Disney…French Style

Bonjour! We are wrapping up a week spent at Disneyland Paris. This was my first time in France, and although I’ve been excited to venture into the city, we kept this trip entirely inside the Disney bubble, about an hour outside the city center.

And before you roll your eyes that we were that close to Paris proper but didn’t venture there in favor of staying at Disney, we wanted to get the most out of our resort stay. We also already have plans to return later this year to visit friends who will be in Paris, so the Eiffel Tower can wait for us.

The Eurostar made it incredibly comfortable to spend four hours crossing the Netherlands and Belgium into France with no connections. The boarding process was much easier than air travel, with no bag checks or immigration checkpoints on this trip. We’re also happy to spend the return journey languishing in our seats after putting in 15,000–20,000 steps each day around the parks and resorts.

Since this entire trip was inside the Disney bubble, I’ll offer the disclaimer that if Disney or a trip report about it isn’t of interest to you (we understand), this is a good place to stop. The remainder of this post is going to be very Disney-centrique.

We first arrived at Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy, the train station immediately adjacent to Disney Village and the entrances to the two Disney parks: Disneyland Park and the former Walt Disney Studios Park, recently renovated and rebranded as Disney Adventure World. I was quickly reminded by Heather to beware of pickpockets before we caught a taxi to our first resort, Center Parcs Villages Nature Paris.

The resort can be booked through Disney as a partner hotel, but it isn’t operated by Disney or within walking distance of the parks. We had two nights booked there but probably would have missed the place entirely had it not been recommended by my friend Morgan.

We were VERY happy with our stay.

Although we had access to the Disney parks while staying at Villages Nature, we only went into Disneyland for one evening because we found so much to do at the resort itself. It’s perfect for families, especially those with children Lil O’s age. While many of the activities we enjoyed were add-ons, there is still a ton included with the stay, including immense playgrounds, a petting zoo/farm, and a huge indoor water park.

Lil O loved all of those, but we also added mini-golf, an encounter with small animals, a pony ride, and a little “safari” that allowed her to drive a tiny Jeep through the park. As you might imagine, giving a seven-year-old command of a tiny off-road vehicle was a highlight.

The resort isn’t without some issues. Getting around can require a LOT of walking if you haven’t brought or rented a bike or golf cart, and our room had a few maintenance issues. It was clean, but some pieces of furniture were broken, albeit still usable. The other annoyance was the less-than-generous check-in/check-out window of 4 p.m.and 10 a.m., probably because the units function more like apartments or timeshares than traditional hotel rooms.

That said, we felt the benefits FAR outweighed the negatives and would absolutely stay here again. In fact, we’d probably spend more time here letting Lil O enjoy the amenities and less time in the Disney parks.

Side note: If you order the kids’ pasta at Vapiano and select the “Avion” option expecting plain pasta, you will receive pasta shaped like airplanes. Lesson learned. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

After two nights and two very full days at Villages Nature, we checked into Disney Sequoia Lodge.

If you’ve been to Wilderness Lodge at Disney World, you get the idea. Just imagine Wilderness Lodge remaining mostly the same for the past 34 years without any major renovations, while retaining the same high Disney price. 😑

Getting there seemed as though it should have been an easy 15-minute Uber ride, which it eventually was, after we spent an hour going through SIX different drivers. Three said they couldn’t find their way to us. Two arrived but didn’t have room for our three suitcases in their trunks (and, in one case, frunk). We finally surrendered, ordered an Uber XL, and managed to reach our destination.

Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris was cool to see.

Once.

I’m not sure I ever need to go back.

There is some inventive theming, particularly Discoveryland in place of Tomorrowland. It’s a Jules Verne-inspired, steampunk vision of the future that gives the land a completely different personality from its American counterparts.

Their version of the Haunted Mansion, Phantom Manor, also seems to have earned its reputation as one of the best versions of the attraction among the Disney parks. It feels fresh in the way it incorporates technology while also being considerably spookier.

Big Thunder Mountain was another standout. It felt longer, fresher, and more intense than the version I grew up riding in Florida.

Disney Adventure World

Disney Adventure World offered something we don’t have in Florida: Avengers Campus.

As a Marvel fan, I was thrilled to experience this relatively new land. There are only two rides: an Iron Man and Captain Marvel rethemed version of Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster, and Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure.

The Spider-Man ride is essentially Toy Story Mania, except instead of using a physical blaster, you make a Spidey-esque THWIP! motion with your arm while the technology makes it appear as though you’re firing webs at the targets.

Heather and I enjoyed it. Lil O decidedly did not.

She found some of the virtual targets scary, particularly when combined with the darkness and loud noises of the ride.

We also enjoyed watching a training academy for kids led by the Dora Milaje, Black Panther’s team of warriors, and got to meet a VERY French version of Spider-Man. He was a blast to interact with, and fortunately the existence of an entire multiverse of Spider-Men/Peter Parkers gave me all I needed to explain his accent to Lil O.

Lil O was also brave enough to try some new rides. Much to our surprise, she insisted on trying the RC Racer in Toy Story Playland, which is essentially a giant half-pipe version of a swinging-ship ride.

Needless to say, she hated it.

She did, however, receive an unexpected lesson in how adrenaline affects the human body after complaining about her shaky legs for the next hour.

That made it even more surprising when she wanted to try the Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop. More surprising still: she loved it.

Much of our visit was spent taking turns bringing Lil O to her favorite attractions while the other parent wandered off to enjoy the more intense rides, a system that worked pretty well for everyone.

The Experience

As a seasoned Disney World parkgoer, it was interesting being somewhere so familiar that was simultaneously so different, particularly because of the diverse collection of guests. British, French, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch visitors seemed to make up much of the crowd.

Without narrowing it down to any particular group, some guests seemed to lack the kind of consideration we’ve become accustomed to in the Florida parks. Heather was particularly frustrated by some of the pushing and shoving from both adults and children, especially in the parks and at the buffets.

Our experiences with the French Cast Members were similarly inconsistent. Some were spectacularly friendly, and I enjoyed seeing how much more individual personality they’re allowed to show. Nose piercings, neck tattoos, wild hairstyles and colors: they seem much freer to look like themselves than the traditionally more sanitized version of a Disney Cast Member in the U.S.

Unfortunately, just as many seemed curt or apathetic, which made many interactions feel like a bit of a roulette wheel.

I also managed to commit what I assume is a cardinal French dining sin. After patiently trying and failing to catch our server’s attention to ask about drinks I was pretty sure had been forgotten, I finally raised my hand and called out:

“Scusi!”

Yes.

Italian.

In France.

The man looked at me as though I had just smacked his mother on the ass.

In my defense, my brain apparently reached into its tiny European phrase drawer, panicked, and grabbed the first thing it found. Fortunately, we were at a buffet, because I’m pretty sure otherwise I’d still be sitting there waiting for food. 🤦‍♂️

Between the inconsistent service and the parks not offering much in the way of truly exclusive experiences compared with their U.S. counterparts, I don’t see us having much desire to return to the Disney parks or resorts in Paris. Even Avengers Campus, one of the biggest draws for me, has a counterpart in California.

But Villages Nature?

We’d go back there in a heartbeat.

So our first visit to France ended in a somewhat unexpected way: Disney itself probably won’t be what brings us back.

Fortunately, we still have an entire Paris waiting for us outside the bubble.

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