fbpx
Skip to content

My Disneyland Paris trip (December 7th – 10th, 2006) – call it my personal “Mini Mousefest”.

I´ll try to give details about other options too, if I know anything about them.

 

Day 1: Thursday December 7th – set off from Nottingham East Midlands airport (which isn´t really in Nottingham, but let´s not get into that). The flight brings me into Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport at around 10:00 am CET (Central European Time).

Looking around the airport terminal, I notice a few similarities between one airline´s logo and a more famous (non-Disney) cartoon character:

 

 

 

One of the most effective ways of traveling to the resort is via the official coach service – the VEA. Most holiday packages will provide tickets for using the service, although adults (those over 11) can pay 16 Euros each way to travel (Between 3 and 11 is 13 Euros, Under 3´s travel free with an accompanying adult). Having a ticket does not guarantee a seat, it just saves paying on the coach. The ride lasts around 45 minutes, and usually is accompanied by a video package of the various attractions.The coaches do not run continuously, you will normally be given a schedule with your ticket (expect a long wait if you are staying in the four `partner´ hotels on the edges of the property- i.e. the Kyriad, Movenpick, Holiday Inn and the MyTravel Explorer´s – they are only served by a limited number of coaches. I have been told that in certain circumstances the regular coaches will take guests to the park gates, where there is a bus station and public transport system).

 

On arrival at the hotel (in my case, the Santa Fe, as the others were full or closed), I was able to collect my pass (usually, length of stay passes are provided for the main hotels, and shorter stay passes for the partners) and move straight into my room.

Santa Fe is themed as a Mexican motel, which essentially means that the poured concrete that forms the structures of the main hotel complex isn´t covered with a front, simply painted pink. Of course, there are park information channels in the rooms; channel 1 is English and French alternately, with other languages on other channels around that number.

 

Regular articulated buses serve the parks from the hotel – there´s only one route, due to the hub design where one station serves the parks and village.

 

As for the parks, it is fairly safe to say that they are franchise versions of Magic Kingdom and Disney Studios Florida. I spent my first day in Disneyland Park (formerly EuroDisneyland, keeping an eye out at Main Street Station for the EDRR logos on the railings, standing for EuroDisneyland Railroad). FastPass wasn´t working, but this kept lines short (the most I had to wait was 30 minutes for Buzz Lightyear´s Laser Blast, which is an enhanced version of the Florida attraction). Although the park is smaller, there are some choices of attraction that make very little sense – a walking tour of the Nautilus? – but the Space Mountain here is more extreme than any other I´ve seen.

 

One interesting fact – one of the Dreamfinder figures is featured in Phantom Manor – their version of the Haunted Mansion. Look for the mayor of the ghost town.

 

A point to make at this stage is that the dominant language in the parks is French, and some attractions such as Star Tours (which isn´t in the studios, rather the main Disneyland Park) are presented entirely in French. In many cases, the theatre-based attractions are now presented in multiple languages, like DVD audio tracks, with headphones built into the arm rests to translate.

 

Later, after seeing the parades, the park closed at 7, so back to the hotel, where entertainment is provided at night. A limited amount of children´s entertainment is available, although the quality is, dare I say, `patchy´.

 

 

Day 2, Friday December 8th – today is Studios day, or so I thought. After taking pictures of the Disneyland park decorations, today was going to be my day for looking around the Studios park, and my hotel, in more detail. The day started off fairly normally, with a tour of the France base of the Disney Channel studio, where a presentation reveals the secret of green screen. Next up was Cinemagique, a movie that replaces the Great Movie Ride here (and, if rumours are to be believed, in MGM Studios, too). This features Martin Short as an American tourist whose phone rings during the performance, angering the movie stars on the other side of the screen
. Therefore the sorcerer (played by Scottish actor Alan Cumming) transports him into the world of movies, where various homages and scenes ensue. One point I noticed was that, despite Eric Idle working for the Disney parks on many occasions in his guise as Dr. Channing, when a clip of him as Sir Robin from Monty Python and the Holy Grail is used in Cinemagique, he is credited as just one of the writers, with his acting role attributed to Michael Palin!

 

The Backlot Tour was next, with the commentary provided by different famous actors depending on language, for English speakers, Jeremy Irons. Catastrophe Canyon is present as you would expect, as well as some of the vehicles moved from the MGM Studios tour, and an extra effects scene from Reign of Fire.

 

Following the tour, I decided to take some pictures of the Tower of Terror, still under construction. It appears to be a concrete version of the California tower, not the Florida one as some suggested. However, after taking said pictures, a sheet of plywood was blown off the scaffolding, crashing to the ground. Strong winds (which were later reported to have killed a man elsewhere in Paris) had struck the park, pulling down posters and detaching speaker grills. Park management, at a loss as to what to do, tried to persuade people into the attraction buildings, at one stage getting me and my party to shepherd guests into the exit of the Magic of Disney Animation. As different buildings started to be affected, management and staff moved people into the Studio 1 building – a shopping and dining area that was the only passage to the front gate. From there, I was able to get to the front gate gift shop, before the park was locked down. At this point, I just wanted to get out, and back to the resort, but the management insisted on keeping people inside. After a short sit-in, it was agreed that I could escort my party out of the park via the cast members´ entrance, moving directly to the Disney Village.

 

Disney village is designed as two rows of shops and restaurants, with a multiplex and IMAX cinema in a separate area. As construction workers were frantically securing any loose objects on roofs etc. I decided to join the queue to eat. There are a number of different options, from the Rainforest Café, to Planet Hollywood, to authentic diners and Sports bars. I went for the diner, and after an hour´s wait (inside, thankfully) was served promptly and efficiently. On leaving, staff were still restricting movement through the village to two designated paths, terminating rather aptly at Hurricane´s nightclub.

 

I decided to try my luck in Disneyland Park, to find that that hadn´t closed, with the exception of Thunder Mountain and Dumbo, built on the two highest points in the park. The parades went ahead as before, and there were no significant wait times. Eventually though, the Studios was declared closed for the day, and I returned to the hotel to find the Christmas decorations had barricades around them, due to the unseasonable winds.

 

Day 3, Saturday December 9th – Studios, Take 2. The winds had taken out the power to the ticketing computer, so passes were being punched by hand (a star for the Studios, a Mickey shape for the Disneyland Park). I decided to fill in the remaining attractions while they remained open – first, Moteurs Action (or Lights, Motors, Action, if you prefer), which was delayed due to the stuntmen wanting more padding in the main stage in case they were blown off course. Next, Armageddon – a theatre in the round demonstrating special effects. Not really worth the wait, and probably the first attraction that will be removed from the park. Finally, Animagique, a stage show featuring Mickey and Donald and blacklight puppetry and costumes. With the Studios `done´, and looking at the Toon Studio soon to be built (all Pixar-themed attractions for the very young, by the looks of things), I braved the Disneyland park – which was at it´s busiest. Attractions with 15 minute waits earlier in the week were maxing out at 120 minutes, and with FastPass unusable, the park was at breaking point. I decided to relax in the Village sports bar for a while, finish my shopping and reenter the Studios to see the Magic of Disney Animation properly.

 

Day 4, Sunday December 10th – had to get straight onto the VEA, as I would not recommend waiting until the last minute for it. They say to board it at least 2 and a half hours before check-in time, as the shuttles fill up fast close to flight times.

 

 

 

.

Comments

About Lou Mongello

Lou Mongello is a former attorney who left the practice to pursue his passion, and is now a recognized Disney expert, author, speaker, and host of WDW Radio. Learn more…

Related Posts