Does Disneyland Paris or the Asian Disney Parks make up for the language barrier?

[SplashJacket]

Also on the note of Tokyo Disney, Disney Sea is very nice but I still like both Disneyland California parks better and Tokyo Disneyland... what was so good about it? All the rides were carbon copies of Disneyland’s or Magic Kingdom’s version except Pooh’s Honey Hunt (which was very cool to the resort’s credit) and Monsters Inc Ride and Go Seek (which I felt was incredibly overrated).

I also felt that Monsters Inc was overrated in Tokyo. My personal favorite park around the world is Disneyland Anaheim. I also felt DisneySea had a ride lineup on the weaker end, but in the future, this is going to be resolved. Since I visited Soaring: Fantastic Flight has opened, and undoubtedly by the next time I visit three new unique attractions in Fantasy Springs will open.

DisneySea excels in theming and immersion. The park's only true issue is going to be resolved in the near future.

I have a long rant about Indiana Jones® Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull in Tokyo DisneySea that really accomplishes nothing so I labeled it as a spoiler. Really just ignore everything it says.

Spoiler

My biggest complaint above all for DisneySea was Indiana Jones® Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull. While the ride did boast a superior exterior queue the ride felt largely inferior. Many of the effects which I felt made the ride in Disneyland were removed or retooled. For instance, when you first enter the large room your vehicle slowly bumps down the steps. The effect is absent in Tokyo. The effect when vehicles face each other when entering the bridge was also removed and instead the vehicles were not synchronized in any way. The ride's pacing is off, the music placement is entirely different and I feel is inferior, and the big room falls flat due to a lack of things going on.

I understand my criticism for the is undoubtedly too harsh. The ride itself has more detail in every scene, and the effects such as the tornado and fireball preceding the darts are very cool. The issue I have with the ride is after riding it I was expecting to be blown away as I was in Anaheim, but it was the opposite. I left disappointed.

Toyko Disneyland Park was an enjoyable park and it was by no means the best park in the world, but it was still very enjoyable. On another note, the park is getting Beauty and the Beast for the Olympics next year. I want to say it is near the scale of POTC in Shanghai, but I am not entirely sure. It will undoubtedly be a headliner E-Ticket though. I still crave the meal I had from the Hungry Bear Restaurant.

 

[justintheharris]

I also felt that Monsters Inc was overrated in Tokyo. My personal favorite park around the world is Disneyland Anaheim. I also felt DisneySea had a ride lineup on the weaker end, but in the future, this is going to be resolved. Since I visited Soaring: Fantastic Flight has opened, and undoubtedly by the next time I visit three new unique attractions in Fantasy Springs will open.

DisneySea excels in theming and immersion. The park's only true issue is going to be resolved in the near future.

I have a long rant about Indiana Jones® Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull in Tokyo DisneySea that really accomplishes nothing so I labeled it as a spoiler. Really just ignore everything it says.

Spoiler

My biggest complaint above all for DisneySea was Indiana Jones® Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull. While the ride did boast a superior exterior queue the ride felt largely inferior. Many of the effects which I felt made the ride in Disneyland were removed or retooled. For instance, when you first enter the large room your vehicle slowly bumps down the steps. The effect is absent in Tokyo. The effect when vehicles face each other when entering the bridge was also removed and instead the vehicles were not synchronized in any way. The ride's pacing is off, the music placement is entirely different and I feel is inferior, and the big room falls flat due to a lack of things going on.

I understand my criticism for the is undoubtedly too harsh. The ride itself has more detail in every scene, and the effects such as the tornado and fireball preceding the darts are very cool. The issue I have with the ride is after riding it I was expecting to be blown away as I was in Anaheim, but it was the opposite. I left disappointed.

Toyko Disneyland Park was an enjoyable park and it was by no means the best park in the world, but it was still very enjoyable. On another note, the park is getting Beauty and the Beast for the Olympics next year. I want to say it is near the scale of POTC in Shanghai, but I am not entirely sure. It will undoubtedly be a headliner E-Ticket though. I still crave the meal I had from the Hungry Bear Restaurant.

Again, I conclude that most everyone who hypes Tokyo Disneyland has never actually been. And when I tried to have a discussion about how I thought it was overrated, multiple forum members essentially stuck their nose in the air and more or less said I was too stupid to comprehend how awesome Tokyo Disney is.

 

[Minnie Mum]

Again, I conclude that most everyone who hypes Tokyo Disneyland has never actually been. And when I tried to have a discussion about how I thought it was overrated, multiple forum members essentially stuck their nose in the air and more or less said I was too stupid to comprehend how awesome Tokyo Disney is.

Whut??? Seriously, is it so impossible to contemplate the idea that different people can have widely differing opinions about the same thing? That's the thing about opinions- it's a personal response, so no one is wrong and no one is right. I may disagree with your viewpoint (in fact, I do), but I would never say that you couldn't have actually been there because of it.

 

[Orangeanna]

My family has been dreaming of going to Japan, and not really for the parks but as Disney people we wouldn't miss it. I'm glad that language isn't an issue. I'm incredibly jealous of the attention to detail both in the parks and the hotels. They must have gotten all the theming we're losing. Their hotels are absolutely magical, I've read the kids even get pajamas! Even their toiletries are magical. The level of service seems to be much higher. The theming in the resorts is over the top, which I think is appropriate. If I wanted generic I'd go to the holiday inn. That being said we are all going to try to learn the language basics, even my 10 year old, who is very excited about learning it. Also I've read there are new translators available for phone and ear buds. Maybe that will break down the barriers in the near future.

 

[SplashJacket]

Again, I conclude that most everyone who hypes Tokyo Disneyland has never actually been. And when I tried to have a discussion about how I thought it was overrated, multiple forum members essentially stuck their nose in the air and more or less said I was too stupid to comprehend how awesome Tokyo Disney is.

I agree Tokyo Disneyland is overrated. Not in the sense that it is not as good as people describe, but it is not a flawless park as some people claim it to be. I also stated things which the park lacked in my previous post. This post was created as the individual wanted a better understanding of the international parks. I was simply adding more information to the conversation

Proof of visitation to TDS in spoiler.

Spoiler

I am on the right side partially obstructed by the boulder. You're just gonna have to trust me it is not Anaheim. Or look at my neighbors...

 

[justintheharris]

Whut??? Seriously, is it so impossible to contemplate the idea that different people can have widely differing opinions about the same thing? That's the thing about opinions- it's a personal response, so no one is wrong and no one is right. I may disagree with your viewpoint (in fact, I do), but I would never say that you couldn't have actually been there because of it.

Maybe I should have some more clarity: many people go to Tokyo Disney and believe it to be the best. I don’t doubt that. I just feel like many people declare Tokyo Disney is the best resort but have never actually been there.

 

[marni1971]

Tokyo Disneyland... what was so good about it? All the rides were carbon copies of Disneyland’s or Magic Kingdom’s version..

Not exactly.

 

[justintheharris]

Not exactly.

Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Roger Rabbit and Pirates were Disneyland's
Haunted Mansion, the old Snow White ride we had, Peter Pan's Flight all felt like ours.
Big Thunder Mountain was a little different, I didn't do Jungle Cruise, and I've already talked about Pooh's Honey Hunt and Monsters Inc. What am I missing?

 

[marni1971]

Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Roger Rabbit and Pirates were Disneyland's
Haunted Mansion, the old Snow White ride we had, Peter Pan's Flight all felt like ours.
Big Thunder Mountain was a little different, I didn't do Jungle Cruise, and I've already talked about Pooh's Honey Hunt and Monsters Inc. What am I missing?

Pirates has one drop. Splash has a different layout and travels anti clockwise. BTM is around half different...

 

[justintheharris]

Pirates has one drop. Splash has a different layout and travels anti clockwise. BTM is around half different...

Aside from Pirates having one drop, it is identical to Disneyland's. Splash mountain was closed for refurbishment so I forgot to mention that and Big Thunder was different but I didn't feel it was different enough. Tokyo Disneyland is fun but I just didn't feel like it had enough of its own identity as Hong Kong Disneyland or Disneyland Paris did. Tokyo DisneySea obviously does a much better job at developing itself as its own separate entity but I still like Disneyland Park in California more.

 

[duder]

When you add all the effects actually working as intended on each ride, it also makes them all stand out.

I will agree that Monsters Inc is very overrated, but I have a tendency to dislike any of the interactive, point and shoot rides. I'd rather sit back and enjoy the ride, and I think I prefer the California Adventure version better, despite the lack of movement in their characters.

 

[marni1971]

Aside from Pirates having one drop, it is identical to Disneyland's. Splash mountain was closed for refurbishment so I forgot to mention that and Big Thunder was different but I didn't feel it was different enough. Tokyo Disneyland is fun but I just didn't feel like it had enough of its own identity as Hong Kong Disneyland or Disneyland Paris did. Tokyo DisneySea obviously does a much better job at developing itself as its own separate entity but I still like Disneyland Park in California more.

In all fairness, the OLC asked and paid for a copy of Orlando’s Magic Kingdom.

 

[PiratesMansion]

The language barrier has only affected my enjoyment at a Disney park precisely one time. The Jack Sparrow show in Shanghai has a long, dialogue-heavy preshow that was clearly very funny to the Chinese audience but was entirely lost on me. Once the show proper started, this ceased to be an issue.

But the reality is that the International Disney Parks are all fantastic experiences with great attractions and shows that cannot be experienced in the US, and that the language barrier is present more in people's minds than in reality. Are you going to have long conversations with cast members at most of these parks? No. But everything you need to know will be in English, and the CMs will at the very least communicate enough to get you most of the information you need. Attraction storytelling is largely visual so you can get the gist even if you don't know exactly what is being said. Country Bears in Japanese is in some ways an even funnier experience!

Many of my best service experiences have been at the international parks. I have yet to go to any of the international parks knowing more than 10 words in each country's language (although obviously more is better and they will appreciate your effort to learn a little bit of their language), and I haven't felt that my experiences were significantly impacted.

If there's any avoidable hiccup with the international parks, it's that many people go to Paris expecting American-style service, and that is just a recipe for failure. I had fantastic service in Paris, but service norms there can be very different from the service norms in other countries with Disney parks, and it's best to acquaint yourself with that beforehand.

 

[SplashJacket]

My service experience in Disneyland Paris is mixed. There are countless outstanding Cast Members that go above and beyond to make you have a magical visit. Service in Disneyland Paris is worse than the other resorts. Which is partly due to cultural differences. However, we hardly encountered any issues with the employees themselves, instead, we found that Disneyland Paris was terribly mismanaged higher up in the chain of command. An issue which could only be resolved by appointing individuals to head positions of Disneyland Paris who are going to make changes. The overall service was more than acceptable.

Our only real issue with a Cast Member came when one of our party members gave a heart to the cast member on the Tower of Terror as the doors were closing. He then proceeded to shut down and ride, lecture us, and kick us out. We all found it hilarious

 

[GenerationX]

We've been to both Paris and Tokyo. There's more of a language barrier in Tokyo, but it doesn't detract from the parks, which are phenomenal. Pointing and nodding covered the situations where the CM didn't speak English. In preparation for the trip, I learned Hello, Yes, No, Please, and Thank You in Japanese. We got by just fine.

Parc Disneyland in Paris was not as impressive as its Tokyo counterpart, but the food was the best of any Disney park. Frankly, everywhere we stopped in France had outstanding food, so it wasn't surprising to us. I spent 300+ hours learning French in preparation for the trip and knew enough to begin every conversation and ask simple questions in French. We received attentive service everywhere.

 

[bryanfze55]

It certainly is. The “language barrier” is so much not a barrier that we’re going back again next spring.

Is Disneyland Paris significantly better than Disneyland in Anaheim? Enough to warrant a visit?

My understanding is it’s far more beautiful than Disneyland but weaker on all other fronts.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Is Disneyland Paris significantly better than Disneyland in Anaheim? Enough to warrant a visit?

My understanding is it’s far more beautiful than Disneyland but weaker on all other fronts.

Better is always subjective, but if you are a fan of the Disney parks, then Disneyland Paris is ABSOLUTELY worth a visit.

Disneyland Paris is the culmination of the castle park, where WDI took all of the lessons they'd learned with previous parks to create a masterpiece. It is beautiful, yes, and absolutely on another level when it comes to design. The detail, intricacy, and thought put into it is far closer to Animal Kingdom or DisneySea than to Disneyland.

Disneyland is wonderful because you can see WED learning the rules of themed design as they went along; Disneyland Paris is wonderful because it is a masterclass of design, the final exam, the pinnacle. Subsequent castle parks Disney built have their merits but absolutely DO NOT top it on any substantive level.

It depends on what kind of park fan you are; if you love themed design, atmosphere, and detail, you'll love it. If you're looking purely at which park has the best attractions, you might find it wanting (although the best of DLP is absolutely comparable to or better than Disneyland in Anaheim; they absolutely have the best Big Thunder, many people would say the best version of classic Pirates too).

The resort around Disneyland Paris isn't always flawless, but the park itself has always been and remains exceptional. I would go, but then I've always thought that all of these parks are special and worth experiencing.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Is Disneyland Paris significantly better than Disneyland in Anaheim? Enough to warrant a visit?

My understanding is it’s far more beautiful than Disneyland but weaker on all other fronts.

I really enjoy Disneyland Paris, but my feeling whenever this question comes up is that if you travelled to Paris specifically to visit DLP you probably would be disappointed. If you're a Disney park fan and happen to be in Paris, however, it is definitely worth a trip.

Disneyland Parc itself is a beautiful piece of theme park design and is getting its act back together when it comes to maintenance. On that front, it's honestly not any worse than MK and probably in fact better. The attractions are certainly plussed versions of what you get at MK without the insane queues. Compared to Disneyland, I'm not sure that's the case. What everyone says about WDS is true. It's also true, though, that you'll have a good time there on attractions like Crush, ToT, and Ratatouille before hopping back over to Disneyland. I've also stayed at Santa Fe, Sequoia (my favourite), and Newport Beach Club, and liked the little French Disney bubble... in part for the weirdness that such a bubble exists in France!

I find it hard to imagine traveling from the US to Paris just to see Disneyland Paris. On the other hand, if someone was looking for an alternative to their usual Disney theme park vacation, you could do a lot worse than both seeing both Paris and spending a few nights at DLP!

 

[marni1971]

I find it hard to imagine traveling from the US to Paris just to see Disneyland Paris.

I know park quite a few who have.

Same way I’d go to Hong Kong or Tokyo just for their parks.

And yes, the main vanilla Es were taken back to their bare bones and rebuilt using new ideas and new technology. In 1992 and again in the past 8 years. So you have the best, most lavish versions of BTM, PotC, IasW and Haunted Mansion. The park itself is the best designed, most detailed and lavish.

But wait another four years before making a special trip.

 

[dreamfinder]

The Cast Members at Shanghai Disneyland spoke an incredible amount of English. Nearly everyone we came across spoke English to the point I would describe it as fluent. I was immensely impressed by how easy it was to navigate the park with English. I went into Shanghai expecting the least amount of English and was shocked by how wrong my misconception was. I say this because I'm not sure if my view of Shanghai was biased, so take this with a grain of salt. I personally really enjoyed Shanghai and rank it at one of the higher spots compared to many other people who enjoyed it. However, once again, take this with a grain of salt. I visited when the park was getting hit by a typhoon and despite the weather, the park stayed open. The park was deserted. A couple of days later the crowds had returned and I still enjoyed the park. It has an atmosphere like no other park across the globe.

I actually found it to be different. While I agree completely that it was not at all a problem to navigate the park w/o speaking Chinese, I found that alot of the front line CMs seemed to have minimal English skills. The load CMs often just looked at me quizically instead of asking "How many?" and then pointed to the appropriate load spot when I held up one finger. Admittedly the only time I had a problem was trying to find a CM who could tell me where I could find a vegetarian meal. I asked the CMs at the big maps/guest service areas and got kicked to 3 or 4 before I found one who spoke English. Overall they did their absolute best to be accomodating, at one point when Tron broke down, after some CM just started yelling at all the guests, a manager came over and spoke to me separately to make sure I understood what was going on. If you are observant, and know general theme park behaviors, between the app and basic pantomime, you can do just about everything in park. Despite the fact I seemed to find the non-English speaking CMs, I had no problems at all and I agree, it was definitely an enjoyable park.

It's a theme park, not rocket science. I think getting to the theme park via taxi/train/whatever will usually be harder than getting around in parks.