Arriving At Disneyland Paris
Sunday - March 24th 2013
After a three year hiatus, we decided to return to
Disneyland Paris for the Easter Holidays and this time we visited the city of Paris as well.
We started our journey to France at 7:00am and drove from Linz, Austria, via Nuremberg, Mannheim, Kaiserslautern, where we passed the US Airbase Ramstein, and Reims to Paris. Luckily the weather and the traffic were fine and so after a nine hours drive, we arrived at our hotel in Val D'Europe - Chessy.
Since we booked our trip on short notice, we couldn't get a room in one of the seven Disney Hotels. That's why we chose the
Relais Spa Chessy Hotel in Val D'Europe, a small town near Disneyland Paris planned by The Walt Disney Company.
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| Hotel Relais Spa Chessy |
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| Hotel Relais Spa Chessy |
We parked our car in the hotel garage and after a quick and easy check in, we unloaded our luggage in the room. Our room included a small kitchen with a stove and a fridge, which was very convinient, since we didn't have a mini bar and so we could keep some beverages and food there. Both the main room and the bathroom were nice and clean and big enough for two persons. From the window we could see the two Disney Parks in the distance. Of course there was a TV as well, but unfortunately there weren't any German channels and only one in English, which was a news channel. The hotel also offered free wi-fi, so we could use our iPad. Breakfast was not included in our package, but for an extra fee of 15 Euros it was possible to book it. However we didn't do that and went to Starbucks instead.
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| Our Room |
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| Bathroom |
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| Bathroom |
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| Kitchen |
The hotel was conveniently located near the
Val D'Europe Shopping Center and the RER Train Station. The shopping mall offered many stores and a huge Auchan Supermarket. It was just a five minutes walk from the hotel to the train station and to the shoppinc centre. The RER Line A connected the Disneyland Resort with the city of Paris. The train departed approximately every 20 minutes and it took about five minutes from Val D'Europe to the Disney Parks. A single adult train ticket was around 2 Euros.
After we refreshed a bit, we were on our way to the parks. Luckily we caught a train right away and soon we stood in front of the Guest Relations to purchase our Annual Passes for 159 Euros each. That passes allowed us to use the Extra Magic Hours and to get discounts in restaurants and shops.
Since we haven't been to Disneyland Paris for over three years, we weren't sure if we would still enjoy the parks, but as soon as we entered the park and saw the Sleeping Beauty Castle, we were so excited to be back at Disney's European Magic Kingdom. Main Street USA looked fantastic, but we rushed to Pirates of the Caribbean, one of our favourite attractions. We were happy to see that it was still in its original design with no Captain Jack Sparrow added, like the US Disney Resorts did.
Afterwards we left the themepark to have dinner at the newly opened
Earl of Sandwich in Disney Village and according to them, they serve the world's best hot sandwich. All I can say, is, that we weren't disappointed. In fact we loved our veggie sandwiches and it wasn't the last time we ate there. To celebrate our returning, we decided to have a cocktail at Billy Bob's Country Saloon and a happy hour beer at King Ludwig's Castle.
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| Earl of Sandwich |
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| Earl of Sandwich |
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| Earl of Sandwich |
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| Earl of Sandwich |
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| Vegan Sandwich |
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| Veggie Sandwich |
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| 1664 Beer |
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| Billy Bob's Country Saloon |
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| Billy Bob's Country Saloon |
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| Billy Bob's Country Saloon |
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| King Ludwig's Castle |
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| Kaltenberg Beer at King Ludwig's Castle |
Before we returned to the Disneyland Park, we checked out the merchandise in the Disney Store. Unfortunately there wasn't that much we liked.
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| Disneyland Hotel by Night |
Back in the park, we headed to Frontierland to ride the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness. Compared to the Big Thunder Mountain ride in Florida, the one in Paris is a lot better, because it is located on an island in the Rivers of the Far West. Riding it after dark was even better than during the day.
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| Disneyland Paris Celebrating its 20th Anniversary |
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| Main Street USA |
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| Discoveryland |
For the 20th Anniversary of Disneyland Paris, a new show called Disney Dreams was created and every day at park closing time, it was shown in front of the castle. The show used projections, lasers, fireworks and fountains. It was truly fantastic and we loved the wonderful show. Well done Disney!
Before we returned to our hotel, we visited the new World of Disney Store that opened last year in the Disney Village. It basically sold the same stuff that was available throughout the resort, but it was a very beautiful and nicely themed store. We had already been to the former World of Disney Store in New York City and to the one at Walt Disney World in Florida, but the store in Paris was the most beautiful one.
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| World of Disney Store |
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| World of Disney Store |
Back in the hotel we wanted to have a last drink at the hotel bar, but we were too tired and went to bed instead.
