To think there’s nothing ‘magical’ about Disneyland Paris?

[Wrappleschat82]

And it’s all just one big money making extravaganza. I guess if you can throw enough money at it then maybe the ‘magic’ comes more easily.
We are meant to be going in a few weeks and I’m hoping for a bout of norovirus instead! I was really excited when we booked it a year ago but gradually I’ve started to feel similar towards it as I do now to Christmas: one big money making load of crap.
I’m on the fb Disneyland Paris site and it’s full of adults crying over meeting a French woman in a mouse costume. Trip advisor speaks the truth - that it’s too busy, there’s no customer care, the only places you don’t have to queue for hours are the shops (cunning) and that generally it couldn’t be less magical.

I do wish I could stop seeing everything through the lens of ‘just trying to make money’ because now I’ve started it applies to a lot of things that are billed as ‘special.’ Dh was talking about taking the children to some Easter hunt thing with loads of Easter decorations in the gardens. It looks really impressive online. Then I just think ‘money making scheme.’

bad...yes peter pan is a bit of a nightmare and thankfully not a huge fave of DS. We will commit to going on it but probably only once over our stay

Even as a child I had no desire to go to DL. My parents asked if we wanted to go for the day when we went to Paris and I turned it down! I don't like rides and don't see the point of "meeting" characters who are just blokes in costumes - even kids know that.

My colleague, however, is Disney mad. She had her honeymoon there and goes every single year. It's beyond me why but different strokes and all that.

Too many stroppy French people . What put me off more than anything was the fact they get the army out to escort the tourists off site at the end of the day.
Standing there with machine guns...

for some inexplicable reason, Peter Pan, that always have long queues.

Peter pan has one of the lowest hourly ride capacities of the park.

Oh I don’t know... yep of course it’s all money making but that’s what makes the world go round blah blah. You need money to do anything these days. But we took my then 6 year old dd in 2010 and had a magical time. One of my fave memories is of us on the Peter Pan ride when it whooshes off and she turned to me eyes wide with excitement and asked me “how do they make it fly?” - she genuinely thought the little boats flew by magic. So that was worth the £2k we spent alone

The food was terrible however and the people dressed up were cringey and weird to me as an adult, but dd loved it all.

I took DD but stayed in a hotel in Central Paris. I don't think I could have born a whole day followed by a night there. I couldn't wait to get on the train back to Paris.
The day we went, there wasn't a single dressed up character. It was about 2011 and the cheapest shop item was 16 euros. You can't take picnics in but many restaurants there were closed. We bought hotdogs for ridiculous prices. I hated it.
The parade was very good though.

I love it. There are so many ways to cut costs. Buy costumes and ears before you go, also buy cheap ponchos in case of rain before you go as they're v. expensive in the park, take your own food in, fill up water bottles at the fountains around the park... I know you've already booked but often booking via the DLP site through another country is cheaper as there are different deals for different countries. It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg!

Me and DH go every year for our anniversary. I somehow convinced him to go for our honeymoon and he absolutely loved it so we made it an annual thing. (I'm the weirdo adult that loves Disney )

I think you need the right mindset

Absolutely - and it's just as well my DS was never into Disney as I seem to lack it completely

Like other theme parks it's the sheer corporate manipulation I can't stand. I know they exist to make money, but do they have to make it quite so obvious you're merely a cash cow - you might as well pin tenners to your coat and just let them pick them off, and all to "enjoy" their ghastly, plastic "experience"

Takes all sorts though; nobody's forced to go and at least the absence of folk like me keeps the queues shorter

When we took ds he was nearly 3 and he loved it. Truly loved it. It was all a rip off then but somehow it bothered me less. It was busy but not unbearably so and I think we did everything we wanted to do. He was absolutely thrilled at meeting Pluto and Mickey Mouse - I have some photos where the joy on his face is totally alight and I don’t think I have any other pictures anywhere else since where the delight is so obvious.

Dd is basically the same age - a couple of months older - as when we went with ds and yet I feel completely differently towards it this time. Maybe I do need to leave the fb group. I can’t imagine crying over any of it, apart from maybe the cost of some crappy hotdogs and cheaply made merchandise. It all seems a lot of hassle this time. Maybe it’s having both ds and dd. It feels like it’s going to be harder work this time round.

The day we went, there wasn't a single dressed up character. It was about 2011 and the cheapest shop item was 16 euros.

See i do hate it when people talk utter crap.

Mickey mouse is there in the main park and the studios park as scheduled meet and greet every single day. Unless you really are unfortunate and the parade is cancelled (never happened in the past goodness knows how many trips snow included); loads of the characters will be in the parade. There hasn't been a day in the history of the park that there are no dressed up characters. You may not have seen them but they definitely were there.

In 2011 for less than €16 you could get a small cuddly toy, a mug, a bowl a set of glasses a blanket, a disney Christmas ornament... im pretty sure you could even a t-shirt, (if you hit a sale item you definitely could) and a starter set of pin badges. For less than ten Euros you could get a pin badge, magnet key ring, possibly also a set of glasses..... for less than 5 Euros you could get a character glass, a purse, a notebook. And thats only what i can remember for sure. It was about then i picked up a little statue of mickey momento for 12euros. There literally isnt a shop in DLP, even now, where you cant get something for €16. Most shops i could find a cute momento for less than €5

Agreed Green. You won’t find characters randomly wandering around because it would cause a stampeed, health & safety and all... but there are meet & greets all over the parks as well as the daily shows and parades with characters in.

The restaurants are no better or worse than those in other theme parks - and actually when we’ve gone half board, the buffet restaurants have been really nice and not expensive. And it’s poop that you can’t take your own food and drink in - people sit around with packed lunches all over the place.

Same for merchandise - you don’t have to buy it, but if you do, you can get a tin of Disney sweets for a Euro!

I love the place, but I don’t go for the merch and food, I go for the atmosphere, the rides and the shows, which are all fab imo. And it costs us about £1500 for a family of fiver rather than about £8k for Florida.

I heard that from a friend who took her grandaughters to DLP last year. £12 for a happy meal in MacDonalds, and very lukewarm. Huge queues for the buses into the park. We went to DWF, off peak pre children 15 years ago as a honeymoon and we loved it, we are saving up to take the kids to DWF and would never go to the Paris one. In Florida you have other attractions too:Busch Gardens, Cape Canaveral, Universal Studios, and Miami Beach.

Leaving Disney out of it I am wondering about these statements:

Dh was talking about taking the children to some Easter hunt thing with loads of Easter decorations in the gardens. It looks really impressive online. Then I just think ‘money making scheme.’

Now I don’t enjoy anything I feel differently about the fact everything is just a way to get money.

So does that mean you can only get pleasure from something if the person providing it is doing it free and gratis out of the goodness of their heart and wants nothing back for it? Do you really expect people to entertain you for free?

What about an event of "fun day" that aims to raise money for a good cause? Is that still damned or is it OK if the money making is not being done for personal profit?

It just strikes me that you are going to have a miserable time generally if you just can't enjoy doing things where the person providing the fun and entertainment expects something in return - e.g. wants paying for their services.

I hated it; it felt sinister. DD loved it though.

I just checked my photos!!

2011 was the year of the stars in cars character meet and greet in the studios park. That was incredible, i dont think there has been more character meet and greets in the same place before or since.

There were actually still characters wandering the park in 2011 (and yes they were mobbed) ive got photos of unscheduled meet and greets with mary poppins, mulan and mushu, snow white and dopey (complete with other peoples children in the frame !!!). Unbelievably mickey mouse in high school musical costume turned up randomly in one of the fast food places in studios park.

What a year to claim there were no costimed characters!!!

A post from a friend, on Facebook, reminded me of this thread. They are almost 30 and have proudly displayed their 20 pairs of Minnie Mouse ears.

Sailor does said friends first initial begin with A?

GreenEggsHamandChips you are waaaay over invested

We took our 7 year old in November when it was Christmas themed.

I was excited to be going, because I knew my daughter would find it magical.

Dh isn't a fan of the French, or of Disney, but didn't want to miss our daughter enjoy herself, and thought she would be disappointed of he didn't go.
My daughter and I have both mentioned going back, and to my surprise dh didn't disagree.

I think like a lot of things, it depends on your outlook.
Yes it can be expensive, but there are ways of reducing the cost if needed. We went by coach with no meal plan.

@Mrsong i absolutely am!!!

Someone disparaged my happy place, its guns Mickey ears at dawn time!!

I would call them a codfish but it might be my first deletion for a personal attack ever and wouldnt make sense if you didnt know peter pan

We went 2 yrs ago w young teens. Had a good few days - none of us is mad on Disney but the kids enjoyed the rides, we met Darth Vader - dh loved this!!
Thought the food was dreadful though.

The FB group is very odd sometimes. I have no clue why grown adults get excited about meeting someone dressed as a character but meh to each their own.

We are going this year having been three times before. The kids and us love it - not especially because it’s Dosney but they love any theme park really and the shows and parades are an added bonus.

We do spend a lot of money on holidays in general because that’s what we prioritise and I see money spent on good times together as money well spent. Of course it’s making someone somewhere richer but so?

Toby no, not an A. Don't tell me there's two of them?

@thaegumathteth I am an adult and loved going to disney world and am counting days till the second visit. I fully realise the characters are not real but enjoy it for the rides and relaxed atmosphere plus shopping for disney items in the evening in the shops. But I guess it is very much an each to their own. Maybe the reason I enjoy it is also just seeing the characters walk about, fire works and watching the parades, plus everyone is in a holiday spirit and the staff really go out of their way to make the experience feel as immersive as possible. Will be my last time for the next 3-5 years after which I fully plan on looking into a vacation club membership so I can go there every year once I have kids