Help for Paris!

[Macca1111]

I know this is mostly a forum for WDW, but I also know this is a knowledgeable group of Disneyphiles and you'll be able to direct me correctly if you can't answer. I am going to be visiting Paris Disneyland for a few days this summer. I have only been once, and that was in 1999, before any of the hotels or the new park was built. I have looked at the official site, but I'm looking for insider information...where's the best place to stay, what do I need to see in the second park, what secrets can you share with me? Thank you everyone in advance...I really appreciate any help you can give me!

 

[Bas]

This summer my family will visit Orlando for 3 weeks. It will be the first time for my daughters (7 +5) to visit the Disney parks in Orlando. Due to a lot tips and information we planned this holiday. This will be my first posting on these boards. I hope i can give you some information about the Disneyland Resort Paris. The best place to stay will be the Disneyland Hotel (prestige) situated at the entrance of the Disneyland Park. Around Lake Disney, this will be a 10-15 minute walk from the Disneyland Park, there are 3 hotels, Hotel New York (deluxe), Newport Bayclub (comfort) and the Sequoia Lodge (comfort). With a 20 minute walk there will be the 2 last hotels from Disney Hotel Cheyenne and Hotel Santa Fe.

Walt Disney Studios Park is small version of the Disney-MGM studios in Orlando. The most special attractions would be Rock n Roller Coaster, Animation Courtyard (kids will love it) and Moteurs.. Action! Stunt Show Spectacular. The last one will also be opened in Orlando in may this year.

 

[magicmouse2]

Be aware it is not as magical as WDW. If money is no option stay at the DLP hotel it is gorgeous. You must try Rock N Rollercoaster as it is faster then at WDW. bE PREPARED TO SPEAK SOME FRENCH! not all the hotels have pools. Space mountain has been revamped and is mission 2 as from April 3rd for ap holders. People smoke everywhere! The french do not seem to understand waiting inline to meet characters - when we were there they pushed in. See the dragon under the castle it is awesome! See the stunt car show - it is awsome too! thunder Mountain railroad is more fun than WDW and Haunted Mansion is differnet too! Indiana Jones Backwards is very bummmmpppy!!! p

 

[Michelle2]

I totally agree with the above poster. We went on their version of Thunder Moutain and the Haunted Mansion over and over again. They clearly have the best versions of these rides. And Indiana Jones is very bumpy...Space Mountain also banged my head around alot. I was a little nauseous and had a slight headache when I was through. I couldn't see the dragon under the castle because it was down for rehab, DRATS!
We stayed at the DLP hotel and it was awesome! It didn't have the great restaurants that the GF has, but the inside foyer is very similiar! We were lucky to be there in the beginning of December and it was breathtaking!! If you stay in the Castle Club (concierge), you have your own private entrance to the park...very convenient!
Something that helped me get acquainted with the hotels and the parks itself was books from my local library...tons and information, and I was pretty prepared. This was back in 2001 though and I know they didn't have their Disney studios then...maybe an updated version has come out since then!
Have a great time! Hopefully some day we can go back and take the kids!

 

[CarolA]

Did you know that there is a whole board on Disneyland Paris. I found it very useful when I was planning a day there over Christmas.

 

[Danauk]

We stayed in the New York hotel which was a 5 minute walk to the park enterance through Disney Village. We loved the hotel.
A must do I think is eating at the restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribean ride. I love the atmosphere and enjoy watching people go past on the boats. Although the resort is not as magical as WDW I actually prefer the MK at DLP. It is more compact and as the rides are newer I find them a lot better. I enjoyed the back lot tour in the studios park. Just make sure you get in the line with the English flags above it otherwise you will not understand a word of the comentary!!

 

[poohmadmum]

We stayed at the Sequoia Lodge in January and had a great time. This is a moderate hotel but it does have an inside/outside pool depending on time of year you go. I think the rooms in the main building are better than those in the outside wings. The hotel has its own character greetings in the lobby each morning/evening and a schedule is posted as to which character, times etc. A much better way to get a photo with the character and get autograph book signed. In the parks some characters have nice orderly queues but those that turn up at locations around the parks have no queues and everyone pushes you to get in! This hotel is about a 10/15 minute walk from the park entrances although there are free shuttles as well.

In MGM you should definitely do the Stunt Show and Rock n Roll Rollercoaster. If you like drawing, you can have a lesson in drawing a character, Mickey and Donald while we were there, Animation Courtyard (?)

 

[Brendita]

We had stayed @ WDW Value Hotels many times.
So I thought that the DLP Value Hotels would be the same.
What a mistake.
I would compare them to very low class 1 star or less hotels.
Unclean rooms, bad service, paper thin walls, ect ect.
Stay in the most expense hotel you can afford.
Please understand the hotels @ DLP are run totally different than DL & WDW.
Paris is a beautiful place even with the rude people.
Sorry to say yes it's true they don't like Americans.

 

[rhiansmom]

We had stayed @ WDW Value Hotels many times.
So I thought that the DLP Value Hotels would be the same.
What a mistake.
I would compare them to very low class 1 star or less hotels.
Unclean rooms, bad service, paper thin walls, ect ect.
Stay in the most expense hotel you can afford.
Please understand the hotels @ DLP are run totally different than DL & WDW.
Paris is a beautiful place even with the rude people.
Sorry to say yes it's true they don't like Americans.

Gosh I'm sorry you had such a bad time. I actually lived in Europe for almost five years and the number of rude people that I run into on a daily basis is much greater in the US.

We never stayed at a DLP Hotel so I can't comment but in general value hotels in Europe are different than even even Super 8's.

 

[tclowe]

Hi, the Disneyland Paris website itself has good deals during certain seasons. I couldn't believe it when Sept. was considered a shoulder season so we splurged and stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, right above the park entrance. That was cool! No walking. And steps away from Downtown Disney. The subway? from Paris leads directly to the Park and the next stop is a very big mall and a small outlet mall.

1) CMs here lack WDW magic. Only a handful of great Disney Fanatic CMs were super nice.
2) Pin trading not as popular and the pins on CM lanyards were not really special (have to really look for a couple of CMs with neat pins)
3) Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show was fun and interesting. My 4 year old son really got into it. The food served was okay.
4) The stores at Downtown Disney close pretty late.
5) They had one restaurant in Downtown Disney that had a couple of characters (Mickey and Goofy) walking around and interacting with kids. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe (good food and decent service, but wait was about 45 minutes).
6) The fancy restaurant inside the Disneyland Hotel was not good for dinner. It was a character dinner and the selection of food was very small. Lots of cold salads. Plenty of character of interaction but not fun ones - Perla and the other mouse, chip & dale, wolf from Pinoc., and one other character.
7) We also ate buffet breakfast at the fancy restaurant. No character inside but the characters were available outside, entrance to the restaurant. You could take pictures with Mickey & Minnie or have Pluto sign an autograph. Must go to the breakfast restaurant around 8-8:30 am because there was a mob by 9:15am to get pictures & autographs with the characters.

It was fun but definitely not in the same league as WDW or even Disneyland in LA.

 

[DAWGPOUNDAJ]

Gosh I'm sorry you had such a bad time. I actually lived in Europe for almost five years and the number of rude people that I run into on a daily basis is much greater in the US.

We never stayed at a DLP Hotel so I can't comment but in general value hotels in Europe are different than even even Super 8's.

lol I think it's all a matter of luck and experience. Half of my friends are from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and they are some of the politest people that I have ever met!

That being said when I was in France visiting, my German friend was acting as my tour guide. lol I speak French very roughly but he basically told me to keep my mouth shut if I didn't want anyone swearing at me for having an American accent. I was a bit shocked but complied. And boy was I surprised to hear people speaking in french to my friend, thinking I did not understand French, asking him if I was another "stupid American *$&%"!!!! lol Boy was he angry at them! Now i just hope to never run into the people he swore back at! They may form a mob and attack! lol Basically it's very different with experience and perhaps b/c you lived there it made things easier? I am not entirely sure but no matter where you go there are rude people. It's best for people to be prepared for the worst though rather than be disappointed.

But it's Disney! Either way you'll have fun! If people are rude don't worry about it! Just ride the faster versions of the rides!

 

[Macca1111]

Did you know that there is a whole board on Disneyland Paris. I found it very useful when I was planning a day there over Christmas.

Can someone post the URL for this? I would be most appreciative. Thanks for all the tips so far...such a wonderful wealth of knowledge.

 

[Macca1111]

Alright, I now have reservations for the Disneyland Hotel...I'm still looking for tips from you knowledgeable people out there. I will be there for three days starting the 1st of July. Thanks everyone for the help!

 

[TroubledStitch]

Disneyland Paris can be a microcosm of why Europe has been at war with itself many times over the past 2,000 years. I suggest that you just step back from it and observe it as part of the human comedy. I haven't found people that rude, but then I am from London so everything is relative. Don't worry too much about using English, if an Italian is speaking to a French person they often use English as the common language between them.

I would recommend the New York hotel. When we have stayed they it includes a buffet breakfast. Continental breakfasts are lot of cold meats and cheese and bread products. We weren't the only ones wrapping up little sandwiches and croissants to take into the park.

Be prepared for lots of rain. And day long persistent rain not the showers you get in Florida.

Main Street has covered promenades that run behind the shops and are a good way to avoid the crowds (and the rain). If you use the left hand one on the way in there is a shortcut into Frontierland so you can get to Big Thunder quicker. This has a good bit in darkness as it passes under the lake to the central island. It also takes your picture.

I prefer the Pirates there to Florida - more drops. Captain Hook's ship is cool as are the Skull caves around there - they are bigger than you think.

Something that you might miss if you are not looking for it is the Aladdin's passage. This is a set of diorama's just in the gateway between the hub and Adventureland. It is worth a look in a quiet moment. As is the inside of the Castle, you can wander around upstairs and it has things from Sleeping Beauty.

Paris has a couple of things not in Florida such as Casey Jr little train, storybook boat ride, and Alice in wonderland maze. All worth a look at.

I think it is fair to say that the new park - Studios - is just starting, so there is not a lot in there. The Armageddon attraction is something that Disney do that isn't quite a ride but an experience. It's pretty interesting. Cinemagique is a good show that mixes live action with on-screen stuff and special effects. It is in a mix of English and French but easy enough to follow. It also has a chorus that sticks in your head.