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.

[chezp]

I'm so sorry that the allergy to small kids has flared up! You're right, the kids on the cruise were relatively well behaved. It's a shame to hear the description of the Newport Bay. We haven't been there in nearly four years now, but there's no way it was in that bad a state when we stated there. It sounds like it could do with some serious money spending on it and of course that's unlikely to happen in the near future.

[Zazu]

There's a free breakfast buffet that comes with all rooms at DLP resorts. It's overpriced, overcrowded, and overcooked.

Thus we set out for our first look at Walt Disney Studios in a somewhat doubtful mood. After passing the turnstiles, you access the rest of the park by passing through a soundstage. There is no signage to support this, you just have to wander around until you realize that's the only way in. Our spirits were lifted when we saw a sign saying "Brown Derby" -- aha! a chance at a real breakfast! Our spirits were then dashed when we saw it was just one of half a dozen signs adorning a quick service location serving only continental fare.

This day was probably not the one to show of this park's assets, as much was under construction either for the Tower of Terror, already up to full height, or the new attractions to debut the next day -- several "kiddie rides" and a spinning wild mouse coaster called Crush's Coaster. The latter, which is almost entirely indoors, looks to be very impressive, and comments from CMs who had tested it supported this.

Many of the parks attractions we skipped for being identical to those at WDW: Lights Motors Action, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, etc. We also skipped Indiana Jones, as it's an inverting coaster of the sort SWMBO does not approve. Turns out this doesn't leave us much.

We saw Cinemagique, which was a nice film starring Martin Short -- good and a suitable upgrade from The Making of Me. Animagique was a character show, and the volume of the children in the park had already begun to grate on SWMBO, so as we had a lunch date at Walt's, we shopped our way out.

Walt's is a very nice restaurant located upstairs on Main Street. Yeah, after all those years at MK, it felt really strange to be upstairs and on stage at the same time. The last time I had that view of Main Street, I had snuck into the gap between the inside and outside walls. This was nicer.

We recommend Walt's to you. Half of the menu is a collection of snapshots, many of which you've seen before, but they do help set the mood. Seating is in a number of small rooms, so the noise level is much lower than any other restaurant we've visited here. The signature item here appears to be "Walt's Burger", which looks like a large hamburger served with a fried egg on top. Sounds odd, but it looked good. We were trying to dine French, if only out of courtesy, so skipped it. I won't next time.

A ride on the train and we headed back to our hotel for another nap. My allergy attack had grown worse since arrival, and I needed the sleep more than I needed the park. That's not a slap against the park, just against my nose and throat.

For dinner we scoped out the options at Disney Village (the parks having closed at 7pm). We chose well, if by accident, by dining at King Ludwig's. SWMBO pegged it as a Rainforest Cafe clone, despite the lack of animation. It turns out she was correct.

Imagine if you will eating a Mexican-style pizza at a German-themed restaurant in a French theme park while listening to a klezmer band play songs from American, British, German, and Spanish composers. From the Beatles to Scott Joplin, but mostly Tin Pan Alley. It was a scene sufficiently bizarre that Salvadore Dali would have been delighted. Though slightly ashamed to admit it, so were we. The sausages were excellent, too.

Back to our room where our newly repaired air conditioner was working ... while making almost enough racket to drown out the noise made by the kids running up and down the halls. It's a Very Good Thing that SWMBO doesn't really own that flamethrower she keeps threatening to use.

[DrDolphin]

Sorry to hear about the kids - and how depressing that DLP needs some noticeable rehab....

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Zazu

Back to our room where our newly repaired air conditioner was working ... while making almost enough racket to drown out the noise made by the kids running up and down the halls. It's a Very Good Thing that SWMBO doesn't really own that flamethrower she keeps threatening to use.

That is just too funny! It sounds like Disneyland Paris isn't making the greatest impression on you and I know exactly what you mean about that Brown Derby sign and the lack of things to do in that park.

[Colexis Mom]

More great updates Bruce Sorry there have been some issues

[Zazu]

Forget early entry, we were exhausted (especially me with my allergies), so we went back to sleep, breakfasted just before closing, and arrived at Disneyland Park about 11. We had only a few items on our "must do" list, and fewer yet on our "want" list, so we proceeded to knock them out in order.

Pinocchio's Daring Voyage is a dark ride very similar to the one at Disneyland Anaheim, only in French. SWMBO didn't remember the latter, so was quite pleased to see that her Figaro finally had a ride of his own.

As we boarded the Mark Twain riverboat, I was spotted staring at the engines by a CM. When he found I spoke English, he grabbed another CM who did too, and he toured me through the engine room, answered many questions about their operation, and once he learned I was a WDW CM, shared a number of backstage stories, including the reason the riverboat Molly Brown hasn't been seen in two years (it caught fire).

The Haunted Mansion here is in Frontierland, and is a spitting image of an old HO scale haunted house made back in the 50's. I suspect John Olson was the Imagineer on the project, as the structure would have been familiar to him, given his background in model railroading. I'll have to ask him next we meet.

While the basic configuration is the same, the artwork is all new -- even to new stretch room pictures. There's also a pretty clear story of a bride left at the altar. The graveyard scene actually takes place underground, and is *very* spooky, not the funny-scary of the US parks. Very nicely done!

We quite liked Alice's Curious Labyrinth, despite the screaming children running in all directions, barely avoiding our efforts to clothesline them. Small World has a working clock, but the time is off by about 7 minutes -- bad show. The facade is done all in pastels, and we agreed that we prefer the original and present Disneyland Anaheim scheme of all white and gold.

I dearly loved the Nautilus walk-thru. Not because it was all that good, but because of the fond memories I have of the original 20kLUTS walk-thru at Disneyland in it's early years. Not as good as real submarines, but not cheesy either.

After a late lunch, we decided we'd had all the fun we could stand and needed to head back to our room to pack and prepare for our Anniversary dinner. Yup, 33 years together as of tonight. (How, I'm still not sure.)

Our concierge had placed us at the Manhattan restaurant in the New York Hotel, claiming it was the classiest spot on property. We repaired there with visions of California Grill in our heads. The food was up to snuff, the decor very nice (but what do we Californians know from New York?), and the ambiance was... interrupted several times by a loud, pre-recorded Happy Birthday song in English. Our table also seemed to be on the direct route every toddler took to the restroom and back. While nice, it fell short of our definition of gracious dining.


SWMBO has decided that she doesn't care to come back. She declared our hotel "a dump", decried the numbers of loud and unsupervised children (which were, in fairness, worse than the norm at WDW), and determined that Europeans all need to take lessons on how to wait your turn. As I may have mentioned earlier, I have a mild case of ochlophobia which can induce nausea if I'm in too tightly packed a crowd. The size of European "personal space" is much smaller than mine, and this caused a couple of occasions, especially in queues, where I had some trouble.

Let me repeat something I said earlier. The Disneyland Paris Park is beautiful! The landscaping would put any other park to shame -- if only it were weeded and maintained, which it is not. The detailing and finish on the buildings is more complex than at WDW, but it also could use some work in areas. We found that opportunities to interact with cast were limited, and not just by our language challenges. When we did make contact, they were every bit as nice as the best WDW has to offer.

But... given that there are few attractions not also present in the US parks, and the fact that things are *extremely* expensive (and remember, I'm used to WDW prices), and that the culture here isn't our own, we've decided that DLP isn't for us. I still encourage folks to come see for yourselves, as the beauty may overcome the other challenges for you. But I now understand why the Brits will come to Florida instead of the closer park.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find a way to fit into our suitcases everything we brought in them. It's not going to be a pleasant experience, so don't watch!

Summary tomorrow.

[chezp]

I couldn't agree more with your comments about the lack of control over kids at Disneyland Paris and also the way that people don't wait in line - those were probably the two things that annoyed us most about the place. We also loved the Nautilus walk through, as it brought back fond memories of the submarine ride at WDW. How cool about the riverboat as well - that sounds like a great experience!

[Colexis Mom]

Thanks for the review Bruce Sorry DLP wasn't for you

[lauriep]

I've enjoyed all your reports, Bruce. What a fabulous trip. Thanks for writing it all up for us!

[Zazu]

And so it ends, not with a bang but with a whimper ... due to the amazing inadequacy of the facilities at Dulles airport where we took nearly two hours to clear customs. Thank goodness the Feds have asked Disney for advice about how to improve things. The staff there were pleasant enough, but I could have made amazing strides in efficiency and guest comfort with a few dozen stanchions and a roll of rope. Add in a few carefully targeted recorded announcements and it would all flow much more smoothly.

So, would we do it again? In a New York minute! Given a choice, I'd prefer to make the trip in the opposite order, with the six days at sea at the end. Of course, as it's scheduled, this would put the trip in August/September when all of Europe is on holiday and the temperatures are as high as the tempers.

We got very lucky with our dining room serving team. Valdo and Sara, if you're reading, thanks again! And thanks to my posts here, we were able to fill our table for eight with like-minded friends (with one, often comical exception).

Programming runs thin on a 14-night cruise, and Disney chose to end-load the trip with the big production numbers crowded late in the trip. I think I'd have preferred to have more of them during that long crossing. "Twice Charmed" is still a good; "When Mickey Dreams" may be too "Cirque" for some, but it's growing on us; the pluses in "Disney Dreams" are nice additions (except for too much snow); and the Crew Talent Show was amazing, as always.

There's lots we didn't comment on because we simply didn't take part in the kids or family activities, and some of the others that just don't suit our tastes. If it seems like we spent too much time sleeping and not enough partying, credit our membership in the half-century club (and the time spent posting to some silly forum), not the lack of opportunity.

We had some challenges, as one must necessarily expect on any premier voyage. Some of the shore excursions weren't up to Disney standards, and will likely be adjusted or replaced by the end of summer. Some may simply be the best available in the port. I suspect that advertising of what excursions were available was limited by the last-minute nature of some of the arrangements, too.

Was our experience at Disneyland Paris typical? Probably not, as many folks rave about the place. Had we only the experience of the Disneyland Park (and if we hadn't both felt ill from allergies and a cold) we might have taken away a better impression. That Walt Disney Studios isn't much if you're familiar with WDW is really no slight to WDS. DLP's version of a "moderate" hotel doesn't match that of WDW. Had it been described as a "value" hotel we might have been more accepting of it's faults.

Should you ever get the chance to visit Disneyland Paris, I recommend you take advantage of it. The park is indeed the most beautiful of the three I've seen. The cast there is great, some of the attractions are better than their counterparts in the states, and the landscape design is amazing! But stay somewhere else.

As I mentioned, Tom McAlpin walked past our table during the Castaway Club affair (and survived!). I promised to send him an email about the challenges and opportunities for improving the back-to-back transition, and it's gonna be detailed. You may rely on there being improvements made by the time the return transatlantic trip sails -- SWMBO know where he lives.

Is a long cruise for you? It's a personal question with many facets. Can you take off the time from work? Can you afford it? Do you really want to go all those places? Will it bother you to see the same shows and menus on both halves? Do you really *like* being at sea? Does bad weather get to you? All questions to ask yourself. It's certainly for us, and we'd gladly go again.


Y'all have been profuse with your thanks, which is appreciated. I have not done a great job of answering specific questions, partly because I wanted to maintain the flow of the narrative. So now would be the time to ask (or repeat) any questions you might have and I'll do my best to provide answers.

While you're doing that, I have to reintroduce myself to the cats and get ready for our next trip. We're going to WDW!!!

(Yeah, it's only eight miles, but it's still WDW, and we haven't been for a month -- starting to get withdrawal symptoms.)

[chezp]

Great report Bruce - and I'm so glad that we were able to share 11 of your 25 nights with you. You're right, the table was full of like minded people and I'm looking forward to meeting up again with some of you again in December!

[lauriep]

Bruce,

Since you mentioned this is the time for questions...

How did DCL handle the pin sales for the repo? I remember reading about the problems on the first Panama cruise. Did they figure out a better distribution method? And another "merchandise" question... Any special items in the ship's shops specific to the destinations? You said you'd have trouble fitting your purchases into your suitcases for the trip home. Any of the ports especially good for shopping?

Yes, I do like to shop!

[theJordans]

Wonderful trip report and what a great style of writing you have!
DD has a the same view of DLP as yourself I was interested to note.
Thankyou very much for taking the time and trouble to post all this - it has been much appreciated.

[Colexis Mom]

Thanks for the wrap up Bruce It was great to hear of your adventures