A Different Kind of Disney

Disneyland Paris. I just seem to remember that when Disneyland Paris opened, the French weren't too thrilled and had an attitude like You can keep your American crap. Maybe I'm wrong. It has been 15 years since it opened, as you can see, and I was just a self absorbed teenager back then. But hey, we are Americans, and what is a vacation without standing in line for commercialism that we can just as easily have shoved down our throats at home? Actually, I'm not being fair. If you know me, you know that I LOVE Disneyland, world, universe, whatever. When the travel agent told me that a hotel at Disneyland and admission to the park would cost as much as staying in downtown Paris, I was thoroughly excited to have an excuse to go. You see, due to the festivities, being the 15 year celebration and all, the kids stayed and played for free. We're talking free park admission people! How do you pass that up?
So, my thoughts on Disneyland Paris, as it compares to and contrasts with my experiences at the two Disney Parks in the states, an essay. Sounds exciting, huh? Well, being a lover of all things Disney, well classic Disney, (the jury is still out on HSM, Hannah Montana, and the Jonas Brothers) I was eager to see what Disneyland Paris would be like. I was, for the most part, satisfied. But how do you like your Disney? Would you prefer to avoid melting in the sweltering Orlando heat? Paris Disney may be just your style. Coats and hats were mandatory for our visit. Would you like to experience Disney without the cruel sun glaring down from above. Paris Disney. Although it did make an appearance during our day two visit to Disney Studios, the sun did not manage to spoil our fun. A fine, misty rain kept us adequately cool the entire time. And would you like to visit a Disney Park and not be distracted by all the delicious food options available to you? Disney Paris is the way to go. You would think the food would be amazing, Disney and the French, but not so much. I think it must have been because they try to Americanize it too much.
This was actually a disappointment for me. Something else you know, if you know me, is that I'm kind of a foodie. And on our last Disney vacation, to Orlando, I was so pleased and impressed with all the food at Disney. Now, I'm no gourmet, I just like food that tastes good, and the food at Disney delivers. I remember being young and going to Disneyworld with my parents, back when Epcot was lame and boring. The food was way too expensive for what you paid, at least I remember hearing my dad say something like that. Well, it's still expensive, but it tastes better, and you you get more variety and more food. But I digress. If you want to do Disney and not stop to eat, go with Disneyland Paris.
Okay, now that we've had a little fun, let me say a few other things. We arrived at our hotel on Wednesday, around 4:00 in the afternoon. Because we had tickets for everyday, we decided to head into the park for a few hours. Empty. There was hardly anyone there. We walked on to every ride we tried. Not bad. And the next day we decided to hit Disney again before we dragged the kids around Paris the next day. Once again, empty. We walked on to all the biggies, and the little ones, too. I don't know how familiar some of you are with Disney, but my dad used to call it Wait Dismally World. Well, not here. I mean, Peter Pan's Flight was only five minutes. I've never waited less than 45 for that ride in the states. And Space Mountain, yeah we could have gotten a fast pass, but why when the wait is zero minutes? The longest line was for Autopia, the one where you drive your own little car. What is it with that ride? It's always forever long.
Something else I really liked was how this park had it's own personality. Fantasyland was really charming, probably my favorite of the three I've seen, with Anaheim a close second. And I like how there are things at this park that aren't at the others. Captain Hook's ship, for example, or the Queen of Hearts castle and maze. And Crush's Coaster at Disney Studios, super fun. Of course, I love that all the tried and true favorites are there as well, Pirates, Space Mountain, and the Haunted Mansion, although it's called Phantom Manor there, and the story is a little different.
One thing I did notice that kind of irked me was that everything looked a little shabby. I did not take pictures to evidence this because I do not want to take the shine off of Disney for anyone. But I am convinced that at Disneyland, in Anaheim, and Disneyworld, in Orlando, every night little mice, and birds and elves and dwarfs, under the singing direction of some lovely princess type, come up from the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the parks and perform any and all repairs and paint touch ups necessary so that when the gates open the next day, everything looks as shiny and new as the day it opened. At Disneyland Paris, I noticed so many things that were broken or rubbed off, things that made me wonder how they got broken in the first place, and why hadn't anyone done anything to fix it. I must say, it annoyed me a little. I mean, Disney is the pinnacle. I've never been to a cleaner, more well kept park than a Disney Park. But Disney Paris let me down here. But, we still had fun. It was Disney after all. So, to end on a good note, here's another 38 picture slide show to give you some idea of what it was like.

So there you have it. I'm all caught up again. I know I said I'd post pictures of the house, but we're still doing finishing touches and I've got almost three years to post about this house. But stay tuned. You never know what sort of crazy stories will come up.