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October 17, 2006

Paris, Day Three: Space Mountain: Mission 2

Today, we got to check out Disneyland Paris.

Getting to DLP is about the easiest thing ever - just take the RER "A" train to its Eastern terminus in Marnee-la-Vallee, get off, walk out of the station, and turn right. You're there.

Like Disneyland in Anaheim, Paris has two parks. The US has Disneyland and California Adventure. Paris has Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios. We'll get to Walt Disney Studios in a sec.

Disneyland Paris is very much modeled on Anaheim's Disneyland, and less on Orlando's Magic Kingdom. The park has a keenly Parisian feel that comes through in the art design, landscaping, painting, and attractions. For example, Paris' Sleeping Beauty Castle isn't as small as Aneheim's, or as large as Cinderella Castle in Orlando - instead, it takes a middle path, choosing iconography over landscape domination. Food, too, is different - in addition to the usual American-style stuff (burgers, fries, etc.), the food choices reflect local tastes, such as baguettes and Nescafe. (And yes, the restaurants all serve wine.)

But probably the best example of the park's Paris-ifcation is that Disneyland Paris doesn't have a "Tomorrowland" - rather, it has "Discoveryland", which is kinda what Tomorrowland might've been if the future envisioned by Jules Verne came to pass.

As a wicked example of what that means from a theming perspective, consider Space Mountain. Formally known as "Space Mountain: Mission 2", the ride is completely different from its predecessors in Orlando, Anaheim and Tokyo. Rather than the clean, white, futuristic lines and space-station motif of the other Space Mountains, Mission 2 uses an ornate, Victorian look; the idea is that you're being launched out of one of Verne's ancient "moon cannons" into the farthest reaches of the universe. What's killer about this is that you actually induction-launch at a steep angle along the outside of the building (with a big burst of steam), then arc and dive into Space Mountain proper from the top. (I shot a 30-second video of this with my camera; it's cool. 46.7 MB, QuickTime required.)

The music wasn't working when we rode (which kinda sucked), but the effects (planets, stars, supernovas) are done in a very Rock n' Roller Coaster-ish style. (Oh, yeah, and the ride has a couple loops in it.) If you like Rock n' Roller Coaster, Space Mountain: Mission 2 won't disappoint.

The entire park is done up for Halloween, with these "pumpkin guys" running around and causing mischief. (Check my photostream for details; suffice to say, Richard would love it.) It's a very cool, creative motif, and complemented with a "Disney Villains" parade every afternoon. Sadly, there's no "Haunted Mansion Holiday" in Paris.

Paris has some original rides, such as "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril" - a classic outdoor roller coaster, with some Indy-ish theming, and it's actually kinda cool. There's no clone of this ride at any Disney park that I know of.

Most of the other rides are Paris-local adaptations of the greatest hits from the other Disney parks - Pirates of the Caribbean, "it's a small world" (closed, sadly, for the holiday overlay), Big Thunder Mountain, and the Phantom Manor (aka the Haunted Mansion).

Without question, Big Thunder at Paris is the coolest, baddest version of the coaster, ever. Let's start with the great stuff: it's an island. Thunder Mountain sits smack-dab in the middle of the Thunder Mesa lagoon, so to get you out to the island they acutally run you under the lagoon. (How cool is that?) It's fast, it's smooth, it's fun, and just excellent. I'd say it beats Space Mountain: Mission 2 in terms of overall quality. It's that good, and that novel.

Overall, DLP isn't as dense as its cousin in Anaheim, but it's certainly worth a visit. I'm not sure, exactly, who the market for this park is. Local Parisians? Families from Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK? Disney fans from the States? The park's inability to make a profit is somewhat legendary, but there are good things, here. The local color is a nice change from Disney's usual strategy of cloning a successful ride and then transplanting it into all its other parks.

We wrapped up our Disneyland visit right as the Villains parade was getting under way, and popped over to the Walt Disney Studios park. I didn't know a whole lot about this one - I've visited Disney-MGM studios, of course, and have spent time in the Hollywood Backlot area of California Adventure. So to say that I was underwhelmed, well, would be kind. This puppy is barely a park, and it's clearly been built on the cheap. Disney Studios has exactly two(!) rides - Rock n' Roller Coaster and a "flying carpet ride". The rest are "ride experiences" like the behind-the-scenes tour, or some of the stuff you get at Universal Studios.

(Suddenly, California Adventure doesn't look so bad.)

They do have a Tower of Terror (very visibly) under construction, but I have no idea who would consider paying money to get in to this park. It's a second gate that shouldn't be one - we got in for free (the default ticket is a one-day park hopper), and I'm glad - if I'd spent an extra $5 for this, it'd have been too much. Really.

What am I talking about? Well, take a look at this photo that depicts the outside of the Rock n' Roller coaster at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando. Note the giant guitar, the integrated lights, the festive feeling. Yes, it's just a roller coaster, but the ride feels like a place, an event, a happening. Now look at the companion entryway at Walt Disney Studios. We have a billboard. And a cheap one. Period. No theming, no nothing. It's actually tacky. This, um, efficiency manages to insinuate itself throughout the park. It's very un-Disneylike, and it's penny-wise, Euro-foolish, in my opinion.

Ah, well. We rode the coaster twice and called it a (happy) day.

(Flickr photostream is available.)

Posted by Gavin Shearer at October 17, 2006 8:39 PM. Posted to Disney | Travel.

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