Guided Tours

[calisota]

Does anyone who has been to Paris know if they do guided tours there similar to the one at Disneyland? I'm hoping to get to England in the next few months and a quick trip to Paris isn't out of the question but I'm guessing that a tour like this would best be booked before leaving here.

Greg

[Als Gal]

I've never heard of any tours in Disneyland Paris.

Have you been there before at all??

I was over for the ten year anniversary and can't tell you how disappointed I was with the park and the new Disney Studios (yes, I've been complaining for the last three years, but that's how disappointed I was!).

If you are in the neighbourhood anyway by all means check it out, but if it's a little out of the way, don't bother.

[calisota]

It was that bad!?

What exactly was wrong?

Greg

[Als Gal]

You'll be sorry you got me started, but here goes:-

1. There is no pride in the park
* the rides looked worn and run-down. It didn't look as if any touch-ups had been done to any ride - the tea-cups were scuffed on the floor and paint was chipped around the edge (enough to see the fibreglass underneath!!)
* celebratory streamers had been let off to mark the 10th anniversary, and they were still caught in the trees the next day(where is the clean-up crew for such an event???).

2. There was no pride in the uniforms
* I may sound like a prude but in Fantasyland there was a 'maid' with ill-fitting clothes, purple hair and army boots! (this is just one example!)

3. Customer service was lacking (on-site hotel).

[Als Gal]

Part 2

The new park (Disney Studios) had been open only a month and the toilet doors were already broken, their street theatre was a little unorganised, and they missed the pyrotechnic section of the "Action Moteurs" stunt show - The whole finale!! (Did they think we wouldn't notice them screening "repeats" of stuff that didn't even happen???)



I'll stop now.... Just don't say you weren't warned, but I hope your experience was better than mine.

I think the tip is to see them in an order - Paris first so that it only gets better from there....

[calisota]

1. There is no pride in the park

I've never been to Europe so is this a European thing in general or just that the park is badly managed?

Sadly it sounds very much like Dreamworld here on the Coast.

Greg

[KeithS]

is this a European thing in general or just that the park is badly managed?

I reckon it is a bit of both. I've been to Europe on many occasions as my parents were living there in the '90s (yay - free board!) and I noticed that the general cleanliness levels were lower than Australia or the even the US (especially noticeable in tourist areas where you'd expect it to remain clean).

I never went to Disneyland Paris so I cant comment directly about the situation there - but this is a Disneyland, and one would expect that the management team have a responsibility to maintain its clean look and ensure the staff remain energised and engaged. The fact that this is not the case would suggest management are not doing a good job.

[calisota]

Is Disneyland Paris actually making a profit at the moment? I would have thought that just the lure of the dollar would have forced a certain level of service and maintainance.

I'm a little disillusioned to hear all this, I've always been quick to extol the virtues of Disney Parks to anyone who couldn't away and I'd hate to rave about Paris on the assumption that it was up to scratch only to get someone complaining to me when they got back. Maybe things will pick up under Iger?

Has anyone been to Tokyo? I'm assuming that it would be the most imacculate of all the parks.

Greg

[Als Gal]

If you thought that the Americans have pride in their parks you'll be astounded by the Japanese - it's a notch above.

I love Disneyland for nostalgia, but I would be more willing to return to Japan numerous times becasue of the flights (4-5 hours shorter) and time zone changes (minimal), but also because the parks are so well maintained, the cast are so friendly and helpful - the language barrier doesn't seem to be a barrier as the crew will race off to find someone who speaks English, and I do mean race!

It also helps that they have Disney shopping that is a notch above too (I love homewares and got my Mickey saucepan and frypan there....)

[KeithS]

A guy at work returned this week from Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. He loved both parks despite them being very different (and he is not a big Disney fan) but he had comments about the current condition of Disneyland Paris that echoed Nicole's from previous posts.

He said that although the rides were great fun and the Park looked beautiful in the sunshine, it was in need of some paint work. He did say however that they appeared to be heading in the right direction, with a lot of painting and restoration work taking place around the park - so maybe Mr Iger's recent trip there to view the place himself is paying off!

[calisota]

Maybe they just heard that you lot are coming.

Greg

[KeithS]

Maybe they just heard that you lot are coming.

That'll be it, they spruced up Disneyland for my visit last May, now they are doing the others parks too!

[sharper_fin]

Hi all
I'm a little surprised at how hard you guys are on Disneyland Paris. I've been many times, and visited the American parks on 10+ occasions too, and have found them all to be of exactly the same quality. The parks, the staff, everything.

The only criticisms I would say about DLP is that it's expensive (but that's France, not just DLP), and that the Walt Disney Studios park is very small - too small probably. I think that the new rides that it's getting (including a Tower of Terror around Christmas 2007) will help this a lot. Ands for finance? Yes, it's making a profit now.

I guess we all see things in different ways.

Shaun, England
Author of The Disneylands That Never Were
http://www.lulu.com/shaun_finnie

[KeithS]

I'm a little surprised at how hard you guys are on Disneyland Paris

Hiya Shaun, I'm keeping an open mind on this one. All us travellers who are participating in the World Disney Tour in Sept/Oct got together at a restaurant the other night to discuss our trip. We went around the table to see which park most people were interested in seeing and most of us voted for Paris - it certainly looks to be the most beautifully laid out and landscaped park.

We have had a few members who have been there but were not impressed - but sometime things like gloomy weather, time of season etc can give a false impression - we'll come back in October and give you our first hand opinion then!

Catch you later,

K.

[sharper_fin]

Keith, I wish I were coming with you on this trip! (as, I guess does every other Disney fan in the world...)

Tokyo is the one I want to see the most. Especially the DisneySea. One day *sigh*

Shaun