marcus.ka
Disney Hotel Fan
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2005
- Messages
- 1,584
This is the second and last part of my Trip Report. The first part can be found here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2324185
What was better at WDW:
•There are many things better at WDW for example so cool things like the Photopass or the coin machines.
•Also everything looked brand new. I was really surprised. We don’t have that at DLRP and this is also something I don’t expect because with so many visitors in the parks it is acceptable if an attraction or a single building does not look brand new. But everything just looked as if it would have been refurbished recently. (But it is also likely that I did not pay so much attention to all the details because there was so much new to see every day. And while we are at DLRP we know everything and can spend more time on details.)
•Better was also that the waiting times were usually shorter than what has been announced. For a picture with the princesses the waiting times was announced as 40 minutes and we waited not more than 20. And this was also the case for many attractions. If you see a waiting time of 40 minutes at DLRP than you have to wait 40 minutes.
•Although I think that POTC are much better at DLRP I have to say that Jack Sparrow (who appeared three times during the ride) is just out of this world. He looked so real that I thought: “Maybe a poor CM has to stand inside the attraction some hours a day!”
•Better was also that three rides had a better story. These three were Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror and Snow White.
•And much better were also the waiting times at counter service restaurants. If you want to have an ice-cream or a fast food menu then you have to wait for at least 10 minutes at DLRP even if there are only 2 people ahead of you. At DLRP I have sometimes the impression that the CM there all have their first day. This was totally different at WDW. Everything went very smooth and fast. But why is there such a big difference between these two resorts?
What is better at DLRP:
•Although the Magic Kingdom is a very, very beautiful park the Disneyland Park Paris is more beautiful. For example the whole Mainstreet and especially Fantasyland looked like fake at WDW. The train station and many buildings look really cheap at the MK compared to the DLP. We in Europe know the real things and so everything was done much better at DLRP.
•Much better is also that you don’t have to book everything 6 month in advance just to find out that 50% of the restaurant is empty once you are there. I don’t want to think 6 month in advance about which park I will visit and which restaurant I would like to eat at. At DLRP I can be more spontaneous.
•As you all might know there are many attractions that are much better at DLRP: BTM, POTC, Phantom Manor, Space Mountain, Peter Pan, IASW and many more.
•Better are also the parades. I liked the parade at the MK but this one can not be compared to the great new parade at the DLP with the added smells and lights. And also Fantillusion is much much better than Spectromagic.
•And the Halloween decoration is much much better at DLRP. The whole Mainstreet and Frontierland are completely decorated. At WDW there were only some decoration elements at Mainstreet.
I think it is out of question which park the more beautiful castle has:
If it would only be warm enough in Paris to have a Water Park.
CM’s:
I was really looking forward to the CM’s at WDW. I heard so much about them. I know that the CM’s at DLRP are friendly and helpful but now I know what many of you mean.
People from the US are in general friendlier and more open minded as most of us Europeans. I also loved the people in Miami. In these two weeks in the US I had more small talks and I smiled to more unknown people than in 2 years in Europe.
Don’t get me wrong, Europeans are also friendly and helpful but in a different way.
I was also surprised about the number of CM’s working there. There is a CM everywhere. At DLRP there is sometimes only one CM at the entrance, one at the loading area and one at the exit. But at WDW there were much more of them.
What was also a big plus is that all CM’s give you so much useful information. You just say "Good Morning" and short after you have enough tips for your day at the parks.
I was a little bit shocked about how many old CM’s (over 60) we saw. I mean it is good to have such a wide variety of ages but on the other hand it is sad that people over 60 or even 70 have to work for their living.
We also did not wear any “What are you celebrating?” batches because we as Europeans found it strange if all CM’s are greeting you with “Happy Birthday” the whole day long. This is also something that would not work at DLRP because we are different. I would be annoyed if all CM’s would great me all day long and I have to be thankful. But all this worked great at WDW.
Another example: We saw a very nice CM at Peter Pan she was waiving a kiss on the hand to every airship. This was a very magical moment but I think in Europe workers would not want to do it, and Unions would argue that this is mortifying. But again this worked great and added a lot of Magic at WDW.
What a belle Belle
Things they forgot to build/install or were missing at WDW:
The arcades at Main Street USA
The color at IASW
The cellar and the first floor inside the castle
The hotel at the entrance of the Magic Kingdom
The restaurant inside POTC
The elevator at Haunted Mansion
The droops at POTC and BTM
Nemo Ride at Epcot
Nemo, his Dad and Dori LIVE!
Highlights of the Highlights OR Tears in my eyes moments:
•There were some moments when I had tears in my eyes: The first moment was off course when we entered the Magic Kingdom for the very first time.
•The second time was when I saw Philharmagic for the first time. If I could have one WDW attraction at DLRP it would be this one. I would queue for it for more than two hours just to see it. It is just perfect. 101% Disney. Perfect 3D animation, very funny (I just loved Donald in there), cool effects and perfect music.
•The third time was when I saw Wishes for the first time. I have never seen this Fireworks Show before. And I just loved it. Especially the Tinker Bell Moment.
•Another huge highlight was Fantasmic. Wow, what a show. Something you can only see and expect to see from Disney.
•And my favourite tears-in-my-eyes moment was our short visit at the Grand Floridian Hotel. I am a huge fan of the Disneyland Hotel Paris and I never thought that there would be a more beautiful hotel. I just loved it, loved it loved it. 50 percent of the lobby where on refurbishment but that didn’t bother me. I just ignored it and soaked up the atmosphere and wandered through the lobby. And after our dinner at the Grand Floridian Café we walked to the Monorail. And on our way out of the hotel the pianist was playing “What’ll I do”. I was in heaven (and in tears once again).
I was shocked about:
That there is a moving staircase at POTC and a real elevator at TOT. This destroys the theme in my eyes.
And I was also shocked about the loading area at the Haunted Mansion. There is no order and with so many people waiting to be boarded, there was such a noise that the whole spooky feeling was missing.
Conclusion:
Yes, WDW is more magical. I know now what you all mean. This is a totally different experience compared to DLRP. I love DLRP because there I have the feeling to be at home because it is my “resort”. And I also love WDW because you can spend there 2 weeks without getting bored. There is so much to do and see. And with the great currency rate this was a cheap trip for us. We booked via the UK and so we only paid 86€ per day for our room, the tickets and the DisneyDiningPlan.
And the prices for everything (food, merchandise) are the same as in DLRP. A T-Shirt costs 19€ at DLRP and 19$ at WDW. But with the great currency rate (1€ = 1.45$) everything was much cheaper for us compared to DLRP. I know now how much everything is for US guests at DLRP.
Looking back I can not believe that I have been there! And I can not believe how fast the time went by.
Before we went I did not think that both MK and DLP Paris would be so different (rides, shows, setting,) I thought it would be more or less the same. Now I know better and now I also know that…
All your Wishes can come true!
What was better at WDW:
•There are many things better at WDW for example so cool things like the Photopass or the coin machines.
•Also everything looked brand new. I was really surprised. We don’t have that at DLRP and this is also something I don’t expect because with so many visitors in the parks it is acceptable if an attraction or a single building does not look brand new. But everything just looked as if it would have been refurbished recently. (But it is also likely that I did not pay so much attention to all the details because there was so much new to see every day. And while we are at DLRP we know everything and can spend more time on details.)
•Better was also that the waiting times were usually shorter than what has been announced. For a picture with the princesses the waiting times was announced as 40 minutes and we waited not more than 20. And this was also the case for many attractions. If you see a waiting time of 40 minutes at DLRP than you have to wait 40 minutes.
•Although I think that POTC are much better at DLRP I have to say that Jack Sparrow (who appeared three times during the ride) is just out of this world. He looked so real that I thought: “Maybe a poor CM has to stand inside the attraction some hours a day!”
•Better was also that three rides had a better story. These three were Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror and Snow White.
•And much better were also the waiting times at counter service restaurants. If you want to have an ice-cream or a fast food menu then you have to wait for at least 10 minutes at DLRP even if there are only 2 people ahead of you. At DLRP I have sometimes the impression that the CM there all have their first day. This was totally different at WDW. Everything went very smooth and fast. But why is there such a big difference between these two resorts?
What is better at DLRP:
•Although the Magic Kingdom is a very, very beautiful park the Disneyland Park Paris is more beautiful. For example the whole Mainstreet and especially Fantasyland looked like fake at WDW. The train station and many buildings look really cheap at the MK compared to the DLP. We in Europe know the real things and so everything was done much better at DLRP.
•Much better is also that you don’t have to book everything 6 month in advance just to find out that 50% of the restaurant is empty once you are there. I don’t want to think 6 month in advance about which park I will visit and which restaurant I would like to eat at. At DLRP I can be more spontaneous.
•As you all might know there are many attractions that are much better at DLRP: BTM, POTC, Phantom Manor, Space Mountain, Peter Pan, IASW and many more.
•Better are also the parades. I liked the parade at the MK but this one can not be compared to the great new parade at the DLP with the added smells and lights. And also Fantillusion is much much better than Spectromagic.
•And the Halloween decoration is much much better at DLRP. The whole Mainstreet and Frontierland are completely decorated. At WDW there were only some decoration elements at Mainstreet.
I think it is out of question which park the more beautiful castle has:
If it would only be warm enough in Paris to have a Water Park.
CM’s:
I was really looking forward to the CM’s at WDW. I heard so much about them. I know that the CM’s at DLRP are friendly and helpful but now I know what many of you mean.
People from the US are in general friendlier and more open minded as most of us Europeans. I also loved the people in Miami. In these two weeks in the US I had more small talks and I smiled to more unknown people than in 2 years in Europe.
Don’t get me wrong, Europeans are also friendly and helpful but in a different way.
I was also surprised about the number of CM’s working there. There is a CM everywhere. At DLRP there is sometimes only one CM at the entrance, one at the loading area and one at the exit. But at WDW there were much more of them.
What was also a big plus is that all CM’s give you so much useful information. You just say "Good Morning" and short after you have enough tips for your day at the parks.
I was a little bit shocked about how many old CM’s (over 60) we saw. I mean it is good to have such a wide variety of ages but on the other hand it is sad that people over 60 or even 70 have to work for their living.
We also did not wear any “What are you celebrating?” batches because we as Europeans found it strange if all CM’s are greeting you with “Happy Birthday” the whole day long. This is also something that would not work at DLRP because we are different. I would be annoyed if all CM’s would great me all day long and I have to be thankful. But all this worked great at WDW.
Another example: We saw a very nice CM at Peter Pan she was waiving a kiss on the hand to every airship. This was a very magical moment but I think in Europe workers would not want to do it, and Unions would argue that this is mortifying. But again this worked great and added a lot of Magic at WDW.
What a belle Belle
Things they forgot to build/install or were missing at WDW:
The arcades at Main Street USA
The color at IASW
The cellar and the first floor inside the castle
The hotel at the entrance of the Magic Kingdom
The restaurant inside POTC
The elevator at Haunted Mansion
The droops at POTC and BTM
Nemo Ride at Epcot
Nemo, his Dad and Dori LIVE!
Highlights of the Highlights OR Tears in my eyes moments:
•There were some moments when I had tears in my eyes: The first moment was off course when we entered the Magic Kingdom for the very first time.
•The second time was when I saw Philharmagic for the first time. If I could have one WDW attraction at DLRP it would be this one. I would queue for it for more than two hours just to see it. It is just perfect. 101% Disney. Perfect 3D animation, very funny (I just loved Donald in there), cool effects and perfect music.
•The third time was when I saw Wishes for the first time. I have never seen this Fireworks Show before. And I just loved it. Especially the Tinker Bell Moment.
•Another huge highlight was Fantasmic. Wow, what a show. Something you can only see and expect to see from Disney.
•And my favourite tears-in-my-eyes moment was our short visit at the Grand Floridian Hotel. I am a huge fan of the Disneyland Hotel Paris and I never thought that there would be a more beautiful hotel. I just loved it, loved it loved it. 50 percent of the lobby where on refurbishment but that didn’t bother me. I just ignored it and soaked up the atmosphere and wandered through the lobby. And after our dinner at the Grand Floridian Café we walked to the Monorail. And on our way out of the hotel the pianist was playing “What’ll I do”. I was in heaven (and in tears once again).
I was shocked about:
That there is a moving staircase at POTC and a real elevator at TOT. This destroys the theme in my eyes.
And I was also shocked about the loading area at the Haunted Mansion. There is no order and with so many people waiting to be boarded, there was such a noise that the whole spooky feeling was missing.
Conclusion:
Yes, WDW is more magical. I know now what you all mean. This is a totally different experience compared to DLRP. I love DLRP because there I have the feeling to be at home because it is my “resort”. And I also love WDW because you can spend there 2 weeks without getting bored. There is so much to do and see. And with the great currency rate this was a cheap trip for us. We booked via the UK and so we only paid 86€ per day for our room, the tickets and the DisneyDiningPlan.
And the prices for everything (food, merchandise) are the same as in DLRP. A T-Shirt costs 19€ at DLRP and 19$ at WDW. But with the great currency rate (1€ = 1.45$) everything was much cheaper for us compared to DLRP. I know now how much everything is for US guests at DLRP.
Looking back I can not believe that I have been there! And I can not believe how fast the time went by.
Before we went I did not think that both MK and DLP Paris would be so different (rides, shows, setting,) I thought it would be more or less the same. Now I know better and now I also know that…
All your Wishes can come true!
