Kitty-chan
Cheese is always the answer
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2004
Trip Report -- Disneyland Paris
September 1-2, 2005
Hotel Cheyenne
Images throughout this trip report are thumbnails; click on them for larger versions if you like.
Now first, a bit of context . . .
DS9 and I are a bit fanatical about Disney theme parks. We've now been to all except DisneySea (in Tokyo, where we did get to DL) and DL/Hong Kong (which of course doesn't open until Sept 12). So, as I reflect on our time at DLRP, I can't help but make comparisons to the other parks. This isn't intended to suggest that any park is better or worse; I relish and cherish the differences!
Also, DS9 has some unusual sensory sensitivies, so he can't do roller coasters or thrill rides. I was sad to miss Space Moutain: Mission 2! But such is the price of motherhood.
We're both pin traders, so there were a lot of stops for pin trading that I've left out entirely. I can't remember the chronology of most of it anyway.
Day One: September 1
We got a later start out of Paris than we'd hoped to (family stuff, DS9 in a mood!). But the RER trip from the Latin Quarter was absolutely no problem. We hopped on the RER at Saint Michel, changed trains at Chatelet, and hopped on the train to Marne la Vallee. I was glad I'd seen advice online to buy roundtrip tickets at the point of departure, and glad I knew enough French to specify how many tickets, adult/enfant, etc. Also, I'd bought DLRP park hoppers at the Disney Store on Champs-Elysee a couple days earlier, so we wouldn't have to deal with that on-site.
We arrived at DLRP at about 10:30AM, 90 minutes after opening. It was drizzling, so we bought a couple rain ponchos at the "Relay" shop in the train station. Of course, it stopped raining shortly afterwords.
We had to wait in line about 20 minutes to check our suitcase at Guest Storage, which was a little frustrating; I never did figure out what the delay was. But check our suitcase we did, and we were off to the park!
The park felt a little crowded, but not too bad. We were surprised that Main Street wasn't covered -- it's covered at Tokyo, the other DL in an area with long periods of inclenent weather. But the rain had stopped, so we didn't mind. We headed straight for La Tanière du Dragon, which I loved loved loved! Creepy and haunting in all the right ways, but not too too scary (though I did see one toddler taken away in tears). I loved the dragon's glowing eyes, and the steam from his nostrils.
I found the dragon very hard to photograph, but here's an attempt anyway:
Next we headed to Discoveryland, where DS commented that the Astro Orbiter is at every DL -- he said he could not imagine Disney without it any more than he could imagine Disney without Donald Duck! Donald's his favorite character, so that's saying a lot.
We waited in line for Star Tours for about 15 minutes, at close to a peak time. Wow. We enjoyed the ride, one of DS's favorites. It was fun to hear Rex speaking French. It didn't sound to me like Paul Reubens, so I'm guessing he didn't do the French version. It was interesting that they left the other characters in English, which I'm guessing made it easier for those non-French speakers who hadn't already ridden it 50 or so times in their native language.
We headed to Fantasyland, and rode it's a small world. I liked it much better than the versions in the States. It's more dense with animatronics, and being from the States it made me giggle to see how we were represented (Hollywood, Golden Gate Bridge, and Statue of Liberty, the last of course being a beautiful gift from the French themselves). Mostly though I was just enchanted by the increased number of singing dolls. DS was taken by the fact that some of it was in English, which of course makes sense since it's multilingual anyway.
Time for lunch, already. We ate at Pizzeria Bella Notte. We each got a Menu Enfant, plus I got an order of garlic bread. I got the Menu Enfant not just for the cheap meal, and not just because I'm a small eater, but also because I wanted the surprise toy of course.
After lunch, Fantasyland. The lines were all pretty long, so we didn't bother with it -- we'd have early entrance the next day anyway. We did do Alice's Curious Labyrinth though, which was a surprise hit -- DS loved it, and it became one of his favorites pretty quickly. It didn't really do much for me, but that's okay. He loved working his way through the maze, climbing the castle stairs, etc. The view from the castle was quite nice.
Then it was time for one of my favorites: Pirates of the Carribean! This is one of my absolute favorites at the other parks, so I was really excited for the DLRP versions, which I'd heard great things about. I simply cannot say enough about the DLRP version of Pirates. Starting at the top . . . the queueing area is superb. There was virtually no line, so there wasn't enough time for our eyes to adjust, and we often could barely see where we were going. Very effective, actually! The decor was great, and gave a great introduction to the ride. Once on the ride, cruising through the restaurant was great, just like WDW (I think? or is it Anaheim?), but actually a little nicer. And then the ride itself was incredible. I liked the moonlight effects, the wind blowing through the skeletons' pirate costumes, the way the narrative structure worked (quite different from Anaheim or WDW). The two drops were great, and I liked the empty, black hole feeling of them (also a bit different than either of the others). I also liked the building's exterior.
At that point we took a little break, and went to check in at the Hotel Cheyenne. Retrieving our bag from Guest Storage was quick, and we hopped on a bus rather than deal with figuring out the way to walk there. The bus didn't take long, and neither did check-in. I was a bit surprised that I had to put down a deposit for a tea kettle, and pick it up and return it myself, but no big deal. I liked the room, and DS enjoyed watching TV from the top of the bunk bed.
We headed back to the park around 5:00 for a little dinner and maybe a couple more rides. We wanted to eat at Pizza Planet but it was closed, so we headed to Cafe Hyperion instead. I wasn't crazy about the food, but DS loved the decor! Especially of course the big screen TVs, so he could watch cartoons. The cartoons had English and French interspersed, and they were all understandable even when you didn't know the language.
The family of lions at the next table didn't bother us. They seemed quite tame, really.
We rode Star Tours again, and then headed over to Fantasyland for Pinocchio's Fantastic Journey, which I liked. The poor boys turned to donkeys always makes me sad, but I just love that Blue Fairy.
We ran around in Adventure Isle a bit, which DS loved but which bored me to tears!
Then Phantom Manor, yay! Another of my favorites, like POTC, and also spooky, just the way I like it. I loved the entranceway after the elevator, and then of course I loved the whole ride. The ballroom is always my favorite scene; I still have to explain to DS about how it's done with Poppers' Ghost (he thought it was holograms, very sweet). I also love the graveyard. I still don't understand the narrative plot, but figure one of these days I can just read about it somewhere online.
We walked through Adventureland, but most things were closed down. We walked through Le Passage Enchanté d'Aladdin, which was okay.
And then a stop at the Sleeping Beauty Castle, before heading down Main Street and back to the hotel.
We walked back to the hotel through the very crowded Disney Village. I was a bit tempted to stop, but other than a bit of pin trading we just plunged right through and got back to the hotel in about a 15 minute walk (would have been quicker without the traffic jam.
Now, here's where I have some unkind words. I'm not the sort of person to have a lot of opinions on specific architects, but I have a bone or two to pick with Frank Gehry. I don't like the Disney Concert Hall in LA, I don't like that new cinema he designed (somewhere else in Europe, I'll confess I can't recall!), and I don't like Disney Village. It's too angular and shiny, all flash and no substance. And the traffic flow was awful -- we got badly bottlenecked around a kiosk, and the parks weren't anywhere near capacity. I can't imagine what it's like on a crowded day!
But enough about that . . .
Day Two: September 1
We got up at 7:00AM, to return the kettle, check out, and head to our Good Morning Fantasyland breakfast, scheduled for 8:00AM. Yay! I'd checked with the information desk the night before, and had been told that Guest Storage opened at 7:30AM, so it would be no problem to stash my bag there before heading to Fantasyland. Well. Guess again. We arrived at Guest Storage at 8:05AM, and it was closed. A CM told us it would open in two minutes. He opened up the metal window shade a crack, and the CMs inside pulled it back down. They finally opened at 8:20AM, and the CM working there didn't seem to know how anything worked. Finally by about 8:25AM our bag was checked, and we headed to Fantasyland! It was great to walk down a completely empty Main Street, and snap another photo in front of that fabulous Sleeping Beauty Castle. I really am taken by the design -- it's elegant and intricate, a wonderful balance.
The breakfast buffet was great. We had a good meal and then wandered out into Fantasyland, waiting for the rides to open. And when they did, it was wonderful! We rode Peter Pan, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Mad Hatter's Tea Cups, and then Peter Pan again, all in about 25 minutes. We absolutely never ride Dumbo -- we can't stand the lines, and DS's really too old for it anyway. But we had a great time, whooping and hollering, calling out good morning to everybody.
Next, Disney studios. Hmm. How can I say this. The theming left a little to be desired? I know what they're aiming at, but I do believe they've missed. It looks a bit too much like a studio lot. But oh well, we enjoyed it anyway.
First, we went to Animagique. I think I enjoyed it even more than DS, and that's pretty embarassing! I just like those songs more than I should (if you could see the amount of hardcore punk music on my iPod, you'd understand how bizzare it it that "Under the Sea" gets me tapping my toes). The puppetry was nice, and the theme song catchy. "La, la, la la la la, Animagique!" Oh dear, there I go again!
Next, we went to the Television Production Tour. The tour itself was boring, boring, boring! But then it dumps you into the game rooms, and I loved Cyberspace Mountain and wish that DS had been up for more than one time through. Because he's a little sensitive we'd designed a mild coaster, thrill level 1. I would have liked at least a 2 or 3! I was impressed by the whole experience: The design process (complete with Bill Nye the Science Guy, a popular figure in the US at least), the pods themselves. I think there's a similar attraction at WDW Disneyquest, which just might be enough to make me give DQ a try (I haven't been willing to spend the money before).
Time for lunch! we went to Annette's Diner, and liked it. We hurried over because I was worried about crowds, but what I didn't realize at the time was that it was the first day of school in Paris, so the place was a ghost town! We had a fine lunch. I got the "Beach Boy" sandwich, basically a fish and chips kinda thing.
We headed back to DL. Visited the dragon again, and took another trip through the Labyrinth. Spun through it's a small world again. Maybe another run through Adventure Isle? It's all a blur.
Took another ride on Pirates of the Carribean, which I enjoyed thoroughly but which convinced my son that he had seen enough of that ride to last him the rest of his life, regardless of which continent we're visiting Disney on.
Then, off to the Studios again for Moteurs . . . Action! Great show, we both loved it. Again, the way they handled language was interesting; they interspersed English and French enough that we could always follow it, and I hope the same was true for the French-speakers. Also, we had a nice conversation with a CM before the show (Joquin, I think?), who then came up to us afterwords to see if we'd enjoyed the show, and offer various advice. He was absolutely the friendliest CM I'd ever met!
We caught Cinemagique, and I was less impressed. Yawn.
Back to Disneyland Park! One final ride on Star Tours, another dinner at Cafe Hyperion. We tried to go to Les Mystères du Nautilus, but it was closed. And before we knew it, it was about 7:30PM, and I wanted to get out before park closing so we could beat any crowds to the RER. So we did, despite the lack of any crowds to beat.
Phew! Overall, a great trip.
September 1-2, 2005
Hotel Cheyenne
Images throughout this trip report are thumbnails; click on them for larger versions if you like.
Now first, a bit of context . . .
DS9 and I are a bit fanatical about Disney theme parks. We've now been to all except DisneySea (in Tokyo, where we did get to DL) and DL/Hong Kong (which of course doesn't open until Sept 12). So, as I reflect on our time at DLRP, I can't help but make comparisons to the other parks. This isn't intended to suggest that any park is better or worse; I relish and cherish the differences!
Also, DS9 has some unusual sensory sensitivies, so he can't do roller coasters or thrill rides. I was sad to miss Space Moutain: Mission 2! But such is the price of motherhood.
We're both pin traders, so there were a lot of stops for pin trading that I've left out entirely. I can't remember the chronology of most of it anyway.
Day One: September 1
We got a later start out of Paris than we'd hoped to (family stuff, DS9 in a mood!). But the RER trip from the Latin Quarter was absolutely no problem. We hopped on the RER at Saint Michel, changed trains at Chatelet, and hopped on the train to Marne la Vallee. I was glad I'd seen advice online to buy roundtrip tickets at the point of departure, and glad I knew enough French to specify how many tickets, adult/enfant, etc. Also, I'd bought DLRP park hoppers at the Disney Store on Champs-Elysee a couple days earlier, so we wouldn't have to deal with that on-site.
We arrived at DLRP at about 10:30AM, 90 minutes after opening. It was drizzling, so we bought a couple rain ponchos at the "Relay" shop in the train station. Of course, it stopped raining shortly afterwords.
We had to wait in line about 20 minutes to check our suitcase at Guest Storage, which was a little frustrating; I never did figure out what the delay was. But check our suitcase we did, and we were off to the park!The park felt a little crowded, but not too bad. We were surprised that Main Street wasn't covered -- it's covered at Tokyo, the other DL in an area with long periods of inclenent weather. But the rain had stopped, so we didn't mind. We headed straight for La Tanière du Dragon, which I loved loved loved! Creepy and haunting in all the right ways, but not too too scary (though I did see one toddler taken away in tears). I loved the dragon's glowing eyes, and the steam from his nostrils.
I found the dragon very hard to photograph, but here's an attempt anyway:
Next we headed to Discoveryland, where DS commented that the Astro Orbiter is at every DL -- he said he could not imagine Disney without it any more than he could imagine Disney without Donald Duck! Donald's his favorite character, so that's saying a lot.
We waited in line for Star Tours for about 15 minutes, at close to a peak time. Wow. We enjoyed the ride, one of DS's favorites. It was fun to hear Rex speaking French. It didn't sound to me like Paul Reubens, so I'm guessing he didn't do the French version. It was interesting that they left the other characters in English, which I'm guessing made it easier for those non-French speakers who hadn't already ridden it 50 or so times in their native language.
We headed to Fantasyland, and rode it's a small world. I liked it much better than the versions in the States. It's more dense with animatronics, and being from the States it made me giggle to see how we were represented (Hollywood, Golden Gate Bridge, and Statue of Liberty, the last of course being a beautiful gift from the French themselves). Mostly though I was just enchanted by the increased number of singing dolls. DS was taken by the fact that some of it was in English, which of course makes sense since it's multilingual anyway.
Time for lunch, already. We ate at Pizzeria Bella Notte. We each got a Menu Enfant, plus I got an order of garlic bread. I got the Menu Enfant not just for the cheap meal, and not just because I'm a small eater, but also because I wanted the surprise toy of course.
After lunch, Fantasyland. The lines were all pretty long, so we didn't bother with it -- we'd have early entrance the next day anyway. We did do Alice's Curious Labyrinth though, which was a surprise hit -- DS loved it, and it became one of his favorites pretty quickly. It didn't really do much for me, but that's okay. He loved working his way through the maze, climbing the castle stairs, etc. The view from the castle was quite nice.
Then it was time for one of my favorites: Pirates of the Carribean! This is one of my absolute favorites at the other parks, so I was really excited for the DLRP versions, which I'd heard great things about. I simply cannot say enough about the DLRP version of Pirates. Starting at the top . . . the queueing area is superb. There was virtually no line, so there wasn't enough time for our eyes to adjust, and we often could barely see where we were going. Very effective, actually! The decor was great, and gave a great introduction to the ride. Once on the ride, cruising through the restaurant was great, just like WDW (I think? or is it Anaheim?), but actually a little nicer. And then the ride itself was incredible. I liked the moonlight effects, the wind blowing through the skeletons' pirate costumes, the way the narrative structure worked (quite different from Anaheim or WDW). The two drops were great, and I liked the empty, black hole feeling of them (also a bit different than either of the others). I also liked the building's exterior.
At that point we took a little break, and went to check in at the Hotel Cheyenne. Retrieving our bag from Guest Storage was quick, and we hopped on a bus rather than deal with figuring out the way to walk there. The bus didn't take long, and neither did check-in. I was a bit surprised that I had to put down a deposit for a tea kettle, and pick it up and return it myself, but no big deal. I liked the room, and DS enjoyed watching TV from the top of the bunk bed.
We headed back to the park around 5:00 for a little dinner and maybe a couple more rides. We wanted to eat at Pizza Planet but it was closed, so we headed to Cafe Hyperion instead. I wasn't crazy about the food, but DS loved the decor! Especially of course the big screen TVs, so he could watch cartoons. The cartoons had English and French interspersed, and they were all understandable even when you didn't know the language.
The family of lions at the next table didn't bother us. They seemed quite tame, really.
We rode Star Tours again, and then headed over to Fantasyland for Pinocchio's Fantastic Journey, which I liked. The poor boys turned to donkeys always makes me sad, but I just love that Blue Fairy.
We ran around in Adventure Isle a bit, which DS loved but which bored me to tears!
Then Phantom Manor, yay! Another of my favorites, like POTC, and also spooky, just the way I like it. I loved the entranceway after the elevator, and then of course I loved the whole ride. The ballroom is always my favorite scene; I still have to explain to DS about how it's done with Poppers' Ghost (he thought it was holograms, very sweet). I also love the graveyard. I still don't understand the narrative plot, but figure one of these days I can just read about it somewhere online.
We walked through Adventureland, but most things were closed down. We walked through Le Passage Enchanté d'Aladdin, which was okay.
And then a stop at the Sleeping Beauty Castle, before heading down Main Street and back to the hotel.
We walked back to the hotel through the very crowded Disney Village. I was a bit tempted to stop, but other than a bit of pin trading we just plunged right through and got back to the hotel in about a 15 minute walk (would have been quicker without the traffic jam.
Now, here's where I have some unkind words. I'm not the sort of person to have a lot of opinions on specific architects, but I have a bone or two to pick with Frank Gehry. I don't like the Disney Concert Hall in LA, I don't like that new cinema he designed (somewhere else in Europe, I'll confess I can't recall!), and I don't like Disney Village. It's too angular and shiny, all flash and no substance. And the traffic flow was awful -- we got badly bottlenecked around a kiosk, and the parks weren't anywhere near capacity. I can't imagine what it's like on a crowded day!
But enough about that . . .
Day Two: September 1
We got up at 7:00AM, to return the kettle, check out, and head to our Good Morning Fantasyland breakfast, scheduled for 8:00AM. Yay! I'd checked with the information desk the night before, and had been told that Guest Storage opened at 7:30AM, so it would be no problem to stash my bag there before heading to Fantasyland. Well. Guess again. We arrived at Guest Storage at 8:05AM, and it was closed. A CM told us it would open in two minutes. He opened up the metal window shade a crack, and the CMs inside pulled it back down. They finally opened at 8:20AM, and the CM working there didn't seem to know how anything worked. Finally by about 8:25AM our bag was checked, and we headed to Fantasyland! It was great to walk down a completely empty Main Street, and snap another photo in front of that fabulous Sleeping Beauty Castle. I really am taken by the design -- it's elegant and intricate, a wonderful balance.
The breakfast buffet was great. We had a good meal and then wandered out into Fantasyland, waiting for the rides to open. And when they did, it was wonderful! We rode Peter Pan, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Mad Hatter's Tea Cups, and then Peter Pan again, all in about 25 minutes. We absolutely never ride Dumbo -- we can't stand the lines, and DS's really too old for it anyway. But we had a great time, whooping and hollering, calling out good morning to everybody.
Next, Disney studios. Hmm. How can I say this. The theming left a little to be desired? I know what they're aiming at, but I do believe they've missed. It looks a bit too much like a studio lot. But oh well, we enjoyed it anyway.
First, we went to Animagique. I think I enjoyed it even more than DS, and that's pretty embarassing! I just like those songs more than I should (if you could see the amount of hardcore punk music on my iPod, you'd understand how bizzare it it that "Under the Sea" gets me tapping my toes). The puppetry was nice, and the theme song catchy. "La, la, la la la la, Animagique!" Oh dear, there I go again!
Next, we went to the Television Production Tour. The tour itself was boring, boring, boring! But then it dumps you into the game rooms, and I loved Cyberspace Mountain and wish that DS had been up for more than one time through. Because he's a little sensitive we'd designed a mild coaster, thrill level 1. I would have liked at least a 2 or 3! I was impressed by the whole experience: The design process (complete with Bill Nye the Science Guy, a popular figure in the US at least), the pods themselves. I think there's a similar attraction at WDW Disneyquest, which just might be enough to make me give DQ a try (I haven't been willing to spend the money before).
Time for lunch! we went to Annette's Diner, and liked it. We hurried over because I was worried about crowds, but what I didn't realize at the time was that it was the first day of school in Paris, so the place was a ghost town! We had a fine lunch. I got the "Beach Boy" sandwich, basically a fish and chips kinda thing.
We headed back to DL. Visited the dragon again, and took another trip through the Labyrinth. Spun through it's a small world again. Maybe another run through Adventure Isle? It's all a blur.
Took another ride on Pirates of the Carribean, which I enjoyed thoroughly but which convinced my son that he had seen enough of that ride to last him the rest of his life, regardless of which continent we're visiting Disney on.
Then, off to the Studios again for Moteurs . . . Action! Great show, we both loved it. Again, the way they handled language was interesting; they interspersed English and French enough that we could always follow it, and I hope the same was true for the French-speakers. Also, we had a nice conversation with a CM before the show (Joquin, I think?), who then came up to us afterwords to see if we'd enjoyed the show, and offer various advice. He was absolutely the friendliest CM I'd ever met!
We caught Cinemagique, and I was less impressed. Yawn.
Back to Disneyland Park! One final ride on Star Tours, another dinner at Cafe Hyperion. We tried to go to Les Mystères du Nautilus, but it was closed. And before we knew it, it was about 7:30PM, and I wanted to get out before park closing so we could beat any crowds to the RER. So we did, despite the lack of any crowds to beat.
Phew! Overall, a great trip.
and agree with a lot of what you said about the differences (though I am only comparing WDW & DLP - I have not yet got to the other parks 
Hi 
Now the six million dollar question, which safe place was it!!! 
Hiya. Great report! I love reading about what other people enjoy and do at DLP. I'm not able to go myself this year - just finished saving and paying for a new computer so I can now devote my coin bottle to next year's DLP trip HOORAYY 
