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We’ve been looking so much at the new construction at the domestic Disney parks, why don’t we take a look at an exciting new project at one of the international parks? Disneyland Paris announces plans to begin work on Villages Natures, an eco-tourism site built just under four miles outside of Disneyland Paris.
Villages Natures is a lot more than a giant park along the lines of Disney World’s Wilderness Preserve. Eco-tourism means destinations designed to let guests commune with nature, where the focus of the vacation is being in and learning more about the natural world.
The crowning center of the eco-tourism spot will be the lagoon. It’s a giant outdoor swimming area, one that will be heated for comfortable swimming year-round. It was designed with sustainability in mind, to reduce the eco-footprint of its construction as much as possible. There’s a lot more to Villages Nature than just swimming.
Spread out over a large complex, the sites within the park will all reflect various aspects of nature. Farms will focus on teaching guests about local produce and wildlife. Four gardens will each represent one of the natural elements: earth, water, air, and fire. The gardens will be quiet places for reflection, but will also promote learning about our environment.
All of the accommodation at the site is designed like living quarters, not just small hotel rooms. The quarters fall into three different styles: ones set for recharging the spirit, communing with nature, and bonding with one’s family. The video about Villages Natures doesn’t really explain how each set of rooms will do this, and the concept art for each doesn’t really elucidate things further.
I admit I’ve always been a little baffled by eco-tourism. You’d think it’d be the kind of thing I’d like, but I’m not really sure how one goes about eco-tourism without harming the environment one’s there to see. How can hundreds of people all travel to quiet, natural spot without disrupting it?
But Villages Natures will only kind of be a quiet, natural spot. It’ll be situated just outside Disneyland Paris, not far from a major transportation hub (and only 30 miles south of France’s capital itself). It’s going to have accommodations for hosting conferences: can you imagine a bunch of people there for business and families out to take vacation only leaving a small trace on the local environment? Plus, most of what Villages Natures is going to offer has to be constructed; it won’t naturally be there as part of the site.
At the same time, Villages Natures could be really great. It could be at the forefront of promoting new green, sustainable ways of building holiday destinations. It could also teach kids to be more respectful of nature. We’ve got four years until the site opens, so I’m sure they’ll be many more details to come. Although I have a touch of skepticism about the project, I’m also looking forward to learning more about it in the future.
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*(The above image by Ellywa is from the Wikimedia Commons and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License).