Disneyland Paris petition? Is it that bad? Going next year.

[JessL]

I've just been reading about the petition that's been circulating complaining about the falling levels of customer service, shows and standard of rides at Disneyland Paris. Has anyone been recently? Was it that bad?

We're supposed to be going next year and I was debating how many days I needed to allocate. I don't think we would skip it altogether, but maybe one day is plenty.

Thoughts?

Jess

 

[ky71]

We spent 6 nights at the Disney Newport Bay hotel in July this year. It was our second visit to the Disney Paris parks...major letdown!

The hotel was in a state of disrepair, minimum staff on anywhere and there was peeling paint and unkempt gardens everywhere. We were very disappointed as we took another family with us who had only had a DL experience in the USA to compare to. If it wasn't for Crush's Coaster in the Studio park I'm sure even my kids would have complained.

They did not have any stage shows except a 15 min Super character dance off type show that didn't have any room for spectators to sit and watch so no kids could view it anyway. There was very few character meals on offer and meet and greets were not controlled very well - much like Tokyo's free for all in the plazas!

If you are going for the "Disney experience" believing it will be as magical as the US parks or as amazing as the TDL parades & shows - forget it! If you are going because you are close by, have to tick off each park or only plan to visit for a day in each park -go for it!

I would allow one day for each park and if you get in the day prior, do the afternoon and night time parades and fireworks then allocate all your time the next day to doing the attractions. You must do Crush's Coaster first (no fastpass) and if you want to do the Princess M&G get the 'fastpass' early - you cannot enter without one and they are strictly limited!

Plan well, don't expect too much and have fun! (Oh and don't stay at HNB).

 

[Royal Consort]

People really put the boot into Disneyland Paris. Some of the complaints are justified but others are just some of the same complaints you could have at WDW or DL.

Is Disneyland Paris that bad? Not overly but it also depends when you go. We go during quiet season when the parks are relaxed and leisurely. It has many of the same rides as the States and many of them are actually better! It IS sad that they no longer run Fantillusion as we love this. The new Dreams seems spectacular though!

It is the most beautiful of all magic kingdoms in the world and the attention to detail in the park is stunning. If you like and notice all these intricacies then you'll get a lot out of Disneyland Paris. We find the gardens, the 'european-ness', the castle, the Disneyland Hotel, and the twists with Discoveryland and Adventureland to be great. I adore Phantom Manor.

CM's aren't like the US but you can't get French people to be like the US. There has to be a level of acceptance about that. We've not yet encountered outright rude people and so far, our customer service experience has been better than we had in Disneyland Anaheim.

True, there are no more shows (but we don't see them anyway) and characters are limited out in the park. Yet there are quite a few character meals if that's your thing such as Inventions, Cafe Mickey, Auberge de Cendrillon.

Disneyland Paris is really an ambiance park. If you ever wanted to take it slow, sit and enjoy the environment of the magic kingdom then this is the perfect park. It isn't the US, never meant to be and never will be. Perhaps the park would have been better in Spain but it isn't - if you go into it with an acceptance of the French culture then you're fine.

When I go to the states I miss the beauty of Disneyland Paris. That's why I'm going back this year before heading to WDW and Disneyland.

 

[Travel Mum]

This an interesting topic because I'm currently planning for my family to go to UK/Europe next year and it will be our children's first time there. As much as I want to go to DL Paris to 1) experience it and 2) to tick a castle off my list, I can't work out whether it's worth taking time out of our itinerary to do it. The dilemma is also made worse by the fact we'd be there in winter (so I know, very cold) and, based on the itinerary I'm currently working on, our time in Paris would be from Christmas Eve to just before New Years. Hence it's, during that time, we'd do Disney if we went and therefore I know it would be really busy. I'd never, in a million years, purposely go to DL Anaheim or WDW over peak holiday season so it's greatly off-putting to know that would be the only date option to go to DL Paris if we go.

 

[AussieNSW]

We are in a similar situation I am considering going next year sept 20th after touring around Europe. I was looking at staying at the Disneyland Paris hotel and our children will be 15 and 13. We have been to WDW and Disneyland so all of the comments are making me reconsider. Still not sure but I love the other parks and there is the new ride but it will be very expensive. Maybe I should flip a coin.

 

[Aust]

I'm another in 2 minds - hoping to go to London and Paris next year with my brother and sister-in-law, and I don't know whether it's worth giving up a day in either city for DLP. I'd love to see it and tick it off my DL list, but the reviews I've read have really turned me off. Also the DL hotels are so ridiculously expensive compared to the US!

 

[Royal Consort]

you all make it sound like Disneyland Paris will EAT you!

I can assure you, it won't.

The Disneyland Paris petition is fine but you have to put it in context. Disneyland Paris has a limited amount of funds and they have to be careful where they spend. So there aren't as many characters out and about but they spent money developing Disney Dreams! The petition doesn't look at things such as that. The petition looks at everything wrong with the park and misses all the beauty. The fact is, the petition exists because people LOVE Disneyland Paris and want to improve it. If it was so terrible, no one would care.

Give it a shot. If you don't like it then you've ticked it off and I don't have to wait in long lines hehehehehehee.

How can this not make your stomach go ?

 

[zanzibar138]

Totally agree with Royal Consort! My parents and I were there the last week in February. We stayed for 5 nights and each of us loved every minute of it! My only real complaint was that it was supposed to be a quiet time, but it actually turned out to be quite busy.

We actually stayed at Hotel l'Elysee in Val d'Europe. It was a lovely hotel, bright and modern, beautifully maintained, probably better than what you'd get at a Disney hotel, just a little bit further away and not themed. For the whole 5 nights it cost us less than $200 each. Another benefit was that we had a lot more eateries to choose from. It was a short complimentary shuttle ride to the parks, or one stop on the train (station is just across the road).

Disneyland Park is absolutely beautiful, and so magical with a light dusting of snow on it There were lots of refurbs while we were there (seems to be a theme for my visits lol!), and some closures due to the weather, but there was still plenty to keep us occupied. Dad and I must have gone on their version of Space Mountain about a dozen times (so much better than the US version!). Dreams was spectacular!

We are not commando style theme park visitors, so some days we had a leisurely breakfast and got there late, other times we left early. One day we spent the whole afternoon shopping in Disney Village.

Disney Studios was a lot of fun. There are several shows there - the car stunt show (which I wouldn't bother seeing again, but might be good for little boys), Cinemagique (which was a great show and very clever), and Animagique (which was very cute and upbeat, with a focus on Disney characters). Crush's Coaster was definitely worth lining up for. Rock N Roller Coaster was down with technical difficulties a fair bit, but I believe this is common in the US too. They also have a Toy Story land which is something a bit different.

Speaking of characters, there were a few out and about while we were there. We really didn't focus on characters, but went for a couple who had short lines (there are some that are free for all style, but some do have lines). I met Duffy and Goofy without any fuss. Also saw Peter Pan and Wendy at Adventure Isle who waved and said 'Bonjour!'. We didn't bother with any character meals, but I believe there are quite a few to choose from if you wanted to do your character greetings that way.

We had a very enjoyable lunch at Walt's one day we were there. Most other meals were very average, nothing wrong with them, but nothing great either. We didn't really go anywhere special other than Walt's. We never had any problems with CMs - in fact, we had a few very nice ones who asked us about Australia etc. Also, anyone who complains about the state of the toilets (which is quite a common complaint, and they certainly aren't up to the US standard) has not been to Hong Kong

For those who are thinking of going in winter, be aware that it WILL be freezing, and you WILL need lots of layers including heavy thermals, polar fleece, ski jackets, gloves, beanies etc. Most days we were there the temperature hovered around 0, and there was a constant threat of snow (though we only had any on the first day we arrived). Even in all my layers, I got uncomfortably cold if we had to spend long standing around outside waiting for parades etc. It was colder than anywhere we went in Austria or Switzerland.

Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to get across that if you go in with an open mind, remembering that there are cultural differences and not expecting it to be a cookie cutter clone of the American parks, there is really a lot to enjoy at DLP Feel free to browse through my TR if it helps.

 

[shushh]

We went in mid Dec 2012. Sorry I'm too lazy to retype but here is what I wrote on my blog. Since then I've been to Tokyo Disney Sea and that is even more beautiful than Disneyland Paris.

"So after our four days here, I thought I'd share my feelings on the Disneyland Paris Resort. In the interest of full disclosure, I need to insert my disclaimer that the last time I went to Tokyo was as a teenager and so I have not been to Tokyo Disney Sea. I also have not visited Hong Kong since the new expansion opened.
I feel that Disneyland Paris Resort is definitely worth visiting. It has a lot going for it. Disneyland Paris is hands down the most beautiful of all the Disney Parks world wide. It isn't merely the castle that is stunning but also the the way the Disneyland Park has been built, themed and landscaped. Main Street is simply gorgeous, as is Fantasy Land. Walt Disney Studios has its own kind of charm but does seem rather haphazardly put together. It is nowhere near Paris' Disneyland Park in terms of appearance and number of attractions. One thing that does not seem to be talked about much is that the resort has quality attractions, some of which are far superior than those of its American cousins. Examples include Big Thunder Railroad, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Space Mountain and Autopia. Pirates was better than Walt Disney World, but not as good as Anaheim. It also has great unique attractions such as Crush's Coaster and Cinemagique.

Where Disneyland Paris stumbles is the quality of the cast members. They play such a big part of making the guests experience magical, and sadly, only about a quarter of the cast members at most, came close to their American counterparts. During our visit, about half the cast members that we encountered were average and the other quarter downright terrible. Examples include being too busy chatting with each other to greet guests, curt reception at restaurants, poor control at ride entrances, general lack of friendliness and happiness, the list goes on.

The other big issue is smoking within the parks. In this day and age where the dangers of smoking are well proven, I find it difficult to believe that a park which sells itself as family friendly appears to not take a stronger stance against smoking. On our first two days, crowd levels were low and thus it was easy to avoid the the odd smoker. However, once the time came for parades and the main show, it was difficult to avoid the smokers. They were everywhere, and shamefully included parents with young children. This was amplified tenfold yesterday and especially today when the park was crowded. There were clearly dedicated smoking areas around the park, except it was empty as the smokers were all over the park! Even though we came pre-warned, it was still never the less unpleasant when we actually had to face it, and made it harder to enjoy the parks.

There are a few other things that I thought I'd mention. These may seem rather petty but I do feel that they add to the general "feel" of the park. The toilets were generally in poor condition being either dirty, too small or smelly, so much so that we made a big effort to not have to visit any toilet within the parks. The Christmas decorations were nice but lacked the amazing detail and wow factor of those at Walt Disney World, certain bits actually looked cheap. One that comes to mind immediately is the big Christmas tree at the front of the park. General running of the parks need to be smoother. You would never see bins being cleaned and changed, or other various things being set up right on opening time at the American parks! It would either be already done or "hidden".

Whilst beauty isn't enough to make a park but lacklustre castmembers and smoking doesn't break it either. These issues if fixed would make Disneyland Paris very close to being as good as or dare I say it, even better than the original Disneyland in Anaheim or Walt Disney World. Malcolm, however, insists that it isn't the same without Splash Mountain and more impotantly, there needs to be more Spanish renditions of "Please stand clear of the doors".

We have really enjoyed our time here at Disneyland Paris. We had an experience that was more than just simply "the last castle ticked off". However, for now, we will return to the American Parks for what we get there is the complete magical experience. And to us, thats what Disney is about."

 

[JessL]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I think we'll hedge our bets. We'll still go for one day and go with an open mind, and we'll try to plan so we can return the following day if we want to, or alternatively move on to something else.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

I have to add my tuppence halfpenny. We went in May this year. We loved it. The TR is in my siggie. Some things are different to the US yes but perhaps we are more tolerant. We only had one ratty CM, the others were fine though less were the enthusiastic bubbly American version but then the Japanese CMs were totally different there too -its the culture-there will be differences. We had quiet days. We had a mix of mostly good and a little wet weather. We didn't see a lot of characters except with the character train but weren't looking for them. I did have a pic with Duffy which I wanted no trouble.

The park had lots that was different to the US which we enjoyed that weren't rides -Adventure Island with its pirate theme was great fun and the best theming for Pirates of all I think. Kids loved the maze of caves and pathways. Alice's maze was also good fun. We liked the Nautilus walk through and Aladdin's walk through, and inside the Castle especially the dungeon with the dragon. Phantom Manor, BTR, Its a Small World were all excellent. I understand Space Mountain 2 is also well liked but we aren't big on coasters. The Studios were not as good but Cinemagique and Animagique were good and some would enjoy the stunt show - we've just seen better ones in our time. Toy Storyland is very well done and Crush's Coaster is great fun. Dreams was amazing - one of the best shows we have seen at a Disney Park. Overall the parks were very pretty and well laid out. We didn't notice undue wear and tear unlike those who have annual passes and go often and we weren't looking for it. The park was mostly but not quite as clean as the US (plastic water bottle issues mostly not other rubbish). We actually didn't come across many smokers in lines but in the big spaces yes they were walking about smoking not in the designated areas. Also didn't see the gangs of offensive youths other talk about.

I think your plan to go for one day and plan to return a second day if you want to is a good idea or go for half one day and the evening show then return for a full day the next day. We were surprised how much time it took us to get around everything-the parks are well spread out especially Disneyland and it takes time to get from one side to the other. Go open minded, don't have the same expectations as from the US and look to enjoy the rides and experiences that are unique to DLP!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Forgot to add unlike Shushh - and prepared given her TR -we found the toilets to be clean all the time but perhaps that's because we were in a quiet time.

 

[Chabelis]

If I had never been to a Disney park before then I'm sure I would have loved DL Paris.. but after going twice to DL and twice to WDW the US parks make you somewhat used to such a high standard that in comparison DL Paris feels like somewhat of a letdown.

I went in 2009 with my dad and we both left feeling like we could have used that extra day going to one of the other historic attractions around Paris.

 

[maryr1oz]

I think you're right in not skipping it altogether, and if you don't have high expectations i doubt you'll be disappointed. I think you just have to make the best of it, and try not to make comparisons to it's American counterparts.

We were there for 3 days last September (trip report in signature) and had a few less than magical experiences. My biggest tip is until you can get a refurbed room at the Newport Bay Club, definitely don't stay there.

The gardens in this park are quite amazing