Thousands sign petition claiming Disneyland Paris is falling apart

[Aurora]

From the UK's Daily Mail:

Broken-down rides, reheated food and cancelled shows: Thousands of people across Britain and Europe sign petition against Disneyland Paris amid claims it's 'literally falling apart'
More than 5,000 people, including hundreds of Brits, have signed the petition, titled 'Save Disneyland Paris'
It says the resort has been 'seriously damaged' and is 'literally falling apart'
It comes amid complaints of broken rides, reheated food and no stage shows
The document has been sent to Bob Iger, Walt Disney's chief executive
The magical kingdom was opened in France in April 1992
By SOPHIE JANE EVANS
PUBLISHED: 06:47 EST, 14 September 2013 | UPDATED: 10:45 EST, 15 September 2013

It is a magical kingdom that has brought joy to millions of families throughout the world.

But now, a 5,000-strong petition has been launched against Disneyland Paris, claiming the popular holiday resort has been 'seriously damaged' and is 'literally falling apart'.

It comes amid complaints about reheated food, broken rides and cancelled stage shows.

Hundreds of Brits have shown their support for the petition, which has 5,147 signatures so far.
The document demands higher standards at the kingdom, which it claims is not living up to the 'Disney' standard.

It has been addressed to Bob Iger, chief executive of the California-based Walt Disney Company, which owns 39.8 per cent of the French resort.

'The upkeep of parks, attractions and hotels has been neglected so often during the past 20 years that many facilities are not "Disney standard",' it reads.

'Many themed elements are decaying and crumbling, while others are literally falling apart.'

Jake Howarth, from London, was one of the Brits to sign the petition. He said: 'I have long been a visitor to Disneyland Paris, and over the last few years have sadly seen a decline in a number of things, all of which have been mentioned in the petition.

'What strikes me about all of the Disney resorts I have visited is that, no matter where people are from, the one thing that remains the same world over is the Disney magic.

'Therefore, I feel it is unfair that Disneyland Paris has been allowed to decline so sadly, and its visitors are allowed to experience what I believe is now an inferior experience.'

Tim Nightingale from Chatteris in Fenland, Cambridgeshire, added: 'I expect value for money and having stayed there a number of time, I feel the value has dropped with each subsequent visit.'

The petition, which was sent to Mr Iger earlier this week, was started by Belgian theme park enthusiast Guillaume Gallant, who claims he was disappointed by his latest visit to the park.
He told The Independent he was shocked to discover four of the shows had been cancelled, two attractions were closed and a high number of rides kept breaking down.

He also claimed that food in one of the resort's most expensive restaurants appeared to have been re-heated.

'We received our dishes in less than five minutes which is obviously too short a time for our food to have been cooked after we ordered,” said Mr Gallant.

The petition, which has been translated into six languages, claims the park's fast food outlets are steep in price and cannot compete with other nearby restaurants, such as McDonald's.
It also highlights the 'early' closing times of the resort's restaurants.

'When Disneyland Park closes at 11pm, you would expect to be able to have a nice evening dinner, not to discover the restaurant closed at 7.30pm,' it reads.

'These short opening hours make it impossible to book a meal for later in the day - you either have to plan ahead or settle for counter service offerings in Disneyland Park or Disney Village.'

It also acknowledges the number of stage shows that have been cancelled due to budget cuts.
These include The Tarzan Encounter show at the Chaparral Theater, The Legend of the Lion King show at Videopolis and the iconic night-time parade, Disney's Fantillusion!

Disneyland Paris, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, has long been considered Europe's number one tourist destination.

Despite a rocky beginning - seeing low visitor numbers and financial problems - the park went from strength to strength and now houses five themed lands, featuring 49 attractions.

Last year, it saw a record 16 million people go through its ornate iron gates - giving it nearly as many visitors as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre combined.

However, it has always been considered a poorer imitation of its sister resort in Florida, which has three times more parks and considerably better weather.

The petition, which claims the park's quality has been sacrificed in a bid to boost attendance figures and reduce costs, is another blow for Disneyland Paris, which has recently been the subject of much controversy.

Earlier this year, Euro Disney, the company that runs Disneyland Paris, and two former gendarmes were fined 150,000 euros for using spying tactics on candidates applying for jobs at the theme park.

And last year, an array of the park's cartoon characters went on strike over low wages.

Disneyland Paris was unavailable for comment.

[Scar]

Thousands of people across Britain and Europe ...

Isn't Britain still in Europe?

[Ms. Mode]

You know, this just sounds like sour grapes. It's like they are upset the park is closing early so they are going to complain. The parks close early in Florida at times too. Get over it...or vacation somewhere else.

[goofyskier]

"You know, this just sounds like sour grapes. It's like they are upset the park is closing early so they are going to complain. The parks close early in Florida at times too. Get over it...or vacation somewhere else."

I would be more inclined to believe this if only 500 people signed the petition not 5000. Seems like a large number to me.

[DisneyDINK]

“Well, I think by this time my staff are convinced that Walt is right. That quality will win out. And so I think they’re going to stay with that policy because it’s proved that it’s a good business policy. Give the people everything you can give them. Keep the place as clean as you can keep it. Keep it friendly, you know. Make it a real fun place to be. I think they’re convinced and I think they’ll hang on after… as you say… well… after Disney.” - Walt Disney

[AndrewJackson]

“Well, I think by this time my staff are convinced that Walt is right. That quality will win out. And so I think they’re going to stay with that policy because it’s proved that it’s a good business policy. Give the people everything you can give them. Keep the place as clean as you can keep it. Keep it friendly, you know. Make it a real fun place to be. I think they’re convinced and I think they’ll hang on after… as you say… well… after Disney.” - Walt Disney

[Aurora]

Isn't Britain still in Europe?

It's a British newspaper; that's probably why they wrote the headline that way.

You know, this just sounds like sour grapes. It's like they are upset the park is closing early so they are going to complain. The parks close early in Florida at times too. Get over it...or vacation somewhere else.

I didn't link to the article, but with it there's an embedded video that shows a small chunk of their Space Mountain building missing.

[Arielfan98]

Such a shame. I sure hope Disneyland Paris picks up again soon.

[Opus X]

Isn't Britain still in Europe?

NO....thats blasphemy!!
I was stationed in England for 2 years....It is NOT Europe. It is......Britain.
Thats one of many reasons the dont use the Euro for money....they use the pound.
Sadly, only many of Us Americans confuse Britain (U.K.) for Europe. No other part of the world does.
I loved the U.K.!!
Call a Scottish person or someone from Wales/England or even Ireland. "European"
You'll get a strange look and a lecture.
I did....I also learned real fast.....its not Europe.
Its kinda like Brazilians saying they are also "Americans" due to them being in South America.
Of course we all know....Americans are United States people....Its a very tough thing for me to explain....all the maps say U.K. is in Europe...and we are tought that in school.
But, It kinda isn't...its one of those things...you have to live there to "get".

[Opus X]

Note...my best friend...just went to Disneyland Paris!
He loved it. Never encountered any of the issues mentioned.
And, he said..it was beautiful...the whole park is like one big fantasyland.

[Awesome_guy]

After being there in the summer of '12 and my sister just returning from her honeymoon there in '13, I have to defend some of what DLP has to offer as it gets caught in the middle of what's offered here in North America (at Disney parks) and there in Europe (at non Disney parks).

Yes, some of the standards are definitely different. I'm not suggesting reheated food and chunks of buildings missing are all fine and good but it really is just different.

On site hotel prices are OUTRAGEOUS there. I'd petition that. Being able to see Fantillusion and knowing it wasn't there this summer was tough. And it did seem a bit strange that their 20th Anniversary castle show (amazing) became a 20th Anniversary titled 20th/21st.

If anyone is there ..... go. I think people gripe at what's there and seems like American culture "taking over" and some people gripe at what's at the American counterparts and absent there. There are some really unique aspects at DLP and there does seem to be some investment with Ratatouille coming to their DS.

Some aspects are so beautiful and well kept but the whole notion of overarching magic and some of the wink-wink-nudge-nudge parts to attractions and shows don't have quite the same effect. I think the park has had some real overhauls and evolutions since the inception and maybe it takes 25 years to to find the real fit.

Interesting work they're doing on the upcoming neighbouring "green" park, too.

[Awesome_guy]

*Les Villages Nature (the green park mentioned in my post above) ... based on the "search for harmony between man and nature". A partnership project.

[BrerGnat]

Isn't Disneyland Paris in really serious financial trouble these days? I thought it was bankrupt, or close to it. Didn't the Disney Co. just pull the plug on all future developments over there because of it?

What is this petition trying to accomplish? Disney already KNOWS this park is in major trouble.

[TheVBs]

That's a shame. If there are major issues there I hope they start addressing them. Good for all those people who signed the petition! Nothing changes if you don't try.

And, Opus is correct. Britain/UK is not Europe.

[disneynarula]

It's not "sour grapes." We have been there and I agree with the orginal opinion. At least four major attractions were broken when we went to DLP. There is not anywhere close to the Disney Magic, as far as castmembers. We did both the parks in two days and had trouble finding things to fill the four days we were there.

Our hotel room (Davy Crockett Cabin) was easily the worst maintained hotel room I have ever stayed in.

It was also crazy expensive compared to the US parks. Now, I know it's Europe, and everything is more expensive but the prices are out of control compared to what you get in the US parks. I was so dissapointed and my son kept asking when we were going to go to the "real disneyworld"

We got a great deal on our DLP vacation a few years ago (less than $400) and I thought we would take the kids again this past Fall. The price for a three night vacation was almost the same as a ten day vacation at WDW in Orlando. We had free airline tickets back to the USA thanks to DHs work so we went to Florida instead.

DLP does give some discounts that are decent but they are usually for UK residents only, never for American guests. However, Disney Parks in the USA often have pretty decent deals for UK residents as well.

Why do you think you see so many Europeans in Orlando? It's a much better bang for the buck (or Euro, or pound) Unless there is some better quality control or drop in prices I would never go there again. There are so many other worthwhile places to go in Europe that cost less.

[MNNHFLTX]

NO....thats blasphemy!!
I was stationed in England for 2 years....It is NOT Europe. It is......Britain.
Thats one of many reasons the dont use the Euro for money....they use the pound.
Sadly, only many of Us Americans confuse Britain (U.K.) for Europe. No other part of the world does.
I loved the U.K.!!
Call a Scottish person or someone from Wales/England or even Ireland. "European"
You'll get a strange look and a lecture.
I did....I also learned real fast.....its not Europe.
Its kinda like Brazilians saying they are also "Americans" due to them being in South America.
Of course we all know....Americans are United States people....Its a very tough thing for me to explain....all the maps say U.K. is in Europe...and we are tought that in school.
But, It kinda isn't...its one of those things...you have to live there to "get".

Been to the UK a few times and feel the need to put my two-cents in. U.K. isn't "in" mainland Europe, but is part of the continent of Europe, so technically it is a part of Europe. And they are a part of the European Union (right now, anyway), but voted to retain their own currency, unlike the other EU countries. That said, I know that many folks in the U.K. (including some of my friends over there) will agree that they don't like to be called European. You can break it down even more--England, Wales and Scotland are a part of Great Britain, but the Scottish and Welsh generally do not like to be called British. All a matter of national pride.

As far as Disneyland Paris, my family was just there in May and we loved it. No rides were down, I didn't see any chunks missing from the Space Mountain building there (although maybe I just didn't know what to look for), the landscaping was lovely and the cast members fairly friendly. I do agree that the on-site resort accommodations are astronomically priced but that includes park tickets and breakfast. And yes, people from the U.K. and the European countries do get much better deals than we poor Americans do! However, complaints about restaurant times, resort prices, even canclled shows rings a little hollow to me--all this information is readily available up front and if the average DLP traveler does not want to frequent the parcs because of it, then that is their prerogative (that sounds familiar, doesn't it?)

[VWL Mom]

However, complaints about restaurant times, resort prices, even canclled shows rings a little hollow to me--all this information is readily available up front and if the average DLP traveler does not want to frequent the parcs because of it, then that is their prerogative (that sounds familiar, doesn't it?)

I'm still trying to figure out "demands" being sent at all, who are they to demand anything? As Beth said, don't like it, don't go!

[NJDad]

Guess the reason you write a petition instead of just 'not going' is that you alert the corporation the reason that you're not going, instead of them just thinking their ads aren't working well enough or blaming some other factor if a park is struggling.

Plus the bad publicity may help them decide to make it something Walt would have been proud of.

[VWL Mom]

Also curious why they would send it to Euro Disney? The Walt Disney Co is a minority stockholder, Euro Disney is the owner/operator.

[MNNHFLTX]

Guess the reason you write a petition instead of just 'not going' is that you alert the corporation the reason that you're not going, instead of them just thinking their ads aren't working well enough or blaming some other factor if a park is struggling.

See, the trouble with that is that people are still going, in droves. I think attendance figures are actually up in recent years. People are even sacrificing to stay at the high-priced resorts on-property. When I was researching where to stay, I really (really) wanted to stay on-site--I almost always stay on-site at the Disney properties in the U.S. But when I looked at pictures, descriptions and reviews of the resorts, I just couldn't justify the cost, even for a couple of days. That's pretty significant, coming from me. Anyway, I think the whole petition idea is kind of lame, unless people are willing to back it up with their $$$ (or lack thereof). I'm sure the EuroDisney people already have a handle on the issues at stake here, but won't make any changes unless they have to because of attendance/resort days being down.