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Disneyland Paris which was formerly known as Euro Disneyland and even Disneyland Resort Paris is located in the suburbs of Marne-la-Vallee, Paris. Disneyland Paris is a European version of Walt Disney’s “Magic Kingdom” theme park. After Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan, Disneyland Paris is the second Disney theme park which was opened outside the United States.

Understand It, You will need it.

The area covered by Disneyland Resort Paris can be distinguished in to three different parts namely, Disneyland Paris, Disney Village and Walt Disney Studios. Disneyland Paris is just what we expect it to be and what we have seen in movies, but the Walt Disney Studios is designed and constructed keeping in mind the Walt Disney movies but yet contains very much Disney Style. Disney Village is a pure shopping island as you will see only stores and restaurants in the village.

Audio-Animatronics is the unique feature which helps Disney stand apart from the rest of other themed parks. Disney’s theme park is always famous for its service mentality, attention to details and no to forget about high prices. Disney group intends to recreate the magic in their theme park and they are very much successful. There is no staff as all are cast members. Concern on not using the same character twice at a particular place is given. Disney Park gives us an example of a perfect world with insanely clean gardens and roads and perfectly working machines. There is no word imperfection when it comes to Disneyland Park Resort. No matter whether you are a child or an adult, there is something or the other for you in Disneyland.

With Disney people can enjoy commercialism to its extent. All the Disney parks are basically based on the same theme except for the regional differences. Many of the big rides in Disneyland are sponsored by big corporations giving them a chance to advertise to the smiling masses. To add icing to the cake, City of Light is just half an hour away via train from the magical Disneyland.

The Best Time to Visit Disneyland
Disneyland was always infamous for its crowds. Defeating the Eiffel Tower in the race of popularity Disneyland experienced 15 million visits in the year 2010. Disneyland Paris ranks on the fourth position in the list of most visited theme park behind Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland. As you know that Disneyland Paris attracts huge crowd I am sure you do not want to stand in long queues. You can see “45 minutes from this point” barricades everywhere in Disneyland Paris.

It is better to visit Disneyland Paris on weekdays which do not come on holidays and school vacations. Keeping in mind the French weather, June is the most advisable month to visit Disneyland Paris. May-June and September-October has recorded the least number of visitors, so can choose amongst these months for your tour.

During the least visits months you can easily get good deals such as 3 day stay in hotel for a price for just 2 days etc. Keep in mind that even without many people to fill in the queue which can delay your tour, Disneyland cannot be completely seen in a single day. You need at least 2days to enjoy the magic of Disneyland.

Get in
As soon as you arrive Paris, reach your hotel and get your tickets there. You will also be provided with breakfast vouchers and informational material such as maps etc.

By plane
Paris is blessed with two International Airports and Disneyland is well connected to both of them. Charles de Gaulle International Airport and Orly Airport are the names of the respective Airports. If you just got down on Charles de Gaulle International Airport, you can reach Disneyland after a trip of about 10 min via train service operated by TGV. But if you are landing on Orly Airport, you will need to change three trains to reach the magical resort. You will need to take Orlyval train which will take you from Orly Airport to Antony. From there you should take RER B which will drop you at Chatelet-Les-Halles and finally you can travel through RER A4 to reach Marne-la-Vallee Chessy. There is also an option of travelling via bus operated by VEA from both the international Airports directly to Disneyland Paris. Travelling charges are €17 per adult and €13 per child from the age of 3-11 per trip.

By car
f you live anywhere near France such as Central Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg or Southern United Kingdom, you have an additional option of travelling with your car. You cane easily find Disneyland Paris as it is a star spot for tourists in Paris and highways of France are also easy to navigate through. The only problem of travelling with a Car on French highways is that French charges hefty amount for using their highways. If you are travelling from Frankfurt, Germany to Disneyland you will need to shed €30 in fees just as a highway charges.

By train
The best way to reach Disneyland Paris is always a train ride. Disneyland has its own railway station and all the railway employees are well aware of the station. Official name of the Station is Marne-La-Vallee Chessy. The trains are reliable and frequency is good which will help you to reach Disneyland without much hassle.

From Paris
If you reside within Paris and want to catch a train from Central Paris to Marne-La-Vallee Chessy, you need to get in to a RER A4. It takes around 35 min to reach the destination. You should be aware that Metro tickets are on RER are valid only for Zone 1 travel and Disneyland lies in Zone 5. Do not forget to take a ticket that allows you to travel in Zones 1-6 rather than Zones 1-3. If you are caught using an invalid ticket, a fine of €25 will be levied on you.

Tickets
If you are visiting Disneyland Paris remember that it is no less expensive than other Disney theme Parks all around the globe. Disneyland Paris offers you four variations in tickets. 1 Day 1 Park ticket allows you to visit only one of the two parks and for only one day. Whereas there are three types of hopper tickets available that allows you to visit both the parks within one day, two days and/or three days. The three Hopper ticket is the most economical when calculated on a per day basis. All children below the age of 3 years are admitted for free. You can get the exact prices online on visiting the Disneyland official website.

My advice for you is to visit a French version of Disneyland official website to get the best deal as other versions do not give you any special deal as such. One of the special deals can be €40/ticket on a5-day advance purchase. You can easily save good amount of money depending on the exchange rats. No need to worry if you do not understand French as you can download Google Translate and use it to translate the language in your regional language.

Get around
As you reach Disneyland get ready and do some warm up as you will need to walk a lot. Main mode of transportation in Disneyland is walking only and you need to be used to it. Whole of Disneyland is divided into 4 themed sections namely Discoveryland, Adventureland, Frontierland and Fantasyland. There is a shopping and information area too named as Main Street USA. You can travel though a train available in Disneyland if you are in one part of Disneyland and you intend to reach another part of it. The train stops at all the major sections and travels in a circular format. You can use the undercover walkway if you find yourself in the heavy rain in Pirates of the Caribbean ride to reach the front of the park. Bus services do exist in Disneyland which will take you to Disney village and central entrance of the hotels and the best part is that the bus services are free of cost.

Accessibility
If any member of your troop needs a wheelchair to travel, there is no need to be worried as Disneyland’s accessibility is outstanding. You can access almost all the parts of Disneyland even with wheelchairs. Only few areas exist in Disneyland which is totally inaccessible to wheelchair users. A very good system is present in Disneyland for the disabled access to most of the rides. But some rides do need rider to be able to climb a ladder or walk for safety precautions. Get your disabled member a disability pass from the Information center. This will help the staff members to assist and help the disabled visitor. Staff members are not bias to allow a disabled person to jump the queue but they will assist you safely t the rides via he exit gates rather than the most crowded entrance gates.

FastPass
If you are a good planner and are able to plan your time of enjoying rides, you can opt for a Fastpass. A fastpass is basically your license to jump the queue and enjoy the rides at a set time without any waiting. It is advised to get you a fastpass even if the park is moderately crowded. Remember that fastpasses are only for few rides and not all of them. You still need to experience the taste of waiting for other rides that do not allow fast passes.

All you need to do to get a fastpass is to move in front of the ride and get a coupon with a time frame. Come back later in the allotted time slot to enjoy your ride queue free. A couple of rules do exist that you need to follow. For example if you fail to reach the ride within the given time frame you need to come back later. And you cannot take another fast pass before your existing fastpass time frame starts. One more thing that you should never forget is that fastpasses are limited and so you need to get them before they are over.

Baby Switch
Baby Switch is a great way to avoid lining up for a ride but only for those with very young children. In Baby Switch only one member needs to queue in the line and the rest of them can wait until their chance. Once the member reaches the ride point, all the other members can enjoy the ride without queuing up. The rules are slightly different if you want to ride Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster.

See
If you are in Disneyland, you are not there to see but to do. Do all the things that a child wants to do and enjoy each and every moment of your life. But this in no way means that there is nothing to see in Disneyland. One of the distinct monuments that will give pleasure to your eyes is The Castle. Anyone who is a Disney fan and who grew up watching Disney cartoon will love The Castle. Though it is a stark plastic construction, it is remarkable and you will surely love it. No we are not going to skip the Dragon cave with a sleeping dragon inside. It is one of the best Audio-Animatronics in Disneyland.

Disney has a huge variation with characters and it has used to fully in its theme park. Different Disney characters are spread all over the theme park. As I previously said that you will not be able to spot two identical characters at any particular place in whole of Disneyland. Most of the characters are always available for you to get their autograph and photographs. But few of the characters such as Mickey, Minnie and Donald along with few more stars give you a look at a fixed time.

If you want to meet any favorite character of yours and if you are not able to find him anywhere just go to the Information center and ask them when your favorite character will show up. They will provide you with the exact schedule and location where you can find you Favorite. We go Disneyland to meet our favorites only. If you are in a must see condition in regards to a special character, just reach the CITY HALL on TOWNS SQUARE. They will help you with all the necessary information and they can even arrange a ‘Meet-n-Greet’ session with your favorite character.

You will also be able to see different Parades throughout the day in Disneyland. Some of the Parades are very famous and features some Disney and non Disney characters. A complete listing of the Parades will be available on the Park map.

Shows
Disneyland Paris has plenty of shows that you can enjoy. Some of them can be named as Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show with Mickey and Friends featured in Disney Village and Armageddon Special Effects in Walt Disney Studios Park. Armageddon allows you to experience the view of destruction of the space stations due to incoming flow of asteroids. It is advised to avoid the show if it is crowded.  Animagique is a musical show featuring Disney Characters with pink elephants. A good show if you can appreciate it. On the other hand CineMagique is an interactive show which tells you about the 100yeas old history of Cinema.  A must watch and highly recommended show that anyone of any age can enjoy. Moteurs Action is a car stunt show full of entertainment and with lots of photo moments. It can be a bit long but it is surely worth waiting for.

Many shows such as Tarzan, Honey I shrunk the Audience and The Lion King were either cancelled or replaced by the better ones. These shows still have a fan following and new visitors will surely miss them.

Rides
It is not a surprise for anyone to see any of the rides hugely crowded in Disneyland. They stand amongst the best rides and they truly deserve the entire crowd queuing. Depending on the popularity of certain characters and the design of each and every ride, the crowd level varies.

Allow me to tell you about some of the best rides in Disneyland Your Highness:

1. Space Mountain: Situated in Discoveryland, Space Mountain 2 is an updated version of the previous ride. It does evoke strong emotions. Fastpasses are available as you can see a huge queue near the ride.
2. Big Thunder Mountain: Established in Frontierland Big thunder mountain ranks amongst the best rides of Disneyland. It is enjoyable but too busy and therefore a fastpass is highly recommended. You can also get a Post-ride Photo.
3. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: This is not for someone with heart problems. Super ride with lots of entertainment factors hidden within. Twilight Zone still remains as a major Disney attraction. With Superb decors, great sensations, amazing ambiance this is a must for all strong heart youngsters and adults. A FastPass is highly recommended.
4. Rock n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith:  Walt Disney Studio Park is proud of this ride. A too good ride with proper mixture of sound system and acceleration gives a rider a cool and great experience. The crowd level is on its extreme here and so you need to use your mind. Wait until the stunt show starts in the park and as soon as the show is on, you can go and enjoy the ride. If you don’t want to wait for a couple of hours, you can go for a FastPass ticket. One more very important thing to keep in mind is that you should always opt to ride on the front seat. The experience is truly amazing and different from riding on the backseat. Just wait for a bit long if you need to, but make sure to grab the front seat.
5. Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast: Boss of all interactive rides, you get a laser pistol when you fasten your seat belts for the ride. During the whole ride there are many targets to shoot and you can earn points. A post-ride photo is available with your scored points on it. You can show this to your friends and make them jealous.
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: You will award it the best known Disney ride once you ride it. This is a water ride based on piracy theme.  No need to bother with camera or camcorder because it is so dark that you will not get a single clear picture. You will also get your clothes a bit wet but that is nothing to bother about. Automatically clicked photos of your Post –ride is available.

It is not a difficult thing to spot a restaurant or a bar in Disney Village, but let me tell you that they all are expensive. All the restaurants in Disney Village are themed among which some are King Ludwig’s Castle, Steak home restaurant, Jungle House and even the Pirates of the Caribbean. With the Blue Lagoon themed restaurant you can enjoy the most beautiful ambience and atmosphere available in any of Disneyland’s restaurants. The cheapest meal in Disneyland is from McDonalds but be aware that it does not feature the regular price menu. Disneyland’s McDonalds is the biggest all over France.

There is a shopping mall nearby Disneyland from where you can do all your souvenir shopping. Do not forget to get yourself some drinks before entering Disneyland as you will feel real thirsty after walking and the drinks are very costly in Disneyland. Although it is not allowed to do picnicking in the park, but the staff is not very much strict with this rule.

If you are opting for a 2 +day Hopper Ticket then you should look out for a good hotel. There are various hotels situated nearby Disneyland. We can name some of them as Cheyenne Hotel with Western theme, Disneyland Hotel (the most lavish and most expensive one), New York Hotel, Newport Bay both situated on Lake Disney and Santa Fe. Santa Fe can be awarded as the most economical and cheap hotel around Disneyland.

Do not except any cheap hotel to offer you internet connection. It is very rare to find an internet connection in hotels of Disneyland. Only the most expensive and lavished hotels may provide you with Cyber Café facilities. On the other hand you can take a laptop with internet USB. There may be spare sockets where you can plug the battery wire and charge your Laptop.

While taking about communication, most of the residents know English and so communicating is not a big problem. Maps, sign boards and many informational Kiosks are available in French, German and English. If in rare cases you meet with someone who can’t speak English, there are many passers that can help you with translation.

While going back to the airport, you can take the TGV operated bus shuttle that will cost you around €7.50 ages 12 and above while it is just 5.50 for children between 3-11 year.

Hear the Tour to the Dreamland ends. I hope you will enjoy your journey.