France Travelogue - Disneyland Paris

April 16, 2001. France Travelogue - Disneyland Paris.

A long, long time ago, I heard people make comments about Disney parks around the world:

United States - the birthplace of Disney, so of course it should be the biggest and the most fun.

France - inheriting the romantic personality of the French, so it feels the most fancy.

Japan - because of a conservative national style, it was judged as not fun.

Hong Kong - mocked as an amusement park like a small public park, the least worthwhile Disney park.

After all these years, aside from the two American parks I still have not visited and therefore cannot comment on, I do have a few small impressions of the others:

Disneyland Paris - full of fairy-tale characters and scenes. It really is fancy, full of surprises, and fun.

Tokyo Disneyland - it is not as fancy as France, but the service, environment quality, and visitor manners make it a good place for families to visit again and again.

Hong Kong Disneyland - small, but complete. It is small, but it has what it should have. The themed lands are close together, so when you bring kids, you do not have to walk yourself half to death. It is also fun. But it is best not to go in summer... you will die from the heat. ~.~'"

So, do not believe everything you read. Everyone sees things differently. The most accurate way is still to go and see for yourself.

AI-added context: Disneyland Paris's official history records that the resort opened on April 12, 1992. When the author visited in 2001, this European Disney park was still less than ten years old. This is timeline context added during editing, not part of the author's 2001 on-site memory. (Disneyland Paris News: History)

Entering The Park: Main Street And The Castle

Right after entering, we arrived at the globally familiar Main Street, U.S.A. City Hall is the guest services center.

Main Street, U.S.A. near City Hall inside Disneyland Paris. — After entering... we arrived at the globally familiar Main Street, U.S.A. City Hall is the guest services center.

AI-added context: In the official description, Main Street, U.S.A. is the main avenue after entering Disneyland Park, inspired by an early 20th-century American town, with shops, arcades, and old-fashioned transportation. That explains why every Disney park begins with a familiar Main Street atmosphere. (Disneyland Paris: Main Street, U.S.A.)

Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland Paris in the rain.

Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Paris.

Disneyland Paris is the only castle I have seen where, aside from souvenir shops underneath, there is also a fierce crocodile hidden below... hehe...

Souvenir shop area beneath the Disneyland Paris castle. — This is where they sell souvenirs.

AI-added context: The author's "fierce crocodile" was an on-site impression and a joke; the official name is La Tanière du Dragon, the dragon's lair beneath Sleeping Beauty Castle. Official descriptions present it as a monstrous dragon lurking in the castle dungeon, one of the distinctive features of Disneyland Paris. (Disneyland Paris: La Tanière du Dragon)

Attractions, And A Nightmare I Only Understood Later

This ordinary-looking Dumbo ride -- who would have known that, years later, this and the carousel would become my nightmare? Please refer to the Tokyo Disneyland travelogue...

The park was full of fairy-tale characters and scenes. This is what made Disneyland Paris feel fancy to me. It was not only about the rides themselves; while walking around, turning a corner, or seeing a building or character, you could feel that the details had real drama.

The Roller Coaster That Stopped Mid-Queue

While we were waiting for this roller coaster, halfway through the line, the train suddenly got stuck on the track. @.@'"

But the people in line showed no sign of leaving... so we simply kept waiting too... and ended up standing there for almost 40 extra minutes. >.<'"

The funny thing is that everyone could see the ride had stopped, but the line kept waiting. I do not know whether everyone believed it would definitely be fixed, or whether, after waiting that long already, leaving would have felt like too much of a loss. ~.~'"