Your opinions on PA Treasure Night at Disneyland Paris: between wonder and disappointment

Treasure Night, which took place on March 22, 2024 at Disneyland Park, elicited a range of opinions among attendees, revealing both enchanting moments and frustrating aspects. To mark the occasion, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to gather your opinions and compile them here.

Impact of rain

The capricious weather posed a major challenge for many participants, altering their perception of the event. The impact of the rain on the evening’s proceedings was unavoidable: the rain undoubtedly left its mark on the evening, altering expectations and influencing general appreciation of the event. Yes, rain makes you wet, and in March, it makes you cold.

“Admittedly, the rain wasn’t Disney’s fault, but when you do an evening in March, you plan to do things indoors more than outdoors, and there was only one indoor show.” Valérie

The rain-cancelled outdoor shows were a disappointment for many attendees, reducing the number of activities available to entertain guests. Similarly, the impact on character presence was felt, with disappointed expectations about the possibility of meeting certain characters. Some suggested potential solutions, such as holding shows under cover, to enable participants to enjoy the event to the full, whatever the weather conditions.

Despite the rain-induced challenges, some managed to maintain a positive spirit and found enchanting moments in the event:

“A great evening despite the rain!!!! Disney raised the bar a bit compared to the last few evenings, which really weren’t top-notch… I validate this evening!” Sophie

Organization and communication

The management of the event was a source of disappointment for several participants, who noted several shortcomings in organization and communication.

“Given the rain we stop for a snack, they didn’t plan anything more for the evening = out of stock.” Émilie

Some pointed to the lack of clear indications of how the evening would unfold, leading to confusion and a lack of direction for participants:

“Arriving at the entrance without any information at all doesn’t help plan the evening: everything seemed poorly organized.” Cristian

Others expressed frustration at the lack of transparency regarding the evening’s program, regretting not having had access to information in advance:

“No explanation of the principle of the evening.” Valérie

In addition, several visitors deplored the fact that all the evening’s announcements and activities were exclusively in French, which posed an obstacle for those without a command of the language:

“I think it’s a shame that everything is in French! Every show, the announcements in the park…” Tessa

The need for more transparent and multilingual communication, as well as better advance planning of activities, were highlighted by several participants as ways of improving the overall event experience.

Exploring thematic zones

A major feature of Treasure Night was the discovery of the park’s various theme zones. However, several participants expressed difficulties in this exploration.

Some mentioned frequent trips back and forth in the pouring rain to reach the zone entrances, which hampered their ability to fully enjoy each themed area:

“We stopped looking for clues as early as the 1st land and were able to enter and exit the lands unchecked (fortunately, by the way).” Elvira

Sarah, interviewed at the hotel the day after the party, expressed her opinion that the clue hunt proved ineffective, as most participants were passing passwords to each other. She pointed out that this experience differed considerably from that of the previous year, when a dedicated app had been developed specifically to solve the riddles.

This mixed experience underlines the need for better management of the thematic zones, in order to offer participants a fluid and immersive exploration of the event.

Character encounters

Characters too random

Treasure Night was a long-awaited opportunity for attendees to meet their favorite characters in a unique setting. However, it was a mixed experience for many visitors, who expressed various frustrations and disappointments.

Some were disappointed by the limited, random and unreported presence of rare characters, regretting not having had the opportunity to meet a wider variety of special characters:

“No information on the characters present so we missed Meeko and Thumper who were in a corner of Frontierland… There was also a rotation of characters that we weren’t aware of so seeing the Sultan instead of Jafar would have been a nice surprise…” Marielle

“A multitude of rare characters announced bah frankly yes there were a few characters but bof what.” Valérie

“We saw quite a few ‘common’ characters and missed the White Rabbit, the March Hare, Panpan, Meeko, Kuzco, the Sultan…” Marielle

“And no princesses lol” Flavie

“Also when José left just as we were arriving, the casts announced that he’d be back in 40 min! Impossible to wait that long for an evening and in the rain.” Marie-Pierre

“There were times when there were no characters and waiting in the rain is long…” Elvira

An unproven dating system

Other participants expressed frustration with the organization of the queues for meetings with the characters, highlighting a lack of interaction and accessibility:

“Hyper disappointed though with the characters and this system of taking selfies behind a barrier with no pre-defined queue.” Elvira

In addition, some visitors were turned off by the “selfie spots” system, where interaction with the characters was limited and controlled, resulting in a less immersive and engaging experience:

“The only meet my daughter enjoyed was the one with Angel because she’d never seen her and she was able to interact with her rather than seeing her behind a barrier as if she were a criminal about to assault her” Valerie

“One last thing that really put me off was the attraction with Mickey and the photo at a DISTANCE but really far what.” Marie-Pierre

In summary, the character encounters were a contrasting aspect of Treasure Night, offering some attendees memorable moments while others were left wanting due to various organizational and interaction issues.

Shows

Some visitors were delighted by the entertainment on offer at Treasure Night. For Eric, it was an evening that resembled “the 100th birthday party in disguise”, but despite this, he found that “the show at Videopolis was top-notch”. For Elvira, however, the cancellation of the outdoor shows due to rain was disappointing. Marie-Pierre also shared her experience, noting that she had “for the first time” enjoyed the opening and closing shows, but regretted the cancellation of the Main Street shows. These comments underline that, while some enjoyed the shows, others expressed disappointment at the cancellations and lack of alternatives to cope with the weather.

General atmosphere

The evening was enlivened by the presence of a DJ in Discoveryland, as noted by Angélique, who described a “great atmosphere” in the area. What’s more, the diversity of the entertainment, including musicians, dancers scattered throughout the park and comedians, greatly contributed to creating a dynamic and festive atmosphere, as several participants appreciated. These elements undeniably added a lively touch to the overall evening experience, despite the obstacles imposed by the rain and other aspects of the event.

To conclude

Treasure Night was a mixed experience for many participants. Despite Disney’s best efforts to provide an entertaining evening, the challenges of capricious weather and occasionally poor organization marked the event. Treasure hunts were disrupted by rain, queues for character encounters were chaotic, and some visitors expressed disappointment at the entertainment on offer. However, despite these obstacles, there were moments that rekindled the enthusiasm of participants, thanks in particular to the presence of musicians and comedians scattered around the park. All in all, Treasure Night was a mixed experience, blending moments of pleasure and frustration.

It’s high time Disneyland paid real attention to visitor feedback, took their expectations into consideration, and offered evenings that fully justify the increasingly high price paid by visitors. PA members often look forward to these events for the opportunity to meet new, high-quality characters, as well as to enjoy a variety of entertaining shows. We can’t wait for the next event to see if the tide has turned! Until then, we’re hoping for a return of the fine weather…