Home

[bp_serene]

Disneyland Paris Trip Report

11th-16th June 2015 - Hotel Cheyenne


Hi everyone! We just got back yesterday from our first family holiday to Disney! I went once before when I was 15, but I only went for one day as part of a school trip to Paris so didn't get to experience very much at all. It was so great to go back and do it properly.

On this trip were myself (Steph), my husband James and our two girls, Poppy (4 years) and Seren (17 months).


Travel and Hotel

We flew from Bristol to Charles de Gaulle and got the Magical Shuttle to the hotel Cheyenne. We didn't arrive until gone 8pm so we had two fairly grumpy children to contend with. Check in was very easy, no queue at all. Our room was in Sundance (block 10), which although fairly far away from the main building was perfectly positioned for walking to the park and was on the ground floor which made things easy with the pushchair. After dropping off our bags we bought some snacks from the gift shop and had a really unhealthy 'dinner' in our room. The room was adequate for our needs, there was no cot for the baby but after a quick stop by reception to ask for one the cot was delivered to us within about 15 minutes. The only noticeable 'tired' things in the room were the duvet covers (some holes!) and some peeling wallpaper and paint. But we expected this sort of thing. Everything functioned as needed, the shower was great, can't complain at all.

However, our first night's sleep was dreadful. Kids would not go to sleep, obviously the baby was unhappy about being in a strange place and wanted to be in the bed with us so we got very little sleep due to being kicked and punched by a flailing child! Also, there was some loud traffic noise or works of some sort on the first night. We were really dreading every night being the same but luckily the rest of the nights were fine and peaceful with Seren thankfully sleeping in the cot all night! We couldn't hear any footsteps above us or voices in the next room and due to the location of the room we were away from the hustle and bustle of the main areas.


Day One – Friday 12th

Breakfast was a bit chaotic and there wasn't very much choice for the children in my opinion (no fresh fruit at all!). The girls didn't eat much at breakfast the entire holiday. We went for breakfast at the 8.30-9.30am sitting the first day as they didn't have any early slots left. This threw me off a bit as I had planned to be in the park for Extra Magic Hours but as it turned out we managed to get to the park and into Fantasyland by 9.30am.

Walking up through Main Street was just amazing. Seeing the castle for the first time – you know how it is. Pure magic. The music playing down Main Street really puts you in the mood. We walked right up through the castle and into Fantasyland. Poppy was mesmerised. Our first ride of the holiday was Dumbo. It was about a 20 minute wait but the children were happy enough to watch the other people ride. I went on with Poppy but I didn't realise you had to keep holding the lever to go up and down so we didn't move very far! We still enjoyed it though. After Dumbo we got fastpasses for Peter Pan's Flight. While we waited for our time slot we explored Alice's Curious Labyrinth which tired little Seren out and she went to sleep in the pushchair straight afterwards. James took Poppy on the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups which was only a 10 minute wait, she loved it. Then we went to use our PP fastpasses, we only waited about 2 minutes. Now I have to be honest, I didn't enjoy Peter Pan the first time. It was a very bright morning and because we got straight on to the ride, my eyes had no time to adjust to the darkness. I could hardly see anything at all. We rode it again in the evening on the final day which was so much better. My tip would definitely be to wait til the evening and just wait in line so your eyes get chance to adjust to darkness. Poppy absolutely loved it though and wanted to go on again straight away! However by this point it was almost lunch time so we did Pinocchio as it was a short wait then went over to Pizzeria Bella Notte for lunch. Now this restaurant has some scaffolding outside which is unfortunate, but inside there isn't any work being done. I think because of the scaffolding people were put off so it was dead quiet in there. We had pizza and pasta and a much needed cold drink. It was nice food, nice décor too.

After lunch we decided to try It's a Small World. We actually went on this ride three times during our stay and we never waited longer than 5 minutes. Both girls loved it (as did I!) but poor James said it was like a form of torture! Ha ha! Next up was Casey Jr, I'm a massive fan of Dumbo so sang along to the Casey Jr song as we shuffled along the track. Absolute magic. After that we tried Le Pays des Contes de Fees which was lovely in the bright sunshine, although we did notice that the Emerald City had a bit of a problem with stinging nettles! To finish off our visit to Fantasyland for the day we had a look round the shops, plus Sleeping Beauty's gallery and the Dragon's lair. Onwards to Discoveryland!

In Discoveryland we first got fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear's Laser Blast and whilst we waited for our slot I took Poppy on the Orbitron. We really liked this ride, I suppose because I messed up with making Dumbo fly it was a chance to redeem myself! We spent pretty much the whole flight up high. Then it was time for Buzz. Even with our fastpasses it was still about 15 minutes waiting, luckily the queue line is really themed and entertaining, especially with Buzz Lightyear himself giving you the mission brief. Poppy was really excited to see him, his face is so well animated. The ride itself was better than I was expecting. I didn't get a very high score though, James beat me hands down. We did ride it twice more during the trip and I got better scores each time. After this ride our little girls were pretty tired so little Seren went up on to my back in the baby carrier and Poppy had a rest in the pushchair. This was a perfect excuse for a rest for us too so we went and got ice creams from Gibson Girl and sat down inside to cool off. As we were sitting down we hadn't realised it was 4.15pm which was one of the Royal Welcome times, so we saw Queen Elsa and Princess Anna go by outside. Their carriage is beautiful!

Once we had finished our ice creams we had a quick wander around the Main Street shops then went to get a good spot for the parade. We ended up near the stone benches between Fantasyland and Discoveryland, opposite Le Theatre du Chateau. I was pretty pleased with this spot, we didn't have to wait very long for the parade to start coming past and we were right at the front so had several character interactions. I thought the parade was fantastic, the floats were excellent, so detailed! And the music was so uplifting. I even got a special wave from Buzz Lightyear, I was waving quite enthusiastically at him and Woody, so he waved to me, pointed at me and nodded as if to say "yes, you!" and then blew me a kiss! I was over the moon! Little Seren was very excited to see some of her favourite characters, especially Pooh Bear, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger. And her new favourite "Meeeeeny Mouse!" Unfortunately Poppy wasn't impressed with the parade as she thought the music was too loud so she spent the entire time with her hands over her ears!

Once the parade was over it was time to head out of the park and head for Disney Village, where we had dinner reservations at Cafe Mickey. This was definitely a highlight of our trip. I wasn't sure whether Poppy would like being up close to the characters, but she was really excited to meet Mickey Mouse. Seren thought all of the characters were amazing, she touched them all and was very excited. She had a special interaction with Pluto, she was kissing his nose, which made him throw his head back with excitement and in turn made her laugh, this carried on for quite a while. It was just lovely. We saw Pluto, Mickey, Goofy, Eeyore and Tigger. The food was really good and the service was excellent. Our waiter was fab and very attentive and cheerful. Finishing the day on a really high note, we went to bed and thankfully had a much better night than our first!


Some pics from Day One;



























Well done if you read all of that! I'll add Day Two later on!

[Mileto]

bp_serene, thank you for the magical story. Your children are so sweet and cheerful!
Glad you enjoyed day one, I am waiting for the others to come, when you find time.

[bp_serene]

Day Two – Saturday 13th June

On the second day we had managed to get an early breakfast slot so off we went at about 7.30. Then straight down to the parks and into Discoveryland by 9am. First on the agenda was Buzz Lightyear, we got almost straight on. I improved on my score from the first day but still nowhere near my husband's score, ha ha! We had a look around the rest of the area but unfortunately due to the refurbishments it's not the nicest land to spend time in. We thought about going on Autopia but it didn't open til 10 so we went up through Fantasyland and hopped on to It's a Small World again as there was no real queue. Then we headed straight towards Adventureland and got on to Pirates of the Caribbean shortly after 10am, it was a 10 minute wait. I really enjoyed Pirates, not sure whether my hubby was so keen though. Poppy seemed to enjoy it but Seren was asleep in the baby carrier the whole time!

After Pirates we wanted to see Aladdin's Passage but alas, this was closed. Not sure why or for how long. We wandered a little then found ourselves in Frontierland. We checked out the menu at the Cowboy Cookout and decided we'd come back there for lunch later. Then we realised we were close to Arendelle! And coincidentally we arrived 10 minutes before the first Frozen Sing-Along of the day! People were already being seated inside the theatre so we didn't have to wait, we went straight in and found a seat easily. This was a great performance, we absolutely loved singing along! I won't add spoilers for anyone going this summer, but it's a very magical show and you must see it. We were hungry afterwards so went straight to lunch which was very nice, I had the smoked BBQ chicken and wedges. We decided to come back and explore Arendelle properly later in the day.

Next we explored La Cabane des Robinson which the girls enjoyed, I spotted Carl and Russell on the way up, so awesome. After this we explored Adventure Isle, unfortunately the ship was out of bounds. The children enjoyed La Plage des Pirates area and spent a little while playing here before we headed back to Arendelle for a Frozen ice-cream and a quick photo-op with Sven and Olaf. The last thing we did in the park on this day together as a family was sail on Molly Brown. What a lovely peaceful trip. And great views of Frontierland, especially Phantom Manor.

We left the park after out boat trip, and headed back to the hotel for a nap. Well, that was the plan! Unfortunately when we got back to the hotel they were doing some resurfacing work so it was very noisy. We still had a rest before heading over to the hotel restaurant for our dinner. We went for 6pm so were the first in, this meant all the food was newly laid out and there was plenty of choice. We ate well, then I said farewell to my family and headed back to the park alone to do some rides by myself then watch Dreams. First I rode Phantom Manor, it was actually quite daunting stepping into the car by myself, I was really spooked! But what an excellent ride it is. I was hoping to get on to Big Thunder Mountain but the wait time was 60 minutes and I really didn't want to wait that long. So off to Star Tours I went – a much better time of 15 minutes. It was great fun, even though I was by myself. Then I walked around, looked in the shops, took photos and soaked up the atmosphere until it was time to find a good spot for Dreams. I had a really good view until the show actually started and the person in front of me held up an iPad to film the entire thing, argh! I managed to move and see it more clearly. Really epic and worth staying up late for. So that was the end of day two!

More photos
















Stay tuned for Day 3 - Walt Disney Studios!

[lovindisney87]

Gorgeous pics, u have two lovely little girls there. Enjoying the report, cant wait to hear more 😁

[daddyof2]

Yeah, lovely pics, your girls look so happy

[bp_serene]

Day Three – Sunday 14th June

On this day we got to breakfast shortly before 8am as we planned to visit the Studios park so knew we didn't need to hurry down there. We paid a brief visit to the World of Disney store in the Village, then headed to the Studios. It was really busy. We walked straight down to Toy Story playland. In hindsight I should have gone straight to Ratatouille or the Tower of Terror to get fastpasses. We queued for Slinky Dog first, as this was the only ride in Toy Story Playland that Seren could go on. Luckily we waited less than 10 minutes, and I have to say that I was very disappointed in this ride. It was extremely short, I mean around 30-40 seconds. What a joke. Complete waste of time, I'm so glad we weren't waiting longer for it. Poppy wanted to go on the Parachute Drop and the wait time was 15 minutes so we got in line. Unfortunately it ended up being more like 45 minutes. Luckily she really enjoyed the ride, as did I. Great views of the parks. We left Toy Story Playland and went to get fastpasses for Ratatouille, which was already beyond 4.30pm!

Seren was having a little snooze so I left her with her Daddy and took Poppy to see the 11.30am performance of Animagique. This was a fantastic show, she was mesmerised, and if I'm honest so was I! I loved the pink elephants. Well worth seeing. We went straight from this to Stitch Live, baby was awake again by this point so we all went in together. It was hilarious, both girls enjoyed it very much. At this point we decided we would leave the Studios park and come back later for our Ratatouille time slot.

Lunch was at Casey's Corner (very nice) then we revisited Le Pays des Contes de Fees, the Tea Cups and Alice's Labyrinth before heading back over to the Studios. Just time for a quick ice cream before Ratatouille. We only waited about 5 minutes with our fastpasses. What an absolute cracker of a ride! I loved the free-motion cars, it was a proper story too and the 3D was excellent. Again, I won't give away any spoilers but can definitely recommend it, it's not to be missed. Just get your fastpass as early as possible before the all go, or look at the single rider line. After this I took Poppy on Cars Quatre Roues Rallye which, although similar, was much more exciting than the tea cups. It really felt like you could smash into the other cars at any moment!

We did a LOT of walking this day! We had to go back to Disneyland Park for our dinner reservation at the Silver Spur Steakhouse. The food here was excellent. I had the fillet steak. We rounded of the day with another look around the shops in the Disney Village. I really enjoyed looking at the art in the gallery. Check it out if you get a chance, some beautiful original one-off artworks.

Some photos of our day;



















Day three over! See you soon for day four......

[bp_serene]

Day Four – Monday 15th June

On this day we had decided to skip breakfast at the hotel and get a late breakfast at Annette's Diner when it opened at 10am. Unfortunately when we got there some drilling was being done directly outside, it was so loud we couldn't stand it, so we doubled back and tried to get in at Cafe Mickey. By the time we got seated the children were really hungry and therefore grumpy, so it wasn't as nice an experience as our previous visit. We did get to see Chip and Mickey for a photo though. After a bit of a stressful start to the day we entered Disneyland Park and went straight to BTM to get a fastpass for me. 2.30pm was my time slot. Whilst heading through Adventureland we spotted Captain Hook and Smee doing a meet and greet so stopped to take a photo. We then re-visited Casey Jr and looked around a couple of shops before heading over to the Studios park again.

We arrived in the Studios just in time for Stars and Cars, where we met Stitch! Poppy wanted to go back and see Stitch Live again so we didn't wait around for any of the others to come round to us. After this I left them to explore the Studios whilst I went back for my fastpass slot on Big Thunder Mountain. When I arrived, the ride was closed! Argh! The cast member told me to come back later and they would honour my fastpass. But as I started walking back, the normal entrance was re-opened and so I rushed back to the fastpass line and got straight on, I was on the first train as it re-opened! Great fun. After BTM I grabbed myself some popcorn from the town square and strolled back to the Studios. James and the girls were seeing Animagique so I went in to see the Art of Disney Animation. They met me afterwards as I was taking part in the Animation Academy. We drew Goofy, I was pretty impressed with my efforts! Then James told me that they had watched the next Stars and Cars whilst I was gone, and Poppy had met Minnie Mouse!

Next we all went on Cars together, then stopped for an ice cream whilst watching Mickey doing a meet and greet in the toon plaza. I decided to check the wait time on the single rider line for Ratatouille, it was only 10 minutes so I hopped on for another ride. James took the girls down to Toy Story Playland to check wait time for the Parachute Drop but it was 45 minutes so we abandoned the idea. I still hadn't managed to get a fastpass or an acceptable wait time for the Tower of Terror so unfortunately this was the one ride I really wanted to go on that I missed out on. Next time! We finished off our time in the Studios with a ride on the Tram Tour which was good.

On leaving the park we decided to see if the noise outside Annette's had stopped – it had, hooray! We got some dinner here which was delicious, recommended. We had planned to go back to the hotel but Poppy found some extra energy from somewhere and decided she wanted to go on some more rides, so back into Disneyland we went! First we caught the 8.15pm Royal Welcome which Poppy was very excited by, she's a big fan of Frozen (as most 4 year old girls are!) We then rode on Peter Pan which I enjoyed much more than the ride from day one. I think because on day one we got straight on with fastpasses my eyes didn't have time to adjust and I couldn't appreciate the ride well enough. This evening ride was much better. A bit longer in the dimly lit queueing area, plus no bright sunshine directly beforehand really helped. I would definitely recommend seeing this ride in the evening to really appreciate it. Our next stop was Pinocchio which we only waited 2 minutes for, then we rode it again immediately afterwards at Poppy's request. A quick ride on Snow White, then a look around Sleeping Beauty's Gallery and we were ready to go. As we went to leave we realised that Elsa and Anna were coming back around for the 9.15 time slot so we saw them again! Poppy was thrilled.

This was our last evening in the park. We were on a bit of a high, we went back to the hotel and packed our bags, we were all in bed by 11pm ready for our final day at Disneyland.


Some photos for you to enjoy.....



























Day 5 coming soon!

[bp_serene]

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments! I am reading them, honest! Just getting the final day ready for posting.

[bp_serene]

Day Five – Tuesday 16th June


Our last day! Breakfast at 7.30am then we checked out of our room and left bags with the hotel luggage facility. We hopped on the shuttle bus and got into the park at 9am. Time to re-visit Dumbo which I did a much better job of 'flying' second time around! It was around 25 minutes waiting for Dumbo so afterwards we headed straight down to Discoveryland to try and get on Autopia when it opened at 10am. Seren fell asleep in the very long queue so we did baby switch for the first time in the holiday, lucky Poppy got to have two rides on Autopia. It was fun, but not worth the long wait time if I'm honest. Whist James and Poppy had their ride, I went across to get fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear so we could all go on again one last time. I really like this ride. Whilst waiting for our slot we went down to Star Tours so James could ride it. Back up to Buzz, where I smashed my previous score, getting to Level 4!

Back up to Fantasyland again to ride Small World a third time (love it) and this was our last ride of the holiday. A quick look around the castle and a final visit to the dragon and it was time to say "Au revoir" and leave Disneyland Park. We had our lunch in the Rainforest Cafe, very nice food but not impressed with the service. Then it was time to start our journey home. A fantastic holiday, although very hard work with two young children! We will return when they are both big enough to go on more rides.

Some more photos;

















And my souvenirs!

















So in total over our entire stay we walked over 72km, according to hubby's pedometer! No wonder my feet are sore! And I didn't get to ride on the Tower of Terror, or Disneyland Railroad (we tried several times but it was always very busy!)

Highlights of the trip for me were hugging Stitch (so fluffy!), seeing Dreams, seeing the looks of joy on my children's faces and getting a special wave and a kiss from Buzz Lightyear!

If anyone has any questions about visiting the parks with young children please do ask away. We learned a lot during our visit!

Thanks for reading, well done if you read the whole thing!

[Disney Matt]

Great trip report...great that'll posted it all in the one night
Love the photos too 

[bp_serene]

I had to get it all written whilst it was still fresh in my mind! Heh heh.

[Mamaboogie]

A wonderful trip report! 

It reminds me of the time I first went to DLP when my children were about the same age as yours - very hard work! We've been back several times since then and each time is magical and different as they are at a different stages.

I'm going back in August this year with my partner - and no children! They are 18 and 21 now and off doing their own thing - I'm sure they would still come with us though if we could co-ordinate our diaries!

[Mileto]

What a report!
You covered us with positive and magical emotions!
You are a great family. Very nice fotos, catching good moments!

You went to many attractions which I haven't done till now - so it's a good point to think of for winter:
- Slinky Dog - we waited last time endlessly and at the end before entering it broke
- Autopia - only daughter and husband made it, I was keeping places before Disney. They told me it was a long wait and then again a long wait in the car, because the one infront mooved very slowly.
- Art of Disney - where is this exactly - somewhere in Studios?
- Art in the gallery - in the village? Or?

We can make Dumbo sometimes again. Last time daughter was only 5, it was a long wait. Parachut Drop - oh , endless - maybe because not so many people can go at once, it only looks big but it's not.

I like the Arendelle area, only hoping they will keep it for winter. Funny to see the red curtain on the sleigh, read somewhere, they didn't think of the sun and the hot black covering.

Great souvenirs and especially the watch. How does it cost? I may decide on byuing one. 

[bp_serene]

Mileto - The Art of Disney Animation was in the Studios park, it's just to the right as you enter the main area once you emerge from Studio 1. It's 2 short films/presentations then you can take part in the Animation Academy and also view the artwork and character development displays.

The gallery where I took the Alice and Cheshire Cat photo was in the Disney Village. I think it's called 'Disney Art on Demand', you can order framed prints in there.

The watch was 19 Euros I think, I'll check the packaging later. It's cute because you can't tell it's a Disney item until you look close and see the hidden Mickeys

[Mileto]

Thank you, bp_serene, for taking time and answering.
I'll defiently byu this watch - Disney+my farovite colours.

Thanks again, you, people, writing all these trip reports, don't know how nice it is for us waiting to read all your stories and prepare. I am not in a hurry although, much awaits us in summer and autumn. And waiting is part of the magic. After beeing there in winter we'll have a long pause, at least 2 years. So, let's be patient.