Originally Posted By phruby This has to be one of the most bazaar studios theme parks I've ever seen. Where else can you ride a twisting spin ride while Laura Croft shoots at you? You ride a high speed KITT boat in the Water World arena were a cast member drives the boat around really fast! Stand in rows shooting at Terminator robots as an actor runs around in front of you in 4D! Run around in a sinking U boat where they give you rain coats before boarding an enclosed simulator that is leaking! Visit the Hollywood Tower where people disappear on the 13th floor. Problem is they never built a building around it. Drive the Police Academy simulator where each car gets a 6x6 ft screen to watch as their chairs move around. Ride the monorail called Back to the Backstage! Ride Cooter's Junkyard Jamboree and see Boss Hog and the General Lee! Meet Bell, Cinderella, Tinkerbell, the Flintstones, Dora the Explorer, James Bond and Freddy Krugger! Watch Flashdance live! This place looks like it was created by Krusty the Clown! I wonder how many actual IPs they have rights to? <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.canevaworld.it/movieland/index.php">http://www.canevaworld.it/movi...ndex.php</a>
Originally Posted By dagobert I've heard of that park. It's somewhere near Lake Garda. I wonder if they are allowed to use theses IPs. And for me it is a crime to put KITT on a boat! There's also another themepark just down the road called Gardaland. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.gardaland.it/resort/index-en.php">http://www.gardaland.it/resort...x-en.php</a>
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Just curious dagobert, have you been to Puy du Fou, and if so what do you think about it?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip No problem. I was just curious. A former LP'er I maintain contact with rates it as his favorite theme park anywhere. I've looked at their website and kind of think "Really??". Just wanted to get another opinion and see if there was something in the actual experience that I was just missing.
Originally Posted By dagobert re you talking about davewasbaloo? He was a member here (and on a European Disney Fan board where I met him) and if I remember correctly, he liked that park a lot.
Originally Posted By dagobert re you talking about davewasbaloo? He was a member here (and on a European Disney Fan board where I met him) and if I remember correctly, he liked that park a lot.
Originally Posted By dagobert Great guy, unfortunately he doesn't post here anymore. And I also lost the contact to him on FB.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Yes, he is a great guy. Quite different from myself, but I respect his opinions even though they are often different from mine. Personally, he is doing much better than he had for several years. He is engaged to be married again. He remains quite bitter towards WDW which I don't totally understand, but still admires DL and DLP. But he seems to like the European parks the best... perhaps natural for a guy living in Europe. His favorites are Puy du Fou and Europa.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Just curious dagobert, have you been to Puy du Fou, and if so what do you think about it?>> That park really is a strange place. The French love it though. The new AECOM report that is out today has it at 1.9m attendance which is up 20% or so. That is almost inside the top 10 in Europe. I don't get the appeal at all but it seems to resonate with the French.
Originally Posted By phruby It looks like a big version of medieval times. Do you get to eat with your hands too?
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>He remains quite bitter towards WDW which I don't totally understand, but still admires DL and DLP. But he seems to like the European parks the best... perhaps natural for a guy living in Europe. His favorites are Puy du Fou and Europa.<<< I also prefer DLP over WDW for many reasons. WDW might be bigger and has more to offer, but the Disneyland Park alone is one reason why I like DLP better. WDSP is a joke and WDW has EPCOT, my favourite Disney park, but I just prefer the overall experience of DLP. It starts with the walking distances and ends with the fact, that there aren't any electric evhicles and definitely not so many strollers. One day it took us 45 minutes from POR to the MK because of all the electric vehicles and strollers. WDW's huge area is its biggest disadvantage. I also know that many Americans think that we Europeans can't behave and are unfriendly, but there is no difference between WDW and DLP. Bad guest behaviour is happening at both resorts. And I just can't stand this over friendliness of the US CMs. DLP's CMs are friendly and act normal. I don't want to tell my whole story and I don't see the point in that. Give me the information I want in a friendly way and I'm fine. Of course that's not a big issue. However at the end of the day, the beauty of the DL park and the better versions of the attractions are the most important reasons why I like DLP better. Still WDW is a great place to visit every five years or so, while the DLP or Anaheim are perfect for yearly trips. I can't wait to experience DL Anaheim next year and to compare it with the other resorts. I think it will be more like DLP. And I hope people are better dressed there than at WDW. After doing a Disney Cruise, I can say that a cruise stands above WDW and DLP.
Originally Posted By dagobert I took a look at the Puy du Fou website and honestly it doesn't look that bad. I'm not sure if I would visit, but I'm sure that I wouldn't trade it for a Disney park.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "After doing a Disney Cruise, I can say that a cruise stands above WDW and DLP." Wow, that's a pretty bold statement. Maybe I should consider doing a Disney Cruise.
Originally Posted By dagobert Maybe it is a pretty bold statement, because we would stay at a deluxe resort at Disney and the Disney Cruise Line felt like a deluxe resort. The service was outstanding, maintenance was very good and I guess I don't have anything to say about Palo and Remy. Both restaurants were fantastic. A cruise can't be compared to a themepark, it's completely different. You get the Disney service, but in the end it's a sightseeing vacation.
Originally Posted By leemac <<He remains quite bitter towards WDW which I don't totally understand, but still admires DL and DLP. But he seems to like the European parks the best... perhaps natural for a guy living in Europe. His favorites are Puy du Fou and Europa.>> He was quite bitter about a lot of things. I don't think he ever took any responsibility for his own life - either personally or professionally. He had an attitude that things should just happen. I tried to help him at one point but it was a losing battle. He seems to have "defriended" me on FB which is no bad thing I guess. I hope he has found some sense of happiness. There is a large subset of Disney fanboi that thinks WDW is the epitome of all that is wrong with P&R. I've not visited since '11 and have no immediate desire to return. The place is too big and crowded in an unpleasant climate for me. However I appreciate it resonates we a lot of folks. WDW is the cashcow that has driven a lot of the expansion over the past 20 years - including DCL. DCL wouldn't exist today without WDW. You have to appreciate the environment in which the resorts operate. DLR has it easy - a loyal fan base in a large mature market. It isn't hard to operate two parks and three hotels. WDW Co. has a far more complex operating environment both in terms of guest mix and sheer size and scale. DLP has the added fiscal problems with operating in a country and region that has struggled economically speaking for more time than it has been prosperous in DLP's 23 year history. Puy du Fou is a very French concept. I've never got it at all. It is like Renaissance fairs/fayres or however you spell them. It has a massive following. The park has two unique benefits - it draws in a huge volunteer base that work for free and also pays virtually no social taxes. Those are very compelling advantages to your economic base.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Wow, that's a pretty bold statement. Maybe I should consider doing a Disney Cruise.>> You won't get a finer Disney experience anywhere - not even Tokyo. All four ships are incredible vacation experiences that every Disney fan should take. You don't need to be a cruiser either to appreciate it all. Dip in and out as much or as little as you like. You are in control.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>There is a large subset of Disney fanboi that thinks WDW is the epitome of all that is wrong with P&R. I've not visited since '11 and have no immediate desire to return. The place is too big and crowded in an unpleasant climate for me. However I appreciate it resonates we a lot of folks. WDW is the cashcow that has driven a lot of the expansion over the past 20 years - including DCL. DCL wouldn't exist today without WDW.<<< There's nothing wrong with the resort itself. We enjoyed our two vacations there a lot, but like you said, it's too big. And as I've mentioned before, for me that's the biggest disadvantage, because you either have to rely on a car or on the bus system, which can be terrible because of all the strollers and electric vehicles. WDW has two fantastic parks, EPCOT and DAK, DHS is also okay, but I just don't like the MK. I'm spoiled with DLP, despite its maintenance issues. The next problem of WDW's huge areas is that management struggles to keep the resort up to date. Some hotels and other ereas just look old. >>> DLP has the added fiscal problems with operating in a country and region that has struggled economically speaking for more time than it has been prosperous in DLP's 23 year history. <<< I guess DLP will continue to struggle. Last year attendance was down, but at least it was up the first half year of 2015. Maybe Paris wasn't the right place for DL in Europe, but Spain hasn't done well either.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<You won't get a finer Disney experience anywhere - not even Tokyo. All four ships are incredible vacation experiences that every Disney fan should take. You don't need to be a cruiser either to appreciate it all. Dip in and out as much or as little as you like. You are in control.>> Absolutely true. We have booked our 5th Disney Cruise for this fall. 2014 was the first year in 5 years that we didn't go on a Disney Cruise. We decided it had been several years since we made a WDW trip and wanted to see the Fantasyland Expansion. We booked at the Bay Lake Tower, a resort I'd thought about trying since it first opened. BLT ended up being totally underwhelming and WDW was WDW... fun, but certainly no Disney Cruise!
