I am studying in France for the semester and I had the awesome opportunity to go to Disneyland Paris for the first time in my life. One of my friends happened to know someone who worked there, so we got in for free! We only went to the Magic Kingdom Park, but it was so... magical. 
On Friday, I caught a train with my friend and her host siblings. I was surprised that the train station was right there. Seriously, you get off of the train, step out of the station, and you're on Disney property.
We went to the Disney Village, which is their version of Downtown Disney. It was only a few steps away from the train station. We walked (well, I skipped) down the wide pathway lined with stores and restaurants, such as Planet Hollywood. We ended up going to "Billy Bob's Country Western Saloon," which was just like it sounds. It had a sort of Applebee's/Texas Roadhouse feel with line dancing! It was so crazy to see French people line-dancing. And it was also crazy to get a drink that was sized like normal American soft-drinks. (Got a diet coke, which in France are called Coca Lights and they are AMAZING--even better than American diet coke!--and I'm not even a DC person in the US.)
After attemping to line dance at Billy Bob's, we checked into our hotel, "Hotel Santa Fe." We got an EXCELLENT discount thanks to my friend's friend. The rooms were nice and I haven't stayed in many Disney resorts before, but I think it would be the equivalent of what I seen at the value resorts. I definitely was satisfied (but maybe I'm easy to please?). Anyway, I had a pleasant stay in the room, which had two queen sized beds, a television, a dresser, a nightstand, and a bathroom (of course). It was connected to our friends' rooms which was nice.
Well, the next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, which was yummy. It was fun French food, like pain au chocolat and orange juice and bread with jam... and also a little bit of cereal. This was pretty typical for a French breakfast. I do know that when breakfast first started, the lines were SOOO long that they reached back to the lobby (where there was a character greeting session happening with Goofy). But it died down towards the end and we were able to find seats pretty quickly and get filled up on bread.
After breakfast, we took the resort bus back to the Train Station. In Paris, there's only one stop for all of the parks and the train station and the Disney Village because they are all so close. The bus, which I believe runs every twelve minutes, is packed as a result. We were all in VERY close quarters of each other. But the ride was pretty short (about 6 minutes) so it wasn't too bad.
We got off of the bus and headed into the entrance. They check bags as usual and then one has to walk past what I believe is DLP's equivalent of the Grand Floridian and continue until the ticket booths. It's all very pretty. Once inside, I went under these archways and then... MAIN STREET! I was home!
It looked pretty cool, but it was so cold. My fingers were FREEZING. It was weird to be at Disney and to be... COLD. Instead of misters in line, I was hoping for heaters. Anyway, a big group of us just waited around while two or three people from our party went around collecting Fast Passes (because at Disneyland Paris you can get more than one at once), the rest of us explored. A little note about the fast passes: while you can get more than one at once, they are more strict about getting there at the right time and also, you only have a half-an-hour time slot for your turn in line (instead of an hour at WDW and DLR).
Anyway, while we waited, we went underneath the castle, for warmth and also to see the dragon! I had always heard that there was a dragon, and I was delighted to see that it was true and it was also animatronic and moved and grunted and blew smoke!
We also saw this really amazing glass store, which was in the middle of the castle. Speaking of the castle, we were waiting near it when all of a sudden, there's TIGGER! There's FRIAR TUCK! There's EEYORE! There's MINNIE! There's every single Disney character that ever existed! It was crazy!! They didn't have attendants! (Okay, they did, but their attendants stood really far away from them). They just kind of roamed free and all at the same time. I realized that this little free-for-all would not work so well in the US because there were no real lines. You couldn't really get your picture with the character unless it was like not a popular character or you got there first. All the kids swamped the characters and it was unorganized chaos.
So, what rides did we go on?
1. Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom
This was a rollercoaster and it was pretty rough. I didn't dislike it, but I wasn't a great fan of it either. I guess it's because I almost broke my neck. Reminded me of Gwazi at Busch Gardens. Also, I didn't really see much themeing (or at least effort put into the themeing).
2. Pirates of the Carribean
This one was different than the ones at DLR or WDW. I liked it, but the one at WDW is better because there's a Jack Sparrow animatronic, and that's what makes the ride AMAZING. There were some different drops and this one also gave a peek into the Blue Bayou restaurant, like DLR.
3. Space Mountain... TWICE
This Space Mountain was sooooo different. It was really cool! It was a little rough, but intense in the best of ways. It reminded me a little bit of Rockin' Rollercoaster, only in Space! It was so intense.
FOOD BREAK: We went to Pizza Planet at this point. It was like this big cafeteria and I would say that the theming was there, but it was awkward. The whole way the cafeteria ran was awkward. You would have to wait for there to be enough space, then the Cast Members would let you in. There was no one real line. They had some reasonable options for France in terms of price. The food was good, even if it was smaller portions than usual. There was no ketchup, however, and I was disappointed that I didn't have anything to dip my fries in.
4. Pinochio's Journey
This is a ride that isn't at WDW. It was okay, it's like Snow White's Scary Adventures. Very Disney.
5. THE PARADE
Okay, so this wasn't a ride, but still, it was interesting. I couldn't see much because I'm short, but I did see that they had like a dance break in the middle of the parade. I was like, "What? Why is Pooh getting off his float???" It was interesting to see the French people try to smile... it just wasn't natural. And the princes and princesses looked kind of weird. Especially Peter Pan. He looked like 40. But the floats were HUGE and really awesome. I am unsure of the name of the parade, as it was a new one. Probably just in time for their 15th Year Celebration, which just started.
6. Buzz Light Year
Pretty much the same as the other parks I had been to... this might be a little longer. Had a good time, but got a low score as always.
7. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
This was soooooo good! It's way better than the ones at Disneyland or WDW! It was awesome! It was longer, had better drops, great views, etc, etc! I loved it! It was my favorite attraction and surprise of the day!
8. Haunted Mansion
So, this haunted mansion was a little raggedy. They didn't do a good job of hiding the whole backstage stuff. In the elevator, I could see through the walls into the hallways. Also, it wasn't remotely scary. It did have a theme... a sad bride who appeared in like every room. I was like, "Who is SHE?" And Madame Leota spoke in French... well, it was just a whole different lady. I dunno... it was a lot brighter than the other ones and at the end, the ghost isn't sitting on your lap... it's just riding above your car. That's the best part and they didn't have that! So, I wasn't much of a big fan of this one (in comparison to the others).
9. Star Tours
Exactly the same as the others... except it was in FRENCH! So weird. So weird. It was rough, too. My backpack fell out of the little security pouch that's underneath the seat.
10. SPACE MOUNTAIN... AGAIN!!!
I rode in the front this time and it was like 10x different. It was soooooo cool! We were going so fast and I had TEARS AND TEARS running down my face because of the speed. It was super intense in the front and it felt like a whole different ride. I would definitely say it's worth the wait to ride in the front if you have to wait, because it's the best!
OVERALL IMPRESSION Disneyland Paris was pretty cool, except for that it was raining the whole day (that's why I didn't take many pictures) and my pants were wet up to my knees. But the magic was still there, even if it was French-like different magic... I had a great time and I am so glad that I went. But overall, I would say that I would still rank the resorts that I have been to like this:
1. WDW
2. DLR
3. DLP
I still think the other parks are better... but I'm glad I went to DLP! Oui, oui!
PICTURE COLLAGE
Left to Right:
Row 1:
a. Me with a high school musical poster in the hotel
b. A sign that's used for breakfast in the hotel
c. A sign at the park entrance
Row 2:
a. Me and a friend at the castle
b. The dragon!
c. Me and Friar Tuck
Row 3:
a. Me and another friend
b. One of the CMs that we knew
c. Another castle shot
On Friday, I caught a train with my friend and her host siblings. I was surprised that the train station was right there. Seriously, you get off of the train, step out of the station, and you're on Disney property.
We went to the Disney Village, which is their version of Downtown Disney. It was only a few steps away from the train station. We walked (well, I skipped) down the wide pathway lined with stores and restaurants, such as Planet Hollywood. We ended up going to "Billy Bob's Country Western Saloon," which was just like it sounds. It had a sort of Applebee's/Texas Roadhouse feel with line dancing! It was so crazy to see French people line-dancing. And it was also crazy to get a drink that was sized like normal American soft-drinks. (Got a diet coke, which in France are called Coca Lights and they are AMAZING--even better than American diet coke!--and I'm not even a DC person in the US.)
After attemping to line dance at Billy Bob's, we checked into our hotel, "Hotel Santa Fe." We got an EXCELLENT discount thanks to my friend's friend. The rooms were nice and I haven't stayed in many Disney resorts before, but I think it would be the equivalent of what I seen at the value resorts. I definitely was satisfied (but maybe I'm easy to please?). Anyway, I had a pleasant stay in the room, which had two queen sized beds, a television, a dresser, a nightstand, and a bathroom (of course). It was connected to our friends' rooms which was nice.
Well, the next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, which was yummy. It was fun French food, like pain au chocolat and orange juice and bread with jam... and also a little bit of cereal. This was pretty typical for a French breakfast. I do know that when breakfast first started, the lines were SOOO long that they reached back to the lobby (where there was a character greeting session happening with Goofy). But it died down towards the end and we were able to find seats pretty quickly and get filled up on bread.
After breakfast, we took the resort bus back to the Train Station. In Paris, there's only one stop for all of the parks and the train station and the Disney Village because they are all so close. The bus, which I believe runs every twelve minutes, is packed as a result. We were all in VERY close quarters of each other. But the ride was pretty short (about 6 minutes) so it wasn't too bad.
We got off of the bus and headed into the entrance. They check bags as usual and then one has to walk past what I believe is DLP's equivalent of the Grand Floridian and continue until the ticket booths. It's all very pretty. Once inside, I went under these archways and then... MAIN STREET! I was home!
It looked pretty cool, but it was so cold. My fingers were FREEZING. It was weird to be at Disney and to be... COLD. Instead of misters in line, I was hoping for heaters. Anyway, a big group of us just waited around while two or three people from our party went around collecting Fast Passes (because at Disneyland Paris you can get more than one at once), the rest of us explored. A little note about the fast passes: while you can get more than one at once, they are more strict about getting there at the right time and also, you only have a half-an-hour time slot for your turn in line (instead of an hour at WDW and DLR).
Anyway, while we waited, we went underneath the castle, for warmth and also to see the dragon! I had always heard that there was a dragon, and I was delighted to see that it was true and it was also animatronic and moved and grunted and blew smoke!
We also saw this really amazing glass store, which was in the middle of the castle. Speaking of the castle, we were waiting near it when all of a sudden, there's TIGGER! There's FRIAR TUCK! There's EEYORE! There's MINNIE! There's every single Disney character that ever existed! It was crazy!! They didn't have attendants! (Okay, they did, but their attendants stood really far away from them). They just kind of roamed free and all at the same time. I realized that this little free-for-all would not work so well in the US because there were no real lines. You couldn't really get your picture with the character unless it was like not a popular character or you got there first. All the kids swamped the characters and it was unorganized chaos.
So, what rides did we go on?
1. Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom
This was a rollercoaster and it was pretty rough. I didn't dislike it, but I wasn't a great fan of it either. I guess it's because I almost broke my neck. Reminded me of Gwazi at Busch Gardens. Also, I didn't really see much themeing (or at least effort put into the themeing).
2. Pirates of the Carribean
This one was different than the ones at DLR or WDW. I liked it, but the one at WDW is better because there's a Jack Sparrow animatronic, and that's what makes the ride AMAZING.
There were some different drops and this one also gave a peek into the Blue Bayou restaurant, like DLR.3. Space Mountain... TWICE
This Space Mountain was sooooo different. It was really cool! It was a little rough, but intense in the best of ways. It reminded me a little bit of Rockin' Rollercoaster, only in Space! It was so intense.
FOOD BREAK: We went to Pizza Planet at this point. It was like this big cafeteria and I would say that the theming was there, but it was awkward. The whole way the cafeteria ran was awkward. You would have to wait for there to be enough space, then the Cast Members would let you in. There was no one real line. They had some reasonable options for France in terms of price. The food was good, even if it was smaller portions than usual. There was no ketchup, however, and I was disappointed that I didn't have anything to dip my fries in.
4. Pinochio's Journey
This is a ride that isn't at WDW. It was okay, it's like Snow White's Scary Adventures. Very Disney.
5. THE PARADE
Okay, so this wasn't a ride, but still, it was interesting. I couldn't see much because I'm short, but I did see that they had like a dance break in the middle of the parade. I was like, "What? Why is Pooh getting off his float???" It was interesting to see the French people try to smile... it just wasn't natural. And the princes and princesses looked kind of weird. Especially Peter Pan. He looked like 40. But the floats were HUGE and really awesome. I am unsure of the name of the parade, as it was a new one. Probably just in time for their 15th Year Celebration, which just started.
6. Buzz Light Year
Pretty much the same as the other parks I had been to... this might be a little longer. Had a good time, but got a low score as always.
7. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
This was soooooo good! It's way better than the ones at Disneyland or WDW! It was awesome! It was longer, had better drops, great views, etc, etc! I loved it! It was my favorite attraction and surprise of the day!
8. Haunted Mansion
So, this haunted mansion was a little raggedy. They didn't do a good job of hiding the whole backstage stuff. In the elevator, I could see through the walls into the hallways. Also, it wasn't remotely scary. It did have a theme... a sad bride who appeared in like every room. I was like, "Who is SHE?" And Madame Leota spoke in French... well, it was just a whole different lady. I dunno... it was a lot brighter than the other ones and at the end, the ghost isn't sitting on your lap... it's just riding above your car. That's the best part and they didn't have that! So, I wasn't much of a big fan of this one (in comparison to the others).
9. Star Tours
Exactly the same as the others... except it was in FRENCH! So weird. So weird. It was rough, too. My backpack fell out of the little security pouch that's underneath the seat.
10. SPACE MOUNTAIN... AGAIN!!!
I rode in the front this time and it was like 10x different. It was soooooo cool! We were going so fast and I had TEARS AND TEARS running down my face because of the speed. It was super intense in the front and it felt like a whole different ride. I would definitely say it's worth the wait to ride in the front if you have to wait, because it's the best!
OVERALL IMPRESSION Disneyland Paris was pretty cool, except for that it was raining the whole day (that's why I didn't take many pictures) and my pants were wet up to my knees. But the magic was still there, even if it was French-like different magic... I had a great time and I am so glad that I went. But overall, I would say that I would still rank the resorts that I have been to like this:
1. WDW
2. DLR
3. DLP
I still think the other parks are better... but I'm glad I went to DLP! Oui, oui!
PICTURE COLLAGE
Left to Right:
Row 1:
a. Me with a high school musical poster in the hotel
b. A sign that's used for breakfast in the hotel
c. A sign at the park entrance
Row 2:
a. Me and a friend at the castle
b. The dragon!
c. Me and Friar Tuck
Row 3:
a. Me and another friend
b. One of the CMs that we knew
c. Another castle shot
- lucky you to get a "freebie" shame about the rain, but it sounds like you had fun!
I'll just have to encourage her to do try DLP!
I am so glad you had better weather on your return visit! 
