Some questions from a first time visitor

Started by dxwwf3, January 31, 2016, 04:21:07 AM

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dxwwf3

Hello. I'm an American who is very familiar with our US Disney resorts and even visited Tokyo Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland last year. I do have a few questions that have come up as I've started preparing for my Disneyland Paris trip.

1.  I'm going to be spending 5 or 6 days in the parks there and am thinking about getting the top tier  annual pass because it could end up saving me a bit of money on my hotel (Going to stay at either Cheyenne or Santa Fe because I'm rarely in the room). So my question with this is how do I book my hotel room with an annual passholder discount before I actually buy the pass?  I can't seem to find a way to book a room without having to buy tickets, but I wouldn't need tickets with the annual pass.

2.  I'm a bit of a picky eater, so I'm wondering how the parks are with changing food orders?  For example, going to a counter service spot and ordering a cheeseburger, but without lettuce and tomato. Things like that.  I know ordering like that wasn't possible in Tokyo because that's just a cultural thing there, but I didn't know how it was in France.

3.  Is there a way to find out what type of foods are at the buffets in the parks?  As I just said, I'm a bit picky, and most menus I've seen online don't really mention anything about the buffets. I found that the buffets in the parks in Tokyo were the best bets for me because of my non adventurous palate and desire for larger portions.

Thanks very much for any help I may receive. I'm looking forward to finally making it to DLP next year!

norhel

Quote from: dxwwf3 on January 31, 2016, 04:21:07 AM
Hello. I'm an American who is very familiar with our US Disney resorts and even visited Tokyo Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland last year. I do have a few questions that have come up as I've started preparing for my Disneyland Paris trip.

1.  I'm going to be spending 5 or 6 days in the parks there and am thinking about getting the top tier  annual pass because it could end up saving me a bit of money on my hotel (Going to stay at either Cheyenne or Santa Fe because I'm rarely in the room). So my question with this is how do I book my hotel room with an annual passholder discount before I actually buy the pass?  I can't seem to find a way to book a room without having to buy tickets, but I wouldn't need tickets with the annual pass.

2.  I'm a bit of a picky eater, so I'm wondering how the parks are with changing food orders?  For example, going to a counter service spot and ordering a cheeseburger, but without lettuce and tomato. Things like that.  I know ordering like that wasn't possible in Tokyo because that's just a cultural thing there, but I didn't know how it was in France.

3.  Is there a way to find out what type of foods are at the buffets in the parks?  As I just said, I'm a bit picky, and most menus I've seen online don't really mention anything about the buffets. I found that the buffets in the parks in Tokyo were the best bets for me because of my non adventurous palate and desire for larger portions.

Thanks very much for any help I may receive. I'm looking forward to finally making it to DLP next year!

1: I'm not sure if it is possible to book a room with the discount and not having the pass yet. I did check at http://www.disneylandparis.com/en-us/annual-passeports/ and you anyway have to call DLP too book the room with the annual pass discount, so one option is to call and speak to them, unless others here on the forum can correct me.

3: DLP dosen't publish their menu like the US parks do. I'm not sure what are in the buffets, but I'm sure other people here do :-)
4 trips to DLP, 3 to WDW, 1 to Disneyland California



norhel

4 trips to DLP, 3 to WDW, 1 to Disneyland California



Disney Magic

I'm not to sure about the annual pass I think it would be best to phone up Disney and ask. Cheyenne is undergoing refurbishment but it's still ok to use the hotel but they may close the restaurant so keep checking to find any latest information. When we stopped in Newport bay we ate at "cape cod" the main theme was fish leading with the restaurants name. And "hunters grill" at sequoia lodge was mostly grilled food and chicken. I know that "la cantina" in Santa Fe is a Mexican style buffet. But saying that we had two fussy eaters in our house and when we took them to Disneyland we had buffet most of the time because their is such a big selection of food and I'd never seen the children eat so much.  ;) ;)

stifle

1. You cannot book the annual passport price without having the actual plastic card in hand as you will need to give the membership number. However, the AP holder discount is off the full brochure price of the room you want. It isn't cumulative with any other offers, and other members have found that booking at the online price is usually the same or better anyway.

2. Yes you can do that, as long as you can make your request clear to the CM taking your order. I've done it plenty of times to have burgers with no sauce. It helps to speak French but is not essential.

3. DLP does not publish its menus. However, if you'd like to look over what's on the buffet before you decide to eat and pay, just ask the CM at the entrance and I'm sure it won't be a problem.

I've been to a lot of the buffets myself though so can give you a broad brush guide to what you might find and indicate the themes of restaurants I haven't tried.

Plaza Gardens, Parkside Diner, Restaurant des Stars: International
Pizza Planet: Italian (but usually closed)
Inventions, Cape Cod: International + seafood
La Grange and Chuck Wagon Café: Tex-Mex
Café Agrabah: Meditteranean/Middle Eastern
Don't know about Beaver Creek Tavern, La Cantina, or Crockett's Tavern

International usually means salads, soup and cold cuts for starters, 3 or more meat dishes cooked in various styles, pizza, pasta, potatoes, rice, and a range of vegetables as main course, and a series of cakes and small desserts to mix and match.
Italian means a range of pasta and pizza dishes and salads.
Seafood means what it says :)

glenn

I asked a cm at sequioa lodge if I could look at the food in hunters grill before I booked,and he allowed me to have a
good look.
At that time there was a lot of fresh shell on prawns(never bothered looking at other starters).
The mains were fried chicken beef bourgenion,if that's how you spell it,hot potatoes and veg,cold meats,rice,salads,in
fact a very good selection.I,m not a dessert lover so I didn't,t look at them


dxwwf3

Quote from: stifle on January 31, 2016, 10:39:14 AM
1. You cannot book the annual passport price without having the actual plastic card in hand as you will need to give the membership number. However, the AP holder discount is off the full brochure price of the room you want. It isn't cumulative with any other offers, and other members have found that booking at the online price is usually the same or better anyway.

2. Yes you can do that, as long as you can make your request clear to the CM taking your order. I've done it plenty of times to have burgers with no sauce. It helps to speak French but is not essential.

3. DLP does not publish its menus. However, if you'd like to look over what's on the buffet before you decide to eat and pay, just ask the CM at the entrance and I'm sure it won't be a problem.

I've been to a lot of the buffets myself though so can give you a broad brush guide to what you might find and indicate the themes of restaurants I haven't tried.

Plaza Gardens, Parkside Diner, Restaurant des Stars: International
Pizza Planet: Italian (but usually closed)
Inventions, Cape Cod: International + seafood
La Grange and Chuck Wagon Café: Tex-Mex
Café Agrabah: Meditteranean/Middle Eastern
Don't know about Beaver Creek Tavern, La Cantina, or Crockett's Tavern

International usually means salads, soup and cold cuts for starters, 3 or more meat dishes cooked in various styles, pizza, pasta, potatoes, rice, and a range of vegetables as main course, and a series of cakes and small desserts to mix and match.
Italian means a range of pasta and pizza dishes and salads.
Seafood means what it says :)

Thanks to everyone for the replies. But a big thank you to stifle for so much info.

Good to know about the special ordering. I think I'll be able to point to certain items and get the food they that I want it at counter service spots. That's a big relief. And I'll definitely ask to look at the buffets before I sit down. That will be very helpful too.

My big thing now is getting the hotel discount. It's my understanding that US residents don't get the same discounts that UK visitors get. Therefore getting 35% off my room would be a pretty big savings. It sounds like I'll have to spend the money to call them directly and ask about that.

Does anyone know how to check on hotel prices that do not include tickets as part of the package?  Also is it possible to book a hotel room without breakfast too?  I usually don't eat breakfast and if it's possible to save a little money by not getting that, it would be nice. But not a big deal at all if you can't. My biggest thing would be trying to book my hotel room without tickets.

Thanks again!

norhel

Quote from: dxwwf3 on January 31, 2016, 03:37:18 PM

Does anyone know how to check on hotel prices that do not include tickets as part of the package?  Also is it possible to book a hotel room without breakfast too?  I usually don't eat breakfast and if it's possible to save a little money by not getting that, it would be nice. But not a big deal at all if you can't. My biggest thing would be trying to book my hotel room without tickets.

Thanks again!
As far as I know, the only way to know the room only price is to call the. Several years back, I heard that some booking sites like Expedia apparently had some room only for sale at their website. But I don't know if they do that anymore, or if that price is equally to the annual pass discount. And I have not that you can book without breakfast.

I think your best bet for a price check or booking of a official DLP with the annual pass discount is to call them.
But another thought, are you completely locked to staying at a official DLP hotel, or yould you consider to book a stay at for example Kyriad hotel? From Kyriad there should be a free shuttle, and if you book through Kyriad's website I think you can book without breakfast.
4 trips to DLP, 3 to WDW, 1 to Disneyland California



norhel

And regarding calling from US to France, an idea could be to check Skype, Google Hangouts or similar services as they often are cheaper than your regular cell phone or home phone subscription. And the DLP number may work through those services.
4 trips to DLP, 3 to WDW, 1 to Disneyland California



dxwwf3

Quote from: norhel on January 31, 2016, 04:35:55 PM
Quote from: dxwwf3 on January 31, 2016, 03:37:18 PM

Does anyone know how to check on hotel prices that do not include tickets as part of the package?  Also is it possible to book a hotel room without breakfast too?  I usually don't eat breakfast and if it's possible to save a little money by not getting that, it would be nice. But not a big deal at all if you can't. My biggest thing would be trying to book my hotel room without tickets.

Thanks again!
As far as I know, the only way to know the room only price is to call the. Several years back, I heard that some booking sites like Expedia apparently had some room only for sale at their website. But I don't know if they do that anymore, or if that price is equally to the annual pass discount. And I have not that you can book without breakfast.

I think your best bet for a price check or booking of a official DLP with the annual pass discount is to call them.
But another thought, are you completely locked to staying at a official DLP hotel, or yould you consider to book a stay at for example Kyriad hotel? From Kyriad there should be a free shuttle, and if you book through Kyriad's website I think you can book without breakfast.

I would prefer to stay at a Disney resort because I enjoy the atmosphere and the theming, but I'm not totally against staying at a Val d'Europe hotel since it's just one stop away on the RER.

I was just thinking that getting an AP discount at Cheyenne would be cheaper than those off site hotels