A Disney Parks Around the World Journey: Day 7 – A Disneyland Paris Christmas

“It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree that matters, it’s who’s around it.” – Charles Schultz

Merry Christmas!! Today I woke up at 4:30AM, which I thought was kinda odd since normally due to jet lag the first night in Europe I tend to sleep in. I just watch on my iPad for a bit until Lucy comes in asking why I slept so long. I was like it’s just 5:30AM. She then tells me it’s 11:30AM.

CRAP! At this point I realized that my iPad never changed time and was still on Eastern time. I normally would figure this out immediately based on the sun, but all the windows in the apartment have black out shutters so it’s like sleeping in a basement. Once I realize this I go into a panic as checkout is at noon and we only have 30 minutes to pack up. I then wake up Kendall who was also still sleeping and text Alexandra, our host, to ask for late checkout at 1:00PM and he graciously agrees for no charge.

We ordered a DoorDash last night for a couple basic items including some croissants so we eat those those for breakfast. Not exactly the most elaborate Christmas breakfast but it get’s the job done. We shower quickly and hurriedly pack and are out the door right at 1:00PM and call an Uber to take us to our next hotel, Disneyland Hotel Paris which is a short 10 minute drive away.

One of the only good things about our newly made itinerary was now we get to stay at the Disneyland Hotel in Paris which we had not originally scheduled, as Paris was initially a layover. We had essentially swapped Shanghai for Paris which was a bummer as we had never been to Shanghai, but on the bright side we get to celebrate Christmas in a Christian country.

It was a cool overcast day with constant mist just to keep things barely wet but no rain. To be honest our family prefers to go to the parks when it’s very cold versus when it’s super hot. We just find it more enjoyable compared to the extreme heat of Disney World in the summer. The heat really wears you down throughout the course of the day, while the cold keeps you energized and awake.

We arrived at the Disneyland Hotel at about about 1:15 PM and checked in.

The lobby was absolutely stunning, and was amazingly not that busy for Christmas Day. The check in line wasn’t long at all and only took a couple minutes. There was a beautiful crystal Sleeping Beauty castle floating in the chandelier above the lobby.

Our park tickets are automatically included in a stay at the Disney Hotels in Paris and linked to your Magic Key, also known as your room keycard so we didn’t have to purchase any tickets.

Our room wouldn’t be ready till 3:00PM so they stored our luggage until then.

If you’ve read this far on the blog, I’m sure you are starting to wonder if we are EVER going to do any Disney, given this IS a Disney Parks Around the World Journey. We are now on Day 7 and at this point and have spent ONLY 1 day in a park so far. Well, have no fear, today we are FINALLY doing another park day!

The walk to the park from the hotel door is no more than 30 seconds as the Disneyland Paris Hotel is literally right at the front of the park and is built over the entrance turnstiles. There was zero wait to get into the park and we were in by 1:30PM.

We head on over to rent a wheelchair, but unlike Walt Disney World that has a nearly endless stream of wheelchairs, Disneyland Paris is sold out for the day. I about have a heart attack, but Kendall calmly tells me she’s got this. Today will be the first the first real test of how far she has come since the accident as she will be flying without a safety net today.

Up first is the traditional walk down Main Street. Here it seems to be just a little wider than in the US and also has covered side streets making it a total of three streets that lead into and out of the park. This was a genius addition to the park’s design when it was first constructed. It would be amazing if they could find a way to retroactively install these side streets in Walt Disney World and Disneyland as they have a massive amount of congestion after fireworks. They do occasionally open up the backstage area to help alleviate the pressure but they are not themed and have no retail shops.

We then take the obligatory pic in front of the castle.

Afterwards, we proceeded to Discoveryland which is France’s version of Tomorrowland. Discoveryland has a steampunk feel rather than the futuristic them of Tomorrowland. This is a brilliant decision as any Tomorrowland eventually becomes Todayland, and Todayland always looks dated.

Like any Tomorrowland, Hyperspace Mountain is one of the main attractions and had an hour wait so we decided to buy the Premier Access, but our return time wasn’t for about 40 minutes so we decided to queue for another ride while we waited. Lucy really wanted to do Autopia which is basically the French version of Walt Disney World’s Tomorrowland Speedway. The wait on the sign says 30 minutes but it actually ended up being just about an hour.

The Autopia here is hillier and has more greenery.

In general it feels more like a relaxing country drive than a speedway like the one in WDW.

Of note, the cars here seem to by hybrids as at times they are dead quiet when they move. Lucy really enjoyed it which was the most important part. I’d say any Tomorrowland Speedway or Autopia style ride is a right of passage for most kids and parents.

Afterwards, it’s time for our Premier Pass so we go to Hyperspace Mountain.

In France it is Star Wars themed. We went on this in 2018 and it seems to have been updated since then as it now has video screens rather than static lit up TIE fighters. Unlike the US versions, this involves a launch similar to Rock n’ Roller coaster. It is also the only Space Mountain in the world with a loop. We all really enjoy it as it is definitely more thrilling then the US versions and of the Space Mountains I have been on thus far it’s definitely my favorite. I also really like Star Wars so that also helps.

We then go to Cafe Hyperion for lunch which is the huge quick service restaurant in Discoveryland. It’s a very long line but in actuality it moved rather quickly and it only takes about 10 minutes to order. They have video screens here that you can order on which is helpful as it reduces the errors that can occur in translation. We are a huge fan of these when we travel.

I do remember eating here in 2018 and Lucy took a nap here in a stroller as there is a lot of indoor seating. There is a stage here and there was nothing going at the time as it was the off season, but today there is a show, “Chantons Noël!”, which translates to “Let’s Sing Christmas!”

It was very fortuitous as we just happened to time our lunch stop during the show. It was cute and fun to see on Christmas.

Thankfully they interspersed English among the French regularly enough to know the general plot of what’s going on. The dual languages was a theme throughout most attractions and shows but not all of them. It was a little jarring at first having only certain characters speak English and some only French, but we were very appreciative to have some English interspersed. It was just enough to understand the plot of the show. We fully expected to just hear French, given we were in France, but based on the park demographic during this time of year, in all honesty, I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of visitors are English speaking. I heard way more English than French as we walked around the park and stood in lines.

We finished up our meal, and Lucy had some fun dividing up our trash into their appropriate receptacles.

Afterwards we headed on over to The Lion King show in Frontierland of all places.

I guess it’s an African frontier? It did feel odd seeing a Lion King show in the Frontierland theater which is an American West Barnstyle building.

We arrived 12 min before the show and made it just in time before the cutoff.

The show was very impressive with top notch production value. The stage was huge and very dynamic.

There were a variety of different aerial moments and acrobatics further enhancing the show. The lighting and dance routines were on point and entertaining and fit with the theme. The show unsurprisingly followed the plot of the movie and went through all the songs.

We all really enjoyed it, and were in debate if this or the Festival of the Lion Kong in Animal Kingdom was better. Ultimately, we felt the show in Animal Kingdom was still superior as it just has more fun to it, and this is more of a traditional stage production. They are both excellent though and well worth seeing and which one you like comes down to personal preference.

Afterwards, we did Phantom Manor which is the equivalent of Haunted Mansion.

It starts out very similar with the traditional stretching room, in French, so not sure if there were any initial differences.

We all agreed that the WDW version is significantly better. At one point during the ride, out of nowhere we ended up in a haunted western town. We were completely not expecting that and were somewhat confused. The sheriff of the town also was the one to say “Welcome foolish mortals.” and having that at the end just felt out of place. He did speak English which was nice.

We go and stake out a spot about 30 minutes before the parade, Mickey’s Dazzling Christmas Parade. At this point it’s starting to get dark which makes sense as this is a night parade.

The parade was a typical mix of floats and walking dancers and characters.

The parade was beautiful and Christmas themed so it really felt like Christmas, and put you in the Christmas spirit.

Afterwards we were getting hungry, so we headed to dinner at Casa de Coco, a Coco themed restaurant.

We each ordered a kids meal chicken strips so nothing fancy here. The chicken is no Chick-Fil-A but it was good enough for us to eat.

Then we walked to the corner of the park for the Indiana Jones et Le Temple Du Péril attraction.

Unlike the ones in Tokyo and Anaheim this is actually a roller coaster. Everyone says it’s terrible, but we still wanted to ride it, and we didn’t do it in 2018 as our kids were too small. Unfortunately you needed to be 54’’ inches to ride and Lucy was still too short so we bailed on that plan.

Pirates of the Caribbean is right next to it so we decided to see the Paris version.

It was very similar to the Magic Kingdom version with the main difference being that there are some swashbuckling animatronics which was impressive. Otherwise, there are no other major changes other than that it was in French.

We had then planned to do some rides in Fantasyland but it was totally closed due to the fireworks preparation so we had to walk to Discoveryland if we wanted to get out of the park.

On the way we passed Star Tours which only had a 10 minute wait so we decided to go ahead and do it. C-3PO was speaking in French so I just found it amusing after years of hearing Anthony Daniel’s British voice.

The queue was identical to any other Star Tours we had been on with random droids scattered throughout.

The ride was also identical aside from speaking French rather than English. It’s a fun ride and as a Star Wars fan I always enjoy going on it when I can.

We debated staying for The Electrical Sky Parade, which is the drone show and Illuminations, the nighttime spectacular, but I had read online the drones don’t fly if there is even a hint or prediction of rain. It had been misty all day so I made the assumption there would be no chance of drones. Tomorrow was supposed to be perfectly clear with minimal wind so we figured we’d for sure catch it then. We then left the park, although on the way out we saw the drones fly which kinda shocked us given the current weather.

We exited the park and less than 30 seconds later were back in the hotel. We thought the Polynesian was pretty convenient, but this was just insane. We had never experienced such convenience in all our years of going to any Disney park. We stopped by check in and were given our room number and proceeded to our room on the 3rd floor in the same building as the entrance. From the lobby via the stairs it takes maybe a minute or so. It could not have been any more convenient and is one of the 20 closest rooms to the park by my estimation.

The room was absolutely stunning.

The room had just been renovated in the last year and that was immediately obvious. It oozed luxury and was gorgeous. It came with all the amenities you’d expect from a 5 star hotel, including complimentary minibar, nespresso machine, slippers, and Kendall and Lucy’s favorite, robes! There was a Cinderella theme throughout which definitely added that Disney touch.

We then decided to walk around the hotel for a bit. We were pretty tired but jet lagged so didn’t really feel very sleepy. The hotel is absolutely gorgeous as expected for the flagship Disneyland Paris hotel.

There were a variety of characters roaming about for meet and greets at the restaurants. We didn’t sign up for much character dining this trip primarily due to time constraints. We looked into the gift shop which had some very nice and high end items, with price tags well beyond my pay grade.

Along with a beautiful wall of princess dresses.

We looked for a magnet for the hotel but they state they don’t sell any. We really have minimal space to buy souvenirs on this trip and we’re not big into shopping anyway. So we just continued to walk around, and took some pics as Lucy is always up for a photo op.

Eventually, we returned to the room, and went to bed.

A congratulatory note, and one of the best Christmas presents imaginable. Kendall walked an 8 hour park day! We never thought she’d do that again, but she is, and she just keeps pushing those limits! I don’t think anyone can truly understand how big of a deal this is but I will tell you it’s a huge deal. She is one tough cookie.

Day 7, December 25th, 2024 Step Count – 20,403 Steps

Total Step Count – 110,712

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Read about the previous day here.