Visiting Disneyland Paris last week was a very weird experience. We did not book it until a few days before we arrived, and the surprise on the girls faces as we got closer and closer made it all worth while. The drive towards the park seeing the Disney Hotel in front of you is magical, and well worth doing at least once.
Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was doing everything in a rush, maybe it was all the construction work in the village and Studios, maybe it was just coming from Europa Park, maybe we should of never gone to Studios but it just felt like if it was not for the Disney Magic, the parks would be mediocre. Maybe an overreaction for Disneyland Paris, but Studios is not great.
Don't get me wrong, the Disney Magic is what made the two days lots of fun and enjoyable, and we will be going back at some point but it just feels like things have taken a step backwards.
The only good thing about the new Marvel area is the Spiderman ride. It felt new, something different, had a great preshow and story, the sort of thing you expect Disney to come up with. Although it had several issues and downtime while we were in the queue, once we were on, the whole family enjoyed it.
Flight Force feels like a downgrade on Rocking Rollercoaster. This applies to all the rides at Disney, and it may be a stronger feeling after visiting EP, but the rollercoaster hardware needs upgrading. I guess this is where my question about do Mack do 1m inverting coasters comes from in the Voltron thread. While two of the three inverting coasters have 1.2m, and the third has 1.4m, I cant help but feel the current trains are old, uncomfortable (They make even the square wheeled Voltron trains feel smooth), and take away from the ride experience. I get that it costs more to replace the hardware then just change the cosmetics, but they could be so much better. I get the rides are indoors, which limits what you can do, but the Disney rollercoasters feel like they are stuck in the 80s.
I even start to think, should Nemesis Reborn have being new hardware and layout. Would a Voltron style coaster going through Forbidden Valley of been an even better investment. I then tell myself to stop being silly, and Nemesis was to iconic to be replaced by anything else. But Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain are just as Iconic, and I guess there is that argument to be made, but I go back to the earlier point that the Disney rides feel like they are from the 80s, where as Nemesis Re-Born feels like a modern ride. Maybe Big Thunder Mountain is the one I would keep the same.
The Stark Factory had so much concrete, it just felt it lacked imagination. Giant hulk buster prop at the entrance, and then nothing else. Only having one till open, so you collect your food and then spend ten minutes waiting to pay makes no sense. The only other meal we had, was at the Golden Forest Lounge the following morning, and this was excellent. Not to busy, plenty of choice, and a great way to start the day off.
Ratatouille has also been down graded with the removal of the 3d effects, I don't understand why. Trying to save money on the cost of running the ride, while charging a a premium to use the fast pass queue is such a Merlin thing to do.
But then you get that Disney Magic with the shows, and everything feels great again. Stich is always fun, and Mickey and the Magician put smiles on everyone's face.
Disneyland Paris is still great. The character meet and greets, and seeing the kids reactions. Star Tours had been updated which was nice, but apart from that, it still feels like nothing has changed in six years (Apart from fast pass disappearing and prices going up).
The weather spoiled the drone show, but the Fireworks were brilliant and magical as ever.
The last thing which felt like it had been downgraded was the photo pass. No lanyard, no app, having to queue for the on-ride photos instead of a code to enter or scan. With the meets and greets, it just makes sense to get one, as it works out cheaper, but it just feels like everything is being done as cheaply as possible.
You would think, with all this negativity, why would you want to go back, but as I said at the start, the Disney Magic really makes a difference, the cast members we interacted with were excellent, and Disneyland Paris is a stunning park.
