The "magical" service of Disney

I had been planning this Disneyland trip to Paris for one month... one whole month. I thought I had everything set: the group of friends, the train ticket, the entrance pass and most of all the excitement.

The anticipated day finally came, and it did not start quite as I hoped.

I arrived at the train station at 8:15am (half and hour before the departure), so I went to the closest boulangerie and got a hot chocolate and croissant. While I was enjoying my petit-
déjeuner, I was casually looking at the departure board and could not find my train number or time. Panicked, I checked my ticket, and sure enough, I was at the wrong station.

Thankfully, the Gare Lille Europe is less than five minutes walking distance from Gare Lille Flandres so I made my way there. As soon as I joined my group of international friends, I checked my purse for my carte 12-25, a reduction card for travellers between the ages of 12 and 25, so I could have it ready to show during the ride.


Just my luck, I did not have it on me. I was positive I had put it in my purse the night before, but I must have forgotten it. Oh well I thought, it could happen to anyone, so I will explain to the controleur my situation and hopefully, he will take pity on a foreign student.

No, he did not take pity (with good reason because he was only doing his job), and I paid a fine of 66€ (euros). That was double the amount of money I paid for my roundtrip ticket there. I tried not to think about it too much because there was a petite chance I could get a reimbursement at the train station if I explained what happened.
I was feeling a bit squirmish, but I knew that going to EuroDisney would change that. After all, it was a magical world. If I got lost, I would be with friends, and there were no fines to ride the trains in Disney.

I got there and of course, I had printed the online payment to the park (not the actual ticket with the bar-code as all my friends had). While everyone went inside, my friend Randi stayed with me in the visitor's line, so they could print my entrance billet.

Forty-five minutes later, I went inside the park with Randi and made our way to the "Indiana Jones" ride. The roller coaster was a great stress-reliever... I felt the adrenaline rush through my body and my tension from before was beginning to dissipate.


I did not actually feel the "magic" until I ate lunch at a 50s American-looking diner in the Village Disney. And surprisingly, it wasn't the nourishment that raised my feelings but the service.

I ordered a classic amusement park lunch of chicken nuggets and fries. My American visa or carte bleu did not work at the cash register, so I decided to settle for a 2€ hot chocolate (if I'm starting on a diet, might as well be here with all the walking). I was taking mon chocolat chaud when the Disney worker who took my order handed me a "Mickey" bag of the food I had originally wanted.

"Bonne journée! Bon appetit!" she said with a smile. =)

And that was how I began to have a good day... the kindness of strangers can truly make a difference in one's life no matter how small the act.