Lots of questions

[kangaand2roos]

We will be staying in Paris for a week and spending just one day at DLP. We want to make the most of it. So:

When do the shops and restaurants at Disney Village open?

What might the weather be?

How crowded should we expect it to be?

If I need to crash a little bit during the day in order to be able to stay until Illuminations, is there a good place I. The park to close my eyes and chill?

What time are the afternoon parades and Illuminations?

What attractions should we absolutely not miss?

What attractions can we miss? (We are veterans of WDW and DLR)

Any characters there that we might not see in the US parks?

Any questions that I should be asking that I have missed?

 

[A Small World]

We will be staying in Paris for a week and spending just one day at DLP. We want to make the most of it. So:

When do the shops and restaurants at Disney Village open?

They open at different times- some are open from early and others dont open til about 11am (both shops and restaurants). They are all then open til about 11pm/midnight

What might the weather be? -

We need to know when you are going tao be able to help you on this one.

How crowded should we expect it to be?

Again - When are you going? Weekends are always busier than weekdays

If I need to crash a little bit during the day in order to be able to stay until Illuminations, is there a good place I. The park to close my eyes and chill?

You could go in one of the shows in the studios or do a full lap of the Disneyland train or just find a quiet bench somewhere ( the end of Frontierland towards Cowboy Cookout can often be quieter or in one of the arcades down mainstreet) or go out of the park into the Disneyland hotel - you can sit in the lobby area or upstairs near the restaurants/bar

What time are the afternoon parades and Illuminations?

Illuminations is at park closing. The afternoon parade time varies but you will be able to pick up a programme on the way in which will tell you

What attractions should we absolutely not miss?

Are you doing both parks or just Disneyland?
If you are doing studios then definitely Ratatouille as its unique as is Crush coaster
Thunder Mountain is better than in the American parks as its based on an island
I also prefer POC in DLP and Phantom Manor is different - read the backstory of this as it links in with Thundermountain/Frontierland

What attractions can we miss? (We are veterans of WDW and DLR)

If you are limited to time you could miss a lot of the Fantasyland rides as they are similar to the American parks (unless you have young children with you of course)

Any characters there that we might not see in the US parks?

There are often unique characters but I dont do character meets now so I'll leave someone else to answer this one

Any questions that I should be asking that I have missed?

Answers above. A bit more information such as when you are going and how may people will help us to help you better.
Try and get there at least an hour before rope drop as you can get onto Main street so it will give you chance to browse some shops, get a drink etc and decide where you want to start.

 

[kangaand2roos]

Answers above. A bit more information such as when you are going and how may people will help us to help you better.
Try and get there at least an hour before rope drop as you can get onto Main street so it will give you chance to browse some shops, get a drink etc and decide where you want to start.

Oops! I thought I had included that. First week I. JUly. We will be at DLP on July 2!

 

[cinderbrella]

We will be staying in Paris for a week and spending just one day at DLP. We want to make the most of it. So:

When do the shops and restaurants at Disney Village open?

What might the weather be?

How crowded should we expect it to be?

If I need to crash a little bit during the day in order to be able to stay until Illuminations, is there a good place I. The park to close my eyes and chill?

What time are the afternoon parades and Illuminations?

What attractions should we absolutely not miss?

What attractions can we miss? (We are veterans of WDW and DLR)

Any characters there that we might not see in the US parks?

Any questions that I should be asking that I have missed?

1. The shops are usually open from around 8am until midnight with the World of Disney sometimes differing with opening times
2. July can be hit or miss with the weather but it should be in the mid 20s (celcius) on a good day
3. A Sunday can be busy but is definitely not as busy as the Saturday, wait times usually 30 mins +
4. I recommend going to cafe Fantasia inside the Disneyland hotel, right outside the park. It's very cosy and they do great drinks and snacks. Inside the park there are seats in the arcades. One of my favourite spots is a bench right opposite the castle. On a sunny day this a beautiful spot.
5. Stars on parade should be at 17:30 and Illuminations at 23:00 at park closing.
6. Definitely do Ratatouille and crush's coaster as these are unique to dlp. Also Phantom manor, newly updated big thunder mountain. Go upstairs in the castle and underneath the castle to see the dragon.
7. If you don't have time I would miss tea cups, small world, dumbo, Peter Pan as you have these there. Buzz is a different experience as the gun is not attached to the veichle
8. Remy and Emile, Rabbit, Scrooge, Max Goof, (just a few I don't remember seeing in wdw)
9. Will you be trying one of the restaurants?

*Pirates will be closed when you are going as they are updating it and will reopen 24th July*

Any other questions just ask away

 

[chudlyfudly]

1. The shops are usually open from around 8am until midnight with the World of Disney sometimes differing with opening times
2. July can be hit or miss with the weather but it should be in the mid 20s (celcius) on a good day
3. A Sunday can be busy but is definitely not as busy as the Saturday, wait times usually 30 mins +
4. I recommend going to cafe Fantasia inside the Disneyland hotel, right outside the park. It's very cosy and they do great drinks and snacks. Inside the park there are seats in the arcades. One of my favourite spots is a bench right opposite the castle. On a sunny day this a beautiful spot.
5. Stars on parade should be at 17:30 and Illuminations at 23:00 at park closing.
6. Definitely do Ratatouille and crush's coaster as these are unique to dlp. Also Phantom manor, newly updated big thunder mountain. Go upstairs in the castle and underneath the castle to see the dragon.
7. If you don't have time I would miss tea cups, small world, dumbo, Peter Pan as you have these there. Buzz is a different experience as the gun is not attached to the veichle
8. Remy and Emile, Rabbit, Scrooge, Max Goof, (just a few I don't remember seeing in wdw)
9. Will you be trying one of the restaurants?

*Pirates will be closed when you are going as they are updating it and will reopen 24th July*

Any other questions just ask away

I think cinderbrella and A Small World answered the questions pretty well. Just wanted to be a +1 for Ratatouille and Crush's Coaster, and Big Thunder is (in my opinion) better than the WDW one. Crush's Coaster totally caught me off guard and was an absolute blast, but it's one of the most popular rides at DLP so queues can get long I believe. Ratatouille is fantastic too, and definitely unique in the way it works, so also worth checking out. The only downside is that they're both in Disney Studios and I didn't think that the Studios was quite as good as the main park.

If you like rollercoasters the newly themed hyperspace mountain is fun, and very much a different experience to Space Mountain at WDW (a couple of inversions in there somewhere).

Have a great trip!

 

[Lyricallie]

Only thing I'll add was when I went a few years ago, Space mountain really hurts my head. It's a over the shoulder harness and it really shook me about. Just as a FYI. I was one and done with it, whereas in WDW I could go on it over and over again!

 

[chudlyfudly]

Only thing I'll add was when I went a few years ago, Space mountain really hurts my head. It's a over the shoulder harness and it really shook me about. Just as a FYI. I was one and done with it, whereas in WDW I could go on it over and over again!

I can definitely see how that could happen. I went on it 3 times in a row at the Star Wars evening in May and my neck was hurting a little by the end.

They've changed some of the theming on it now, and I believe they've changed the cars too. While I too went a few years ago I can't remember what it was like as a point of comparison, but now there's a big over the shoulder restraint and underneath that there's another which sits flush against your chest - you can just about see it here I think.

I can't recall what it was like before this I'm afraid!

 

[Lyricallie]

I can definitely see how that could happen. I went on it 3 times in a row at the Star Wars evening in May and my neck was hurting a little by the end.

They've changed some of the theming on it now, and I believe they've changed the cars too. While I too went a few years ago I can't remember what it was like as a point of comparison, but now there's a big over the shoulder restraint and underneath that there's another which sits flush against your chest - you can just about see it here I think.

I can't recall what it was like before this I'm afraid!

That definitely looks like it is better. The ride definitely used to be very close to each side of your head. This seems to be a larger gap (thank goodness!)

 

[Moosie3005]

Micky and the Magician show is very good, in the Studios. The weather may be very hot - it was for us last week - so take ultra cool clothing just in case. If you just want to chill and relax, there is an air-conditioned theatre in DiscoveryLand that is not generally being used because the Jedi Training Academy is not currently on - but it is still open.

 

[kangaand2roos]

I just want to follow up and say that our day in Disneyland Paris was absolutely wonderful!

 

[Tulip48]

We are also just going for one day so would be very interested hear how you got on and if you managed to do the rides you wanted to? What we're your 'not to be missed' bits?!!!!