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[davewasbaloo]

Many readers of this board are quite new to DLP, and there have been questions by a couple of posters as to why there is not a Cirque Du Soliel show in DLP. well the white tent in the village used to host such a show 12 years ago, a show by Muriel Hermine, that was an aquatic circus.

I have looked for footage over the years, but finally a poster on You Tube has put some up. Enjoy.

I miss the standard of entertainment the resort had before it became all toons all the time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsVlHKx_ ... re=related

[pfspock]

My God, has it really been 12 years? Time flies...

Anyway, probably the best show ever in DLRP. I have only seen it once, but thanks to the video I know that my memory served me right. It's still as brilliant and magical as it was in my memory. Thanks for the link.

[davewasbaloo]

Fab, I am glad I am not the only one that enjoyed it.

to think, back then you could enjoy Buffalo Bill's with no characters, Crescend'O, Mulan, Tarzan, Winnie the Pooh and Friends, and 3 parades a day (Mulan, Wonderful World of Disney and Main Street Electrical Parade).

[dagobert]

Fab, I am glad I am not the only one that enjoyed it.

to think, back then you could enjoy Buffalo Bill's with no characters, Crescend'O, Mulan, Tarzan, Winnie the Pooh and Friends, and 3 parades a day (Mulan, Wonderful World of Disney and Main Street Electrical Parade).

I wish I would have been to DLRP during the 90ies. You can talk to anybody who have been to DLRP back then and everyone will confirm that the resort offered a better experience and quality.

I think even if Disney would earn money with DLRP we wouldn't get so much entertainment. Look at WDW, it makes a lot of money and even there Disney is on the cheapest side. Hopefully Tom Staggs will bring a change to Walt Disney Parks And Resorts.

[ed-uk]

I don't agree with that though, about DLRP being better in the 1990's. The resort had just one park back then, now two parks, and that makes a big difference to me. It depends how people want to spin it, for or against. But the resort continues to grow. Ok Mulan and Crescend'O have gone, but now we have TOT, Stunt show and  Disney Stars n' Cars. It depends how you want to view it.

[Martyn]

^ Having 2 parks doesn't make it any better. Whilst there are some good attractions in the Studios, it is kind of missing the Disney magic that the Parc has.

[ed-uk]

Well it doesn't make it better for you, I was just trying to give another point of view. As I say the resort continues to grow and WDS is better now than it was in 2002, at least they've made a start. And shows will always come and go.

[Festival Disney]

I see what ed means, but I think what we all miss is the quality of live entertainment at Disneyland Park, Disney Village and the general quality of the Disney Hotels from the early 90's. Heck, even the live entertainment at WDS was much better than now when it first opened.
With the return of Tarzan, I hope this is a good omen for things to come!

[ed-uk]

Don't forget the place struggles to make money. In the last few years it's not made any, and there's no escaping that fact. I applaud Disney for sticking with it, not that they have much choice. If they knew back in 1987 what they know  now, I don't think they would ever have built the place, or they would have built a much smaller resort, more on the scale of Hong Kong Disneyland two hotels and a tiny theme park. That's how I look at it.

[dagobert]

Don't forget the place struggles to make money. I applaud Disney for sticking with it, not that they have much choice. Ii Disney knew back in 1987 what they know  now, I don't think they would ever have built the place, or they would have built a much smaller resort, more on the scale of Hong Kong Disneyland two hotels and a tiny theme park. That's how I look at it.

I really do understand what you are saying, but I think Disney would have built the place, but on a smaller scale. Hopefully with only two or three hotels.
In the book "Disney War" it is described that it would have been too bad for Disney to shut down the whole resort. Thank god they didn't close it. According to this book many top executives at Disney, like Roy E. Disney, were also against the second park in Paris.
Disney knew that they had finacial problems with DLRP and so I don't get it why they built WDS. A few month ago it was possible to extend the agreement with the French Government and I'm sure it would have been possible back then.
I'm also sure that if Disney would have waited a few more years to build the second park, WDS would have been a Disney park and not just a concrete desert. I'm happy to see ToT in Paris, but having been to WDW, I'm disappointed how the attraction is just in the middle of the park with no accurate surrounding. But I think that will change in the next years and the park will be more like Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Hopefully Tom Staggs ends the cheap years at Disney Parks and Resorts and we will see some great attractions and live entertainment again. That's what makes Disney special. After being kicked in the a** by Universal Studios in Orlando, Disney has to rethink their policy about cheap attractions and cutting costs on every corner. Maybe it will have an impact on Paris as well. People come to Disney to see something special and not carnival rides.

[ed-uk]

They couldn't have shut the resort down, Disney and the French goverment had put too much money into it. And i think the French goverment do view it as a success. When They decided to build WDS in 1999, Euro Disney was turning a profit, because in 1994 the companies debts had been restructured for the first time. So EuroDisney took their chance and decided to build WDS, which was ment to open as early as 1995. We can't predict what WDS would have been like if they had waited a few more years, and i simply don't except that WDS is a concrete desert. Even if WDW had built Harry Poter, it doesn't follow they would have built it at DLP. Remember WDW four theme parks, Universal Orlando still only two. I think Universal/ IOA needed a magic castle more than Disney. The Wizarding World of Harry Poter is still new and fresh and the films are still being made, give it a few years and let's see what Universal/Comcast come up with next. And Disney for that matter.

[Martyn]

Don't forget the place struggles to make money.

Not accroding to some report I heard in the last couple of months. Apparently the Resort had a very good 2010.

[ed-uk]

The resort lost money in 2009/2010. But the results were an impovement on the year before which is good. I'm hoping for a good 1st quarter Sept.- Dec. 2010 in this financial year 2010/2011.We should find out this month or early in February, but I'm worried that the bad weather ( snow )  may have kept  people away during their important Christmas season.

[dagobert]

They couldn't have shut the resort down, Disney and the French goverment had put too much money into it. And i think the French goverment do view it as a success. When They decided to build WDS in 1999, Euro Disney was turning a profit, because in 1994 the companies debts had been restructured for the first time. So EuroDisney took their chance and decided to build WDS, which was ment to open as early as 1995. We can't predict what WDS would have been like if they had waited a few more years, and i simply don't except that WDS is a concrete desert. Even if WDW had built Harry Poter, it doesn't follow they would have built it at DLP. Remember WDW four theme parks, Universal Orlando still only two. I think Universal/ IOA needed a magic castle more than Disney. The Wizarding World of Harry Poter is still new and fresh and the films are still being made, give it a few years and let's see what Universal/Comcast come up with next. And Disney for that matter.

The resort lost money in 2009/2010. But the results were an impovement on the year before which is good. I'm hoping for a good 1st quarter Sept.- Dec. 2010 in this financial year 2010/2011.We should find out this month or early in February, but I'm worried that the bad weather ( snow )  may have kept  people away during their important Christmas season.

I would also say that DLRP is a success, although not from an economic point of view. At least it created a lot of new jobs and I'm sure in a couple of years DLRP will start to make money. According to an interview with Philippe Gas, CEO ED SCA, DLRP has 400 million Euros on the side, so maybe this money will be used to increase the quality of the resort, especially the hotels. They are far behind European standards.

You are also right that Universal needed new attractions more than Disney, but you can't deny that WDW was on the cheap side during the last years. There is a reason why WDI is changing the Fantasyland expansion plans and I think it is due to the enormous success of Harry Potter. Disney is losing money to Universal, because people shorten their stay at WDW to go to Universal.

Maybe WDS would have looked the same when getting built now, because of the financial crisis, but I still think WDS isn't already a Disney park. It's getting better and better and I prefere some parts of WDS over Disney's Hollywood Studios, but the park still lacks of theming. That's why I called it a concrete desert. That's just my opinion. If you like the park how it is, I'm fine with that. In fact I also think that TOT and its surrounding and Toon Studios improved the park a lot and I really like to spend time in the park now.

Hopefully the last year was a success for DLRP and that the resort continues to improve the quality and build new attractions. I also hope that DLRP will become more of a Disneyland Anaheim resort than a mega resort like WDW.

[davewasbaloo]

I don't agree with that though, about DLRP being better in the 1990's. The resort had just one park back then, now two parks, and that makes a big difference to me. It depends how people want to spin it, for or against. But the resort continues to grow. Ok Mulan and Crescend'O have gone, but now we have TOT, Stunt show and  Disney Stars n' Cars. It depends how you want to view it.

Surprise, surprise, yet again we disagree. More is not always better. Look at WDW, the resort that is in the worst condition of the Disney empire (or Paris for some things). Of course we enjoy the Studios, though really only 3 or 4 of the attractions are must do - in the same time DLP could have received the same number).

But we used to have longer hours, more entertainment, better maintenance, diverse quality offerings in the shops and restaurants. To me, Disney (in Florida and Paris, and to a lesser degree, California) has been in decline since just before Iger took the helm.

A friend of mine in the finance office in Paris has told me the resort has been doing very well, but for tax efficiencies, they are hardly ever going to officially make a profit. even if the place is maxed out with people spending 10 times more they are now.

The reality is some newbies love all the character synergies, and they are clueless about what Disney used to stand for. Or i am out of step with times changing, but I find it ironic that what wowed Walt about Tivoli Gardens for example was all the high quality free entertainment, and he therefore replicated that when he opened his park on July 17th, 1955. And that was a part of the standard offerings until the 00's. In California and Tokyo they still offer much in terms of live diverse entertainment, the others not so much. and do you know what my theory is? They can get away with it. Tokyo and California have a large vocal market of people that go regularly, notice these things and voice their opinions. WDW and DLP do not. They have lots of infrequent visitors, and people who sniff the pixie dust so hard, they can do no wrong in their eyes. There needs to be some accountability. And frankly, some investment.

I am not asking for an e-ticket every year (every 5 - 10 is actually fine by me). But new shows and streetmousphere should be a part of the core offering. Look at the quality difference and price of DLP vs. say Europa Park. Europa Park is not quite Disney standards, but they are much cheaper, and offer far more live entertainment with their attractions. Tivoli the same. And to be honest, our trip to the Alton Towers Splash Landings hotel recently offered better service, and the hotel was in a better state of repair than any and all the DLP hotels, and it was a fraction of the price.