Highs and Lows from 1st Trip (5/15-5/16)

[BadgerGirl84]

My husband and I recently visited DLP for two days. Our trip was part of a 15 day long trip through France, Germany and Switzerland. We stayed at the Marriott Village using some of my points. We are from America and I am a self-proclaimed Disney freak. My husband proposed in the castle at WDW and we had our honeymoon there last September.

Highs:

- No problems buying my Francillion ticket online ahead of time and using the ticket I printed at home. Saved a ton of money that way.

- Disney Dreams was incredible. Hope they bring a similar show to WDW one day.

- Crush's coaster was so cool! We loved it so much we had to ride it twice.

- The castle was very beautiful and the dragon underneath it was a neat effect.

Lows:

- Smoking! By everyone everywhere. Especially appealing seeing young unattended children smoking in line.

- No feeling of Disney Magic for me. I am the type of person who cries on Main Street USA and gets the chills off and on all day at the Magic Kingdom. Didn't happen in the slightest at DLP.

- No characters. I did not see one single character doing photos or autographs the entire two days. When we stopped at city hall we heard someone complaining about that and the staff said the people who are the characters didn't show up for work.

- Lots of unstated cancellations and closures. The parade was cancelled on our first day. The afternoon showing of Animagic was cancelled and all showings the rest of the day were cancelled so I never got to see that. We came back to fantasyland on our second day to ride a few things we missed, namely the storybook boats. That section was closed by 6. Also closed by that time was the steam boat, Casey jr and the railroad. I was very upset because those early closures were not announced in the guide.

-Lack of dining options in evening. After all the rides we had wanted to go on ended up being closed, we decided to sit down for a meal before dreams. We zigzagged the park just to find every counter service restaurant closed besides the Mexican place, the bakery and the hot dog place. Why??? There were also zero snack carts for things like popcorn or ice cream. Never imagined I would go home hungry in a Disney park, but I did in Paris.


To other Americans, I would say that if you absolutely adore Disney, it may be worth it to you to have one day total to see DLP. For me, two days was a waste of time when I could have gone to Normandy or Versailles instead for a day. If you don't end up making it, don't worry, you really aren't missing anything compared to WDW.

 

[torsie24]

Thanks for your thoughts.

I agree with you on most points.

We just got back from a 4 day trip, Dreams was amazing and the Magic Kingdom is gorgeous.

But I definitely agree about closures, and also about lack of magic. At WDW the bus announcements have brought tears to my eyes. And this trip at DLRP I didn't have any magic moments. Although I put that down to me not feeling well and the other guests being unpleasant more than any fault of the Disney company.

How did you enjoy BTM and POTC? We're huge WDW fans, but still have to admit that DLRPs POTC is SOOOOOO much better than WDWs.

 

[adr2.8i]

im so sorry the lows out weighed the highs for your trip.
the smoking issue has been and will probably continue to be a big negative for paris. something should be done immediatley to stamp it out.
you were just unlucky with the lack of characters, i believe some cast members were on strike and i think that co-incided with your stay.

regarding the lack of magic and telling your fellow americans that you wont miss much if you dont visit paris, i feel is quite harsh.

i have been to paris once and orlando twice and i think people get carried away with WDW. Yes the climate is much better and when you factor in the other disney attractions obviously disneyland paris is going to seem quite small and lame in comparrision. and when people go to WDW they probably do all the Universal attractions as well, so coming to paris where both parks are right next too each other must come as a bit of a disapointment to some?

when i compare magic kingdom with paris, i think the paris park is much prettier and has more detail to it.

i felt the magic at paris equally the same as i did in america.

 

[DLPdaft]

im so sorry the lows out weighed the highs for your trip.
the smoking issue has been and will probably continue to be a big negative for paris. something should be done immediatley to stamp it out.
you were just unlucky with the lack of characters, i believe some cast members were on strike and i think that co-incided with your stay.

regarding the lack of magic and telling your fellow americans that you wont miss much if you dont visit paris, i feel is quite harsh.

i have been to paris once and orlando twice and i think people get carried away with WDW. Yes the climate is much better and when you factor in the other disney attractions obviously disneyland paris is going to seem quite small and lame in comparrision. and when people go to WDW they probably do all the Universal attractions as well, so coming to paris where both parks are right next too each other must come as a bit of a disapointment to some?

when i compare magic kingdom with paris, i think the paris park is much prettier and has more detail to it.

i felt the magic at paris equally the same as i did in america.

if thats how BadgerGirl84 feels though, then thats a valid comment for her to make.
We all have our own personal opinions, and theres nothing wrong with sharing them.
Thanks for your highs and lows OP .

 

[Happy Tappy]

It sounds like you were at Disney during the cast member strikes. That would explain why the parade and Animagique were cancelled and why you didn't see any characters around the parks.

That is an extremely rare occurrence and shouldn't put people off visiting DLP.

It's a shame that you didn't enjoy the trip as much as you'd hoped. Many Americans state that they don't quite feel the magic at DLP. I've visited DL and WDW (and going to HKDL in Oct!) and for me DLP is just as magical. The park is truly beautiful, especially after the extensive refurbs that have gone on lately. I can only put it down to cultural differences.

DLP isn't perfect though and it's worrying that people have had the same complaints for years and they haven't been dealt with. We've all been complaining for years about the smoking and we're all fed up with the off-peak closures of rides/restaurants. It's about time Disney did something about it.

 

[torsie24]

We also need to remember DLRP don't have the same budgets as the other parks.

And what I came to realise this trip is that the CMs are all pretty much super friendly. But when you're dealing day in, day out, with guests as rude as some of the oens I saw, it's going to be hard to be as chirpy as the WDW ones all the time, as what's the point if half of the people you're friendly to are rude back.

DLRP (for me) on this recent trip suffered due to the attitudes of the visitors. My only complaint about DLRP itself are the closures and understaffing. (All money related, I'm sure, and I bet if they had the funds of course they'd want everything to be open for everyone.)

 

[adr2.8i]

if thats how BadgerGirl84 feels though, then thats a valid comment for her to make.
We all have our own personal opinions, and theres nothing wrong with sharing them.
Thanks for your highs and lows OP .

i agree and the last thing i want is to start world war 3!

 

[DLPDreams]

Just one question Badgergirl - did you not find Dreams moving at all? No Disney magic there? You mentioned it was amazing and you would like it in the US?....

I have yet to visit the US parks so can't really compare (it is in planning for a few years time).

However, for us at the moment, DLRP provides more than enough magic. We have young children and I simply wouldn't dream of taking them on such a long journey to the US when, in my opinion, we have a beautiful, detailed, smaller (a positive for young children!), magical park much, much nearer us.

DLRP will continue to give us the Disney magic we need until we feel the girls are ready for a larger/longer holiday which will include Universal et al, we definitely won't go all that way just for WDW.

 

[torsie24]

DLRP will continue to give us the Disney magic we need until we feel the girls are ready for a larger/longer holiday which will include Universal et al, we definitely won't go all that way just for WDW.

While I have and will again go all that way just for WDW, I think your point is very similar to OPs.

I wouldn't fly 10+ hours to go just to DLRP - which is what US visitors would have to do. And I think OP is saying that DLRP alone isn't worth a long haul journey in comparison to the rest of Europe or other long haul destinations.

That being said I would fly 13 hours for a 4 day trip to DLR, as I want to see World of Color that badly! So probably if I was American I would fly 10 hours for a DLRP visit. And if I'd done so and the characters were on strike and no restuarants were open I'd be disappointed too! Of course that's not always the case, but it was for OPs trip which is bad luck, but it's what she experienced.

 

[Carrie_Cat]

I'm seeing it as she took 2 days out of a 2 week trip to Europe when one day would have done

Badgergirl I'm pleased that you got to go on Crush and that you used the Francilien ticket

You unfortunately got the cancellations due to the weather(on the 15th) and the Entertainment teams unavoidable action (on the 16th).

I'm a bit suprised that you couldn't find snack carts etc as I seem to bump into them everywhere but I am in total agreement about the restaurants

This should normally be resolved end of June when the staff levels increase for the high season but it's inadmissable that they have the late opening hours and next to nothing opening from April to July

Beside DLP did you enjoy the rest of your time in Europe

 

[DLPdaft]

While I have and will again go all that way just for WDW, I think your point is very similar to OPs.

I wouldn't fly 10+ hours to go just to DLRP - which is what US visitors would have to do. And I think OP is saying that DLRP alone isn't worth a long haul journey in comparison to the rest of Europe or other long haul destinations.

That being said I would fly 13 hours for a 4 day trip to DLR, as I want to see World of Color that badly! So probably if I was American I would fly 10 hours for a DLRP visit. And if I'd done so and the characters were on strike and no restuarants were open I'd be disappointed too! Of course that's not always the case, but it was for OPs trip which is bad luck, but it's what she experienced.

yes, that made perfect sense to me Torsie.

 

[DLPDreams]

Yes Torsie, I see your point but it is because of the children being young that I wouldn't travel that way right now, not because of myself and DH, and yes, we would do the other attractions, not just to go to WDW but probably because I am not sure we would do a repeat visit, so to make it worthwhile. Most Americans do DLRP as part of a holiday as you say so they aren't making a special journey. I think the difference is WDW can be a holiday in it's own right, DLRP is a short break destination - never meant to be a longer holiday destination I don't think?

It is unfortunate that the OP was there when there was unrest and it is totally justifiable that they are annoyed/feel aggrieved about it as they did miss out, especially if it wasn't explained. Clearly that did not help with feeling any 'magic' in the place! Which is a huge shame .

Totally agree about the restaurants (it's like DLRP have overlooked that part when extending the hours? ). It is odd.

But saying it just doesn't provide magic isn't fair - having said that, the OP stated they didn't feel the magic themselves personally. There are 1000s of repeat visitors to DLRP from all over Europe - they surely wouldn't keep going back if they didn't feel the Disney magic at all? My point was, although probably not eloquently put, that DLRP provides enough magic for me and my children for the time being and clearly to lots of other Europeans too.

I do get a bit tired of seeing these similar threads every week or so where DLRP is slated against WDW/DLR. I guess my main point is that the US/WDW isn't necessarily available to everyone at this point in time and DLRP is a nice/easier way to fix that. Is it the poor man's Disney??

To me comparing DLRP to WDW is like comparing apples and pears, it is clear they are different beasts. The cultural differences alone have been debated on here many a time (some nicely, some ending up in a rather heated debate where a thread is closed!).

 

[torsie24]

To me comparing DLRP to WDW is like comparing apples and pears, it is clear they are different beasts. The cultural differences alone have been debated on here many a time (some nicely, some ending up in a rather heated debate where a thread is closed!).

This is exactly it. And I'm very very guilty of comparing the two at all times.

It's just of course they are both copies of DLR, and being so similar you can't help but compare.

But although they are all Disney parks, with a castle in the middle and similar lands around the outside, all 5 parks are unique and need to be appreciated as so.

Which isn't an easy thing to do sometimes, even though I do try!

Like anything you want the best bits of park A and the best bits of park B.

And if something's great in DLRP (like POTC) it's hard not to feel short changed when riding the WDW version as you've experienced how good it can be!

 

[Happy Tappy]

It's impossible not to compare them. When I went to DL earlier this year I found myself comparing it to DLP. On some areas (weather, staff etc...) it is clearly better. Then there were areas where I thought DLP was better (theming, rides, not surrounded my cheap motels...).

I'll almost certainly find myself doing the same when I visit HKDL.

 

[Bexx]

I know I would start comparing if I ever visited California, Tokyo or Hong Kong, but I can honestly say that I don't compare WDW and DLP. I suppose I have been alternating the two for the last twenty years, so I may have done so in the past, but now I enjoy just enjoy WDW and DLP for what they are.

 

[tinks_1989]

Seems you were very unlucky with the two days you visited DLP

I enjoy DLP and cant help myself but keep going back! I never felt the Disney Magic in DLP until I visited with DD! To be honest we never had a reason to experience it we never saw characters or made conversation with CMs but now all we seem to do is wait in line for a Princess or over grown animal!

WDW magic though is so different it is every where like Torsie stated there isn't the same funding! I agree I cant help but well up watching the opening parade at magic kingdom or even the soundtrack to wishes makes me cry! I day dream about our next trip and even things like the Magic Express transfer gets me excited where I don't get that with DLP even though I love it there!

I am sorry DLP didn't impress you but at least you can say you tried it! Mum and Dad have visited Hong Kong and really didn't enjoy it at all they spent a couple of hours there but they wanted to see how it was done and they were in Hong Kong any way just as you were in Europe!

 

[K8T]

I agree with you OP and think you put it extremely well.

We haven't been to DLP for four years and after our last visit we vowed never to go again! - however, (just like childbirth), you tend to forget after a while and as we are in Paris for a few days, we are going to stay two nights at DLP and give it another chance.

The 'Magic' isn't the same, but the fact we can get there in a few hours, without the expense of a long tedious flight, does make it a little easier to bear!!!

We have cruised on the Magic in the Med. several times and a lot of people from the US say they are calling in, either before or after the cruise and like you I try to explain how different it is, but hey, it is still Disney.

We are visiting in early July, DD (7) will love it, but we will go expecting some rude people, queue jumping and smoking around children and not expecting the WDW service culture, shame we have to accept this, but until the powers that be at DLP start listening and acting on visitors comments, that is the way it is.

On another note, a friend of ours is an ex CM and was one of the few staff from the US to go over to Paris when they opened, to train the staff in the 'Disney way', he said it was a bit like bashing his head on a brick wall. When he returned last year - after a cruise - he said not much had changed!

We personally just accept it is a different experience, but still Ok enough to get the Disney fix!

 

[BadgerGirl84]

Sorry for they delayed response--time zone difference!

Thanks for your thoughts.


How did you enjoy BTM and POTC? We're huge WDW fans, but still have to admit that DLRPs POTC is SOOOOOO much better than WDWs.

YES! Totally agree. I didn't mention it at first, but we really liked POTC and we rode BTM twice because it was so cool. Loved the dark tunnel. I remember telling my DH that once you got on the rides at DLP, the rides were great. But the rides themselves don't make the whole experience of the day.

im so sorry the lows out weighed the highs for your trip.
the smoking issue has been and will probably continue to be a big negative for paris. something should be done immediatley to stamp it out.
you were just unlucky with the lack of characters, i believe some cast members were on strike and i think that co-incided with your stay.

regarding the lack of magic and telling your fellow americans that you wont miss much if you dont visit paris, i feel is quite harsh.

i have been to paris once and orlando twice and i think people get carried away with WDW. Yes the climate is much better and when you factor in the other disney attractions obviously disneyland paris is going to seem quite small and lame in comparrision. and when people go to WDW they probably do all the Universal attractions as well, so coming to paris where both parks are right next too each other must come as a bit of a disapointment to some?

when i compare magic kingdom with paris, i think the paris park is much prettier and has more detail to it.

i felt the magic at paris equally the same as i did in america.

I'm so glad you enjoy your time at DLP. My point in what I was saying was that if an American, like me, is going on a big sightseeing journey to Europe, and can't make it to DLP, it won't make or break their trip. I personally wish I had spent one less day at DLP and used the extra day for more sightseeing in the area.

It sounds like you were at Disney during the cast member strikes. That would explain why the parade and Animagique were cancelled and why you didn't see any characters around the parks.

That is an extremely rare occurrence and shouldn't put people off visiting DLP.

Bummer. I've never heard of that happening before! A family who was complaining about that actually ended up getting their money back. I felt bad for them because they had a darling little daughter dressed up in her princess dress with her autograph book in hand that ended up staying blank all day.

When my DH and I were on our honeymoon in WDW we bought the photopass and had 100s of pictures with characters. We never sought out the characters--we just got photos with the ones we saw throughout the day.

Just one question Badgergirl - did you not find Dreams moving at all? No Disney magic there? You mentioned it was amazing and you would like it in the US?....

I have yet to visit the US parks so can't really compare (it is in planning for a few years time).

However, for us at the moment, DLRP provides more than enough magic. We have young children and I simply wouldn't dream of taking them on such a long journey to the US when, in my opinion, we have a beautiful, detailed, smaller (a positive for young children!), magical park much, much nearer us.

DLRP will continue to give us the Disney magic we need until we feel the girls are ready for a larger/longer holiday which will include Universal et al, we definitely won't go all that way just for WDW.

Glad to hear you have such a great time visiting DLP. Hope you get the opportunity to visit WDW one day--you will really enjoy it. I did love Dreams. But one ride or one attraction does not make or break my experience. I've said many times that I could sit on a bench at Epcot or the MK and not do anything and have a great time just sitting there enjoying the atmosphere. Did not feel that way for me at DLP.

I'm seeing it as she took 2 days out of a 2 week trip to Europe when one day would have done

Badgergirl I'm pleased that you got to go on Crush and that you used the Francilien ticket

You unfortunately got the cancellations due to the weather(on the 15th) and the Entertainment teams unavoidable action (on the 16th).

I'm a bit suprised that you couldn't find snack carts etc as I seem to bump into them everywhere but I am in total agreement about the restaurants

This should normally be resolved end of June when the staff levels increase for the high season but it's inadmissable that they have the late opening hours and next to nothing opening from April to July

Beside DLP did you enjoy the rest of your time in Europe

You hit the nail on the head.

Thanks also for the explanations from a staff perspective. I had used your instructions to buy the tickets online so thanks for that.

Yes--so crazy that no food places were open! Options were Mexican (no thanks--did not look like it would suit our tastes), Bakery and Casey's hot dogs. I got in line at the Bakery and gave up after 15 min of waiting because everyone was ordering cafes and it took forever for them to make them for some reason.

We really did enjoy our whole trip to Europe--our favorite was visiting the Swiss Alps!

 

[BadgerGirl84]

Seems you were very unlucky with the two days you visited DLP

I enjoy DLP and cant help myself but keep going back! I never felt the Disney Magic in DLP until I visited with DD! To be honest we never had a reason to experience it we never saw characters or made conversation with CMs but now all we seem to do is wait in line for a Princess or over grown animal!

WDW magic though is so different it is every where like Torsie stated there isn't the same funding! I agree I cant help but well up watching the opening parade at magic kingdom or even the soundtrack to wishes makes me cry! I day dream about our next trip and even things like the Magic Express transfer gets me excited where I don't get that with DLP even though I love it there!

I am sorry DLP didn't impress you but at least you can say you tried it! Mum and Dad have visited Hong Kong and really didn't enjoy it at all they spent a couple of hours there but they wanted to see how it was done and they were in Hong Kong any way just as you were in Europe!

Thanks for sharing your perspective--everything you said makes sense to me. There were a lot of things to enjoy about DLP, it just didn't compare to WDW for me. That park sets such a high bar to me. Too bad to hear about the funding, I know that the financials for the paris park have not always been great through the years.

The thought "why does Disney even let this park call itself Disney if they don't have the characters and the magic?" crossed my mind several times during my visit. In the US we have a chain of theme parks called Six Flags. Awesome thrill rides, but the park cleanliness and ambiance is just blah. I remember telling my DH that I felt that we were in a Six Flags that had Disney rides in it. Not the best comparison, because both Paris parks are beautifully themed, but something was missing for me.

I agree with you OP and think you put it extremely well.

We haven't been to DLP for four years and after our last visit we vowed never to go again! - however, (just like childbirth), you tend to forget after a while and as we are in Paris for a few days, we are going to stay two nights at DLP and give it another chance.

The 'Magic' isn't the same, but the fact we can get there in a few hours, without the expense of a long tedious flight, does make it a little easier to bear!!!

We have cruised on the Magic in the Med. several times and a lot of people from the US say they are calling in, either before or after the cruise and like you I try to explain how different it is, but hey, it is still Disney.

We are visiting in early July, DD (7) will love it, but we will go expecting some rude people, queue jumping and smoking around children and not expecting the WDW service culture, shame we have to accept this, but until the powers that be at DLP start listening and acting on visitors comments, that is the way it is.

On another note, a friend of ours is an ex CM and was one of the few staff from the US to go over to Paris when they opened, to train the staff in the 'Disney way', he said it was a bit like bashing his head on a brick wall. When he returned last year - after a cruise - he said not much had changed!

We personally just accept it is a different experience, but still Ok enough to get the Disney fix!

Wow, your experience was so interesting to read! No, I can't say I'd go back to DLP, but when it comes to Disney, never say never. I did love Crush's Coaster!

My DH and I must have said to each other a dozen times, "they need to take all the managers and DLP and send them to WDW to experience the park and look how the CMs treat the customers." It's too bad to hear they don't seem to do much cross-training.

Do they even give out pins at DLP? Like Birthday, 1st visit, etc? I didn't see a single one. Would be a cheap thing to implement and would help to improve the magic if they would train the CMs to say congrats.

One thing that made my WDW honeymoon so magical was my husband and I wearing "Just Married" pins and all the CMs (and fellow guests) congratulating us.

 

[Ware Bears]

Aw, I'm sorry you didn't feel the magic. It was one of my biggest concerns after visiting WDW first but I'm glad to say I found it in abundance.

Do they even give out pins at DLP? Like Birthday, 1st visit, etc? I didn't see a single one. Would be a cheap thing to implement and would help to improve the magic if they would train the CMs to say congrats.

One thing that made my WDW honeymoon so magical was my husband and I wearing "Just Married" pins and all the CMs (and fellow guests) congratulating us.

I think a lot of this is down to the guest demographic - unlike the US parks, the average DLP guest isn't a die-hard Disney fan and just wouldn't appreciate the attention! And I've got to disagree about the CMs with their congratulations - when I celebrated a milestone birthday at DLP last year my DDs insisted on me wearing a birthday badge and I received lots of Bon Anniversaire wishes from CMs ..... and even a couple of kisses!

Glad you enjoyed your trip to Europe.