Thoughts on Walt Disney Studios, Paris

[rob@rar.org.uk]

A couple of people who are planning DLP visits have asked me to repost my thoughts on the recent preview of the walt Disney Studios, Paris (my initial post was lost when the old boards went down). So, with apologies for repitition, this is what I thought:

First thoughts:

Well, I don’t really know what to think! I’m still in two minds whether I like it or not. It has lots of potential, but is not quite there yet.

There are some very good attractions: I thought the Moteurs... Actionstunt show was incredible, Catastrophe Canyon was a little better than I expected and the Reign of Fire scene from London was a nice addition to the Tram Tour compared to its cousin in Florida. I was captivated by Cinemagique - a funny, touching tribute to cinema through the decades, with a touch of live action thrown in for good measure. Think Forrest Gump, but interacting with movie history, not real history. First class! The RocknRoller Coaster was good (but it will suffer from comparisons with its far more accomplished big brother next door) and the Armageddon special effects show was exciting but all too brief.

On the other hand there were some aspects of the park I thought were dire. The Disney Animation Tour is a complete waste of space. Boring, unfunny, uninformative and the translation robs all but French-speakers of the ‘live’ nature of the show. They also committed the cardinal sin of dubbing Walt Disney into French (big mistake, and one which I forecast they will change soon). Post show activities, potentially the most informative of the attraction if it is supposed to be based on “how to do animation”, were limited to French speakers only. I feared that the park would not be able to overcome the language difficulty, and I think my fears were justified. Throughout the whole of the resort, DLP resolves some of these challenges by having at least French and English spoken alternately, sometimes by different characters. So why on Earth did they dub Walt AND Roy Disney Jnr into French? Surely it would have been better to keep one speaking French and the other speaking English? I would have though it appropriate to keep Walt in his native tongue, not least because this is the only park in the Disney empire which carries the great man’s name! Having the post-show animation lessons in French only potentially robs 60% or your audience from participating - not good!! This attraction needs some considerable revamping if it is to be a success. Despite the undoubted quality of Catastrophe Canyon and the Reign of Fire scene, the Tram Tour is quite dull. It badly need more props in the boneyard, and I would love to see each boneyard display with a sign saying what film it comes from. Most of the boneyard items are pretty much non-descript, and I guess most people will not recognise any of it - I certainly didn’t. I hope this part will improve in time as they add stuff to it. More generally I was disappointed by the lack of movie memorabilia around the park - I would have thought that this would have added to the interest, but maybe it is too expensive for DLP to buy.

I think it is brave (or more likely just a financial reality) of DLP to place an essentially unthemed theme park right next door to the most richly designed Magic Kingdom. The Walt Disney Studios has very little to entertain guests as the move from one attraction to another. Sure, it is a pleasant environment and will improve when the greenery settles in, but the park will live or die on the quality and quantity of the attractions alone. I could spend a whole day in the Disneyland Park without riding a single attraction and still have a rewarding time. This would not be the case at the WDS. So for me the question is does the Studios currently have enough high quality attractions to give it good word of mouth, a feelgood factor and repeatability. Sadly my answer to this is no, not yet. The Tower of Terror (which clearly will be the focal point of the park) will add to its offering considerably, but this is still a year or two away. Even when this is built there will be very little for families with young children to do - a major problem is you want all guests to extend their stay at the Disneyland Resort.

The shops and restaurants seem OK, and I like the Stage 1 area. It's a sort of indoor Main Street, and gives a nice start to a day at the park. Streetmosphere and characters were frequently around, which is good. Particular merit goes to the Sully character from Monsters Inc - a simply amazing costume. I didn’t do the Disney Television Tour or the Aladdin attraction (which looks severely out of place) and the Animagique attraction apparently is not yet ready (I have high hopes for this).

Overall what strikes you is how small the park is. When you exit Stage 1 you can see all of the park in a single glance. This compares very poorly with the park next door - I wonder how EuroDisney can justify the equal pricing structure, and whether this will lead to complaints of poor value-for-money? To head off potential complaints, one-day tickets for the Walt Disney Studios will also give guests access to the Disneyland park next door for the final three hours before closing. I think this is very clever - it will give guests enough time to see all of the Studios park as well as sample the best bits of Disneyland, all for the price of a one-day ticket.

Rob

[Edayy]

Thank you for reposting this Rob i was really interested to read your opinions, as i was hoping to plan a trip there soon but now i am not too sure. I absolutely love the studios in Florida and i don't want to be disappointed, maybe i should just wait and go to Florida instead.

Eda

[rob@rar.org.uk]

This is an interesting point Eda. If I was given a choice between a visit to WDW or a visit to DLP, I would choose WDW every time (and you know how big a fan I am of DLP!). However, this does not mean that DLP is not as enjoyable as WDW, it's just that there is more to see in Orlando (in a fortnight) than there is to see at DLP (over a long weekend). While the new Walt Disney Studios park is not as good as I hoped, it is still a very enjoyable day. I have to say that I wouldn't believe anybody who said that they didn't enjoy their visit, and I really hope that my review won't put people off.

In years when I have visited WDW I have not gone to DLP because of the need to save money. But at other times we visit DLP 2 or 3 times a year, occasionally more. DLP is close enough to the UK to provide a great way to keep in touch with those Disney experiences when a visit to WDW is just too expensive or impractical.

What does DLP have to offer? The best Magic Kingdom that Disney has yet built, some nice hotels, a nearby shopping mall and designer outlet centre, a nighttime entertainment complex and now a small new theme park with some wonderful attractions. A short train ride away is Paris, one of the best cities in the world to visit. And all this is just a short flight, 3-hour train ride or a car drive from the UK. Although DLP will never replace the fortnight's holiday in Orlando, it is a wondeful place for a short break and is rapidly turning into a major resort in its own right.

Regards

Rob

[kacale]

Hi,

We visited WDS at DLP on 1st March.

Just to say that in response to your comment about the 'post show' at the Art of Disney Animation that the interactive elements were conducted in a mixture of both English and French which my 10 year old daughter was able to follow easily and had an enjoyable time. Maybe they have already acted on comments expressed by pre-opening visitors.

Karen

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Thanks Karen, that's good to know. Perhaps as the 23 Feb preview was the first public day they didn't have all their attractions up and running as fully as they would have liked.

What did you think of the new park? I'm interested in how much your daughter enjoyed it.

Regards

Rob

[kacale]

Hi,

We all enjoyed the new park very much.
High on the list were Cinemagique and the Motor Stunt show.
We have been to both DLP and WDW on several occassions and one of the things we enjoyed about this park was the easy layout and although it is small, we felt that this made it do-able in one day. In one day you can see and do all you want rather than having the frustration of having to choose to miss things out if you only have a days pass.

Having said that I think it is suited to older children rather than the little ones.

Our daughter thought it was great! She liked meeting the new characters of Sulley and Mike from Monsters Inc, had a great photo taken with Minnie, was very taken with the interactive part of the Animation Tour BUT she did comment on the lack of a parade or evening event.

We will definately pay it a second visit.

The only downside financially is that our daughter has decided to become a pin collector!!!!!!
She now has a lanyard and several pins..........she liked swopping with the cast members who seemed to be getting in the swing of it!

Karen

[bengunn]

Originally posted by rob@rar.org.uk
a nearby shopping mall and designer outlet centre,

Hi Rob,

I don't remember finding a mall and designer outlet when we last went to DLP in 1999 - is it new or did we just miss it? For the next visit, where is it?

[Janice]

Thanks for reposting this info Rob - I enjoyed it even more second time around :)

[rob@rar.org.uk]

The shopping mall is new - it opened last year. It is very near the DLP parks and hotels, and is actually part of the DLP resort. It was built as part of EuroDisney's commercial activities on land owned by the company. It is located five minutes drive from the hotels, or one stop on the RER railway, on the far side of the golf course. Aparently a free shuttle from DLP's hotels is available, although you have to spend at least £30 otherwise you are charged for the return journey. Ask at your hotels reception for details.

In addition to the shopping mall, there is residential units, a business park, several restaurants, plans for more housing and a university. There is a Sea Life Aquarium as an added feature of the shopping mall. This whole side of the DLP resort is being developed very quickly - think of it as Paris' version of Celebration. Marriott have just announced the development of a holiday villa/timeshare in conjuction with EuroDisney, with two and three bedroom villas to be built around the golf course. This is also the location where Disney and its commercial partners have started to build three new hotels.

Unfortunatelu none of this is from first hand knowledge as I have not been able to drag myself away from the parks to visit there! I'd be grateful for other people's reports.

Regards

Rob

[bengunn]

Thanks Rob,

I am glad to know that I was not totally unobservant in 1999 :rolleyes:

Next time I go we will try to visit the mall (as well as Parc Asterix again). With the new studio, DLP is starting to get to be more than a 2/3 day destination.

[rob@rar.org.uk]

It is certainly EuroDisney's intention that the Disneyland Paris Resort becomes more than a 2/3 day destination.

I can quite easily imagine spending a week there now: 2 days in Disneyland, 1 day in Walt Disney Studios, a day sightseeing in Paris and another day shopping and relaxing around the pool.

Regards

Rob

[FergieTCat]

I am going to be in DLP next week. I have a vacation planned to London and Paris, and am very excited to be visiting the Studios on "opening" day.

I can't decide if I'll be disappointed, but at least there should be some interesting pins available!

[kacale]

Hi,

We visited the Val D'Europe shopping mall when we went to DLP last weekend.
It is easy to get to from the main DLP area.....well sign-posted and only 5 min drive by car. Plenty of free car parking spaces.
We found a wide variety of shops as well as the designer outlet village. There is a large Auchan there and a varied food court.
Overall it was a good way to spend a morning keeping out of the rain ....and a little snow!!

Karen

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Karen

What were the prices like at the mall? Were there bargains to be had?

Regards

Rob

[WebmasterPenny]

I too have had a little peek at Val D'Europe when I was there last year. I must admit, I really didn't go in the shops as it was only to have a snoop around basically :) So I can't comment on prices. I DID go in the Auchan. It is like any other French Hypermarket that you might find in Calais... B-I-G. It is split over 2 floors and you can buy just about anything, from food, wine, booze, saucepans..you get the idea. We bought ourselves a couple of baguettes & some cheese etc, went back to DLP and had ourselves a very nice little picnic on a bench by the Sequioa Lodge, LOL. It was nice :)

The Designer Outlet was deserted when we visited, but it really hadn't be open long then, and there was a number of empty units, but the main shopping centre seemed busy enough and Sealife opened the day we were there. At the time, they hadn't even finished the RER station :rolleyes: there was a bus going back and forth fairly regularly for a small charge, but it was 10 minutes tops, I'm sure it would be even quicker by train as it is really only a stones throw away. I'm sure that things have picked with the station there now. I think it's a nice diversion to do on a Saturday when the parks are full & mobbed with local Parisians.

Penny :)

[NIK]

:wave2:

I confess I wasn't nuts about the Studios park either. I really liked the Tram Tour but although I went on it more than a few times, the Reign of Fire set piece was a damp squib on most occasions. Monsieur Le Dragon He did not flame :(

I am not a huge fan of roller coasters {rheumatoid arthritis - a literal pain the bum and everywhere else for that matter] so the big rides were pretty much out for me.

I enjoyed the mall part - had burger and chips there and enjoyed the Streetmosphere but I do think the park as a whole suffered a bit by comparison with it's brother next door.

It was just the first year of opening and I am going back in October so I am hoping that this will be able to change my opinion.
:magnify:

[Mike Swannick]

We did DLP about 2 years ago. My wife organised the trip and I seem to recall we stayed at a rather nice hotel on the outskirts of the Val D'Europe site for not much money at all.

Whilst I wasn't let down by the parks (either of them) I was hugely annoyed by the lack of control exercised by the chaperones for the characters. What was a nicely organised queue for photos and autographs in FLA was a Euro-bundle in Paris, with the adults of non-queueing European countries barging people young & old out of they way so little Pierre, Jurgen & Claudio could get THIER pictures and autographs and two fingers to everyone else. Having your 3yr old daughter reduced to tears by a deliberate act of selfishness by an adult who should know better is enough to make even a saint see red. How I controlled myself I'll never know. The Lion King Show is coming to DLP, hurrah! More to attract the selfish to DLP and leave WDW to the decent folk.

Rant over - soap box for sale, used once.....

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Hi Mike

Welcome to the DIS.

Sadly that aspect of DLP has not improved with time. Can't understand why EuroDisney management doesn't sort it out - after all, arranging a orderly queue can't be that difficult, surely?

Regards

Rob

[CarolynU]

I have spent multiple holidays in WDW and also one or two at DLP. Recently because of family illness we are unable to go back to Florida, and I must say that for me the lack of queueing control is the only reason that I don't visit DLP more. We live as close to France as it's humanly possible to live in the UK, and spend many happy days in Calais/ Le Touquet etc, but constantly having people pushing past me or standing in front of me minutes before the parade at DLP just irritates me too much to make the experience enjoyable. The last time I was there queueing for SM a group of about 40 adults pushed a trash can out of the way of a side door, poured through it cutting off masses of the line. I couldn't believe my eyes. So many of us complain about this element I really cannot understand why nothing is done about it.
Carolyn

[UKDEB]

Originally posted by CarolynU
constantly having people pushing past me or standing in front of me minutes before the parade
Sadly this goes on at WDW, too. It has happened to me on several occasions and is the reason I rarely bother with parades. I was once caught in the middle of a very nasty fracas at the Toy Story Parade at MGM Studios.

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Originally posted by CarolynU
constantly having people pushing past me or standing in front of me minutes before the parade at DLP just irritates me too much to make the experience enjoyable. The last time I was there queueing for SM a group of about 40 adults pushed a trash can out of the way of a side door...

I know that queue behaviour can be an issue, but I think that you must have been a little unlucky in your trips to DLP. I've visit DLP two or three times a year and while there have been times when other people's behaviour has been annoying when I'm in queues for rides, around the characters or while watching the parades, in my experience these are isolated incidents rather than a constant irritation. We were in DLP last weekend and I can't remember any times when people wanted to push past. That's not to say that things shouldn't be improved; character interactions in particular is an easy problem to fix if only DLP decided they wanted to do something about it.

Regards

Rob

[leise]

We went to DLP last month for three days, and just spent a morning in the studios. Apart from Aladdin and the tram tour, there wasn't anything at all for young children (DS's 5 & 2). The one other thing we thought they might like was the Disney Channel television studios tour, but unfortunately this was all in French, with the English translations written up on a screen (which neither of them could read, obviously). So that was a wash out. But of course there was sooooo much to do in Disneyland Park we didn't care. It was just a nice break for a couple of hours.

LOL on the queueing thing. DH and I had a big debate about this. From what I saw, CM's were in control of queues when they were around, but they can't be everywhere..... We ran an unofficial award for the worst example of queue jumping we witnessed, and though special mention has to go to a large group of Spanish schoolchildren, I am ashamed to say that the award was won outright by a British family, whose children climbed over all the railings to get to the front of the queue on the Teacups, and the parents then proceeded to push their way through the queue to catch up with their children, ignoring complaints and stepping on toes as they went!

[CarolynU]

I have only been to DLP twice, and both visits were some time ago, so things may be better now, but I think that what may be a factor in my irritation is that on the days that I was there the queue /line jumping did happen at every ride at DLP, although no one particular nation was any more to blame than any other,but up to that point I had only experienced the very occasional similar incident at WDW despite numerous visits. However, I guess with the lack of consideration which is more prevalent everywhere these days this is becoming more frequent even at WDW.
I think though when I described the scene before the parade at DLP what actually happened was that people wormed their way into non existant spaces at the front of the waiting crowd, to the left of us, and then proceeded to step off the curb making their way further and further into the pathway of the floats, which they tapped as they passed. In order to avoid these people blocking their view the crowd to the right of us then proceeded to do the same, so that we ended up as the only people on the curb. We could then see nothing at all. This was in full view of some cast members who said nothing. Now as this happened shortly after the SM incident it did linger in my memory.
However this may just be a cultural difference. I regularly visit Sitges near Barcelona and watch their ' Carnivale, and Fiesta Mejor,' and without fail the crowd always step into the path of the floats merely as a sign of partipation, and excitement, and no-one including me takes any notice whatsoever. It is the 'done thing.' In fact usually the crowd then block the way of the procession to the point that it comes to a stand still for hours! So perhaps I expected DLP to be a mini USA rather than accepting that it is Disney with a European flavour.
Just a thought. Carolyn
PS I see that I am off topic with this sorry!

[NIK]

I do agree with what you have all said. Some folk don't seem to comprehend the simple courtesy of waiting your turn for things. Brits can be just as bad as anyone else but we do seem more inclined to wait our turn than some nations.

I found myself getting into difficulties waiting for the parade at DLP itself. I deliberately got there early so I would have a good view and promptly found myself besieged by pushy German and French folk who were determined that they were going to stand in front.

I thought, Remember you are British, smiled politely and used my elbows.

Even so, someone managed to nearly black my eye with the camper van he was carrying on his back. Those ruddy backpacks are a complete menace. They can't see what's behind them and just swing them around, knocking people over left right and centre.

A queuing system might seem a bit dull, but at least it prevents tears and upset when some small child is sent flying by bullying, pushy adult.

Even we smaller adults can get knocked flying too!