Disneyland Paris

[disneychik21]

Hey DISers, I need your help and advice. I am spending the summer in Italy as a nanny and will have a few weekends to travel. I will be in northern Italy and Paris is only a 5 hours train ride away. As one of my weekends will be in Paris, I plan to visit Disneyland Paris for a day. I will have a Friday evening to spend in Paris and a good majority of time on Sunday to spend in Paris, but I plan to spend the full Saturday at Disneyland Paris.

For those of you who have been to Disneyland Paris, what did you do? What are the must dos at Disneyland Paris?

 

[DisneyKevin]

Hey DISers, I need your help and advice. I am spending the summer in Italy as a nanny and will have a few weekends to travel. I will be in northern Italy and Paris is only a 5 hours train ride away. As one of my weekends will be in Paris, I plan to visit Disneyland Paris for a day. I will have a Friday evening to spend in Paris and a good majority of time on Sunday to spend in Paris, but I plan to spend the full Saturday at Disneyland Paris.

For those of you who have been to Disneyland Paris, what did you do? What are the must dos at Disneyland Paris?

Skip the Studios and see the Magic Kingdom.

 

[NancyIL]

With only a weekend in Paris, I'd skip Disneyland.

 

[disneychik21]

With only a weekend in Paris, I'd skip Disneyland.

The thing is, I have been dreaming of going to Disneyland Paris forever, as long as I can remember at least. I also have free admission, so I hate to pass it up. I will technically have a Friday night and a whole day Sunday to see other stuff in Paris. I have the Notre Dame Cathedral and Eiffel Tower on my list. What would you suggest in Paris?

 

[NancyIL]

The thing is, I have been dreaming of going to Disneyland Paris forever, as long as I can remember at least. I also have free admission, so I hate to pass it up. I will technically have a Friday night and a whole day Sunday to see other stuff in Paris. I have the Notre Dame Cathedral and Eiffel Tower on my list. What would you suggest in Paris?

It's hard to argue with free admission to Disneyland Paris! You can't see all of Paris, even if you spent the whole weekend there, so pick out the things that interest you the most. I suggest you book a timed ticket online for the Eiffel Tower at least several weeks in advance. Notre Dame will be crowded, so go early or late. If interested in museums, get the Paris Museum Pass. It will enable you to skip the ticket lines-especially in very busy places like the Louvre. A Seine river cruise is nice -especially at night. Get a good Paris guide book, like Rick Steves' Paris.

 

[DSNY4ever]

The thing is, I have been dreaming of going to Disneyland Paris forever, as long as I can remember at least. I also have free admission, so I hate to pass it up. I will technically have a Friday night and a whole day Sunday to see other stuff in Paris. I have the Notre Dame Cathedral and Eiffel Tower on my list. What would you suggest in Paris?

There is a Disneyland Paris Board on here and I have found the people/info on there very helpful. We are leaving for a week in Paris very soon. Just FYI if you want to see the Eiffel tower (or go up it rather) you need to book 3 months in advance. We did not know this and now we won't be able to go in, bummer. Read Rick Steve's Paris. We have a whole week with only one day at DLRP...it doesn't look too different than the American versions so technically we still have it planned as a tentative activity in case there is more we wan to see in Paris that we don't get done during our week there. Good luck planning, sounds like you have a neat opportunity!

 

[disneychik21]

Is it worth is to go inside the Eiffel Tower? I was planning on just going to it and sitting on that lawn outside of it for a minute.

The three things on the top of my list in Paris are....
1. Eiffel Tower
2. Notre Dame Cathedral
3. Arc du Triomphe

I'm sure I'll think of more though. I found this cool tour on Trip Advisor where you go out on a Vespa and the person driving takes you where you want to go. It sounded pretty cool, although I'm not sure how much that was.

 

[NancyIL]

Is it worth is to go inside the Eiffel Tower? I was planning on just going to it and sitting on that lawn outside of it for a minute.

The three things on the top of my list in Paris are....
1. Eiffel Tower
2. Notre Dame Cathedral
3. Arc du Triomphe

I'm sure I'll think of more though. I found this cool tour on Trip Advisor where you go out on a Vespa and the person driving takes you where you want to go. It sounded pretty cool, although I'm not sure how much that was.

I think it's worth taking the elevator up the Eiffel Tower - although you don't have to go to the very top: http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/en/preparing-your-visit/buying-your-tickets.html

You can also go to the top of the Arc de Trimphe for a small fee (lots of stairs): http://arc-de-triomphe.monuments-nationaux.fr/en/

I can't comment on the Vespa tour, but my daughter and I took a fun bike tour with Bike About Tours in June 2010: http://www.bikeabouttours.com/; Trip Advisor Reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...425-Bike_About_Tours-Paris_Ile_de_France.html. I like Hop-On-Hpp-Off bus tours for getting an overview of the city, but you get the best views when you are walking or biking.

This is the Paris guide book we used: http://www.amazon.com/Rick-Steves-P...=1395407713&sr=8-1&keywords=rick+steves+paris

 

[steve76]

The two parks at DLP are right next to each other, so it's very easy to hop between them.

I would consider popping in to the Studios for Crush's Coaster (which I think is one of the best coasters at any Disney park), and possibly Cinemagique, Tower of Terror and Rock and Rollercoaster. Note that the lines for Crush's Coaster can be very long, so you might want to head here first.

Other than that I would spend the majority of the time in Disneyland Park. I would suggest that you don't go mad trying to ride everything, but take time to really explore and take in the scenery as it's a beautiful park. Personally, my priorities would be Big Thunder Mountain (it's unique, in that it's on its own island), Phantom Manor (quite different to other versions of the Haunted Mansion), Pirates (again, a bit different), Alice's Labyrinth (great views of Fantasyland), the castle (views from upstairs over Fantasyland, and the dragon beneath), and Space Mountain (which again is very different - but be warned it's more extreme than other versions - much more akin to Rock and Rollercoaster).

Have fun!

 

[wiigirl]

Skip the Studios and see the Magic Kingdom.

 

[DisneyKevin]

We found that going up in the Eiffel Tower was okay....it made the Paris skyline "less interesting".

Looking out over Paris from any vantage point is very cool, especially when the Eiffel Tower is visible.

When you are inside the tower, the view lacks (as Marty Sklar says) the "weenie". You don't have that visual landmark.

 

[k5jm]

You need top try and get tickets for the Eiffel tower ahead of time. Otherwise, you face the 4 hours stand-by line.

Do everything, at Disneyland PAris (MK)!!! Space Mountain 2 is very different!! Phantom Manor is very very cool and has some great imagery. BTMM is very long compared to DL or WDW and AWESOME!

Make sure you check out every nook and cranny of the Castle. Notice all the subtle differences (like pavers, bricks, cobblestones on Main Street).

Don't miss the Nautilus. It is partially underground.

If you are brave enough to go into the Disneyland Hotel, make sure you have a tolerance for Baby Powder.

Notre Dame is worth the walk. The gardens next to the Cathedral are beautiful and the view from the top is pretty amazing. There is some great shopping and other cool experiences right next to Notre Dame.


IMG_4082 by k5jmh, on Flickr

 

[disneychik21]

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If you are brave enough to go into the Disneyland Hotel, make sure you have a tolerance for Baby Powder.


IMG_4082 by k5jmh, on Flickr

Does it have a bad Baby Powder smell?

 

[monkeyknuckler]

We went to DLP after the ABD London and Paris. Stayed at DL Hotel. Didn't notice baby powder smell.
DPL Magic Kingdom is great to explore, castle is fantastic. Other park not so much.
If you're afraid of heights, you could ask a construction worker permission to climb up his scaffolding instead of going up the Eiffel Tower. Its just a high lookout point over a huge city. Nothing too magical about it. Arc de Triomphe is cool to watch cars navigate from 12 streets merging into a traffic circle without any stop lights. Have fun.

 

[brer_rabbit]

Agree with others - if you have one day at Disneyland Paris don't bother with the studios. The only thing unique there is the Crush Coaster but the waits are often v long.

For me the must do rides are Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain and Pirates - just because these are so different to their Orlando counterparts. The best thing about the park is the attention to detail they put into the design - it's incredibly well themed and really nice just to walk round.

Here's an example of their attention to detail - I love this model of Wall-E and Eve outside Space Mountain:

If you only have 1 day in Paris I would recommend the City Sightseeing bus. You will at least get to see all the main sights and can hop on and off as you wish. If you buy a Paris Pass the bus is included as well as entry to lots of museums, galleries etc.

Don't rule out the Eiffel Tower - I've been up a few times and never booked, so you might get lucky

 

[k5jm]

Does it have a bad Baby Powder smell?

I recently pulled out some things we had received at the hotel and they all still smelled of baby powder almost 3 years later. The smell permeated our clothes, documents, and anything that trapped air. You get used to it after about 20 to 30 minutes, but we rarely spent that much time in the DL Hotel.

 

[disneychik21]

I recently pulled out some things we had received at the hotel and they all still smelled of baby powder almost 3 years later. The smell permeated our clothes, documents, and anything that trapped air. You get used to it after about 20 to 30 minutes, but we rarely spent that much time in the DL Hotel.

Wow! I will avoid the Disneyland Hotel then. I don't want to bring that smell back to my host family's house. Oh my. I guess it isn't a horrible smell at least, but everything in moderation. Haha.

 

[disneychik21]

At Disneyland Paris and in Paris itself, where are the places you would suggest eating? Is Disneyland Paris fare the same as at WDW? Better? Worse?

 

[brer_rabbit]

At Disneyland Paris and in Paris itself, where are the places you would suggest eating? Is Disneyland Paris fare the same as at WDW? Better? Worse?

Disneyland Paris is pretty expensive for food. If you can, make sure you stay at a hotel with a decent buffet breakfast so you don't get hungry early on (we did this on one trip and found we didn't really need to eat until mid afternoon).

This is a website I've used in the past: http://www.dlpfoodguide.com/

 

[Cyrano]

I echo what others have said about Disneyland Park being your priority.

In terms of Paris some of my favourites are Sacre Coeur - great artist area and fabulous views of Paris. Centre Georges Pompidou - in the Beaubourg area. Wonder cafes and restaurants in the square and an unusual inside/outside building. Musee d'Orsay - beautiful old railway station that is a wonderful museum on the banks of the Seine.