I_heart_Tigger
Well-Known Member
I don't understand any taxi drivers no matter what language they speak. They also seem not to understand me or they enjoy taking the opposite way that I tell them.
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French Pavilion
- Thread starter 3dstage
- Start date
englanddg
One Little Spark...
We have a lot of African cab drivers here (mostly from Ethiopia)...never had any trouble understanding them.
I do prefer to sit in the front seat with them though so we can chit chat.
I_heart_Tigger
Well-Known Member
Most of the cab drivers here are English. I tell them where I want to go and which street I would like them to take and they quickly head in the opposite direction taking the longest possible route ignoring my protests. I swear there's a language called "taxi" that I obviously don't speak.
PUSH
Well-Known Member
It's called "let's get the most money out of these guys as we can."
englanddg
One Little Spark...
You'll see that in any city. In NYC, I long since learned to study maps before my trips there, so I didn't get ripped off.
Here in ATL, I know the city well, and have never had that issue.
Disvillain63
Well-Known Member
My son practiced his French while visiting the France Pavilion. They were very receptive and polite.
Question about the France Pavilion: I read somewhere that there is a 'hidden' treat to visit. If I remember correctly, it was on the 2nd Floor of the 'bookshop'. Can anyone provide more details?
Question about the France Pavilion: I read somewhere that there is a 'hidden' treat to visit. If I remember correctly, it was on the 2nd Floor of the 'bookshop'. Can anyone provide more details?
I_heart_Tigger
Well-Known Member
I'm talking my hometown. Born and raised here and they still treat me like a tourist. They're terrible here for acting like they know the city better than anyone while gouging you for prices. I now begin by flat out telling them how much I will pay and if it goes over because they don't take the streets I told them to...well sucks to be them.
I_heart_Tigger
Well-Known Member
I don't think you can even get upstairs anymore. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, I'm sure.
Mark In KY
Well-Known Member
Not to me; Oh Oh BABY!!
You've got the wrong guy if you are trying to "start something". I don't participate in "flame wars" or engage in "blogosphere battles". And a fan site for Walt Disney World is a ridiculous place to even consider such.
Emie
Well-Known Member
You can practice french in the Morocco Pavilion as well, not with everyone, but most of them speak french.
PUSH
Well-Known Member
Trust me, I'm not trying to start something. I didn't mean to offend you if I did. I was just pointing out what it translates to. Sorry if I offended you; there was no harm intended.
I just returned this morning from my vacation to Florida. While it is still fresh in my mind I thought that I would report back on my experiences since so many were kind enough to respond to me here.
My goal/hope on this trip was to find someone who might be willing to spend a few minutes with me speaking French. I am happy to report that those simple hopes were completely blown away, even my best case expectations were far exceeded.
I had an idea that my best chance for success would be at La Maison du Vin. I had been in there a few times before on previous visits to Epcot and the atmosphere seemed fairly low key. I walked up to the counter and said "bonjour!" to the cast member there, asked him how he was doing and told him I would like to try some wine, which I spoke in French. My accent surely gave me away, but he got a big smile on his face, returned my greeting and told me my French was very good. Let's just say he was being very kind lol I told him that I had been studying French for about a year and he seemed very impressed at that.
By that time my brother walked up and joined the conversation, he was speaking English of course and so I started speaking in English as well. Then the cast member told me to keep speaking in French, so that I could practice. This I really appreciated because it told me that the he, the cast member, was completely on board with me living out this little fantasy. We ended up spending about 20 minutes chatting with this cast member and one of his co-cast members, a young lady.
The best experience was at Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie. I walked up to the counter and the cast member asked what I would like. I said, "un croissant avec du jambon et fromage, s'il vous plaît." His face just lit up! It's a little hard to describe, but at this point not only with this individual cast member but with all the cast members from France I started to feel this bond. My confidence level went way up in ability to communicate in French. But I also felt as if what I was experiencing was the true spirit of the World Showcase, to allow people to experience the true culture of some amazing countries from around the world. By the time I got over to the area to pay for my order there were 4 or 5 cast members there I was talking to. They all seemed to be impressed that I had only been studying French for a short time. I told them all that I was very interested in their amazing country, and loved their beautiful language. They appreciated those comments in much the same way that any of us do when someone pays us a sincere compliment about our culture.
I am getting a little long winded here, so just a couple more things I want to mention but I'll try to be brief.
Coming out of Impressions de France, I was feeling the call of nature, so I asked one of the cast members standing there, "Où sont les toilettes?" She said, "would you like me to answer in French?" This gave me a sense that all the cast members are happy to speak to you in their native tongue if you would like for them to.
We had dinner at Les Chefs de France, I was able to order in French and translate the menu for my brother, doing my best to ignore the English translation below lol. Our waiter was awesome, helping me with some vocab and as with everyone else, very encouraging.
I don't know for sure if this was the key for me, but everyone I encountered in the French Pavilion, I always said bonjour! and started saying at least something in French. That seemed to work out as a very good ice breaker.
I found a few people in Morocco willing to speak French, a few people replied to me here that might be the case.
When we got to Germany, I told my brother that it was his turn. He took German in High School and was very good at it, but that was over twenty years ago. But he did speak German to a few cast members, and just like in France he was received very well.
It wasn't in our initial plans but we ended up going back to Epcot for a second day. I've had a lot of awesome experiences in my life that are great the first time, but then the second time doesn't quite meet the previous expectations. However this was totally not the case, the second day was probably even better than the first.
I'll be honest and say that I am not a huge Disney fan, certainly not to the degree that many of the members of this forum are. We were in Florida for 10 days and did a lot of activities that did not involve Disney. That said the visits to Epcot this year were certainly the highlight of the trip for me and would very likely be in the top ten list of experiences I've had in my life
DJMoore2011
Well-Known Member
I just returned this morning from my vacation to Florida. While it is still fresh in my mind I thought that I would report back on my experiences since so many were kind enough to respond to me here.
My goal/hope on this trip was to find someone who might be willing to spend a few minutes with me speaking French. I am happy to report that those simple hopes were completely blown away, even my best case expectations were far exceeded.
I had an idea that my best chance for success would be at La Maison du Vin. I had been in there a few times before on previous visits to Epcot and the atmosphere seemed fairly low key. I walked up to the counter and said "bonjour!" to the cast member there, asked him how he was doing and told him I would like to try some wine, which I spoke in French. My accent surely gave me away, but he got a big smile on his face, returned my greeting and told me my French was very good. Let's just say he was being very kind lol I told him that I had been studying French for about a year and he seemed very impressed at that.
By that time my brother walked up and joined the conversation, he was speaking English of course and so I started speaking in English as well. Then the cast member told me to keep speaking in French, so that I could practice. This I really appreciated because it told me that the he, the cast member, was completely on board with me living out this little fantasy. We ended up spending about 20 minutes chatting with this cast member and one of his co-cast members, a young lady.
The best experience was at Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie. I walked up to the counter and the cast member asked what I would like. I said, "un croissant avec du jambon et fromage, s'il vous plaît." His face just lit up! It's a little hard to describe, but at this point not only with this individual cast member but with all the cast members from France I started to feel this bond. My confidence level went way up in ability to communicate in French. But I also felt as if what I was experiencing was the true spirit of the World Showcase, to allow people to experience the true culture of some amazing countries from around the world. By the time I got over to the area to pay for my order there were 4 or 5 cast members there I was talking to. They all seemed to be impressed that I had only been studying French for a short time. I told them all that I was very interested in their amazing country, and loved their beautiful language. They appreciated those comments in much the same way that any of us do when someone pays us a sincere compliment about our culture.
I am getting a little long winded here, so just a couple more things I want to mention but I'll try to be brief.
Coming out of Impressions de France, I was feeling the call of nature, so I asked one of the cast members standing there, "Où sont les toilettes?" She said, "would you like me to answer in French?" This gave me a sense that all the cast members are happy to speak to you in their native tongue if you would like for them to.
We had dinner at Les Chefs de France, I was able to order in French and translate the menu for my brother, doing my best to ignore the English translation below lol. Our waiter was awesome, helping me with some vocab and as with everyone else, very encouraging.
I don't know for sure if this was the key for me, but everyone I encountered in the French Pavilion, I always said bonjour! and started saying at least something in French. That seemed to work out as a very good ice breaker.
I found a few people in Morocco willing to speak French, a few people replied to me here that might be the case.
When we got to Germany, I told my brother that it was his turn. He took German in High School and was very good at it, but that was over twenty years ago. But he did speak German to a few cast members, and just like in France he was received very well.
It wasn't in our initial plans but we ended up going back to Epcot for a second day. I've had a lot of awesome experiences in my life that are great the first time, but then the second time doesn't quite meet the previous expectations. However this was totally not the case, the second day was probably even better than the first.
I'll be honest and say that I am not a huge Disney fan, certainly not to the degree that many of the members of this forum are. We were in Florida for 10 days and did a lot of activities that did not involve Disney. That said the visits to Epcot this year were certainly the highlight of the trip for me and would very likely be in the top ten list of experiences I've had in my life
Thank you for taking the time to give us an update of how it went. And it sounds like it went amazing. So happy for you!
It truly was, thank you!
HolleBolleGijs
Well-Known Member
I spoke to the French CMs en francais minimally, because I'm super self-conscious about stuff like that, but I wish I had taken the time to actually talk to them more!
If you ever have the opportunity again, I would most certainly recommend speaking to the French CM's more. I got the sense that they really enjoyed talking to me and all were super friendly about it. Even when I couldn't understand them they were very good about helping me.
I have to believe that part of the reason they staff the different pavilions with people from the various counties to provide guests with that full experience if they would like it.
Something I didn't say in my original report; At the end of the second day, on our way out of the park we stopped at Guest Services. I believe that if you are going to take the time to complain when something isn't right, you should also be willing to take the time to praise when something goes very well. So I wanted to let them know how much I appreciated it. The CM there told me that they do encourage CM's in the pavilions to interact with guests. Which I think is awesome
mickeysbrother
Well-Known Member
Being canadian i have been to cuba numerous times. A lot of residents in cuba meet people from canada and france as well as other countries and move there. So if he was born in cuba and then mother or father married a person from france then yes they could be french but will have cuba on place born.
I actually met a CM from the same hospital i was born in but he has lived in florida for 30 years. He was just born in montreal canada