French Road Trip - Part Two

So considering my best friend works at Disneyland and we could literally hear the show music from his house, we thought it'd be rude not to pay the Mouse a visit. We've all been to Disneyland lots of times before so weren't too worried that we only had a day to spend in the happiest place on earth, but that said there's still a tiny voice in the back of my head that was worried we'd miss stuff.






So, for those of you who don't know, Disneyland Paris is celebrating its 25th anniversary next year, and as such the park has spent the past couple of years in a permanent state of refurb. And that means lots of scaffolding and hoarding everywhere, and unfortunately for our trip a hefty amount of ride closures. Like I said, we've all been plenty so weren't missing anything we hadn't been on before, and I'm heading to Orlando in a month, so not the end of the world. Still, it's hard for me to not be slightly bummed out when Phantom Manor, Big Thunder Mountain AND Rock n Rollercoaster were all closed. Oh well, more time for faffing and taking photos, yay!







Although it's not my favourite Disney park (the title sits firmly with the original Disneyland over in California) there's no denying that Disneyland Paris is by far the most beautiful of the Disney parks, even with the hoarding and scaffolding everywhere! This visit was the first time I'd seen the park done up for Spring, so that meant lots of flowers everywhere and amazing Easter Egg versions of the characters. CUTE! We also managed to catch Goofy's Garden Party, which was SO much more amazing than I expected it to be! The costumes were incredible, totally Tokyo Disney levels of quirkiness - amazing. Has to be said though that Goofy was the standout of this one, he totally stole the show!






















After the parades we hopped over to the studios park - notorious for being one of the worst Disney parks in existence. I can see why, the layout is kind of awkward and on paper there isn't that much to do. That doesn't mean some incredible attractions don't live there, recently bolstered by the addition of Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalment Touquée de Rémy - an incredible dark ride themed to the Pixar film Ratatouille that uses trackless technology. I think this attraction is very impressive and absolutely perfect for the French parks.






We managed a couple of rides on my beloved Tower of Terror, both of which we managed to get in English because of the guys flirting with the bellhop. Hey, I'm not complaining! Of course, I do prefer the Orlando version (who doesn't) but that really doesn't stop this ride from being any less perfect. Literally my favourite thing ever, I adore it! Sad to see that Tower specific merch is harder and harder to come by nowadays, I remember there being stacks of the stuff before but now the exit gift shop seems mostly occupied with Nightmare Before Christmas bits. 17 year old me would have died, 25 year old me, not so much.


We grabbed a ride on the other coasters in the park and made sure we watched CinéMagique - a must-do for me whenever I visit Disneyland Paris. It's every cinephile's dream - a montage through film's most iconic moments with a dash of Disney magic. It really is great, and being one of the only 'unique to Paris' attractions I really would recommend experiencing it!

We grabbed a bite in the Rainforest Café and had a mooch around Disney Village before heading back into Disneyland Parc for some evening ambience and, of course, Disney Dreams! This is where knowing people who work there has its perks - we managed to nab a seat from the very place the show is projected from. In other words - the best seat in the house! I can't thank my friends enough for arranging this, is really was the cherry on top of an amazing if not knackering day!











So that was it for another cheeky visit to Disneyland Paris. This post is part two of a three part trip report. Click here to check out part one, or here to click though to part three!