Disneyland Paris!

On Thursday morning we woke far too early so we could move on to our next country. We threw all our stuff together and got ready within a half hour, then headed out to the train station with our trusty guide Sander (who really is the sweetest). 


We caught our train a good five or 10 minutes before it departed, and it was my first experience with a bullet train... so freaking fast! Within less than two hours we were in Marne-la-Vallée, which is the stop outside of Paris for Disneyland!

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Once off the train, we immediately found luggage lockers at the station and made our way outside and over to Disneyland. Unfortunately, it was raining, which would put a damper on the entire day, or at least the time spent at the park.

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The park itself is quite different in appearance from the California location, with the huge pink resort right in front. It's laid out somewhat similarly though, although many of the rides have name variations (for example: Phantom Manor instead of the Haunted Mansion). But we were able to navigate around relatively flawlessly.

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My favourite difference is the castle. The one in Paris is more elegant looking, and less cartoonish (excepting the Tinkerbell twirling around the top).

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Unfortunately, Disneyland Paris is just not as cool as the one I've grown up going to. There are maybe half the amount of rides (no Matterhorn, no Splash Mountain, et cetera) and some of the good ones were closed. 

We also ate what would come to be known as the worst meal ever. Seeing as everything in the park had some kind of meat in it, we went to a Mexican restaurant, and ordered nachos. See below:

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More like Nachos Fail.

We ended up going on Phantom Manor, Big Thunder Railroad (the best), Space Mountain (way jerkier than ours back home), Peter Pan's Flight (YESSS!), Pirates of the Caribbean, and... I think that was all. It was that bad. It's not that it was horrible, but with the combination of the weather and the price I paid for the tickets, I think it could have been much, much better. 

While it was overall a disappointment and not a place I would recommend to anyone so much, there was one cool thing about it. Anyone who knows me well knows that "The Fox and the Hound" is my favourite Disney movie. For years and years I have been searching for a plush Tod (the fox) in Disney stores and Downtown Disney and nearly every shop in the park. When Elia asked me what souvenirs, if any, I wanted, I told her that a stuffed Tod would be my dream come true, but that it isn't even a viable wish.

Well, guess what I came across in the first gift shop we walked into...

That's right. A stuffed Tod. So Disneyland Paris isn't all complete fail.