Disneyland Paris has plenty of iconic rides and attractions but there’s one hidden right by the Sleeping Beauty castle that most visitors will miss – and there isn’t a queue
Disneyland Paris has plenty of iconic rides and attractions, but there’s one hidden right by the Sleeping Beauty castle that most visitors will miss – so you won’t even have to queue.
I recently took a trip to Mickey Mouse’s French home, and had heard that if you went searching, you could find an unusual resident in its Disneyland Park; a terrifying dragon. So of course, I went on a mission to find it.
Turns out the mission wasn’t quite as complicated as you’d think. ‘La Tanière du Dragon’, or the Dragon’s Lair, is hardly a secret; there are literally signs for it in the park, and it even appears on the app. However, despite it not necessarily being hidden away, most people will miss it because they’re so focused on getting that all-important castle photo, or wandering through to get to popular rides such as Peter Pan’s Flight or Pirates of the Caribbean.
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The best part is that because it’s a walkthrough attraction, there’s no queue to get in – and you won’t need to give up too much time out of your day as it takes a few minutes at most.
If you’re facing the castle, you’ll want to stick to the left of the castle, as if you’re heading towards Adventureland. Alongside the walls of the castle, you’ll find a blink-and-you-miss-it creepy looking tunnel, with a sign for La Tanière du Dragon. I was on a mission to find it so I was already keeping my eyes peeled, but it’s surprisingly inconspicuous.
Once you enter the tunnel, it’s just a few seconds of walking before you can start to hear a roar – but I’ll be honest, at that moment in time the scariest part was that because of how dark the tunnel is, you can’t really see where you’re going for a second or two, so hearing a roar doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence.
Still, eyesight adjusting, I was impressed at the sheer size of the sleeping dragon I found. The animatronic is pretty cool, and we timed it just as the dragon was waking up from his slumber. The effects are impressive, and his roaring and movements caused some nearby children to gasp, but overall it didn’t feel too scary for kids (this is a Disney park after all). The dragon wakes every few minutes, so there’s plenty of opportunity to get a photo and take in the effects.
The fire-breathing beast is unique to Disneyland Paris; in fact, no other Disney park has a dragon lurking in its cellar! When I was there, it was quite a hot and sunny day, so the cool, shaded tunnel was a welcome setting. Plus it wasn’t very crowded since it’s tucked away, so it was a nice break from some of the crowds that were making their way to the rides.
While it’s not necessarily going to be the main highlight of your trip, I think overall it’s well worth leaving time on the itinerary to find the dragon, as it’s a unique feature of the park, and not one that every visitor will think to tick off the list!
You can find out more at disneylandparis.com.