France | Day 5: From Paris to Disneyland

Friday, June 16

First, A Brief Review

We love Disney Parks! So it makes sense that we enjoyed Disneyland Paris. We stayed onsite at the Newport Bay Club, with a three-night, four-day package, arriving Friday and checking out Monday. We purchased the Premier Pass for Friday, which allowed us to skip the lines for 16 of the parks’ most popular attractions.

We ate at three of their top-rated restaurants – Chez Remy, Walt’s Restaurant, and The Manhattan – had drinks and snacks at the Skyline Bar, and grabbed snacks at other various locations. We also ate breakfast in our rooms and brought water and snacks into the parks with us. Our dining experiences were all very good or better, with The Manhattan and the Skyline Bar being our favorite.

Both Disney World and Disneyland in the USA far outshine Disneyland Paris overall, but there are some things that Paris does better – the drone show and a few rides for example. I would say if you’re not a HUGE Disney fan, if Disneyland Paris isn’t on your bucket list, and if the USA parks are within your budget, skip DLP and go straight to the US parks.

Would we go back? If we were nearby, probably. Otherwise, we’ll save our money for the parks here at home.

Jump ahead to:

From Paris to Disney

Friday morning we woke up early to pack for our transition to Disneyland! After soaking in this gorgeous view for the last time, we ordered an Uber.

A 19-day trip that included visiting cities, the country, Disneyland, the Mediterranean, and the Alps, required a lot of varied clothing. At this point we had also accumulated groceries and souvenirs, so we were in no position to take the metro!

The UberXL from Paris’ 16th Arrondissement to Disneyland Paris, at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning, took a little over 30 minutes and cost around €90.00. The driver picked us up right outside our Airbnb, dropped us off at the entrance of our hotel, Disney’s Newport Bay Club, and helped us load and unload our luggage. It was worth every penny!

Why We Stayed Onsite

In the USA, we frequently stay offsite when visiting Disneyland and Disney World, but in Paris, we opted for a Disney hotel.

First, given this could very well be our only trip to Disneyland Paris, we wanted to immerse ourselves in the Disney experience as much as possible.

Second, staying onsite alleviated the uncertainty of researching and choosing alternative hotels, as well as the stress of familiarizing ourselves with yet another part of France. Basically, we knew what to expect with Disney.

Third, staying at a Disney hotel has all sorts of perks from extra hours in the park, to free transportation, to in-hotel character meet and greets, to Disney decor and theming.

Why Newport Bay Club

As Americans, we found it interesting – and a little disappointing – that all the available hotels in Disneyland Paris are American themed. The Newport Bay Club, where we stayed, is meant to feel like a New England yacht club. Other options include Sequoia Lodge, Hotel Cheyenne, Hotel Santa Fe, the Davy Crockett Ranch, and their newest addition, Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel.

Their flagship hotel, the Disneyland Hotel, is closed for renovations until 2024. Otherwise, this would have been our first choice. This hotel is perched at the park entrance – you literally walk under it to get into the park – and many of the rooms look directly out over Main Street and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. That said, we never saw the official price tag so there’s a very good chance we wouldn’t have splurged for the hotel, no matter how luxurious the accommodations.

After researching on-site hotels on DLP’s website, various travel blogs, and several Disney Facebook groups, we narrowed our selection down to Newport Bay and Hotel New York. The biggest draws were:

A) Proximity to the park: Both Newport Bay and Hotel New York are less than a 10-minute walk to the park entrance.
B) They both have air conditioning, something not every DLP hotel offers!!
C) They are larger than the other hotels, offering more amenities and restaurants, onsite pools, slightly larger rooms and bigger, comfier beds, etc.

The Disneyland Hotel (which was closed for renovations) and the park entrance

The decision between Newport Bay and Hotel New York came down to value per dollars. We are big Marvel fans, especially Christina, so of course Hotel New York (HNY) was tempting. However, when we looked at the price and compared rooms we couldn’t justify the extra $1000.00 it would have cost to stay at HNY. While the theming in the lobby and restaurants of HNY is very cool, the rooms aren’t all that different from your average New York City hotel. This might be exciting for people who’ve never been to New York City, but we are not those people. We’ve been to NYC and stayed in their hotels many times. I could jump in my car right now and be there in under three hours. And it would cost a lot less than $1000.00.

Newport Bay Club as viewed from across the water at Hotel New York, and our room ⬇︎

Because we could still visit Disney’s Hotel New York, eat at their bars and restaurants, shop in their store and so on, we opted to save the money and stay at Newport Bay, which, incidentally, has a beautiful view of Hotel New York. I will share photos of our visit to Hotel New York in an upcoming post.

Hotel New York as viewed from Newport Bay Club

Quick Review of Newport Bay Club: Overall staying at Newport Bay Club was a very good experience. We stayed in a ground floor room with access to a patio. While billed as a deluxe hotel in Disneyland Paris, it is probably more equivalent – in design, decor, cleanliness, amenities, etc. – to a moderate hotel in Disney World in Florida. Additionally, as New Englanders, we found the theme rather mundane. Were we from somewhere else in the world, it may have been more interesting. We did not eat at any of their restaurants nor did we use any of their pools (we just didn’t find the time). The location is quiet, peaceful, and charming. I would stay there again.

Security and Check-in DLP Style

Check-in at Newport Bay was different than anything we’ve previously experienced! First, they have a tent set up outdoors where they hold luggage for people who want to go to the parks but are still waiting for (or have already checked out of) their rooms. Before we could check our luggage, we had to put everything through an x-ray machine. This was awkward because we had to drag our luggage – once on the way to the x-ray machine, and a second time on the way back to the luggage storage – through the area where all the guests were coming and going and waiting for the buses. Which all seemed rather pointless given that no one was actually monitoring us as we trekked back to the luggage tent from security!

In order to enter Newport Bay, we had to go through security again, including x-ray machines for all bags. In fact, all the Disney hotels had security at their individual main entrances. There were also similar security check-points at all Disney Village entrances, including at the walking path from hotels, the main parking lot, and the train station (which is conveniently located right near the park entrance).

We checked in around 11:30 a.m. and were told that we would receive a text when our room was ready. As I mentioned before, we never received that text.

Finally, we headed to the parks!

Celebrating 30 Years

By now you probably know that our trip to France was inspired by my 50th birthday, Jacquelyn’s 30th birthday, and Doug’s and my 30th anniversary. But did you know that Disneyland Paris was ALSO celebrating their 30th anniversary???

Disney Village

The 10-minutes walk from Newport Bay to the park entrances leads you through Disney Village. This area of shops and restaurants is a much, much smaller version of Downtown Disney in California and Disney Springs in Florida. This was fine with me as it meant less walking and less shopping!

My favorite part of Disney Village was the food cart with gluten-free fresh fruit and sweets. There is nothing quite like leaving the park late at night, feeling exhausted, hot, and hungry and devouring sweet, refreshing, juicy chocolate covered strawberries from a skewer!

Disneyland Park

Our first stop was Disneyland Park, Paris’ equivalent to Orlando’s Magic Kingdom. The walkway leading to the Disneyland Hotel and the park entrance is beautifully landscaped with curving walkways, fountains, and flowers.

Under the Disneyland Hotel is where we scanned our tickets, and then we were officially in the park! Our first view was the train station which was still decorated for the 30th anniversary, where we took plenty of pictures, of course.

Then, finally, after passing under the train station, we were greeted with that iconic view of Main Street and the castle!

We spent a few hours in the park, and tracked down some slushies for a mid-day snack. Then we went back to our hotel in the late afternoon when we assumed our room was ready (they said they’d text us but they never did). After we brought our luggage to the room and got that settled, we headed to Walt Disney Studios Park for dinner and more rides.

Walt Disney Studios Park

Walt Disney Studios is less than a five-minute walk, gate to gate, from Disneyland Park. But we were coming from our hotel so it was about a 10-minute walk. Walt Disney Studios is also tiny with essentially one main road that you can probably walk end-to-end in about five minutes.

Our first stop was for dinner at Chez Remy, where everything is designed to make you feel as though you are the size of Remy the rat from the Disney movie, Ratatouille. You can read more about the meal below, under the heading “Dinner at Chez Remy.”

After dinner, we rode several rides and then headed back to Disneyland Park for a few more rides and the projection, fireworks, and drone show. More on all that below!

Premier Access Pass

Yes, we went all in and purchased the Premier Access Ultimate Pass for our first day in the park! The Premier Pass allows passholders to skip the line for 16 of the park’s most popular attractions; however, you can only use the pass one time on each available attraction. While we were planning to visit the parks Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we chose the Premier Pass for Friday because:
• We knew we would arrive at the park several hours after it opened.
• It would allow us to ride all the most popular rides at least once, and then we’d know which ones we wanted to ride again later that weekend.
• The weekday rate was less expensive than the weekend rate.

The Premier Pass price varies by day and expected crowd levels. We paid about $150.00 per person for this perk and that is on top of the regular park admission. It’s absolutely bonkers and quite frankly, we can’t even believe we paid it; but again, given that this was a once-in-a-lifetime type trip, we went all in. I am particularly glad we did because I woke up sick Saturday morning; and having already ridden the most popular rides on Friday took a lot of the pressure off the rest of the weekend.

Attraction Reviews

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad | 10★
Ridden by: All
Ride type: Roller Coaster
Our first ride in DLP! It’s different from and better than both BTMRs in the USA. It goes under ground, beneath the river in total darkness! Lots of thrill on this thrill ride but relatively easy on the stomach and body. The only drawback is that now, whenever I ride BTMR in the USA, I will be thinking about how the one in DLP is so much better!

Phantom Manor | 7★
Ridden by: All
Ride type: Dark Ride, continuously loading Omnimover system
This is basically the Paris version of Haunted Mansion. It differs from the US versions in that it has a new story and higher quality effects. I’m not a HM purist, so I loved this one. Very chill. No quick movements, drops, or anything to upset the stomach or back. Could be scary for kids.

The ghost is in the car with us!

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril | 1★
Ridden by: Doug, Jacquelyn, Christina
Ride type: Loop Coaster
Indiana Jones in Disneyland California is one of my favorite rides, probably in my top three. Well this is NOTHING like that! I don’t do loop coasters, so I sat this one out. Everyone else rode it and afterward they said, “You’re glad you didn’t go on that!” Apparently it was very rough, and no one wanted to ride it ever again. We gave it one star for existing.

Peter Pan | 9★
Ridden by: All
Ride Type: Dark ride, continuously loading “flying boats” suspended from track system
Of course we all rode this and it was indeed very similar to the two versions in the USA except for a few artistic differences, and it was also newer and brighter, so just a more beautiful experience. Always a family favorite. Very chill ride but could bother people with a significant fear of heights. Below is a scene from the end of the ride, and we love how the pixie dust lights up and sparkles!

It’s a Small World | 8★
Ridden by: All
Ride type: Boat
The best part of riding IASM was seeing how the Paris version portrays the USA. They featured scenes from the Wild West complete with a saloon and cowboys, plus Native Americans, Hollywood, New York City, and American football. The Paris version is also noticeably newer, cleaner, and brighter. The USA versions need some serious refreshing. Doug says he agrees with the eight star rating for this Paris version but still gives the USA version two stars!

HyperSpace Mountain | 6★
Ridden by: Jacquelyn, Christina
Ride Type: Indoor, Dark Loop Coaster
The Paris version is Star Wars themed, has sidewinder loops, and is much faster than ones at home. The girls said it was somehow even darker than the USA versions, so dark they couldn’t see much of anything. It was also rough and painful, particularly for Jacquelyn, which affected their rating of the ride.

Doug and I, having ridden Space Mountain in the USA many times, opted to sit this one out, literally resting on the grass outside the attraction. There was a time when the dark, indoor roller-coaster was new and exciting but these days it’s just a fast, painful ride in the dark haha. We will save our bodies for rides we can better enjoy!

Star Tours | 7★
Ridden by: Doug
Ride Type: Enclosed 3D Flight Simulator
This ride is NOT related to the new Star Wars rides in either Galaxy’s Edge in the USA. It is an older ride that we’ve all ridden before, but it makes everyone except Doug incredibly nauseous and/or claustrophobic. We’ve tried to like it. We just can’t. Doug really enjoyed it and the seven star rating is entirely from him.

Buzz Lightyear | 7★
Ridden by: All
Ride Type: Interactive Shooting Dark Ride, continuously loading Omnimover system
Very similar to the USA versions, this ride is a slow-moving, shooting-gallery arcade game with laser guns. Believe it or not, Paris had better laser guns! The cart tracks your score and you compete with the person in your cart, as well as everyone on the ride. Christina and I always ride together because we are both very bad at it, but we have fun anyway.

2023 Paris (notice our lack of effort)
2017 Orlando (we aren’t even trying lol)

Tower of Terror | 8★
Ridden by: Doug, Jacquelyn
Ride Type: Free-fall Elevator Drop
The ride itself is the same as TOT in Orlando, but with a different story. Doug and Jacquelyn both enjoyed it, but found the story and accompanying video effects creepy. Christina and I, though we’ve ridden it several times before, find that the multiple drops make us way too nauseous. We had a nice time resting in yet another patch of grass and we even FaceTimed my parents!

Crush’s Coaster | 9★
Ridden by: All
Ride Type: Spinning Dark Roller Coaster
Holy hell this ride is crazy!!!!! I am glad I went on it because there’s nothing quite like it but I’m not sure I’d ever ride it again. Not a single description I read about Crush’s Coaster adequately conveyed the speed, spinning, and general insanity of the experience. Doug describes it as the Tea Cups on a roller coaster. Each cart seats four people – two and two, back to back – kind of like Toy Story Mania. These carts don’t just spin, they whip you around while traveling over twisting tracks in such a way that you are surely upside down, on your back, on your face, in a split second, all while hurtling through the dark. The only saving grace is it’s only one minutes and 55 seconds long. The girls especially loved it! We give it nine stars but don’t think it’s worth more than an hour wait.

Avenger’s Assemble Flight Force | 2★
Ridden by: Doug, Jacquelyn, Christina
Ride Type: Dark Loop-Coaster
Structurally, this is like the USA’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster but with an Avenger’s theme. HOWEVER, the family says it falls far short of Rockin’ Roller Coaster’s quality. It’s basically a dark coaster with a few screens on which CGI Captain Marvel and Iron Man appear for a split second. They all had high hopes, especially Christina, and they were very disappointed. Christina said the queue was more interesting than the ride. Yikes! We give it two stars for the roller coaster alone but dock the other eight for lazy theming, and lost potential.

Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure | 10★
Ridden by: All
Ride Type: Interactive Shooting Dark Ride
Like the version in California, this ride is a game similar in concept to Toy Story Mania and Buzz Lightyear, but you shoot “webs” from your wrists at spider-bots on 3D screens. The technological marvel (see what I did there?) includes four infra-red cameras hidden in the ceiling of the ride car that track the position of guests’ eyes, shoulders, elbows and wrists, to gauge where your webs (if you really had any) would land and how many bots you would destroy. It’s a fun game, although all that slinging is a little hard on the body! And in an ironic twist, despite her historical performances on Buzz Lightyear, Christina beat us all.

The ride itself is extremely slow and mild, so the game is the main the feature. That said, this is one of the few rides where I really enjoyed the queue and the pre-ride show featuring a digital Tom Holland speaking in french and pronouncing “Spider Man” as “Spee-duh Mon”!!!

Personally I would give this nine stars because I don’t think the ride itself is interesting enough, but I’m going to defer to everyone else.

Dinner at Chez Remy

The best part of this restaurant is the theming, hands-down. On our way into the dining room, the staff told us that once we passed through the doors, we would be the size of Remy, dining in a Remy-sized restaurant. The decor was spot on! The chairs are made out of champagne corks and bottle tops. Drink umbrellas serve as table canopies. The Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling are a foot or two long. Giant utensils and tableware decorate the walls. These are the kinds of things Disney does so well.

The food was good. Definitely better than your average park food but what you’re really paying for is the atmosphere. There were several gluten-free options, including the ratatouille, but fewer options for someone like me with an additional corn allergy. That said, we all had plenty to eat. Unfortunately there were no gluten-free/corn-free desserts for me. We were all pretty full at the end of the meal, so we opted to not get dessert.

The service, while good, was extremely slow. Our very simple meal took nearly two hours. Our servers were fairly knowledgable and all spoke English. However, over the course of that two hours we had three or four different servers.

I definitely recommend eating at Chez Remy for the experience. I also find that table service is usually safer than counter service when trying to eat with food allergies.

*Important note for those with food allergies: You do not necessarily have to settle for a pre-packaged frozen meal. One restaurant tried to offer me a frozen meal and I politely insisted that they could accommodate me in their kitchen. I understand that for some of you with severe allergies, a pre-packaged meal may be your safest option. But if you are comfortable eating food prepared in the kitchen, and your modification needs are reasonable (I did not ask them bake me fresh bread or a whip up a corn-free sauce!), then let them know that’s your preference.

Disney D-Light & Disney Dreams (and a story about manners)

We LOVE the projection shows in the USA, so we were eager to see the European version. And Paris did not disappoint! As always, the hardest part is finding a good viewing spot. Our first night we stood in front of Hyperspace Mountain, behind a low fence that surrounded water and rocks. The advantage was that no one could stand in front of us. The disadvantage was that we were a bit off center. All and all, it was a good spot and we loved the show.

The last night of our stay we stood in a more central location along main street which provided a better view of the projection show, and better photos of the drone show (more here).

I wish I could post videos because they are the only thing that will do the show any justice at all. I highly recommend catching some of my clips on Facebook or watching the full show on Youtube!

Important notes for DLP first-timers:
• In spring and summer, the one projection show in DLP is late – 11:00 p.m. – because during that time of year in Paris, it doesn’t get dark until about 10:45 p.m.!
• The manners and expectations for viewing in Disneyland Paris are wildly different than in the USA. What I found most disturbing was that parents lifted their kids up to stand on wet trash cans (or other objects) and then walked away. Not only was this incredibly rude to anyone NOT standing on a trashcan, it was unsafe. I realize that it sucks for kids (and adults) who are too short to see over taller adults and too big to be held by their parents, but it’s still rude and selfish to block everyone and anyone else. In the USA, Disney cast members do not allow people to stand on trashcans or lamp posts or giant rocks, and I quite prefer it. I’ve heard that in Japan, everyone sits for shows. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

I mean, I’m not even a fan of people putting kids on their shoulders either. Hold them on your hips at normal height! Ugh I detest rudeness.

Anyway, I really wish Disney would come up with some better solutions so kids, people in wheelchairs, and the vertically challenged among us, could enjoy their shows in peace and without having to pay an exorbitant up-charge.

After the Park

All the rides, many of the restaurants, and some of the stores were closed after the projection show, so most everyone piles out of the park in one big mob. We opted to stay on main street for a while as the crowds thinned before heading back to the hotel. As I mentioned earlier, we stopped for those strawberry skewers which just delighted me in the most unexpected way!

Back at the hotel we took turns showering which was a drag because it was after midnight and we were all exhausted, but it had been so hot and we just couldn’t stand the idea of getting into clean sheets while covered in sweat and park filth!

OK one more look at the castle plus a goodnight hug. (Still to come: Disney Pride, meeting stitch, more rides, more restaurants, and our visit to Hotel New York.)

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