If you know me well, you know I couldn't possibly pass up a chance to visit one of the most beautiful Disney (or theme) parks in the world. So when I first heard that we would have a free Saturday in Paris, I immediately began making plans and researching how to get from our hotel to Marne-la-Vallee, etc... etc...

I embarked in the morning with my friend KT (i.e. Katie, i.e. Kathleen). We got on the Metro around 8:45 in the morning and transferred over to the RER route A at the Nation station about ten minutes later. Since our week passes didn't cover the zone we were going to, we'd need tickets ( 6.25 euros apiece). Fortunately, I'd bought a pair the night before to save time. Forty five minutes later, we were at Disneyland Paris!

Too bad the weather wasn't as cooperative as I'd hoped. Rather than bright, blazing, blue sky sunshine (as my last... oh... twelve theme park visits--in California--have gone), it was foggy. REALLY FOGGY. Like "can't see more than 20 meters ahead of you" foggy. I was a bit bummed. Having been spoiled by California, I'd expected and wanted it to be a beautiful day, so I could take pictures, of course. Disappointment #2: Big Thunder Mountain, one of my highly anticipated rides, was closed for rehab. Big Thunder closed AND not so cool weather? Well, that was enough to put a damper in my day. One I could take, but both? Darn.

How thick was the fog? Well, there's supposed to be a castle back there. You can't see it. It's like you're in Anaheim or something... :D (joking) There'd be a silver lining later though.

Nonetheless, after buying tickets (43 euros for one park, which converts to being cheaper than Disneyland!), we headed up Main Street right as the park opened. It was 10:00. Since it was so foggy, I suggested turning a negative into a positive and heading toward Phantom Manor, which I knew would look amazingly sinister and creepy in the gloomy fog. Sure enough, Disneyland Paris's (DLP) version of the Haunted Mansion did not disappoint. We waited a mere ten minutes before riding.

What a unique ride! The first half is pretty similar to the Anaheim version, with scenes through the house, Madame Leota's parlor, and the ballroom. But then you go outside into what looks like a cave, complete with gory looking skeletons lunging toward you. Riders are then dumped into a ghost town (no, literally). Several times, you see the scary (to kids) laughing figure of The Phantom. There's a graveyard scene too, and the Phantom pops up in a hologram behind the car near the exit, but the tone overall was a lot more sinister and spooky than the Anaheim Haunted Mansion. Needless to say, I loved it. The darker feel was utterly delicious!

Here I am in Frontierland in the morning, by the Mark Twain (funny, I thought DLP had the Molly Brown, but oh well).

Heartbroken that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was closed.

Following Phantom Manor, we headed up Frontierland and into Adventureland, which formed the northern half of the western side of the park. Located to the left of Adventure Isle (a big play area), DLP's Indiana Jones was an actual roller coaster, not a dark ride like at Disneyland. The wait time said five minutes, but it was more like 15. Still, the ride itself was actually quite fun! I was surprised to see it running forwards (I guess I forgot that they changed it; it used to run backwards). And while there was some head banging, it wasn't that bad at all. Nothing like the nightmare reports I'd heard in the past that compared Indy to Six Flags Magic Mountain's Flashback. It's a fun little compact ride, sort of like a looping wild mouse coaster, and KT and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We wanted to reride, but the line had gotten pretty large when we got off. Instead, we went by Peter Pan to get a Fastpass for a ride I knew would be packed. Sure enough, despite it not being noon yet, the line was already a full 60 minute wait. Yeah, FastPass definitely.

We explored Fantasyland and the castle, then paid a visit to the underground "dungeon" to visit the dragon. At DLP, underneath Sleeping Beauty's Castle, there's a walkthrough attraction that features an animatronic dragon that wakes up from its sleep every few minutes to snarl and breathe smoke. Very cool little exhibit.

Here's me by the castle. I seem to do a lot of things with my hands in photos.

Pirates of the Caribbean was next. Located in Adventureland, it proved to be a nice ride, although strange, at least to a person used to the Disneyland California version. After a 45 minute wait (this day was proving to be much busier than I expected), we got on the boat. The ride basically is the same as Disneyland's... except backwards, with some of the slower sections in the first half of Disneyland's version cut off. So you go up the waterfall, sail around the burning village, see jailed pirates trying to get the key from the dog, immediately go down a waterfall (great trick; the animatronic distraction made the drop a surprise to me), see the pirate ship battle, and end with the gold room. The order might not be exact, but basically, the town and battle scenes were first, while the cave scenes were last. Fun ride, though. They cut enough excess out to make the ride not drag, but it's still long enough to be a great people eater (lots of people can ride per hour).

We headed over to Discoveryland (what they call Tomorrowland), which was as gorgeous as advertised (even with a gray sky as a backdrop). This area was retro-futuristic. That is, they looked to how past visionaries like Jules Vernes, H.G. Wells, and Leonardo DaVinci pictured the future and drew off of that. A smart move, since a future based on fantasy can never become outdated. We got a FastPass for Space Mountain: Mission 2 (sporting a nice 100 minute wait) then decided to do lunch.

Here's where my first major complaint occurs. We went into the Cafe Hyperion, waited 15 minutes, and DID NOT MOVE ONE BIT. I was appalled at how slow a fast food place serving burgers and fries could be. Literally. We didn't even take a step. Frustrated, I decided to hit another restaurant in Frontierland, figuring that side might be less busy because Big Thunder was closed. Well, first try was Last Chance Cafe. Not even open. Why would you not open a restaurant on a busy Saturday? We found a concession stand selling hot dogs, so I ordered one. They were out. Argh. Passed by a Mexican looking restaurant. Also closed (this one seemed to be on long term rehab or something; there's no reference of it in the map). Finally, I found food at the Cowboy Cookout BBQ. That was way too much trouble.

Anyway, we grabbed lunch and ate on the run. Autopia was next, since our Peter Pan Fastpasses wouldn't be ready till after 2:00. The line was an hour, but we were making good time anyway. It's a fun ride that I seem to enjoy more than most other people. Nostalgia, I guess.

In Discoveryland. So beautiful, even when the sky doesn't cooperate.

Peter Pan was next. Even with the FastPass, the line was still 20 minutes. C'est la vie, I suppose. Peter Pan is absurdly popular, but putting a FastPass on a short ride like this DOES extend the regular line a lot. But the regular line is always full, so it's a ride that would warrant a FastPass. Catch-22 at its finest, I guess. At least they learned on this ride and made each boat two rows, rather than one at Disneyland. Still, the crowds were huge for this ride, which turned out to be the exact same thing as the Disneyland Version.

So did Pinnocchio and Snow White, which provided much better waits of 20-30 minutes.

It was now time to use our FastPasses for Space Mountain. After grabbing more FastPasses for Star Tours, we got in line and waited a mere 20 minutes. And after getting off the ride, the verditct was in: THIS COASTER IS AWESOME! Apparently, the Mission 2 storyline takes riders further than ever before, "to the edge of the universe." The original had simply taken them to the moon, if I'm not mistaken. Anyway, like Disneyland California's Space, this had recently been redone. But that's where the similarities end, because this remodel was MUCH better. Now I have nothing against Disneyland's version. Actually, I think it's quite fun and a nice remodel. But compared to Mission 2, Disneyland's Space is a carnival ride. The effects at DLP are crisp and BRIGHT. Stars, light tubes, comets.. they all come off very clean and clear. Light is focused where it needs to be, so that while the effects are bright, the ride remains dark. And the launch into the three inversions was very fun. Overall, a very fun ride with fantastic special effects. It's hard for me to describe it... you have to ride it for yourself.

We headed back to Fantasyland to ride more rides. We did their version of the Storybook Canals, and wouldn't you know, FINALLY, at 4:30 in the afternoon, the sun came out!!

My spirits raised considerably. Next was Alice's Curious Labyrinth.

In Alice's Curious Labyrinth. That's the closest I'll ever come to smoking hookah.

We had a lot of fun through Alice's Curious Labyrinth. Then I promptly dragged KT around the park again getting pictures I'd already taken before... only this time in the sun, with a blue sky as a backdrop. We did ride Phantom Manor again, though, because it was so fun the first time.

Towards the end of this jaunt, we found ourselves at Adventure Isle again. We had fun jumping on the rope bridge and exploring the area, then went up the Swiss Family Treehouse, which was pretty neat.

Here's me on a high point somehwere on Adventure Isle.

Indy was bypassed due to an hour-long line and no FastPasses. It was time to ride Star Tours... in French! Now, my French isn't really that good. I took a semester of it because we had to, but that was hardly enough to even begin to be fluent. That said, being able to know what goes on on Star Tours and then hearing it in French made my day. Most of the dialogue is dubbed in French, except for random Rebel transmissions. But hearing our pilot droid say "SCHUETTE" (sorry, drawing a mind blank on how to spell the French word used to say "SUPER!!") just before diving into the trenches of the Death Star (in English, it's the part where he goes "Alright! I've always wanted to do this!") was icing on the cake. KT and I could not stop laughing. Anyway, I'd highly recommened Star Tours in French to any person familiar with the ride who's not too familiar with the French language, because you can figure out what they're saying.

It was well into the evening, around sunset, when we got out. I had initially thought the park was closing at 8 (according to the web site), but it turns out it was 9. And there was a fireworks show! What a pleasant surprise! We were going to get some food and wander aroudn when we passed Space Mountain--and noticed it had a mere 35 minute way. No way could we pass this up! And sure enough, we got on about 35 minutes later. And this time, we even got a train with the soundtrack on! Mission 2 was fantastic again, and the music was a nice touch. It's drastically different from the orchestral first version. It's more of a techno beat, similar in rhythm to Disneyland Space Mountain's new soundtrack, but it fit very well. I have no idea where to find it, but I'd like a copy of that track if possible. :D

It was really too late to get a quick dinner, so we settled down and camped for fireworks at around 8:50. The show turned out to be at 9:15, rather than 9, but it was still wildly enjoyable. In fact, had it been longer, I might have a tough decision on whether I enjoyed it or Remember... better. Fortunately, it was only five minutes long--but those five minutes were one big fat orgy of firework finale pyros! Basically, the music started, and about a dozen shells exploded. Cue the spraying "sprinkler" fireworks that basically never turned off, and a whole bunch of shells going off (multiple shells per shot, at a good shot per one or two seconds). It was a grand finale for five straight minutes. Very cool. Everyone loves to see things blow up.

Upon the conclusion of the show, Mr. Announcer Guy said the park was closed. Everyone started going toward the exit. I fought my way in the opposite direction and got some night shots of the castle and Discoveryland, then did some shopping (souvenirs for friends). The Main Street shops are open at least an hour past closing time here too, which was cool. We got out of the park a little bit after 10.

We headed over to the Disney Village complex to grab a quick bite. Unfortunately, the restaurant we chose (Annette's Diner, a Johnny Rockets type restaurant), had a super understaffed take out line, so a line of ten people turned into one hour for food. Yikes.

Finally, we took the RER A back to Paris proper, arriving back at the hotel around midnight. All in all, it had been a fantastic day, although I definitely want to go back before my study abroad ends to ride Big Thunder Mountain. It might be in December, just before Christmas. That should be fun.

More Photos

I said Phantom Manor is amazing in the fog. Look at the picture. Told ya.

The castle with a beautiful blue sky behind it.

Nice underground dragon...

The Plaza Gardens Restaurant. I thought this was a nice photo, with the fountain in the foreground.

Space Mountain Mission 2!

Main Street is gorgeous. It's similar to Disneyland's Main Street, but a little taller and a lot more detailed.

The Disneyland Hotel, with views into the park.

Main Street moneyshot... the castle is visible now that there's no fog!

Thunder Mesa Landing. I love the composition of this photo.

Phantom Manor is gorgeous in the sun too.

Looking back at the themed land from the entrance of Phantom Manor.

I love this silhouette shot of Indiana Jones. There's this cool elegance to it. And the picture almost happened by accident. I just took it without really thinking, then realized it was nice later.

Space Mountain at night.

And we end with a parting shot of arguably the most beautiful Magic Kingdom of the five.