lot of time. Crush’s Coaster is amazing and worth visiting both parks for; I enjoyed Cinemagique and would like to see Animagique, but since I’m not a thrill person I can leave Tower of Terror and Rock N’ Roller Coaster (which are both just clones anyways) The new Ratatouille ride sounds great though and Moms has already mentioned having a timeshare in the area.

I had fun there and hopefully I can go back. Won't be for a while though since we've got a WDW trip in 5 days and I'm hoping beyond hope I'll be able to get to Tokyo in the next year or two.

Hope you enjoyed it.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Thanks for posting, we are planning to go in June so I'm very interested in any info or pictures posted of DLP. I'm looking forward to it very much!

 

[gsrjedi]

Thanks for posting, we are planning to go in June so I'm very interested in any info or pictures posted of DLP. I'm looking forward to it very much!

Enjoy yourself. I'm a big fan of Paris itself as well.

 

[FlaggNL]

Hej there, thanks for sharing this wonderful TR! Pictures are marvelous As a regular DLP visitor it's great to see what your thoughts are about DLP and how you experienced your trip We went to DLP so many times the last couple of years..... we planned to visit DLP next December but cancelled the trip because of our savings for the next WDW trip in October 2015!