Our surprise trip for the girls to Disneyland Paris was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. They still don’t know about it, so fingers crossed one day soon we can rebook to take them there!
I have both flown and used the Eurostar when visiting Disney Paris before. My preference has to be the Eurostar! It is super easy! And with a stop in the heart of Disney at Marne-la-Vallée Chessy, its great to step off and walk straight into the resort. When you exit the station, you have the Disney onsite hotels to the left, the Disney village in the middle and the theme parks to the right. (The theme parks are a 5-minute walk apart, right next door to each other). There is a bus terminal to take you to off site hotels if needed too.
Disney Village has a great choice of restaurants, shops, a cinema and even a Wild West show too!
This blog I am focusing on the parks and then next time I will show you the various hotels to choose from.
Disneyland Park
The Disneyland Park is home to the iconic Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, which is located at the end of Main Street, U.S.A. The park is then divided into four more lands. With Frontierland providing a Wild West Adventure, Adventureland to take a journey with swashbuckling pirates, Fantasyland inspired by the medieval villages of France (and home to many Disney princesses), and lastly Discoveryland to experience the future and a world of inventions!
As you wander around the lands, you will come across character meet and greet spots for those all-important photos with characters such as Goofy and Buzz Lightyear! Plus you can meet Mickey Mouse backstage at his magic show too!
There are rides to suit all ages and here are a few of our favourites:
‘it’s a small world’ – the ride which will have the theme tune stuck in your head all day….and I love it! It’s a gentle boat ride taking you around the world to see dolls sing and dance to the nation’s song.
Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast – defeat Evil Emperor Zurg on board a moving car complete with laser guns for you to zap away and win points! We love to see who won at the end!
Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain – a crazy indoor coaster that has me laughing the whole time! If you have experienced the Orlando one, I would say this one is even more fun with more twists and turns!
Big Thunder Mountain – a wild train ride through caves and rivers! With height at 1.02m, it is a great 1st rollercoaster for the kids!
Dumbo the Flying Elephant – soar in the air aboard Dumbo to take in the sights of the park. You control how high/low you would like to fly! A firm family favourite! (Especially Grandmas!!)
Peter Pan's Flight – everybody loves this film, so to sit abord the galleon and fly over Never Land is a must!
Phantom Manor – a fun-filled mystery ride through a spooky manor. Suitable for all to watch portraits move, rooms stretch, and mirrors bend with some ghosts to greet you along the way.
Princess Pavilion – meet a real-life princess in beautiful surroundings! Katie will love this!!
Star Tours – a 3-d experience onboard a Starspeeder 3000 for a light-speed adventure through asteroids towards the Death Star.
Of course a few things have changed at the moment due to covid. With character photos being more a selfie from a distance and a pause in the parade and night time show. I hope these will be back real soon as these are such memorial parts of a visit to Disneyland Paris. Do check the parks direct for the latest information.
Walt Disney Studios Park
Just a few minutes away from the Disneyland Park is Walt Disney Studios Park. Walking into Walt Disney Studios Park is like stepping into a world of movies, animation, and television. Divided over four lands: Front lot is the main entrance area with shops and restaurants to choose from. Toon Studio is inspired by Disney and Pixar with characters such as Genie, Crush, Lightning McQueen, Woody, and Slinky. Production Courtyard is where Hollywood movies come to life with movie street sets and lastly Backlot - although this is expected to become the new Marvel land featuring Avengers Campus in 2021. Disney have also announced that two more areas are to open, Arendelle: World of Frozen in 2023 and Star Wards Land in 2024/5. Of course, Covid may have delayed these time frames but they sound like they will be fantastic! We are big Marvel and Disney fans here so we cannot wait to check it out!
I love the rides here too. They are so much fun, and I am definitely a big kid at heart as I can’t help but run to the queue with excitement and pose with some of the character models scattered around (I may have taken way too many selfies with the giant Iron Man and Slinky Dog). But there are also a lot of character meet and greet spots too, such as Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Elsa, Anna and Olaf, and some of the Marvel superheroes like Spiderman!
Ratatouille: The Adventure – such a fun ride as you experience life the size of rat. Scurrying through Gusteau’s Restaurant avoiding Chef Skinner in the kitchen, taking in the sights and smells as you go, it feels so realistic!
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – this one never fails to make me scream with fear!! Step onboard the phantom elevator, take your seat as you are then shot 13 floors high and plummet just as fast! Just when you think its all over, it shoots you right back up to do it all over again!
Crush's Coaster – a kids favourite as you join Nemo and friends on an adventure exploring reefs, a submarine wreck and even meet Bruce, all whilst onboard a roller coaster!
Stitch Live! - a first-of-its-kind live, real-time animated show where you can play, laugh, joke or even have a whole conversation with Stitch!
Studio Tram Tour – this is a classic as you board a tram and head behind the scenes to see full scale movie sets and boneyard props. You even find yourself part of an explosive disaster too! Great fun!
We are yet to try these new rides, but I must mention them as they get great reviews….
RC Racer - Race along a 25 metre-high half-pipe coaster, as Andys speediest car, his RC, zooms you around at full speed.
Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin - join Slinky®Dog in a rollicking spin to catch his own tail aboard the all-new "zigzag-a-coaster".
They used to have the brilliant Rock n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith – a roller coaster which accelerates to 57mph in 2.8 seconds. This however is now being re-imaged to an Iron Man theme for the new Marvel land! I am literally way too excited for this!!
Ticket types
Although there are a few ticket types, it is relatively straight forward. You just need to decide how many days you plan to visit the parks:
1-Day/1 Park Disneyland Paris Ticket – You can choose either Disneyland® Park or Walt Disney Studios® Park to visit for one day. The date is pre booked too so it is guaranteed.
1-Day/2 Parks Dated Hopper Ticket - Guaranteed Entry to both parks at Disneyland Paris on the date selected. You can cancel your tickets with a full refund anytime up to 3 days before your visit date.
2-Day/2 Parks Flex Ticket - 2 days admission to BOTH Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park within a 7-day window from first use. Activate your ticket at any time within 12 months of purchase. This ticket is non-changeable and non-refundable.
3-Day/2 Parks Flex Ticket - 3 days admission to BOTH Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park within a 7-day window from first use. You can hop in and out of the parks over the 3 visits. Tickets can be activated at any time within 12 months of purchase. This ticket is non-changeable and non-refundable.
4-Day/2 Parks Flex Ticket - 4 days admission to BOTH Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park within a 7-day window from first use. Tickets can be activated at any time within 12 months of purchase. Ticket is non-changeable and non-refundable.
At the moment, to enter a Disney Park, both a valid Disneyland Paris Ticket AND a date-specific theme park reservation are now required for visits in 2021.
Fast Pass - All Disney Paris Tickets include the fantastic Standard FASTPASS, a free, time-saving service that shortens your wait at the most popular attractions in Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park. The Standard FASTPASS® is operated on a rolling basis so you can only ever have one Standard FASTPASS at a time. This is done in the park and cannot be done in advance. To get your Standard FASTPASS, approach the ride you would like, and you will see a FASTPASS kiosk if the ride participates in fast passes– normally next to the main queue. There will be a time displayed above the kiosk and this indicates the time you can return to join the FASTPASS queue. You need to scan your tickets at the ticket machine, and you will be given a Standard FASTPASS ticket. You then return to the FASTPASS queue at the time indicated. Fast passes are subject to availability.
FASTPASS services will be temporarily unavailable during the phased re-opening of Disneyland Paris. You can also purchase additional Fast Passes - these were the prices on our last visit as a guide:
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show at Disneyland® Paris
I just wanted to mention this show to you. It is located with the Disney Village area (right next to the parks). And is great fun for a family night out.
You can watch the fun competitions held in the arena, where there is also special appearances by Mickey and friends! They help you cheer on all the action fromreal-life cowboys and Indians. Whilst watching the show, you can enjoy the delicious Tex-Mex cuisine served in western-style mess tins.
It is on at 630pm and 930pm and is around 90 minutes long. You can choose between two categories; Category 1 is a bit closer to the action with a great view, and also comes with a welcome drink, and sweet treats with your hot drink later too. Category 2 is a little further up the stadium seating with no extras. Both ticket types are non-exchangeable and non-refundable.
Where to book:
I would highly recommend booking with AttractionTickets.com for quite a few and important reasons.
1 – They are the UKs number 1 ticket reseller.
2 – They are bound by ABTA which is always good to know, especially when booking hotels and tickets together.
3 – They have won multiple awards in the travel industry such as Travolution Awards and British Travel Awards numerous times. Recently they also won Travolution’s Brand of the Year for 2020.
4 – Founded in 2002 and served well over 4 million customers, with a high repeat business rate that is always reassuring.
5 – Real tickets are provided. If you book though Attraction Tickets, you must download your tickets to your smartphone or print your ticket and Advance Reservation System QR code before you visit Disneyland® Paris. Upon arrival at Disneyland® Paris, simply show your Advance Reservation code and scan the ticket barcode at the gate for admission to the parks.
6 – Always cheaper to pre buy in the UK vs single day tickets when in France.
7 – The team are very friendly and full of so much knowledge, you will feel rest assured you are booking the right tickets and in safe hands!
Click here for more information – https://www.attractiontickets.com/en/paris-attraction-tickets/disneyland-paris-tickets?utm_source=TheWalterWays&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=blog
As always, I hope you have found this blog helpful and always shout with any questions you may have 😊 The next blog will help you decide where to stay!
Comments