On our first trip i must admit i was annoyed by the smoking but i think that was because i wasn't really prepared for it. As a mother of 2 small boys i am very anti-smoking and won't allow anyone to smoke around them, neither do i take them into enclosed areas if there will be smoke there. Now that the ban is here in England it is total bliss and it gets a big thumbs up from me!
Since our first visit to DLP i really don't let it bother me unless it impacts on my kids. If someone is smoking near them and their cigarettes are dangerously close to their faces i will make that quite clear that it is not acceptable. But i have only had to make my feelings known once!
Again with the character issue, it was a bit shocking on our first visit. As regular visitors to WDW we expected it to be the same as there, very organised and orderly queues. This is definately not the case. But rather than let it get to us, we go to the characters in the parks ONLY if there isn't a big crowd there. We prefer to have our own quality time with them at our character meals.
I have only encountered one miserable cast member on Dumbo. He really did need to cheer up!!
But other than that they have always been polite and cheerful to us and they really seem to appreciate it when my boys say bonjour to them!
I haven't noticed a problem with large groups of people so that doesn't bother me. Also with the food, although i do find it very expensive, we have only had a bad meal at Planet Hollywood. I would like to see more vegetarian options though.
So many people i know just dismiss DLP because its in France and according to them they wouldn't go because its full of the French!

I just find that plain rude. I would imagine its these same people that holiday in Spain and spend the whole holiday eating fish and chips at an English pub!! Whats the point of that!
I am in France and therefore i want to hear people speaking French. I also like the fact that some of the rides are in French, so many people expect them to be in English.
So basically i would like the character meets to be better and i would prefer the park to be non smoking but i still love it and can't wait to get there in Feb!!!
