Came Monday the summer season officially had ended at Disneyland Paris – meaning shorter opening hours, no more Disney’s Fantillusion Parade and Enchanted Fireworks to end the day and also less street entertainment. That pretty much sums up the “pre-announced” impact that guests will also consider when scheduling their visit. However, once on site guests on Monday could also notice other “off-season” indicators.
Over night the rehabs returned to the resort. Suddenly signs indicating fresh paint that hadn’t be seen for two months popped up like magic. The first such sign most guests of the Disney Hotels may have noticed was at lamp post on the promenade between Disney’s Hotel New York and the Disney Village. But further touch-up painting took also place inside the Disneyland Park.
For example on Town Square the columns in front of Town Square Photography were repainted and further up on the Main Street the entrance of Main Street Motors as well as the frames of the shop windows received some touch-up paint jobs.
Two other signs of the season could be found outside the parks: The Disney Store in the Disney Village didn’t open at 9.00 am as usual but delayed since the store’s management had ordered its cast members to check the complete store inventory (making use of the fact that while the summer had officially ended in the resort the cast members with temporary summer contracts were still available till Tuesday).
The final indicator was the one hardest to miss: as usual during parts of the off-season guests of both theme parks were asked to enter through the gates leading into the Fantasia Gardens. The entrance leading straight to the plaza in front of the studios’ gates remained closed (and with it the additional security check points located at said entrance).
While officially the summer season has ended the number of guests in both parks must have gone down only minimal from Sunday to Monday as far as that can be stated based just on personal perception of wait times. In particular the Walt Disney Studios remained extremly busy thanks to the opening of Toy Story Playland. Not only did the three new attraction continue to sport long wait times (most of the day 100 minutes for RC Racer, more than one hour for the Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop and up to one hour for Slinky Dog ZigZag Spin) but also long time favorites. While the line for Crush’s Coaster has remained steady for years the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is seeing a sudden increase in waiting time, with the line on the weekend and on Monday frequently stretching out of the hotel’s gardens, away from the entrance to the fountain and then into the hotel’s Rose Garden all the way to the exit of the attraction’s shop.