DLP has killed the magic of christmas

Kman101

Well-Known Member
Since when is calling Christmas "Christmas" politically incorrect?

It's not but there's been an obvious effort over the years to have it be all inclusive and call it "Holidays" instead. I call it Christmas.

Although I actually think it's gotten better, but I seem to recall a few years ago it seemed like they wanted to do away with the word Christmas and have it be "Holidays". Not necessarily Disney but retail in general.
 

HolleBolleGijs

Well-Known Member
More (minor) changes! (sorry for the terribly photo quality - my camera doesn't like things that move)

Parade on 11/9, then 11/29, then 12/7. I thought Max was an odd choice to begin with; is he more popular in Europe than in the US? But from what I've heard it looks like they went back to what is was last year.
ch ch changes.jpg
 

Spike-in-Berlin

Well-Known Member
Well we are just back from our first DLP-trip and although I was very biased against the resort I changed my mind about the Disneyland Park. The Christmas atmosphere added a lot to the charme of our stay but we were devastated when we found out that one of the major reasons we went to the park in the first place, the Disney Dreams show had become the "Frozen f.... Disney Dreams" show with about 60% of the entire performance consisting of nothing but the songs from you-know-what-movie, sung in full length and very reduced SFX. We were extremely disappointed and finally joined the "We hate Frozen Club" and decided that we never will purchase this DVD.
The parade was nice but of disappointing length, I loved however the artifical snow effect which really brought some early Christmas magic to Main Street. The Christmas Tree lighting was nice as well, as we didn't know that there was more last year we didn't miss anything. This years Christmas merchandise at DLP by the way looks beautiful, we purchased mugs and place-mats.
With the exception of you-know-what-movie and the too short parade we enjoyed the time at DLP.
 

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
Well we are just back from our first DLP-trip and although I was very biased against the resort I changed my mind about the Disneyland Park.
So interesting to read that. Like you, DLP to me has always been the poor man's park. The park tried, I admired the quality of some of its design, but as a whole it failed, the magic was not there like in WDW.

But lately I have come around. Personally I think the decline by degrees has been adding up in WDW, and the conversion of the MK into toon kiddie park and EPCOT into toon drunkytown is devastating. WDW is not always a pleasant experience. Meanwhile, DLP, the park that was once but a weak copy of the real thing, has been largely left intact. And when the orginal is compromised, the copy emerges as the authentic experience.

DLP has aged well in general. It has ripened like a good wine. Not maintenance wise, but aesthetically. I feel much more magic there than before, when it felt cold and fake. Was it the Christmas atmosphere that added the necessary charm to you? Or also a more general appreciation of other things?
 

Spike-in-Berlin

Well-Known Member
So interesting to read that. Like you, DLP to me has always been the poor man's park. The park tried, I admired the quality of some of its design, but as a whole it failed, the magic was not there like in WDW.

But lately I have come around. Personally I think the decline by degrees has been adding up in WDW, and the conversion of the MK into toon kiddie park and EPCOT into toon drunkytown is devastating. WDW is not always a pleasant experience. Meanwhile, DLP, the park that was once but a weak copy of the real thing, has been largely left intact. And when the orginal is compromised, the copy emerges as the authentic experience.

DLP has aged well in general. It has ripened like a good wine. Not maintenance wise, but aesthetically. I feel much more magic there than before, when it felt cold and fake. Was it the Christmas atmosphere that added the necessary charm to you? Or also a more general appreciation of other things?

That's a VERY interesting question indeed and I am still kind of analyzing what really changed my opinion and feelings most. The Christmas atmosphere plays a huge roll of course but that can't be all. Another reason is definitely my greatly increased knowledge and experience with the MK due to our increasingly long vacations there since 2007. In 1996, during my, until this year, only visit to DLP, as a dayguest who arrives at DLP by RER with his then Paris GF and their little sister (really a little brat in those day) the MK was a fading memory from 1991. This time I stayed at an official Disney partner resort (Dreamcastle), took shuttle buses like in WDW and when I entered Main Street in DLP and am delighted to see that we have an Emporium at exactly the same location with nearly the same interiors. Shopping and dining did not play a role in my earlier visits so I did not start to compare the two parks in this topic. I also had no eye for the rich detailing, theming and landscaping in 1996, this time, especially in comparison with this ugly, cheap, soulless, botched void called WDS (the by far worst Disney park ever and a shame for WDI) I had an eye on these important details. Knowing more about thes elements and being a WDW expert increases the fun and experience in DLP enormously. And of course a different GF also played an important role, as my present GF is an improvement in any way but especially concerning Disney parks as she is the even stronger fan than even I am.
But maintenance concerning rides at least, seems to be as bad as in WDW, many rides were down often, especially the major ones (BTMR, SM) or in the WDS Ratatouille.
But I still believe if they would not have left the park starving for many years, (SM, the last major addition was built in the late 90ies!) but added some real spectacular E-Tickets like JTTCOTE, the IJA (perhaps in the original planned DLP incarnation and not the DL/TDS ride) instead of building those terrible of-the-shelf instant rides like Indiana Jones and the temple of Peril (without a doubt the worst Disney coaster ever) or Crush's coaster ( looks cheap all the way), DLP would perhaps have much more visitors. If they would build this Indiana Jones attraction once planned perhaps I would go there once a year! But with the present attraction roster it is only a makeshift destination if the REAL World is not available.
 

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