Like California Adventure, attempts to improve this park have resulted in highly successful mini-lands (the area where the Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toque'e de Re'my ride is located is a particular standout), the park has no evident theme. The Magic Kingdom Parks are where "you leave today and enter worlds of history, discovery and ageless fantasy," while the Studios Park seems to be where the Disney company throws rides based on random Intellectual Properties (IPs) in an attempt to create synergy.
The most curious part about recent improvements to the park is the failure to include the Tower of Terror ride in its new Avengers Campus. Instead, it stands by itself in an area next to the campus with no apparent theme to connect it to anything. The Guardians of the Galaxy makeover of this ride system at California Adventure makes it one of the most fun ride experiences at any of the parks and would tie the Paris version of the ride into the surrounding area.
I had been dreaming of this visit since I saw a picture of Disney's first snow-draped castle thirty years ago and in almost every way it lived up to my expectation. As with any Disney Park, it provided a place where my inner child was encouraged to emerge and leave adult responsibilities behind for a few days. I explored new food, experienced attractions not available at any of the other parks, and bathed in the grandeur of what the Imagineers created. I also temporarily bonded with two strangers as we explored together and found our way to a temple lost in the jungle. Isn't that what traveling is all about?
Planning a visit? You can learn from our mistakes:
Staying At The Resort provides a convenient location to the parks but it is also expensive. We stayed at the Disney Newport Bay Club, which was a short walk from the park. It was also outdated and in need of a major renovation. It was the only hotel that we stayed in during our trip that did not have USB charging ports in the room.
Also, think twice about buying the meal plan. The breakfast at the hotel was underwhelming, with a limited selection and the food was served cold. We wasted credits because the times of our dinner reservations limited our ability to purchase lunch and not spoil our appetites.
We hired a car to take us from our hotel in Paris to the resort. In retrospect, we should have looked into the possibility of taking a train as the station is right in the middle of the resort.
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for students with special education needs and public education. He was elected to the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and is the Education Chair. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
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