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[Zee79]

Well I was hoping this trip to DLP was going to be different from my other trips in that I was going to be super fit (hmmm), raring to go, no injuries, illnesses. Nope! 3 days before leaving I had to have an emergency dental appointment which resulted in an extraction! Not a happy bunny at all  Alongside this, my hubby got an ear infection, my youngest daughter just wasn't herself even though she was excited to go and we were having to alter our usual routines because my father has gotten worse over the past 18 months ( I mentioned in a previous report about his back injury at work) and now has to use a wheelchair to get around the majority of the time because he just can't walk using a stick, his leg won't function and he is slower than a toddler- this was going to be a total new experience for us. I was beginning to think the trip was doomed 

Party
This trip we were a family down so only 6 of us travelled - 4 adults, 1 teen 1 child. We were staying at the Hotel Cheyenne for 4 nights/5 days (Sunday 24th-Thursday 28th July 2016) with half board standard vouchers.

Saturday 23rd July 2016
Up early so we could drop the dogs off at the kennels for their holidays. We walked round to my parents to help load the car and off we went at 10:15am on our road trip to Disneyland Paris. We drive from the North East stopping off at Peterbrough services for lunch, usually taking us about 2 1/2 hours. We arrived about 1:30pm though due to an accident near Doncaster, not as bad as the last trip with a delay of 5 hours! We had a nice, relaxed lunch and then set off for our hotel in Canterbury. We arrived 6:15pm, an hour later than planned because of a detour, the A14 slip road was shut. It was a sweltering 32deg stuck on the motorway so I really felt for all those caught in the Dover issues. We had a bite to eat in the hotel, we took our own food down, then it was off to bed for an early night because we had to re assess our travel plans due to the delays on the M20/A20/A2.

Sunday 24th July 2016
Well it was a very early rise for us - 4am! not that most of us had been to sleep, it was soooooo hot in the rooms despite the hotel providing a fan that was on all night. There was no issue with traffic and we arrived at Folkstone within 40 minutes- had a lovely tour of Canterbury for some reason. We checked in for our train and had a look around the terminal. We caught the 7:06am train. The journey was quick and we were in Calais in no time. Roads were really quiet or so we thought. We just got past Charles De Gaulle airport, ready to take the road to Lyon (A14) and stop! it took over 40 minutes to travel 2.6km and it was hot, hot, hot. When we finally arrived at the Hotel Cheyenne is was 12:30pm, an hour later than we thought we would. We strolled into reception and it was unnervingly quiet. Security was at the door but they never stopped us to check which I thought was strange, a common occurance throughout our stay in the hotel even though I witnessed plenty of people being stopped and checked, especially if you had any sort of bag with you. Both rooms were ready and we were in our rooms located in Sitting Bull, unpacking by 1pm 

Once we had quickly unpacked,  we set off for lunch, stopping at our usual place- Earl of Sandwich. I was concerned about what I could eat with being minus a tooth but I had no worry in here, the Philly Steak sandwich was gorgeous today, so soft and cooked to perfection mmmm. Once we had filled our tums off we went, straight to the main park for me to get an Annual Pass and my father to visit City Hall for a green pass. This was totally new to us, had no idea what we were doing but he was given one. I was a little annoyed because they had to wait until I had returned from getting my AP because all party members had to be there but then wrote down that only 4 people could accompany my father, I wasn't allowed! Their tickets were signed and she left mine blank. This could have saved us 20 minutes of wait time if she had done this to begin with whilst I was at the passport bureau. A band was playing in Main Street when we came out of City Hall, it really set the mood. The castle looked beautiful in the sunshine, the gold turrets really shining. We soon left after the ritual of a photograph of the castle from the top of Main Street and headed for the studios.

As we approached the Studios my youngest and I bumped into Jordi!!!! A highlight of the trip especially for my daughter. He was so lovely. The rest of the family were confused as to who we had suddenly just stopped to talk to in France haha
Inside,DD1 and hubby disappeared off for TOT and I took DD2 on The Flying Carpets- It was hot! and this was 4:30pm. After a stroll around the studios we headed back to the hotel to freshen up ready for our meal in the Chuck Wagon. The meal was of usual standard but this time I noticed that the food wasn't just warm, there was some heat coming from it  it was so quiet and civilised compared to other times we have visited. Afterwards we had a drink in the Red Garter Saloon, a quick mooch around the shop and then home to bed, It had been a very long 2 days.

Monday 25th July
Weather: overcast and cool in the morning, hot in the afternoon with a shower around 7pm.
We made EMH this morning, a first for me and DD2! Breakfast was very busy at 7am because there were quite a few dance troops staying. In the Park we met Chip n Dale, these were brilliant, being their cheeky selves. We then headed further in and met Goofy and Pluto, again their interaction was great. We walked onto Buzz, something we have never done before, DD1 and hubby went on Space Mountain whilst DD2 and I headed to Fantasyland to try to go on Peter Pan, no luck, queue was about 40 minutes and I had to meet my parents at the Bandstand so it was off on the Carousel we went. Once we had met up with the parents we took a stroll through Liberty Arcade (smoother for my father in his chair) and headed back to Discoveryland, to our amazement we managed to ride Autopia!!!! I have never managed this for the past 23 years!!!! over the moon wasn't the word, my father was a little upset at this because he has always wanted to try it but unfortunately he just couldn't manage to climb into car, I found it slightly difficult. The kids loved it because they were drivers- I do not make a good passenger, hubby can teach them to drive! 
For lunch we headed to Cowboy Cookout, it has been a long time since we have eaten in here. The food was nice, DD2 and I shared the BBQ chicken meal, the rest had burgers. Again the food was hot, especially the wedges and we were entertained by a Country and Western band. After lunch we headed to see if we could meet Tiana, the queue was huge!!!! they only let a few people in and the then shut the Riverlanding off within 5 minutes of opening the meet n greet, we unfortunately never got to meet her at all during the trip. We headed round to Phantom Manor to find it closed due to a security scare. The staff were calm and collected and security were were efficient.Someone had left a backpack unattended on the ride- I wouldn't like to be that person. Off we went to Adventureland. It was really strange having to walk right round this land rather than being able to nip over the bridge. The Treehouse had most of its scaffolding taken down so was looking good.As we walked round to the lamp we noticed the meet and greet queue was short so headed over. As we did this Genie appeared right behind DD2 and gave her a tickle, it was so funny the look on her face. We met both Genie and Jafar (he was very commanding) and again interaction was great. We headed to Peter Pan and Hook- what a queue so we decided to give this a miss and make our way round to POTC. We queued for about 30 minutes,  getting closer to the front and suddenly it was bright, the lights had come on and yep, the ride had broken down. This was to become a regular occurrence during the trip but we did get to ride it at least twice though, we said it had taken the place of Big thunder Mountain haha.
That evening we had our meal in Plaza Garden, a first time for us and the food was very nice and the setting was lovely. I would definitely eat in here again. We were absolutely shattered after the meal so our plans of watching Dreams went out of the window and we headed back to the hotel, slowly. We had a drink in the bar then retired to bed by 10pm- we are such party animals 

Tuesday 26th July 2016
Weather: Sunny spells but warm.
We slept in a little longer this morning and went for breakfast around 8am and it was no busier than when we had it at 7am the previous day. After breakfast we took a leisurely walk to the Walt Disney Studios, arriving about 9:30am. Hubby and DD1 went for fast passes for Ratatouille, I was determined to ride this this trip and they managed to get us 10:35-11:05 slot- yes! We made our way to Toy Story land, Parachutes was a 5 min wait so hubby, DD1 and DD2 went on. Next DD2 and I went on Slinky- it was faster than I remember, whilst DD1 and hubby went on RC Racer. My mother and I got a little upset/angry whilst waiting for the others to come off RC because a family arrived at the disabled entrance and the parents left their 4 children whilst they went to ride RC Racer. The eldest looked no older than about 9/10 and he had to control the youngest who was tantruming on the floor because she wanted her mam and another sister running off round the land all the time, he kept getting so wound up. The parents were gone for about 30 minutes! We then headed to Ratatouille, this was a very good ride, if you have vertigo it may affect you because it got me a few times but i still enjoyed it.We watched the Incredibles do their little performance, Mrs Incredible was a little seductive with her bum wiggle haha We then made our way to En Coulisse for lunch, this was the only real counter service open to sit down and eat in which was disappointing. After lunch we went to watch Mickey and the Magician. Well what can I say, AMAZING!!! Thoroughly enjoyed this. I was so disappointed when Animagique closed but this more than makes up for it. I was really good leading up to the trip because i didn't watch any of the clips (was really difficult haha) and i'm so glad I did this. The debate over the language of the show had me a little apprehensive but I had no reason to be. It's really only Mickey that speaks french just like in Animagique, it didn't detract from the performance. If you haven't seen the show go! you wont be disappointed. After the show, DD1 and hubby headed to Aerosmith  so my parents, DD2 and myself went on the Tram tour. DD2 said she couldn't remember it so it was really funny to see her reactions to the special effects  After this we decided to take a slow walk back to the hotel, my father and DD2 were not coping well at times so we went back so they could rest before our meal in La Cantina.
The meal in La Cantina was lovely as usual, we love eating here, there is such an option for our varied tastes.The kids loved the addition of the chocolate fountain and marshmallows. Once finished we had a look around the shop and headed back for a drink in the Red Garter.

Wednesday 27th July 2016
Weather:Sunny spells and warm.
THE DAY has arrived!!!!
We got up late again, enjoyed our breakfast and headed off to the main park. We headed straight for Discoveryland and took my father on Buzz for the first time, he usually won't go on it but had no choice since DD1 was pushing him in the wheelchair and pushed him straight through the disabled entrance haha He really enjoyed himself especially 'fighting' DD1 for control over the car  After Buzz DD1 and hubby went on Space Mountain, again, and then we made our way over to Frozen. This we enjoyed, we could sing until our little hearts were content  we then got a photo with Sven and Olaf and headed for lunch at Cowboy Cookout again- DD2 favourite this trip. Hubby and I tried the Cajun spiced sausage, it wasn't very spicy, just right. No offence to anyone but I'm sorry, Country and Western Songs just do not sound right in french. After lunch we headed to Phantom Manor, hubby, father , DD1, DD2 all rode this whilst my mother and I went looking around some shops. I bought myself my first lanyard and pins- Disney Villains, which the kids thought were great ( I won't be pin trading though). We then headed over to Fantasyland and managed to ride Snow White and Pinnochio, each had about a 20 minute wait, this was great to us. We wandered round a while until it was time to visit - INVENTIONS!!!! I had a very excited little girl at this point and it continued through the time in there. I was a bit wary because of some of the comments I read else where about where they would put you depending on which hotel you were from, it was noted on our reservation slip that we were in the Cheyenne, I don't think it is necessary, what difference does it make?. We were not disappointed, we were placed in the room that has the huge bay window over looking Main Street Station, it was lovely. The characters were fab, interacting with kids and adults alike. Mickey Mouse gestured he was watching me because I had my Villains top on, he then gestured he would fight me haha but doing some karate moves, it was brilliant. The food was nice, the price doesn't reflect the standard of food so in my opinion you are definitely paying for the characters and this is worth it. The only downside I experienced was the rudeness and sometimes abusive tones of some of the guests. The food stations are very close together and there was a queue forming near the Starter station. Well some guests were expecting you to queue behind them when you wanted to visit the Mains or Dessert station. I'm sorry but no, why should you wait. The stations need to be separated.
After our meal we headed to the village to do some shopping. Once we spent up we headed back to the bar for a night cap.

Thursday 28th July
Last day  the weather reflected our mood: miserable.
It rained on/off most of the day but was still warm. We had breakfast around 8am and then packed up the car. We then headed to the park. Buzz was the first port of call with my father, DD1 and hubby did, yes you guessed it,Space Mountain whilst DD2 and I went on Autopia. Twice in the same holiday! Next we headed over to POTC and it was a walk on. We did a few rides in Fantasyland then headed to Col. Haithi for lunch, a tradition of ours. After lunch we looked around the shops in Main Street before buying our muffins and donuts for the trip back. We walked back to the Cheyenne and set off around 3:30pm for our journey home. The traffic was ok driving to the tunnel but as we approached the weather turned rather nasty, getting us prepared for the British weather haha. We caught the 8:20pm train back and had a mystery tour back to the hotel in Canterbury. The roads were barely wide enough to get the car down and at one point I nearly wiped the car out. I was so glad when I reached the hotel.

Friday 29th July 2016
Woke up early this morning, still on French time. We grabbed breakfast from Costa and Subway and then set off home around 10:15am. What a journey it turned out to be! We normally stop at Peterbrough for our lunch, around a 2 1/2hr drive but after 4 hours of driving we stopped at Cambridge services. I couldn't take it any more, my nerves were shot. Traffic was at a stand still, lorries were whipping in and out of traffic and so were some cars. You never saw why the traffic wasn't moving. After lunch we set off for the remaining 2 1/2hrs but nope, 4 hours later we finally made it home. We saw 1 accident the entire way and that was on the A1 southbound. Not how I wanted my holiday to end..

In summary, the actual visit to Disney was great, met new characters, able to ride a lot of rides due to lack of queues which we didn't expect with it being summer. We weren't that bothered about missing Dreams as we had seen it many times before.
The refurb of the Cheyenne is not in your face,one side of the complex is closed off with brown fences but it didn't bother us in the slightest.
Yes there was a lot closed in the park, fences about,  but if you are there to enjoy yourself you will hardly notice them.
Security wasn't as tight as I thought it would be in the hotel, it was getting through the gate, but getting into the village and the parks it is.- bag searches, metal detectors, dogs etc.. More cast members and security visible in the parks. We felt totally safe.

We had a great time and can't wait to return so currently trying to price up for next year 

[fairymom]

Lovely trip report.
I agree about Inventions, it's the experience you are paying for more than what you eat!

Horrible about the traffic. We got caught coming around Paris to DLP too and it was so hot and depressing. Same as you we never saw an actual reason for the traffic. DH insisted it was just rush hour but it was only 4pm. Maybe.

I couldn't believe how quiet it was either, considering it was July. Maybe the closures have put people off but tbh with the exception of BTM the closures didn't bother us at all!

[disneymagic006]

Really enjoyed reading about your trip. Sounds like you had a great time on the whole. The genie tickling your DD2 must have been a really great moment :-) It's great they have more characters out and about at the minute, makes up for the closures I guess.

[Zee79]

We did! DD2 said it was the best trip she's ever had at Disney.  Genie came out if nowhere, people were not chasing him so we had no idea he was there. She's nearly 10 but her face was like when she was little, it was great to see. In Inventions my eldest was like a child again as well, not the stroppy teen she is normally haha

[twigs72]

Sounds like you and your family had a great time even with all your family injuries .

Just a few questions on you visit as as a family we are visiting DLP in 2 weeks and also staying at the Cheyenne and have the standard meal vouchers. Did you stay in the refurbished rooms, if so what were they like. Also did you pre-book you reservations for the restaurants and as you had standard meal vouchers what was the extra cost for Inventions on top of the vouchers?

[Zee79]

We never got a refurb room unfortunately, kids weren't bothered because they love the bunk beds.
We pre booked our meals through the reservation line, once we checked in we had to go the information desk & they found our reservations & printed them out.
For a family of 4 with one drink each it was roughly €120 we put to the bill in Inventions. I think it works out at €31 euro for adults & €15 per child plus €5.50 per soft drink. I'm not sure about alcohol but another guest said she paid about €17 for a beer!

We really enjoyed it. I was surprised just how much I could eat even though I was sore. It was a learning curve for us with my dad's condition now, just glad my eldest was there, she stronger than me & my mam so took over pushing the wheelchair, she is a competitive swimmer so has amazing upper body strength because she trained for 7 months just using her arms due to a leg injury.Next time we will be more prepared & maybe my parents will be more relaxed knowing what my father can & can't do.

[twigs72]

Thanks for the information Zee79. I think I will get our resturant reservations booked before we go. Also thank you about the room, we have just a family room with bunk bed booked just wanted to know if DLP have done the refurb yet, the kids are looking forward to the bunk beds

Good to hear that your daughter was able and willing to push your father about in the wheel chair as if it was my son he would of pushed my father down main street and given up and left him there

[daddyof2]

Great report, thanks

[Lavi]

Thank you for writing! I'm glad that you all finally enjoyed it!