the online guide to... disney holidays

SO Disney's marketing machine has won through. Disneyland Europe no longer holds the sorry distinction of being the corporation's biggest embarassment, and suddenly it's the place to take the kids.

It's ironic, in a way, that Disney should have a website at all. The real strength of the Internet has always been that people and organisations without the financial muscle and promotional expertise of the world's biggest and most professionally run organisation can still disseminate information around the world.

Disney's home page touts itself as the "web page for families" and is incredibly comprehensive, even if the language does tend to be a touch flowery in places: "The Walt Disney World Theme Parks are where magic and wonder go hand in hand with action and adventure! Your favorite Disney Characters, timeless tales of fantasy, and seven lands of make believe are all brought to life in the Magic Kingdom Park" is just one example of the rather cloying material you're likely to have to expose yourself to.

The site is clearly aimed at parents who are looking to organise their Disney holidays, rather than to entice children, giving it more the feel of an online brochure than a properly interactive site. There are, however, concessions to the fact that it is a website; one of them being a series of live webcams showing the various theme parks. It also encourages users to input the most imporant criteria for their holidays, and then throws back some suggestions, but that isn't particularly impressive in this day and age; online databases are pretty old hat.

There isn't ultimately anything about the site that makes me want to punch the air in delight, but as a starting-point for a holiday abroad, it should at least allow you to get your bearings.