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Disneyland Paris

Marne la Vallée, France

About Disneyland Paris

History of Disneyland Paris
The history of The Walt Disney Company's first foray into European theme parks reads much like a Lemony Snicket book, with some very unfortunate events taking place over the years since its opening on April 12, 1992, and very few happy things.

However, despite the consequential problems, Disney created what is arguably the finest Magic Kingdom-style park, taking its lead from the original Disneyland in California, but expanding upon it in every way. Almost all the classic attractions are represented here in updated forms-- Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, and the coolest damn Big Thunder Mountain you've ever seen -- with a slight touch of French influence added to the mix.

After the first few shaky years, and a long, boring financial struggle, the Parisian park's problems were ironed out, and it eventually became the most popular tourist attraction in the continent.

How do you get to Disneyland Paris?
From the A4, take exit 14 and follow the signs. Or take the RER line A to the Marne la Valle / Chessy station. If coming by Eurostar, there is a direct stop in the resort. If flying in from Charles De Gaulle, the VEA bus is the Disney recommended transport, but often taxi firms will offer a transfer to the hotel of your choice for the same price as the bus, and will take half the time, so ask a driver for a price if you haven't pre booked your bus tickets.

When is the best time to visit?
If at all possible, attempt to visit the park at one of the three slowest periods:
# Mid-January to late March
# Mid-April to mid-July
# Mid-September to early December
If for some reason you absolutely have to visit at one of the busier times, make sure you go in with a game plan, otherwise you'll likely end up missing out on some attractions.

How do I get tickets to Disneyland Paris?
Nowadays, with two parks, it's usually a good idea to get a Park Hopper pass, allowing you to jump between the Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios parks whenever you want. This is a good idea for anyone who only plans to spend one day on-resort, as the best of both parks can be sampled. Tickets can be purchased at the park, or on the official Disneyland Paris website.

Many nearby hotels also sell park tickets, often cheaper than they are sold at the park.

Whatever you do, though, buy your tickets before you get to the park. No sense wasting the first couple hours of your day's visit waiting in line at the ticket booths.

What's new at Disneyland Paris?
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the resort, the park this year will launch a new parade, "Once Upon A Dream". Meanwhile, last year's Buzz Lightyear Lazer Blast continues to glean with a new feel, and still attracts guests as if it were new. In June, 2007, the Animation Courtyard was re-christened Toon Studio, and two attractions unique to Walt Disney Studios made their debut. Cars Quatre Roues Rallye is a flat spinner themed to the Disney-Pixar film "Cars". Crush's Coaster is a combination dark ride and indoor coaster that saw waits of over 90 minutes develop within an hour of park opening throughout the summer. With no fastpass, and only one track, the only way to avoid a lengthy queue is to be at the head of the Crush "crush" first thing in the morning. The Tower of Terror ride, sheduled to open Jan 2008 actually opened ahead of schedule on 22nd Dec. The height restriction is low so younger children can ride, but be aware it is a dark and scary ride for the younger guests, with quite a few children leaving in tears. For adults with a liking of thrill rides it is highly recommended to get a fast pass ticket as the queue is considerably shorter.

Plan your day at Disneyland Paris
First thing, you'll want to get Space Mountain: Mission 2 and Star Tours done in Discoveryland, then head over to Frontierland and grab a Fastpass for Big Thunder Mountain. Also, make sure you don't miss out on the Legend of the Lion King show, which is regularly full, and an early Fastpass grab for Buzz Lightyear is recommended, though be aware the fastpass ticket will only let you jump the external queue. You join up with the main queue at the entrance to the building and it can still be quite a wait!

Ride and restaurant reservations at Disneyland Paris
Reservations for many of the park's table service restaurants can be made in the Town Hall, located at the base of Main Street USA.

And to save the hassle of queuing, make sure to use FastPass - Disney's ride reservation system. It's available only on the more popular rides, and allows visitors to reserve a ride time later in the day. You can send one person in your party ahead to the ride with everyone's park admission tickets to get FastPasses for your group -- you don't all have to go together to get them. Once you get a FastPass, you may not use your admission ticket to get another for a different ride until either the return time for the first ride has passed or two hours have gone by, whichever comes first. You can't pic a reservation time -- the system assigns one for you.

What's coming next to Disneyland Paris?
There's still talk of Splash Mountain from the stateside Disney parks, and diehards continue to long for Geyser Mountain, but it's unlikely either of these will see their way to Paris. -- Last edited by G. Telfer

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