Done with dlp

[simplyshaz]

We arrived back from dlp late last night. I was sooooo glad to be home. It couldn't have come quick enough to be honest. We have only had our ap's since march but this will be the last time they get used. I will never go back to this place again. The lows just out weigh the highs. Some of the things that should have been highs ended up as lows. Cafe mickey and auberge both turned into lows, I feel extremely 'ripped off' as it were. I was so looking forward to this trip with it being just me and dd and now I just wish I hadn't bothered, even dd wanted to come home. She said herself how crap cafe mickey was and that she didn't want to go back 2 days later (when we had another reservation) she wanted to leave auberge before we had even finished ( such a shame this as she was so looking forward to this as she had never done this before) lots of things were downers. The characters everything, rubbish basically. I,ll not even start about the character meet n greets. The whole trip was a waste of time and all it has done is take away the disney magic from a 6 year old girl. Sorry for the negative thread guys but this is now how I feel about it I always hated reading negative stuff before a trip so I'm not even gonna go into details about it, just that I will never go back. Think I'd rather save for wdw. As far as I'm concerned now there is nothing 'Disney' about dlp anymore.

 

[chmurf]

Sorry about your bad experience

many DISers have pink glasses on while they're in Disneyland Paris, and come back with a lot of highs and very few lows (they have lows but they hate to talk about it because they fear they will be considered to be part of the "negative crew", so they hush hush ...

want some fuel ?

Tripadvisor released its top25 world amusement and water parks.

it's based on reviews and overall customer satisfaction.

Disneyland Paris is not even ranked

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/TravelersChoice-Attractions-cAmusementParks-g1

so, no, definitely, you're not alone.

 

[wideeyes]

that is a shame that a 6 year old felt like that.

I am worried about wasting my money on dlrp now as we are saving up for wdw. I don't see what my girls will get out of it for the cost. it doesn't seem to be special anymore. I am sure they will have fun, but they have fun at the park.. They don't even have my little girls favourite Disney Jr characters.

 

[jillrobinson]

Oh dear I'm sorry your trip was such a disappointment.

We had an amazing trip, but with all adults there was no character hunting, in fact we made a last minute decision to eat at Cafe Mickey just to get a couple of pics. What was so bad there for you?

 

[Lisa_C]

I have rose coloured glasses on as far as the park is concerned - but I agree Auberge is a rip off, Cafe Mickey is what you make it and the characters in the park are few and far between. But that also takes people back to the days of the original parks where characters/dinning were not the main focus.
Unfortunately its become the norm to expect these now as we've been spoilt, it can be a shocker after returning after a "high" to a trip where we feel the lows are greater. I'd say take a long break and return when you feel ready.
I actually do not like WDW *yeah shock horror. Shoot me* and haven't been back since Feb 2008. It will be a long time yet until I'm ready to return. I feel sometimes we need to step back and focus on other things than negativity and clear our heads from it.
Sorry your six year old had a bad trip, hopefully you can both put it down to a bad experience My friend said the same yet returned 18 months later - but again she felt like not returning (because of personal things that went wrong though) so sometimes its just better for time out. Hope the magic returns for you both x

 

[Lisa_C]

Oh dear I'm sorry your trip was such a disappointment.

We had an amazing trip, but with all adults there was no character hunting, in fact we made a last minute decision to eat at Cafe Mickey just to get a couple of pics. What was so bad there for you?

I was the same on this trip Jill - so relaxed and an amazing time!

 

[addverbaan]

Sorry about your bad experience

many DISers have pink glasses on while they're in Disneyland Paris, and come back with a lot of highs and very few lows (they have lows but they hate to talk about it because they fear they will be considered to be part of the "negative crew", so they hush hush ...

want some fuel ?

Tripadvisor released its top25 world amusement and water parks.

it's based on reviews and overall customer satisfaction.

Disneyland Paris is not even ranked

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/TravelersChoice-Attractions-cAmusementParks-g1

so, no, definitely, you're not alone.

No rose tinted glasses here, but just to clarify, in the TA European top 25 amusement parks it came 4th.

 

[Trevski220]

As the only Disney park in Europe you'd hope it'd be first or second in the European ratings, either way the fact remains that it doesn't appear anywhere on the world top 25 list, whereas every WDW park does including the water parks.

Again it's down to personal opinion, but DLP is IMO simply not worth the price they charge, I am lucky enough to get some good deals through work at well below 50% of the normal cost to stay onsite and I don't believe the parks are worth the cost even at that hugely discounted price, and that's before you take into account the price of day to day living at the parks!

To be clear I haven't always felt this way, but the parks have been in decline for some time now with no sign of improvement coming!

Christmas at DLP is the only time I feel that their is any "Magic" in the parks, Again this is MY opinion and I know many wont agree, but I don't think it can be disputed whether you like DLP or not it is certainly worse than it was and not as "magical" as it once was.

 

[tinks_1989]

many DISers have pink glasses on while they're in Disneyland Paris, and come back with a lot of highs and very few lows (they have lows but they hate to talk about it because they fear they will be considered to be part of the "negative crew", so they hush hush ...

I agree. You can come here to voice your opinion but you will have the same people come on and defend THEIR park and say how much they prefer it to any where else.

We went last September and said we would never return. Soon the bad experiences will be forgotten and the good memories will be begging to go back.

 

[simplyshaz]

Im not one to moan about things, I generally take things as they come and kind of just go along with how things are. Café mickey - now this is/was my dd favourite place. We had a reservation for 6.15, arrived when there weren't many there to find that we were seated alone upstairs, downstairs didn't have many in it yet we got put upstairs. Dd could hear the ppl with the characters, the happy birthdays etc, but upstairs, nothing. After a while a few more ppl were seated upstairs. it was 1hr 20mins before any character came upstairs which was Minnie, she went to some tables across the room, and then came to a table nearby for happy birthday and then took off downstairs again. Only goofy appeared after 1hr 40 mins, he appeared at our table just long enough for Chloe to get his autograph and for me to get a quick pic. Now im not being funny but if you pay for a character meal, you excpect characters to be there. Try explaining to a 6 year old why Minnie walked straight past her when she was sat there in a Minnie mouse t shirt,minnie mouse shorts,minnie mouse bow, holding a Minnie mouse plush (not too obvious that she really likes Minnie mouse is it) to be completely ignored. How does a 6 year old understand that?
Auberge - Now I was led to believe that you would meet the princesses and prince, see them dance etc. Now I knew beforehand that we probably wouldn't like the food,so I was ok with that. when we arrived it was super busy and us and lots of others had to wait a while. When we were called, we were shown to like a smaller room to the side where we couldn't even see the princesses and prince. Chloe accidently knocked over my cocktail with drink and ice swamping the table, it kept getting ignored,even though I asked about it. then the waitress dropped a drink onto a table as she was serving them and the drink spilt and went onto the table and the man. Well all the waitresses, manager , most of staff were then falling over themselves to serve this family, and im still sat there like, hello!! soaking table here, eventually after numerous attempts to get them to do something the waitress eventually came to sort it, she simply pushed our plates etc to one side and just placed a large napkin on top of it, which obviously all the drink and ice soaked through so everything just stayed wet. Chloe was told when she first got there that she would be meeting Cinderella, and would see snow white and ariel. Chloe had seen that ariel & eric was there as we walked through the large room to ours. In the end, chloe actually only saw snow white and Cinderella, she never got to meet ariel or eric, or see any dances. Also a problem with my starter too. This was not the experience that I had payed over 100 euros for. They quick enough to take the money.

 

[simplyshaz]

My first experience at dlp wasn't good so I gave it another chance last time. But after this time no way. I dont complain about wether buildings/attractions etc aren't looking their best, or the fact that there are now shows etc. But I will complain when I def haven't got the service that I payed for. At the end of the day everyone that works there, its their job,they took the job, so if they dont want to do it properly then they shouldn't have the job. I have to do my job properly so why should it be any different for ppl who work at dlp? When things are ruined for a 6 year old, so much so that she wants to go home and never go back then something somewhere is going wrong.

 

[Dav2205]

My first experience at dlp wasn't good so I gave it another chance last time. But after this time no way. I dont complain about wether buildings/attractions etc aren't looking their best, or the fact that there are now shows etc. But I will complain when I def haven't got the service that I payed for. At the end of the day everyone that works there, its their job,they took the job, so if they dont want to do it properly then they shouldn't have the job. I have to do my job properly so why should it be any different for ppl who work at dlp? When things are ruined for a 6 year old, so much so that she wants to go home and never go back then something somewhere is going wrong.

IMO if you don't want to outright complain about the buildings/attraction upkeep you should definitely still leave feedback about it with your complaint if it has disappointed you. Voting with your feet is the ultimate feedback to give though so good for you!

 

[moorhunhe]

About the character meets, if you've been there before, you probably saw how it went down that time.
Unfortunetly, it hasn't changed.

So sorry to hear you had such a bad time.
I will be booking my 4th visit for this year tomorrow, I guess my experience was totally different then yours.

 

[chmurf]

No rose tinted glasses here, but just to clarify, in the TA European top 25 amusement parks it came 4th.

this is correct, but DLP is the #1 overall tourist destination in Europe.
Being ranked #4 of amusement parks is still a pretty poor ranking in that regard.

IVoting with your feet is the ultimate feedback to give though so good for you!

I'm among those who vote with their feet.
I've switched to WDW and try to hop across the pond as much as I can, but still, when you need your disney fix, you need your disney fix, and I still come back
Saying "vote with your feet" is quite easy. Disney deprivation is another story.

The whole point of complaining is not to give up on Disneyland Paris forever. The point in complaining is to demand higher quality standards.

It's very hard to walk away from a disney park. For those of us who go to Disneyworld, you all know that we cry when we leave MK for the last time at the end of the holidays (yes, we all do, don't play tough )
It's also hard to walk away from DLP and even if we do, we always come back in the end.

Now many of us are very furious. There is a thread here that went unnoticed about rumors that The Walt Disney Company has stopped all investments in DLP pending results of the Ratatouille ride. Theses rumors are true. And since TWDC holds DLP's debt, and is the only one who lends money to DLP (banks refuse to give DLP credits, and that's why Ratatouille is 2 years behind schedule) This news means no funding for DLP until Ratatouille gives TWDC visibility on the future of the park ... the park loses money, gives discounts (£15 for a park ticket if you have a friend with AP), gives free APs to anyone who request (well, almost, lol) so money will need to be found somewhere ... and this means cutting on expenses even more.
So when Dreams goes away ... it goes away, and nothing will come to replace it, nothing new is expected (show and ride wise) until at least 2 years (best case scenario)
meanwhile, they will need to manage the park with a multi million euro loss and no fresh cash for day to day operations ... that's gonna be a tough year 2014 ...

 

[Dav2205]

this is correct, but DLP is the #1 overall tourist destination in Europe.
Being ranked #4 of amusement parks is still a pretty poor ranking in that regard.



I'm among those who vote with their feet.
I've switched to WDW and try to hop across the pond as much as I can, but still, when you need your disney fix, you need your disney fix, and I still come back
Saying "vote with your feet" is quite easy. Disney deprivation is another story.

The whole point of complaining is not to give up on Disneyland Paris forever. The point in complaining is to demand higher quality standards.

It's very hard to walk away from a disney park. For those of us who go to Disneyworld, you all know that we cry when we leave MK for the last time at the end of the holidays (yes, we all do, don't play tough )
It's also hard to walk away from DLP and even if we do, we always come back in the end.

Now many of us are very furious. There is a thread here that went unnoticed about rumors that The Walt Disney Company has stopped all investments in DLP pending results of the Ratatouille ride. Theses rumors are true. And since TWDC holds DLP's debt, and is the only one who lends money to DLP (banks refuse to give DLP credits, and that's why Ratatouille is 2 years behind schedule) This news means no funding for DLP until Ratatouille gives TWDC visibility on the future of the park ... the park loses money, gives discounts (£15 for a park ticket if you have a friend with AP), gives free APs to anyone who request (well, almost, lol) so money will need to be found somewhere ... and this means cutting on expenses even more.
So when Dreams goes away ... it goes away, and nothing will come to replace it, nothing new is expected (show and ride wise) until at least 2 years (best case scenario)
meanwhile, they will need to manage the park with a multi million euro loss and no fresh cash for day to day operations ... that's gonna be a tough year 2014 ...

For me the problems with the Studios park run much, much deeper than any one attraction could cure. If I'm not mistaken it opened a year or so after California Adventure and it has many of the same problems it had eg. built on the cheap. I still enjoy having a wee half day in the Studios but it's a case of get in, do attractions, leave. It offers none of the same atmosphere of the main park, that's to say I never even have the urge to sit and people watch. I'm looking forward to Ratatouille but it really needs something like a Cars land in it. If they got rid of the backlot and built a Cars Land it would give the park so much more identity than concrete jungle.

It always confuses me just how DLP never seems to turn a profit. Can someone shed some light on this? And why has it never received the same kind of investment as the other non-US parks? The main park is one of the most attended theme parks on the planet. If it's the Studios that's dragging them down then hell mend them. You build on the cheap and you deal with the consequences.

 

[chmurf]

It always confuses me just how DLP never seems to turn a profit. Can someone shed some light on this? And why has it never received the same kind of investment as the other non-US parks? The main park is one of the most attended theme parks on the planet.

I won't get into details, it's not the place.
Suffice to say that there were some deals cut with the French government, and with the local collectivities, when the park was negociated and the whole thing was built in such a way that TWDC cannot invest directly into DLP.
They managed to do so, indirectly, by increasing the number of shares, and TWDC began a buyout of DLP's debt (and thus acquired even more shares)

but when DLP wanted to come up with a 20th anniversary innovation, they had envisionned Dreams and Ratatouille. So they went to see the banks and the banks all said NO.
So they had to turn to the only entity which would give DLP money, and this is the Walt Disney Company. But since it can't invest, they had to open new credit lines.
Not only did Ratatouille take a beating and fell 2 years behind, and was absent for the 20th, but DLP needs to pay hefty royalties to TWDC for use of the disney licenses, but now DLP has to pay even more interests for the loans and credit lines it received

That's one side of the story

the other side is that, meanwhile, TWDC gave a 16 millions visitors target to the Philippe Gas directorate (that was for the 15th anniversary) and the management team of DLP had to reach 16 millions visitors by the 20th anniversary

But crisis hit europe, and DLP did the only thing to do to meet the objectives ... they lowered the gate price by offering many discounts, free APs, you name it.

Let me tell our honored UK friends that you get absolutely ripped off when you buy your tickets and stay packages. For french people get them for a fraction of the price you pay. Because it's DLP's policy to work with volumes.

Think about the dream AP, 200 euros ( £160 ) and compare that to other Disney parks around the world where it's 2 or 3 times more expensive (even for DLR or TDL which both have only 2 parks)

They don't have the money, and they shut down or reduce everything that could earn them money.

How could the park make profit when they pay more and more for their credits and licenses, and when, at the same time, they give huge discounts to customers ?

Now, to end this. Let me add that there are 2 options that are considered.

Disney US executives are being placed into key positions at DLP, and this trend has been going on for the last few months.
Executives have moved from DLP's ground and are now relocated in Val D'europe, which hints that drastic changes will be made.

there are 2 options
1 - the park is declared worthy of saving (and that will depend on what Ratatouille will show as far as the future is concerned)
2 - the park will close, plain and simple

(now some of you will say 2- will never happen, too much at stake ... I will answer, don't be so sure. Disney cuts the branches when they don't bear fruit. They have done before, they can do it again, and even though there is too much at stake (tens of thousands of jobs) there might be a solution, but it's not gonna be pleasant, trust me)

 

[Ms Poppins]

So sorry to hear you didn't have a good time. That's such a shame after you were looking forward to it. I have to say, Cafe Mickey has been a bit hit and miss over the last few years, but to not see a character for all that time is not acceptable at all. We gave up on it after a very busy and rushed experience a couple of years ago, but we did see a lot a characters.

We're not character hunters either and tend to just wander around and do what we feel like. We only managed BTM once this trip, and a few years ago we'd have gone on several each day. But I know we'll be back so it's not a problem. I know how it feels to be with a little one and not get to do what you want to, or to be treated poorly. You really should email DLP to complain

many DISers have pink glasses on while they're in Disneyland Paris, and come back with a lot of highs and very few lows (they have lows but they hate to talk about it because they fear they will be considered to be part of the "negative crew", so they hush hush ...

I joked on another thread that I have rose tinted glasses, but not to the extent that I would be scared to mention it here. I'm honest with how our trips have been and looking back through all my trip reports all I can see is my kids happy faces - that's good enough for me I'm happy to pay to go to DLP and as it's my money I think that's the only opinion that counts

 

[jillrobinson]

I'm not surprised your upset after your experiences at Cafe Mickey and Auberge, that's such a shame, I've never visited Auberge since the Character meal was introduced so don't know what the usual set up is there. At Cafe Mickey we've had a great time every time so I can only begin to imagine your frustration

I hope you have at least one or two happy memories from the trip.

 

[MickeysFavouriteGirl]

Cafe Mickey is usually a firm favourite of ours, but after our March trip we were a bit deflated by the experience. We saw plenty of characters and lots of interaction but our waitress seemed disgusted that we'd only ordered a pizza and fries between us and her face dropped when I said I didn't want a drink lol. Don't think we're going there on our next trip, may do inventions instead.

Sorry you didn't enjoy your trip

 

[Leahsmum23]

So sorry to hear about your bad time. We went to cafe mickeys and Leah loved it we seen mickey Pluto Minnie tigger and goofy there. Mickey took Leah's teddy and gave it to a baby at another table and they were really fun with her. The waiter was a bit pushy though. We were finished eating and still had half a drink and five times he came over to ask us for desert which we didn't want. I felt we being pushed out.