25 Days on the Disney Magic to Europe About This Page:

[Zazu]

Our train arrives in Paris spot on time after a quite mediocre breakfast on board. As we walk down the platform, towing our baggage and worrying where the taxi stand is, what to our wondering eyes does appear but a kiosk with a "Disneyland Paris" sign and two smiling cast members!

DLP has shuttle service from the train station to their resorts, and this was the first we'd heard of it. This failure to communicate was the signal feature of our four-month effort to book our rooms at DLP, and was to set the tone for the rest of our visit. But the good thing is, they had room for two more (just) and it cost only 10 Euros each -- easily one tenth the cost of taxi fare.

After dropping most of the guests off at the Parks, we were soon at our hotel, the Newport Bay Club. I wasn't able to post an honest and complete review of the transition between cruises because I'm a CM, and in fairness because it was Disney Cruise Line's first experience with so many back-to-back cruisers. I am under no such restrictions here, as Euro Disney isn't the same company as the one I work for.

Our check-in could have been used as a training film on how not to do it. We had to stand in line no less than eight times. Once because the desk marked "check in" isn't where one checks in. Our bags, which had to be checked separately from the laptop, we had to drag back outside for storage, then back to the room ourselves as there's neither bell service nor luggage carts. It was a long way from the "seamless experience" we strive for at WDW hotels.

Our impression of the Newport Bay Club is that it's a tolerable 2-diamond hotel; one sufficient for an overnight stay on the way to somewhere better, but not the sort of place you'd want to spend a week (or three nights). There is an in-room safe, but its not attached to anything (we've been hiding it in different locations to see if housekeeping noticed). Two of the four lights in the bath are out and one is missing a reflector so we get a nice view of the attic wiring. While there is a nice 110/220V combo outlet in the bathroom for razors, the only way to plug in my computer is to unplug a lamp. And the room's decor? Even SWMBO -- who would wear an orange top with pink pants if I didn't stop her -- could see that things just didn't match either the theme or each other.

Never mind all that, we're here for the Parks! Shortly after noon, and the shuttle wasn't running, so we hoofed it over to and thru Disney Village and on to Disneyland itself. Wow!

The park is, in a word, beautiful. The plantings are abundant and well designed, with the careful hand of Disney Legend Bill Evans, the landscape designer for every park from Walt's backyard thru Hong Kong Disneyland. The detailing on the buildings and even paving far exceeds my own Magic Kingdom. Even the trash cans here have land-specific designs. (No, the MK doesn't have those any more, sorry.)

There is evidence that many lessons were learned from the previous parks, such as the arcades that bypass Main Street so parades don't plug things up, wider sidewalks, steps early in queues that have alternate entrances for guests in wheelchairs, more curb cuts (actually, fewer curbs overall), and wider spacing between adjacent attraction entrances. There were also a few lessons yet unlearned, such as the presence of ash trays in every trash can and permission to smoke anywhere outdoors that's not in a queue. Well, I suppose it is Europe.

Having spent four years as a Show Quality Monitor for Main Street, I no longer have the ability to shop or dine without exiting with the knowledge of exactly how many light bulbs are out. Even SWMBO marveled that the ceiling of the hotel dining room over our dinner table had paint peeling off in flakes the size of dinner plates. The lovely landscaping has been neglected, with hedges needing a shave and weeds up to a meter tall in on-stage areas. While many things had been recently refurbished, and we saw signs of more in progress, the overall effect is that of a park operating under financial constraints, which is of course true. Still, it's not enough to overshadow the overall effect, nor to negate the claims of those who love the park that it's the most beautiful in the chain.

The park was open until 19H (that's 7pm for you Yanks), but we didn't make it that long. That 12-hour hike in Barcelona followed by a spotty night's sleep on the train conspired to send us back to the hotel for a nap before dinner. Said meal was fine but for the noisy children -- bad enough that SWMBO, who has an avowed allergy to small kids -- said she missed the relatively well-behaved American kids from the cruise!

So to bed, and tomorrow to the Walt Disney Studios.