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[andrewuk]

We got the first fast train from Reading to Paddington at 6:45, across to St. Pancras on the circle line, again fine. We took some time to have a look around the new station: very impressive, especially the huge statue.

Into the Eurostar check-in, fine again, a band were playing various Christmas carols. This time we had booked through Eurostar, hoping to buy our park tickets at St. Pancras, but we could not. I found the cast member, and he told me that anyone staying on-site is guaranteed a park ticket, and they can be bought at the hotel. Our worries about not getting in were then relieved, as we were expecting the parks to be especially busy.

On the train and all was fine, no delays, but it was packed. Curiously, the train manager advertised the 'Wonderful World of Disney Parade'!!!!!

I sent Eurostar this email

This year I booked a trip to Disneyland through Eurostar. We went and had a great time, however there are a couple of points that I wish to raise with you about the quality of service from Eurostar.
 
Firstly, we were told that we would be able to buy Disney park tickets at St. Pancras. I called Eurostar a few days before we travelled and this was confirmed. After checking in at St. Pancras, I went to buy the tickets, only to be told that the system was down. A few minutes later a different person was manning the desk and I returned and again asked to buy park tickets, and was then told that the person who sells them was on break. The screen behind the desk was flashing up an advert for Disney park tickets being sold at St. Pancras throughout this time.
 
As it happened, the Disney cast member in the station was very helpful, and assured us that as we were staying on site at Disney we would definitely be able to buy park tickets at the hotel, and this was what we did. However, the parks were very busy, as we expected, and we had a few moments of worry that they might be sold out. Further to this, as we had expected to buy in pounds at St. Pancras, we had allocated a certain amount of cash for this, and then had to spend some of our holiday time re-juggling our finances.
 
On a separate issue, the train manager, who was otherwise excellent, advertised 'The Wonderful World of Disney Parade' at 4pm. What actually happened was 'Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade' at 5:30pm. I am sure that he had just been fed the wrong or out-of-date information as he managed a packed Eurostar train superbly, but both of these incidents give the impression that the whole Disney-Eurostar operation is disjointed.
 
I do not wish to sound petty, and I do intend to continue to use and to enjoy Eurostar services to both Paris and Disneyland. However, I would appreciate it if you could take my concerns on board and make sure that you give the best impression to anyone using the service.
 
Thank you for taking the time to read this,
 
Yours Faithfully
 
Andrew


I got this response:

Thank you for your email. I was sorry to learn that you were disappointed after your recent experience with Eurostar.

You are a valued customer and we are disappointed that your lasting impression is not that which we strive to provide. I would like to thank you for taking the time to write allowing us to make any changes necessary to improve these aspects of our service for all who travel with us.
 
You have my assurance that your comments regarding the staff at the ticket desk and the incorrect announce for the Disney Parade have been recorded and forwarded to the relevant department for action and improvement in these matters.

Once again I would like to thank you for your letter highlighting your disappointment and thereby assisting us in our efforts to get it right. I hope that your next journey will fully reflect the high standards of service we aim to deliver.          

Best Regards,

I would be interested to know if these problems have been sorted out yet!!


We got to Explorers', and it was looking great, memories of the honeymoon came flooding back. We went to check in and ("oh no!") the water is off in our room and they're sending us to Kyriad! We bought the park tickets, and were quickly driven along to Kyriad. We only lost about 30mins, and they were very professional and apologetic. At some point during the Kyriad check-in, I began to wonder what the French for, "I am a fan, I know my way around the resort blindfolded, thank you very much for being so welcoming but I really want to ride Space Mountain now" might be, but I listened politely instead. After a quick freshen up in the hotel room, we got back on the bendy-bus and headed for DLP.

TOT looked fantastic, but that was going to have to wait until tomorrow. In we went, and I realised that I had never noticed the great Magnolia Grandiflora trees between the turnstiles and the Main Street railroad staion before. It was very busy, but we headed straight to Discoveryland to get SM2 fastpass. It took 10 minutes just to get the fastpass ticket. The plan was to then go and do POTC, have a bite to eat at Toad Hall, get back to SM2 and then see the parade. It was too busy; Pirates was a 60 minute wait, Toad Hall was queuing to the door. We went to Marionette instead, waited half an hour but got a decent (and vegan) meal and wandered around the shops until it was SM time. I left the wife, who hurt her neck on a coaster at Thorpe Park 10 years ago, by Autopia and in I went. No music, but the ride was smoother than I have ever known it and the smoke was working really well. I probably prefer having no music to the mission 2 theme.

After that exhilaration it was time for the Parade des Reves, and wow!!! The song even tops Dancin', the floats, dancers, Father Christmas and the wife's favourite, the nutcracker men, it is all superb. And then hearing 'Chante, C'est Noel' in the park for the first time (we'd never been at Christmas before) was great.

If we didn't get to Pirates soon it was going to time for the divorce court, as my better half loves everything to do with it. Unfortunately, you could not move in front of IASW because of the crowds, but we went under the castle and as the parade was still going, POTC was nearly a walk-on. I feel like I almost live on that ride, and even so, you always notice something new.

We're shopping quite heavily, but head off to Frontierland and get on Phantom Manor, probably with a 10 minute wait. Unfortunately, Boot Hill is cordoned off, but we wander back to the hub and Candleaberation is going on! Great stuff, I wonder if the audible gasp at the beauty of the lit up castle is all real. I think that it is.

Pirates is now a walk-on in fact they are letting every other boat go around empty and quickly cleaning them as the guests on the other boat (dis)embark. Very clever. I think that the marriage is safe for now, but I buy her a POTC flag to make sure! I love Colonel Hathi's and we go there next, and then watch Fantillusion in Town Square. We got lucky and saw a stop.

The next morning we decide to leave the suitcase at Kyriad. It's a free service. Kyriad is a good hotel, very clean room, friendly staff, standard breakfast. The theming is not the greatest, I suppose, but I can't have any complaints at all.

After checking out we went straight to WDS. They seem to have solved the problem of everyone running to Crush by opening the park really early and letting a line form. As the wife waits in line, I go to get the TOT fastpass. As I alluded to earlier, the love of my life had not been on a coaster for over a decade, but we thought that this kiddie ride might be the place to start! Suffice to say that it did not work out like that. I think that the most intense coaster experiences are inversions and launches, but surely this comes close. Spinning around and up on your side at 38mph must be almost as intense. It must be hard to theme a ride that goes so fast, but I'm happy that the thrills are the point of this ride, and it is excellent. The wife feels differently.

TOT next, and 'WOW!!' Probably my new favourite ride, it has a really unique feeling, not really physically intense, but more psychologically terrifying, the story playing on your mind, up and down really fast. The view is awesome, it would be great to see it in the dark and in different weather conditions too, but it was bright sunshine on my ride. The other thing that I noticed is that conventional lifts/elevators always seem to be straining, but the tower moves you at crazy speeds, seemingly without even trying.  

After all that excitement we wander around both Parks, do some filming, shopping and walk-throughs, then its back to get the suitcase and head home.

On the whole a great short trip, but the crowds were too much, and probably cut the number of attractions that we wanted to go on by 75%. We'll probably avoid the weekend before Christmas in future!

[RnRCj]

Shame it was so busy. But at least you managed to do some of the best rides, like Pirates and ToT. :lol: That's better than not going to DLRP at all, right? :wink:

[The Butlin Boy]

Great trip report, I'm glad to hear you had a great time

[andrewuk]

Shame it was so busy. But at least you managed to do some of the best rides, like Pirates and ToT. :lol: That's better than not going to DLRP at all, right? :wink:

Much better than doing anything else,  to be sure. /

[cricky]

that really was a great trip!

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