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[Thebigtesh]

hi everybody  I have just returned from Disneyland paris on Thursday 18th of January 2018  myself and my wife have visited every year for the last 13 yrs mainly November for start of xmas season.we normally stay in Newport bay hotel but decided to try  hotel Cheyenne this time . hotel room was newly refurbished and was pleasantly very nice.my posting is about how Disneyland paris has changed over the years there is quite a lot less now than when we started going 13 yrs ago  we remember micky on ice in chapperel theatre I think it was  there was a lion king show in the velodrome there was little shows around the park we remember seing bueaty and the beast being performed in the park and even have a video of it , the studios tour is hardly ever working and when it is it is noticeably shorter . I also can remember when they decorated the village and had entertainment  (jugglers  and ballon modelling being some) they had animajique closed but no one seemed to no why.  please please don't take this post as a moan it would just be nice to hear what other people think of the change in Disneyland paris over the years 

[dlpowl]

We've been going since 2007 so 11 years now and I actually think the park is way better now.  There's loads more characters, the cast members have definitely improved, they've added some great new attractions like ToT and Ratatouille and upgraded some of the main ones with Pirates, Big Thunder & Star Tours.  We remember the Lion King show and it was really good but we've had some great shows since such as Forest of Enchantment, Frozen Sing Along, Jedi Academy and Mickey & The Magician. 

Also, the first 2 years we visited there was no nighttime show and no fireworks every night either!  But we've since had Dreams and Illuminations!  I also think the park feels much more magical and special than it did in our earlier visits.

I suppose it depends on what you enjoy as that dictates what you miss and value more than the next person. 

[Thebigtesh]

We really miss the fantallusion parade and the studio parade and the shops also had a lot less choice this year there were not selling handbags. Purses. Slippers. And had very little choice of adult coats etc. I agree with the cast members being better but have to disagree about characters around the park there used to be heehaw. Buzz light year and a few more that don't seem to appear in park. Please remember we visit normally November Xmas season so fireworks are finished I can't comment on other times of year as Xmas is our favourite time the frozen sing along I agree was fab

[AJDisney]

To be brutally honest, DLP is lacking in a lot of areas, especially when compared to other parks around the world. Even compared to Hong Kong, which has the lowest attendance out of all Disney parks (not including studios, or or none kingdom parks).

There is a complete lack of shows, attractions and character interactions. If you go during off-peak time, then there is literally no shows for you.  For example, in February there will only be the 25th Anniversary show and nothing else. Whilst other parks reduce the frequency of shows during off peak, Paris seems to be the only park that completely stops pretty much everything and goes barebones during this period (which if funny, when they want to increase park attendance...).

I am hoping that things will get significantly better over the coming years now that Disney fully own the park.

[Slimy yet satisfying]

I think that some will disagree as Star Wars is on in Feb and has lots going on. I too however am feeling less and less "magical" each visit and more like an ATM. Everything costs more and is poorer quality and totally generic....food and merchandise. I actually couldnt even find a simple pack of pens this year. Used to be something special but now its not. Primark and Asda have better offerings at a fairer price.

[Zee79]

The shows have been good what they've put on but I do feel like an ATM as well. A friend enquired about going same time as we are at Easter and rang me asking how much I've paid. The price has gone up by over £1000!!!! I couldn't believe it! How can it be justified? When it comes to off peak Star wars is a great gap filler but for those who love this and it's only based in one park. Some shows could be on even if it's just one or two showings a day. Characters i feel are increasing in the park again but again this is weather dependent unfortunately so if weather is bad then it limits the number out.

[littlebitofpixiedust]

I understand what your saying unfortunately visiting of peak has its downfalls, less shows probably less characters and they do more refurbishments.

But we've been visiting since the park opened and I'm now 30    and I think they've had some really big improvements especially this last year, re-introducing characters to the hotels was great. Forest of enchantment/frozen sing along both brilliant additions and as posted above Disney dreams and now illuminations which we didn't used to have. There are way more characters in the park than previous years we've visited. Ratatouille and crush both great additions. Mickey and the magician also (though I'll miss animagique!)

I think DLP is up and coming so don't be to disheartened!

The lion king show was amazing! I cried!

Prices have gone up i can't argue that.... I'm hopefully dlp will continue to improve it's just a shame there seems to be less on during of peak times but then again prices are consistently lower. I guess there's positives and negatives for going at a quieter period vs a busier one.
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[claire2281]

Going 3rd week of January is obviously very different from going during Christmas season.

Animagique is closed because Mickey and the Magician doesn't run during January-March. They use this time to employ and rehearse new performers and do any maintenance on the theatre.

The Castle Stage was being rethemed back to the 25th anniversary and the Happy Anniversary show is returning. There'll only be one show there until at least April - presumably partly because the weather stops them and partly because they save money on performers who are being used elsewhere whilst Season of the Force is on. Once the Pirates and Princess festival starts there'll be more entertainment in DLP.

The Chapparal theatre is now closed as it's due to be demolished and turned into a completely indoors performance space without huge pillars blocking the view. Losing it for 18 months is disappointing but it will be worth it in the end.

The main thing I miss from the past is Fantillusion and I'd love to see a night time parade return to the parks but the Dreams/Illuminations style night time shows are a significant step up from the fireworks shows of before.

[Slimy yet satisfying]

Here's hoping that the new indoor space will be multipurpose. I too enjoyed the Lion King, Mulan themed and Christmas Ice show so hope that many different types of entertainment will be able to be shown there. We have lots of "raised stage" venues it would be great if this one could have the potential for a water or ice skating based show. They do lots of "Disney on ice" shows now so its not impossible to imagine.

[Thebigtesh]

I find the replies very interesting and there are some very valid points being made. As I said we normally visit around 15th November for Xmas season but could not make November so went January instead  the points being made about out of season are a valid point but please remember we paid same price as we would have paid in November Xmas season so we were not charged out of season price. Couple this with the stopping of breakfast in price then not a cheaper price at all really, I love Disney and will try and go every year can't imagine not going to be honest but the price and breakfast now having to be paid for on top I really am not sure that prices Are a true reflection of what you actually get as I said earlier lots less every year I like dreams but not a true replacement for fantallusion and stars not a very good replacement for Xmas parade in my opinion as for Disney shops surely they should be stocked all year round as I said earlier this year there was very poor selection

[glenn]

I have been going every year since 1994 until 2016 when I decided not to visit again.The reason for this is,when we went only Casey,s and cafe Hyperion were open during the day,plaza gardens and silver spur steakhouse were the only table service restaurants open,when we walked to the village to have a meal in the steakhouse it was closed for a conference do,there were no shows so many rides closed,one which was closed four day earlier than advertised,all that for over £1100 it was the only time I have ever been disappointed with a trip to DLP.I sent an email to complain and after a few emails back and forth I was given half my money back.

[claire2281]

For me, it really is only dining and shopping that need a big polish. Everything else is really on the up as far as I'm concerned. Shopping is great as regards the facilities - and World of Disney is brilliant - but absolutely there could be more variety. I think it's better than it was but I'd still like to see even more themed items round the park.

Whilst the restaurant times are publicised (so you can look up before you go what will and won't be available) I agree that outside of the long hours of summer season they could definitely do better. For example, when I was there the week before Christmas Hakuna Matata was closed and all the other counter service restaurants in the Main Park had huge queues because there were so few till points open.

Now, this wasn't peak time (in fact I think it was Super Off Peak because it was before schools broke up) but the park was still reasonably busy. I was in Colonel Hathi's and to the manager's credit he did come out, see the long lines and get it sorted so more till points open. But it would be nice if they were proactive rather than reactive. I feel like their forward planning lacks sometimes in some departments and dining is definitely one of them. I understand the want for the park to make itself financially secure and this is a good thing but grumpy customers standing in long queues and seeing only two till points working isn't helping anyone.

As for ride closures I'm always fairly zen about that. It can be disappointing but there's a lot more to see than rides and I understand that scheduling maintenance relies on an awful lot of factors that might mean that timing isn't always ideal.

I agree with others though that overall entertainment has vastly improved. I remember when I first started going that unless you went in Summer or at Christmas, the night time entertainment was basically non-existent (due to local issues around fireworks shows), so the fact we have Illuminations every night now is great. IMO Stars on Parade is the finest parade DLP has ever had and will be even better when the carriages go and the princess float arrives.