Attractions in English??

comics101

comics101

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
My family and I are very interested in visiting the Disneyland Resort Paris, but our biggest concern is that we may not find the visit as enjoyable as we do our trips in the US because of the language barrier. I speak the tiniest bit of French, but the rest of my family would be totally lost.
I'm just wondering how many attractions at DLRP are in English, and for the ones that aren't, can they still be enjoyable for the average American Family or would be be totally lost?? Should we try widening our Horizons, or just stick to WDW and DL here in the states?
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
You will have no problems. I've visited with family who have no French language knowledge and it's never been a problem. Some of the shows even alternate between English and French at different times of the day. Pretty much everything else is done with the different languages of guests in mind, and stories are told in other ways than spoken word.
 
Victoria

Victoria

Not old, just vintage.
Since we're on the topic, do a lot of CMs in Paris speak English too? Do they use the flag on the nametag system like they do in the US? I know in the US there are headsets you can rent that translates things into other languages and I've always wondered if the international parks used something similar. I've always been interested in going Disneyland Paris (and Tokyo too!) but I've always been a bit afraid of the language barrier like the OP mentioned.
 
C

Cosby

New Member
The language barrier exsits.
The cm´s tend to speak french.
Most CM are unmotivated and a bit arrogant.
No smile at all.
Food sucks and is overpriced.So are the hotels.Bad or no theming.
Parks dirty,worn and outdated.

Overall,the french killed the disney feeling
 
RonAnnArbor

RonAnnArbor

Well-Known Member
Cosby -- I think you must be looking at a different DLP from the one most of us do that visit there regularly...You may agree to disagree, but you will be in very small minority at this time...

While they DID have problems when they first opened as EuroDisney, those problems are long gone...in fact, DLP is now the NUMBER ONE tourist attraction in Europe as far as paid attendance goes from day to day.

As to the OP's original question...

You will have zero problems with English at DLP, almost everything is in English and French -- the Studios mix English with French (among other languages) in their shows and again, you will have no problem there either. Anything that has lots of language (i.e. HISTA, currently not running since they are running Captain Eo) has a translation device and you pick the language you want.

DLP uses something called "DisneySpeak"....as you float through Pirates, for example, sound is piped in both in French and in English -- your ear picks out the language that you need to hear to understand. (Ironically, I don't think the Phantom Manor storyline makes sense in English OR French, but it sure looks fantastic)...

The same is true at the shows that have live narrators -- they use a different version of DisneySpeak to make sure everything is in both English and French -- remember, French is no longer the universal language, and they know it.

FOr example, at Moteurs, Action!....the narrator will arrive and speak first in French:
"Bonjour!" This is immediately echoed by the co-host (on a crowded day, or the movie director on a less crowded day) "Hello!"....they continue to ask questions and answer them in alternating languages in a script which never changes from show to show so that every audience member understands what is being said, either in French or English. It runs something like HOST (In french) Are you excited? CoHost (in English) Of course we are excited!...Host (In French) GEt ready with your cameras! CoHost (In English) I have my camera ready, do you have yours?".....

The problems that the park has are IDENTICAL to the problems they have at WDW and Disneyland -- overpriced counter service food that is relatively bland; not enough employees so that the CM's are often stressed out; and long lines of unruly teens waiting to ride the thrill rides. Many of the employees come from across Europe and the US to work there, and I might even venture a guess that the majority of non-public-interacting CM's are not even French. What you DO NOT get are CM's wishing you magical days, saying happy birthday, trading pins, or other customs which are distinctly American and not at all something French service industry would do. As to smiles, there are lots of them -- you see what you want to see. You want to see grumpy employees because you yourself are grumpy, great you will see grumpy employees. You want to be nice to people, say "Bonjour" to everyone and smile, they will smile back. That's called being human.

But to say the DLP doesn't have any Disney magic is far far from the truth at this point -- they have bent over backwards to make things more magical, to the point that local Parisians are complaining about how "fake" it all seems the last year or two...and its getting increasingly harder to get a job there if you don't pass the criteria they have set out.

The CM's also all speak English -- it's a requirement for employment for any job that interacts with the public. Many of them also speak Spanish and Italian. Lots of them are American and British college students.

I go to DLP twice a year and have consistently been amazed at what a great job they are now doing, especially since the park gets very crowded, and many of the visitors don't speak English OR French...(you'll hear an amazing amount of Italian, for example)...

I can't speak for the resort hotels -- I guarantee those probably aren't as magical as the hotels at WDW, they couldn't be, the entire service industry works differently in France...but why would you stay there when you can stay in Paris and take the 30 minute RER train ride to DLP...

Have a fantastic time when you go, and post a trip report when you return!...it's the most beautiful of the Disneyland type parks for sure.
 
comics101

comics101

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thanks so much for all the advice and responses! From pictures I've seen online, the Magic Kingdom-style park appears to be one of the most beautiful parks that Disney's ever built. I really hope we get the chance to take the trip sooner rather than later. I'm sure this will only help my cause hahaha.
While we're on the subject of languages, I'm just curious, is it the same in Tokyo? Are there DisneySpeak like things there as well?
Thanks for the help!
 
coolmark18

coolmark18

Member
comics101 said:
Thanks so much for all the advice and responses! From pictures I've seen online, the Magic Kingdom-style park appears to be one of the most beautiful parks that Disney's ever built. I really hope we get the chance to take the trip sooner rather than later. I'm sure this will only help my cause hahaha.
While we're on the subject of languages, I'm just curious, is it the same in Tokyo? Are there DisneySpeak like things there as well?
Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

I didnt notice DisneySpeak in Tokyo as much as I did in DLRP. Pirates/Splash had English/French in its parts but things like Jungle Cruise were completely in Japanese. As DLRP needs to cater more for different languages, English is much more prominent.
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
comics101 said:
Thanks so much for all the advice and responses! From pictures I've seen online, the Magic Kingdom-style park appears to be one of the most beautiful parks that Disney's ever built. I really hope we get the chance to take the trip sooner rather than later. I'm sure this will only help my cause hahaha.
While we're on the subject of languages, I'm just curious, is it the same in Tokyo? Are there DisneySpeak like things there as well?
Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

You are dead right - Paris is the most beautiful MK style park there is. I hope you get to go and see it for yourself - enjoy!
 
MichWolv

MichWolv

Born Modest. Wore Off.
Premium Member
comics101 said:
Thanks so much for all the advice and responses! From pictures I've seen online, the Magic Kingdom-style park appears to be one of the most beautiful parks that Disney's ever built. I really hope we get the chance to take the trip sooner rather than later. I'm sure this will only help my cause hahaha.
While we're on the subject of languages, I'm just curious, is it the same in Tokyo? Are there DisneySpeak like things there as well?
Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

Just to add to the responses...

I took a three-day trip to DLP last July. Speaking only English was really not a significant problem at all. The CMs all speak French and English. Granted, the English for some of them was not exactly top-notch, but at most that resulted in a few extra seconds of trying to communicate.

Attractions all work in English as well, although there are different ways of making it happen. For example...

Some shows (e.g., Cinemagique, Animaque, Armageddon, LMA in the Studios) feature dialogue in English and French, with sufficient action, repitition, or translation that you can follow.

Many attractions have virtually no narration or dialogue (dark rides, Storybookland, Space Mountain, BTM). Others that have minimal dialgoue have some lines are in English and some in French (e.g., PoTC, Phantom Manor).

Pre-shows that include exposition or explanation are either in French with English subtitles on screen, or in English with French sub-titles (Captain EO, Armageddon, Rock n Roller Coaster) or have characters going back and forth between English and French (Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear). The parade characters did both English and French as well.

Menus at restaurants are in English and French.

The only attraction that really lost anything substantive for me was Star Tours, as I couldn't understand Rex. But that's really it. In short, you'll do just fine.

I posted a rather detailed trip report if you want to read more, include some additional language barrier thoughts. It's here...http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=608396
 

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