FRANCE: Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios

Disney Village: Disney Paris' version of Downtown Disney

Being theme park enthusiasts, we just couldn't pass up Disney parks. Our Paris vacation was already cramped and busy as it is without Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios but we plan most of our vacations around Disney and Universal Theme Parks, so we just got to see Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios as well as Downtown Disney, which is Disney Paris' version of Downtown Disney. After skipping some of the less interesting things to do in Paris like art and history museums and completely taking them out of our itinerary, we were so glad to be able to create two and a half days available in our vacation time, enough for a day in each park, and an afternoon in Disney Village.

PanoraMagique: a tethered balloon ride

Disney Village is smaller than your typical Downtown Disney. For comparison, California's Downtown Disney is about twice as big as Disney Village and Orlando's Downtown Disney is maybe nearly four times bigger. We were there at an ordinary Friday mid-afternoon and most of the restaurants are packed, including McDonalds. However, there seems to be some construction going on while we were there so maybe they are about to expand Disney Village.

One of the main attraction in Disney Village is a tethered balloon ride. We wanted to ride this just like we wanted to ride Characters in Flight in Downtown Disney Orlando. Here in Paris, it is called PanoraMagique. We were out of luck and unable to ride PanoraMagique since the ride was closed due to wind conditions, pretty much the exact same reason we were unable to ride Orlando's Characters in Flight. It was déjà vu for us.

Other attractions in Disney Village are movie theaters, game arcades, bars, concerts, and a dinner show called Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show with Mickey and Friends.

DISNEYLAND PARIS

Disneyland Park or Parc Disneyland is one of the theme parks in Disneyland Paris. It used to be the only Disney theme park in Paris so it used to be just called Disneyland Paris. It is comprised of the most known and common 5 areas of Disneyland across the globe: Main Street USA, Frontierland, Adeventureland, Fantasyland and Discoveryland. Discoveryland might sound unique but it is basically Tomorrowland from the area's landscaping and featured attractions.


If you have been to other Disneylands all over the world before visiting Disneyland Paris, then be ready for a few surprises. The most glaring surprise and the first thing we have noticed is how people smoke everywhere. We could not believe that Disney would actually have a theme park that allows smoking. We know that people in Paris smoke everywhere but we did not expect that it is the same inside a theme park that is meant for kids.

Colors on "it's a small world" ride's facade is a little bit faded

Another thing we have noticed is that the colors seems faded. One good thing about Disney theme parks is that they are all well-maintained. We did not feel that Disneyland Paris is that well-maintained. That feeling you usually get upon walking into a Disney-built world is also kind of missing mainly because of the little details present in other Disney theme parks that is missing here in Disneyland Paris.

Castle in the middle of Alice's Curious Labyrinth

There's really no big-time rides and attractions that are unique here in Disneyland Paris. Most of the attractions that are unique here are walk-through attractions. The walk-through attractions are Alice's Curious Labyrinth, Legends of the Wild West, Pocahontas Indian Village, Woody's Roundup Village, The Mysteries of the Nautilus, Aladdin's Enchanted Passage, Swiss Family Treehouse and Adventure Isle.











There are staple Disney rides that are in Disneyland Paris but most of them are not as good as their counterparts in the other Disney theme parks. It's either they are missing some parts of the attraction or they changed the impressive effects into something cheaper. Here are the other significant rides in Disneyland Paris:

Pirates of the Caribbean - an indoor boat ride through pirate animatronics. Unlike Pirates of the Caribbean in other Disney theme parks, this one was not updated to include an animatronic Jack Sparrow.

Big Thunder Mountain - open-air roller coaster that goes through the man-made mountain

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril - open-air roller coaster ride. Not the usual Disney Indiana Jones ride.

Phantom Manor: Disneyland Paris' version of Haunted Mansion

Phantom Manor - a hologram/special effects ride that goes through an eerie house and a graveyard full of spirits

It's a Small World - boat ride through animatronic dolls in miniature landscapes that represents different countries

Pinnochio's Fantastic Journey - kiddie ride that features animatronic characters from the story

Mad Hatter's Tea Cups - the theme park staple ride of spinning cups/cars


Space Mountain: Mission 2 - indoor roller coaster ride that has a number of loops and sudden turns. Faster and more intense than the usual Space Mountain

Peter Pan's Flight - a suspended boat/flying boat ride featuring animatronic characters from the story

Star Tours - a simulator ride in the world of the movie Star Wars

Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast - an interactive shoot-em-up ride

Captain EO - a 3D musical movie featuring Michael Jackson as Captain EO

WALT DISNEY STUDIOS

The other theme park in Disneyland Paris Resort is Walt Disney Studios. Its rides and attractions focuses on popular movies and TV series. Walt Disney Studios is probably the smallest Disney theme park, but it is still fairly new and have room for expansion.

The main rides and attractions in Walt Disney Studios are the following:

Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectacular - a stunt show with lots of cars and motorcycle exhibitions

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Avec Aerosmith  - an indoor roller coaster ride featuring music from the band Aerosmith. This ride is also in Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios

The Twilight Zone: Hollywood Tower of Terror - an indoor free-fall ride

Studio Tram Tour - a short tram ride through some prop artifacts and a couple of live special effects

Animagique - an attraction unique to Walt Disney Studios. A live show with glow-in-the-dark special effects that features Disney characters

CinéMagique - another attraction unique to Walt Disney Studios. Basically a movie/theater show featuring scenes from classic movies

Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux - a walk-through special effects attraction featuring effects from the movie. Another Walt Disney Studios exclusive

Crush's Coaster - an indoor spinning roller coaster ride. Also unique to Walt Disney Studios

Flying Carpets Over Agrabah - a spinner ride like the staples Orbitron and Dumbo the Flying Elephant

Slinky Dog Zig Zag Spin - basically a caterpillar-ride that is designed after the Toy Story character


Cars Quatre Roues Rallye - another usual spinning cup/cars ride

Toy Soldier Parachute Drops - a free-fall/bouncing ride kiddie ride

RC Racer - moves like the swinging boat ride but it's a car that moves back and forth in a half-loop track