My family just spent the best part of 2 weeks in Paris. This is my attempt to recount what we did so we can all remember it later on. You can find the first post here if you want to start with us in Raleigh.

Recap

  1. My wife did ALL THE PLANNING. Where to stay, When to go. What to do. What to see. She did an amazing job.
  2. Air France direct to Paris on a redeye
  3. Riding around on the Tootbus and a trip to Franprix
  4. Musee D’Orsay and Notre Dame on the BatoBus

Day 2 - Disney Paris

Each grown-up got a day

One of the genius strokes Molly built in to our trip itinerary was that each adult would have a day where they could go off and do whatever they want while the other had a day with the kiddo. Day 2 was my day for fun with the kid. I took an incredibly easy route and got tickets for Disneyland Paris.

Getting to Disney Paris

OMG this couldn’t be easier. This was my first experience with the Paris Metro. Our apartment was close to both the Pyramides and the Palais Royal stops. They both connect quickly to the Chatelet stop. The Chatelet is a huge station that connects tons of Metro lines as well as the Commuter Train Service (RER). We needed to get on the RER A train.

The RER A train’s terminus drops you off literally at the gate to Disneyland Paris.

Disneyland Paris entry gate

Orlando vs. Paris

Lots of people have asked about the comparison between Disneyworld/Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. Here’s my short form take:

Note I’ve never been to Disneyland in California.

  1. Paris’ MainStreet is eerily similar to Orlando. The stores are shaped the same. The hot dog and ice cream places have different names, but the same themes. Baseball in Paris was weird.
  2. The names were slightly different, but even the lands in Paris’ version of Magic Kingdom were even in the same place. Frontierland, Fantasyland, Discoveryland. Different names. Same places. That made it easy to get around. The only critique is that they didn’t quite get the scale right. They ended up with fewer rides and more restaurants. But the space isn’t quite big enough to support the restaurants.
  3. GREAT IDEA IN PARIS several of the larger restaurants actually tie in to the ride. Similar to Small World and the Pinocchio food court in Orlando. More about this in a minute.
  4. Adventure Park is laid out smoother and was honestly more fun. This is the second park at Disney Paris. We were only there the last couple of hours of the day. But it contained a huge chunk of our fun.
  5. GREAT IDEA IN PARIS Public transport straight to the door. No ocean of parking lots. I cannot overstate how awesome the travel in/out of the park was.

The Rides

We splurged for the Premier Access for the day. We had fast lane access to almost every ride on-demand. So we got a lot of rides in. We started our day in the main park.

  • Big Thunder Mountain - great coaster. Very similar to the one in Orlando - 4 stars
  • Pirates - Very similar to Orlando, but with a little French flair tossed in. The water even smelled the same. - 4.5 stars
  • Phantom Manor - So much fun, as always. Very similar to the one in Orlando. But the jilted bride takes on a bigger role in the narrative. Also, in the graveyard they had a sparkling skeleton in a top hat with red eyes who was maniacally laughing. And he showed up twice. You do You, Disney Paris. 4.5 stars
  • Peter Pan - just a few tasteful updates from the original day-glo cardboard. 5 stars
  • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril - Kiddo’s first roller coaster loop! A little bumpy and your head bangs on the harness - 4 stars
  • Hyperspace Mountain - was down. sadness - N/A stars
  • Adventure Isle (Skull Rock) - OMG so many narrow stairs in the dark! But lots of fun on the whole. We spent 30 minutes lost in here.
  • Alice’s Curious Labyrinth - again with the crazy stairs! But more fun.

We also had a little cool-down time watching a fun dance team from England on a big stage they have in Discoveryland. At this point we switched over to Adventure Park.

  • Tower of Terror - Kid’s first time. LOVED IT. This one is better than the one in Orlando. A little smoother, and you don’t have to move from the entry to the drop zone. The door closes and you’re flying up. LOVE - 9 stars.

  • Crush’s Coaster - MY FAVORITE RIDE THERE.

    • indoor coaster (love them)
    • FAST
    • car spins while you’re moving (like Guardians at EPCOT)

    It’s sort of a mix of Space Mountain simplicity (no giant light shows) and Guardian’s physics. SO MUCH FUN. - 19 stars

  • Ratatouille - The kid’s favorite. Classic trackless 5D ride. You’re a mouse. Sitting in a mouse. wind. water. tons of fun.

Crush's coaster

The Food

We were at Disney. We had lunch at Captain Jack’s restaurant. He made an appearance. I had fish (again). The kid and I both learned what vegetable tartare is (0 stars). Dessert was amazing.

NO CHURROS

NO DOLE WHIP

Get with it Disney Paris.

Day 2 Ratings

  • Public Transport - 5 stars
  • Disney Paris - 4.5 stars (stares in Dole Whip)
  • Feet - tired
  • Premier Access - Totally worth it

Lessons Learned

  1. This was the day we started to learn that our daughter is not a ‘city girl’. We live in the suburbs. She’s a driveway > parking lot kid. Busy public transport and crowded parks give her what can be pretty serious anxiety. This will re-appear throughout the week.
  2. A day at Disney is universal. Tons of fun and very tired feet. I’m glad we did this early in the week.
  3. Giving each parent a day on their own is GENIUS for vacation fun.

Next Up: Day 3 - African Fashion, The Louvre, and a sore knee