From: tad@Ingres.COM (Tom Drynda)
\nDate: 17 Jun 93 15:15:16 GMT
\nNewsgroups: rec.arts.disney
\nSubject: Finally, the EuroDisney Report (Long – 1350 lines)<\/p>\n
\t\t\tEuroDisney Report
\n =================<\/p>\n
\tHi there. This is a fairly detailed report of our recent
\ntrip to EuroDisney including a short excursion to Paris.<\/p>\n
\tThe report is in three parts :<\/p>\n
\tPart One is a description in chronological order without
\ndetailed descriptions of attractions (unless appropriate). I’ve
\nalso included any problems we found with travel, etc. here.<\/p>\n
\tPart Two contains the descriptions of the rides, restaurants, and
\nshops we visited separated into their separate lands. <\/p>\n
\tPart Three contains miscellaneuos items and I’ve detailed
\na few extra topics which I felt needed extra explanation such as
\nnew rides under construction and guide books. A number of people
\nemail’d me specific questions which I endeavoured to answer as
\nfully as possible. As well as answering these people directly
\nwhere possible and applicable, I’ve included these in Part Three
\nof the report.<\/p>\n
\tWe arranged the trip through the Air-Miles scheme. This
\nscheme only operates in the UK (I believe) and is a system
\nwhereby you collect Air-Mile vouchers from various purchases and
\nuse them as part or full payment against filghts and
\naccomodation.<\/p>\n
\tWe bought a number of guide books specifically about
\nEuroDisney (The Official one, and two ‘Unofficial’ ones). The
\nmost useful one without a doubt was Bob Sehlinger’s Unofficial
\nGuide.<\/p>\n
\tOur trip started on Monday May 31st 1993.<\/p>\n
—————————————————————–<\/p>\n
\t\t\t Part One
\n\t\t\t ========<\/p>\n
Day 1
\n—–<\/p>\n
Flight<\/p>\n
\tWe decided to take the early (0730) flight out of London
\nHeathrow with British Airways. The whole flight was uneventful
\nand we landed at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport ahead of
\nschedule thanks to a following wind.<\/p>\n
Coach<\/p>\n
\tThe EuroDisney shuttle coach seemed to be the most
\nsensible way to get from the airport to the resort as it stopped
\nright outside our hotel. Problem was, we didn’t know where to
\ncatch it from. The directions in Sehlinger’s guide are very vague
\nand incomplete. We asked at a tourist information booth in the
\nAirport and they gave us accurate directions. We also bought our
\ntickets at the tourist booth for FF75 each one-way which is FF10
\nmore than mentioned in Sehlinger’s guide.<\/p>\n
\tThe shuttle runs either every 30 minutes or every 45
\nminutes alternating every day. On Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat the shuttles
\nrun at 30 minute intervals starting at 0730. On the other days,
\nthe shuttles start at 0745. This is from memory, I could be
\nslightly wrong.<\/p>\n
\tWhen we got to the shuttle-bus stop, we saw a queue of
\nabout 40 people already waiting. Aparently the previous bus
\nhadn’t turned up, but the next one was due in about 10 minutes,
\nso we took our place at the end of the queue and waited. And
\nwaited. <\/p>\n
\tThe bus-stop at CdG airport is not a very pleasant area
\nat all. It is very inconvenient and is not really designed to be
\na bus stop. It’s difficult to describe. From the terminal you
\nhave to cross a fairly quiet service road to get to it and when
\nyou are on the right side of the road the vertical supports
\nholding up the rest of the airport make queuing difficult and
\nuncomfortable. Of course, it may have been better if the shuttles
\nwere running on time.<\/p>\n
\tSo, finally, after nearly an hour’s wait, two coaches
\nturned up. We were just about the last people to board the first
\ncoach. Boarding took absolutely ages. These people could do with
\nsome training from Disney on how to move people around (that goes
\nfor most of non-Disney France that we visited actually).<\/p>\n
\tYou could consider catching the RER train to the
\nEuroDisney resort. The nearest hotels to the RER station are The
\nHotel New York, and The Disneyland Hotel. They are within 4-5
\nmin’s walking distance but I wouldn’t fancy doing that with a
\nbunch of heavy luggage on a hot day. The Sequoia Lodge (where we
\nstayed) is about 8-10 mins walk from the station, and The Newport
\nBay Hotel would add another 5 minutes to that. Other hotels are
\nmuch further from the RER station. I was not aware of any shuttle
\nbus to the hotels specifically for passengers arriving via RER.<\/p>\n
Hotel<\/p>\n
\tAfter just under an an hour’s coach ride from the
\nairport, we arrived at our hotel – The Sequoia Lodge.<\/p>\n
\tThe Sequioa Lodge is an enormous hotel (by my standards)
\nbuilt (as the brochure says) in the style of the grand hotels
\nfound in American national parks. Basically it’s a seven storey
\nredwood and stone building with a green copper roof.<\/p>\n
\tThere was a small pre-check-in desk just outside the
\nhotel which we had to register with before officially checking in
\nat the front desk. Here they give you a small plan of the resort
\narea showing you the location of the hotels, station, etc. and an
\nA3 newspaper-style guide to the hotel, events, opening times,
\netc.. <\/p>\n
\tChecking in turned out to be a real problem. We queued
\nand waited … and waited .. and waited. We couldn’t really see
\nwhat the problem was. It seemed to take ages to get people
\nchecked in. Finally our turn came and we began to realise what
\nthe problem was. The staff behind the desk were undergoing
\ntraining and were having a great deal of hassle getting around
\nthe computer check-in system. We asked if we could get a room
\nupgrade since we were members of the Magic Kingdon Club and this
\ncaused further problems. Fortunately a supervisor was near to
\nhand and helped solve our problems. <\/p>\n
\tWe left the check-in desk only to realise that not only
\ndid we not know where our room was but that there was also no-one
\nto help with our luggage. This could be a bit of a bummer if you
\nare travelling alone or you’re travelling with people who are not
\nfully mobile. <\/p>\n
\tWhen we got to our top-floor room we were pleasantly
\nsurprised to find that it offered a superb view of the lake (Lac
\nBuena Vista), Festival Disney (more about this later) and the
\npark in the distance. We could even see the castle !
\nUnfortunately, we ended up in a smoking room despite having
\nrequested a non-smoking room originally. By this time we were too
\nexhausted to complain, but once the windows had been open a few
\nminutes, the room was pleasant and fresh.<\/p>\n
\tThe room itself was clean and tidy. The beds were wooden
\nand very high (my feet only just touched the ground and I’m 6ft).
\nThere is an enormous and solid rocking chair in the room as well
\nas the usual gear (table, chair, chest of drawers with TV on top,
\nbedside table, etc.<\/p>\n
\tThe beds were very comfortable to sleep in, but after a
\nstandard Disney day I could’ve slept on broken glass !<\/p>\n
\tAfter unpacking a little, and resting a little, we
\npondered on what to do next. We had thought that since it was now
\njust about 1pm and the park would be closing at 7pm, it would not
\nbe worth actually going in to the park itself and we would just
\nhave a relaxing wander around the general area to get a feel for
\nit and see what else there was to offer.<\/p>\n
Festival Disney<\/p>\n
\tWe exited our hotel and headed for the lake through the
\ngardens of the hotel. The Sequoia Lodge gardens are well laid out
\nand peaceful. Mainly conifers and large rocks. Interestingly
\nenough, all of the tall\/mature trees (and there are a significant
\nnumber of those throughout the resort) are supported by at least
\n3 steel cables. This is because the mature trees have been
\ntransplanted here directly and therefore their roots have not
\nmanaged to get enough hold on the soil to fully support the tree.
\nI wonder how long it will take until they can support themselves ?
\nIt’s also interesting to note that there are places where the
\ntrees have obviously ‘failed to thrive’ and are starting to die
\nor have already been removed. I didn’t notice many of those
\nhowever.<\/p>\n
\tWe started to walk around the lake. The lake itself is
\nquite large and quite obviously man-made. With our backs to our
\nhotel, to the left of the lake you could see the marvellous
\nNewport Bay Hotel with it’s miniature lighthouse. The Newport Bay
\nHotel looks very ellegant and from it’s looks alone I wouldn’t
\nmind staying there next time. To the right of the lake is the
\nugliest hotel – the Hotel New York. Blech. Monstrous outside.
\nFairly monstrous inside – sepecially that nasty “Mets” logo on
\nthe floor down one of the passages leading away fromn the lobby.<\/p>\n
\tThe lake is actually quite pleasant. Some details to look
\nout for are the maintenance panels on the street-lights and at
\nthe Hotel New York end of the lake there are some Dumbo heads
\nspouting water into the lake. We passed the Hotel New York on the
\nway to the rest of the resort and noticed that the ice rink
\noutside was drained (well, it was approaching mid summer) and in
\nfairly bad condition – crumbling around the outside and the map
\nof New York which would be under the ice area was very tatty.<\/p>\n
Festival Disney<\/p>\n
\tWe passed the Hotel New York, and approached Festival
\nDisney. This area is marked by the enormous silver and red
\nvertical columns apparently supporting nothing but a bunch of
\nwires. These wires are actually supporting small lights, but
\nduring the day they’re obviously not switched on. At night, they
\nlook quite good, but the pattern they form is only obvious from
\nclose-up. The enormous columns contain mainly small kiosks
\nand\/or speakers which emit music constantly while Festival Disney
\nis open (0830 to 0200).<\/p>\n
\tI imagine the idea of Festival Disney is to evoke a party
\natmosphere in the way Pleasure Island does at Disney World. It
\ndoesn’t quite work out that way though. The architecture does
\nnothing to help this atmosphere and just emphasises the cold wide
\nopen space.<\/p>\n
\tFestival Disney consists of a number of nightclubs,
\nrestaurants, shops, kiosks, and Buffalo Bills Wild West Show
\n(more about that later !). <\/p>\n
\tThe shops are your average Disney stores slightly themed
\nbut with nothing spectacular inside. I saw nothing there that I
\nwanted and couldn’t get cheaper at my local Disney Store.<\/p>\n
\tJust before the exit to Festival Disney (the DisneyLand
\nend), to the left there is a large building which contains
\nBuffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Just in front of this building is
\na small corral area where we saw people riding horses around. To
\nthe right is the fifties style cafe called Annette’s Diner. This
\nplace had some fifties\/sixties cars parked outside. There was
\none fifties (?) french car – a Renault I think – that was totally
\nugly and out of place in terms of style and elegance (it had
\nnone). We didn’t have time to try out this place. It was probably
\nvery expensive.<\/p>\n
\tWhile at the Buffalo Bill building, we ordered two
\ntickets for the late show for the following day. With our Magic
\nKingdom Club Gold Card, we qualified for an incredible 20%
\ndiscount on the total cost of the tickets.<\/p>\n
\tOn exiting Festival Disney, we passed the RER Station on
\nour right. This is in the final stages of completion (or maybe
\nthat’s just the way it looked). It’s a clear glass and steel
\nstructure with nothing really interesting about it.<\/p>\n
\tNext we passed through a small arch into the gardens of
\nthe DisneyLand Hotel (Fantasia Gardens) and the entrance to the
\npark. It’s here that you’ll find your first Hidden Mickey created
\nby the circular ponds. The Fantasia Gardens are very nicely
\narranged and very pleasant to look at and walk through. There are
\na number of peaceful areas here where you may want to rest tired
\nfeet. <\/p>\n
\tThe DisneyLand Hotel is wonderful to look at and even
\nbetter inside (more about that later). It has a marvelous clock
\ntower – the clock being the biggest Mickey Mouse watch I have
\never seen ! Make sure you see the weather vanes too. We passed
\nunder the hotel on our way to the entrance to the park to get our
\n3-day passes.<\/p>\n
Bank Holiday<\/p>\n
\tWe did not intend to enter the park today because we were
\nunder the impression that the park was only open from 0900 to
\n1900 until the middle of June. We were VERY pleasantly surprised
\nto find that this Monday was a Bank Holiday in France (as well as
\nEngland) and as a result, the park stayed open untl 2300 ! This
\nhad the added advantage that the Main Street Electric Parade
\nwould run and Fireworks would finish the evening. Normally those
\ntwo events are only performed at weekends or when the park is
\nopen late.<\/p>\n
\tWe purchased three-day passes at FF508 each including our
\n10% discount for being members of the Magic Kingdom Club. There
\nare 1, 2, and 3 day, and a one-year passes available. The one-
\nyear pass costs FF990. I really really wanted the one-year pass
\nbut we were on a budget. Bummer. I’m not sure of the prices for
\nthe other passes, but I’ve included some phone-numbers at the end
\nof this report that should be able to give you an up-to-date
\nprice as well as a host of other information.<\/p>\n
The Park<\/p>\n
\tWe entered the Park about 1400, ignoring Sehlinger’s guide
\n(to our peril) and just followed our noses around the park. Of
\ncourse we ended up exhausting ourselves !<\/p>\n
\tRather than give the details of all the rides we visited
\nhere, you can read about them below. <\/p>\n
\tThere was some excellent live entertainment in
\nAdventureland, quite close to the main entrance which itself was
\nbeautiful. The entertainment consisted of a band of four African
\nmusicians playing drums and bells with incredible rythmns and
\nvolume. There was some incredibly embarrassing audience
\nparticipation which I really couldn’t do justice to here … you
\njust had to be there ! Of course it was only embarrassing for the
\nparticipants !<\/p>\n
\tThe parade at 1600 was very enjoyable. Follow Sehlinger’s
\ninstructions on where to watch this from (close to Small World).<\/p>\n
\tWe chose to have our evening meal at the Blue Lagoon
\nrestaurant. This is the restaurant you pass when riding the
\nPirates of the Carribean. The food was excellent. The fruit
\ncocktail we drank (obviously non-alcoholic) really hit the spot.
\nWe couldn’t face dessert – just couldn’t fit it in anywhere ! The
\nmeal was pricey, but with our fabulous Magic Kingdom Club Gold
\nCard we qualified for a 10% discount.<\/p>\n
\tThe Main Street Electric Parade took place at 2015. It
\nwas … well … the Main Street Electrical Parade.<\/p>\n
\tThe fireworks at 2255 just about concluded our evening
\nand we wandered back to our hotel for a beer and a well deserved
\nrest (by this time we’d been awake about 20 hrs).<\/p>\n
Day 2
\n—–<\/p>\n
Sehlinger’s Guide Saved Us Agony !<\/p>\n
\tWe got out early this morning in order to take advantage
\nof Sehlinger’s guide. We decided to follow the Two-Day Touring
\nPlan A and it did us proud !<\/p>\n
\tWe took with us an expensive take-away continental
\nbreakfast from the hotel (two bread rolls, a croissant, some jam,
\nsome butter, and a small carton of orange juiice).<\/p>\n
\tWithout going in to too many details, Sehlinger’s guide
\ngot us through half the park and attractions with MINIMAL (i.e.
\nless than 10-15 minutes) standing in line. We finished the first
\nhalf of the touring plan by 1115 !<\/p>\n
\tThis was great. We decided just to wander slowly about
\nthe park watching everybody else get irate and take in some of
\nthe details that really make Disney more than just a fun-ride
\npark. We’ve never had much of an opportunity to do this at a
\nDisney park before and we really appreciated it this time !<\/p>\n
\tWe decided to eat lunch at the Explorer’s Club. In all of
\nthe guides it says this is a table-service restaurant. In
\nSehlinger’s guide it mentioned that due to lack of interest there
\nwas a chance that it may be turned in to a fast food place. When
\nwe got there, it was a fast-food place and it was virtually
\nempty. We ordered our adequate food and sat in a very nice place
\nby a waterfall. It was nice and relaxing, but the atmosphere was
\ntotally non-existant. I would advise avoiding this place. It’s
\nonly really good point was the fact that it was almost deserted.
\nOf course, that may have been due to the fact that we ate there
\nat about 1430 – well past the rush.<\/p>\n
Buffalo Bill<\/p>\n
\tWe continued wandering about the park, enjoying it
\nimmensely until it closed at 1900. We then made our way towards
\nBuffalo Bill’s Show. You don’t get allocated seats until you
\nenter the building just before the show. I’d advise anyone going
\nto see this to start queing fairly early as the earlier you get
\nyour seats, the closer to the action you are. <\/p>\n
\tThe tables aren’t really tables as in a normal
\nrestaurant, but just a bench that can hold about ten people with
\na long table in front of you over which you see into the arena.
\nThe tables all overlook the arena and so everyone has a good
\nview.<\/p>\n
\tWe were just about second in the queue, behind a large
\nfamily. We got in and were issued with our ‘table number’ and our
\ncowboy hats.<\/p>\n
\tThe ‘table numbers’ are coded by colour letter and
\nnumber. The lower the number, the closer you are to the action.
\nThe letter defines the sector in your team area in which you will
\nsit, and the colour defines the team you will support during the
\nshow. The team colours are representative of American ranches.<\/p>\n
\tAfter being issued with that hats, we passed through to
\nthe extremely large bar having our photo taken officially on the
\nway. The bar is truly enormous, but fills up quickly. Order a
\nbeer as soon as you get there. You could order a beer in their
\nsouvenier beer glass which is in the shape of a cowboy boot. I
\ndid this (sucker for unique souveniers). You can also order
\ncocktails here.<\/p>\n
\tIf you want to order wine with your meal, you have to go
\nto a smaller bar that you pass on the way in before you get to
\nthe main bar.<\/p>\n
\tPre-show entertainment and cowboy training takes place
\nbefore the arena is loaded. The entertainment we had was the band
\ncurrently appearing at Billy Bob’s Country and Western Nightclub
\n(which is in Festival Disney). They played a number of country
\nand western songs and took us through “How a cowboy cheers”
\n(lifting your “chapeau” off your head, waving it in the air and
\nshouting YAAAAHOOOOOOOOOO at the top of your voice) and a host of
\nother fun-type things. This is good fun and really set us up for
\nthe show.<\/p>\n
\tThe loading of the stadium takes place a colour at a
\ntime. The colours are green, red, yellow, and blue. Our colour
\n(green) was the last to load. This is where our problem started.
\nThe family in front of us had ordered tickets for all of the
\nadult members but not for the three children under three years
\nold. This is fine according to the rules, but when they came to
\ntake their place at the table, the children all took up an adult
\nplace each including cutlery etc.. This meant that we had to be
\nre-seated out of our prime seats ! The head waitress in our area
\nasked to see that families tickets, but the family claimed to
\nhave “lost” the children’s ones. Yeah sure. Oh well, we took it
\ncalmly, hoped they’d choke on their food and\/or get dirt kicked
\nup in their faces from the horses hooves and took our re-seated
\nseats right up at the highest point in the arena. As it turned
\nout, we did have an excellent view and weren’t too far from the
\naction. We did however sit at a very boring table with people who
\neither didn’t understand the languages (French, and English) or
\njust were too boring to join in the fun and games. It was just
\nthe two of us wearing and waving our hats and whooping it up on a
\ntable of about 12. We didn’t care. We had a great time.<\/p>\n
\tI don’t really want to spoil the fun of Buffalo Bill’s
\nWild West Show, but just let me say the food was very good, the
\nbeer was as much as you could drink (whenever the staff came
\n’round to your table with their pitchers) and the entertainment
\nwas funny, exciting, and in short it was one of the best
\nevening’s out I’ve had in a very long time. Do not miss this. DO
\nNOT MISS THIS ON ANY ACCOUNT !<\/p>\n
\tI have never seen the Hoop De Doo Review, so I’m not sure
\nif it bears any resemblance to this show.<\/p>\n
Day 3
\n—–<\/p>\n
Paris<\/p>\n
\tAfter that late evening at Buffalo Bill’s, we decided not
\nto get up to early. This was the day we decided to go into Paris.<\/p>\n
\tWe read through a few guide books and it seemed easy
\nenough. Just to be sure we went to the Maison Tourisme in Fantasy
\nDisney. Here we were told which ticket to get (Formula1) and a
\nmap of the metro and train lines.<\/p>\n
\tTravelling in to Paris took about 50 minutes. We decided
\nto go to the west of Paris first and head East visiting the
\nEiffel Tour first, followed by the Louvre, Pont Neuf and Notre-
\nDame, the Pompidou Centre, the Bastille, and finally back to
\nEuroDisney. <\/p>\n
Eiffel Tower<\/p>\n
\tOur plans were scuppered by the fact that it took us
\nabout two hours to get into the Eiffel Tower ! Only one ticket
\nbooth was open and only one lift was working. Apparently, they
\nare modifying the ticketing operation at the moment. I suppose we
\ncould’ve taken the stairs up to the top but that’s not for the
\nfaint-hearted or lazy ! I was glad we opted for the lift once I
\nsaw how many stairs there were to climb ! The view from the top
\nwas amazing and enabled us to get our bearings a bit better.<\/p>\n
Mistake in Sehlinger’s guide<\/p>\n
\tThere is a mistake in Sehlinger’s guide which you should
\nknow about if you intend to travel to the Eiffel Tower. The guide
\nsays to take the RER A-Line to Porte Maillot. As far as we could
\nmake out from the maps, Porte Maillot doesn’t exist on the RER
\nA-Line and it would be a damned awkward way to get to the Eiffel
\nTower if it did ! Far easier to take the RER A-Line to Ch. de
\nGaulle-Etoille, and change there into the metro line 6 (green)
\nand head south to Bir Hakeim. Exit the station at the end where a
\nsign mentions the Eiffel Tower, and keeping the river to your
\nleft walk for about 10 minutes until you come across the Eiffel
\nTower You can’t exactly miss it !<\/p>\n
\tBecause of the time it took to get up and down the tower,
\nwe decided to cut out the Pompidou Centre, and the Bastille and
\nleave them for another day.<\/p>\n
The Louvre<\/p>\n
\tThe Louvre was another place we spent a long time in. You
\nreally need a couple of days to see it all. We ended up just
\nlooking at the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and whatever else
\ntook our fancy until our feet could stand it no more. The Louvre
\nis a very impressive place and the renovation is not yet
\ncomplete.<\/p>\n
Notre-Dame<\/p>\n
\tA welcome sight after a hard days walking. A very
\nimpressive place. We approached Notre-Dame early evening, but it
\nwas still light enough to see the architectural detail and enjoy
\nthe stained glass windows inside.<\/p>\n
Cost of Travel<\/p>\n
\tWe purchased the “Formule 1” travel tickets at the
\nChessy-Marne le Vallee (EuroDisney) station. These tickets enable
\nyou to travel anywhere within Paris and out to EuroDisney without
\npaying any extra. If I remember correctly, they cost FF85 each
\n(Sehlinger’s guide says they cost FF75 each) for adults.<\/p>\n
Day 4 – Our last day ..
\n—————————–<\/p>\n
\tWe spent the morning following Sehlinger’s Two-Day Plan A
\nand again finished early and happy. This was the time to start
\nchecking out all of the places we hadn’t eaten at in a bit more
\ndetail. We also wanted to take a longer look at Main Street and
\ncheck out some of those names in the upstairs windows. More
\ndetail on those below. <\/p>\n
Walt’s<\/p>\n
\tOne restaurant we had been meaning to check out since the
\nfirst day (actually since first reading about it) was Walt’s on
\nMain Street. This is described as having Disney Memorabilia
\naround the walls, etc.. OK, being serious Disneyphiles, we just
\nhad to take a look around.<\/p>\n
\tWe talked to the woman at the front desk and asked her
\nabout reservations. She said that they were not required and you
\nshould turn up when you wanted to eat. We then asked if we could
\njust have a look around. She said we could and we entered.<\/p>\n
\tThe restaurant is L shaped with the entrance being on the
\ncorner. One side of the restaurant runs along main street and the
\nother along a side-street. There are two floors in the restaurant
\n(ground and upstairs). The ground-floor rooms are just elegant
\nrooms surrounded by Disney memorabilia. The upstairs rooms have
\nseparate themes linked to the different lands. Some rooms have
\nseparate tables catering for couples or families. Other rooms
\nhave just a single banqueting table clearly catering for large
\nparties (conference guests, VIP’s, etc..).<\/p>\n
\tWhen you enter the restaurant the whole feel of the place
\nseems to be that of a luxury appartment or hotel (or maybe even
\nrestaurant !) in Paris at the turn of the century.<\/p>\n
\tThe entrance lobby is quite interesting, containing hand
\ncarved wooden furniture and nice stained glass. To the left is
\nwhat I’d imagine is the Maitre d’s desk which is interesting in
\nitself. It has one of those spring-loaded message-passing
\nsystems. For the technical persons among you, this is the system
\nwhere you plonk the message in a box, yank a handle, and the box
\ncontaining the message whangs up through the ceiling to the
\nupstairs desk and vice-versa. The message-whanging system is very
\nornate in heavy scrolled brass.<\/p>\n
\tIncidentally, for Disneyphiles only, the address of the
\nrestaurant his the same address of the workshops in Glendale,
\nCalifornia (1401 Flower Street). Flower Street is a side turning
\noff Main Street. According to the official guide book, the logo
\nwith the initials W.D. appearing on the gas lamps, some
\nfurniture, and windows was designed for the balcony of Walt’s
\nappartment in Disneyland.<\/p>\n
\tAhead of you are the lift and the stairs. The lift is
\nwhat really gives the impression of a turn-of-the-century Paris
\ninterior. It is constructed (or appears to be constructed) in
\nornate black cast iron scroll work with multi-coloured
\nstained-glass windows. The lift is fully functional but we didn’t
\nuse it. <\/p>\n
\tThe upstairs rooms are themed, as mentioned before, to
\ncoincide with the various lands in the park. The rooms have to be
\nseen to be believed. I will not describe them fully here as I
\nwouldn’t be able to do them justice. However, they are as
\nfollows : <\/p>\n
\t– A gothic style room represents Fantasyland.<\/p>\n
\t– An Edwardian style library represents Frontierland and
\n\t is supposed to be a library in a western mansion. A
\n\t number of indian\/cowboy-on-a-horse sculptures can be
\n\t seen to enforce this.<\/p>\n
\t– One corner of a large room is draped as though in a
\n\t fine Arabian tent and is clearly supposed to represent
\n\t Adventureland. <\/p>\n
\t– Our favourite room (and probably the most detailed) was
\n\t Captain Nemo’s room. See this. I cannot describe it.
\n\t This represents Discoveryland.<\/p>\n
\tYou get quite a good view of Main Street from upstairs at
\nWalt’s. <\/p>\n
\tWe tried to check out all of the other restaurants but
\ndidn’t have time. Descriptions of the ones we saw are in Part
\nTwo. <\/p>\n
\tWe also had a good long look at Main Street to try to
\ntake in the detail in the upstairs windows, etc. An impossible
\ntask to do completely. There were so many familiar names in the
\nwindows that it would’ve taken precious time and expensive filem
\nto phtograph them all. Let’s just say that ALL the names were
\nthere with appropriate descriptions of their ‘jobs’. We took some
\ntime to listen to the strange noises that came out of some of
\nthese windows too – particularly the dentists in the Town
\nSquare.<\/p>\n
Disneyland Hotel<\/p>\n
\tFinally we left the park. Sad. Before making our way
\nhome, we wandered through the Disneyland Hotel. Now this is how I
\nexpected our hotel to be. Loads of staff to cater for your every
\nneed ! The entrance lobby is elegant, spacious, and well kept.
\nWalk up the stairs to the Main Street Lounge for a great relaxing
\nview of Main Street (unfortunately, the area closest to the
\nwindows was closed off). The Inventions Restaurant looks superb,
\nand the shops seem better stocked. This is where we want to stay
\nnext time. Damned pricey though.<\/p>\n
Coach<\/p>\n
\tIt was time to head back to the hotel, pick up our
\nluggage, and catch the coach to the airport. The coach was
\nreasonably on time (less than 5 minutes late). The journey back
\nto the airport was uneventful.<\/p>\n
Flight Home<\/p>\n
\tThe flight home was smooth, but we landed with a heck of
\na bump. Back to reality in more ways than one.<\/p>\n
Conclusion
\n———-<\/p>\n
\tEuroDisney has had it’s bad press. It is certainly over
\npriced by a LONG way ! If you are staying on site and have no
\ntransport then you are basically forced to eat and drink at the
\nresort. They’ve got you cornered. Having said that, I’d go back
\nat the drop of a hat. The park is excellent, and we found the
\ncast helpful and friendly. <\/p>\n
\tWe are not fluent French speakers, but language was
\ncertainly not a problem. We found that if you tried to speak in
\nFrench to a cast member, they would assume you were French and
\nrattle off at ten to the dozen in French ! We got wise, and gave
\nup our attempts at advanced linguistics. Paris, of course, is
\nexactly the opposite in that respect.<\/p>\n
\tThere is a lot of construction still going on and we
\ncounted three new rides scheduled to be opened this summer (more
\non that in Part Three). The EuroDisney project is planned until
\n2017 and probably later. The park will be changing and growing
\nfrom year to year. <\/p>\n
\tIn my opinion, EuroDisney is a success, and will continue
\nto be quality entertainment for the forseeable future.<\/p>\n
—————————————————————–<\/p>\n
\t\t\t Part Two
\n\t\t\t ========<\/p>\n
Main Street, USA
\n\tAttractions
\n\t\tMain Street Station
\n\t\t\tNothing special, but nice detail in the
\n\t\t\tEuroDisney Railroad logos.
\n\t\tEuroDisneyland Railroad
\n\t\t\tVery leisurely journey around the park.
\n\t\t\tUnfortunately crossing a number of
\n\t\t\tservice roads and places where
\n\t\t\tconstruction is going on thus diminishing
\n\t\t\tsome Disney magic for the sensitive
\n\t\t\tpeople in your party. Some interesting
\n\t\t\tviews of behind-the-scenes Disney and
\n\t\t\tconstruction for the Disneyphiles in your
\n\t\t\tparty.
\n\t\tHorse-Drawn Streetcar, and Main Street Vehicles
\n\t\t\tLeisurely journies up and down Man St..
\n\t\tDiscovery Arcade and Liberty Arcade
\n\t\t\tBack entrance to shops and restaurants in
\n\t\t\tMain St.. Very pleasant turn of the
\n\t\t\tcentury style interiors with gas lamps
\n\t\t\tand lots of interesting displays of
\n\t\t\tinventions and curios of both American
\n\t\t\tand French (but mainly American) origin.
\n\t\tMain Street Motors
\n\t\t\tNice old cars which you can apparently
\n\t\t\tactually buy (if you have your AmEx Gold
\n\t\t\tCard with you presumably). A number of
\n\t\t\tauto-oriented Disney\/Mickey memorabilia
\n\t\t\tfor sale.
\n\tRestaurants
\n\t\tThe Ice Cream Co.
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this place.
\n\t\tThe Coffee Grinder
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this place.
\n\t\tMarket House Deli
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this place.
\n\t\tWalt’s – an American Restaurant
\n\t\t\tW O W ! ! !
\n\t\tCable Car Bake Shop
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this place.
\n\t\tCookie Kitchen
\n\t\t\tBasic Cookie shop selling incredibly
\n\t\t\tover-priced cookies (FF9 each – that
\n\t\t\tmakes it over a pound sterling for a
\n\t\t\tsingle biscuit !)
\n\t\tCasey’s Corner
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this place.
\n\t\tThe Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlour
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this place.
\n\t\tVictoria’s Home-Style Cooking
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this place.
\n\t\t\tWhile standing outside this place, you
\n\t\t\tshould check out the noises apparently
\n\t\t\temanating from an upstairs window !
\n\t\tPlaza Gardens Restaurant
\n\t\t\tVery nicely detailed and clean.
\n\t\t\tApparently good food, but we didn’t get a
\n\t\t\tchance to try it out.
\n\tShops
\n\t\tPlaza West and East Boutiques
\n\t\t\tBasic Disney Merchandise.
\n\t\tThe Storybook Store
\n\t\t\tMainly childrens books. Also videos and
\n\t\t\tstationery items. Don’t forget to look up
\n\t\t\twhen you go into this shop – you’re in
\n\t\t\tfor a treat !
\n\t\tRibbons and Bows Hat Shop
\n\t\t\tHat shop. Also sells Mickey-ears and they
\n\t\t\tcan sew your name into them too.
\n\t\tTown Square Photography\/Silhouette Artist
\n\t\t\tWhere to get all your photographic needs.
\n\t\t\tThe silhouette artists were never busy.
\n\t\tBoardwalk Candy Palace
\n\t\t\tInteresting displays. Loads of stuff to
\n\t\t\tmake the kids (and the adults) sick.
\n\t\tEmporium
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this place.
\n\t\tHarmony Barber Shop
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this place,
\n\t\t\tbut no sign of any singing when we passed
\n\t\t\tby.
\n\t\tDisney Clothiers, Ltd.
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this place.
\n\t\tHarrington’s Fine China and Porcelains
\n\t\t\tMainly figurines and usual Disney
\n\t\t\tmerchandise.
\n\t\tDisnyana Collectibles
\n\t\t\tSome collectibles, but never much more
\n\t\t\tthan you could get in a good Disney
\n\t\t\tStore. The only original collectibles I
\n\t\t\tsaw were some ED badges each with one of
\n\t\t\tthe lands on and some 1992 commemorative
\n\t\t\titems (I guess they made too many ?).
\n\t\tDisney & Co.\/Glass Fantasies
\n\t\t\tUsual small glass-blown items and
\n\t\t\tengravings.
\n\t\tNewsstand
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this place.<\/p>\n
Frontierland
\n\tAttractions
\n\t\tRustler Roundup Shootin’ Gallery
\n\t\t\tFun shootin’ ! Don’t know if it’s exactly
\n\t\t\tthe same as in other Disney parks. It was
\n\t\t\ta fun relaxing thing to do when we’d
\n\t\t\tfinished Sehlinger’s tour and were in
\n\t\t\t“Explore Mode”. All human exclamations
\n\t\t\tare in English.
\n\t\tThunder Mesa Riverboat Landing
\n\t\t\tThe place to pick up the River Boat
\n\t\t\t(paddle boat). The commentary is mainly
\n\t\t\tin French with occasional English
\n\t\t\ttranslations. The commentary doesn’t mix
\n\t\t\ttoo well with the taped English sections
\n\t\t\twhich I think are probably generic to the
\n\t\t\triverboat cruises in all parks.
\n\t\tPhantom Manor
\n\t\t\tA favourite of mine and it didn’t let me
\n\t\t\tdown. The cast really get into the
\n\t\t\tpre-show part early on in the day when
\n\t\t\tnot busy (thankyou Sehlinger) and they do
\n\t\t\ta really good job of spooking the kids.
\n\t\t\tLater on in the day they are just
\n\t\t\tconcerned with getting people through as
\n\t\t\tquickly as possible.
\n\t\t\tHang back when you exit the ‘lift’ to
\n\t\t\tcheck the detail in the changing
\n\t\t\tpictures, etc..
\n\t\t\tAll comentary is in French. All songs are
\n\t\t\tin English. Leslie Neilson still lives as
\n\t\t\tone of the Grim Grinning Ghosts.
\n\t\t\tAt the end of the ride when you pass by
\n\t\t\tthe mirrors, a ghoul peers over the top
\n\t\t\tof your buggy with its arms around the
\n\t\t\tbuggy. I think that may be different to
\n\t\t\tthe others. My memory of the American
\n\t\t\tparks is vague, but I seem to recall you
\n\t\t\tseeing yourself sitting next to another
\n\t\t\tghoul, or see yourselves ‘replaced’ by
\n\t\t\ttwo ghouls.
\n\t\t\tApart from that – it’s very very similar
\n\t\t\tto the rides in the American parks. The
\n\t\t\tsurrounding area has grave stones with
\n\t\t\tepitaphs in both French and English.
\n\t\t\tInterestingly enough, when the ride
\n\t\t\tstops, the message “… spooks have got
\n\t\t\tinto the machinery…” is played in both
\n\t\t\tlanguages. Safety I suppose.
\n\t\tGrand Canyon Diorama
\n\t\t\tYawn.
\n\t\t\tYou pass through this on the Euro-
\n\t\t\tDisneyland Railroad.
\n\t\tBig Thunder Mountain
\n\t\t\tYeeeehar ! This is probably the best ride
\n\t\t\tin the land (next to Star Tours) in my
\n\t\t\topinion. It’s mainly similar to the other
\n\t\t\tBTM’s, but has a lot more black-out areas
\n\t\t\tthan I remember in the others.
\n\t\tRiver Rogue Keelboats
\n\t\t\tSlow ride around the ‘river’. The guides on
\n\t\t\tthis ride are multilingual and will speak
\n\t\t\tin French, English, German and probably
\n\t\t\tothers depending on the majority in the
\n\t\t\tboat.
\n\t\tIndian Canoes
\n\t\t\tA fairly interesting ride. You get to see
\n\t\t\tducks and swans and all sorts. Not to
\n\t\t\tmention the Indian camps. Best of all,
\n\t\t\tyou get to acually do the work (with your
\n\t\t\tteam). The cast seemed to love this ride
\n\t\t\tand spent a lot of time just horsing
\n\t\t\taround and entertaining us. Commentary is
\n\t\t\tas in the River Rogue Keelboats.
\n\t\tCottonwood Creek Ranch\/Critter Corral
\n\t\t\tHere’s a good place to relax out of the
\n\t\t\tway of the crowds. They have a number of
\n\t\t\tbasic farm animals here which you can
\n\t\t\tperuse at your leisure. Right next to the
\n\t\t\tFrontierland Depot where we (and
\n\t\t\tSehlinger) reccomend you catch the train
\n\t\t\tfrom rather than Main St. Station.
\n\t\tFrontierland Depot
\n\t\t\tTHE place in the park to catch the train
\n\t\t\tfrom. Put it this way. We caught the
\n\t\t\ttrain here and were second in a queue of
\n\t\t\tabout ten people. Compare this to when we
\n\t\t\tpassed the Main St. Station. Well the
\n\t\t\tqueue there was trailing down into the
\n\t\t\ttown square. We just couldn’t believe how
\n\t\t\tmany people were willing to wast the best
\n\t\t\tpart of an hour waiting for the train.
\n\t\t\tHeck ! I don’t even do that on my way
\n\t\t\thome from work !
\n\tRestaurants
\n\t\tThe Lucky Nugget Saloon
\n\t\t\tGreat entertainment in the style of an
\n\t\t\told western saloon. There is some
\n\t\t\taudience participation and the food is
\n\t\t\tsubstantial. The show is bi-lingual. Some
\n\t\t\tparts are in other languages too.
\n\t\tThe Last Chance Cafe
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this one.
\n\t\tSilver Spur Steakhouse
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this one.
\n\t\tFuente del Oro Restaurante
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get a chance to try this one.
\n\t\tCowboy Cookout Barbeque
\n\t\t\tThere is live entertainment here in the
\n\t\t\tform of a Country and Western band who
\n\t\t\tplay a number of times a day. It’s a
\n\t\t\tfast-food restaurant and you can sit
\n\t\t\tinside the cavernous barn or outside. The
\n\t\t\tband played outside while we were there.
\n\tShops
\n\t\tThunder Mesa Mercantile Building
\n\t\tTobias Norton & Sons Frontier Trading
\n\t\tBonanza Outfitters
\n\t\tEureka Mining Supplieas and Assay Office
\n\t\t\tMost of the above sell cowboy style
\n\t\t\titems. None were really unique.
\n\t\tPueblo Trading Post
\n\t\t\tSells mainly Whinnie the Pooh items.
\n\t\t\tQuite a few things I hadn’t seen in our
\n\t\t\tlocal Disney Stores.
\n\t\tWoodcarvers Workshop
\n\t\t\tThey sell your name in wood and other
\n\t\t\tsmall carvings.<\/p>\n
Adventureland
\n\tAttractions
\n\t\tAdventure Isle
\n\t\t\tYou really can get lost in the maze of
\n\t\t\ttwisty little passages – all alike !
\n\t\t\tThere’s also a rope bridge, a barrel
\n\t\t\tbridge, and not a lot else. Fun though.
\n\t\t\tSet the kids loose here and go and relax.
\n\t\tLa Cabane des Robinson
\n\t\t\tThis is basically the same as in the
\n\t\t\tother parks. Be aware, however, of the
\n\t\t\texcellent views of the park and the
\n\t\t\tcastle you can get from various places in
\n\t\t\tthe tree. Signs are either in French, or
\n\t\t\tFrench and English.
\n\t\tPirates of the Caribbean
\n\t\t\tCool. We rode this countless times (about
\n\t\t\t8 actually). Rarely having to queue more
\n\t\t\tthan 30 mins.. Usually queuing less than
\n\t\t\t15 mins.. An excellent ride – better than
\n\t\t\tat any of the other parks. The
\n\t\t\tanimatronics are smooth and very life-
\n\t\t\tlike. There is a significant difference
\n\t\t\tbetween this ride and the ride in other
\n\t\t\tparks too. It seems longer and more
\n\t\t\tdetailed.
\n\t\t\tThe walk down to the boats (normally the
\n\t\t\tqueue !) is interesting and switches and
\n\t\t\tturns enough to confuse the heck out of
\n\t\t\tyou.
\n\t\t\tAll the songs are in English (American)
\n\t\t\tand all the dialogue between the pirates
\n\t\t\tis in French. All of the signs are also
\n\t\t\tin French.
\n\t\t\tJust before you disembark, the skull and
\n\t\t\tcross-bones above your head speaks in
\n\t\t\tseveral different languages telling you
\n\t\t\tto “stay in your boats me hearties” etc.
\n\tRestaurants
\n\t\tExplorers Club
\n\t\t\tOne of the guides we read (not Sehlinger)
\n\t\t\tsaid that this was a really romantic and
\n\t\t\tquiet table service restaurant. Sehlinger
\n\t\t\tsaid that this was the case at the time
\n\t\t\tof publishing, but that it may shortly be
\n\t\t\tturned into a fast-food place. When we
\n\t\t\tgot there it was a fast food place.
\n\t\t\tFairly empty. Small portions. Pricey. A
\n\t\t\tbit of a disappointment really if it
\n\t\t\tweren’t for the pleasant water-fall
\n\t\t\tsetting.
\n\t\tBlue Lagoon Restaurant
\n\t\t\tA really nice place to eat in a quiet
\n\t\t\tromantic setting. Reminded me of the
\n\t\t\tMoroccan restaurant in Epcot. The Pirates
\n\t\t\tof the Caribbean boats float by as you
\n\t\t\tenjoy your meal under a deep blue ‘sky’
\n\t\t\tand in tropical surroundings. Service was
\n\t\t\texcellent, food was good.
\n\t\tAux Epices Enchantees Restaurant
\n\t\t\tWe didn’t try this one, but it looked
\n\t\t\tgood – mud style huts and plenty of
\n\t\t\tout-door dining areas. Check out the
\n\t\t\tinterior of the restaurant.
\n\t\tCafe de la Brousse
\n\t\t\tDidn’t have time to see this one.
\n\t\tCaptain Hooks Galley
\n\t\t\tDidn’t have time to see this one.
\n\tShops
\n\t\tAdventureland Bazar
\n\t\t\tA nice place to wander around. Pricey
\n\t\t\tgifts. Fascinating interiors. Lots to
\n\t\t\tsee.
\n\t\tLa Giraffe Curieuse
\n\t\t\tA pretty dull shop with a giraffe’s head
\n\t\t\tpoking through the interior.
\n\t\tLa Reine des Serpents
\n\t\tLes Tresors de Scheherazade
\n\t\t\tNorth African style gifts.
\n\t\tL’Echoppe d’Aladdin
\n\t\t\tAladdin merchandise. Strange since
\n\t\t\tAladdin hasn’t been released in Europe at
\n\t\t\tthe time of writing.
\n\t\tLe Chant des Tam-Tams
\n\t\t\tAverage shop.
\n\t\tTrader Sam’s Jungle Boutique
\n\t\t\tAverage shop.
\n\t\tLe Coffre du Capitaine
\n\t\t\tSells loads of pirate gear.<\/p>\n
Fantasyland
\n\tAttractions
\n\t\tLe Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant
\n\t\t\tExcellent castle. We weren’t sure whether
\n\t\t\tsome of those tiles on the roof
\n\t\t\tconstituted Hidden Mickeys. There is a
\n\t\t\tstory inside which is well worth seeing
\n\t\t\tif only for the tapestries and stained
\n\t\t\tglass windows.
\n\t\tLa Taniere du Dragon
\n\t\t\tNo other Disney park has this. It’s worth
\n\t\t\tseeing if only for the reactions of the
\n\t\t\tkids watching it. This is basically the
\n\t\t\tDragin’s lair. The dragon sleeps
\n\t\t\tpeacefully next to his pool with the
\n\t\t\toccasional snort of smoke. Then his tail
\n\t\t\ttwitches, more smoke and he begins to
\n\t\t\tawake… then you realise his chain is
\n\t\t\tbroken ! Loved it.
\n\t\tLe Theatre du Chateau
\n\t\t\tSmall shows are performed here. We saw
\n\t\t\tMikey’s Magic Book. Basically the Snow
\n\t\t\tWhite story. The Magic book is enormous
\n\t\t\tand as each stage of the story unfolds,
\n\t\t\tso do the pages of the book with
\n\t\t\tpop-up scenery.
\n\t\tBlanche-Neighe et leas sept Nains
\n\t\t\tSnow white’s ride. Very fast. Too fast.
\n\t\t\tOver in a jiffy. Shame.
\n\t\tLes Voyages de Pinocchio
\n\t\t\tPinnocchio’s ride. Very fast. Too fast.
\n\t\t\tOver in a jiffy. Shame.
\n\t\tLe Carrousel de Lancelot
\n\t\t\tAn enormous carousel. We didn’t try this
\n\t\t\tone.
\n\t\tExcalibur
\n\t\t\tSword in the stone.
\n\t\tIt’s a Small World
\n\t\t\tSmall World. Seen it too many times.
\n\t\t\tAfter exiting the ride, try to avoid the
\n\t\t\textra show afterwards which is something
\n\t\t\tto do with French television or
\n\t\t\ttelecomm’s. Tedious.
\n\t\tFantasyland Station
\n\t\t\tA fairly normal station. Nothing
\n\t\t\toutstanding. It’s above the Fantasy
\n\t\t\tFestival Stage.
\n\t\tFantasy Festival Stage
\n\t\t\tSong and dance shows performed here.
\n\t\t\tSongs seem to be mainly in French, the
\n\t\t\trest are in English. We saw an excellent
\n\t\t\tshow here and it’s a good place to meet
\n\t\t\tMickey and the whoever else is in the
\n\t\t\tshow (Donald, Cowboy-Goofy, Donald, Pluto
\n\t\t\twere some we saw) before the show because
\n\t\t\tthe crowds seemed to be generally light.
\n\t\tAlice’s Curious Labyrinth
\n\t\t\tA hedge maze. The hedge is filled with
\n\t\t\ttiny blue lights. The maze has become
\n\t\t\tfairly badly damaged over time. Some of
\n\t\t\tthe surprises did not work (The Queen of
\n\t\t\tHearts did not spring out and shout “Off
\n\t\t\twith her head” too well) and much of the
\n\t\t\tmechanics behind these surprises is
\n\t\t\ttotally visible due to the hedge wearing
\n\t\t\tthin. An attraction for the younger ones
\n\t\t\treally. This is also the place where the
\n\t\t\t“jumping water fountains” are – where the
\n\t\t\twater appears to jump from place to
\n\t\t\tplace. Good to watch and relax.
\n\t\tMad Hatter’s Tea Cups
\n\t\t\tThis was a first for me. I enjoyed it but
\n\t\t\twouldn’t fight to go on it again. This
\n\t\t\tride is covered by a large circus-tent
\n\t\t\tstyle roof unlike in the other parks.
\n\t\tDumbo the Flying Elephant
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get time to try this one. Looks
\n\t\t\tpretty much the same as the Dumbo rides
\n\t\t\tin other parks.
\n\t\tPeter Pan’s Flight
\n\t\t\tSame as usual. I suspect the galleons in
\n\t\t\twhich you ride may have been different,
\n\t\t\tbut memory fails me as to exactly where.
\n\tRestaurants
\n\t\tAu Chalet de la Marionnette Restaurant
\n\t\t\tPinocchio’s restaurant. Pleasant
\n\t\t\tinterior. Note the Figaro character
\n\t\t\tleaning agains the “Exit” sign inside at
\n\t\t\tone of the entrance’s\/exit’s. This is
\n\t\t\tfairly significant to serious
\n\t\t\tDisneyphile’s !
\n\t\tAuberge de Cendrillon
\n\t\t\tA table service restaurant. We didn’t try
\n\t\t\tthis one, but had a good look around.
\n\t\t\tSpacious and apparently very high
\n\t\t\tquality. In the courtyard you can see the
\n\t\t\twishing well and Cinderella’s coach. The
\n\t\t\tcourtyard here is an excellent quiet
\n\t\t\tplace to sit and relax a while (so long
\n\t\t\tas nobody is eating there and the
\n\t\t\trestaurant is not busy). You can look
\n\t\t\tover the wishing well and onto the rear
\n\t\t\tof Le Theatre du Chateau and watch Mickey
\n\t\t\tin his Fantasia outfit and other
\n\t\t\tcharacters come out of the dressing room
\n\t\t\tjust before apopearing on stage there.
\n\t\t\tGive him a shout and he’ll wave at you
\n\t\t\t(well, he did for us !).
\n\t\tPizzeria Bella Notte
\n\t\t\tMarvellously detailed interior containing
\n\t\t\tone Hidden Mickey. Order a Mickey Mouse
\n\t\t\tPizza just for the hell of it. Don’t
\n\t\t\tforget to look at the tray liner – it’s
\n\t\t\tquite funny. Have a look at the outside
\n\t\t\tof the restaurant – specifically the mina
\n\t\t\tentrance. Is it level ?
\n\t\tFantasia Gelati
\n\t\t\tAvoid. Avoid. Avoid. While the ice creams
\n\t\t\tare very nice, they are over priced at
\n\t\t\tFF20 (approx 2.50 pouinds sterling).
\n\t\tMarch Hare Refreshments
\n\t\t\tSells drinks and Un-birthday cakes which
\n\t\t\tare slightly larger than cup-cakes and
\n\t\t\tlook as sweet and sickly as heck !
\n\t\tThe Old Mill
\n\t\t\tThis was undergoing some sort of refit
\n\t\t\twhen we were there. Basically a windmill
\n\t\t\twith ‘buckets’ at the rear in which you
\n\t\t\tcan ride. Also sells french bread
\n\t\t\tsandwiches (“Sub’s” to the Americans I
\n\t\t\tbelieve).
\n\t\tToad Hall Restaurant
\n\t\t\tAnother excellent interior matched with a
\n\t\t\tsuperb exterior. Check out the wall paper
\n\t\t\tamong other things inside. Outside,
\n\t\t\tnotice the detail in the chimneys and the
\n\t\t\tweather vanes. Sells fish and chips.
\n\tShops
\n\t\tMerlin l’Enchanteur
\n\t\t\tA fascinating shop to browse through. You
\n\t\t\tcan get through to the Dragon’s lair from
\n\t\t\there.
\n\t\tLa Boutique du Chateau
\n\t\t\tThe Christmas shop.
\n\t\tLa Confiserie des Trois Fees
\n\t\t\tThe sweet shop. Notice the three good
\n\t\t\tfairies behind the counter. How do they
\n\t\t\tdo that ?!
\n\t\tLa Chaumiere des Sept Nains
\n\t\t\tSells mainly Seven Dwarf merchandise, and
\n\t\t\tsome jewelery.
\n\t\tLa Bottega di Gepetto
\n\t\t\tLot’s of nice cuckoo clocks, puppets and
\n\t\t\thand carved toys around the shelves of
\n\t\t\tthe shop but you can’t buy these, and
\n\t\t\tthere’s not much else to buy there
\n\t\t\treally.
\n\t\tLe Brave Petit Tailleur
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get time to see this one.
\n\t\tSir Mickey’s
\n\t\t\tNice giant vegetable patch outside this
\n\t\t\tshop.
\n\t\tLa Menagerie du Royaume
\n\t\t\tFurry animals and medieval style
\n\t\t\tcharacters.
\n\t\tLa Petit maison des Jouets
\n\t\t\tInformation and currency exchange.
\nDiscoveryland
\n\tAttractions
\n\t\tLe Visionarium
\n\t\t\tCircle-Vision 360. A new film made
\n\t\t\tespecially for EuroDisneyland. The
\n\t\t\tpreshow is conducted in French, but there
\n\t\t\tare running subtitles in other languages.
\n\t\t\tThe film is hosted by an android and in
\n\t\t\tthe 360 theatre you can listen to the
\n\t\t\tshow through headphones in four different
\n\t\t\tlanguages (English, Italian, German, and
\n\t\t\tsomething else). The film is quite
\n\t\t\tentertaining.
\n\t\tVideopolis
\n\t\t\tLarge indoor stage showing Beuty and the
\n\t\t\tBeast in French. The show is filmed live
\n\t\t\tand replayed on large multi-screen video
\n\t\t\tmonitors either side of the stage with
\n\t\t\tsome video effects to enhance the
\n\t\t\tproduction.
\n\t\t\tThe production is totally in French, but
\n\t\t\twe recognised the songs. There is a fast-
\n\t\t\tfood restaurant in here (Cafe Hyperion)
\n\t\t\tas well. You can order your food and take
\n\t\t\tit with you to your table to watch the
\n\t\t\tshow.
\n\t\t\tAt the main entrance to the Videopolis
\n\t\t\tyou can see the giant Hyperion air-ship.
\n\t\t\tNice detail.
\n\t\tOrbitron
\n\t\t\tA carousel-type ride where you can “pilot
\n\t\t\tyour own rocket ship” (i.e. make it go up
\n\t\t\tand down). We didn;t try this one.
\n\t\tAutopia
\n\t\t\tYawn. We didn’t try this one.
\n\t\tStar Tours
\n\t\t\tYeehar ! If you’ve seen Star Tours before
\n\t\t\tthen you’re not in for much of a
\n\t\t\tsurprise … except for C3P0 speaking in
\n\t\t\tFrench ! R2D2 was mulitlingual. The
\n\t\t\tentrance to the ride was a little shabby.
\n\t\t\tIt felt like you were just walking in to
\n\t\t\ta warehouse. Reality did not get
\n\t\t\tsuspended for quite a while into the
\n\t\t\tpre-show. The other androids alternate
\n\t\t\tbetween French and English. The trevelog
\n\t\t\tnarration also alternates between French
\n\t\t\tand English.
\n\t\t\tThe video you are shown just before you
\n\t\t\tenter your Starspeeder 3000 is all in
\n\t\t\tFrench. You can see where they’ve spliced
\n\t\t\tin the French announcer – quite awkward
\n\t\t\treally.
\n\t\t\tThe whole of the StarTours ride is
\n\t\t\tconducted in French.
\n\t\t\tI still didn’t get to see the giant
\n\t\t\tmicroscope.
\n\t\tCineMagique
\n\t\t\tCaptaine EO. Avoid (in my opinion).
\n\tRestaurants
\n\t\tCafe des Visionnaires
\n\t\t\tDidn’t get to see this one, though
\n\t\t\tapparently you can get excellent views of
\n\t\t\tthe parades an Fantasyland.
\n\t\tCafe Hyperion
\n\t\t\tA fast food restarant inside the
\n\t\t\tVideopolis.
\n\tShops
\n\t\tConstellations
\n\t\t\tInteresting interior. Sells Star Wars
\n\t\t\tfigures etc..
\n\t\tStar Traders
\n\t\t\tHas a big ‘radar’ dish on the top. The
\n\t\t\troof of this was still being worked on
\n\t\t\twhile we were there. We got a good view
\n\t\t\tof the construction as we passed by in
\n\t\t\tthe EuroDisneyland Train.<\/p>\n
—————————————————————–<\/p>\n
\t\t\t Part Three
\n\t\t\t ==========<\/p>\n
Rides Under Contruction
\n———————–<\/p>\n
\tWe saw at least three rides being constructed, two of
\nwhich were going to be opened in the summer of 1993 :<\/p>\n
\tTemple du Terror
\n\t\t– Looks like a really hot roller-coaster ride.
\n\t\t Never seen anything like this at the other
\n\t\t Disney parks before. Looks like it’s based
\n\t\t around a ruined Aztec Temple. Perhaps based
\n\t\t around Jungle Book ?<\/p>\n
\tBonanza
\n\t\t– Just saw the sign saying Bonanza opening 1993.
\n\t\t No ideas at all what this one’s about, but saw
\n\t\t plenty of evidence of heavy earth-moving, and
\n\t\t construction from the EuroDisneyland Train.<\/p>\n
\tUnnamed
\n\t\t– Something in discovery land. Couldn’t really
\n\t\t see much of this one. No notices anywhere.<\/p>\n
Miscellaneous
\n————-<\/p>\n
\tI’ll try to scan in the following items and deposit them
\nin alt.binaries.pictures.misc if I have time. Please don’t email
\nme for these scans unless you really really REALLY can’t get them
\nfrom there or anywhere else – I found it difficult enough to find
\ntime to type in this report ! Hopefully, some kind soul may
\ntransfer them to an archive site eventually.<\/p>\n
\t– Passport Card
\n\t– Resort Map
\n\t– Figaro Picture with Exit Sign.
\n\t– Picture of the Castle<\/p>\n
Guide Books
\n———–<\/p>\n
\tIn England there are (at the time of this report) at
\nleast six books claiming to give you the low-down on the resort.
\nI found that only two were really required, and if I had to make
\nthe choice between those it would be Sehlinger’s Unofficial
\nGuide. Sehlinger’s guide proved worth it’s weight in gold if only
\nfor the touring plans and other travel advice. <\/p>\n
\tEuroDisney Resort – Paris – The Guide
\n\tHarmsworth Magazines
\n\tISBN 0-85144-671-X<\/p>\n
\t\tThe Official Guide. Useful but may be slightly
\n\tout of date. Plenty of useful phone numbers and travel
\n\tdetails. I’d reccomend this book for information
\n\tpurposes. <\/p>\n
\tThe Unofficial Guide to Eurodisneyland
\n\tBob Sehlinger
\n\tPrentice Hall Travel
\n\tISBN 0-671-84759-7<\/p>\n
\t\tThe best guide by far. Save your legs and buy
\n\tthis. I don’t have shares in the company and I’m not
\n\tprofiting from this in any way but I wish I did !<\/p>\n
Questions Answered … Probably !
\n———————————<\/p>\n
Brooks Haderlie (brh54@cas.org) asked :<\/p>\n
\t– What language(s) is used on the signs, in the reading
\n\t material, etc.?
\n\t\tMainly French. “Sortie” instead of “Exit” for
\n\t\texample. There are surprisingly few signs that
\n\t\tneed translation. Menu’s outside restaurants are
\n\t\tin French and English. All other reading material
\n\t\t(guide booklets, etc..) is available in many
\n\t\tmany languages.
\n\t– Do they have videos in the gift shops in German,
\n\t French, Spanish, Italian, etc.?
\n\t\tYes.<\/p>\n
Lori McDowell (mcdowell@hope.cit.hope.edu) asked :<\/p>\n
\t– I’d really like to hear a detailled account of what
\n\t Phantom Manor (Haunted Mansion) is like at EuroDisney.
\n\t\tI’ve described the main differences above. <\/p>\n
Someone asked :<\/p>\n
\t– How does one get there from Paris?
\n\t\tThe EuroDisney guide books (see above) describe
\n\t\tthis far better than I could. It is very very
\n\t\teasy. <\/p>\n
Jesse asked :<\/p>\n
\t– What castle is there ?
\n\t\tLe Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant. Sleeping
\n\t\tBeuty’s Castle. It’s wonderful.<\/p>\n
Robert R. Kessler (kessler@cons.cs.utah.edu) asked :<\/p>\n
\t– We’ll be staying at the Sequoia Lodge … general
\n\t information required.
\n\t\tBob, I hope the above report has been useful to
\n\t\tyou. We actually stayed at the Sequoia Lodge (not
\n\t\tthe Hotel New York as I mentioned in a post to
\n\t\tinternet asking if anyone had questions about
\n\t\tED). You WILL enjoy your stay ! That’s an order ! <\/p>\n
—————————————————————–<\/p>\n
(c)1993 Tom Drynda.
\n _ _
\n(_)_(_) Tom Drynda – tad@ingres.com | Ingres (UK) Ltd.,
\n ‘ ~~` DisneyWorld [Y] | 15-19 Britten Street,
\n (._.) DisneyLand [Y] ()_() | London, SW3 3TY
\n (_) EuroDisney [Y] (_) | England.
\n `—‘ Tokyo DisneyLand [N] | +44-71-416 7770 ext 411<\/p>\n
