For those of you who do not know, I am a major DISNEY girl! Walt Disney World truly is one of the Happiest Places on Earth for me. I aspire to have a creative mind as brilliant as Walt Disney himself. There is just something about Disney World that makes me so giddy and excited on the inside. I have a magical time every time I take a trip to Orlando, Florida. So when I got the opportunity to go to Disneyland Paris during their 25th-anniversary celebration, I could NOT pass it up. This was one of my FAVORITE day trips while I was studying abroad. The magic of the Disney Experience in Paris is the same as if you were at Walt Disney World in Florida. But, you will find some differences between the Paris and Orlando parks. I actually noticed 10 differences that you will find in Disneyland Paris that is currently not in Walt Disney World. Here is the Disney Difference!
1. Sleeping Beauty’s Castle
The iconic Cinderella’s Castle that you will find in Flordia is not what it seems in Paris. Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant (in French) is Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Sleeping Beauty herself took over France (and left California) with her stunning pink castle standing tall at the end of Main Street. This princess lucked out considering she has a castle at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California as well. Just like at Cinderella’s Castle, you can walk through Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. The second floor has stunning stain glass windows and displays that tell Sleeping Beauty’s iconic story. You can follow along by reading each storybook placed in front of the windows. The stain glass windows are definitely one of my favorite parts of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.
2. The Dragon
One thing that Cinderella’s Castle does NOT have is a dragon lying underneath it. If you leave the inside of the castle and walk out as if you were going underneath it, you will find Maleficient herself (in dragon form) guarding the castle in her lair. Follow the signs that say a Tanière du Dragon (Lair of the Dragon). The dragon is actually super cool and set in a dark, underground cave-like scene. Occasionally, she will blow smoke out of her nostrils and growl. It’s a nice touch to add the iconic villain as a piece of the story.
3. The Language
It’s Disneyland Paris, hence the majority of the park and attractions will be in French! It is really awesome to see how Disney incorporated the French culture into the park (including the crepe stand…yum!). Everything around you is in French and English (so no need to worry about the language barrier). Even the majority of the attractions speak French first followed by English. The French language is impossible to understand, but it sounds so beautiful. Disneyland Paris is also like a melting pot of different cultures because you have people from all over Europe experiencing the Disney magic. So not only will you hear French and English, but you will observe people from all over the world speaking in different tongues as well. Disney just brings people together and I love it! (Thought: they should really consider adding Epcot to Disneyland Paris. The World Showcase would be incredible since you are literally in Europe!)
4. The Size
Walt Disney World sits on about 30,000 acres of land with plenty of room for expansion (this is why it is called Walt Disney WORLD). Disneyland Paris is only about a tenth of this size! You need so many different methods of transportation (the magic buses, the Minnie vans, boats, the Monorail, etc) to get around Disney World’s four theme parks, two water parks, Disney Springs, and 23 resort hotels. While at Disneyland Paris, I can walk out of Disneyland Park and walk into Walt Disney Studios located right next door! Everything is within walking distance even there shopping center, the Disney Village and the seven hotels. The size difference makes it much easier to conquer all of Disneyland Park for a day trip (which is what I did). You could NEVER do all of Walt Disney World in 24 hours!
5. The Park Entrance
To get into Disneyland Park you ACTUALLY have to walk under the Disneyland Hotel! So instead of having to take the Monorail or any form of Disney transportation back to your resort in Florida, your hotel could be right on the park property. I was not able to stay overnight at the Disneyland Hotel, but I heard it is gorgeous (and a 5-star luxury experience). It is awesome that you can look outside your hotel window and see the park as your backyard! You would never see this at Disney World because they have so much property to spread out the hotels away from the parks.
6. The Attractions
Disneyland Paris, of course, could not get rid of some of the classic rides like It’s a Small World, Peter Pan’s Flight, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, The Tower of Terror, and Rock n’ Roller Coaster. BUT, they do have some attractions of their own that you cannot find in Disney World. Alice’s Curious Labyrinth is a giant maze for children to walk through modeled after the movie Alice in Wonderland. You’ll see the Cheshire Cat around every corner and eventually end up at the Queen of Heart’s Castle. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril is an outdoor wooden roller coaster where you go on a wild adventure through the mysterious jungle ruins with Indiana Jones. I would compare this roller coaster to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad or The Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train in the Magic Kingdom (but for a wooden roller coaster, there is a VERY unexpected flip that occurs). HyperSpace Mountain is NOTHING like Space Mountain in Tomorrow Land just so you know (Disneyland Paris actually does NOT have any of the 3 mountains that the Magic Kingdom has!) HyperSpace Mountain is basically Space Mountain on steroids. It is a Star Wars themed attraction that’s ten times faster with flips, twists, and turns in the dark!
My favorite attraction at Disneyland Paris was Ratatouille: The Adventure at Walt Disney Studio Park. You shrink down to the size of Remy during this 4D experience and ride in a mouse cart dodging Chef Skinner who chases you throughout Gusteau’s restaurant. The film was set in Paris, France so they pulled this attraction off perfectly. The entire area where the attraction was located looked like Paris from the movie. The ride is conveniently located next to Chef Remy’s Restaurant where you can find authentic, French cuisine. Fun fact, Disney World is actually building a Ratatouille attraction NOW to be located in the French Pavillion of Epcot.
7. The FastPass System
There are NO MAGIC BANDS in Disneyland Paris! Their FastPass system is pretty old school, but they did recently upgrade it. When I went last March, you can print an actual FastPass ticket from a machine in front of each attraction. The ticket will give you a return time for when you can skip the line. We did not get fast passes ahead of time because you could not book them online. Honestly, the wait times were very doable and not as long as anything you will see in Disney World. The average wait time was about 20 minutes and we really only waited about 50 minutes for the Ratatouille attraction. NOW, they have a Super FastPass and Ultimate FastPass option on their website that you can book ahead of time when you purchase park tickets. The Super FastPass only allows one-time speedy access to three family attractions (Ratatouille: The Adventure, Peter Pan’s Flight, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast) or one-time speedy access to three big thrill attractions (Hyperspace Mountain, The Tower of Terror, Rock n’ Roller Coaster). The Ultimate FastPass allows either one-time speedy access to all FastPass attractions or unlimited speedy access. Without the Magic Bands, their system is VERY different from Walt Disney World.
8. The Price
The price for park tickets DID recently increase a little bit from last year, but not drastically. I believe I paid about 80 euro ($100 US dollars) for 1-day access to BOTH parks. This is honestly a steal compared to Walt Disney World’s prices. The tickets vary from low to high season. Currently, for the month of March, tickets are $108 for 1-day access to 2 parks. The FastPass tickets are only about $38 for Super FastPass, $77 for the Ultimate one-time access FastPass, and $154 for the Ultimate unlimited access FastPass. When you book a trip to Walt Disney World, you don’t pay for fast passes. You just book them 60 days in advance of your trip. If you need any more info, check out the Disneyland Paris website.
9. The Weather
We are NOT in Orlando, Florida anymore! Marne-la-Vallée, France does not have the best, sunny weather that people are used to when visiting the parks. At least when I was in Disneyland Paris, it was the end of March. The weather was a bit cold with occasional rain. I was not used to wearing my winter park walking around a Disney park! The weather did not stop the fun, but I would definitely prefer some sun while walking around all day.
10. The Night-Time Show
The Disney experience is never fully satisfying without being mesmerized by a nighttime firework display! Disneyland Paris did not disappoint with their Disney Illuminations Firework Show at Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland Park. The projections on to the castle and the fireworks were incredible! Part of the show was in French and English. It was really awesome to hear famous songs like Frozen’s Let It Go in French. It is interesting because in Florida, Epcot’s light show is called Illuminations and Magic Kingdom’s firework show is called Happily Ever After. Disneyland Park’s Illuminations is different than Epcot’s, but it is still just as magical. A perfect way to end your day at Disneyland Paris!
Whether you are in Paris or Orlando, Disney always ensures that you are having a magical experience! I checked Disneyland Paris off my Disney travel bucket list and I have an exciting trip booked for Walt Disney World at the end of this May. My ULTIMATE goal is to visit every Disney destination (I’m talking Tokyo, Shanghai, California, and Hawaii!). Stay tuned for my next blog and have a magical day!
Ciao for now xoxo,
JMar
JMar's Journey 