Two Questions...

[ronandannette]

We will be making a brief visit to Paris in May and although the time is short, it's hard to imaging being so close to a Disney park and not seeing it. A little advice would really help us decide if we should plan it or forget the idea:

1. We will be arriving at CDG around 9:00 am on a Friday morning and taking our luggage to our hotel (in arr. 4). There is apparently a metro stop very close-by. Can we get to DLP via metro? Doesn't really matter how long it would take, I'm more concerned with ease of travel.
2. Sadly, we do not speak one word of French - once at DLP, how hard a time will we have? Are the attractions and shows narrated in English?

TIA!

PS: I've tried the link for local transportation in the "All You Need To Know Thread" but it's o longer active.

 

[avviexxx]

Hi!

I've just had a look for you, and looks like you can get a Metro to DLP from CDG. It looks like it will only take roughly 10 mins from Terminal 2. Hopefully someone who has done this journey before can help (i've only gone direct from London)

As for speaking French, you shouldn't have much of a problem! If you grab a park map it will show you what times the English versions of shows are on! But with attractions its pure luck as to whether you get the English narrative or French as it is random. It doesn't really ruin your ride though! Most staff need to know some English as well, i've never really had issues.

Let me know if you have any other questions

 

[ronandannette]

Hi!

I've just had a look for you, and looks like you can get a Metro to DLP from CDG. It looks like it will only take roughly 10 mins from Terminal 2. Hopefully someone who has done this journey before can help (i've only gone direct from London)

As for speaking French, you shouldn't have much of a problem! If you grab a park map it will show you what times the English versions of shows are on! But with attractions its pure luck as to whether you get the English narrative or French as it is random. It doesn't really ruin your ride though! Most staff need to know some English as well, i've never really had issues.

Let me know if you have any other questions

Thanks - I appreciate your reply. The plan isn't to go straight to the Park from the airport; that won't work. We'll need to get to our hotel and store our copious amounts of luggage first. Paris is just a brief stop on our way to Barcelona to board a cruise, so we'll be packing quite heavy. (Not going to schlep it all on public transit either - we'll get a cab or car service from the airport to our hotel.)

Question: Are the two parks at DLP similar to being at DLR? Can you easily walk back and forth between them like DL and DCA? If so, we'd consider Hopper tickets - if not, we'll stick to just one. Truth be told, I'm not sure how much ground we'll be able to cover after a 9-hour over-night flight.

 

[avviexxx]

Thanks - I appreciate your reply. The plan isn't to go straight to the Park from the airport; that won't work. We'll need to get to our hotel and store our copious amounts of luggage first. Paris is just a brief stop on our way to Barcelona to board a cruise, so we'll be packing quite heavy. (Not going to schlep it all on public transit either - we'll get a cab or car service from the airport to our hotel.)

Question: Are the two parks at DLP similar to being at DLR? Can you easily walk back and forth between them like DL and DCA? If so, we'd consider Hopper tickets - if not, we'll stick to just one. Truth be told, I'm not sure how much ground we'll be able to cover after a 9-hour over-night flight.

No problem you can still get the train to DLP after dropping your luggage off!

Walking back and forth to each park is extremely easy. It takes less than 5 mins to walk from one to the other! (Right next to each other)

 

[micksn]

You can get an RER train from Paris which takes about 40 mins. You will need to take a metro from your hotel to one of the main stations where the RER goes from. They are very frequent and run from early morning till late night.

Once there everything is very close together and you can easily walk between the parks, they are almost adjacent. If you're just going for a day it might be best to prioritise the main park, particularly with extra shows and parades for 25th anniversary. Having said that there are some great and unique attractions in the Studios which it would be a shame to miss.

 

[avviexxx]

Here we go, Studios entrance on the right, Disneyland Paris entrance on the left

 

[ashley0139]

I went last May and had a great time! I speak about 5 words of French, but I did not have a problem at all. Only one restaurant I went to, the cashier did not speak a word of English, so I just pointed to what I wanted. Everyone else was fairly fluent, and I think the only attraction that is completely in French is Phantom Manor (still definitely worth going on).

I'd definitely recommend getting hoppers as the two best rides (in my opinion) are in the Studios park (Ratatouille and Crush's Coaster).

 

[ronandannette]

I went last May and had a great time! I speak about 5 words of French, but I did not have a problem at all. Only one restaurant I went to, the cashier did not speak a word of English, so I just pointed to what I wanted. Everyone else was fairly fluent, and I think the only attraction that is completely in French is Phantom Manor (still definitely worth going on).

I'd definitely recommend getting hoppers as the two best rides (in my opinion) are in the Studios park (Ratatouille and Crush's Coaster).

Thanks! TBH, I don't even care for Haunted Mansion as it is, so I'd definitely skip the French version ) Do you think we could hit the high points of both parks in one day? We've done DL and DCA that way before.

Oh, and since you mentioned it - how was the weather in May? Where we're coming from it will still be freezing overnight and may possibly be snowing a little.

 

[ashley0139]

Thanks! TBH, I don't even care for Haunted Mansion as it is, so I'd definitely skip the French version ) Do you think we could hit the high points of both parks in one day? We've done DL and DCA that way before.

Oh, and since you mentioned it - how was the weather in May? Where we're coming from it will still be freezing overnight and may possibly be snowing a little.

I do. Here's what I would hit, not taking into account anything that may be closed. Since it sounds like you won't be arriving at rope drop, this is what I would do. Do Studios first and hit Ratatouille (fast pass or single rider) and Crush's Coaster (single rider - this line gets looong and there's no fastpass). Hit anything else in that park you may want to. Really, the only things would be the rides in the Toy Story area, but they're not really high points, just different than what we have in the US. RnR and ToT are exactly the same as the US parks and you probably don't have time for the shows.

Then head over to DLP. Hit (not in this order because it is not efficient) BTMRR, Pirates, I would say Phantom Manor but not if you're not interested, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, and then whatever dark rides you want (Small World at DLP is great). Skip Buzz, Teacups, and I think Peter Pan is the same as US. Make sure you see the dragon under the castle and Alice's Labyrinth as those are unique to DLP. Then see whatever the nighttime show is. Not sure if it's still Dreams for the 25th, but it was amazing, so I'm sure whatever the night show is will be too.

I'm not sure when you'll be there in May, but I was there at the beginning of May. It rained the entirety of my 2 1/2 days and I wore a jacket the entire time, but there were zero lines for anything (the only lines I waited in at all were Crush's Coaster and, weirdly, Casey Jr which you don't need to do for one day) and nothing was closed because of rain.

Hope this is helpful!

 

[ronandannette]

I do. Here's what I would hit, not taking into account anything that may be closed. Since it sounds like you won't be arriving at rope drop, this is what I would do. Do Studios first and hit Ratatouille (fast pass or single rider) and Crush's Coaster (single rider - this line gets looong and there's no fastpass). Hit anything else in that park you may want to. Really, the only things would be the rides in the Toy Story area, but they're not really high points, just different than what we have in the US. RnR and ToT are exactly the same as the US parks and you probably don't have time for the shows.

Then head over to DLP. Hit (not in this order because it is not efficient) BTMRR, Pirates, I would say Phantom Manor but not if you're not interested, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, and then whatever dark rides you want (Small World at DLP is great). Skip Buzz, Teacups, and I think Peter Pan is the same as US. Make sure you see the dragon under the castle and Alice's Labyrinth as those are unique to DLP. Then see whatever the nighttime show is. Not sure if it's still Dreams for the 25th, but it was amazing, so I'm sure whatever the night show is will be too.

I'm not sure when you'll be there in May, but I was there at the beginning of May. It rained the entirety of my 2 1/2 days and I wore a jacket the entire time, but there were zero lines for anything (the only lines I waited in at all were Crush's Coaster and, weirdly, Casey Jr which you don't need to do for one day) and nothing was closed because of rain.

Hope this is helpful!

Very helpful, and really appreciate it! Oh, and I've been to DLR in May when it rained for 2 days and nobody in Orange County knew what to do with themselves. Super-short lines and it was still an upgrade from snow as far as I was concerned!

 

[ashley0139]

Very helpful, and really appreciate it! Oh, and I've been to DLR in May when it rained for 2 days and nobody in Orange County knew what to do with themselves. Super-short lines and it was still an upgrade from snow as far as I was concerned!

I was initially disappointed when I found out it would be raining the whole time, but I do think it was a blessing in disguise because it kept the lines short so I could go at a slower pace and still see everything, and do things more than once. I did Ratatouille 5 times and Crush's Coaster 8 I think. The only downside was I didn't have waterproof shoes so I ended up with a huge blister on the bottom of my foot that then popped and made it very, very painful to walk for a few days. The people at the first aid station are lovely, though.

I'm a DLR local and I always make sure to go when it rains because it keeps the less die hard locals away!

Oh, and make sure you check out the arcades on Main Street. Very cool and unique to DLP. Also not sure which parade they will be doing but the one last year was meh. Very repetitive music. There's definitely a different ambience at this park than either of the US ones, which I really enjoyed.