Euro Disney

There is something odd about a foux castle in Europe.

When your heart is heavy, it can be such a relief and a blessing to trade in the jaded lenses one can't help but look though, and instead view the world through the eyes of a child. I've had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with my young cousins since I've been in Paris. At six, four, and one and a half, they are cute as hell, and they love to spend time with their big cousin "Chin Chin."

I've gotten to pretty good at telling bedtime stories since I've been here, and it's actually a lot of fun to just make up a story on the spot and to have such an enthralled and captivated audience. It's almost imposible not to smile when you see their eyes as wide as saucers, you can almost hear the hum of their imaginations working in overdrive.

The fairest one of all

It was a similar experience for me going to Euro Disney with my cousins and two of their little friends; it was hard to keep a smile off my face.  I don't remember when I got so jaded that this sort of thing wasn't fun for me anymore, but for a little while I was able to recapture some of that magic seeing it all through their eyes.  For them, when Cinderella and the other princesses came by our table at lunch, they were the real thing!

We got lucky with the crowds, the park was not that full given that there had been a downpour earlier in the day. The Park itself was cut from the same mold as the original down in Los Angeles. I was actually a little disappointed at how close of a copy it was. Although, I have to say going with little kids, there was quite a bit of the park that I didn't see. Tomorrow Land however, looked a lot better than it's beleaguered older sister back in California, which has taken on this ironic, decrepit retro-futuristic vibe.

As little kids are want to do when they are excited, we ended up going on each ride twice. In California on a summer day you are lucky to go on five rides, period. On account of the rain we were able to make several rides while repeating them.  The kid's favorite, and mine also, had to be the "It's a Small World" ride. I can't tell you how many times I've been on the LA version across the course of my childhood. But  this version of the ride benefited quite a bit from the updated animatronics, and I found myself grinning like an idiot both times we went through.

Round Doux 

Predictably, the little ones melted down by mid afternoon, and although I could have stayed, being alone at Disneyland is like sitting alone at the back of a children's movie in a trenchcoat, so I opted to leave early.  At the end of the day I left much happier than I arrived. There is a freedom in not having to suspend your disbelief, and just living through a child who doesn't have to make that leap.   I would have to go again to fully compare Euro Disney to it's American counterparts, but I what I experienced had nothing to do with comparisons or ratings. I got to see it thorough the eyes of pure imagination and that made all the difference in the world.

It's a stereotypical world after all