WDW Radio # 787 - Complete Guide and Top Tips for Disneyland Paris (2024)

Lou Mongello:
I was very fortunate to visit Disneyland Paris very briefly for the first time after our WW radio adventures by Disney a few years ago and then return with my daughter, who missed that trip. And it was a trip with my daughter that I will cherish forever. A few months later, and I was so instantly enamored with the park that I really wanted to encourage you to visit if and when you can, which is why I shared our 30 reasons as part of Disneyland Paris 30th anniversary to visit Disneyland Paris back on show 731. And after our recent WW radio group adventures by Disney to London and Paris, I had the opportunity to spend a few days in the park and at the Disneyland Hotel. More on that later after the adventures by Disney and I came back more in love with this park than ever. Is it the most beautiful of the magic kingdoms? Maybe. Which is why this week I want to not only encourage you to go, but I really want to help you get there. And so we're going to share our ten ish top tips for first time visitors to Disneyland Paris.

Lou Mongello:
And of course, I cannot do this alone. And I really wanted to bring on a couple of friends, Disneyland Paris experts and most importantly, true lovers and aficionados of the parks. They are Jeff Lang from Jeff Lang DVD and Denise Prescott from mouseesteps.com. my friends, welcome back to the show.

Denise Presskit:
Hello, Lou.

Jeff Lange:
Hello. Back again.

Denise Presskit:
Yes. Thank you for having me.

Jeff Lange:
That's very exciting.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah, I'm very excited. And I knew it's funny because when I went to Disney Pass, I'm like, I started to think about how and why I wanted to share more about it. You were the first names that came to mind. And you may remember Jeff and Denise from such shows at 762, where we shared ten reasons to take a very maritime cruise. But this is really in your wheelhouse. Like, I don't think I know anyone who knows and loves the Disneyland Paris parks and resorts the way you do. So very quickly, like, just share when you started visiting and what I mean when I say just how much you love these parks in terms of how often you go, how long you go for, etcetera.

Denise Presskit:
Well, I went first in 2002, so it was for the 10th anniversary, and I didn't fall in love with it as much as I did eventually. At that time, there were challenges sometimes that it was going through, but over the years, like, when Jeff started and I went after that also a couple more times. But when 2014, we went together, Jeff and I, right first started almost ten years ago. We started going together, and a lot changed. Since then, you know, as far as back then, it felt like it was very much for the French, and now they were like, you couldn't really find people to speak English to you as much. And, like, I learned a little bit of French. And, you know, by 2014, though, a lot of things had changed. You didn't have as many, like, back then, you had, like, people who would just cut line over, over and over again and smoking and.

Denise Presskit:
But, you know, a lot again, it really has evolved. And so in 2014, we went, and it was such a great time. And, like, last year, we spent about two months there. Wow. And this year, it will probably be about a month to five weeks total.

Jeff Lange:
Unless it'll be a little bit less.

Denise Presskit:
It'll be less.

Jeff Lange:
We're doing a lot of other traveling this year, but.

Denise Presskit:
And I love Paris. Like, the first year I went, I fell in love with Paris. So, you know, I knew I wanted to go back there, and I did. And I spent more time in Paris at first than I did Disneyland Paris. You know, I still want to spend more time in Paris than we do, but it's just, I love France. I love Paris. I love, and I love Disneyland Paris.

Jeff Lange:
And what I always say is, it's the people. It's our friends, the people we've met there who make it so special. And we've gotten to be very close with a lot of friends there now.

Denise Presskit:
And not just from France.

Jeff Lange:
We are belgian friends also.

Denise Presskit:
Belgium. From Belgium, from Germany, you know, Disney and Paris brings so many people together from the UK, so it's so international, and that's something that I really love about it.

Lou Mongello:
And so when you come back and we see each other, you know, if I ever go, like, to an event, and if I get, you know, invited to a media event and you're not there, like, we just know that you're in Paris. Like, we just. Well, if you're not there, that's where you must be, and you come back and you speak.

Jeff Lange:
That was not the case yesterday. So people can kind of tell we're both getting over a little cold here. So we. We were supposed to be at an event with Mister Liu, but we did not show up, right.

Denise Presskit:
I was gonna say the swan and dolphin. He'll be like, can you make this event or you, or will you be in Paris? So, like, he'll point.

Jeff Lange:
That's what everyone is.

Denise Presskit:
And I love that. I love that people assume that I will be there. If I had. If we had more money, we'd be there a lot more often.

Jeff Lange:
They should have done that they should. Correct.

Lou Mongello:
So what is it, right. What is it about Disneyland Paris for you that makes it so special? Look, we have Walt Disney World in our backyards. It's our home park. It's huge, right? It's so vast, and there's so many different aspects to it. But is there something. But there is something, I think, remarkable about Disneyland Paris. So what is it for you? What's that? Like, one thing that makes it remarkable for you, that makes you keep going back and for such a long period of time?

Denise Presskit:
The entertainment, I think that above all Disney parks, I think Disneyland Paris excels in entertainment. You know, they have so many different shows, and they used to be pre pandemic. They would have, like, the Lion King festival, the pirates and whole festivals. Right. They would have all these festivals. So I really fell in love with that. And they don't have quite that right now, but you've got Halloween, which they do a really nice job with. They do.

Denise Presskit:
I mean, they have the Pixar show. They have Mickey and the magician.

Jeff Lange:
Right. They have all sorts of.

Denise Presskit:
Right. And they just started, you know, Alison, the Queen of Hearts, back to Wonderland, and they really put themselves out there and do some really unique things with their shows, and there's just so much of it. Right. The Lion King show at, I think, at the Disneyland park is phenomenal.

Jeff Lange:
It's a very show for a Disney audience.

Lou Mongello:
It's Broadway quality. Like, it's a Broadway quality show. Yeah.

Denise Presskit:
The entertainment there, to me, is superior to anywhere.

Jeff Lange:
By the way, Lou, did you get a chance to see the Alice show when you were just recently there?

Lou Mongello:
I did. It's on my list. I liked it. Like, I thought it was so different, so unique that it made my list of, like, a reason to go and something that you have to do when you. You visit there because it's unlike anything that we have here. Walt Disney World. It's unlike any other show that I've.

Jeff Lange:
Seen anywhere else, and the outcome is not guaranteed. You never know who's going to win that little challenge.

Denise Presskit:
And there's so many live performers, you know, I mean, they really put so many performers on that stage. And the queen of hearts singing was phenomenal. Right. So we haven't seen it in person yet, but I've seen it so many times.

Jeff Lange:
I can't wait otherwise.

Lou Mongello:
And it's interesting that you say, all right, well, we could talk right now for a second. It's interesting you say that now because I think, like so many things, I think video is. And you. What you do, Jeff, especially like you? For decades, you've been doing video, and you help to introduce people to an experience. You help them sort of understand where it is, give them an introduction to it, get them excited for it. But I think the Alice in Wonderland show is so grand in terms of scale and scope that even trying to capture it on video or even being there on person is difficult because there's so much going on in such. You know, it's like a one almost 180 degrees. That utilization of the stage so very quickly, like, for context, this is a.

Lou Mongello:
It's a new show that debuted near the end of May. It's relatively new. 2024. It's going to run until September 29. And it is not just sort of a fresh twist to the Alice in Wonderland story with a lot of very dynamic performances that integrating a lot of different mediums and musical styles. But it sort of picks up where the animated film leaves off, and it's kind of a new adventure where Alice and the queen of hearts sort of. They sort of face off in this, like, tea party that turns into a musical battle that has a lot of. I think there's five original songs, but more importantly, it's live performances with six singers, four musicians, and a lot of, like, unique instruments.

Lou Mongello:
Like, there's a keytar and different percussion sets. And while this is going on, there's acrobatics and stunts and bmx bikes and trampoline acts. Like, it is a very dynamic, kinetic audio and visual performance in the theater that, I guess was where their versions of lights, motors, action once was. So to give you a sense of just how big the stage is, it's not like going to see Lion King or something like that. Like, it is a very. It is a very impressive stage. I think it's like 70 meters long, and there's a lot of. There's a lot that has gone into this show.

Lou Mongello:
And like you said, jeff, the outcome is not determined. They. It is very interactive. Like, the audience very much is a part of the show in terms of things that you are asked to do and then sort of vote at the end in terms of who you want to win.

Denise Presskit:
And to me, like, the queen of hearts reminds me of, like, Ann Wilson from, you know, heart, like, from the, you know, the old musical group there.

Jeff Lange:
Pardon me. Sorry.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah. And it's this wonderful sort of comparison and contrasting of musical styles. Right? Alice is like happy pop music, and queen of hearts is, like, harder, classic rock type of stuff. And again, when each one is performing, it's not just a change in the, in the music styles, but in everything that's sort of going on around them on stage, it's very impressive. I saw it twice. I saw an abbreviated show in the rain, but it still was very, very impressive. I really, really enjoyed it.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah. And Queen of Hearts seems to win.

Denise Presskit:
Most of the time. And I like how the Cheshire cat keeps popping, popping up.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah. And the utilization of the screens behind them, too, is fantastic. So, but again, that, that's just part of it because I really want this to be, and look at this sort of a first timer's point of view because I think going overseas, especially for the, for some people, is scary or it could be intimidating. And I want to only help sort of allay those fears, but I think help give confidence to visit Disneyland Paris. And I've actually, I get a lot, I've been getting a lot more questions about Disneyland Paris, so I want to read one that really sort of embodies a lot of the questions I've got. So Lorraine Wiles emailed and says, I just booked an August 2024 trip to Disneyland Paris. I'm so excited. This is for you, Lorraine, because it's the perfect timing to prepare.

Lou Mongello:
I just listened to your two part episode about Disneyland Paris and a listener episode about it as well. I've already booked Walt's, Pimm's, Agrabah and Remy's to eat. We're going for three days, four nights, and for the two full days, we have the premier fast pass thing. You are doing it right. I know you're all going back. I'm hoping for an episode about it, but I need any and all tips you can give me, things to eat, rides not to miss, and things that maybe I should skip for context. I've been to Disneyland three times. I'm an annual pastoral at Walt Disney World.

Lou Mongello:
I've been there hundreds of times. It's my very first international park. I'm so excited. I love the show. I feel like I'm listening to friends talk about my favorite things, Disney and food, and hope to be able to join you all on a group trip one day. Thanks for all you do. Loran. Loran.

Lou Mongello:
I think, like I said, I think there's a lot of people in that same boat for you, which is why I wanted to invite Denise and Jeff to come on and talk about some of the tips that we have to help you and others as first timers not just feel more comfortable, but navigate the park like an expert so you really can sort of maximize and enhance your experience as much as possible. So, Denise, I think one of the. I think maybe the first thing that we can start and talk about just to sort of get the conversation going is getting there. I think getting there, and one of the things I love about Disneyland Paris is it's very accessible. Right. Getting there is easy. It is half the fun. Let's talk a little about the process of going to Disneyland Paris and any tips that you might have in terms of getting from here to there.

Lou Mongello:
We'll talk specifically about where to stay and when to go, but just getting there itself, what are some of the tips that you might have?

Denise Presskit:
Well, I don't know that it's half the fun. So getting there, I think, to me, Charles de Gaulle is a bit of a challenging airport. I think it's good to know ahead of time to have your plan in place about getting through there, or, you know, maybe you're going to do a London. You know, to me, coming through London is a lot easier. Coming through the Eurostar and everything.

Jeff Lange:
We haven't done that in a while, though.

Denise Presskit:
No, not in a while. You weren't here. I wasn't here, so. But anyway, to get into Charles de Gaulle, like, maybe you'll want. It used to be, you might have super shuttle. You might have there. There were more ways to get to the resort than there are now. There is the Disney.

Denise Presskit:
Is it the Disney magical Express or magical shuttle?

Lou Mongello:
Shuttle.

Denise Presskit:
Magical shuttle, which we did not like when we did it. Martin and Michelle have liked it, but we did it once and we're not thrilled with it. We just will get an Uber or something.

Jeff Lange:
We're very happy with the Ubers there.

Denise Presskit:
But to me going, and the one thing I told Jeff before we went to Europe for the first time, I said, it's not really that different to go to Europe than it is to go to California. It is different, but it isn't that different. So as far as, you know, you're getting on the plane, you do need to have your passport and everything and just make sure you're ready for the trip. I actually like an international flight. You get a little more time on the plane, watch the movies. But once you get to Charles de Gaulle, you might want to have a driver pick you up and have them take you. I used to take the REr, before I met Jeff, you know, and that's actually a little bit of a hassle. Jeff did not like.

Jeff Lange:
And we come with too much stuff, especially go home. We go home with. And what is the reason for that?

Denise Presskit:
I don't take too much stuff. I leave a lot of, I bring enough stuff to have a lot of room because I like to take a lot of stuff home, mostly from the supermarket.

Jeff Lange:
Denise is famous for. Need to buy a suitcase. We need an extra suitcase.

Lou Mongello:
Well, we have, I know a lot of people that travel the exact same way, especially if you're going to a new Disney park for the first time and you just don't know what you're going to end up wanting to bring home.

Denise Presskit:
I don't know.

Jeff Lange:
It's not for Disney. None of it.

Denise Presskit:
A little bit. Most of it's a supermarket because there's stuff that I love to bring, soaps and, and all that, you know, and snacks and stuff. So there's things that I like when.

Jeff Lange:
We go there and I like called O'Shaughn.

Denise Presskit:
It's so big. I love it.

Jeff Lange:
And Denise is an Oshawneers member.

Denise Presskit:
Don't say you're going off on a tangent. We bring hit, you know, that beer that you can't get here. Like, we'll bring beers back. We can't get for him.

Lou Mongello:
Well, I think it's important. Look, if you're going to Disneyland Paris, there's a good chance, or hopefully you have the time and the ability to visit Paris proper. Right. While you're there. I mean, look, if you made the trip across the pond, Paris is a beautiful, I think, very easily navigable and city that should not be missed. It's spectacularly beautiful and there's a lot to see and do there if you could ever do it. Adventures by Disney, I think they do an amazing job. But to your point, getting there is, it's not as scary as I think some people.

Lou Mongello:
There's a lot of direct flights to Paris, to Charles de Gaulle. I think New York, La, Atlanta all have nonstop flights. There's a lot of easy connecting flights. I think on the way there, we connected through London. On the way back, we connected through JFK. And Charles de Gaulle is about 22 miles from Disneyland Paris. So you do have different options, whether you do an Uber or a private car. There's the RER and the TGV.

Lou Mongello:
Like, there's two different trains. But what I love is you can take the train directly from the airport, right? I mean, the train station is in Disneyland Paris. Like, you come out of the train station and you are standing there, like, in between Disneyland Paris, the Walt Disney studios and the, the Disney village area. So it's very, very simple to get there. You don't need a visa. You can be, if you're a us citizen, you can be in France without a visa for up to 90 days. Confirm that before you go. So again, I think it is not as intimidating to get there as maybe going to visit one of the asian parks, which is a little bit more steps involved.

Lou Mongello:
I would tell you that as soon as you get there, the one travel tip I will give you, no matter where you're traveling, as soon as you get there, start living on Paris time. Don't think about where you came from and what time it is there. Start adjusting your body clock to being there in Paris. So I think when we're talking about getting there being half the fun, I love traveling. I enjoy the process. I think another tip and I think really important, which is going to affect your experience in a lot of different ways, both financially, weather wise, what is going on is when to go. I think timing is everything from a crowd, cost, travel, special event point of view. You have been there a variety of different times through the years.

Lou Mongello:
Talk a little bit about when you suggest when you think is a good time to go. And understanding, too, that some people can travel only when they can travel. Right. Teachers, students, maybe only in the summer, but all things being considered, talk about some of the peak, off peak seasons and some tips in terms of when you think is a good time to go.

Denise Presskit:
I love all year round, like, what I love about summer is that the, the hours are very long. Like, you know, it gets dark once you hit may, it gets dark at like 11:00 p.m. and so, like, that's not an exaggeration.

Lou Mongello:
Like, that's real. Like, really 11:00 right?

Denise Presskit:
So, like a couple, when the pandemic, when we could first fly there again, we booked a, you know, we booked to go, like, within hours. And once we arrived, we were there for a couple weeks in the summer, and we didn't really see nighttime because the parks closed early, and then when you get up, the sun was up. So we pretty much just saw daytime. And it's really great to be able to be out. And a lot of times, not everybody necessarily wants to be out at night, but it feels like you're still in daytime at 10:00 p.m. see, I like.

Jeff Lange:
Nighttime at the park, though, so this is where we're a little different.

Denise Presskit:
No, I like a lot of.

Jeff Lange:
And seeing the nighttime. So I like when we went recently in January.

Denise Presskit:
I love that, too.

Jeff Lange:
We got to see snow now. It was very cold, very cold, but the crowds, not, not that crowded, which was wonderful. The price, it was more reasonable at that time. And especially I liked, because everything got dark very early. So we're able to see the, the drone show early, all the night time, all the activities.

Denise Presskit:
Oh, I love that part, too, because not normally we're not staying till eleven in the parks, but also we generally go from September to October, which you've got the fall leaves changing. The weather is usually very, quite nice. So there's a lot of different times. And you've got your Halloween time that's coming in at that then. So I personally would say, look at the, before making a reservation, look at the schedule. If they tell you what rides might be down or what, what entertainment you might be having, what season. Christmas is amazing there. Christmas is wonderful there.

Denise Presskit:
And we have not been there in like three years in Christmas. Like, I wish we could go every season because I love it differently.

Jeff Lange:
To answer Lou's question, though, for me, if I could only go once during the year, I would say September into October, because I like the fall. I like to see the leaves changing colors. We live in Florida. We don't get a lot of that. So it kind of reminds me of where, where I used to live. And it's just a beautiful, beautiful time of the year. And there's Halloween.

Denise Presskit:
But I like all of these equally. I like to be out. I like, I like, you know, the long days. I like the short days.

Jeff Lange:
Denise wants to move to Paris.

Denise Presskit:
I do. I do. And I want to go more often, like, so I don't know how you can choose just one time of year, right?

Lou Mongello:
There's no, there's no time, right? I mean, there are, there are some peak and off peak seasons. Again, whatever your travel schedule dictates, mid January through mid March, and then that sweet spot, mid September through mid October, really helps you avoid some of the busy summer crowds. I think the one thing too, you should think about, too, whenever you travel to any of the overseas parks is our holidays and school holidays and federal holidays are different. Look into potentially what some of the french school holidays and some of the major european holidays might be because those could significantly increase the crowd sizes. And also these things affect cost. Travel during the off peak seasons not only reduces crowd levels, but also results in lower accommodation and lower flight costs. So if you have flexibility when you're searching, you can use some of those flexible date tools to see when you can get the best deals, special offers, packages, things like that. This is where having a travel agent, like for mouse fan travel, could help you find some of those sweet spots in the calendar.

Lou Mongello:
And too, like you said, Jeff Weather. We come to Florida and it just seems like it's hot all year round except for two weeks in January. So looking at the weather considerations and special events, we'll talk about this a little more, too. I would love to go to Disneyland Paris during the holidays. I want to see the castle and the blanket of snow over that area and just see and feel what it's like to have Christmas celebrated there versus seeing what it's like how we celebrate here in Walt Disney World and in Disneyland.

Jeff Lange:
And we've discovered a sweet spot for that for the holidays. And that would be thanksgiving week because we went twice, two different times on thanksgiving week. Not at all busy. First, they don't think there is no thanksgiving there. And for here, it's absolutely nuts. It's one of the busiest weeks of the year here at Walt Disney World. But Disneyland Paris, it was delightful that this is a great idea. We should go both.

Denise Presskit:
Both in September, October and November.

Lou Mongello:
When Denise was talking about Christmas and, like the winter, she's looking at Jeff like, this means that we're going this winter. Like, just prepare yourself.

Jeff Lange:
That's always assumed.

Denise Presskit:
But I want to see Alison. I want to see Alice in the queen. That too. All of it.

Jeff Lange:
That too.

Lou Mongello:
Jeff and Denise are racking up the frequent flyer miles and we stay on.

Denise Presskit:
Site, so it's a lot cheaper.

Lou Mongello:
So let's talk about your reading my mind, or my webcam is on and you can read my notes. So we're talking about when to go, and those are coming days. I think where to stay is also a huge consideration, too, especially when visiting a Disney park. There is something special about staying at the official hotels at Disneyland Paris, of which there are a wide variety. There is the Disneyland Hotel, which recently reopened. We'll talk a little bit more about that. As well as the Disney's Hotel New York, the Art of Marvel, which I really dig. The Newport Bay Club, Sequoia Lodge Hotel Cheyenne, Hotel Santa Fe, and the Davy Crockett Ranch.

Lou Mongello:
The same sort of obvious quote unquote benefits of staying at a Disneyland hotel apply, right? You have the proximity to the parks. Most are within walking distance. Some offer shuttle service. You do also get things like the extra magic hour time. You get that early park entries before the opening time. But it is that the theming, it is the 24/7 immersion in the Disney storytelling, which I really enjoy. Some of the hotels have exclusive restaurants, which within Disneyland Hotel is one of them. And then a lot of things just, again, in terms of convenience, being able to get back and forth.

Lou Mongello:
I had the. I was very fortunate to have stayed on this last trip at the Disneyland Hotel and the art of Marvel. We had bounced in between the two. And Disneyland Hotel just very quickly has been recently reimagined with a royal theme featuring Disney princess stories. However, it is not sort of what you might think. I'll post some photos in the show notes this hotel, and you guys can jump in and talk more about this. When we say that the Disneyland Hotel has been rethemed, that is the understatement of the year because they literally brought this hotel down to the studs. Like they took everything out and started all over again building this resort with rooms that immerse you in sort of this magic of Disney royalty.

Lou Mongello:
They are not, you know, I've heard some people say, oh, well, they made, quote unquote for girls. Not at all. It is this beautiful, comfortable, luxurious resort. There's some wonderful signature suites in there themed after Cinderella and frozen sleeping beauty, Rapunzel and beauty and the Beast. There is a castle club, which is sort of a hotel within a hotel, which has exclusive benefits to it, sort of like a concierge club. And there's amazing dining options in here. And this is what I was referring to before, including restaurants that you must be staying at the resort in order to dine at, including the royal banquet, which I absolutely loved. So just very quickly, I want to hear your thoughts, Jeff and Denise, about have you stayed, have you seen the new Disneyland hotel? Where have you stayed? And your thoughts in terms of tips for first timers as to where you recommend staying? You did mention staying off site as an option as well.

Denise Presskit:
Well, we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel for one night. That was opening night. But I just want to mention first, there's, to me, one major reason to stay on site, and that's if people really want to stay there. And that's because it will guarantee you entry into the parks, because that is the one thing that staying off site will not do. And we have annual passes, unless, I mean, if you have a ticket that will get you in.

Jeff Lange:
Right.

Denise Presskit:
Like our annual passes, we can get up to three reservations at one time.

Jeff Lange:
And we should mention annual passes. Not a bad option, even if you don't live in that.

Denise Presskit:
But it's not as good an option as it used to be.

Jeff Lange:
Nothing is. But you do. You do get to get into the park early.

Denise Presskit:
Right.

Lou Mongello:
So, Denise, talk about the guaranteed access. Right. So what do you mean? Are there, are there times where it's very crowded that you, if you're not staying there, you cannot get access to the park.

Denise Presskit:
Correct. Like, we, if we get, and I don't know if the new annual pass that we'll get, we'll have five maybe entries. But still, when you have two to three weeks that you're playing with, you know, you can't get. We were only getting three.

Jeff Lange:
I think it's still three.

Denise Presskit:
It might be so, like, getting in on weekends can be tricky and such. So if you're there for a couple weeks, it doesn't matter as much. But if you're there just for a few days and you're there over a weekend, you want to make sure that whatever. I don't know quite how the tickets work for reservations, but, like, with an annual pass, we could be like, okay, well, we've got our weekend, but if you are on property, we get early entry, just like those staying on property do. But if you're on property, you do get to go to the park. Like, no matter what, you're able to go to the park. And that's, to me, about staying on property. But there's reasons not to stay at some of the hotels also, like during the summer, Cheyenne and Santa Fe, I don't believe, have air conditioning.

Denise Presskit:
So if it's like, in the nineties out, you know, our off site hotel has air conditioning, has a beautiful pool, you know, so especially this year with.

Jeff Lange:
The heat wave there in Europe.

Denise Presskit:
Well, I don't know if it, if they have a heat wave, it's, it's a little bit harder. Like, you want to stay. I like the Newport. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel for the first night, and also our friends stayed there for a night, and we were there with them. And then we also like art of Marvel. Art of Marvel is a fantastic, fantastic redo to me. Better than the Disneyland Hotel.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah, I think just really sleek.

Denise Presskit:
Good, good dining.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah, they're very different experiences. Disneyland Hotel, I think, is a little bit more elevated. And to be clear, Disneyland Hotel is the entrance to the park. It's not close to the entrance. Like, you walk downstairs and you walk out into the park. There's actually exclusive access in the mornings from Disneyland Hotel if you are staying there. So you can avoid some of the long lines. If you're staying at, on property, can't you also book certain activities and make dining reservations in advance of folks who are not so.

Denise Presskit:
Yes.

Lou Mongello:
Right. So it's a great way to make sure you can secure spots at some of the more popular restaurants and experiences, too.

Denise Presskit:
We find that most restaurants, at least when we go, we can get two months out, which is our time, except for downtown restaurant. And that's in the art of Marvel, which is one of our favorites. It's a buffet and it's not a big restaurant, and it's very popular.

Lou Mongello:
I love downtown.

Denise Presskit:
Usually you can get Pim and everything else. Downtown's great.

Jeff Lange:
Actually, royal banquet now just very recently, is, is allowing anyone to make reservations.

Lou Mongello:
That's new. That's a new change then.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah, it's very new. It is new. Within the last week, I think.

Lou Mongello:
Royal banquet is spectacular. I like buffets. I like being able to go and sort of make my own meal. I remember when we went there for dinner the first night and I walked in and I'm not sure if you heard the same thing I did because I heard the angel sing. I looked over and there's literally a tower. I know they're not technically lobsters. They're langoustines. There's a tower of lobsters split in half sitting there just for the taking.

Lou Mongello:
If that happened here in the States, it would be like the Russians. You see it like golden corral. It was. And they'll take, they'll like, take the lobster out and like, dress it for you. I'm like, this is heaven. The food was great. Oh, we need to go back then. I'm feeling that we need to do a supplemental show and go back.

Lou Mongello:
Well, we could do it live from Disneyland Paris together. How much fun would that be?

Jeff Lange:
I love that idea. I'm in. That's a great idea.

Lou Mongello:
And I agree with you about, I'm a huge Marvel fan. If you look behind me, you know me, I'm a huge Marvel fan. I love the theming and art of Marvel because it's not like I don't know how to. When you, when you think it's a Marvel themed restaurant, it's not like a gaudy comic book. It's very elegant, very art deco. New York in the twenties, which took the old theming of the hotel and just sort of sprinkled a little marvel on top. So when you're talking about, like, the downtown buffet, it's this beautiful, sort of elegant twenties, but very casual restaurant, but there is hand drawn marvel art on not just the walls, but on your place mat, which you're going to want to take home as a souvenir. And we really liked, for both breakfast and dinner, we really liked the buffets at downtown.

Denise Presskit:
I will say that if they had made maybe the. Why can't I think of the hotel? The Star wars hotel here. Galactic Star cruiser, Galactic Star Cruiser. If they had made it more like that, where they made it into a hotel, a regular hotel experience that was so sleek and Star wars and then added in the entertainment component as well and maybe made it exclusive, I think that would have been a really nice experience, you know, and had the pool and had all the comforts of having a hotel, but maybe then added the entertainment. I just think that the art of Marvel is the best, really. It's certainly at Disneyland Paris as far as theming and maybe among the Disney hotels, as far as they went all.

Lou Mongello:
In, I think it's also a great. They really went all in balanced in these two of location budget theming.

Jeff Lange:
Right.

Lou Mongello:
Disneyland Hotel, obviously, you're going to pay a premium for because of where it is and it's brand new. But I think art of Marvel, which is a seven minute walk, ten minute walk Max, between you walking out of your room and getting to the gates of Disneyland or the Disney Studios park, you walk through the Disney village, which is also very nice. So it is that sort of great balance of price, location and theming. And, oh, by the way, if you've ever been on the dream or the fantasy on Disney Cruise line, they have their own version of the Skyline bar with a little bit of a superhero twist. Yeah. It's a very sort of really nice, elegant sort of relaxing place to go to at the end of the night after a long.

Denise Presskit:
And their drinks are very inventive. Like, their drinks are also, I think, tops on property.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah.

Denise Presskit:
You know, I don't know if you had it at the skyline. Yeah, I thought they more so than.

Jeff Lange:
At the Disneyland Hotel.

Denise Presskit:
Absolutely. Absolutely. Really, really well done.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah. And again, this is where having, doing your research, more importantly, having a travel agent, you know, I'm going to talk about, you know, mouse fan travel. Again, they are the ones that booked our trip, and those are the ones that they'll be able to help you find some of those deals, answer some of those questions, see if there's any offers or packages, because a lot of times you can find great packages when you go over to Disneyland Parish, too, with park tickets and dining plans and other perks, often at a reduced rate compared to booking them separately, like. So when we were there, our package included, we had, you know, vouchers for dining, you know, half board or full board vouchers for dining. So. All right, we talked about when to go, where to stay. Let's talk a little bit about the, the park itself. And one of the things that, that I really like about the park.

Lou Mongello:
And we've. We see this with all of the Disney Parks and Disney Cruise line is your phone is your best friend, right? There is so much now that is connected to the app, and time is money. And one of the best ways to maximize your time and your dollar is by not just using the app for wait times and show schedules and navigations and mobile ordering. And I really like the way they do sort of the personalized itinerary, but by being able to take advantage of their version of Fastpass, which is known as Premier Access. And it is their version of the paid service that allows you to skip some of the regular lines for the most popular attractions. They do it. There's no Lightning lane and Genie, and Genie plus there's basically two options. There's premier access one and premier access ultimate, and premier access one lets you pay to skip the line for individual attractions.

Lou Mongello:
So you purchase access to one attraction at a time, and prices will vary based on rides and demand from about five to $18 per, sorry, five to €18, which is about. Maybe it's not that far off from dollars per attraction. That will vary due to popularity. And you do it right in your app so you can purchase it right there. You'll get a QR code, and then you scan it at the entrance if you want to provide. If you want to buy premier access ultimate, it's one time access to almost all the attractions with premier access without being tied to specific time slots. So you can visit each eligible attraction at once, once during the day. And this runs, it's obviously more expensive.

Lou Mongello:
It runs about 90 to €190, depending on the day and demand, which is why. So if you're able to travel mid week off season, it's going to be closer to €90, where if you're going closer to Christmas, you might be around 190. I will tell you that using premier access, especially the first time I went, and again, I was a total noob. I didn't know what I was doing when I went with my daughter, and she really wanted to see the Lion King show where people queue up for that, like, very far in advance. We had a very sort of relative middle amount of time. That was the best $15 I ever spent, because not only did we completely pass the line, we missed any of the weather. We walked right in and sat right up in front, and I was like, this is the best value per dollar that I've had here. And then I've used the premier access ultimate when we went back again this year, same thing, like knowing that you have access to all of the popular attractions without having to worry about booking windows, getting up early.

Lou Mongello:
I really, really like the premier access system as well as the app. Talk a little bit about either or both of those and any tips that you might have to maximize both.

Denise Presskit:
We have never used it.

Jeff Lange:
No, we have used it.

Denise Presskit:
Did we use it for.

Jeff Lange:
We were given it a couple times and we used it and we thought it was wonderful.

Denise Presskit:
But the thing is, I don't even remember.

Jeff Lange:
We're usually there so long where we're able to do everything we want to anyway. But, and I'll say this, if I was only there for one or two days and it was a busy day, like a weekend, it would absolutely be worth it. I would definitely, definitely do that. I mean, Lou just explained he had a great experience.

Denise Presskit:
You know, I will say that people don't use it to the extent that they use it here for Genie. You know, like tons of people use the genie and the lightning lanes here, but it isn't like that there. And especially during off peak, you might not see almost nobody in the lanes. So that means you get to go quicker if you use it. But at the same time, that might mean that you don't need it at all. So. But where I would probably use it is, let's say for some reason we can't get on Big Thunder Mountain and it's too long, and it's too long, and it's too long and it's the end of the trip. Maybe we'd buy big Thunder Mountain or something.

Jeff Lange:
Or for the show.

Denise Presskit:
I mean, or the show.

Jeff Lange:
Or the show, because those seats for the show are only for the premier access. So you can't, even if you're the first in line, you're not going to get those.

Denise Presskit:
We have never purchased it. It's not something we purchased. We haven't needed to purchase it.

Jeff Lange:
But we've never purchased Lightning Lane here at Walden.

Denise Presskit:
No, we haven't.

Lou Mongello:
Like you said, you're going, right? If you know that, like, you know, we were only there for a couple days and I wanted to make sure. Listen, guys, I wasn't doing this for my kids. I was doing it for my children, sort of. I wanted to make sure that we were able to experience because I didn't know when they were going to get a chance or I would get a chance to go back. So I knew my daughter wanted to see the show. I really wanted my son to make sure he saw certain things. So that's where the value was in for me, whether purchasing them individually or doing the ultimate and then not having to even worry about it. And you're right.

Lou Mongello:
When we use the ultimate pass, a lot of times there was like. Because sometimes you get a fastpass or lightning lane, and that lane is still long here. It was so simple, and oftentimes there was, like, nobody else in the premier line, so your weight was non existent. Right. It was as long as it took you to walk through the queue to get on the attraction. So again, the time being money, the time value of money for me made it worthwhile because I knew that we got to do a lot more. And then if the regular line was shorter, we wanted to come back and do it again. We had that option as well, but we knew we definitely got to see the things that we want to and hit every attraction we wanted to in the parks.

Jeff Lange:
Right, right. Like Peter Pan, even Peter Pan. Amazing how quick that gets you in there, right?

Denise Presskit:
I mean, because we're there so long. Like, we. The two of us, we really like to. I especially like early mornings, so, you know, we try to hit those. Those big rides, the ones that, you know, the Peter Pan well, you see.

Jeff Lange:
Well, plus we're in the park early because we have the extra magic time.

Denise Presskit:
Well, that's what I just said. Like, the extra magic hour. We hit this stuff like the, if big thunder mountain opens, stuff that, you know, gets longer lines during the day. But some of the attractions are. Don't tend to get as long line like a phantom manor is less likely to. And, you know, by the. Toward the end of the day, a lot of times, it's not too busy either. And some of the other attractions as.

Jeff Lange:
Well, we've stayed on the phantom manor, just that you're allowed to stay buggy.

Denise Presskit:
Not often. Usually. Not usually.

Lou Mongello:
We'll get to that phantom manor look. It's the Phantom Manor bell. As soon as you say phantom manor, like, your computer just knows that's a denise that's getting a. She's got a reminder to book her trip to Disneyland Paris.

Denise Presskit:
I put it on focus. Okay.

Lou Mongello:
And Big Thunderbolt, we'll talk about the attraction specifically. But the big thunder there is so good. Like, so, so good. Is it the best big thunder? Is it the best big thunder?

Jeff Lange:
Absolutely.

Lou Mongello:
I think it is.

Denise Presskit:
It is. I mean, you go under the water to get to an island that has big thunder on it. It's the most amazing. And you have Phantom Manor, which is, to me, such a fantastic attraction. And even the Molly Brown, which is such a beautiful ride. You know, there's just so much in frontierland there.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah. To me, big thunder, absolutely the best.

Lou Mongello:
That whole frontierland themed land and area. I mean, I think, you know, the park itself, you hear Disneyland, like, oh, it's going to be like Disneyland or it's going to be like magic kingdom. Yes. But it's not right. There's things that are there that don't exist and vice versa. And I really, really love the theming of frontierland. And as it goes at 11:00 at night from day to night there. And the way the storylines between Phantom Manor ties into the town, that ties into big thunder, that ties into the Molly.

Lou Mongello:
Like, I love how cohesive a story it is and how just a little bit spookier. Phantom Manor is from any of the other haunted mansions around the world.

Denise Presskit:
It's a great attraction. That's my favorite of the haunted mansions that we've seen.

Jeff Lange:
I mean, we always.

Denise Presskit:
That's what I was saying. I love the. When you go into Molly Brown, the. The what you see, it's just. It's just such a beautiful ride.

Lou Mongello:
And again, the story that's told and the way it all connects and it's that slow, leisurely.

Denise Presskit:
The thunder mesa. Yeah, yeah.

Lou Mongello:
It's gorgeous there.

Denise Presskit:
Really amazing.

Lou Mongello:
Let's. Okay, so we've talked about when to go, where to stay. We'll talk a little bit more, I think, about some of the other things that we recommend to do. Let's talk about where to eat in the parks. And you might be saying, Lou, it took you long enough to talk about the food in the parks. Dining in Disneyland Paris, I find to be a little bit different than, at least for me, and I haven't been to some of the asian parks in a long time. It's a little bit different because most of the restaurants are prefix menus. You pay a single price and then you choose a selection from the menu options that are there or they are buffets or they are some of the quick service locations there.

Lou Mongello:
Give me your. You've been there far more than I have, although I've probably eaten more in moss than you probably have in the short amount of time, all for research purposes. Give me some of your top tips and places to eat and recommendations to maximize your dining experience when you go to Disneyland Paris.

Jeff Lange:
Rosalie Brassery.

Denise Presskit:
Rosalie in Disney Village, which opened last December, by far, to me, is by far more outstanding than anything that Disneyland Paris offers.

Jeff Lange:
How many Rosalies did we like?

Denise Presskit:
Seven times in two weeks.

Jeff Lange:
Right. And we used to eat at the parks all the time, but Rosalie is just so wonderful.

Denise Presskit:
And we ate a lot more out.

Lou Mongello:
So Rosalie is a. Is a. It's not owned by Disneyland Paris. Right. And it lives in Disney Village. Correct. Actually, very close within, like, a stone's throw from the art of marvel. So what is it? So what is Rosalie, and what makes it.

Lou Mongello:
Right. What makes it so special?

Denise Presskit:
It's a brasserie. It is. You know, the company. It's the Bertrand company. They also do the royal pub, which is, to me, just very average across the way. But they also have, like, they run Angelina, which is a very famous tea house in Paris and many other places. But the food, like, Jeff had a lobster, a full lobster. And, I mean, I just had some of the most amazing food that I have ever had on Disneyland Paris property, including desserts.

Denise Presskit:
And Disneyland Paris has scaled back so much, their menus. And the brasserie, Rosalie has a really nice menu. I mean, the food has changed. Some, like, they seem to be experimenting, and probably seasonality goes with it. But just from the service, the food, the prices, the menu, like. And you can do. You don't have to do a fixed menu or anything.

Jeff Lange:
And the atmosphere as well.

Denise Presskit:
Now, I would love the atmosphere.

Jeff Lange:
I would always recommend Walt's. I mean, if you're gonna go to Disneyland Paris and if you've never been, you have to go to waltz. You want to ask for a table overlooking main street, if you can get that. The food has. Has become much less exciting there.

Denise Presskit:
They used to have. Where you get a filet, like, you used to be able to get really great. You know, it doesn't have to be really great food, but really good food. Good cuts of beef. And you don't really see the good cuts of beef on property almost anywhere anymore. Like, you can't go to Remy, you know, Bistroche Remy and get a filet anymore. You can't go to Walt's and get a filet anymore.

Jeff Lange:
Very limited menu. Very limited, sadly, for the, you know, the specialty restaurants.

Denise Presskit:
But I think, you know, Raspberry Roselli had some really nice, you know, really nice variety of items.

Jeff Lange:
Now, I have to say, downtown is a tremendous buffet. We love downtown.

Denise Presskit:
And Pam is nice.

Jeff Lange:
Right? And Pam. Pam, taste kitchen.

Denise Presskit:
Cowboy cookout for.

Jeff Lange:
Cowboy cookout.

Denise Presskit:
Cowboy cookout is a go to for us. For barbecue chicken.

Jeff Lange:
Absolutely.

Denise Presskit:
At Disneyland Paris. Because we don't get enough of that here in the US.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah. If you were going to dine at Disneyland Paris and you're gonna go to one of these quick places, we would always recommend first, the cowboy. Cowboy.

Denise Presskit:
I like a nets in Disney Village a lot for a burger. So, you know, there. There are options. I did McDonald's this time. You know, like, so there's Starbucks. Like, there's just a variety. Like, we like Newport. Newport has that buffet, the.

Denise Presskit:
I can't think of the name k pop as a k pop.

Jeff Lange:
Cape Cod.

Denise Presskit:
Right?

Jeff Lange:
Think.

Denise Presskit:
No, that's what I just said.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah, that would be my number two. That's a wonderful.

Denise Presskit:
We really enjoyed that. And in the summer, like, the Hotel Cheyenne has barbecue. They barbecue outside. So, like, I would like to go there for that. And we also enjoy Davy Crockett ranch.

Jeff Lange:
Let's not forget about Lumiere at Disneyland Hotel, which is a very nice, you know, character experience with a nice menu. And, of course, as Lou already talked.

Denise Presskit:
About the royal banquet, those are expensive. I mean, it's a hundred euros for.

Jeff Lange:
The royal banquet and 120 for Lumiere.

Denise Presskit:
And plus drinks and everything. And so to me, that's sort of a one and done usually for both of those.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah.

Denise Presskit:
So those are some of the options.

Lou Mongello:
So I'm on board with you, so I'll sort of go backwards. I told. We talked about the buffet. We forgot to mention that it is a character buffet. And, like, the character spent a lot of time at every single table. Like, we had sort of, you know, we had a very long, luxurious, like, breakfast and dinner, and the characters for dinner would come back oftentimes more than once. Really, really love the interactions with them. You mentioned the brasserie Roselie.

Lou Mongello:
Just quick sort of translation. So a Brasserie is like a. It's like a cafe, but it also offers, like, beer and wine. And Rosalie is a little bit more of an upscale, refined experience that you have. Sort of that classic french cuisine. It's a lot of seasonal ingredients, but there's also an outside takeaway counter, so you can get everything from pastries and sandwiches and salads to a much more elegant and extravagant meal. I was only there just to meet for. I had a meeting for a little, nice little cup of espresso inside.

Lou Mongello:
I agree, and I really wanted a chance to go back. Other restaurants that I find that I really enjoyed, I think Pym taste kitchen, maybe my favorite restaurant in Disneyland Paris. I think it is so fun. I really wish they would have taken this concept and not only done it in the Pym test kitchen in Disneyland. I think this is what the Marvel restaurant on Disney Cruise line should be, because it is this fun buffet. Leverage what Pym is. This is what it does. Some of the items are super huge.

Lou Mongello:
Like, there's this gigantic. Like, gigantic. Like, four foot wide hamburger that they cut into slices like a pizza. And then next week, they have itty bitty baby little hamburgers. They have giant pieces of meat and then these. So they leverage the big and small things. It's super fun. It's unlimited.

Lou Mongello:
There's a wide spectrum of flavors. Like, they have an amazing jambalaya, but they also have great italian food and great french food and healthy food and things called salads. Like, I love pim taste kitchen a lot. It is the one.

Jeff Lange:
Let's talk about the giant crouton and those salads. Lou, did you see those massive croutons.

Lou Mongello:
The giant pretzel that they bring to the table? Yeah. I really think Pym is a lot of fun. It obviously is in the studios right in Avengers campus for the first time. And I'm going to apologize in advance for all of my bad french pronunciations. Auberge de Cendrion, the Cinderella themed restaurant, which is right in fantasyland. Again, it was prefix a lot of, I think Cinderella, Merida, and another princess came by, probably Susie and Perla princess. But I think it's a fun experience. The food was actually really, really good.

Lou Mongello:
I agree with you about Waltz, and I think when you go to Walt's, you get Walt's chili. There's a few other things on the menu that I like, but you almost go to Walt's for the experience. More so than the food. It's this tribute to Walt Disney with themed rooms that are all themed after different lands in Disneyland. So no matter where you sit, there's sort of a different dining ambiance. I agree with you, Jeff, about getting fortunate to have a table overlooking main Street, USA, and you could watch the parade go by. And it's. It's.

Lou Mongello:
It's a wonderful, upscale meal, but, you know, you can still go in your shorts and t shirt, which I like. I have. I've always felt like. I feel happy when I go to Walt's. Like, there's something comfortable about Walt's chili. There's something that just. I just enjoy the theming. We went to Captain Jack's, the restaurant de pirates, which is probably the worst pronunciation, but it's inside, like, blue bayou.

Lou Mongello:
It's inside pirates of the Caribbean with a lot of caribbean inspired dishes. We actually, there was maybe six or seven of us who were there, all ordered something different on the menu. So we got to sort of try a little bit of everything. Really liked the spectrum of flavors that we had there. I've eaten at Plaza Gardens, which has a great character buffet on Main Street, USA. And one of the days that I was by myself just doing some research, I ate at the. The last chance cafe, which had, like, a very unique menu. It had, like, these pork egg rolls, and it had this chicken with caramel sauce and cantonese style rice in the middle of frontierland.

Lou Mongello:
It was delicious. And I had. I sat outside in a covered area. It was drizzling just a little bit, and I had a wonderful view of the riverboat and big thunder and phantom matter off in the distance. I'm like, this is a nice afternoon in the park that I really enjoyed.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah, we've sat in those seats many times. I know exactly what you're talking about.

Denise Presskit:
And they are changing up those menus. They are changing a lot of the menus. So that is new. They had turkey legs and ice cream bars were not too long ago on that menu.

Lou Mongello:
And have you eaten at Bistro Chez Remy in the studios park?

Denise Presskit:
Yes, many times.

Lou Mongello:
So, in terms of theme, again, it's a prefix menu, but in terms of theming, you walk in and you're instantly shrunk down to the size of a remy. I don't want to say, like.

Denise Presskit:
I mean, not. The menu is not great.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah. The theme, the theming is very similar to Walt's. Like, it used to be for dining. It was actually really, really good.

Denise Presskit:
They used to have a lot more choices, just like everybody else. Like, now it's like you get a slab of meat.

Jeff Lange:
Like, just like it used to be a filet. Like, you could upscale, right?

Denise Presskit:
You could do different menus, but the food is still pretty good.

Jeff Lange:
But just like Walt's, I think if you're going to the studios, that is a place.

Denise Presskit:
It is a good place to go.

Jeff Lange:
Place to dine, for me is Bistro Chez Remy.

Denise Presskit:
But I also like their Gourmand offerings. You know, like when they have livre Gourmand for winter and that. And they also have rendezvous.

Jeff Lange:
Those are the little food booths, like, people might know. Sort of like at Epcot, the food festival.

Lou Mongello:
Like Chris. Like a Christmas market outside. Yeah.

Jeff Lange:
Right.

Denise Presskit:
And they're really. It's really nice and generally very reasonably priced.

Jeff Lange:
And they now have those in Fantasyland. I don't know if they were there there, but those little chalets in Fantasyland, they have some nice little. Like, there's a duck crepe that I've had before that's quite nice for reasonable. I think, like, five or €6 I.

Lou Mongello:
Put in the work. Jeff. I stopped at a couple of those. There was a. There was one that was like a Mac and cheese. And we sampled a few other ones. And you're right, it's great because it's super easy. It's just a few euros.

Lou Mongello:
So it does almost feel like a little super tiny mini festival right in the middle of fantasyland or over by Remy. What about snacks? Any sort of standout, can't miss Disneyland Paris snacks for you, there's a lot.

Denise Presskit:
But the ice cream and the mad Hatters refreshments in fantasyland is such a.

Jeff Lange:
That would be the ice cream. That would be my number one. Wonderful.

Denise Presskit:
The Disney adorable Sunday. Like, I love that. I just think, you know, that. That's really nice.

Jeff Lange:
January we did.

Denise Presskit:
We had ice cream. No, I don't think. Okay. There was. Okay, there was still some snow, but it wasn't as slush.

Lou Mongello:
More like slush.

Denise Presskit:
It wasn't too bad. We really like the ice cream there. Disneyland Paris is just not known as much for its snacks, but there's little places. And then also, like, Starbucks has stuff. You can get macarons at McDonald's. Rosalie, to me, has some of the best desserts. But, like, to me, mad headers, refreshments. Like, to me, that's a place to go all the time.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah. I was curious as to your answer because nothing, nothing, like, really stuck out. And I'm like, oh, I wonder if I'm missing something. And I tried a few different things. Like, I did, like, there's a. On Main street, you can get a croque monsieur for about $7. It's basically a ham and cheese toasted sandwich, which is a great savory option. Throughout Disneyland park, you'll find that a lot of the quick snack locations have, like, crepes and galettes.

Lou Mongello:
Like, savory crepes, like, there's a duck and, like, elemental cheese galette. Like right in the middle of frontierland.

Jeff Lange:
A number of times.

Denise Presskit:
And that's at those booths. And I think those booths, again, are really a nice place to stop for snacks or like, to me, better than a lot of the restaurants. Or, you know, they have the seasonal.

Jeff Lange:
Remember we got the little Yoda, right?

Denise Presskit:
The baby Yoda cookie or whatever. So sometimes they'll have seasonal items. Oh, Victoria's at. So at the end of Main street, you have the Victoria's. That used to be the homestyle restaurant. And it is no longer really a homestyle restaurant. It's more of almost like a bar ish.

Jeff Lange:
It looks like the Plaza restaurant here at Walt Disney World.

Denise Presskit:
It's pretty small. But you can get, like, for the summer, you can get specialty milkshakes. They all have crazy stuff on them, like a donut or a brownie on it. And then in the winter, maybe you can get other items as well. Like, I'm trying to. Oh, that's right. Waffles.

Jeff Lange:
Menu of different waffles, including a salmon.

Denise Presskit:
That's rightful.

Jeff Lange:
Which I've tried.

Denise Presskit:
But they could change. Like, so they have more savory items toward the winter and more sweet items in the summer. And also they have a selection of, like, beer and wine. And we have not been there in quite some time.

Jeff Lange:
And Disneyland Paris does offer a dole whip, but it's different than the dole whips that we're used to. Right. They often don't have it. And it's not. Honestly, it's not quite as good as.

Lou Mongello:
You can also find. And I think, you know, when you're in. When in France, you. You do as a french stew, you can find different sort of themed macarons in a number of different locations, including the main street McDonald's, which are like, $2. Yeah. And McDonald's. So one night, we were like, it was just wet and we were exhausted, and everybody was sort of sleeping. And I said, what do you guys want? And they said, a royale with cheese.

Lou Mongello:
So, like, all right, I'll be the dad. I went out to McDonald's, which is right in Disney village. Very, very close. Of course, as soon as I get there, it starts to pour. Like, not just rain, like, end of days. Like, pour. So I was such. Like the american tourist dad.

Lou Mongello:
I'm walking with this wet bag of McDonald's food. Like, the bag breaks. My drinks fall everywhere. Like, I was like, oh, look at that. Poor, stupid american food. But we brought it back to the Disneyland hotel and had, you know, a little bed buffet of McDonald's because they do have some unique items. You have to try some of the different types of not just burgers, but, like, fish sandwiches and chicken and things like that. So.

Lou Mongello:
And you're right. They do have opportunity.

Jeff Lange:
You mean you should have had your family come to the lobby and break out all that McDonald's food and had a nice meal. They would have loved that.

Denise Presskit:
To me, that's. That's what that's. And that's one downside about the Disneyland hotel is it doesn't offer anything like. No, there's no. Nothing like that.

Jeff Lange:
If you go to the fleur de luce bar, you can get something quick. Very expensive, but very expensive.

Denise Presskit:
But not really for kids.

Jeff Lange:
Not like, a burger or something like that.

Denise Presskit:
But Starbucks actually has tons of really nice treats. And also Krispy Kreme has opened at the Val. Val Dira, not Val d'Europe, Marnlo Valley train station. So if you're looking for a donut, they do have some donut specialty doughnuts right now.

Jeff Lange:
Another option is Uber eats. We've ordered Uber eats to the Disneyland hotel.

Denise Presskit:
We did do.

Jeff Lange:
So. I mean, there are options.

Lou Mongello:
There are a ton of options. You're right. And, and Disney Village right now, like the. The studios park is undergoing a transformation. There's a lot. There's a lot going on. Which can I understand if you go right now, it might be frustrating, but that means that there are really, really good things to come. Right.

Lou Mongello:
And they take time, so. But Disneyland. I know, sorry. Disney village has some great, easy, very accessible places to go. We're talking about so much. We haven't even really talked about any of the attractions. Give me. For those attractions that either are exclusive to Disneyland Paris or unique in terms of being slightly different, what are for you, the must see Disneyland Paris attractions or do you think are better in Disneyland Paris? Or any tips that you want to share for first timers who might be going.

Denise Presskit:
I just want to mention the arcades. You need to go through the arcades on Main street because they're so beautiful and they're like an attraction unto themselves. I wish we had them here to get into shops when it's raining and everything. But as far as attractions, Fanna Manor is in my top three. Big Thunder mountains. Probably in my top three pirates. Right. And also Casey Junior, which is not like the Disneyland version.

Jeff Lange:
It's more of Casey.

Denise Presskit:
We do love Casey Junior. So, yeah, I'm just Alice's tourist Labrador theater.

Jeff Lange:
Always fun. And if for us, we like to take a lot of pictures, you'd never guess that in video. So it's kind of fun to go on the top of the castle, the little castle up there. Get some nice, nice shots. And it's just a unique experience, too, because you truly can get lost in that labyrinth. We have gotten lost multiple times.

Denise Presskit:
It is. I mean, the labyrinth is something we have to do.

Jeff Lange:
Space Malibu every trip. Space male.

Denise Presskit:
I don't do that one as much, but that is a good one.

Jeff Lange:
Two loops in there with the Star wars overlay.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah, it's a Star wars overlay.

Jeff Lange:
Right. I prefer it when it was a mission, too. I never did get a chance to do the original version, but I've heard who knows? Maybe they'll change that. At some point in the future.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah, I would love to see, because, well, their Tomorrowland is not tomorrow. It's discovery land. And it's this very Jules Verne esque theme, which I absolutely dig about that land. I think it's just visually such a stunning land, even just to walk through, because it is unique. And I just love that from a storytelling perspective. Yes, there's ip in there, but just sort of on its face, you see the golds and the reds and the different colors and the giant balloon and the Hyperion theater, which underutilized space, I think, to a certain degree. But I think you're right. Phantom Manor is the best of the best.

Lou Mongello:
I think Alice's curious labyrinth should never be overlooked. It is a whimsical walk through maze with that little queen of Hearts Castle, which offers some unique views. We talked about big thunder mountains. I am surprised I was serving you up the softball and the fact that you did not mention the dragon under sleeping beauty castle.

Jeff Lange:
I was going to, as you mentioned castle, I was going to say it is the best.

Lou Mongello:
Speaking of the best, it is this massive, lifelike dragon in this dark, immersed. Like when I took my daughter, the poor kid, that's all she wanted to see, and it was closed. Fortunately, when we went back this time, I think we went back on this trip and we were there, I think, for maybe five days. We probably went to see that dragon, I kid you not, no less than ten times. Watching it from the ground floor or watching it from up on the second level and getting a different view, it's. It's very simple.

Jeff Lange:
And I. Beauty.

Denise Presskit:
At this point, I was just going to mention that actually, the Sleeping Beauty gallery upstairs. Right. And then, you know, you walk out and you see Fantasyland, and that's something also with the. The queen's castle over at the maze where you can see, you know, views of fantasy land.

Jeff Lange:
Let's talk about storybook land, which is currently under, which is, well, very much needed. But I think that'll be very nice when that Rio.

Denise Presskit:
But small world. Yeah, the small world is one of.

Jeff Lange:
My favorite small worlds. I think it is my favorite of the small worlds.

Denise Presskit:
But, you know, just. I just like to walk around the parks. I love the shows.

Jeff Lange:
Adventure island and attraction itself, right?

Denise Presskit:
Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I mean, that's just amazing. You can go up to the swiss family tree house and sometimes you can see the Eiffel Tower.

Jeff Lange:
Do you know, Lou, if there's a certain spot at the very top of the treehouse that you can take a picture of the Eiffel Tower from inside the park. So it's pretty awesome on a clear day.

Lou Mongello:
Wow.

Jeff Lange:
That's when I see you next time, person. I'll show you how to exactly where to go.

Denise Presskit:
But I don't know, like, if you're on the Eiffel Tower, can you take a picture of the swiss family treehouse?

Jeff Lange:
Of course.

Lou Mongello:
There you go. That you gotta connect a dot. I like, you know, there's so many sort of little. What I like about this park is there's. And this could almost be a separate show altogether. There's so many little fun secret, like mini adventure. Like, I love the little Atlanta, Aladdin's enchanted passage, that little sort of walkthrough with the very detailed dioramas. I've missed it every time.

Lou Mongello:
And this time, it finally was open. The mysteries of the Nautilus were this little walkthrough attraction through the 20,000 leagues under the sea. You walk through Captain Nemo's sub. It's relatively simple. It's relatively short. But I took so much time, like, walking through there and just taking it all in. And there's little sort of mini vignette shows that happen through one of the portholes. But it's one of those things that I like, like the dragon, the sleeping beauty castle on the second floor, the walkways.

Lou Mongello:
Some of those little things were some of the biggest highlights for me that are, you know, unique to that park.

Jeff Lange:
Which is the Disneyland Railroad loon.

Denise Presskit:
Oh, yeah. That railroad's really.

Jeff Lange:
That's wonderful.

Lou Mongello:
You know, it's so what I discovered by accident, like that hidden pathway from main street, from the liberty arcade, which I love. I agree with you a thousand percent. I love, love, love liberty arcade. You take. You exit the liberty arcade and you hang a left and there's this, like, secret path to frontierland. It was like I discovered fire. Like, like nobody else in the park.

Jeff Lange:
You can actually go all the way from the Disneyland. If you're staying at the Disneyland Hotel and it's pouring rain, you can get from your room all the way to right, almost where Phantom Manor is without getting a drop of rain on you just by following all those internal paths.

Denise Presskit:
It's really wonderful. They really designed the parks really well.

Jeff Lange:
And it used to be where you could even go further into. All the way into Fantasyland to. To pirates. But one of those areas turned into Agrabah.

Denise Presskit:
Right.

Jeff Lange:
But if that's what we heard, that was still open.

Denise Presskit:
I don't remember that, you know, myself.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah.

Lou Mongello:
And I think.

Jeff Lange:
But anyway, they really designed that park for rain. You know, it's very well designed for getting around in inclement weather.

Denise Presskit:
It's too bad.

Jeff Lange:
I mean, snow, whatever.

Denise Presskit:
I mean, we have rain here all the time. We should have that, right?

Lou Mongello:
But it's only. It's only in the summer at 03:00 and then it's. Then it's just hot. And it's more hot and more humid. But I think, like, the attractions aren't the only attractions. I think it. Disneyland Paris. And I really sort of took my time, a lot of time by myself on this trip to find those secrets and hidden gems, like the little, like, arboretum and the arcade and the sounds on Main street and the phone in the deli.

Lou Mongello:
And, like, you could spend so much time just on Main street going, like, the. The glass dome in Harrington's and the glass dome in the emporium with all of the stained glass little portraits of famous inventors. Like, I'm like. I'm like, everybody stop at you. Like, look up. Look what you're missing. Like, this is incredible. And there's, like, it.

Lou Mongello:
There's a lot of that through the park. I spent, like, an entire day just filming. I haven't put the video together yet. Like, just filming some of those secrets. Like, on the castle spires, there's, you know, there's a little secret crawling up the castle spires that, you know, it's a tiny little detail, but I think is so fun. There's the old mill, right, from the 1937 animated feature we talked about, you know, mister Toads. The Mister Toads restaurant is, again, if you. If you love that, and I won't tell you where it is, but when you find Mister Frederickson and Russell from up, like, you feel like you hit the lottery, right? Because you don't expect it there where you see it.

Lou Mongello:
But I love that, right? I love. I love Wally and Eve in Discoveryland and some of those little, like, when I found I was just sort of wandering through adventureland and inside that. That one area by the restrooms are that the genie wall and the tales of the arabian nights in there. Like, I really like.

Denise Presskit:
Even you got the camel benches.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah, the camel. There's so many. So many details. You could spend. Well, we do spend weeks just looking and enjoying all these little things. We don't have to spend all day in the park. We could spend three or four or 5 hours in the park, you know, and just go do other things.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah.

Denise Presskit:
And I just, like, on the first day of Halloween, like, to me, it's one of the most exciting times when you come into the park and it's like, woohoo. Like you hear the ghost, ghost of main street. And I just think they. And, you know, they also have citizens of Main street this summer at the park. They have not had that.

Jeff Lange:
They still have not still. They just brought it back.

Denise Presskit:
They just brought them back. I don't know for how long, but they have the citizens of Main street, the dentist.

Jeff Lange:
I miss the citizens of Main street.

Denise Presskit:
Here so much, but I'm glad that they brought them back. I hope that they'll keep them.

Lou Mongello:
I will give you a tip, too, especially if you have young kids take a nap in the middle of the day or go back to your hotel, because you do not want to miss the nighttime shows there. I think the nighttime shows are spectacular. Disney Illuminations is the projection show on Sleeping Beauty Castle, which is more than a projection show, because there's fireworks and lasers and water features that feature not just classic Disney animated films like Lion King, but there's Frozen and there's Star wars, and there's music and animation and pyrotechnics, which is. I was not expecting that experience. And my pro tip is not to. When you watch that show, and then you're going to stay for the drone show after. When you watch that show, I actually think standing right in front of the castle is not the best. I think being off to the side, like in the street of the hub, a little bit off to the right, like in front of the popcorn cart, is.

Lou Mongello:
It gives you a great view of the castle. If you want to stand on Main street, you get a little bit of a broader view. But if you stand a little bit to the right, when the Disney d light show happens with the drones over sleeping beauty castle. Wait, no, I'm sorry. It happens backwards. I'm doing it backwards, right?

Jeff Lange:
Yes.

Lou Mongello:
Delight happens first. Sorry, I did it backwards. Delight happens first, right.

Jeff Lange:
I do agree with you to be off to the right by that popcorn place you're talking about. But for the Disney electrical sky parade, I would say to be well down main street, right by where Cruella is, by main street motors, because that is the absolute best view to really see the full, like the full, you could read where it says, you know, electrical sky parade, you could see all the effects are just kind of made for that location. So if you're very close, I would recommend very close if you can get it, because it's so difficult to really see the projection show otherwise for the projection show.

Denise Presskit:
But, yeah, Ben Spaulding and his team did a. A superb job with a Disney electrical sky parade.

Lou Mongello:
It's amazing because it's not just. It's not just 500 drones, but there's pyrotechnics and there's special effects and there's smoke and things like that on the drone.

Denise Presskit:
Pyro. On the drone.

Jeff Lange:
Right. I mean, how cool is that, actually?

Denise Presskit:
And, you know, they don't really move that much. Like, they have to make it look like they're moving in a parade, and they're not. They don't really have as much movement as what you're seeing, but, like, when. Which is so cool.

Lou Mongello:
Like, one of them is of Cinderella's coach, and you can see, like, the door open. I'm like, this is just. But you're right. You see Elliot and you see the pirate ship with the sparks behind it.

Denise Presskit:
Elliot is amazing.

Lou Mongello:
It is like, you have to, like, let your kids. Let your mom, dad, let yourself take a nap because you really want to not miss it. That I have not seen the show in Disney Springs as yet, but I think the. I keep calling it by the wrong name. I think the electrical sky parade is the best drone show I've ever seen.

Denise Presskit:
Yeah, right. Though the one at Disney Springs is very nice. It's this, you know, and it would be drones. I think that's how you say.

Jeff Lange:
Yes.

Lou Mongello:
Who.

Denise Presskit:
Who handles it? But so it's, you know, the same company that's, you know, doing it, but the Disney electrical sky parade, because they started with the Disney delight. You know, they had a couple of years on he from here, and it's amazing what they've done since Disney Delight to Disney electrical sky parade in Paris. They've really upped the game, I think, on drone shows, and I cannot wait to see what they do next. But I don't want them to change it because I'm such a fan.

Jeff Lange:
Now, you talked about seeing, about timing. If you were to be at Disneyland Paris in January, you could see that drone show at 07:00 because you don't have to have the kids super late, because it happens at 07:00 that's why we saw it so many times.

Denise Presskit:
Five times in one week.

Jeff Lange:
Right. Because it happened so early in January.

Denise Presskit:
But it was too cold the first week. So cold.

Jeff Lange:
Just a little.

Lou Mongello:
And the electrical sky, pray, only runs until January, correct? Until January 6 so far, I believe.

Denise Presskit:
You never know. You know, they can always extend and.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah, who knows? I mean, I know they'll have the Halloween season and the Christmas season. I wouldn't be totally surprised to see it return after that. But it's not officially announced yet. Anything.

Denise Presskit:
And the one thing about Disneyland Paris is like the shows and such, they're not all the time. So, you know, they, they have a certain time they run and then they'll be dark and then they'll run again. And that includes, I mean, you know, there are things that won't happen during the Halloween and Christmas seasons that you would see at other times. But, you know, like the Lion King.

Jeff Lange:
The Alice Dent show.

Denise Presskit:
Right. We don't know if that that's going to return next year. Right. So. But the Lion King show, the Lion King show doesn't play every single day of the year. They will have dark days just like.

Jeff Lange:
You know, or dark weeks, like it'll dark weeks.

Denise Presskit:
Dark, dark, dark weeks. Right. And, and that's with all of the shows. So, you know, you're never going to go to Disneyland Paris and see like every show.

Jeff Lange:
I don't think. There's almost always something that's reason, right.

Lou Mongello:
Reason to go back. I mean, look, you mentioned, you know, some of the seasonal offerings. I would love to go back and see the Halloween festival, right? Seeing spooky decorations and the Halloween cavalcade and the theme snacks and treats that happen there. And again, same thing for Christmas. Some of the special things that they do during the Christmas season with Christmas trees and different character meet and greets.

Denise Presskit:
And parade is amazing.

Jeff Lange:
The dazzling parade, the Halloween season is. Everything is included with your day ticket. So you don't have to buy a special party ticket to enjoy Halloween or Christmas. We have tickets to two parties here at Walt Disney World and we're hopeful to get oogie boogie bash tickets going on sale for us Wednesday. But if we lived in Disneyland Paris, it's all included.

Denise Presskit:
But California is like a hybrid. I mean, you get so much in both parks for Halloween, so you don't have to go to oogie boogie bash to get a really great Halloween experience, you know. So Disney Paris, there is no parties anymore. They had a couple parties a year, but they're not having Halloween soiree. I think they stopped all, they stopped us a couple years ago. Here it is like your only Halloween is really the party.

Lou Mongello:
But that's great to know, right. That you don't need to get, you don't need to get nor pay for an additional.

Denise Presskit:
Right.

Lou Mongello:
Ticket when you go.

Jeff Lange:
Same for Christmas. I mean, you could see that Christmas parade every day, you know, multiple times, Santa Claus or paranoia, I should say.

Denise Presskit:
To meet and everything. Yeah.

Lou Mongello:
And that's one thing that's nice, too, is the park is there's always something different, and we should sort of talk about that, too. We talked, we alluded to earlier how Disney Village is undergoing a refresh, as is in a very big way that the studios park, which is going to be rebranded as adventure world. So start making your plans to go and then start thinking about going back, because adventure world is going to be a massive expansion that's going to include the world of Frozen and Arendelle and the north mountain. That's going to have attractions and dining and entertainment. Adventure Bay is going to be this dynamic entertainment venue with this picturesque 360 degree fountains, lights, etcetera. A tangled attraction, a new park entrance expansion on some of the worlds of Pixar and marvel, and new dining experiences, too. So I think, I don't want to hear your thoughts about adventure world and what this represents, but it really seems like it is going to be not just more expansive offerings, but what appears to be cutting edge technology and a lot more immersive storytelling as well.

Denise Presskit:
Well, the Disney adventure world is going to be very similar, I know, to Hong Kong, except they're not going to have this, what is it called? The sleighs.

Jeff Lange:
Oh, that. Right. That roller coaster.

Denise Presskit:
But just as an overview, I mean, the whole main entrance plaza is changing, and then I just, I actually can't wait for it. I mean, I think it's going to be a game changer for what's currently Walt Disney Studios park. It will become Disney adventure world once world of frozen opens. You know, I just.

Jeff Lange:
And there'll be other worlds added in the future.

Denise Presskit:
Yeah, they're supposed to be. I'm hoping they'll announce it at D 23 this year. What, what we're going to, you know, find. But I just think it's such a, you know, when I first went to Walt Disney Studios park was 2002, and it was such a little park. There was no tower of terror. There was no ratatouille. There was no. There were.

Denise Presskit:
There was half the park that is there at this time or less. So just the expansion, I just think it's going to so much change that park and make it such a park that people are going to want to.

Jeff Lange:
Go visit, like Disney's California adventure. I mean, when that had radiator springs and everything, right?

Lou Mongello:
Yeah. And even adding some of the, the enhancements to things that are there, like at the worldwide engineering brigade building, there's going to be some nighttime stuff that's gonna go on. So it really is a park wide expansion, which I'm very, very curious to see. Yeah, I'm very.

Jeff Lange:
And very, very, very needed.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Jeff Lange:
We're dining with more dining as well because there's that the, there's a very nice restaurant, I think.

Denise Presskit:
Right. I can't think of the name Carthay.

Jeff Lange:
In a way that it looks like it'll be there.

Denise Presskit:
Well, it's. No, it's not. It's not like that. It's, you know, it almost looks like a metro entrance. And it's going to be a princess dining experience on the water. Princess. I just think having that lake, it's going to make a very kinetic, I think, experience, especially if they have the shows. And like, I didn't even look at this beforehand because I wrote so much about it a few months ago.

Denise Presskit:
Right. But just the whole. The promenade, to be able to walk that promenade, it is going to be a tangled spinner ride. I know. Not everybody's, you know, like people are so down on spinner rides. I don't mind a spinner ride. We like the teacups. We like, you know.

Lou Mongello:
You like crushes coaster.

Denise Presskit:
You like not everything ticket. So I crush his coast.

Lou Mongello:
I like crush.

Jeff Lange:
Now we're talking.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah. I like crushes coaster is awesome.

Denise Presskit:
But it also crushes my feet every time I try to get in is.

Jeff Lange:
The key word in that, you know.

Denise Presskit:
You know, I ride it less now because we have guardians of the Galaxy cosmic rewind here and it's, it has that same spinny type motion and I.

Jeff Lange:
Think it's without us getting crushed.

Denise Presskit:
Right. You don't have to. It actually stops for you to get in where, you know, in Paris. It doesn't, you have to sort of race into it and hope that when you, you know, put your stuff down really quick and, and bring, you know, that you don't hurt yourself.

Jeff Lange:
The older you get, the forgiving.

Denise Presskit:
It's a lot easier if you don't.

Lou Mongello:
It's part of the adventure, right? It's part of the adventure, yes.

Jeff Lange:
But, yeah, that's very exciting. Very exciting. That whole.

Denise Presskit:
Yeah, the whole thing is very exciting for me.

Lou Mongello:
Is there, is there anything that we missed. Right. Which, you know, we're looking at really, like I said, from a first timer's perspective, any other tips in your professional Disneyland Paris adventurer opinion? Anything other sort of tips?

Jeff Lange:
Have you done the panorama jeek balloon?

Denise Presskit:
Yeah. We do enjoy that balloon.

Jeff Lange:
Is.

Lou Mongello:
I have not.

Denise Presskit:
It's a great, it's a great view of.

Jeff Lange:
Great overview. Again, we like taking pictures and video. You'd never guess that, but you can see so much from up there. It's really nice. And it's. With your annual pass, it's very reasonable. I think probably for a hotel guest, you get a good.

Lou Mongello:
That's in Disney Village. Again, steps away from the hotels. It's like. Like the balloon in Disney. In Disney Springs, right? Similar to the balloon in Disney Springs.

Denise Presskit:
I will say also for food and everything. So let's say you have a little time at design Paris, but you just want to do something different. Even pret a manger has really reasonable price sandwiches over at the train station. And also, it's only one stop away to get to the Val d'Europe area. That's where we stay. You know, it doesn't take long to get there.

Jeff Lange:
So many nice restaurants.

Denise Presskit:
There's wonderful restaurants. You have, like, this huge mall, indoor outdoor. Oshan is going to be, like, the biggest grocery type of store that you've, like, ever been to. They even have now the little next door. So you have a little. The little. Little next to the big Oshawn.

Jeff Lange:
And you could just stay in the train and go to Paris.

Denise Presskit:
Or you could do, like. You can do all of it.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah, we've done that.

Lou Mongello:
They were, you know, go for the morning. My wife and two kids felt very comfortable again, walking into Disney Village, going onto the train, going into Paris for the day, and coming back at night was very simple. It was very safe. They had no issues doing it, and very easy to navigate, none of them speaking French at all. And that's one of the things we should mention, too. You don't have to worry, I think, about the language barrier. I never had any issues, both in Paris and certainly in Disneyland Paris, communicating with any of the cast members.

Jeff Lange:
If you are going to take the train, I would recommend getting a Navigo card, which is a little card where.

Denise Presskit:
You can add how often you're doing it.

Jeff Lange:
Right. But if you're going to go enough, like, you're staying a week, you get the navigo. You can go to and from. It's good. You can buy a whole week for how much?

Denise Presskit:
Is it, like, it has to be Monday through Sunday. No, it was like. I think it's, like, €27 or something. But, you know, it's a good deal if you're Monday through Sunday. It has to be a certain dates. Like, research it. But I was gonna say, like, if you get sick, I think they have doctors that will come to your room. But also, again, at that Valdez Europe station, one station away, there's a pharmacy there's doctors, I think there's dentists.

Denise Presskit:
It's like a whole little town area. So if you're needing, you know, that type of a thing.

Jeff Lange:
Over the years, we've had to use most of those.

Denise Presskit:
Yeah, we've been to, you know, I go to the pharmacy every trip for something. And so it's. And also, that's where the post office is. There was a time the post office was at the marla for many years at the Marnlavale station, but it's. You can get to a post office in Val de Europ.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah, it's very, like I said, whether you're going just from the airport to Disneyland Paris or if you want to venture out from Disneyland Paris and go see it, it is very easy, comfortable, and safe to do. I think the thing that I would say in terms of going to the park for the first time is, I think, like a fine french wine or croissant or baguette, you should sip and savor this park. And what I mean is, you should really take your time and slow down. Like, this is not a park that I feel is meant to be sort of approached, quote unquote commando style. Like, I think about, like. Like animal kingdom. Right? It's supposed to slow down. You're supposed to explore, like, when you see that castle, which I think is the most beautiful and spectacular castle of any of the parks, walk around it and appreciate its beauty from every single angle, because every perspective offers unique photo opportunities and details, whether it's the front gate, the dragon, the square.

Lou Mongello:
I love the little detail of the way some of the trees are trimmed like you see in the original, like, sleeping beauty paintings. But if you go to the other side, you've got, like, these beautiful rose gardens and these incredible sort of sweeping views of the castle, which are spectacular. You talked about both the liberty and the discovery arcades, the two on either sides of Main street, some of the little hidden corners of fantasyland adventure isle. You could spend hours and you should just letting yourself get relatively lost and appreciate the architecture and look for some of those small, little details, because I think that that really is part of where this park and resort as a whole really, really does shine. All right, I'm going to throw a curveball at you.

Denise Presskit:
Okay.

Jeff Lange:
Denise has one.

Denise Presskit:
Can I just say one to me, the horticulture at Disneyland Paris is second to none. Like, if you go to. Go to phantom Manor and look at those trees, those weepy looking trees, or go onto the. Onto Casey Junior, and you're going through, like, a forest. Like, there's so many. They really think about even cars, road trip, which you may not like. It's not the best attraction in the world, but you do get, you know, you do get your fire and your water, but they, you know, there's like, I forget how many trees and stuff they have, but, you know, they bring trees in from all over Europe. They really think about their horticulture.

Denise Presskit:
And I think that also is something to me to celebrate about Disneyland Paris.

Jeff Lange:
Right. And I want to agree with what you said. Definitely. I agree about taking your time. It's not a park for commando. 100%. Just really savor this park.

Lou Mongello:
Denise, great point about the horticulture. I absolutely appreciate that as well. All right, so I didn't tell you this ahead of time, but it's time for insert sound effect here. Lightning round. I'm going to give you super quick, super fast answers that you are woefully unprepared for, but you're not because these are super easy. How many days do you think a first timer needs at Disneyland Paris?

Denise Presskit:
At least four, I would say four.

Jeff Lange:
You have to define it. Like, are they a big, huge Disney fan like us or casual?

Denise Presskit:
For somebody who's a big Disney fan, at least. At least. At least four. Like, to me, that would be for.

Jeff Lange:
Just the one park. He asked. A quick answer.

Lou Mongello:
No, that's okay. I want a complete answer, though.

Denise Presskit:
Can see a lot of what you want to see in four days.

Jeff Lange:
Right.

Denise Presskit:
But I mean, take the week if you want. Like, I. We go for two or three weeks. So a week is very nice if you have that amount of time, and then you can go into Disney, into Paris and stuff. It's not like there's no lack of things to do nearby.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah, I think if you're going to spend, if you're going only to Disneyland Paris, meaning Disneyland Disneyland Paris, the. The studios and the village and maybe want to see some of the hotels. I think you're right. Three, four days is enough. I think once adventure park opens, that's obviously going to expand much farther. Best restaurant on property?

Denise Presskit:
Brasserie rosely.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah, agreed.

Lou Mongello:
Favorite hotel.

Denise Presskit:
Probably right now, the Hotel New York. Next in Newport at Design Paris. But we don't stay at Design Paris.

Jeff Lange:
I actually like our hotel better.

Denise Presskit:
Yeah, we like our, we like our hotel in Sarah's better. But for on property, I think Hotel New York and then Newport.

Jeff Lange:
When we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, it was very early. It was the first day. So they had a lot of challenges.

Denise Presskit:
But they still have some challenges. And they say they're five star, but they're not a traditional five star in that way. But go ahead.

Lou Mongello:
First thing you do when you get to the parks or, like, favorite tradition that you have when you visit Phantom.

Jeff Lange:
Manor, that's usually our first ride of, like, after a long, like, let's say we can't get into our hotel room. We've been up for 24 hours. We want to kill some time. What do you want to do? Let's go to Phantom Manor. That's usually what we'll do. And we'll go to cowboy cookout. That'll be. It'll be a phantom manor and cowboy cookout.

Denise Presskit:
Or Rosalie.

Jeff Lange:
Well, now.

Denise Presskit:
Now we.

Lou Mongello:
Denise is hot on Rosalie.

Jeff Lange:
You know, Rosalie's paying Denise.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah.

Jeff Lange:
Big bucks.

Denise Presskit:
I wish they should. They should me there, but they have.

Jeff Lange:
No idea who we are.

Denise Presskit:
Yeah. And, you know, we have so many days that we go into the park, so it just depends on the day that we're going in. Like, if it's the first day of Halloween, we certainly have our traditions with that as well.

Lou Mongello:
Let me go away. I want to quickly go back and answer the questions myself. I think my favorite. I think the best restaurant or my favorite overall dining experience. It might be Pimm's. It might be pims. It's walt from a sentimental perspective, but overall, it might be Pimm's favorite. I think Disneyland, the new Disneyland hotel is spectacular, but I also really, really like the art of Marvel.

Lou Mongello:
Every room is themed differently, too. My first thing to do when I go, I think it's probably. I don't think it's the first. If I would go back, I think the first thing I would do would be go see the dragon and then go see phantom Manor.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah. That sounds very solid. Can I ask, Lou, when you stayed at the Disneyland hotel, what kind of room were you in?

Lou Mongello:
I was in, like, a Cinderella themed room just off the main lobby, which was super convenient, and it was gorgeous, and it was huge. Sometimes if you go to Europe, you might see it's like going to New York. The rooms are very small. Our room was huge. We had two. I think they were, like, queen size bed. There was, like, a little, like, couch and, like, desk area. Like, it was a very large, very spacious and comfortable room.

Lou Mongello:
So it was really impressive.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah, I really like the standard room. I think I may prefer those standard rooms more.

Denise Presskit:
We were in the deluxe area when we stayed, and it was. It was like. Yeah, it was like ten minute walk from the lobby to the room. We should know when we get out of the hotel.

Jeff Lange:
We were going to the west wing. That should have been our first clue to avoid the west wing.

Denise Presskit:
Oh, I mean, it was a. You couldn't get out of the hotel easily.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah. Things have changed for the better.

Denise Presskit:
I think so a little bit.

Lou Mongello:
Hopefully. I will say one thing that I will give as a tip from, from this visit. We came from the London Paris Adventures by Disney, which, you know, ended up being like eleven or so days with our pre time and then came over a lot. So a lot of the Disneyland Paris hotels don't necessarily have self service laundry facilities. You can. There is laundry service? Yeah, only one. And my wife went over. She took the laundry over there to get done.

Lou Mongello:
But I will say, and I don't know that they do this for everybody and there's nothing special about us, but I thought it was a wonderful thing. So which hotel is it? Was it the Newport, the Cheyenne? Which, which is a walk, especially if you're carrying laundry. When she went downstairs to ask, they brought her outside and they had a car take her there and they said, the guy said, here's my card when you're ready. Like somebody from the hotel, like they have like little like vans and stuff. I thought that was really nice. And I don't know that they do that for like all the time, but I was very, very impressed.

Jeff Lange:
The van is.

Denise Presskit:
And that was not there when we were there and. Right. The Cheyenne has, they're the only ones who have the laundromat. And at one point, I believe the Santa Fe used to have it. And I don't know why they have not added that on property to any other. I have been there many times. But in our hotel, our property, they thankfully, yeah.

Jeff Lange:
Now we're at a place.

Denise Presskit:
We are at a place that has one. So I'm very happy about that.

Lou Mongello:
Something to keep in mind so you can send it, you know, but you're, you're gonna pay for the service, right. What's your favorite? We didn't even talk about this from a merchandise perspective. What's your favorite souvenir shop or merchandise location?

Denise Presskit:
I like the shop. Shay Marianne at plot, the running area.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah.

Denise Presskit:
That's a nice one because they often have like, just really fun, like we have in the other room, you know, the bistro Chez Remy dish and a bistro chez Remy cup. But it also just depends. And Harrington is very nice. So I think it's just nice to walk through the various shops because it just depends on any given time what they have.

Jeff Lange:
Right.

Denise Presskit:
O'shaughness off property is my favorite to actually stock up. But in the parks, Shay, Marianne is always a stop at least once.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah, I like Harrington because they have little figurines and statues and some great little collectibles. Our friend Jeremiah was like, hey, as long as you're there, would you mind picking me up this, this, and this? Because I forgotten I had enough room for his and I didn't have enough room to get one for my. They had this cool little phantom manor, like this great, like, heavy statue, and it was like $40. Like, it wasn't even a lot. And if you look over Denise's head.

Jeff Lange:
You might see that statue.

Lou Mongello:
I see a statue. I see some cool stuff behind Denise's head. I have to come over and write through some of your stuff. But I also like on Main street, the storybook store, they have some really cool souvenirs. I'm not a big merch guy, but they have a wonderful book about Phantom Manor with, like, all about the story and construction and, like, fascinating book. It was like 19, $20. Like, that was the souvenir that I brought home for.

Jeff Lange:
I highly recommend. They also have one for Space Mountain and they have one for a pirates of the Caribbean. I have all of them right behind me. Right there.

Lou Mongello:
See, there you go.

Denise Presskit:
Jeff is the, see there is one of our cups.

Jeff Lange:
You know, his audience is not visual, Denise.

Lou Mongello:
No, I'm showing, actually, we actually got, my daughter was looking for something for the dragon and found these very cool, like, and I'm not going to try and pronounce what the dragon experience is called in French, but these cool sort of Maleficent dragon mugs in the store. And they weren't expensive at all.

Jeff Lange:
Well, you know, the ultimate, if you really want to give her the best Christmas present ever, and I'm sure she would never listen to this, is they had a Kevin and Jody, actual figurine of the dragon, a three piece version just like, like you see it in. And you can probably find that on this eBay place for big dollars now.

Lou Mongello:
I hope she's not listening.

Denise Presskit:
Yeah, they had a jacket for kids that was very.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah, she couldn't fit. She tried. It was a little snug.

Jeff Lange:
That's a beautiful.

Denise Presskit:
One thing they didn't make for adults that all adults are gonna want. And they made it for only for kids, which tried. I don't understand.

Lou Mongello:
She's little, but she wasn't that little.

Jeff Lange:
Not. That's too.

Lou Mongello:
What's the best place to relax in the park if you just want to get off your feet and watch the world go by. What's the best place to relax?

Jeff Lange:
Well, one of the best places is where you are talking about in that little place in frontierland where you can sort of look out. It's. What is that? What is that called?

Denise Presskit:
The last chance.

Jeff Lange:
Last chance is not bad.

Denise Presskit:
No, but we like over by Dumbo, there's a little area.

Jeff Lange:
Oh, yes. Okay. That is definitely the place. So there's a little.

Denise Presskit:
There's not just one place. No, no.

Jeff Lange:
But the one by Dumbo is great because nobody goes there. And you have the. You can hear the. The water from the waterfall.

Denise Presskit:
There's like a little sitting area over there. And it's someplace we really like.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah, I. Sometimes I'll go there for like an hour and just relax. Get out. If you're feet, you know, you've been on your feet all day. It's a great place to kind of catch up on things with your phone and just the atmosphere is really.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah, this night, there's a great little quiet energy in that part of fantasyland. And when I went over at one point, it was closed. The toad restaurant has sort of like an elevated outdoor seating area that you get like this really nice view of.

Jeff Lange:
Fantasy land anytime after, like 03:00 when that restaurant closed, have you. Did you dine there?

Lou Mongello:
I did not get a chance to dine there.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah, it's great to look around at all the, you know, if you go inside, it's really, really pretty with all the mister toad things. But the food, I would say, is not the finest.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah.

Jeff Lange:
So it's more of a visual dining for me there.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah, I think. I mean, we were talking earlier. It's for some of the. The dining experiences. It's more about the experience than it is the dining. Right. It's definitely. All right, a couple more very quick ones.

Lou Mongello:
Favorite themed land. Favorite land in the parks.

Denise Presskit:
Frontierland, probably.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah, I would agree. I would agree with frontierlander.

Lou Mongello:
Discovery.

Denise Presskit:
I think discoveryland's probably my second favorite.

Jeff Lange:
But, you know, there's phantom manor existing.

Denise Presskit:
I just think frontierland overall is the place I spend the most time at.

Jeff Lange:
Night is very nice. And during Halloween, frontierland is very pretty.

Lou Mongello:
All right, couple more quick ones. Favorite Disney movie represented in the parks.

Denise Presskit:
Ratatouille.

Jeff Lange:
Yeah, you stole that from me.

Lou Mongello:
I'm gonna say I'll go with 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Jeff Lange:
Well, maybe if we go back to the seventies, to Walt Disney world, you.

Lou Mongello:
Would be very happy. You guys, you take so many photos and amazing videos. What's the most photogenic spot, like, what's the picture that you can't miss? Or maybe people don't even think about going to see.

Denise Presskit:
I just think there's too many. I mean, there's the whole park in the main park. I'm not talking about Walt Disney studio. I like, I love the. The Remy. Why can't they the place to Remy? Like, it's such a beautiful area with their fountain and everything. But once you get into Disneyland park, like, everything. Everything is photogenic there.

Jeff Lange:
So I like to go to the left hand side of the castle, almost where the second door is to where the. The dragon is. And if you look up, it's a beautiful view. When they have these trees that are kind of like squares, and it's just a unique angle. And I love taking that. I, you know, I forget every year that I already do it, but then I do it again every year, multiple times.

Denise Presskit:
Sometimes there's a little shop near the castle that Max showed us that one time.

Jeff Lange:
Oh, yeah. Inside.

Denise Presskit:
That is so beautiful, right? You know, there's so many beautiful places, and you can just go into stores and we take. I also like the Christmas shop under the castle.

Jeff Lange:
Where do you take the most pictures? He's asking, where do you take the most pictures?

Denise Presskit:
You know, I take them. It depends because, like, in January, it was snowing, so we took pictures everywhere. And during Halloween, you take the most pictures, like, anywhere there's Halloween stuff like Main street and frontierland.

Jeff Lange:
So what about you? Where was your number one photo?

Lou Mongello:
I really like on the side of the castle, on the Discovery land side, sort of as you're approaching, there's like that little walkway that sometimes closes. You approach that courtyard and stage area where you really get this sweeping view of what looks like, you know, a forced perspective walkway, and you have the roses in the foreground. The other thing, I think, is a cool picture that sometimes people overlook. And forgive me that I can't remember the name of the shop. The Snow White and the seven dwarfs themed shop. If you walk in before you get into the shops proper, there's like this little outdoor scene of the exterior of the cottage with all the little critters.

Jeff Lange:
And it's very missable, like, as you. Very hidden.

Denise Presskit:
Yeah, you just need to go into all of the shops and look around and, you know, just into every little place because, you know, it really is just like Paris. Like, to me, Disneyland Paris is like art, you know, and everything, wherever you go, it's like art. And, yeah, I do love that area. Like, when you have when you're looking up at the castle, and we take so many pictures from that one angle, when you look up at the castle and you've got those trees and the hill, and it's just so beautiful there.

Lou Mongello:
All right, if you could snap your fingers and go to Disneyland Paris right now and do, see or eat one thing. One thing, what would it be?

Jeff Lange:
So do, see, or eat, right?

Lou Mongello:
So you can snap your fingers and do, see or eat one thing in Disneyland Paris. So you can either have a snack or ride a ride, or, like, what's the one thing? And then, boom, you got to snap back.

Jeff Lange:
Well, I would want to see the Disney electrical sky parade, even though we've seen it many times. I think that's one of my favorite. I love that. It's really hard to just choose Rosalie.

Denise Presskit:
You know, eat there and then go see this.

Lou Mongello:
I'm going to call Rosalie and be like, you guys owe us.

Denise Presskit:
I'm gonna eat it. I'm gonna be eat a brasserie, Rosalie.

Jeff Lange:
Nice lobster.

Denise Presskit:
Ride phantom Manor and do the electrical sky parade. You know, when we got there in January, this past January, you know, it snowed like the day we arrived. And so the next day, we had a winter wonderland, and we went to Roseley for the first time that day. And I remember sitting in Roseley and saying, if this was the only one day that we had here, it would have been, and we had to go home. It would have been the perfect day because, you know, we had snow. We got to do some rides. Not too many, because they're not all open. And just to sit there in this beautiful new restaurant with such amazing french inspired food, to me, was a perfect day.

Jeff Lange:
Lou, imagine big thunder with full snow on the ground. Winter Wonderland and Big Thunder.

Denise Presskit:
But it wasn't open that big.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah, that's probably beautiful.

Denise Presskit:
It was amazing.

Lou Mongello:
Yeah. I think for me, it. I was gonna say ride Phantom Manor, because I just love. Like, I would ride Phantom Manor and take my time. I'd go through the full queue. Like, I love that. I love. You know what I love about Phantom Manor? It's a total throwaway, and if you have premier access, you sort of miss it.

Lou Mongello:
There's that tiny little gazebo outside that has that music box. Music box version of the score, which I think is hauntingly beautiful. And especially if you go, like, on an overcast day, like, it just. It feels so cool there. Yeah. All right.

Jeff Lange:
That's like, the haunted mansion holiday music. I think that what you're talking about. I love that. Also, many times we'll go there at night when there's, I mean, I have been the only one. It's, I'm not a soul to be seen. And hearing that little score as you're walking through into the darkness, it's actually very spooky and very awesome. I love that.

Lou Mongello:
Well, when the three of us go back this winter for our follow up research trip, we will have to go and frolic through the parks together. My last question for the two of you is when people want to learn more about not just Disneyland Paris, but Walt Disney World and the other Disney parks, where can they find all of the incredible goodness that you guys have been sharing literally for decades? Ladies first. Denise and Jeff, you mean on, are.

Denise Presskit:
You talking about just to say like.

Lou Mongello:
On our website, where can they find your website? Social, phone number, home address, whatever you want to share, don't call me, don't.

Denise Presskit:
Come to the house. Just@mousetubs.com. and then we also have the YouTube channel. We have the million subscribers now. And mouse steps, mouse steps, Instagram, mouse steps, threads, mouse steps, Twitter, all of it.

Lou Mongello:
And Jeff, you still, you still just very quickly.

Jeff Lange:
Yep.

Lou Mongello:
You've been doing, you've been doing Jeff Lang DVD since like before DVD's were like the day DVD's were invented. It was Jeff Lang.

Denise Presskit:
But he's also have a mouse step.

Jeff Lange:
So that's right. I mean, that's still there. But I haven't done anything new since 2019. So it's more of, you know, that's.

Lou Mongello:
Always how I'm going to know you, Jeff. It is always how I'm going to know. And listen. I have a box full of Jeff Lang DVD's so you can find them on eBay. No, I'm kidding. I will never part with those. But guys, you not just do amazing work here in Walt Disney World. But thank you so much for spending so much time sharing your insight and your experience on Disneyland Paris.

Lou Mongello:
What I'm going to do is I'm going to direct you who is listening. If you have any other questions, if you have any other comments, I'll put a link to this week's show over in the clubhouse where I invite you to come be part of the community and conversation@wwradio.com. clubhouse. I will tag Jeff and Denise and mouse steps and they can pop in and answer some questions as well. Or you can call the voicemail at 407-900-9391 that's 407900 WDW one. And either share your thoughts or your questions about Disneyland Paris. And we will certainly answer them again on hopefully not just an upcoming episode, but an upcoming return trip to Disneyland. Actually, we're going next year.

Lou Mongello:
We're doing our adventures by Disney river cruise to the Seine, which ends up in Paris. Guess where? We're going to add on a couple of days as well. So I can't wait to see it.

Jeff Lange:
That's awesome.

Denise Presskit:
That sounds great.

Lou Mongello:
So, Denise and Jeff, thank you guys so very much. I was going to throw you one last question. Where would you eat? But I know the question. The answer is going to everything's going to be Rosalie. Rosalie is like, I think it's like the third theme park for you.

Jeff Lange:
If anyone is still listening after all this, they should win a bushel of bananas, I think. Special bonus. Go get your charger.

Denise Presskit:
I don't know where we'd put it.