Paris v.s Flordia!:Trip Report Attractions Comparison..

[Conor*]

Hi there! Thought I'd do something different than the usual Trip Report story telling, and leap into one of the more hotly contested Disney Debates of which version of classic Disney Attractions are better in Paris or Florida.

I went to Disney Paris over March 17th and March 18th and was lucky enough to experience both Studios Park and the main Disneyland Park. I've been to Walt Disney World Florida (and all of the theme parks) on 3 separate occasions. This was my first trip to Paris and some of the outcomes really surprised me as I always assumed Walt Disney World would triumphed over "trashy Euro-Disney"....

Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom, Florida) v.s Space Mountain: Mission 2 (Disneyland Park, Paris)

Why not start with the big one! Usually the biggest talking point of debate between the two theme parks. You all know the history behind both rides so here is my view point:

The thrill factor is unquestionably higher in Paris, the ride was designed to be a faster version. However it was obviously forgotten to design any sense of comfort into this ride! The shoulder resistant were the hardest gripping I've ever sat in, on all three times I rode. The smell of the smoke machine and effects along the ride were also simply awful.

So yes the thrill factor is much higher in Paris, however in Florida the ride design is so much better despite being much older. I also love the individual seating experience in Magic Kingdom. That is a great feature that often gets forgotten how unique it is.

I'm going to give the win to Magic Kingdom here, as although Paris is more thrilling, Space Mountain 1 in Florida gets the job done perfectly fine and IN COMFORT.

Winner: Space Mountain, Magic Kingdom Florida


Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road

A big big difference here. The ride is again more thrilling in Paris, but also longer and more visually impressive. I mean the ride stands on It's own island! Thats just great.

I'll give the win to Paris here, as the ride is seen as a bit more grand and epic here. Also the whole Frontierland is themed around the ride with various posters advertising it etc etc which is just great to see.

Winner: Disneyland Park, Paris


It's A Small World

A big difference again. It's very strange to see It's A Small World treated with such importance in Paris when I've been used to it being fitted in a busy Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom for so long.

The facade for It's A Small World in Paris is amazing. A mass display which looks huge close up. Such a wonder why so much work went into presenting this ride really.

No idea if both rides have any difference, as I tend to get a headache and faze out around the 4th loop of "It's a small world after all..." so I'll have to draw them on ride quality!

Winner: Disneyland Park, Paris


The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Again no much difference in ride quality. Although I think the Paris version may have lasted a few seconds more but never the less it is again the presentation of the rides exterior that splits the two. This time in Hollywood Studios, Florida's advantage!

The ride in Walt Disney Studios, Paris is built in a busy area of the park and doesn't really stand out. Sure it's "Wow that's tall!" but there's so much to look at around it, that it sometimes gets lost in the shuffle as hard as that is to imagine about such a great show building.

In Florida, the hotel is presented so much more effectively. Standing on it's own atop of a hill at the top of Sunset Boulevard, simply perfect.

Winner: Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World Florida

Mad Hatter's Tea Party (The Teacups)

Never thought this would be a point of comparison between the two theme parks, but wow the Paris version is beautiful. The roof above the tea cups is fantastic and actually adds to the attraction. The Paris alternative makes the Florida version look quite weak in comparison. Amazing how there can be so much difference between the standard Tea Cup ride!

Winner: Disneyland Park, Paris

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin

Not much to say other than the Paris alternative needs some work or upgrades soon! It broke down about 6 times over my 3 rides. Other than that the only noticeable difference was the AA Buzz in the rides que, with Magic Kingdom's being a lot more impressive.

Winner: Magic Kingdom, Florida

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith

Or as Paris should call it: "The forgotten and poorly advertised roller coaster at the very back of the Park" No idea why it gets so little love in Paris, but the ride only ever had a 5 minute wait. Which was great for me admittedly but strange and a bit sad for such a great attraction.

Anyway as for comparisons, the Paris version did seem to pack a heavier punch with show effects such as heavy smoke machines, flashing lights and strobe lights along the ride. It just seemed more in A-Mode than I had ever seen Hollywood Studio's presentation. But this may be a seasonal thing which I don't ever catch in Florida...

Winner: Walt Disney Studios, Paris.

Phantom Manor (Paris) v.s Haunted House (Florida)

Another tough choice. I love both versions a lot. This may be a slightly odd point, but hearing the opening spiel in French actually added to the attraction from a non-French speaker point of view in a very strange way. The accent fitted perfectly with the vibe of the hotel in a way I never thought would happen.

Also I have to say, as hard as it is to type, the decoration and attention to detail is a little bit better in Paris. Also the haunted/spooky/scary factor is higher in Paris due to the inclusion of lots of flesh hanging skeletons which was just awesome to see crawl around.

Winner: Disneyland Park, Paris

Star Tours

The lack of the fantastic que that Hollywood Studios offers was made up with the giant X-Wing outside the ride in Paris.

I'll call this one a draw as both ride systems seemed to feel the same. Still both have great features outside the rides.

Draw.

Studio Tram Tour

Another surprising one to compare, but the version in Paris not only had the great Catastrophe canyon but also another fireball scene in a downtown London setting. Which I felt gave it the slight edge. Still not a great difference, both rides need to speed up their slow tram spiels parts...

Winner: Walt Disney Studios, Paris.


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Well that is all I think! I would have compared Pirates but the ride wasn't open in Paris which was a shame. Also I would have compared Peter Pan but it seems the outrageous wait time is the same in both Parks across the pond!

Hope you enjoyed my short report.

Feel free to comment, agree/disagree, which ever



:wave:

 

[ABigBrassBand]

Great idea for a thread! You've got me even more excited for my day-long trip in August! Any ideas for rides I should hit up in that day?

 

[coolmark18]

I would have to disagree in saying that both Paris and Florida's Tower of Terror have the same ride quailty. While I love Paris, its (what I've nicknamed) the 2D version similar to Tokyo and Cali Adventure. In Florida, the lift comes out the shaft and travels through scenes, in the 2D versions the door simply opens and you look out. While I love the ride, and agree on the other points about theming totally lacking in Paris compared to Florida, I'd say the fact that its a 2D version as opposed to the 3D is a major difference.

 

[Conor*]

Great idea for a thread! You've got me even more excited for my day-long trip in August! Any ideas for rides I should hit up in that day?

Thanks!

Well this depends what are you doing for the one day? Are you visiting BOTH Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios or just one of the parks?

I'd normally recommend you visit both (as they are minutes walk apart) but you are going in August which is normally when most theme parks are really busy.

I'll assume you're going to visit just Disneyland Park (but congrats if you have the guts to visit the Studios in the same day as well!).

In Disneyland Park they've got a great Fantasyland area, with a very cute little ride called "Le Plays De Contes De Fees" which is a boat ride through various storybook scenes.

For more thrills they've got a good Indiana Jones coaster, which is nothing earth shattering in the roller coaster world but it's still a good track coaster. Also worth visiting would be the Captain EO show as it's surprisingly all in English! And the floor moving is very neat in that theatre. I'd also suggest looking at the Dragon AA they have underneath the main castle! You can get to it by walking down to the left by the castle bridge, it's such a fantastic hidden away attraction.

Hope you have fun and glad you liked the thread

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Conor* (and anyone else interested in DLP)-

I'm sorry you didn't get to go on Pirates of the Caribbean. It's actually the best version of the ride in my opinion (i know some love CA's but i love Paris' best). Florida has the worst version sadly, only one drop (and the drop is smaller compared to the others) and numerous removed show scenes. The other versions of the ride are actually something like twice as long and have two drops (except for Tokyo i think which has one). We really got the short end of the stick. Still a very fun ride in its own right, but the worst of the bunch.

The Paris version is similar to California's, though the scenes are kind of backwards. You do start out at the Blue Bayou first (which is a pretty good restaurant if i recall correctly, used to be anyways). Then you ascend up a large shaft and see the prison scene first. Then you hit the first drop and things play out similarly from there. There are some differences here and there, but mostly the same. There's two guys fighting with swords, which is unique to the Paris version and looks quite awesome. Scenery seems to look more elaborate in places. After you go through the pirate raid, you drop the second time and descend into the caves, which are the final scenes here. With all the skeleton pirates. I think the story flows much better here and makes more sense.

Anyone who goes to Paris- please ride Pirates. It's the most unique version of the ride, with a different order of events. Amazing atmosphere. Best overall version in my opinion. I went when i was little and it blew me away. Hands down the best ride in the park IMO.

Other rides i can compare-

Peter Pan- I'd say theirs is contender for best version (when it's not broken down). It's almost identical to CA's, but with some better pixie dust effects on the final pirate ship scene (the entire ship lights up). Compared to FL's, it's quite different. Feels smoother and more spread out. I like it a lot, worth riding at least.

Snow White- Kind of a mix of FL's and CA's. Most elaborate animatronics of them all. Has a scene of the queen in her beautiful form too with elaborate animation, unique to the Paris version. Has some neat lighting effects with fiber optic lights. And a very nice and beautiful ending scene. Lacks some of the new fancy projection effects that CA has (in the magic mirror scene). But overall, may be the best version of the ride.

Storybook Canals- Similar to CA. But with some unique and more elaborate scenes from the movies. The cave of wonders scene is impressive. Worth riding, very peaceful and charming. I never experienced this ride before, so it was very special. We in FL don't have it.

Casey Jr- Presented as a VERY mild kiddy coaster. I hesitate to call it a coaster, it really isn't. But it goes a bit faster than CA's and turns sharper and leans around turns. Cute for kids, and still charming for adults (nice view of storybook canals).

Phantom Manor- Totally unique version of Haunted Mansion. Similar scenes, but some major different ones. Story is rather elaborate, and ties in with Big Thunder Mountain (being about a family who owned the gold mine and the surrounding old west town). DO NOT MISS THIS ONE. I won't say it's superior to ours (though i like it better), but it is unique and totally different. It's scarier and more disturbing than the others to me, and hints at a parent committing murder on his son-in-law and later, his own daughter. Very creepy, and mixes up the old music in an interesting way. Has a cool old western ghost town scene too.

Big Thunder Mountain- Another must-do. Just from the feel of it, it goes faster and smoother. Has some cool new dark parts and the train even goes UNDERNEATH the river. Bit different layout. Similar, but more thrilling.

Pinocchio- If you've never ridden on it, ride it. Great and adorable dark ride. It's identical to California's as far as i can tell. We don't have it in Florida.

It's a Small World- This one has a gorgeous facade compared to ours (at least they finally added the world's fair facade to ours, shame it's stuck inside). I think there's some different scenes here and there, with a new America one. Seems unique, though i forget the details. I'd ride it if i were you. I think i recall some sort of hands-on exhibits after you get off.

I went to DLP a few times back in the mid-90's. Unforgettable. Sadly, i was too young to ride Space Mountain Mission 2 and Indiana Jones, but the rest was great. Also never been to Studios (don't think they had it back then in Paris) or some of the newer rides like Crush's Coaster. All their rides really have some major effort put into them, and the scenery is gorgeous.

 

[coolmark18]

Anyone who goes to Paris- please ride Pirates. It's the most unique version of the ride, with a different order of events. Amazing atmosphere. Best overall version in my opinion. I went when i was little and it blew me away. Hands down the best ride in the park IMO.

Other rides i can compare-

Agreed. The ride is amazing and really quite unique. Best version I've been on. Could go round it for hours.

 

[TP2000]

It's a Small World- This one has a gorgeous facade compared to ours (at least they finally added the world's fair facade to ours, shame it's stuck inside).

Prepare for a total Disney/World's Fair geekfest post from me....

That's not actually the "World's Fair" facade.

The intricate facade for Small World was actually designed just for Disneyland in 1966. When Small World debuted at the World's Fair in 1964, it was actually house in a very bland, boxy, warehouse structure that had a very plain facade dressed up with a big glowing Pepsi-Cola logo and the sign for the ride itself. There was a tall kinetic sculpture in front, called the Tower of the Four Winds, that an Imagineer named Rolly Crump designed. But in several interviews about the Fair the Imagineers who worked on it said the tower didn't turn out quite as graceful and elegant as they'd hoped. They served free samples of Pepsi underneath the tower, after you got off the ride. When the Fair ended, the tower was cut up and dumped in the Hudson River.

The Small World ride, in the form of the Pepsi-Cola Pavilion, was really quite bland and boring on the outside at the World's Fair.

Pepsi-Cola Pavilion and Walt Disney's it's a small world at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair

In 1965 Walt had a very fanciful facade designed for the ride on the north end of Fantasyland at Disneyland. The ride opened in its new Disneyland home in May, 1966 with a ride path that was about one third longer than the more condensed version in New York with several added scenes created after the Fair. At Disneyland, Small World is a 15 minute long ride, almost twice as long as the shorter versions now in Orlando, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Disneyland USA - it's a small world

The facade in the Anaheim and Paris version also has the Disneyland Railroad tracks passing between it and the big clock and loading area.

Disneyland Railroad passing in front of it's a small world facade

At Disneyland, that loading and garden area is a totally uncovered load/unload station and topiary garden, with boats passing through the topiary garden inbetween the loading area and the show building.

Anaheim's Topiary Garden

In Paris they had a far less hospitable climate, so they put covers over the outdoor section of the ride.

Tokyo and Hong Kong feature totally indoor rides, much like WDW's version, but with a truncated version of the Anaheim facade. At WDW they added an abbreviated version of the facade and a smaller clock tower to the indoor loading area during a recent long rehab. But only at Disneyland USA do you get all of those various elements all together.

 

[ABigBrassBand]

Thanks!

Well this depends what are you doing for the one day? Are you visiting BOTH Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios or just one of the parks?

I'd normally recommend you visit both (as they are minutes walk apart) but you are going in August which is normally when most theme parks are really busy.

I'll assume you're going to visit just Disneyland Park (but congrats if you have the guts to visit the Studios in the same day as well!).

In Disneyland Park they've got a great Fantasyland area, with a very cute little ride called "Le Plays De Contes De Fees" which is a boat ride through various storybook scenes.

For more thrills they've got a good Indiana Jones coaster, which is nothing earth shattering in the roller coaster world but it's still a good track coaster. Also worth visiting would be the Captain EO show as it's surprisingly all in English! And the floor moving is very neat in that theatre. I'd also suggest looking at the Dragon AA they have underneath the main castle! You can get to it by walking down to the left by the castle bridge, it's such a fantastic hidden away attraction.

Hope you have fun and glad you liked the thread

Thanks for the tips! Yeah, I don't think we're crazy enough to do both parks in one day, so we're just going to get down DLP and do most of that park...which are the most popular attractions, especially in August? Thanks!

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I learned a lot, thanks for the facade information. I didn't know the current ones are different.

Actually, when i was little in the 90's, they didn't even have the Disneyland-like Small World facade at Magic Kingdom. Just some painted walls. It's quite a nice effort considering the limited space inside there. I applaud the effort to at least bring it over the Florida.

 

[OurDailyGruel]

Thank you so much for posting this.

Research has made me anxious about the heat, crowds and overpriced accommodations at The World and I was just recently wondering if I could do the Dumbo/Small World rides at the smaller parks like Paris and HongKong so that I could have a shorter trip to Central Florida with fewer must do attractions.

 

[Fade_to_Blah]

I enjoyed phantom manor but I still much prefer WDW Haunted Mansion....especially after the most recent upgrades

 

[Fade_to_Blah]

And I agree with Space Mountain. If Mission 2 was not so rough it would be a great ride. But its VERY rough, painful even. And unfortunately this makes it a poor attraction.

I enjoyed Disneyland paris, but a few things:

• The hotels were dumps compared to WDW
• I didnt find upkeep any better or worse than WDW
• The Studios are very small, there is not much to do (though they are trying to add things)

 

[KCBroadway]

I'm pretty sure I had a concussion when I got of that Space Mountain ha ha. I went on it again later in the day too...which wasn't smart!

Loved Disneyland Paris, but one of my biggest concerns was the lack of cleanliness. By the end of the day the trash cans were overflowing...trash littered the streets and the attraction areas. I couldn't believe it. I'm so used to people walking around 24/7 at WDW picking up trash. Not so much here.

 

[CaptainShortty]

Loved reading about this...Since you all seem to know a lot about DLP I have a question. My brother is going for 1 day with is family and since I'm the Disney geek I've been set on the task of helping them plan what to see while they're there. Problem is I know very little about DLP. So here's my question...

Disneyland or Studios? Which park? And what are the don't miss attractions??

They've been to WDW countless times and DL and DCA once. And the kids are 15, 13 and 9 and will pretty much ride anything. Thanks so much for the help!

 

[KCBroadway]

If you absolutely can only do one park then DEFINITELY Disneyland. The Studios is quite unique and has a few great attractions, but you can't beat the beautiful architecture and nostalgia of Disneyland. Their versions of Pirates of the Caribbean / Haunted Mansion (called Phantom Manor there) / Small World / Big Thunder are all great. Their Space Mountain is very different, but is not a smooth ride at all. I'm pretty sure it gave me a mild concussion ha ha. However, the kids may have no issues with it. The overall theming of it is still great.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I enjoyed Disneyland paris, but a few things:

• The hotels were dumps compared to WDW
• I didnt find upkeep any better or worse than WDW
• The Studios are very small, there is not much to do (though they are trying to add things)

I so very much agree about the hotels! In fact, I think DLP is one big dump, period. The hotels, the Disney village, the Studio's - it is all complete garbage.

The Castle park however is stunning. So very pretty.


I also got bruised by Space Mountain. Seriously, by the end of the ride I was just kicking and fighting back at that thing! :lol:

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I visited DLP back in the mid-90's when it was still almost brand new, shiny and well maintained. Shame to hear that it seems to have degraded in quality over the years. Still looks lovely from what i've seen, but maintenance seems to have gotten as bad as WDW if not worse. Are the rides themselves still in good working condition, or are they experiencing all sorts of broken effects and figures like WDW?