When the Walt Disney Company launched its idea of creating a resort in 1987 in France, Europe, expectations were high and critics denounced it to be a useless try. However, figures show that Disneyland Paris attracts more people than ever since its opening in April, 1992 and that the resort recovered completely from a short slump in 2003. Restructuring plans have been implemented and new attractions have been installed in order to provide the magical character of Micky Mouse and his friends. Today, the whole resort consists of 14 hotels, more than 12,000 employees, 600,000m² for all the attractions and parks, and it counts yearly more than 12,5 million tourists. Additionally, special campaigns such as the current one called “Believe in Your Dreams” are organized steadily in order to allure visitors from all over the world.
The park itself offers a huge variety of attractions and there was even built a new area called the Walt Disney Studios Park in 2002. This novelty appeals to both adults and “older” children (~10 years) and it features various objects such as the Space Mountain Mission2, which simulates a travel through the universe. Furthermore, there are different reconstructed movie sets (like e.g. the Armageddon set), stuntshows, parades with all the Disney-Stars, discotheques and manifold restaurants. The original park with its characteristic Sleeping Beauty Castle in the center combines attractions for the young and the young at heart. On the one hand it amazes children with human-like puppets such as Micky Mouse, Donald Duck or Goofy, several carousels and parades during the day. Moreover, kids can even choose whether they want to have breakfast, lunch or dinner with one of their favorite characters. On the other hand it offers concerts, Wild West Shows and different decorated restaurants for adults at night. For leisure amusements, there is also a golf course nearby where visitors can improve their skills while their kids enjoy themselves in one of the five parks named Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland, Discoveryland or USA Main Street. All this is supposed to ensure the joy of the tourists and to spread the image of Walt Disney's main idea: The fact that dreams can become true if you strongly believe in them. The development of his company shows clearly the truth of this statement as nearly a century has passed since his first animated pictures in the 1920s and the different modern parks in the U.S. and in Europe.
Visitors can choose between various options how to go to Disneyland Paris. Among these options they can use the plane, busses, their own car or the popular French high-speed train TGV which has a stopover directly at the resort. However, due to the close capital Paris, it is also recommendable to stay outside of the park. Thus, visitors can enjoy the fascinating Parisian atmosphere after having spent an exciting day in the park or even spending a day off. Apartments vary from luxury ones to basic ones and will give the sojourn a slight French touch as one can live nearby famous districts such as the Champs Elysées. Providers like for instance www.all-paris-apartments.com will ease the search and visitors can concentrate on the main aim: enjoying some time within the family and getting touched by Disney's imaginative flair.
By Christian Papenmeyer
