Ady & Meg.
We have written this review slightly differently to most of the reviews we do... As it is Disney after all 😍
We have split the review into 4 sections.
- Characters
- Attractions
- Shows and Parades
- Easter Eggs
The ticket options vary. We went for the 2 day 2 park tickets, however 1 park options are also available.
A little disclaimer: Ady has been to Disneyland Paris quite a few times.
Flossie.
I would have loved to have visited here - Especially because of the big toys you both cuddled with...☹️
Character Meets
There are many options to meet with Disney characters in both parks.
In our opinion, the first and most effective way to guarantee a meet with some characters is by booking the character breakfast at the Plaza gardens restaurant.
For us, the main perk of this was early access to the park (if you book breakfast for 8:15am), offering the chance of getting photos of the castle with a minimal amount of people in them (as not even hotel guests are allowed in until 8:30am).
This is of course an expensive perk - we paid 50€ per person for what is essentially (food-wise) a standard buffet breakfast (but personally we felt it was worth it)
We were fortunate enough to meet Pinocchio, Geppetto and Tigger. Captain Hook, Smee, Stitch and Piglet were on the other side of the restaurant, but the characters unfortunately didn't switch areas.
Another way to meet characters is by finding them dotted around the parks.
This is fairly easy as the majority of them are on the app. But also be aware that there are plenty of times where they are a surprise.
For instance we met Phantom Manor Mickey just outside the Phantom Manor ride. This wasn't on the app and that also meant the line wasn't that long.
At special times of the year or at special park events, there will be a lot more characters around.
We manged to meet Pluto, Phantom Manor Mickey, Jafar, Woody & Jesse just by finding them in the parks.
If you decide to do this be prepared to queue for a while (for us it was between 20 and 60 minutes per character).
The other options are by heading to the Princess Pavilion and Mickey Mouse Meet. Here you can expect to be in line for over an hour. This is because the characters spend a little bit more time interacting with you, for example Mickey flirted with Meg and didn't like Ady's t-shirt and Belle had a conversation with us about books.
The queue for the Mickey Mouse Meet didn't feel too bad as it was in a cinema showing cartoons. Admittedly the queue at Princess Pavillion did feel longer, but this was also indoors so people tended to sit in the corridors whilst they waited.
Although the character meets can eat into your time in the parks, we do believe that they are 100% worth it. We believe no matter how old you are, you will feel like a child again.
Attractions
There are so many good rides and attractions in Disneyland and luckily most things are included within your ticket. That said, our very first ride was actually a pay-for ride in the village area (which can be accessed without a ticket). This was the 'Air Balloon' ride and it gives you fantastic views over the whole site.
As we only had a couple of days and wanted to do as much as possible, we decided to purchase fast passes for the major rides.
The fast passes are incredibly expensive and you may (like us) find that they are not always needed (dependent on how busy the park is on that day). You buy these on a per-day basis and they are one use per person per ride.
We brought the fast passes for our second and final day in Disneyland. We were incredibly lucky that we didn't have to use our fast passes in the morning, as the park was quieter.
This gave us the opportunity to use them later in the day when the queues were longer.
We started in Discoveryland, doing 'Hyperspace Mountain', 'Star Tours' and 'Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast'.
We then headed to Fantasyland where we did 'It's a small world' and 'Alice's Curious Labyrinth'. Unfortunately 'Peter Pan's flight' was down for maintenance.
Adventureland was our next stop where we did 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. Unfortunately of all the times Ady has been to Disneyland Paris he has never been able to ride 'Indian Jones et le temple du péril', because it has always been down for maintenance.
We then moved on to the best land in the park (in our opinion), Frontierland, where we rode 'Big Thunder Mountain', 'Thunder Mesa River Cruise' & 'The Phantom Manor'.
At around midday we went into the Studios Park. This was to ride 'Crushes Coaster', 'Ratatouille - L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy', 'Avengers Assemble: Flight Force' and 'Cars Road Trip'.
There are of course many other rides in both parks (from walk throughs, small rides and thrill rides) so if you are lucky you may manage to fit in even more than we did!
Shows & Parades
The shows and parades are a real highlight and are a brilliant way to see all the characters in the parks in one place.
The show themes change quite often, for instance when we were there, there were several parade showings of the 'festival of colour' daily. These types of parades usually have a small amount of floats and usually involves either a show on the stage or in the plaza.
The Main parade has much bigger floats and will only run once a day. Each float is designated to different Disney themes. Such as the Lion King, Princesses, Peter Pan, Frozen, and many more.
There are plenty of other shows around the parks, in the theatres.
These change often and are usually themed to the events happening at the time.
Unfortunately due to lack of time we didn't manage to get to any of these shows.
And finally there is the closing ceremony.
The fireworks and projection on the castle is the highlight of all of the shows. Make sure you get there early to ensure a good viewing spot.
We arrived at our chosen spot about an hour and a half before the show started. We were by no means the first people there but were fortunate enough to find a spot with nobody in front of us.
Whilst we were there, there was a pre-illumination drone show called Disney electrical sky parade. This show was only 5 minutes long but was fascinating, with a style of early 90s technology. With the aid of drones, it told the story of how Disney used to be when Disneyland Paris was first built.
Following this, there was the main light show. It lasted for about half an hour and was breathtaking the whole way through.
When the closing ceremony finishes, there is then a mass exodus from the park. If you are planning to use public transport, allow plenty of time for this as the crowd does take a while to clear.
Easter Eggs
The last thing we need to tell you about Disney Land Paris is that it is certainly full of surprises. You absolutely must keep your eyes peeled for these less obvious pieces of Disney magic...
Under the castle is the sleeping dragon.
You can get to this from the left hand side before the drawbridge to the castle.
Also, beware of the Evil Queen - she is watching you!
Upstairs in the castle is a walk through of the story of sleeping beauty there is also a balcony looking out to the back of the castle.
Around the parks you can find statues of various characters, for example:
- Rex in Toy Story Land in the Studio park,
- Karl & Russel sitting on a dock in Adventureland in the Disney park,
- WallE & Eva are located near hyperspace mountain,
- Kaa & Zazu are located near Baloo and friends meet and greet.
There are also Mickey logos hidden all over the place - keep an eye out for things like bricks in a wall and hanging barrels on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
And don't be fooled into thinking the normal things going on around you are boring either - the cast members (the name given to anyone who works at Disneyland) are often up to something. The most notable of this is the cleaners. Watch them carefully. Sometimes they are 'painting' pictures onto the ground with water. But sometimes, they really are just cleaning 😂
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