California vs. Paris: Adventureland
This month, I shall be comparing the Adventurelands found in the two Disneyland parks closest to my heart (California and Paris).
Standing in front of the castle, with your back to Main Street, U.S.A./World Bazaar, the first land you encounter clockwise in four of the five Magic Kingdoms is Adventureland. Internet rumors abound that in Shanghai, Adventureland will take up the ...
California vs. Paris: Alice In Wonderland
In the seventh of my series comparing the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), I shall be looking at selected references to Disney's 1951 animated movie Alice in Wonderland within the parks.
The best place to start is perhaps the "Teacups ride", officially known as Mad Tea Party (MTP) in California, and Mad Hatter's Tea Cups (MHTC) in Paris. Both were opening day attractions, ...
California vs. Paris: Animation
This month, as part of my mini-series of articles comparing Disney California Adventure (DCA) to Walt Disney Studios Park (WDSP) in Paris, I will be looking at the animation buildings.
In WDSP, the attraction is called Art of Disney Animation whereas in DCA the equivalent is simply called Disney Animation Building. Both were opening day attractions, and both share elements with the Florida equivalent ...
California vs. Paris: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
The description in the Disneyland Paris park map for Big Thunder Mountain tells you that riders will "Hurl through an abandoned gold mine at breathtaking speed aboard a runaway mine train!" making this attraction one of only two within this park to have a blurb ending in an exclamation mark. (The other is Star Tours).
Although I do not necessarily believe that the mine is supposed to be abandoned ...
California vs. Paris: Casey Jr. Circus Train
In the sixth of my series comparing the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), I shall be looking at the section of the park featuring Casey Jr. Circus Train and Storybook Land Canal Boats.
When designing the Anaheim park, Walt's original plan for this area of Fantasyland was to build a rollercoaster called Rock Candy Mountain, upon which guests were transported on Casey Jr. style ...
California vs. Paris: Disney Junior - Live On Stage
This month, as part of my mini-series of articles comparing Disney California Adventure to Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris, I will be looking at Disney Junior - Live on Stage!
Both of these replaced a thematically similar attraction called Playhouse Disney - Live on Stage! which in turn replaced an opening day feature. In California, this was the ABC Soap Opera Bistro (a restaurant themed to daytime ...
California vs. Paris: Dumbo
In the fifth of my series comparing the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), I shall be looking at selected references to the 1941 movie Dumbo within the parks.
Please note, I am specifically referring to the Dumbo paraphernalia within the Magic Kingdoms, rather than anything related which can be found in the hotels, the other parks (such as in Off The Page and World of Color at ...
California vs. Paris: Fantasyland
My articles so far, in which I have compared the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), have focused on individual attractions found in Fantasyland. This month, after previewing what I shall be writing for the site in the future, I shall be looking at any aspect of Fantasyland which does not fit into any of my other articles (past or future).
As well as the attractions covered in ...
California vs. Paris: Fantasyland Shops
This article shall finish off my series of comparisons between the Fantasylands of the Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris) by looking at the shops found in that Land.
The shops in the Paris Fantasyland are La Bottega di Geppetto (Geppetto's Shop), La Boutique du Chateau (The Castle Shop), La Chaumiere des Sept Nains (The Seven Dwarfs' Cottage), La Confiserie des Trois Fees (The ...
California vs. Paris: Frontierland
Looking back at the articles I have written comparing the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris) I realize that the only Land in the Paris version of Disneyland Park which I haven't covered in any detail yet is Frontierland. [The only elements of this Land I have looked at, to date, are Tom Sawyer Island and the Railroad].
With regards to Anaheim, I also haven't covered Critter ...
California vs. Paris: Frontierland (Part Two)
In Anaheim, Frontierland has five very distinct shops (Bonanza Outfitters, Pioneer Mercantile, Silver Spur, The Spirit of Pocahontas Shop and Westward Ho Trading Company) whereas there is really only one store in the Frontierland of Disneyland Paris. This is the Thunder Mesa Mercantile Building, although it is split into three separate parts: Tobias Norton & Sons, Bonanza Outfitters and Eureka Mining ...
California vs. Paris: It's A Small World
This month, in my article comparing the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), I shall be looking at "it's a small world", the ride which according to Walt Disney Imagineering's international Ambassador Marty Sklar- has a "song [which] will drive you bananas if you hear it often enough, but from a message standpoint is a timeless attraction".
Both versions of the attraction ...
California vs. Paris: It's A Small World -- At Christmas
In an article for this very site, published August 2011, I discussed the it's a small world attractions in the Disneylands in Anaheim and Paris, mentioning that at "a more seasonal time of year" I would take a look at how their festive overlays compare.
For Christmas, both versions have placed a Santa hat on the Gregory S. Marinello-designed clock, but to the untrained eye, this seems to be the only ...
California vs. Paris: Park Two, Cars And Armageddon
For my next few articles comparing the Disneyland resorts closest to my heart (Anaheim and Paris), I am going to focus on comparing some of the attractions in the non-castle parks: Disney California Adventure (DCA) and Walt Disney Studios Park (WDSP). Although some of the shops, eateries, meet and greets, and photo ops in WDSP have equivalents in DCA (and/or elsewhere in the world), none are of enough note ...
California vs. Paris: Peter Pan
In the fourth of my series comparing the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), I shall be looking at Peter Pan's Flight.
When I mention California's Peter Pan's Flight in this article, I am referring only to its current post-1983-refurb version, which added the interior queue-line, a Peter Pan audio-animatronic, the pirate-ship deck scene and the "return from Neverland" finale.
...
California vs. Paris: Pinocchio
In the third of a monthly series of comparisons between the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), I will be looking at the rides, shops and eateries based on Pinocchio.
In California, the ride is called Pinocchio's Daring Journey (as it is in Japan), whereas in Paris, it is called Les Voyages de Pinocchio which translates literally as The Journeys of Pinocchio. For the benefit ...
California vs. Paris: Pirates of the Caribbean and Blue Bayou
This month, I shall be comparing the versions of the Pirates of the Caribbean found in the Disneyland parks closest to my heart (California and Paris).
The Californian of Pirates of the Caribbean (POTC) can be found in New Orleans Square (NOS), was the first attraction of its kind worldwide when it opened in 1967 and was the last attraction Walt was thought to have personally worked on. The Paris ...
California vs. Paris: Rivers of America
I learned something today.
My comparison article for January 2013 was always going to be about the Rivers of America in Anaheim's Disneyland Park, and its counterpart in Disneyland Paris.
However, until perhaps five minutes ago, I had assumed that the Paris equivalent was also called Rivers of America. Turns out, it's the Rivers of the Far West.
Whilst it has been made clear which rivers ...
California vs. Paris: Snow White
In the second of a monthly series of comparisons between the two Disneylands' closest to my heart (California and Paris), I will be looking at the rides based on Snow White.
In California, the ride is called Snow White's Scary Adventures whereas in Paris, it is called Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains which translates literally as Snow White and The Seven Dwarves. For the benefit of this article, I ...
California vs. Paris: The Castle
In the first of a monthly series of comparisons between the two Disneyland's' closest to my heart (California and Paris), I will be looking at Sleeping Beauty Castle.
The French equivalent, officially known as "Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant", is 167ft high, to California's 77ft. The latter features a coat of arms with three lions passant thereon. Although not officially the Disney Crest ...
California vs. Paris: The Lands of The Future - Part One
This month and next, I shall be comparing the Lands of The Future found in the two Disneyland parks closest to my heart (California and Paris). In California, as per Florida, Tokyo and Hong Kong, this land is called Tomorrowland; in Paris this is called Discoveryland.
For the benefit of these articles, when I say Tomorrowland, I am only referring to the California one; I am also only writing about the ...
California vs. Paris: The Lands of The Future - Part Three
This month I shall conclude my comparisons of California's Tomorrowland with Paris's Discoveryland, by looking at their versions of Autopia and Captain EO.
Captain EO, the $30million 3-d musical starring Michael Jackson and Anjelica Huston, was an opening day attraction at Disneyland Paris, by which time the film had already been showing for five and a half years in the California Park and EPCOT ...
California vs. Paris: The Lands of The Future - Part Two
This month I shall continue my comparison of California's Tomorrowland with Paris's Discoveryland, by looking at their versions of Nautilus and Star Tours, as well as the two Lands' arcades, shows, theatres and eateries
Les Mysteres du Nautilus at Disneyland Paris is nothing like the submarine attraction in California, either in its present Finding Nemo state or its previous incarnation. Contrary to ...
California vs. Paris: The Railroads
This month, I shall be comparing the Railroads which circle the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris).
Both versions were opening day attractions, although in Anaheim it was called the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad until 1974; in Paris, the attraction was known as Eurodisneyland Railroad up to 1994. The name change for the former was due to the end of the ride's sponsorship by ...
California vs. Paris: The Railroads (Part Two)
In November 2011, I wrote an article comparing the Railroads found in the two Disneylands parks closest to my heart (California and Paris). This month, I shall be comparing the stations at which they stop and the Dioramas which they pass.
The Railroads were opening day attractions at their respective parks and go clockwise at each. Main Street Station was also an opening day attraction at both ...
California vs. Paris: The Treehouses
This month, I shall be comparing the treehouses found in the Disneyland parks closest to my heart (California and Paris).
Both treehouses can be found in Adventureland and are walk-around attractions with a set path to follow. They both feature beautiful views (including of their parks' respective Indiana Jones attractions), hand-painted leafs and more steps than you remember until it's too late.
...
California vs. Paris: The Village – Part Two: Entertainment
This month, in part two of my series of articles comparing Downtown Disney in the California Disneyland resort with the Disney Village in Disneyland Paris, I will be looking at the entertainment these areas have to offer.
Of the two, Disney Village seems to have much more of a variety of entertainment offerings, which includes PanoraMagique (a tethered hot air balloon much like "Characters in Flight" ...
California vs. Paris: Tower of Terror
This month, as part of my mini-series of articles comparing Disney California Adventure (DCA) to Walt Disney Studios Park (WDSP) in Paris, I will be looking at The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Of the four versions of this attraction in the Disney parks worldwide, these two are by far the most similar. However, there are some very subtle differences. For example, the former is built out of steel, ...
California vs. Paris: Village vs. Downtown
This month, I will be starting a series of articles comparing Downtown Disney in the California resort with Disney Village in Disneyland Paris.
Both Downtown Disney and Disney Village serve similar purposes. As well as providing more places for Guests to spend money (and for longer hours, including after the parks have closed), they help turn the area into more of a "resort" rather than a place for a ...
California vs. Paris: Welcome Foolish Mortals -- Part Four
In the final section of my four-part comparison between California's Haunted Mansion (in its regular form, rather than its seasonal overlay) and France's Phantom Manor, I shall be looking at the post-ride section of the attraction.
After the final scene of the ride, in which Guests see themselves in mirrors with a ghostly apparition joining them, the Doom Buggies take riders past a "Dead end" sign ...
California vs. Paris: Welcome Foolish Mortals -- Part Three
In part three of my four-part comparison between California's Haunted Mansion (in its regular form, rather than its seasonal overlay) and France's Phantom Manor, I shall be looking at the ride itself.
Both versions use an Omnimover. In Paris this does not feature on-board audio. Other than this, the ride system for both is the same (even down to the self-lowering safety bars), but the visuals one ...
