What the FAQ didn't say was how to get to Disneyland from the train station. But we figured that we probably weren't the first people to need to get to DL from the Boissey station, so we could probably work it out. We got on the right train in the underground station and proceeded east out of Paris. When we got to the suburbs, the track came up into the sunlight and we could see where we were going. Many of our fellow passengers on the train seemed to be high school kids apparently playing hooky from school. Or maybe it was a "field trip"(!)

As we turned the corner to head for the exit, we saw that the entrance gate to the Disney property was only 30 meters away! In fact there was a large plaza built over the tracks with Disneyland to the west and the Festival Disney across the plaza to the east. Also to the east was the cluster of Disney hotels, although you can't see many of them because of their distance from the park.

There is another 200 meter walk through the gate and down the sidewalks to the entrance area. At the main entrance of Disneyland the most visible thing is the Disneyland Hotel which fills the horizon in a rose pink with white gingerbread trim. The ticket windows and turnstiles are actually on the ground floor below the hotel. Most of the information about what was different about Disneyland Paris can be found in the excellent FAQ which is recommended reading, especially if you are visiting the park. I will only tell of my personal impressions beyond what is in the FAQ.

The most noticeable thing to me was that the colors were different than those in Anaheim or Orlando. They were much more, well... European! You see lots of white and primary colors (and pastels) in America. But in Paris the colors ran much more to golds, earth tones and dusky variations. The "cast members" (employees) were also much more European (actually French). While they were all dressed in the typical Disney costumes, they acted much more like the surly French you expect in those parts. They apparently were never able to impart that "do anything to please" Disney attitude on the hired help.

The major difference between Disneyland Paris and the ones in America is that Tomorrowland has been replaced by "Discoveryland". This is where the European influence is strongest and the color differences most notable. Where the "Circlevision" 360 degree theaters in America show the US travelogue, the one in Paris shows a time travel feature hosted by Jules Vern. This theater was fitted with earphones for those of us who don't speak French. The whole Discoveryland was heavily Jules Vern inspired (with a bit of "Little Prince" thrown in for good measure.)

The Storybook land cruise was very different than the one in Anaheim. (At least the one I remember in Anaheim from years ago). The boats are unmanned, on a continuous loop tow cable at the bottom of the lagoon. The scenes are fewer and on a much larger scale than in Anaheim. They also have signs to identify them and there are more scenes from recent Disney movies like Alladin. (Shameless commercialism?) The Alice in Wonderland Maze looked simple enough from the outside, but once inside, it really was a maze with lots of adults wandering around trying to find our way out! The Pirates of the Caribbean was much larger than the ones in America, featuring two cascade drops.

The "Captain Eo" 3D movie was the English version with a two line French introduction in the soundtrack. We went to see it just before the park closed on Wednesday. Just as the musical section started they lost all the audio. We were watching a 3D silent movie! They finally stopped the projectors, turned on the lights and sent a cast member out to explain what happened. He took the microphone out of the wall box and spoke into it, but apparently ALL the sound system was down because his mic was dead also. He finally raised his voice and yelled at us to get out because they were having technical difficulties. Apparently most of us either didn't speak French or were tired because we just sat there (perhaps thinking that it would be going again shortly). He finally repeated the message in English and we all slowly got up and left.