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Disneyland Paris: General Discussion

It’s very hard to make a fair assessment of it based on the clip, but that’s part of the problem with these things. A 5 second clip of a low paid employee ends up on social media, with no context, and the employee doesn’t have any right of reply or way of defending himself. He may be an arsehole, but I don’t know if you can really say from such a brief snapshop.
 
The cast member in that video is actually a bit of a ‘fan favourite’ and is known in the DLP fan community as he is seen as a very positive cast member and approaches customer service in a very ‘Disney’ way, therefore it is a great shame that of all cast members he seems to have been caught up in this and labelled the bad guy.

Hopefully Disney will be fair to him and the guests in question, they have already said they have been in touch with the guests.
 
I can see both sides. On the one hand they shouldn’t have gone into the area especially if there was signage saying not to, but on the other hand the cast member could have handled it a bit better although I’m sure they thought they were doing the right thing at the time. Strange situation all round.
 
So we know that the guy went into the restricted area because he was going to propose, but what did the girl think was going on? Presumably her boyfriend said, "Shall we climb over that fence and go into the restricted area?", and she was like, "I don't think that's allowed Louis". And he was like, "Come on babe, something special's going to happen..." "Like what?", "You'll see".
 
rob666 said:
Perhaps Disney might make the important safety fence (for pyro etc) a little more than knee high then!
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No need to go Towers style OTT with huge fences in front of the castle and spoil it when as proven by this "incident" they have more than enough staff available to monitor it.
 
I suppose this incident shows that it’s not that easy? If it’s not something that happens regularly why add bigger fences etc because of one incident?

I think the cast member did what they had to do. He thought on the spot and chose a quick way to get the guests off the stage. Could he have approached it differently? Maybe, but then the couple may have not listened. At the end of the day it’s a stage for cast members only. Guests were in the wrong.
 
It should be noted that allegedly (and as can seemingly be heard in the video) another cast member told the guest that they could access the stage and let them in. There’s usually at least one cast member standing guard around the stairs to each of these stages to ensure guests don’t get onto them and performers have a clear passage.

Now whether that meant they could go onto the stairs to the stage and propose like they were told to do at the end of the video, or, as initially happened, head to the centre of the stage, I doubt we’ll ever know. But it does seem that there may be more to this than guests simply stepping over the fence. It’s not the sort of thing that warrants a knee-jerk response of erecting taller fences. The fences already in place are a fair way out from the stage with dense planting, a bit of a recess for the lighting and effect kit and then another pretty sizeable step up onto the stage. It’s not the sort of thing you can simply wander into unless using the stairs, which as I say are usually staffed around showtimes.

If it is indeed true that they were let onto the stage, I suspect that a cast member for whatever reason told the guests it was ok for them to enter the area but they were either not clear enough on the specifics that they should stay by the stairs, wrongly assumed it was fine for them to be on the stage itself when it wasn’t, or they did make clear the boundaries and the guest chose to ignore them. However, as it was likely a sudden spur of the moment situation that wasn’t properly planned, other cast in the area were not warned to expect this and intervened in what they assumed was guests letting themselves into an off-limits area.

Ultimately, as Cod has said, there are special effects around those stages at present which could have posed a hazard, so safety protocol would have taken priority to clear the area. I’m sure a face full of sparks would have put even more of a dampener on the proposal…

Could it have been handled better? Yes and no. Was swooping in and taking the ring the right course of action? Probably not. But how would the guest have responded to someone simply walking up and asking them to leave? You can’t deny it did achieve the effect of clearing the area quickly with less confrontation than sending several security guards in to move them along or getting into an argument in front of everyone. Better to have done that swiftly than risk an accident or altercation right in the middle of the stage! What should have been handled better was the communication of what was happening. It should have been properly confirmed if it was or was not safe for the guest to enter the stage and then communicated to all other cast members in the area that this was going to happen. That, or even simpler still, the cast member who told them to go up should have accompanied them and stood off to the side. At least this would have made it more obvious that this wasn’t simply someone trespassing and the situation was under control.

What I’m trying to say is there are seemingly more things at play here beyond the obvious response from the intervening cast member. I do appreciate that it’s clearly an emotive topic and special moment that has been spoilt, which is very unfortunate, but it’s a bit of a no-win situation. If something had happened to the guests there’d no doubt have been outcry at no one intervening and doing their job to keep them safe.

Disney have issued a statement themselves saying that the incident fell below standards and that they have reached out to the couple with an offer to try to “make things right”.

I would also just add, as AT86 has, that the cast member in question is something of a legend at DLP, well renowned for their enthusiasm, passion and service. They are often mentioned by name in reviews and posts as someone who’s gone the extra mile and made people’s day and have always been held in high regard as a model employee.

Unfortunately everyone has bad days and it’s pretty sad to see them taking so much personal flack for what I’m pretty sure was meant to be standard safety and security protocol. I really hope DLP are reviewing this at a much more holistic level than simply finger pointing and putting it all on the one person. The crowd and parade control cast are under a huge amount of pressure and are, unfortunately, frequently subjected to abuse from guests simply for doing their jobs. At the end of the day, we are still talking about a human being acting in what they felt was the best interest in accordance with their job. For right or for wrong let’s not forget that when discussing this. I’m sure it’s been just as hard a time for them as much as anyone else involved.

And this kids is why a waterside proposal around Lac Buena Vista is far more fashionable. Castles are sooooo cliché. Just sayin’…
 
Snatching someones valuable possession from them without consent is theft and an assault, isn't it?
Not just an over officious employee...
 
Ian said:
It should be noted that allegedly (and as can seemingly be heard in the video) another cast member told the guest that they could access the stage and let them in. There’s usually at least one cast member standing guard around the stairs to each of these stages to ensure guests don’t get onto them and performers have a clear passage.

Now whether that meant they could go onto the stairs to the stage and propose like they were told to do at the end of the video, or, as initially happened, head to the centre of the stage, I doubt we’ll ever know. But it does seem that there may be more to this than guests simply stepping over the fence. It’s not the sort of thing that warrants a knee-jerk response of erecting taller fences. The fences already in place are a fair way out from the stage with dense planting, a bit of a recess for the lighting and effect kit and then another pretty sizeable step up onto the stage. It’s not the sort of thing you can simply wander into unless using the stairs, which as I say are usually staffed around showtimes.

If it is indeed true that they were let onto the stage, I suspect that a cast member for whatever reason told the guests it was ok for them to enter the area but they were either not clear enough on the specifics that they should stay by the stairs, wrongly assumed it was fine for them to be on the stage itself when, or they did make clear the boundaries and the guest chose to ignore them. However, as it was likely a sudden spur of the moment situation that wasn’t properly planned, other cast in the area were not warned to expect this and intervened in what they assumed was guests letting themselves into an off-limits area.

Ultimately, as Cod has said, there are special effects around those stages at present which could have posed a hazard, so safety protocol would have taken priority to clear the area. I’m sure a face full of sparks would have put even more of a dampener on the proposal…

Could it have been handled better? Yes and no. Was swooping in and taking the ring the right course of action? Probably not. But how would the guest have responded to someone simply walking up and asking them to leave? You can’t deny it did achieve the effect of clearing the area quickly with less confrontation than sending several security guards in to move them along or getting into an argument in front of everyone. Better to have done that swiftly than risk an accident or altercation right in the middle of the stage! What should have been handled better was the communication of what was happening. It should have been properly confirmed if it was or was not safe for the guest to enter the stage and then communicated to all other cast members in the area that this was going to happen. That, or even simpler still, the cast member who told them to go up should have accompanied them and stood off to the side. At least this would have made it more obvious that this wasn’t simply someone trespassing and the situation was under control.

What I’m trying to say is there are seemingly more things at play here beyond the obvious response from the intervening cast member, and I do appreciate that it’s clearly an emotive topic and special moment that has been spoilt, which is very unfortunate. But it’s a bit of a no-win situation. If something had happened to the guests there’d no doubt have been outcry at no one intervening and doing their job to keep them safe.

Disney have issued a statement themselves saying that the incident fell below standards and that they have reached out to the couple with an offer to try to “make things right”.

I would also just add, as AT86 has, that the cast member in question is something of a legend at DLP, well renowned for their enthusiasm, passion and service. They are often mentioned by name in reviews and posts as someone who’s gone the extra mile and made people’s day and have always been held in high regard as a model employee.

Unfortunately everyone has bad days and it’s pretty sad to see them taking so much personal flack for what I’m pretty sure was meant to be standard safety and security protocol. I really hope DLP are reviewing this at a much more holistic level than simply finger pointing and putting it all on the one person. As has been said, the crowd and parade control cast are under a huge amount of pressure and are, unfortunately, frequently subjected to abuse from guests simply for doing their jobs. At the end of the day, we are still talking about a human being acting in what they felt was the best interest in accordance with their job. For right or for wrong let’s not forget that when discussing this. I’m sure it’s been just as hard a time for them as much as anyone else involved.

And this kids is why a waterside proposal around Lac Buena Vista is far more fashionable. Castles are sooooo cliché. Just sayin’…
Click to expand...
Apparently the employee that let them on the stage did not have the authority/clearance to do so.
 
rob666 said:
Snatching someones valuable possession from them without consent is theft and an assault, isn't it?
Not just an over officious employee...
Click to expand...

Not necessarily.
For theft, you'd have to prove the suspect intended to permanently deprive the victim of it. Clearly not the case here.
There are many defences to assault, which would include moving or removing someone from a trespass on private property.

Although I'm not well versed on French law.
 
rob666 said:
Perhaps Disney might make the important safety fence (for pyro etc) a little more than knee high then!
Click to expand...

shows that the fence is not needed any higher and idiots who jump fences in my opinion should be evicted from the park. It clearly says no entry. A great example is Iceland. A thin rope with a hot symbol was needed in Iceland around the acid pools and geysers... until it became popular and the Chinese and Americans ignored them then boiled to death. They still use a rope in most places as you can't ruin everything because of a selfish person who wants the perfect selfie.
 
A POV has come out of Iron Man Flight Force, the redo of Rock’n’Rollercoaster:

This could just be the POV skewing things, but it looks as though there’s far less to look at on this than there was on Rock’n’Rollercoaster (based on POVs, as I never did the Paris version). I’m not too sure on it at the moment, but I accept that it probably looks better in person.
 
Matt N said:
A POV has come out of Iron Man Flight Force, the redo of Rock’n’Rollercoaster:

This could just be the POV skewing things, but it looks as though there’s far less to look at on this than there was on Rock’n’Rollercoaster (based on POVs, as I never did the Paris version). I’m not too sure on it at the moment, but I accept that it probably looks better in person.
Click to expand...

That looks like a major downgrade from Rock n Rollercoaster… how sad!

Definitely too much over-reliance on screens/projections rather than actually having decent sets/effects around the ride (though, RnRC didn’t have much more!). I was hoping they were going to make some kind of cool ‘flying through the city’ thing, not just travelling through the darkness with people talking at you…

I’m sure some people would absolutely love this, but I just don’t see this meeting Disney’s standards.
 
deanW said:
That looks like a major downgrade from Rock n Rollercoaster… how sad!

Definitely too much over-reliance on screens/projections rather than actually having decent sets/effects around the ride (though, RnRC didn’t have much more!). I was hoping they were going to make some kind of cool ‘flying through the city’ thing, not just travelling through the darkness with people talking at you…

I’m sure some people would absolutely love this, but I just don’t see this meeting Disney’s standards.
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Isn't every retheme in the last decade though a downgrade? It makes me scared of Splash mountains retheme...
 
Benzin said:
RnRC was mostly just a really good lighting package, but at least there weren't lots of moments of pure darkness.

Might be a few effects aren't completely ready but it doesn't exactly look any better.
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Yeah - at least the lighting and music made the ride exciting! This Avengers stuff just looks really bland…

Also - where is the hype before the launch?! Just sitting there watching a couple of screens do absolutely nothing looks very anti-climactic…

I really hope I’m just disappointed by this one video and that the ride itself is good in person!
 
I've just watched the POV too and I have to say without jumping on the bandwagon I'm really disappointed too. Firstly I have to hold my hands up and say I'm not a Marvel fan in the first place, but I can still appreciate a good ride when I see one, I'm also not a huge Star Wars fan, but when a 25 year old rollercoaster has a better seasonal overlay than a rethemed Rock 'n' Rollercoaster then there's a problem.

As others have said Rock 'n' Rollercoaster wasn't brilliantly themed in the first place, so to end up with the new version in near total darkness with a few projections I'm really disappointed, I was expecting Mission Rewind style theming inside (and even with that I don't think it looks as good as people make out). It appears the money has been spent on the facade and queue line and not on the actual ride experience.

On a slightly different note why does every indoor coaster at Disney now have to resemble flying through space? With now having the Space Mountains, Tron, Guardians of the Galaxy and now Avengers, it'd be nice to see an indoor coaster with a different theme.
 
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