Should Disneyland Paris have had a plan B to compensate for the prolonged absence of parades and shows? –

While Disneyland Paris has had one organisational problem after another since its reopening. The absence of shows and parades is cruelly felt.
Disneyland Paris did not obtain the authorization from the prefecture to offer its guests such shows for the Halloween season. One wonders whether Disneyland Paris should not have had a back-up plan instead of trying to put on a parade.

Two chroniclers, two opinions: Make Your Choice!

Yes, Disneyland Paris should have had a plan B! By Catherine

Aaaaah, how we miss these famous parades! The park seems very sad without all these animations that punctuated the day of the Guests … But precisely, should Disneyland Paris not have acted and provided a plan B? For me, yes!

This year, there will be no Halloween parade at Disneyland Paris… In fact, there has been no parade for several months already… The prefecture didn’t give the authorization to the Resort because of this damn virus!

But the lack of animation is a disaster for the destination! I was talking about it again this week with people I know who went to Disneyland Paris recently and they all told me the same thing! The park is sad, the magic is no longer there without the parades…

Moreover, without animation, Disneyland Paris does not distinguish itself from other theme parks. This gives the feeling of a park that does not meet our expectations! And as a result, the price of an entrance ticket is far too expensive compared to what Disneyland Paris has to offer…

A degraded experience.

Despite the prefecture’s refusal to organise parades, the Resort has a duty to provide us with an experience of the expected quality. Indeed, there are certainly other ways than the “classic” parade to animate the park. Currently, a princess float comes out sporadically throughout the day, which is good but clearly insufficient! The only other animation available is the “Dream Factory” show. It is superb but we want more!

A little imagination!

Why not have different floats that come out more regularly, in line with the season, so as to make the park more “alive”? I don’t know the exact reason for the refusal of the prefecture but there is perhaps also the possibility of arranging the parade in such a way as to obtain a green light. There are also the cavalcades, which are very nice, and the shows to be put back on! And then, it’s up to Disneyland Paris to be original and maybe invent a brand new animation!

In short, settling for selfie spots as the main entertainment leaves me hungry at the end of the day’s visit… I know it’s a difficult time, organising happenings with the current laws must be a real headache, but we pay enough for admission to Disneyland Paris for them to do what’s necessary to live up to their reputation!

No, I don’t think so. By Sara

Don’t we all miss the parades and illuminations at Disneyland, because they give us that extra bit of magic? To be able to enjoy this indescribable feeling at the end of the day at the Illuminations, where you even shed a tear or two?
Both are great highlights in the park -especially now at Halloween and Christmas- so why have they not given us a substitute for this, a visit is not necessarily cheap after all.

Why parades and illuminations have been cancelled is obvious. Too large areas with people lined up close together are hardly justifiable at the moment. In the park everyday life one sees again and again that it is already difficult for the people to hold the distance in the rows and to simply pay attention a little. So with larger gatherings, you can assume that this is just as difficult to regulate. Disneyland Paris also had to be aware when it reopened that such elements would be cancelled for a long time to come.

So why was there no real plan B?

First of all, let’s take a look at what they have done:

They introduced the “short parades”, in which a float or sometimes two drive along Main Street/the studios for a short parade. Due to the short duration and the “spontaneous appearance” no mass gatherings can form here and we can see at least one parade float. This is quite nice and beautiful to look at, but it does not replace a parade.

There are much more magicshots and charactermeets to provide a little variety as well. A nice idea to give us a little more magic along the way.

Without Photopass, however, this is not that interesting anymore ’cause looking at the pricing you decide which one you really want to take home with you.

And also in the area of shows they had created a balance.

The very popular “Lion King – Rhythms of the pride land show” returns in the end of october once again and also gives us another great replacement that awakens that spark of magic in us. But why that late? Well, even if the planning of the show is known, the new ensemble has to be put together and practice the whole show performance. Unfortunately, this is not possible in a short time. If you consider that opening releases were only known with a short lead time and even then it was still uncertain how long and under what circumstances the park can remain open, this hardly surprises you.

So what should you have done? What could a plan B have looked like?

I’ve thought about this for a long time and I don’t see a feasible way to create a replacement. Parades with ticket bookings are not possible because the area cannot be closed for parades, neither can Illuminations. Of course, now you could say “give us more”. Even more shows, even more characters, even more choice. But with this you reach a financial limit that makes the whole thing simply uneconomical.

Maybe it would be possible to add a little more magic to Halloween – to use the illumination elements of the old Halloween parties e.g. at Skull Rock, to add a little more scary elements and to allow “trick or treat” on certain days. But then you would have to think about what makes the only Halloween party this year special.

I think we have to be patient until the restrictions are lifted and parades and illuminations are officially part of our visit again. A replacement is simply not conceivable and so we have to hope for an early Christmas present to be exposed to the full magic again soon.