July 4th & 5th - Disneyland Paris - Part 1
July 7, 2014
OK everyone reading. Here is the report of "My Trip to Disneyland Paris."
Let me start by saying that this has been a dream of mine for 20 plus years. That dream was to visit Disneyland Paris. Or as it was named before, Euro Disneyland. I had seen a lot of pictures, read a lot of articles and seen videos but I wanted to experience it all for myself.
On the drive from Stuttgart, which took about 5 1/2 hours, I was excited and anxious the entire time. I couldn't wait to get to the resort and see it for the first time in person. Mile by mile went and hour by hour passed but finally I saw the sign that said, Disneyland Paris, next exit. I did find it interesting that there were no signs or advertisements or billboards on the side of the motorway approaching the resort, but different country, different practices.
I turned onto the road that led to the resort and it was a long road, a little like the drive up to The Magic Kingdom. I got to a sign that said Parcs Disneyland and veered that way until I saw the entrance to the parking area.
The first day, July 4th, I turned around and then went over to the parking garage at The Disney Village. It was actually cheaper and closer than the parking area was. On the second day, I did park in the parking area and ended up walking about a mile to get to the gate. Holy crap!!! I was already tired without doing anything. But I digress back to Friday, July 4th.
I parked in the garage and walked into the Village where I saw some familiar sights, stores and restaurants. I have to say, I wasn't impressed too much with the village as much as I am with Downtown Disney, soon to be Disney Springs. There just wasn't nearly as much there in terms of variety. They had the usual, McDonald's, Planet Hollywood, Starbucks, Earl of Sandwich and a few others I hadn't heard of before. The stores were not nearly as impressive either. World of Disney looked more like small town of Disney and the other stores just had the same stuff in them as well. Have to give my approval to Walt Disney World.
So I went and bought a 2 day pass so I could go into the park on Friday as well. Instead of going to Disney Studios, I opted to go to Disneyland instead for both days. I look back at this and sometimes I wish I had gone to the Studios that first day but I would have only had a few hours to do anything. Besides, I've been on Rock n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror at Walt Disney World, even though they may be a little different, I didn't want to just barely do anything so I went to Disneyland.
As I got to the front, I saw how different it really is.
Main Street USA is very similar to what The Magic Kingdom used to look like before they filled in one of the side streets with another "much needed" store. There were a few missing items and add ons but overall, it looked very similar. One thing they do have that I think is neat is they have what they call Arcades on each side of Main Street. Basically, it's an open area that allows high volumes of traffic to go in and out when it is needed. Makes the crowds less torturous than they normally would be jammed on Main Street, trying to get out.
The Hub is similar to the other parks. Again, minor changes like missing the "Partners" statue and a few other items. However, the biggest difference is Sleeping Beauty's Castle. This has been called the most beautiful castle of all the Disney Parks. While it does look nice, I'm not sure it's the most beautiful. It has a neat Dragon Scene underneath it and you can walk up to the second floor and look outside but I guess I'm bias cuz I like The Magic Kingdom's better.
I know, not a fair comparison but it's my site.
Turning left off the hub, we reach Frontierland. A wooden fort type barrier is built there and it looks authentic enough. Once you walk through, you see the Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing. It looks identical to the Richard Irvine at The Magic Kingdom except this one goes counter clockwise. And it doesn't go around Tom sawyer's Island, instead it goes around Thunder Mountain, which I'll describe in a minute.
Phantom Manor is their version of The Haunted Mansion and sits high atop a hill overlooking the western rivers.
I'm a little mixed on the exterior of the mansion being run down. As Marc Davis, one of the creators of The Haunted Mansion, has said. "Walt would not approve." I'm not sure if I do too. Also, this version tries to have a storyline to it and while it does have some, if you don't know it and you're just riding it for the first time, and don't understand French, you won't get it and just be kind of missing the point. I'm not even sure what the dialogue is in French, after the stretching room, there's not really any more talking. This is also a very dark ride. The interior is very dark and the scenes are too and I guess that goes with the storyline of how the Phantom came to be. My opinion is I love the original in Disneyland, CA because they also do The Haunted Mansion Holiday. Florida needs to get on that bandwagon. It really is cool.
Spoiler Alert!!! This Thunder Mountain is the best version of any that I've been on. First, "The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness," is the original one from BTM in Orlando. I do miss hearing that. The ride takes you under the Western rivers and up into the island where the main part of the ride is and it is fun. Has the typical 3 lift hills but after the last one, you get a nice drop that takes you under the rivers again and back up the other side. Good time for sure!!!
On our way back to Adventureland now where there is a roller coaster called Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril. It's a nice roller coaster. No too long and now big drops but it does have a loop in the center of it and overall it was decent and worth my time for riding it.
My last review of this post was another awesome experience. The Pirates of the Caribbean is in my opinion, the best version I have seen between the others. Why do you ask? It has the best of both The Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, CA. It combines the queue from FL and the Blue Bayou restaurant on the water for starters. It then expands the ride from both FL and CA and also takes the second drop and puts it into action. In fact, the storyline kind of reveals that you die in the ride due to an explosion, thus earning the saying, "Dead Men Tell no Tales!" It was a great ride and it didn't have Captain Jack Sparrow in it nor did it have any of the so called PC crap either. It was well done and I really enjoyed it.
So that's the end of Part 1. I didn't realize I was going to break it down into parts but there's a lot of writing to do and it's getting late. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this post and look forward to Part 2.
Bill out...
Let me start by saying that this has been a dream of mine for 20 plus years. That dream was to visit Disneyland Paris. Or as it was named before, Euro Disneyland. I had seen a lot of pictures, read a lot of articles and seen videos but I wanted to experience it all for myself.
On the drive from Stuttgart, which took about 5 1/2 hours, I was excited and anxious the entire time. I couldn't wait to get to the resort and see it for the first time in person. Mile by mile went and hour by hour passed but finally I saw the sign that said, Disneyland Paris, next exit. I did find it interesting that there were no signs or advertisements or billboards on the side of the motorway approaching the resort, but different country, different practices.
I turned onto the road that led to the resort and it was a long road, a little like the drive up to The Magic Kingdom. I got to a sign that said Parcs Disneyland and veered that way until I saw the entrance to the parking area.
The first day, July 4th, I turned around and then went over to the parking garage at The Disney Village. It was actually cheaper and closer than the parking area was. On the second day, I did park in the parking area and ended up walking about a mile to get to the gate. Holy crap!!! I was already tired without doing anything. But I digress back to Friday, July 4th.
I parked in the garage and walked into the Village where I saw some familiar sights, stores and restaurants. I have to say, I wasn't impressed too much with the village as much as I am with Downtown Disney, soon to be Disney Springs. There just wasn't nearly as much there in terms of variety. They had the usual, McDonald's, Planet Hollywood, Starbucks, Earl of Sandwich and a few others I hadn't heard of before. The stores were not nearly as impressive either. World of Disney looked more like small town of Disney and the other stores just had the same stuff in them as well. Have to give my approval to Walt Disney World.
So I went and bought a 2 day pass so I could go into the park on Friday as well. Instead of going to Disney Studios, I opted to go to Disneyland instead for both days. I look back at this and sometimes I wish I had gone to the Studios that first day but I would have only had a few hours to do anything. Besides, I've been on Rock n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror at Walt Disney World, even though they may be a little different, I didn't want to just barely do anything so I went to Disneyland.
As I got to the front, I saw how different it really is.
Main Street USA is very similar to what The Magic Kingdom used to look like before they filled in one of the side streets with another "much needed" store. There were a few missing items and add ons but overall, it looked very similar. One thing they do have that I think is neat is they have what they call Arcades on each side of Main Street. Basically, it's an open area that allows high volumes of traffic to go in and out when it is needed. Makes the crowds less torturous than they normally would be jammed on Main Street, trying to get out.
The Hub is similar to the other parks. Again, minor changes like missing the "Partners" statue and a few other items. However, the biggest difference is Sleeping Beauty's Castle. This has been called the most beautiful castle of all the Disney Parks. While it does look nice, I'm not sure it's the most beautiful. It has a neat Dragon Scene underneath it and you can walk up to the second floor and look outside but I guess I'm bias cuz I like The Magic Kingdom's better.
I know, not a fair comparison but it's my site.
Turning left off the hub, we reach Frontierland. A wooden fort type barrier is built there and it looks authentic enough. Once you walk through, you see the Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing. It looks identical to the Richard Irvine at The Magic Kingdom except this one goes counter clockwise. And it doesn't go around Tom sawyer's Island, instead it goes around Thunder Mountain, which I'll describe in a minute.
Phantom Manor is their version of The Haunted Mansion and sits high atop a hill overlooking the western rivers.
I'm a little mixed on the exterior of the mansion being run down. As Marc Davis, one of the creators of The Haunted Mansion, has said. "Walt would not approve." I'm not sure if I do too. Also, this version tries to have a storyline to it and while it does have some, if you don't know it and you're just riding it for the first time, and don't understand French, you won't get it and just be kind of missing the point. I'm not even sure what the dialogue is in French, after the stretching room, there's not really any more talking. This is also a very dark ride. The interior is very dark and the scenes are too and I guess that goes with the storyline of how the Phantom came to be. My opinion is I love the original in Disneyland, CA because they also do The Haunted Mansion Holiday. Florida needs to get on that bandwagon. It really is cool.
Spoiler Alert!!! This Thunder Mountain is the best version of any that I've been on. First, "The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness," is the original one from BTM in Orlando. I do miss hearing that. The ride takes you under the Western rivers and up into the island where the main part of the ride is and it is fun. Has the typical 3 lift hills but after the last one, you get a nice drop that takes you under the rivers again and back up the other side. Good time for sure!!!
On our way back to Adventureland now where there is a roller coaster called Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril. It's a nice roller coaster. No too long and now big drops but it does have a loop in the center of it and overall it was decent and worth my time for riding it.
My last review of this post was another awesome experience. The Pirates of the Caribbean is in my opinion, the best version I have seen between the others. Why do you ask? It has the best of both The Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, CA. It combines the queue from FL and the Blue Bayou restaurant on the water for starters. It then expands the ride from both FL and CA and also takes the second drop and puts it into action. In fact, the storyline kind of reveals that you die in the ride due to an explosion, thus earning the saying, "Dead Men Tell no Tales!" It was a great ride and it didn't have Captain Jack Sparrow in it nor did it have any of the so called PC crap either. It was well done and I really enjoyed it.
So that's the end of Part 1. I didn't realize I was going to break it down into parts but there's a lot of writing to do and it's getting late. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this post and look forward to Part 2.
Bill out...
Posted by Bill Bickford.