Disneyland Resort Paris

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James
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[quote=""evil cod""]Don't argue with managers.
Don't post bad stuff about your employers on facebook.
Expected to work overtime if the company needs you.
In house medical care not always avaliable.

Surely these are just standard to any job these days?[/quote]
True. But there seems to be something about Disney that drives people away.

A friendly, approachable manager = a happier staff member = a better experience for guests = great company image. The managers seem to treat staff like dirt, I know that with jobs you will come across horrible managers, that's life of course but this isn't your typical job, it's a big company that promotes itself as bright, happy and magical yet when it comes to staffing you see the dark sinister side of the company, underneath those Mickey Mouse costumes could be a very depressed staff member on the verge of suicide.

Just to point about arguing with managers, from the people I've spoken to it's more of disagreeing with your manager. They just can't say what they feel, otherwise they get sacked. A manager is supposed to be a person that you can go and speak to comfortably and note on how you feel certain things don't work. Both of my parents are managers in a hospital (yes I know, nothing like Disney) and they tell their staff to speak up if they feel that the decisions that they make aren't the right ones, then they note these things down and work around something to make the staff happy. Some managers rely on their job title to much and I think this is the case with DLP. The managers just basically don't give a crap, as long as customer satisfaction targets are reached then who cares about the staff? I don't think this is the way things should work.

My anger is only with the managers behavior against staff working there. They really need to make sure their staff are happy and enjoying the job instead of driving them away. But I'm sure as each year comes they have a new batch of employees that are unaware of what it's like working there.

I think the park itself is great and I like Disney as a whole. I will probably still give Disney my custom when I'm older if I ever plan on visiting there. The way they treat the customer is perfectly fine, Disney get that spot on, it is just the way the staff are treated that annoys me.
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Sam
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[quote=""evil cod""]Yeah its bad and I do feel sorry for them but at the end of the day its not that much above the french national suicide rate (its considerably higher than the uk) for the number of employees they have, added to the fact its been repeatedly proven that press coverage of a suicide can encourage others in a similar position to do the same especially when a suicide at somewhere like Disney would get soo much press coverage all around the world, its not like a suicide in a small company that would get a paragraph in the local paper.[/quote]
According to World Health Organization stats, in 2006 (the most recent figures available) the French suicide rate was 17 per 100,000 per year. Disneyland Paris according to their website employs 14,200 people. You'd only expect 2.4 suicides a year amongst those figures, and we've seen 3 and another attempted. It's not much higher I agree, but significantly higher enough to be worrying. :)

However, those figures do not take into account the cause of suicide. Out of all the hundreds of things that could cause suicide, work is only one factor. However it looks like at least three of the people who died or attempted to die in the last year killed themselves due to work.

[quote=""The Independent""]Since the beginning of the year, two Disneyland Paris employees have committed suicide. One of them, Franck, a cook at Disneyland for 10 years, killed himself on the day that he was supposed to return to the park after a long period of sickness. According to his father-in-law, he scratched a message on the wall of his home which read: "Je ne veux pas retourner chez Mickey" (I don't want to work for Mickey any more).[/quote]

[quote=""The Independent""]The other employee, also a cook, killed himself in February after what one trade union, Force Ouvrière, insists was "humiliating" treatment at work.[/quote]

[quote=""UPI""]PARIS, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A worker at Disneyland Paris allegedly tried to kill himself by jumping off a bridge at the theme park, saying he blamed his manager for his actions.[/quote]
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gosling
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That first account you've shared, Sam, is chilling. What a terrible and sad situation. It does seem odd.

Do we know if there are any similar incidents at any of the other Disney resorts? [For instance, Japan has a high suicide rate among it's younger generations, is there anything happening at their park?]
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Mankey
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I do think people are being somewhat over-analytical here.

It's a tough job with long hours, crap pay, and knowing what the french are like extremely strict and "bossy" control over each and every employee. They're renowned for their cynical and pessimist views on things. Granted, they're most likely not all like that and it's a generalisation, but nevertheless you get my point.

The thing is, all it takes is some weak, over dramatic person to work somewhere like this and not be able to cope with it. Disney is the biggest chain of theme parks in the world. It's NO DOUBT people are being forced to work really hard. I know people who work for towers who sometimes complain there's a lot to be done in a day, but they get on with it, it's their job!

As with any job though, if you get fed up with it, you CAN leave. It's never the end of the world. This person could have been unhappy with the way he was being treated and tried to give disney a bad light by "pretending" to commit suicide. He could then leave the company with a smug look on his face knowing he's damaged their reputation somewhat.

Come on guys... :lol: Look at yourselves!

"OH MAH GAWD! DISNEH IS OWT TO KILL UZ!" :roll:

I'm waiting for the Europa Park version of this! Oh wait, the Germans are too efficient to care about how they're treated! They're totally badass! :box:

Also, no offense or anything to that person who was raped, but who says it was management who didnt help? That's a pretty serious accusation to give without much evidence... They could have tried all they could but had nothing to go by? For all we know it could be the french police not doing their job properly?
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Islander
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[quote=""Sam""]According to World Health Organization stats, in 2006 (the most recent figures available) the French suicide rate was 17 per 100,000 per year. Disneyland Paris according to their website employs 14,200 people. You'd only expect 2.4 suicides a year amongst those figures, and we've seen 3 and another attempted. It's not much higher I agree, but significantly higher enough to be worrying. :)[/quote]
It really isn't, though - it is in no way statistically significant. In fact, given that you can't have 0.4 of a suicide, it's pretty damn near the average. If we were talking more than twice the number of suicides, then fair enough, but we're not.

Also, I must agree with Mankey above ^. It's a sticky thing to discuss, because no matter the circumstances, and no matter the park's response and support, rape is a terrible, terrible thing, so of course it goes without saying that my sympathy is entirely with this person. However, that doesn't mean we can take related accusations without a shred of evidence other than her word, so I am dubious as to the validity of this story.
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James
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[quote=""Mankey""]Also, no offense or anything to that person who was raped, but who says it was management who didnt help? That's a pretty serious accusation to give without much evidence... They could have tried all they could but had nothing to go by? For all we know it could be the french police not doing their job properly?[/quote]

Err, she said the management done nothing and I 100% believe her. She's not someone who enjoys attention and is not a bullshitter. I understand if people don't believe it any way, since you are all just going by words, I've known her all my life and know that she is a very truthful woman.

Also when she tried to leave Disney the managers wouldn’t allow her to do that. It seems the only way to get fired is the piss off the managers.

Anyway I agree with the rest of your post. If a French person came to this country they would probably hate it. We are all brought up differently and taught how to treat others differently. We might see a French person as rude; a French person may see us as snobs.

As I said in my other post, it’s not Disney itself that I have a problem with; it’s the management’s treatment towards staff. I understand that they operate differently to us but they don’t seem to show any empathy towards staff.
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Mankey
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[quote=""James""]Also when she tried to leave Disney the managers wouldn’t allow her to do that. It seems the only way to get fired is the piss off the managers.[/quote]

I'm sorry, but NO job can stop you from leaving. A. It's in their contract. B. Theres nothing stopping you from just not turning up...

Also, I never said that she was attention seeking or "making it up". She could very well have been raped. I did say however, that I disagree with your statement saying the management did nothing. Just because nothing came from it, doesn't mean they did NOTHING to help.

That's like saying it's the senders fault for a package not arriving... Who says it wasn't lost in the post?
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AstroDan

I was under the impression that the French have some of the most protective laws for employees? The famous '35' heures?

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gosling
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Being the morbid yet curious kitten that I am - I had a little looksie into all this. And I have to say that it isn't anything more than a particularly rubbish place to work in a country with poor mental health services and, sadly, bad coping methods.

Obviously I'd rather not make a grand, sweeping statement as I wouldn't really know - but there is a high rate of suicides in France, as mentioned. And, upon a bit of digging about, there is also not a lot of support for people in a 'low' place emotionally. There is a telecoms company there who had a fair number of suicides among their staff too, and it seems they were another bad company to work for.

There are places just the same in the UK really. But our society is prehaps more 'cut out' for it, or has more support? I dunno. That's a whole other issue.

I found the story about Franck very unsettling, purely because it's a sad set of circumstances and for someone to feel that distressed about a job (there could be other factors not known).

Very interesting, certainly. But no conspiracy theory I don't think.
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Chris W
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@WDSfans has just tweeted this:
Ratatouille was confirmed today by Euro Disney CEO Philippe Gas during the shareholders meeting, saying the project is well advanced.
Which is fantastic news! Its about time DLP confirm Ratatouille, shame they aren't making a big deal out of it though. If this was one of the US Parks it would have had a huge announcement. (But maybe that will come at some point in the near future)
Ratatouille deserves better than just a small mention at the shareholders meeting!

Also, latest photo from the castle refurb from [url=http://www.dlrptoday.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://www.dlrptoday.com[/url]

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Joelio

About time they announced it! Maybe they'll give it a swanky opening ceremony, in the style of Tower of Terror (in grandeur) :D Still this is good news for WDS, as its about time it had a dark ride!
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Sam
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I find Paris' castle very ugly actually, compared to WDW's and Tokyo's. It's only better than Hong Kong's and Anaheim's because of it's size.

For me, the WDW and Tokyo castles look so classic, like German châteaus. They look so beautiful. For me, the pink colour scheme at Paris makes it look cheap and tacky, like something out of a Barbie playset.
Joelio

[quote=""Sam""]I find Paris' castle very ugly actually, compared to WDW's and Tokyo's. It's only better than Hong Kong's and Anaheim's because of it's size.

For me, the WDW and Tokyo castles look so classic, like German châteaus. They look so beautiful. For me, the pink colour scheme at Paris makes it look cheap and tacky, like something out of a Barbie playset.[/quote]

All the castles are pink or pinky hued? And the only reason the Parisian castle is so wildy different is due to the vast amounts of *actual* castles and châteaus. I prefer the parisian version for the upstairs section the 2 boutiques and the dragon cave. Its definately the more involved of the castles they've produced. Not to mention the fantastic landscaping of the area, including the now famous cube trees :P

I understand its a case of "Different strokes for different yolks" though :)

As for that tarpaulin cover however :/ the less said about that the better.
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Gloomy Dude
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That fake facade really is astonishingly ugly. I understand that as a year-round park, they need to perform this work at some point, but I'd honestly find it less disgusting to look at if were just covered in loads of scaffolding.

I do of course have a bit of a vested interest, what with me heading to DLRP in little over week. But worse than the ugly castle, Pirates of the Carribean will be closed, and even worse - possibly my favourite thing at any theme park in the world ever - the dragon's lair :(
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Chris W
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I kinda like the scrim they have put up to cover the scaffolding. Usually its a photograph of the building undergoing work but this time they have gone for something a bit more stylized and similar to the original animated film.

The back of WDWs castle is currently looking like this:

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Picture: [url=http://orlandoparksnews.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://orlandoparksnews.blogspot.com/[/url]

For me, I'd choose Paris due to the landscaping. Walt Disney World's is just on a flat piece of concrete whereas the Parasian castle is coming out of a rocky hill.
I think WDWs looks a lot cheaper and bland, it lacks in detail compared with Paris.
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No the may not look the nicest, but I would rather see the fake front then look at the scaffolding to be honest I do like the fact that they have put the 3 fairies from Sleeping Beauty on it :)

I do think that DisneyLand Paris is the best looking of the Disney Parks. I have only been to Florida once and that was a long time ago now but I remember Magic Kingdom well and I prefer the look of the Paris castle.

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AstroDan

Paris' castle is my favourite!

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Adam
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It may not be the biggest castle, but the hill and square trees are really, really nice! Makes it look beautiful! :)
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[quote=""Gloomy Dude""]That fake facade really is astonishingly ugly. I understand that as a year-round park, they need to perform this work at some point, but I'd honestly find it less disgusting to look at if were just covered in loads of scaffolding.

I do of course have a bit of a vested interest, what with me heading to DLRP in little over week. But worse than the ugly castle, Pirates of the Carribean will be closed, and even worse - possibly my favourite thing at any theme park in the world ever - the dragon's lair :([/quote]

Same for me too. I'm over thee for my first visit next week and this has put a bit of a dampener on things, although my youngest probably wont notice any difference. :lol:
is the back boarded up also? I'd at least like to get some pictures of the castle without boards and scaffolding.
Is the refurbishment affecting the Fireworks at all? I believe they have Fireworks on St David's Day (last week) and St Patrick's Day (Next week) :)
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hex_appeal
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Just wanted to add to this topic to say how excited i am about the Ratatouille dark ride due next year!
the queue line plans sound amazing, if they pull it off i can see this being world class.. and with a budget of 150-160 million!.. i can't see why not..
obviously everything at this stage is mainly rumour, but the things coming from disney staff is certainly enough to wet the appetite!
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