Disneyland resort Paris is located in the eastern suburbs of Paris in a town called Marne-la-Valle. The resort lies roughly 20 miles (32km) from the centre of Paris and the majority of the park lies in the territory of Chessy.
When Disney land resort Paris was first being planned and built there was much opposition and at some points direct protests from a number of prominent French figures and labour unions. Disney opened the resort on April 12th 1992, but for the first few years Disney Land Paris did not turn a profit until it was renamed from Euro Disney to the now known Disney Land Paris in 1995, which then saw the resort make its first quality profit.
Many fans of the Disney land resort argue that the Magic Kingdom style park is the finest amongst all the resorts. Originally drafted from the original Disney Land in California it has seen many alteration including the Pirates of the Caribbean, it’s a small world, and a much larger version of Thunder Mountain. Being based in France the park also takes a French influence in places especially the food, drink and of course a few of the signs are in both English and French.
How do you get to Disneyland Paris?
From the A4, take exit 14 and follow the signs. Or take the RER line A to the Marne la Valle / Chessy station. If coming by Eurostar, there is a direct stop in the resort. If flying in from Charles De Gaulle, the VEA bus is the Disney recommended transport, but often taxi firms will offer a transfer to the hotel of your choice for the same price as the bus, and will take half the time, so ask a driver for a price if you haven't pre booked your bus tickets.When is the best time to visit?
Like most people, you probably don’t really like wading through masses of people and waiting to queue for hours and hours for your favorite ride. With that in mind you probably should look to go at the three slowest periods in the year, these are…# Mid-January to late March
# Mid-April to mid-July
# Mid-September to early December
If you can’t go during the quiet period then you should definitely have a “game plan”. Look through the supplied Disney Maps and work out what rides you really want to get on, then try to get to these early in the day before the queues build up.
What tickets should I get, and how do I get them?
Because there are two parks at the resort (Disneyland, and Disney Studio parks) it is often best to purchase a Park Hopper pass. This allows you to jump between the two parks at your leisure.It’s also a good idea to buy your tickets in advance, although you can get them at the park entrance, you don’t really want to be waiting around wasting time to get your tickets. Many of the hotels situated near the park will sell tickets, and you can even by them online through the Disneyland Paris website.
What rides should I try and catch?
Many a die hard Disney Resort fan wil tell you that your first stop should be Space Mountain: Mission 2, since this attraction is in Discoveryland you should also check out the Star Tours.Next head towards Frontierland and check out Big Thunder Mountain. You may also want to grab a Fastpass for this ride as it is constantly busy.
As for shows, you want to make sure that you don’t miss out on the Lion King Show, and Buzz Lightyear. Both come highy recommended and are regularly full.
Ride and restaurant reservations at Disneyland Paris
Reservations for many of the park's table service restaurants can be made in the Town Hall, located at the base of Main Street USA.The Fastpass system lets you reserve ride time later in the day, although you wont be able to choose your exact time it does mean that you miss out on a lot of the queuing. You can get a fastpass for yourself or for your whole family in one go, however you cant book a fastpass for two different rides at the same time.