A place where fairy tales come to life: everything you need to know about Disneyland in France

What is the interest of Disneyland Paris?

The opening of the park took place on April 12, 1992. At that time there were only 18 attractions. Currently, Disneyland Paris remains the only park of the Walt Disney universe in Europe, except that it has grown to 1943 hectares and more than a hundred attractions.

The park consists of three main parts: Disneyland park, Walt Disney Studios and Disney Village shopping area.

The largest and most popular, of course, is considered to be the attractions zone (Disneyland park). However, this part in turn is divided into five more zones, differentiated by themes and entertainment.

Adventureland has the spirit of the Caribbean, India and East Africa. Here Agrabah from the animated movie "Aladdin" is reproduced, and there is also an attraction Le Passage Enchanté d'Aladdin, where the scenes of this cartoon are duplicated. The area with stores and restaurants is made in African style. Also in this part of the park there are attractions based on the movies "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Swiss Family Robinson", "Indiana Jones", "Treasure Island".

The Indiana Jones attraction is said to use real props from the movie, and a human skull was used to decorate the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.

Frontierland replicates the 19th century Wild West style of the United States. Among the attractions are the Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster, Phantom Manor Fright House and the Riverboat Adventure. During Halloween and Christmas, you can meet Jack Skellington and Sully from Tim Burton's animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas.

The central pedestrian thoroughfare of the park is Main Street USA. It starts at the entrance and goes to Sleeping Beauty Castle. It provides access to the other themed areas. The street is in the style of a 1920s American town and contains mostly stores and restaurants. It is also home to the Disneyland Railroad station where you can take the train around the park. There are parades on Main Street, and a capsule with a message to the future is hidden near the castle, which can only be opened when the park turns 80 years old — which will be in 2035.

Discoveryland is designed in the form of a city of the future, as it was imagined by sci-fi writers of the XIX century — Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. This can be clearly seen in the HyperSpace Mountain attraction, made in space style, and the classic Autopia and Orbitron. There are also attractions based on Star Wars and Toy Story.

Fantasyland area is primarily designed for younger children and it has the largest number of entertainment related to favorite cartoons. This area is decorated in the form of a fairy-tale village. There is a maze of Alice from Lewis Carroll's work, attractions based on Snow White, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Dumbo. Visiting the mini-cruise Le Pays des Contes de Fées, guests witness scenes from Snow White, Rapunzel, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz and other fairy tales. Fantasyland is crowned by the main symbol of Disneyland — the castle of Sleeping Beauty.

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In 2002, Walt Disney Studios Park was opened, where you can look behind the scenes of film production and become part of your favorite animated films, including Cars, Finding Nemo, Aladdin, Ratatouille, and Toy Story. Older kids will love the attraction based on the Twilight Zone series.

And lastly Disney Village is a shopping, dining and entertainment complex of Disneyland Paris. There are cinemas, cafes, restaurants and, of course, stores selling souvenirs, clothes and various paraphernalia with Disney movie symbols.

When is the best time to visit Disneyland?

Disneyland in France works all year round. However, travelers who have already visited the park, advise to go there in the fall or spring. After all, in summer there are huge queues, and in winter some attractions do not work.

Also on Halloween and during the Christmas holidays in Disneyland is a special program: shows performances that you will not see during the year, and also at this time there is a spectacular parade of Disney cartoon characters.

How to get to the park?

Getting to the park from the French capital is quite easy, as they are separated by only 32 kilometers and it is quite a popular destination.

The easiest way is to take the metro. The journey will take you no more than half an hour, and the train car will take you almost to the entrance. Being in the city center, all you need to do is to go down to the subway for the onward journey to the amusement park. Trains run every day every 15 minutes from 5:20 to 00:30 at night.

For tourists who prefer to go to the country of attractions and cartoon characters literally from the airplane ramp, there are direct routes from the main airports of Paris — Charles de Gaulle and Orly. Landing is made from terminal number 2.

If you decide to go to the park by your own or rented car, you should know that there is a large covered parking lot near the main entrance.

Where to eat in Disneyland?

Disneyland has establishments for all tastes and budgets. There are expensive restaurants where tables are booked in advance, quite affordable establishments with a buffet, as well as cafes and fast food — there are many trays with hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream scattered around the territory. There is also McDonald's in Disneyland and it is probably the most budget-friendly lunch option. However, no one forbids you to bring sandwiches with you.

How much does a ticket to the park cost?

Prices at Disneyland in France depend on the ticket you buy. There are several of them here.

You can buy a ticket for a particular date from 1 to 4 days. The price depends on the number of days and the specific date you choose. The price starts from 66 euros, and you can choose the date here.

There are also tickets without a fixed date. Such a ticket is valid for one year from the date of purchase and costs 125 euros.