May be visiting DLP for 1 Day and have some questions

[cosine4]

I am going to be in Europe the last week of January for work and have a Sunday that I may take a road trip to DLP if the weather looks good and I am not too jet lagged

1. I will be in Saarbrucken Germany and plan to drive. How difficult is it driving accross the border? I am a US citizen, will I have any problem getting in/out of France?

2. What will the crowds be like? I am a WDW and DL veteren and have gone in all types of crowds (spent last 3 Christmas's at Disney and have gone during hurricane season in a downturn ) The day that I am looking at going is Sunday Jan 23.

3. Since it is much colder there in the winter than the Disney I am used to, is it difficult going in and out of the cold? Do you bundle up and then sweat as soon as you go inside or do you wear a bunch of layers?

4. Of the rides that are unique to DLP, what do you consider a "Don't Miss"? I am not too big on roller coasters anymore, but plan to at least ride Space Mountain M2. Is R'n'R different than WDW?

5. I don't like shakey/rough roller coasters like Big Thunder Mountain. I am really interested in RC Racer, Crush Coaster and Indian Jones, but are they smooth? Speaking of RC Racer, what is it exactly? All I can gather from the website is that it is a Toy Story themed roller coaster. Is it indoors? Is there very much Buzz Lightyear in it?

6. What is the Cars Race Rally? Is it a ride?

7. Is the Armageddon ride a simulator? Like where you watch a movie and they shake your seat?


Thanks in advance!

 

[cosine4]

Oh, forgot to ask about pins and vinylmations!

Is pin trading as big in Paris as it is in WDW/DL? Will the CMs trade with an adult without children? My kids are trying to collect certain types of pins and would like to be able to find and trade for them.

Also are there any vinylmations that are specific to DLP?

 

[Jeffers76]

Hi Cosine4, I am new to Disneylands.... what is Pin trading and vinylmation?

 

[Mum to Belle]

Hi!

I can't answer many of your questions but I'm sure someone else here will be able to, however...

5. I don't like shakey/rough roller coasters like Big Thunder Mountain. I am really interested in RC Racer, Crush Coaster and Indian Jones, but are they smooth? Speaking of RC Racer, what is it exactly? All I can gather from the website is that it is a Toy Story themed roller coaster. Is it indoors? Is there very much Buzz Lightyear in it?

6. What is the Cars Race Rally? Is it a ride?

Here is a link to a video of RC Racer As you can see it's not a coaster!

There is a big Buzz Lightyear at the entrance to the Toy Story Playland area.

Cars Race Rally is a ride a bit like the tea cups but you sit in little cars and spin around. My DD loved it!

 

[rottie155]

If you're going for one day and you have an idea of rides you want to do it could be a good idea for you to sit down, list them all and stick to a firm agenda as the rides you have mentioned are spread across the two parks...

As far as I am aware Pin Trading does work the same in DLP as in WDW but I haven't personally done this so I won't be able to give you a firm answer on this I'm afraid...

If I remember rightly, R'n'R Coaster is pretty much identical to the one in WDW - Space Mountain is completely different from it's WDW counterpart though and it is not to be missed... bear in mind this does do 360 degree turns, corkscrew spins, is fast and a rocky ride... you will be going upside-down!

Armageddon is a special effects show... You don't sit down on this, but you are an "extra" in one of the scenes from the movie... You watch a pre-show and then are taking into a recreation of the space-shuttle from the movie and then a whole heap of effects happen around you, including fire, steam, walls caving in and a nice little surprise at the end

Weekends are always busy at DLP, but on a Sunday they do tend to lessen as the evening creeps in... but you can make use of fastpasses etc so it's shouldn't be too crazy, especially seeing as you're used to the WDW crowds

The problem with the weather over here in Europe is that it is so unpredictable - you will want to wrap up warmly though... It could be anything from bitterly cold and snowing, to reasonably ok (still in need of a coat) with the sun-shining... but to be safe you will want to bring layers (you can always remove them and tie them around your waist or put in a bag if needbe....better safe than sorry).

Hope you have a fantastic time though, you'll love it!!! Try to see a show(s) or the parade too if time permits

 

[Vala]

France and Germany are both members of the European Union, so you shouldn't have any problems crossing the border. Within the European Union there's almost no checkpoint at the borders anymore when you drive. At least the two border stops where we cross over from Germany to France have not been manned for years.

I'm not aware of any DLRP exclusive Vinylmations, but I am not that much into them, so it could be I overlooked something.
There is pin trading, but nowhere on the level as in the US parks. There's lot of "adult trading" lanyards though, nowhere near as many kids lanyards as in the US parks. Usually at that time of the year CMs wear coats that might cover the lanyard, so you may have to ask if they are trading.

 

[the_princess]

R'n'R Coaster in DLP is not like the one in WDW. I like the one at DLP more.
Pin trading is not a big thing in DLP anymore. You can buy a lot of pins and some CMs are trading but a lot of the time, they are wearing thier own pins, so they won't trade with everything. Sometimes some of the shops have a board out with pins you can trade, but don't expect something like WDW. The CMs trade with both adults and kids.
Make sure you do POTC. The ride at DLP is longer then any other POTC and even though you won't see Jack Sparrow in the ride, it is a really cool version.

 

[SwipatronSparks]

2. What will the crowds be like? I am a WDW and DL veteren and have gone in all types of crowds (spent last 3 Christmas's at Disney and have gone during hurricane season in a downturn ) The day that I am looking at going is Sunday Jan 23. I would think it will be reasonably quiet for this time of year as thers nothing besides the regular parades happening

3. Since it is much colder there in the winter than the Disney I am used to, is it difficult going in and out of the cold? Do you bundle up and then sweat as soon as you go inside or do you wear a bunch of layers? layers would be your best bet

4. Of the rides that are unique to DLP, what do you consider a "Don't Miss"? I am not too big on roller coasters anymore, but plan to at least ride Space Mountain M2. Is R'n'R different than WDW? space mountain is a must do for sure, but unlike the wdw one it goes upside down and is sometimes a very bumpy ride!! Also dont miss out buzz lightyears lazer blast if the queue isnt too bad...

5. I don't like shakey/rough roller coasters like Big Thunder Mountain. I am really interested in RC Racer, Crush Coaster and Indian Jones, but are they smooth? Speaking of RC Racer, what is it exactly? All I can gather from the website is that it is a Toy Story themed roller coaster. Is it indoors? Is there very much Buzz Lightyear in it? rc racer is a half pipe coaster best way to explain it is its kinda like a shuggy boat in rollercoaster tracks.... Crush is an indoor dark roller coaster where the cars spin around but from what i remember its pretty smooth but the queue time is usually very very long so you mightend up on missing out on that unfortunately, indianna jones is a looping coaster but is known to be bumpy and can be quite an uncomfortable ride so you might want avoid it

6. What is the Cars Race Rally? Is it a ride? yes its a ride, its a tea cup kind of ride

7. Is the Armageddon ride a simulator? Like where you watch a movie and they shake your seat? someone has explained that already and it was pretty accurate


Thanks in advance!

hope this helps =]
You should check out www.dlrpmagic.com as it has up to date information on all the attractions and planned closures listed on it i have used it loads and its really helpful go to the guidebook part of the site, there you will be able to find information on all of the rides and attractions at DLRP

 

[cosine4]

Thanks for all of the great answers!

I will likely only ride one roller coaster because I don't want to get too sore/sick to ruin the rest of my day. I am leaning towards Space Mountain simply because of the sentimental value of it

My can't miss rides as of now are:
Buzz Lightyear (he is my favorite character, and I am a Galactic Hero in both WDW and DL)
Phantom Manor
Tower of Terror (only thrill ride that doesn't affect my medical condition)
Pirates of the Carriebean
Disney Animation Studio


Is Buzz Lightyear Laser Blasters different from WDW and/or DL? I know that WDW and DL are different. They have different "guns", the story line is the same but the rooms are different and the "secrets" are different.