Disneyland Paris Live 2018 Day 4 Getting Back on Track

Disneyland Paris could be described as the runt of the Disney Park Family. In its 25 years it has had a fair number of false starts including heavy financial losses & even a genuine threat of closure. However, in recent months Disney have taken 100% ownership of the resort for the first time. It is hoped this will lead to a much more secure future & increased investment.

It is almost 10 years since we last visited the resort & a lot has changed. However; the change has been much slower than at other Disney resorts. Whilst new attractions have come to the Studios over at Disneyland Park change has been slower.

This year the Disneyland Park eventually received the Star Tours upgrade but other new attractions have been scarce. Instead of a Star Was Land we have a refreshed Space Mountain with a Star Wars overlay. It doesn’t  really feel enough to drive repeat customers.

Disneyland Paris has seen visitor numbers decline in recent years. The global economy & terror concerns have certainly not helped. Visiting Disneyland Paris is not cheap. For a family of 4 based in the UK a 2 week trip to Orlando can work out cheaper than a short break to Paris.

Despite the fall in visitor numbers this remains the most popular resort in Europe. In 2016 the Disneyland Park was the 13th most visited park in the world.

Whilst no major announcements have been made yet of Disney’s plans for the park there has been considerable investment in upgrading current attractions over the last few years. Classic attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean & Big Thunder Mountain have benefited from this upgrading policy. Overall the parks are beautiful and are easily a match for their American relatives on looks if not attractions.

After the earlier fun of broken shoulders and stolen phones today was a much more mundane day. We started the day at Plaza Gardens Restaurant for a character breakfast.

Breakfast was typical Disney American breakfast fayre. Whilst it wasn’t stunning in quality it was plentiful. During the breakfast we met Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Daisy, Pluto & Mickey. This is more characters than you will meet at Disney World meals.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent completing attractions in the Disneyland Park. Due to the earlier events in our vacation we had struggled to complete much of either park. Overall we managed to complete most of our must-do attractions which we were still fit enough to complete. We also found time to meet Thumper & Miss Bunny.

The disability pass which we received certainly helped us achieve more after our lost earlier days. Disneyland Paris has official policies for assisting guests with disabilities. To find out more read here.

Late afternoon we visited the studios for my first ever ride on Ratatouille: The Adventure. The rest of the family rode this ride during my hospital expedition. The ride is outstanding with brilliant animation and the most wild trackless ride system. This ride will be coming to Epcot soon and  it isn’t something to miss.

Dinner was at Bistrot Chez Remy. This Ratatouille themed restaurant has some of the very best Disney theming found anywhere. Guests are shrunk down to the size of Rémy to feast on French cuisine prepared by our rodent chef. The decorator is stunning including champagne cork chairs and jam lid tables. Food was also good but our server was poor. When did Chocolate mousse become a slab of Brie?

After dinner we returned to the Disneyland Park to watch Disney Illuminations. Music, Fountains, Lasers & Castle Projections create one of the most stunning theme park shows.

We completed the day in the Redwood Bar at Sequoia Lodge. This giant bar has been a favourite when we have visited Sequoia Lodge previously.

Overall a better day in Disneyland Paris but unfortunately we leave tomorrow. There is still so much to do.