Here are my thoughts:
Yes, this Disneyland is different. I describe it as Disneyland on valium. It does not have the same energy, smiley feeling that we were used to. However, I think part of that is cultural. Once again, if you want everything just like it is at home. stay home. I enjoyed seeing some of the differences between the parks. Overall, we found the staff more reserved, but always kind and helpful.
Getting there: I wondered how hard it would be....so very easy. We bought the tickets from a person in the booth (rather than a machine) so that we were sure we would get the correct ticket. All I said was 2 round trip tickets Disneyland and there they were. (a little expensive compared to other tickets we bought including the ones clear out to Versailles.) I believe you could buy them the day before. They are not "timed" to a certain train so I don't think there is a problem buying and using later. (always good to double check with person selling them to you though). From the Lourve area I would go to the Chatelet and catch the train there. It is the closest and very easy to do. (that is where we caught it.)
Touring plans: Get there before it opens. We were told it opened at 10, but the grounds open at 9:30 (rides at 10) That gives you a chance to walk around, find the Ratatouille ride and be ready to hit the ground running. Overall, we found the first 1 1/2 hours to be almost empty. (we were there in September though) We wondered where everyone was...but by mid afternoon the parks were in full swing. It seemed that getting there early and having a plan will really pay off at this park. After Ratatouille, I would head over the to Toy Story "parachute" ride. Because it is a slow loading ride, lines can get long. (You might even consider reversing them. Although Ratatouille is a much better ride, it loads a lot faster and the lines moves quickly) A couple of "I would skip it next time" are the "studio tour" (if you have every done a tour with special effects, this one will not impress you) and "special effects show" (I came out thinking, someone spent a lot of money to create that and it was not worth it. For one thing, we could not hear what the announcer was saying and it just seemed kinda lame. It reminded me of the Lilo and Stitch experience at Disney World if that helps.) Read up on the shows and know which ones you want to see. We made it to 2: The car one and the Hollywood movie experience one. There was one that was geared more to kids that we had to miss. The start times overlap and unless you plan to spend all day in one park, you can't fit them all in. Also in the studio park: The Toyland Playland is very cute with lots of photo ops.
We split our day right down the middle and spend the afternoon in the Magic Kingdom. Once again, we focused first on what is unique to Disneyland Paris. However, we also enjoyed seeing the Paris version of some rides. The elevator room in the Haunted mansion has very French paintings that are completely different than the US versions (the room that stretches and the pictures are revealed) Have your daughter look for differences like that to make it a more unique visit. There is a large maze in the Fantasyland that is based on Alice in Wonderland.
We ate at a large cafeteria as we exited the Disney Studio park. (nothing speical) Later, we walked by the Cowboy Cookout Barbecue place by Fantasyland and wished we had waited.
I will talk about tickets in my next post.
