New Hope for Walt Disney Studios Paris

Poor maligned Walt Disney Studios Paris! It's saddled with a poor layout, no real sense of focus, and most unfortunate of all, being right next door to the most beautiful Magic Kingdom ever created! As with many lesser projects, beautiful concept art can still be created by Imagineering, as this piece from Christian Hope shows. (Love the name, by the way.)

While Disneyland Paris is consistent in theme and execution, the Studios park is hit and miss: There's the gorgeously themed area surrounding Ratatouille right around the corner from the minimally themed Toy Story area. Then you've got the rather fun and cute Crush's Coaster - still an obvious box however- next to the carnival like attractions and landscapes of the rest of Toon Studios. (The simple little Cars area right next door to the Aladdin spinner!) 

Help is on the way in the form of Marvel. Or is it? Certainly the here and now landscapes of the Avengers does not lend itself to an interesting atmosphere. God forbid the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror changes to Guardians of the Galaxy! The building is found directly in the center of it all, the main focus of the park sight lines  But alas, we may be headed that way. Time will tell.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Walt Disney Studios Paris: The Little Park with an Identity Crisis

It's not for lack of trying. It's for lack of trying hard enough. With the truly incredible remake of Disney California Adventure, the woefully under built Walt Disney Studios Paris theme park is now the bastard child of sorts in the Disney theme park collection.

Following the Michael Eisner disaster era of post- EuroDisney / Disneyland Paris, build them on the cheap, this park continues to suffer from a poor beginning, desperation in expansion, an uncertain future, and the sheer misfortune of sitting next door to the most beautiful Magic Kingdom ever built. 

As with any Disney park, including the now lost Epcot, the disaster of Florida's own Studios park, or the beautiful but lacking Animal Kingdom, there are "nice" attractions to be found among the ruins of potential greatness.

Crush's Coaster is a fun-filled zippy excursion through the world of Nemo, but its big box exterior and less than fully executed interior still make it a second rate attraction. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is also fun but as its straddled with the same design as that found in California, by its very beginning it's far less than it could have been. Rock n Rollercoaster looks every bit as thrown together at the last moment as it was, yet, these three attractions do provide some thrills for those wanting more of an adrenaline rush than can be had at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad next door. 

Aside from a film based avant grade "sophisticated" theater show, the park's rounded out by a very sorry Studio Tram Tour and the kiddy amusement park rides of Toy Story Playland. It's certainly not a compelling mix- and faced with a one day only choice, a wise park goer would opt for the park next door. Nor does it make Disneyland Paris a destination resort.

Although, in the current Disney world where Trader Sam's Grog Grotto is better executed than the most current Walt Disney World attractions, perhaps the Imagineers have hit it out of the park by creating the Bistrot Chez Remy. This popular but pricey and very well themed restaurant, is the French equivalent to Be Our Guest in Florida's Magic Kingdom. As with the Grog Grotto, the Paris stop and Florida's Fantasyland eatery are attractions all their own, luring guests who have now forgotten Disney used to be in the attraction business long before it was in the restaurant one.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Disney Park Countdown- #8: The Walt Disney Studios Paris

This second Parisian Disney Park is in a class all by itself- and that is not a compliment!

The lack of world class, unique attractions, absence of good dining (in France!?!) and abysmal layout make this theme park the poorest excuse for one in the history of the Walt Disney Company. Clearly, the powers that be had to satisfy an agreement with the French government, so they did it as inexpensively as possible.The view from the entry gates looks somewhat intriguing, even promising. The looming Studio One building welcomes guests into a nighttime Hollywood. However it is themed as a set instead of trying to deliver a great recreation, thus leaving exposed steel, catwalks, and studio set pieces to create the magic. Like the Backlot at California Adventure at opening, it misses the mark and left me somewhat disappointed by what I would find there and elsewhere as I explored the Walt Disney Studios Paris.

Stepping outside the covered and enclosed entry area, it only gets worse. Our visit in 2007 meant the elaborate facades and small shops created around the soon-to-open Tower of Terror were still behind walls. In its place: a vast amount of ugly concrete with little attempt at landscaping, offering no warmth and an amazing lack of charm.

Things were slightly better as we approached Crush's Coaster. At least the big building housing the attraction was lightly themed, and the ride itself was a lot of fun. Even better, it showcased the first Audio-Animatronics in the park: the same set of birds found at Disneyland's renewed submarine voyage.

The mini Carsland, complete with spinner and small scale versions of the landmarks from Radiator Springs, brought some life, color, and fun into the drab surroundings, yet at the same time only emphasized the lack of it elsewhere.

To the lovers of the park, the unique attractions CineMagique and Animagique are must sees, but for us, we do not spend big bucks to sit in theaters and watch film (Soarin' Over California being the main exception). We tried to see the former but constantly missed the show times. The latter, apparently a blending of character and black light shows, was of no interest.

The Studio Tram Tour was on par with what is now in Florida, in other words, forgettable. Rock N Rollercoaster was happily equal in experience, but the standout attraction was the special effects show built around the Disney movie Armageddon. Here, finally, guests were immersed into the world of film making. It was a thrilling show, leaving us with a feeling on par with the old Magic Kingdom frightfest Alien Encounter.

Stopping for lunch meant heading back to Studio One for a strangely bland and overcooked burger. We shopped for a few souvenirs, buying only a small photo book, and quickly headed back to the gorgeous Disneyland Paris to finish the day.

The addition of Toy Story Play Land is a strange choice for a park trying to change its reputation and earn its place among Disney fans. Screaming "carnival", it will temporarily give families another reason to visit. Yet it won't bring us back. That may take the opening of the much rumored Ratatouille attraction, as it is one of my favorite Pixar movies. Then again, maybe not.

Next up at Position #7, a choice that may surprise you...

(Photos copyright Mark Taft.)

Rock and Rollercoaster's French Cousin

Poor Walt Disney Studios Paris! It opens to a collective thud with very few original attractions and a rehash of experiences from its older sibling in Florida. (Sounds amazingly similar to Disney's California Adventure 1.0, doesn't it?) While it meets the contractual obligations of the agreement with the French government, it disappoints fans by providing a lackluster theme park at the bottom of the Disney rung.

Rock N Rollercoaster is one of the very few attractions to be represented by renderings from the Imagineers. You may ask yourself why. I'd say if you saw the park before the recent additions of Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Crush's Coaster, and Cars Race Rally, you never would have had to ask. It was that bad.

Let's just hope Toy Story Playland turns out much better than the concept art!

(Concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company. Note: I found this on the now defunct DisneyCentury website.)

Le Traffic Jam

Until the recent transformations and additions, Walt Disney Studios Paris was the poorest excuse for a Disney theme park. There is still much work to do to completely transform this Ford Pinto into a Mercedes Benz, but this small attraction for children, featuring the lead characters from the Disney/Pixar hit Cars, was a good beginning.

In person, the Race Rally ride is very small, but it packs a good amount of visual punch in a park that lacks much charm. The next attraction to come was Crush's Coaster, another solid add. With minimal outdoor theming much in the vein of what was there when the park first opened, Crush succeeds because of its high fun factor (in addition to bringing the park its first audio animatronic character). Finally making its debut, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror brings the final punch before the next round of park improvements begin. This has been enough to bring in the crowds- and enough to convince Disney that this park can change from the lemon it once was.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Paris Side Trip to The Walt Disney Studios

Visiting the Walt Disney Studios Paris was on day two of our agenda to this resort, and we allotted only half a day. More than enough! It goes without saying that this park suffers from sitting next door to the most beautiful Magic Kingdom ever created. I won't lie and say we didn't enjoy a few items during our visit, but we promptly returned to its older sister after a few hours. Here is a quick review- befitting a park that was thrown together quickly as well!

Crush's Coaster is one of the few small gems to be found here. Simply said: the coaster is just fun! The theming is minimal on the ride itself, but the track is laid out in such a way to evoke a good amount of laughs. The indoor queue sets the mood for what lies ahead. It's fairly basic, on par with an old "C" ticket attraction as in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Nothing special but it does set the pace. The line is understandably long for this attraction and was our first ride of the day.

From a firsthand look, the newest attractions from Cars are smaller than they seem from viewing them in photos. Very cute, highly detailed, but disappointing in scope. It does provide a very small taste of what California Adventure's Carsland will look like. Hopefully grander and more fully realized- as this extreme makeover will be the park's last chance at gaining a new reputation and at capturing the visitor dollar!

The newest additions to the park are the most highly themed of the attractions. It is almost as if Disney discovered that its guests like themed environments after all. This 180 in terms of detail is most welcome at this bare bones park, however, it also makes the Studios shortcomings more obvious than ever. Damned if you do, damned if you don't, I guess.

Many attractions are repeats from Florida, but Tower of Terror was not yet open- and was really needed. The real highlight of the few hours we spent were the original attractions- especially the effects-laden Armageddon. The tram tour, stage shows, and even Rock 'N' Rollercoaster had an overcast of cookie cutter boredom, as if Disney's Imagineers were themselves disinterested designing these attractions. Add to this, big box architecture, lack of greenery, and vast expanses of concrete. Not a winning combination.

We will not return to the Studios next trip- at least not until there are more unique attractions to be found- but we will certainly make a stop in the neighboring park and take one day out of our Paris visit. This Magic Kingdom continues to be magical but also badly needs new and original attractions. Hopefully, Disney is hearing this message from its theme park fans... and listening.

(Photographs copyright Mark Taft.)