The EuroDisney
Experience
First of all, let's clear a general misunderstanding. Walt Disney is not the
name of the inventor of Mickey and the rest. Somebody ever misspelled the real
name Wait Disney: they took the "i" for a "l"
(maybe for marketing reasons). Since then the guy was known as Walt Disney .
On Friday, march 12th 1999, we left at about 8.30 to visit the the ultimate
kid's dream parc, EuroDisney near Paris, for about 3 days. It took us about 5
hours to get there, which is acceptable. Especially the french toll-roads make
it possible to bring the speed up to 150 km/hour. It is actually one road
straight south. The Sequoia Lodge, where we stayed is just one out 5-6 theme
hotels at the Disney complex.
We had great weather, the best weekend of the year so far. And since Friday was
an ordinary week day, it wasn't that crowded. That was about to change within
one day. Saturday was crowdy, but sunday was worse. On sunday, the weather was
really good, and so all the French decided to visit Disney as well. At about
12.00, the place was stuffed and we decided to leave. Queues up to 2 hours and
longer.... Take that in account if you visit Wait Disney in the
summer season. We knew we propably would have had a better time at any Dutch
amusement parc for a lot less money (yes, we are Dutch), but the kids were
really satisfied, and so, so were we in the end.
One other bad thing, next to the queues: EuroDisney is expensive, very
expensive. A bottle of beer is about 4 Euro, so is a hamburger and so is and
bottle of soda. Icecreams are cheaper (3 Euro), but you have to stay in line for
about 15 to 20 minutes. The dinners at night have also outragious prices
(comparing quality/price). Actually you are locked up for a couple of days and
have to pay whatever Disney is charging you (see the tips below).
Now the good things, yes the attractions are fun, the parc is clean and the
parades are amusing. The kids (2 and 5 years old) really loved it. Marijne (5)
was able to shake hands with nearly every Disney character and that was propably
the highlight of the whole trip. As said before, the parc is clean, very clean.
A lot of people (I mean a LOT of people) take care of that. Also, there are some
other reasons for that (see the tips). The topic of the moment (in the special
parade) was Mulan, one of the favorites of Marijne. So that was fun too.
In general, if you have kids, you have to go (Disney tells you so), it's also
fun. Be aware of the outrages rates of toys and food.
Tips & Tricks:
1. Take food and drinks with you. Although not allowed in the parc, you may want
to have something to eat and drink in your room (at acceptable prices). BTW:
there a no non-Disney shop close to the parc, you have to get in a car and
drive. Also, other establishments in the neighbourhood adepted Disney pricing...
2. If you stay in the Disney Hotels, go to the parc as early as possible. It's
propably your only change to visit one of the big attractions without waiting
lines of a few hours or more.
3. If you have lunch in the parc, have your lunch at about 11.00. A few minutes
later and you will be starving in the queues.
4.The Internetsite of EuroDisney provides a reasonable roadmap, but be alert at
the Airport, you easilly take the wrong lane.
5. If you are a smoker, you will be facing a tough time. Although it is
permitted to smoke in the parc, they don't sell cigarettes. You can buy
cigarettes at the railway station (just outside the parc) or at one of the
hotels.
6. The parc is clean, also due to not selling stuff that makes a mess
(cigarettes, boxes, plastics, etc.). If you need anything of that, take it with
you.
