In short, a mixed review here:
We went to WDSP on Saturday and took advantage of the AP exclusive EMH, which we were very grateful for. I promised not to pass comment and ruin it for the kids or our friends that we travelled with.
After we went through the main DLP security checks (the WDSP ones were closed), we headed left at the Imagineering statue and the Front Lot cast members checked our passes and we were ushered through towards the park.
We then queued at the gates, and we were let in at 8:30 (not bad going effort by the children as we had been in DLP until 11:30 the night before having gotten up at 4:00am to go the park - hard core kids). We quickly trotted through Studio 1 and turned right through Toon Studios. When the kids saw Buzz, they went ballistic with excitement, especially when he spoke (though Mikey - age 7 - asked why he was here and in Discoveryland). And the kids were very excited to see the land and discover things about it. For this reason, I am sure there will be glowing praise in some quarters. And as I have said before, having greenery and nooks and crannies to explore a little has added to what has been missing in this park. Also, there are some nice touches as everyone knows, and as I said before the queues are pretty well done.
However, my prophesies (that others too agreeed) were proven in this land. There were barriers around some of the photo points such as the jeep in the Parachute queue, and the RC racer that was designed for people to sit in. In this latter case, he barriers were not see through, so children couldn't even see the majority of it
Onto the attractions now. We first headed off to Slinky Zig Zag spin as we thought the kids would enjoy that the most. Sadly, it was 101 and they did not know when it would be back up An attraction that is in carnivals around the globe, the kids were disappointed.
They were not sure whether they wanted to go on the parachutes, but we talked them into it and got in line. Thankfully first thing in the morning for EMH, it was posted as a 10 minute wait, and took 15. It was a slow loader, I can only imagine what it is like during a busy time. The queue was quite impressive as it did feel like we were shrunk to the size of a toy, and my friend and I waxed lyrical about how we used to play with them.
We boarded the chutes, but sadly being in threes, we all had to split up (oh well, with twos it would have been the same.
Now, this attraction was surprisingly fun. The kids adored it, aspecially when it jolted at the top. But I stand by my capacity concerns. An attraction of this sort is fine at a less crowded park, but for a Disney park, it still needs more capacity (3 or 4 towers perhaps). Though the athetic impact out of the land, still annoys me greatly). But it was a lot of fun. By the time we got off, it was still early into AP EMH and the wait was posted at 45 minutes. By the middle of the day, it was up to 2 hours. It is fun for a 10, maybe even a 20 minute wait, but 2 hours is crazy. Even though the crowd levels may subside, I doubt the impact will be much (given the waits can still be long for Cars, Crush and Carpets).
Checking on Slinky Dog, still closed and about 6 engineers are stood looking at it. So we weigh up RC Racer. Our friends want to try it and Mikey is amazingly tall enough for it (where did the time go), whereas Jessica (age 5 and Eva age 4 are too short and dying to try it). We agree to do babyswitch, with Mark and Amanda riding together (first time since becoming parents they have been able to do a thrill ride together!!! Yay), and Mike and I.
Now I was warned by a cast member friend of mine that on top of it having height restrictions, it also is not great for tall or broad guests either. I was advised to ask the cast member at the front to see if we could try before queuing. When we did, we were told to get in line and find out when we board . Hopefully this was the response because it was EMH, and the queue was a 15 minute wait. I would have been livid if it were 2 hours (the posted wait times later in the day), because as you may have guessed, my friend Mark and I were too big for it. Having been on almost every attraction in
Disneyland, DCA, the MK, Epcot, DHS, DAK, DLP and WDSP, for the first time in 35 years, I was too big for an attraction in a Disney park (and before anyone says it, I am much lighter now than I have been in 8 years). Not happy. Mikey was very upset because after getting the guts to ride it, Daddy could not. Thankfully my friend Amanda went on it with him, but I felt terrible about myself and this attraction.
Mikey rode it screaming covering his eyes. And when they got off, he said he wanted to do it again, and Amanda by the end of the holiday said for her it was a high point and scarier than Space Mountain - lol. For me it left a bitter taste.
Sarah and Mikey then went through the exit for baby switch and rode again. He loved it again (though he covered his eyes again) and Sarah came off saying it was alright, but I hadn't missed much (I do wonder if that was her way of trying to make me feel better).
We then explored the back of the playland and the kids loved Rex (I must confess with the sound effects I thought it cool too). And they repaired the damage to the bottom of it. The shop was cute, but it sold the same TS stuff you can find all over the resort, and we proceeded through the barrel tunnel which was cute. As we emmerged out the otherside into the PAris street, I then got excited by the trees, lamps and benches. That was the best part of TSPL IMHO.
By the time we left, the rest of the park was open and Crush had a 90 minute queue and Cars 20 mins by 10:00 am (growing later). So did it help capacity, marginally, but not enough to feel it. It will likely be busy all the time, like Dumbo, but I would not want to do this in the winter (brrrr).
So I spoke with them this morning, and asked for their views:
Kids - it is fun, but lots of questions - why is Rex smaller than Buzz? Why did we not feel like we were shrinking? Why was daddy not able to ride RC? Funny stuff.
Sarah's view was that it was cute and fun, but belongs somewhere like Alton Towers.
My view is we have to live with this waste of capital investment. It will be popular, but will also likely lead to complaints. And I am concerned for what WDI Paris do in the future. But the greenery is nice.
And having met with several hard core DIsney fans, web masters and cast members this weekend, they said they feel similar but have not written about it because either:
a) they don't want to put a downer on other people's enjoyment
b) they do not wished to be identified by Disney for fear of repurcussions
c) they cannot be bothered.
Hmmmmm, interesting.
Here are some pics from the land.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=196468&id=744599997&l=54802b3d41
