France Escape

I love Disneyland! I’m not the get-dressed-in-your-favourite princess costume and sing show-tunes type of Disney fan, rather, I’m much more excited by entering a different land where different rules apply – an alternate reality. In this land, wait staff, cashiers, ticket booth operators are cast members, cartoon characters party all day long, buildings and streets hearken a time that only exists in our dreams. Disney alters our perception of reality and therefore alters how we think and feel – offering up perfect land where fun and celebration have precedence.

With all that being said, I regret to say that Disneyland Paris does not succeed in creating an alternate universe. The park is laid out perfectly, with hotels lining a small lake, a picturesque hot air balloon floating dream-like above, Downtown Disney offering up food and entertainment as you walk to the gates of either Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios Park. But, there’s something about the French sensibility that doesn’t allow the employees to really embrace their role as a Disney cast member. This small difference in sentiment introduced the nuisance of regular life in a world that was suppose to transport you to a new one.

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Newport Beach Hotel

The Newport Beach Hotel is about 20 minutes walk to the parks. Typically, I think it’s a 15 minute walk but they closed off the shorter walkway for construction when we were there. It’s very well done, including detailed nautical paraphernalia, board and batten wainscotting, and grand rooms & staircases. Disney has captured the visual aspects of New England, but not the laid back lobster bake vibe of the region. Probably because the hotel is so huge, it has more of a convention center vibe.

Compass Club

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We opted to pay a little more for the Compass Club. Which meant we were on a special floor, our room was a bit fancier, and we had access to the “Compass Club” which is a snack/bar restaurant with limited hours. The “Club” is on the main floor, so it’s not as convenient as the clubs we joined in Orlando Disney that were on the same floor as our hotel room. The food was pretty good but they only offered food for Breakfast and Tea. Unlike Orlando Disney, you couldn’t grab a quick snack anytime throughout the day. And alcoholic drinks were extra.

Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris is beautiful. Unlike Orlando, the castle is castle worthy, and they really paid attention to small details throughout the park. Our favourite ride by far was Space Mountain. I would have loved to have gone on the original ride, that paid homage to Jules Verne’s 1865 tale, “De la Terre à la Lune”. Instead, it was a “Star Wars” themed ride which was a bit out of place with the elaborate structure that the ride was housed in. But – it was still amazing. We managed to snag the front seats (twice!) and it was exhilarating.

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Space Mountain, from the outside has a much stronger Jules Verne feel than Luke Skywalker

Our second favourite ride was Thunder Mountain – I think it may be the first roller-coaster that goes under a large body of water!

Walt Disney Studio Park

The Tower of Terror was really fun. Unlike Orlando, the elevator car doesn’t move around as much on a track, which took away a bit from seeing the spooky family, but the antiques and overall spooky vibe of the hotel was fantastic. And we were even able to successfully replay our favourite joke “Look kids, I managed to book us into a hotel actually in the Park!”. The drop zone action was awesome.

The Rock and Roll Coaster would have been amazing had they chose any other artist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame BUT Aerosmith. They had Bowie, The Smiths, AC DC, The Clash, U2…and Aerosmith?!?!?

Disneyland Paris Restaurants