Hey guys. I'm trying to get the pros/cons of DLP vs the US parks. Anyone here who have been to both that would like to chime in?
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Disney Paris vs WDW/DL
- Thread starter Disney.Mike
- Start date
Jon81uk
Well-Known Member
There was a thread discussing DLP recently, https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/is-disneyland-paris-better-than-the-parks-at-wdw.959411/
But for someone living in the UK, I find that a Florida holiday just offers better overall value as I have access to more than 12 different theme and water parks between all the different operators. DLP is a beautiful park but I don't find a trip there to feel as good value as going to the USA.
But for someone living in the UK, I find that a Florida holiday just offers better overall value as I have access to more than 12 different theme and water parks between all the different operators. DLP is a beautiful park but I don't find a trip there to feel as good value as going to the USA.
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
Walt Disney World
Pros
-4 Theme parks
-2 Water Parks
-2 Shopping, Dining & Entertainment districts
-2 Mini Golf courses
-3 Golf courses
-25+ Hotels to choose from
-Tons of good restaurants serving all kinds of food and at varying budgets
-All American, English language, full American Disney atmosphere
-Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, Legoland, Busch Gardens, Kennedy Space Center and other attractions nearby
-Has Magic Bands and My Disney Experience to make planning easier
-Lots of entertainment and big nightly productions
Cons
-Very expensive, more so for people outside the US.
-Very crowded
-Very hot
-Have to travel between parks
-Hurricanes, thunder storms
-Gators, a personal fear lol
Disneyland Paris
-2 Shopping and Entertainment districts, Disney Village and Val d'Europe
-Everything is walking distance like Disneyland CA
-Paris is 40 minutes away
-Disneyland Park is the most beautiful of the Magic Kingdoms
-Has the best versions of many attractions, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean etc
-Cheaper and better value for money, for Europeans anyway.
Cons
-Only 2 Parks
-Only 1 Golf Course
-Only 7 Hotels
-No Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Peoplemover, Winnie the Pooh ride or Tom Sawyer Island
-Walt Disney Studios park is the smallest and worst of the Disney parks
-Food is an extortionate price, burger and fries is $18, not that nice either. Eat in Disney Village rather than the parks.
-Language is a mix of both French and English though mostly French
-I love DLP but it is lacking that 'magical' atmosphere that WDW has and I don't know why
-Weather is usually cold and wet outside of the Summer months
-Whilst hugely improved lately, CMs aren't quite as happy or as helpful as in WDW and service is slow.
-Lots of big rides go down for refurbishment all at once whereas WDW usually only has a couple at a time
-Disney Village is very lacking in comparison to Disney Springs
-Photopass photographers are few and far between
-No Magic Bands and Fastpass is old paper system, though some people prefer this
-Firework shows are very minimalist compared to WDW due to French laws and noise complaints from nearby residents
I love both resorts but if I was offered a free week at either it would be Walt Disney World.
Pros
-4 Theme parks
-2 Water Parks
-2 Shopping, Dining & Entertainment districts
-2 Mini Golf courses
-3 Golf courses
-25+ Hotels to choose from
-Tons of good restaurants serving all kinds of food and at varying budgets
-All American, English language, full American Disney atmosphere
-Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, Legoland, Busch Gardens, Kennedy Space Center and other attractions nearby
-Has Magic Bands and My Disney Experience to make planning easier
-Lots of entertainment and big nightly productions
Cons
-Very expensive, more so for people outside the US.
-Very crowded
-Very hot
-Have to travel between parks
-Hurricanes, thunder storms
-Gators, a personal fear lol
Disneyland Paris
-2 Shopping and Entertainment districts, Disney Village and Val d'Europe
-Everything is walking distance like Disneyland CA
-Paris is 40 minutes away
-Disneyland Park is the most beautiful of the Magic Kingdoms
-Has the best versions of many attractions, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean etc
-Cheaper and better value for money, for Europeans anyway.
Cons
-Only 2 Parks
-Only 1 Golf Course
-Only 7 Hotels
-No Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Peoplemover, Winnie the Pooh ride or Tom Sawyer Island
-Walt Disney Studios park is the smallest and worst of the Disney parks
-Food is an extortionate price, burger and fries is $18, not that nice either. Eat in Disney Village rather than the parks.
-Language is a mix of both French and English though mostly French
-I love DLP but it is lacking that 'magical' atmosphere that WDW has and I don't know why
-Weather is usually cold and wet outside of the Summer months
-Whilst hugely improved lately, CMs aren't quite as happy or as helpful as in WDW and service is slow.
-Lots of big rides go down for refurbishment all at once whereas WDW usually only has a couple at a time
-Disney Village is very lacking in comparison to Disney Springs
-Photopass photographers are few and far between
-No Magic Bands and Fastpass is old paper system, though some people prefer this
-Firework shows are very minimalist compared to WDW due to French laws and noise complaints from nearby residents
I love both resorts but if I was offered a free week at either it would be Walt Disney World.
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Jon81uk
Well-Known Member
This is the main thing I disagree with, per night of the trip it is worse value for me, the only reason it is cheaper is the shorter stay really. Flights from UK to Florida can be under £500, but travel to Disneyland Paris can be £100-200, if you spread the cost of Florida over a 10-14 night stay then that £500 flight still can be £50 a night, whereas a 3 night trip to DLP with a £150 direct Eurostar is still £50 per night averaged travel costs. Hotels at DLP aren't really any cheaper that WDW so for me a full long Florida trip is a better value.
Kevin_W
Well-Known Member
For me the, one difference is that a WDW trip is a vacation while our DLP trip was *part* of a vacation. That's not necessarily a pro or a con, just a difference. We can easily spend a week at WDW, while I think 3 days was plenty at DLP. (But, Paris >>>Orlando.)
I enjoyed Parc Disneyland as much as any park I've been to, but AK and Epcot add a lot to the Florida resort for me. Suprisingly, I found the food to be far superior in Florida. (3 years later, whenever I have bad food my daughter asks: "but is it as bad as the pizza in Disney France?" And I'm forced to admit: "no, nothing was as bad as the food in the Studios park")
I enjoyed Parc Disneyland as much as any park I've been to, but AK and Epcot add a lot to the Florida resort for me. Suprisingly, I found the food to be far superior in Florida. (3 years later, whenever I have bad food my daughter asks: "but is it as bad as the pizza in Disney France?" And I'm forced to admit: "no, nothing was as bad as the food in the Studios park")
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
DLP is kind of "in between" WDW and DLR. It is relatively larger than DL and has more options in terms of hotels and entertainment, but still only has two parks that are located close together. This even extends to Disneyland Park in Paris, which is kind of like what DL might be like at a Florida scale.
The resort layout is basically a bigger version of DL with more hotels. I don't know that I'd feel the need to stay at the DLP hotels because historically they have been very overpriced, although to my understanding most of them have gotten recent refurbs.
Disneyland Paris, the park, is fantastic! It's one of the most beautiful parks the Imagineers have ever built, and is second perhaps only to DisneySea in terms of design. Many of the attractions improve upon the originals in the states. Almost everything is uber-themed, and largely untouched from its original construction. Every true fan of the parks that is able to go should go, IMO.
That said, Disneyland Paris, the resort, can be lacking. The Studios Park is just as bad as everyone says, although it'll get a boost in quality attractions soon with the expansions. Disney Village, their shopping area, is hideous and long overdue for a refresh. Food, historically, has often been lacking.
Historically, maintenance was a problem at the resort, but anyone telling you that now is giving you outdated information. The park has had extensive refurbishments and now, to my understanding, looks and runs great.
Some people have reported issues with Cast Members, but I found many wonderful CMs back in 2015. The thing is that French service is different from US service, and you cannot just go to France expecting service norms to be the same. If you do go, go in knowing some basic etiquette and that should solve that problem.
My recommendation is to go; Disney Paris isn't perfect, and it won't take up an entire trip, but the main park is fantastic and the city of Paris is right there when you finish up at the resort!
The resort layout is basically a bigger version of DL with more hotels. I don't know that I'd feel the need to stay at the DLP hotels because historically they have been very overpriced, although to my understanding most of them have gotten recent refurbs.
Disneyland Paris, the park, is fantastic! It's one of the most beautiful parks the Imagineers have ever built, and is second perhaps only to DisneySea in terms of design. Many of the attractions improve upon the originals in the states. Almost everything is uber-themed, and largely untouched from its original construction. Every true fan of the parks that is able to go should go, IMO.
That said, Disneyland Paris, the resort, can be lacking. The Studios Park is just as bad as everyone says, although it'll get a boost in quality attractions soon with the expansions. Disney Village, their shopping area, is hideous and long overdue for a refresh. Food, historically, has often been lacking.
Historically, maintenance was a problem at the resort, but anyone telling you that now is giving you outdated information. The park has had extensive refurbishments and now, to my understanding, looks and runs great.
Some people have reported issues with Cast Members, but I found many wonderful CMs back in 2015. The thing is that French service is different from US service, and you cannot just go to France expecting service norms to be the same. If you do go, go in knowing some basic etiquette and that should solve that problem.
My recommendation is to go; Disney Paris isn't perfect, and it won't take up an entire trip, but the main park is fantastic and the city of Paris is right there when you finish up at the resort!
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EOD K9
Well-Known Member
I was there in 2013 as part of a vacation. I enjoyed the comparisons and the deja vu feeling. If you have been to WDW/DL, there is that feeling that you have been there, but something is different. It was enjoyable to see the differences and the Jules Verne version of Tomorrowland. The castle is wonderful and we had fun while there. My experience was slightly different as my French is passable so we did get treated a little better than most. I'd go again if I could.....hopefully in 5 years.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Already lots of good thoughts here in this thread!
I don't know about you, but when I go to theme parks I mainly go for the rides. Disneyland Paris has some wonderful and unique versions of classic Disneyland E Tickets (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain). But overall the Paris parks don't have a whole lot of rides. And even fewer theater shows than the American parks.
But let's ignore theater attractions and shows, and just focus on the rides, since these are amusement parks and rides are what mainly drives attendance to amusement parks. The various rides "under construction" are not included in the current tallies noted below.
Walt Disney World Resort - 51 Rides
Magic Kingdom - 27 Rides, 7 E Tickets (Jungle, Pirates, Mansion, Thunder, Splash, Small World, Space)
EPCOT - 9 Rides, 4 E Tickets (Spaceship Earth, Mission:Space, Test Track, Soarin')
Hollywood Studios - 7 Rides, 4 E Tickets (Tower of Terror, RnR Coaster, Star Tours, Millennium Falcon)
Animal Kingdom - 8 Rides, 5 E Tickets (Safari, Everest, Kali River, Dinosaur, Flight of Passage)
Under Construction - 5 Rides, 4 E Tickets (Tron, Rise of the Resistance, Runaway Railway, Guardians of the Galaxy, plus Ratatouille D Ticket)
Disneyland Paris Resort - 31 Rides
Disneyland Paris - 22 Rides, 6 E Tickets (Pirates, Phantom Manor, Thunder, Space, Star Tours, Small World)
Disney Studios - 9 Rides, 3 E Tickets (Tower of Terror, RnR Coaster, Tram Tour)
Under Construction - 4 Rides, 2 E Tickets (Frozen, Rise of the Resistance, plus Spiderman D Ticket & Toy Story B Ticket)
Disneyland Resort - 54 Rides
Disneyland - 36 Rides, 12 E Tickets (Jungle, Indiana Jones, Pirates, Mansion, Splash, Thunder, Small World, Matterhorn, Submarines, Space, Star Tours, Millennium Falcon)
California Adventure - 18 Rides, 5 E Tickets (Guardians of the Galaxy, Soarin', Grizzly River, Incredicoaster, Radiator Racers)
Under Construction - 4 Rides, 3 E Tickets (Rise of the Resistance, Runaway Railway, Avengers, plus Spiderman D Ticket)
nickys
Premium Member
But you can go for as little as £30 by Eurostar. My DS is going with a friend for the second time this year. £60 return train, £100 each for the Sequoia Lodge hotel for two nights including breakfast plus the cost of an AP. Helps to live in London of course where they can get the 6am train and be there pretty much at park opening, and leave at park closing and arrive home by midnight.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
I think this is really the key difference right here.
If you're looking to escape into a Disney bubble for a week or more, I honestly think you'd get bored with DLP. I really love the resort and will be going back in the next month, but you only need 2 or 3 days to do it all in a relaxed fashion. The great thing, though, is that you also have one of the world's great cities right next door, so you can spend a week exploring Paris and then end your trip by escaping into a little French Disney bubble for a few days. If you want a whole Disney vacation, I'd suggest WDW is the better option as you just can't beat the range of offerings and the better weather.
Just as an aside, I was taking a flight back from Lyon to Amsterdam last weekend that included a TGV (train) to Paris Charles De Gaulle airport as part of the ticket. The train stopped at the Disneyland Paris (Marne la Valle-Chessy) station and it took 10 minutes at most to arrive at the airport from DLP, so that is super convenient!
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
It's definitely true that Paris falls short in hard attraction count compared to the US parks, but I think there's something to be said for the atmosphere of the park and the sheer level of detail. Animal Kingdom comes closest but there's nothing else even approaching the level of Disneyland Paris in the US, IMO.
For the attractions they do have, I'd say on average that where DLP and MK are directly comparable, DLP comes out ahead. DL attraction quality is more equivalent, but there are certainly attractions in Paris that pull ahead of DLR as well.
Disney.Mike, if you are an attraction warrior and you do the parks just focusing on the attractions, Paris could be lacking for you. But if you enjoy taking in the atmosphere and really, truly exploring the park, DLP has no equal among castle parks.
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Mickeyboof
Well-Known Member
I absolutely fell in love with Disneyland Paris.
...but with anything I love, I also am not shy in being critical (in hopes the place I love can be better!)
Disneyland Paris is a fascinating combination of simply the best and the worst.
Incredibly decadent, masterfully themed restaurants with too expensive, so-so food.
Charming hotels with rough lodging (stiff beds, smelly, stale cigarette scent, ect).
The rides are all phenomenal. The quality, the lighting, the animatronics are all in top form!
Often considered the best Castle Park in terms of design. It was masterfully planned by the most creative minds. The park is built from actual materials- wood and crystal, glass and stone. It doesn’t have that fake one-material tone that newer parks seem to be built solely out of.
However, it’s next to the worst Disney Park in the world. Perhaps it’s one of the worst theme parks period, but that’s debatable of course.
I do love RC Racer though... even though it’s pretty much off-the-shelf!
Disney Village is tragic. I detest walking through it. I prefer taking the bus to skip the walk.
I have an annual passport and can not wait to return. I wouldn’t do more than four days, as after three there isn’t enough more to discover. I do love spending entire days just hanging out and enjoying the ambiance.
It’s worth going, even if it’s a pricier experience. Pirates alone is worth Admission.
...but with anything I love, I also am not shy in being critical (in hopes the place I love can be better!)
Disneyland Paris is a fascinating combination of simply the best and the worst.
Incredibly decadent, masterfully themed restaurants with too expensive, so-so food.
Charming hotels with rough lodging (stiff beds, smelly, stale cigarette scent, ect).
The rides are all phenomenal. The quality, the lighting, the animatronics are all in top form!
Often considered the best Castle Park in terms of design. It was masterfully planned by the most creative minds. The park is built from actual materials- wood and crystal, glass and stone. It doesn’t have that fake one-material tone that newer parks seem to be built solely out of.
However, it’s next to the worst Disney Park in the world. Perhaps it’s one of the worst theme parks period, but that’s debatable of course.
I do love RC Racer though... even though it’s pretty much off-the-shelf!
Disney Village is tragic. I detest walking through it. I prefer taking the bus to skip the walk.
I have an annual passport and can not wait to return. I wouldn’t do more than four days, as after three there isn’t enough more to discover. I do love spending entire days just hanging out and enjoying the ambiance.
It’s worth going, even if it’s a pricier experience. Pirates alone is worth Admission.
mharrington
Well-Known Member
How is that a con? I would think it would be a pro for the French. Many Europeans (or at least, those who are non-French and non-English) would face the problem if they went Florida or France.
I guess Disneyland and Disneyland Paris are kind of in the same boat, at least as far as complaints from residents are concerned.
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
It's a con because the list is aimed at Americans who speak English so going to Paris and not being able to understand the shows and rides is a con whereas if you go to WDW you will understand everything as it is all in English.
mharrington
Well-Known Member
In any case, I've been to both parks, and they're great, although I've been to Disneyland FAR more than either WDW or DLP. I'm not really sure if it's necessary to understand the dialogue in the rides. But then again, I've been to Disneyland enough times to enjoy. No comment on shows, though.
IanDLBZF
Well-Known Member
Tokyo same thing, their Fireworks shows are only 5 minutes long.
mharrington
Well-Known Member
So they have to contend with complaints from nearby residents, too?
IanDLBZF
Well-Known Member
I believe so since it’s VERY close to an urban area.
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
The language barrier isn't a big deal. Most cast members will be able to speak English, and many shows and attractions are bilingual (some shows have certain times scheduled in French and other times in English, for example). Since attractions are visual, even if you don't understand exactly what's being said you will understand what's going on the vast majority of the time.
I don't know, I guess I view a language barrier as part of the fun of going to another country. It almost feels like cheating going to Canada or the UK vs other countries to me because I can understand what most people are saying!
The fireworks thing isn't necessarily their fault, and at any rate I was very impressed with Disney Dreams (since replaced unfortunately) nonetheless. All of the international parks have to content with some version of stricter fireworks laws. If something like that would truly keep someone from the international parks then I'm at a loss for words.
Since the OP was asking how Paris compares to both WDW AND Disneyland, he probably understands the many ways that WDW differs from the other resorts around the world.
I'd always go for the new experience, personally. Sure, Disney Paris has negatives, but let's not pretend that either US resort is perfect or above reproach.
I don't know, I guess I view a language barrier as part of the fun of going to another country. It almost feels like cheating going to Canada or the UK vs other countries to me because I can understand what most people are saying!
The fireworks thing isn't necessarily their fault, and at any rate I was very impressed with Disney Dreams (since replaced unfortunately) nonetheless. All of the international parks have to content with some version of stricter fireworks laws. If something like that would truly keep someone from the international parks then I'm at a loss for words.
Since the OP was asking how Paris compares to both WDW AND Disneyland, he probably understands the many ways that WDW differs from the other resorts around the world.
I'd always go for the new experience, personally. Sure, Disney Paris has negatives, but let's not pretend that either US resort is perfect or above reproach.
HongKongFu
Well-Known Member
How is that a "pro"? I don't see the inherent advantage. Full American atmosphere????
That has nothing to do with Disney so it should be removed from the list.
Paris has Louve and ornate architecture.... are we really going to start bringing forth that too into a Disney discussion.
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