Our trip to Disneyland Paris began with a little unfinished business from our arrival in France: our missing luggage.
By this point, the airline had located our bags, and we'd received notification the previous evening that they had arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport. The problem was that they hadn't actually made it back to us yet. We were checking out of our Paris hotel and heading to Disney, while our luggage was supposedly going to be delivered sometime that day.
The staff at our Paris hotel couldn't have been nicer. They offered to accept the luggage even after we'd checked out, hold it for us, and let us know when it arrived. We could then make our way back from Disneyland Paris to collect it.
That was a generous offer, and we appreciated it. But as Teresa and I walked toward the train station, we started talking about the logistics. Getting back to the hotel from Disney would involve a fairly lengthy train ride with multiple connections. And then we'd have to haul the luggage back again.
So we changed plans. Rather than wait for the airline to deliver our bags, we decided to take a cab directly to Charles de Gaulle and retrieve them ourselves.
Finding the right luggage collection area at the airport took a little effort, but once we got there, the process was surprisingly easy. Our bags hadn't been sent out for delivery yet, which turned out to be a very good thing. We collected them and finally had our belongings back.
After everything we'd already been through with the airline, having those bags in our possession felt like a small victory. And now we could finally head to Disney.
We'd purchased Eurail passes for our European adventure, expecting them to cover much of our train travel. Unfortunately, we were about to discover that having a rail pass doesn't necessarily mean every train or local rail service is included.
At the airport, we approached the station gates with our Eurail passes and were promptly directed back to the ticket machines. Apparently, our passes weren't going to get us through those gates.
We purchased two first-class tickets and made our way to the correct platform. When the train arrived, it was absolutely packed. Staff on the platform told us to board anywhere, so we did, and we ended up standing in the luggage storage area for the entire ride. There was no practical way to get through the train to our first-class seats. With our luggage in tow, I was a little concerned about having to move everything around as passengers boarded and exited at the various stops. Fortunately, the first stop on our route was Disneyland Paris. That made things considerably easier.
It was our first reminder that navigating Europe's rail systems would be an adventure of its own. We'd get considerably more practice over the next several days.
Teresa had booked us into the Disneyland Hotel, located right at the entrance to Disneyland Park.
Disneyland Paris is laid out a little differently from the Disney properties we'd visited in California, Florida, and Japan. One of the first differences we encountered was security. After leaving the train station, we made our way toward the resort entrance, where we had to go through a security checkpoint before reaching the hotel. Since we had our luggage with us, that meant putting our suitcases and other bags through the screening equipment.
Once through security, we could finally make our way to the hotel. The hotel itself was very nice, and its location was hard to beat. We arrived fairly early in the day, so our room wasn't ready yet. But the bell staff happily checked our bags, leaving us free to start exploring the parks.
After the luggage situation, being able to hand over our suitcases and simply go enjoy ourselves was a welcome change.
We began our Disney adventure at the second park, Disney Adventure World (formerly Walt Disney Studios Park), which reminded us in some ways of Disney California Adventure and Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida.
The park had a different feel from traditional Disneyland. Much of the focus was on newer Disney properties and characters, including Marvel, Cars, Toy Story, and other franchises that have become part of the larger Disney family.
It was also noticeably smaller than some of the Disney parks we'd visited elsewhere. There appeared to be plenty of room for expansion, and several areas were undergoing construction. Disney was doing what Disney does so well: disguising construction walls with carefully chosen paint and promotional artwork showing what was coming next.
We spent time exploring the different areas, riding attractions, stopping for food and drinks, and getting a feel for the park. Of course, Teresa had a plan.
If you've ever visited a Disney park with Teresa, you'll understand that she isn't necessarily there just to wander around and admire the scenery. She's a completionist.
When we visited Disneyland in California and Tokyo Disneyland, one of our goals was to ride every attraction that was operating. We came remarkably close to accomplishing that at both parks, with maintenance closures being about the only things that stopped us. Disneyland Paris was going to be no different.
Teresa had her park map, and as we finished each attraction, another item got checked off.
We had three-day park passes, which gave us the flexibility to move between the two parks and spread out the attractions. But even with three days, we knew we'd have to be strategic. The lines were long. Some attractions had waits of 30 to 45 minutes, while others were closer to an hour or even two. And after spending so much time walking through Paris, our feet were already beginning to protest. Still, we had rides to ride.
One of the attractions we wanted to experience was Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure. We'd ridden the California version before, so we knew what to expect. It's an interactive ride where you use your arms to shoot virtual webs at targets, and by the time you're finished, you've given your shoulders a surprisingly good workout. The Paris version was familiar, although much of the preshow was in French, with some English mixed in.
The posted wait time was around 30 minutes. Unfortunately, we ended up spending closer to an hour in line. While we were waiting, we noticed that another attraction nearby, Avengers Assemble: Flight Force, had reopened after being temporarily unavailable. Its wait time was showing only about ten minutes. Naturally, we were already too far into the Spider-Man line to want to abandon it.
Once we finished Spider-Man, however, we headed straight over to Avengers. I wasn't entirely sure what the attraction was. I knew it involved the Avengers, but I hadn't really investigated what kind of ride it would be. As it turned out, it was an indoor roller coaster. And not a gentle one.
Imagine Space Mountain with an Avengers theme, then turn the intensity up several notches. The ride launches you into darkness, twists and turns through the building, and sends you through inversions and corkscrews while the Avengers storyline unfolds around you.
It was fantastic. We'd been on plenty of Disney rides over the years, but this one genuinely surprised me. It was fast, intense, and considerably more thrilling than I'd expected. Would I ride it again? Absolutely. In fact, if we'd had our express access that day, I probably would have gone straight back around for another ride.
Our second day began at Disneyland Park, and Teresa had a particular destination in mind. The castle.
Every Disney castle is different, and we've enjoyed seeing those differences as we've visited parks around the world. But the castle at Disneyland Paris has something none of the others we've visited has: a dragon living underneath it. Yes, an actual Disney dragon. Well, an animatronic one. But still.
Beneath Sleeping Beauty Castle is a cavern known as La Tanière du Dragon, or the Dragon's Lair. It's a winding, dimly lit area that leads visitors into a cave where an enormous dragon appears to be sleeping. Teresa had heard about it and wanted to see it for herself. And I have to admit, it was worth the visit.
Most of the time, the dragon appears to be resting. Occasionally, it stirs, moves its head, makes a low rumbling sound, or releases smoke from its nostrils. But every so often, it becomes much more animated. Its head rises, its wings move, and it turns toward the spectators with an enormous roar.
We were there early enough that the crowds were relatively light, and I was able to capture some wonderful video of the dragon in action. It's a beautifully designed attraction, and what makes it particularly interesting is that it isn't really a ride at all. You simply walk through the cavern and watch.
There's also a shortcut through the nearby gift shop, although we took the more atmospheric route through the caves. We were still talking about that dragon later in the day. In fact, I think we were talking about it for a couple of days afterward. Of all the things I expected to remember from Disneyland Paris, a dragon under the castle was not necessarily at the top of my list. But it certainly is now.
After visiting the dragon, we made our way toward It's a Small World. By this point, we'd spent several days walking through Paris and standing in Disney queues. Our feet were feeling every mile.
We'd done our usual preparation with some over-the-counter pain relief, but there's only so much that can do when you're spending hours standing on pavement. As we approached the next long line, Teresa decided it was time to make an investment in our comfort. She purchased Disney's express ride access, known as Premier Access.
With our shorter waits, Teresa kept checking attractions off her map, and we were making surprisingly good progress through the park. We were determined to experience as much as we could, particularly since we had only one day to do it.
One attraction I particularly enjoyed was Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain. If you've ridden Space Mountain at Walt Disney World, the basic idea will be familiar: a high-speed roller coaster in a mostly darkened building. But the Disneyland Paris version has a Star Wars theme, complete with the sights and sounds of a space battle, and it adds something I certainly don't remember from the Florida version—loops and corkscrews. I could be wrong about Florida, but I don't recall ever being turned upside down on that ride. Either way, the Star Wars treatment was a nice touch, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
As we worked our way through the last few attractions on Teresa's list, we found ourselves heading toward the area around It's a Small World. Now, anyone who knows me knows that this isn't exactly my favorite Disney attraction. I appreciate the message behind it, and I understand why it's considered a classic, but I've always thought it was a rather hokey little ride. The song alone has probably been responsible for more involuntary humming than any other tune in Disney history.
We'd already ridden it once earlier in the day. In fact, I'd spent much of that first ride filming the experience, trying to capture as much of the scenery and animation as I could. We'd checked it off the list and, as far as Teresa knew, were moving on.
But as we walked past the attraction on our way to some of the remaining rides in the children's area, I suddenly veered off the path and headed straight into the Premier Access queue. Teresa gave me a rather puzzled look.
I explained that the first time through, I'd been so busy recording everything that I hadn't really taken the time to enjoy the ride itself. This time, I wanted to put the phone down, sit back, and actually look around. Of course, I couldn't resist adding one more justification.
“Besides,” I said with a grin, “the first time we went through, we didn't have the Premier Access pass. I'm just trying to get our money's worth.”With that, I turned around and continued down the queue.
We boarded the boat, and instead of watching the whole thing through my phone screen, I took in the details. There really is an extraordinary amount to see in there, and I noticed several things I'd completely missed during our first trip through. The artistry, the little animated scenes, and the sheer number of details are impressive when you give yourself time to appreciate them.
I'm still not going to claim that It's a Small World has suddenly become my favorite Disney ride. I still think it's a little hokey, and that song will probably be stuck in my head for another week whenever I hear it.
But I enjoyed it more the second time around. And I suppose there's a lesson in that, too. Sometimes we're so busy trying to capture an experience that we forget to actually experience it. This time, I put the camera away and simply enjoyed the ride. Even if it was It's a Small World.
We also made time for some excellent cocktails and very good food at the Fleur de Lys Bar in our hotel. Those quieter moments were part of what made the visit enjoyable.
Disney can become a race from one attraction to the next, especially when you're traveling with someone determined to complete the entire park. But sometimes it's just as nice to sit down, enjoy a good meal, and watch the world go by.
Although we had three-day passes, we weren't planning to spend our entire third day at Disney. We needed to collect our luggage from the hotel and catch a train to the next destination.
But there were still a few attractions in Disney Adventure World that we hadn't managed to experience. And Teresa still had a few unchecked boxes. So we returned for part of the day, finished the rides that were available, and did a little shopping.
One of the things we wanted to pick up was Disney pins. And that led to another interesting discovery.
If you're familiar with Disney pin trading in the United States, you know it can be a major part of the park experience. Guests collect pins, trade with cast members, examine trading boards, and sometimes carry entire books filled with pins they're hoping to exchange.
We have friends who take pin collecting and trading quite seriously, including researching how to identify counterfeit pins. At Disneyland Paris, however, pin trading seemed much less prominent. We found only a handful of trading locations, and relatively few cast members were wearing pins on their lanyards.
Toward the end of our visit, we stopped to talk with a cast member who had an unusual pin displayed backward on her lanyard. I wondered whether it was some kind of trivia challenge or special trading opportunity. It wasn't.
She explained that she'd traded for the pin on behalf of a friend who collected that particular series. It was apparently a harder-to-find pin, and because she didn't have a pocket to store it in, she'd attached it backward to her lanyard.
That started a conversation about pin trading at Disneyland Paris. According to this cast member, pin trading is much more controlled there than at the American parks. She explained that cast members must receive training before participating, including learning how to recognize counterfeit pins. She also indicated that the resort takes counterfeit trading seriously and tries to keep fake pins off its official trading boards.
I found that fascinating. In the United States, counterfeit pins are a recurring problem, and collectors often spend considerable time learning how to distinguish genuine pins from imitations. The idea that Disneyland Paris approached the issue with specific training and tighter controls was something I hadn't expected.
Of course, that was one Cast Member's explanation, and I wanted to verify the official policy before presenting it as a universal rule. I did find confirmation that Disneyland Paris supports pin trading, but I couldn't find a comprehensive official policy covering all the details we'd discussed. For anyone interested, I've included <button type="button" class="pinlink" data-dialog="pin-faq">a few frequently asked questions about pin trading at Disneyland Paris</button>, along with what I was able to verify. It was one of those unexpected conversations that taught us something new about a familiar Disney tradition.
By the time we finished our third day, we'd accomplished what we'd set out to do. We'd experienced the attractions we could, explored both parks, recovered our luggage, enjoyed some good meals, found our souvenir pins, and discovered a dragon beneath a castle. Not a bad three days.
We collected our bags from the Disneyland Hotel, headed back toward the train station, and prepared for the next part of our European adventure. And after our first experiences with the French rail system, we were about to become much more familiar with traveling across Europe by train. But that's another story.
