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Walt Disney Studios Park
1 year ago
Walt Disney Studios Park is the theme park located next door to Disneyland Park at the heart of the resort in Marne-la-Vallée, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The complex is located 32 km (20 mi) from the centre of Paris. Walt Disney Studios Park is considered a sister park to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the Walt Disney World Resort.
All photos by flickr user Disney Dan.
What to do and see?
The park is themed after a working film studio, with the “lands” being studio lots. Most of its attractions are imported from the other Disney parks in California, Florida and Tokyo, although the park had some original attractions including Moteurs… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular, which was later exported to Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
Walt Disney Studios Park has 4 main ‘studio lots’ each representing a different area of Hollywood.
Front Lot is the main entrance way into the Walt Disney Studios Park (the equivalent of Main Street USA from the Disneyland Paris for instance). Modeled after the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, it features Disney Studio 1, a covered walkway themed after a studio lot with a recreation of Hollywood inside, complete with a restaurant and a shop. Outside, La Place des Frères Lumière, a tribute to the French inventors of cinema, also has a number of shops surrounding a central Fantasia-themed fountain.
Production Courtyard is one of the original lands of Walt Disney Studios Park. Its theme revolves around the Hollywood glamorous atmosphere and movie legends. It contains two distinct parts: Hollywood Boulevard that is featuring a nostalgic Hollywood-inspired area, with the rides Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Place des Stars (home to the following attractions : CinéMagique, Stitch Live! and Playhouse Disney: Live on Stage!, last both located inside the building that used to feature the Walt Disney Television Tour).
The Backlot features attractions that are all about thrills in movies. As such, the area is targeted towards older children and adults. Here, guests can discover the thrills of a stunt set in Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux or a stunt show in Moteurs… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular, which features a variety of vehicles, and the legends of Rock music in Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Avec Aerosmith. You can also have meals in Blockbuster Café, themed to Pirates of the Caribbean. The Backlot also features soundtracks from blockbusters such as Planet of the Apes or Batman.
Toon Studios is the new area and is themed as a “toon backlot”, representing the film studio work place of animated characters, where they produce their animated classics including favorites such as Little Mermaid, 101 Dalmatians, and The Jungle Book. The area was last updated in 2009 with the opening of Toy Story Playland. The Art of Disney Animation attraction used to serve as a working ‘Disney Studio’ for Walt Disney Animation Studios, assisting in the making of films such as Lilo and Stitch and Treasure Planet.
The top 5 attractions in Walt Disney Studios Park are The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Toy Story Playland, Stitch Live!, Cars Race Rally and Crush’s Coaster.
How to get there?
The best way to reach Walt Disney Studios Park, which has its own railway station, is by train: they are reliable and run frequently. Note that the official name of the station is Marne-la-Vallee Chessy (this is useful for automatic ticket machines as the human ticket sellers all know the station for Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios Park). RER A4 runs from central Paris to Marne-la-Vallee Chessy, with frequent trains taking 35 min for the journey. Be aware that a Paris Metro ticket is valid on RER only for travel within Zone 1 (Walt Disney Studios Park is in Zone 5). If you use a Paris Visite pass, make sure that it reads ‘Zones 1-6′ and not ‘Zones 1-3.
Tips and Tricks
- You can come and go from the park as you please. Be sure to keep your entrance ticket.
- Work your way backwards through a park instead of stopping at the first attraction you get to.
- Restaurants usually get busy between 12 – 2pm, so plan to eat earlier or later. That way you can be enjoying the rides while others are eating!
- Bring hats and sunscreen on hot days and keep hydrated.
Basic Information
Walt Disney Studios Park
Avenue du Parc
77777 Chessy
France
Phone: 08448 008 898 (please note that this is a pay line)
http://parks.disneylandparis.co.uk/
GPS Location
48° 52′ 2.28″ N (48.8673)
2° 46′ 44.43″ E (2.779008)
Opening Hours
Walt Disney Studios are open from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Prices
1 Park / 1 Day
Adults: £51
Children (3 to 11 years): £45
2 Parks / 2 Days
Adults: £108
Children (3 to 11 years): £97
2 Parks / 3 Days
Adults: £134
Children (3 to 11 years): £115
Check their web site because prices can be lower if you purchase tickets online. It appears that this possibility is available in the French version of the web site and if you buy the tickets at least 5 days in advance. You can also buy cheaper tickets in the Disney Store on the Champs Elysees in Paris.
Did you know
Walt Disney’s autograph bears no resemblance to the famous Disney logo.
“Disney” is actually a changed version of Walt’s family’s original name. The original name was D’Isigny. It was around the year 1044. Originally from France, Isigny-Sur-Mer was the area that Walt’s relatives came from.
Phantasialand
1 year ago
Phantasialand is an amusement park in Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, approximately 20 km south of Köln (Cologne). Park has been open since 1967 and attracts approximately 2 million visitors per year.
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All photos by Phantasialand.
What to do and see?
Like in many other amusement and theme parks, Phantasialand is split into several themed areas that feature attractions, shows, restaurants and shops.
- Deep in Africa is area with sand-colored towers with reed roofs and exotic plants. It is also home to the Black Mamba, an inverted roller coaster, and a dance show called Miji African Dancers.
- In Mexico area you can enjoy rides and attractions like Colorado Adventure, Wildwash Creek (water ride), Stonewash Creek (another log flume water ride) and see the shows like 3 friends in the temple, Relight my fire (ice skating show) and Street Xtreme (stunt show).
- There are two main attractions in the Mystery area. First one is the Mystery Castle where you can overcome your fears and free-fall from 65 meter bungee drop. River Quest is a water ride with a series of drops that follow one after another against a medieval backdrop. You are sure to get wet here, so you might decide to use the dryer that is available at the exit of the ride. Please note that you will have to pay 2 EUR for its use.
- Fantasy area is the area with the largest number of attractions that are mostly suitable for children. You will find Winja’s Fear and Winja’s Force roller coasters, the Tittle Tattle Tree (six gondolas that rise and fall 17 meters), bumper cars, spinning cups and lots more here.
- China area could not exist without skillful performers that demonstrate the art of Chinese acrobatics (Baixi show). On the Geister Rikscha the visitors slip through a section of a Chinese wall where black gondolas take them in the underworld through grottos, caves and ruins.
- Berlin: You will find many of Berlin’s attractions like the Neptune fountain, Wintergarten and the Brandenburg gates here. There also several shows available for visitors: 7 – The magic never dies is a magician show and in Pirates in 4D show Leslie Nielsen will be your guide on board of a pirate ship. The area also features the largest two-storey steam carousel (Dampfkarusell) and Bolles flying school where little pilots can go up and down through the skies above Berlin .
How to get there?
By car
The easiest way to get to the Phantasialand is to enter the address below to your GPS.
From Köln take the A553, connect to the B51 (Konrad-Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer). From the B51, exit 2 (Brühl-Süd) will lead you to L194 and Phantasialandstraße.
From Bonn, exit 4 (Brühl) off the A565 connects to L150 (Kerkrader Str.). Some brief right turns onto L194, then B51 will bring you on A553 for 8 km (5 mi), then turn onto exit 2 (Brühl-Süd) and follow L194 to Phantasialand.
From Düsseldorf, the A1 will take you to the A553, then exit 2 (Brühl-Süd) and follow the L194.
By public transport
You can get to Phantasialand by using the park’s own shuttle bus directly from the main train station in Brühl or from the station Brühl Mitte (LRT). The journey takes approximately 20 minutes. Return ticket costs 1,50 EUR.
Tips and Tricks
- Restaurants usually get busy between 12 – 2pm, so plan to eat earlier or later. That way you can be enjoying the rides while others are eating!
- Bring hats and sunscreen on hot days and keep hydrated.
Basic Information
Phantasialand
Berggeiststr. 31-41
D-50321 Brühl
Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 18 05 – 366 20 (14 cent/min from fixed line network)
E-Mail: info@phantasialand.de
www.phantasialand.de
GPS Location
50° 48′ 0″ N (50.8)
6° 52′ 46″ E (6.879444)
Opening Hours
Phantasialand is open from 1st April to 6th November 2011 from 09.00am until 06.00pm and from 25th November to 8th January 2012 from 11.00 am until 08:00 pm.
Prices
Adults (age 13+): 37,50 EUR
Children (under 12): 17 EUR
Children (under 4 years): Free
Seniors (age 60+): 17,50 EUR
If you have a birthday on the day of your visit and you can prove it with a document, you get a free entrance to the park.
To beat the queues on some of the most popular rides you can purchase Quick Pass. The Quick Pass costs 15 EUR and entitles fast-track entry to selected attractions (Black Mamba, Talocan, Winja’s Fear, Winja’s Force, River Quest, Colorado Adventure, Stonewash Creek, Wildwash Creek and Maus au Chocolat) for up to 4 people on the day of purchase.
To avoid waiting in queues I suggest buying the tickets online although it seems this part of the web site is available in German language only.
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Did you know
The town of Brühl was the residence of the Prince Bishops of Köln. In the 18th century the Prince Bishop Clemens August built the Augustusburg and Falkenlust palaces that are both listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.