Disneyland Paris, worth the visit?

[Tinkerbell 8]

I'm not exactly sure where to post this but I just found out that my boyfriend is planning a trip for us to Paris early next year. I've been to Paris before, but it was 8 years ago, and he's never been. We would only be going for 4-5 days and I wasn't sure if taking one day to visit Disneyland Paris was worth it? I've never been to the park and I'm not sure if I'll be going back to Paris anytime soon, or anytime the rest of my life. I was wondering if anyone on here has been to the resort and what their thoughts are.

 

[afar28]

The Disneyland park in Paris is good, not as good As MK or Disneyland Cali, but it is still a good theme park. Disney studios though, is a half a day park. Crush's coaster is one of the only things worth doing. It seems like they cheaper out on theming, and is absolutely nothing compared to the theming of other Disney parks. That's just my opinion though

 

[coachwnh]

Id say if you are there and you have the chance, then do it!! If it conflicts with the rest of your trip, then dont. either way, enjoy paris. never been, but would love to visit myself

 

[real mad hatter]

Ok 2001 we did DL and it was great,in 2003 we done DLP and it was great ( not now due to the crap euro ) then 2004 we done WDW and it was OOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGG.....Enough said.

 

[disney magic 06]

I love DLP. Being from the UK it's a great weekend away for us, we go every year and it keeps us going until our next WDW trip.

That said however, it doesn't compare with WDW, it is much much smaller - although that makes it easier to get around. The Disneyland Park is beautiful and holds its own against any park imo. The rides are often better than their WDW equivalents and it's beautifully landscaped and maintained. The Studios Park is small but has some good attractions, Crush's Coaster is one of my favourite rides of all and Cinemagique and Animagique are well worth a visit.

As you're in Paris anyway it would be a shame to miss it, it is a great place to visit - just don't compare it to wdw.

 

[Tiggerfanatic]

I was just there a month ago - was in Scotland moving my daughter home from University, and figured we were this close, take advantage of it because we might never get the chance again. I am so glad we went. Like others have said, it's no WDW, and I've never been to California to compare, but I really enjoyed everything about the parks. We spent 3 days and were able to do everything we wanted. My favorite was the castle - it is actually an attraction, probably spent close to an hour in it. And I loved, loved, loved Cinemagique in the studios - one of the best Disney shows I've seen. The parks are beautiful and have a lot of really neat stuff to see and do. I say, if you get the chance, go for it. Just one word of advice, it is expensive compared to Florida.

 

[m steve]

Disney Magic 6's assessment is spot on. We visited DLP in July and thought that a number of the attractions there were better than their counterparts in Florida (Big Thunder Mtn RR, Peter Pan, Space Mountain, etc.). The park was beautiful. It was also very nice to walk to the parks from our resort rather than taking a bus. The two parks are a two minute walk apart from each other which was also a bonus. We did agree, though, that Disney Village and Disney Studios did not compare well to Downtown Disney and Hollywood Studios.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

Its absolutely worth the visit -- I am fortunate and get to Paris twice a year, and I visit DLP each time for a day -- you can do both parks in one day with a park-hopper ticket. Easy to get to from central Paris -- a 40-minute RER ride. Avoid weekends, very crowded, and avoid Wednesdays (French kids have no school on Wednesdays). Go have fun and post your own thoughts when you get back!

 

[luv]

I think anything is worth doing if you want to do it!

We once went to see the World's Fourth Largest pencil, lol. And we had fun doing it. . I did not independently verify the status of the pencil's mass. I took their word for it. But it's in the scrapbook as us "with the World's Fourth Largest Pencil."

I always wonder how great DLP can be...because so many Brits fly all the way here to go to WDW. If DLP were that great, I wonder if they'd make that long trip. But I've never been and have no idea.

 

[GloriaWoW]

It's definately definately worth going! DLP is my favourite, you definately need to go on the Tower of Terror. I would advice you to stay at the Newport Bay club, I have stayed in all the DLP Themed hotels and this is by far the best one. It's in the perfect location, not too far and still get some peace and quiet. There are so many amazing rides to go on, just go for it! It may be closer and most convenient for me as I live in the UK, but some sites for any other DVL'ers out there that I recently discovered that offer discount http://www.ferrysavers.co.uk/disney/exclusives.htm Enjoy! PS. Don't foprget your Euros, on my last trip I forgot to change my pounds to Euros and did it in the Eurostar dep..What a rip off!

 

[greggo1988]

I think anything is worth doing if you want to do it!

We once went to see the World's Fourth Largest pencil, lol. And we had fun doing it. . I did not independently verify the status of the pencil's mass. I took their word for it. But it's in the scrapbook as us "with the World's Fourth Largest Pencil."

I always wonder how great DLP can be...because so many Brits fly all the way here to go to WDW. If DLP were that great, I wonder if they'd make that long trip. But I've never been and have no idea.

Yeah you’re correct about the brits going to WDW. There is no comparison between DLP and WDW.

The people who continually bash WDW on this site would have a field day at DLP.

I live in the UK and go to WDW 2 times a year and will never go back to DLP unless the maintenance is vastly improved and more care/detail are put into the attractions that were not part of the park opening. Disney Village is a JOKE too. Oh and don't mention 2 out of 10 guests smoking wherever they want. Rude CM who just turn up for a pay check...... I could go on.

I am not a Disney 'basher' but DLP falls FAR from the standards we expect, it is soooooooo expensive and I have never felt any 'magic' in the parks.

The only upside to DLP is the hotels. I stayed in Hotel New York and the pool / bar / breakfast was fantastic. The room was a little old and needed a refurb but so do many WDW rooms I have stayed in so it was fine for what I needed and big too.

I don't think it will ever be as good as DL or WDW because the CM do not have the same sense of pride or tradition that the US CM have working for Disney. Also the guests at DLP really do not care about what they are doing, I have seen people pulling out plants, walking over fences onto flowers to get a good view of the parade with no challenge from CM or security (who you never see in the parks, just at the entrance where your bags go through an x-ray machine!) the queues are a mess with people destroying props, paint, railings anything they can scratch their initials into. Most of the bulbs are out around the resort (I won’t mention GF roof lights here!) the AA in pirates and IASW were broken when I went (again I won’t mention Splash Mountain!)

I understand that all the parks have their challenges with maintenance but when you compare the sheer size of WDW to DLP the maintence at WDW is far better than DLP where they can’t be bothered to even paint things.

Bash me if you want but the above is my opinion and I will always love WDW and many people I know love DLP so it is a matter of opinion, but IMO WDW comes out way ahead every time and it is my happy place

 

[Tinkerbell 8]

Thanks for all the replies! I was able to talk him into taking one of the days that we will be in Paris to go to DLP. He said he was going to take me there anyway since he knows how much I love Disney. I'm not sure exactly when we are going since he won't tell me that part, but I'm going to assume sometime between January and March. Thank you for the advice about avoiding weekends and Wednesdays, I'll have to let him know that since I don't know the dates we are going. He wanted to surprise me with a trip to Paris, but he knows how OCD I am about planning vacations and how he is pretty unorganized, so he told me we are going but he's not telling me when.

 

[OswaldTheRabbit]

That is so exciting! It is top if my bucket list to go to Paris ans I would probably make a stop there just to see it and how it is different.

Have a great time! Eat some yummy pastries for me!

 

[wiigirl]

I personally can't wait to get to the Disney Land Paris. We are planning 2014 or 2015.

 

[Mukta]

I am so glad that I visited DLP on my trip to Europe. Sure there are issues, but it is still a beautiful resort to visit with many unique and interesting attractions. Their castle is the most beautiful to me.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

For BTMRR and Pirates yes. The studios still make DHS seem like a full day park.