A Review of Disney Paris in the (so-called) off season

First, tour guides will tell you that Disney Paris is always packed, and there's never an off season. We visited France's Happiest Place on Earth on a Friday in September, so we were bracing for some really long lines, heavy crowds, etc. We were pleasantly surprised. Here are a few highlights:

1) Lines were easy, and even non-existent at some rides. There were  a few sets of lines in the smaller Hollywood Studios, but for the most part, we walked on nearly every ride in less than 10-15 minutes. That doesn't even happen with a Fast Pass in the U.S. anymore!

2) Some things are VERY Parisian. For example, the Autopia ride was almost an exact copy of driving in Paris. Backed-up, bumper-to-bumper traffic after only a short minute or two of free lanes (no joke, I had to get a picture to prove it!) We sat in Disney traffic for 5 minutes of the 6 minute ride! When we got off, I complained, and the ride operators said: "Do you want to go again?" Sit in traffic again? no thanks.

3) Many of the rides are better. Space Mountain is an obvious upgrade to the Cali and Flori fare. The Indiana Jones ride was a basic roller coaster in the same vein as the Mullholland Madness ride at California Adventure. Buzz Lightyear actually has the secret spots and point earning potential that the California version does (and that the Florida one lacks).  Big Thunder Mountain is just as crickity, but I'm certain it goes through an under water tunnel at one point. And the Nemo/Crush ride is above and beyond superior to the snore-fest that is the Nemo ride at Epcot.  Star Tours, however, is lame (as it's the 1980's version of the ride) and the Tea Cups they've obviously tightened the screws a bit making it nearly impossible to get the cups spinning at a nauseating rate. The Haunted Mansion was flat out lame. There weren't even any ghosts in your carriage to "follow you home"...instead we all stared at ourselves in the mirrors as we passed by them to end the ride.

4) Everything is in French. Yep, though they do translate some of it into English too.

A big highlight for our trip was getting Amadeus over his absolute fear of rides. We pushed him a little too fast a few years back in Florida, so this time around, Curls gave him some options, and he chose to go on Big Thunder Mountain. He ended up loving it.

 

Speaking a Little bit of French in France

I am taking French in school so I thought, why not practice my French in France.
One instance where i spoke french was in Disneyland. I don't know what word i said but what ever it was, the worker believed that I spoke French fluently. I had to then ask him "Parlez-vous anglais?" (do you speak english). He was then happy to re-explain the directions in English for me.
Most of the time i helpd my family it was for numbers. Number of pastries, number of passengers for the ride, and price of gasoline.
I wish I could have used more. Next time.

Disneyland Paris: The Real Magic of Disney

At first our main plan was not to go to Disneyland  Paris because we thought that it would be exactly like the other Disney parks that we had already been to. We couldn't be more wrong. Disneyland Paris was an amazing experience.

We soon found out why most of the rides did not have the option for fastpasses. Most of the rides lines didn't go over 10-15 minutes. Rides like Rockin' Rollercoaster and Space Mountain barely went over 5 minutes.

This was a shock to us as we walked on to all of our favorite rides. And we came on a weekend!

It was also really fun to enjoy the rides in French. Of course, some were translated into English.

Another thing that we enjoyed is that a majority of the rides were a step above their starters in the 
US Disneys. Big Thunder Mountain went in the dark for a little while. Space Mountain: Mission 2 has 360 degree inversions, and the Indiana Jones ride has loop-de-loops.

The unique rides were also fantastic. Ratatouille was a video ride that drives you through chef Gusteaus' kitchen.

Crush Coaster is a rollercoaster that puts you in an East Australian Current, sending you backwards and up and down hills. My mom and I laughed the whole time!

The only things that we did not enjoy was the fact that you could smoke in line, which you can't do in the U.S. In fact, sometimes it seemed like Disney Paris was the place people in Europe go to smoke.

Besides that, however, we loved Disney Paris!

Photobombing the Tower of Terror

Here's a quick preview of an upcoming post about Disney Paris. Proof that the French like photobombs just as much as Americans. Here's a nice one from Disney's Tower of Terror.