Epic Disney Vacation - Take 2

A few years ago Allison and I decided to go to Disney World. The idea for the trip came about when we both realized that we had some unfinished business at this park. I don't want to get into nature of this business, but needless to say we felt that going to this park together was important. At the time we were living abroad, in Greece for a predetermined amount of time. As luck would have it our time in Greece was to end just before our tenth wedding anniversary.

About two years before our trip we started to research. We had both been to Disney World separately in our lives, and we'd both been to Tokyo Disney Sea together. I love planning Disney trips, so I went online and went nuts. About a year before our planned trip we started making calls, and organizing an itinerary. Everything was going to plan, then life happened.

It wasn't a bad thing, it was actually pretty great. Allison was offered a new position in a new country. Everything would be perfect except one thing, it would mean postponing our Disney plans for a couple of years. If we really wanted to we could have flown from our new home to Florida, but that would have been expensive, and it would have eliminated part of our trip, the road trip to Florida from Canada. So we decided to wait.

A surprise happened upon us on our 10th anniversary though. Friends of ours were getting married in the UK around the time of our anniversary. We decided that we could not only enjoy our friends big day, but we could also visit Disneyland Paris for our 10th anniversary. It wouldn't be the same, or replace our Disney World trip, but it would be a great primer.

So several days in Disneyland Paris not only prepared us for our trip, but it also wet our pallet. While we had a great time in Paris we were more excited than ever about Disney World. That trip was last summer.

Now it looks like we might be going home this upcoming summer, and that means that the Disney World plans are back. We've been keeping up with all of the news from the parks, and also savings even more money for our trip. A few things have changed in the parks, but our basic plans are still the same.

So that takes us to today.

After an additional two years later we're ready to book stuff again.  We have even more knowledge, and a little bit of a rehearsal (at Disneyland Paris).  It also means that we're going to start back at this blog once again.  This post, a refresher starts us off, and over the next few weeks I'm going to write about our plans once again.  I'll write about how our plans have changed, or how they haven't.  Once we start actually making the reservations, we'll get into how well the Disney system works, or doesn't.

So look out Goofy!

Why Americans Hate Paris Disney

While researching our Disney Paris trip I've noticed one thing that keeps coming up, Americans really don't seem to like this theme park.  I've read many blogs, watched many videos, and gone through many tourist sites, and I've found that Americans really don't like this park at all.  The most obvious thing I've noticed is that there are very few Disney fan websites that have any mention of this place.  A few might put it on their list of places to go, but mostly only if they want to visit every single Disney park.  Most sites list Tokyo as the park they'd rather visit first.  Disney Paris seems to really have a cloud hanging over it, and it really seems to be scaring off the foreign tourists.

If we look at the people who have traveled to Disney Paris, many of them said that they consider Disneyland Paris (the Magic Kingdom part of the park) to be one of the most beautiful of the Disney park.  However, many of them seem to point out a few flaws that really turn them off.  The biggest complaint I hear is that the food is really bad.  I've often read comparisons to the food they could have eaten in Paris, and how disappointed they are about the fact that Disney Paris has nothing to offer for French foods. I also hear a lot of complaining about smoking, and general crowd politeness.  I've been told that people smoke everywhere, even though there are designated smoking areas.  I've also heard a lot about line cutting for attractions.

While I haven't been to the park yet, I did live in Europe for 4 years and I've traveled around a lot, and I have a theory.  Disney Paris is not for you (Americans).  Do you really think that Disney built a park halfway around the world so you can travel there?  If you think that this park is having financial troubles now, if they actually designed the park for American tourists only, they would have been out of business years ago.  France is one of the biggest tourist destinations for Europeans; this is why this park was built.  This is a park for Europeans to get a taste of the American park without having to fly overseas. And much like the France pavilion at Epcot, this American style theme park is designed to give Europeans a taste of the USA, changed to suit their pallet.

Why would a French person take the train from Paris for up to an hour, only to eat French food?  They want to come out to the park to experience American food.  Why are the guests "different" than the guests at Disney World?  Because they're European people, with different cultures and different lifestyles.  I guarantee that Europeans that travel to Disney World or Disneyland are equally shocked by some of the strange things you do.  Smoking in Europe is looked at very differently than it is in the USA (and Canada), crowd control is also very different.

I'm not saying that Americans should not visit Paris Disney, in fact I think it's a great addition to any European vacation. Just don't expect it to be an extended version of the France pavilion at Epcot mixed with all the American values and rules you have and Disneyland and Disney World.  Disney has built this park to bring in European travelers, to give them a taste of Disney suited to their pallet. This is a park that represents the American dream, but in a way that Europeans see it.

Hollywood Studios - Allison's View

Hollywood Studios is one of the two parks that I have barely an inkling about.  I've been to EPCOT before, and Tokyo Disneyland, which I imagine at least to be similar to the Magic Kingdom.  Also, of course, Tokyo Disney Sea.  I have no idea what to expect at Hollywood Studios - I hope it's kitschy-fun movie-star-themed almost ridiculousness!  I imagine cast members strutting about with feather boas and cigarette holders, with a lot of shiny things around.

I have to say I am very excited about the Rock'n'Roller Coaster!  I love thrill rides - the faster and twistier the better!  (My all-time favourite roller coaster is the head-first, flat-on-your-stomach Tomb Raider at Canada's Wonderland - am I allowed to say that here?)  My only fear on this roller coaster is that Chris might barf on me.  Do you think he'd be mad if I wanted to ride in separate cars?

I'm also really looking forward to the Tower of Terror.  We rode it at Tokyo Disney Sea in 2009 and it was terrifically terrifying.  I heard the one at Walt Disney World has even more tricks up its sleeve!  We rode it twice at Disney Sea, and if Hollywood Studios is indeed one of the least popular/smallest parks, perhaps we'll have a chance to do it twice, or even three times, here!

Previous Park Visit

Both Allison and I have been to Disney World in the past, so it’s not our first visit.  Allison went for a few days and explored Epcot and Pleasure Island.  I've been to Disney World before several times, including a full week's adventure.  We haven't however ever been to Disney World together.

We've also both been to Tokyo Disney, both together and Allison went on her own as well.  Together we went to Tokyo Disney Sea, and we had a really great time.  In fact, the intense fun we had is a great deal of the inspiration we had to plan this epic trip.  On our Disney Sea adventure we learned how much both of us really enjoy Disney parks.  Best of all we've learned that we both enjoy the same parts of the parks as well

Everyone has a different way of enjoying Disney parks; our previous experiences have proven that we enjoy the parks in a very compatible way.  That’s why this adventure is going to be so much fun.