America and Europe may both be full of privileged white people, but nobody would mistake them for being culturally interchangeable. Case in point: In America, Disney makes amusement parks that are better than real life and that allow us to stuff ourselves silly while hanging out with plush versions of our imaginary cartoon friends. In Europe, Disney makes nature parks that are better than real life and that allow Europeans to get a ruddy glow of health in their cheeks as they bike, hike, and enjoy geothermal-heated water rides.
Euro Disney is planning an ecopark mecca, Les Villages Nature, just a few miles from Disneyland Paris. If Disneyland is all about pure sugary waste, Les Villages Nature is about maintaining some semblance of balance: it’s going to be carbon neutral, produce zero waste, use local and organic produce, conserve water, and paint with all the colors of wind.
Obviously do not fly to Europe just to enjoy this lovely-seeming eco-retreat. Just watch Pocahontas a few times and then run out into the forest singing that you know every rock and tree and creature has a life has a spirit has a name. It’ll basically be the same.
