I always wanted to see a Disneyland resort, I never thought it would be the beautiful Paris. And its free. :-) Big thanks to Guy for the treat.

Destination: Disneyland Paris
Album: http://sharpangel.multiply.com/photos/album/169/Disneyland_Paris_April_9_2011

I was the technical lead for a French account in the company and made good friendship with the French delivery manager Guy Martinache. When he heard I was living in Belgium for 2 months he invited me to visit their place in Lemorlaye France and offered to take me to places where I want to go in Paris. We communicated via email.

“Do you have small children?” I asked
“Yes I have 3. The youngest Danae is 14” Guy said
“Let’s go to Disneyland! :-) ”
The rest is never never land. =)


It was truly a great blessing to meet the Martinache family.

The Disneyland Resort Paris is located in the eastern part of France. It can be accessed via the standard European rail system.

I am going to Marne La Valle Cheesy Station from a western city in Belgium called Kortrijk. The transport system in central Europe is very easy and convenient.

Transport, duration and prices of train transport as of April 2011:
T1 – Kortrijk stn to Lille Flanders stn, 21 minutes, round trip is 8 Euros via DB rail (standard Intercity Belgium train)
T2 – Walk from Lille Flanders stn to Lille Europe stn, 8 minutes. Yes Flanders, France stn and Lille Europe are different train platforms.
T3 – Lille Europe stn to Marne La Valle Cheesy stn, one way is 42 Euros for first class, 1 hour 50 minutes via TGV (Inter-country bullet train). I was so curious what a first class cabin would look like.

The regular fee is 38 Euros so I took the first class with only a 5 Euro difference in price for the benefit of curiosity.


Looking at Google maps this is what Disneyland Paris area looks like.


I arrived early in Disneyland around 8:30 in the morning and started to explore the train station and the entrance area while waiting for Guy and her daughter. Disneyland Paris opens at 9:00 AM on Saturdays.

I met Danae and Guy 45 minutes after. It was the first time to meet my delivery manager in person and I was delighted to meet him in person.

Inside Disneyland Paris
2 parks in Disneyland Paris: The Theme Park and Disneyland Studios.
The entrance to Disneyland Paris will cost you 69 Euros for the 2 parks and 57 Euros for a single park.


The theme park is divided into 5 areas. The Main Street, Frontier land, Adventure land, Fantasy land and Discovery land.
Seriously you cannot ride all of the attractions here in a day. We followed Danae’s choices of rides and wonder.

Space Mountain
Me and Guy are just chaperoning her daughter Danae around Disneyland.
Danae wanted to ride the famous space mountain. MAN ITS ONE CRAZY MOUNTAIN!
Imagine yourself if a high speed roller coaster inside a vacuum of black space with colorful lights and sounds around you. You can be in loop holes entering a galaxy or just smash into an exploding planet.
It’s like traveling in space only much cooler. This is the best ride in the park.




Star wars ride
A tour into a star wars hangar. Ride an intergalactic cube which is like a 4D bus ride with R2 and C3P0 as tour guide around the star wars galaxy. A little boring but still cool…


Buzz Lightyear Lazer blast
A train of space ships with gun blasters to help Buzz defeat the enemy Zurg and his minions. You can control the spaceship by yourself and turn around like crazy. In the end Zurg is defeated and buzz saves the day. :)


Disneyland Café
Space burger, fries and salad…with tables inside a cinema restaurant…

Speed race
Control the speed in the rail of the racing machines.

Phantom manor… awoo
Amazing hologram images!  Cool visual effects and sounds. Ride a floating couch and take a peek inside a haunted manor.

Disney Castle
The typical Disneyland castle you see in the pictures. It’s actually full of shops.

Pirates of the Caribbean
Go through the underground rivers of the Caribbean and see how pirates operate and steal their way to power.

Souvenir shop
I must admit I bought a lot of souvenirs for my girlfriend and family. It was worth it.


Around the Park.
There is a lot of scenery inside the park. You can see Disneyland characters, princesses, Royal guards and famous monuments such as the bean stalk, Rapunzel tower, cherry blossoms, Aladin’s cave, and more.



I hoped you enjoyed this as much as I did. Till next time.

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