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May 18, 2013, 9:47am

Any Port in a Storm :: Beyond the Breakwater :: Shipping Out :: Going to Disneyland Paris

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Topic: Going to Disneyland Paris (Read 2,148 times)

kerouac2
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Joined: Feb 2009
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Location: Paris, France

Going to Disneyland Paris
« Thread Started on Dec 5, 2010, 4:15pm »

Due to my youthful and immature nature, I have always liked Disneyland. I grew up watching the Disney shows on television and dreamed of visiting Disneyland some day whenever I would see reports about it. I naturally understand the limitations of such a place, just as I understand the limitations of a G rating at the movies, but there should be something for everybody.

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One of the reasons that Paris was chosen for the European location of Disneyland, in spite of its inappropriate climate, is because France has always been the #2 world market for Disney films and Disney products. Another of the reasons that "Uncle Walt" is such an icon here is because he was such a believer in urban planning, in which the French excell. Walt Disney was completely against anarchic development of cities and wanted everything in the perfect location with the perfect target users of shops, restaurants, hotels, etc. Personally, I pretty much feel the same way. If Paris looks the way it does, it is because of extremely strict control over what can be built, how it can be used, the authorized color scheme, and many other details.

Disney & France is a match made in heaven. A new plan has just been approved for the Disney territories over the next ten years with a new theme park and new residential areas, and it will be interesting to see how it is all done with the new emphasis on proper environmental development. Okay, enough bla bla bla -- I went to see what the park entrances and "Disney Village" looked like after not visiting for several years.

It was interesting for the weather, which does not correspond to the original idea of Disney places being in mild climates. But cold weather can add a certain charm to the decor.

One of the first things that visitors need to learn is that the RER station for Disneyland is not called "Disneyland."

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The RER was built to serve the park, so the entrance is right there the moment you leave the RER or TGV. However, at this time of year, the secondary entrances are closed, and everybody is channeled through one central access for the obligatory security check (an extremely mild one, I may add).

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The moment you have passed through security, the excited visitors begin to ooh and aah, because you begin to hear the ubiquitous music (Christmas music at this time of year, of course). We may complain about psychological manipulation, but it is extremely effective. I had no intention of actually visiting Disneyland, but the whole atmosphere started tugging at me against my will.

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The souvenir tiles always fascinate me -- the concept of getting people to pay for the pavement of a place that is charging them a fortune to visit!

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I don't care. I still find it lovely, and I was thinking that the people staying at the Disneyland Hotel were particularly fortunate this week with the snowy view from their window.

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I wandered over to the entrance of the other park, Disney Studios. You can see more through the gates without going in. (I didn't walk all the way to the Disneyland gate, because I am pretty sure that we have all seen "Main Street" hundreds of times.)

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Damn, I haven't been to Disney Studios since the Tower of Terror opened!
People pay for the pavement just like over on the other side. There is still plenty of room for expansion.

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(end of part one)