So I finally went
to Disneyland Paris. It lived up to my expectations, and even a little more. Almost every ride was different in some way to their United States
counterparts. I thought all of the changes were interesting, although I wouldn't say I'd like the same things to come to Disney World. I think the fact that the park was built in 1992 probably helped
because there is no sense of nostalgia or history to stop them from trying new
things, so they took the chance to make a very unique, different type of Disney Park. So let’s begin my trip report.
I left the
apartment with all my stuff and headed towards the vaporetto to Piazzale Roma.
They tried to force as many people as possible into the boat and it was the
most crowded thing I’ve ever been on. So after 20 minutes of pure hell on the
vaporetto I had enough time to walk to the pizza place where I always go for
food. I walk all the way over there, and there’s this Asian tour group with
like 50 people all waiting to get pizza. I went to the gelato side of the place
and asked if I could just get a slice of pizza from there because I had a train
to catch and he looked at me like I was fucking crazy so I left. I had to
eat some really horrible pizza instead, and I stopped at the Coop to get a
drink before going on the train. So I get on the train and everything’s alright
I started reading my book while it was still daylight and then laid down and
listened to some music. After listening to music for a while I decided I should
probably get some sleep since once I got to Paris it would be a long day at
Disneyland. I fell asleep and everything was fine until about 3:00 a.m. when
the French immigration police busted into our compartment. They were saying
stuff to me in French and I’m in this half-asleep stupor and I kept telling them (in Italian),
“I don't speak French.” The other dudes in the compartment with me apparently had
some fishy documents or something, and the immigration dudes were like
searching them for over an hour. And the whole time I had to stand in the tiny
hallway outside the compartment. They didn’t finish until around 4:30, and then
I didn’t fall back asleep until about 5:00. So much for getting any sleep.
After the
horrible night ended, I arrived in Paris at 9:30 as scheduled. I wandered
around the station following the signs to the RER train in the direction of
Disneyland. Upon entering the RER section of the station, I was greeted by two
soldiers with huge guns patrolling the area (they were also at the Disneyland
station. What a way to be greeted to the Magic Kingdom!). I got my ticket and
headed towards my hotel, which was located two stops away from the parks. I had
my little map and directions drawn up to find it easily, except for the fact
that it was extremely cold and raining so I couldn’t see where the sun was to
figure out which way was west. I ended up going north and east of the RER station
when I should have gone southwest. I didn’t ask for directions from anyone
because I’m a man; I don’t play that mess. After that nightmare, I entered the
hotel to check in to my room, which wasn’t ready, so I had to wait another 20
minutes for that. I ran up, plugged my iPod in to charge, washed my hair, used
the bathroom, and left. Before going to Disneyland I stopped off at the
McDonald’s and ordered five hamburgers and a small fry. It only cost six euro
for all that food so I ate two hamburgers on the way to the station and stuffed
the rest in my bag to eat inside Disneyland. Disney wants fifteen euro for a meal? Get the
hell out of here.
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| conveniently located 2 minutes from my hotel and on the way to the RER station |
By the time I
finally got to the RER station and on the train it was past noon, and I
originally hoped to be in the park by eleven. Obviously, things were not going
as planned and I was starting to worry if I would be able to enjoy myself the
way I hoped to. It was so cold outside that I seriously considered spending 40
euro on a jacket at the entrance to Disneyland. I entered the park at 1:00 pm
and started off walking down Main Street, U.S.A. towards Sleeping Beauty’s
castle. I got an awkward photo
of myself with the castle in the background on a rainy day in France, and
headed towards Discoveryland. Even though it was cold and raining, I still was
confident that I could stick to my original plan and do everything I wanted. I
waltzed on over to Space Mountain: Mission 2 to pick up a fast pass, and when I
got there I discovered it was closed. That’s when I started freaking out
because the only thing that had gone right thus far in my trip was the stop at
McDonald’s to get my food for cheap.
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| Entrance into Disney Property from the RER station |
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| Disneyland Hotel, underneath are the ticket booths and entrance to the park |
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| Park entrance. Disneyland Railroad with the 20th Anniversary sign |
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| Main Street, U.S.A. with Sleeping Beauty's Castle in the background |
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| awkward shot with castle.. I was very cold |
I then walked
towards Autopia, but the long line and cold weather made me decide that maybe
an outdoor go kart ride wasn’t the best idea. Instead, I went into the 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea walkthrough attraction. It was really cool; you go
through the submarine and at the end there’s a giant squid that attacks the
sub. I have a video of it which I’ll put online if I ever get decent internet
access. After I got out of that Space Mountain was still closed so I went in
the direction of Star Tours and Fantasyland. I noticed that the Fast Pass for
Star Tours was only 30 minutes away from the current time so I got one of those
and went to It’s a Small World. It’s a Small World is one of my
favorite rides so I was really interested to see how it was in Paris. There was
a really nice sign at the entrance, and the building I assume is modeled after
the one at the original Disneyland. You board the boat outside and
then you go around a corner and into the attraction itself. The layout of the
ride was a little different, and at one point you go through Italy and go under
the Rialto Bridge, where there is also a gondolier next to the bridge. I got a
chuckle out of that. You also get to see America and Canada. The Canadians are
playing hockey and being all Canadian, and the Americans are wearing football
uniforms. It was pretty funny.
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| The entrance to Discoveryland |
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| The Nautilus |
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| The giant squid attack |
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| I liked the entrance to the ride a lot |
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| The Rialto Bridge with a Gondolier inside It's a Small World |
After It’s a
Small World I went to use my fastpass for Star Tours. They never installed the new
Star Tours in France so I got to ride the original version of the ride again. I
have to say that as nice as it was to not see any garbage from the prequels,
the old version is seriously lacking in excitement. The new one is definitely
an upgrade, prequel bullshit and all. I still enjoyed it, though; because
that’s the Star Tours I remember riding on my one and only visit to MGM when I
was a kid. Upon walking out of Star Tours, Space Mountain: Mission 2 had just opened and there was only a twenty
minute wait so I jumped in line and tried to prepare myself. Again, the load station was
outside but after loading you went into a little tunnel and turned the corner.
The car started up like a normal lift hill, but after a few feet it just jerked
to a complete stop. You hear a countdown in French of 3, 2, 1…. and then it
shoots you out like the Incredible Hulk roller coaster at Islands of Adventure.
After a few twists and turns you go into the big loop and then there are some
more corkscrews and whatnot. While all of this is happening there are really
cool projections of outer space and music playing, and at no point was I
concerned about my head being chopped off like I usually am when I ride Space
Mountain at home.
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| Entrance to Star Tours |
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| This was one of the most impressive rides in the park |
Staying in
Fantasyland, I took a look at the brand new building they have which is used
specifically for meeting Mickey Mouse. I briefly considered going in because
the wait sign changed from 50 minutes to 35 minutes while I was in front of it,
but I decided that I should head towards Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril
in case it had a long line and/or the fastpasses were running out. I walked out
to the corner of the park, passing through Adventureland and Pirate’s Beach
along the way. Pirate’s Beach is a little play area for kids with a pirate ship
and some other cool stuff. It’s themed very well, as is the entire park. That’s
one of the things that stuck out the most to me, how the park is very
well-decorated and kept up nicely. So I walked over to Indiana Jones
and it was closed, of course. Not wasting any time, I started back towards
Pirates of the Caribbean but first stopped to check out the Aladdin
walkthrough. It was pretty cool; it was just a collection of models that
depicted the story of the movie. After that killed about ten minutes I went to
Pirates, which had a thirty minute wait. Throughout the entire time I was
waiting there was this annoying little toddler next to me that had one of those
Buzz Lightyear toy guns that makes all kinds of annoying noises, and this kid had the
button pressed down on it for 30 minutes straight. Luckily, I got a
different boat than them. I
had read online that the French version of this ride is different than the
American one, and it was. You start out going around a corner, where there is a
restaurant where people can eat inside the ride. There’s nothing happening at
this point so really if you eat there all you’re going to see is a boat pass by
every few seconds. After turning the corner you go up a big lift hill and as
you’re going up A Pirate’s Life for me begins playing while you’re in the dark. From there, the boat goes through the fort that the pirates
are attacking and there is some cool stuff to check out. Interestingly, in this
room is where you see the pirates in the jail cell trying to call the dog with
the keys. After passing that there is a
mild-sized drop, and the ride proceeds in the same
sequence as the Florida version. However, instead of that fire scene being the end of the ride there is another drop, and the ride goes a little longer.
The first room you enter after the drop is the scene that the Florida version
starts with, with the skeleton pirate steering the boat. Then you go into this
weird room full of treasure and a skeleton woman wearing a dress and a fancy
hat, and a chandelier hanging above her. It’s really creepy but also really
cool. After this room
there are a few more skeletons and whatnot and you get off. The best thing
about the ride, though: there was not a single character from any of the
Pirates of the Caribbean movies in it at any point. It’s not tainted with Jack
Sparrow everywhere like the one back home.
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| This is brand new for the park's 20th Anniversary |
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| I thought this was a nice photo op. interesting fact: I've never ridden Dumbo. But this is what I mean when I say the park was extremely pleasant to just look at even if you didn't go on a ride |
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| Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, which was closed at the time |
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| One of the scenes depicted in the Aladdin walk-through attraction |
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| Pirates |
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| This is the room at the end. I wish I could have gotten a better picture |
I then headed
back to Indiana Jones to see if it had reopened, and thankfully it had. There
were still fastpasses available for only 15 minutes later, but the ride had a
40 minute wait. I didn’t get it, but I ran and got a fastpass and then went and
ate the food I brought with me to kill the time. I brought three hamburgers
from McDonald’s with me, and they were ice cold by the time I ate them, but
they were still delicious because they cost me a grand total of 3 euro, while
lunch in the park restaurants would have cost me 15 euro. I was really shocked
by how high the food prices were, since when you factor in the exchange rate
that’s like 20 dollars to eat lunch, and it appeared to be the same food they
have in Florida. So after scarfing down two of my three burgers I went back to
the entrance of the ride, where some random guy asked me if I wanted a
fastpass. I already had my fastpass but I took it anyway so I could keep the
one I had as a souvenir. Upon entering, I was greeted by several tents and trucks scattered about for
an archaeological dig. Inside one of the tents is Indy's hat
and whip sitting on a crate. This is the only sign of Indy in the whole
attraction. The entire rollercoaster is built on and around this huge temple,
and it really looks impressive. I got to the load station and was ready to go,
and the ride started off. You go up the lift hill, go through a few drops,
twists, and turns and then you hit the loop. After the loop there are a couple
more twists and turns and then the ride is over. The whole thing
lasted maybe 30 seconds. It was an extremely rough rollercoaster; with every
turn and drop my head slammed against the restraint and I was worried that I’d
have a headache for the rest of the day. However, I got off and felt fine. I
have to say this ride was a little underwhelming. Out of all the rides this was
the only one that didn’t quite meet the expectations.
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| These look familiar |
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| It wasn't the best ride, but it looked kinda cool at least |
After Indiana
Jones, I headed into Frontierland. I grabbed a fastpass for Big Thunder
Mountain, and then headed towards Phantom Manor. Besides Space Mountain: Mission 2, this is the ride that is the
most different. There’s no Liberty Square or New Orleans Square in Disneyland Paris, so the
Phantom Manor is in Frontierland, and the ride is set in a run-down town from
the gold rush era. The entire property is overgrown with trees, vines, and
whatnot, and the Manor itself is pretty dilapidated. Also, the music of the
ride is different. It has its own full musical score with an actual orchestra,
which is pretty cool. Inside, the first room you enter
and also the stretching room are more or less the same as the American version.
However, the stretching portraits are different and the narration is in French
so I couldn’t understand it. When the body hanging from the ceiling is shown,
you can see the phantom standing over it holding the rope. Anyway, the ceiling stretches and the floor also
sinks so the stretching room lasts a little longer.
Almost the entire layout of the ride is different except for a few scenes. For example,
the clock that says 13 instead of 12 o’clock is still in the ride, Madame Leota
still has her scene (she speaks both English and French, although she doesn’t
summon the spirits she tells about the bride and the murdered husband), and it
ends with you going outside. One other interesting thing, once you get in the
doom buggy there is no narration for the rest of the ride. From what I gathered, the story
seems to be that the phantom lives in the Manor and kills the bride’s husbands.
When you get to the room that, in Florida, would be the attic where the bride
has the axe because she killed her husbands, the bride in the Manor is crying
at her desk. It’s pretty cool because there’s also a mirror in front of her
that’s shaped like a skull so it’s kind of creepy. After that room you go
outside and you see the phantom laughing, and next to him is a grave
that he dug which I guess is because he killed the husband. It’s hard to
explain it, but if you search Youtube I’m sure it would make a little more
sense. Once you get outside it’s also totally different. There’s like a zombie dog and also all these rotting corpses coming out of
their graves. You don’t just go out into the courtyard; you go out into the
abandoned town where all the ghosts are out and about. There’s also a
hitchhiking ghost at the end, but it's not the normal ones; it's the dead bride or something. So that’s Phantom Manor.
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| My first view of the Phantom Manor |
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| Big Thunder Mountain from the front door of the Phantom Manor |
I still had a
while before I could use my fastpass for Thunder Mountain, so I decided to go
back towards Fantasyland and see what the wait was to meet Mickey Mouse. Along
the way, the sun finally decided to come out so I got some nice photos of
Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. When the sun hit the castle it looked a lot more
impressive than when it was raining. I snapped like a million photos of it
because every time I walked passed it I thought it looked so cool that it
necessitated a few photos.
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| It was still cloudy at this point |
After the brief
pause to take a few photos, I went over to the Meet Mickey Mouse building and
it was a 30 minute wait. I had a while before my fastpass could be used, so I thought, “What the hell,
let’s go meet Mickey.” When I finally got up to the front and told them it was
just me the cast members and the other people in line looked at me like I was a
total weirdo. Since they had already judged me I felt free to be completely
ridiculous. On my way
back towards Thunder Mountain I stopped by Sleeping Beauty’s Castle again
because underneath it there’s a dragon. When I walked in it was sleeping and
after a few seconds the eyes opened up and it came to life and started moving
around and doing general dragon-ry.
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Fuck yeah!
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| underneath the castle |
So now we’re
moving towards Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and for the whole day I had been
confused as to how you get on the ride. The line and the load station are on
the edge of the lake but the ride itself is in the middle of the lake, and
nowhere is there a track or bridge or anything connecting the two. I got on the ride, and in front of the load station when you take off
it’s like an indoor tunnel. So that’s how they did it… you go under
the lake! After that it was pretty much standard rollercoaster nonsense and it
was fun, and at the end it takes your photo again as you go back
underground to get back to the load station. The rides may not have necessarily
been extremely different from the Florida versions, but little things like
going underneath the lake are what made it unique.
After getting off
of Thunder Mountain, there was just one more ride that I needed to go on that
they don’t have in Florida: Les Voyages de Pinocchio. On the way there I caught
the tail end of the Disneyland 20th Anniversary Celebration Train
and got a nice shot of Mickey Mouse. The clouds had also almost completely
cleared up so I got my best photo of the castle at that point as well. Here in
Italy Pinocchio is like the most popular Disney cartoon. A lot of the shops
have Pinocchio puppets and stuff. Pinocchio was pretty
cool; there were neat animatronics and then the big whale popped up at one point
and you got swallowed. The ride was a little bit like Snow White’s Scary
Adventures to me.
First up was It’s
a Small World, and this time I just sat back and enjoyed the ride without
filming or taking any pictures. It was really nice to just sit and enjoy the
ride. After getting off that I ran towards Discoveryland to get a fastpass for
Space Mountain: Mission 2 so I could do that again. At this point, the sun was starting to set, the children were
all exhausted, people had begun to leave for the day, or some were waiting for
the Disney Dreams show to start so they could have the primo spot right in
front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. As a result of this Pirates of the Caribbean
had only a 5 minute wait so I jumped on that, and then headed towards Indiana
Jones and the Temple of Peril where the only wait was pretty much the time it
took to walk from the entrance to the load station. It felt even worse the second time, but it was still fun. I then booked it for the Phantom Manor because I still had some time
before I had to be back at Space Mountain, and it also had a 5
minute wait. Everything was coming up Milhouse! While I was over there I got some nice photos of Thunder Mountain
and Phantom Manor in the sunset.
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| Big Thunder Mountain around sunset |
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| The Phantom Manor at sunset |
At this point I
went back to Space Mountain because my fastpass was valid at that point. I asked
the girl at the ride if I could keep my fastpass as a souvenir, and she said
yes, surprisingly. I had to tell her that I wasn’t going to ride it again because
she kind of suspected me of something, but I got to keep it nonetheless. Space
Mountain was even better the second time I rode it, so much so that I’m almost
tempted to say it was my favorite thing in the park. When I got off the ride it
was 10:00 pm, only one hour until the Disney Dreams show started. The sun had
finally gone down but it wasn’t quite dark yet and I got a cool photo of the Space Mountain
building. Since I had some time before the show started I did the only sensible
thing I could think of and went back to the Phantom Manor again. The first two
times I rode it there were problems and the ride had to stop a few times, but
on this last time everything worked perfectly.
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| Space Mountain: Mission 2. This photo was taken at 10:00 pm |
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| I thought this would be a nice photo |
So at this point
it was the end of the evening and all the people were lined up waiting for the Disney
Dreams show to start. It’s pretty similar to the show they have at Disney World
where they project the show onto the castle itself and shoot fireworks and whatnot.
This one was Peter Pan themed, and it started with You Can Fly. The basic
premise was that Peter Pan’s shadow escaped and they went through all the
Disney cartoons and songs trying to get it back. What was cool was that the
show was in multiple languages. You Can Fly was played in English, Be Our Guest
was sung in French, and the Pinocchio sequence was in Italian. All in all, it was a solid
ending to a great day at Disneyland but there was just one thing missing. They
don’t sell Mickey Bars there! But that’s okay, I’m sure it would have cost like
7 euro or something crazy like that.
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| I'm sure you can picture what the show consisted of more or less based on this |
My final thoughts
on Disneyland are that it’s a very interesting place. The rides aren’t quite as
toddler-oriented and adults can enjoy them just as much as kids can. Obviously,
nothing will ever be able to replace the Disney World that I grew up with and
spent my childhood in, but this Disney Park is just as unique and interesting
as the one back home. When I got back to Venice people asked me if it was
better than the one back home, and I replied to them that it's not "better," it's just different. When I first
booked the trip to go I was concerned about the amount of money I was spending,
but after going I'd say it was worth it. I don’t know if I’ll ever get another chance
to visit Disneyland Paris, but I'd go again.
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| My final view of Disneyland at the end of the day |
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