OCT 2010: A Road Trip to Disneyland Paris

[mindflipper]

PART ONE: THE ROAD TRIP AND DLP MAGIC KINGDOM
It is very rare around here on the Forum to have a trip report to Disneyland Paris, I thought it would be a treat to be able to actually post one! I have two friends in the UK that went for a few days to Disneyland Paris back in October 2010, and they have given me their permission to share that trip with my fellow subsonicers on their behalf. They've been very kind to share some of their photos, and I hope once they see the trip report that they may consider creating their own account here on Subsonic. Like us, they really enjoyed their trips to Disney parks, and besides DLP they have also been to Disneyland CA (DLR) and Walt Disney World in Orlando (WDW).

My friends did it as a "road trip". While that's easy for me to do so with WDW as I live here in Florida, it's not easy for them as they live in the UK. While the Eurostar train is available from London, it can be very expensive too. On top of that, their road trip was at night! From their own words: We are leaving home at around 8.30pm on Sunday, from here we have to drive to Dover on the south cost (about 3 hours) then we take the ferry across to France (another 2 hours). I believe once we dock the drive is around 3 hours again to reach [DLP] so it will be a long night. Sounds like it would have made a great segment for the BBC show Top Gear! Although I don't think they would have like to had Jeremy Clarkson along for the ride.

They did not stay on property but at a hotel adjacent to the property (much similar I guess to the Lake Buena Vista resorts at WDW). Hotel "Explorer" was a 20 minute walk from parks (it was actually classed as a Disney 'Partner' Hotel). Really nice - would certainly stay there again. We walked in and back everyday - the free shuttle was crowded to say the least.

Here are some of their photos of their time at the DLP Magic Kingdom:







And here are some of their observations and opinions they were kind enough to share with me about the DLP Magic Kingdom:
Haunted Mansion - same as Orlando but in French which made it creepier (The exterior of the house much better than USA)
POTC - Much longer then Orlando but in French but no Jack Sparrow
Space Mountain - Still best ride in the park (same as USA)
Indiana Jones - completely different to California - outdoor rollercoaster with very tight fast turns. - Excellent
Plus the good old Diz rides - Peter Pan, Small world, etc - all the same as USA - but they look a lot fresher and obviously look newer.
Mark Twain Boat, Train round the park, all the same.

More of their trip and pictures to follow in the next parts...

[mindflipper]

PART TWO: DISNEYLAND PARIS STUDIOS

Now all my past trips to Disneyland Paris preceded the opening of the DLP Studios, so I have no personal experience of this park. In fact, I cannot find where anyone posted previously a trip report yet to this park so this may be the first trip report about this particular park. As previously stated, my friends had been in fact to both American parks so they can draw comparisons between the parks based on personal experience.

The park is similar to DHS in WDW with some of the same rides but it is a newer park. From the park diagrams, I think it lacks enough to keep anyone busy for an entire day. They agreed: The Paris park in comparison is tiny and can be walked around easily within 20 minutes. There is more to see in the US counterpart...

Here are some of their photos from their time in the DLP Studios:





Here are some of their observations and opinions concerning their experiences at the DLP Studios:
The rock'n'rollercoaster at Orlando is exactly the same ride in respect of the actual track. However, the theme in Orlando is driving to a celebrity party. In the US the piece in the recording studio control room is longer and the ride is based around Hollywood streets - Once riding in the US there are really bright neon signs and lots to look at. The Paris version has no particular theme and once riding, there are only disco lights inside - On top of that, for most of the ride you can see the track, the walls and ceiling which is basically a bit rubbish.

Tower of Terror: US version... Once in the lift (elevator), it tracks backwards and then drives forward through a corridor before actually reaching the 'Drop Zone' - This makes the ride slightly longer and in my opinion better. [At DLP Studio, its] straight into the lift and then straight up and down...I prefer the
Orlando version nevertheless.

Armageddon special effects show is still there. I think that you would agree that it is now very dated - They do seem to struggle with updating the attractions - This is something that we have noticed across the entire company.. Most of the 10 year old rides really need a facelift, after all we are in the age of High Definition now and the film content of the rides could be very easily upgraded.

The toy story area has only just opened apparently - There are a few rides in there which are: A parachute affair with seats that go up and down while the whole central column goes around. The slinky dog, which is a children's merry go round and what we would have called in the old days ' A pirate ship' it has a new spin as it is basically a semi circle of rollercoaster track. The ride starts at the bottom in the curve and shoots forward and backwards until it reaches the top of both sides. Unfortunately, someone in their wisdom did not include a fast pass system for any of these and the wait times were over 45 minutes - We didn't get on as time was short which was a pity as they looked like fun.

Crush coaster (Nemo) - Excellent, similar to space mountain but car moves round
Cinemagique - Brilliant (film where characters jump in and out of big screen)
Animagique - Brilliant (Diz UV Black Light Show)
Stitch Show - Excellent, very similar to crush show in Epcot - animated character talks to audience

The Toy Story parachute ride to me resembles the same one that used to be at DCA. However, this ride was running before the DCA counterpart was removed from DCA. However, I wonder if Disney after removing it from DCA will re-theme and recycle the DCA into another park somewhere else as a Toy Story parachute ride? Disney has always had a "waste not, want now" policy.

There's more still to come: Halloween and more...

[Wizzard419]

Wait... they are removing/removed the jumping jellyfish from DCA? (I haven't been since early December so I don't know the present state)

Honestly, I actually think the Parisian version of RnR is superior since it does a custom lightshow for each car rather than have you all going through the exact same set pieces.

The DCA version of Tower is actually the DLP version (we took their plans but were able to complete it faster for various reasons)

[mindflipper]

Wait... they are removing/removed the jumping jellyfish from DCA? (I haven't been since early December so I don't know the present state)

Honestly, I actually think the Parisian version of RnR is superior since it does a custom lightshow for each car rather than have you all going through the exact same set pieces.

The DCA version of Tower is actually the DLP version (we took their plans but were able to complete it faster for various reasons)

...or maybe not. Thinking on it, it was the swings that axed, isn't it, and not the parachute ride. I may have got confused as I think the parachute ride was in rehab during the time period when the swings got removed.

[Mousekedude]

Cool report! Keep it coming.

[Amy]

Thanks for convincing your friends to share mindflipper! Hopefully they will join Sub This inspires me to try to knock through the recesses of the old computer to find my photos from both DLP and Tokyo DL. It will have to be a photo trip report since the details would be too fuzzy after 7 years to remember much

[mindflipper]

PART THREE: IT'S HALLOWEEN-LO'WEEN EVERYBODY! LET OUT A SCREAM, Y'KNOW IT'S HALLOWEEN!

For those who don't know, that's the chorus from the DLP Halloween Parade. During the fall in DLP MK, the park is invaded by the Pumpkin Men, who go to work painting the park orange for the upcoming Halloween holiday. In the past, they did battle with the Purple Witches, but I didn't see them much in the photos so I don't know if they returned for the season as well. As usual, the Pumpkin Men are headquartered in Frontierland, not far from the HM counterpart, the Phantom Manor. And like the WDW, the Phantom Manor does not get the Haunted Mansion Overlay like the HM's in DLR or TDL.

The parks looked great with all the Halloween stuff around and the parade - excellent! Here are some of their photos showing the park decorated for the Halloween season:







Now everything wasn't perfect with their trip. For a start, there was an ongoing union strike which was impacting the ability to get gas/petrol for cars: ... and with the problems that they were having with lack of petrol and diesel, the roads were really blocked up anyway with people desperate to get to the gas stations - Fortunately we had a full tank already for the journey back or we'd have been in real trouble.

And then there was the French staff: The French do nothing to help their reputation for being miserable, there was no good morning, no good evening and it all seemed too much effort for them to try and make people enjoy themselves.. Of course in the US, it's all smiles and 'have a nice day' the entire time and it really makes a massive difference to the entire feel of the park.

Personally, back long ago when I went to parks, I didn't found the hospitality quite satisfactory. Again, it was long ago, and I was on a "Disney High" from just being there!

However, these minor detractions and setbacks did not impact their over-all enjoyment of the parks: All in all with DisneyLand Paris - We had a real great few days... got our Disney fix. Having said that nowhere in the same league as Orlando. It has to be said Disney is American - You do it best with out any doubt...There was no fireworks, lack of shows - which is also probably where some of the magic was lost. Having said that don't think we're trying to say that we had a horrible time, because we didn't! It was excellent - so much fun!...The whole trip still scored and impressive 9.5 out of 10 so that cant be bad can it.

I would like to express my gratitude to my friends - I will call them "J" and "R" - for sharing their experiences and photos of their road trip from the UK to Disneyland Paris in October 2010.

I hope they will enjoy the trip report I posted on their behalf and consider joining Subsonic as well. I hope everyone enjoyed and appreciated the chance for a rare glimpse into the European counterpart!

[Amy]

That is pretty wild that DLP decorates for Halloween! I'm surprised there weren't any fireworks though
Great photo of your friends J and R at the end ~ They look like they are having a great time!

[boilerbabe]

Great trip report!!! It was fun seeing what the other park looks like and hearing what their thoughts were!!! I hope they will join us on Sub! I enjoyed the pictures too!

[MmeLeota]

WOW! What an amazing trip report!!! Thank you to your friends for allowing you to post those pictures for us to enjoy! I hope it does inspire them to join our happy little family here!

I am so glad that there was a picture from Animagique. I really like that music from the show, but I had no clue what kind of show it was. I'm hoping to see it someday.

As far as the parachute ride in DCA goes, Jumpin' Jellyfish is still in operation...for now. I have heard so many rumors that I'm not sure if it will stay or go....but as of right now, it's still there. The swings are there too, but have been re-themed to the Silly Symphony Swings based on the cartoon "The Band Concert". Maliboomer is the one that was removed completely.

I thought ToT in DLP and DCA were identical...so I had heard anyway. Thanks for the clarification! I won't be riding either one anytime soon anyway!!!

The Halloween decor is wonderful!!! I love the pumpkin men painting stuff everywhere! Very clever!

As far as their RoA goes, I didn't think the water could look any worse than RoA at DL or Paradise Bay at DCA...wow!!! That's some green water!!! (or as the French would say "eau vert")

Again, thank you for sharing these mindflipper and thanks again to your friends for allowing you to post their pics! I'm glad they had an amazing trip!

[Amy]

...I am so glad that there was a picture from Animagique. I really like that music from the show, but I had no clue what kind of show it was. I'm hoping to see it someday.
...As far as their RoA goes, I didn't think the water could look any worse than RoA at DL or Paradise Bay at DCA...wow!!! That's some green water!!! (or as the French would say "eau vert")...

Animagique was a cute little show! A little hard to follow in French though
I was thinking the same thing about the river water picture ~ that is some very green water

[mindflipper]

I don't know why it was that green either - unless it has to do with Halloween. The Pumpkin Men are always headquartered there, and there's orange all about the place. If they colored the water green for Halloween I could understand. I remember they had one year a great conveyor belt system where they were mining the "orange" that used to paint with right out of BTMRR and it crossed over the RoA.

[MmeLeota]

I don't know why it was that green either - unless it has to do with Halloween. The Pumpkin Men are always headquartered there, and there's orange all about the place. If they colored the water green for Halloween I could understand. I remember they had one year a great conveyor belt system where they were mining the "orange" that used to paint with right out of BTMRR and it crossed over the RoA.

Somewhere I saw some pictures of the pumpkin men painting DLP and I remember being amazed at the detail and the realistic characteristics of not only the characters, but the painting too. I actually thought that they were real people at first!

[F1gment]

Wait... they are removing/removed the jumping jellyfish from DCA? (I haven't been since early December so I don't know the present state)

They wouldn't remove the jumping jellyfish from DCA.... no, no, no.... 'tis fun, we have to have a place to bring our imagination, right????

[mindflipper]

I don't know why it was that green either - unless it has to do with Halloween. The Pumpkin Men are always headquartered there, and there's orange all about the place. If they colored the water green for Halloween I could understand. I remember they had one year a great conveyor belt system where they were mining the "orange" that used to paint with right out of BTMRR and it crossed over the RoA.

Somewhere I saw some pictures of the pumpkin men painting DLP and I remember being amazed at the detail and the realistic characteristics of not only the characters, but the painting too. I actually thought that they were real people at first!

I think that was the original intent with the Pumpkin Men (PM). In the first year I remember seeing that had CM's dressed up that way too so you couldn't tell the real PM from the fake PM. That way, you would think they were fake and they could scare you more easily. I don't know if they do that anymore.