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[Tinkerbelle]

We came back last night and we're SO SAD!!! We arrived home very late, I was planning to login and post some comments but we were so tired, sorry!

I don't know if I'll be posting a report day by day because I had some sort of problem in my neck that had me almost all of the trip feeling dizzy. I've had it before so I knew it wasn't serious enough to get myself checked by a doctor, but it sort of almost ruined my experience. Too happy to be there, sometimes I would even think I was getting used to feel like being on a cruise ship in the middle of a storm but some other times it was almost unbearable.
So I didn't take notes of what was going on each day. I was feeling too tired and dizzy ;( and sometimes I was happy to be back at the hotel to lie on the bed ;(

We had a great time! I'll post some comments here and all I can remember  

Arrival:
We took a Vueling flight from Seville, we had to wake up at 3 to be the first ones to check in, since we thought we had a problem with the online check-in. The check-in was correct, and we had a nice and peaceful flight to Paris Orly (Ouest Terminal). It took some time for our luggage to appear but it finally did. We saw many H1N1 recommendations posted on the walls

VEA Shuttle:
We always try to book the same flight (it used to be Iberia's, now Vueling is operating the route), so we can get to Orly at early morning, arrive to Santa Fe around midday, and then have the whole day for the parks. But, we had a problem with the VEA. It seems that not only all the people in my flight was going to DLRP but also a whole bunch of other flights were arriving at the same time full of disney tourists. So, it was a veeeery long line of people trying to hop on the VEA bus. First, we saw a red disney VEA bus arriving, dropping off some people there and leaving completely empty. Then, a Transdev bus arrived, took some more people and more than half an hour later only one bus came to the terminal, when there was enough people to get 3 full buses. We could hop on the last one. Once again, I was dissapointed to have to take a grey dull Transdev bus, but happy that we were finally near reaching destination. Wrong, we got stuck in a traffic jam caused by some truck accident near the Ikea near Orly airport. Got stuck for about half an hour when the driver finally could take a different route. But we got in a traffic jam while passing through a town, I can't remember it's name. The journey to Santa Fe finally took something like 1h 30m to complete.

Hotel Santa Fe: (We spent 5 nights at the Santa Fe (building 46, room 114, first floor)
Finally! We were the first ones to get off the bus since we were in the front row, so we were the first ones in the check-in line. We were put in one of the check in desks with a Spanish speaking cast member. She said she used to live in our same street in Seville, very funny coincidence since it's a very short street. Almost one of our neighbours . She had put us in ground floor in building 46 but we asked her to be at least in the first floor. We feel we have more privacy that way. She was very nice and changed our room to first floor. It's overlooking the river, the crashed UFO and the Cheyenne Hotel. The room was completely spotless, the walls were like newly painted.The carpet had no stains. We saw some mold growing out of the tiles in the bathroom but it wasn't as bad as in previous visits to other rooms. We had two mickey soap bars and one mickey shampoo bottle. They're so nice this year! The mickey bottles are very cute!
Oh, and we have the feeling that they have earlier breakfast slots available this year. I remember in our previous visits to never been placed before 7:15 but maybe I'm wrong. This time we asked for 7 AM slot, we were almost always the first ones in line. We were going to try getting a Great Morning Fantasyland pass but finally we decided to keep our Cantina's breakfast passes.
The hotel was great as always, we even notice it has improved some of the cleanliness this year, specially in the breakfast restaurant. The mugs and glasses were almost all of them spotless (in previous visits I have always said they weren't clean) and they now have apple juice! They changed the brands of the Ketchup and Mayonnaise to a cheaper ones I believe.

Since we arrived late we went straight to Annette's to have lunch. The receptionist couldn't be more dull and she seemed to be so bored there. She placed us in one table and then she made us move to another one to make room for a family of 4 . At least she said "merci".

And well, I can't remember the order of everything that happened later and in later days in our trip.I remember we still went to Main Street but had to go back to the hotel because we were too tired and I started feeling more dizzy. We had like a 3 hour nap and then we had dinner at the Village. And then the days went by with us going to the thrill rides. We got to see Fantillusion the first night, with Snow 's float making the parade stop in front of us (we were standing between Gibson Girl and Central Plaza I think.). For the first time we saw Ursula grow, but a bit from afar.
The fireworks were wonderful but not as amazing as in previous years. I still didn't care, listening to disney music with the castle in front of me and some fireworks always make my day
Space Mountain had some problems to get started on time for the EMH, and on Saturday night (I think) it was closed because of some problem.It's still having problems with the sound system, in at least one ocassion the ride the soundtrack was nonexistent

Many halts in many rides, we got stuck inside Haunted Mansion for some time right after starting to ride in the doom cars (whatever their name is), when it's pitch black after you pass the main hall's stairs.

We got to see the fireworks from Big Thunder Mountain, we were in the last train. I never ever rode BTM at night before and I recommend it to everyone! It was a blast! Far better than in daytime, you can't see where you're going and every move from the train is unexpected. We got to ride one second time in a row (that's when we saw the fireworks actually) and we were in the first car, which I don't recommend, it's bumpier and seems to be a lot slower. But we had a blast, everyone was shouting and it seemed that all of the BTM fans in the park were there, everyone shouting "YEE-HAH!!!" and clapping at the fireworks. So much fun!

We got to ride Autopia and Le Pays de Contes de Fees this year, my autopia car's wheel wasn't working well but I had fun...having in mind that I ONLY had to wait for 30 minutes to ride... I was lucky!
All of the attractions had longer lines than in previous visits. Last year (August, around same dates) the lines were a lot shorter, and there were far less visitors.

Lots of people:
I have to say that the park was packed every day of our stay. In 2007 I remember riding many times in a row in many occasions, specially in Space Mountain. This time there was a LONG line to get the fastpasses!. These days there's no way to ride Crush without doing it first thing when the Studios open (and that means entering the park at 9:30 and staying in queue until it opens)
Tower of Terror had passes for after 2 PM (I don't remember the exact time) and we got them after we rode Crush which must have been around 10:45. We had Lois as bellhop, he was so in character, we had fun with him.

The Bee Trip (?)
I don't know what happened this year, there were bees everywhere!!! I soon learned not to be eating any fruits outdoors or wearing any cologne. Santa Fe's violet flowers (whatever they are) were full of bees too.

Experience with other guests: Part 1

We had less problems with other disney guests. People seemed more polite this year, maybe they were too tired of queuing for everything to fight for queue skipping? We didn't have to block anyone because almost no one tried to get in front of us. Only in one ocassion, in BTM near park close, when the queue was empty and we were walking too slowly (I was too tired), some guests passed us and kept walking forward. I thought it was rude but I could understand them, besides when I was going to get a chance to ride they were going to be already outside the attraction.

Cleanliness in the parks: Part 1

The cleanliness in the parks improved... but the "dirtyness" (if the word exists, sorry for my bad English) of the guests was overboard. I couldn't take a picture of Eric's Casle in Pays de Contes de Fees because there was a lot of bottles floating near the castle. We saw bottles everywhere, Inside the boats in Pirates, in the Castle lake, in Discoveryland's lake... you get the idea.
Guests seem to think Disney is a giant trash can. Yesterday morning a Santa Fe guest didn't have a better place to put dirty diapers than in the trash can next to the elevator INSIDE the building. Ok, a trash can is a place for trash but... it was so SMELLY!!!! it was late night and the diapers were there the following morning ... can't say the smell was better.They could have used one of the trash cans outside!

Smoking:

The smoking was overboard too, guests smoking next to small children, under a "no smoking" sign, indoors... Disney is going to have a hard time if they ever intend to ban smoking in all of the parks.

Experience with other guests: Part 2

Also, I think I'm learning that Spain might be the only country in Europe where it's considered VERY rude to fart in public. We found adult guests farting in queues from many nationalities and the smell was so nasty! In my country of origin and here in my country of residence it's way too rude. Anyone can have an accident but at least they could say they're sorry! And if in their country it's socially accepted then they should tell you about it when they see your disgusted face and your arms moving like crazy trying to get the smell out. They could explain and apologise instead of laughing at your face. I also understand children might have it harder to keep certain gases inside their bodies but... an adult?! I guess it's accepted in many european countries, I don't mean to offend anyone but if it's accepted in your country and you get a disgusted face of a spanish or argentinean person next to you don't laugh at their face please!
I still don't know if farting in public is indeed accepted in public in some countries, but I have to suppose that it is, after 3 visits to Disneyland Paris (and France and Spain being the only European countries I've been to)

Cast Members:

As for the Cast Members, almost all of them were so friendly, nice and helpful!. They would even try to speak our language without us having to ask them to speak English or our native tongue.

Cleanliness at the Parks:

The cleaning staff was doing a good job keeping the restrooms stocked of toilet papers and keeping them clean. I found no restrooms smelling bad. My husband had the only bad experience in one of the restrooms, I think it was at the Studios. He went for "number 1: letter P"  and there was a lady cleaning the restroom, he had to go to another restroom in a different location. The rest of men visitors didn't seem to be annoyed by the fact that there was a lady and that they were taking their "things" out in her presence, but my husband wasn't comfortable there. Another cultural difference I guess.

Restaurants:

As for the restaurants, all of them were great. We went to Annette's, Rainforest Cafe, the Ratatouille one (I don't remember the new name), and some other fast food ones. We only had a bad experience with the receptionist at Planet Hollywood. We went to first floor, since we like it there better than the lower level, and she sent us downstairs, when there were lots of places available in the first floor. We asked nicely to not to be sent downstairs and she gave us a bad look and made the change with a very bad attitude. The bad experience was forgotten when we met our waitress, who was just great. Eloise was her name I think.

Travelers' Cheques:

We learned that you can use Travelers Cheques (in Euros) just as regular currency, at least at the shops. That was great because I had some left and forgot to change them for money at Orly Airport. The Currency Exchange in the parks was closed... had no idea why. Only in one shop, the one at the Tower of Terror, the CM asked me nicely to pay with money. He was not used to the TCs I guess.

Weather:

The weather, very hot for being Paris. This didn't change until yesterday morning. It was very cloudy and about to rain, and we had to use our sweatshirts, but after midday this changed, it started getting hot again, and the sky sort of cleared. We left the parks at 3PM and took the 7:45 flight to Seville.

Merchandising:
Lots of Mickey Magical Party items, most of them we didn't like. New shirts and new everything. Overall we liked the merchandising a lot, but MMP merchandising was horrible. I still got a pin, because I collect pins from disney parks special celebrations but I have to admit that it's not cute at all.

So sad to be back!!!!
I would have liked to be feeling better, I took just a few pictures and videos. We only watched the fireworks once and we didn't stay to watch Mickey's Magical Party. It sort of bored us and the song is horrible, in our humble opinion. Stitch's dancing time (forgot the name) wasn't good enough either, there was hardly anyone dancing. It was fun to listen to all sort of songs but they weren't good versions. We didn't watch once upon a dream parade either.
I wasn't feeling too good, but I still went on all of the thrill rides *stitch laugh here*

Our third trip and no pics with the characters, the lines were too long and we didn't want to lose time. It's still a reason to go back soon!

overall the trip was just great, and we had a great time there! even if we were just strolling around the parks we loved feeling the atmosphere and watching everyone's faces. You could tell who was there for the very first time, who was a kid at heart and who was having a great time.

We went to Paris on Monday, but we got there too late and the stores and even Galleries Lafayette were closed already. We felt too tired and went back to Disney to get a last ride at BTM and a last chance to see the park open at nighttime.

We didn't want to leave, I even thought of throwing away our boarding passes and staying for a couple of nights more, but I thought we would have a hard time finding a flight back home in high season... I was wrong, the flight back had a lot of empty places...
I just hope we go back soon, 6 days is not enough!!! those of you who get to go more than once a year are SO lucky!!!

With this I finish my report (If I can call it that), the parks these days are full of visitors so for those of you about to go to the magic be very patient. And if you're allergic to bees get your medications with you.


PS: oh! and sorry for my bad English! I'm sure it's full of terrible grammar, I don't have time right now to check and correct, sorry!

[15yearsofMagic2008]

Great report . Sounds like you had a great time . But the smoking part does sound horrible . People must be blind not to read the sign .

[Aveen2008]

Hey Tinkerbelle!

Very good trip report with great english in my opinion hehe!

I am sorry you weren't feeling well though but it sounds like you didn't let it hold you back too much which is great!

About the Farting thing...in the U.K/Ireland usually people try to be discreet about it, not laugh in your face. It's not seen as rude exactly but more embarressing and most people try to hide the fact they farted not advertise it to others lol

I would have got see frustrated waiting for the VEA buses.. I always do though, I find it a stressful part of my holiday and having traffic jams would have been really annoying but at least you got checked in quickly!

seeing the fireworks from BTM at night must have been a great moment, it sounds fantastic!

I cannot believe that people are so rude and disrespectful to through their bottles into the ponds or water at the castle etc! :x It is so horrible to ruin the look of the park for others and make extra work for others to clean up!

seems like you had good weather and a generally great experience apart from the few problems!

Thanks for sharing your trip report! =D>  =D>  =D>

[Tinkerbelle]

Thanks for the replies!!!! I wasn't expecting to get such quick replies
I'll be posting some pictures later. One thing I know for sure, never to take a brand new camera to a disney park I should have tested all of its options before our arrival  :oops:

And here we are, having breakfast with some Mickey beurre biscuits... I should have bought some more!

I woke up with the disney blues, after dreaming that I was at disney queuing for some attraction...
I hope we go back soon

It was just a cool trip!

[Annet]

Nice report! Seeing the fireworks in BTM sounds really cool!

About the farting: I'm from Holland, and though indeed I see it happen quite often, I personally think it's rude and disgusting too.

And bee's are everywhere this summer, it's cause we didn't have a very cold winter. Much more bee's than usual survived, unfortunally, I hate bee's.

[The Butlin Boy]

Thanks for sharing your fantastic trip report Tinkerbelle, I really enjoyed reading it. I'm glad you had a great time, but I'm sorry about some of the bad things that you pointed out too (the farting... eeeeewww!!! :sick: )

[never2old]

Thanks for your report Tinkerbelle!

Sorry to hear about you not feeling well... But at least overall you could enjoy your trip  

I'm very very jealous, seeing the fireworks from BTM sounds great, must have been really special! I too prefer doing BTM at night, did you think it felt faster?

[Tinkerbelle]

Hi everyone!
I wasn't expecting so many replies in so little time! thanks!!!
I'm uploading photos so I can post them here later, hopefully I'll upload some videos too (though I took just a few).

never2old: we rode BTM at night a few times, we only caught the fireworks once.
It was lovely, specially some fireworks that look like pixie dust. Seen from BTM it looked like the castle was under a cloud of pixie dust.
It was so special! Everyone was "oooh!!!! ahhhhh!!!!" at the fireworks, and when there were big ones everyone was shouting "YEAAAAH!!!" along with the explosions because it added a lot to the experience.
I can't tell if it does feel faster or not, I guess maybe a bit the first time. The sensations are a lot stronger because most of the time you're in complete darkness, which was cool. It was like if we had invented ourselves a new ride, a BTM a-la DL-Space Mountain (no loops I mean) or something hehe.
But, if you're like me and love speed, avoid the first wagon, it seemed a lot slower. We were sometimes yelling at the railway engine "come on!!! faster!!! faster!!!"

[RnRCj]

Just to clear up - the back of the BTM train is no faster than the front! I mean, have you ever seen the back of the train arrive back at the station before the front?

But I agree that BTM is awesome at night! Better than it is in the day I think. I seem to remember that all the effects in the tunnels are much clearer at night as well.

[Tinkerbelle]

Just to clear up - the back of the BTM train is no faster than the front! I mean, have you ever seen the back of the train arrive back at the station before the front?

LOL that's a good one!
 :lol: