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[MinnieMum]

Hi,

Firstly I would like to thank everyone who answered questions for me before we went, the planning definitely paid off!

I hope this report isn't too boring but I wanted to write so that seasoned fans can see what DLP is like for a first timer and just cos I like sharing

Well we booked in the summer with the two days and two nights free offer so we may of viewed things differently had we paid more for the trip but as it was a really good price we felt we got great value for money. It was the first time in DLP for all of us, myself, my husband and our two children aged 4 and 22months.

We drove to DLP but due to traffic arrived a little later then planned which was ok as we arrived at 3 o'clock so we could check straight into our room. We stayed at the hotel Cheyenne. Our children loved it from the moment they went into the lobby and saw the little saddle seats for watching tv. They were happy watching Disney Junior in french while my husband checked in which didn't take long at all. We were in Billy the Kid block which I thought was in a great position very close to the reception, shop and dining room. We loved the theming of the hotel, it was much bigger then I expected and like being in a western town. It kept the magic going even while we were away from the park. Our key didn't work to start with so my husband had to get another one while the kids and I ran around the wig wam. It's a shame the playground isn't open in winter as it was so close. The room was fine, I thought the theming is great, I know alot of people say the cheyenne looks tired but I thought it just looked authentic! The bathroom was clean and we were pleased with the space in the room, plenty of storage and room for the pushchair. I had phoned the week before and asked for a travel cot but it wasn't there so I phoned reception and they brought it while we were out and made it up.

The kids were excited so we headed straight to the park. Now this may sound silly but it's not completely obvious when you get off the bus which way you go to get to the park! I know you can see it but there are different entrances not being used so maybe some kind of signing could be useful. Also we saw one couple on the bus who didn't know to get off, again, you don't know if the bus if going to stop anywhere else when you first use it and the train station isn't an obvious sign that you have arrived!!

We went straight into the Disneypark to get something to eat. As we walked in the end of Disney Magic on Parade was just going past main street station, it was great for the kids to see Mickey as soon as we arrived!! However it was a busy crowd to walk into!

We wanted to get some food so we thought we'd just go to a counter service place for a quick eat. Our daughter wanted to walk through the castle so we went into Fantasyland. Belle Notte was shut which I thought was likely as Fantasyland closes early for dreams. We then walked into Adventureland to find somewhere there but everywhere was shut there too. Now I know that it may be common knowledge to some that nearly every counter place in the park is shut during low season but not to us. It was hard finding our way round in the dark too and mean on our daughter dragging her past everything to try and find food! In the end we found a CM, asked them where was open and they said only places on main street. So we went to Caseys which was packed and got a seat in the liberty arcade. The service was very slow but the food ok. We then had a look round the shops in thea arcade while we waited for Dreams which was fantastic and made up for the difficult start as it felt so magical.

The next morning we were a bit slower then we wanted to be and ended up in breakfast at 7.45am but it really wasn't too busy. The following mornings we were in at 7.30 which was slightly quieter. Breakfast was adequate and nothing seemed to run out.

We got to the park during extra magic hours which is so great even out of season. Fantasyland was a lot easier to navigate in daylight and so pretty in the early morning. We got on everything so quickly, we had to wait a few minutes for Peter Pan as they were having a problem with the barriers but we were one of the first on. We stayed in Fantasyland and did all the rides and the maze as we knew Casey Jr and Le Pays de Contes de Fees would be shut the rest of the trip. We loved all the rides and attractions although I felt that those two seem a bit tucked away and the storybook boat ride looks a bit old and tired even though I think they are newer then some of the other rides. (I am a geek and read up a lot on the park). Anyway I'm glad we checked the closures as our daughter really wanted to ride Casey Jr.
We saw the Christmas Calvacade which was fab and soo Christmassy, had a lovely American Christmas movie feel to it. We went back to the room for a break in the afternoon and then came back for Disney Magic On Parade which was amazing, so many characters and the White Rabbit from Alice sat next to my daughter on a bench which was great!
I don't understand the attraction of following the parades at the end but each to their own!
We ate early in Rainforest Café which was fab and well worth the extra money I thought. Food was really good too.

[AislingM]

Really enjoying your report so far, hope you all had a brilliant time

[ilovedisneylandparis]

Really interesting report to read, thank you I never really thought about not knowing where to get off when the bus stops but it is a good point - I just know from when I was younger but I bet if I went for the first time I'd be pretty confused!

[MinnieMum]

I'm feeling a bit bad that I've come back on this site after over a year and I never finished my trip report from last time which was meant to be giving something back to the site for answering all my questions!


I had planned to do a hugely in depth report that would be so interesting and helpful to everyone but arriving home 4 days before Xmas meant that there was just alot of other stuff to do!! Alas I never finished it!


I think the main point that I wanted to make at the time and never did was just how wonderful DLP was. At the time of planning our trip I read as much as I can and alot of members were disappointed about things not being as good as previous years and standards slipping in the parks with upkeep etc. I can fully understand how they feel, especially if they have been alot of times (I feel the same about Butlins lol) but for first timers it was just put magic. Even my husband who was a sceptic before we went got completely caught up in the whole thing.


One thing of the things we loved was that there was so many shops etc that when you were having a bit of downtime or warming up you could look at things, and all the windows were done out so nicely. We loved the Mr potato head pic n mix!


We were completely surprised by how amazing the shows were - Disney junior and animagique, we know lots of people who hadn't bothered watching these and we were so glad we did as our children thought they were fantastic, and again a chance to stay warm/dry if the weather is bad.


Another thing that I was really impressed with was that we didn't feel pressured to spend lots of money during our stay. Obviously every ride was included in the ticket, we could take photos of the characters and CMs would take photos of us as a family during meet and greets for no extra charge, this does not happen everywhere! Even the hot drinks weren't badly priced. I liked how it was acceptable to browse the shops and touch things without feeling you had to buy something. Also the toys were no more expensive then on the disney store website.


The only negatives from our trip were: The lack of information, as I mentioned before, nearly all the restaurants in the park were shut but we only found this out from walking round them. It would be good if these closures were put on the schedule with the ride closures.


On our last night the tree lighting ceremony and dreams were on an hour earlier because of a staff xmas party. I don't begrudge the party at all but there were no signs or announcements earlier in the day. We only just got to see dreams and didn't get a good view as we would of hoped as we were eating in the village and didn't realise it was starting early.


The one other thing that i was a little disappointed with was Cafe Mickey. Although it was wonderful to meet the characters and the kids loved it, the food was the worst we ate and the most expensive. It wasn't bad but just not worth the money. Also we were non the conservatory and for every character bar one, they came in, did two tables then got called off and had to come back later, it was really hard for our kids to see them and then have to wait ages for them to come back. We ended up being there for 3 hours to see them and and that's along time for a toddler. If I went again I would go for breakfast and ask not to sit in the conservatory. But you live and learn.


So there you go, I can sleep easy at night knowing I finished this, not that anyone would of been bothered! I'm looking into another trip for later this year, we said we would only go once and then wait til the kids are older to go to Florida but there's something that draws you back!


Thanks for reading 

[daddyof2]

If it makes you any happier, when were there a few weeks ago there were signs at a few places stating which restaurants were open. Of course, guest services or your concierge should have that information too

[gige3982]

Hi Minnie Mum,


we went last December with our twins who were 19  months at the time.  We too went to Cafe Mickey, as we thought it was the done thing, and I have to say we were very disappointed.  We were 45 minutes sitting before someone came at all to take our order.  We could see other people's orders being taken, and food arriving.  I asked the staff member 3 times, if we could order.  He very coolly told me we were sitting in his friends' section, and never attempted to get anyone to take our order. Eventually the same person I spoke to came and took our order, and like you I thought the food wasn't worth it.  On top of that, I asked him what was available to order for under 3's, and he just answered 'nothing'! I have to say it was the worst experience we had out of the whole holiday. We much preferred the Rainforest Cafe, and would go back there again. 

[daddyof2]

Sorry, also I should have said we went to Café Mickey for lunch and had a very good experience. We liked the Rainforest Café too - the food was on a par

[MinnieMum]

The restaurant thing wasn't a huge issue, I just wanted to put a balanced view across, if that's the worst thing then I think that's a good result!


We did ask in our hotel if Pizza Planet would be open and they said we would have to go and look. I just know that some people plan their days and budgets so knowing in advance if there will be anywhere open to eat would be useful. To us it didn't really matter as we were happy eating in the village.


Cafe Mickey is an amazing experience for children and perfect for meeting 5 or characters at once without queuing. However I just felt it lacked a tiny bit of the disney magic that we felt in the rest of the park. The CMs were brilliant at making sure the characters went round every table but it was a really long wait due to where we were sat. Also I read alot of reports saying that under 2s were given a bowl of pasta but we had to order for our under 2. It was still one of the best parts of our trip for the characters but for the dining experience the other restaurants were better.