Young Indiana Jones, I wish!
Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a while since my last blog but I'm finally getting back into the swing of things again. This trip report is about all the shopping we did at Disneyland Paris on our last trip. There are so many shops to talk about so I'm going to go more into detail about some of my favourite shops in both the parks and all the things I bought. Enjoy!
My Purchases
I think it's fair to say that it isn't a trip to any Disney park without buying a bit of Disney merchandise, and oh my, I certainly did this time! Some people would argue that the merchandise at Disneyland Paris is overpriced but I would have to disagree. Okay, some things are a little bit too pricy, but a lot of things are very fairly priced. Let's be honest anyway, you don't expect everything at Disneyland Paris to be cheap do you!
A majority of my purchases this year were clothing, predominantly t-shirts. On our 2014 trip, I spotted quite a few t-shirts I liked but didn't buy any, so in 2015, I made sure I got them, but I think I went a bit overboard to be honest! All of the t-shirts I bought were attraction shirts. In the end I bought myself t-shirts from the following attractions:
1. Big Thunder Mountain
2. Phantom Manor
3. Star Tours
4. Rock N' Roller Coaster
5. Tower of Terror
As well as attraction t-shirts, I also bought myself a t-shirt featuring all of the Disneyland Paris hotel logos and also a Planet Hollywood logo t-shirt. I think 7 t-shirts was pretty good going! None of the shirts I bought were over 20 euros, making them really fairly priced in my opinion. There's still more I'd like to buy but that will have to wait for the next trip. You can never have too many as they say!
Perhaps my favourite thing I bought on the trip had to be my set of 12 attractions posters. They're absolutely stunning pieces of artwork and are now proudly decorating my bedroom's walls. I think they were an absolute bargain at 29.99 euros for 12 posters, not bad at all.
A few other things I bought included the 20th anniversary book. At 50 euros, I thought it was a bit expensive as the 25th anniversary isn't far off, and I'm sure there'll be a new book for that, but hey, I still wanted to buy it! It's an amazing book, discussing the history of Disneyland Paris from the early planning stages up until 2011. I have to be honest and say that I'm a sucker for these kind of books. I've just so fascinated by everything behind the scenes and all the effort that went into building the parks, as well as the hotel and of course my favourite area, Disney Village!
I treated myself to some lovely postcards of all the different lands in both parks as well as a souvenir guide book. It may seem silly buying things like guide books when I know the parks like the back of my hand, but hey, I just can't resist!
One really cool thing I did buy was a Tower of Terror style 'Do Not Disturb' sign to hang on my bedroom door. I was very tempted to hang it on my hotel room door at the Hotel Santa Fe! I also treated myself to a little fridge magnet with all the hotel logos on it, very similar to the design on the hotels t-shirt I bought.
Favourite Shops
Considering the amount of times I've been to Disneyland Paris now, I think it's safe to say that I've visited every shop in both of the parks and all the hotels and Disney Village. With so many to choose from, it's hard to pick just one favourite, so here's my little personal guide to my favourite shops and maybe some advice if you have never been before.
My favourite shop changes almost weekly when I think about the reasons why I like it, but I would probably have to go for the fantastic World of Disney store, which is situated just outside the entrance of Disney Village. This really is the best of the best when it comes to shopping Disney style. You will find everything in here from cuddly toys to household items for everyone, not forgetting a Disney themed bowl for the dog! What I like about the World of Disney is the range of products available. You'll also find some very good deals in here, which is always handy! As I mentioned, some of the household items in the store are amazing. I've bought myself some very nice Disney drink glasses here in the past. One of the things about the World of Disney store that most fans love is it's amazing decor. The building is truly a beauty and inside it has some amazing artwork surrounding the walls. There's also a seating area for those tired little ones or even the occasional bored husband who has had enough Disney for the day! Like all other stores in the Disney Village area, the World of Disney is open until 12am on most nights, which is handy if you want to do some late night shopping. One thing I will say though, this place is always very very busy, so there is never a really good time to go when it's quiet. I assure any of you that have never been here, you will NOT be disappointed.
World of Disney, it really is a unique shopping experience!
Another one of my favourite shops, which may surprise some of you, is the Planet Hollywood shop, known in French as the Boutique Planet Hollywood. This one is also located in Disney Village just at the entrance. I said this may surprise some people because as some people will know, it's probably one of the smallest shops in Disney Village as well as both of the parks. Now I think about it, it probably is the smallest shop! Anyway, the reason I love this shop is because I love all of the Planet Hollywood merchandise inside. Planet Hollywood has always been one of my favourite restaurant chains over the world, and if you read my trip report about food, then you'll know Planet Hollywood is my favourite restaurant in all of Disneyland Paris. I've bought some very nice Planet Hollywood cocktail glasses here as well as shirts featuring the iconic Planet Hollywood logo. People seem to love or hate the place, I certainly love it. At the end of the day, you won't be spending ages in here, so just have a quick look around. It's worth a look inside even if you're not a fan of the restaurant.
Boutique Planet Hollywood, at the bottom right.
I suppose this one is really tied as my favourite with World of Disney, but The Disney Gallery is an absolute must! I have never met kinder Cast Members than the ones found in The Disney Gallery. The staff were so friendly and talkative each time we visited. I think this is probably the most beautiful shop in all of the Disneyland Paris complex. Not because of it's building design but for it's products. As the name says, this is a gallery of all things Disney. There are so many beautiful paintings here that you wish you could be a millionaire to buy them all. Don't worry though, there's lots of things here that we can all afford. This is the shop where I bought my attractions posters set. One very good thing about The Disney Gallery is that it is the only shop in Disney Village where you can print off your photos using your PhotoPass card. We used the shop a couple of times on our last visit to print off some photos on our PhotoPass card. The staff gave us all the time we needed to look at each photo and chose which ones we wanted. We never felt rushed despite there being a queue behind us. It really is a nice shop and one thing that makes it stand out is that it has a more adult feel to it and you don't tend to find many children here so it makes it more relaxing and quiet. I think you'll be impressed with this one for sure!
I suppose I should really talk about my favourite shops inside of the parks! In the Disneyland Park, I don't have a stand out favourite but I do love the Star Traders shop outside the exit of the Star Tours attraction. I'm a massive Star Wars fan, so this is place is heaven to me! There's everything you could ever wish for inside if you're a Star Wars fan, toy laser guns, costumes, and plenty of lightsabers! Another shop I really like (and I never knew the name of it until I just researched it) is Thunder Mesa Mercantile Building. This is situated in Frontierland, just opposite Big Thunder Mountain. In here you'll find a wide range of Wild West themed products as well as a large section of household items.
Star Traders.
In Walt Disney Studios, there are far less shops being a smaller park, but I would say my favourite shop would have to be the Walt Disney Studios Store. There are a lot of film related products in here and also some rare cuddly toys. We spent a lot of our trip trying to find a cuddly toy Gus Gus from Cinderella and eventually found one in the Walt Disney Studios Store, having expected to find one in the Disneyland Park. I would also say that there is much more adult merchandise in Walt Disney Studios compared to the Disneyland Park. Walt Disney Studios Store is situated on the Front Lot just as you enter the park, so you can't miss it. You'll normally see some characters meeting guests as well, so get your cameras ready! Tower of Terror and Rock N' Roller Coaster also have some really neat shops, so be sure to check them out.
The Front Lot, welcome to the magic of cinema!
Other than shopping at the parks and Disney Village you can also find a gift shop in all of the Disney hotels. I've visited every hotel to look at all the gift shops and they're all impressive. I couldn't choose a favourite. Galerie Mickey at the Disneyland Hotel is probably the most spectacular of them all. This is another good place to find household items. I think the New York Boutique at the Hotel New York has a lot of merchandise considering how small it is.
Just to finish, one thing that I recommend you all do once on your trip (if you have some spare time) is to walk around all of the Disney hotels and have a look in all of the gift shops. It's quite nice and relaxing in the evening to have a walk around the lake and look at all the hotels. It's also nice to just admire the beauty of all the hotels and all the craft that went into making them.
Thank you for reading this trip report. It's been great to write one again after such a long time. Hope you've all enjoyed reading this and I promise you there will be many more to come!
Time to sit down and relax after a long day of Disney shopping!
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