Carol singers in Victorian costume were performing beneath a giant Christmas tree as dusk fell over Disneyland Park and Father Christmas arrived on a reindeer-driven sleigh. A small girl sprinkled pixie dust on the tree and as the lights came on, setting off a cascade of coloured light along Main Street USA, snow started to fall all around us.
The crowd gasped, my son Adam’s face lit up with excitement and for a moment or two I almost believed it was magic. Then I noticed that the snowflakes were confetti and, like everything else at Disneyland, it was just an illusion.
Nobody does Christmas quite like Disney, and in Paris they do it better than anywhere else. For two months of the year, Disney takes advantage of the climate to create a fairytale winter wonderland of snow, ice, grottoes and twinkling lights.
For seven-year-old Adam and me, it was a first visit to Disneyland Resort Paris, the new name for the sprawling complex which this year added a second theme park, Walt Disney Studios Park.
The new park offers a high-tech, high-octane introduction to the world of films and animation, but although we spent an enjoyable morning there and were impressed by the live stunt show with its motorbike crashes and car chases, we spent most of our time in Disneyland Park. This is the focus of the Christmas festivities and is probably more suitable for younger children with its mix of cartoon characters, shows and (mostly) gentle rides.
Adam’s favourites were Phantom Manor (spooky ride through a haunted house), Pirates of the Caribbean (boat ride through waterfalls and swashbuckling scenes) and Big Thunder Mountain, a roller-coaster which barrels through the dark.
The next morning we booked a “character breakfast” at Walt’s Diner, which meant we were in the park before it opened and could do these rides all over again before the weekend crowds arrived. “It’s really Christmassy,” said Adam excitedly, noticing straight away how the park had been transformed overnight. There were Christmas trees everywhere, the shops were all done out in ribbons and bows and Dickensian scenes, and the aroma of roasting chestnuts and marshmallows hung over a miniature Christmas village of Swiss chalets.
We watched Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Chip and Dale skating their way through the Mickey’s Winter Wonderland show and got prime viewing spots for the dancers, musicians and colourful floats in the Christmas parade. Even better was the after-dark electrical parade, with floats in the shape of a swan and a dragon lit by a million fairy lights, followed by a firework display over Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.
But what Adam enjoyed best of all was meeting the Disney cartoon characters. It was wonderful to see the smile on his face as Chip ruffled his hair or Tigger tickled him with his tail.
I have to admit that the relentless commercialism and synthetic Disney culture got me down at times but even I was won over by the sheer professionalism of the operation and the infectious enthusiasm of the staff. If their permanent smiles are false, they’re still pretty convincing, so much so that the one time I encountered a grumpy attendant I wanted to tell him to have a nice day.
One incident at Café Mickey summed it all up for me. Adam had just finished collecting his pudding from the buffet when he dropped his plate; instantly his face crumpled into tears. Without any to-do, the waiters burst into spontaneous applause; a man in a Goofy suit gave Adam a big hug and the manageress appeared with a bowl of ice-cream. Within 30 seconds, the mess had been cleared up and the result was one happy child.
Schmaltzy, yes, choreographed, almost certainly, but that’s Disney for you.
December 07, 2002
Source:
Times Online 
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