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Do you know there are a dozen Disney theme parks on the planet?
That’s not together with two water parks too.
Thus far, our youngsters have been to 5 and I’m on a mission to go to all 14.
Heath and I love Disney. Throughout our honeymoon, we made certain to get pleasure from every week hopping round Disney World in Florida.
We love a superb theme park generally, however Disney simply does it higher. Each element is magical. Throughout that first journey to Disney collectively, Heath and I talked about returning with our youngsters sooner or later. Then, in December with our one-month-old son, we hopped on a flight to get pleasure from a spontaneous Disney journey as our Christmas current to the youngsters.
Nicely, actually to Ellie. Eli simply slept loads.
We spent three days exploring Magic Kindom, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom. Our daughter, two-and-a-half on the time, was mesmerized. For months afterward, each evening at dinner she instructed us about going to Disney World and seeing “Mickey Mouse’s home.”
It was her reminiscence of the parks—”Bear in mind the opposite day after I met Snow White?”—that impressed the aim. We’re going to go to each Disney Park collectively.
Listed below are the parks:
- Disney World Resort in Florida (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kindom, Hollywood Studios, Hurricane Lagoon, Blizzard Seaside)
- Disneyland Resort in California (Disneyland, Disney California Journey)
- Disneyland Paris (Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney Studios Park)
- Hong Kong Disneyland
- Shanghai Disneyland
- Tokyo DisneySea
As a household, we’ve visited 3/6 of the Florida parks and the 2 parks in Paris. I really feel like most individuals I do know have visited Disney World or Disneyland in some unspecified time in the future of their lives, so on this weblog, I wish to share what to find out about Disneyland Paris earlier than you go to.
What’s Completely different About Disneyland Paris
The very first thing you have to find out about Disneyland Paris is that it’s really two parks: Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios Park.
Not like Florida, the parks are straight subsequent to one another and linked to Disney Village, which is like Downtown Disney or Disney Springs with eating places and buying. Along with the parks being linked, a lot of the Disney accommodations are additionally linked to the parks by strolling paths. You undergo safety once you enter the Disney Village space so that you don’t find yourself in lengthy traces on the gates.
We stayed on the Resort Santa Fe and walked to Disney Village to seize meals and walked to the parks. We rented a stroller for our day within the parks and will take all of it the way in which again to our resort room! The whole lot was so shut and handy.
This is likely one of the largest variations between Disneyworld and certainly one of my favourite issues!
Trams and buses make park hopping potential within the US, but it surely’s possibly a two-minute stroll from gate to gate between the 2 parks in Paris. The accessibility made all the pieces in regards to the day simpler. We loved Walt Disney Studios Park from 8-12, caught the 12:15 parade at Disneyland, walked again to our resort room for the youngsters to nap, and spent the afternoon and night at Disneyland. We have been somewhat apprehensive that we wouldn’t be capable of slot in each parks in sooner or later, however we simply did. Particularly with Magic Hour.
Magic Hour (Is 100% Price It with Little Youngsters)
Between 8-9 AM, Disney Parks are open for Magic Hour. You possibly can solely get magic hour entry in the event you keep at a Disney resort, which could be expensive. Throughout our Christmas go to, we waffled forwards and backwards on if the added expense of a Disney resort could be value it. We opted for an area resort which was 10-minutes away…plus insane site visitors, parking prices, shuttling from the car parking zone and/or getting in your 10,000 steps earlier than you even enter the parks…
We regretted it.
Plus with little youngsters who require a number of naps a day, it will’ve been very nice to take a siesta in a resort room.
With Disneyland Paris, we weren’t going to make that mistake once more. We booked Resort Santa Fe final minute on Expedia after we reserved our tickets for each parks in a single day.
We determined to begin with Walt Disney Studios because it had extra rides that the youngsters might trip. (Be aware: determine your youngsters’ heights in centimeters earlier than you go!)
We rode 4 rides earlier than the park even formally opened!
I’m undecided what number of rides we rode throughout the remainder of the day, however we walked straight onto a number of rides and it made the day begin on such a magical word. We additionally visited in mid-June and the park was by no means too loopy with crowds.
Staying at a Disney Resort
We positively ended up within the price range motel and didn’t notice it. As a result of we booked all the pieces final minute, we had two choices: keep on the Disney Resort New York (also called the Artwork of Marvel) for $1,500/evening or keep on the Disney Resort Santa Fe for $250/evening.
Simple alternative!
The resort was simply okay. It was your common resort room, but it surely did have two beds, room for a crib, and a tub which we hadn’t seen in lots of different accommodations in European cities. There was a buffet-style restaurant with Tex-Mex meals in addition to a Starbucks, however with a simple stroll to Disney Village. (We normally walked to the village for meals.)
We toured a few the opposite accommodations which supplied character greetings and a number of eating places. If we return to Disneyland Paris, I’d (for starters, plan issues greater than 24 hours upfront) positively e-book a special resort. The Sequoia and New York accommodations have been each attractive. The reward store in Sequoia even had a desk with coloring pages and markers for teenagers to paint whereas mother and father shopped which was a small, however much-appreciated contact. The New York resort (which was just lately renovated) provides a number of eating places and is closest to the Disney Village entrance.
And, in the event you’re a Marvel fan, the New York resort will simply blow your thoughts.
Attending to the Parks & Park Hopping
I booked our one evening in Paris close to the prepare station so we might simply stroll to the station and trip out to Chessy, the place Disneyland is. Disney has its personal prepare station that stops proper exterior Disney Village. It’s really nearer than the parking tons!
Once we checked out of our resort within the metropolis, the entrance desk clerk requested the place we have been heading and if we would have liked assist with our travels. We instructed him we have been heading to Disneyland and taking the prepare. He instantly mentioned, “Oh no. Don’t do this.”
The prepare would take about the identical time as a automotive and be somewhat cheaper. However, he defined, there are numerous stairs within the prepare station. With two suitcases and two youngsters, he instructed us to seize an Uber as a substitute. We didn’t journey with a automotive seat, so I didn’t significantly like this as an possibility for security, however we had already tried to navigate a Parisian prepare station with our suitcases and it was a nightmare.
We took an Uber straight to the entrance desk of our resort and it was quick and straightforward. So when you can simply take the prepare after which take a Disney shuttle (or stroll) to your resort, a automotive could also be simpler in the event you’ve obtained a number of baggage.
The shuttle buses to every resort are proper subsequent to the prepare station. Busses got here by each 10-ish minutes which meant it was really quicker to stroll straight to our resort ourselves, however generally we simply wanted to save lots of our ft and shuttle again!
Once we first arrived and walked round Disney Village, we wished to take a shuttle again to the resort. We began strolling within the course somebody suggested us to catch the shuttle bus, however missed the signal, obtained misplaced, and ended up strolling allllllllll the way in which to the parking tons. The parking tons have been so. far. away. For those who can, arriving by prepare or staying at Disney will prevent a number of thousand steps!
Disneylands are all Carbon-Copies
There are six “citadel parks” around the globe and these parks are all comfortingly comparable. Since we simply go to the Magic Kingdom in December, the rides and map of the park have been recent in our minds. I used to be shocked at simply how a lot of the Paris park was precisely like Magic Kingdom! You’ve obtained Primary Avenue full of retailers main you to the citadel, Fantasyland straight by the citadel, Frontierland and Adventureland on the left. And off to the fitting is Discoveryland which has Buzz Lightyear and different rides identical to Tomorrowland in Orlando.
I’ve gone forwards and backwards, however I feel I actually like this. There are sufficient totally different rides to make it attention-grabbing (like Alice’s Curious Labyrinth and Snow White’s mine automotive) and sufficient acquainted rides just like the Haunted Mansion and carousel that you simply really feel like your manner round.
One particular distinction that I cherished in Paris was the element inside the citadel. You possibly can go below the citadel and see a dragon (which terrified Ellie!) and stroll upstairs contained in the citadel and discover. Plus there’s a retailer inside that sells Christmas ornaments, so we purchased a pair for our Christmas tree this yr.
Disneyland Paris is…Smaller?
As we walked across the parks, regardless of the same layouts and rides, I swore Disneyland Paris was smaller than Magic Kingdom. I couldn’t put my finger on it since so many rides are the identical, however as we walked round, it felt a lot smaller!
In line with Google, that is true. Disneyland is somewhat smaller than Magic Kingdom, and Walt Disney Studios park is likely one of the smallest theme parks at solely 62 acres in measurement. Regardless that we rode a bunch of rides at Disney Studios, it’s a comparatively tiny park and straightforward to navigate.
However as a result of each parks are so small, it was very doable to get pleasure from each parks in a single day.
One of the best Disneyland Paris park for toddlers: Walt Disney Studios
The web instructed us to skip Walt Disney Studios as a result of there wasn’t a lot for toddlers…
BAD ADVICE INTERNET.
Ellie rode each trip besides for 2—Crush’s Coaster and Tower of Terror. And since we did have magic hour, we rode all the rides earlier than midday. Ellie even rode the parachute drop:
I used to be terrified and clutching her so she wouldn’t fall out. She was loving it!
Ellie was 90 centimeters once we visited. Many Disney rides don’t have any peak requirement, which implies you’ll be able to deliver or put on infants on the trip. We wore Eli on most rides in Florida. Nonetheless in Paris, lots of the rides had no peak requirement however had an age requirement of 12 months. So Eli missed out on using a number of rides…not that he seen.
Renting a Stroller
The strollers at Disney World in Florida are horrible. Clunky, onerous to maneuver, onerous plastic. It was a battle getting our daughter to sit down in it. I assumed Paris’ wouldn’t be a lot better and didn’t plan on renting one for the day.
However we have been so glad we did!
Our three-year-old rode in all of it day and when she rode rides, our seven-month-old sat in it. With the ability to match each ages alone was a win! The black strollers had a sturdy material seat and a steel step on the entrance (or presumably a foot relaxation for taller youngsters) making it simple for our three-year-old to climb out and in herself. The strollers have been simple to maneuver and had hooks on the again the place we hung our diaper bag.
The one con was leaving the parks with the stroller. I discussed earlier you can take your rented stroller from park to park and even all the way in which to your resort—which was superb. Nonetheless, you want your receipt to get out of every park. Somebody promptly threw away the receipt after being instructed to carry onto it, so each time we left a park all day this turned an enormous headache. We even obtained a receipt re-printed…which somebody then instantly misplaced once more. Lesson discovered: put the receipt within the pouch on the stroller that has your identify on it so you’ll be able to’t lose it!
Traces & Wait Instances
Get the park app. Your life turns into superb.
Disney parks now have apps that inform you (pretty) up-to-date wait occasions in addition to when rides are quickly closed. Our longest wait was “55 minutes” on the app and on the signal on the trip, however in actuality, we made it onto Ratatouille’s Journey in about half-hour. (That’s one factor I’ve seen at each Disney park. Most wait occasions are literally quicker than the listed time!)
With Paris, the app is much more useful as a result of rides open and shut at bizarre occasions. For instance, Magic Hour could begin at 8:00 AM, however the Slinky Canine trip opens at 8:27 AM. Buzz Lightyear at 8:42 AM. The Vehicles trip at 9:15. And so forth. Most rides are open for a lot of the day, however some open later, and lots of shut at nightfall. Pay shut consideration to this once you begin planning your day.
Much more vital to notice is which eating places are open. Once we desperately wanted lunch, it was 2:30 PM and all the pieces was closed! We needed to hunt for some time to seek out an open restaurant. Plan forward, in the event you can, and know which consuming areas can be open all day.
Language Barrier (There isn’t one)
Excellent news for apprehensive vacationers, actually each worker spoke English. From the wait employees to stroller leases to ticket takers to trip employees. In terms of touring with little youngsters when your mind is already overloaded with discovering a altering desk for diapers and snacks and ensuring your youngsters aren’t operating away or consuming rocks, it’s good to have the ability to perceive the workers.
Disneyland Paris: Would go to once more.
We’re suckers for Disney and would completely return to Disneyland Paris. The one factor I’d do in a different way is to remain on the Marvel resort because it’s closest to the park entrance. (Okay superb we’re additionally superhero obsessed!)
Have you ever been to Disneyland Paris? What did you assume?