On this July 17th, a lot of things happened after 1 month of opening at Disneyland Paris,
First of all, we would like to thank the employees of Disneyland Paris who welcome visitors with unfailing communicative joy since the reopenings and a notion of service like never seen before.
Since the second reopening of the resort after more than 7 months of closures, it has been able to demonstrate to its visitors that this stoppage of activity has not prevented the maintenance teams from working hard to beautify the parks.
- Rénovations
Thus a new part of Main Street facades have been repainted, facades entirely restored like that of the Discovery arcade or the StoryBook Store, the reconstruction of the gazebo but also and above all the castle of the park which will be under renovation until the beginning of the 30th anniversary in 2022.
At Front Lot in the entrance to Walt Disney Studio Park, the floor has been completely redone with a brand new paved floor more adapted to the climate conditions.
On the other side of Studio 1, on Production Courtyard, the asphalt has been replaced for the same overall effect, although the achievement seems temporary as if the area is awaiting short-term changes.
Looking for Orbitron? It’s not here anymore ! The attraction has been completely dismantled as well as all the decorative elements. The goal is simple, a deep refurbishment of the ride and the waiting line.
The entrance to the NewPort Bay Club has been completely renovated on the lake side. The final rendering is sublime. Finally, a photo point allows you to see Mickey, Minnie or Donald in a unique costume has been created for the hotel
On the side of the Disney’s Hotel New York, despite its opening, work continues on the roof of the convention center.
Ar Disney Village, the ceiling of Café Mickey have several damage, possibly due to the extreme climatic condition the last weeks (you can see the electric cables hanging from the ceiling)
In France storm warnings on Disneyland Paris are rare but very violent. On 19 june, more than 200mm / 7.8” of rain in some places, Power down in Phantom Manor or even the flooding of queue lines and access to the parking lot of the parks.
Cars can now park under part of the new roofs of the solar panels even if the work is not completed, particularly on the theming. It is hoped that the final lighting will not be this simple industrial neon
- Les attractions
This closure had the effect of finding attractions in excellent general condition in addition to rediscovering them!
Cars Road Trip
This is the new “ride” of the year. Disney started out with the realization that “Studio Tram Tour Behind the Magic” was an attraction that visitors maded to wait for a show or a FastPass at another attraction or in bad weather. But especially since this attraction had for only point of interest, Catastrophe Canyon. From this observation and with the announcement of the development plan in 2018, the attraction posed a problem for future extensions which will arrive from 2023 because it encroached on this area. Therefore, it was decided to make it a short attraction, on a successful IP on the European market, a beautiful promenade with green spaces. Result: it’s a good attraction with a good music and animation movie, but nothing more, nothing revolutionary.
Blanche neige & Pinocchio
In the absence of the new version “Enchanted Wish” from California for Snow White, here Disneyland Paris has given some refurbishement like the forest, or in Pinnocchio, the amusement park and the seaside. It’s a good thing to see these attractions maintained, although the Californian version should prevail as it makes this walk of a timeless tale accessible to young audiences.
Disneyland Railroad
This ride offers a new formula, either you take your tain in Main Street or in Discoveryland station, and you will make a complete turn to go back down to your departure station. It is a slightly different experience where the pleasure of traveling is increased tenfold.
Buzz Lightyear
The Buzz Lightyear’s ride has finally got a makeover! Its facade has been redesigned to both better match the style of the land although it is more suited to the style of a Tomorrowland. Although the blue is somewhat flashy, the purple, then absent from the frontage of the Land makes a nice arrival. Regarding the ride, nothing has changed. The colors are naturally more vivid because absolutely everything has been repainted identically in addition to the technical refurbishment.
- Entertainment
As during the first opening in July 2020, the parades are suspended but in the afternoon many cavalcades allow you to see caracters and brighten your day.
On the show side, only the novelty of the year “Disney Junior Dream Factory” is on display at Walt Disney Studios Park.
Of course the meetings with the characters are still relevant and just as qualitative. Meeting several characters at a single meeting point is always so enjoyable.
- Saisons
- Halloween : 1er octobre au 7 novembre 2021
- Halloween Party : 31 octobre 2021 – 89€
Disneyland Paris has formalized the return of the Halloween and Christmas seasons 2021 with an evening for each.
- Halloween : October 1 to November 7, 2021
- Halloween Party : October 31, 2021 – 89€
- Christmas : November 13, 2021 to January 9, 2022
- New Year Eve Party : December 31, 2021 – 109€
- Disney Hotels
On June 17, the NewPort Bay Club hotel opened at the same time as the resort. On July 1st it was the turn of Disney’s Hotel Cheyenne and last July 15th of Disney’s Davy Crockett.
Disneyland Paris will continue to provide guests with even more options with the reopenning Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe on October 23 and Disney’s Sequoia Lodge on December 1. Additionally, Disney’s Davy Crockett Ranch will close temporarily for the winter season, from November 10, 2021, to March 31, 2022, inclusive. The updates will be reflected soon in the reservation system.
But it is with the Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel that the visitor experience has evolved. Since its closure in January 2019, the hotel has experienced setbacks, such as a postponement of its opening and then the Covid crisis which has had a major impact on the work schedule. It is finally after loan of a year behind the desired initial schedule. On June 21, 2021 Disney’s New York the Art of Marvel opens to its visitors. If we should qualify this hotel in 3 words: modern, elegant and volume. These qualities can turn against him since despite everything this establishment is noisy and certain details are lost due to its modernity. Indeed, the floors are very standard. The hallways lose their splendor with the disappearance of the glossy green marble floors, which have become off-white tiling. And the exterior floor between the hotel and the Disney lakeside hasn’t even been renovated.
Apart from this sound and floors stories, there is not much to say except that this hotel is magnificent, the work is phenomenal, the mixture of materials and textures make it very good and brings out the volumes. This establishment because of its “adult” destination, turned towards companies for conventions, you will not see a mickey, and the characters will stay in a great place of “Super Hero Station” photo points. The rooms have naturally been modernized, Italian showers, mirrored TVs and various works of art in a variety of styles, everyone will find what they are looking for.
- Restaurants
As for the catering offer, there is no big change except one that has had an impact on the entire destination with the rounding to the euro higher on all prices! Say goodbye to menu 2 at €14.99 and hello at €15 (prices with tax) ! 1 cent that makes all the difference when the customer goes through the checkout with the reduction in order processing time. No more looking for penny coins for both the customer and the cashier, 1 penny and everyone wins.
Regarding the novelties, the Fuente Del Oro is no longer a real Mexican fast food, but a counter which has the originality of offering a Frozen Margarita. This must be a test for this establishment which always struggles to have a dining room with enough space for customers to eat. Thus, by offering lighter condiments, customers will be able to consume more quickly without having this problem of congestion to find a table.
The real novelties that make up the destination’s catering offer are the opening and the choice of bars and restaurants at the Disney’s New York the Art of Marvel hotel.
Whether for the Bleecker Street lounge or the Skyline Bar, you will be in a cozy setting that is more relaxing for the first and more modern for the second. The choices vary from one establishment to another, as do its opening hours with a transfer from the first to the second at mid-day with prices that also range from single to double.
The real change comes from the hotel’s two restaurants, Downtown and Manhattan, which each have their own concept.
Are you more of an all-you-can-eat buffet and world cuisine between Chinese, Italian and American? Here, this all-you-can-eat buffet will receive 55 different choices (at the end of the covid restrictions), among the most remarkable dishes, the salmon bagel or the briscket (breast) cooked for more than 10 hours in its juice.
Do you want a more cozy setting at the foot of a magnificent chandelier, and be served at the table by one of the talented waiters such as David in an Italian menu?
Here, with a resolutely worked menu, you will find a succulent mozza di buffala, or homemade lasagna before finishing on a stunning baba!
One of the things that you notice the most about the two restaurants is the quality of the products on offer and the taste. This is something that is sorely lacking in the Parisian destination and which does not highlight the capacities of the French in one of its cultural specificities: gastronomy. Disneyland Paris is light years behind Disneyland Resort and especially Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. However, these two hotel restaurants finally make it possible to find a level equivalent to Florida. It is obvious that we will return to what are the two best restaurants in the Parisian destination. But what about the rest of the Resort? Because if there is one thing that is to be hoped for, it is that there is finally or a diversified and quality offer arriving in the parks, whether in fast food, table restaurants but also and above all the carts littering the alleys of the park.
- Disney Premier Access
Say goodbye to the free FastPass system. This summer, the skip-the-line will become fully profitable. You will have to pay between 8 € and 15 € per person and per attraction to take a tour of the chosen attraction. This price will fluctuate depending on the season or the number of visitors to the park. Yes, this system will have its prices that will evolve according to supply and demand.
Stopping FastPass can be seen as a revival for the overall visitor experience for the simple reason that the share of visitors in the normal queue and FastPass is at least 50/50 in Big Thunder Mountain or 25% Standby versus 75% FastPass in the Peter Pan attraction. Concretely in summer 2019, see 120mn at Big Thunder mountain, in a saturated park, without FastPass this queue would be 60 minutes. Similarly for Peter Pan, 80mn in the queue would display 20mn despite a full queue in both cases.
Disney is clearly aware of the image it has with families, the one whose main park has not had any new expansions for over 20 years and whose queues are only growing thanks to the increase. visitors who are not captured by new attractions.
At the same time, Disney sees the success of the sale of skip-the-line passes in others parks. At Universal Orlando Resort alone, depending on the day and time of year, it starts at $ 109.99 and can go up to $ 309.99 excluding tax and entrance ticket (unlimited skip the line for both theme parks of the Resort for one person).
Thus Disney has long been confronted with two dilemmas, the need to reduce waiting time, and to earn money where any other parks are already doing it in this passes.
The result is therefore Disney Premier Access, a non-compulsory option offering the possibility of skip-the-line which the majority of visitors will not use, allowing Disney to respond to its dilemmas.
Importantly, the rides benefiting from Disney Premier Access are the ones that had the FastPass system. But the service will expand to other attractions like Autopia, Phantom Manor and many more. To see which attractions will benefit from the Disney Premier Access and the Standby Pass, just look on the ground at the installation of round metal plates that will be the location of the electric gantry, maybe like the new automatic doors at the entrances to the parks.
- Standby pass
The Standy-by Pass service can be activated, as needed, on certain attractions independently in order to contain physical queues to a manageable threshold. The goal is not to eliminate the waiting time but to spend part of this waiting virtually, out of the physical queue. This system can be implemented on very busy days by excluding the first and last hours of activity of the day. If in your visit you are confronted with this service. Good luck !
Standby Pass Ride :
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain
- Autopia
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Crush’s Coaster
- Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy
With the persistence of the virus and the arrival of new variants, the President of the Republic has made compulsory access to leisure places, such as Disneyland Paris with an individual Health Pass from July 21. This applies to people aged 18 and over and from August 31st to children over 12 and over. The Health Pass is characterized by the listing of a complete vaccination or a PCR / Antigen tests of less than 48 hours, or a test attesting to a full recovery from COVID-19.
Disneyland Paris will offer its visitors a screening center at the Disney Village, allowing visitors to access the park once in possession of its negative results.
These brand new measures which have the effect of making parks and all leisure places in France safe spaces that drastically limit any risks.
Therefore, would having visitors mainly protected make it possible to abolish the measures of distancing in the queues and the attractions? Indeed with visitors vaccinated or tested negative, the question could arise as well as to abolish the restrictions on the number of visitors (28,000 visitors against 120,000 to have the parks saturated) or to have ride at full capacity.
- Centre de vaccination au New Port Bay Club
Finally, since the arrival of vaccines, multiple vaccination centers have appeared in France, including one in the NewPort Bay Club convention center. If Disney assists in the security of the premises, the operation is itself fully managed by the state health services.
We had the chance last April to be among the first to register for this fundamental step for the return to a normal life and to act for the common good.
Finally, we would like to end with our thanks to the healthcare staff and companies, like Disney, which contribute at their own level in this fierce fight against the Covid.
Merci
Thank you for your loyalty.
See ya real soon !
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