Your Impression of Walt Disney Studios Park

traveller · May 12, 2011, 01:51:37 PM

I do like WDSP. I think that first of all, is a very nice place for the little ones (Art of Disney, Cinemagique, TSPD, Animagique, Cars Qquatre, Flying Carpets, Playhouse, Slinky Dog, Stitch Live, TSP playground, etc.).
I also used to like the street happenings ie HSM, stand shows, etc. They were giving a happy and "cheer up" atmosphere.
There are few notes however that I would like to mention:
1. needs more and better food and drink choises (ie, in my opinion, Restaurant en Coulisse is the ugliest and unhealthiest place in DLRP)
2. needs more street shows (there are a lot of empty space areas which need to feel up with some kind of happenings or something else)
3. I think that Monsters Street Academy is the stupidest think in DLRP and "out of season" at 2011!
4. a dark ride is a very good idea and something that is missing from WDSP (waiting for Ratatouille hopefully)
5. half of the tram tour is quite borring, needs few more interesting things and Disney has many-many things to show, after so many movies
I had the opportunity at 1990 to spend a day at Universal Studios in LA, and I can still remember so many things that I had to do and to see.
As a bottom line, in my opinion, I have the feeling that WDSP is a very nice place for all of us but not yet completed!

peter · May 12, 2011, 05:48:56 PM

Agree with you all. Wds needs a lot of help. But slowly, we are coming close to getting a park which really deserves the Disney name. If only our second gate got a £1 billion reboot

Columbiad · May 12, 2011, 05:59:40 PM

Just like Parc Disneyland has an advantage being in Europe, in the homeland of the tales that inspired so many Walt Disney films, Walt Disney Studios has a massive advantage in that it can offer the glitz and glamour of show-biz Americana that would seem so vibrant and fresh to Europeans. In this way, I think WDS has an oppertunity to become not only a working studio or peice of ideallic Hollywood, but a slice of America, much like DCA. Like an America away from America.

Martyn · May 14, 2011, 10:29:59 AM

I'll keep this short. In a nut shell, it has improved a lot, however its a bit of a mess really, with the 'Studios' theme being forgotten in recent additions, such as Toon Studio and TSPL.

But it is becoming more of a day out, rather than a few hours. I LOVE; Animagique, Cinemagique, RnRC, Tower of Terror, Crush, Animation Academy and Studio 1.

But the park IS let down by below par attractions, such as Tram Tour and Armageddon.

DopeyDad · May 14, 2011, 01:01:25 PM

Ok, here's mine. When we first visited in 2006 I could probably sum up our experience following something like

1) wonder and excitement, entering the park, beautiful plaza, statues etc and lots of expectations for whats inside
2) puzzled, walking through Studio 1 felt more like entering an indoor market, although we really didn't spend enough time looking for the detail we had expected more of a mainstreet experience here.
3) gradual disappointment, as we realise as the day goes on that this is not another DLP but a collection of experiences some great (Motuers in particular), some not. (We didn't make the most of it though and crazily missed Animagique until 2 trips later, it's now a must for us every year).

Now we can easily spend a day in the park and it offers far better range of attractions for a family with children, I was pleasantly surprised by Stich, Playhouse and Slinky. It's still always feels a bit of a let down for me and needs more atmosphere, landscaping, lake, night show, and entertainment plus another E-ticket would do it for me (not much to ask hey!). I'm not as concerned with theme here as some will be because I think it was broken from the very start so I think a different, perhaps more creative take on theme could work if its delivered with integrity. Saying that, DLP is the only real point of comparison for us apart from UK parks and I'd still choose WDI over a Merlin park anyday (don't get me wrong Chessington and Legoland are a great day out with the kids)

ed-uk · May 14, 2011, 01:35:49 PM

I'd choose WDI over Merlin Park that's for sure. I view the Studios as a work in progress, I've always liked it and view it as a positive step forward for the resort, although not all of the rides are for me. It's not on the scale of other Disney parks at the moment, but it's got to make financial sense. And if you've followed the history of EuroDisney as I have you'll know what I mean by that. Disneyland Park is the main draw and probably always will be as with other Disney Resorts.

peter · May 14, 2011, 03:34:10 PM

however, it is ridiculous that they built a theme park without a single body of water. this is practically unheard of.

Josh · May 14, 2011, 03:43:14 PM

They could do with a £1 billion investment, like with California Adventure.

Studio 1 could do with a redesign in my opinion. If they spent twice as much on the interior as they did originally, I bet it could be a great attraction!

ed-uk · May 14, 2011, 03:51:15 PM

Yes but that was my point, there wasn't £1 billion to spend on it in the first place and there isn't now. EuroDisney had to raise the money from shareholders and banks, the company had a budget to stick to when they built it. But over time the park will grow, with or without a body of water. Disneyland Paris isn't short of water, Lake Disney.

peter · May 14, 2011, 05:50:48 PM

however, every disney park has a central place, and at the moment, if wdi was given the park, they have said they would put in a lake

in some ways, you feel sorry for eurodisney. they got given a project by disney that was too big, an original second gate design which would have cost almost as much as dlp, and in the end were kind of left to sink by disney

ed-uk · May 14, 2011, 06:37:56 PM

I don't mind having a lake in the Studios, that's OK with me if WDI want to put one in. I didn't know they had said that, but I'm sure they've got plans for the future. I don't think Euro Disney has been left to sink though, and they can always plus the Studios over time now that it's open. Was the studios ever designed to have a lake in it, I've never seen any art work of WDS with a lake? Not that we can always go by that. Disney would have to expand the park a lot to make room for a lake.

dagobert · May 15, 2011, 06:07:59 PM

Quote from: "ed-uk"Was the studios ever designed to have a lake in it, I've never seen any art work of WDS with a lake? Not that we can always go by that. Disney would have to expand the park a lot to make room for a lake.

I think Disney MGM Studios Europe featured a body of water. I read somewhere about a New York City Waterfront and there was a smaller lake behind Studio 1, but I can't find the concept art anymore.

Since WDS was built as cheap as possible, I can imagine that a lake wasn't planed for the park. At least a fountain was planed for WDS, but it was cancelled:

Photo from WDSFans

I really hope that WDS will get a lake, because it will open up the whole park. I prefere a lake behind an extended Hollywood Blvd.

ed-uk · May 15, 2011, 06:25:26 PM

MGM Studios would have been bigger for sure. I think it was ment to be a working film studios with an animation department as well as a theme park.

peter · May 15, 2011, 06:27:46 PM

i meant to say that when it was going to be MGM studios

davewasbaloo · May 16, 2011, 10:34:43 AM

I walked the minatures of MGM Studios in 1992, it was not much larger or different than what we got. There is a lake and some facades missing, but the other buildings were real soundstages and animation studios. To be honest folks, WDSP when it opened (other than some visuals, and Moteurs Action instead of the Indiana Jones Stunt Show), was not hugely different than what was in the original masterplan.