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November Newsletter

NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER: DISNEYLAND PARIS
This past month I was fortunate enough to take a magical trip to Disneyland, Paris for a day!    If you didn’t know, Disney is comprised of two parts- Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios. One thing to keep in mind when traveling to a Disney park is that each one is completely different. No park is identical. The Disneyland parks are set up similarly to Magic Kingdom, while Walt Disney Studios is set up similar to Hollywood Studios.   I took a subway and a train (RER) and arrived at Disneyland, Paris. We were dropped off right in the front of the entrance of the three parks; Disney Land Park, Walt Disney Studios and, Disney Village (like Disney Springs).  We bought our tickets there, although I would suggest buying your tickets in advance. Your ticket is scanned to allow for access into the park.  Also, your ticket is scanned to get you your fast-passes.  Because of this, if you have the printed ticket from your email it will save you time at the parks.  WARNING- The fast-pass window is only 30 minutes, NOT 60 minutes.   We started off by walking past the famous bronze statue of Walt Disney and Mickey at the Walt Disney Studios.  We walked past the Crush Coaster (even though I heard it is amazing), but due to the wait times, we decided to go over to Ratatouille ride. This was a 3D ride, in carts that look like Remy and Emile going through the kitchen of Gusteau’s Restaurant, it was amazing!!  (Ps. I heard that a ride like this is coming to France at Epcot in the next couple years!)
We then went to The Toy Story area. Here there was a younger version Slinky Roller Coaster, Parachute Drop, and RC Racer ride. I knew I wasn’t going on a ride that went upside down so skipped the RC Racer- but it looked incredible!! We opted not to go on Rock N Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, or Studio Tram rides, I thought they would be just like Disneyworld.  I was disappointed to learn later that they are not!
We then headed over to Disneyland Park where there were many rides I wanted to check out.
When we arrived at Disneyland; the Mickey’s Halloween Tricycle Gang Parade was going on so we stopped and I was able to see Cruella, this is a good thing?
While in the Disneyland Park, we rode Hyper Space Mountain, O-M-G!! This ride will have you go upside down-, back-and-forth, side-to-side, everything else. It is like the Millennium Falcon in a dog fight with the Star Wars music in the background while watching the X-wings fly by as well as other ships – just incredible!! I’m not usually one to take on upside-down rides but this was worth it! Just don’t tell my brother.
We also rode It’s A Small World, which of course, was in French.  The good news is, the song was not stuck in my head all day.  I think many of you know what I mean.  The exterior is different, more like Disneyland California.    We continued and went to the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride. We found that they had guns on cords so you had better range of shooting but you had to keep re-hitting the button for the laser to keep firing.  I found this out part way through.  There were not as many targets or rooms for shooting as Magic Kingdom.
I was so excited to go to Alice’s Curious Labyrinth and I am so glad I did!  The amazing thing was the hedges were real hedges!  I didn’t occur to me before how the climate differences would affect the foliage being able to ride the rides.  After that I kept my eyes open to see other differences in what kind of plants and trees were around.  The labyrinth was challenging and be warned, The Queen of Hearts as she wants to say “Off With Her Head”.  The Cheshire Cat in the center was amazing as well as the Minnie castle in the center.
We rode Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, I found out while on the ride that it did go upside-down once.  My brother noticed just before but opted not to tell me, thank you. It was a good ride. Unfortunately, due to technical problems we were unable to ride Big Thunder Mountain or Phantom Manor.
I was able to go under the castle to see the dragon, it is definitely worth the walk through to do. As we had a busy week so we decided not to stay until closing and fireworks.  We did some shopping and headed back into Paris.  I was glad I was able to see and experience Disneyland Paris and would recommend checking it out if you are over there.
A couple extra observations:
1-More people bring food with them into the parks and eat while waiting in line or at an outdoor table.  This meant that you could always seem to find space at the counter restaurants to sit. 2-If you want to make a reservation at a sit-down restaurant you need to either call the restaurant directly or stop by and make it.  The exception is in the castle, which is calling Disneyland Paris directly. 3-Fastpasses ran out early in the day. 4-Only the Adventureland and Frontierland were decorated for Halloween.  The decorations were very different than Disneyworld yet they were very good.  I did see jack Skellington out with a line of about 20 people-very short. 5-Strollers and wheelchairs were almost nonexistent.  No ECV at all. 6-Shopping is set up differently, so if you see something you like buy it! 7-Signage to rides was limited and very challenging. Like at Disneyworld, always make sure to have your map with you. 8-Yes, there is a Disneyland Paris app you can have on your phone.  It gives much of the same information as the Disneyworld app.  I used it to check wait times and ride closures. It was very helpful.   Well, that is it for now, Au Revoir, from Colleen.
I am a Disney park veteran, and I’ve made it my passion and my career to help other people and their families experience the magic of Disney at its full potential. This is just one of the many topics that I can help you with when it comes to making your trip to Disney the great vacation you always hoped for. I take care of most aspects of planning your Disney trip, from making your dinner reservations and organizing FastPasses to comprehensive Disney App training and planning your entire park days, plus much more.   Please feel free to share this newsletter with your family and friends, and anyone you know who might be interested in making a Disney trip in the future!   Thank you for taking the time to read! If you have a topic you would like more information on, or any feedback for me, please let me know.   Have a great day!!

Follow me for daily updates with information, tips and tricks about all things Disney and more!   Facebook: @AwalkintheParkwithColleen Website: www.awalkintheparkwithcolleen.com

 

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