Originally Posted By barboy Note: the following will be a very candid, succinct and an unusual approach to writing up a trip report-- full of the good, the bad and the ugly. My wife has been wanting to go to Europe(specifically Paris) since we have never set foot on that continent before and besides Dis. Paris and WD Studios were the the only parks keeping me from joining the elite "all world" club. We left early April 17th from SFO(San Fran. International Airport) and landed at DCA/Reagan National in Wash DC for part 1 of the trip; you see my brother and his family live in Maryland so naturally we just had to stop for a visit. I don't get to see them as often as I would like and besides what a great way to break up that long flight to Europe. They picked us up at DCA and the 6 of us headed straight for Williamsburg, VA. to the Great Wolf Lodge for check in.(there are 10 of these mini family resorts sprinked on the eastern half of the US). Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg interested us and we survived the "Hokey hoopla" at Bush Gardens Europe. On the 21st Brother and family dropped us off at BWI(Baltimore/wash. International Airport) in Baltimore and then Wife and I headed over the Atlantic. We landed in CDG 1 just outside Paris---what a completely nasty airport!!! We could not believe just how dated, broken, ugly and delapidated CDG 1 is. I have been in third world airports that were in better shape. No biggie though, I did not cross the Atlantic to see an airport... I came for Mickey(and to a lesser extent the splendors of Amsterdam) and besides if anything it was fun conversation while riding the train to downtown Paris. Paris is amazingly: dirty, busy, beautifully adorned, crowded, expensive, loud, easy to get around(if one uses common sense), full of international visitors, loaded with pretty street side cafes, dog walkers and dog droppings and rich in ornate jaw dropping, centuries old architecture. And for such a popular world distination Paris stubbornly relies on the French langauge which frustrates those looking to drop a decent amount of cash in that city(like Wife and me). I won't go back... Seen it, done it, never again. Sorry, but avoiding stepping in dog "stuff" and being accosted by agressive beggars just isn't my idea of fun nor is being served 3 ounces of coffee for 3 dollars. $3 for coffee is fine if it is more than 1 sip. By the way Parisian coffee was some damn good tasting perk--the best I have ever had. On to Disney via RER public train/subway. What a treat it is to BART(Bay Area Talk), Metro(Wash DC talk) or "Subway it" (NY city talk) to a Disney park. EASY AS PIE I tell you. MY VISIT TO DISNEYLAND PARIS RESORT LACKED THE DISNEY MAGIC AND SPIRIT(but I still enjoyed) Before the lynch mob gathers let me explain. (1)I toured on a Mon. and Tues. and the park closed at 7.... but the problem is that night didn't arrive until 8:30. Nights in a Disney themepark are priceless. I missed fireworks and the nighttime feel. (2)The Disney Village is absolutely ridiculous. Who came up with putting a mechanical bull practically near the entry sign? The architecture is disjunct, pooly themed and outdated looking even though at most it is 15 years old. Also, there is way, way too much wild west/cowboys and Indians/frontier shops and eats. The Rainforest Cafe was easily the worst out of 6 I have seen--- totally unimpressive. (3) Someone needs to tell me what's up with those "undocumented" (meaning non Disney cast members) street vendors who just set up camp near the security bag check area and in the Village who try to sell ugly miniature Eiffel Towers and "I love Paris" t shirts. (4) Why is there an unsightly, stupid 3rd rate race kiddie race track right in front of the more upscale New York Hotel. Near by are two more less than carnival grade pay per attractions that I had to look at each time to and from the Sequoia. Talk about debasing the Disney image! (5) 4 out of 7 "on property" hotels have the old west theme. How about a little more variety and prettier resort grounds like WDW. (6) WD Studios in its current state is 1/5 of a legitamate Disney park. (7) This is the part where I am most eagerly to comment. The guests don't seem to fully appreciate Disney-- at best it is a diversion in their weekly schedule. They do not get into character like other world destinations. So few, so few indeed, wear anything Mickey.... no need for that famous line "hold on to those hats and glasses" at BTMRR because there aren't any--none! Nobody wears the Mickey ears, t shirts, sweaters or hats/caps. Sure there is the occasional child dress up but so very few. At WDW, DL Anaheim and Tokyo guests dress up and you can hear them sing tunes like Yo ho Pirates life for me or Small World. Even at "rope drop" guests don't stampede. The closest thing to a rope drop stampede is their fast paced walk to BTMRR. The Tokyo guests lose their mind at rope drop and it is refreshing and exciting to watch. But not for these Euro Disney guests--you need a cattle prod to get them motivated. Part 2 will be far more positive. I have held back talking about my favorite things to the trip and I will soon reveal.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Excellent report Barboy. You hit the proverbial nail in regards to some issues I have always had with DLRP as well... especially on this one statement: >>MY VISIT TO DISNEYLAND PARIS RESORT LACKED THE DISNEY MAGIC AND SPIRIT<< I have always said everything they do at that resort feels "forced" and not so well intended... Like CM's do things because this is what we are told to do, but no true feel for the Disney Spirit that comes from actually loving the place and being proud to work there. Same for guests...as they just don't seem to appreciate the park, or else, the place would not be so dirty, with leftover trash all over; or they would not use the gardens in the hubas places to sit on the grass and trample the plants. Etc etc.. >>We landed in CDG 1 just outside Paris---what a completely nasty airport!!! We could not believe just how dated, broken, ugly and delapidated CDG 1 is. I have been in third world airports that were in better shape.<< That's what you get for flying United. Other american carriers are located in the more posh and modern Air France Terminal. >>On to Disney via RER public train/subway. What a treat it is to BART(Bay Area Talk), Metro(Wash DC talk) or "Subway it" (NY city talk) to a Disney park. EASY AS PIE I tell you.<< Same applies to HKDL and TDR. I just love the convenience of hopping on the train and getting there without hassles, as opposed to WDW and DLR. No traffic jams to deal with. I just wish the RER trains were cleaner...like the trains in Tokyo and Hong Kong. >>Note: the following will be a very candid, succinct and an unusual approach to writing up a trip report-- full of the good, the bad and the ugly. << Emulating a bit of TDLFAN's "in your face" approach?? hehehe... I respect that honest view, and who cares what others may think? Thank you. Looking forward to the rest of your TP.
Originally Posted By barboy Well, actually it wasn't United--- we flew on Iceland Air of all things. And TDLFAN right you are about the RER subway/trains being dirty. But they must be in better shape than those in NY. Something else to note that I have never seen before at a Disney destination: just outside the Village near Cafe Mickey we saw a large pile of trash as if one just picked up a trash can and dumped the entire contents on the main walkway leading past Hotel New York. Equally noteworthy was the time the pile of trash stayed there--- at least 1 1/2 hrs. More to come soon.
Originally Posted By barboy Checking in at Sequoia Lodge. The check in went just fine and for the first time since arriving in France I finally encountered some very good English speaking people--- the cast members at the front desk. We were given a room at the Yosemite wing and it boasted of a large bathroom but lacked a balcony and it could have had better furnishings. Now, the Grand Californian and the Wilderness Lodge on US soil are nicer stays but the Sequoia like all "moderates" in the Disney family offers guests nice accommodations too. Forward to the parks. WD studios is one unbelievably weak link in the Disney theme park chain. If the typical Disney park link, say an Animal Kingdom or even a California Adventure, is made of steel(remember there are different grades or quality of steel) then the WD Studios link is plastic at best. This place is one inferior product. The park was ugly to look at--- concrete and asphalt everwhere, few trees and I don't remember seeing any waterfalls, small lakes or water features.... oh wait... that's right, there was an umbrella suitable for guests to stand under while water constantly drops on it at the Backlot area. And those construction walls were way too prevalent-- not only did they obscure park views but they made navigation and travel more burdensome. Yes, I know the walls are temporary but still why open a 1/5 baked park to begin with??? Do it right the first time or don't do it at all. The attraction lineup could scare off even the traveling carnival lover. Ok so I'm exaggerating a bit but you get the point. The Tram Tour was an embarrassment and I found the RnRoller Coaster a step down to the original. Armageddon was satisfactory at best but probably closer to a letdown. It was nowhere near the caliber of a Universal Twister or Backdraft. Heck, even the old Alien Encounter show was light-years ahead of Armageddon. Moteurs Car Stunt Show Spectacular was decent entertainment but we got tired very quickly of the constant "updates" from the hosts who stood in front of the cameras and that motorcycle rider who is trying to "rev up" the audience early on needs to expand his bag of tricks. Riding on one wheel impresses; riding on one wheel a second time impresses; but after his 5th time I was hoping he would have stacked just to change up his routine--- enough already!! Curiously, planners strategically positioned a bottleneck in Disney Studio 1 to draw as much $ out of the guest as possible. All guests have to walk through a poor "Main Street USA" rip off in the form of a nighttime hollywood backdrop and considering that this is the only way in and out of the park one would think that the designers would have made the passage wide enough to handle the masses. There is another curious feature(or lack of)--- no sitdown restaurants. Sorry to get so bogged down with this park but I just had to comment. And I still owe some positives which will be soon. (I promise)
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I've always wondered just what the heck Disney was thinking when they developed DLP. I've never been to France, but have read a pretty fair amount about the country and their culture. I find it fascinating and would love to visit that country. BUT... French culture has got to be the Anti-Disney. What the heck were they thinking? Maybe before they decided to build a theme park there someone from Disney should have spent a week or two in Paris. ;-) By the way... I've read and heard from friends who've traveled to France that if you at least make some type of attempt to speak French, the French people are more than willing to help you with translation. That is certainly more than most Americans are willing to do when confronted with foreign tourists speaking anything other than English.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>the Sequoia like all "moderates" in the Disney family offers guests nice accommodations too.<< I stayed at the Sequoia as well.. but was disappointed by the in-room amenities and lack of furnishings. The view we got from our window (towards the SantaFe and Cheyenne hotels) was fine but if you looked straight down...you would see a CM backstage area that was always messy and very untidy. Bathroom was fine but for the money I paid, I felt the hotel was grossly over priced. However, it was nice having the "free" continental breakfast in the morning. >>If the typical Disney park link, say an Animal Kingdom or even a California Adventure, is made of steel(remember there are different grades or quality of steel) then the WD Studios link is plastic at best.<< Interesting anology. Sort of like the way I feel about planes.. Old ones are ok, but new ones made of fiber composites are garbage and unstable in the air, and a lighting hit will fry them.. *cough*Airbus*cough*Dreamliner787*cough* Interesting read so far...
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>I've always wondered just what the heck Disney was thinking when they developed DLP.<< Simple. They were thinking they could duplicate the success of Tokyo Disney Resort in a bigger continent, in hopes to make much more money out of an untapped audience. However, they forgot the cultural stuburness and the fact that OLC was not involved in operating this resort on their behalf! >>BUT... French culture has got to be the Anti-Disney.<< Well that's just a silly genralization.. The French has always been at odds with most every other country around... not just Disney and Americans. The truth is, you can find some very lovely people in France, especially when you venture outside the city and into the countryside. Now, in regards to DLP, you also have to concider the diverse cultural ethicity of guests in that resort, and of CM's as well... lots of Europeans from all over, some Russians, African and japanese, and lots of middle easteners as well, both as guests and CM's backgrounds.. But you can't blame France for being very protective of their cultural heritage... since Americans also tend to be as obnoxious about the same issues as well.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>Maybe before they decided to build a theme park there someone from Disney should have spent a week or two in Paris.<< Again... this is not a fair comment and borders in racism. >> I've read and heard from friends who've traveled to France that if you at least make some type of attempt to speak French, the French people are more than willing to help you with translation. That is certainly more than most Americans are willing to do when confronted with foreign tourists speaking anything other than English.<< That is correct. The french will respect you more if you try to do your best in their own country. The other side of the scales are the japanese, who go out of their way to communicate in the visitor's language, or find someone who can. Americans are so far behind in that regards...but again.. I see a certain similarity about the french's "this is France, speak French!" attitude, and the American's "Welcome to the USA, now speak english!" attitude that is so prevalent in this country as well.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "Someone needs to tell me what's up with those 'undocumented' street vendors" I believe they are technically on the property owned by the rail company, which means that Disney has absolutely no control over what they do. It stinks that they can do it, and there isn't really much you can do, other than not give them any money so they may eventually move away.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Doubtful. As long as Disney has no jurisdiction over the RER station and it's surroundings.. the vendors will be there for as long as tourists continue to show up at DLP.
Originally Posted By u k fan There are some interesting points here which I'll comment on later (when I'm not at work), but I wanted to say that I actually saw mounted police driving some of the street vendors away in March. It was nice to see!!!
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<>>Maybe before they decided to build a theme park there someone from Disney should have spent a week or two in Paris.<< Again... this is not a fair comment and borders in racism.>> Right TDL... Actually, I rather LIKE the thought that the French are the "anti-Disneyâ€. I think it is rather cool that they can look at a world-wide obsession and say m'eh... Kind of like how they feel about deodorant!!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Looking forward to reading the rest. Sadly so far, your comments Barboy are on the money. DLP started out great, lost it's way, but actually now seems to be getting on track (except how they have ruined the village and the HNY). BTW - all the Western Stuff is because Westerns are what most Europeans are interested in when it comes to America. That's why DLP's Frontierland is the best version yet.
Originally Posted By barboy davewasbaloo, thanks again for your insight when I was trying to get this trip together; I wanted very much to cross the channel and pop in to buy you a beer but I guess considering my schedule it would have been too ambitious.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo No problem amigo, these things happen. Maybe we can hook up next time we are at DL or WDW?
Originally Posted By barboy On to Disneyland Park. Warning: the following will ruffle some feathers since I am now navigating highly subjective waters. Yes, this will cause more disagreement than Gay Days, the replacemnet of Toad with Pooh or even the suitability of an Alien Encounter in a Disney Park. I LOVE DISNEYLAND PARIS..... I'll say it a second time I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THAT PARK. The place is easily my favorite next to Tokyo Disney Sea. So why would I make such an outlandish statemnet? Easy... because DLParis is how a Magic Kingdom type park should be--- full of color, style, and substance-- I just wish it had the very important intangible guest excitement like in Tokyo. But what it lacks in guest obsession/guest service of a TDR it well makes in the sheer beauty, marvel and detail. The Entry area with that gorgeous DL Hotel pulled me in like a hedonistic 6 year old toward a candy rack--- I just wanted to eat it up. It has been many years since I felt like a kid, but on this day it happened. And when we got through the turnstile I was an out of control 40 year old Pac-Man lapping up every Disney droplet. (Now, my wife is a lukewarm Disney fan who was mostly along for the ride. She crossed the Atlantic primarily for Louis Vuitton trappings and to a lesser extent an Eiffel Tower and Amsterdam windmill/tulip/waterway sighting so she doesn't understand my fixation with Disney theme parks. Some of this lack of understanding is due to the fact that she is from the Philippine Islands) Just a few of my countless favorites at DL are the Sleeping Beauty castle, the cannon shot on Space Mnt., the conversation with a Main Street cashier who is scheduled to be the next Sleeping Beauty in '08 over at TDR., that phantom skeleton with his rictus grin who haunts us with his menacing laugh, the ice cream at Fantasia Gelati, did I mention gazing at that magnificent S.B. Castle yet?, and the two sideline passage ways in Main Street... Discovery Arcade and Liberty Arcade. At the risk of sounding cliche .... it is the little, lesser, trivial aspects in large amounts that make for a great park and ultimately for a great park experience. "lesser" park attractions like the animated/living dragon that guardes his(or is it a she?)lair below the castle and the miniature scenes in Adventureland visually telling the story of Aladdin, or taking care of guests like building extensive overhead protection from the elements(ie Small World) make an average park good and an inherently good park great. If only I could have the proximity of a DL Anaheim, the cast members/service/cleanliness/Disney fever of a TDL and the physical park and all its glory of a DLP I would die as a fully contented man. Still more to come.......
Originally Posted By barboy dave, if you and family come to the Bay in '08 I will show you the sights of the fair city... deal?
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Yep, DLP is designed right, but it needs the maintenance of TDL/DL, the entertainment of DL, and the cast/guests of TDL to make it truly awesome. I love DLP, but the maintenance and cleanliness issues really get to me. Also, I would love to hear about your Dining experiences Barboy. And indeed a SF meet would be in order. It's funny, even though I was born and raised in the bay area, after 21 years, you totally feel like a tourist!
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>Yep, DLP is designed right, but it needs the maintenance of TDL/DL, the entertainment of DL, and the cast/guests of TDL to make it truly awesome. I love DLP, but the maintenance and cleanliness issues really get to me.<< Agree with this statement 200%. >>Warning: the following will ruffle some feathers since I am now navigating highly subjective waters.<< There is no need for such warnings Barboy, as you are giving us a great TP that's right on. Good read so far..
