191: Somewhere in Europe

Transcript

Marq (00:01.58)

Before we start the show, Beth, I want to ask you a quick question. If I were, let’s say a Disney executive talking about theme parks in Europe, where would your mind immediately go to?

Beth (00:16.404)

Okay, I think that first of all, he’d give a massive shout out to all of us hardworking Disney fan podcasters out here. And he, yeah, he’d say he’d support us a lot more, make sure we got better press releases, more insider information. And then maybe he’d give us free Mickey waffles. Please tell me I’m right.

Marq (00:25.422)

Obviously, that’s the first thing. Yeah.

Marq (00:42.422)

Well that’s one way to go, yes. No, I meant specifically location -wise.

Beth (00:50.47)

Oh, oh, okay. I was just, yeah, off on one of my flights of fantasy. All right.

Marq (00:54.272)

If you, if you correlate, if you correlate Disney theme park with Europe, what would you think immediately?

Beth (01:02.804)

Well, I mean, I know my Disney history, so, you know, I’d probably think, is he talking about France? Oh, wait, Spain. I mean…

Marq (01:12.75)

It’s open for interpretation. No, it’s not. He would be talking about Disneyland Paris, wouldn’t he?

Beth (01:20.884)

Well, you’d think so, you’d hope so.

Marq (01:22.014)

You’d have so you think so. So here’s an interesting little item that was brought to my attention by our listener, Stephen Fenwick. Let me read this Facebook post by Dr. Disney from the 7th of March, says “Disney CEO Bob Iger took part in the JP Morgan Stanley JP Morgan Stanley teleconference today and said the company could actually build seven new full lands if we wanted to around the world.

In regards to the Avatar experience coming to Disneyland, Iger now says that it will be a land and that more could develop.” And here is what Bob Iger actually said next.

Bob: “We have one Avatar-based land, Pandora, in Florida. We’re going to put a second one in California [at Disneyland]. That doesn’t mean we can’t put one somewhere in Asia and somewhere in Europe, for instance.”

Marq (02:36.046)

So my interesting observation in that is he says first somewhere in Asia and then he says somewhere in Europe.

What does he mean by that? Because somewhere in Asia I can understand because there’s a park in Beijing, there’s a park in Tokyo, there’s a park in Hong Kong… somewhere in Europe?

Beth (02:47.932)

Right.

Beth (03:00.052)

It does sound purposely obscure, doesn’t it?

Marq (03:04.014)

It does. Why not just say Disneyland Paris if he’s talking about, oh, we could actually build seven new lands and one of them could be in Disneyland Paris if we wanted to.

Beth (03:14.9)

Yeah, no, he purposely avoided saying Disneyland Paris there.

Marq (03:18.952)

So here’s what I’m thinking. Either he’s forgotten that there’s only one park in Europe and, you know, he’s getting a little bit old and it happens sometimes and we can forgive him for that. But we’re talking about Bob Iger here. Bob knows his stuff. So what if Disney is actually looking at putting another theme park in Europe? Is that even possible?

Are they feeling the heat from Universal announcing that maybe they’re going to put another park in the UK? Now, I also just happened to be somewhere in Europe this week, more specifically in Valencia in Spain, where I was for a secret photo and video shoot. I can’t reveal anything about that now, but it was there that I remembered a news report from last year.

that the Port Aventura Park in Barcelona is up for sale by its owners KKR and Invest Industrial for 1 billion euros.

Beth (04:29.62)

Yeah, I mean, that news does make your ears perk up because that’s one of the spots that Michael Eisner was looking at back in the 80s for the placement of the European Disney Park.

Marq (04:38.708)

Exactly.

Marq (04:42.478)

Exactly, exactly. And I think that, well, Universal has also shown interest in this park. And there’s a great podcast that I think everybody should listen to. It’s the Discord Disney podcast, which is they had an episode talking about Universal in England.

And Graeme on that podcast made a great kind of analysis of how Universal sometimes likes to throw people off with news. So then there was this news that somehow leaked about the UK, but at the same time, there was a whole Comcast delegation that went to Port Aventura to check out that place. So maybe they’re interested in buying that. And so maybe there’s a bidding war going on. Maybe Disney is interested.

Beth (05:30.452)

Mm -hmm.

Marq (05:40.014)

interested, but all of this is complete speculation, of course. Until I remembered that…

Marq (05:51.884)

JP Morgan Stanley, you know, that was the discussion he was having, that earnings call, that clip that I just played you was with JP Morgan Stanley. Do you know who the advisors are in the Port Aventura sale?

Beth (06:06.74)

Please enlighten me.

Marq (06:09.038)

JP Morgan Stanley.

Beth (06:12.18)

Oh! Da da da!

Marq (06:31.918)

Bon Dia i Benvinguts al podcast Dedicat a Disneyland París.

Beth (06:37.748)

Whoa, who are you greeting there?

Marq (06:39.982)

The fine people of Valencia in Valenciano, I’ve decided to learn a new dialect to corner the untapped Disney listeners markets.

Beth (06:48.946)

Wow, then let me be the first one to welcome the non -Valencia segment of our listeners by saying welcome to episode 191 of the Dedicated to Disneyland Paris podcast.

Marq (07:00.206)

Welcome everybody. How are you all? Send your comments in via Instagram so that we can know how you are.

Beth (07:07.636)

Yeah, yeah, we inquiring minds want to know how’s everybody been since our last episode?

Marq (07:14.574)

How are you, Beth?

Beth (07:16.626)

Doing good. We had a surprise snowstorm up here in the French Alps just a couple days ago. Yeah, it was amazing. Huge flakes. It really kind of built up. So people are

Marq (07:21.23)

Oh really?

Marq (07:25.898)

I actually saw saw that there’s lots of snow over the Alps on the Alps when I was flying over so everybody was talking about all the ski resorts are going to be closed because there’s no snow but suddenly there you are.

Beth (07:40.084)

Yeah, getting that late skiing in. And yeah, your trip looked fabulous. The few glimpses I was allowed to have of your top secret mission.

Marq (07:50.99)

Only in our top secrets WhatsApp group were you able to see those, yes. No, it was very interesting and we went to a couple of locations around Valencia and I saw some amazing places and while there, I actually, they’ve got this, Fallas I think they’re called these carnivals going on that Valencia is, the area is known for. They’re.

Beth (07:54.318)

Exactly.

Beth (08:16.402)

Okay.

Marq (08:19.054)

honoring the Santa Magdalena and other deities. And they have these huge fireworks that go on either at two o ‘clock in the afternoon or in the evening. And the whole square fills up with people and they’ve got like fireworks going over the top. And it’s then that I realized that I saw one picture of on the square in the Church of Castellón.

They have these fireworks coming out from behind the church and it looked exactly like the shot that Vanessa made of the fireworks coming up behind the castle at Disneyland Paris. So I don’t know if they had the same fireworks advisors, but there’s definitely a connection going on there.

Beth (08:52.716)

Yeah.

Beth (08:58.386)

Maybe the side by side photo that you showed us. I mean, that was an amazing comparison. Yeah, so cool.

Marq (09:04.686)

I had to post that. Yes, I had to post that because there’s something obviously going on there, but they didn’t have any drones. We still are. We’ve still cornered the market on Disneyland Paris drones there. Exactly. And talking about bragging, I think we’ve actually got some good news coming out of Disneyland Paris this week. So shall we go into the news segment? Here we go.

Beth (09:13.772)

Well, thank God we have something to brag about still.

Beth (09:30.836)

Let’s do it.

Beth (09:38.776)

you

Beth (09:48.948)

So the good news is that we have a new snack establishment in Frontierland on March 6th. Yes, the Overland Trail Cafe opened right across from Big Thunder Mountain, quite near Casa de Coco. And you can have like a quick stop there and pick up some well -deserved snackos and beverages. I have the menu before me. Let me enlighten you because this is pretty special. We’re seeing the return of the…

Marq (09:56.834)

Ooooo

Marq (10:05.326)

Mm -hmm.

Beth (10:18.452)

turkey leg that was once seen in these parts and was lost again, but it’s back for nine euros. And that is just a Disney classic, right? I mean, you can go to Disneyland in Anaheim and have a turkey leg.

Marq (10:31.054)

If you say so, I never had one.

Beth (10:33.844)

And you need that protein boost. You know, people eat so many carbs when they’re out in those parks. So this is nice to see some grease and protein. Next up, the churros with either a caramel or chocolate dipping sauce and chantilly. That is five euros, 50 cents. And the presentation is really cute. Yeah, you’d posted those pictures. Yeah.

Marq (10:56.462)

Yeah. I saw I found somebody, I think it was ED92 that posted a picture of this basket of churros with a little skull, you know, the Dia de los muertos skull. I think that’s edible. Looked very nice. And yeah, and I’m a big fan of churros now since we went to Madrid at the beginning of January and went to a churreria.

Beth (11:02.74)

Okay, with a little decor, yeah.

Beth (11:14.836)

It did, I was pleasantly surprised, yeah.

Beth (11:21.268)

Nice. Okay.

Marq (11:25.198)

So those, that’s a good snack. Yeah.

Beth (11:27.028)

Okay. Yeah. And if you just, you’re kind of a churro purist, you can have them just with sugar and that’ll only set you back €4,30.

Marq (11:34.894)

a Churrist

Beth (11:39.604)

That was that was sitting right there in front of me. Why didn’t I see that?

Marq (11:42.542)

There’s another one sitting right there. Do you want to hear it?

Beth (11:48.564)

Yes! Lay it on me.

Marq (11:50.126)

Are you Churro ’bout that?

Beth (11:52.82)

Wow, they’re just coming just hard and fast here. Why isn’t all this in the script? It’s pure comedy gold.

Marq (11:57.822)

Yeah, that’s like it comes from the top of my head there.

Beth (12:03.572)

Wow. Yeah, if you got it, you got it. Speaking of getting things, how about getting a deal with their combination of a sugar churro with a hot or cold drink, and that’ll be seven euros. And it can be more or less, yeah. I mean, the hot drinks go for three euros 30 up to €3,80. So if you’re just getting a simple small coffee, you’re not saving that much money. You’re saving 30 cents.

Marq (12:18.574)

great price.

Beth (12:31.668)

But if you’re going for say a soda, those cost four euros each and a cappuccino is on the higher end at 3 .80. I saw they also have beer. You can get a Brooklyn Defender for 4 .80 for a normal size serving or eight euros for, I think it’s like half a liter of beer. If you’re feeling a bit worn down, that was…

Marq (12:48.716)

Okay, that’ll make a lot of Americans happy.

Beth (13:00.596)

Pretty impressive. I don’t know if I’ve ever needed that much alcohol during a day at Disney, but God bless you if you do.

Marq (13:03.694)

Um.

Marq (13:10.478)

Add any cerveza on, I’m sorry for my pronunciation, I still have to learn, I have to still do those Duolingo lessons. Any Spanish or Mexican beer?

Beth (13:21.876)

No, the only beer they have is this Brooklyn beer, which I thought was a really odd choice. Why not a Corona or something like that? But yes. But yeah, it’s just the same one that they’re serving over in the Avengers land where it makes a lot of sense. It’s themed.

Marq (13:30.222)

or a sol or a cristal from chile they already have the beer so

Beth (13:45.492)

They’ve got that beer and so they’re just throwing it over to the other park. I would have liked a little more attention to detail, but I’m not complaining. Yeah, beer theming, right? But hey, there’s churros with chocolate sauce. So I’m just going to leave it all there.

Marq (13:48.928)

Alright.

Beer Theming.

Marq (14:00.462)

Yeah, and you don’t combine the churros with a beer, ladies and gentlemen. If you do, let us know. But yeah.

Beth (14:05.268)

No, I don’t recommend it be. Yeah. Sounds like, yeah, it would end in tears. I don’t recommend that.

Marq (14:13.204)

Next item is Star Tours is departing for new destinations starting April 5th, this time to the galaxies inhabited by Cassian Andor, Ahsoka Tano and the Mandalorian with his little sidekick Grogu. And I’ve seen a little sneak peek video of one of the episodes of Ahsoka where they’re flying with space whales. It sounds weird, but that’s something that

Beth (14:39.26)

Oh yes. Yeah, I saw that. That’s cool.

Marq (14:43.246)

For Star Tours, that’s actually quite fun. And I don’t know what they’re going to do for the other two, but there’s plenty of options. And they say that in total, there will be 250 different variations of Star Tours trips that you can make. So the likelihood of you bumping into the same one on your trip twice is much lower this time.

Beth (14:48.94)

you

Marq (15:13.966)

And I think if you can definitely go in there and one of those early morning days and do it like five times in a row, then let us know if you get any of these new ones. But as I said, from April 5th, that’s when they start.

Beth (15:25.076)

you

Beth (15:35.188)

such good news. I’m such a fan of Star Tours. One of my faves. Yes.

Marq (15:39.63)

I know, I know, yes, it’s still one of the great, even if it’s in Discoveryland, which we all agree should just be, you know, non -Star Wars, but okay, we’re not gonna go in there. This is a positive episode, ladies and gentlemen.

Beth (15:53.546)

Exactly. And I can say positive things about Disney Dreams, which I love, and now there is more of it, which is delightful. It’s been temporarily playing twice a day from March 3rd to the 9th. Now this was just a test, and the earlier version gives young kids a chance to see it before they get all sleepy and crabby and need to get to bed. I think that sounds like a great solution.

Marq (16:21.932)

Mm -hmm.

Beth (16:22.836)

Now, if you really want the full effect, including Disney Electrical Sky Parade and fireworks, the one just before part closing is really the one to catch. You get all the effects. Yeah, exactly. But if you have little ones that just want to catch a bit of the fun before they have to get to bed early, it’s ideal. Now, there’s no news yet on what the results of the test are and whether this is going to be ongoing or repeated, but…

Marq (16:33.902)

So the last one.

Beth (16:51.284)

We’ll tell you as soon as Disneyland Paris lets us know.

Marq (16:55.854)

I know, because by the time this episode goes out, it will be the last day that they’re doing this test. So we don’t know yet whether it was a success or not, if they thought that it bears repeating. I think it’s a great idea because the more the merrier, basically. And an earlier showing of Disney Dreams is great. I think that’s a fun idea.

Beth (17:04.564)

right.

Marq (17:23.054)

But yeah, we’ll just have to wait and see to see if they decide to continue that. And related to that is that DLP also introduced a new reserved viewing area service for outdoor shows, which will start on the 28th of March. This is if you don’t want the hassle of getting in a good spot for Disney Stars on Parade or Disney Dreams two hours beforehand, you just, you know.

Beth (17:23.238)

you

Beth (17:46.196)

you

Marq (17:51.498)

Reserve one of these limited daily spots in a special viewing area in the Disneyland Paris app for a flat rate of 19 euros per person per show. And you just know that you’re going to have a great place to see this from. Yeah.

Beth (18:08.244)

I love seeing how this shakes out. I mean, I think I’m a fan of the idea because, yeah, I think we’ve all seen things as we wait. And it can be a really harrowing experience, especially for families. And okay, it’s pricey, but what isn’t at Disneyland Paris? At least there’s an opportunity to buy out of the experience of like waiting and.

Marq (18:14.702)

Yeah.

Beth (18:38.388)

maybe getting shoved out of your place and your children slightly trampled on. It could be a winner.

Marq (18:47.95)

Yes, and I think this is one thing that people probably will be buying because having a guaranteed great viewing spots, 19 years is not that much unless of course you’re a huge family. But I think I know a lot of fans who will be definitely getting this because there’s also people who just want to video it and…

Beth (19:01.876)

Yeah.

Marq (19:16.59)

you know, not have anybody stand in front of them. I don’t think they can guarantee that nobody’s going to be standing in front of you, but at least, you know, you will not have to be there two hours beforehand. And yeah, I think good, good choice. And we’ll, we’ll have to see how this plays out there again. That’s on the 28th of March. So if they decide to do this Disney dreams two times per day, Bob’s your uncle.

Beth (19:16.66)

Right.

Beth (19:45.652)

Yeah. Yeah, they’re practically minting money over there.

Marq (19:48.786)

They should start a bank.

Beth (19:51.86)

In other news, Inside Ears has revealed seven hidden details that Imagineers created in the recently reopened Disneyland Hotel. One of those is a painting in the prologue room of the Royal Banquet. It depicts a deleted scene from Frozen 2 where the parents of Elsa and Anna meet for the first time. And it’s now immortalized and lives on in Disneyland Paris. And I can tell you there’s

glass panels in the Castle Club Lounge that have engravings of famous Disney castles and I thought that everybody out there should know.

Marq (20:29.71)

Yeah, especially since not all of us will be able to go to the Castle Club Lounge. So I will make the efforts to actually post all of these seven hidden details on Instagram so you can check those out. But it’s nice that they’re kind of giving a little bit of focus on the Imagineers who worked on Disneyland Hotel because they put a lot of work into it. And these are always nice little things that you can discover.

Beth (20:34.736)

Yeah.

Beth (20:42.932)

Nice.

Marq (20:57.998)

And for those of us who are not going to be staying there or are not visiting, you know, it’s nice to know that they’re there. So attention to details. That’s what Disneyland Paris is known for. Finally, if you’re visiting Disneyland Paris in March, we’d like to let you know about the ongoing attraction closures, as this is usually a slow time of year when the maintenance teams get a bit of work done. And the first one is Big Thunder Mountain.

Beth (21:06.374)

you

Marq (21:27.022)

I hear you say yes indeed. March 1st to March 15th. It will not be operating. So I’m… We’re halfway through that now. Phantom Manor from the 18th of March to the 29th of March. The storybook land canal boats will be March 11th with the reopening date still to be confirmed. Casey Jr. the little circus train. Also from March 11th until further notice and that’s…

two attractions in that corner that’ll be closed. So the little kids won’t be very happy with that. Mickey’s Philhar Magic will be closed from March 3rd to April 9th. Crush’s Coaster from March 11th to the 22nd. And the Flying Carpets over at Agrabah February 1st until further notice. And somebody asked us about Buzz Lightyear. And I can’t remember who it was. Can you? Somebody?

Beth (21:57.364)

Yeah.

Beth (22:14.036)

Yeah.

Marq (22:23.252)

On Instagram or Facebook. Anyway, they said they were going in June. Yeah, they were going in June and I can inform that the lasers will stop blasting from June 24th. And again, until further notice. Similarly, Pirates of the Caribbean will also close from June 3rd to the 21st. Which is strange because that’s high season and a lot of people look forward to both.

Beth (22:23.836)

Yeah, it’s…

Yeah, I think it was on Facebook. Yeah. Yeah. And we had, yeah.

Marq (22:52.718)

attractions. But there you go. I think it has to be done. And when all their maintenance teams are working on one or two or three or four attractions, you know, they can’t all do it at the same time. So there you go. And I think that’s that’s it for me. Do you have anything else?

Beth (23:00.934)

you

Beth (23:05.286)

Yeah.

Beth (23:11.836)

Well, people listening to us might not know. Yeah, but we are being, I was going there because we are being filmed. That’s, that’s like, that’s okay. That’s what we get for free styling it, right? Yes, we have also since our last episode been filming as we do our podcast and putting it up on YouTube and.

Marq (23:17.55)

or watching, or is that where you’re going? Oh, I’m sorry, I scooped it right from under your feet.

Beth (23:37.908)

So far, I think the response has been really great, really gratifying. I counted up the hours watched of our video and it translates to somebody sitting down and watching our videos on a continuous loop for 33 .3 days, which is more days than are in the whole month of February. So well done us last month.

Marq (23:48.078)

Okay.

Marq (24:00.16)

Thank you.

Marq (24:06.218)

It’s also more days than the last episode has been up. So I don’t know how you do it, that one person sitting there for 33 days.

Beth (24:17.204)

Wow, they’re truly dedicated to DLP. I mean, what can we say?

Marq (24:23.634)

Our dedicated fans.

Beth (24:26.724)

Exactly. Well, thank you to everybody. And let’s keep it rolling. Hopefully this is just going to get better and better. And more people will be finding us. Click that like button and subscribe. If I, isn’t that what all the YouTuber people say? Thank you so much. I do try. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my.

Marq (24:29.102)

Mm.

Marq (24:42.798)

You’re a natural at it, yes. And you do have to stick your thumb up when you say that. Look, look, you should try that. You should try that. Listeners, whenever we stick our thumbs up, there’s a little, oh no, it doesn’t work. There’s a little animation that comes up. Anyway.

Beth (24:57.812)

Wow, that was amazing. So now I think that really is the news and maybe we can do another edition of one of my personal favorites, the Love Our Listeners.

Marq (25:12.65)

Ah yes.

Marq (25:30.99)

The full version.

Beth (25:32.66)

Wow, I think I need that on my Spotify playlist. That is such a jam. I love it. Okay, down to serious business. First up, we have a message from one of our loveliest of listeners, Jen. And I’ll read this to everybody. Hello, Beth, Mark and Vanessa. Hope you’re all doing well. I’m on the countdown to my next DLP trip in 11 days and I’m staying at…

Marq (25:36.494)

It is isn’t it?

Beth (26:01.94)

Hotel New York, the art of Marvel for the first time. Do you have any tips for how to get the best out of this hotel? I hear that the Marvel Hero photo station is really good. Should I purchase a Disney Photo Pass to get the most out of this experience? Is there a particular time I should book for this? Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated. I’ll share a trip report with you when I get back. Thanks, Jen. So.

Marq (26:05.782)

Mm -hmm.

Beth (26:31.908)

First of all, excellent choice. Art of Marvel is fire, as the kids say these days. It’s lit? Well, it’s lit and then it’s on fire. I don’t know. And then you call. No, okay. No, the hotel’s not on fire. That is fake news. I’m sorry. We’ll get our inside ears credentials taken away for spreading panic.

Marq (26:39.118)

Don’t they say it’s lit? Or was that last week? No, no, no, the Marvel Hotel is not on fire.

Marq (26:53.678)

you

It’s gnarly guys!

Beth (27:00.948)

No, no, no, wait, we’re not going that far back in the time machine. I’m gonna give her some advice because the first thing that popped out was this thing all about the PhotoPass. Okay, the good news is all you really need to do for this experience is just make sure that your phone is charged up. The majority of this HeroStation experience is actually not meeting with the hero. That’s great and there is a PhotoPass.

Marq (27:04.206)

Okay.

Marq (27:30.36)

Oh, I’ve never done it so you can have to enlighten us here.

Beth (27:30.96)

photographer there and it’s fun and I recommend it. But the real fun is what happens afterwards because yeah. Okay, so you meet your hero and there is a PhotoPass person there or they’ll use your phone to take your pictures. But then there’s a whole really big room set up with about eight really cool what they call selfie spots. Now they don’t really work well for selfie. You really need to be

Marq (27:55.182)

Okay.

Beth (27:59.47)

two or more people with somebody to take them. And they’re set up so you can take these really fun kind of optical illusion pictures where you’re climbing on the ceiling like Spider -Man or you’re blasting into space like Captain Marvel. And there’s no photo path photographer for this. You’re just on your own, but you can really have fun with it. And it’s probably gonna take you a lot longer than you’re meeting with Black Panther or Black Widow or whatever you had. And you know.

Marq (27:59.598)

with somebody.

Beth (28:29.076)

Photo pass is no good there. Now, if you’re big on park photos and you’re sure that you’re gonna want, say, those on -ride photos, you’re gonna be willing to hunt down where the elusive magic shot spots are. You will get your money out of a photo pass if you’re playing your cards right, if you’re into those character meets and all that.

Marq (28:44.94)

Mm -hmm.

Marq (28:49.12)

you

Beth (28:55.732)

but don’t just get the photo pass if really it’s because you’re really into the superheroes and you’re gonna do this hero encounter, you know, at least once, maybe you’re gonna go back the next day to see if you can meet another hero. Don’t count on it really giving you your money’s worth just for that. Okay.

Marq (29:17.646)

Exactly. If you’re going to buy the PhotoPass, do it for all the experiences that you’re going to have in the parks. Because also, yeah, those attraction rides, for example, you get those photos as well. And I think it’s valid for a year, if I’m not mistaken, when if you get the PhotoPass. Somebody will have to confirm that for us. I’m very sorry, but I have never bought the PhotoPass.

But indeed, if you’re just going to go there for the hero station and want some fun pictures, the photographer will take your camera or your photo or your iPhone and make it for you or somebody else standing in line. And those other little places, those scenes like there’s Thor’s hammer as well. I didn’t know there were eight. That’s a lot. Yeah. Yeah, you just have fun with those. And if…

Beth (30:08.692)

Right. Yeah.

Marq (30:15.246)

I’m not mistaken, those are only accessible for people staying at the hotel. Yeah. So you’re not going to get any other people that just walked into the hotel and just want to go there for those places. Yeah.

Beth (30:19.726)

Absolutely. You’ll.

Beth (30:30.004)

This is an experience that you book on the app. You can only have one set up at a time, but as soon as you’ve had your one experience, say you just went in it, you had an appointment for nine in the morning after breakfast, you’ve gone in, you’ve met, say, Black Panther. As soon as you’re out, you can get that app back out and make an appointment, say, for the next day. And maybe you’ll get…

You know, Natasha, you know, the black widow, she’s awfully fun. And you can have some more fun with those photo spots. So if you have somebody who’s really mad for the superheroes, it’s a really nice, low pressure way to get some quality time with them, just because as you said, there’s not rando people wandering through that they’re just visiting the hotel.

Marq (31:02.156)

Hmm.

Marq (31:22.222)

Yes. I thought you were going to say Natasha Rafalski there as Black Widow. Anyway, we also have a lovely message from Karla and I’m going to read that to you. Hi D2DLP crew. I am listening to your episode about the horror show that apparently the new DL Hotel is. We’re not going to go there again.

Beth (31:26.964)

No, that’s where she likes to hang out, you know.

Beth (31:49.204)

dear. No.

Marq (31:52.398)

I’m so glad that I’m listening to it. I’m bringing my girls to Paris next April and they will be nine and six for the trip. I had planned on booking the Disneyland Hotel for our three day trip because they are still in their princess phase. However, it is a significant increase over the art of Marvel Hotel and I can book my stay in about three weeks. So now here’s my question for you. Given how much experience you collectively have,

been to DLP, do we think Disneyland Hotel will get their act together in the next 15 months? So it’s April 2025 that she’s going. Or should I just go with art of Marvel that everyone has raved about? The difference for the trip is about $700, US I am assuming, more than Disneyland Hotel, which is a pretty significant amount for our budget. Your guidance would be most appreciated.

Beth (32:32.052)

Right.

Marq (32:52.142)

Beth, what is your guidance on this? Be our guidance guru.

Beth (32:56.82)

Okay, you’re going to think maybe that I’ve lost my mind, but I think that she should go for the Disneyland Hotel. Hear me out. I think 15 months is plenty of time for them to get their act together and remedy this situation. I don’t think her daughters will have grown out of their princess phase.

Marq (33:11.598)

Mm -hmm.

Marq (33:18.234)

Yeah.

Beth (33:25.78)

in one year, they’re still quite young, and she didn’t say that they also like superheroes. So that was a bit of a red flag for me.

Marq (33:33.858)

Oh, no, no, no, no. They do like superheroes. And in fact, she said that, yes, they are from New York and they actually live like three blocks away from where Spider -Man lives in the universe. You know, that’s the MCU.

Beth (33:54.836)

Okay, okay.

Marq (33:56.462)

So she was like, well, I can actually introduce them to that area and say, look, this is where Spider -Man lives. So that’s, you know, it’s kind of balanced there. It’s between the princesses and the Marvel.

Beth (34:08.02)

Okay. Knowing that is weighing things a bit for me in the other direction, but I will say for an experience at this like top level hotel, that’s 700 more for the three days. I know it’s a lot of money, but it’s kind of a deal. It’s not that bad in the bigger scheme of things.

for a three day stay, that being the price difference between New York and Disneyland Hotel. If Disneyland Hotel lives up to its promise and is functioning at a high level, it could be really special.

Marq (34:49.422)

Yes, and if the budget is a concern for you and it’s 15 months, Karla, I would say maybe your daughters could sell some cookies in the neighborhood or wash a car for one of your aunts or something like that. That’s a little, in the whole scheme of things.

Beth (35:02.516)

Lemonade stand.

Marq (35:17.358)

That is quite a small amount. I understand budget because yes, you are already paying quite a lot for Marvel. Hotel New York is not the cheapest hotel either, but you’re coming from America, you’re staying in Paris, this is probably gonna be your first time. As I understand it, your daughters negotiated with you saying, well,

Beth (35:21.268)

Oh, yeah.

Beth (35:28.796)

No, far from it.

Marq (35:44.11)

You’ve always said that an experience is also a big present. So if we skip our birthdays and Christmas, can we go to Disneyland Paris? That’s what she told me. And so I would say, yes, if your girls are not going to be over the princess phase, definitely. I also believe now that Disneyland Paris will get their act together. I think they’ve done.

Beth (35:52.242)

aww

It’s so sweet.

Marq (36:12.494)

quite a bit in the time since we aired our last podcast. I haven’t seen or heard too many negative reviews since then. And I think you should go for the Disneyland Hotel simply because it’s right at the gate of Disneyland Park. And that location in itself is worth it already because…

Beth (36:29.352)

Okay.

Beth (36:38.548)

you

Marq (36:42.746)

sure, you’re going to miss walking through Disney Village, which by that time will have had a whole renovation, as we understand it. A lot’s going on there. They’re creating like, they’re merging a couple of stores so that four stores will become three. There’s Hollywood, Planet Hollywood, which is going to become something else. They haven’t told us yet what it’s going to be.

Beth (36:51.72)

Yeah.

Marq (37:12.174)

Rosa lie just opened there and we have to give it a plug because a lot of people are passing by. And so it’s kind of equal, but that little thing about the location, I think is definitely worth it.

Beth (37:25.07)

you

It really does make the hotel very unique. Even the Disneyland Hotel in California doesn’t have that same access to the park, that same view of the castle like we get.

Marq (37:49.102)

Yes, but hold on, hold on. Let’s not raise the expectations here because you do not always get a view of the castle from your hotel room at the Disneyland Hotel. You might have it from Fantasia Gardens or you might have it again in 15 months. The works being done on the other side, so on Walt Disney Studios, will have progressed quite a bit. And we’re…

Beth (37:58.132)

No, no, definitely not, but.

Beth (38:04.412)

Mm -hmm.

Beth (38:17.542)

Yeah.

Marq (38:18.67)

kind of expecting something to open there next year, but we have no indication of what date yet. But I think those are negligible things by then. But yes, do not expect that you’re going to get a hotel room overlooking the castle unless you’ve booked Castle Club. And I don’t know if this is the case with Karla.

Beth (38:32.48)

Yeah, I’m going to guess not, but you can still have some pretty good views of it just from the walkway between the main building over to the wings and some spaces like that. If they go to have a nice dinner.

Add the real banquet i mean there’s lots of nice spaces and the half priority access to that. So i’m amazed we’re both on the same page on this.

Marq (39:11.502)

Yeah, I’ve come around a bit. But I was never against the Disneyland Hotel. I was just very surprised about, like a lot of us were, about the amount of negative reviews that came out of it since the opening. But yes, we’re still waiting to hear from other listeners who have gone there since. And I’m very interested to hear what Karla decides. So…

Beth (39:13.62)

Okay.

Beth (39:28.212)

Yeah.

Beth (39:34.036)

Yeah.

Beth (39:39.892)

Yeah!

Marq (39:40.686)

do get back in touch with us to see what you’ve done. And obviously, any other listeners listening in would like to give any advice that might help Karla, then let us know about that. And I will pass that on to her.

Beth (39:50.612)

Yeah. Okay. Now I want to circle back because I feel like we shortchanged my girl Jen because she did ask for other tips about the Art of Marvel Hotel. And I did just want to say just a few things like definitely explore around the hotel. There’s lots of fun places to take little pictures, little Easter eggs to enjoy all that great artwork.

Marq (40:04.654)

Mm -hmm.

Beth (40:20.244)

So don’t forget just to have a look around.

Marq (40:21.302)

The same goes for Karla as well, because unlike the Disneyland Hotel, you do have access to Marvel Hotel New York, except for those photo locations. But yes, you can definitely go to Manhattan or Downtown Restaurant or the Skyline Bar, and you can walk around and soak that in.

Beth (40:35.028)

Yeah, that’s true. That is true. Yeah.

Beth (40:45.076)

Oh yeah, Karla should definitely do that with her girls. They would really enjoy that. Okay. Yeah, exactly.

Marq (40:49.038)

So even if you’re staying at the Disneyland Hotel, you can still go to, which the other way around might not be possible unless you’re booking the Royal Banquet or my Royal makeover experience. I’m not saying it right, am I? My Royal dream, yes. Now.

Beth (40:54.996)

That’s.

Yeah.

Beth (41:02.996)

or you want to do line Bertie and I don’t know, anyway, but yeah, no. I guess I would also say, don’t forget to take advantage of the Skyline bar. It’s called a bar, but it’s very family friendly and there’s cute little mocktails and nice things for the children. And I think that’ll be really enjoyable. And don’t forget to stop in at the gift shop.

Marq (41:19.692)

Mm -hmm.

Beth (41:32.404)

because there is special merch themed to the art of Marvel Hotel. Those bath robes, that special ambiance fragrance, which is really delightful, and then little bits and bobs like magnets and things. I feel like they’re quite smartly designed and could make a really nice souvenir.

Marq (41:52.206)

Yes. And I also have to mention when we talk about the Hotel Art of Marvel that today that we’re recording is International Women’s Day. Happy International Women’s Day, Beth and Vanessa. I know you’re out there as well. You can’t join us for this episode, but they are there is a whole gallery at the Hotel Art of Marvel dedicated to female heroes. So you can see the.

Beth (42:20.244)

Yeah.

Marq (42:20.622)

the artworks hanging up there. And that’s kind of inspiring to see as well because we saw that last time that we were at the gala. So that’s worth just walking through the hallways and seeing the artworks that are there.

Beth (42:22.932)

you

Marq (42:40.846)

Um, I just want to leave you with this final sentiment that Karla gave us. She said, “I want you to know just how much I appreciate your podcast. I basically have, uh, an honorary doctorate in Walt Disney World planning and listen to Walt Disney World planning podcasts on my runs, but DLP is a whole new world for me. And I have been INHALING your episodes.” Thank you so much, Karla.

Beth (43:05.104)

Ah, dooo.

Marq (43:08.91)

That’s a lovely comment that you’ve made there. Yes. And we will definitely take that to heart. I think we can move on, can’t we? Yes. Here we go.

Beth (43:13.268)

So nice, so nice.

Beth (43:24.372)

Yeah.

Marq (43:41.678)

Beth, we’re almost into spring.

Marq (43:46.702)

Do we have any information? What is happening? I want to know what’s going on.

Beth (43:46.936)

Ha!

What’s going on? We’ve had listeners ask, what’s going on for Easter? What’s going on for spring? I wish Disneyland Paris would tell us. Right now we don’t have a lot of information, but if people keep tuned to our social media, hopefully we’ll have more info. Have you found out anything in interim, Marq?

Marq (44:20.142)

Well, we know that there’s going to be a new show based on Alice in Wonderland at Walt Disney Studios. This is going to be held at the former Stunts Motors Action show, which is an outdoor theater. It’s right behind Tower of Terror in that corner where now Marvel Avengers campus is. And they’re…

working on that, we’ve seen that from aerial photos that have been taken. So there’s going to be a whole new stage. It’s going to be Alice in Wonderland. Apparently there’s going to be BMX bikes involved as well. But again, we have no details specifically to that. And that is supposed to open in spring 2024. So at some point, we’re going to get some information about that.

I’m assuming that Inside Ears members are going to be invited to see the premiere performance of this so that we can report on it. When we get that invitation, we will let you know. I’m looking forward to that because it sounds like this is going to be a completely different experience from what we’re used to from shows at Disneyland Paris. And let me be clear, Disneyland Paris is very good at shows and live entertainment.

Beth (45:43.782)

you

Marq (45:47.022)

So I’m expecting some kind of pop concert vibe. I don’t know. That seems to be the thing that they’re going for because with the concept art that we’ve seen, there’s lights going around and I don’t know if people are going to be seated. I’m assuming that that whole what is it? The seating area is still there. Yeah.

Beth (45:59.484)

Mm.

Beth (46:12.24)

Stadium seating, yeah.

Marq (46:15.598)

but who knows, maybe they will even have like an arena area where people can stand, I don’t know. But that looks like something that is going to be interesting and a reason to visit Disneyland Paris in spring and summer. What else do we expect there to be? Now there have been rumors, no, there’s not rumors, it’s actually true that the…

Beth (46:38.054)

you

Marq (46:43.726)

renovations going on around Studio One are actually ahead of time. So this is supposed to be, you know, they’re going to create a new area within Studio One. Do you remember that item about there being some kind of red carpet or green carpet, premiere, garden party, restaurant?

Beth (46:50.644)

Miracle.

Beth (47:09.3)

Garden party, that whole vibe. Yeah.

Marq (47:12.718)

Something like that. So, yeah, we’ll have to wait and see when that is done. But it’s possible that at some point an avenue that will eventually lead to the lake might open up beforehand. But don’t take our word on that. I don’t think it’s going to be this spring. But maybe that area around the studios might be done by summer.

Beth (47:31.38)

Hmm. Yeah.

Marq (47:42.734)

already so that you will not need to go around Studio One, but you can actually go through it already. But again, it’s pure speculation on our part and we do not deal in rumors on this podcast, do we?

Beth (47:57.236)

No, no. I mean, we can have a best guess. And certainly with the crowds due to the Olympics coming up, I think DLP will be doing their best to make it a little bit easier to navigate around that park. But that’s, yeah.

Marq (47:58.926)

I’m

Marq (48:13.602)

I think that’s a very good point because yes, probably going to be many people coming during the summer. The Olympics are end of July and August, if I’m not mistaken, which is top high season, obviously. Do be aware that if you have booked a hotel at Disneyland Paris,

Beth (48:25.492)

Right. Prime time, yeah.

Marq (48:39.182)

Or anywhere in the surroundings, there is a higher tax, as Beth reported. I think, was it 200 % hotel tax increase? That’s not the prices. Well, some prices have increased as well. But no, it’s the hotel tax. It’s like the little amount that you have to pay on staying at a hotel in France.

Beth (48:47.812)

Increase Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Marq (49:04.254)

and specifically for the Paris region. So everything is a little bit more expensive than usual. So I’m interested to see how many people will be coming to Disneyland Paris this year. But they do need to increase the capacity flow there, which of course at Disneyland Park isn’t a problem because you’ve got Main Street and you’ve got the two galleries.

Beth (49:10.824)

Yeah.

Beth (49:20.852)

Yeah.

Marq (49:33.134)

on either side, which has been used to good effect, but people often forget that those two passages are there. Liberty Arcade and… Blank. Discovery Arcade. Thank you. And there’s always Beth’s secret passage that goes to Pirates of the Caribbean on the left -hand side if you go through Liberty Arcade.

Beth (49:45.688)

Discovery. Discovery. Yeah.

Beth (50:02.804)

Exactly. Yeah, keep under the covered walkways and yeah, exactly. Cross that whole…

Marq (50:03.502)

Do I say that? Yes, yes, exactly. That’s the one.

On the left, entering the park, go to the left. Where were we? Yes, Walt Disney Studios. So yeah, there are a couple of questions, question marks there that need to be answered. And for Easter, no, we have not had any information yet about if there’s anything specific going on around Easter time. But I would assume…

Beth (50:13.396)

on that, yeah.

Beth (50:19.604)

Yeah.

Beth (50:23.412)

Yeah.

Beth (50:33.872)

Uh -huh.

Marq (50:37.422)

that the million splashes of colour parade will still be going. And the whole symphony of colours, when is that supposed to end? That season? Or is that going to continue during the summer months? We don’t know, ladies and gentlemen, because when Disneyland Paris says a season will be for a certain amount of months, they have…

Beth (50:44.308)

Mm -hmm.

Beth (50:59.444)

Pfft.

Marq (51:04.748)

somehow an extra life and something that would be for three months continues for another year and a half, like with a 30th anniversary. So they’re very good at extending those things. And yeah, I just think that going during spring is nice because it’s not too hot, it’s not too cold, it’s not too wet. And there are obviously a couple of closures.

but it’s always worth going to Disneyland Paris. You’ve been in springtime, haven’t you?

Beth (51:37.852)

Oh absolutely love it.

Marq (51:41.102)

Yeah. So, I don’t know what else we can discuss about springtime. But I think that a lot of people want to know what the rest of the year is holding for us. And again, there’s not a lot of information there. But we do know that we’re going to have some…

more parades, most likely coming at Halloween time. Is it going to be the same as last year? We don’t know. And then we’re into winter again. Really, we’re running on low energy and low information here. But I’m sure they’re going to bring out some information quite soon because people are booking, aren’t they?

Beth (52:31.7)

Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

Marq (52:41.324)

They just had to get past this whole Disneyland Hotel thing first. And we haven’t heard any information about the Sequoia Lodge, have we?

Beth (52:47.878)

Exactly. No, no. You know, there’s a reason why I was gently mocking Disney in our opening sequence, asking for a little more support for the fan community out here, because they’ve got us on the job. We’re supposed to be spreading information, and I’d like a little more information to spread. But, you know.

Marq (53:05.582)

You’re absolutely right about that. And for listeners and viewers, just for you to know how this works, if you’re a member of Inside Ears, they are going to give you some information about upcoming events, about upcoming attractions, about seasons and so on.

Beth (53:18.9)

Hmm.

Marq (53:33.838)

And they supply some photos with that so that we can post them on social media, write articles or discuss it in our podcasts. But it has been a little bit slow lately. And there’s an item that came through recently and it just completely, I almost missed it. And it wasn’t till two, the Star Tours, yes.

Beth (53:58.468)

Oh right, the Star Tours, right? Yeah, yeah.

Marq (54:01.966)

So I learned about it from somebody else who posted because they found it on the Disneyland Paris Instagram feed. And only after that did it appear on the Inside Ears channels. So this is just to say, if anybody at Disneyland Paris is listening, if anybody at the communications department is listening, we want to help.

But it’s difficult sometimes because not all of us are in the parks every day. And even those who are in the parks every day still need their information to be able to be there when something is happening. And a lot of times it’s hearing it through the grapevine that maybe something like last time one of us was there, we went to city hall to ask about a certain parade.

Beth (54:29.972)

That’s right. Some people are hard to love, yeah. Yeah.

Marq (54:59.822)

This was the million splashes of color. It was having a soft opening. And the poor cast members at City Hall didn’t even know. So it’s not just us, it’s a general issue.

Beth (55:02.492)

Right.

Beth (55:14.74)

Yeah, I mean, maybe it’s a bit of insider baseball for people, but I just wanted our fellow fans and listeners to know we are here fighting the good fight, struggling for you, trying to get the information out there and yeah, put our hearts into it.

Marq (55:26.69)

I’m going to go ahead and close the video.

Yeah. And that’s why you hear us struggling to give you some content every now and again. Anyway.

Beth (55:41.672)

Fortunately, we can fill up this show with lots of nonsense, so hey.

Marq (55:47.4)

Yeah, we’re very good at nonsense. But I don’t think everybody always tunes in for that. So as our motto says, we like to inform and inspire and it’s not always easy to do both. So.

Beth (55:55.62)

All right.

Beth (56:05.908)

I’ll pat you on the back. You can virtually pat me on the back too. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Cool. Yeah. Love that for us. Did we do it? Yeah. We did the thing.

Marq (56:11.032)

Trying to do that. There you are. High five. Yes. We can do that. Like in the TikToks. Put your hand over the camera. One, two, three. Poink. Coordination. Okay. Well, I think we’ve had a good run for this show. And thank you, everybody, for writing in. And we hope that you’re going to tune in again next time.

Beth (56:44.404)

Now it’s not giving me a bubble. Rats.

Marq (56:47.022)

You will get a bubble sub.

Marq (56:56.302)

Thanks for listening to the D2DLP podcast. You can subscribe to the show on all podcatchers, including Apple podcasts, Spotify, and RollerCaster. Feel free to rate and review the show like Chiara did this week. Thank you so much. It helps new listeners find and enjoy us. You can also follow our posts and get involved on our Instagram, Facebook, and Blue Sky feeds.

Beth (57:04.18)

Thank you.

Marq (57:17.614)

You can now also view our podcasts on YouTube. Send any private requests, questions, or trip reviews to dlp at dedicatedtodlp .com and check out our website, dedicatedtodlp .com. Thank you for listening. Thank you, Beth. See you next time. Bye -bye.

Beth (57:38.4)

Ciao!