Three months ago I was a Disneyland virgin. I am now a Disneyland connoisseur.
After loving my first experience at the original park in California in May, it seemed only natural that one of our first stops in Europe would be Disneyland Paris. A lot of people mocked me for this plan ("But you just went!"), but my thinking was "different country, different experience, still lots of rides". Voila.
In all honesty, I did not expect the parks to be as similar as they were. It was like stepping through the mirror to where everything is the same but different, and it gave me some weird deja vu. The Pirates of the Caribbean ride had all the same scenes, but in a different order. Fantasyland's teacups were the same, but spun faster. The Haunted Mansion equivalent, Phantom Manor, was the same house but everything was in French. And the Buzz Lightyear ride, where you compete against your seatmate to shoot targets with a laser, also mirrored our US experience ... Nathan beat me again (how did I end up with the broken laser on both continents?).
After experiencing the It's a Small World ride at the original Disneyland, and having that song reverberating in my head for the following 24 hours, we decided to give it a miss in Paris. Ironically, it was Disneyland's advertising that actually reaffirmed my decision not to go on the ride: "Marvel as dolls of all nations sing and dance to the famous it's a small world medley. You'll be singing a happy song for the rest of the day." No.
For my Paris/California comparison, I'd say the rides were more exciting in Paris. Both the Space Mountain Mission 2 roller coaster and Indiana Jones ride took you upside down a couple of times. I could be wrong, but 
I don't remember loops on any ride at Disneyland in the US.
Paris also won on the food front for me. Despite there being far fewer food stands, the mile-long lines for them that we fought through in America didn't seem to exist in France. They also had French food such as crepes for sale. And I like crepes.
However, as far as magical experiences go, the original Disneyland definitely kept a better focus on the show. There were a few times we saw Paris cast members (staff, for those not up on the Disney lingo) going in and out of offices, and generally not keeping up the act in the way their Californian counterparts had. We were also disturbed by the smoking and by all the gum on the ground in Paris - isn't cleanliness the Disneyland motto?
I don't know if it was just bad luck or if it's always the case, but the crowding in the lines at Paris also seemed far worse. In every line the people behind us would literally be pressed up against us (despite my many dirty looks that did not need translation).
I got a good dose of the overt cosiness when I went to look at our ride photo, and Nathan sneakily didn't follow me up to the screen. All well and good until someone behind me put their hand on my bum, and, assuming it was Nathan, I didn't bother to turn around and stop the blatant pervert. Nathan thought that was funnier than I did.
Conclusion: I would say that Paris fell slightly behind its predecessor, fufilling the theory that nine times out of 10 the original wins out over the sequel. We're not talking about a Speed vs Speed 2 scenario - Paris was more than worth the visit and held its own - but it just lacked some of the polish that Anaheim delivers; maybe the second-happiest place on earth?
But perhaps I'm on my own here, so to anyone who's been to more than one Disneyland (and I think we can call these people the chosen ones):which do you think is the best?
I'd love to know if I should head to Hong Kong or Tokyo next.
Check out if you won comment of the week on my new Facebook page All These Places.
Also, if you want to hear more about our travels follow me on Twitter.
If you would like to vote for All These Places (and you should) in the Netguide Web Awards, click the vote now button below, and add my blog's web address in the Best Blog field, near the bottom of the voting page.
Sponsored links
Newest First
Oldest First
Awesome to read about someone elses love of Disneyland, people who think seen one seen them all are just plain wrong!!. In terms of Hong Kong or Tokyo, def Tokyo hands down, Hong Kong is tiny compared to all the others, plus Tokyo also has a second park, Tokyo Disney Seas which is unique to Japan, and incredibly themed. You should have gone to Walt Disney World in Orlando while in the US, 4 theme parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney Studios and Animal Kingdom), 2 water parks, plus 2 Universal Parks (including the Wizarding World of Harry Potter) and Seaworld. Really enjoy the blog, nice to read about someones travels where they don't take everything so seriously, and don't consider McDonalds and shopping malls cringeworthy!!!!! (Shopping is the #1 tourist reason for visiting the US) Keep up the good work
Walt Disney World in Orlando wins hands down!
Been to the Anaheim parks on 2 seperate occasions and loved the place each time i have been there. I was planning on going to the Florida parks but its too expensive :(
I love love my Disneylands. Paris was great because of the short queues however Indiana Jones was just a rollercoaster, not the super awesome Disneyland California ride. It is also a lot smaller. Tokyo Disney was ridiculous- the queues were far too long (like 3hours easy)- you even had to queue to get into stores/buy popcorn. Still fantastic but my top option is definately the Disneyland-California Adventure combo. Then you get the upside-down coaster (in MM's ears) plus the original. Yet to make it to Florida... too expensive to get there!
I've been to Disneyland and Disneysea in Tokyo. Was pretty awesome. Haven't been to any others though to compare. But I would definately suggest giving DisneySea a whirl.
if you have enough time while your in france,you should go to park asterix (waaaaaay better than le disney)
Hands down Disney World in Florida. I went there before I went to Disneyland in California and I have to say Disneyland was a letdown in comparison. Disney World was just amazing! The castle is bigger, there are 4 parks (Magic Kingdom and MGM are sort of like Disneyland and California Adventures) and is it just A MAZING. I could go on...but lets just say youll have to go back to the States to see what you missed out on!
If you happen to be in the southwestern part of germany: go to the "Europa-Park"! way better than any disneyland.
I was lucky enough to go to Tokyo's version on a very quiet day, so got to ride my faves more than once :D Paris was pretty cool too, and fairly reasonable waiting times. I was 14 when I went to Japan vs. 26 in Paris.. so the magic wasn't quite the same. Would love to visit Tokyo Disneysea though!
Woman critical after being 'dragged behind car'
'Battery farm' puppies die in pet stores
Anguish at fatal fire in Hokitika
'Perfect end' to 58-year love story
Jet deployed after incident on-board flight
Fighting to restore her mum's name
Oversized truck caused US bridge collapse
Head to Tokyo Disneyland and skip Hong Kong Disneyland. Seriously, skip it!