Disneyland Paris for first ever trip?

[toystoryforlife]

Hi all! My husband and I are all the way in Australia, but I cannot wait for the day to get ourselves to Dinseyland and Disney World! We are however, heading to Europe this year, and I wanted to know if you guys had any thoughts on whether heading to Disneyland Paris was worth it - or whether our first time at a Disney park should be saved for the big ones? I'm conflicted!

 

[puffkins]

Howdy to Australia. I have not been to Disneyland Paris, so this comment is subjective. From what I have read, it is a nice park but is not in the same class as WDW or Disneyland. If you have never been to Paris (a wonderful city,) I would not sacrifice an afternoon at the Musée du Louvre. I grew up in Florida, so my opinion is heavily biased, but there is a reason why WDW is the #1 Theme Park in the world. If I were you, I would enjoy the native culture of Europe and wait until I travelled to America to experience your first Disney Park. Your first exposure should be at the best...and that is, unquestionably, Walt Disney World.

 

[Artygal90]

I have *only* been to Disneyland Paris and only as a child/young teenager, so my comment will be biased. I'll be going to WDW in Orlando for the first time in ten days so I can better compare the two soon!

Disneyland Paris is very compact, doable in one or two days, and absolutely beautiful and charming. There is the main park with most of the Magic Kingdom attractions and a second one that seems to be a spin on Disney Hollywood Studios in Orlando (I haven't been to the second park so can't comment on it too much). Disneyland Paris has several unique attractions that I loved as a kid and that are different from anything in either WDW or the original Disneyland. Tomorrowland, for example, has a retro-futurism theme inspired by the work of French author Jules Verne, and the Phantom Manor is a dark and scary version of the Haunted Mansion with more of a Wild West theme.

Depending on the length of your trip, I would take a day or two and spend it in the theme park - I believe it's only an hour or so outside of Paris by RER train. However, if you only have a week or less, and you haven't been to Europe before, I would skip it and focus on more traditional experiences such as the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, exploring the many beautiful neighborhoods of Paris, etc. I was in Paris for a week last year and didn't take the time to go out to Disney because there was so much I wanted to do in the city proper. We just couldn't find the time in our schedules. There are many different ways to experience Disney parks, but there's only one Paris!

 

[Eccle]

I think as others have said it will partly depend how long you have in Europe as to whether you are missing out on something else. I am British, and was never sure if Disneyland Paris would be the same, despite the relative distances I had been to California twice and Florida three times before we went there. I was actually pleasantly surprised by it and we enjoyed it there, I like that the parks are right next to each other, and it has the Ratatouille ride

 

[Fantasmiss]

I would definitely go! It’s not remotely in the same class as WDW, but still worth going there. Have fun no matter where you go!

 

[BadPinkTink]

I always say to people go to Disneyland Paris first and then go to the American parks. That way you get the wow factor twice. The first in Disneyland Paris, omg Im in a Disney park, Ive waited so many years for this, the second omg, I thought Disneyland Paris was good but WDW/ Disneyland California is just amazing.

 

[tiffjoy]

We went to Paris two years ago and made the choice to skip Disney because they were renovating and we knew we would be back in summer 2019. We are now planning our 2019 trip, and it will include a day at the Paris park.

I am of the mind that I wouldn't dedicate too much time to the Disney parks when there is so much else to do in a new country, but we enjoy popping in, seeing them, and doing a few unique things. We spent a day at DisneySea when we visited Japan, and although we could have spent much longer at the parks (it was such a nice park! and we didn't see Tokyo Disneyland), there was just too much else we wanted to do. I don't regret spending a day at DisneySea, but I also don't regret not spending more because I wouldn't have traded any of our other days that we had elsewhere.

If you would like to go, then go, and don't worry about comparisons between this park and that park and all else. Just enjoy it for what it is.

 

[Judy from Boise]

Not to start a debate, but most would agree that WDW is the best resort destination, but their Magic Kingdom as a park lags behind California and perhaps Paris........I would definitely go!

 

[YawningDodo]

Take this with a grain of salt as I'm still planning my own first visit to DLP later this year, but --

If you have a chance to go to DLP and you expect to be able to go to WDW later, I would absolutely start with DLP. As BadPinkTink pointed out, it means you get the big "wow" factor for both parks without the risk that DLP will feel like a letdown after its bigger siblings. I'm also going to say that as an American who visited WDW many many times before ever going to Disneyland, I was told over and over that Disneyland is very small in comparison, that it would feel much more limited, etc. etc. And in the sense that there were only two parks, sure, that was true, but I didn't feel any less immersed in Disneyland than in WDW, and there was plenty there to keep us busy for a 4 night/5 day trip. I'm tempering my expectations again with DLP, because I know it's not the same as the American parks and I'm going to be happiest if I expect little from it, but considering plenty of people do continue to visit DLP there's got to be something that appeals to them in it.

 

[toystoryforlife]

Thank you all for your responses! We are spending four days in Paris, and based on these responses we may just commit a day to DLP. I think the worrying part for me was that I would ultimately be ruining that 'wow factor' by going to DLP first, but it seems like most of you agree the power of the other two parks just won't allow that to happen!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Personally, if I had only four days for a first trip to Paris, I would not waste one second visiting a Disney Park.

 

[YawningDodo]

I think it's up to each individual to decide their travel priorities. I'm not even stopping in Paris on my upcoming trip, and I don't consider it a "waste."

 

[swimfin]

If time permits, I'd go to DLP. They just renovated for their 25th anniversary and this is a great time to see DLP in "great shape!"