Originally Posted By dagobert Yesterday we returned from our trip to Disneyland Paris. First of all, we had a fantastic time at DLP. Earlier this year we have been to WDW and now I can compare both resorts even better. I will write an extensive trip report on my blog, but I will share some thoughts here too. We didn't stay on property, because getting an Annual Pass and and staying off site is cheaper than booking a Disney package. Like in recent years we stayed at the Relais Spa Chessy. The hotel is in Val D'Europe, just one station away from DLP on the RER line A. However the hotel offers a free shuttle service to the parks and that was great. DLP compared to WDW Of course WDW is much bigger and offers a lot more, but I still prefer DLP. Everything is in walking distance and you don't have to rely on the bus system. The Disneyland park is superior to the Magic Kingdom. The moment you step on Main Street you realize how beautiful that park is. I hate to say that, but the MK will never be on the same level. The attractions in DLP are also better than in Florida, but DLP is a lot younger. WDSP isn't as beautiful as DHS, but I enjoy that park a lot more. There's more to do in Paris now than in DHS. But that will change in a few years again. I'm also sorry to say that, but DLP is also far more enjoyable than WDW, because there are far less strollers and electric wheel chairs that block the ways or don't run over your feet. Maintenance DLP ist still not perfect, but it has improved in recent years. Main Street has never looked better. Fresh colours everywhere. The castle looks stunning and maintenance projects are happening throughout the parks. WDW is still better maintained, but it's not as bad as some Disney fans claim it to be. It might not be on the same level as Disneyland in Anaheim and I'm sure it's far away from Tokyo, but it's definitely on par with WDW. Food As you might know, my wife is vegan and I'm a vegetarian. DLP is far from WDW's level when it comes to catering vegetarians. WDW even offers vegan burgers and other vegan options, while at DLP you only get salads and fries. The only good option for us was the Agrabah Cafe. And like in recent years we ate there twice. And like always the oriental inspired food was very good. Smoking and Guest Behaviour DLP has introduced smoking areas and more and more guests are using them, but there are still many people smoking in other areas. However DLP's CMs are advising the guests to use these designated areas. I don't mind smoking in open spaces, but I live in Europe where smoking is still very common. I guess different cultures, different views on certain things. Guest behaviour in general wasn't that different to WDW. Merchandise The merchandise improved compared to recent years. DLP offers a broader variety and not every shop offers the same stuff. We had to look around to get our merchandise. Cast Members Recruiting CMs all over Europe helps a lt. There is a bigger diversity and communicating isn't a problem. It never was for us, because we can speak English and some basic French. Ratatouille Ratatouille was the only new attraction since our last visit. What a great ride. It's a wonderful 3D video screen dark ride, but it's so much more entertaining than Universal's Transformers. Maybe I got that impression, because I don't like the Transformers franchise at all, while Ratatouille is among my favourite Pixar movies. It's a great addition to WDSP and a lovely area in a not so beautiful park. Disney Dreams & Parades Disney Dreams is fantastic. I have seen it three times now and I still love it. Best nighttime show ever. We watched the parade only once, because it didn't change that much since 2008. It's still nice, but we aren't the biggest parade fans. HalLOLween It was the first time that we have been to DLP during Halloween time. Halloween isn't such a big thing in Europe, but the decorations looked cool, especially on Main Street and in Frontierland. Attractions DLP is home to some great rides, like Space Mountain. I love that ride. It's intense, it's thrilling and so much better than WDW's SM. BTMRR is also a classic and being out on an island adds a lot to its experience. Another win for DLP over WDW. PM/HM is also among our favourites and here WDW wins in terms of effects. The ride itself with its ending is cooler in Paris. POTC is a lot better in Paris, but only because of the more logic story. And it still doesn't feature Jack Sparrow. Unfortunately that's going to change next year. Indiana Jones is a small but fun coaster. Star Tours is more entertaining in Florida, but I'm glad DLP will also get the new version soon. However I'm going to miss the original version. I lump all Fantasyland attractions together and with its overall look, DLP's Fantasyland is so beautiful that even the new Fantasyland can't match it. Rock'n'Roller Coaster is identical to WDW, but the theming is different. I like both rides, while I lean a little bit more towards Florida's version. TOT is better in Paris, but only because of the cool mirror effect. The setting is superior in Orlando. Animagique is closing next years and I'm glad we saw it one last time. It's a cute black light show and I will miss it. Cinemagique is just fantastic and one of Disney's best shows/attractions ever. Overall we had such a great time the last days in Paris and since we got an Annual Pass, we will return next year. Once again I got the confirmation that DLP is my favourite Disney resort. Maybe it's a cultural thing that I don't mind things like smoking or getting alcohol in the MK park that annoy American visitors. Also DL's beauty is so outstanding that I overlook small maintenance problems. I stopped looking at the things that don't work, because this behaviour ruined Disney trips for me already. Maybe that makes me a bad Disney fan, but honestly I don't care anymore, because it's not as bad as some fans claim it to be. I'm going to Disney to have a great time and not to complain all the time. Maybe Disney was better many years ago, but maybe that's only a glorifyed past. I don't know. However I can say that DLP isn't worse than WDW. As I said before, I even prefer it. Now I'm looking foward to see Disneyland in Anaheim next year. We just booked our flights and in June we will be in California. Can't wait!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Sounds like a nice trip! With anything, if you can overlook the negatives it's pretty easy to have a good time. I'm glad to hear that things seem to be heading in the right direction overall I'm still surprised that DLP doesn't offer better/more vegetarian options. I can understand the vegan choices being limited, but vegetarians are pretty common (at least in the US). The US parks are known for bending over backwards to accommodate dietary restrictions, so it seems strange that they're so limited in France
Originally Posted By LuvsDsnyTrips Can't wait to see how you like Anaheim (which I adore!)....glad your recent trip was great!
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>With anything, if you can overlook the negatives it's pretty easy to have a good time. I'm glad to hear that things seem to be heading in the right direction overall<<< That's true. If I overlook things, than it's easier to have a great time. In 2010 it was the other way. I was more invested in Disney fan boards and our trip to DLP that year wasn't so good, because I only focused on things that didn't work. That ruined the trip and resulted in a three year hiatus of going to DLP. With a fresh start I decided not to do that anymore. I don't care if fans have issues with DLP. No one is forced to go there. Luckily things changed since then and DLP improved maintenance a lot. While I think DLP improved in recent years, WDW declined since 2008 (our first visit to WDW). What I want to say is, that DLP is underrated and WDW is overrated. Both resorts are fine. Next year will be tough for visiting because many attractions are closed and a lot of refurbishments will be going on, since DLP is getting ready for 2017. There they are going to celebrate the 25th Anniversary. >>>I'm still surprised that DLP doesn't offer better/more vegetarian options. I can understand the vegan choices being limited, but vegetarians are pretty common (at least in the US). The US parks are known for bending over backwards to accommodate dietary restrictions, so it seems strange that they're so limited in France<<< The reason is the country. Even the themeparks in Germany are much more vegetarian and even vegan friendly. While the overall food situation improved according to "normal" eaters, the veggie options stayed the same. When you know what to expect, then it's fine and we knew what to expect, so we were fine with Agrabah Cafe and the salads. By the way the salads are surprisingly good and big. It's the same with DLP in general. When you set your expectations accordingly, you will have a wonderful time there. Like I said in my first post, I know DLP isn't perfect, but focusing on the good things helps a lot for having a great vacation.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>Can't wait to see how you like Anaheim (which I adore!)....glad your recent trip was great!<<< I'm so looking forward to see Anaheim. I'm pretty sure that we will like it a lot, I mean it's the original park. Surprisingly I'm more interested in DCA than in DL. I can't wait to ride Indy, but DCA has more new experiences. Of course we will try to do all big attractions at DL too, but if I miss POTC or the HM, I wouldn't mind it that much. Indy, Carsland or California Screamin' are higher on the list. In DL I'm the most excited just to be in the original park and to experience that special feeling. I don't know if that makes sense, but just being in Walt's park is special enough.
Originally Posted By dagobert Here's day one of our trip. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://reisewarnung.blogspot.com/2015/10/disneyland-paris-2015-part-1.html">http://reisewarnung.blogspot.c...t-1.html</a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Looks like a really nice hotel! I'm always (pleasantly) surprised by the affordability of nice hotels in Val d'Europe. Compared to the DLP hotels, it seems like you can get a lot nicer accommodations for a much lower price It also looks like you have a really nice camera! The light balance in those photos (particularly in the hotel) is fantastic!
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>Looks like a really nice hotel! I'm always (pleasantly) surprised by the affordability of nice hotels in Val d'Europe. Compared to the DLP hotels, it seems like you can get a lot nicer accommodations for a much lower price<<< It is a nice hotel. We stayed there for the third time and now they even offer a free shuttle service. You have to book in advance to get good rates and you can't cancel. At the moment you booked, you have to pay. That's the only negativity. >>>It also looks like you have a really nice camera! The light balance in those photos (particularly in the hotel) is fantastic!<<< I don't have a very special camera. I use a Sony Alpha 200 DSLR with a regular Tamron lense. The camera is six years old and was the beginners model in Sony's range. Canon and Nikon were too expensive back then for me. For me the camera is fine. I don't need a better one. However ACDsee helps a lot to improve the pictures. They are still not perfect, but I'm only making pictures just for fun.
Originally Posted By dagobert Here's part two. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://reisewarnung.blogspot.com/2015/10/disneyland-paris-2015-part-2.html">http://reisewarnung.blogspot.c...t-2.html</a>
Originally Posted By dagobert And here's part three. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://reisewarnung.blogspot.com/2015/10/disneyland-paris-2015-part-3.html">http://reisewarnung.blogspot.c...t-3.html</a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Your photos of the parks on cloudy days really show how well the designers chose the colors for everything. Even though it should be a bleak looking day, everything still looks bright and vibrant It's funny to see Elsa in the parade wearing a cold weather version of her dress. I thought the cold never bothered her anyway! : ) Does DLP keep more restaurants open now? When I visited a couple years ago, both Bella Notte and Colonel Hathi's were closed during my visit (and I think Hakuna Matata was also). It's nice to see that they're at least using their options to give guests some choices
Originally Posted By dagobert Yes they are keeping more restaurants open. At least I got that impression compared to recent years. I think it was already that way last year. There are now lists throughout the parks to see what restaurants are open.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros The lists would have been really helpful! It was frustrating to try to get food at a certain location, but not know that it was closed until I got there. Especially after around 6pm it got really difficult to find anything open, which was odd considering that the park was open until 10pm for Disney Dreams. Sounds like they've figured out a better system now!
Originally Posted By dagobert They also stopped the stupid system with closing attraction before park closing or opening attractions later in the day. I think it least one restaurant in each land was open late, while others closed earlier. But there was never a problem to find a restaurant. The lines weren't long either. Of course we had to wait a couple of minutes, but that's fine. They have these video screens now that show pictures of the food and change the languages every other minute. They also handing out menus when entering the restaurant so that people know what they want when ordering. However keep in mind that we went during off season. So during high season there could still be longer wait times.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>It's funny to see Elsa in the parade wearing a cold weather version of her dress. I thought the cold never bothered her anyway! : )<<< LOL
Originally Posted By LuvsDsnyTrips Your pictures are reminding me that I missed quite a bit while there in August..... I loved Crush's Coasters and would love to see that come to DL Anaheim
Originally Posted By dagobert Here's part four of the TR. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://reisewarnung.blogspot.com/2015/10/disneyland-paris-2015-part-4.html">http://reisewarnung.blogspot.c...t-4.html</a> And here's the last part <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://reisewarnung.blogspot.com/2015/10/disneyland-paris-2015-part-5.html">http://reisewarnung.blogspot.c...t-5.html</a>
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>I loved Crush's Coasters and would love to see that come to DL Anaheim<<< We love it too. It's a fun little coaster.
Originally Posted By u k fan dagobert, I haven't had a chance to read all of your blog posts yet, but I'm glad you had a good time. It is true that as Disney fans we can visit the parks looking for all the things that are wrong, but it doesn't make for a fun trip. It's good to see that people are using the smoking areas. I'm not massively offended by smoking outdoors, but it's good to see people following the rules. I'm off to Anaheim next February so I'll make sure I bring back lots of tips and advice!!!
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>I'm not massively offended by smoking outdoors, but it's good to see people following the rules. <<< Me neither, but I prefer the guests to use the smoking areas. I hope that during high season people do the same. During off season visitors are also behaving. >>> I'm off to Anaheim next February so I'll make sure I bring back lots of tips and advice!!!<<< Can't wait to read about your experiences. We will be there in June.
