We followed Mickey's ears through the Paris metro until the end of the line of the RER A, Marne la Vallée. About an hour after leaving our hotel we were at Disney Village.
Kimmie's travels didn't start with cute Mickey ears, she was much too far away for that. From Geneva to Disneyland Paris it is a four hour train ride. She left after 5:00am (and returned around midnight!). Even an employee on the train checking tickets was making comments about her trip. She didn't get into with him but Kimmie has just been once, and wasn't able to ride more than three baby rides, so she was excited about exploring more, and spending time with us (sans child).
Who is excited about the World Cup Semi Finals?!
France!
Our plan is to get home before the end of the game. We learned our lesson in Colmar.
Always base your France travels on sports fanatics.
Disneyland Paris opened in 1992 and is the most popular theme park in Europe. It attracts 13 million visitors per year. Disneyland CA receives five million more customers than that per year, which works out to about 14,000 more customers a day.
Isn't math fun?!
We LOVE Disneyland Paris. You don't have the crowds, or the long lines.
But you have to go expecting everything to be on a smaller scale.
What's great is that the general set up is similar to Disneyland; you walk down Main Street straight to the castle, Frontierland is on your left, Fantasyland is on your right. Not all of the "lands" are there, nor the rides within the lands, but it makes it a bit easier to get around.
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."
-Walt Disney
This is taken from inside Sleeping Beauty's castle.
Our first ride was Pirates of the Caribbean.
It was very similar to California (without the banjo player on the porch, but with French speaking pirates!)
I couldn't ride on most of the rides so Kimmie and Eric gave me the rundown upon their return.
Indiana Jones is an outdoor roller coaster, that has no connection whatsoever to the film. It is like Goofy Sky School but bigger and faster.
Bon voyage!
The Haunted Mansion is currently being renovated, but there is always next time...
Skull Rock in Adventure Isle.
For the record, a floating pineapple whip is NOTHING like a Dole whip.
It was pretty disappointing.
Hyperspace Mountain was a fan favorite of the two.
You start outside and get launched inside, where you are met with barrel rolls and full loops, in the dark. They said it was EPIC.
Closing one eye and having a lot of determination really pays off.
Thunder Mountain was also impressed both Kimmie and Eric.
Just like Space Mountain, it was much more extreme.
Eric liked both rides here more than in California.
I am so glad that Kimmie came, or Eric would have felt way too guilty to ditch me.
Each time they came back from a ride I would ask, "could I have gone?" and they would both yell, "no!" Next time...
Autopia- I probably shouldn't have ridden this one. It was a lot more whiplashy than I was expecting. You can't really steer the cars, they just bang into the track, back and forth, the entire time.
Pinnochio Village really does look like a lot of places we have visited on this trip.
Les Voyages de Pinocchio wasn't a long wait to get on, but the total ride time seemed a lot shorter than at Disneyland in CA, and the ride was so fast that it missed the hole story.
Peter Pan was even worse, or maybe we were partially disappointed after spending more time in line at this ride than any other. Much like at the original Disneyland... it was over an hour wait!
This picture of Main Street, hours before they closed, accurately depicts the crowds.
I know most people wouldn't get this, but Disney Village has the best cotton candy.
We got home in time to watch the end of the game at the hotel, followed by partying in the streets. We went outside and, not too far from our hotel, found this revelry.
This street was not supposed to be closed, it was a decision made by football fans.
One person's idea of insanity is another person's normal.
Oh Brady, I had been waiting for this post. I am beyond JEALOUS. I am so happy you had a perfect day at this Disney Park. I loved all the comparisons. You really make me want to go. Wow. So very, very cool.
ReplyDeleteI love all the photo ops and the fact that Kimmie met you there. I didn't see any characters. We're there some?
I thoroughly enjoyed the two imbedded videos. What craziness.
You're trip was AMAZING. What a honeymoon to beat all honeymoons. WOW.
It has been a fabulous honeymoon!
ReplyDeleteNow that we have been to Disneyland Paris we definitely want to check out all of the Disney Parks!
I think there were a few characters, but I don't remember who. They weren't as prevalent, that is for sure.
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