When I planned a grand total of 34 hours in France, the mission was simple: renew my annual pass. This was all well and good until the week before I was set to depart, when the new Disneyland Pass was announced, the old passes withdrawn, and the renewal window halved to just one month meaning that even if I wanted to pay the €700 for a pass that offered Extra Magic Hours, I wasn’t allowed. Oof. Thankfully, there was still plenty of reason to travel, with recently completed refurbs, new dining locations, a whole new show, and the grand return of a beloved night-time spectacular. All of which left me just as excited for this trip as I have been for every other visit to my favourite theme park on Earth.
Usually, if I’m travelling solo, you’ll always find me on the Eurostar, but with fares having skyrocketed, this would be my first time flying over. On arrival at Paris CDG, I still hadn’t decided how I was going to get to the parks. The 8 minute TGV is always my go-to when when moving between Disneyland and the airport (for Asterix-related reasons), but having discovered that fares are actually cheaper on the day (or just before) I hadn’t booked, especially as the next train wasn’t until two hours after I landed. But, having cleared security in minutes, I realised that there was a slim chance I’d be able to make the next departure of the Magical Shuttle, leaving just 16 minutes later from a completely different part of Terminal 2 – and make it I did! I rushed to book a ticket on my phone, but the helpful driver led me to the desk inside where I was able to buy a ticket for the next departure for the same price as booking in advance online (€24). The coach was cool, modern, and had great charging facilities, and in just over 30 minutes, we were pulling in to Disney’s Newport Bay Club. Rather than wait to drive around all the hotels, I opted to hop off here and walk down through Disney Village. There was something I’d been wanting to buy anyway…
Sometimes in life, things just work out right. As was the case with the Disney Eras 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ears! They took so darn long to launch in the UK, that by the time I was able to make the (£30, ouch) purchase, I’d seen that they were heavily reduced in the annual Disneyland Paris sales. So, I decided to take a risk and wait until my visit, hoping to pay less – and I succeeded! Having paid just £9, I was finally ready to head into the park, make a beeline for the Nautilus, and discover just what would be waiting in the newly refurbished depths.
I was more than a little excited to return to Les Mystères du Nautilus. The attraction had never really re-opened post-Covid. I mean, sure, there was a bizarre phase where it re-opened as a character meet, but we try to forget that. Being 2021, you had to take your own photos, and the lighting was terrible. Not only that, but being a character experience, it meant that the attraction suddenly had long waits and no way of controlling your own movement through – don’t even think about pausing in the grand salon! Oh no, that’s where you’ll be meeting – in my case – Daisy Duck!
Thankfully, despite my worst fears, the Nautilus was not set to remain a character experience forever, and after many years has returned, fully refurbished, as a classic walkthrough. Overall, the refurbishment is great! The lighting is looking stunning, all the set dressing is in perfect condition and there are some fabulous effects – the steam shooting through the floor near the exit made me very happy! But we need to talk about the squid, or lack thereof. My poor beloved squid. What did they do to you? In place of the iconic, gigantic, animatronic squid attack, Les Mystères du Nautilus is suddenly The Seas with (Captain) Nemo and Friends… without the real fish. In place of a dramatic, narratively relevant scene, we are presented with stock footage of sea creatures whilst the new narration provides us with fun facts about the featured animals, sharing a conservation message. What? Not only that, but Captain Nemo himself has been removed from the adjacent organ. Why?! Why is this park so determined that Discoveryland should lose everything that gives it any sense of identity? Discoveryland is one of the most dramatic ways in which Parc Disneyland differentiates itself from the other castle parks, and yet it’s an asset which continues to diminish. I know that the proportion of Disneyland Paris guests who have seen 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea shrinks by the day (honestly though, you should watch it, it’s amazing) but this is the Nautilus. Narrative is so important to the emotional impact of a themed experience, but here, it’s seemingly forgotten.
Of course, Les Mystères du Nautilus wasn’t the only attraction to have rejoined the line-up after a lengthy absence, it’s a small world is back! Having closed in November of 2021 for extensive refurbishment, it’s a small world finally reopened in May of this year.
I’m happy to say that the small world refurbishment was, in my book, a far greater success than that of the Nautilus. This ride is looking fantastic, both inside and out. After many years of the massive crack in the fountain outside, it’s so darn good to have it looking as joyful as it should! Whilst I’d never usually wait in a 30 minute line for small world, I was so eager to ride that wait in line I did and honestly, it was a pretty good call, with so much time to drink in the detail and beauty of the façade! One thing I’d never picked up on from photos was just how much the gold paint on the façade shines. Much like the gold on the castle, these parts are radiant, bringing some light and variation to the gorgeous riot of colour that is the ride’s façade.
Thankfully, the ride is every bit as delightful inside as it is out. Sure, the ceiling is still giving warehouse, but that’s just part of the ride at this point. So too now are wheelchair-using dolls, in the most obvious change! Alongside this increased inclusivity, the attraction has also had a lighting update, which for me was most noticeable on the jumping fish in the underwater scene. The fins of the fish were dazzling and made for one of my favourite moments in the ride! As a whole, the ride really is looking wonderful and, more than ever, radiates colour and happiness. The only disappointment was that, across my three rides, the large carousel in the finale was consistently stationary. Hopefully, this will be back in operation soon!
Walking out of small world, I had a quick stop by at Pizzeria Bella Notte for the next on my new-to-me list: the Luca dining room! The last time I’d visited the park, Fantasia Gelati was still standing – and in a rare turn of events, it was even open! This rarely operational ice cream stand had since closed to be turned into an expansion for Pizzeria Bella Notte, but instead of Lady and the Tramp, this room would take inspiration from Luca. Whilst in recent years, the integration of IP often triggers alarm bells, with images of cheap decals or screens, this dining room is IP done right! I didn’t manage to get many photos as the place was absolutely packed – clearly the expansion was a good idea – and I even had to ask some staff to be allowed in to the room in the first place, but the artistry is stunning. Whilst it often feels that every small change made to Disneyland Park seems to remove a little piece of the magic, this is a space that feels as good as any that originated with the park. With beautiful murals, impressively themed lighting and endless props, I can’t wait to visit at a quieter time of day and drink it all in!
Undoubtedly, the largest change since my January visit had occurred over in Walt Disney Studios Park, so it was time for me to hop on over and see what was happening at Studio Theatre. Finally, I’d get to tick this building off of the list, having never even stepped inside before! I sadly never visited during the glory days of CinéMagique, never visited for the Marvel events, and just didn’t want to waste time watching the National Geographic nature clips. But finally, there was something worth my time! Together: A Pixar Musical Adventure is the latest in a series of large-scale entertainment productions at Disneyland Paris. Whilst we can’t seem to get any new rides, when it comes to entertainment, this resort has got you covered!
Together opened just three days before my visit, and in that time I saw almost unanimous effusive praise for this technologically advanced production. Not only that, but sneak peaks leading up to the opening had gotten me so excited. The costumes, the music, the characters… it all looked amazing! So, did it live up to the hype for me? Erm, not quite.
Don’t get me wrong, this is an excellent show. I would queue up to see it again in a heartbeat. The costumes are staggering, some of the musical moments are divine, and the cast is superb. But, if a friend asked me which show to see, I’d still direct them toward Mickey and the Magician, Rhythms of the Pride Lands, and even Dream Factory over Together. For every technological feat, the show seems to miss the emotional core at the centre of its counterparts. It’s entirely possible that this is due to language – this show features relatively little English, just enough to patch together the rough plot – but that’s never really mattered before. Personally, I felt that perhaps it was due to to the central character in the show – Charlie – only ever being present on the screen. This separation meant I never really cared about her – sorry Charlie! I also couldn’t help feeling that in a show that uses the classic Disney Parks ‘various characters arrive and perform a scene/song from their film’ set-up, the delivery wasn’t quite as spectacular is in other versions. There were often moments where you’d wait for the big familiar pieces of music from the relevant films to be played and it just… didn’t happen. But still, you get to see Married Life performed live by an orchestra, so it is every bit worth your time! Also, Rex! And Lotso! They look incredible. There’s a very special moment when Lotso first appears, which I won’t spoil here, but just about made my day.
If you’re due to be visiting soon, it’s worth noting that during my visit, guests were not permitted to begin waiting for the show until exactly an hour before the performance began. The queue appeared to reach capacity around half an hour before, so plan accordingly! This is a huge improvement, in my opinion, over the way Rhythms of the Pride Lands was handled when first launched, with multiple-hour long queues in the summer heat. I was walking past, on the way to grab a drink for the queue line, when I noticed that the fence was being removed and the queue opened. So, drink abandoned, I hopped in line and managed to score a perfect seat right behind the VIP section! They let us into the theatre a good 10/15 minutes prior to the start of the show, too, so the wait didn’t feel too bad at all.
Since opening almost exactly one year ago, Avengers Campus has brought a wide variety of additional food to the Walt Disney Studios Park. This is actually my favourite part of the new land, as it’s greatly increased the amount, and variety, of vegetarian options available in the park. Honestly, I never even ate in the park unless I had a Chez Remy reservation before! Of all the various options, I still had one left on my to-do list: the noodle stand opposite Hero Training Center. This food truck sells a variety of cold (a choice) noodle dishes, including one with tofu! I’ll be honest, the cold nature of the noodles had put me off trying it thus far, but it was a very hot day at Disneyland so finally, this dish made sense. Without further ado, may I present to you, €11 of noodles at Walt Disney Studio Park:
As soon as the pot was handed to me, I was taken aback by how light it felt, and lo and behold, there really were not a lot of noodles in there at all. There was, however, plenty of tofu, which was a nice surprise, and the flavours were actually pretty good. Of course, the whole thing was stone cold, but on a 30+ degree day, that was actually quite refreshing. Would I get it again? Well, maybe during a heatwave? I certainly won’t be rushing back to the stand, though. Then again they do have mochi that I haven’t tried…
After lunch, I wrapped up my time in the Studios with a hop in to the ever reliable Ratatouille single-rider line, where I was able to all but walk on to the ride. I was more than grateful for this fact after the ride, which quite honestly would have made me angry had I endured the 70-minute standby line. This was honestly my worst ever experience on Ratatouille – on either side of the Atlantic – with not a single effect working. Not one. Except for the dependable smell pods, which seemed to be working overtime to make up for things – even the first room smelled strongly of orange! But there was no tilting of the ride vehicle, no rotation of the large wheels (my favourite effect), no water, no heat… a very sad state of affairs.
On that sour note, it was time to say goodbye to WDSP and return to Disneyland Park for Disney’s Stars on Parade! Whilst I know this parade certainly has its detractors, it’s remained a solid once-per-trip must-do for me since its inception. Having seen this parade plenty of times before and wanting to maximise my time, I grabbed a spot near the starting point, adjacent to it’s a small world. Friends, this parade is in rough shape. For context, it was about 31 degrees and dazzling sunshine when I was watching, so I can absolutely forgive the performers, who were noticeably less energetic than on previous viewings, but the infrastructure? On the Toy Story float, the alien cages weren’t moving, neither were the static aliens blowing bubbles. The Finding Nemo float wasn’t doing anything at all. The Peter Pan float was straight-up cut in half. There were large gaps in the parade with nothing whatsoever. Finally, Maleficent didn’t breathe any fire – maybe I was wrong in thinking it had returned post The Fantasmic Incident? Either way, as soon as Maleficent failed to ignite, it was time for me to leave. I still think this parade would be impressive to many first time guests, particularly those who haven’t been to any Disney park before, but as a fan who knows how great it used to be, it was just a little bit sad.
With a large proportion of the park’s crowds still watching the somewhat lacklustre parade, I seized the chance to treat myself to an attraction I hadn’t experienced in a long, long time: Meet Mickey! Sure, I’d met the main mouse fairly regularly, but not at the main meet location. But, with just a 25-minute wait, this felt like the right time! With the heat outside, I’m very happy to announce that this building also had air conditioning, and was the perfect escape from the sun. The meet itself was a lot of fun too, with the host having a really great chat with me beforehand, mostly about the new annual passes. Unlike my last experience at this meet, the Photopass photos actually came out quite nice too, even if my belt decided that diagonal was the look I was going for.
The evening was spent re-visiting my favourite attractions, with Phantom Manor, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Big Thunder Mountain (my holy trinity), all getting plenty of attention. In fact, I spent a little too much time on these, meaning that by the time I got around to grabbing some dinner, it was 10pm and I needed to attempt to get something from one of the few outlets open at this time. Thankfully, Casey’s Corner now offers a vegetarian option! Finally! It felt momentous to finally enter the iconic hot dog shop for the first time and order the plant based chilli dog. This item was – there’s no other way to put it – pure chaos. It featured two long, herby, plant-based sausages stacked on top of one another, and under them lay a layer of vegan chilli. Having been pre-prepared and packed up, the whole thing was also covered in the chilli sauce. That said, it was delicious. It was crap, sure. The sort of food you’d throw together at 1am from whatever is in the freezer, this is no luxury hot dog. But it was tasty and filling, and I would absolutely order again. But wait… there’s more! Alongside my hot dog, I obviously had to order the unique themed dessert, a little vanilla and caramel baseball with Casey’s branding! I was hesitant to order this, wondering whether it would be vegetarian. So, I took to the internet, hoping to find a review, where I found WDWNT describing it as ice cream. Ice cream? Perfect. Alas! Ice cream, it was not. This was a cool, not frozen, dessert made of a mousse that was most likely gelatinous. Of course, I only realised after a bite. So, that’s a solid never again from me!
Dinner sorted, it was time for the single most anticipated part of this trip. I would finally be seeing Disney Dreams for the very first time! This legendary night-time spectacular has recently returned to replace its successor (becoming quite the trend at Disney Parks) Illuminations. Beforehand, I also had the new edition of D-Light to enjoy, and enjoy I did! This new version appears to feature even more drones, and includes a beautiful new Mickey shape around the castle. As with the old version, you’ll still want to be stood as central as possible as many of the drone formations are designed to complement the shape of the castle, but wherever you are, this show is sure to take your breath away. The perfect starter before the wonder that was Disney Dreams.
In short, Disney Dreams is everything Disney Illuminations never was. It’s packed with the very best songs from Disney’s stunning repertoire, presented in either their original form or as a magnificent cover. (Seriously, that version of The Second Star to the Right!) There’s a narrative featuring Peter Pan reclaiming the lost magic from across the various Disney worlds. I mean, I’m pretty sure Illuminations attempted to have some sort of vague story with Mickey’s occasional appearances, but let’s be honest… that never worked. Here, we see Peter throughout, weaving his way creatively through each scene. Then there’s the projection mapping. Holy hell, the projection mapping! As opposed to Illuminations which felt like it was developed by an enormous committee, who’s sole focus was the promotion of the brand’s recent output – I’ll never forgive the live action Beauty and the Beast segment okay – the very design of this show feels as though it was dreamed to life by people who cared. Who had fun making it. Who wanted their audience to laugh with delight, to be surprised, and to be impressed! This show fits this castle in a way that Illuminations never even attempted. The imagery is designed for the shape of its canvas rather than a mishmash of movie clips carelessly projected on to an iconic structure that deserves better. (Can you guess my overall opinion of Illuminations?) I didn’t even have that good of a view, watching from the centre of Main Street, near Casey’s Corner, I was able to see all of the action at the top of the castle, but nothing on the bottom half, which seemed to be where much of the story was taking place. But it didn’t matter. Disney Dreams was a show that made me feel things that no castle show has managed since I was a child – unless you count the endless times I’ve watched Happily Ever After on YouTube. Prior to this trip, I’d seen Illuminations, Enchantment, Disney Dreams of Christmas, and Mickey’s Mix Magic. The first two being a corporate mess, Dreams of Christmas simply a mess, and whilst I adored Mickey’s Mix Magic, it was very much a party, not an emotional gut punch. Until this show, I was completely fine with this being a one night trip. As I walked away, I felt so desperately sad that I wouldn’t be able to watch it again the next day. The way things should be. Welcome back, Disney Dreams!
Just 9 hours later, I was back in the park for the start of Extra Magic Hours and a morning spent revisiting the classic Fantasyland attractions. I spent most of this morning appreciating the artistry of the land, particularly the murals to be found in the station of each Fantasyland dark ride. They really are special, aren’t they?
The rest of the day was filled with re-rides on my favourites, and of course a visit to the Queen, who was looking fantastic post-refurb with bright, glowing eyes!
But really, this day was about how it ended. And how else would I end my last trip during the 30th anniversary celebrations than with what is set to be my final viewing of Dream… and Shine Brighter? The 30th really has been spectacular, with the decorations adding such colour and life to the park, and a great range of merchandise. But the undisputed star of the celebration is this wonderful show. When I first saw photos across social media, I was pretty disappointed. Those floats looked cheap as hell! This was the anniversary parade? Okay, I am still not a fan of those floats. But god, the show – when viewed from Central Plaza – is up there with the very best of Disneyland Paris. It’s so simple. Characters and dancers get up on the stages and dance. That’s about it. There’s pyro, daytime fireworks, and there’s music! But lord, the way it’s pulled off really makes you appreciate why Disney has a draw that no one else does. That music is so deeply emotive. There are honestly few theme park experiences I love more than standing in the centre of Central Plaza during a show. Being able to stand in the centre of the action, whilst characters perform all around you, is a uniquely Disneyland Paris experience, one I’m going to miss greatly – until the next show!
And with that, it was time to go home.
Despite being such a brief visit, I was very grateful to get to enjoy the new offerings across the resort, even if some were better than others. Disneyland Paris is in a strange place right now. As the 30th anniversary winds down, the cracks under the paint are beginning to show. Large capacity attractions hobble along, a shadow of their former selves, in a park that dares not close them for refurb, knowing they cannot afford to lose a star attraction. Construction walls are everywhere. Tiles are missing. Le Pays des Contes de Fées needs a sponsorship from Kärcher for the love of God. But in spite of all that, there is still nowhere else that brings me the joy this park does. Be it their world class (and even beating) entertainment department, the classic attractions, or the sheer beauty of a Disney park at night, this is a place that will forever have my heart. I had the best time ever.
God I’m going to miss my annual pass.
Speak again soon,
Claire
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