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I've finally managed to convinve my bf (now fiance :yahoo:) to take me to a disney park, its not quite the one I was hoping for but its a good start!
What things are better/worse than wdw? What rides/attractions are in French and what are in English?
Any tips on how to make our trip as magical as a stay at wdw?
Your help is very much appreciated!
Big Thunder Mountains is awesome - it's on it's own island which makes for a different experience to WDW. Phantom Manor is also very cool - I think the fact that it's in French makes it spookier than the American parks. The landscaping in the Parisian park (the main Disneyland Park) is beautiful, although it could do with a lick of paint in a few places. Discoveryland (the Paris version of Tomorrowland) has a fantastic retro feel in the style of Jules Verne/HG Well - Space Mountain rocks (totally different to Orlando or Anaheim) and Paris still boasts the original Star Tours which will be updated in the States in just a few months.
For a fun night out, check out Buffalo Bills Wild West Show. Hubby and I had a blast here. You get a free stetson hat to wave around like a loon and although the food isn't first class, it's still tasty and good cowboy fair. Also check out Annettes Diner and Cafe Mickey if you want to have some nosh with Mickey and the gang. And if you don't mind heights, and the weather/wind is on your side, take a ride on Panoramagique on Lake Disney. The views are amazing and it's really romantic floating around up there about the resort.
Over in Walt Disney Studios, there's still a lot of work to be done in making this a true Disney-feel park, but there are a lot of great things there. Crush's Coaster is awesome! Tip, get there for park opening if you don't want an hour-long wait for the ride. Matt and I always get to the park gates an hour before opening, as you're often let in early and can a front spot in the queue. Also, check out Toy Story Playland which has not been open long. RC Racer is great fun (if you like that belly in your throat feeling!). You've also got the Tower of Terror (awesome!) and definitely don't miss Cinemagique - it's worth the price of the entrance alone - one of my favourite Disney shows of any park and you can only see it in France.
Most of the rides/attractions are in either English or a mixture of English and French - there is never a problem with understanding what's going on. So you don't need to worry about that. And pretty much all the cast members speak great English, so you don't need to learn any French before hand if you don't want to.
Hope you both have a wonderful time - don't forget to post lots of photos and tell us how it went!
P.S. If you have a sweet tooth, treat yourself to a Mickey Brioche in one of the bakerys - it's filled with chocolate/Nuttella style spread and it bloomin' gorgeous!
Phantom Manor was in French. Still a nice ride. Watch for the Dreamfinder's face on a ghost in the wild west portion, on the left side!
Over at the Studios, like Cara said, it's not that great and could use a nice boost. Their backlot tour offers a bit of a different feel from WDW. Since it was pouring that day, we passed Catastrophe Canyon but went through another set (not sure what it was supposed to be) and not everything was working. But it looked like it would have been neat to see in better weather.
The Stitch show there, as are other shows, is offered in English and French, but keep your eye on the board out front which shows what time English is featured. Stitch was a great live show and a lot better than the boring Crush show in Epcot. Animagique is half in English, half in French, to accommodate everyone. But you know the song they're performing anyway, so you don't really miss out.
Their PotC ride is far superior to Disneyland or WDW. They make use of some very cool shadow effects behind sails and window dressings, as well as on walls suggesting there is action around corners. Took me a few rides just to catch everything.
First thing I did when I arrived was to ride the train. It was pulling in and it gave me a chance to see the park first time. I was excited to see a giant XWing in Discoveryland because I knew I'd get to ride Star Tours while I was there. The train itself is set up a bit differently, with U shaped benches. Try to sit with your back to the wall so that you can look straight out at the park as you go around.
The Disney park itself is layed out horribly. Lots of dead ends, roads that don't seem to lead anywhere, especially towards the Toy Story area, back by Indiana Jones (safe one to skip and just ride the one in Disneyland instead... the one in Paris is a basic roller coaster), and the trails that (barely) lead through the Pirates lair. There are lots of fun little things to stop and see, so keep an eye out for them. I would have nearly walked past a small indoor story trail for Aladdin had I not bothered to check inside.
The lines for characaters are a lot shorter, but there is ZERO structure. Families just jump right in, even if you're standing there, so hold your turf.
Along with that, everything that's ever been said about the French being rude is true. All of it. And not just rude. Heck, I live in NYC... I thrive on "rude". Obnoxious is better. Walking in front of you while you're taking a picture, stopping where ever they want on the sidewalk. And man do those people LOVE their cigarettes.
Overall, I think you'll enjoy youself. The trick to enjoying the Studios is to try everything out. Don't pass up anything because there isn't much to do anyway.
Is that the one with Martin Short? If so, I remember at least his lines were in English, so it played to both audiences.Quote:
Originally Posted by missbounce
Other points. The Alice in Wonderland walk-through drew me in, but half way through the walk, I had just about had enough and it just kept going on and on. If you do make it through, at least climb the castle, just for the fun of it. Nothing at all to see or do in there, but still...
I was there during the week and two rides (Casey Junior and the Storybook Canal) were both closed and only open during the weekends. But towards the back where they blocked off the walkway, the princesses and princes came out, so if you're into that sort of thing, you can get some nice pictures.
The night time water show near the resorts was absolute garbage. There isn't much room in that little pool thing and the show was a total after thought. The people standing around watching it had to be starved for anything to do because the parks close so early. Truthfully, anyone clapping along with the show wouldn't know solid entertainment if it hit them over the head with a 2x4. And most of those people should have been.
One thing you should definitely do is walk through Sleeping Beauty Castle. The stained glass is great, there are tapestries and story book stations all along the walkway upstairs, and the moving dragon is in the dungeon. Very cool to see, and a great job by the Imagineers on creating one of the more lifelike anamatronics I've seen.
Yep - Martin Short does all the English speaking and actress Julie Delphy does all the French bits. It translates well in both language and the special effects are really cool.Quote:
Originally Posted by supernova
Oh, yeah! Forgot this bit - this is a MASSIVE down-point in DLRP. Definitely stand your ground if you're a character hunter and do as the French do and jump-in if you have to. When I first went, I felt really uncomfortable pushing in when it came to photos with the characters, but it's the only way you will get to see them... so **** it up and go for it. There are a few organised meet and greets with queues (see the times guide when you arrive), but other than that, it's a free for all. If you don't fancy all that pushing and shoving, maybe book a character meal at somewhere like Cafe Mickey where the characters come to you and you get some quality time without any interuptions. When we were there a few weeks back, we had an absolute blast with Tweedle Dum who actually pinched our video-camera half-way through our meal and ran around the restaurant recording all the diners.Quote:
Originally Posted by supernova
Whilst we're on the subject of characters, not sure if it's just me, but I always find the French costumed characters are a lot more excentric than the ones in America. They can even get a bit boisterous and if you're not used to it, can come as a bit of a shock. When I went for my birthday a couple of years ago, Pluto decided to 'style' my husbands hair (a total no-no for my hubby as he's a bit of a neat-freak when it comes to his barnet) and made a complete mess of it! It was sticking up everywhere and looked shocking afterwards. We have some hysterical photos of Matt walking down Main Street looking like he'd been dragged through a hedge backwards.
Oooh - another goods place to meet Characters is Woody's Round Up Village in Frontierland. You have to queue for quite some time, but once you get to the front of the queue, you get to meet Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, Goofy, Woody, Jessie, Chip, Dale and you can even pose on the back of Bullseye.
missbounce - I see you have stayed at Hotel Santa Fe on more than one occaision, what is it like and most importantly - whats the food like there?
Thanks for your help so far.
Hi KirstyQuote:
Originally Posted by w0449377
The Santa Fe is the cheapest of the DLRP hotels, so don't expect anything fancy-pants there. It's all very clean and comfortable, but also very basic. The food options aren't bad, but nothing spectacular. To be honest, we've only eaten at La Cantina once or twice - we normally opt for breakfast and dinner in the parks or Disney Village. Last time we ate at La Cantina, there was a large selection for breakfast (cheese, ham, yoghurt, cereal, croissants, jams, etc - typical continental breakfast). For evening meals, it was things like fajitas, chicken wings, meat-balls, etc.
As far as theming goes, it's based on a dusty Mexican style which means the buildings are a little bit on the drab side. If you want something with a bit more novelty and don't mind paying a few pounds extra, you might want to go for the Cheyenne instead, which is just on the other side of the Rio Grande (about 2 minute walk away).
Don't get me wrong, the Santa Fe is a great choice if you just want somewhere to rest your head at the end of a long day in the parks and are on a tight budget, but it's certainly not the Ritz. It depends what you're looking for out of your Disney accomodation.
Just another thing I've remember about Santa Fe, the often have CMs there who play roles in the hotel to entertain the guests - for example, when we were there for my birthday one of the CMs was playing a drunk Mexican who was wandering around the food-court at breakfast grumbling at the guests and making the kiddies roll around laughing. He was really funny and great fun to watch whilst we ate our croissants.
There was also a guy called Lorenzo (not sure if he's still there) some time ago who dressed up as a waiter in La Cantina and used to do balancing acts on the back of peoples seats whilst they were eating. He'd then pretend to nearly fall on the diners and caused a bit of a scene. We've also seen him dressed as an American-style security guard, armed with an enormous metal-detector and swiping EVERY guest who walked past him. Nobody got by without being 'picked on' but he was a lot of fun. We loved Lorenzo!
I stayed at the New York Hotel and it was like being home. Mets and Yankees logos on either wing of the lobby.
The nice thing about staying on property is that they feed you breakfast each morning. Didn't need three days worth of tickets, though. The mandatory "length of stay" was a bit much, especially when I wasn't arriving until 1pm and leaving that Wednesday at 9:50am. Still, I spent from 8-9 that (rainy) morning walking through the park, just to use the ticket. The place was deserted and only a handful of rides were open, but it was nice to stay on and ride over and over again.
As for charactes, when I went to Woody's Round Up, it was beautifully decorated for Chrsitmas, or at least the hills in the area were. No characters, but I did get some great photos. And yes, including one on Bullseye.
enjoy your vacation
What parades are running at Disneyland Paris currently?
At their Studios, they have a version of the old Stars and Motor Cars parade, though it's very short. Well, the road they run it on is. It goes one way, makes a circle, and goes right back. So you see it twice. Or, if you're smart, you'll see it early the first time, then take advantage of everyone else standing around watching it and jump on a ride or two. At Disneyland itself, I'm not too sure.