There's a very good reason why Walt Disney decided to open his first big amusement park near Los Angeles and his even bigger second park near Orlando. He didn't choose a flat area just outside Chicago for one very good reason and I learned what that was the past few days.
We were in Disneyland Paris and my Lord was it cold. Let me tell you, wind blown snow can really burn the eyes when you're twirling above the Earth in an open Dumbo. That was Monday's lesson. Yesterday I discovered that waiting in line to see Donald when the temperature is in the mid 20's (-4°C was the high) with a strong breeze can be fairly sobering, although, strangely, not for those under 10.
The magic of Disney is something the Disney people like to emphasize constantly, but there must be something to it based on the fact that somehow human beings under the age of 10 or so are immune to the elements when in the Disney parks. There seemed to be nothing but smiles on the frozen faces while the adults all looked like cartoon characters who'd just stepped out of an ice box.
The only saving grace of the January Disneyland Paris experience was that 20 yards outside the Park gates there was a little hut selling fairly large cups of vin chaud. And, at €4, I considered them excellent value.
