“In order to live free and happily, you must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice.”
- Richard Bach
If you’ve never been to Paris Disney…
Imagine Disneyland in Anaheim California, then take away the warm weather and all the smooth, well-maintained rides, take away a few key safety features, and then take away all the sit-down restaurants in Downtown Disney that serve decent food.
Now, clear away a big swath of land about an hour from Paris--amongst tiny medieval stone villages--and build a huge amusement park. Surround the park with the customary $500/night “Disney hotels”, and then cluster several boxy hotels and chain restaurants in planned “developments” that resemble business parks, and call them “towns”.
Next, fill the amusement park with rickety indoor roller coasters so people can plunge into darkness at lightening speeds and not have to go outside. Make sure most rides either go upside down, or shake violently. Serve strictly McDonalds-inspired food.
Finally, double the price of the tickets and hire hundreds of teenagers to run it.
As parents, we make sacrifices for our children. We smile and go along with things that are sometimes achingly boring or stupid or uncomfortable--just to see the joy and excitement on our child’s face. We laugh and play, and don’t complain about the neck pain and back pain, the headaches and the nausea.
Jenna liked Paris Disney, and that’s really all that mattered that day.
NEXT UP: Lago di Como
So glad you wrote this as we were thinking about MAYBE taking a side trip to visit Paris Disney when we're in France in about a week! Love your description. I think we'll stick with museums instead :)
ReplyDeletehahaha so well put tracie, i feel like i never have to go there for sure now.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, Jenna has surely solidified her title as "coolest kid who has been to the coolest places".
ReplyDeleteUgh, been there done that. Isn't it scary?! I remember my friends and I remarking that we had never had a Disney experience in gloves and pea coats. Fortunately for us, two of my friends worked at Anaheim Disney and were able to get us in for free.
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