1 day... 1 Park... So How Do We Do This?

[courtneybeth]

Disneyland in Anaheim is literally in our backyard - so we when we decided to plan our Europe adventure from London to Paris, it seemed like a no brainer to spend one extra day to see Disneyland Paris!

Our travel agent came through for us and booked us a "neighborhood hotel" with a shuttle to Disneyland. And as a Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World veteran, I'm ashamed to say this: How do I exactly "do" the Disney Paris experience?

Here are my questions:

1- When do I purchase tickets? We want 1 park, 1 day.

2- When can I make reservations for dining? We want Walt's for dinner.

3- Any special tips, tricks, or tidbits to share re: Disney Paris? We're mostly going for the ambiance and to compare how Disney parks are in other countries. But anything you can share to make the trip more magical would be great.


I hate feeling like a stupid tourist, but I'm completely lost with the differences between the resorts.

 

[DLPdaft]

what are your dates for your DLP trip?

 

[courtneybeth]

Ack, that would probably have been helpful right?

Looks like we'll be there June 21.

 

[DLPdaft]

Ack, that would probably have been helpful right?

Looks like we'll be there June 21.

for next year you still have loads of time to sort out a one-day park ticket, and you won't be able to book Walts until 60 days before your trip.

 

[Christieand]

I hate feeling like a stupid tourist, but I'm completely lost with the differences between the resorts.

Everyone on this board is really friendly so ask any questions you may have, someone will most likely have the answer

You might find this TR useful in highlighting the special things that DLP has to offer, as well differences between the parks:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3341672

 

[courtneybeth]

You all are so wonderful so far! I'm going to bookmark the 60 day reservation window on my calendar so I don't forget. And I will probably purchase my tickets at the same time.

Thank you so much for alleviating my worries! The trip report is already a big help.

 

[noodlesmum]

Are you sure you just want to do one park? Just being devils advocate but the two park pass is only a few euros more and the parks are right next door to each other (within ten mins you can have gone from one and be in the other) and in my opinion just to see the new ratatouille area would be worth it? Walts is amazing - such a good choice for dinner, as the others have said it's a 60 day window for booking, I always ring on the 60th day and have always managed to get a table at Walts unless it is low season and closed that day. What rides are you wanting to do?

 

[courtneybeth]

The big question of the day is: can we actually do everything in one day?

There are some rides we won't do at Disneyland Paris (ie: Indiana Jones) due severe claustrophobia with the over-shoulder restraints. Husband has said he'll go on Space Mountain alone and I can mind our bags in the "wuss zone" by the exit area.

I don't know crowds at Paris, but I'm used to seeing 40 minute waits in Anaheim on a Saturday. Could we feasibly go to Disney Studios and ride the Ratatouille attraction and walk around?

I don't mind paying extra. We just don't want to run into a situation we encountered at Hollywood Studios where we were bored and done in an hour.


I appreciate all of your insight. I don't mind paying for it, if it's feasible and something that we'd definitely get our money's worth!

 

[noodlesmum]

I think so - maybe if you post a ride wish list (taking into account both parks) and then it might be easier to suggest realistic plans for your trip I also see that next year the 21st is a Sunday but if there were anyway that you could visit on the Friday/Monday around that weekend you stand to get more done as neither the french not British schools will be on holiday then. Even the Saturday may be quieter as the French will have a half day of school then - obviously that depends on you itinerary and it may not be possible to change let us know the rides you would like to do and we can tell you what's possible and help you come up with a plan

 

[courtneybeth]

You guys are amazing. Have I said that already? Because you are!

So we arrive at our neighborhood hotel on June 20th and check out June 22nd, which makes me believe that we'll be likely going on June 20th.

Ride wish list - Disneyland

• Alice's Curious Labyrinth
• Autopia
• Big Thunder
• Buzz Lightyear
• Casey Jr
• Disneyland Railroad Loop
• Nautilus
• Pinocchio
• Le Pays des Contes de Fées
• La Tanière du Dragon
• Star Tours (it's the old attraction - must do this!)
• Space Mountain for Husband
• Tea Cups

Ride Wish - Disney Studios

• Ratatouille
• Animagique

A lot of the attractions are overlapping from Hollywood Studios and California Adventure, so we're okay with just the two at Disney Studios.

Doable?

 

[noodlesmum]

We are a friendly bunch round here

Okay so the 20th sounds great - as it's a Saturday it *should* be quieter in the morning as the French children will be at school which goes in your favour. Looking at your list it could be doable if you are able to do a full day? Especially as 3 of your attractions are walk throughs with no queue involved whatsoever. Last year on your date the park was open 10am - 11pm, are you able to put in a full day like that? Or at least up until when you have dinner? If you had say an 8pm table at Walts I think you could do everything you wanted which presuming you are staying for dreams means you could end the day with dinner at 8pm, and a bit of a wander around the shops on Main Street and then dreams to finish off

By the way the I got the old park hours from here:

http://www.dlpguide.com/calendar/monthly-park-hours/2014/06/

Which you may have stumbled on as part of your planning but is a really useful site.

So if you let us know if you are planning on arriving at park opening and we can suggest a rough order for you to do things to get the most out of your day

 

[DLPdaft]

I can't say I've noticed Saturday mornings being more quiet than Sunday mornings on any of the weekend trips I've taken to DLP over the past 3 years - I was under the impression that the majority of French schools no longer did Saturday morning sessions?

 

[Ms Poppins]

Ride wish list - Disneyland

• Alice's Curious Labyrinth - walk through, minimal wait
• Autopia - always queues, no FP so will need to wait or get there for it opening at 10am
• Big Thunder - FP recommended
• Buzz Lightyear - can be ok with sometimes 10 or 15 min waits, otherwise FP
• Casey Jr - not always open, though should be at that time of year
• Disneyland Railroad Loop - huge queues from Main ST. Not sure I'd do this to be honest as it is very, very slow to get from station to station. If you definitely want to do this, I'd suggest getting on at either Frontierland or Fantasyland station. Do Not wait at Main St or you may lose half your day
• Nautilus - walk though, no wait
• Pinocchio - varies, can be as little as 10 min
• Le Pays des Contes de Fées - same as Casey
• La Tanière du Dragon - walk through, no wait
• Star Tours (it's the old attraction - must do this!) FP on this if required
• Space Mountain for Husband - from reading your notes about Indiana Jones - do you know that this is a very fast coaster, with over the shoulder restraints and similar to RnR Aerosmith in terms of style? FP available but queue times quite small generally
• Tea Cups - we always do this during EMH so not sure of times, but I think you should be ok

Ride Wish - Disney Studios

• Ratatouille - go for single rider line if you can - minimal wait and often end up in same rat or one next to each other. Can be in and out in 10 mins otherwise main queue is approx 60min wait. FP always run out by lunchtime too.
• Animagique - the daily schedule with show the showtime for this which will help you plan.

You can nip into the studios at any time during your day, as others have said it's very close and easy to park hop.

Hope this helps - if you can think of anything else you need, ask away

 

[cazspence]

I can't say I've noticed Saturday mornings being more quiet than Sunday mornings on any of the weekend trips I've taken to DLP over the past 3 years - I was under the impression that the majority of French schools no longer did Saturday morning sessions?

Your correct saturday schooling in France was abolished in 2008.

 

[Stixibelle]

Long time lurker first time poster here, just thought I'd post to mention that I read somewhere that space mountain is closed from January 15th until mid July next year for a major overhaul so you might wanna look into that

 

[courtneybeth]

Thanks for all the help and insight - since most of these are "walk through" rides I feel like we'll be able to do it all!

Space Mountain was for husband, not me. I'm the claustrophobic one, so if we can't do it, it's not a big deal. Everything else looks solid.

 

[noodlesmum]

Hello again! Sorry for the mid information on the Saturday schooling - my niece lives in the south and France and still has to go on a Saturday morning so I presumed everyone still did - sorry

 

[lostatdisney]

As a Texan who has frequented both DL and WDW, I would definitely recommend a ticket to both parks. My DH and I just got back, and we really enjoyed seeing a different Disney park. DL Paris is very beautiful! We kept saying we felt like we were in an alternative Disney universe - so many familiar things with just small differences.

Here were our favorites:
Disneyland:
-BTMRR was our favorite! Better than the U.S. versions
-Space Mountain was very different, although a little too intense for me with the two loops
-The castle is beautiful, and the dragon below is neat.
Hollywood Studios:
-Crush's Coaster was very fun! You ride in an upside down turtle shell that spins around as you ride. There are long lines but also a single rider line.
-Ratatouille is a wonderfully creative ride. We loved it! Very long lines but you can use a FP or take advantage of the single rider line.

There were other things we enjoyed, but those were the highlights.

Have a great trip!