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[Esti]

I think the Christmas parade is gorgeous, but maybe my standards have been lowered after that god-awful, tacky, "please make it stop" Halloween cavalcade
I agree it could use a few more floats, although I'd rather they had more dancers (I love dancers), even if that means having it "only" twice a day and not three times. But it isn't bad as it is. It is very christmasy, beautiful, the song is nice, floats are beautiful, costumes are amazing, dancers are engaging and I've seen Goofy do some reeeeeally cool dance moves.
The only real con I see is that the characters in the float, apart from the big ones (Mickey Minnie Donald Daisy Goofy Pluto), I just don't care about. They should add princesses and maybe some other movie characters too, in Christmas outfits. If they did that (please please please), it'd be just perfect.

[RockNRoller]

What have I missed? Where is Chante c`est Noel gone???

And it's back, just watched the Princess Promenade for this year on YouTube and they're using an instrumental version of Chante Cest Noel as the music the princess's walk in to. Sounds so good and brings back so many memories.

[AislingM]

What have I missed? Where is Chante c`est Noel gone???

And it's back, just watched the Princess Promenade for this year on YouTube and they're using an instrumental version of Chante Cest Noel as the music the princess's walk in to. Sounds so good and brings back so many memories.

Just watched the clip there , so happy to hear it! Where is Jasmine though?

[polar vixen]

I was actually quite disapppunted, mostly at its length,  magic everywhere played a good while longer and I really missed it! 

[ilovemainstxxx]

hi all

thinking of going for new year , and looking back at the programs for last year it seems the parks closed at 1.00am...
this has got me thinking does anyone know if we spent it in the studios , then when fireworks are over would we be able to run over to the main park , even if for 5 mins just so we could be in main st on the special night
or will they close the gates at a certain time ??

[Disney Matt]

I was there over the Christmas 2014 period.
Never saw the Princess Promenade while there but watched it on YouTube once back & thoroughly enjoyed it 
I was slightly let down by the parade though as I felt it was just too short, it had removed floats & replaced them with others when I feel it should have added the Christmas floats & kept the existing.

[samuelvictor]

I was there too - we were in Paris from December 18th to January 5th and spent 8 days in the parks, plus visited the village on other days, including New Years, so we were very lucky!  I shall be writing a full trip report with photos asap, I've left it this long through a combination of being really busy, and very sad that we're no longer there! 

Just to add my 2 cents on the Christmas season (it was the first time we've been at Christmas) overall it was fantastic - the decorations, theming and music everywhere were excellent. I loved the "snowman" versions of Disney characters (and even got a plush version of the Minnie snowman, which I love!) and the subtle re-theming of areas and rides was awesome. We loved the Christmas version of Small World, especially the fact that the mermaid sang "Jingle Shells"! The weather was cold but not unbearable - in fact I much prefer this to being too hot. Nothing was ever closed due to weather, and due to being peak season, everything was open, which is a definite huge bonus! If anything, the cold weather made all the buildings and indoor sections seem more cozy - this is especially true of the wooden buildings and open fires in and around the Cheyenne, where we stayed for the first time.

We loved the tree-lighting ceremony (FAR better than we'd imagined), and the Princess show was really cool - though very difficult to get a good view without queuing up for hours in advance! Disney Dreams of Christmas was a really really nice show too, although we were all confused by the Olaf "Summer" song being in the middle of it!

As for the parade, I really liked it, but I agree that it was too short compared to previous parades we've watched (standard season in 2011/12). Also, the "royal greeting" with Anna and Elsa was essentially just them in a horse drawn cart. Very nice (well themed, beautiful princesses and costumes, and they interacted well with the crowd) but not really worth queuing up/waiting separately for. In my opinion, Anna and Elsa should have been attached to the Christmas parade to make it slightly longer, and save having to wait around twice.

We didn't bother queuing for the Princess Pavilion, as it was nearly 2 hours wait every time we went past it - even if you went straight there in magic hours. Having queued in there on our last holiday for an hour to meet Belle, we had no desire to see the inside of the "new" building etc, so gave it a miss. Our kids didn't want to see Santa, but we queued for Minnie in Santa's village - the theming was nice and she was lovely as always. Meeting Jack Skellington near Phantom Manor was an absolute necessity, he was brilliant and the theming of his area was really cool. Only a shame there was no Sally with him - I don't know if there ever is an official Paris Sally - but there should be!

As a side note, Disney Village really came into its own with the season. Lots of extra stuff to see, do, hear (and of course buy). There was near constant live music on both stages outside and inside in Billy Bobs, and it was all of a decent standard and added to the atmosphere. New Year's eve there was really cool, lots of stuff on and of course the fireworks over Lake Disney. Only negative points were no ice-skating (I hear its been permanently stopped?) and Panoramagique was closed every day of our entire trip (despite the sporadically placed man in the office saying repeatedly that it would be open "in a few days"). Minor points though, the village was much improved over our previous stays (Lego Store, World of Disney, Earl of Sandwich, vastly improved gallery, fashion & toy stores) and all the extra Christmas theming and entertainment was fantastic.

I would 100% definitely go to DLRP for Christmas season again, should the timing and prices work out well, it was a really nice time to be in the Parks. Is it worth paying significantly more for? Probably not if you are on a budget, and also if you are only on a short stay, its worth baring mind that the queues are much worse than usual, especially on key days (Christmas Day was almost a complete washout) - but for a leisurely stay, and if you can get a good deal, its definitely a really atmospheric and fun period to enjoy the parks.

[Mileto]

Thank you for sharing, samuelvictor! It was so interesting to read your memories. 8 days - great!

May I ask - do you remember hearing somewhere in the park "Chante, c'est Noel"?

[samuelvictor]

No problem, glad you liked hearing about it!  Though this was our first time there at Christmas, I know the song well because we have all the DLRP cds. I heard the song in two places in the parks, once as an instrumental version before the start of the Princess Parade, and the "real" version was playing as part of a Christmas mix in the big shop at the front of Studios Park (before you go into Studio One). The instrumental may also have been played in Main Street or before Dreams of Christmas, I can't remember, but I know there were lots of instrumentals of Christmas songs there, including more obscure Disney specific ones, like Muppet Christmas Carol themes etc...

[Mileto]

Super that you remember so many things!
I'll be very happy to hear the song when we visit in winter.

[samuelvictor]

No problem. There's a good chance that it was also playing at some point in World of Disney and outside at Disney Village (outside they seemed to be switching between playing the same mixes played in the shops, and the "live" mix that you can listen to at Disney Village Radio). I was particularly listening out for DLRP tracks as I was hoping somewhere would be playing "Just Like We Dreamed It" and "Dancing a Catchy Rhythm" - I didn't hear them but I suppose they weren't "Christmassy" enough. Luckily I had them on my phone! haha

[ilovemainstxxx]

I was there too - we were in Paris from December 18th to January 5th and spent 8 days in the parks, plus visited the village on other days, including New Years, so we were very lucky!  I shall be writing a full trip report with photos asap, I've left it this long through a combination of being really busy, and very sad that we're no longer there! 

Just to add my 2 cents on the Christmas season (it was the first time we've been at Christmas) overall it was fantastic - the decorations, theming and music everywhere were excellent. I loved the "snowman" versions of Disney characters (and even got a plush version of the Minnie snowman, which I love!) and the subtle re-theming of areas and rides was awesome. We loved the Christmas version of small world, especially the fact that the mermaid sang "Jingle Shells"! The weather was cold but not unbearable - in fact I much prefer this to being too hot. Nothing was ever closed due to weather, and due to being peak season, everything was open, which is a definite huge bonus! If anything, the cold waether made all the buildings and indoor sections seem more cosy - this is especially true of the wooden buildings and open fires in and around the Cheyenne, where we stayed for the first time.

We loved the treelighting ceremony (FAR better than we'd imagined), and the princess show was really cool - though very difficult to get a good view without queing up for hours in advance! Disney dreams of Christmas was a really really nice show too, although we were all confused by the Olaf "Summer" song being in the middle of it!

As for the parade, I really liked it, but I agree that it was too short compared to previous parades we've watched (standard season in 2011/12). Also, the "royal greeting" with Anna and Elsa was essentially just them in a horse drawn cart. Very nice (well themed, beautiful princesses and costumes, and they interacted well with the crowd) but not really worth queuing up/waiting separately for. In my opinion, Anna and Elsa should have been attached to the Christmas parade to make it slightly longer, and save having to wait around twice.

We didn't bother queuing for the Princess Pavillion, as it was nearly 2 hours wait every time we went past it - even if you went straight there in magic hours. Having queued in there on our last holiday for an hour to meet Belle, we had no desire to see the inside of the "new" building etc, so gave it a miss. Our kids didn't want to see Santa, but we queued for Minnie in Santa's village - the theming was nice and she was lovely as always. Meeting Jack Skellington near Phantom Manor was an absolute necessity, he was brilliant and the theming of his area was really cool. Only a shame tehre was no Sally with him - I don't know if there ever is an official Paris Sally - but there should be!

As a side note, Disney Village really came into its own with the season. Lots of extra stuff to see, do, hear (and of course buy). There was near constant live music on both stages outside and inside in Billybobs, and it was all of a decent standard and added to the atmosphere. New Year's eve there was really cool, lots of stuff on and of course the fireworks over Lake Disney. Only negative points were no ice-skating (I hear its been permanently stopped?) and Panoramagique was closed every day of our entire trip (despite the guy in the office saying repeatedly that it would be open "in a few days). Minor points though, the village was much improved over our previous stays (Lego Store, World of Disney, Earl of Sandwich, vastly improved gallery, fashion & toy stores) and all the extra Christmas theming and entertainment was fantastic.

I would 100% definitely go to DLRP for Christmas season again, should the timing and prices work out well, it was a really nice time to be in the Parks. Is it worth paying significantly more for? Probably not if you are on a budget, and also if you are only on a short stay, its worth baring mind that the queues are much worse than usual, especially on key days (Christmas Day was almost a complete washout) - but for a leisurely stay, and if you can get a good deal, its defintely a really atmospheric and fun period to enjoy the parks.

Thanks for the info samuelvictor, glad you had a good time.....
we have been for christmas day once before a good few years back , but have just booked for 29/12 - 1/1 so over new year , im very excited....
reading your post did you spend new years eve in the village ?? any tips for new year
we were thinking of going into the studios  for it , but really want to be on main st on new years eve too ...really dont know what to do....

[samuelvictor]

Hi ilovemainstxxx, ooh I'm jealous, I wish we were going again for Christmas this year! It was such a wonderful experience, I'm sure that you will have a similarly brilliant time! 

We were in DLRP hotels from the 18th of December to 5th January, but only had 8 days worth of Park tickets (I say "only" but of course that is plenty and we were VERY lucky and grateful for those) so we had to ration exactly which days we used the tickets. We had a brilliant experience in the parks on every day except Christmas day itself, which we found WAY too busy to do anything much - we couldn't even slightly get a view of Dreams and the queues were unbearable. Because of this, we avoided the parks on New Year's Eve/Day for fear of a similar experience. That said, we went in to the Parks on the 2nd of January and it was fine - as was Christmas Eve. However, I wouldn't want to discourage you from spending New Year's Eve on Main Street, I imagine that could be really, really cool and a great atmosphere!

There was a LOT of stuff going on in Disney Village on New Year's Eve - it even had its own entertainment guide leaflet (like the ones for the show times in the parks) so we decided to walk there from our hotel and check it out. There was a street market with plenty of cool stores, photo locations, face painting, henna tattoos etc, and an outdoor stage, which had at least 3 live bands perform. They were in a pop/rock style and were pretty good, although we didn't stop and watch them exclusively, they were more a soundtrack as we checked out all the stalls and went round all the shops. Inside Billy Bob's there was also 3 live bands and then a DJ til the late hours, and there was another DJ playing dance music close to Lake Disney, counting down to midnight.

We got some snacks from McDonalds, but looking at the menus and prices of some of the other places it didn't look like prices had been artificially hiked up, which was nice! All the shops and restaurants had extra staff in, and although they were busy, it wasn't unbearable. As it got close to midnight, everyone took their places around Lake Disney, and there was a brilliant atmosphere whilst we all waited for the fireworks. Though plenty of people had been drinking, it was a safe, friendly, fun, family atmosphere. The fireworks were brilliant, and last about 8 minutes. Interestingly they were all white (no colours) but this was really classy looking and they were designed to make really interesting designs and shapes along the length of the Lake - very different to previous fireworks shows we've seen at DLRP, but really cool.

After the fireworks, we walked back to the hotel, and turned on the TV, ready to watch the New Year's fireworks over London in the UK (of course its an hour behind) and phoned/texted/facebooked friends and relatives. Then we all went to bed, exhausted, but having had a great time.

I'd definitely recommend that anyone nearby pops into the Village for New Years, we had a brilliant night, and of course, its all free - you don't need park tickets etc for it. Once again though, if the Parks stay open til midnight (we didn't even check if they did, as we didn't want to use our tickets) I'm sure that the atmosphere there would be awesome too