Disney Land Paris.

[jeremy]

I,m thinking of going to Disney land Paris in October and would like to know the following things:

1) How does it compaire to Wdw?.

2) What are the queues like for the rides and to see the characters?.

3) How far is it from Paris?.

[madmandy]

we went a couple of years ago for bonfire night. There were hardly any queues at all and the characters were all around. I have never been to wdw so i can't compare. We really enjoyed it though and i would go again but i think three days is enough unless they have added anything since we went.

[AndyJ]

The Magic Kingdom is better, the MGM Studios are very small.

Much, much, much easier to get autographs and onto rides!

See my web page below for pictures, reviews etc.

[monkeehanger]

1. You can't really compare it with WDW, I found it hard not to though. Having been to WDW many times I like to think of DLP as just a little reminder of WDW. It's nice to go and I think that they have just about pulled it off - I rate some of the shows there higher than Florida. I bought an annual pass for the family so I must have had a good time!

2. Queues are definitely smaller than Florida, I was there (DLP) two weeks ago and had no real problems. As for the characters I found that they are a little sparse compared with WDW (comparing already!!!).

Also the French have absolutely no idea about queuing and it can sometimes become a bit of a melee. For example the adults just push past small children so that they can meet the characters!

3. Not far at all, there is a train station at DLP that connects quickly to Paris. We drove from Belgium to DLP and passed Paris, 20 minutes later we were at the park.

Hope this helps.

PM me if you need any other questions answering.

[casfan]

cannot compare with WDW as I''m still waiting to go .
have been to DLP about 8 times. and love it.
never had problems with queues.
the best way we found to go to Paris from DLP was by train.
the station is by the main gate.

clevis

[BevS97]

we have been in November 2001 and the park was empty, no queues at all, except on the Sunday - the weekends get very busy with locals. The queuing is not as good as at WDW and there was some pushing for characters, but aside from that I thought it was lovely, we had a fab trip and are going back next week! I expect the queues will be longer in August, but I hope it will also be warmer. It's not WDW, but it's still a very nice place to visit.

[Caz_&_Ryster]

Funnily enough I have just got off the Internet booking for the Scottish October school break.

We returned from Florida two weeks ago having spent a month and could not imagine going a whole year with out seeing the mouse.

We have been in October before and even though it was cold and sometimes wet we had a great time. Park was nicely decorated for Halloween and my nine year old had a ball. Queues were not too bad.

Last year in October we went to Salou and Universal Studios which was also fantastic but much more scary.
You will realy enjoy it!

[4Dunkys]

We went for halloween last year. The themeing and parades where fantastic but the queues for the rides where horrendous. Big Thunder mountain was showing 120 mins:omg: We couldn't get any food as we didn't know about PS and we didn't eat until 10pm at which stage our DD fell asleep at the table..:heart::angel:

The next day Nov 1st the place was like a ghost town and we strolled around very easily, walking on any ride we wanted and they had changed the parade to the Christmas one. All in all we love disney land Paris.

We try not to campare it to WDW as it is just Disneyland and WDW is about the whole Florida experience, shopping, eating, weather etc. I am sure you will have a fantastic time
:jump: :jump: :D :jump:

[Caz_&_Ryster]

When we went during the school holidays in Scotland it was at the beginning to middle of October and the queues were not too bad at all. When we went for a character lunch there was only one other family there but at the character dinner it was packed.

I think it's probably best to keep away from the last week in October if you want to avaoid the crowds. The Halloween theme is on all month although it would have been nice to see the Christmas parade too.

[florida2000]

Been to WDW 5 times and Disneyland Paris twice.

WDW is fab and has the "Disney magic". Also has organised queues with people who respect one another.

Disneyland Paris was a complete nightmare (both times) and I will NEVER be back. I went there with kids 2 - 3 years old and they were constantly barged out of queues by Spanish, French, Italian adults. Maybe its their Latin temperament that is different from ours but good manners and respect for children should apply in any culture.

Also, thety need to inject that 'Disney magic' into Disneyland Paris because it just is not there.

No wonder it is haemorrhaging money and making huge losses.

Anyone else with a similar view?

[monkeehanger]

One other thing which wasn't in keeping with Disney was the touting going on outside the park (although I guess it's still Disney land!).

Loads of geezers with crap for sale and badgering you to get your photo taken...15€ for a polaroid, I don't think so!

Also, one thing which I thought about after reading florida_2000's post, was the fact that many of the cast members aren't really interested and spend most of the time looking bored.

On the backlot tour there was no cast member interaction and he spent the whole tour on the phone! The few 'true' cast ,members you do come across really do shine though and they remind you of the real magic.

[jeremy]

My last question about Disney Land Paris is this: Are the attractions eg "Small world in French"?", or is it in English, as I can,t speak french.

[Totally_Angelic]

It's funny how everyone's experiences are completely different. We love DLP, but try not to compare it to WDW, which is the total American experience. A lot of the rides are better at DLP, and it is all so centrally located. We also found that because the characters all wander about rather than have set places with enormous queues...you can see loads of them. Downsides have to be the food, although we have had good meals in Annettes Diner. The parks can be busy at special times, but that all adds to the atmosphere and is no different from WDW (which we found very busy last Easter!). There is still fastpass etc. We also like the fact that the hotels are so close.....less travalling time, and of course it only takes 3 hours to get there!
Don't worry about the French language, most people speak English and the bits in French (I think some of the POTC pirates speak French) don't really make much difference. For a cheap few Disney days it is wonderful, and the magic is just the same to us!

[jeremy]

What rides does Disney Land Paris have compaired to Wdw?.

[Totally_Angelic]

It has the following:

Pirates of the Caribbean
Haunted Mansion
Space Mountain
Snow White
Peter Pan
Teacups
Dumbo
Caroussel
Small World
Astro Orbiter
Indiana Jones Temple of Doom
Big Thunder Railway
Disney Railroad
Steamboat
Star Tours
Honey I shrunk the audience
Autopia
Casey Jones train ride
A storybook river ride (french name)
pinocchio

Have a look here for all the details:

http://www.disneylandparis.com/uk/disneyland_park/index.htm

[jeremy]

What,s the following rides and shows like:

ride: Indiana Jones and the temple of doom?,

show: Winnie the Pooh show, is it posible to meet the cast of the Pooh bear show?, eg Rabbit and Kanga,as I,ve met Pooh,Piglet and Eeyore?.

[monkeehanger]

I quite the Indiana Jones ride, it's not too long but the loop is pretty good (if you like that sort of thing), although it's a tight loop and I wouldn't recommend the ride if you have any health problems.

[casfan]

The last time we were in DLP.the cast members on the Indiana Jones ride were great having a joke with one of the riders about a piece missing from the saftey harness sa the ride set of

[Totally_Angelic]

I did it when it used to go forwards but have never liked the idea of going backwards...I don't even face backwards on a train!

[jeremy]

Is it like " The Rock and Roll coaster"at Disney,s mgm studios, or better?.

[davemcdonald]

Been to DLP twice, last time for new year, Complete absolute Nightmare, and compounded my hate for the french. (Cant believe how rude they can be, and Stupid). The Park was completely packed, into main street, and there was a serious overcrowded, with no "Cast Members" to be seen. (Park has a maximum capacity, but I dont think its meant to be in main street all at the same time!!!). If it rains, and probably often does in the winter, the place can become a skid pan, with the nice tiled floors becoming great to break bones on(no-one has figured out that putting matting down might help), so if you can actually make it past the entrance without breaking something, your already doing well. On new years eve all but I think one resturant closed down (Unless you had pre-booked some over priced beef burger Meal), so had to queue for over an hour for some chilli and rice in fronter land. The Shopping was also a bit disappointing as most of the stuff was the same from the visit before in Sep 03, most of the shows and the parades were the same to especially in the Studio). Don't take any notice to the start time for the stunt show too, thats what time the show opens, and it starts when the grandstand gets full, which in September can take quite some time (about 1 hour i think). Overall, wont be going back until they open a new park there, so maybe never going back. Also its a little overprices at £600 for three nights, its only costing £1400 for two weeks in Florida in September. As for the Eurostar, top notch from Waterloo to the park, drop of luggage and into the park.

Hope Im not putting people off, the first time we went we enjoyed it, maybe was hoping for too much from the second visit. Did get a nice letter from disney when I wrote to air some of my views, as I do think new years eve was on the dangerous side.

[Totally_Angelic]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience there Dave, unfortunately New Years Eve is likely to be one of the most crowded (and expensive) times of the year. We are going to the halloween party this year and expect big crowds, but will eat before the party starts to avoid lengthy queuing for food once we are in there. As far as costs go...we are having 5 nights and 4 days for less than £250 each (including an annual pass each), and as we are tied to school hols it would cost us a lot more than that to get to Florida at the moment (£500 min for flights alone!), so it it is not necessarily more expensive, and if you need a Disney fix it is ideal. The important thing is to try not to compare it to WDW.

[monkeehanger]

Got to agree the French 'manners' leave a bit to be desired, especially at this time of year when the Spanish are thrown into the melting pot too! Far too many volatile temperaments there!

Ha ha!

Just got back this morning after three nights in the Kyriad. The hotel was really good considering the 2 star rating and low price. I would recommend it.

I've stayed at the Kyriad, Holiday Inn & Sequoia Lodge so far this year (making the most of our annual passes) and all are pretty good. Although (without wanting to compare) the Disney hotels are vastly overpriced compared with their Florida counterparts.

If I still lived in the UK, I think I would find it hard to justify a long weekend in DLP though, due to the expense and travel time.

Also got to agree that the entrances are very slippery when wet!

Had a meal at the Blue Lagoon restaurant (next to POTC ride) and have to say the meal was very nice. 10% discount too with our annual passes. Would definitely recommend eating there and will probably go again ourselves on future visits.

Not a bad weekend, although a bit crowded, but then again that was expected at this time of year.

I do like DLP and it is a good Disney fix. Sometimes it is flawed and other times it is fantastic it's very hard to describe sometimes. Some of the restaurants such as Blue Lagoon are really goo, but then you get your eyes ripped out at other parts of the park!

My biggest complaint of all which will please some and not others however is that there is always someone smoking in the park wherever you turn and even more infuriating is waiting in a queue with small children and you are surrounded by smokers!!!!

Another decent restaurant was the Steakhouse at Disney Village. The staff were very amiable and made the experience enjoyable - especially when my little boy trashed the glass and plate, they didn't bat an eye, just tidied up and replaced his drink for a new one at no extra cost. This is were the French excel, family orientated mealtimes and nothing is too much for the children, even to the point of them sharing a meal. Also, their food was always brought out first, definitely a plus!

More later, as I can think of it I'm sure.

[Totally_Angelic]

Thanks for sharing your experiences Monkeehangar. Do you get 10% discount on all meals with the annual pass?

[monkeehanger]

You get 10% off in all the shops and restaurants, including Disney Village.

It certainly starts to add up if you keep using it.

I'm sure that my wife used the pass in the shop in the Kyriad too, I'll check that one to make sure though.

[monkeehanger]

Yes you can get 10% off in the Disney shop in the Kyriad!