Day Trip to Disneyland Paris

   

   In America, Disney is very popular, but so very expensive. Buying a park ticket, food, and souvenirs in one day could cost anywhere from $150- $200. Disney is one of the top family friendly destinations in the United States, but in France it is not as popular. In France, the family unit is not as strong and it is one of the few countries with a declining birth rate. Therefore, attendance at Disneyland Paris is very low and that means prices are low as well. A promotional ticket to Disneyland France is only 20 Euro and can be purchased at a travel agency in France. I was astounded by the price and how cheap the day was overall.

How to get there?

          Disney Land Paris is only one hour away from the center of Paris. The best part about it is that you can get there with just public transportation. Its simple: if starting at the city center (subway stop Chatelet) you can take the Paris RER, which is from New York is similar to the Long Island Railroad or Metro North and then get off at Parc Disneyland. A roundtrip train ticket is only 12 Euro. Once off the subway there is no further travel. The exit of the train station is shaped like a giant castle and you know you've arrived.

1 Day 2 Parks

         Most people do not have time to visit for 2 days in one trip, so I recommend buying a one day park hopper and seeing the best of both parks. We started the day off at the less popular park, Hollywood Studios.  I usually associate Disney World with people and lots of them. People who are getting in your way, rolling over your feet with babycarriages, my list could go on and on. It's very crowded.
           Disneyland Paris was a breath of fresh air in comparison. There were no lines for any ride in the entire park. We were able to ride the infamous "Hollywood Tower of Terror" 5 times in a row. Mind you this ride usually has an hour wait in the states. We were able to go on every ride in the park in under 3 hours. Then we went to the Magic Kingdom. The lines were very short in that park as well. All of the American favorites were there including, Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, and of course, the teacups! Some of the rides do have slight differences. For example, Space Mountain in the US is very dark, but its an easy roller coaster with no loops. (Motion sickness is not my friend) I was expecting the ride to be the same, so I didn't take the time to read the warning at the beginning of the line. In France, Space Mountain was full of loops and twists and turns. I was not a happy camper after that ride. As the day stretched on we decided to grab food for dinner.

        In France, most businesses do not stay open late at night. Most restaurants and stores do not say open as late as they would in the US. We live a world of 24 hour restaurants and stores they live in a world of the 9-5 business day. This especially became a problem when we got hungry at 7p.m. and there were no places to eat in the park. All of the restaurants and food carts were shut down for the night. I was hungry the rest of the night, so my tip for anyone traveling to the theme parks is to either eat dinner early or bring lots of snacks with you. We eventually found a McDonalds outside of the park that is open late.

         Another big difference I noticed was that the French do not have as much variety in foods as they do here. In Disney World you can basically find any type of food you want. The parks have a huge selection fried food, a bakery, chocolate shop, restaurants and buffets. In Paris, there was only one restaurant and if you wanted a snack all they sold was popcorn and candy apples. Going the entire day with out a Mickey Bar was disappointing. There were also a lack of souvenirs. Not seeing any Mickey Ears at Disney was strange.

           At the end of the night it was time for the fireworks, accompanied with a spectacular light show that was entirely in English. It was so nice to have those familiar memories of home at the end of a long day. Disney Land Paris is definitely a recommended day trip if visiting Paris.