Is DLP Paris worth it for an American?

[pa. dad]

We have been to all of the US Disney parks, the 4 in Florida and the 2 in Ca.
We have experienced just about all of the major rides and shows here in the USA.
Are there enough new and different things in DL Paris that we'd enjoy that also?

We're thinking about working a day or 2 into a future European trip. If it's mostly the same experiences, we can do it a lot cheaper and nearby here.

Another one- the Disney Hollywood Studios is my least favorite Disney USA park so is the French version much like that? By this I mean too few attractions and lines to get on the few things they have.

And would our lack of speaking French be a big handicap to appreciating some of the attractions?

Our first disney parks were the Florida parks as they are a 2 hour flight. We later did the 2 Ca. parks and liked them because they had many attractions that they don;t have in FL. It doesn't mean much to us if the Splash Mt is 3 feet taller or if the Pirates is 11 seconds shorter.

Anyone who has been to the US parks and DL Paris, please share your thoughts. If we do decide to do it, I might later ask for restaurant tips and hotel tips and things like that (I;m guessing the food is GOOD). At this point, just exploring the idea and not that far along with it.

 

[elstoleno]

I've been to Florida, California and Tokyo but still visit Paris once or twice a year. If you don't want to visit WDS (we only tend to spend a few hours there if i'm honest) then you could probably do the main park in a day trip depending on when you're going. The only thing is WDS has Studio Tram Tour, ToT, Toy Story Playland and the Ratatouille ride, so it depends if you wanted to go on those.

Not speaking French doesn't make a difference, I think its only really noticeable on the fantasyland rides like Pinocchio etc but you'll probably have been on those before.

The Paris version of POTC is really different to the US parks, for a start theres no Jack Sparrow - the story is still pretty much the same, but there are two drops and theres an on-ride photo.
The Buzz lightyear ride is the same as the California version.

And obviously theres dreams in the main park every night - its not quite as good as World of Color but its pretty spectacular.

 

[sunshine1]

Yes!

What with all the extra charges that they doing at WDW and the 'intense' atmoshphere at MK, the Disneyland Park in Paris is lovely.

The characters in Paris spend more time with you and more rare characters do meet and greets there without having to go to a special party to meet them like you do at WDW or DL.

The only thing that isnt great is the studios. For me it is like big car lot.

My last trip i was there for 3 days and spent all my time in the main park. Didnt bother with the studios.

Out of all the Magic Kingdoms the Paris park is voted the most prettiest.

Come to Europe!

Come to DLP next year for the 25th anniversary. There are alot of refurbs happening at the moment.

 

[DLPDreams]

I agree with some of the above posts, however, imo, one of the best, most advanced rides at DLRP right now is Ratatouille which is in the Studios. I'm not that keen on the Studios and other than that ride and some rides that are unique to WDS - in the Toy Story area, the place does need an overhaul. I agree with you about HS at WDW btw, we weren't that impressed. I don't think you can go to DLRP and miss Ratatouille though. And Crush's coaster is another must do as I don't think it's anywhere else and a great ride (I don't know Disneyland so not sure)?

I can compare some of the DLRP rides with WDW rides and we all agreed (6 of us) that the likes of Big Thunder Mountain is just so much better at DLRP. It just has a much better fit and feel to it - as well as being a more intense ride (which may not bother you based on your comments above). Peter Pan, Space Mountain, Phantom Manor (similar to Haunted Mansion, although in French) and the Tower of Terror (again, mainly in French) are all better in various ways imo. We think the European flair adds to these rides and taking into account the fact that they were installed long after their counterparts at WDW/Ca etc, so have some alterations. I haven't been to Disneyland so can't comment on that.

I personally wouldn't go out of my way just to travel to DLRP if you are able to visit the US parks so readily, but I think if you are travelling anyway, 2 days would be well worth doing. DLRP has a unique charm to it - I am sure you will appreciate it. As Sunshine says, DLRP's MK is beautiful - the Castle, which you can walk around upstairs and go underneath and visit the Dragon are fabulous too.

 

[pa. dad]

Thanks for the tips thusfar folks- keep them coming.
We have been to Europe twice before - one trip to Ireland and another to Italy, Switzerland, Monaco and just a little bit Of France (nice and cannes).
So we'd do DL Paris if we are in the area and not make a special trip for it.
Sounds like we may like the Studios park less from what I've read so far. Can you "park hop" over to that park for a few hours if you want? And can you buy the park tickets here in the USA? I am a Disney credit card member so if I can use my Rewards points there and get it for FREE, that makes it more attractive of course.

Oh and if you any of you need US park tips, please let me know.

 

[sunshine1]

Yes. You can park hop

 

[A State Of Autumn]

We've been to WDW, all 4 parks, and DL and CA. I'm REALLY looking forward to 'collecting another castle' and experiencing paris! It's disney!

 

[AEmgee]

As background, I live in the Pacific Northwest so visit Disneyland Resort in Anaheim 2-3 times/year. I also have a Hong Kong Disneyland Magic Access annual membership so last year visited 3 times. I have been to Walt Disney World several times, and most recently visited Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea in 2014. I was just in Shanghai last week but the Disneyland there is not yet open! Personally, of all the Disneylands I liked the Japanese version the best!

To answer your question, I think that Disneyland Paris has some subtle differences that a Disney fan could certainly appreciate, and if it's a minor detour from the rest of your European travel plans then it's definitely worth it to make it a day trip. I did think Paris was the weakest of all the current Disneylands, with inadequate staffing, substandard maintenance, and some poorly-behaved guests, and I wouldn't miss the rest of Paris for it.

I bought tickets from the FNAC website and printed at home in June 2015 - not sure if this is still possible? The cheapest way to get tickets is to befriend an annual passholder who can get you discounted tickets.

 

[pa. dad]

As background, I live in the Pacific Northwest so visit Disneyland Resort in Anaheim 2-3 times/year. I also have a Hong Kong Disneyland Magic Access annual membership so last year visited 3 times. I have been to Walt Disney World several times, and most recently visited Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea in 2014. I was just in Shanghai last week but the Disneyland there is not yet open! Personally, of all the Disneylands I liked the Japanese version the best!

To answer your question, I think that Disneyland Paris has some subtle differences that a Disney fan could certainly appreciate, and if it's a minor detour from the rest of your European travel plans then it's definitely worth it to make it a day trip. I did think Paris was the weakest of all the current Disneylands, with inadequate staffing, substandard maintenance, and some poorly-behaved guests, and I wouldn't miss the rest of Paris for it.

I bought tickets from the FNAC website and printed at home in June 2015 - not sure if this is still possible? The cheapest way to get tickets is to befriend an annual passholder who can get you discounted tickets.

Hi. what is the FNAC website?
And why would you say that Paris is the weakest of the Disneylands?
And should you or can you fastpass the big rides and reserve the more popular restaurants?

 

[AEmgee]

Hi. what is the FNAC website?
And why would you say that Paris is the weakest of the Disneylands?
And should you or can you fastpass the big rides and reserve the more popular restaurants?

FNAC is a chain of retail stores in France and other countries. Using their website (http://www.fnactickets.com/), you can purchase tickets for various attractions and pick them up in store, or print at home for a nominal fee.

I already mentioned some of the reasons I thought Paris had a weak offering: inadequate staffing, substandard maintenance, and some poorly-behaved guests. As you've probably read on these forums, Disneyland Paris has never done well financially, and as a result has been somewhat neglected over the years. Some of the attractions/shows would have been refurbished/removed/redone many times over if in a park in the States. As an example, I don't think that in any other Disneyland a Frozen Sing-along show featuring an Anna speaking English with a thick Icelandic accent and an Elsa speaking with a Spanish accent, followed by lip syncing the songs from the American soundtrack would ever be passable. Compared to the spotlessly clean and well-staffed/maintained Disneyland/DisneySea run by the Oriental Land Company near Tokyo (which charges the lowest admission price of all the Disneylands), Paris seems like a destitute sibling. Similarly, the Disneyland in Hong Kong is propped up by the Hong Kong government which owns 52% of the park. Hopefully things will improve in Paris with a cash infusion by the Walt Disney Company.

You can use FASTPASS for several rides in the two parks; however, there are some attractions which are slow-loading and generate a long line-up for which there is no FASTPASS e.g., Crush's Coaster. Sorry, I don't have any experience with the restaurants as I did not make reservations for any of them.

 

[scoobydooby2016]

I'm a UK veteran for WDW (Orlando) and visiting Disneyland Paris for the first time the day after tomorrow. So I'll share my thoughts in a week!

 

[pa. dad]

I'm a UK veteran for WDW (Orlando) and visiting Disneyland Paris for the first time the day after tomorrow. So I'll share my thoughts in a week!

Have a good time and look forward to hearing back.

 

[acresse]

I have been several times. I definitely think it is worth the trip. Things I feel are different and make it worth the time.

Frontierland in Paris seems huge compared to the Florida one. No Wild West in France, could have been a factor when building. I love the theme of their haunted mansion, and how you can enter through the front door.

Pirates ride seems much longer and more elaborate than the Florida version. The que and exterior as well. I never miss eating at the blue bayou restaurant that is inside the pirate ride. Good food, great theme.

It's fun to see North America represented in Small World.

Space mountain is amazing! Launches like rock n roller coaster, and has a soundtrack. The Jules Verne/ steam punk style of fantasy land is a really nice change.

There is a dragon in the basement of the castle!!

I enjoy the studios, but Love the magic kingdom.

 

[scoobydooby2016]

Have a good time and look forward to hearing back.

Hi there. Well we are back. Took a 6 day trip so saw it all. Trip was marred by much rain and many, many closures and boards around closed attractions which frankly made the Disneyland Park look a mess. I feel I should mention that and the rain to be balanced as I suppose both things will have coloured my overall experience. I have to be honest though I really wouldn't bother if I were you. It is not Disney as I know it. The only area I would rate as fully 'Imaginered' to anything close to the same quality as WDW is the Ratatoille area at the Studios. The rest of that park is pretty ugly frankly. There isn't much that's different to make it worth a look for me. Space Mountain is a very different ride I think I counted three inversions. Really rough. We stayed at their Flagship Hotel and it is clearly supposed to be like the Grand Floridian. It was nice but not the GF and not up to the standard of, for example, AKL or the Beach Club at WDW where I have also stayed. Much is in English so I don't think the language would be a barrier. I do speak some French but I could have managed without. Cast Members were fine. Not magical for the most part but nice enough. The food is park food or very expensive restaurants where it was good quality. It cost me €200+ for three at Inventions character buffet for two adults and a child with only a couple of alcoholic drinks. Quality fine but range much more limited than a WDW buffet. If I were you I'd spend my time seeing something completely different in France. I won't be returning. Sorry to be a downer but I wanted to be honest. My expectations may have been unrealistic. But they were not met. Biggest plus. Our room was 50 steps from the park exit via a hotel side door. That was fab!

 

[pa. dad]

Hi there. Well we are back. Took a 6 day trip so saw it all. Trip was marred by much rain and many, many closures and boards around closed attractions which frankly made the Disneyland Park look a mess. I feel I should mention that and the rain to be balanced as I suppose both things will have coloured my overall experience. I have to be honest though I really wouldn't bother if I were you. It is not Disney as I know it. The only area I would rate as fully 'Imaginered' to anything close to the same quality as WDW is the Ratatoille area at the Studios. The rest of that park is pretty ugly frankly. There isn't much that's different to make it worth a look for me. Space Mountain is a very different ride I think I counted three inversions. Really rough. We stayed at their Flagship Hotel and it is clearly supposed to be like the Grand Floridian. It was nice but not the GF and not up to the standard of, for example, AKL or the Beach Club at WDW where I have also stayed. Much is in English so I don't think the language would be a barrier. I do speak some French but I could have managed without. Cast Members were fine. Not magical for the most part but nice enough. The food is park food or very expensive restaurants where it was good quality. It cost me €200+ for three at Inventions character buffet for two adults and a child with only a couple of alcoholic drinks. Quality fine but range much more limited than a WDW buffet. If I were you I'd spend my time seeing something completely different in France. I won't be returning. Sorry to be a downer but I wanted to be honest. My expectations may have been unrealistic. But they were not met. Biggest plus. Our room was 50 steps from the park exit via a hotel side door. That was fab!

Sorry you didn;t have a better time or weather. Thank you for the reply though.
The rain can put a damper on many things. On another thread, that was the topic of discussion but moreso the FL parks.
On our last trip to FL, it rained almost all day on our epcot day. Test trak was down for repairs the first hour then it opened very briefly. We were one of the very few that got to ride it all day but we had to spend a lot of time in line.
I guess you've been to epcot. They have a lot of outdoor bands and jugglers in the World showcase countries and all of them were cancelled this rainy day. A lot of us in the park that day felt they could have done MORE about that. At epcot, they have some huge buildings that used to have rides such as the Wonders of Life building and the odyssey building. Why not just move the outdoor entertainment into one or more of the unused indoor buildings in the rain?
It is understandable that some things will be down in the rain like a test trak or a thunder mt. type ride. Less understandable would be a dumbo type ride as the safety is the same wet or dry. Or outdoor entertainment that could easily be moved indoors. If people want to ride dumbo in the rain, let them.
If Disney is making some kind of efforts to keep the closures to a MINIMUM and move some of the outdoor things indoors, it's a lot easier to accept. If it appears that they only see the rain as an opportunity to sell more ponchos and umbrellas while cutting expenses, it is much harder to accept.
Did the closures seem excessive to you? Was there any effort to move any outdoor things indoors or at least under cover? And I guess lastly, in a climate where rain is very common, were the parks designed in such a way that rains wouldn't ruin everything so badly?

 

[scoobydooby2016]

Sorry you didn;t have a better time or weather. Thank you for the reply though.
The rain can put a damper on many things. On another thread, that was the topic of discussion but moreso the FL parks.
On our last trip to FL, it rained almost all day on our epcot day. Test trak was down for repairs the first hour then it opened very briefly. We were one of the very few that got to ride it all day but we had to spend a lot of time in line.
I guess you've been to epcot. They have a lot of outdoor bands and jugglers in the World showcase countries and all of them were cancelled this rainy day. A lot of us in the park that day felt they could have done MORE about that. At epcot, they have some huge buildings that used to have rides such as the Wonders of Life building and the odyssey building. Why not just move the outdoor entertainment into one or more of the unused indoor buildings in the rain?
It is understandable that some things will be down in the rain like a test trak or a thunder mt. type ride. Less understandable would be a dumbo type ride as the safety is the same wet or dry. Or outdoor entertainment that could easily be moved indoors. If people want to ride dumbo in the rain, let them.
If Disney is making some kind of efforts to keep the closures to a MINIMUM and move some of the outdoor things indoors, it's a lot easier to accept. If it appears that they only see the rain as an opportunity to sell more ponchos and umbrellas while cutting expenses, it is much harder to accept.
Did the closures seem excessive to you? Was there any effort to move any outdoor things indoors or at least under cover? And I guess lastly, in a climate where rain is very common, were the parks designed in such a way that rains wouldn't ruin everything so badly?

Yes I've been to Epcot and done WDW during a tropical storm so 6 days solid rain. It was better than at Paris as there is just more to do that's inside and it's warm rain! I believe the high number of closures are due to getting the park set for next years 25th anniversary (and years of poor prior maintenance). Nothing was moved indoors but there is limited 'street' entertainment to move. The Stuios is more indoors than out and lends itself to a rainy day. We did that whole park in two part days though with some rides multiple times by been good at understanding fast pass and applying touring principals learned from years at WDW. Without my 73 year old mum with us we could have done it in a day. DD returned to open that park four times as she loved Crushes Coaster and ToT is her favourite ride! Disneyland park is not a park designed for the rain at all, with or without closures. And yes they were excessive.

 

[pa. dad]

Yes I've been to Epcot and done WDW during a tropical storm so 6 days solid rain. It was better than at Paris as there is just more to do that's inside and it's warm rain! I believe the high number of closures are due to getting the park set for next years 25th anniversary (and years of poor prior maintenance). Nothing was moved indoors but there is limited 'street' entertainment to move. The Stuios is more indoors than out and lends itself to a rainy day. We did that whole park in two part days though with some rides multiple times by been good at understanding fast pass and applying touring principals learned from years at WDW. Without my 73 year old mum with us we could have done it in a day. DD returned to open that park four times as she loved Crushes Coaster and ToT is her favourite ride! Disneyland park is not a park designed for the rain at all, with or without closures. And yes they were excessive.

I hope you had some other good French experiences on your trip then outside of Disney.

 

[scoobydooby2016]

I hope you had some other good French experiences on your trip then outside of Disney.

Just a shopping mall and outlet village! I've been to France many times so we didn't go far. It wasn't miserable. I just wouldn't bother again. Buffalo Bills Wild West Show was fun.

 

[pa. dad]

Just a shopping mall and outlet village! I've been to France many times so we didn't go far. It wasn't miserable. I just wouldn't bother again. Buffalo Bills Wild West Show was fun.

Thanks again for sharing your experiences.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I went in 2013 and I loved it. It was cool because the 20th anniversary stuff was still going on. Tower of Terror is like the one in CA (but in french). I was sad because Crush's Coaster and Indiana Jones were closed when I was there I did find some rides I liked such as Space Mountain, RC Racer, the Toy Story rides, etc. Oh and Star Tours is still the old version btw