Hello everyone, we’re back every year with another article on our impressions of Disneyland Paris over the past year. Be warned, this article is unreasonably long as there’s so much to say about the theme-by-theme developments in the visitor experience.

Parking 

After more than 2 years in the making, the Visitor Parking site has finally completed its work on automation, photovoltaic panels and, shortly, conveyor belts. All in all, it’s been a great success, as the vehicles are now protected from the elements and the sun. But what’s really striking is to see all this energy put into producing electricity in an environmentally-friendly way in a parking lot with 11,500 spaces, and to have only 4 spaces for recharging electric cars. It’s all the more incomprehensible that by 2035, electric cars will be the only cars in Europe authorized for sale. Come on, a little more effort and it’ll be perfect.

Sécurité 

Security

The main baggage checkpoint has finally been completed after 23 years of temporary checkpoints. The result is excellent, with an entrance to Disneyland Paris worthy of the name, even if the others controls around Disney Village are still in temporary tents. We also note two points that Disney need for improvement:

1. The security guards. They are not dressed in Disney outfits, as these services are outsourced. Disneyland Paris is the only Disney site in the world where this is the case.

2. The quality of reception. Going through an outside company means that the company’s standards don’t apply.

It’s all a question of price and choice.

Programme Annuel 

Annual Program

To begin with, a reminder of the basics since its launch in July 2023

The aim of an Annual Pass is to encourage maximum spending by people who are likely to visit often, without actually staying on site.

The Pass must therefore be a product that can only be used for multiple visits entailing frequent spending, and which at the end of one year will have generated spending comparable to stays, but not as a product that would reduce the cost of a stay with hotel.

The aim of this new range was to reduce the number of annual pass members by 50%* (figures differ depending on the source), but this reduction would have had to be made up by increasing prices and reducing benefits, in order to maintain the same financial ratios in the operation of this department.

The main objective of this new passport is to give the impression of a luxury product. Having a Pass means gaining access to a Club, which, even when sales are closed, you can renew your membership if you’re already a member.

But a club with what advantages and considerations?

But the main argument is a revised, easier-to-access reservation system. A lie.

We’re not going to rehash history, Disneyland Paris has announced that it is responding to visitors’ demands by doing away with 12 of the 17 advantages of the previous program, even those that cost nothing apart from offering a quality of service (left luggage and VIP entry, among others).

Disney has sold the Disneyland Pass as a product with no quota, like the previous Infinity range. Now the new annual programs being attached to the admission tickets, a large volum of reservation is possible. This may be true for the Gold Pass, but not for the others, Silver or Bronze.

Indeed, the March 16, 2024, April 12 was no longer available for booking, except for Gold Passes and Infinity Passes.

Another finding is the drastic reduction in the number of passports in the old range, which will be phased out by the end of summer 2024. The latter is now increasingly available. Having an old Annual Passport gives you more freedom and advantages to the parks than the current Annual program.

Pop-up Surprise 

This is just one of the benefits of Disneyland Paris’ consideration for visitors and the community.

In fact, every three months, Disney offers character encounters over a period of a few days, in settings recovered from press events. While the idea is there, unfortunately Disneyland Paris remains the Disney destination that offers the fewest character encounters for its visitors, to the point where it’s impossible to take them out in the park unless you want visitors to jump on them to the point of endangering themselves and employees. This behavior could be corrected with enough characters in the park aisles. But no, you could very well spend a day at Disneyland Paris without running into a single one, if you don’t go to those indoor meeting points that feature a low variety of characters. This kind of extra should be offered to all visitors.

This reveals the consideration given to Annual Pass Members and a reductive vision of the consumer, as if that’s all they expect. More generally, the consideration shown to Disneyland Paris by its communications department illustrates its vision of its regular visitors (illustrated in the video).

Exclusive Events

Here too, things don’t go quite as planned. Just look at what was planned, the discovery of the Disneyland Hotel with preview tours. The hotel was painfully opened without this event. Regular guests had to wait 2 months to gain free access to the establishment. It’s a shame, as this kind of event is something many people have been waiting for.

But what is the purpose of this passport? Because even if it’s not perfect, it’s there to sell a product. But what is it?

Quality seasons!

Going from 5 seasons a year – shoulder season, spring, summer, Halloween and Christmas – to a maximum of 3, with considerably reduced offers, is not being respectful of customers who have high expectations for a price that continues to rise.

Halloween and Christmas are the perfect annual bellwether:

Halloween is reduced to a parade, with a show on Central Plaza that frustrates the majority of visitors who don’t know there’s a show-stop and can’t fully enjoy it. The reduction of decorations in Frontierland and their non-renewal in Fantasyland is a fact. The replacement of a mini-show by a happening with 1 character made crowd management unmanageable, necessitating the discontinuation of this activity on the second day.

For the Christmas season, it’s more or less the same as in 2023, going from 9 Shows/parades requiring more than 1.5 days to see them all, to a parade and animation at Vidéopolis limited to 4 singers that will keep you busy for 2 hours at most. As for decorations, they are increasingly rare and limited to Main Street. We’re not talking about “it’s a small world”, which is no longer played in its Christmas version, or the few character encounters that can be showcased.

All in all, the seasons have been undergoing austerity cures since 2020, and management is riding on the reputation it still has for welcoming visitors in droves. The bad feedback is already here, and Disney may take years to recover. We have the feeling that damaged decorations are no longer being replaced, but removed year after year. What’s even more striking is that whatever European theme parks have Halloween or Christmas seasons, it’s the whole park that’s decorated, not just part of one land (15% of Disneyland for Christmas). The competitors offers more than the European “leader” for a much cheaper admission ticket.

Our feeling is that, one day, we’ll be able to see at Disneyland Paris what’s already happening in the United States: to experience a season, you’ll have to go through the dedicated paid evenings. After several years of season restrictions, selling new Halloween and Christmas evenings with more entertainment, shows and character encounters than before will be a big seller, as visitors will have become so frustrated and accustomed to seasons whose only interest lies in their parade.

Have a quality Food offer! 

If France is the country of gastronomy, it is undeniable that Disneyland Paris is the Disney site which offers the least choice and quality in its catering offer. When this subject is approached by visitors, it is systematically approached in a negative way. This is characterized by a Burger for €17/$18 (burger, fries and drink) which is unreasonable in Europe and even less acceptable given the quality! New restaurants/snack bars systematically have a menu without a menu, and therefore more expensive. And the seasonal offer? absent! Which is a must-have element for a theme park.

Of course, prices have gone up, as is customary every April! A simple ham and cheese now costs €10.5 (more than double the standard price in Paris). Frontierland’s new kiosk is a success in terms of its integration into the land, but some of the choices can be found in other sales outlets, being cheaper, more plentiful and eligible for discounts. But it remains a commercial success, not least because of its location.

A new Asian menu has arrived at Last Chance (Frontierland). If the choice seems dubious for its land, the result is not the most striking.

Another point is the deliberate choice to use subcontractors with chalets in every park. These outlets, which were not foreseen in the creation of the lands, create congestion, spoil the environment and are not subject to the same hygiene procedures as the rest of the destination. The offer is not specific to Disneyland Paris. It could be found at any funfair in France.

And at the same time, the stands run by Disney are continually understaffed 1 employee instead of 2 per stands. Visitors are usually forced to wait 10 to 20 minutes during the day and 20 to 30 minutes in the evening (as shown here). Disney just makes sure that the stand is open regardless of the number of employees. Because with such long queues that don’t move forward, too many customers give up. Sales aren’t made, customers, served or not can’t be satisfied with the service and Disney loses a lot of money and consideration.

The same problem applies to large fast-food restaurants, which are all too often short-staffed, especially in the evenings.

With high prices and an offer that’s easy to find anywhere else in France and Europe, we’re not surprised to see a record number of visitors eating sandwiches at Disney or going to the Mac Donald’s in Disney Village.

Boutiques 

Stores

On a positive note, Disneyland Paris is finally offering merchandise on its attractions, albeit with room for improvement.

That said, there is one point to note: the park stores are showing their age. An overhaul of the furniture and checkouts would be welcome. Products are poorly displayed. The way products are displayed on shelves is outdated. We’re no longer in the 90s or in shopping malls, with abundance, but in product presentation.

Wall-mounted Kodak film displays from the 90s have a future even in the digital age at Disneyland Paris!

An overhaul of the furniture and checkouts would be welcome. Many stores still use cash registers from the 90s. Some even have furniture that has seen 3 generations of checkout systems. Modernizing stores means modernizing the park’s image and boosting sales.

This subject of non-adapted checkout furniture is also found in restaurants, as here at Vidéopolis, where two last generations of checkouts are visible.

Disneyland Hotel 

Disneyland Hotel

With its reopening in January, Disneyland Paris is back to 100% hotel capacity.

Opinions are divided. Either you like it or you don’t.

Finally, the hotel offers a real SPA managed by Clarins, although the pool is still undersized for the number of rooms. Note that this is the only hotel without an outdoor pool.

On the restaurant front, prices have gone through the roof to match those of Parisian palaces, without having all the codes and standards. 45€ for breakfast, which is on a par with other Disney hotels and well below those of 4- and 5-star hotels elsewhere (no fast food), 100€ for the buffet (dessert is 50% mousse-based, and the buffet is too small overall), 120€ for table service, which is of good quality, but the price is justified for Disney by the presence of the characters and the location (although they made the mistake of hiding the view of the park).

We note the absence of floral arrangements, which is hard to understand for an establishment that aims for luxury. And above all, the outsourcing of housekeeping is astonishingly inconvenient for staff and visitors alike.

Anciennes Attractions & Aucune Extension

Old Rides & No extensions

While we wait for the construction of the extensions announced 6 years ago, where every year a concept art is published to make us wait another year, there’s a lot of anticipation for the big existing attractions. There’s enormous anticipation about the future of Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Indiana Jones, and rumours about their uncertain futures, as they are among the biggest attractions. They’re in an advanced state of disrepair. It’s already been a year since we made the observation about Indiana Jones (in our previous article) that it couldn’t go on, and the announcements of April 12, 2024, which are conducive to this kind of communication, have not taken place. It won’t be at D23 (an event at which Disney makes major announcements about its development in Disney parks around the world, among other things) that we’ll be looking forward to work on breathless machines. We know the company is serious about its safety controls and actions, but comfort and the visitor experience have already deteriorated.

The problem remains the lack of extension in Disneyland park. It’s hard to imagine Disney telling visitors that the park’s last great novelties are coming to an end. The offer is very limited and nothing can be offered during their closures.

Avant Adventure World, il y a Walt Disney Studios !

Before Adventure World, there’s Walt Disney Studios!

Following on from the April 12 conference, Studio 1 has been closed to undergo a partial transformation to improve its reception and flow capacity. The area around the building is also undergoing work to green the zones and redesign the spaces and traffic flows. As a result, the park is a huge construction site, just as it was in 2005-2007.

Avengers campus suffers less and less from youthful defects. It’s worth noting that, at best, the park’s activities take place over 6 months, leaving the land empty for the rest of the year. This means that an important part of the experience is deliberately not presented on a new product.

Some choices remain questionable, such as removing a show from the program on the eve of the biggest weekend of the year in France and at the same time as the Alice BMX Show (new this year) which takes place in the same park. With the crowds arriving in this small park under construction, how are we going to deal with this surplus of visitors? Given the state of the park and the quality of the offer, it’s not normal to have breaks in the shows. Where’s the consideration for the visitor?

Other attractions include Celebration Animation, Aladdin’s Flying Carpets and Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop. All closed as the park prepares to launch its new show.

Here’s an exhaustive map of the park as visitors will discover it when they go to see the new Alice show on May 25. I remind you that there is only 1 Fast Food restaurant open in the park (due to the closure of Studio 1). This forces visitors on a budget to leave the park to eat. That’s why Alice’s show will be played in the afternoon and evening, to spread out the visitors.

Finally, with access to the parks complicated, and multiple works on site until the opening of Adventure Bay Lake scheduled for 2025, we can say that the future of nighttime drone shows on the Tower of Terror is over.

Indeed, the drones were sent from the Star Theater, which is now used for Alice’s show, and knowing that the shows on the lake will have backstage facilities for drone management. It seems obvious to us that this type of show in the park will resume with Adventure Bay.

Alice and the Queen of Hearts : Back to Wonderland

This show has multiple challenges, including the use of an arena and the change of theme for the park.

This large-scale production is an interesting proposition which, even if you don’t like the universe or the contemporary style, offers the advantage of attending a good concert (don’t hesitate to ask for hearing protection before entering the queue).

The most disconcerting aspect of this show is the wide variety on offer. The result can be confusing for some visitors, when the theme is Alice in Wonderland. The cast is excellent. But you get the feeling that everything is done to take place on the central stage. Alice won’t get off, for example, whereas a flower-shaped Vehicle in which she would get on top and be driven around the front of the stage with the other flower dancers, while getting closer to the audience, would be perfect. The singers don’t move from center stage, giving the impression that the BMX and trampoline performers are there to fill the space. The huge backdrops don’t help us fully appreciate the artists’ prowess. There’s no doubt that this show, which is designed to last several years, will be improved. And the first thing to do would be to make the duel and the means used between Alice and the Queen of Hearts more equal, so as to have real suspense over the public’s choice of winner. This alternative ending decided by the public, which is an excellent idea, is currently distorted.

Objectif reconquête !

Objective : Reconquest!

Faced with multiple changes to the destination, 2024 to hit where it hurts for regular visitors to Paris:

Playing on nostalgia:

“Disney Electrical Sky Parade” is the 11th proposed drone show in 2 years at Disneyland Paris. This show is a real success. The Dronisos teams have evolved well with Disney as a development booster for this French company specializing in drone shows. But let’s face it, 7 shows in 2 years, whose updates have enabled them to make 11 proposals to Disneyland Paris (some shows have had several versions). Disney has realized that it can make a splash every quarter by relentlessly developing new versions/shows. Impressive shows for audiences with a reasonable investment.

For this reason, we’re relieved to see that this show, designed to play on nostalgic feelings, will be played for 1 year. LED drone lighting is perfectly suited to celebrating the Electrical Parade. The drones are frequently missing, giving the show a “burnt-out bulb” feel.

It’s a success from start to finish, but we have 2 points that bother us:

1. The choice of name is problematic. Disney deliberately plays on the ambiguity of an electric parade. Too many visitors think it’s a real electric parade, and that you have to stand to see it. Something Paris hasn’t offered for 11 years.

2. A show for every situation! There is no alternative show to cope with climatic constraints. Especially since the show came out in January. Winter in France is long. This year, until mid-May, there was rain and winds of over 20km/h (the limit for flying drones). Not to have thought of developing an alternative show without drones is surreal.

As with Disney illumination, we’d also have to come up with a shortened alternative version to make this moment more enjoyable under climatic constraints.

Show for the new generation:

A Million Splash Color, is the show made to keep the new generations who discovered Disneyland Paris’ 30th anniversary show in 2022. But this show is a rehash with even less history, a medley with no transition and variations in sound levels. The choice of characters is unsurprising, and Snow White dancing to rap music is too far removed from the tale. The costumes and floats are predominantly black and white, far from the colorful spirit intended for the season. With fewer performers than previous shows on Central Plaza, this show suffers from a number of shortcomings, with no innovation compared to previous shows.

Finally, “A Million Splash Color” is part of a season running from February to September. This season was marked by decorations on Main Street USA, which turned out to be incomplete on the main street totem poles and, in some cases, poorly positioned. The decorations were removed in May. Last but not least, light shows are held in the evening, on the theme of Tinkerbell. This animation is not understood by visitors, as the light shows are so old-fashioned and without projection. More generally, the design of the decorations in no way reflects that of the show. It’s clear that two departments had two budgets, and that they didn’t consult each other. Visitors don’t understand the proposed theme, and once again the decorations are limited to Main Street.

Central Plaza still has its 30-year statues. Finally, there’s no seasonal merchandise, and the food offer is limited to a cupcake and a foam cake for €15. Not a thoughtful, concerted, logical offer for visitors. A far cry from a Disney theme park?

As you’ll have gathered, the color season offers some intriguing choices, whether it’s with the show, the design, or the decorations that don’t last … you either love it or you don’t. Thank you for proposing the new Alice show.

Facturer toujours plus!

Charge more and more!

The ongoing development of “Disney Premier Access” continues. While we are very much in favor of this queue-cutting system, we are concerned about the introduction of the Genie + system. Why do you think so? When you equip Phantom Manor or Pirates of the Carribbean, which are high-volume attractions where waiting 30 minutes is rare and acceptable, installing this equipment indicates that we think the offer can be reviewed.

What are the differences between Diseny Premier Access (DPA) and Génie + (G+)?

The DPA system is an individual purchase system, although packages at 90€ for a group of attractions are available. The system is well thought-out, offering a punctual queue-cutting service at between €8 and €18 per attraction and per person. Boarding is instantaneous, with no waiting, and as the service is used by a smaller number of visitors than the old fast pass, standard queues rarely exceed 1 hour. Because yes, even if there are 2 queues, there’s only one attraction and only one hourly flow. The fewer people in the queue-cutting line, the faster the standard queue. Here, occasional but costly use satisfies all visitors, normal waiting is limited and DPA beneficiaries have a real immediate boarding service. It’s a win-win situation.

The Genie + (G+) system became the equivalent of a Fast Pass Pay system. The aim was to offer a package of attractions at €30 per person and not wait. But all Disney did was increase sales quotas. What was intended to be an enhanced visitor experience in the USA has become a lucrative and indispensable product, with the effect of distorting the visitor experience. Why is this? The proportion of visitors who benefit from the G+ system is taking up more and more space than those who don’t use it. The result is standard queues that don’t move forward, and more G+s blocking them. Added to this are deliberately inflated waiting times on the application to direct visitors with G+ to other attractions to spread the flow.

The product’s original function as a queue cutter is distorted. We’ve experienced these situations in the United States.

In Paris, leaving the DPA system for G+ would be a disaster. We sincerely hope that doesn’t happen. Disney has never said anything on the subject.

It should be noted that some of the choices made to sell the DPA product are questionable, such as the Parade Zone. This area is large and not much in demand. As a result, visitors will have more difficulty finding an acceptable place on the parade route.

Maintenance, upkeep and budget restrictions

Disneyland Paris has made choices that are characterized by three phases in its development,

1992-1997: launch the company with major attractions such as Space Mountain, indiana jones and adapt the park to culinary expectations in Europe (readapting the offer, modifying kitchens and menu choices).

1997- 2012: Building customer loyalty with the launch of new seasons and new attractions. Respond to contracts signed with the French government by building a second park, and make up for design errors by adding attractions (not necessarily iconic, apart from the Tower of Terror). There is a gradual reduction in the number of characters and street animations.

2012-2025: Renovation of existing, ageing infrastructures, and transformation of buildings unsuited to climatic constraints. Renovation of scenery, insulation of buildings and paving of floors 10 years old is far from finished. The main feature of this period is to make up for the shortcomings in maintenance and upkeep of the previous two periods, since the emphasis had been on development, relying on the youthfulness of the facilities. As a result, the destination has only added two new attractions to the Walt Disney Studios park (Ratatouille and Spider-Man).

This “in-house policy” characterizes the DNA of Disneyland Paris, which is to act curatively rather than preventively (excluding rides safety).

Two examples to illustrate the point: the wooden well bridge at the foot of the château has been closed since early 2024, and the supporting beams appear to be in critical condition. No work has been reported on this bridge. Similarly, the Pirate Galleon, Adventure Land’s landmark, which has been closed for several years, will simply be renovated, whereas at its previous refurbishment in 2011 we reported that the internal wooden structures were still original. Shouldn’t we be thinking of simply rebuilding everything rather than postponing the problem?

Day-to-day maintenance is also an issue, and here too, curative rather than preventive maintenance dominates. Does the department have enough manpower? enought budget ?

Curative !

Curatif !

Curative !

Another example: Star Tours’ blue lamps have filters that fade and are not replaced.

Less dimensional, the malfunctioning lighting on Main Street. A problem visible before the arrival of LEDs, but now it’s back: bulbs burn out, signs go out, and voltages drop.

Curatif / Curative

Another issue is the duration of the work. This frustrates visitors.

For example, the work at Casey Corner on Main Street USA. The installation of a covered catering area has finally begun and will last almost 10 months. As a reminder, at Europa Park, the Austrian zone that burned down in June 2023 was destroyed, rebuilt and inaugurated in May 2024. In almost the same timeframe, Disney is building a courtyard. The same goes for Pirates of the Caribbean, whose simple donkey robot has been out for overhaul for 9 months.

Or at Phantom Manor, since 2020 the Stretch Room portraits have been showing signs of fatigue. The technical elements under Léota’s table are clearly visible, with an exposed power strip! Months for a simple robot, months for a terrace cover, visible elements, one wonders about the desire to limit the duration of work for the visitor experience. And that’s not even mentioning show quality.

Still on the subject of technical elements that remain visible to visitors, a cover for the plugs? You’d think we’d have a passion for that!

Work that lasts, but also work that is not advertised to visitors and often has no end date. It’s a small world closed for over a year and a half. Its closure was never announced in advance, and it was marked as closed for renovation more than 24 hours after closing. Together, which closes on the biggest weekend of the year in France, announced 2 days before closing. Disney is the first to announce to visitors that they must reserve their day of visit. Having a precise calendar with forecasts 6 months before the visit would be the minimum to respect its customers.

We’d like Disneyland Paris to be like Tokyo Disneyland. All year round, 2-3 attractions are closed at the same time, with work lasting no more than a few months. To have a regulated preventive renovation that doesn’t stop for the year and a half that an anniversary season lasts, resulting in tired installations and disrupted renovations. This is possible, because once again Tokyo communicates its renovation program 1 year in advance. Ideal for preparing your stay, and with no surprises. And the icing on the cake is that, should an attraction close, the elements visible to visitors remain active. For example, when “it’s a small world” closed, the facade decorations, clock and fountains were still active.

To show you in concrete terms how the destination handles things, a year ago we jokingly made this video to illustrate the destination’s lack of maintenance:

Since the publication of our previous article 11 months ago, here’s what’s been done following the publication of the video (see photo). The right thing to do would have been to simply clean/repaint the sign. After all, 2 garbage cans of rubbish aren’t going to prevent you from seeing the maintenance carried out on a luminous element in a dark place.

It’s also worth noting that chairs throughout the destination now have sky seats rather than patterned fabric. The changes are gradual, and have already taken place at the Disnyeland Hotel. The aim is to facilitate day-to-day maintenance at the expense of thematizing the facilities for visitors. The furniture is more neutral and unobtrusive, as in the Disneyland Hotel.

Budget cuts!

The “Disney Dreams!” nighttime show will bow out for good on May 30 for the return of Disney Illumination, which will be shortened by 1/3, to last just 15 minutes. We have mixed feelings about this news, as the pyrotechnics have been reduced for the past 4 years.

We fear that this will serve as a test for future night-time shows on the castle. They last only 15 minutes, with few pyrotechnic effects, possibly offset by drones.

Back to savings. A shorter show combined with an earlier closing time of 10pm instead of 11pm this summer. A first! The “Magic Over Disney” lights will not be repeated in 2024, and will join the St. David’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, which have also disappeared. What’s more, the Halloween season has been renewed, despite persistent internal rumors that 2023 was the last iteration of this 10-year-old version. The 2024 Christmas season seems to resemble that of 2023, which was already downgraded compared to 2022, as reported in our article.

In the financial results of international parks, Disneyland Paris hasn’t been mentioned for 4 quarters, but Hong Kong has. Since its opening, this small resort has been more highly regarded than Paris in terms of its development, even though it has 3 times fewer visitors, because there are new attractions, world exclusives and visitors come and return. Disneyland hasn’t had an extension in 27 years, and the transformation of the Backlot land into the Avengers Campus in the second park isn’t as successful as we’d hoped (Flight Force, with a 5-minute wait when the whole park has a 45-minute wait, doesn’t work), just like Marvel movies in theaters, which are no longer attracting visitors because Disney has been stretching the limits for over 10 years. The public is well aware that Disneyland Paris only does shows, and doesn’t offer real new products or extensions. Getting the extensions off the ground will bring in more people and boost spending, as it did in Hong Kong. The destination will be better regarded by American management, which will invest more. Moving from a vicious circle to a virtuous one is extremely difficult for Disneyland Paris, even more so today, as it’s been 6 years since the transformation and extension plan was made official. While the transformation part has been partly completed, the extension part is still a long way off. In fact, objectives are hard to meet when there’s nothing really new to offer apart from the shows. And the Olympic Games won’t help matters.

Jeux Olympiques : le Cheval de Troie !

MAYDAY MAYDAY the Olympic Games !

Anyone who looks into the timing of the Olympic Games will find that they are unlike any other. Having carried out studies on the organization of the games, we can inform you that the visitors who will be arriving en masse this summer will not be coming to leisure destinations such as parks, and will be visiting far fewer cultural sites. And why? Because these visitors are sport tourists, not leisure tourists. Their reason for travelling is not Disney, the zoo or the museum of playful arts. But sports, competitions, bars, restaurants and a few cultural venues, time and budget permitting. How many of you have seen hotel and transport prices skyrocket during this period? Not to mention the high prices of sporting events. The budget is very high, and tourists don’t have stretchable wallets.

That’s why, during the Olympic Games, we’re firmly convinced that visitor numbers to the Parisian parks, including Disneyland Paris, will not increase and may even decrease. We are convinced that attraction openings will differ (as is already the case with Cars Road Trip), but also that restaurants and stores may open at 11 a.m., as we have seen in the past.

The Olympic Games are all about spin-offs. The aim for the host country is to sell its art of living, its culture, its landscapes and places to visit, so that spectators will want to come back after the event. The right strategy as a company, especially when you’re on this scale, is to be an official sponsor. It’s very expensive, but broadcasting images of what you’re selling to generate a return on investment over the following 4 years is the best communication and strategy plan. Especially when you consider that, after the Olympic Games, a number of extensions will be opening.

We’ve seen that Disneyland Paris is not a sponsor of the Olympic Games, and we’ve also seen a reduction in opening hours, fireworks, and season renewals that are a shadow of their former selves. We sincerely hope they’ve understood what this period is like when you’re a destination that doesn’t cater to sports tourists. Because curative actions would be very damaging in terms of the visitor experience, due to the lack of preventive actions.

Sponsoring

While Disney doesn’t want to sponsor the Olympic Games, it does like to be sponsored in order to finance its shows and attractions.

Autopia was regarded internally as a derelict attraction before its major refurbishment. Its renovation was a relief for all concerned, but many of its iconic sets have not returned. This year, Avis became the attraction’s first sponsor since its total restoration. Good news indeed! But what does the sponsor bring? Nothing! Surprisingly, only one false advertisement during the ride was modified to include the sponsor. Not even the return of the Solaris city of the future, set in 1992, which would have brought in regular and nostalgic visitors in droves to rediscover an element lost decades ago. And we’re not even talking about creation, like in California with Honda, which brought in a storyline and a robot going on vacation following the misadventures of Bird (a bird robot) with a new vehicle design.

We won’t mention Vittel in Fairytale Land, announced 3 days after the end of the Earth Month program. Here too, the sponsor has made no particular changes to the existing attraction, whose modifications were announced in advance. This attraction, which again has no estimated reopening date, will see 3 scenes modified. The Disney stories chosen are unoriginal, with the Snow Queen or Winnie the Pooh. The choice of “Up There” as the final scene is sad, as it is a melancholy film rather than a happy, optimistic tale.

We don’t see the added value of sponsors, apart from the financial aspect.

What marks your experience?

At Disneyland Paris, it won’t be the latest innovations that mark the visitor experience like at other theme parks. It’s not at Disneyland Paris that you’ll be able to say that Cars Road Trip or Flight Force made an impression on you, but rather Big Thunder Mountain or Pirates of the Caribbean. Not all the latest attractions are quite as memorable, and don’t warrant a visit or a revisit. It’s a pity, because the attractions that make a lasting impression on visitors are aging (Indiana Jones is a case in point).

– Orchestre de Rue. Disparu depuis 4 ans

– Parade Electrique. Disparue depuis 11 ans

– Extension du Parc Disneyland. En attente depuis 28 ans

A nostalgic moment. So many of the essential elements of a Disney visit are gone:

– Street Orchestra. Gone since 4 years

– Many characters in the park aisles. In decline since 27 years

– Street entertainment / Singers / Dancers / Citizens in land: In decline for 27 years, Gone since 10 years.

– Electric Parade. Gone since 11 years ago

– Disneyland Park extension. On hold for 28 years

These moments are indeed important. Passing singers on the corner of Main Street USA, before meeting a policeman asking for clues to his investigation, then 100 m further on hearing and listening to the pianist at Casey Corner. You decide to head for Pirates of the Caribbean, and on the way you meet an African band playing TamTam, then Captain Hook and Mr Smee threatening Peter Pan and Wendy, and finally you arrive at your attraction. You look at your watch and realize you’ve been in the park for 30 minutes.

As a reminder, a happy visitor is one who spends more and keeps coming back.

A theme park is a whole! But prices are skyrocketing, at the expense of quality and visitor experience. The first striking emblem? Visitors have been waiting more than 11 years for the return of the electric parade.

How does the Disneyland Pass work?

When you see the advertisements blooming on the radio, on social networks and on park entrances, it’s obvious that it’s not working! Without announcing figures, we can say that the results are catastrophic. Because if there’s one department that normally doesn’t need advertising to make sales, it’s the passport department. Loyal customers know the way to the cash register!

Expensive Party : doing 3 a year means paying an annual passport to an other european park. But above all, if sales don’t pick up, there’ll be two or even one a year left. It’s no surprise to anyone that the last one flopped in terms of sales. Because Disney haven’t reached objectives in terms of Pass numbers, selling an evening is more complicated than it used to be. Finally, just because you have a Pass doesn’t mean that your budget can be stretched! While Party prices continue to rise, and are unreasonably expensive simply to meet characters. Once again… consideration for the visitor and Disney’s vision of its product and positioning don’t add up. It’s sad.

We’re dealing with a department that has believed that its image, its brand, is strong enough to justify an explosion in prices, while the quality and range continues to decline.

Disney claims that this range is designed and sold by and for visitors. We find this cynical, to say the least.

For the most loyal customers, those who for months were the only ones to come to the destination, to help it relaunch after covid, we understand with this new product that they are not considered in Disney’s eyes. Disney shouldn’t be surprised if this clientele turns to the competition, to Asterix for example. A park that is evolving greatly in terms of quality, accompanied by this new clientele with a bigger budget. They are working on a 7-year development plan with numerous attractions, new lands, a new hotel and new coasters.

And the same is true in Europe. Europa Park has just opened a formidable Roller Coaster, Voltron, with multiple European and world records, as well as a new shopping and dining district. The work is fantastic and the production ambitious. For Disneyland Paris, the last major achievement was 10 years ago with Ratatouille.

I don’t know about you, but Disneyland Paris management should seriously consider the global consequences of the Annual Passport department’s decisions. For missing out on the sale of an easy-to-sell product to its loyal customers, for overshadowing the launch of the 2023 Together novelty, which cost millions of euros. The virtuous chain of promotion by these consumers, de facto excluded from new products, has been broken. It’s a choice.

For example, the Alice show, new this year, where previews have not sold out, and YouTube videos are not running despite this fine production. In the past, Disney’s website would have been saturated to book a preview, products would have been created for the occasion and sold in large numbers, fast food outlets would have had creations linked to the show which would have sold out before the end of the day. Not to mention the fact that content creation, viewing and distribution would have exploded on the networks. A virtuous circle of consumption and promotion was broken. That’s why we’d like to say “let’s cut off their heads”, as the Queen of Hearts says, because the consequences of this new annual program are multiple and quantifiable only by Disney, with clearly visible economic and image impacts, which is already worrying in itself.

Faut-il visiter Disneyland Paris en 2024 ?

Should you visit Disneyland Paris in 2024?

We’ll let you decide. But you know very well what comes out of it, whether in terms of visitor consideration of the diminishing offer and its quality, ever-higher prices and extensions that nobody has been waiting for for 6 years. Apart from the lake and its show, the announcements made every two years about Land Frozen, which already exists in Hong Kong, no longer have any impact on theme park fans in Europe.

Do visitors perceive from their previous visit that investments have been made to improve the destination and justify their loyalty? Are visitors fully satisfied with their visit? That’s not for us to answer.

Are we being too demanding? No, we’re going back to the elements that Disney has been highlighting in reports and press releases, namely the difference this company makes in terms of quality, synergy (food, merchandise, season, attractions, shows, etc.), investment, entertainment and, above all, the visitor experience in its parks compared with the competition. This standard, which has been hammered home for decades, is one we’re keeping in mind, and our demands on Disney’s standards will grow in proportion to the prices charged by the Parisian destination.

To answer the question, yes, you have to go there, it’s still a magical destination with attractions you won’t find anywhere else, but there’s still work to be done to keep it that way.

Is there anyone here to wake up Disneyland Paris?

Thank you for your loyalty.
See ya real soon !

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Sources :

• Statistique Disneyland Pass : Disney Central Plaza & Tweeter Chronique Disney