Picture Perfect

As previously mentioned in DF'82, Walt's Restaurant in Disneyland Paris is not quite the height of culinary dining, but it is a must-see for Disney Geeks and fans of Walt's life.

Here are just some of the personal photos that are scattered throughout the beautiful restaurant.

It Is Time

The wonders of Walt's Restaurant in Disneyland Paris never cease to amaze me. While the dining itself is nothing extraordinary, the location and the detailing within the Restaurant make it a must-see.

Like this item from inside the walls of Walt's:

This TIME Magazine, dated December 27th 1954, looks at Walt Disney "To enchanted worlds on electronic wings". You can have a look at the original cover on the TIME website here and the cover story here. Whilst the article entitled The Mouse That Walt Built can be read here. These articles are a real must for any Disney fan or Walt Disney admirer.

The Legion Of Honor

Walt's Restaurant on Main Street USA, in Parc Disneyland, has been looked at here before. It is a beautiful restaurant, with many photographs and pieces of memorabilia relating to Walt Disney throughout. It is a great place to see some fantastic treasures from the Disney Archive.

However, one of the most exciting Walt Disney hidden treasures to watch out for is actually in City Hall at Town Square. On January 8th, 1936, Walt Disney was awarded France's highest honour: the Legion of Honor. It was awarded to Walt Disney by the French Consul, Jean-Joseph Viala, in the Hyperion Studios, "in recognition of Disney's work in creating a new art form in which good will is spread throughout the world".
And this award can be found in City Hall itself. Definitely a hidden priceless Disney treasure.If you would like to read more about Walt Disney being awarded the Legion of Honor, Vintage Disney Collectibles has a fantastic article detailing this.

Spotlight On...Walt's Restaurant

Finishing up my look at Main Street USA I wanted to shine the Spotlight briefly on Walt's Restaurant.

Situated on the left-hand side and in the middle, Walt's - An American Restaurant can be entered from Main Street, although the restaurant is all upstairs (above Lilly's Boutique). I'd heard about this restaurant from a podcast, Inside the Magic, and after hearing it I thought it sounded like somewhere my whole family would enjoy. I'm a very fussy eater and food in France scares me a little - but this restaurant is described as one for American and Italian Cuisine, so I thought that I would definitely get something I would eat!

When you arrive at Walt's, you check-in with the hostess and are allowed to wander around the waiting area while you wait for your table to be ready. There are so many gorgeous and interesting knick-knacks in the lobby area, as well as some highly sought-after comfy chairs, that the time passed by very quickly. I took a couple of pictures while we were waiting - not too many, as the lobby area was quite busy. One shows a nice display of Disney family photos and the other shows the stairs up to the restaurant level. There was also a lift that you could take to the second floor, which put me in mind of the elevator installed in Club 33 in Disneyland.

Once your table is ready, you are called to enter the restaurant area upstairs, usually two parties at a time. Upstairs, there are several different seating rooms for you to be placed in: Discoveryland (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea theme), Frontierland (Library theme), Fantasyland (Gothic-styled area) and Adventureland (Arabic theme). We were placed in the Discoveryland section, which is actually one of the first sections to walk-through. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling too well during the meal and so I didn't take any pictures of the interior, which I am very annoyed about! My dad took a couple of pictures of us at dinner - one of which you can see a fantastic modelling of the Nautilus which was hanging on the wall (excuse the top of my mum's head in the picture), and the others show some of the pictures and sketches that adorn the wall. We were lucky in our placing, as the windows overlooked Main Street and we were eating right about the same time as the parade passed by! Great entertainment!

As for the food, we all thoroughly enjoyed it. I had a lovely burger - it's one of my favourite 'dining out' options, whilst my parents both had a steak - and we all had a nice glass of wine each(after all, this is France!). Of course, I should mention that the menu itself is something to behold. It is more like a photo album than a menu, with pages of photos of Walt and stages in his life (his hometown, his family, etc). I really wish I had taken some pictures...I think I will have to go back there and update this post in the near future. Anyone fancy joining me?

Overall, my family and I had a lovely time dining at this restaurant. In my opinion it was the location that really helped set the mood and the atmosphere for the dinner, and the Imagineering behind the restaurant. The amount of detailing that has gone into this place is amazing. Whilst this wasn't the best meal I ate in the park (the Silver Spur Steakhouse was amazing - especially for all you carnivores) and it can be quite expensive considering other places to eat, I would definitely recommend this restaurant. It's a beautifully themed place to dine, in a fantastic location and with an exquisite atmosphere.