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[Caz]

At the time of writing I'm sitting in a Breton gite on a very wet Sunday afternoon in front of a roaring fire on the second leg of our holiday in France and thought it the ideal time to write a little trip report while everything is still fresh in my memory.

Day 1 20/7/15
We set off for our 8:20 crossing on the tunnel shuttle at 6am on Monday the 20th July, our youngest son's birthday. I was a little concerned with all the current problems with immigrants, strikes, operation stack etc but on this occasion didn't need to be. There were no queues and we had an unremarkable crossing, seeing Jo Brand in the terminal notwithstanding. After a leisurely drive down on the A16, we came off to detour via Senlis (highly recommended, a beautiful old town that makes a good stop for lunch).



After a supermarket stop for milk, snacks and, of course, wine ( Roche Mazet Merlot at 10€ for 3 litres highly recommended😊) we arrived at RelaisSpa in Val d'Europe which I'd booked for one night off-site in a junior suite (separate double bedroom, sofa bed, kitchenette, robes, slippers etc) to make the most of our first day in the parks. We had stayed here on a previous trip and found it excellent value for money, they also now run a free shuttle service to the parks making it even more attractive.   



After a bit of a freshen up and relaxation we decided to walk to Disney Village for a bite to eat. It was a lovely warm evening and a nice walk, especially knowing the shuttle is available if you don't fancy walking back.



The Village was busy and we had a wander round looking in the shops. The boys decided they fancied a Maccy D's and with all the spending I knew was to come, didn't argue 😉. As the sun went down and the lights came on, the Disneyland Hotel looked beautiful in the distance as we wandered back to the hotel discussing our plans and strategies for our first day in the parks.



Day 2 21/7/15

Got up early to go and check-in at Davy Crocketts and collect our tickets. We were going to start with the Studios so left about 8am. It was a shame to see all the building work going on at DC but looks like it will be great when it's done. Tickets in hand we headed for the parks. We arrived in the queue for the Studios at about 9:15am which was still relatively small. The day was already very warm and close so we were glad to be going back to DC to check-in proper around 2-3pm! The gates opened and as we filed through the boys were dispatched to collect fastpass tickets for Ratatouille while hubby and I headed to Crush.



This plan worked perfectly and they returned with the fast passes for 10:30-11am at which point we started filling in for Crush. The more I do this ride the more I enjoy it so very glad we managed to get on without an hour wait. That done we headed to Ratatouille. As our last visit was in 2012 we were looking forward to riding this for the first time. It was fab! - so clever - I was totally enthralled and couldn't wait to ride again so decided to do the same the next day. We then headed to Salon Mickey for elevenses.

I'd read comments on the forum that standards had slipped here so was interested to see how it was and I also wanted to find out about the Space Mountain re-launch and 20th Anniversary Event for shareholders and  invited guests, such as where to pick up our passes from.  We were fortunate that this invitation came up for the time we were visiting and I managed to get registered although it was only for two and we were four 😔. After knocking and being ushered in, there was a great selection of treats to chose from including, muffins, donuts, cookies and croissants etc. The fridge was also well stocked with orange and water. I asked about the Space Mountain event but the cast member had no idea what I was talking about ho hum! We enjoyed our refreshments and left through the door straight into Disneyland Park. 

We headed over to Big Thunder Mountain for a fastpass (11:30am for 2:30pm) then over to Discovery Land for Star Tours. There was a bit of a queue here  and we waited about 40 minutes, although it was nice to be out of the hot sun.  We enjoyed the ride but we're looking forward to Star Tours 2. The boys were getting a bit peckish and couldn't wait till we went back to DC, so we decided to get some chips in Cafe Hyperion. Along with Casey's this has got to be one of the slowest conter service in the park! Despite a relatively short queue it took nearly 30 mins to buy two portions of chips! I watched the stage being set up for Jedi Academy while we waited - shame no. 2 son didn't fancy it. Chips in hand we made our way back to BTM stopping to browse some shops on the way and arrived 5 mins before fastpass due. The cm let us ride. We all concluded that this ride has been improved since we last rode - it seemed faster, louder and more intense, but maybe that was just us.  On the way out I tried adding the photo to my Photopass app. I saw the option to buy x6 photos for £7.99 when I installed the app and as we didn't want pics with characters on this occasion couldn't see the point off purchasing Photopass plus so this seemed like a good idea. I even checked this with their customer service and was informed this was correct.  When I scanned the QR a photo icon for the attraction appeared on the app on my phone but I wasn't using data roaming and, the app informed me, I had until midnight to confirm my photo choice once I was connected to the Internet, no problem I thought, I'll do that when I connect to wifi somewhere - more on this later. Before leaving we picked up a fastpass for later (8:35pm).

We left the park to go and check-in proper and unload the car etc. This was welcome, it was very warm now, 31C, and I was in need of a proper cup of tea. DC Reception is now located in the DC Village. It's much larger now as is the new car park. It was quiet in reception if not outside where all the building work continues - luckily our cabin was furthest away from here on the Moccasin Trail. It was lovely and clean and had obviously been refurbished - all good. the boys went for a swim while we relaxed for a while before getting ready for dinner at 7pm in Bistrot Chez Remy. I decided to put data roaming on my phone so I could confirm the ride photo's but was dismayed to find that when I clicked confirm the app just crashed out.





With the heat I think the most tedious bit was the walk in and out of the parks. And while I welcome the security, the position of the security entrance and exit makes for a long walk round to Disneyland Park. It was a lovely balmy evening as we walked into Place de Remy and it was lovely to stand by the fountain catching the gentle splashes. The Bistrot was busy but not full, we were served swiftly and no long waits as some have experienced. Unfortunately we were unable to swap a starter for a dessert but our waitress did at least go and ask for us. We all had the Remy Menu at 29.99€ which was 3€ more than the value of our half-board standard meal vouchers. The salad for starters was nice but not something I would normally choose. There was quite a lot of it too and was wasted on my fussy kids. The steak went down well with lovely rustic chips. Overall a nice meal in fabulous surroundings although we spent time spotting what items were not in scale with each other (quite a few! 😉).







We made our way back to Disneyland Park and BTM to use our 8:35pm fastpasses.  Afterwards I once again tried to add the ride photo but despite the Internet connection I couldn't confirm the photo and the app crashed. at this point I thought it might be worth asking at the photo kiosk. There was one person in front so I waited my turn behind.  A man came and stood beside this person and as they were finished being served he tried to push in front of me. I couldn't believe his rudeness and told him so (was it wrong of me to be secretly pleased he had to wait a long time while the cm went out of her way to help me making several phone calls!). I was told that you could only do this if you had purchased Photopass plus which made no sense at all - why would you want/need to spend a further £7.99 to get ride photos that should already have access to. I thanked her and decided to later email the customer service at Photopass/Fuji who had told me I could do this.  Then it was over to Phantom Manor which had long queues earlier but was only 5 mins now. After that we had just enough time to do Indiana Jones before finding a spot ready for Dreams.



We decided to try near the fountain outside Plaza Gardens and found a spot behind the railing. This was a good view and being able to stand on the low wall helped see over the heads of children sitting on shoulders! Loved the show but didn't feel the need to wait till 11pm to see it again.



Part 2 follows.

[cazdow]

lovely report. we staying of site first night, then DCR same as you,did it take long to get your tickets in the morning?

[Caz]

Definitely worth doing Cazdow, wish I could've pursueded hubby to do the same at the end too - we had to miss a whole day!    Reception was empty at 8:15 and only took a couple of mins. However, you can collect tickets for next day from 10pm the night before and they're open 24 hours. If your going for EMH I'd pick them up at 7:15 ish.

Have the best time - I've got a long wait now till I can persuade OH to go again! 

[BlackPearl]

Great report and lovely pictures. Especially the ones in the evening.
Thanks for sharing.