Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022, our team decided to join in the festivities and take a few trips to Disneyland Paris! Disneyland Paris is the number one amusement park in Europe and we feel that’s a well deserved ranking.
One tip, if you’re looking for a great way to enhance your family’s holidays, you’ll want to put on a coat and check out Disneyland Paris once the holiday decorations go up. You’ll find they also have their own holiday markets with festive European food and drinks. The photos below show how they really ramp up the magic once the leaves turn in the fall. Who knows, you might even get a chance to see Santa!
Getting there is relatively easy from Paris. It’s in the eastern suburbs. You’ll usually want to take the Metro and connect to the RER A line, which will drop you right at the park. Depending on which part of Paris you’re coming from, it’s about a 45 minutes to 1 hour trip. You could drive or take various shuttles/buses too, but the train is the most convenient, in our opinion.
Outside the Park
If you’re not already staying at one of the hotels at the resort and have time to spare, you might want to check them out too. You can walk or catch free shuttle buses from the park to see them. The main reasons are to see all the fabulous design and imagineering that has gone into them – each with their own theme (e.g., Marvel, Cars/Route 66). You might even be able to meet and greet some of the characters there, in costumes you won’t find anywhere else. If you are lucky enough to be staying at the hotels, definitely be on the lookout for all the perks that come with your stay, including exclusive experiences.
Just outside the park, there are shopping and dining opportunities, similar to what you might find at Downtown Disney or Disney Springs. One restaurant they have there is one of our favorites – Vapiano! It’s an Italian restaurant where everything is made to order. They even have fresh herbs at the tables where you can pick your own flavors. It’s a chain, so we recommend looking for one near you, even if you aren’t heading to Disneyland Paris soon.
The entrance of the park is very beautiful and welcoming, with just a hint of French charm and of course is wonderfully landscaped with some familiar faces showing up.
First impressions
The park is very reminiscent of the original Disneyland in Anaheim and Magic Kingdom in Orlando, but still feels just unique enough to make it special. Main street has all the “Americana” feel we’ve come to love at the parks in the U.S. You’ll find a town hall, train station, trolleys and other callbacks to the early American years, centered around a lovely gazebo, where you might see your toon friends saying hello to guests.
One difference at Disneyland Paris is that the stores along Main street have covered areas behind them, so you can stroll inside and check out the shops, even if it’s raining. We’d still recommend taking a peek even if it’s sunny, it’s well worth the diversion.
High Energy Fun
One of the most unique and fun things about Disneyland Paris are the parades. Sure, all the parks have them, but the ones here are just better. First of all, they last longer. The characters encircle the circle in front of the castle aboard their floats, but then they get out and come to the middle, to interact with the crowds more closely. The event goes on for a long time, making sure everyone gets a great show and chance to see all their favorite characters.
Next is the dancers. They are by far the most energetic and talented group of cast members in all the parades! They have amazing choreography and somehow keep up a very high level of intensity throughout a very long show. They’ll definitely make you want to get up and dance!
Inside the Magic
The castle at the center is great too. It’s more interactive than most of the others. You can walk around inside, not just through it. It has vivid stained glass windows depicting many of your favorite characters. Also, there is a spooky surprise underneath the castle, which we only recently learned about, despite several previous trips.
While Disney would probably prefer the place was packed, but we have always found that the crowds are reasonable. The best part of that is that the lines for the rides aren’t nearly as long as at some of the other parks. This makes the park that much more enjoyable and gives you more time to check out all the imaginative scenery.
Parisian nights
When evening hits, boy do you have a treat in store. At Disneyland Paris, they integrate all the great fireworks and visuals of the other Disney parks, but they have a drone show too! It’s amazing to see the artistry of Disney seeming to hang weightlessly like digital stars in the sky.
Of course, there is also Walt Disney Studios right next door too. Similar to Disney’s Hollywood studios, this park is all about movie magic – we’ll be posting on that soon. Stay tuned!