Shops, food, balloons and shows! (Disneyland Resort Paris - Disney Village)

Member Name: frankie1984

Product:	Disneyland Resort Paris - Disney Village
Date:	07/07/09 (62 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Variety of things for clients to see and do

Disadvantages: Most things involve a cost

Millions of visitors go to Disneyland Paris every year and whilst it may not be in the same league as the bigger and better parks in Florida it does have a good range of amenities to suit travellers staying in the resort for a 2 or 3 night break. When I stayed here I stayed for 3 nights and wanted to take in as much as I could. Apart from the two parks the resort has the Disney Village which is just literally a minutes walk away from either of the two parks entrance gates.




What is it?
Well if you've ever been to Disney Florida think of it as a much smaller and condensed version of Downtown Disney......if you haven't it is basically an area that is free to go into and where a variety of restaurants, shops and bars are along with the Buffalo Bills show stadium and a couple of other bits and bobs depending on the season.




What restaurants are there?
A lot of the restaurants are located within the parks themselves or in the actual Disney hotels. The Disney Village restaurants means you don't have to go into the hotels to eat or even have an entrance ticket to the parks and there are about 4 places to get something to eat in the Disney Village area. The most popular tends to be the rainforest café and Planet Hollywood but, if you have a strict budget then Annette's Diner serve a selection of meals that are pretty reasonable and are your American style meals such as Chill dogs, burgers and traditional shakes. There is also a McDonalds for some quick grub!




Bars:
A couple of the bars are open quite late and there is even a small nightclub named Hurricanes in the Disney Village. Entrance is at a fee unless you are a Disney hotel guest. The bars serve a good range of drinks as you'd expect and prices are above average considering it is in a resort although you should be expecting to pay around 4.50 Euros for a pint. The bars are themed too and there is a western style bar which is actually next door to the exit from the Buffalo Bills show - of course most visitors to the show will go straight into here after seeing it! The bar do have some live music too so it is ideal for adult visitors to Disney who don't want to be in bed early.




Other entertainment:
The Disney village also has a 15 screen cinema located behind the Buffalo Bills show which is a great place to go if the weather turns bad! There is also an IMAX too theatre too. Also the latest addition to the Village is the tethered hot air balloon named Panoramagique . It sits on the edge of the lake and reaches a height of 100 metres. This is at a charge of course and tickets are purchased directly at the desk in front of the balloon loading area. I say it is the latest addition but, it has now been there since 2005. The prices the last time I was there were at around 15 Euros per adult but, this was a couple of years back.






Character meals:
A lot of guests who go to Disneyland Paris do a character meal of some sort where by the characters join you for breakfast or tea and It is of course quite a big thing for young children. A meal can be booked for various different locations but, if you do not have an entry ticket to the parks or simply want to have the character meal before entering the park then you can do one at Café Mickey which is located in the Disney Village overlooking the lake. You can choose from either breakfast, lunch or dinner at Café Mickey. Breakfast cost is around £12 per adult and £8 per child. For Lunch or Dinner it is approximately £21 per adult and £11 per child. Booking in advance of course is recommended as they do get pretty busy for all meal times.





Shopping:
In the Disney village there are a couple of shows with the main one being a big Disney store - most of the goodies you can find in the parks are in here so if you don't want to go into the parks themselves you can pick up plenty in here!




Buffalo Bills:
The show is one of the main attractions of the resort and easily gets booked up on all dates it shows. You'll find it doesn't operate nightly so this is why if you are only going for a short stay you may find it is only available for 1 night of your stay and this is why you are best booking at the same time as booking your hotel in the resort. The show stadium is laid out in categories with tier 1 being more expensive as you are closer to the front. However if you want to see the show but, are put off by prices I would say to go for tier 2 - I saw the show before they started the new tier system and where I was sat would now be under the cheaper seats. However I had a fine view as each row is raised so you're not trying to look over the heads of the people in the row in front of you! The show is a mix of music, animal acts, audience participation and general noise and fun - it is worth the money and it's counter part in Florida which is Dixie's stampede is not as good so see the better one whilst you're in Disneyland! Buffalo Bills starts at £45 per adult and £35 per child. The show is approximately 1hr 30 minutes long and n the days is does operate it is on at 6.30pm and also 9.30pm and each show includes a drink and a meal.




Overall opinion:
I thought the Disney village was very well laid out - it is quite compact but, there is a lot of stuff crammed in meaning that rather than having to walk around a huge area everything is very accessible. Of course if you are staying in the resort there is no way you would not visit the Village at some point. I would recommend you stop by to pick up some souvenirs or for a meal at least!

Summary: A section of the Disneyland resort where you don't need a park ticket to get in