I thought I’d post a brief report on a day trip to Disneyland Paris. We didn’t plan to go to Disneyland Paris as we will be in California in July 2010 and planned to take our daughter then as she will be older and enjoy the Park more. However, we decided to take her for a day trip as we’ve been in Paris the past week. I’m glad that we did. Our daughter really loved it. It’s been VERY hot the past few days and today was really nice out and not too hot with a nice breeze.
Although I read they spent more money on Disneyland Paris I couldn’t really tell compared to the ones in the USA. It’s been a long time since I was in Disneyland in Florida but it was bigger. We didn’t regret it after seeing the smile on our baby’s face.
We are staying in Central Paris and took the Metro. It was VERY easy. We took the Metro to the Chatelet station and then took the RER (A4) to the Marne la Vallee station which sits right in front of Disneyland Park. A REALLY helpful website if you are using the Metros and want to plan things ahead of time is www.ratp.info/touristes/index.php?langue=en It’s in English and you can just put the stations you want and it makes it very easy.
Last week we purchased a week electronic pass and it’s been really great. The train ride to the Marne la Vallee station was about 40 minutes. There were several stops but it was easy. You can’t get lost. In the metro there are several signs that say the name of the station and then say (Disney Park) next to it. Disneyland is right outside of the station.
I read on Trip Advisor that you could buy tickets at a few stores in Paris including the Galeries La Fayatte shopping mall but when we were there I asked and they said they didn’t sell them there anymore. It might have just been the girl at the desk we went to as she seemed fairly clueless but you might want to keep that in mind. I also read they sell them at the Virgin Record store on Champs Elyses but we didn’t try.
I wanted to make the most of our time and didn’t want to wait in line so I went on their main website and saw an option to buy online with my credit card and print the ticket out. http://www.disneylandparis.com/ (website). I thought that made the most sense as I HATE waiting in lines. It was VERY quick and easy and it took my American Express (from the USA). Sometimes websites in Europe have problems with foreign credit cards but it went right through. We are staying in an apartment in Paris and it has a printer so it was simple. It was instantaneous as soon as the charge went through it gives you the option to print out the tickets and they also emailed me the receipt and a PDF with the tickets as well.
Imagine my surprise when we get to the Park, hand over the paper tickets and they said it didn’t work. The girl told me to go in line and ask them to print out a normal ticket. The ONLY reason I bought online was to avoid standing in line so it totally defeated the purpose. I knew it was a bit more money buying online. I paid US $78 for each adult ticket. Our daughter is under 3 years old so her ticket was free. Buying at the Park it was €51 (us $72) so it’s cheaper buying it there at the Park. It was VERY annoying standing in line as it moves very slow and it seems like people haven’t figured out which ticket they want so they are all asking questions and the line moves slow.
There are various options for the Park, 1 day pass, 2 day pass, 2 Park pass (including Studio) which we didn’t need as our daughter is only 13 months). We opted for the 1 day/ 1 park pass. I was frustrated as I finally got to the front of the line and then the girl tells me she can’t get it to work and then sends me to the Customer Service desk so I had to wait in yet another line. Fortunately the line wasn’t long there but still very frustrating since I purchased online wanting to save time, and paid a premium to do that.
I get to the customer service desk and the guy tells me they are having a problem with fraud so they have to see ID and then issue new tickets. He took my driver’s license, made a photocopy of it and then issued 2 regular tickets. I STRONLY recommend not buying online if it involves this kind of hassle each time. Not only is it more expensive but doesn’t seem to save any time at all.
We had an enjoyable day there. Fortunately the lines were not long for anything. Definitely it seems like the recession is having an effect on the Park as it seemed fairly slow which we didn’t complain about at all.
I had a few postcards in our bag that I needed to mail and it was convenient as they have a Post Office right at the entrance/exit of the park near the Metro station in case you need to mail anything. After the end of our day we took the Metro back to Paris and again it was easy.
We’ve really enjoyed our time in Paris and hopefully I’ll have time to post a more formal trip report later on after our trip. We had an amazing picnic dinner last night in front of the Eiffel Tower sitting on the lawn of the Trocadero. It was fabulous. Something that I did notice this trip is the area near the Eiffel Tower seems to be more plagued with crime. We witnessed 2 incidents of purse snatching in the 8 days we were here. Both near the Eiffel Tower. The first was when we were in the Metro near the Eiffel Tower. We were sitting waiting for the Metro when we noticed 2 African guys whiz past us. I commented to my wife they probably stole a purse. Sure enough right behind were 2 Police officers chasing them. In fact, it caused the Metro to have to wait a bit as they ran into the tunnel where the Metros ran. I doubt the police caught them as they were really fast and the police were struggling.
The second was near the Eiffel Tower where again it was an African guy. I’d be really careful around this area if you have a bag. It seemed like the police were targeting this area more. We were walking in Trocadero and it’s always full of African guys selling trinkets. Yesterday around dawn the police raided the area and it was interesting to see all the guys running with their blankets. It was comical to see these guys running. A few guys had all their trinkets spill all over and tourists swarmed picking up all this stuff. It almost seems like a lost cause as the police couldn’t catch them as they just ran away. In fact, shortly after the guys came back and were hassling the tourists that took the items off the ground to return them or pay for them. Not many did.
Also, later in the night we saw police cars trying to chase these guys in their police car which seemed silly as they kept running away. It seems like a lost cause for them. I’ll post more about this in my trip report after our trip. We’re headed to the French Riviera….
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Just for clarification -- did you actually SEE them with a purse? Or is that your assumption from what you saw?
Pursesnatching isn%26#39;t really all that common -- pickpocketing, yes, but actually taking the bag is fairly rare.
They are more than likely being chased for selling counterfeit goods from their blankets -- THAT is pretty common.
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In the Metro yes we SAW the purse in their hand (there were 2 running but only one had a woman%26#39;s purse). We didn%26#39;t see them actually take it from a woman but it was obvious that it wasn%26#39;t one they were trying to sell. It was very clear they snatched it from someone on the Metro.
The one near the Eiffel Tower that we saw yes we saw him take the purse and run. The other things I witnessed you are right were just people trying to sell things and were running from the police but it wasn%26#39;t an incident of them stealing purses but I%26#39;d say witnesses 2 events in 8 days isn%26#39;t a good sign.
Maybe this recession is affecting the bad guys as well. Tough times for many. We arrived here in Monte Carlo and it%26#39;s gorgeous but very hot. I doubt we%26#39;ll see the same types of things here in the French Riviera.... :)
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