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[cherrygem]

hi i have never been to Disney land paris or any theme park, im 28 with sight impairment have an 8year old son who i want to take for three nights four days for his bday as a suprise,my partner is not very supportive of the trip as he is TIGHT!!!!!

Because it'll be dec (well hopefully but depends on my sister in law as her family may be joining us)when we're going (departing 11th dec) i was thinking of staying in the disneyland hotel with castle club, for three adults and one eight year old, flights, private transfer, b+b and passes i was quoted €3000 without castle club and because the winter prices for 2013 have not been released yet by disney i was given an estimate for the castle club of €1000 bringing our trip to €4000 without meal vouchers!!!!
 
hence passionate debate with my partner!!! i want to go as i think it will be the last "childish" time with my son as my bro informed me my son didnt believe in santa last year so i really want the magical experience so i dont care about the cost even though we are no way near flush, i have planned to sell my car in order to make the trip happen so really i dont see partner's point in complaining when im paying!!!
 
i was wondering is the castle club worth it? i dont want long ques taking away from the magic especially since its going to be cold, with the vip fast track passes can you just skip the cue and get on the rides or are you just given a time to come back at?
 

am i just being lazy staying so close to the park? would my son prefer a themed bedroom? are the cc rooms too small for three adults one 8yr old in one room?
 

P.S
ok have chatted with my sis in law and we kinda convinced ourselves about dlh cc but we promised to do a pros and cons on the DLH, NEW YORK+ NEWPORT BAY(admiral room) but i cant really find a comparative site

the price difference for 3 adults one 8yr old wed 11th dec till sat 14th
 

DLH STD RM = €2038
 
NEW YORK STD RM = €1386 DIFFERENCE €652

NEWPORT ADMIRAL = €1393 DIFFERENCE €645 (ADM RM INCLUDES VIP FAST PASS AS FAR AS I KNOW)
 

ANY PROS AND CONS ON THESE HOTELS

thanks a million in advance!!!!

[julesk]

Sorry to answer next to none of your questions but I am asking the same question. Is the Castle club really worth it.

Please correct me if wrong - The VIP fast pass isnt on all rides, just the few that allow all visitors fast pass from the machines (but have to return at certain times) We used fast pass on the buzz laser blast 10 days ago and its great jumping the queue. So I cant see this as a massive bonus.  - Charactor breakfast is a huge yes for us, yet I know on the Invention meals my daughter wont eat much as shes to excited. We are considering standard room, just for location and experience.

HNY, have you considered Empire state club? They have a charactor meal. Amazing hotel and staff. We stayed in a standard room and loved it. Dont think you get VIP fast pass?? The walk via the village is 10 mins easily. Lots of shelter when raining too.

Its so hard as we are booking a birthday suprise, for a little princess who's dream is to stay in the pink palace one day   :?:

[cherrygem]

oh how cool mines for a suprise bday too x

[julesk]

Looking into Disneyland California now too but only if the new changes to school term time hols dosent go ahead as of sept 2013. Its so hard picking, as like you I just want it to be a trip to top all the others. Which is an almost impossible task seeing DLRP is perfect everytime we go.

[never2old]

I'll try to help a bit!!

We usually go for the Hotel New York because of the price, it's a lot cheaper than the Disneyland Hotel and the service is not bad. The rooms are similar in size (if you go with 3 adults and 1 child you'll have a room with 2 double beds), breakfast is also very similar (they have a cooked breakfast with great eggs, sausages, tomatoes, as well as cereal, yogurts, fruits, croissants etc, and the best orange juice). The HNY is also not too far away from the parks (much closer than the Newport Bay!)

But the Disneyland Hotel has great advantages. First the location, it simply cannot be beaten. You know that you're never too far away from your room, and particularly in the winter months, it can be great, you can just pop back into room room to change clothes if you got wet, or take an extra jumper if you're cold, or even simply go back for a little rest. And in the evening when you're exhausted after a long day of walking around, you know you just have to come out of the park and you're back in your hotel.

The hotel itself is a thing of beauty. Maybe more for little girls, with all the pink, but still, it's beautiful. The rooms are beautifully decorated, with details from Fantasia, Peter Pan, Snow White... They're gorgeous. And at breakfast, you're over looking Main Street...

Castle Club is excellent. The standard CC rooms are the same as the standard DLH rooms: beautiful and comfortable. But you go to the Castle Club for all the extras...

The Castle Club:


First, the VIP fastpass. We love the VIP fastpass. True it only works on the fastpass rides (Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear Laserblast, Peter Pan in DLP, and Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and the Magic Carpets in the Studios). However in the Studios we have often seen some fastpass lines not open, if the park is not busy TOT and RNRC don't always have a working fastpass, and I don't remember the last time I saw the FP line open in the Carpets. Having said that, 2 of our favourite rides are Big Thunder Mountain and Buzz Ligthyear, and being able to go again and again and again on those is excellent. I think for my husband the main reason to upgrade to CC or Empire State Club is to have the VIP fastpass...

If you go for Castle Club, you can go (for a supplement and if available) for a park view room. Then you can wake up to a view like this:



Or go to sleep like this:



It's as close as you can get to sleeping in the park itself. It doesn't get more magical than that!!

The you have the wonderful CC lounge. Probably my favourite place in the whole DLH. It's very cosy, very comfortable, and not very crowded. Excellent breakfast (and the only hotel to serve a decent coffee for breakfast), very relaxed, and of course you get the characters coming to see you at your table. Wonderful start to your day

The lounge during breakfast


Then during the day you can always go back for a drink (soft drinks are free), and in the afternoon they'll have cakes. Perfect for a little break!! And because you're never too far from the hotel, you're never too far from the lounge....

Another thing I really like about the CC is the private lift, that takes you straight to the park entrance. Let's be honest most Disney hotels are quite big, and the DLH is no exception. You could have quite a walk from the reception to your room... In the Castle Club, you're bang in the centre of the hotel, and you have a lift that goes straight from the park entrance (it's right next to the turnstiles) to the CC floor. You have an access card to go on the lift so only people staying in the CC can use it....

My husband waiting for the lift


Last but not least is the service... The CC has its own reception, and you go past it quite regularly (it's next to the CC lift) Which means that the Cast Members who work there know you, and are always ready to help you, or simply ask you how your day is going. They're wonderful, and they help make a great stay unforgettable. For example when we stayed there last, when we checked in they had already booked restaurants for every evening, just in case, because the hotel restaurants are always fully booked. Or another time, we were staying there for a couple of nights but my sister and her husband were coming to spend one day with us. The CM in the reception asked about them when he saw them waiting for us, and immediately came back with 2 VIP fastpasses for them, so that we could all enjoy the rides together. The Cast Members in the CC are the nicest I've ever met.

On our last trip we stayed in the Empire State Club, and to be honest, you cannot compare the two... You have the VIP fastpass of course, and you do have a separate lounge for breakfast with the characters, which for us with a little 2 year old girl was perfect. They also have drinks during the day and I think cakes in the afternoon, but we never went during the day because it was a bit of a walk... There's also a separate reception, but we only saw them when we checked in and when we checked out, and even when we saw them they were not as helpful as in the Castle Club. Don't get me wrong, the ESC is nice, and we will probably book it again at some point. But it cannot compare with the Castle Club...

Is it worth it? If you want to have a very special stay, and you can afford it, personally I would say YES. Definitely. I've already started saving so that we can stay there maybe next year... It is a wonderful treat.

Second choice would be a standard room in the DLH. Of course not the same, but still great service and perfect location (particularly in December!!). Followed by the HNY. It does feel more like a hotel for adults (they do have the conference center and you can run into people who are there on business trips, wearing a suit, when you're going down in the lift wearing your Minnie Mouse ears....   ) but it's a really nice hotel, very relaxing, and they have a great bar!

I don't recommend the Newport Bay. The Admiral Floor is nice and also in the center of the hotel so you don't need to walk for hours to get to your room (the hotel is MASSIVE), but the hotel itself is quite far away from the parks (you can take the bus of course).

[amanda08]

never2old, you are so getting me doubley excited for our castle club stay this october! Your pictures are fab (also read your last tr more then once lol :-)))

I agree with you, if you can afford it, is THE most wonderful experience! :-)

[julesk]

Wow, thank you never2old. I have to admit your post has 99% made my mind up, specially as its a extra special birthday suprise visit for a little princess. The VIP pass still dosent really appeal as its only Buzz / Peter Pan we would use it for, but the private lift and amazing charactor breakfast is a must  :lol: Sure Hubby would be more than happy with the coffee breaks too.

Better step up the overtime begging  :roll:

Thanks again and love the pictures!

[julesk]

never2old, you are so getting me doubley excited for our castle club stay this october! Your pictures are fab (also read your last tr more then once lol :-)))

I agree with you, if you can afford it, is THE most wonderful experience! :-)

Are you going for Halloween amanda08? We are planning Halloween 2014. If so, would you consider doing a trip report, would love to know what you think of CC and Halloween extras. Thanks

[Yorkieal]

We too are looking at Halloween 2014 AND the CC, so yes, any further info is greatly appreciated! I love reading about the details!!  

[never2old]

The VIP pass still dosent really appeal as its only Buzz / Peter Pan we would use it for

When we went a few weeks ago to the Empire State Club, we only used the VIP fastpass on those 2 rides, and it was still worth it My daughter loves Peter Pan and she was always happy to go on the ride a few times, and we all love Buzz, we could do it quite a few times thanks to the VIP pass!!

Seriously, the CC is wonderful and I can't wait to go there again. Some day. When I've saved enough...

Here are some more pics to wet your appetite I'm very jealous of all of you with stays in the CC coming up!!!

Our bedroom (when we came back to our room on the first evening, we had a bottle of champagne on ice waiting for us!!)


The magic lift


When you come out of the lift, you have the reception to your left, and this view ahead of you. If you continue on the right you get to the Castle Club lounge








Admiring the room from our balcony (room 2307)

[amanda08]

never2old, you are so getting me doubley excited for our castle club stay this october! Your pictures are fab (also read your last tr more then once lol :-)))

I agree with you, if you can afford it, is THE most wonderful experience! :-)

Yes, we are there 21st-25th October and will make sure to take lots of photos and do a TR :-) We love Halloween at Disney and try to go every year in October but this is our first time staying in the DLH at this time of year so we are also curious to see if they do anything special of the season!

Are you going for Halloween amanda08? We are planning Halloween 2014. If so, would you consider doing a trip report, would love to know what you think of CC and Halloween extras. Thanks

[cherrygem]

i've booked the DLH but i have to wait five days now to see if there are any castle club rooms left for dec this year to be honest i'll be totally gutted if we cant get a castle club room!!!!

[never2old]

i've booked the DLH but i have to wait five days now to see if there are any castle club rooms left for dec this year to be honest i'll be totally gutted if we cant get a castle club room!!!!

Why do you need to wait. can't they check now to see if they have rooms?

Even if they're fully booked, don't let that spoil your trip, the DLH is a wonderful hotel, and you'll have a magical stay no matter what!!

[amanda08]

We had the same issue Cherry but thankfully it turned out fine - fingers crossed for you too!

[cherrygem]

got a castle club room but it wasnt with park view so i asked to check for aa park view its more expensive but i want the best of the best, another five day wait!!!