We began today by taking an RER commuter train to the village of Marne-la-Vallée, home of the DIsneyland Paris Resort. It marks the third time we’ve visited the resort, but for the first time ever, both Violet and myself are tall enough to ride all the attractions.
The resort has many rides that can’t be found anywhere else, and some of the rides that are in the U.S. parks are wildly different here. Case in point: Space Mountain.
In California and Florida, Space Mountain is a pretty mild indoor roller coaster with a touch of retro charm (both U.S. versions date back to the 1970s.) Here, it’s a much more intense launched coaster featuring three inversions and speeds approaching 55 miles per hour.
It also currently features a Star Wars overlay called Hyperspace Mountain, which was pretty cool.
This was the first ride we visited and also the one I was most nervous about trying! It was the first time I’d ever gone on a roller coaster with a rocket start or loops of any kind. I admittedly had concerns before we rode, but it turned out to be pretty fun. Definitely intense - but fun.
We also rode Phantom Manor (the French Haunted Mansion, much spookier than the American versions!), Thunder Mountain (which we waited over ninety minutes for), Slinky Dog Spin, Buzz Lightyear, Ratatouille, Space Mountain again, and Rock n’ Roller Coaster (another looping roller coaster.)
I was excited to go on Ratatouille because it’s one of the most technologically spohisticated rides on the planet (the ride vehicles are trackless, controlled by local positioning satellites), but it turned out to be a bit of a letdown. On the other hand, I’m glad I decided to try looping roller coasters for the first time.
(This is Space Mountain. The “cannon” houses the vertical launch.)
Overall, a great day at Les Parcs Disneyland!
- Hayden M. Strong
(I apologize for the pixelation of some of the photos, this is because most of them were taken on our phones.)