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The Holidays at Disneyland Paris - A Disneyland Paris Review
by Cheryl Pendry

You may have heard of Paris in the spring, but what about Disneyland Paris for the holidays?

It's been many years since we were last at Disneyland Paris for the holiday season, as we much prefer the sunnier climate of Florida during Christmas time. However, this year our plans to head back to Walt Disney World for Christmas didn';t work out, so as something of a consolation prize, we decided to see if we could get a good deal for Disneyland Paris instead, given that it's only a couple of hours away from us. As it turns out, we were fortunate enough to get a special price for the Disneyland Hotel, the flagship resort at Disneyland Paris. The Disneyland Hotel is located right at the entrance to the Disneyland Park, and just a few minutes' walk from the Walt Disney Studios Park and the Disney Village, for a stay in mid-November right in the middle of the school term. We arrived on a Thursday afternoon and stayed until the Monday night.

The first thing we noticed as soon as we arrived at the Disneyland Paris Resort were the wonderful Christmas decorations everywhere. This was a very pleasant surprise given we'd been in Walt Disney World a year earlier, and had been disappointed by the fact that some of the decorations, particularly at the resorts, weren't yet out. Here there were no such issues. The Disneyland Hotel had a massive Christmas tree in the lobby, not quite on the scale of the Grand Floridian, but very impressive nonetheless, with wreathes all around the balcony overlooking it.

We first made our way to the Walt Disney Studios Park, and here again the decorations were in full force, although they were more subtle than in the Disneyland Park. As we entered, Christmas Mickey and Minnie, beautifully attired, were doing meet and greets. Of course there was a long line of people eager to greet them. During the rest of our stay, the only other character we saw with a Christmas theme was Santa Jack Skellington, and interestingly, given his popularity in Walt Disney World, the lines were remarkably short. Apart from Mickey and Minnie, and the various decorations, we didn't see much else from the holiday season in the Studios. In fairness, we didn't spend that much time in the park -- we only revisited some of our favourite attractions near the entrance, and explored the park's newest area, home to the excellent Ratatouille ride.

However, we spent much more time in the Disneyland Park, and there were plenty of holiday activities to enjoy there. As soon as you entered the park, there was a decorated Mickey wreath, with further wreathes around images of Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy. It was an impressive start, and it continued with the Christmas tree in Town Square. Interestingly, there were two tree lighting ceremonies, and I have to confess I preferred the lighting beforehand, made up of warmer colours, light yellows and oranges, while after dark, the lighting scheme was completely blue. Considering the small trees around the main Christmas tree were lit in the same blue, to me, that diminished the impact, which was a shame.

Disney's Christmas Parade was taking place three times a day when we were there, which surprised me, given that this was the low season, hence the amazing deal we got to stay at the Disneyland Hotel. However, we soon found out the reason why. Although it was a lot of fun, it was also very short, and it was done within about 10 minutes.

In a way though, the parade length didn't matter. We loved all the floats! There was so much detail on them and there were so many characters to enjoy. Best of all, they were characters that you don't usually see out on Christmas parades, such as Max, Goofy's son, and Donald's three troublesome nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. There were some similarities to the Christmas parades we've seen at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, with a gingerbread theme, Christmas trees, Santa himself, and snow falling along Main Street USA, which was a very nice touch.

Every night in the Disneyland Park is closed by the night-time spectacle, Disney Dreams. We'd never managed to see it before on any of our previous visits, but we were determined to ensure we saw it this time, as it was a special Christmas version. Not having seen the usual version of this, I can't compare, but the holiday show, hosted by Olaf the snowman from Frozen, was a mixture of Celebrate the Magic and Wishes at the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Now, when I say Wishes, don't expect fireworks on that level. Sure, there are some, but they're only a small part of the 20-minute show, and therefore there aren't that many.

Although you do get a reasonable view of the show from the hub in front of the castle at Disneyland Paris, we quickly learned that if we wanted the best view, you need to arrive early and be really up close to the castle. Why? Well, some of the projections, particularly of Disney characters, are further down, and therefore you can't see everything from further away. Disney Dreams was definitely well worth seeing, and was a superb way to end a day at the park.

There was one other Christmas show this year at the Disneyland park, and as with so many other things connected to winter now at Disney, this had to involve the phenomenally popular duo of Anna and Elsa. The Disney Princess Promenade pretty much did what its name suggested, with first the "traditional" princesses arriving on stage, including the likes of Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, and Ariel, before giving way gracefully to the newcomers, who everyone had of course come to see. A rousing version of "Let it Snow," and 10 minutes after it began, the show was over and done with.

There's certainly a fair amount to enjoy at Disneyland Paris over the holiday season. Many of the shows are shorter than perhaps you'd expect if you're a seasoned Disney veteran, and of course, the weather does play its part in your enjoyment of the holidays here. Out of the four and a half days we had here, only two were dry, while rain affected us the rest of the time. Still, at least it's cold and it truly feels like Christmas. If you can't make it to the American Disney parks for the holidays, Disneyland Paris isn't a bad substitute.

Added to PassPorter's Article Collection on 12-22-2014 11:12 AM

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