Disneyland Paris: General Discussion

[geo4chg]

Exactly this.

What theme park enthusiasts seem to forget is there are very few people who are going to visit every Disney park in the world. With the exception of Disney World which was built because Disney Land couldn’t expand, all the other parks have been placed to take the Disneyland experience into a different territory. By default this means rides will be duplicated across the parks as people want the rides they see in America closer to home.

It’s just enthusiasts who have a beef with it because they are the ones traveling the world to go to theme parks.

Completely agree. What I truly love, and this is the case for the early stuff in Paris, is where Paris got the same rides as in America but altered to make them slightly unique - for example Phantom Manor, Space Mountain, even Big Thunder Mountain. I love the fact you can visit California, Orlando and Paris and experience some of the same rides but that each person has their personal favourite as they are subtly different - of course this is easier to do with track rides but I prefer this to the cookie cutter approach that now seems to be happening with Galaxy's Edge, Mickey & Minnie, Tron etc.

 

[jon81uk]

Isn't Disney doing what it has always done? Taking great concepts and reusing them in multiple places (Space Mountain, Pirates, Tower of Terror, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder etc). They do come out with E-Tickets that aren't cloned. If Tron has been a big hit in Shanghai, why wouldn't you bring it to the US?

Arguably, rides can be bigger and more complex if they are able to share R&D across parks and continents. Feels like it would be a non-issue for a very high percentage of Disney visitors (as opposed to Disney fans).

For the castle parks I think there is an expectation that all the parks contain variations on the classic Disneyland attractions so yes I agree that Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Pirates all have their place in all the castle parks.

Also bringing Tron to the US makes sense, most US guests won't go to China.
But many Brits will visit Paris and Florida, I don't think thats just an enthusiast thing, so I think Paris needs enough to keep it different from WDW so guests feel it is worth doing Paris instead of just going over to Florida.
Additionally I think Disneyland California needs something different to Florida for similar reasons.

Adding rides to multiple parks makes sense in terms of sharing R&D but adding, the same ride to all parks feels too much, for example changing ToT to Guardians of the Galaxy in California is a good thing to keep things different to WDW.

 

[geo4chg]

But many Brits will visit Paris and Florida, I don't think thats just an enthusiast thing, so I think Paris needs enough to keep it different from WDW so guests feel it is worth doing Paris instead of just going over to Florida.
Additionally I think Disneyland California needs something different to Florida for similar reasons.

I don't agree with this. There are relatively few people where going to Disney theme parks is something they do regularly. For a regular family I imagine Orlando is something they do once, maybe twice, while children are growing up (I know there are some families that go every year but this is not the norm). Similarly going to Paris is something they may only do 2 or 3 times, if that. Going to Disney parks with that frequency will mean that getting similar rides in both places is not an issue at all. In fact, for example, a family may visit DLP and love the Ratatouille ride and then 2 or 3 years later visit WDW and be really happy to see it is also there, or conversely very disappointed not to find Crush's Coaster. As Paris is the smaller resort, I know there are a lot of Americans that can't see the point in going to DLP, but I don't think it's an issue the other way around.

Also, going to Orlando is very expensive compared to a trip to DLP, which even in itself is something fairly expensive, so "just going over to Florida" is not comparable to a trip to Paris.

Disneyland in California is already a very different experience to the Magic Kingdom in Orlando as it draws on nostalgia so much more - also Anaheim is not a resort designed to draw in people from all over the US, that is the whole point why WDW exists in the first place, so Disney is actually very happy for people from New York or Kentucky or Texas or wherever to go to Orlando instead of Disneyland.

 

[Benjsh]

I don't agree with this. There are relatively few people where going to Disney theme parks is something they do regularly. For a regular family I imagine Orlando is something they do once, maybe twice, while children are growing up (I know there are some families that go every year but this is not the norm). Similarly going to Paris is something they may only do 2 or 3 times, if that. Going to Disney parks with that frequency will mean that getting similar rides in both places is not an issue at all. In fact, for example, a family may visit DLP and love the Ratatouille ride and then 2 or 3 years later visit WDW and be really happy to see it is also there, or conversely very disappointed not to find Crush's Coaster. As Paris is the smaller resort, I know there are a lot of Americans that can't see the point in going to DLP, but I don't think it's an issue the other way around.

Also, going to Orlando is very expensive compared to a trip to DLP, which even in itself is something fairly expensive, so "just going over to Florida" is not comparable to a trip to Paris.

Disneyland in California is already a very different experience to the Magic Kingdom in Orlando as it draws on nostalgia so much more - also Anaheim is not a resort designed to draw in people from all over the US, that is the whole point why WDW exists in the first place, so Disney is actually very happy for people from New York or Kentucky or Texas or wherever to go to Orlando instead of Disneyland.

I don't think some young people actually realise how expensive it is to go to Florida as a family. For me, the wife and our son, you're looking at 6 to 7k easily all in for two week holiday and that's doing things on a fairly modest budget. Going for upgrades etc then add another 1-2k.

I'd love to go every couple of years but we sadly can't afford it. To spend 7-8k on a holiday is simply once in a lifetime type cash for us. Maybe twice at a real push.

 

[jon81uk]

I think my judgement on costs is out-of-date, but it does feel like the cost of Florida (particularly hotels on-property at WDW) has increased significantly. whereas the cost of DLP has remained fairly stable. Maybe its also the drop in the value of the dollar as 20 years ago when I first did WDW it was about $1.80 to £1.

But I can remember pricing up WDW vs DLP for just the two of us and WDW was much much better value, excluding travel one week at WDW used to be comparable price to three nights at DLP. So yes flights are a bit more but still in the right season flights to Orlando are relativly cheap) but WDW felt better value.
But recently WDW prices have gone up a lot and it doesn't feel good value at all.

 

[geo4chg]

I don't think some young people actually realise how expensive it is to go to Florida as a family. For me, the wife and our son, you're looking at 6 to 7k easily all in for two week holiday and that's doing things on a fairly modest budget. Going for upgrades etc then add another 1-2k.

I'd love to go every couple of years but we sadly can't afford it. To spend 7-8k on a holiday is simply once in a lifetime type cash for us. Maybe twice at a real push.

This is exactly my point - the majority of people in the UK will go to Disney parks so infrequently that having clones of attractions is not at all an issue. Likewise, many Americans will only visit Orlando so it doesn't matter that some rides are the same in California or in Paris or in Tokyo, on the flip side people that live on the West Coast may never feel the need to go to Orlando because they go to Anaheim instead.

Although I'd rather have truly unique attractions in Paris, I think the far bigger problem is the overall number of attractions, which could easily be sorted out with a faster roll out of clones from the US of some of their bigger rides.

 

[Benjsh]

The one real big oversight has been the continued omission of Beauty and the beast at DLP. The bleeding story is set in the fictional village of 'Villeneuve' for heavens sake. As French sounding name as you will ever see or hear.

I find it amazing how there isn't a mini land dedicated to it or even an extension to Fairy Tale Land with a Beauty and The Beast E ticket Dark Ride.

 

[Matt N]

The one real big oversight has been the continued omission of Beauty and the beast at DLP. The bleeding story is set in the fictional village of 'Villeneuve' for heavens sake. As French sounding name as you will ever see or hear.

I find it amazing how there isn't a mini land dedicated to it or even an extension to Fairy Tale Land with a Beauty and The Beast E ticket Dark Ride.

Maybe they could bring that Beauty and the Beast dark ride that recently opened over in Tokyo over to Paris?

 

[Benjsh]

Maybe they could bring that Beauty and the Beast dark ride that recently opened over in Tokyo over to Paris?

It's certainly an option. Although that ride to me seems a bit pointless. They made it trackless when it just didn't need to be at all. Everything seems to happen in that one giant room too.

Animatronics are ace though. Can see where the money was spent on them. Top drawer!

 

[Ted]

Exactly this.

What theme park enthusiasts seem to forget is there are very few people who are going to visit every Disney park in the world. With the exception of Disney World which was built because Disney Land couldn’t expand, all the other parks have been placed to take the Disneyland experience into a different territory. By default this means rides will be duplicated across the parks as people want the rides they see in America closer to home.

It’s just enthusiasts who have a beef with it because they are the ones traveling the world to go to theme parks.

I never got or understood the argument about clones (for any park). The average Joe won't care and it actually makes so much sense for the parks to get them because they're a safe investment. For Disney specifically, I can tell you I'd love a clone of Splash Mountain or Indiana Jones Adventure or hell even anything else decent that's not in Paris.

 

[geo4chg]

I never got or understood the argument about clones (for any park). The average Joe won't care and it actually makes so much sense for the parks to get them because they're a safe investment. For Disney specifically, I can tell you I'd love a clone of Splash Mountain or Indiana Jones Adventure or hell even anything else decent that's not in Paris.

I've always thought Splash Mountain would fit perfectly at the back of Frontierland near the station, perhaps with the refurbs and Princess & the Frog retrofits going on in California/Orlando at the moment there is some renewed hope this may one day happen. The Tokyo Beauty and the Beast ride would be perfect for DLP also - it doesn't need the ornate castle façade (and in some respects I wouldn't want it competing with Sleeping Beauty Castle and Queen of Hearts Castle anyway in Fantasyland), but would be a great addition either near tea cups/It's A Small World or opposite Bella Notte (my preferred location as that area feels like little more than a path between areas/parade route currently).

 

[Benjsh]

I've always thought Splash Mountain would fit perfectly at the back of Frontierland near the station, perhaps with the refurbs and Princess & the Frog retrofits going on in California/Orlando at the moment there is some renewed hope this may one day happen. The Tokyo Beauty and the Beast ride would be perfect for DLP also - it doesn't need the ornate castle façade (and in some respects I wouldn't want it competing with Sleeping Beauty Castle and Queen of Hearts Castle anyway in Fantasyland), but would be a great addition either near tea cups/It's A Small World or opposite Bella Notte (my preferred location as that area feels like little more than a path between areas/parade route currently).

It will never happen in relation to Splash Mountain. Disneyland Paris is a 365 day a year park and they'd never have an E ticket ride that wouldn't be ridden by large majority of people for 3 to 4 months in the winter. Paris gets incredibly cold in the winter afterall just like it does here. Even in the spring on a rainy day it wouldn't be that popular.

Frozen boat ride is coming and that's about as close you'll get. It will have an indoor drop section I'm sure like the Florida version. And there's still Pirates of course which has a bit of a drop too.

I think a new coaster is needed more really in the main park.

 

[Skyscraper]

I think a new coaster is needed more really in the main park.

Could you see a clone of Epcot's Cosmic Rewind at DLP in the future if it proves to be popular once open?

 

[geo4chg]

It will never happen in relation to Splash Mountain. Disneyland Paris is a 365 day a year park and they'd never have an E ticket ride that wouldn't be ridden by large majority of people for 3 to 4 months in the winter. Paris gets incredibly cold in the winter afterall just like it does here. Even in the spring on a rainy day it wouldn't be that popular.

Frozen boat ride is coming and that's about as close you'll get. It will have an indoor drop section I'm sure like the Florida version. And there's still Pirates of course which has a bit of a drop too.

I think a new coaster is needed more really in the main park.

I wasn't saying it would happen with regards to Splash Mountain, I just wish it would - it is in Tokyo which gets cold in winter after all.

I would love a new coaster in the main park, I just don't know where it could go - Frontierland has some space but what would the theme be so as not to be too similar to BTM, Adventureland has room but literally next door to Indiana Jones, Fantasyland is the only land without a proper coaster but any installation there would likely be a small coaster, and Discoveryland would be well and truly ruined if they added something like Tron - and a lot of other coasters tied to an IP would likely be better suited to the Studios (GotG, Slinky, a Star Wars themed coaster or whatever).

 

[Benzin]

Phantasialand run Chiapas in winter. Not exactly the tropics in Bruhl.

 

[adamw]

The other island behind BTM was earmarked for Splash Mountain in the early days. So it could have happened.

The landscape of DLP could have been much different if those financial issues early on didn’t raise their head.

We probably would have got Splash, Indian Jones and possibly much more.

Such a shame.

 

[John]

Yep, I certainly wouldn't be complaining if they added clones of Splash Mountain and Indy.

Splash would be fine in winter - they could turn off any extra water effects so people don't get TOO wet and it'll still draw the crowds. It wouldn't exactly be the longest queue in the park but during the busy Christmas period when the park's packed it'd still be popular purely on account of having "only" a 45min wait.

 

[Funcone]

I think it's unlikely that they'll add Splash Mountain for the reasons already given: they aren't in a rush to add anything new to the original park, and the Paris climate. But as geo4chg says, Tokyo also has a cold winter. The last few new 'additions' have been in Discoveryland (Star Tours: The Adventure Continues, Hyper Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear's Space Blast) so you could argue that the Frontierland side is more in need of something new. You could also argue that if Disney add a new ride to the original park they'll probably want it to feel 'modern'. Now that the Splash Mountain theme is being changed from Song of the South to The Princess and the Frog, it might also make a Splash Mountain clone more likely.

I didn't know that island had been considered for a Splash Mountain. At the American parks they're on the edge, so only the front is themed and then you have an unthemed show building behind. If they'd built Splash Mountain on that island, do you think it'd have been a different version with all sides themed? Or would you have been able to see the show building from the boat? And how would you have got to the island?

 

[geo4chg]

The landscape of DLP could have been much different if those financial issues early on didn’t raise their head.

We probably would have got Splash, Indian Jones and possibly much more.

Such a shame.

I still love Disneyland Park in Paris - it feels so spacious and well thought out compared to the American castle parks, in part because it is still pretty much as it was originally planned. And it has so many little details that make just walking around the park such a delight, there are so many tiny details in Main Street that 98% of visitors will likely miss as they use it just to get in/out of the park and maybe pop into a shop at the end of the day. In this regard, it is a shame some of the smaller attractions like the keelboats have closed as they just added to the overall escapism.

That said, it could really do with a few new rides - something at the back of Frontierland, near Indiana Jones, in the expansion pads in Fantasyland and over near Discoveryland Station entrance (past Star Tours) would be good spots without ruining the overall feel of the park. The trouble is, the Studios are the much bigger priority so likelihood of anything new in the castle park before 2030 are slim to say the least.

 

[jon81uk]

Now that the Splash Mountain theme is being changed from Song of the South to The Princess and the Frog, it might also make a Splash Mountain clone more likely.

I suppose Disney might end up cloning the Princess & Frog ride if it proves popular as a simple boat ride without the big splashdown or fewer splashes maybe.
The original Splash Mountain was never really meant to be what it was anyway, it used leftover animatronics from the closed down America Sings show.