Latest / The Worst: Beyond the Magic / Disneyland Paris Chooses Violence — Part Un: Rides, Parks & a Dragon Under the Castle

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Disneyland Paris Chooses Violence — Part Un: Rides, Parks & a Dragon Under the Castle · The Worst: Beyond the Magic

0:00
SPEAKER_00: We get it.
0:00
SPEAKER_00: I thought I knew Disney rides.
0:01
SPEAKER_00: Then Disneyland Paris basically said that's adorable.
0:04
SPEAKER_00: Hang on.
0:05
SPEAKER_00: Indiana Jones, legit.
0:07
SPEAKER_00: Hyperspace Mountain, crazy fast.
0:09
SPEAKER_00: Big Thunder, tame by Paris standards, but still goes for it.
0:13
SPEAKER_00: Phantom Manor, dark as hell, and my favorite.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: Pirates, darker and creepier.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: There's a giant freaking dragon living underneath the castle.
0:21
SPEAKER_00: Tower of Terror doesn't waste time.
0:23
SPEAKER_00: Spooky animation, and then drop, and then two more drops.
0:27
SPEAKER_00: I think there's more than the ones in the States.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: Paris is not afraid.
0:31
SPEAKER_00: Jamie, you've been here.
0:32
SPEAKER_00: Am I exaggerating, or do the French imagineers seem significantly more comfortable frightening children?
0:38
SPEAKER_01: No, I think this is more an adult park, and we're going to talk all about it on today's episode.
0:42
SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to The Works Beyond the Magic.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: All right, my friend, I'm excited about this one.
0:50
SPEAKER_00: We had a great trip.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: Um it was really awesome.
0:52
SPEAKER_00: And I think people get a lot out of this one.
0:54
SPEAKER_00: And I'm I'm I'm anxious to compare notes with you and your trip because you know I did it better.
1:02
SPEAKER_01: Obviously.
1:03
SPEAKER_01: For the record, I did it first two years ago, and then you just went and got back.
1:08
SPEAKER_01: First of all, welcome back.
1:10
SPEAKER_01: And thank you for remembering that you have a podcast, by the way.
1:13
SPEAKER_01: I'm glad I'm glad.
1:14
SPEAKER_01: I'm glad that you're back.
1:16
SPEAKER_01: Uh one of my co-hosts, uh, while you're in your absence, she's a lot prettier than you are, and I think she's I think she's better at this than you are.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: So you have a little bit of competition.
1:25
SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna lie.
1:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's true.
1:27
SPEAKER_01: My goldfish love me though, so I've got that going for me.
1:30
SPEAKER_01: I can either confirm or deny that the listening numbers dropped while you were gone or not.
1:34
SPEAKER_01: I just, you know, I don't want to blow your head up too big, but anyway, we're here to talk about Disneyland Paris.
1:42
SPEAKER_01: Let's do it, man.
1:43
SPEAKER_00: So let's talk first about how we got there.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: So this is amazing.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: If you can navigate Florida's buses and transit to get to the parks, you can definitely get from the airport into Paris and into Disneyland Paris.
1:59
SPEAKER_00: I actually think it's a bonus to be able to get into Paris.
2:02
SPEAKER_00: Did you spend any time in Paris proper before you went or after you went?
2:06
SPEAKER_01: We did.
2:07
SPEAKER_01: So we did five days, it was part of a two-part series.
2:10
SPEAKER_01: We did five days in London and then we did five days in Paris.
2:13
SPEAKER_01: So all together Europe in ten days.
2:15
SPEAKER_01: Uh, when we stayed in Paris, I stayed off property, which I know you're not going to compare notes on that for just a sec, because you stayed on property because you're bougie AF.
2:26
SPEAKER_01: We got to Paris in a private car that morning.
2:29
SPEAKER_01: The only reason we got to Disneyland, Paris in a private car is because I had a two-year-old at the time, and she we left super early in the morning and she was still asleep, and I didn't want to try and navigate the rail system with a cranky, tired, sleepy two-year-old in a stroller in a in a train car full of strangers.
2:47
SPEAKER_01: That being said, every other time I think the train is a fantastic option.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: So we spent a couple days in Paris just enjoying.
2:54
SPEAKER_00: We did the tour stuff, we did the Eiffel Tower, went to Notre Dame, just to say we had done the Paris stuff, but of course the main event was Disneyland Paris.
3:01
SPEAKER_00: Um so what we did is we got our suitcases and we took the RER right out of Paris, and you can find that.
3:09
SPEAKER_00: It's easy to get onto.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: We had a big old suitcase full of all kinds of stuff.
3:13
SPEAKER_00: And so we got on the RER and it was, I think it was about 35, 40 minutes, and it drops you off literally right at Disney.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: So you got on the RERA and headed towards Marne La Valley, Chessy.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure I've made a mess of that name, but just think Chessie.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: I mean it's terrible.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: I could say thanks.
3:30
SPEAKER_00: That's about it.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: And the the last stop on that train is Disneyland Paris.
3:34
SPEAKER_00: So I mean it's super easy.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: 30, 30, 35, 40 minutes for Paris.
3:37
SPEAKER_00: And uh so we got there, we stayed right on property, which was the right answer versus staying off property because you you are you're entering the Disney bubble, which as we've talked about in the past uh podcast is important.
3:49
SPEAKER_00: You know, we've been traveling around Paris and riding the train and taking Ubers and stuff, but I was excited to be back in the Disney bubble, protected.
3:56
SPEAKER_00: While France doesn't protect me as well as uh Disney World does, it's still very much like California.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: So what we're where the difference is, you know, we stayed, there's like a row of hotels that are in between the parks, and it's maybe a 10 to 15 minute walk, just depending on how fish you're going.
4:13
SPEAKER_00: You get off the train, you go through their version of um Disney Springs or downtown Disney.
4:18
SPEAKER_00: What is it?
4:18
SPEAKER_00: What are we calling it now?
4:19
SPEAKER_00: Downtown Disney, Disney Springs, all the above.
4:21
SPEAKER_01: I don't know what they call it, but it's a as you are you are definitely the worst.
4:25
SPEAKER_01: It's essentially the same thing as Disney Springs or downtown Disney in in Disneyland, California.
4:30
SPEAKER_01: It's basically a bunch of Americanized restaurants that they have.
4:33
SPEAKER_01: They have a couple English clubs.
4:36
SPEAKER_01: They got the Earl of Sandwich there.
4:38
SPEAKER_01: They do.
4:38
SPEAKER_01: They're trying to disguise French food into American food, and it's not it's it's they do that on our behalf, and it really I'd rather them just serve French food.
4:47
SPEAKER_00: 100%.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: 100%.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: But we you walk through there and it's uh it's a short walk.
4:51
SPEAKER_00: We stayed at Sequoia, and I will tell you that I transferred some of my DVC Disney Vacation Club points to the Sequoia.
4:59
SPEAKER_00: So we we stayed two nights there.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: Um it's a great hotel.
5:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, it just it feels a little dated, uh, which is not really a bad thing.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: It kind of feels like Uncle Buck and you're you're traveling with your family and you're staying at the lodge, and the moose out front should have told you that the rooms were from the 80s, you know.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: But but I mean it was great.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: I you know, no complaints, the rooms were pretty big, um, the service was was decent.
5:23
SPEAKER_00: We'll get into Paris vers service versus uh the American service here in a little bit, but uh stayed right there on property.
5:29
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's the key because when we'll get into the discussion of the extra magic hours, like it's huge.
5:34
SPEAKER_00: When I when I first got there, I was like, okay, this is gonna be a bad experience from the last time I went.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: But once we figured we took about 10 minutes to figure things out, and you know, if those listening, if they're listening to you and I talk about this, they should be able to navigate pretty Paris pretty easily.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: But that's it, man.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: From Paris, R-E-R-A, near heading towards Cheesy, and then stay on property.
5:56
SPEAKER_00: How far away were you when you stayed off?
5:58
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we were in the sixth.
6:00
SPEAKER_01: What part of town were you in?
6:02
SPEAKER_01: Do you remember what what uh what number you stayed in?
6:04
SPEAKER_01: You don't know.
6:05
SPEAKER_01: Again, you're the worst.
6:06
SPEAKER_01: We were near the worst.
6:08
SPEAKER_01: For those who don't know, Paris is shaped like a snail's shell.
6:12
SPEAKER_01: All right.
6:13
SPEAKER_01: So in the very center of that sna that shell is this is this the Paris city center.
6:19
SPEAKER_01: And if you go counterclockwise or clockwise rather, around around that's that's that snail shell, then goes sequential numbers.
6:27
SPEAKER_01: So one, two, three, four, five, six, right, and so on, so forth.
6:30
SPEAKER_01: So the further away, the larger your number, the farther away you are from the city center.
6:34
SPEAKER_01: That's how they refer to the neighborhoods there.
6:36
SPEAKER_01: Again, we didn't we took the train everywhere, just not the morning of uh the day that we did Disneyland Paris.
6:41
SPEAKER_01: And I, like you, did Disneyland Paris uh both parks in one day.
6:46
SPEAKER_01: I think that's super durable, doable to do.
6:48
SPEAKER_01: What do you think?
6:49
SPEAKER_01: 100%.
6:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
6:50
SPEAKER_00: Well, uh, you know, we stayed when we first got there.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: I think we stayed in one.
6:54
SPEAKER_00: We could look out the window.
6:55
SPEAKER_00: To my left, I could see the Arc to Triumph, and to my right, I could see the Eiffel Tower.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: And so when we left the the Airbnb, which was about the size of a mud room, but it was fantastic.
7:06
SPEAKER_00: We uh, you know, we climbed down the five flights of stairs and we were out right in the middle of the city into the cafes and stuff.
7:13
SPEAKER_00: It was it was brilliant.
7:14
SPEAKER_00: First impression.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: I gotta I gotta tell you, I mean, when I first got there, and I don't know what uh time you got in, but we took the train, so we got there in the afternoon because we wanted to do a little bit of like head start and get a couple things knocked out.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: But we arrived at Main Street and it was absolutely mobbed.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: And my immediate thought is, what have we done?
7:32
SPEAKER_00: And it turns out we walked in shortly before the big parade.
7:35
SPEAKER_00: So we basically arrived at the worst possible crowd moment, and and I was getting a little anxious trying to get in there.
7:41
SPEAKER_00: I was like, oh man, I don't know that we're gonna be able to deal with this thing.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: But we did the irresponsible adult Disney thing, and we bought some champagne, champagne flutes in Disneyland.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure you've seen them all people you know that watch Disney stuff have seen them all over the internet.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: They come in these really nice Disneyland flutes, and then I was like, we need to get the hell off Main Street.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: But here's the strange part the after that initial this place is impossibly crowded moment, the the trip was relatively easy.
8:05
SPEAKER_00: We did both parks, like you said, in a day and a half, went back to Sequoia Lodge several times, took breaks, and never really felt like we were killing ourselves to accomplish it.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: So, did you have the same crowd experience?
8:16
SPEAKER_00: Did Paris look more crowded than it's actually functions?
8:20
SPEAKER_01: So we, because we were off property, we roof dropped.
8:24
SPEAKER_01: So I got there super early in the morning and we lined up in just like you would at Hollywood Studios or anywhere just outside the park.
8:29
SPEAKER_01: And then you know there's there's the American way to rope drop, and then there's very clearly the the wrong way to rope drop anything in Europe.
8:39
SPEAKER_01: Turns out Europeans don't care like we care, and with there was basically everyone was behind us.
8:46
SPEAKER_01: Um and when we got when we got through those gates, it wasn't a mad dash, it wasn't everything, everything is is much calmer and everything slowed down.
8:55
SPEAKER_01: And I did I didn't have that same experience.
8:57
SPEAKER_01: We had it right down Main Street and we got to see the the castle right away, which is like breathtakingly beautiful.
9:04
SPEAKER_01: It beats Disneyland, it beat it beats ours in Disney World.
9:07
SPEAKER_01: But uh no, a little we had a little bit of different uh experience than that.
9:11
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk for just a second about your on property versus off property.
9:16
SPEAKER_01: What are you getting if you stay on property versus off property just to back up a tiny bit?
9:20
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
9:21
SPEAKER_01: You you mentioned extra magic time.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
9:25
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that was probably my biggest practical recommendation out of this whole podcast is you know, you're talking about rope drop, which is great, but if you're already there, you don't have to fight traffic, you don't have to fight uh and there is traffic in Paris, and you don't have to, you know, deal with the trains and everything, the extra magic hours are totally worth it.
9:41
SPEAKER_00: You get that same thing you were just talking about.
9:44
SPEAKER_00: You we made it even before you, so you get that quintessential walk up Main Street without the insanity.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: Like the other the day before, I was like, this is not gonna be any good.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: But we we finally got that moment the next morning, and you're you know, just like you said, man, that castle, like you got the gorgeous pink sky behind it, and um, regardless of how many Disney parks you visited, that first castle moment still still slaps.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: It's so yeah.
10:07
SPEAKER_00: That sticks with you.
10:09
SPEAKER_00: It does, it definitely does.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: So you gotta use that hotel advantage and get up and get in there early.
10:13
SPEAKER_00: I think that was the key to and you can do both parks, like we said earlier, but I think staying at on property, it really gave us that chance to like get a head start, get through all those rides, um, and really kind of enjoy the day and and not feel like like we're rushing and do too many extra steps.
10:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think I think that's if I were to go back again and I hope that we do, I want to do what you did and I want to stay on property.
10:36
SPEAKER_01: Not that staying off property was a bad thing at all, it's just a different experience, like you're saying.
10:41
SPEAKER_01: That's all.
10:41
SPEAKER_00: Here here's an here's another thing, since you mentioned that I'm bougie, is we did the club level at Sequoia.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: And so it's a little bit different than the club level.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: Of course.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: But of course, uh-huh.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: It's a little different than the uh club level in the States.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: We got free breakfast out of the deal, and then we got um like snacks and tea.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: I didn't drink the tea, but they call it tea.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: But they had all these snacks and stuff that you could get during the day.
11:07
SPEAKER_00: And the little, you know, crudete.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: They were French, and I I like them.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: And you were you were suddenly French when you ate them.
11:15
SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
11:16
SPEAKER_00: I sure was, man.
11:17
SPEAKER_01: We apologize for our terrible impressions of French accents and whatnot ahead of time, but this is what you get with us.
11:23
SPEAKER_01: I don't think you're gonna find that anywhere at any other Disney podcast.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: We're definitely gonna offend some French people on this podcast today.
11:28
SPEAKER_01: Or I know I don't know if we have any that listen.
11:31
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
11:31
SPEAKER_01: We got we got listeners all over the world, but I don't think France is one of them yet.
11:34
SPEAKER_01: Definitely not now.
11:36
SPEAKER_01: One of the things that's included with your on-property stay is park tickets.
11:39
SPEAKER_01: So you did DBC, which not everybody has, but if you were to do stay on property, they'll include your park tickets as a part of your on-property stay as a package deal, just like what we would do for a client wanting to go to Walt Disney World or Disneyland, right?
11:54
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
11:56
SPEAKER_01: One other thing that they do offer that Disneyland Paris does offer is they offer transportation directly to the park from Charles de Gaulle.
12:03
SPEAKER_01: Pete and I both stayed in Paris, you know, ahead of the time that we so we stayed in the city center before going to Disneyland Paris, so that wasn't part of our deal.
12:11
SPEAKER_01: But if you would rather just fly into Charles de Gaulle and then take Disney transportation, just like we used to have the Magical Express here in Orlando, which I totally miss by the way, and I wish that they would bring that back.
12:21
SPEAKER_01: Uh, you can do that with Disneyland Paris.
12:23
SPEAKER_01: So to pick you up on a bus, get your luggage, and take you directly to the park directly to your on-property hotel, just like what we used to do here.
12:29
SPEAKER_01: So one other perk to stay in on property.
12:32
SPEAKER_01: All right, that's it.
12:32
SPEAKER_01: I'm done talking about on property benefits.
12:35
SPEAKER_01: It's your show.
12:36
SPEAKER_01: Let's hear it.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: No, man, I think that's important.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: And uh I I'll I'll repeat over again.
12:41
SPEAKER_00: They have the bougie hotel, and then they've got so like the New York one is kind of the bougie hotel.
12:47
SPEAKER_00: And then they have one that is like the Sequoia is a little bit more easier to afford.
12:52
SPEAKER_00: That's why we got the club level.
12:54
SPEAKER_00: But uh, you're absolutely right, though.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: It for the for packages stuff, especially if you're gonna call us an ass, there there are some packages that we can get you that include everything.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: Well, let's get into it, man.
13:02
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm well, this is where I'm super excited.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: You know, I got my first impression, and then we're gonna talk about the rides first.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they legit chose violence.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: I mean, let's compare attractions that Americans think that they already know, right?
13:15
SPEAKER_00: So Hyperspace Mountain, this isn't Florida Space Mountain with French wallpaper.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: Oh no, it goes.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: Oh, definitely not.
13:21
SPEAKER_00: It it moves.
13:22
SPEAKER_00: You take off.
13:24
SPEAKER_00: One of the reasons we went back to the Sequoia was so that I could go get some of Brianna's emotion pills.
13:30
SPEAKER_00: So you could like drink some more champagne and feel better.
13:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Paris does not care.
13:35
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:36
SPEAKER_00: And then Indiana Jones, man, you gotta talk about that.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: Amazing again, but apparently, apparently Paris has no interest in protecting you from yourself.
13:45
SPEAKER_00: That thing went upside down too.
13:47
SPEAKER_00: I had no idea.
13:47
SPEAKER_00: I was like just do-do-do, and then all of a sudden I'm upside down, I'm screeching through this rickety railroad.
13:52
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh man, I'm in trouble.
13:55
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
13:55
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a good I it's not as like in-depth and like showstopper like what's in Disneyland, right?
14:01
SPEAKER_01: With uh with Indian's and what's coming to uh Animal Kingdom here in Disney World.
14:06
SPEAKER_01: But no, it it's it's a lot shorter and it is way more violent than anything that we have in the States.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: And it's hard to get to Big Thunder Mountain, and it almost feels tame compared to some of the other rides, but it still goes for it.
14:23
SPEAKER_00: It's still even more than Big Thunder Mountain back home.
14:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, one I one I really liked, I think you're gonna get to it here next, is their version of the Haunted Mansion.
14:32
SPEAKER_01: And they they have an Phantom Manor.
14:34
SPEAKER_01: There you go.
14:35
SPEAKER_01: They cause it a different name, right?
14:37
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they're not afraid to be legitimately creepy.
14:41
SPEAKER_00: Like Disney in the US often seems conscious of where the family scary line is, right?
14:46
SPEAKER_00: But Paris occasionally looks at that line and keeps on walking.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: I mean, the whole story about the Phantom Manor is uh like it has a storyline.
14:55
SPEAKER_00: You know, a Phantom Manor is kind of goofy.
14:57
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, there's 199 ghosts and save room for you, they get in the doom buggies and everything.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: But this legitimately has a woman that was murdered and it was in the the skeletons in the in the ride, it's a little bit more dark, a little bit more scary.
15:11
SPEAKER_00: It's definitely not something that your five-year-old's gonna be like, hee hee, they're gonna be crying because Paris does not care.
15:17
SPEAKER_00: Uh I'm gonna agree more.
15:18
SPEAKER_01: Remind me, I think where Big Thunder Mountain is is kind of you have to take either a a footbridge to get to it, or it's kind of off on an island by itself.
15:28
SPEAKER_01: Is that right?
15:29
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
15:30
SPEAKER_01: Okay, good.
15:30
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so I've got the right park in mind.
15:32
SPEAKER_01: I confused.
15:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it's gorgeous.
15:34
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's so pretty.
15:35
SPEAKER_01: Uh California's what we have.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: 100%.
15:40
SPEAKER_00: And you mentioned the dragon man.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: I mean, because apparently putting a massive dragon underneath Sleeping Beauty's castle was a perfectly reasonable decision for Paris.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna tell you, I love it.
15:50
SPEAKER_00: Where where's our dragon?
15:52
SPEAKER_01: We need we need a dragon.
15:54
SPEAKER_01: It's a castle.
15:55
SPEAKER_01: It's supposed to have a dragon.
15:56
SPEAKER_01: It's supposed to have a dragon.
15:57
SPEAKER_01: 100%.
15:58
SPEAKER_01: So you just said it just a second ago.
15:59
SPEAKER_01: The castle belongs to who?
16:01
SPEAKER_01: Just so everybody knows.
16:02
SPEAKER_01: Sleeping Beauty.
16:03
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:03
SPEAKER_01: Sleeping Beauty's Castle.
16:05
SPEAKER_01: So in Aurora, Disney Walt Disney World, it's Cinderella Castle.
16:10
SPEAKER_01: In Disneyland, you're gonna catch me lying on this one.
16:13
SPEAKER_01: I can't remember offhand right now who it belongs to, but it's it's neither of those two.
16:17
SPEAKER_01: No.
16:18
SPEAKER_02: So this is why we're the worst.
16:21
SPEAKER_01: I I know.
16:22
SPEAKER_01: I know that's why they're uh that's why people listen.
16:25
SPEAKER_01: Alright, keep going.
16:26
SPEAKER_01: What do you do next?
16:28
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: So uh the Tower of Terror.
16:31
SPEAKER_00: Tower of Terror gets right into it.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: It's it's spooky animation, there's very little negotiation, and then drop, and then drop again.
16:40
SPEAKER_00: Paris is not afraid.
16:41
SPEAKER_00: They do not care.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: I think there's two drops.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: I think there's two drops on the Tower of Terror in uh California and Florida.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: I know, like, whoa, you get it, and then whoa, you get it.
16:50
SPEAKER_00: And then like Paris is just dropping you left and right.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: I think I got like six times.
16:55
SPEAKER_00: I was like, oh my god, I'm in trouble.
16:57
SPEAKER_00: But it's great.
16:58
SPEAKER_01: So two different parks.
16:59
SPEAKER_01: So you skip parks there for just a second.
17:00
SPEAKER_01: So first there's Disneyland Paris, right?
17:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:03
SPEAKER_01: And there's a couple different Hyperspace Mountain is there.
17:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, a couple other the obviously the castle's there and the dragon is there, a couple other different rides there that you mentioned, and then you were switching parks to what they call is Disney Adventure Land or Dis Adventure World.
17:19
SPEAKER_01: Does it sound right?
17:20
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Adventure World.
17:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a random, a random name for that park.
17:25
SPEAKER_01: I think they're still trying to figure out that.
17:27
SPEAKER_01: And so that's where they have their version of Tower of Tear.
17:30
SPEAKER_01: Remind me, I think I don't know if they've there's one you forgot, but it it was like Crush's Turtle Coaster.
17:37
SPEAKER_01: Is that sound right?
17:37
SPEAKER_01: Or something along those lines?
17:39
SPEAKER_01: Did you ride that one?
17:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I didn't do that one.
17:42
SPEAKER_01: That's more of a kiddie ride.
17:44
SPEAKER_01: No, no, sir, it is not.
17:47
SPEAKER_01: Crushes?
17:47
SPEAKER_01: Uh that is oh my god.
17:49
SPEAKER_01: I'm looking at it.
17:50
SPEAKER_01: That is not I'm looking it up.
17:52
SPEAKER_01: You should look that one up.
17:53
SPEAKER_01: No, it's it's you want to say they're not afraid.
17:56
SPEAKER_01: They are not afraid.
17:58
SPEAKER_01: That one is you sit in a turtle shell and they spin you around and there's drops, and there's like my god.
18:04
SPEAKER_01: No, it is it it disguises itself as a kiddie coaster, like it's Barnstromer, right?
18:09
SPEAKER_01: We talked all about that.
18:10
SPEAKER_01: No, not at all.
18:12
SPEAKER_01: Not at all.
18:13
SPEAKER_01: No, this is this is uh I'm gonna get the official name of it here in just a second, but it is a wicked roller coaster that I highly recommend that people go on.
18:21
SPEAKER_01: It is like spooky or not spooky, it is eerily similar to God, I can't even compare it to a Waltzing World ride because it's so much more intense.
18:33
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
18:35
SPEAKER_01: I remember now.
18:36
SPEAKER_01: It was closed, but you know, okay, okay.
18:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:39
SPEAKER_01: It's what's it like?
18:41
SPEAKER_01: It's almost like a version of without all the you know singing and dancing in the 80s music, uh, it's almost like Guardians in Epcot.
18:49
SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
18:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah that how fat how fast it is, and the type of rye maneuverability that you get it throughout the entire roller coaster.
18:57
SPEAKER_01: It's yeah, it's it's called Crush's coaster.
18:59
SPEAKER_01: That's the name of it.
19:00
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
19:00
SPEAKER_01: And it is it is not nice.
19:03
SPEAKER_01: That's funny because on theme with what you're saying.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: Paris is not afraid.
19:09
SPEAKER_00: I know Pan was down for reverse re refurbishments, and so was Crushes.
19:14
SPEAKER_00: That's why we didn't do it.
19:15
SPEAKER_00: But that you're right, that is at Disney Adventure World, because we did make it to Arendale, so stand by for that.
19:22
SPEAKER_00: We're pretty excited.
19:23
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
19:24
SPEAKER_00: Uh but but to go back to the to the rides, Web Slingers is is a lot like the one in California.
19:30
SPEAKER_00: I think they're one of those is like identically matched.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: It is.
19:35
SPEAKER_00: Do you think that the Paris attraction or one Paris attraction is better than any American counterpart?
19:40
SPEAKER_01: Ooh, that's a good question.
19:41
SPEAKER_01: It does have the Marvel Avengers area that of course our world, Disney World, doesn't have, and Disneyland has in California.
19:48
SPEAKER_01: So I like that part about it.
19:50
SPEAKER_01: Everything is in French, so I don't know.
19:53
SPEAKER_01: You c here's the part, you can still enjoy web slingers in the rest of the park and not speak French.
19:57
SPEAKER_01: It's okay.
19:58
SPEAKER_01: You can you'll be you'll be just fine.
20:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:01
SPEAKER_01: Two red red-blooded uh dumb Americans like Pete and I, we both went there and we survived and we were able to make it back just fine.
20:08
SPEAKER_01: Our French isn't any better.
20:10
SPEAKER_01: None.
20:11
SPEAKER_01: I think I think the attractions are better there, to your point.
20:16
SPEAKER_01: I think that they're they're a little more adult oriented and they're a bit more spooky and scary, and like you said, Paris does not care about your feelings.
20:25
SPEAKER_01: Not in the bit.
20:26
SPEAKER_01: Not in the middle.
20:27
SPEAKER_01: And if you're gonna you you are an adult and you're making a constant decision to get on this ride, and here we go.
20:33
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
20:35
SPEAKER_01: So like if you you talked about Hyperspace Mountain for a second.
20:38
SPEAKER_01: So just like so just like the Rock and Roller Coaster, which is now themed to the Muppets, right?
20:44
SPEAKER_01: Hyperspace Mountain, and correct me if I'm wrong, if I remember correctly, has it shoots you out of a tunnel just like you get shot.
20:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, just like you get shot at at uh the rock and roller coaster, right?
20:54
SPEAKER_01: It's like zero to sixty in some silly amount of seconds.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: For me, hyperspace seemed like they combined the formerly known rock and roller coaster and guardians.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: Like it just has a lot of that feel with the with the fast takeoff and then the upside down and it and with the in the graphics and animation.
21:11
SPEAKER_00: It was great.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: It was it was super.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: You should go just for that ride.
21:15
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
21:16
SPEAKER_01: Was there a Paris attraction that is actually that you think is better than its American counterpart?
21:20
SPEAKER_01: I mean, we just we talked about Hyperspace Mountain.
21:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, it you go to Paris for a different reason.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: You don't want to replicate the other stuff.
21:28
SPEAKER_00: And I think we talk about this, we're gonna, I think we've got it listed to talk about, you know, just the theming of some of these rides, right?
21:34
SPEAKER_00: You know, they are more about Grimm's fairy tale than they are about the actual fairy tale.
21:39
SPEAKER_00: So they get after it as far as uh getting into the darker themes and stuff.
21:44
SPEAKER_00: So I I love that.
21:46
SPEAKER_00: You know, I love that, you know, Paris is you're gonna go and you're gonna expect the cast members to bend over backwards for you just like they do in Disney World, and they won't.
21:54
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna ask for something and they might they might get it for you, but they might not because they're
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Enjoy the park food?
22:01
SPEAKER_01: Like, did you enjoy any fare or park snacks or anything that you had in the parks itself?
22:06
SPEAKER_01: And and and tell and tell me, was it good or not?
22:11
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm gonna tell you that it wasn't.
22:13
SPEAKER_01: So I eat anything.
22:14
SPEAKER_01: I'm a fat kid.
22:15
SPEAKER_01: I will eat anything.
22:16
SPEAKER_00: And uh same.
22:19
SPEAKER_00: But uh gosh, did we have any snacks?
22:23
SPEAKER_00: We really weren't impressed with the food.
22:26
SPEAKER_00: You know, we had dinner and you know, we the food wasn't great.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: Like I the steak wasn't great.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: Um I know you shouldn't get a steak, but we're trying to, like you said, you know, we're trying to get away from the American experience and do the French experience, the French connection.
22:39
SPEAKER_00: And I think they were just trying to re like you said earlier, they were trying to replicate American food, and I think they should have just French food.
22:46
SPEAKER_01: It's tech to know what they know best and what people come there for from across the country, across the world is their wonderful French food that they have to offer.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: This one I gotta talk about.
22:55
SPEAKER_00: I was I was excited to check out this car's road trip because I didn't know what it was, and I thought maybe it was uh similar to what they're gonna do at Disney World, you know, the off-road.
23:06
SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing, man.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: Someone Yeah, exactly.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: Someone once joked that a Walt Disney World at Walt Disney World, the parking lot tram was their first ride of the day.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: And Paris took that personally.
23:19
SPEAKER_00: Cars Road Trip, car's road trip initially feels like wait, the tram is the attraction, and then and then without spoiling it, things escalate.
23:28
SPEAKER_00: Let's just say there's a big splash involved.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
23:32
SPEAKER_00: There's a big splash involved, but it's totally worth doing, man.
23:35
SPEAKER_00: Like I was I was definitely like, oh, we're riding the tram.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
23:40
SPEAKER_00: But Paris is like, oh, we got something for you.
23:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
23:46
SPEAKER_00: And if we're staying in an adventure world, uh I want to talk about Rat Tatouille.
23:51
SPEAKER_00: This is this is Epcot in France.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: Like, Ratatouille is essentially the same experience as Epcot, including the complimentary motion sickness.
23:59
SPEAKER_00: But if you miss Epcot, this is the area that can like scratch that itch because there's several kiosks where you can grab wine, beer, cider, and make some poor decisions.
24:09
SPEAKER_00: You can't drink around the world.
24:11
SPEAKER_00: Yes, we are.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: You can't drink around the world, but apparently you can drink around France, which seems very French.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely is.
24:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
24:19
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely isn't.
24:20
SPEAKER_01: I I can't remember now if it was already open in Disneyland, Paris before we came to the States or vice versa.
24:25
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
24:25
SPEAKER_01: I don't remember which which opened first, but it it's identical to the ride track.
24:30
SPEAKER_01: It is the exact exact same.
24:31
SPEAKER_01: Did you have to wear the 3D glasses or did they take it away?
24:34
SPEAKER_01: No, they took the 3D away.
24:36
SPEAKER_01: Okay, good.
24:36
SPEAKER_01: That's a good thing.
24:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
24:38
SPEAKER_01: Which frankly I prefer I'm getting motion sick regardless on that ride.
24:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
24:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
24:43
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
24:43
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
24:44
SPEAKER_01: No, I I'm not sure.
24:45
SPEAKER_01: But it's worth it.
24:46
SPEAKER_01: I'm with you.
24:46
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
24:46
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
24:47
SPEAKER_01: 100% worth it.
24:48
SPEAKER_01: I I think uh the piece of resistance uh for the French theme is what we're going to talk about next.
24:54
SPEAKER_01: And it's a part of the park that wasn't there when I visited two years ago, two years ago.
24:59
SPEAKER_01: And now I I need to go back now to experience this part of the park, and that of course is the world of Arendale and seeing Princess Anna and uh Queen Elsa in their natural habitat.
25:11
SPEAKER_01: And of course, Olaf.
25:12
SPEAKER_01: Did you see Olaf walking around?
25:14
SPEAKER_00: We didn't see Olaf.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: So here's here's here's what we do here at The Worst Beyond the Magic.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna give you a realistic expectation.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: So my first reaction is it's gorgeous.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: Like you have to walk to get there.
25:28
SPEAKER_00: You see it combing, much like walking down Main Street, like you are just going into Arendale.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: Like you're on a track and it feels great.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: Um, my second reaction is it's crowded AF.
25:43
SPEAKER_00: The land looks fantastic.
25:45
SPEAKER_00: The theming is on point.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: And this is the best part here, man.
25:49
SPEAKER_00: Frozen Ever After also feels like it was actually built to be frozen rather than frozen being squeezed into the bones of Maelstrom.
25:58
SPEAKER_00: It's bigger, it's better, it's easier to follow.
26:01
SPEAKER_00: Like, this is the first time I think I've ever actually understood the ride.
26:05
SPEAKER_00: We're actually on a trip to go up to the ice castle.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: Like, I was like, okay, I understand what's happening here because you have this space to really see what's going on.
26:14
SPEAKER_00: It's bigger, it's better, easy to follow.
26:16
SPEAKER_00: For us, the roughly 10 euro paid for the uh the skip the line or the fast pass was absolutely worth it given the crowd because you know everybody's coming to this, but for 10 euro a person, you can jump to the front of that line and go right up there because that line was very, very long.
26:32
SPEAKER_00: Um, but once you've ridden frozen and explored the land, there really isn't a tremendous amount to do.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: We couldn't find Olaf.
26:39
SPEAKER_00: There is a show down on the river, but you can't see it unless you're like pressed up against the bridge to look down to get there, and there was just so many people.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: I just didn't, I didn't want to get into it.
26:51
SPEAKER_00: So it is beautiful, it's worth a visit, the ride is great, but you're not gonna spend much time there.
26:57
SPEAKER_01: So let me ask you this: does this feel like the future direction of Disneyland Paris or like more recognizable Disney IP in less distinctly European Disney?
27:07
SPEAKER_01: Because remember back in the 90s uh when European Disney opened, it was a complete and utter failure.
27:13
SPEAKER_01: And that's that's what it was.
27:14
SPEAKER_01: It was Europe, Europe, Disney.
27:16
SPEAKER_01: Michael Eisner, I think, was the CEO of Disney then, and it was a complete flop complete flop because they tried to do exactly that.
27:23
SPEAKER_01: They tried to make it this is Europe, and we're proud of it, which it should be, right?
27:28
SPEAKER_01: And they're gonna they're gonna plop Disney into that versus what sounds like is happening at Arendelle, where they took everything that people know about and vi envision from Arendelle from the movies, and they they make a land out of it and they make it very comfortable and uh make it very I don't know, I want to say expected, but we we we have some sort of idea of what things should look like and we're familiar with it, so we like it, right?
27:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so if we dig into the history of this, like you're doing, Euro Disney's original concept was troubled from the opening.
28:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:01
SPEAKER_00: I mean European expectation versus American Disney expectation, and then the financial struggles which you're which you're talking about, uh, caused Disney to take full ownership back of Disneyland Paris.
28:12
SPEAKER_00: So they had it for a long time.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, Paris was like, hey, we want our own experience, we want to base the rides different than Disney, we want it to be different.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, it just didn't work.
28:24
SPEAKER_00: Like they couldn't get the people, like you're just saying.
28:26
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, Europe originally wanted more European, less American Disney, only to discover that the guests wanted Disney Disney.
28:33
SPEAKER_00: And so Disneyland's now trying to figure out exactly where that line belongs.
28:37
SPEAKER_00: It's a uh it's an existential crisis for Paris.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: But uh to answer your question, I do think that with Disney back in the game, you know, those imagineers are super smart.
28:48
SPEAKER_00: They're gonna try to stay true to the original idea that it wants to be Parisian, it wants to be European, it wants to be different than Disney.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: It's still not afraid, um, but it's gonna, it's gonna start cleaning things up.
29:00
SPEAKER_00: As we were there, um, you saw a lot of stuff that wouldn't fly at either park.
29:04
SPEAKER_00: There was a lot of worn down places, there was a lot of uh not graffiti, but like scratches and gum, and things just super look super worn.
29:13
SPEAKER_00: Part of it is they've got weather that Florida and California doesn't.
29:17
SPEAKER_00: And then a lot of it is just Disney's trying to catch up on itself to get it back to that shiny Disney bubble that you've come to expect in America while keeping the French connection.
29:28
SPEAKER_01: Does that make sense?
29:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
29:30
SPEAKER_01: No, it does.
29:31
SPEAKER_01: And I I think like you, we would both prefer if they were to have more of the French connection because that's what we go to Europe for, right?
29:39
SPEAKER_01: We we see it and love it here, right?
29:41
SPEAKER_01: And but we we want to experience it there on their home turf, and we want to experience France and Europe.
29:47
SPEAKER_01: We'd we've we can go to Walt Disney World, we can go to Disneyland.
29:50
SPEAKER_01: It's as American as you can get.
29:52
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, we want to we travel to Europe because it's Europe.
29:55
SPEAKER_01: So we we'd rather have that as a part of the park experience.
29:59
SPEAKER_01: But I again, I was a small child back in the early 90s, and it apparently it didn't do very well.
30:05
SPEAKER_01: And so because of that, there was a major shift to make it more Americanized, like what we're talking about, which is too bad, really.
30:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's the interesting part, you know, is Disney World is a well-oiled machine.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: They'll move your stroller, they'll tell you where to clue, their signs to tell you where you're going, the app holds your hands, your tickets are there in the app.
30:24
SPEAKER_00: Everything is designed, so you really have to wonder what the hell am I supposed to do now?
30:28
SPEAKER_00: But Disneyland Paris, they're like, mm-hmm, good luck with your day.
30:31
SPEAKER_00: May the odds be in your favor.
30:33
SPEAKER_00: Imaginary cigarette drag.
30:36
SPEAKER_00: And here's the thing, man, I'm good with that.
30:38
SPEAKER_00: Like you said, like, you know, we want the Parisian experience.
30:41
SPEAKER_00: The cast members don't necessarily perform the same relentless American cheerfulness.
30:46
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes you get the sense that they're perfectly willing to tolerate you professionally, but that's all part of the charm because you don't want a carbon copy.
30:54
SPEAKER_00: You want the French connection.
30:55
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, 100%.
30:57
SPEAKER_01: And in general, you know, we all hear as Americans traveling to there that there's this whole stereotype that French people are rude and they don't want anything to do with Americans.
31:07
SPEAKER_01: I don't know about you, but my whole time in Paris, I did not experience that at all.
31:12
SPEAKER_01: Everyone I talked to was unbelievably friendly to me.
31:16
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, there was a bit of a uh language barrier there here and there.
31:20
SPEAKER_01: You know, you'd I I would attempt what little French I know, and then they would just answer me in English.
31:25
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, it was a nice icebreaker, and they they appreciated the fact that I tried, and uh, even though it was terrible, but uh I I did not get that experience at all.
31:34
SPEAKER_01: Did you find that that was a something that you experienced?
31:37
SPEAKER_01: Was anybody rude to you or because you were an American?
31:40
SPEAKER_00: Yes and no.
31:41
SPEAKER_00: For the most part, no.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: I I think it's funny because I would I think I perfected my bonjour.
31:47
SPEAKER_00: I said it wrong now, just to but I I think I said it so well because then people would just start speaking to me really fast in French.
31:52
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I have to stop doing that because then I'm like, I have no idea what you're saying.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: Slow down.
31:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm like, I don't know, man.
32:01
SPEAKER_00: I can only say bonjour.
32:05
SPEAKER_00: But it's funny because you know, I, you know, I'm a I'm a big dumb American.
32:09
SPEAKER_00: And so we came out of our Airbnb, and I think it was the morning we were waiting for the cab to get to the Uber to get downtown to store our luggage so we could go to the Louvre.
32:18
SPEAKER_00: And you, you know, I'm just standing there.
32:19
SPEAKER_00: I've got shorts on, and for them, I think it was like six, it had been 96.
32:23
SPEAKER_00: And then this morning it was like 60 something.
32:25
SPEAKER_00: So I got my shorts on because I wear my shorts all winter.
32:27
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, you know, and I got a t-shirt, and you know, I'm I'm looking very much unsophisticated.
32:34
SPEAKER_00: Uh-uh.
32:35
SPEAKER_00: And this woman's coming walking down the street, this real petite woman looks very Parisian, very made up, you know, she's got a winter coat on, it's you know, eight o'clock in the morning, you know, smoking a cigarette, and you she just says something under her breath that is in French.
32:49
SPEAKER_00: I really wish I could have known.
32:50
SPEAKER_00: But it was definitely like a home.
32:53
SPEAKER_00: I didn't even say anything.
32:54
SPEAKER_00: And then Brianna was like, What did she say?
32:56
SPEAKER_00: Like, I have no idea.
32:58
SPEAKER_00: And but what I heard was, stupid American in your shorts.
33:03
SPEAKER_00: That's exactly what she said to you.
33:06
SPEAKER_02: So people can pick us out.
33:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, people we stand out like a sore thumb.
33:11
SPEAKER_01: And and Ani, before we go there, she's like, You are not to wear any any sports memorabilia.
33:16
SPEAKER_01: You're not allowed to bring any bear stuff or cub stuff, you're not allowed to bring your teddy shoes.
33:21
SPEAKER_01: You are not allowed to bring right.
33:23
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
33:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
33:26
SPEAKER_01: There are rules.
33:26
SPEAKER_01: And if anybody asks, if anybody asks, we're Canadian.
33:29
SPEAKER_01: Do you got it?
33:29
SPEAKER_01: You understand?
33:30
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I understand.
33:32
SPEAKER_01: They they know just by looking at you, they know that you are an American.
33:38
SPEAKER_01: I don't know what it is.
33:39
SPEAKER_01: Clearly, your shorts gave you away, right?
33:41
SPEAKER_01: You but my shorts, yeah.
33:43
SPEAKER_00: But I don't think I'll throw this out there.
33:45
SPEAKER_00: I don't think it's because we're uncouth or rude or or or brash, because you know, we were there and we had we had an experience with a with a I don't know, we'll say he wasn't an American dude, but he was flipping out that his cappuccino hadn't arrived within like 10 minutes.
34:01
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, we'd ordered it at the same time, and I was like, it's only been like five minutes.
34:06
SPEAKER_00: And this guy's losing his mind, speaking several languages, wants to talk to the manager.
34:10
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, you know, it's every culture has its moment, but you know, I think for the most part, you know, while we look the part, we might have our baseball caps on and goofy cargo pants on.
34:20
SPEAKER_00: We may be behaving better than we did to receive that uh reputation, but who knows?
34:26
SPEAKER_00: I wasn't everywhere.
34:28
SPEAKER_01: And and just so you know, uh, if you want something done, call an American, right?
34:33
SPEAKER_01: This is how the way the way that we explain this and P being in the military and me being a paramilitary organization, right?
34:39
SPEAKER_01: When you're given an order, you complete that order to your best of your ability the quickest you can, right?
34:45
SPEAKER_01: Am I am I correct by saying that?
34:47
SPEAKER_01: Right.
34:48
SPEAKER_01: There, that is not the case.
34:50
SPEAKER_01: It is people we live to work here and people work to live there.
34:55
SPEAKER_01: Does that make sense?
34:56
SPEAKER_01: I think that's the best way to that's the best way to explain that.
34:59
SPEAKER_01: We're like work, work is like a it's like an afterthought almost.
35:03
SPEAKER_01: People just do it because they have to do it to make a living, right?
35:06
SPEAKER_01: Right.
35:06
SPEAKER_01: What's more important is afternoon tea and having an espresso or having sitting at a cafe and enjoying each other's company and lunch could be turned into a two to three hour event.
35:18
unknown: Yeah.
35:18
SPEAKER_01: Not because the not because the service is slow.
35:20
SPEAKER_01: That that's just their just that's just their culture.
35:24
SPEAKER_00: It's just how things are yeah, things are very very slowed down.
35:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 100% agree with you.
35:31
SPEAKER_00: I think that's another big takeaway.
35:33
SPEAKER_00: If you haven't been to Europe, if you haven't been to Disneyland Paris and you're planning to go, don't think you're gonna get through your meals quickly.
35:39
SPEAKER_00: When when people go out, they go out, that's their event, um, and you can spend as much time there.
35:44
SPEAKER_00: People aren't trying to get the tables turned over to get someone else in there.
35:48
SPEAKER_00: Like you can literally stay there as long as you want.
35:50
SPEAKER_01: And just so you're aware, if you go to any other restaurant, I don't remember specifically in Disneyland Paris, but any other restaurant or around France, they will not bring you the check.
36:00
SPEAKER_01: Just like Pete said, they're not trying to turn tables.
36:02
SPEAKER_01: They want you to enjoy your experience, and that's that's just the culture there.
36:05
SPEAKER_01: They will not bring you the check unless you ask for it.
36:08
SPEAKER_01: So if you're sitting at the table, you're finished with your meal, and you're like, man, what is taking the server so long for to bring bring my check?
36:14
SPEAKER_01: It's because that you, silly American, haven't asked for it.
36:18
SPEAKER_01: So you have to ask for your check while you're there.
36:20
SPEAKER_01: And that's not being rude, that's just how they do things.
36:22
SPEAKER_01: Did did it bother you when you uh when you visited Paris or when you were actually like, I did it feel French or did it feel Americanized in Paris?
36:33
SPEAKER_01: Which and did that bother you because of that?
36:35
SPEAKER_01: I think we've we've talked about this a little bit, but yeah.
36:39
SPEAKER_01: Tell me tell me more about how you feel about it.
36:41
SPEAKER_00: So I I I think people recognize Disney and they want Disney, but I I think they definitely the reason you're going all the way to Paris, you're going all the way to Tokyo, is for a slightly different experience.
36:54
SPEAKER_00: We've got the Earl of Sandwich, we've got the steak and barbecue places.
36:58
SPEAKER_00: But I also think you're catering to Europe who they might not want to come to America and they want to see like an American experience as well.
37:05
SPEAKER_00: So I think they have a fine line to draw right there.
37:07
SPEAKER_00: And it depends on who actually owns uh the stuff.
37:10
SPEAKER_00: And I think now that you know Paris has come back to the Disneyland, the Disney Corporation, I think it's gonna have more of that American style to it.
37:20
SPEAKER_00: But I do hope they hang on to the Parisian things.
37:22
SPEAKER_00: But it's funny that you bring that up because you know you talk about Paris versus America versus Tokyo, and you're wondering who actually owns any of this stuff.
37:29
SPEAKER_00: And I think you know, this this is its own discussion because Disney owns and operates Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
37:36
SPEAKER_00: And Paris, like we talked about, has a complicated history, but today Disney controls it.
37:40
SPEAKER_00: And so that's when things started to change, and we're talking about that line in between the two.
37:45
SPEAKER_00: But Tokyo is a completely different model.
37:47
SPEAKER_00: Tokyo Disney Resort is owned and operated by Oriental Land Company, which Disney licenses its characters, its IP, and its creative experien expertise.
37:58
SPEAKER_00: And Tokyo has an extraordinary reputation amongst Disney.
38:02
SPEAKER_00: So what that means is Disney says you can use all of our stuff and you can put your own spin to it.
38:07
SPEAKER_00: You can you can you manage it, you maintain it, you run it, you don't have to run it like we do.
38:12
SPEAKER_00: You you are you're renting those um those ideas for a license.
38:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, you're writing.
38:18
SPEAKER_00: That license.
38:20
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna go to Disneyland um Tokyo next summer.
38:23
SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, that'll be a podcast after.
38:25
SPEAKER_00: But but Jamie, what do you think from hearing what the internet has to say?
38:29
SPEAKER_00: Do you think uh Disney centralized ownership makes it more consistent?
38:33
SPEAKER_01: I think it's a fine line, like you're mentioning.
38:35
SPEAKER_01: I think again, we've to talk about this over and over again in this episode, I think.
38:40
SPEAKER_01: I would rather Disneyland Paris be more Parisian Disneyland.
38:45
SPEAKER_01: That's that's because you're going there to see it in that home country, in that home turf.
38:50
SPEAKER_01: So I would rather it be Disneyland and all the things that we're familiar with, but I want them to have to not be such an American identity because that's what they well want people to think.
39:00
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's what you're getting there a little bit.
39:02
SPEAKER_01: Yes, there is there's still some French to that, uh, but it's not as much as I think there should be.
39:08
SPEAKER_01: I think there should be more.
39:09
SPEAKER_01: I think they should embrace that because they're a proud people and it's a it's a beautiful country.
39:14
SPEAKER_01: So I I think they should they should definitely have that identity.
39:18
SPEAKER_01: I do think, because this is America, and um we have that ownership here, uh, that there is consistency between both Disney World and then Disneyland of California, but there are also nice differences between the two as well, like we've talked about in the past and on on previous episodes.
39:35
SPEAKER_01: Um so I think it's a I think it's a nice happy medium here in the parks.
39:38
SPEAKER_01: I have not been to Tokyo.
39:40
SPEAKER_01: Um that's the you know, you and I are East Coasters, and it's easier to get to Disney Bears for us than it is to get to the other side of the of the world uh and go to uh to Japan or China.
39:54
SPEAKER_01: But I think that's on the bucket list for me as well.
39:56
SPEAKER_01: And that was that's gonna be an incredible episode, and I'm jealous now that you told me that you're gonna go there.
40:00
SPEAKER_01: Maybe I should take along and go with.
40:02
SPEAKER_01: You can't you're more than welcome to come with.
40:04
SPEAKER_01: We can write it off.
40:05
SPEAKER_01: Oh yes, yeah, yeah, definitely.
40:07
SPEAKER_01: I I also, you know, I I think we want Disney, but we also we also want we also want France.
40:15
SPEAKER_01: That's you know, I think that's that.
40:17
SPEAKER_01: Um the French connection.
40:21
SPEAKER_01: We don't want the carbon copy, but we want it to be distinctively French.
40:25
SPEAKER_01: And I and I think I think you have that, but I think you you have to try harder to find it and see it.
40:31
SPEAKER_01: It's there, but you have to look for it.
40:32
SPEAKER_01: Does that make sense?
40:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 100%.
40:35
SPEAKER_00: All right, back on track here.
40:36
SPEAKER_00: Where are we gonna stay?
40:38
SPEAKER_00: So for me, uh like we talked about Sequoia Large, we t Sequoia Lodge, we tease this, but I want to discuss the elephant or the moose in the room.
40:45
SPEAKER_00: Sequoia Large is definitely dated, and I'm getting classy late 80s, maybe 90s Howard Johnsons.
40:51
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, I'm expecting John Candy to show up and tell me the moose out front should have mentioned something about the rooms.
40:56
SPEAKER_00: But here's the twist, man.
40:57
SPEAKER_00: I freaking love it.
40:58
SPEAKER_00: Like the coffee, TV fridge, comfortable bed, Bambi.
41:02
SPEAKER_00: Like it's old school national park theming, and it feels like a road trip to a lodge that you vaguely remember from your childhood.
41:10
SPEAKER_00: And I've stayed at Hotel New York before.
41:12
SPEAKER_00: It's more posh.
41:13
SPEAKER_00: Sequoia is homier, it's more relatable.
41:16
SPEAKER_00: The location, like we talked about, is fantastic.
41:19
SPEAKER_00: The Disney hotels are roughly 10 to 15 minute walk, as we've we've talked about it.
41:23
SPEAKER_00: We talked about not needing that transportation option.
41:25
SPEAKER_00: You can just walk and get up and go.
41:27
SPEAKER_01: If you're staying off property, I think I think there's no better way to do it, experience it than the way you did, and that's on property.
41:33
SPEAKER_01: But I think if you're staying off property, it's really not difficult to get to at all.
41:38
SPEAKER_01: The taking that their public transportation or their train, again, you don't need to know how to speak French.
41:44
unknown: Yeah.
41:44
SPEAKER_01: It's very doable.
41:45
SPEAKER_01: I did it with my family five, and our youngest was two at the time.
41:48
SPEAKER_01: It's super easy.
41:49
SPEAKER_01: Pete had mentioned it earlier on in the episode in the very beginning.
41:52
SPEAKER_01: It's very much like Disneyland in California, where you you uh come up out of the subway station or out of the train station, and then you either go left to, or you're in this giant promenade, and you either go left to Disney Adventure World or you go right to Disneyland Paris, just like Disney California, where you have Disney California Adventure and Disneyland itself there in Anaheim.
42:13
SPEAKER_01: So you have one of two choices, and going between the two parks is super easy.
42:17
SPEAKER_01: I really like that about Disneyland Paris too.
42:20
SPEAKER_00: Um it's so super easy.
42:22
SPEAKER_00: And here's the other the kick to that.
42:24
SPEAKER_00: Like, you're going to Disneyland Paris, and that's what you want to do.
42:27
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna go do that.
42:28
SPEAKER_00: But I mean, I'm gonna Anthony Bourdain this.
42:30
SPEAKER_00: You gotta go adventure, you gotta go see Paris.
42:33
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you're right there in the RER with this train, this train's gonna bring you right there.
42:39
SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, I feel like if you can make your itinerary work, go to Paris, even if you have a few hours, stow your bags, which is what we did.
42:47
SPEAKER_00: We can you call us up and ask for some help.
42:49
SPEAKER_00: Jamie and I can help you.
42:50
SPEAKER_00: You still your bags, see one major Paris highlight, you sit at a cafe, have a proper meal.
42:56
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I ate the escargot.
42:57
SPEAKER_00: I wasn't scared.
42:58
SPEAKER_00: Grab your luggage, take the train to or from Disney.
43:01
SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, we even bought a bottle of wine from us.
43:03
SPEAKER_00: Nothing says Disney vacation, like boarding the RER with your luggage and a bottle of French wine.
43:08
SPEAKER_00: I mean, Disneyland Paris shouldn't necessarily replace Paris, but it can be part of Paris.
43:13
SPEAKER_00: I mean, here's my Anthony Bourdain again.
43:16
SPEAKER_00: Like, you gotta go see Paris.
43:18
SPEAKER_00: There's no reason not to.
43:20
SPEAKER_01: No, I I 100% agree with you, and it's such a beautiful part of the world.
43:23
SPEAKER_01: And truthfully, the I I could do a whole other episode on Paris itself.
43:28
SPEAKER_01: Like it's it's such a beautiful city.
43:30
SPEAKER_01: And everywhere I looked, and I look at the pictures now, and it just doesn't do it justice that I have on my iPhone, you know, like I have in my Mac computer, and look back at it.
43:38
SPEAKER_01: Everywhere you look in Paris looks like it's out of a canvas, like it's out of a painting.
43:43
SPEAKER_01: It's so breathtakingly beautiful.
43:46
SPEAKER_01: And the people are, again, different experiences here, but from what I experienced, they were they were super nice and super accommodating, and I and I didn't feel like there were any of them were rude at all.
43:56
SPEAKER_01: Uh the dining experience is something you have to experience.
44:00
SPEAKER_01: Uh it's very it's very different.
44:02
SPEAKER_01: Uh we just talked about it, but uh Paris is so gorgeous and America this is our what is it, our 250-year birthday, right, this year?
44:11
SPEAKER_01: We've only been a country for 250 years, right?
44:13
SPEAKER_01: America.
44:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's Europe is Europe, right?
44:18
SPEAKER_01: It was there before.
44:19
SPEAKER_01: Uh it the world has changed around it.
44:23
SPEAKER_01: And we've grown and advanced, and we've uh America's changed as well, but it would it it's so much it's so young compared to the rest of the world that you need to go experience it.
44:35
SPEAKER_01: I I could go on and on and talk about it, but definitely like Pete's saying, definitely, definitely go and experience Paris, not just Disneyland Paris.
44:42
SPEAKER_01: Uh get out there and take the train into the city center, go see the Louvre, go see the the Arctic Tramp, and of course the Eiffel Tower, go see uh the catacombs.
44:51
SPEAKER_01: One thing that we can set you up with, uh there is the hop-on, hop-off bus that you see you drive around uh Washington, D.C.
44:57
SPEAKER_01: a lot.
44:58
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I know any major city like Chicago and New York City and Philadelphia have it as well.
45:02
SPEAKER_01: They have it there as well in Paris.
45:04
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna we can certainly do that for you, but I would what I would rather you do and to get the experience, I would rather you take their public transportation and experience that because you can see all the same sites and get to all the same locations on their public transportation than you can just by getting on the one of their hop on hoffboff buses and they're gonna charge you 200 200 euro to do that, which is a silly amount of money.
45:26
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but uh that's surprising I remember from two years ago when I was there.
45:30
SPEAKER_01: But that's again, I can't say any any more about how wonderful Paris and how what a beautiful city it is, and how I would go there in a heartbeat.
45:37
SPEAKER_01: I think it beats London.
45:39
SPEAKER_01: But we're gonna do a part two series on Disneyland Paris where we're talking more about the differences between the two parks.
45:46
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
45:47
SPEAKER_01: And uh there's a lot more to discuss.
45:49
SPEAKER_01: Oh, 100% there is.
45:51
SPEAKER_01: So with that, Pete, welcome back, brother.
45:54
SPEAKER_01: Good to have you.
45:55
SPEAKER_01: I know the people, the the goldfish are are happy that you're back, and hopefully they're our listeners uh start uh picking back up on a release day.
46:02
SPEAKER_01: And I I missed you.
46:04
SPEAKER_01: I'm glad you're back.
46:04
SPEAKER_00: I'm missed you all too.
46:06
SPEAKER_00: I appreciate your lovely wife for filling in for me.
46:08
SPEAKER_00: I think we're gonna make some people sad she's not back, but uh we'll bring her back as a guest, hopefully.
46:14
SPEAKER_01: I think we should both have our wives on as guests in the future and see how and and they can they can run the episode.
46:19
SPEAKER_01: I think that would be a good one.
46:20
SPEAKER_01: But uh until until next time, uh we're here to give you the real deal.
46:24
SPEAKER_01: Mouse droppings included.
46:26
SPEAKER_01: This has been the