The park with the castle is arguably THE Disney park to go to if you have to make the choice between the two; for me it probably has the most Magical feel to it with how it's designed. There's a lot for little ones to do at the Disneyland park but I enjoyed it just as much even though there's not as much in terms of big thrills to be had here. Unfortunately Space Mountain 2 was closed, as was Phantom Manor and Captain EO so although we could take advantage of short wait times we obviously had to give something up which was the low season closures. It meant that we finished the Park by around 2pm but it didn't matter to me because it just meant that we went back to Walt Disney Studios because we had park hopper tickets. There's so many photos to be had here because everything is so beautifully designed so expect this post to be pretty photo heavy!
It is so similar to Magic Kingdom in Orlando, especially city hall square and main street which leads up to the castle; for me this is where the real Disney magic happens. The parades pass through here, it's where all the shops are and it's where you'll see lots of photos taken because the castle in the background just looks amazing. I think Main Street is actually my favourite area in the whole of Disneyland because I just love the theming and walking down there gives me butterflies!
The castle itself is really beautiful, as Sleeping Beauty's castle it's slightly smaller than Cinderella's in Florida but I think it's just as amazing to look at. In fact, there's actually more for your average visitor to do than there is in America because not only can you walk through you can also go upstairs and there's things to see and explore.
If rides aren't really your bag then there's loads going on throughout the day in different areas of the park, from character meets and parades to the absolutely fabulous Disney Dreams night time spectacular show. I really enjoy watching the shows and parades, they seal the deal with the whole Disney Magic thing and they really bring the park to life. We watched Mary Poppins and Minnie Mouse's spring parade during the day and then we went back to the hotel for a few hours and returned for Disney Dreams. I'd definitely say the night time show is an absolute must; it starts at 8pm and goes on for a good 25 minutes with scenes from loads of different Disney movies projected onto the castle with the music to go with it. The finale fireworks are so amazing I can't even describe how good they are so if you do ever go to Disneyland Paris try make sure you are there at least once at night (looking back now I wish we'd done it on both nights!).
The castle itself is really beautiful, as Sleeping Beauty's castle it's slightly smaller than Cinderella's in Florida but I think it's just as amazing to look at. In fact, there's actually more for your average visitor to do than there is in America because not only can you walk through you can also go upstairs and there's things to see and explore.
You go up a staircase where you can see a storyboard of tapestries and beautiful stained glass windows all related to Sleeping Beauty. It was really magnificent in there and although the stories were in French, if you're familiar with Sleeping Beauty then you'll obviously be able to identify characters and scenes from the film. To the left of the castle you can go into the dragon's cave which is where the dragon comes to life from the film, I haven't included a photo from inside there because I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't been but all I'll say is that it's another example of brilliant imagineering.
The castle is a bit like a centre point for the whole park so from there you can go to whichever part of the park you want to. There's Fantasyland which is where you'll find It's a Small World (most repetitive ride ever but one that I wouldn't want to miss) and lots of other rides for smaller children, Discoveryland which is quite futuristic with rides like Space Mountain 2 (closed while we were there which I was gutted about) and Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast (I get so competitive on there!), Frontierland with a brill version of Big Thunder Mountain and Adventureland which is home to Pirates of the Caribbean and the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.
My overall experience of Disneyland Paris was absolutely brilliant; every bit as magical as I hoped it would be. *This is where I turn into an ignorant Brit who hasn't bothered to learn a second language* The only slight problem is that a lot of the attractions are in French so it's hard to understand in parts but you just have to use your imagination and any Disney fan will be able to work through the language barrier. If you haven't done DLP then I would definitely say it's worth doing especially if you can get a good deal (more on that in a later blog post).
I've got major Disney blues now, it's been a week since we set off and I just wish I could do it all again; roll on the next Disney fix!
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