Sunday, January 28, 2007

Who's the leader of the club...?

Susie and I took the kids for a surprise visit to "Disneyland Resort Paris" last weekend. We told them we were going to London for the day, and the next morning instead of taking the train home, we surprised them by getting on the Eurostar instead. We got in on Sunday afternoon, and left on Wednesday. For those of you considering a trip to "The Park Formerly Known as EuroDisney," here are a few observations:

1) French train stations suck. They're all (and I mean every one we saw, stopped at, or passed through) gray concrete and glass and cavernous. They aren't so much "buildings" as "big bus shelters." They keep the rain off, but they don't keep the wind out, because it's the kind of building where it's a roof held up by posts, and there are walls but they don't go all the way to the roof (or even the floor). They actually have space heaters scattered about, built in. The waiting rooms make the NY Port Authority bus station look like a suite at the Ritz. Have a look at the station right at the gates to Disney here.

2) Some French people are actually not rude. By this I mean the people who work at Disneyland, who are exceptionally well trained in "the Disney Way."

3) Many Disneyland visitors (and I mostly mean the French ones) are extremely rude. F'rinstance, when the four of us were wandering through the "Alice in Wonderland" labyrinth, enjoying letting Lily "lead" us, more than once we were literally physically shouldered aside by... pairs of adults. Yes, grim faced, determined, these couples acted as though they had been told that if they were not FIRST to the Red Queen's Castle at the end someone would take away their escargot. They have no concept of "getting in line" for something. David actually missed not one, not two, but THREE chances to get an autograph from Stitch (of Lilo & Stitch fame) because of both pushy children, and parents who shoved their children in front of him. Infuriating, and giving the parents the evil eye resulted in, of course, a gallic shrug (which, if you've always wondered exactly what that means, is a little shrug with a look of "And this is my problem, how, exactly?")

4) If you're going to go, and don't mind a little cold, go in the low season. Waiting times for most rides was under 5 minutes, and there's enough to do indoors that you don't mind the wind so much. And besides, the kids don't care, as long as they're bundled up (and sometimes even if they're not).

5) If you're going to do anything requiring a reservation (breakfast with the characters, for instance) take the first slot of the day. No one else does, and you get much much more value for your time. We did the character breakfast. The restaurant was set up with 25-30 tables, and there were 5 characters wandering the room interacting with the diners. There were only 6 full tables for the first seating. Halfway through the characters leave, and 5 more come out. Still only 6 tables. We had a blast having Mickey, Donald, and the rest at our table the entire time we were there, rather than having to fight for a few minutes of their attention with the other diners (and, see #3 above).

6) Eurostar: Nice train. Take the direct one from London to Disney, and avoid the change at Lille Europe. A missed connection, a late train, and your travel day is ruined.

All in all, a great trip, despite #3 up there, and #1 was only a problem at the end. If you're on "the list" you've probably been pointed to the slideshow highlights. If not, drop me a note and I'll send you directions.

Wow, this was a "fluff piece," wasn't it? :)

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