Looking for a twist on Disney's classic theme park attractions? Then it's time to plan a visit to Disneyland Paris.
The most-visited theme park in Europe, Disneyland Paris twists the narratives on two of Disney's top theme park attraction franchises - Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. Let's discover the changes that Disney has made to these rides in France and then take a video ride on these attractions. [Warning: Spoilers ahead. Bail now if you want to visit Disneyland Paris with no knowledge of how these rides are different, just that promise that they will be.]
Disneyland Paris takes the story of the Haunted Mansion and sets it in the old west town of Thunder Mesa. Phantom Manor also switches up the ride's protagonist. Instead of the Bride (dubbed by fans as Constance Hatchaway) offing her husbands, it's Dad who's doing the dirty deeds.
Henry Ravenswood is the founder of the Big Thunder Mining Company. Henry doesn't want some man taking away his daughter. Even a deadly earthquake could not stop him, as Henry transformed into a phantom that hanged his daughter's fiancé on their wedding day. Devastated, she continues to wander the house, even as demons and ghosts fill its spaces.
Phantom Manor replaces the traditional graveyard scene from Haunted Mansion with Phantom Canyon, a ghostly street that emerged when the earthquake split the town of Thunder Mesa. These scenes were inspired by creative designs for the Western River Expedition dark ride that was to go into Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom before Disney scrapped that project to install Pirates of the Caribbean instead.
The story in Paris feels quite a bit more intentional to me, as opposed to the often-retconned U.S. installations. I also prefer crazy billionaires as villains rather than women with no apparent motives beyond advancing a "crazy lady" trope. Phantom Manor for the win, in my book.
Paris' installation of Pirates flips the script from the Disneyland original, putting the eerie grotto scenes at the end of the ride.
We start by sailing past Paris' tropical-themed Captain Jack's restaurant rather than the New Orleans-set Blue Bayou. Moonlit wreckage sets an ominous tone, amplified by crabs feasting on... something or someone? From there, we sail into a fortress, where a contraption pulls up an incline as a ghostly voice warns, "dead men tell no tales."
We see a battle below us as shots ring around us. Flames lick the wreckage within the fort, as a pirate swings above us. We turn a corner into the famous jailhouse scene, as the imprisoned pirates attempt to entice a dog to bring them the keys to their cell.
That brings us to the first drop, which carries us down into that battle scene. The ride proceeds through the dunking, auction, chase, and burning city scenes, though the chase scene here also includes a pirate sword fight that is not in the U.S. versions. And two of the pirates from Disneyland's final show scene appear at the beginning of the burning city, opposite the singing trio.
Entering the smoldering ruins of one of the burning city buildings, we fall into the ride's second drop, which dumps us into a grotto. That's where we get the hurricane scene, with a nifty projection effect, before we see the treasure scenes that are found near the beginning of the Disneyland original. Captain Jack greets us from atop one pile of treasure, before the talking skull and crossbones bids us farewell as we reenter the loading station.
I always have considered the opening scenes of Disneyland's Pirates as leading into a flashback of the battle for Isla Tesoro. Paris reverses that, putting the battle up front, with the island's riches awaiting us afterward. As such, I think it actually works better, narratively, than the original version. So score Paris two-for-two in improving on Disneyland classics.
Disneyland Paris also modifies its installation of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The coaster is the middle of Paris' version of the Rivers of America, occupying the spot formerly held by Tom Sawyer Island in Orlando. That requires adding a dark tunnel between the load station of the A lift cavern, as well as an other tunnel after the C lift, to get under the river and onto the island and back.
The second tunnel robs this Thunder of the final block-zone show scenes in Anaheim and Orlando. Otherwise, the Paris version of Thunder is the same as Orlando's (and a mirror of Anaheim's), with no narrative changes, save for Henry Ravenswood being the founder of Big Thunder Mining Company rather than Barnabas T. Bullion, but that's a deep cut.
And the goat was missing after the B lift in Paris, so I cannot rate this version of Thunder as something worthy of enticing a Disney fan to Paris as I can for the other two rides.
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I love how Disneyland Paris reimagines the classic Disney rides! Phantom Manor is a standout, with its Western twist and more intentional storytelling. The shift from a "crazy lady" villain to a vengeful father really adds depth. Pirates of the Caribbean in Paris also feels more dynamic, with the battle scenes upfront adding urgency to the story. It’s refreshing to see how they’ve made these attractions feel fresh while still honoring the originals. Definitely a unique experience worth visiting!
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For me the Paris version of Big Thunder Mountain beats the Anaheim and Florida versions hands down. The island setting creates far better visuals both on and off ride with the claustrophobia of the canyon settings contrasting splendidly with the water-side fly-bys, (including an iconic splash-through moment). And whilst the second tunnel might deprive us of the scenic set-pieces of the other versions the surprisingly fast careening through pitch darkness with just a few pesky bats for company always elecits screams and is frankly the most exciting moment on any BTM. It's a teriffic, exciting finale to the ride so for me it's 3 out of 3 for the win.