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Disneyland Park

Chessy, France

“The most beautiful Magic Kingdom of them all”

Fancy a road trip from New York to the nearest Disney theme park? Then prepare yourself for at least 16 hours of travel. And what about residents of Beijing? They’ll have to spend 12 hours in the car to visit the Chinese version of Disneyland. I don’t have the best news for Sydney-based Disney fans either, as a flight to Tokyo or Hong Kong takes well over 9 hours. Not everyone has a Disney resort just around the corner, so to speak. As someone from Antwerp, however, I really can’t complain. After all, the drive to our European Disneyland takes less than 4 hours, and we can even board a train that drop us off at the park’s main entrance. That’s why we regularly travel to eastern Paris to spend a few days at Disneyland Paris, home to Disney Adventure World and the stunning Disneyland Park.

First impressions are important. And honestly, Disneyland Park makes the best possible first impression. The Disneyland Hotel acts as a majestic entrance to the park, while the European version of Main Street USA is definitely the most beautiful of them all. We like to complain about lacking maintenance and the park is in desperate need of new ride, but this section of the park is top-notch. I’ve rarely seen so many details and so much beauty as here. I adore the picturesque Sleeping Beauty Castle and I love the covered arcades on both sides of Main Street, especially during Europe’s cold an rainy winters.

ROLLER COASTERS

Disneyland Park is known as the most beautiful of all Magic Kingdoms. This is noticeable if you take a look at some classic Disney attractions. The French Space Mountain, for example, is one of the world’s most stunning indoor coasters. Actually it should be referred to as Hyperspace Mountain nowadays. This indoor roller coaster fell victim to the Star Wars mania, but I admit that I actually like the new version. Hyperspace Mountain is equipped with comfortable Vekoma trains and they make the ride remarkably more pleasant than it used to be. It’s still not the smoothest ride, but at least it doesn’t give headaches like it used to. The lighting and sound effects have all changed and look elaborate. Hyperspace Mountain is more than just a cheap overlay; it feels like a high-quality coaster.

Another world-famous coaster can be found on the opposite side of the park. Frontierland’s star attraction is known as Big Thunder Mountain. This mine train coaster is generally considered as the best of its kind, which is mostly due to its unique location. No other theme park has ever attempted to place a roller coaster on a private island, right? Thanks to this crazy idea, Big Thunder Mountain is so much more than a simple family coaster. Unfortunately, the experience is regularly interrupted and hardly a day goes by without technical difficulties. Big Thunder Mountain has been Disneyland Park’s least reliable ride for a very long time. And although the park tried to fix this issue during the latest big refurbishment, it doesn’t seem as if Big Thunder Mountain performs better nowadays; it’s still horribly sensitive to breakdowns.

Big Thunder Mountain is just a few steps away from Adventureland, an exotic themed area with impressive rock formations and creaking suspension bridges. I dare say that Adventureland is the most visually-pleasing themed land in the whole of Europe, as the beauty here is truly extraordinary. Even a relatively simple roller coaster like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril has been integrated into a beautiful temple ruin. This attraction can be found right in the middle of the jungle, there’s an adventurous-looking queue area and we reach the station via a monumental staircase. Unfortunately, the ride is a bit of a let-down after this much visual spectacle. The coaster consists of janky turns and a few tame drops. An intense vertical loop (the first ever built in a Disney park, by the way) adds a somewhat surprising element to the layout, but that’s it.

The Imagineers ensured a balanced experience by giving each themed area (except Main Street USA) exactly one roller coaster. The smallest one is located in Fantasyland and it’s called Casey Jr – Le Petit Train du Cirque. This colourful powered coaster has no minimum height requirement for its riders, meaning that many young visitors have their first coaster experience here. It should therefore come as no surprise that Casey Jr is a very tame ride. The train remains low to the ground all the time and I estimate that the top speed doesn’t exceed 20 miles per hour. Nevertheless, it is an excellent stepping stone to the more intense rollercoaster thrills.

DARK RIDES

The Imagineers managed to create the most beautiful Fantasyland in the world for the Parisian park. One of the area’s main attractions is It’s a Small World. This famous dark ride is characterised by its colourful facade and it mostly became famous due to its catchy soundtrack. It’s a Small World is one of my favourite guilty pleasures, and the French version feels more grand than its American and Asian namesakes. By the way… just around the corner is Le Pays des Contes de Fées. This is not a dark ride in the most literal sense of the word, but it feels like a light version of It’s a Small World. This boat ride is on a smaller scale and takes place in the open air, but the scenery is just as charming.

Fantasyland wasn’t designed for someone in their thirties, so I usually don’t spend much time there. Nevertheless, I’d like to emphasise once again that the European Fantasyland is absolutely stunning. It’s a cohesive area full of detailed little houses, cleverly designed water features and whimsical gardens. It’s a very different sight from the grey Fantasyland in Japan, the (overly) sprawling version in China or the strange clash between Old and New Fantasyland at Walt Disney World. In terms of attractions, however, this area is somewhere in the middle of the pack. Peter Pan’s Flight, for example, is good, but less impressive than its modern counterpart in Shanghai. And blacklight dark rides Les Voyages de Pinocchio and Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains are quite enjoyable, but definitely not earth-shattering.

The park’s most brilliant dark rides have been placed in Frontierland and Adventureland. The latter is home to Pirates of the Caribbean, European style. This dark ride has been a Disney classic since the original version opened in 1967 and its popularity remained unchanged ever since. Disney Parks & Resorts gave this concept a new impulse by adding film characters to the attraction. I’m not opposed to this change, but I wouldn’t call it a huge improvement either. I understand that the general public adores these recognisable characters, but the authentic charm of this dark ride was partly lost due to these changes. Please don’t get me wrong: the European Pirates of the Caribbean is still fantastic, but it really didn’t need Jack Sparrow and company, in my opinion.

Mr. Sparrow steals the show in Adventureland and Mr. Ravenswood does the same thing in Frontierland. Phantom Manor is a legendary attraction and it somewhat differs from the American and Japanese Haunted Mansions. This is true for both the exterior and the interior. Phantom Manor has a unique story line and that story actually involves the rest of Frontierland as well. And although most guests will probably never notice that story, they’re still able to discover a world-class dark ride. Phantom Manor is at least as impressive as its predecessors in other corners of the world. And please give a warm applause for John Debney, who orchestrated the ride’s brilliant soundtrack.

Discoveryland is a place where space travel and the future take centre stage. The area was originally based on the books of Jules Verne, but unfortunately his influence has gradually faded. The From the Earth to the Moon story of Space Mountain was exchanged for Star Wars, while the retro-futuristic Visionarium was replaced by Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast back in 2004. This interactive dark ride is a staple at the Disney parks, as you’ll find versions of it at four different resorts. Apart from the one at Shanghai Disneyland, visitors are treated to very similar experiences in Florida, California and France. I wouldn’t call it a boring attraction, but it’s not exactly legendary either.

It’s impossible to imagine Disney theme parks without Star Wars. It all began in 1987, when Star Tours was introduced at Disneyland in Anaheim. The attraction was a success and copies were soon built in Florida, Japan and France. All these versions have since undergone a major revamp, meaning that you board Star Tours – The Adventures Continue nowadays. I must admit that simulators aren’t usually my favourite attractions. I find them nauseating and the screen quality is often mediocre. Nevertheless, I must compliment Disney, as they’ve managed to address both these issues effectively. Crystal-clear images, convincing 3D action and a nice dose of humour are the key ingredients of Star Tours. Besides, you’re actually always experiencing something new thanks to the randomly generated storylines. Star Tours will never be my favourite Disney attraction, but I rarely give it a miss.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

In Fantasyland, you can enjoy a ride on classic Disney rides like Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups. This fairy-tale land also offers multiple meet-and-greet locations and these are incredibly popular. So be prepared for long queues if a visit to the Princess Pavilion or Meet Mickey Mouse is high on your wish list. In Discoveryland, I was kind of surprised to see long lines at Orbitron and Autopia. Orbitron is a ride featuring vintage spaceships, whilst Autopia is a car ride through the world of tomorrow. Although I like both of them (I’d even classify Orbitron as one of the most stunning rides of its kind), I really don’t understand what the general public finds so fascinating about them. We visited Disneyland Park on a relatively quiet day, but wait times for Orbitron and Autopia ranged between 45 and 60 minutes all day long.

You’ll hardly ever find a queue for Mickey’s PhilharMagic, but then again, it’s not exactly an attraction to write home about. In Hong Kong, Japan and Florida, however, I found PhilharMagic to be a brilliant 4D film, so what exactly went wrong? Well… Disneyland Paris simply didn’t put enough effort into adapting the Discoveryland Theatre for this film. There are no scent effects, the funny Donald animatronic is missing and the theatre doesn’t even have the enlarging screen that’s quite essential for this film. That’s why this probably is the least convincing attraction in Disneyland Park’s current lineup.

ENTERTAINMENT

Disney is known for being the world’s leading entertainment company. However, the park in Paris has suffered from a lack of live performances for way too long. Fortunately, the situation has improved a lot during recent years. Disney Adventure World offers two world-class stage shows and Disneyland Park couldn’t stay behind. The Frontierland Theater is the home of Rhythms of the Pride Lands, a musical performance themed to The Lion King. The show was clearly inspired by the Broadway version of Lion King and that results in a very mature-looking performance. Another cheerful show can be seen right in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. A Million Splashes of Colour offers a small-sized parade, great choreography, catchy songs and a lot of famous Disney characters.. Although it’s definitely not as awesome as its predecessor (Dream… and Shine Brighter), it certainly brings some great kinetic energy to Central Plaza.

We return to Central Plaza just before closing time for Disney Tales of Magic. This nighttime spectacular was launched in 2025 and the initial reactions seemed largely positive. That’s why we arrived with certain expectations, but unfortunately these weren’t met. Despite some great projections and cleverly mixed music, some moments of the show turned out to be downright boring. This is largely due to the fact that, barely 15 months after its premiere, Disney Tales of Magic is already running in a sort of B-mode. Scenes with illuminated drones have been permanently scrapped, which makes it all the more noticeable that the actual fireworks aren’t all that impressive. When it comes to nighttime entertainment, the American Disney parks definitely remain superior.

WORTH A VISIT?

There are many things you could say about Disneyland Paris. You could say that an admission ticket is exorbitantly expensive, or that a walk in this park feels like navigating a maze full of strollers. You could also say that Disneyland Park has been in need of new attractions for years. All these claims are true, yet this park is sometimes judged a little too harshly. After all, if you look at the current ride and show lineup, there’s no denying that everything is of exceptional quality. The entertainment is among the best in the world and the dark rides are also in a class of their own. If I had to name one specific area for improvement at Disneyland Park, it would be the fact that the left-hand side of the park could use a new E-Ticket attraction rather sooner than later. Disneyland Park actually doesn’t offer that much rides, especially in Frontierland and Adventureland. There’s plenty of space to build new attractions, but the resort seems to be investing all of the money in Disney Adventure World and its upcoming Lion King water ride.

What’s your favourite attraction at Disneyland Park? Do you agree about the indescribable beauty of the European park? Is this Disney resort suffering from its location in France? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

This article reflects my personal experience at Disneyland Park during a visit in May 2026.