Disneyland Paris; Adventureland

The main entrance to Adventureland at DLP feels almost like stepping into Aladdin's Agrabah:

From the other side, there is an entrance to a walk through attraction with little scenes from Aladdin---it is not all that special or well done, but it is cute and never has a line and takes about 2 minutes to wander through--probably worth your time to pop in:

Other things you will find in the main entry area to Adventureland are a buffet restaurant (which looks like it has awesome themeing, but serves ONLY mid eastern food----so if you have anyone who is not likely to like that, well, this is not the place to dine we are told), a variety of shops and little market stalls:

and off to the right, tucked a bit behind is an area where you will often find characters from Aladdin for meet and greets.  We stopped to get our photo with Abu on our recent trip:

Heading around to the right after you enter takes you towards Pirates of the Caribbean.  I really love the detail on the outside of the ride here in Paris--as you enter a fortress/castle to ride: 

and even  the gift shop at the end has some cool theming:

The ride itself is reminiscent of its US counterparts.  I like it better than the Florida version and about as well as the LA one.  The most unique feature is that it is multi-level and you sail first in the flooded castle before moving down to ships in the harbor below (which you have already glimpsed, briefly,  from above).  Having the levels visible to the riders adds a new element which I enjoy.  If you are travelling with limited time, I rate this high priority.

Like the LA version, Pirates has a Blue Lagoon restaurant inside near the loading area.  The atmosphere is fantastic, but we found the food (on a prior visit) to be average and very overpriced--the portions were also small enough that even I, a fairly light eater, left not really full and the guys left still hungry.  Many people love it though.  I suggest checking the menu before deciding to dine there, and I think reservations (made just a few days ahead) are a must: 

(entrance to Blue Lagoon on the left)

The center of Adventureland, and normally its dominating feature is the HUGE "Adventure Isle" which features a pirate ship to play on, tons of paths, caves and bridges (swaying rope bridges, bobbing pontoon bridges, etc) and The Swiss Family Treehouse.  This is a huge, delightful area to run around in and discover new things and blow off steam--reminiscent of Tom Sawyer's Islands in the US parks but easier to get to, more elaborate and without the stale smell of urine in hidden corners.  I wish I had more photos to share with you, but alas, it is also closed for rehab at the moment, all i can share are photos of the pirate ship taken from behind the barriers.   If you are travelling with limited time, I rate this high priority.

If you head to the left, instead of to the right, as you enter Adventureland, you will find yourself is a more dessert-y African themed area with the Hakuna Matata counter service restaurant, followed by a little "oupost" area with some shops and snack carts (and a cut through to Frontierland) and then on to another counter service:  Colonel Hathi's Pizza Outpost:

(menus at Hakuna Matata)

If you follow the path all the way around, beyond both eateries and curving back behind Adventure Isle, there is one more ride n Adventureland:  The Indiana Jones Tempil of Peril roller coaster.  I am a little stumped as to what to say about this one.  I have ridden it twice over the years and the kids rode it as recently as May 2014.  We have not ridden more recently because, quite frankly, none of us cares for it. The theming feels rather "thrown together" and lacking in any real story of the level Disney normally has.  The coaster itself is very jerky and painful for me and David and doesn't have enough thrill factor to make up for the lack of a story-line for Rio.   That said, plenty of other people seem to like it.  I would say, if for no other reason than it is unique to this park, if you are a big Disney fan and  you are travelling with limited time, I rate this medium to high priority.

--Hadley