Daily Times

These handy travel tips could sprinkle a little magic over your next trip to Disneyland Paris. Here we present 30 lesser-known features that can be discovered in the French attraction, from the workshop where you can build your own lightsaber to the hidden symbols that are dotted around the park. The list has been curated by the British ticket site AttractionTickets.com to mark the park’s 30th-anniversary celebrations, which will draw to an end in September of this year. Find the hidden Mickey Mouse symbols – visitors should keep an eye out for Mickey Mouse symbols – three connected circles – which are hidden amongst rides, buildings, architecture and gates around the park. It’s worth noting, however, that no one knows exactly how many Mickey Mouse symbols there are to be discovered – Disney has never revealed the exact number.

Get a new hairdo at Dapper Dan’s Hair Cuts – Tucked away in a corner of the Emporium shop in the Main Street US area, you’ll find the entrance to Dapper Dan’s Hair Cuts, a fully operational American-style barber shop. It’s decorated with authentic pieces from an actual Chicago barber and offers traditional cut throat razor, hot towel shave and neatly trimmed haircuts.

Listen to a piano lesson – In Main Street U.S.A, there lies a window with a sign that reads ‘Piano Lessons’ – if you stand by it, you will hear the sound of a student practising their scales during a piano lesson. Steaming coffee cup sign – Take a close look at the billboard advertising The Coffee Grinder cafe – you might see real steam rising from the coffee cup in the sign.

Pick up the old phone — In some of the stores on Main Street U.S.A, such as Market House Deli and New Century Notions Flora’s Unique Boutique, you can pick up an old telephone and listen to a conversation. The nifty phones are supposed to transport visitors back to a time when numerous households or businesses would share the same telephone line – making eavesdropping easy.

The colours of the castle — The blue and pink colours of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle were purposely selected to contrast with the grey skies that are common to this part of France. That said, many also argue that the colours were chosen to reflect the hues of Sleeping Beauty’s dresses.

Getting perfect lighting – All of the castles at Disney’s parks are designed to face south so that the sun can never ruin your photo, regardless of whether you’re snapping pictures during the golden hour or in the early hours of the morning.

Spot the golden snails — Keep your eyes peeled for tiny golden snails embedded on to the golden towers of the Sleeping Beauty Castle – they’re a subtle nod to French culture, with ‘escargots’ (snails) being a much beloved French delicacy.

Listen out for the musical trees — The square-shaped trees next to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle are said to represent the notes within Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Waltz – the tune that inspired the film’s signature song, Once Upon a Dream.

Colourful armour in the castle — Go to the gallery on the top floor of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and you’ll find two sets of armour alongside a statue of a crow. Take a photo of the armour with the flash on and they will reflect back the colours that are associated with the fairies from Sleeping Beauty – pink, blue and green.

See the twinkling tapestry — Elsewhere in the Sleeping Beauty gallery, there’s a colourful hanging tapestry that shows Princess Aurora sleeping. It’s actually animated – if you wait a few seconds in front of it, you’ll notice the tapestry twinkling with light.

Find the dragon’s lair — Underneath Sleepy Beauty’s Castle, you’ll find ‘La Taniere du Dragon’, a huge audio-animatronic dragon that measures 27m from head to tail. The dragon mostly sleeps silently, but occasionally it wakes up and you’ll see smoke and hear growling sounds.

See the changing faces of Mr Toad — Look carefully at the digital portraits of Mr Toad on the walls of the Toad Hall Restaurant – these pictures are ever-changing, depicting the Disney character as everyone from Vincent Van Gogh to the subject of the Mona Lisa painting. The Legends of the Old West – Head up the stairs as soon as you pass through the Frontierland gates for a walk-through tour of the ‘Legends of the Wild West’. This walk-through attraction features wax figures of characters such as Buffalo Bill and also offers a great view of Big Thunder Mountain.

Vintage original features — Check out the ‘movie posters’ in Frontierland and you’ll spy original posters from the early years of the theme park. You can identify these because they say ‘Euro Disneyland’ – the theme park’s name up until the mid-1990s.

Take a ride on the Molly Brown boat — While it’s not a Disneyland secret per se, if you take a ride on one of the theme park’s two 19th-century-style paddleboats, Molly Brown or Mark Twain, you’ll be rewarded with interesting views of Big Thunder Mountain. What’s more, you can experience a leisurely tour through the Old West.

Find the Baby Doe Mine rail track — Near Big Thunder Mountain, you might spot a fixture which appears to be a rail track and carriage heading nowhere, titled ‘Baby Doe Mine’ – this feature is said to be a homage to a planned ride that was never built.

Whisper across the store — The dome ceiling in Harrington’s Fine China & Porcelains on Main Street U.S.A was built with acoustics in mind. As a result, if it’s not busy, you and a friend can stand at either end of the dome and whisper to one another, and the sound should carry through to the other side.

Spot the Eiffel Tower — Head to the very top of the Swiss Family Robinson tree house and you may be able to spot the Eiffel Tower. It will need to be a very clear day, so it’s much more likely that you’ll spot the tower in summer, but it’s always worth a look.