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[Calo101]

Hi everyone,

Not posted on this forum before but lurk and read the excellent and informative posts of others. Having returned yesterday from DLP, I thought it time I shared my POV on Disneyland, the studios and 20th Anniversary extended.

It's all in the planning....
Firstly, a thank you to everyone who shares on this forum - it's incredibly useful and formed the basis of much of the planning. April's visit was my 6th time to DLP and I've always gone through Travel Agents for package deals. This time I did it alone! Booked everything separately and brought the whole thing in well under budget:
P&O ferries - their saver deals meant I grabbed the ferry with a car full of Disney fans for less than £8 per head each way.
AttractionTix was flogging 4 day park hoppers and I scavenged a promo code online (now expired).
Went direct to the hotel to book and got a great rate there too.
One thing though...I decided to do Buffalo Bills (it had been a long time since my last trip there, even before Mickey and friends got in on the act!). Follow the advice of fans here and book e-tickets through the French sites. I went through a broker in the UK and they messed up. Luckily, the teams in Disney were flexible but wouldn't recommend (message me for more details on who to avoid).
Delighted to find out that the only scheduled closures were Autopia and Riverboats....nothing else! And as it was the start of the peak season, park hours stretched 10am-10pm. Happy days!

Saving the pennies...for Main Street Shopping!
I've enjoyed the luxuries of some of Disney Hotels before, complete with Disney Express luggage services and premium dining options. This time it was all about saving the $$ for shopping and eating in the park, so I booked Hotel Kyriad direct. Have to say, I was really pleasantly surprised. As I spend every possible moment soaking up the atmosphere in the parks or Village, I'm never at the hotel so wasn't worried about pools or fancy extras. And Hotel Kyriad fitted the bill perfectly. Clean room, huge choice at breakfast and nice little bar for a night cap. Another bonus is the frequent shuttles to the Parks. It stops at Kyriad before the other neighbouring hotels (Explorers, Magic Circus....etc) so there was always room for us to hop on - this wasn't the case for those at the later stops.

What a difference
I was last in Disney in 2010. I'm a huge fan and don't pick holes in what is undoubtedly the most beautiful of all Disneys (I've been to the two America resorts). However, three and a bit years back, things were scruffy. Paint peeling off the lighthouse on Lake Disney, damaged paving, trampled flowerbeds, graffiti encroaching from queue areas to features in the main areas of the park. I knew a refurb plan was en route...I can't remember whether the castle was in scaffold but it was certainly around that time. I was unimpressed with the Castmembers I encountered too, who weren't sparkling with Disney magic.
This time...what a transformation. The castle looks incredible, Castmembers were smiling, enthusiastically interacting with guests, embracing the themes of the areas they were staffing and were on a par with the OTT happiness of the America parks. One thought....loads were wearing sunglasses. I read a book where it talked about that being a big "no-no". Not grumbling, but wondered if any CMs on here knew of that rule, or was this book making it up?!
It wasn't just the castle, but the Pirate ship, tree house, Thunder Mesa....everything was pristine and looking its very best. I was really blown away.

Making the most of every minute
I did everything. No really, there wan't a ride we didn't visit in the 4 days we were there, enjoying hot sunshine and fairly sizeable crowds (thank goodness for fast passes) With highlights like BTM, ToT and Crush's Coaster visited several times.  Nothing beats the back row of BTM! Rock'n'Roller Coaster had all effects working and was really thrilling. Space Mountain was a real head banger as usual (I had seen it closed for some time so wondered if they'd addressed this? Nope. Star Tours needs an update. I went twice in different simulators and there are several seats not able to accommodate any passengers anymore. My seatbelt was threadbare and a few of the lighting effects were not working. Let's get the 3D versions asap.

Parades and dreams
Main parade was great, but nothing I've not enjoyed before really. Dreams however was really quite incredible. Well done DLP for investing in something of this scale and prestige. It was incredible and I know it has many many fans on here. Wow.

Food for thought
Ate a lot during the visit. Buffalo Bills was the standard fare - hot and decent portions. The show depends greatly on the audience and the crowd didn't disappoint when I was visiting. Hostesses were really great too - very friendly and joined in with chants and cheering when all food served toward the end of the evening.
Booked at Blue Lagoon - have eaten here before and this time the presentation of the food was exceptional. Very tasty and, given that we're in Disney, good value I thought. Mad a nice final day treat.  The day before, Lucky Nugget Saloon was serving up fairly standard grub but the entertainment was brilliant. Live music makes everything taste better. Big queues though.

Final thoughts
Great stuff....
The park looks beautiful and the CastMembers were fantastic. Every single one.
Disney Dreams. Epic.

Could do better....
Left looking forward to the next visit, as always. The Studios definitely needs Ratouille and fast! Far from realising its potential but does host some great rides.
The entrance plaza (Village-Disneyland Park-Studio) needs a rethink. The addition of the green tents for security (know they've been there for a while) and the system to ensure the flow of people through these (one-way exit at the Village entrance) isn't great. It all feels a bit temporary (which I doubt it is) and it masks some of the scenery and more attractive signage.
Still a stickler for all the show engineering to work on all rides (eg. the retracting canon and smoke from the Space Mountain launch wasn't working, some animatronics in Pirates were not working, despite a recent closure). This attention to detail sets Disney above all others.


Thanks for reading :-)

[ilovedisneylandparis]

Great report! Really enjoyed reading it Glad to know you liked Blue Lagoon, we're thinking of going there in June for the first time!

[Ravenseye]

Fab report, thanks for that. Can't wait to see these details for myself.  :thumbs:

[BlackPearl]

Great report, thanks for sharing!  

[TigerLily]

Great report - thanks for sharing! Good to hear the park is looking so lovely. Roll on June 2nd!

[Rafael]

Great report!