Wednesday 10 April 2013

Disneyland Paris 2013 - Part 1

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.

Hotel Relais Spa Chessy

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.

Our Room

Bathroom

Bathroom

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.

Earl of Sandwich

Earl of Sandwich

Earl of Sandwich

Earl of Sandwich

Vegan Sandwich

Veggie Sandwich

1664 Beer

Billy Bob's Country Saloon

Billy Bob's Country Saloon

Billy Bob's Country Saloon

King Ludwig's Castle

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.

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.

Disneyland Paris Celebrating its 20th Anniversary

Main Street USA

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.

World of Disney Store

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.

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Disneyland Paris 2013 - Part 2

In The Parks

Monday - March 25th 2013

Before we were on our way to Disneyland, we did some grocery shopping at the nearby Auchan Supermarket in the Val D'Europe Shopping Center. Unfortunately that meant that we had to skip the Extra Magic Hours.

Val D'Europe - Place Toscane

Val D'Europe - Place Toscane

Shopping Center

Shopping Center

Finally around 10:00am we arrived at the Disney Resort. The Walt Disney Studios Park was just opening and so we got in line. Soon we were inside and queued for Crush's Coaster, one of the most popular rides in the whole resort. During the day it got pretty busy with long lines and so we hoped to do it right after opening. However the attraction faced some technical difficulties and so we decided to do something else. So what's better than starting a day with entering the Twilight Zone. The Tower of Terror was fantastic like always and thanks to Fastpass, we rode it twice in a row.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Armageddon

Next on the agenda was Rock'n'Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, but since we hadn't had any coffee yet, we stopped at Disney's Blockbuster Cafe, the former Backlot Express, for breakfast first. A Segafredo Coffee later, it was time for meeting Aerosmith. However it was a bit disappointing, since the music in the ride didn't work.

Disney Blockbuster Cafe

Disney Blockbuster Cafe

Breakfast with Coffee and Flan

Rock'n'Roller Coaster avec Aerosmith

Afterwards we just strolled around the park and checked out the new Toy Story Playland and the Ratatouille construction site. The new land themed after Woody and his friends from Toy Story added some rides for younger guests. We didn't like the look of it so much, but it seemed to be very popular among families, because the queues of the rides weren't that short. So instead we visited the huge store inside Studio 1 and later we had an early lunch at the En Coulisse Restaurant, also located inside Studio 1. We ordered fries, a salad and beer and got a quiet table upstairs from where we had a wonderful view of the floor. Usually we don't bring our own food into the parks, but my girlfriend Claudia is vegan and Disneyland Paris is really bad when it comes to catering for special diets. At the end we found some options, but it was not comparable with Walt Disney World, where it wasn't a problem at all to find good vegetarian options.

Toy Story Playland

Toy Story Playland

Toy Story Playland

Inside Studio 1

Lunch with Fries and Salad

Walt Disney Studios Store

Front Lot

Front Lot

Front Lot

Walt Disney Studios Park Entrance

Disney Legends Statue

Later we walked over to Disneyland Park. By the way, the walking distances between the parks, hotels and Disney Village are a big advantage of the European Disney Resort compared to Walt Disney World in Florida. There we always had to use a bus, a monorail or a boat.

Disneyland Hotel

First we went to Big Thunder Mountain to get a Fastpass and then we wanted to ride another favourite of ours, Phantom Manor. Unfortunately the line was too long and so we joined Indiana Jones in discovering an ancient temple. That rollercoaster was a lot more fun than we remembered and so it wasn't surprising that we rode it nearly every day.

Phantom Manor

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril

Our Fastpass wasn't still valid and so we took a walk through Fantasyland and Discoveryland. Since we didn't want to do another attraction we relaxed a bit with a nice cold glass of beer at Cowboy Cookout BBQ. Today a country band was playing there, which added a nice Disney touch. 

Sleeping Beauty Castle

Le Carrousel de Lancelot

Mad Hatter's Tea Cups

The Old Mill

It's a Small World

Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Frontierland

Cowboy Cookout BBQ

Cowboy Cookout BBQ

Cowboy Cookout BBQ

Cowboy Cookout BBQ

Finally it was time for Big Thunder Mountain. After a journey through the Thunder Mesa Mines, we rode Pirates of the Carribean again. Before we left the park in order to enjoy another beer at King Ludwig's Castle, we had an early dinner at the Hakuna Matata Restaurant. At first we wanted to eat at Colonel Hati's Pizza Outpost, but they ran out of pasta. We both ordered spiced fries, rice and a salad.

Adventureland

Captain Hook's Galley

Dinner

Every day King Ludwig's Castle has a Happy Hour and guests get an extra beer or fountain drink for free. We shared a table with a nice British family and enjoyed our drinks.

During week days Disneyland Park closed at 8:00pm and so we didn't bother to enter the park again. Instead we had another drink and a Bretzel and then we did some shopping in Disney Village. Before we returned to the hotel aroun 10:00pm, we enjoyed a cocktail at the Sports Bar.