Disneyland Paris

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘Disney’?

It could either be an image of Mickey Mouse and friends, Disney Princesses, Peter Pan, Aladdin, Hercules, and Lion King or could be your very own image from your childhood enjoying Disney cartoons, books and toys.

Growing up in India in 1990’s, Disney cartoons ruled our lives rather more than those of modern children in India. Although the full-length movies were rarely screened on TV, we used to desperately wait for that one hour of Disney cartoons which used to get telecasted only on Sundays.

Years later when we visited Paris for our third wedding anniversary, my husband had planned a full day visit to Disneyland Paris to surprise me. I was very much excited to see this happiest place on earth with my adult eyes.

Disneyland Paris is located in the Paris suburb of Marne-la-Vallée, It consists of two parks, Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park. As we had just one day in hand we decided to visit Walt Disney Studios Park. This park is dedicated to show business, themed after movies, production, and behind-the-scenes etc.

The best times to visit Disneyland Paris is on weekdays and not on public holidays or during school vacations to avoid crowd, also make sure you check on the French weather before planning a trip. It’s very important that you wear your most comfortable pair of shoes as the park is huge and your main mode of transportation will be walking.

I believe the primary attractions for adults are the various rides in the park, but for all the popular rides we ended up standing hours in the queues.

Some of the rides I thoroughly enjoyed are,

Toy Soldier Parachute Drop it is a parachute jump ride themed to the Green Army Men from Disney-Pixar’s Toy Story movie. It gives you an ariel view of the entire park

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster it is an enclosed steel roller coaster and the fastest ride at Disneyland Paris. The ride is themed around Aerosmith music. I was so spooked in this one that my eyes were closed throughout the ride

Armageddon based on the movie Armageddon, it demonstrates set effects and you experience thrilling special effects which were present in the movie.

Flying Carpets Over Agrabah is a spinner ride where riders sit in magic carpets and act as extras and Genie is a director.

Moteurs... Action! is a car stunt show revolving around a series of stunts featuring automobiles, motorcycles, and jet skis.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is a large free-fall thrill ride where you enter the Tower Hotel, and follow the story; the finale of the ride is a thrilling experience where the ride drops nearly 200 feet.

All the Disney characters were spread all over the park but the most famous ones like Mickey, Donald etc. were only available at certain time. Throughout the day there were many spectacular parades where we saw various famous Disney characters. I have uploaded one video of this parade hope you enjoy watching it.

When our legs gave up we took a break and stopped for a quick bite to eat at Mc Donalds. Later we visited a huge Disney shop which is located near the main entrance. After buying plenty of Disney goodies it was time say good bye! 

I had no energy left at the end of the day but there was a warm at satisfying feeling in my heart which was saying ‘I have one wish out of my childhood bucket list’ J.