Friday, 10 May 2013
Disneyland Paris Tips and Tricks: Enjoying your visit
Dear readers,
Because life got the better of me, I never
quite got round to finishing my Disneyland tips and tricks series, so here is
the third and final part! This post will give you tips and tricks for when you
actually are in Disneyland itself, Walt Disney Studios or Disney Village.
In case you had completely forgotten that I
wrote two previous posts, where you can find these or if you are new to my
weblog, please see the following two links to my previous posts:
1. General
tips.
a.
Bring your own food and drinks.
Disney is really expensive when it comes to
food and drinks (think 4,- euro’s for 6 kip nuggets... o.o that’s 0.67 cents
per nugget!), so you might want to bring your own food and drinks for during
the day. There are a few gas stations near the park, so you should be able to
get something there if you want. Example: at a nearby gas station you pay 0,50
cents for a bottle of water, in Disney you will pay 2,20 or more.
b. Make
sure to bring along some wipes.
Sometimes you might want to get a snack,
which turns out to be a bit more sticky than you were expecting. If you are
cueing up for a ride, things might get complicated (and yucky). Especially if
you have little kids!
2. Disneyland
a.
The Fast pass.
Especially on really busy days, a fast pass
is a must. A fast pass is a ticket which you can get near the attraction of
your choice, which will state the time when you can enter the attraction via
the fast track line. This way you will not have to stand in (a sometimes really
long) line.
Above the machines which distribute the
fast passes, you will be able to see for which time they are currently offering
fast passes. An example would be: entry from 13:30-14:00. If the time does not
suit you, you can always go back later on the day.
Note: Chose wisely for which attraction you
will be getting your fast pass! You can only get one at the time. Another fast
pass will be available after the time printed on your first fast pass.
Attractions for which a fast pass is a must
(even on days that aren’t too crowded):
- Big Thunder Mountain: this is the most popular attraction in Disneyland and it is always busy.
- Buzz Light Year’s Lazer Game: since this is currently the newest attraction in Disneyland it can be quite busy.
- Peter Pan’s Flight: this ride is really popular with the younger children, so it’s always crowded.
Whilst you wait, you can of course always
get on some of the other awesome Disneyland rides.
b.
The Parade.
- Watching the parade
Every day in the afternoon there will be a
wonderful parade in Disneyland, which you definitely will not want to miss.
Make sure you go and wait for the parade about 30 minutes before it starts (or
even earlier during holidays) to get a good spot. Ideally, you would like a
spot either before Sleeping Beauty’s castle, at the area that is called Central
plaza, or in Main Street. My favourite spot is near the entrance of the
Discovery arcade, in front of “Town Square Photography” quite close to the
entrance of the park. There you will be able to see the Disney wagons directly
from the front, as well as the side (as they do a turn), and bonus, it is
usually less crowded than at Central plaza.
(I have circled the best places. The map I
have used belongs to DLRP Magic.com).
- Not watching the parade.
If you have already seen the parade, you
can use this time to get on some awesome rides! Almost everyone in the park
will be assembling at Main Street to watch the parade, so take this chance to
do some of the rides which are slightly more to the back of the park, which
will be less crowded than before and after the parade!
c.
Shopping.
If you want to go shopping, you do not want
to put it off till park closing time, since the stores will be overflowing with
customers. Ideally, you would want to do it during the afternoon, when the
queuing times are at their highest. I can hear you think “but I will have to
lug around the stuff all day if I do that”. Well you won’t have to! Up until 4
o’clock you can simply use Disney’s Shopping Service! Indicate to the
store clerk that you wish to make use of the Disney shopping service and your
items will be transferred to the Disney Store (there is a special desk at the
back of the store), where you can pick them up from 6 o’clock onwards. Don’t
worry; this store will be open way past closing time! ;) Or if you are staying
at a Disney hotel, you can even have them send it to the hotel boutique! It will
be available for pick up from 8 o’clock onwards.
d.
Dinner.
During the day make sure to pick up the
Disneyland Paris map, as this also details which restaurants sell what type of
food, the price category, as well as the times on which the restaurants close.
Some restaurants close earlier than others, so make sure to keep an eye on that
(or you will be in for a surprise! .... And yes, this happened to me twice lol).
If you prefer a good and healthy meal for
not too fancy a price, I would definitely recommend the Plaza Gardens
Restaurant near Main Street. This is a buffet restaurant, which offers a
wide variety of Western style food (they have veggies :D Yeay!). For adults
dinner there costs around 25,- euro’s including one drink. For children it
costs 13,- euro’s. You can get seconds, or thirds, or fourths without anyone
complaining, the quality of the food is pretty good and those who like desserts
will simply be in heaven.
If you happen to forget to look at the
times when most restaurants close Colonel Hati’s Pizza Outpost (located
in Adventureland to the back of the park) is usually the place to go. Note:
this is a fast food restaurant, where you will be able to get pizza’s, pasta’s
or salads.
If you have a bit (or well... a lot) of
extra money to spend, you might want to consider having Dinner with the Disney characters. Please note that you will have
to make a reservation beforehand! In Disneyland there are two options to do
this:
Auberge de Cendrillon.
This restaurant is completely decorated in
the style of Cinderella. Here you will be able to have dinner with some of the
Disney princesses. The restaurant is the priciest around, as a mean package costs
approximately 65,- euro’s for an adult and 30,- euro’s for a child. Having said
that, this is also the only restaurant that offers a menu of which the titles
are inspired by the Disney movies. Although I have never eaten here myself a
friend of mine has. Her opinion was that the quality of the food was average,
she believed it to be severely overpriced. Moreover, the characters are very
much focussed on little kids, often overlooking the grownups without kids who
have booked a table. So, if you are an adult/teen without kids, you might want to
skip this.
Inventions.
This the restaurant at the Disneyland
hotel. Even those who do not stay in the hotel can book a table here. This is a
buffet restaurant, so you can go in for more if you wish. However, the
restaurant is again pretty pricy: it will cost approximately 55,- euro’s for an
adult and 30,- euro’s for a child. I am unsure if this includes drinks (if not:
try to drink as little as possible, because the drinks are pretty pricy). Again,
I have never tried this myself, nor have I ever set a step in the Disneyland
hotel, but I have read on websites that, although there are a LOT of
characters, the quality of the food is pretty average. So basically, you are
paying for the characters, rather than the food.
The other restaurants are pretty
interchangeable, so if you are in the mood for fries (and more fries... and expensive
chicken nuggets!) just pick whichever one you like.
For those you who like to be very
(over)prepaired or simply have allergies, here is a link to a website where you
will be able to find the menu of each restaurant. http://www.dlrpmagic.com/planning/dining/restaurant-menus/
3. Walt
Disney Studio’s
This park is rather small compared to
Disneyland, but definitely worth a visit! You might not need an entire day here
though, so take that into account. I usually combine a visit to the Studio’s
with a shopping spree at Disney Village.
a.
The Crush Coaster
This ride, which is based on Finding Nemo
is the newest and most popular ride in the park. If you wish to get on it even
during a moderately busy period, make sure you will be at the park at least 15
minutes before it opens and then run (run, run like the wind!) towards the
attraction. If you arrive 10 minutes after the park opens you might find that
there is already a cueing time for over an hour.
Note: this attraction does not have a fast
pass system. Why, you ask? Well the attraction is so well loved that when they
tried to implement the fast pass system here, it broke down so often that they
had to remove it.
b.
The Fast pass.
For every attraction, apart from the Crush
Coaster, you will be able to get a fast pass. For an explanation on how it
works please see Disneyland --> a. The Fast pass.
Attractions you will want to get a fast
pass for:
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Next to the Crush Coaster this is the most popular attraction in Walt Disney Studio’s. On a busy day you will definitely want to get a fast pass here.
- Rock ‘n Roller Coaster. Although this rollercoaster was not very popular in the beginning, people are starting to discover its awesomeness. So on crowded days, you might need a fast pass.
- Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic. The ride is definitely wonderful if you just want to sit down, relax and enjoy the ride. Because the ride itself takes about 20 minutes the waiting time can be quite long. If the fast pass system is working (which sometimes it isn’t) it might be worth considering.
c.
Toy Story Playland.
If you are going to Disneyland with young
children, make sure to take them to Toy Story Playland. This part really caters
to the taste of the younger ones. Note: if they are afraid of heights, this
might not be the place for them though!
d.
Park shows: Animagique, Cinemagique and Stitch Live.
If you have been walking around the parks
for a few days, you will definitely want to watch the park shows, so you can
give your feet a rest! Animagique is a performance with Disney
characters who will be performing songs from the movies (some in English, some
in French). Both younger and older Disney fans will absolutely love this. In Cinemagique
on the other hand, you will simply watch a (funny) movie about a man who keeps
travelling through different types of movies (from silent movies, to westerns
etc.). This might not be very interesting for kids below 8 years old though. Stich
Live is definitely enjoyable for everyone; who doesn’t love Stitch?! In
this show Stitch actually interacts with the audience... Make sure to sit in
the middle if you are the type that stands out, cause if you sit in the back or
the front... well you will see ;). If you are visiting the show with children,
they will forever love you for sitting there though!
e.
Dinner.
There aren’t a lot of restaurants within
Walt Disney Studios, so the variety of food available is very, very limited.
There are some stands which sell crêpes, hotdogs and the likes, and about two
or three fast food restaurant. The only non-fast food restaurant is Restaurant
des Stars. I have never eaten there myself, so I cannot guarantee what the
food will be like. I did read that there is a reasonable variety of foods and
that the quality seems to be alright. A bonus for the kids is that there is a
mechanical version of Remy (from Ratatouille) being rolled around through the
establishment. However, as Walt Disney Studios usually closes at 18.00, you
might want to opt for dinner outside of the park, in Disney Village.
4. Disney
Village
a. Shopping.
Disney village is a wonderful place to do
some shopping. Although the Disney Store offers the same merchandise as
the stores in the park, the Disney Fashion store is a definite must if
you like Disney clothing (as much as I do). The Disney Gallery store is
also definitely worth a visit, as they sell some really beautiful (yet very
pricey) Disney paintings, Disney WDCC (Walt Disney Collector Club) statues, as
well as some Lenox (porcelain) statues. Another must see is the Walt Disney
Store, which opened last year in June. This store is just beautifully
decorated (think painted sealing’s!), so even though it has a lot of
merchandise, which is also available in the park itself, it is still worth a
visit. Note: the merchandise on offer can sometimes differ a little bit from
what they sell in the park.
b.
Dinner.
Disney Village offers a great variety of
restaurants. One of my favourite restaurants is the Rain Forrest Café.
As the name indicates this restaurant has a rain forest theme. Although it is
always super crowded (you might have to stand in line before you can get a
table), service is usually pretty fast and the food is of a good quality. They
offer a range of courses from pasta, to steak, to a hot chocolate fondant for
desert (highly recommended ;) ). You pay around 20,- euro’s for an entree
(unless you go for something fancy as a sirloin steak of course).
Another favourite is King Ludwig’s
Castle. The restaurant has a medieval theme, so it you will always have
something to look at. The food ranges from pizza’s, to salads, to German
inspired dishes such as schnitzels and bretzels (whatever those may be), to pasta’s
and a wide variety of other courses (I highly recommend the potatoes "au
gratin"!). Again, the main course is approximately 20,- euro’s (or less
for a pizza of course), unless you go for something very fancy. Also, make sure
to leave room for the wonderful deserts! :D This restaurant is usually a lot
less crowded than the other restaurants in Village, and there are usually less
children. I am not really sure why this is, because I would have loved going
here as a child! So if you are a couple driven mad by all the screaming kids in
the park, you might want to go here ;).
If you would like to have dinner with some of the characters Café
Mickey pretty much is the place to be. The food is reasonably priced at around
20,- euro’s for a main or 38,- euro’s
for a three course menu + a drink for adults and 20,- euro’s for a kids menu. It
is A LOT cheaper than the other Disney dinner experiences. The result: it is
also a lot more crowded, so make sure to reserve a table before hand! The
opinions regarding the food are pretty divided; some people say that the food
is very average and overprized, where as other people think otherwise. My best friend,
however, went there last year and will be dragging me a long to this place when
we will be going to Disney again in June. She really loved going there and said
the food was pretty good. ;) So I will be able to give you a full blown review
on this once I get back.
Well then, this is the final post to my “Disneyland
tips and tricks” series. I really enjoyed writing it and I hope it will be
helpful to some of my readers!
Lots of love,
Blacky.
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