Disneyland Paris Trip Report 2018

Between September 27, 2018 and October 10, 2018, Stella and I, along with two friends, Cindy and Brandon, visited the European continent. Over the course of our travels, we sipped fancy cocktails in London, immersed ourselves in Bavarian culture in Munich and explored the wonders of Paris. And, at the tail end of our trip, we visited the Disneyland Paris Resort.

Our time at Disneyland Paris consisted of the last four days of our European vacation. Per our plan, we would spend half a day in Paris before heading to the resort in the afternoon, two full days at the resort, and leave early in the morning on the last day to make our flight back to the United States. The resort is made up of two theme parks, a Downtown Disney district (Disney Village), eight resort hotels, golf course, good neighbor hotels and a campground. Although larger, but still similar to the Disneyland Resort in California, we decided two and a half days should be enough time to view almost everything at the resort. And based on our experience, two and a half days was plenty of time.

The below report will be an in depth summary of our experience, from our arrival at the resort to our final evening. Over the course of four days, we dined at three signature restaurants, rode almost every major attraction and took in the beautiful details of the most stunning castle park. The report is a beast and full of detail. For those looking for a closing summary, check the end of the report. For those who decided to read the whole thing, thank you! Sit back, grab a bottle of your favorite wine, and learn how we felt about the one Disney resort in Europe.

Arrival

We awoke early on Sunday, October 7 to check out of our hotel in downtown Paris and head to the Louvre Museum. We planned to spend the morning at the museum before taking the train to the Disney resort. With a dining reservation at 3:30pm, I wanted to get to the resort by 2pm.

For the most part, the morning went as planned. The Louvre is huge. After viewing the Mono Lisa and the crown jewels of the former French monarchy, we left the museum. We aren’t very interested in art but enjoyed our time at the museum and I’m glad we were able to see it. We ate a quick lunch before heading back to our hotel to collect our luggage. From the hotel, it was about a twenty minute walk to the train station that had a direct train to the Disney Paris resort. Like the Tokyo Disney Resort, a train is available to drop you off right at Downtown Disney. I wish a similar transportation option existed in the United States.

We arrived at the train station just after 12pm. We bought our tickets and waited for our train. The train came quickly and before we knew it, we were on our one hour journey to Disneyland! The train ride was pleasant and calm. As stated, it took a full hour from downtown Paris to the Disneyland Resort. As our train pulled into the Station, we grabbed our luggage and headed to a resort check-in counter at the train station.

Before we left the United States, we set up a resort check-in at the train station to ease our check in process. Rather than walking to our resort hotel, we could, for a small fee (about $15), check in our luggage at the train station. From there, the resort would collect our things and hand over our park tickets. We could go directly to the park and check in at the hotel later when we were ready for our room keys.

It worked out great. Although our resort hotel was about ten minutes from the train station, it was easier to just check in our luggage at the station and head straight to the park. The check in process took about fifteen minutes and when we were done, we were given our park tickets. And since we were Golden Forest guests, the quasi Club level of the Sequoia Lodge (more on this later), we also received a hotel Fast Pass for each day of our stay (four per person). We could use one per day, all in one day, etc. Since we would only be spending three days in the parks as we were heading home on the fourth day, we decided to use one per day until day three, in which we would use two.

Once we receive our tickets, we walked into Downtown Disney. Like in the US, we passed a security checkpoint and entered Downtown Disney. From there, the two parks were to the right, about two minutes away. Like the Disneyland Resort, the two parks are right next to each other. We passed Walt Disney Studios Park and made our way towards Disneyland Park. And, unlike the Disneyland Resort, the Disneyland Hotel is the entrance to Disneyland Park.

And it’s beautiful. Styled in the Victorian theme (like the Grand Floridian), the hotel stands is the entrance to Disneyland Park. To enter the park, you walk underneath the hotel and scan your tickets on this level. Imagine a roof over the Disneyland gates in California. And on top of the roof is a luxury hotel. Once your ticket is scanned, you enter the park, just like Disneyland or Magic Kingdom with a courtyard area in front on the train station. We passed under the train station and entered Main Street, USA.

Parc Disneyland

I’ve heard rumors that Parc Disneyland is the most beautiful castle park. After my time at the resort, I agree. Although Disneyland Paris has its fair share of problems, the detailing is amazing. The Main Street, USA is perfect. Compared to Disneyland, the area is huge and wide opened. The buildings look timeless and impeccable. Additionally, once you see the Disneyland Paris castle for the first time, it will blow you away.

In contrast to Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland and the Cinderella castles at Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, Sleeping Beauty Castle at Paris crushes the competition. Knowing Europe has a certain precedent for castles, Disney Imagineers set about creating a unique castle, one that still projected a majestic feeling, but wouldn’t be smothered by the rest of the castles in Europe. Although I’m not a European, I believe Disney designed a castle that separates itself from other European castles but also displays the magic of fantasy within itself.

Not only is the castle gorgeous, it has a dragon liar beneath it. Themed to Sleeping Beauty, a dragon based on Maleficent’s dragon rests beneath the castle grounds. It’s an awesome audio-animatronic. Go see it. It will spoil the US castles forever, but it is a sight to behold.q

After exploring Main Street and taking pictures in front of the castle, we headed over to Discoveryland (steampunk/Jules Verne theme), the Paris version of Tomorrowland to ride Hyperspace Mountain. Whereas the US Tomorrowlands feel dated and out of place, Discoveryland retains a timeless feel. Discoveryland consists of the following attractions:

• Hyperspace Mountain: Disneyland Paris version of Space Mountain. It is the only version to include a launch, inversions and portions of the track located outside. After visiting the versions in the US and Tokyo, this is by far by favorite take on Space Mountain. I love the inversions and the speed of the attraction. I did not research the ride beforehand and I was surprised when I hit the first inversion. Currently, it is themed to Star Wars, similar to Hyperspace Mountain overlay at the Disneyland Resort in California. We ended up riding it 4-5 times during our stay. An absolute must.
• Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast: We did not ride it but same concept as all the other Buzz Lightyear attractions at the other Disney resorts. Fun Fact: This used to be the only attraction shared at all six Disney resorts, until Hong Kong Disneyland replaced their version with the Iron Man Experience.
• Orbitron: Spinner, same thing as the Astro Orbiter at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom.
• Autopia: Same concept as the other Autopias. We did not ride and do not care. Can Disney please replace all these massive wastes of space? Btw, thanks Tokyo and Hong Kong for replacing their versions with different attractions.
• Les Mysteres du Nautilus: Walk through of Captain Nemo’s submarine from 20,000 Leauges Under the Sea. Pretty cool walkthrough that takes about five minutes. Nothing special but thematically a must.
• Star Tours: L’Aventure Continue: Paris version of Star Tours. We did not ride as we’ve been on Star Tours a hundred times and the scenios are the same as the other parks.

Finding Walt’s

Once we finished, we headed back to Main Street for our dining reservation. Thanks to my travel agent, we were able to secure a dining reservation at Walt’s, the parks signature restaurant. Located on Main Street, the restaurant is themed to Walt himself, with each room based on a land of Disney. Dining at Disneyland Paris is strange and doesn’t seem to follow the same norms we are used to in the United States. Restaurants are open at weird hours of the day or not all, you never know. We secured a 3:30pm dinner reservation at Walt’s and when we finished around 5pm, the restaurant was closed for the rest of the day. With the park open until 9pm, it didn’t make sense why it would close so early. However, we were just glad we got a chance to experience it.

We checked in and were quickly taken upstairs to the Discoveryland room. It felt like a turn of the century dining room with pictures themed to Jules Verne. Our server was friendly and helpful and spoke thankfully, spoke English (everyone we met in Paris spoke English). We each started with a round of drinks before ordering dinner.

Dinner, like most Disneyland Paris meals, is presented with prix fixe options. The menu is split between lower prices options (starter and entrée) to higher price options (starter, entrée and dessert). For dinner, Stella and I split a grilled salmon dish. I’ve heard complaints the food at Disney Paris is terrible, but I found the food here to be quite good and on par with what I would expect at a Disney signature service restaurant. We took our time eating dinner and ordered a second round of drinks once we finished. By this time, we were the only guests in the restaurant and we noticed the restaurant staff was beginning to clean up for the night. And since we were on Main Street and sitting in a corner with a window, we could see the evening parade passing by. We finished our drinks while watching the parade and told our server we were ready for the bill. We quickly paid and left the restaurant. It was a great meal and I recommend eating at Walt’s. I’ll have a full review at a later time.

After dinner, we headed towards Frontierland to ride Big Thunder Mountain. Frontierland is set in Thunder Mesa, a fictional mining town. The town has an elaborate backstory, as it was founded by Henry Ravenswood to support the mining of Big Thunder Mountain. The largest Frontierland of all Disney resorts, it includes the following attractions:

• Big Thunder Mountain: Similar to the versions found in the US and Tokyo, this is my favorite take on the attraction. Unlike the other versions, the main portion takes place on an island, the island where Tom Sayer Island would normally sit. Guests board the train on the mainland, before speeding through a tunnel under the Rivers of the Far West towards the island. Once the island, the train races around three lifts and even includes a photo. After the third lift, it speeds through the return tunnel back to the mainland. It is the fastest and longest version of the attraction. An absolute must and my FAVORITE attraction at Disneyland Paris.
• Phantom Manor: Paris version of The Haunted Mansion. Themed to be darker, the attraction takes guests through a tour of the mansion before taking guests outside to a twisted, supernatural version of Thunder Mesa. We did not get to ride this attraction as it was under an extensive refurbishment and did not reopen until May 2019.
• Legends of the Wild West: Walkthrough of Fort Comstock, the fort surrounding the entrance of Frontierland. It includes several scenes with wax figures. I liked it as it takes you up and around the fort and shows typical western scenes, like a sheriff and outlaws.
• Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing: Docking station for the Mark Twain and Molly Brown riverboats. Same concept as the riverboats featured at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom and Tokyo.
• Pocahontas Indian Village: Child’s playground.
• Rustler Roundup Shootin’ Gallery: Shooting arcade like the US parks and Tokyo.

With a long wait time, we used our free hotel FastPass for Big Thunder Mountain. The FastPass line was quick and before we knew it, we were on the train!

WOW! Big Thunder Mountain at Magic Kingdom and Disneyland in California is okay at best. It’s a fun coaster, but it’s nothing special and one I wouldn’t burn a FastPass on either version. However, in Paris, it’s incredible. As I said above, its hands down the best version.

Fresh of the high from Big Thunder Mountain, we headed to Pirates of the Caribbean, in Adventureland. Adventureland features the following attractions:

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Guests enter a fortress, wonder around its halls and dungeons before “exiting” into the Blue Lagoon. This part of the queue is met to simulate being outside, although guests are still inside the show building. Guests then board the boats passing Captain Jack’s: Restaurant des Pirates (Paris’ Blue Bayou). From here, the boats drift through the fortress before heading down a waterfall, entering the scene where the pirate ship attacks the fort. The boats then enter the town and the rest is similar to the Disneyland version. A photo is also taken during the waterfall drop. In my opinion, the best of the “classic” versions of Pirates, especially the first half before the drop.
• Le Passage Enchante d’Aladdin (Aladdin’s Enchanted Passage): Walkthrough attraction depicting the story of Aladdin through showcase windows. Nothing special. I accidently walked through it as I was lost in Adventureland. It was entertaining for about a minute.
• La Cabane des Robinson (Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse): Same thing as the treehouses in the US parks and Tokyo.
• La Plage des Pirates (Pirates Beach): Playground area with caves and hidden passageways. Cool to walk through.
• Pirate Galleon: A pirate ship in which guests can board, part of the playground area of Pirate’s Beach.
• Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril): Steel rollercoaster themed to the Indiana Jones universe. Guests enter the lost Temple of Peril and board a minecar (the coaster) as they travel around the temple. It was closed for refurbishment during our visit, but we rode the Tokyo DisneySea version (Raging Spirits). The rollercoaster is entertaining, but nothing special. It is notable as the first Disney rollercoaster to feature an inversion, when it opened in 1993.

The queue reminds of the fort style used at the Magic Kingdom version. The ride was fun and different from the versions at Tokyo, California and Florida. And of the classic versions, it is the best one. Although, once I finally ride the one at Shanghai, I’m sure that will take the cake as the best.

After riding Pirates, we walked around the park a bit more, leaving right before the fireworks show. The fireworks were planned for the last night and we tired from traveling and decided to head back to our hotel to check in and relax. The walk from the park to our hotel, Disney’s Sequoia Lodge, took about fifteen minutes. The lodge is located at the end of the Downtown Disney District by Lake Disney. Most of the Disney hotels are located in this area of the resort, including the Disney’s Newport Hotel and Disney’s New York Hotel.

We made it back to the hotel and checked in. As we were Golden Forest Guests, we were taken to a secluded check in, like one would expect at the Club Level lounges at Disney World. The two castmembers were friendly and created First Visit pins for each of us. We were given our room keys, vouchers for the breakfast buffet and told our bags were already in the room. We were also told the “club lounge” was still open if we wanted to grab some soft drinks or water.

We headed over there and learned this is where breakfast would be each morning. And unlike the US, this lounge would serve a full breakfast buffet but after breakfast, it was just water or soda with no alcohol or food. After grabbing some drinks, we headed to our room. Our bags were safely inside and we dropped off our things before heading back downstairs to relax at the hotel bar, the Redwood Bar and Lounge. I’ll have a full review of the hotel and our room at a later date. But to summarize, the hotel was comfortable and nothing outstanding. But with us spending most of our time in the parks, it was prefect.

The Redwood Bar and Lounge was empty and we got a great table off in the corner. We each ordered a drink and pulled our Nintendo Switches to play some Mario Party!  We stayed at the bar for over an hour, playing video games, enjoying our drink and splitting a cheese plate. Once we finished playing, we headed back to our room and got ready for bed. As hotel guests, we wanted to be up early the next morning to take full advantage of Early Magic Hours. So far, so good for our time at Disneyland Paris.

A Disney Morning

For the 8:30am Early Magic Hours, we awoke early to get ready and take advantage of our hotel’s buffet breakfast. We made it to breakfast by 7:15am and found the eating area to be busy but not crazy. A hostess checked our breakfast voucher to ensure we were Golden Forest guests and escorted us to a table. From there, we were free to head to the middle of the dining room where the food was located. The buffet featured typical American food, from scrambled eggs and bacon to sugary cereals and pasties. As I can’t eat sugary breads and carbs for breakfast, I opted for eggs and sausage, plus a couple cups of coffee. The food was good, nothing specular but completed its intended purpose of filling me up and hopefully lasting until lunch.

We finished breakfast and quickly headed over to Disneyland Park as we would be spending the day there first. Like the US, we were allowed into the park a bit before the official opening. As we walked down Main Street towards the castle, the place was dead. It felt like a ghost town. I think we counted maybe three or four other groups in the park when we entered around 8am. And it was awesome to walk down Main Street, see the sun rise above the castle and have plenty of open space for pictures.

Once we approached the castle, we took a ton of pictures. There was a modeling agency taking pictures and once they finished, we were allowed to stand in front of the castle and click away. We helped one other group take photos before it was time to explore the park for Early Magic hours. Like the US, only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland were open.

We first rode Space Mountain before heading to Fantasyland. The Fantasyland section of the park includes the following attractions:

• Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty Castle) – Like the castles at Tokyo and Disneyland in California, the castle does not include a restaurant but instead is a walkthrough. The tour takes guests up the second level, presenting the story of Sleeping Beauty, before leading guests outside through one of the castle turrets. The castle is beautiful inside and includes some fantastic stain glassed windows. A definite must and it takes about 10-20 minutes to complete.
• La Taniere du Dragon (The Dragon’s Lair) – Located under the castle, the liar houses Maleficent in dragon form. This was on the top of my To Do list and does not disappoint. The dragon is an excellent audio-animatronic. It cycles between sleeping to waking up to interact with guests. After you check out the castle, head down here.
• Le Carrousel de Lancelot (Lancelot’s Carousel) – Carousel located at all Fantasylands behind the castle.
• Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) – Dark ride themed to Snow White, similar to one at Disneyland and formerly at Magic Kingdom.
• Les Voyages de Pinocchio (Pinoccho’s Fantastic Journey) – Dark ride themed to Pinocchio and similar to the one at Disneyland.
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant – Spinner, similar to ones at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom.
• Peter Pan’s Flight – Dark ride themed to Peter Pan, similar to the ones at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. We didn’t notice much differences between the US versions and the Paris one. Although it operated smoother than the one at Disneyland in California.
• Alice’s Curious Labyrinth – Hedge maze themed to Alice in Wonderland. The maze is fairly easy to navigate and the middles houses the Queen of Hearts castle. The castle makes for some excellent photo ops.
• Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups – Spinning tea cup we are all familiar with.
• It’s a Small World – The happiest cruise in the world, similar to the one at Disneyland, with the outside façade.
• Le Pays de Contes de Fees (Storybook Land Canal Boats) – Boat cruise around miniature sets from Disney classics. Similar to the attraction at Disneyland in California.
• Casey Jr. – Le Petit Train de Cirque (Casey Jr. Circus Train) – Like California’s version, a small train themed to Dumbo circling Fantasyland.
• Meet Mickey Mouse – Area to meet the famous mouse himself.
• Princess Pavillion – Area to meet various Disney princesses.

Once in Fantasyland, we rode Peter Pan. Peter Pan had a significant wait (30 minutes) and once we finished, it was almost time for the official park opening. Early Magic Hours ended at 9:30am, with the park slated to open at 10am, leaving a weird thirty minute gap in which no one can ride any attractions. As a result, we headed to Adventureland and waited for the park to open so we could ride Pirates of the Caribbean. After we rode Pirates, we headed to Frontierland and rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, again.

After Big Thunder, we hit all the major thrill rides. Phantom Manor was closed, the Indiana Jones ride, Temple of Peril, was also closed and Star Tours is the same as the US. We spent the remainder of the afternoon wondering the park. We checked out the big playground area in Adventureland (Pirate’s Beach), themed to a pirate’s island, took a photo with Jafar, and attempted to take a photo with the Cheshire Cat. However, he had a massive line and was only available for photos for two hours. Instead, we visited the Alice and Wonderland maze and made it to the middle to see the Queen of Hearts castle.

For lunch, we headed back to Adventureland and ate at Restauarant Hakuna Matata. Themed to the Lion King, the restaurant has a certain African cultural feel. As a counter service restaurant, you order first before finding a table inside. For lunch, we had the chicken strips. And following the norm of Disneyland Paris, it came as a prix fixe meal. The meal was good. As chicken strips, I wouldn’t expect it to be the meal of my life but filled me up and I was happy I wasn’t hungry anymore. I will have a full review of the restaurant at a later date.

After lunch, we decided to head to Walt Disney Studios Park. After seeing the majority of the attractions at Disneyland, we wanted to check out the second park. Like California, the park is right next to Disneyland and took us about two minutes to walk to its gates once we left Disneyland. I’ve heard numerous reviews that this park is the worst of any Disney park in the world (it’s also the smallest). Well, it was time to find out.

Walt Disney Studios Park

Once our tickets were scanned and we entered the park, it instantly reminded me of Hollywood Studios, minus the beautiful Sunset Blvd section (the two parks are considered “sisters”). Instead, it had a large “studio” building to walk through before opening to the rest of the park. It was flanked by two other studio type buildings, which included a gift shop, restrooms and guest services. Nothing pretty, but consistent with a cheap theme of Hollywood.

We walked into the large studio building. The building included a gift shop and a food court. The food court was made to look like old Hollywood and invoked a feel of California Adventure with its cheesy, cartoony appearance back in 2001. We quickly passed the food court and exited the studio.

Once outside, we were free to head to the other sections of the park. From here, I could see a major complaint. It feels like the park doesn’t have any direction or design. The castle parks are great because there is a central hub and the lands are connected to this hub. Walt Disney Studios Park doesn’t feel like it has a layout and instead its attractions are just all over the place. The Hollywood Tower Hotel, the same one as 2004 California Adventure, was in front of us. But from there, we just started walking hoping to find the other attractions.

For our first ride, we wanted to ride Ratatouille. We eventually found the “Paris Area” of the park, itself located in Toon Studio, and grabbed a FastPass. Disney Paris, like Tokyo, still use the old FastPass system in which you must walk to the ride and grab a paper ticket. Hopefully one day they’ll follow the US model and go digital.

Ratatouille is a trackless dark ride based on the 2007 Ratatouille film. As you walk through the ride queue, you walk through the rooftops of Paris, with Chef Auguste Gusteau providing entertainment as you make your way to the ride vehicles. Once you enter your “Ratmobile”, the ride vehicle seating up to six guests, you are shrunken down to the size of a rat and Remy and Gusteau (via Remy’s imagination) lead you to make dinner. And for dinner, it’s Ratatouille!

However, things go wary and you accidentally fall through a swinging roof glass-plane, crashing into the kitchen below. Down here, things get crazy as the restaurant staff tries to catch us rats. Not only is the ride trackless, but it’s a 4D experience. As we zip through the kitchen, screens show us the action while we feel water effects and even heat as we find ourselves under the kitchen oven.

We eventually find our way out of the restaurant and into Remy’s kitchen. We view Remy and his rat colony eating ratatouille and bidding us farewell. You then exit the ride vehicles and walk by Bistrot Chez Remy, the signature dining restaurant themed to the movie. Inside, you can see the oversize objects as, like the ride, you are the size of a rat as you dine. The place looked fun and we had a dinner reservation there the next day.

As the signature ride of Walt Disney Studios Park, the ride is a ton of fun. The 4D effects are great and the ride blends reality between screens and real life props, without creating motion sickness. We ended up riding it a couple a more times during our trip and can’t wait for it to arrive at Walt Disney World in the next couple years.

The best comparison I can think of are Transformers: The Ride of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at the Universal parks. However, I feel those rides are way too intense and create motion sickness. Fortunately, Ratatouille does not create motion sickness, but is similar in blending screens with real life props. I can only imagine the same can be said of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Shanghai Disneyland.

After Ratatouille, we headed back towards the main entrance of the park to ride The Hollywood Terror Hotel. This version of the ride is identical as the one that used to be at Disney California Adventure, before it was re-themed to Guardians of the Galaxy. As Disneyland Passholders, it was fun to experience the Hollywood Terror again as we remembered it before its retheming. I won’t go into too much detail about the attraction, but it exactly the same. Same ride queue, same preshow and same experience as California.

Once we exited the attraction, we walked around the park for a little to get a better feel for its layout. The park is small and nowhere as beautiful as its neighbor, Disneyland Paris. From there, we headed back to Disneyland to use our hotel FastPass on Big Thunder Mountain, my favorite ride at the park. Hands down the best version of Big Thunder Mountain. It puts the US versions to shame. Once you ride the Paris version, it will ruin your views for the US parks.

The Disneyland Hotel – Inventions and Café Fantasia

By the time we exited Big Thunder Mountain, it was time for our dinner reservation. For dinner, we had a reservation at Inventions, a character buffet located in the Disneyland Hotel. Prior to our trip, I researched Disneyland Paris is big into characters and actively showcase rare characters. Whereas the US parks constantly show us the same boring characters all over the place, I hoped Inventions would allow us to meet some rare ones.

We exited Disneyland and found the entrance to the hotel. Since the hotel is built over the entrance to Disneyland, the hotel entrance is located a ways from the park. The entrance includes the lobby and from there you must walk across a bridge to the main part of the hotel, which includes a central hub. This hub includes all the restaurants, including Inventions.

I checked in at the host podium and they immediately took us to a table. I hoped we could watch the fireworks from the restaurant, but our table overlooked part of the hotel grounds, rather than the park. No biggie, as we planned to watch the fireworks from the park the next night anyway.

Like the US character buffets, we were greeted by a server who took our drink order. But unlike the US versions, drinks were not included. Soft drinks, juices and of course alcohol, were all extra. We each ordered an alcoholic drink and headed to the main line for the buffet.

Inventions put all the US character buffets to shame. The food options were extensive, from cold items, like salads, breads and dips, to a carving station and huge variety of desserts. The food was fresh and exotic. Unlike the US buffets, with its safe American foods, Inventions was more in line with the buffets at Las Vegas (and charged the same prices too).

I think we each had three or four plates of food. My top character meal in terms of food at this point was Goofy’s Kitchen, but it came nowhere close to the food quality of Inventions. And if you are someone who doesn’t have exotic food tastes, they have plenty of same options as well.

Now, on to the characters. Like I hoped, it wasn’t all the Fab Five. During the course of our meal, we met the following:

• Mickey Mouse

  

• Tigger

  

• Geppetto

  

• Goofy

  

The character interactions were great. They spent a perfect amount of time with our table interacting with us and taking plenty of photos. The restaurant wasn’t too busy, allowing the characters to not only spend a lot of time with us, but to also come back later.

We had a great time and I highly recommend this buffet. For those not interested in characters, the food is excellent, although pricey (almost all Disneyland Paris restaurants are expensive). Additionally, you can dine here and not need park admission, making it an excellent choice for a non-park day.

As the fireworks began playing in the background, we closed out and left the restaurant. We waved goodbye to each character as we left. For our evening nightcap, we headed to Café Fantasia. The café is the bar/lounge for the Disneyland Hotel and located about fifty feet from Inventions. I read this is one of the best bars at Disneyland Paris, although pricey (like everything).

Themed to Fantasia, the bar excels perfectly. Disneyland Paris is beautifully themed and this carries into its flagship hotel. Once in the bar, references to Fantasia are sprinkled everywhere, but not overwhelming. The bar was quiet and we were seated right away. From our table, we could see the characters leave their break area before heading into Inventions.

We each ordered a drink, all averaging $15. Yes, the place is pricey, but I recommend a visit to get lost in the theming. I am no fan of Fantasia, but the bar peaked my interest and I decided I should watch the movie again (although I still haven’t done it). We stayed in the bar for about an hour, reminiscing about our EuroTrip and our Disneyland Paris experience. The staff was friendly and although we just ordered one drink, continued to check on us and refill our water.

By this time, it was getting late and we decided to head back to the Sequoia Lodge to get some sleep. We still had a full day tomorrow for our last full day in Europe. We closed our bill and made the ten to fifteen minute trek back to the lodge. It was peaceful as we made our stroll through Disney Village, around Lake Disney and back to our room. Hard to believe we had only one more night.

A Morning at the Movies

Like the day before, we woke up bright and early to eat and experience Extra Magic Hours. Breakfast was the same spread as the day before, with a variety of pastries, cereals, eggs and meats. We filled up on breakfast and headed to Walt Disney Studios Park. Like Disneyland the day before, the park was empty as we walked past the turnstiles around 8am. We headed straight to the Toon Studio area of the park, to hop on Crush’s Coaster. The Toon Studio section of the park includes the following attractions:

• Crush’s Coaster: a spinning rollercoaster based on the 2003 movie, Finding Nemo. The ride vehicle is a turtle shell, seating four people. Each set of two looks out, with one group looking forwards and one group looking behind. Every shell is separate and not connected to another. Once our ride restraints were checked, we were off! The first part of the ride is like a traditional dark ride, as we explore the Finding Nemo universe. Part of it goes outside as you race by park goers making their way to the attraction. Eventually, you become stuck in the East Australian Current as they vehicles rises on a traditional rollercoaster lift. And once you reach the top, the real fun begins!

As you are sent down the lift, the shell begins to spin! And it continues to spin for the rest of the ride, as you are lost in the current. It’s awesome. We had no idea it spun and were surprised once it started spinning. But it adds so much to the experience. And the spinning isn’t overwhelming. Don’t expect the tea cups as a rollercoaster. Once we finished the ride, we got right on again.

Do ride it first thing in the morning as it does not support FastPass. The day before, the ride averaged 45-60 minutes and after we rode it a second time, the line was already 45 minutes. Easily one of the most popular attractions at the Paris resort. And I can see why, it’s a ton of fun.

After two ride throughs, we felt satisfied and headed back to Ratatouille. We got a FastPass and walked over to Toy Story Playland, a sub area of Toon Studio themed to the Toy Story franchise. The attractions include:

• Toy Story Parachute Drop: Guests are transported 80ft in the air and then “dropped” like parachuting green army men. The ride is tame and the drops are slow. The ride will bring guests up and down a couple times before slowly returning to the surface.
• Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin: A caterpillar style ride in which guests board a train themed to Slinky Dog and slowly move around a loop. We did not ride it but did not look impressive. Nowhere near the thrills of Slink Dog coaster at Walt Disney World.
• RC Racer: Guests board a ride vehicle themed to RC Racer from Toy Story and rock back and forth on an orange half loop (think a Hot Wheels track). The most thrilling ride in Toy Story Playland, the ride builds momentum to finally reach the top of the track, at 80ft.

The following are a list of the other attractions in Toon Studio that we did not ride/experience:

• Flying Carpets Over Agrabah: Spinner. Same thing as the one at Magic Kingdom/DisneySea.
• Cars Quatre Roues Rallye: Another spinner, similar to Mator’s Junkyard Jamboree at California Adventure.

Following Toy Story Playland, we headed over to Ratatouille and rode it once more. I love this ride and can’t wait for it to be in Florida. After Rataouille, we left Toon Studio and headed for the Backlot area of the park. Themed to actual movie blackouts, it included the following attractions:

• Moteurs…Action! Stunt Show Spectacular: A stunt show around stuntwork, automobiles, motorcycles and jet skis. Running under just 40 minutes, it’s an action packed show showcasing how stunts are performed in Hollywood. Thankfully, it is all in English (there is also a French hostess) and its incredibly well done. The stunts felt thrilling and the driving is spot on.

A similar show was once performed at Hollywood Studios in Florida, before it closed to make room for the Galaxy Edge expansion.

• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Avec Aerosmith: Like the version at Hollywood Studios in Florida, it is an enclosed steel rollercoaster themed to Aerosmith. But instead of riding the LA freeways, the Paris version has guests ride “Soundtrackers”, as they experience a new music experience at the Tour De Force Records Studio. Despite a slight change in the story, the track layout is exactly the same as the one in Orlando.
• Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux: Based on the 1998 movie, Armageddon, this 22 minute attraction showcased the magic of special effects before leading guests (billed as “extras”) to a set of the Station from the movie. Once onboard the Station, it becomes a rolling set as different special effects go off, climaxing with a powerful explosion.

As of April, the ride is now closed, to make way for a Marvel themed expansion. Despite its closure and for following a dated movie from 1998, we enjoyed the attraction. Once they stop with the special effects history lesson and start the special effects on the Station, it’s pretty fun, including one very surprising moment.

By now, it was almost lunch time, and we had one more attraction to ride before we ate. We headed to the Production Courtyard area of the park. Including the Hollywood Tower Hotel, the other attraction is the Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic.

• Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic: Like the old Studio Backlot Tour from Hollywood Studios (and the tram tour from Universal Hollywood), this attraction takes guests on a tour of movie sets and props. Narrated by Jeremey Irons (in English), guests are led by various movie props (like props from Dinotopia) before stops at sets of Catastrophe Canyon and Reign of Fire.

It’s nothing special and inferior to the tram tour at Universal Studios Hollywood. The Catastrophe Canyon stop is well done, but the Reign of Fire set is a letdown and there is too much emphasis on old movies nobody remembers (Dinotopia and Armageddon). Although it is still operating, it will be replaced for the Star Wars expansion eventually.

After visiting the major attractions at Walt Disney Studios Park, it reminded me a lot of Disney’s Hollywood Studios Park. Both parks were built to incorporate movies and movie making into their themes. Each park included a backstage tour, stunt shows or other movie themed rides. But both parks are dropping their emphasis on movie making and moving towards franchise, like Star Wars and Marvel. It was interesting to see the similarities between the two parks and how they’ve changed since their openings (like California Adventure).

Once we finished the tour, it was time for lunch! With no quality counter service options in the park, we headed to Disney Village and ate at its McDonalds. Our friends, Brandon and Cindy, enjoy sampling McDonalds in each country they visit. The restaurant was busy and all decked out to Halloween when we visited.

As this was France, they did have different menu options and different dipping sauces for the nuggets (including a curry sauce that Stella collected). I found the food to remind of any other McDonalds I’ve been too. If I am keeping track, the best McDonalds I’ve ever had was in Japan.

After lunch, we walked back to hotel to relax and get ready for the evening. On agenda,

• Ride the Disneyland Paris Railroad
• Dinner at Le Bistrot Chez Remy
• Disneyland Fireworks

With a dinner reservation for 6PM, we made it back to Disneyland by 5PM. We immediately climb to the Main Street train station, and rode the railroad around the park (with stops in Frontierland, Fantasyland and Discoveryland). The railroad was similar to its counterparts in the US, with different just based on park layout. However, it does include a Primeval World like Disneyland in California!

Eating Like a Rat!

After the railroad, we headed over to Le Bistrot Chez Remy, the restaurant right outside the Ratatouille ride. Themed to Parisian bistro, guest “shrink” down to the size of rat. Once inside the restaurant, guest experience oversized items, like drink umbrellas or bottlecaps, which look large to a rat. Chez Remy is a signature dining location and the oversized items do not take away from its signature feel.

We had a reservation and were seated within ten minutes after checking in. Like every Disneyland Paris restaurant, the menu was in English. Like Walt’s, the menu included was prix fixe, split between different lower tier items (starter and main course) to higher tier items (starter, main course and dessert). We ordered off the lowest tier group, the Remy Menu. And like all groups, no drink is included.

Stella and I ordered a soup and fish. We also ordered a bottle of red wine to share between the four of us. I’ll save the details for my full review, but the food and service were both excellent. Chezy Remy was my favorite meal at Disneyland Paris and I found the food to be fantastic. It was an excellent final dinner to our European vacation (the wine was also excellent).

Once dinner was over, we planned to head over to Disneyland to use our last hotel FastPass and watch the fireworks. Now, we finished dinner after Walt Disney Studios Park had already closed. As the park lacks a solid layout, it’s a mess of routes to exit from the restaurant to the front entrance. When we finished dinner, we had to wait in the lobby of the restaurant for a castmember to escort us to the main entrance. We waited around twenty minutes (remember, there is no hurry in France) before a castmember was summoned to lead us out.

It was weird but thankfully we still had plenty of time. We headed straight to Space Mountain (my favorite version of the ride) to ride it once last time with our FastPass. Once we exited, we had fifteen minutes before the firework show. We headed to the plaza between the entrance of Discoveryland and the castle and found a perfect spot.

Whereas most firework shows in the US parks last around fifteen minutes, in Disneyland Paris, it lasted close to forty. Switching between English and French, the show was fantastic and emotional. I can’t tell you what it was about but I enjoyed hearing some Disney songs in French and watching the fireworks explode over the beautiful castle. Fireworks at Disneyland Paris are a must for at least one of the nights. Whereas they can be missed at Tokyo Disneyland, you must see them at Paris.

After the fireworks show, the park was closed and we exited, heading back to our hotel. Once again, we had a great time and did everything we planned to do. I can’t wait to come back one day and experience all the new attractions/experiences planned for the resort. Below I will list a summary of our experiences.

Summary

I presented a lot of information regarding our visit to the Disneyland Paris Resort. For those who read the entire report, thank you. I really mean that. For those who did not, hopefully this summary will work to provide a quick recap of our experience and help in your decision making process when planning your Disneyland Paris vacation.

• Is it worth it to visit Disneyland Paris?

Yes, it is worth it. We had a fantastic time visiting the resort. We found Disneyland Paris to be the second most relaxing resort, after Walt Disney World. The parks were quiet and easy to navigate during our visit in early October. In contrast to the crowds at Disneyland in California and Tokyo, Paris was a cake walk and we did not have to wait long for any one attraction. Although Paris isn’t perfect, it is a great resort and worth the trip over to Europe.

The flagship park, Parc Disneyland, is the most beautiful castle park we’ve visited. With its incredible theming, attention to detail and its unique castle, the park is not to be missed. Plus, it has our favorite take on some of Disney’s classic attractions, like Big Thunder Mountain and Hyperspace Mountain (aka Space Mountain). Additionally, the park is huge (second largest castle park after Shanghai Disneyland), leaving plenty of space to maneuver, avoid crowds and strollers, and allow one to breathe.

And although her sister park, Walt Disney Studios Park, has been labeled the worst Disney park in the world, it isn’t terrible. Yes, it can be improved and its theme is below average at best as the park was built on the cheap during the Eisner era. Fortunately, even with its poor design, it does include some great attractions, such as Crush’s Coaster and Ratatouille.  Plus, the park is undergoing massive change, with Star Wars, Marvel and Frozen lands all slated to be built by 2024. With the removal of all the old, cheap “Hollywood” type attractions, the park will vastly improve.

To put it in perspective, the park is like Disney California Adventure before its reimagining in 2012. Although I believe Walt Disney Studios Park is a step ahead of the mess California Adventure was before 2012, Studios Parks is in need of change and luckily it will receive a lot in the next couple of years.

Plan to visit both parks. Ideally, spend at least two days at Disneyland Paris and one day at Walt Disney Studios Park. This will allow you to see pretty much everything. Once Walt Disney Studios Park receives its new attractions, it might need an extra day. If you are a hardcore Disney fan, then add one more day to Parc Disneyland to take in all its detail and theming.

• Dining

Dining is interesting at Disneyland Paris. Unlike the US parks, the dining hours are always changing in Paris and reservations are by phone only, two months before your trip. One day a restaurant may be open and the next it is closed, with no rhyme or reason. And good luck guessing the restaurant hours. Luckily, all restaurants have English menus and English speaking castmembers (Disneyland Paris is a major tourist attraction for Great Britain). Additionally, all sit down restaurants serve alcohol.

For our trip, we used our travel agent to book three signature dining locations: Walt’s, Inventions and Chez Remy. She called the French number two months before our trip and secured our reservations. I would recommend this strategy for dinner. At least you have one dining place secured and have a concrete time. To recap the restaurants:

1. Walt’s: Located on Main Street, USA and themed to Walt himself, this restaurant serves a variety of American inspired food in different themed rooms, based on lands of Disneyland Park. For dinner, we dined at 3:30PM as the restaurant closed around 5PM. We were one of two parties in the restaurant. The food was great and the menu was split between set prix fixe options. All options included a starter and main course, divided between less expensive items to most expensive. No drink was included with any of the options and was a separate charge. Although expensive, Stella and I shared a plate, which made the price much more reasonable. I highly recommend this restaurant. It’s themed beautifully and we caught a glimpse of the parade down Main Street, USA from our dining location window. Ever wonder what it would be like to watch the parade from the second story of Main Street? Well, here’s your chance.
2. Inventions: Located at the Disneyland Hotel, it is a character buffet with a 19^th Century Victorian theme, focusing on science and discovery. The ceiling is littered with old inventions of the era, such as antique typewriters and bicycles. It is an expensive character buffet (about $70/person), but the quality of the food is top notch. It serves American type food, seafood, starters, a carving station and massive selection of desserts, leaving plenty of options for everybody. The character interactions were great and it includes more than just the classic (boring) Disney characters the American parks overuse at their buffets. And if you time it right, you may have a table looking down Main Street during the fireworks show. Our two friends do not like character interactions, but they still had a great time, enjoyed the food and appreciated the effort of the characters to interact. If it fits your budget, I highly recommend it. The restaurant is also opened for breakfast (no characters) and lunch (with characters). It also hosts a Sunday brunch with characters each week.
3. Chezy Remy: Located outside the Ratatouille ride at Walt Disney Studios Park, guests are “shrunk” down to the size of a rat and encounter oversized items throughout the restaurant. Like Walt’s, the menu was divided between prix fixe options. Stella and I shared a plate again and all four of us shared a bottle of wine. Chezy Remy was my favorite dinner meal and I loved this restaurant. Prices were a bit cheaper than Walt’s and this a must do when visiting Walt Disney Studios park.

For lunch, we ate at various counter service restaurants, which also serve a prix fixe options. The food is catered to American tastes and isn’t anything special. Before heading to the resort, I read the food at Disneyland Paris was horrible. We found our dinners to be top notch and our lunches to be average, as was expected. Maybe the food was terrible at one point, but I enjoyed everything I ate. Again, the biggest issue is whether or not the restaurant will be open and if it is, learning its hours. Again, use your travel agent to call ahead and find out this information for you. And when you do visit the park, ask Guest Services at your hotel or on Main Street a list of which restaurants will be open and their hours.

• Attractions

The resort includes a list of great attractions. Over in Disneyland, Big Thunder Mountain, Hyperspace Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean were our favorite takes on these classic Disney attractions. Big Thunder Mountain is the best ride at the resort, in my opinion, and I could ride it all day (Crush’s Coaster is a close second). I hear Phantom Manor is amazing and a much darker take on the Haunted Mansion theme. I was disappointed it was closed during our trip, but I hear the refurbishment was much needed. We’ll let you know when we visit next time!

Over at Walt Disney Studios Park, Ratatouille and Crush’s Coaster were the two best attractions. For those who like the Hollywood Terror Hotel from California, it lives on at Paris. But with the new attractions arriving in the future, I expected this park to be a heavy hitter in the Disney park lineup. Lastly, we did not watch any shows.

• Resort Complex

Outside of the parks, the resort consists of eight Disney resort hotels, Disney Village (Paris version of Downtown Disney), a golf course, seven good neighbor hotels and a shopping mall. It’s a huge place at 5000 acres, in comparison to the 500 acre Disneyland Resort in California. We stayed at Disney’s Sequoia Lodge, themed to an American national park lodge, on the shores of Lake Disney. We found the hotel to be pleasant, in the same class as the moderate hotels at Disney World. It was a 10-15 walk from our hotel to the parks. We didn’t spend a lot of time at the hotel but mainly used it to sleep and for breakfast.

Disney Village looked like an old and tired version of Downtown Disney. We didn’t use its shops and stopped by once to eat at McDonalds on our last day. Most of our interactions involved us walking through it on our way to the parks or our hotel. We did not see the golf course nor did we see the good neighbor hotels or its shopping center.

• Conclusion

Disneyland Paris should be on your bucket list. Again, it’s a beautiful resort with some fantastic attractions. If you have already been to Walt Disney World and cannot make a trip out to Asia to see Tokyo Disneyland, I would recommend a flight over to Paris. In terms of pricing, it may be about the same or a less than a trip to Disney World. As Paris does not fill to capacity, the constantly offer deals to attract visitors.

During our trip, we paid for two nights and earned one night free (promotion was up to two nights free), with park hopper tickets included for each day (four days). When I crunched the numbers, it came out to be about $100/person/day for room, park hopper tickets, one hotel FastPass/day and a full breakfast buffet. Tickets are cheap at Paris compared to the US parks. Check with your travel agent, but I’m sure they can find a great rate.

Going forward, I would recommend visiting the resort in 2024 (after the Paris Olympics) when the Star Wars, Frozen and Marvel expansions will be completed. If you can visit multiple times, the first expansion should be done by 2021. But with Tokyo Disneyland finishing its expansions by 2020 (before the Tokyo Olympics) and Walt Disney World by 2021 (50^th Anniversary), I would head to those first before visiting Paris. A lot is coming to the Disney resorts with billions of dollars being spent to update and expand all the Disney resorts globally.

With its opening in 1993, Disneyland Paris has been struggling financially, but thankfully, the resort is now under the full control of the Walt Disney Company and is starting perform to expectations. With the new expansions and refurbishments of its current property, I can only imagine good things for Disneyland Paris.

Thank you for reading this way too long report. I hoped I hit everything and I will be constantly checking on this report to update my writing. Below is a PDF link to our itinerary from our trip. Check it out for inspiration! As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please leave them below in the comments. Thank you again!

Disneyland Paris Oct 2018 Itinerary