What do Americans think of Disneyland Paris?

xavier.delcourt

New Member
Original Poster
Hello being French and new on this site, I would have liked to have had your feeling of what you think of Disneyland Paris compared to Disney World and the blatant comparisons that you could see and noticed between the 2 parks ?
 

TwilightZone

Well-Known Member
I wish the american parks were just as aesthetic.
Though I am not too big of a fan of discoveryland's looks, but I do love the timekeeper.
EDIT: Also cinemagic looked amazing.
 

JillC LI

Well-Known Member
We loved our day in both parks at DLP in 2014. There's not as much to do there as WDW due to the fewer parks, and the Studios was less themed overall, but we had a blast and loved some of the unique attractions there.
 

Andrew C

You know what's funny?
DLP is a beautiful park...with a beautiful castle. Really enjoyed the rides they offered and the entertainment. Studios park lacked a ton but it seems that is being turned around.

It is really hard to compare WDW and DLP though. I will just say DLP is good for a long weekend, and WDW is the place to go for a longer vacation.
 

Padraig

Well-Known Member
I'm more curious as to what the French make of DLP? Have they accepted it, or is still regarded as some form of cultural imperialism from the US?
 

John park hopper

Well-Known Member
Never been to Disney Paris probably will never go. My son when he was in high school took a class trip to France -Paris and his only comment was the Parisians were extremely rude to them and he said he would never go back. They went on to Spain and Germany and had no problems he said the people were very friendly. Wondering if what he experienced in Paris is normal behavior to foreign guests?
 

xavier.delcourt

New Member
Original Poster
DLP is a beautiful park...with a beautiful castle. Really enjoyed the rides they offered and the entertainment. Studios park lacked a ton but it seems that is being turned around.

It is really hard to compare WDW and DLP though. I will just say DLP is good for a long weekend, and WDW is the place to go for a longer vacation.

It is sure that for the moment the WDS is a park that is done very quickly especially for young children but there it will change very quickly with the expansion of the park and the arrival of Frozen will finally give a corner for children with Elsa or Olaf. This is also beneficial since the 3 new Land should arrive at the same time as the Olympic Games in Paris.

DLP is my absolute favorite Castle park!
I even wrote this article on my blog: DLP: Theme Park as Work of Art

It is true that our castle is really different from the others notably by its form which is totally different from the other parks but I do not know if it is the most beautiful of my point of view because I did not see the other castles in real ;)

I'm more curious as to what the French make of DLP? Have they accepted it, or is still regarded as some form of cultural imperialism from the US?
Then on this it depends for whom. I wasn't there when Disney moved to France but after talking to some people you had people who were happy with Mickey's move. But you also had people who were against it, like the farmers or the "anti Mickey". After now at today's time everyone would like or dream to go to the park (well almost everyone)...

Never been to Disney Paris probably will never go. My son when he was in high school took a class trip to France -Paris and his only comment was the Parisians were extremely rude to them and he said he would never go back. They went on to Spain and Germany and had no problems he said the people were very friendly. Wondering if what he experienced in Paris is normal behavior to foreign guests?

Then I'll give you my personal opinion on that. And I totally agree with you. Then I also think that your son's class must have had bad luck because not everyone in Paris is like his especially young population unlike the "old" who I would say are often grouchy. Personally I come from the North of the country and when I arrived in Paris to live there with my family I was very surprised by the number of Parisians who are rude compared to the province (so the inhabitants outside Paris). I think we're lucky to have one of the most beautiful cities in the world but when you see how people are it's a shame...
 

CraftyFox

Well-Known Member
I’m going to be brutally honest on what most Americans think of Disneyland Paris:

1. Beautiful architecture.

2. Horrible food.

3. Nicer and more polite guests and staff.

4. Uncleanliness in the park.

5. tHuNdEr MeSa!!1!
 

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
It has been a very long time since I visited DL Paris, early 90s when it was still rather new and sparkling. And I can't speak for the Studios, which wasn't there when I visited. I cannot speak for its current state in 2018 either. But when I visited the castle park, it was absolutely wonderful, elegant and beautiful. There's nothing quite like it, it's truly special. I'm truly glad I had the opportunity to visit it when it was still new. Even the two negatives CraftyFox mentioned above were not present at that time (park was very clean and the food was quite good as I recall).

It would be very difficult to compare it to Magic Kingdom btw. They are extremely different. Both left very different but special impressions on me as a kid. I experienced Magic Kingdom first and it kind of blew me away because i'd never seen anything like it. But when I visited Paris a couple years after, it too blew me away again. Magic Kingdom has this "grand" spectacle to it that is very special. Disneyland Paris I would best describe as having an otherworldly dreamlike beauty.
 
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floridagirl57

Active Member
I absolutely loved our day at Disneyland Paris in February. It is a beautiful park and gorgeously themed, reminded me a lot of Animal Kingdom (I haven't been to the Tokyo parks yet). The park was clean, food was good (we ate at Toads Hall), and while it was moderately crowded the crowd was manageable. Also, I only spotted 1 double stroller. :)
 

peterpanic74

Well-Known Member
I loved my visit to Disneyland Parc (didn't get to go to the Studios). Loved the arcades on Main Street, the Nautilus, the massive Frontierland, Space Mountain, very unique Pirates, etc. The absolute highlight for me was Phantom Manor, though.
 

floridagirl57

Active Member
I loved my visit to Disneyland Parc (didn't get to go to the Studios). Loved the arcades on Main Street, the Nautilus, the massive Frontierland, Space Mountain, very unique Pirates, etc. The absolute highlight for me was Phantom Manor, though.
Oh yes the arcades! How could I forget. I could have easily spent hours in the arcades. Would make such a nice addition to MK's main street. Pirates was a big highlight and I was a fan of Nautilus and Space Mountain. Phantom Manor was closed for refurbishment when I visited, still upset about that!
 

cheezbat

Well-Known Member
I'll have to let you know when I make my first trip there in two weeks!
So I've spent four days at the parks....

What I love:
the crowds are nothing compared to WDW...and I was laughing because many of their guests were complaining about how busy it was! I explained to a few people that a 40 minute wait for Peter Pan is NOT crazy....that I see 80-90 minute waits for our versions on a regular basis!

The food is much better at Disneyland park than the Magic Kingdom. Is the food at the resort overall better than WDW? No...(thank you Epcot!), but there are also more different options.

The guests are more reserved and less pushy....(well, aside from a few rude French people we ran into...)

The rides: Pirates, Big Thunder, Space Mountain...I could go on. All better than their Florida counterparts.

The employees seemed to enjoy their jobs far more than most I encounter in Orlando. So many friendly happy people!

The parade: so much energy and just as good as what I've seen in Florida and California.

The nighttime show: Illuminations was wonderful! Not quite as insane as Happily Ever After, but still a phenomenal show!

The characters: some of the best interactions I've ever had. The fandaze event was phenomenal, the Ducktales parade was a blast, and while in the parks, Mickey, Goofy, and the Pooh characters were some of the most animated I've seen in quite awhile.

The easiness of getting around the resort. In my opinion it's far easier than WDW. I stayed at Sequoia Lodge and found the walk easy, Disney village was placed perfectly, and the resort buses were a quick ride.

The atmosphere: gorgeous! Love it love it love it!

What I don't love:
The park hours....how come a park that's open until 11pm nightly has rides that close at 9? Or 5? The train and the river boat both stop at 5??? All of Fantasyland AND Pirates closes over an hour before the park closes? Most restaurants stop serving by 8-9? Many shops closed around the same time too! This would never fly at WDW...guests would riot.

The employees being passive towards people skipping in line. There were a few really rude people who pushed and shoved and skipped and when you'd try to get someone to do something about it, nothing happens.

Walt Disney Studios: while I loved many of the rides in the park, it's too small. I know they're rectifying this by future expansions, but it needs to double in size and needs some of the elaborate theming and placemaking its next door neighbor has. I did overhear Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald say (outside of the park entrance) that they hope to enhance the park entryway and possibly redo much of it. Anyway...what I find most sad to me is that after a visit to WDSP, I still think at this moment it's just BARELY the weakest park...DHS doesn't have much on it, but the fact that I couldn't outright say that I thought WDSP is the better park tells me it has a long way to go. (Btw, I currently hate DHS...so that's saying something.) The park needs more to do. It needs another solid show. It needs a nighttime show. It needs more sit down and counter service restaurants.


So overall visit? Definitely coming back. I can't wait to see what WDSP looks like after the massive overhaul...and I made a number of great memories here.
 

JillC LI

Well-Known Member
Never been to Disney Paris probably will never go. My son when he was in high school took a class trip to France -Paris and his only comment was the Parisians were extremely rude to them and he said he would never go back. They went on to Spain and Germany and had no problems he said the people were very friendly. Wondering if what he experienced in Paris is normal behavior to foreign guests?
We found most people in Paris to be quite friendly, especially if you try to learn a handful of words in French. We had the same experience in Germany and Switzerland. At DLP the CMs are multilingual, and it wasn't unusual to see them speak with one guest in French, turn to me and speak and English, and then turn to someone else and speak in yet a third language, with ease and grace.
 

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