Disneyland Paris - October 2017

[Charlesberg]

So as part of a choir related tour, I had the opportunity to go to Disneyland Paris. However, as it was one of these school style trips, it was inevitable that the visit would result in huge compromises.

 

To start off, we only had one day in the park. In addition, we spent quite a lot of the morning preparing for a concert (reducing the amount of time we had) and had to have dinner at 6:00 in which we couldn’t stay afterwards (despite being told that we would stay till 9 ish).

 

My ride count was not great:

- Hyperspace Mountain x2

- Indiana Jones x1

- Pirates of the Caribbean x1

- Star Tours x1

 

With regards to the rides, I’ll begin with Hyperspace Mountain. I was left quite disappointed, the changes really left the ride feeling bare. Space Mountin Mission 2 was one of the only roller coasters where the theme actually got me (bear in mind that theming rarely makes or breaks a coaster for me). I thought the onboard soundtrack was poorly arranged for the ride; randomly scattered Star Wars tunes does not at all compare to a fully synchronised orchestral soundtrack (as featured on the previous SM). Comparisons aside, it was a great ride, just not as good as it used to be. I did used to rate this above RnR (WDW), but based on my last 2 rides it would move down a few places in my list.

But apparently this is only temporary (I’ll hold my list for now), so hopefully SMM2 (or any original SM theme) returns with it’s glorious soundtrack. If that soundtrack doesn’t return for whatever reason, the new one must be original and orchestrated to satisfy me.

 

The rest of the rides were pretty good. Indiana Jones was running rather smoothly and both pirates and Star Tours proved better than their American counterparts.

 

Disneyland Paris is one of those parks which I just haven’t had a sufficient experience in, but I’m looking forward to the days I get to go with no compromises. The last time I went was 4 years ago on the exact same tour with the exact same choir, again we only went in the Disneyland Park (my ride count was better though). The time before that was on my 5th birthday (we went in both parks) which I know was a dream come true at the time but memories are very faint.

 

Words of wisdom: If you ever go to a theme park with a school, music club, etc. you must be prepared for disappointment.

[Matt 236]

Going to Disneyland Paris within a large school or social group, always seems to doom a low and disappointing ride count, which isn't surprising. I remember when my sister went as part of a Brownie trip years ago and only managed 5/6 rides on a single day or something and barely remembers.

 

Given the busyness and limited time you had, the majority of your list definitely features most of the main and best rides in the main park, although it's a shame you never managed to get on a Big Thunder and Phantom Manor. 

 

I usually find you get the best of most parks shorn visit as part of small group and would say 4-6 is usually the most ideal number. You certainly need a minimum of 2-3 days to get the core resort completed (subject to busyness).

 

As much a Star Wars fan I am, Hyperspace just does not work with the Jules-Verne style architecture and just feels shoehorned for the sake of marketing and Star Wars stuff. Star Tours next door though is fab now and the surrounding area looks much better.