DLP Trip Report

[WelshMorgan92]

Just come back from 3 nights in DLP and am not sure what to think of it.. It's 100% at the bottom of the parks I've been to but it did have better attractions than a few of the US parks I've been to. Maybe I'm just being picky or maybe i'm just comparing it to the last experience we had in a disney park pre pandemic (Tokyo) But a couple of things I found frustrating:

• Smoking everywhere; seeing people smoking in queues and walking down main street was a shock to the system. Our hotel room stunk of smoke too sadly.
• Cast members being back doored on rides; cast members on their day off in their CM spirit jerseys and jackets being put on rides through the exits and skipping queues.
• Cast members blatantly on their phones texting
• Queues; not sure if it's always this busy but parks sadly hit capacity twice while we were there and with no free fast passes it meant lengthy waits for attractions
• Many food options would just close or not even open when you'd expect. Our first day we went to find a 'Pineapple whip' to find the kiosk not open, returned again in a few hours to see it was open but a CM told us it was due to close and we couldn't place an order.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Just come back from 3 nights in DLP and am not sure what to think of it.. It's 100% at the bottom of the parks I've been to but it did have better attractions than a few of the US parks I've been to. Maybe I'm just being picky or maybe i'm just comparing it to the last experience we had in a disney park pre pandemic (Tokyo) But a couple of things I found frustrating:

• Smoking everywhere; seeing people smoking in queues and walking down main street was a shock to the system. Our hotel room stunk of smoke too sadly.
• Cast members being back doored on rides; cast members on their day off in their CM spirit jerseys and jackets being put on rides through the exits and skipping queues.
• Cast members blatantly on their phones texting
• Queues; not sure if it's always this busy but parks sadly hit capacity twice while we were there and with no free fast passes it meant lengthy waits for attractions
• Many food options would just close or not even open when you'd expect. Our first day we went to find a 'Pineapple whip' to find the kiosk not open, returned again in a few hours to see it was open but a CM told us it was due to close and we couldn't place an order.

Is this your first visit to DLP or your first visit since Covid??

Ive been to DLP 3 times, 2011, 2013 and 2016. Most of the things you listed were issues and problems long before Covid. DLP is a Frenchified version of an American theme park, and has never had the same level of customer service as other parks. The smoking is a French cultural thing, the cm's never cared about telling people to stop as its not worth the abuse they get.

I never noticed about cms being back doored onto rides, but its not something I am shocked at, the cm's in DLP do not have the same emotional attachment as in other parks, its just a job to them, its an attitude thats at every level, from the front line ride cm's to the park management.

When you go to DLP you take it at face value, enjoy the general Disney atmosphere and dont compare it to other parks. Its an easy way to get Disney fix , to escape reality for a while but nothing like a Disney parks holiday in America.

 

[WelshMorgan92]

Is this your first visit to DLP or your first visit since Covid??

Ive been to DLP 3 times, 2011, 2013 and 2016. Most of the things you listed were issues and problems long before Covid. DLP is a Frenchified version of an American theme park, and has never had the same level of customer service as other parks. The smoking is a French cultural thing, the cm's never cared about telling people to stop as its not worth the abuse they get.

I never noticed about cms being back doored onto rides, but its not something I am shocked at, the cm's in DLP do not have the same emotional attachment as in other parks, its just a job to them, its an attitude thats at every level, from the front line ride cm's to the park management.

When you go to DLP you take it at face value, enjoy the general Disney atmosphere and dont compare it to other parks. Its an easy way to get Disney fix , to escape reality for a while but nothing like a Disney parks holiday in America.

it was my first trip since the 90's, we usually do WDW.

Was a shame as I really enjoyed the attractions, I found phantom manor/ Tower of Terror/ Big Thunder/ Hyperspace to be better than other versions.

 

[BadPinkTink]

it was my first trip since the 90's, we usually do WDW.

Was a shame as I really enjoyed the attractions, I found phantom manor/ Tower of Terror/ Big Thunder/ Hyperspace to be better than other versions.

People who usually go to the American parks usually end up disappointed with DLP. People think its Disney, its going to be Magic Kingdom scooped up and transported to France, when the reality is very different.

Ive been on Disboards since 2015 and before the shutdown in March 2020, I lost count of trip reports like yours, where the smoking , lack of Disney customer service and so much more were a common theme.

It is what it is and anyone expecting it to be like WDW will be very disappointed.

 

[WelshMorgan92]

I do have to give them credit, it's a beautiful park and the attractions are amazing.. Was even surprised by how nice some of the hotels were!

 

[DisneySwede]

It's taken quite a few trips but we love it now. The smoking is probably one of the worst things about DLP but there are some amazing cast members and we take our own food/eat in the hotel outside the parks more and have learned to just laugh when things dont go as expected there. It is a beautiful park with great attractions and the energy from the crowd for Dream a little is unlike any of the other parks.

 

[Karin1984]

Yeah, one advice that is general for DLP for people used to other parks is not to compare. DLP is beautiful and has magic, but sometimes it gets clouded when you compare it to others.

And the culture in attitude between French and Japanese CMs is maybe even bigger than French and US.

I go to DLP 3-5 times a year, and to me, the smoking has really decreased in the last decade. While it still happens in the parks, smoking in hotel rooms is forbidden.

 

[ratherbeshiny]

I'm sorry your room smelt of smoke, at these prices no less!

I don't mind the more err... 'normal' attitude of guests and cast members as much though.