Originally Posted By thenurmis A week to go, and i will be in DLP. I have been to Disney World, and Disneyland, so I am kinda , sorta intune as to whats going on, how ever I was wondering if there are any little tips ,or fav. spots , you "old pros" might share with a "newbe" , and his little girl. Only going to be there for three days, ( then its off to Paris) . so we had planned to hit "disneyland" for two days, and the rest in a day. Is this a fair mix?
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Have FUN! DLP is a BEAUTIFUL park! So much different than the other MK's. I think three days should be more than fine... the 'rest" of DLP is not much. The hotels are fairly well clustered together and easy to walk to. DtD is a bit of a disappointment, at least it was the second time I went. NO comment on the Studios... it wasn't finished the last time I visited. I'd strongly recommend the Buffalo Bill show. The food isn't great, but the show itself is! I'd also recommend a guided tour of DLP... just because it's always nice to chat with the guides. How little is your "little girl?"
Originally Posted By u k fan A guided tour is a great way to see the park and hear a few DLP stories - even if us Disney-ites usually know them already. I don't know the age of your little girl, but I wouldn't recommend the tour for anyone too young though as there is a lot of walking without much rest time and they may get bored with some of the facts and figures. I don't have much time now, but I would recommend Panoramagique on a clear afternoon. I did it in April and loved every second!!!
Originally Posted By thenurmis Sounds fun!! Dave and Steph have shared some photo's of their trip, and the park does look amazing. My little Holly Berry Bug isn't so little any more, she is 14 and near as tall as me. (Still and always be my "little" girl though) She is in Holland now (at a dance convention/seminar/show) She and her crew had dinner with the Canadian Ambassador to Holland yesterday, pretty cool eh?
Originally Posted By u k fan Sounds Cool! I'm at work at the moment (I completely forgot to add more last night!), so I'll have a think and try to post more suggestions later!!!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Short version: DLP is beautiful, although very neglected in many areas. Every attraction there is an improved, modern version of the stateside ones. The E-Tickets are especially incredible, although Space Mountain is VERY, VERY rough. You must spend time in the castle, it is a true attraction. Don't miss the surprise in the dungeon. The detailing is amazing throughout the park. Both live shows, Lion King and Tarzan Encounter, are can't misses. Food? eh ... I had some VERY bad experiences in this department at a few of the supposed best places on property, so I may not be the best to offer advice. I just don't think you should be served a steak someone else took a bite or two out of and returned to the kitchen. Disney Village is basically not much. A few Disney shops, Planet Hollywood, the WORST McDonald's I have eaten in on earth, Cafe Mickey's, a good-looking GErman restaurant that I wanted to check out but didn't have the time. As for the Studios park. It's worth four hours of your time. No more. Cinemagique is the only can't miss there, IMHO. Although I did enjoy their version of RnRC, it's still pretty much what you get in Florida minus the cheesy cardboard cutouts. I really liked the Studio 1 entrance area, but there's just not much to this park at all. Cast members, excepting managment which is abysmal, are really terrific. I went expecting French attitude and every front-line CM I dealt with was good to outstanding, although there is a problem with English with many of them (and that shouldn't be for a park whose second largest market is the UK). But they really were so friendly. Are you staying at a DLP hotel?
Originally Posted By u k fan Ok, where to start. I'm just gonna throw out random things as I think of them. Both of the shows above are excellent as is Cinemagique which really shouldn't be missed. Definitely explore Sleeping Beauty's Castle and the Nautilus in Discoveryland. My pick of the restaurants would be Walts in Main Street for Dinner, Plaza Gardens for a Character Breakfast. In the village I like Annette's and King Ludwigs (The German Restaurant). I don't eat too often at the hotels, but both the Hotel New York and the Sequoia are worth a look. Buffalo Bill's is a great show. It took me years to see it and it's not on my list of must-see's for every trip because if I'm honest I prefer to save the money to buy stuff to take home, but if you're not likely to be back soon you really should see it! Fast Food wise in DLP we like Fuento Del Oro in Frontierland or Pizzaria Belle Notte in Fantasyland. Colonel Hathi's is good too. Discoveryland is worst for food, by a long way. Since you don't have young'uns you can avoid the Pizza Planet. The food is so so at best, but kids love it so we always end up there! In the Studios I like the self serve place near RnRC, but I forget the name. Also in the Studios, Armageddon is unique to that park, but I find it slow to be honest. Animagique is also fun, but missable without kids! Spend some time getting lost in Adventureland - it's great fun! Buzz being the newest ride will still be mobbed. If it's a priority choose your time wisely. I think the WDS is a park that takes longer than 4 hours, but I understand where people are coming from on this. We've been known to be in the park all day and be running for a last chance ride on The Flying Carpets. If the shows are a priority then plan your day accordingly. The show schedule will already be online at the official site. What else, if you want to shop than there is often a good selection of sale items out and some sale items are only in a few shops so it's worth searching. There's a kiosk outside the park as you leave, I always look there before buying gifts! Also the shop just by the exit is good. Not Disney, but the Rainforest Cafe shop often has interesting and cheap gifts for sale. And if you need to buy an extra bag for all your goodies - that's the place to go! I know Davewasbaloo always has a good list of hidden gems and I'm sure he'll be around soon! Obviously you don't need me to tell you to make sure you hit all of the signature attractions! One of the best things about Disneyland Paris is that there is always somewhere nice to sit and people watch. There are little secluded corners in every land where you can sit and stare at something stunning. Sorry if I'm telling you to suck eggs with any of this. If I think of more I'll tell you. I can't wait to go, but my trip keeps getting postponed. I'm now on for July 28th so we'll see!!!
Originally Posted By thenurmis thanks it all sounds great. We have seen "Buzz" at both DW and DL so thats not too much of a big deal. I will be sure to injoy the castle, from all the photo's I have seen it sounds like a good place to waste some time. We are not at a resort Hotel, but very close by at the Kyriad. Not quite walking distance, but eh it looks nice. Only have 4 more sleeps, and three more days at work befor the trip.....starting to feel the buzzzz : ) thanks again for the feed back
Originally Posted By smedley If you're staying at the Kyriad then I have one piece of advice to add to UK Fan's above. Please make sure you catch the earliest bus you can across to the parks, this may seem odd if the parks aren't opening till later, but the buses become *extremely* busy around opening time, and on our last visit we ended up having to wait an hour for a bus (snow issues), better to be there early and wander around the fantasia gardens in front of the park (very pretty) or the entrance area to the disneyland hotel (also pretty) than spend the time toe tapping outside your hotel lol! If you have a little time it's also nice to wander around some of the hotel's, as mentioned they're all within a short walk of the parks, and worth a look.
Originally Posted By thenurmis If we were to walk one day ( from the Kyriad, to the park) any idea how long it might take?
Originally Posted By Ursula I am no help but I am so jealous!!! I hope you have the best trip ever and I can't wait to read your trip report upon your return! Kiss the family for me!!!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Hi folks, Sorry about the lack of input, I have been away at a conference. I wouldn't recommend walking from the Kyriad at all. Although DLP is not as big as WDW, it's much bigger than DL. The Kyriad to the parks would probably take 40 minutes walking at leisure, 30 at a fast pace. To help to visualise, it would be like walking from the Tower of Tower at MGM to Spaceship Earth at Epcot. Through the Disney hotels, it's a nice stroll, but there are fields between the Disney Hotels and the partner hotels.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Do not mis items for a DL/WDW vet - DLP: Lunch at Walt's - you'll love the imagineering artwork and the food is excellent. May I recommend a nice bottle of Beaujoulais with your lunch. Red Wine on Main Street? Fantastic. Phantom Manor - some people prefer it to the American parks, others hate it. Personally I love this version. The orchestrial score, Vincent Price's laugh and remenants of ideas from Marc Davis' Western River Expodition - I love it. Big Thunder is the best version of the three Western resorts IMHO, but this gets very long lines, the longest in the parks. Tarzan La Recontre - this is a fantastic stage show - do not confuse it with that thing that used to play in DAK. This has music in French, German, Spanish, Italian and English all sung by Phil Collins. The acrobatics are excellent, and the airial ballet always brings a tear to my eye, a hug to my kids and a kiss to my wife. Pure magic.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo In Adventureland: Do not miss PotC. Many consider this to be the best version in the world. I personally am undecided as I have a real soft spot for the DL version. However, it has the best queue and some really cool differences. The AA's are top notch! Explore Adventurer's Island for a while, this is very cool too! Indy is here, but it is a painful coaster for many. It does have the stature of being Disney's 1st looped coaster, but I would only bother if you are a coaster maniac or it's a walk on. The Blue Lagoon restaurant is here in PotC. It is not the Blue Bayou!!!! The food is often sub par, as is the service in my experience, but the seating is lovely.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<Big Thunder is the best version of the three Western resorts>> It's the best BTMRR period, and I don't even think that's an opinion, it's just plain fact. Let us not leave out Space Mountain either. While I hear that the new version isn't as good as the former, it's still VERY different than the other three, and worth a ride or three.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Oh, there is an Aladdin walk through in the Bazaar at AL, on a similar scale to the old Sleeping Beauty diorama at DL. Cute, go if you have time, but don't worry if you miss it. Fantasyland: Do not miss the Castle Gallery and Le Tanier du Dragon. These are the key reason why Le Chataeu de la Belle au Bois Dormant is my fav castle. The dark rides are almost identical to DL's so go if you have time. Peter Pan often has 1 hour waits however, so skip if time is short. Dumbo and Carousel are more or less the same as in CA - prettier horses however. The Tea cups do not have restrictions on the spinning speed, so they do move a little faster than DL's like in the old days. However, waits can be long. Alice's Curious Labrynth is worth about 20 mins explore. It's not amazing, but it is nice and unique to DLP. IASW - this is my fav version by far and must not be missed. Casey Jr is similar to Dl's, but it has the distinction of being Disney's first roller coaster (it's not hast, but it is a power coaster track and engine) to have synchronised interior soundtrack. Not amazing though. And the DLP on the Storybookland canal boats uses music instead of narration, and it is quite different to DL's - no Monstro the Whale here. There are some very nice scenes though, so if you have time, it's nice, but you can miss it if short. The nice restaurant here is the Auberge de Cindrillon (Cinderella's Inn). It is a French Restaurant and the Cast are in 18th Century costume. The food is ok, and the White Chocolate Slipper is a gorgeous to look at dessert. The 5 times we have eaten here, we have often had poor service though.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo "Let us not leave out Space Mountain either. While I hear that the new version isn't as good as the former, it's still VERY different than the other three, and worth a ride or three. " I'm getting to that - Discoveryland next...
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo This is my favorite "Tomorrowland" of all the resorts. Buzz is very similar to DL's version, so it is good, but you know what to expect. The don't misses here are Space Mountain, the Nautilis and the Lion King Show in the Videopolis theatre.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Space Mountain was Disney's first launch coaster and the first version was a work of art. However, this version is also excellent. It's Disney's only Space Mountain to feature inversions. The effects are quite good, and although I prefer the original version's music, this version has adrenilin pumping sounds. It has become a little rough over the years, so I find the smoother towards the back and later in the day once she's warmed up.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo The Lion King Stage show is excellent as well. Most of the cast have appeared in the West End show in London, and it has some great effects. Again, this blows most of the US stage shows out of the water. You do need to queue up for tickets a couple of hours in advance though (usually around 11:00) and shows are in either French or English, but both are enjoyable. It is mostly a musical and the songs are in English. Therefore, if you don't speak French and are having trouble getting tickets for the english version, it's still worth seeing it in French.
