France Hates Disney

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Well, this thread is one of the silliest things I've read in a long time. This "I hate France" mentality has gotten way out of hand. You people realize that as a country, it is a collection of people with a variety of views and attitudes. If you do chose to travel to France, you might find it a beautiful place with extraordinary people, assuming you don't go there already bashing their culture.

I very much enjoyed Paris when I went.

The Disney property, I didn't...but equate it to those who go to WDW with very little research and go commando in one day.

 

[auntpolly]

Well, this thread is one of the silliest things I've read in a long time. This "I hate France" mentality has gotten way out of hand. You people realize that as a country, it is a collection of people with a variety of views and attitudes. If you do chose to travel to France, you might find it a beautiful place with extraordinary people, assuming you don't go there already bashing their culture.

LOL well I hate Texans - those rednecked country western lovin', Governor Bush electin', death penalty happy, high school drop-outs.....never mind that I have a half-dozen of my closest friends that live there.....I hate Texas....and, oh yeah, I hate New Yorkers - those uppity, abrasive, thinkining they are the center-of-the-universe......

 

[lucky_bunni]

I agree that Spain would have been a better place for it, just not as central though. What about Germany? I think that would hae been better, they're the 3rd largest economy in the world. And they like American things. I think people get down on France too much. We just don't understand them and don't try to. They've got a lot of national pride and they live life very differently than we do, which is probably better in many ways. I can't imagine the world without France. The cuisine, the cookwear, their beautiful cities, the wine, and their niche for style. Just because they don't want another country's corporations invading and trying to change their culture forcefully, we can't blame them for rebelling. Disney fumbled big on this one, where was their market research?

 

[skiwee1]

My husband keeps talking about taking a trip there. I'm not too interested. He said he heard someone on base saying they had a blast when they went over the holidays. I guess I am just afraid of going with the expectation of it being exactly like the one in Orlando.....which I know it never can be the same.

We are planning a trip to France for 18 months from now. I am looking forward to checking out DLP for a day. Since I've only seen WDW I would love to see any other Disney park. Hopefully I won't get my expectations up too high though the way they decorated for Halloween beat our WDW any day.

 

[chadfromdallas]

LOL well I hate Texans - those rednecked country western lovin', Governor Bush electin', death penalty happy, high school drop-outs.....never mind that I have a half-dozen of my closest friends that live there.....I hate Texas....and, oh yeah, I hate New Yorkers - those uppity, abrasive, thinkining they are the center-of-the-universe......

 

[Sandyincanada]

Well, this thread is one of the silliest things I've read in a long time. This "I hate France" mentality has gotten way out of hand. You people realize that as a country, it is a collection of people with a variety of views and attitudes. If you do chose to travel to France, you might find it a beautiful place with extraordinary people, assuming you don't go there already bashing their culture.

I agree. People go purposely to Orlando just to go to WDW. Most people go to France to see the countryside, the historical buildings, the culture, the cafes, Versailles. There is so much to do and see there that I highly doubt I would spend anytime at DL if we went back. My DH grew up in England and he once told me that they did not grow up with MIckey Mouse and gang which also makes a huge difference. It really wasn't popular there (in his time, anyways). He was shocked with they built one in France and always said it wouldn't do well there...its just not the place for it.

 

[Pete's Mom]

He was shocked with they built one in France and always said it wouldn't do well there...its just not the place for it.

Agreed, they need to move it to Georgia!

 

[frozone]

LOL well I hate Texans - those rednecked country western lovin', Governor Bush electin', death penalty happy, high school drop-outs.....never mind that I have a half-dozen of my closest friends that live there.....I hate Texas....and, oh yeah, I hate New Yorkers - those uppity, abrasive, thinkining they are the center-of-the-universe......

Interesting you bring up Texas. I've never been there, but had family that lived there a long time ago. They left when a cross was burned on their property.

I still have some distant relatives who live in France, just outside Paris. It's a beautiful place. Seems some of them moved there many decades ago when they discovered they couldn't support their family based on the depressed wages being offered to "their kind." America, Land of Equal Opportunity- may we continue to strive to make this idea a realization for all citizens.

 

[Crankyshank]

France is gorgeous. I can't imagine how anyone can drive through the French Countryside, touring the beautiful castles and the breathtaking cathedrals, and not at least have some appreciation for the culture. It's such a rich culture filled interesting history. I'm not saying everyone should love it, but geez don't slam an entire country for having different opinions, taste, and interests. Especially if you've never been there and don't personally know anyone from there. It's like slamming the west coast for having a different lifestyle than the east coast.

 

[auntpolly]

Interesting you bring up Texas. I've never been there, but had family that lived there a long time ago. They left when a cross was burned on their property.

Well that's not funny at all! Can you believe that stuff still goes on? It scares me how horrible people can be.

 

[caitycaity]

i wonder how many of the naysayers on this post have even ever been there?!?

we thought it was very disney like. as a matter of fact, we were pleasantly surprised that there were some things that we liked at dlp better than at wdw. we wished wdw would implement some of the things they had at dlp.

we had a great time at dlp and in paris and we didn't find any anti-american sentiment. people were really friendly and helpful.

i would urge people to travel to dlp with an open mind before knocking it.

 

[I_Know_You2!]

I have never been to France, but would love to go. I don't know whether I would visit Disney there, because I can do that here. I can't visit centuries old churches, etc.

My MIL thinks this is crazy, however, because SHE has still not forgiven France for not repaying their war debt, and she lost her father there. I have a hard time understanding carrying a grudge like this, but many seem to.

 

[chesirekate]

Well, I have been to France and I hated it. You couldn't pay me to go back there. I was so excited to go, I had saved forever, taken three years of French, planned a meeting with my friend Sylvie... ugh, I shudder just thinking about what an awful place France is, IMHO. The people were incredibly rude, the cities were filthy, I'm having unpleasant flashbacks of the people right now. *shudder* And I am not your stereotypical loud demanding American. I am laid back and quiet and had expected to love France. I spoke the language a bit and never expected anyone to use English. Didn't help at all.

I know that plenty of people have a great time in France and think it's beautiful and love the people. Kudos to them, I'm glad they had a great time. But like I said, you couldn't pay me to go back, there are just too many other places I want to go. There isn't enough time in my life to give France another chance. They should have gotten it right the first time, like the UK did.

Just a quick paragraph to illustrate one aspect on my experience: When I left France, I needed to take a taxi to the train station. I went to the concierge desk (only time using that service) and the 'person' at that desk was on the phone. When he saw me coming he turned his back so he could finish his conversation, which took 5 more minutes. When he was finally done, he asked me what I needed (no smile, or hello or anything) and rolled his eyes. The cab driver was incredibly rude, until right at the end when he saw the generous tip I had given him. (What the heck was I thinking?) Then he was almost nice. The person at the information desk in the train station was rude. The conductor on the train taking my ticket was rude (evidently I was in the wrong car and had to move up to another car. He actually *yelled* at me with the exasperated look in his eye). Honestly, I was nearly in tears by the time I got on the ferry and left French soil. When I finally got to London, I went out of the train station to get a cab. I was met by a friendly, chatty cabbie who asked me questions and told me about some of the buildings we passed on the way to the hotel. We had a great conversation. He even helped me carry my bags into the hotel instead of leaving them on the curb. He wished me a great time with a smile. All before I had tipped him so he didn't know what he would be given. The staff at the front desk of the hotel greeted me with a big smile and were extremely helpful. Man I love London. For me, the contrast between the UK and France was like night and day.

Anyway, sorry, I'm really rambling but I had to respond to the people who think a trip to France will cure anyone's hatred of it. I have to say I don't agree.

As for DLP, I have seen pics and it looks quite nice actually. Some of the attractions look fantastic. I wish they would just pick the place up and drop it somewhere in a country I want to visit, or a country where it could make money and the people would appreciate it.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

i wonder how many of the naysayers on this post have even ever been there?!?

we thought it was very disney like. as a matter of fact, we were pleasantly surprised that there were some things that we liked at dlp better than at wdw. we wished wdw would implement some of the things they had at dlp.

we had a great time at dlp and in paris and we didn't find any anti-american sentiment. people were really friendly and helpful.

i would urge people to travel to dlp with an open mind before knocking it.

Been there--didn't like it. With better planning we will enjoy it more next time now that we know what to expect.

IT is not operated by WDW, but rather a different company (forgive me--no links available. All I know is that DLP had to ask WDW for a loan).

 

[Kallison]

Oh ya -- well they have silly accents.

 

[Crankyshank]

I don't think anyone said a trip to France will cure their hatred of it. I think it's more of a wondering how many people that hate the country have ever been there.

I'm sorry you had a horrible experience, but the experiences you described happen to people everywhere. I have had similar experiences in New York for example.
I can't wait to go back and I hope I can stay longer. Most of the people i know, myself included, have had nothing but positive experiences in France. I don't speak any French and still had nothing but positive things to say about it. Maybe because I'm from the northeast and am used to rudeness (which some people say is the norm here). Maybe it's because my maiden name is very French- who knows? I just can't understand hating a country because of some of their inhabitants or their government position. It's doing the same thing that people are accusing the French of acting towards Americans.

 

[dcentity2000]

France is indeed a beautiful country and the park is itself quite lovely - the castle is breathtaking.

When I visited I did notice a number of things. Signs specifically to DisneyLand on the RER were very often defaced or siply blacked out with spraypaint; tazz23 left the park deeply upset because a cast member was terse and quite rude to her.

On the opening day of the park all those years ago things were, um, not so pleasant as one would have wished.

On a related matter, there was a recent uproar here in the UK when it appeared that France was attempting to airbrush Britain and America from the Second World War, only mentioning them halfway through their textbooks; if memory serves me well, there was an implication that the French resistance liberated Paris weeks before the allies actually arrived.



Rich::

 

[caitycaity]

I don't think anyone said a trip to France will cure their hatred of it. I think it's more of a wondering how many people that hate the country have ever been there.

and i would like to point out that you could hate france and like dlp. i was urging people - even those who hate france, to give dlp a shot. you might find you like it. i like france and i like dlp - but dlp is not very french. quite frankly there were far more british people and german people when we were there, and we were there during vacances.

 

[chesirekate]

There are plenty of rude people here and everywhere in the world, yes I'm perfectly aware of that. However, the unbelieveable concentration of them in one country on that trip has indeed clouded my opinion of France. I will say the stewardesses on Air France were very nice. It was all down hill from there on though. On that same trip I also visited Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, and have been back to those areas a few time since. I have traveled all over the US and half of Canada. Never again have I experienced the soul-sucking attitudes I came across in France. Not even in Quebec.

Sure, there are plenty of people who insult France because it fashionable or because they're ignorant. But there are also many of us who dislike France because of our own first-hand experience with the place.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

and i would like to point out that you could hate france and like dlp. i was urging people - even those who hate france, to give dlp a shot. you might find you like it. i like france and i like dlp - but dlp is not very french. quite frankly there were far more british people and german people when we were there, and we were there during vacances.

And the CM's speak english

Even though I wanted to speak French (When I did, they said, where in America are you from? I guess my accent was that bad )