Paris Park Questions

[rcdude]

This summer, I'm going on a trip to Europe with my family from July 4th to July 17th. We will be spending time in London, Venice, and Paris, as well as taking a few days to drive through Europe (Venice to Paris), stopping at Chamonix and Normandy on the way. While this is not a theme park trip, I've been looking into the idea of visiting one park if time allows, both to see what European parks are like and because there are several I want to visit.

 

Looking at our schedule, it seems that Paris would be the easiest place to spend a day at a park since we'll be there the longest (arrive evening July 11th, leave morning July 16th). I know both Disneyland Paris and Parc Asterix are nearby, and of the two I'd prefer to visit Parc Asterix (and since it is cheaper it would fit the budget better), but I've got a few questions.

 

General:

 

1. Since we will not have a car in Paris, how easy is it to reach these parks by public transit? I think there is a train station somewhere at Disneyland Paris resort, but I'm not so sure about Parc Asterix.

 

2. Which of the full days we have in Paris (Thursday, July 12th through Sunday, July 15th) would be best for a park visit? Which would be worst?

 

3. How English friendly are the parks? I'm not expecting all the signs to be in English and all the employees to speak English, but if basic French (think what you might find in a guidebook) isn't sufficient I don't know if it is worth visiting. Here, I'm guessing Disney would be the more English friendly of the two.

 

Parc Asterix:

 

1. How much time does it take to do everything at this park (assume we're doing all non-kiddie coasters and major non-coaster rides, and all flats are time permitting)? I figured it would probably be 3/4 to a full day depending on crowds, and I'm mainly wondering how close this guess is.

 

2. Other than Le Defi de Cesar and Transdemonium, are there any other must-ride non-coaster attractions?

 

Disneyland Paris:

 

1. How feasible is it to do both parks in one day, assuming we want to do the headliner attractions (coasters, Pirates, Tower of Terror, Phantom Manor, etc.) unless they are direct copies of rides at California Disney, plus anything unique to the Paris parks (or at least not present in some form in California)? I've done 16 hour days at Disneyland during holiday periods and gotten everything done, but I'm not sure how the crowds at the Paris parks compare. If we can't do both parks, I'd probably rather wait until a future trip to do Disney.

 

I'm not certain whether or not we'll be able to include a park, but my dad did say he wants us to pick what we want to do on the trip and if one of these sounds possible I'll suggest it to him. Also, if anyone has any tips for getting everything at the parks done efficiently those would be appreciated.

[SharkTums]

I'll try to help you a bit off memory...

 

First off, both parks have EXCELLENT English websites so a lot of your transport questions can be answered easily there.

 

Disney will be easier to get to for sure if you're staying in Central Paris. If you're staying by CDG, Asterix is very close by.

 

Nearly everyone at Disney speaks English, they may just not want to, but all signs are in English and it is VERY English friendly. Asterix is much more a 'locals' park so not as much English, but just basic French will be more than fine for a visit.

 

Both Disney Parks in a day is possible, but will be annoying and you'll need a full open to close visit. I would go to Disneyland First (get there before opening) and grab a coaster credit, then run over to Studios for opening (it opens later) and grab Crush and the rest you want to do there before returning back to Disneyland which stays open later.

 

Both parks will be very busy as that is the height of European Summer. Avoid the weekends. Either park would be a full day for sure.

[rcdude]

Thanks for the response, Elissa.

 

I'll talk to everyone else and see what they think. I'll also check the websites, especially the Parc Asterix one (it was glitchy on my old computer, but that was probably my computer). If everyone agrees and we can devote Thursday or Friday to a park, we might go for it.

 

If we decide to go, especially to Disneyland Paris, I'll post a ride priority list to see what the best strategy is. Until then, if anyone else has general tips feel free to submit them.

[Groteslurf]

My input :

avoid the weekend and especially July 14 because that's the French national holiday and parks will be packed.

 

At Disney, they sell VIP fast passes since a while now. No idea about the price, but if you want to do everything in 1 day, those passes may be something you really want.

[rcdude]

^I'm pretty sure those are only for hotel guests staying in suites, and either way they would almost certainly be out of our budget range (knowing Disney's prices, I'm guessing it would be $150+). Additionally, my dad doesn't like paid skip the line systems.

 

July 14th being Bastille Day is the main reason I'm not sure we'll have time for a park, since several of the other things we want to do will either be closed or have reduced hours that day. If we can't afford to devote a full day to a park without skipping something else, we likely won't be able to do one. I just wish my brother wasn't so insistent on being in Paris on Bastille Day.

[Groteslurf]

Sorry, they are not called vip fast pass, which are indeed for suite guests only, but they are called Premium Fastpass.

 

Premium FASTPASS

Available to purchase from selected hotel receptions on a per-person and per-day basis, the new Premium FASTPASS was first introduced in 2009, allowing the same unlimited access as VIP FASTPASS to those not staying in the room types listed above. The additional charge per day is set at €60, available from the reception desks of Disneyland Hotel and Disney's Hotel New York.

They are also sold at City Hall/Studio Services and available to everyone prepared to pay for it of course, so not only for hotel guests. DLP only sells 160 premium fast passes per day.

 

www.dlrpmagic.com/planning/services/disneys-fastpass/

[rcdude]

Okay, we've decided. Since my brother was extremely hesitant to visit Parc Asterix (he was worried it would be pointless if you don't speak French or know of the Asterix stories) and since Disneyland Paris is easier to get to and is offering a very good deal currently (1 day, 2 park ticket for $84 if purchased online), we'll be visiting Disneyland Paris on Friday, July 13th. On this day, both parks open at 10 A.M., and Disneyland Park is open until 11 P.M. I haven't surveyed my brother and sister to find out what their must-rides are yet, but here's what I'm thinking in terms of a plan:

 

First, plan to be at the resort by 9:30 (we'll be taking a train from Paris). Head to Walt Disney Studios and wait for opening.

 

Walt Disney Studios: When the park opens, head straight to Crush's Coaster and ride. Then go do anything in Toy Story Playland that we would like to do (I know I want to do RC Racer, but if nobody else cares I can use the single rider line later). Go grab a Fastpass for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror if the return time makes sense, then ride Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. From here, just wander around the park, do other rides/shows, and get lunch. Once we are done, head to Disneyland Park.

 

Disneyland Park: I'm shooting to get over here by 2 P.M., 3 P.M. at the latest. For this park, I'm just thinking of getting a Fastpass for either Space Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain, and then going around the park one land at a time, either clockwise or counterclockwise. We'd do everything that's a must ride for us in each land before continuing onward, then return to the second tier attractions once we've done the must rides. We plan to stay until closing, then catch the next train back to Paris.

 

If anyone has suggests for improving this plan, they would be appreciated. If not, we'll stick to this. I've also got a few questions now that we've selected a park.

 

1. Although I don't know what everyone's ride priorities are, I know all of the following will be on our must ride list:

 

-All roller coasters at both parks (except Casey Jr.)

-Pirates of the Caribbean

-Phantom Manor

-Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant walkthrough

-Alice's Curious Labyrinth

-Anything else unique to the Paris Parks

 

Are there any other must do attractions? I don't care if similar attractions exist in California, but anything that is a duplicate is a second tier attraction by default.

 

2. Are the shows at Walt Disney Studios in English or French? We definitely don't want to bother with them if we won't understand them (our French is limited to what you would learn in a guidebook), but we also don't want to miss a really good attraction. Also, since we may be limited on time, which of these would be the best choice if we only do one show: Animagique, CineMagique, or Moteurs Action Stunt Show Spectacular?

 

3. Approximately how long can we expect the lines to be on this date? I'm hoping the headliners are only 45-60 minutes, but I'm worried this is being a bit too optimistic.

 

4. How strict are the parks with Fastpass return times? In California, you can get a Fastpass at opening and still use it just before closing, but I've heard the Paris parks are somewhat strict and we'll have to be a bit more careful with only a 30 minute return window.

 

5. Finally, any other tips? I've done Disneyland and DCA on Black Friday, and I don't think the Paris parks could possibly be that crowded, but I just want to make sure the day goes as smoothly as possible and that we don't miss anything.

[caffeine_demon]

"-All roller coasters at both parks (except Casey Jr.)"

 

Casey Jr rocks!

 

Cinemagic's a cute little show too!

[SharkTums]

Be at the Studios before 9:30. We got there at 9:30 (after doing early entry stuff over at Disneyland) and the park was already open and the lines were already forming. Crush opened a bit early (Yay!) but we still waited close to 25 minutes for it even before published opening! We then went right to RC Racer and waited about 30 minutes. Single rider line was not very helpful, it was posted about 10 minutes less than whatever the actual wait was during the day. Due to it's four across design there were not a lot of singles needed. We then got a fastpass for Tower which was for 1:10pm (this was around 10:30am). Rock n Roller coaster was already at an hour. Tram Tour didn't open till after lunch due to technical issues. The shows are all done in English/French with some having dedicated show times in each language.

 

FYI - On our next day, they didn't even use Fast Pass at the Studios even with 45min - hour long lines for everything!

 

RC Racer and Crush both got up to 90 minutes.

 

Over at Disneyland they open up fastpass machines during early entry and we saw Thunder and Space sell out around 6-7pm each night. Lines for Thunder and Space were always at an hour or more. Other rides were 45 min or less.

 

Fastpass is strict with return times and yes you only have a 30 min window so plan accordingly.

 

You're going at an insanely busy time. Good luck.

[rcdude]

^Thanks for the tips. We'll just make the best of it. I've asked my brother and sister to each pick around 10 attractions at the resort they want to do, and split those into first and second tier. Worst case scenario would be not completing everything on the second tier.

 

I was expecting 45-60 minute lines for the major rides (possibly longer for Crush's Coaster, RC Racer, and Big Thunder Mountain) and 15-30 minute waits for other attractions, but it sounds like I may be slightly underestimating them. We'll see what happens.