Etiquette and customs in Paris/Disney

[White Rose]

So, I am looking for differences from American culture to French culture. We are going to DLP in September..

I was reading a post where someone commented about pushy aggressive people in line at the Eiffel Tower elevator. From past experiences, Americans and Brits tend to queue up by custom, where other countries do not have such etiquette or social norms. It’s just different, not right not wrong just different.

Line jumping is a big pet peeve of mine, so I am to prepare myself so I know what other differences to expect. I am trying to learn a bit of French too but I know my accent will be horrible.

What advice do you have so we do not stick out like sore thumbs? I was reading stuff online, and I have traveled a bit, been to Germany, Spain, Italy, England and a bit with private tour guides in France.

When I was in France, it was on a cruise so we only got 3 days. We also did one day in Paris as part of a UK trip. I left like a fish out of water. England, Italy Spain and Germany were easy, but for some reason France intimidates me! Thanks for any advice you can give.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

The biggest thing I notice is every shop or place you go into, ALWAYS say Bonjour when you enter, and au revoir when you leave, yes even in Disney, if you pass by any cm as you enter or leave a shop.

The same in your hotel, if you are walking by reception, say Bonjour to the people behind the desk.

When you go to a restaurant host stand, say Bonjour.

The accent does not matter, its the words that do. oui, (yes) si vous plait (please) merci (thanks) will go a long way.

Combien (how much)

I have basic French and have been to France many times, I guess my brain just automatically switches when I hear French around me.

Also thinks like free refills are not a thing, due to sugar tax. Ice in drinks and AC are things Americans complain about.

 

[Karin1984]

Line jumping on rides doesn't happen that much, in my opinion. But at parades it does happen that parents try to push children to the front. It depends on my mood, the weather, the child, the parent if I let them.

There used to be roaming characters without lines, that could cause some issues, but nowadays most 'roaming' characters have a fixed spot they are walking to with a line set up.

I think the most important thing when coming from the US, especially WDW, is that attitude from CMs is different. To us the over cheery, uberhappy CMs in WDW can feel fake. The opposite of that is that French CMs can come across as not interested or rude to people used to WDW. In my opinion the difference comes from that in the US for many CMs working at Disney is a dream come true. In France it's a job like any other to many CMs.

There are plenty of wonderful CMs and you see them dancing and cheering with you during the hub show, while making sure you stay on the sidewalk. I am sure these CMs are partially selected on outgoingness, and being extraverts. But when it comes to stores or restaurants, there you will feel a difference. There it is much more a job than a party.

Next to free refills, I remember a complaint about a lack of peanut butter at breakfast. Peanut butter is not much of a thing. Nutella is.

Also keep in mind that service at table service is different, a server will not come by every other minute to ask if you are ok. It's not being uninterested, but you are having dinner, having a social experience with friends or family and it's rude to interrupt. It can happen you need to ask for the bill instead of it being handed to you during dessert.

Don't be intimidated, most French people are pretty nice ;-)

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Agree about service in restaurants. If you want the server, look up, make eye contact, stop reading the menu, close it lay it down. They will only come to the table if YOU make it clear you need them for something, otherwise they will just leave you be. They will not come with the bill unless you make it clear you are finished and want to leave. When I was there in October with my family, we allowed 2 hours each evening for table service and buffets.

Another thing I noticed, at buffets, only take the amount you will eat, food wastage is frowned upon. Go up as many times as you want, but within reason, eat what you put on the plate.

 

[FrannyFrogs]

I'm the poster who had a terrible line-cutters experience atop the Eiffel tower. I'm just dropping in here to point out that we spent a week in Paris/DLP and found most people we interacted with were lovely! I'd for sure go back to France!
One thing we learned is that French people enjoy solving problems. The "mean lady" behind the front desk at our hotel (not smiling and chatty like the others) became our hero when our car service failed to arrive! When my DD had an emotional crisis in a cafe bathroom, our waiter took back my meal and hers and kept it warm for us in the kitchen.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Another thing I noticed, at buffets, only take the amount you will eat, food wastage is frowned upon. Go up as many times as you want, but within reason, eat what you put on the plate.

Great advice whatever country you are in!

 

[CanucksRock]

Of the many places I have visited, Paris is towards the bottom of the list of places I would visit again. I’m only going next month .., because Disney. (I actually did not like Disneyland Paris when I went in 2013. Giving it another chance) I have been thru Paris twice, as we took the train from there to Barcelona in 2017 and I never felt safe. I felt like I needed eyes in the back of my head to watch for pick pocketers.

On the opposite side of the scale, I’d go to Japan again in a heartbeat. Felt completely safe and it was so clean.

 

[Karin1984]

I actually did not like Disneyland Paris when I went in 2013. Giving it another chanc

Out of curiosity, what was it that you didn't like? Or, what do you hope will be different?

 

[CanucksRock]

Out of curiosity, what was it that you didn't like? Or, what do you hope will be different?

It didn’t feel very “Disney” to me then. I know a hard one to explain I’m sure it’s charged, so many new things in the last 11 years.

 

[Drfate102]

We have our first trip next month and I have been reading up on stuff. A more experienced World Traveler friend of mine recommend PacSafe bags and tips on what to do. I have been trying to learn a bit of French and what are some of the cultural norms over there. But it will be a fun and exciting trip.

 

[White Rose]

Agree about service in restaurants. If you want the server, look up, make eye contact, stop reading the menu, close it lay it down. They will only come to the table if YOU make it clear you need them for something, otherwise they will just leave you be. They will not come with the bill unless you make it clear you are finished and want to leave. When I was there in October with my family, we allowed 2 hours each evening for table service and buffets.

Another thing I noticed, at buffets, only take the amount you will eat, food wastage is frowned upon. Go up as many times as you want, but within reason, eat what you put on the plate.

We experienced this in Germany when we did ABD Germany. That was fine.

My hubby made a huge mistake when we were having an early dinner on a Sunday in France. He told the waiter we were in a hurry. I winced when I heard him do it. The waiter looked at him like he was the rudest man on the planet. I felt the need to apologize. The tour guide spoke to the waiter in French, probably apologizing for the rude Americans. She explained never ever do that.

Dining is a thing, it takes long. He was getting anxious because we had to get back on a cruise. We had enough time, and he just did not know about long long meals on Sunday. (Some Italian Americans can relate…Sunday dinner can start like at 3 with many courses and even breaks!)

This is the stuff I am trying to avoid…we will be in France for over a week with no tour guides.

 

[White Rose]

Of the many places I have visited, Paris is towards the bottom of the list of places I would visit again. I’m only going next month .., because Disney. (I actually did not like Disneyland Paris when I went in 2013. Giving it another chance) I have been thru Paris twice, as we took the train from there to Barcelona in 2017 and I never felt safe. I felt like I needed eyes in the back of my head to watch for pick pocketers.

On the opposite side of the scale, I’d go to Japan again in a heartbeat. Felt completely safe and it was so clean.

When we did one day in Paris previously, we were accosted by children holding up signs, while the kid behind me patted down my back (empty) pockets.

We got into a cab and he said he did not speak English and said to find another cab. Omg. I just felt unwelcome. We did not do Disney then.

We had a much better experience on the cruise when we visited Marseille, Provence, Cannes, and Nice areas. I am willing to try again…this is for my 50th birthday.

 

[White Rose]

Line jumping on rides doesn't happen that much, in my opinion. But at parades it does happen that parents try to push children to the front. It depends on my mood, the weather, the child, the parent if I let them.

There used to be roaming characters without lines, that could cause some issues, but nowadays most 'roaming' characters have a fixed spot they are walking to with a line set up.

I think the most important thing when coming from the US, especially WDW, is that attitude from CMs is different. To us the over cheery, uberhappy CMs in WDW can feel fake. The opposite of that is that French CMs can come across as not interested or rude to people used to WDW. In my opinion the difference comes from that in the US for many CMs working at Disney is a dream come true. In France it's a job like any other to many CMs.

There are plenty of wonderful CMs and you see them dancing and cheering with you during the hub show, while making sure you stay on the sidewalk. I am sure these CMs are partially selected on outgoingness, and being extraverts. But when it comes to stores or restaurants, there you will feel a difference. There it is much more a job than a party.

Next to free refills, I remember a complaint about a lack of peanut butter at breakfast. Peanut butter is not much of a thing. Nutella is.

Also keep in mind that service at table service is different, a server will not come by every other minute to ask if you are ok. It's not being uninterested, but you are having dinner, having a social experience with friends or family and it's rude to interrupt. It can happen you need to ask for the bill instead of it being handed to you during dessert.

Don't be intimidated, most French people are pretty nice ;-)

lol I get that in the US. I don’t mind if the “child” is shorter than I. I am 5’1”, and if the kid is taller they can just see fine behind me! Lol! (I had someone try to push their about 5 foot 5 teenager in from of me! Lol…)

 

[Cloudy]

I had 4 years of French in high school 40 years ago and tried to brush up listening to a Learn French in the Car series. When I spoke French, absolutely no one answered me in French. No one! Always English. Maybe they appreciated the effort? We screamed American even before we spoke. Maybe it was because I was in a tank top when everyone else was in winter coats? But everyone was nice.

My advice would be to take cash in Euros to Disneyland Paris. The credit card machines went down when we were there and we couldn't get seated for dinner without cash. The ATM machine lines were an hour long. I hear this happens a lot there.

 

[ocdb8r1]

Also keep in mind that service at table service is different, a server will not come by every other minute to ask if you are ok. It's not being uninterested, but you are having dinner, having a social experience with friends or family and it's rude to interrupt. It can happen you need to ask for the bill instead of it being handed to you during dessert.

I will add that (both pre-COVID, but even more post COVID with hospitality staff still in short supply) you should treat all the wait staff and service staff as a "team" and not wait or expect that you will get services from a single "waiter". If you need something, be proactive and ask whomever happens to pass you by. I have encountered many locations where there is no single "server" assigned to each table and the wait staff is expected to act as a team to assist all tables. As mentioned above, they will not be as proactive as US type wait staff and so you should feel free to be proactive with any/all of them if you need something.

I'll also reiterate the need to ask for a bill. While the "custom" is changing, in Europe it is generally thought rude to leave the bill before the customer has asked for it (as it implies an expectation that you will leave soon). Meals out in Europe were traditionally longer and more social events where lingering after the meal and having a coffee, tea, digestivo or all of the above was common. Related to this slowly changing custom, in some locations (not at DLP) you may find when you reserve a table you are given a very precise time you are expected to vacate the table for the next customers (as increasingly restaurants are dependent on "turning" the tables more than once during a meal time....and due to the above traditional expectations, they find the need to be very clear with patrons ahead of time if "lingering" or taking your time with a meal can be expected.

 

[Majide]

Adding on since I haven't seen anyone mention it yet, there is a lot more smoking in France! We were just at DLP and saw many people walking around the park smoking outside of the designated smoking areas. I've heard that this used to be a much bigger issue, but it was just a little surprising to see since I feel like in the US cigarette smoking has gone out of fashion.

On the other hand, all of the cast members we interacted with were friendly

 

[Karin1984]

Adding on since I haven't seen anyone mention it yet, there is a lot more smoking in France! We were just at DLP and saw many people walking around the park smoking outside of the designated smoking areas. I've heard that this used to be a much bigger issue, but it was just a little surprising to see since I feel like in the US cigarette smoking has gone out of fashion.

On the other hand, all of the cast members we interacted with were friendly

Yeah... I keep forgetting about this one
Yes, the smoking is less, especially after Covid, but if you are used to the US parks, it is very noticeable.
The smoking mainly happens when walking from one place to the next. Smoking in line doesn't happen, and smoking while standing still waiting for a parade is rare.

 

[meeshy1342]

Others have mentioned that meals tend to take longer. When it comes to Disney Paris, that's very true at any table-service restaurant - be prepared for a slower meal (think 1 hour+). We were tired, jet lagged, and hungry when we arrived at DLP last year, and being unfamiliar with the park, we walked into the Lucky Nugget Saloon thinking we could just eat something fast and hit some rides before the park closed, and we just weren't prepared for how long the meal took lol. It would have been fine if we were taking a mid-day break, but what we really wanted was more of a quick-service restaurant. Just pay attention to the restaurant type when you are looking for places to eat in the app plan accordingly.

 

[CanucksRock]

Good to know …although of the two table service meals we are doing, the first is Buffett Style. That day we’ll be tired as we have to get up at 3:40 am to catch flight to Paris (from Dublin) …so, by the time 6:45 pm rolls around.. well, it was the only time I could get the reservation (.. at least with the time change it will feel like 5:45 pm )

 

[CanucksRock]

I had said earlier in this thread I did not like DLP the first time I went in 2013. Well I went this week and we enjoyed ourselves. The Studios park is currently under renovation, so it reminded me of being in Epcot with all the walls Will be so much better when Frozen opens. The parks were not super busy, so we were able to enjoy all the rides we wanted to go on without long lines. Loved the 1 hour early entry. We did not see the Fireworks/Drone show because 11 pm is past my bedtime

But overall, I would go back again in the future.