Fire heavily damaged portions of a sprawling hotel at Disneyland Paris early Saturday, forcing 1,500 guests to flee, some in their pajamas.
Nine people complained of smoke inhalation and four of them, including two pregnant women, were hospitalized for observation, said Disney spokeswoman Annie Jan.The blaze broke out at 6:45 a.m. at the 1,000-room Sequoia Lodge, said Disney spokesman Mark Webb. Firefighters extinguished the fire three hours later.
Most of the 1,500 guests were already awake, getting ready for the park's 8 a.m. opening, Jan said. "They were evacuated in less than 20 minutes."
But about 100 of them, awakened by the blaze, were forced to flee with little more than their pajamas. They were given a shopping spree in the park's shops to reclothe themselves, with Mickey paying.
"The idea was not to console them, but so much the better if it was a consolation," Jan said. "They can keep the clothes as a souvenir."
Authorities were trying to determine what caused the fire that gutted much of the roof and damaged dozens of rooms, Webb said. The exact extent of the damage, from the blaze and from the water used to put it out, was still being assessed.
The hundreds of guests were were lodged at some of the five other hotels surrounding the theme par as well as at other hotels in the surrounding area, Jan said.