There are some that say that EuroDisney is an attempted Americanisation of the French culture.
Ok, its mainly the French that say this. The rest of us couldn't give two figs for the culture of France and wish they would stop going on about it.
There are some half-hearted nods towards the French language throughout the park (Tigger talks French, while Winnie The Pooh speaks English. This makes for a slightly surreal show) but, on the whole, you could easily be in Florida.
Except for the staff.
The staff don't want to be there. And they really don't want you to be there. They'd rather you went to a proper French theme-park like Asterix-world, just up the road.
And so you get the language of the obtuse.
My french is just about enough with which to get by. We call it 'Schoolboy French' (which is not something with which Michael Jackson has been charged) and I can use it to order food and the like.
I was trying to order butter, but could I remember the word? Could I heck. The waitress's brow furrowed as I first tried the English word 'butter' and then went through an elaborate charade with a knife and a slice of bread. More staff assembled and proceeded to do a Mexican wave consisting of a gallic shrug that passed from person to person.
"Bwerr?" I volunteered. "Berre?" No joy. I was saved by First-Born, who'd been thumbing through the French dictionary. "Beurre" she said, and the waitress smiled in beatification as realisation dawned.
I was then presented with a square that had the word 'Butter' emblazoned on it in large, friendly letters.
