Bonjour! Today I’m going to tell you all about visiting Disneyland Paris, from an American Disney fan’s point of view. But before we get started, you should know a few things about me. Those of you who read my blog, follow me on Instagram, or happened to have gone to middle school with me have no doubt noticed that I’m a big fan of Disney. I visited Disneyland every year or so as a child, and also visited Disney World several times, as my grandparents lived near Orlando. I went to Disney World twice my senior year of high school, and also twice the last year I lived in the U.S. (2016).  And when we lived in California a few years ago, we got annual passes to Disneyland and ran two Disney half marathons. So, while I may not be the world’s leading expert on Disney parks, I do have decades of experience visiting them. And, in case you’re wondering, the original — Disneyland in California — is my favorite so far.

Since I had never been to Disneyland Paris and Toby wanted to visit Paris on our way back to the U.S. from Bahrain anyway, we decided to make a short stop in the City of Lights to see the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and Mickey Mouse. It was a good decision!

The basics

The first thing to know about Disneyland Paris is that it is not actually in Paris. If you’re staying in Paris, you can take a train, car or a shuttle to the parks; we took the train, which drops you off just a few feet from the parks’ entrance. We found it very easy. You’ll need to get to a station with the RER A line, but once you get to one of those stations, the people at the ticket booths will help you get the right ticket and point you in the direction of the correct platform. The only problem is that the trains do get insanely crowded at night after the fireworks show, with people smashed up against each other and sitting on the steps.

You should also know that there are two parks: Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park. We spent most of our time at Disneyland Park, but we did go in to Walt Disney Studios Park and walk around. It’s similar to Disney California Adventure, with a dash of Hollywood Studios (and some French flair, of course).

Buying Tickets

When you first arrive and head toward Disneyland Park, you’ll see a huge pink structure that is actually Disneyland Paris Hotel. If you haven’t purchased your tickets in advance online, you’ll have to go into/under the hotel to find the ticket lines. We had a difficult time figuring this out, because we didn’t see any signs, and there are a few ticket windows just on the outside of the building — but they are not for regular visitors. We eventually figured it out and were able to get discounted military tickets, so be sure to ask for the military discount if you or someone in your family/party is in the U.S. military. The military tickets are two-day tickets that cover both parks, but they’re still a bit cheaper than a one-day ticket for one park. It’s a good deal.

Disneyland Paris Rides and Attractions

Disneyland Park in Paris does not seem to have a ton of rides, and several of the ones they do have were closed during our visit. Regardless, the park does have some interesting and unique things that make it worth the trip. My personal favorite was the dragon underneath Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Yes, they actually have a moving dragon (that looks just like the dragon in the “Sleeping Beauty” movie) underneath the castle, and you can go visit it! They also have a pretty cool Alice in Wonderland labyrinth, as well as other attractions that are places to explore or walk through, rather than rides.

As for rides, I’ve heard that the Haunted Castle is awesome, but it was closed during our visit. However, we were able to go on their version of Space Mountain, which was a fantastic ride and is actually themed to Star Wars throughout the waiting area and the ride itself. We also went on Big Thunder Mountain, my favorite ride, which was awesome and seemed much longer than the Thunder Mountain ride at Disneyland.

Disneyland Paris also has an Indiana Jones ride that was good as a rollercoaster but kind of weird in general. I remember going on the Indiana Jones ride in California shortly after it opened and thinking it was odd that it didn’t involve any moments from the movies. So, I was excited to see that this version of the ride is called “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril,” because I assumed that was just the French way of referring to the Temple of Doom. The ride itself did seem to incorporate some of the movie’s scares, but the theming in the waiting area and the ride’s “story” were confusing to me.

Meeting Characters

Anyone who has visited Disneyland and Disney World knows that meeting the characters is a far different experience depending on where you go. The experience at Disneyland Paris is also very different, in that characters did not seem to be very easy to meet. Unlike other parks I have visited, there were not many characters out and about in the park, and there didn’t seem to be many places we could wait to meet them. And though we were able to meet Darth Vader without standing in line too long, the longest line of the day (and the most disappointing experience) was at the Princess Pavilion.

So, why was the Princess Pavilian such a let down? Partly because of my expectations. At Disneyland in California, we often would check the lines at Royal Hall throughout the day, then get in the line when it didn’t look too long. Most of the line is outside, so once you get indoors, you didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes. And you would always meet three princesses — two who were listed on the sign outside, and one surprise princess.

At Disneyland Paris, the line setup for the Princess Pavilion looks very similar to Royal Hall, but there is still a LOT of waiting to do once you get inside the building. Then, when you finally get to the end of the line, it’s just one princess. You also have no idea which princess it will be until you walk into the room… and the lighting in there is terrible!

Something else that was frustrating there and throughout the parks is that there are very few photographers (we didn’t see any out roaming the parks at all), and the photographers at the character meeting areas did not offer to take photos for you on your cell phone (though someone did take a few for us with Sleeping Beauty after we asked).

Food

I think y’all know that I am generally not a big fan of Disney food (other than treats like churros and Dole Whip). The food offerings at Disneyland Paris are similar to those at other parks, at least at the counter service places. As far as treats, I couldn’t find any Dole Whip, and the churros are NOT good. I’d stick to ice cream.

The table service restaurants are a different story. After all, reader, this is France (and the dinner here is never second best). The menus look pretty amazing, but you’ll definitely need a reservation in advance if you want to eat at any of them. We ended up walking out to Disney Village for dinner so that we could actually sit down, choose from more than two options and order from a waiter.

The French-ness of Disneyland Paris

Obviously the biggest difference between Disneyland Paris and the parks in the U.S. is that it is in France. And that Frenchness shows in all sorts of ways. You’ll notice C3PO speaking French in the waiting area of Hyperspace Mountain and Elsa singing “Let It Go” in French during the fireworks show, see French names on many of the rides, and taste European flavors even in the “American” foods.

The parks themselves also have a lot of French touches — including a Ratatouille area and restaurant at Walt Disney Studios park and a cool little exhibit/video thing at Disneyland park that celebrates the gift of the Statue of Liberty from France to the U.S. There is also tons of cute Paris-themed merchandise everywhere.

You also may notice a difference in the level of service from cast members. Cast members at American Disney parks are legendary for their friendliness, attention to detail and level of service… but this is definitely not the U.S. That is not to say that park employees are necessarily rude. We did encounter one particularly unhelpful and not-nice woman in the “cast member” ticket line, but she wasn’t wearing a uniform so I don’t know what her job was. And many cast members we encountered were friendly and helpful.

But, as an example, I received a dirty spoon with my ice cream, and when I went to grab another spoon, I noticed that chocolate sauce had dripped on all of the spoons in the bowl that I thought was supposed to be clean. It took several minutes of back and forth for the cast members to understand that I had a dirty spoon, that all of the spoons in the bowl were dirty, and that I needed a new one. This was partially due to the language barrier, but even once I got them to look at the “clean” spoons that clearly had chocolate all over them, they didn’t seem to understand that I might want a new one and they should probably get rid of the dirty ones instead of keeping them there and giving them to other people. Not a big deal, but the kind of thing that I can’t see happening at Disneyland in California.

Fireworks, etc.

One thing that was unusual to us about Disneyland Paris is that the fireworks show starts at the very end of the day — basically when the park closes. True to Disney form, the fireworks were amazing. Unfortunately, the timing means that everyone leaves the park at the exact same time. And gets on the train at the same time. The fireworks are still worth it, though.

In all, I thought Disneyland Paris was lovely to visit and worth the trip if you have some time in the area. If you do go, make sure you go to the top of the Queen’s castle in the Alice in Wonderland maze, and definitely go visit the dragon under Sleeping Beauty’s castle! And take lots of your own photos.

Interested in other Disney parks? Read my military family guide to Disney World (which also has tips for non-military folks!), tips for visiting Disney World for the Fourth of July, my guide to what to eat at Disneyland, a recap of Disneyland’s diamond celebration, or learn how to make your own Disney Halloween cookies!

Outfit details: Sweatshirt: Pretty Little Monograms. Jeans: Gap (similar). Ears: Disney World (several other styles available here). Bag: Kate Spade. Shoes: Nike (newer version).