From Railroads to Rollercoasters: A Trip at the Most Magical Place on Earth

When most people study abroad they don’t think about visiting amusement parks, instead they focus on traveling to various countries and cities. Though I was able to figure out a way to accomplish both of these! I realized before leaving to study abroad I could potentially visit Disneyland Paris, which would be a dream come true to me. It was then added to my list of places to visit while abroad and I am happy to say that last weekend I was able to do just that.

Traveling with fellow Disney nerd, Andrew, we started our journey early Friday morning leaving Bonn central station and made our way to France. We had a bit of an overlay in Brussels, Belgium which gave me the opportunity to walk around and explore the city a bit. This also included getting a Belgian waffle which was quite good. We then proceeded to take another express train to Marne-La Vallée-Chessy train station which is located right next to the park itself. This station is one of the best stations for interconnection in France. Around 70 trains arrive in the station everyday. This is how many people are able to travel to the park with such ease. This train station opened a few days before Disneyland opened in 1992 allowing people in France to get to the park. In 1994 the station expanded allowing international trains to start traveling to the station as well as more express trains within France to reach the station. 

Once we got to the station everything became much easier as the park and hotel were within walking distance of the station and each other. Though there was also a shuttle service to and from the hotels. Shuttles were also offered to other places like Paris and the airport. After going through a very easy check in process and dropping off our luggage, we were finally ready to hit the parks. 

One thing I really liked about Disneyland Paris was the amount of thrill rides and rollercoasters that were there.  One of my favorite rides from the trip was Hyperspace Mountain which is similar to Space Mountain found in the Disney parks in the US. What made it special though was the fact that it has an outdoor launch up the mountain that you see while walking in Discovery Land. There are also several inversions and is currently themed to Star Wars, though its exterior is themed to Jules Verne like the rest of Discoveryland. It is specifically themed to the novel, From the Earth to the Moon. What is interesting about the history behind this ride in particular is that it was not here when the park originally opened, instead it was added in 1995 to help revive public interest in the park. Which it did succeed at and it has been a vital part of the park since. It has gone through two other rethemes with its most recent retheme to Star Wars in 2017. This was to once again increase public interest by drawing in Star Wars fans, which did help with its popularity. 

It was surprising to me how short lines were overall in the park. Most waits for rides were about 15-20 minutes which is significantly shorter than the waits in Disney World where you are typically waiting anywhere between 50-120 minutes for a single ride. This was great with our limited time in the park and we were able to see everything we wanted to in the park. They provide an app which includes a system that manages the wait times accurately and allows for easy access of information regarding ride closures. It also gave information on times for parades, shows, and of course the nighttime show Tales of Magic. The system behind the app made it very easy for me and Andrew to navigate and allowed us to make the most of our time in the parks. 

Overall this trip was a lot of fun and I would recommend a visit if you ever find yourself near France and in the mood for some Disney. I could really keep talking about my time in the park so if you are curious about anything relating to the park, my experience traveling there, or my time in the parks, feel free to ask! 

-Samantha

Rewind: Gare de Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy. DLP Town Square – Disneyland Paris News, Guides and Discussion. (2016, April 29). https://dlptownsquare.com/rewind/rewind-gare-de-marne-la-vallee-chessy/ 

History. DisneylandParis News. (2023, September 18). https://news.disneylandparis.com/en/history/ 

Published by missionthemepark (2020, June 1). 25 years of Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris. Mission Theme Park. https://missionthemepark.home.blog/2020/06/01/25-years-of-space-mountain-at-disneyland-paris/