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[Sparkchild]

I took my first ever trip to Europe in September and being a Disney nut I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go to Disneyland Paris. I did a lot of research through this website and its magic forum and I want to thank everyone for the great information they gave me. It was extremely helpful. I also wanted to share my impression of DLRP from an outsiders point of view and see how it compares to European view points.

I arrived in Paris on September 10th and did a day at the Louvre and saw the Eiffel Tower, just like all the other tourists. I was amazed at how small and unkempt my Paris hotel was. I guess we are used to different things in America. My hotel room including the bathroom was half the size of my bedroom at home. And it is really weird having to get used to a toilet hidden behind a door and having to be careful not to hit your head on the wall when using it. The room didn't even have carpeting, it was just painted cement floors. Least to say I probably won't be booking a hotel room with this travel company again.

On the morning of September 11th I hoped on the Metro and the RER and landed at Disneyland Paris. Not knowing the layout, I was quite glad and impressed that the RER took me directly to DLRP. It made it so simple. If it didn't have a direct line, I might not have gone. I got there at around 9am and went straight to the Sequoia Lodge where I had made arrangements to stay for one night. The hotel was beautiful outside and in and had a real Disney flare. If you have ever been to WDW, you would have thought the Sequoia equal to a Deluxe WDW resort. I checked in, got my tickets, checked my baggage and because my room wasn't ready yet, headed to the parks. I decided to got to Disneyland Park first because I was really excited to see it. I wasn't disappointed, the park is amazingly beautiful! The theming and organization of the different lands was fantastic.  If you have been to DL and WDW you will note that their Magic Kingdoms are almost exactly alike, no variation. But DLRP is so different and in the best way. If you had told me that Adventureland could be themed with Pirates, Agrabah, and Africa I would have said there was no way, but it works! I loved the square trees around the castle it worked perfectly with the Sleeping Beauty theme. I was extremely impressed with the design of the entire park.

My first stop was the castle, I had to see the Dragon under the castle and I wasn't disappointed. That was totally cool. I wish we had one at our parks. I was disappointed that the upstairs area in the castle with the stained glass windows was closed for refurbishment. I really wanted to see that. I then ventured out into Fantasyland and got to see Dumbo and the tea cups, which was closed, I was just amazed at how much thought went into the desinging of those rides. Dumbo is up on a platform so it really stands out, and the teacups have a beautiful pavillion. I didn't get to see much before the sky, which was cloudy all morning decided to start pouring down rain. I then decided to try some of the indoor rides. I first went over to Buzz which was walk on, which never happens at WDW. Your buzz is cooler looking and has neater targets, but it is much harder than WDWs. I could see where is would take me multiple rides to get the hang of it. I then ran over to Phantom Manor. Strangely enough as I was waiting at the door to Phantom Manor, Big Thunder Mountain broke down in the rain. I watched, and got some good footage of them evacuating riders from the far side of the mountain. Phantom Manor was great. There were some familiar scenes and bunch of new ones. It is a lot creepier than I'm used to. I ran into a British family later on whose daughter called it the "Corpse Ride" because there were so many dead things. I actually rode this twice because there was no line and it was still raining. The first time through the creepy cast member snuck up behind me and scared me. I think he was hoping I would scream, but I'm not a screamer, all he got was a little startled jump. Two Italians near me thought it was hillarious.  I wandered over to the Cowboy Cookout BBQ. I had pre-bought a meal there when I booked my hotel. I just have to say this, YOUR CHARACTERS ARE AMAZING! I am so used to WDW characters that come to your table, sign your autograph book, take a photo and leave. Our character dining is so busy and so crowded, it really doesn't leave any time for the characters to interact with guests. Not so at DLRP. The first thing that struck me when I entered was how deserted the place was, there were only about 20 people there and through the entire hour I stayed, there was never more than 35 people in the room. Second was how amazing the characters are. They actually met me at the door, inviting me in! They played, they danced, Tigger pretended to run a cash register, Woody played an imaginary violin along with the band, they were having a ball. I was alone at a table (yes, I went by myself) and Goofy came and sat with me, he pretended to eat my food and drink my soda. Tigger came by and danced with me. Woody sat down and starting going through my things when Tigger came back. Woody and Tigger got in an argument over whose girl I was. It was a fantastic experience. I can't praise it enough.

By the time I left the rain had subsided some, but didn't go away, so decided to head back to the hotel and get settled in my room. Of course I had to do a little shopping in the village on the way. My room at the Sequoia Lodge was wonderful. I had gone from the crappy little Paris hotel room to a large, spacious, WARM, room. I really hated to leave it and go back to Paris. I changed out of my wet clothes, curled up in a nice comfy bed and fell asleep for about an hour. When I woke up the rain was coming down in buckets and when I tried to leave the hotel I got soaked before I even left hotel property. I decided to turn around and go back. I went shopping in the hotel gift shop, I just love shopping at Disney, and bought a mickey jacket I wore all over Europe. The other people on the tour said they could always find me because of the Mickey jacket. I made reservations to eat at Beaver Creek inside the hotel, it was still too rainy outside to go any where. Beaver Creek is beautifully themed in arts and crafts California style. I had a Sirloin steak, very yummy, and the dessert bar. That desert bar was delicious! I took little samples of a lot of different things and was so full I about popped. I highly recommend the desserts there, you will not be disappointed. Also, the place was deserted. There were maybe 15 people in the restaurant. Did I go at off season, or is this normal?

I took my time eating and when I was finishing, the skies cleared and the sun came out. I was so thrilled because I only had one shot to see Disney Dreams and I really didn't want it to be in the pouring rain. I headed over to Disneyland Parc and found a perfect spot right in front of the castle to view and record the show. I had spoken with Epcotboy here on the forum and he recommended standing right at the ropes in front of the castle for the best shots. He was right, thank you so much. I brought a tripod, which he also recommended, and set it up about an hour before the show. The Italian group next to me was quite impressed. Between my limited Italian and their limited English we had a conversation. They had been there for a few days and had been trying to film Dreams each night, but had trouble with people getting in front the shot. Tonight they were right at the rope and weren't going to let anyone cut in front of them. They warned me that a lot of the kids push to the front right as the show starts and that they might knock over my tripod. Before the show started a few people did try to stand in front of me between my tripod and the ropes and of course I shooed them away, they were rude. As the show started there was the mad scramble to get the front but I held my ground. I put my arms up and stopped people, once they saw the tripod they understood and backed away. Strangely enough the tripod managed to get a lot of respect and people didn't jump in front of it. I looked to my left at the Italian group and just as they had feared about five people and a bunch of kids had pushed in front of them and gotten the good view. I felt sorry for them. The show was great, like a combination of The Magic, the Memories, and You at WDW and The World of Color at DL. I have loved these castle projection shows ever since I saw one at WDW. But I do have to ask, what's up with all the talking? People having full blown conversations all the way through the show. I understand people who talk to their kids, or pointing out their favorite characters, but why are you talking on your cell phone during a show you just waited an hour to see? I didn't realize how much talking was going on until I reviewed my footage and I had trouble hearing the show sound track over people talking. After that I headed back to the hotel and slept like a log.

I go up early the next morning, I had reservations for Cafe Mickey. I got there and once again I was astounded that the place was empty. Half of the restaurant was unoccupied. The characters were great once again and because there were so few people they had plenty of time to play.  Some customers left early before the characters even got to their tables. I've never seen anything like it. This is so different from what I'm used to. Character dining at WDW can be a mad house. You have to book your reservation 180 days out, its terribly expensive, characters are being pulled in a hundred directions at once and they spend no time with guests. And I won't even mention the craziness surrounding a character meal featuring Mickey Mouse. At Cafe Mickey no one wanted to see Mickey. He was wondering off, waving at people from the door and looking terrible bored, while Chip and Dale were the stars. It was just strange!

I left Cafe Mickey and went over to Disneyland Parc for the extra magic hours. I hadn't yet got to see Adventureland so I headed there first. As I said before the themeing was fantastic, I can't believe they made all of that work. I bee-lined for Pirates and again I have to say, your Pirates is awesome. That swinging pirate is real treat, again, the ride is a real improvement on the traditional rides we have here in the states. I went over to Big Thunder and got a fastpass. I fully intended to ride Big Thunder there because I am such a fan, but fate was against me. The ride broke down a few times, then I started getting a sniffly nose from the cold rain, plus I was still jet lagged. By the time my fastpass was ready I didn't think it was such a good idea. I still had five days left on my trip and I didn't want to be laid out in a hotel room. And it was a good thing I didn't because by the time I got to Rome the next day I was suffering from some vertigo and not feeling too well. But I promise the next time I will ride Big Thunder!

A little after 10am I went over to the Studios. Gosh that park is small! I walked through it all in a hour, and that was with stopping to take pictures. I loved Toy Story Playland and I wish I could have rode some of those rides, but the lines were terribly long and I only had half a day to see everything. I did catch Animagique and Cinemagique, they are quite nice. Quick question, is there a strict no video tape policy inside Animagique? I sat down near the front and had my video camera sitting on my lap when a cast member came up, stood at the end of my row, and stared at me. She didn't say anything, but she wouldn't leave until I put my camera in my bag. She even came back several times during the show and looked at me to see if I was recording. It was very strange. The big highlight for me was the Stars N Cars parade. I had seen this parade one time years ago at WDW but took no pictures. I really enjoyed it, but had nothing to remind me of the parade. So this time I was determined to see it and take pictures. Of course, just as the parade was about to start the sky clouded over and I started swearing under my breath. Luckily it held off long enough for the parade, but I did get some dark clouds in the background of all my pictures.

After the parade I went back to DLP and tried to get more pictures. I went over to the train station, but again the line was so long and it was going to be at least an half hour or more wait, so I moved on and never rode the train. I had reservations for Walt's at 4pm. I got there a little early and was immediately seated. Again, the place was empty. They put me in an empty room with a waiter who didn't check on me very often and a window view. The food there was disappointing for me. I found my chicken very bland and the potatoes had so much mixed into them that they turned to mush. It was the worst meal I had there, especially for the price. I was tempted to get the spiced toast for desert but after having a bad meal I decided I'd rather get a muffin at the bakery than risk it.

Afterwards, I immediately trotted over and to the castle and got a spot for the parade. I was a bit surprised and disappointed that  it had the same floats as at WDW. I thought they would be different. And of course, just as the last three floats came into view, it started to rain. I didn't have much luck with the weather on this trip even though the weather channel said it would be sunny and 78 degrees in Paris that week. Darn, lying Weather Channel! After the parade I grabbed my muffin and went to the train station only to find the train was shut down for the day. It was only sprinkling outside, I can't imagine it was closed for that. By that point I was pretty exhausted and decided to leave. I hoped the RER and headed back to my crummy little Paris hotel room. Looking back now I do wish I had stayed longer, but remembering how terrible I felt the next day, I probably did the right thing.

My final impressions:
Pros:
The place is beautiful. I didn't see any of the aesthetic problems I saw people complain about on this forum, but I really didn't look for them. I was greatly impressed with the theming. I would love to see some of that translated to the US, maybe with the new Fantasyland expansion at WDW we will get it. Your Characters are amazing. I got to thinking about it. I believe that your characters are more animated because they have to deal with so many different languages. The one universal language that everyone understands is body language, and these characters were masters at it. I met a lot of cast members who were very friendly and helpful even if they didn't speak English and I don't speak French. And good news, I didn't see any push people, line jumpers, and rude behavior. It was a very pleasant experience.
Cons:
These are probably more personal than against the park. I really wish I hadn't rushed through the parks and got to ride more things. I understand why people take a week or more vacation there. I really would have liked to have ridden Big Thunder Mountain. I've rode the ones at WDW and DL and would have liked to have added this one to my list. But alas! I really hated the rain. It rained  for four of the seven days I was in Europe. Not the best first impression. My big problem was the smoking. I am allergic and it was really hard to avoid people smoking in the walkways or right outside doors. The former cast member in me wanted to make them stop and direct them to a designated smoking area. Fat chance of that.

Overall, I really enjoyed my trip. I would go back in a heartbeat. And since I've been back and showed friends my photos and told them what I saw, I think I might get some company.

[Boxy]

Hi  Sparkchild,  I really enjoyed reading your Trip Report especially your comparisons to your American parks. I hope you get a chance to return to Disneyland Paris soon so you can experience more of the beautiful park and maybe bring some of your friends with you. I would love to see some of your photos.

[MinnieMum]

Thanks I really enjoyed reading that x

[ulak]

Very nice report . I read it in full breath. Thanks for it! Can we see some of your photos or videos, please?

[BlackPearl]

Thanks for sharing your report.
I hope you will have better weather when you visit Europe again.
 :mickey2:

[Rafael]

Thank you for sharing such a nice report.

[Sparkchild]

How do I post photos to this forum? Sorry, I'm not that computer literate.

[never2old]

Thank you for this report, it's been a great read!!

Sorry about the weather, you were quite unlucky... Of course rain (and grey skies and cold and even snow...) are unfortunately common in DLP, but usually September is still quite nice... At least it didn't rain for Dreams!!

September is usually a great time to go because it's so quiet, everyone's going back to school!! If you had been during the peak seasons you would have found much longer queues...

And really sorry you didn't get to do BTM, it's such a great ride!! But of course now you have a reason to come back

[snowbird]

Hi Sparkchild,

Thank you for your report, a really good read that has ignited my excitement for my next trip in December. I have also been to both WDW and DLRP and i love the differences, how each geographical location has made, what is in effect the same park, its own.

September is definately one of the best times to go, as the parks aren't all that busy.

so glad you enjoyed your trip to DLRP and Europe. Hope you come back again soon!  :stitch:

[SwipatronSparks]

How do I post photos to this forum? Sorry, I'm not that computer literate.

you need to upload your photos to a site like photobucket once they are up on there you need to take a copy of the codes that begin like this.... [img]...*randombunchoflettersandnumbers then it will end in [img] too and simply paste them into a reply and submit they should then show up on the site =]

[DisneyManiac]

With Animagique I think it is forbidden to film in Cinemagique as well as Animagique. So that was probably why she was staring at you!

[bippity boppity boo]

Really enjoyed reading your report, thanks for sharing.