Jonjo
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2008
A Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah trip report
Disneyland Resort Paris, 2nd 7th June 2008
Day One - Monday
The Magic Begins
Up and down for breakfast sitting amongst the tourists visiting London, and not hearing English being spoken got us very quickly in the mood for the rest of the week ahead. This Travelodge is popular with European coach parties, and we saw a few coaches arrive and depart while staying there. Breakfast was followed by a short walk thought the London commuter crowds to St. Pancras International Station and we join the line at St. Pancras International to check in.
Going though check-in, security and Passport control took us about 5 minutes so much easier than you find at the airport. Then we just sat and relaxed waiting for the train to begin boarding. If you have been put off going to DLRP by train thinking that the Eurostars are like the trains we have in the UK, think again. The seats are wider and you get much more leg room. Eurostar standard class is very much like first class on British trains and the ride is very smooth.
Boarding begins and we find our seats and then we are off. Unfortunately we did not have the Disney Band playing us off, ho well maybe next time. Quickly we are under the London streets and into the countryside for our 300 Kph/186 Mph high speed journey! After a short time we stop at Ashford, and we are on our way again and approach the tunnel and we are Under the Sea, Down here all the fish is happy .
We go by train because as DW tells me, Disneyland is a special magical place which you can only reach via Eurostar and its special tunnels. Just like the ones in the parks that the Characters use to get around. I think it would spoil the magic for her if we flew or drove there.
Once we were in France a Cast Member came along and gave us our welcome packs containing our park tickets, maps, programmes, dinner vouchers, show tickets and Express luggage tags. The train stopped unexpectedly for half an hour once we reached the first station in France, but we were too busy looking at the maps and programme time tables to notice, which meant that we arrived at Marne-la-Vallee Chessy at 1pm and waited for everyone to get off the train. We get our bags from the end of the carriage quickly walk past the crowds waiting for the lifts and ride the escalators up to the Express Luggage counters on the top floor and walk straight to our hotels empty luggage desk.
There are six desks, one for each of the on site Disneyland hotels and above them in very small text the hotel names are displayed. This is one area that could be improved by better signage.
We wave bye bye to our bags and then head towards the Disneyland Park entrance. I just love the Express Service it takes so much stress out of the journey. Having your park tickets and vouchers given to you on the train and having your bags magically transported to your hotel, it sure does take a lot of hassle out of the journey.
Walking under the Disneyland Hotel gives you that lovely warm feeling, just like you have never been away and our tickets are fed into the park turn styles for the first time of many that week.
As I enter main street Main Street it hits you that you are really here and as the dedication says Here you leave today and enter worlds of history, discovery and ageless fantasy, which is true every time you visit. It has just finished raining and there were lots of visitors in their yellow ponchos walking around Main Street, and the first thing we do is hit the stores as DW is looking for a new jacket as her Space Mountain Mission 2 coat needs replacing. I think she has worn it just about every day since she rode the revamped ride in 2005.
We pop into the discount store on the left hand corner of Main Street near the exit of the park and have a look at the remains of the reduced Christmas stock and then onto the other stores in Main Street looking at and trying on all the jackets and coats she can find. Finally DW buys a Stitch Fleece and we hit the Park starting by visiting the dragon under Sleeping Beautys Castle, then around the castle it self, then onto Fantasyland.
Les Voyages de Pinocchio was followed by Blanche-Neige et Sept Nains (Snow White) and onto Peter Pans Flight and a walk around Alices Curious Labyrinth. This attraction is really showing its age now and both DW and I agreed that it is in desperate need of a sprinkling of fairy dust to bring it black to its splendour.
Then its time to check into our hotel so out of the park we go and try to find Saloon Mickey on the way, give up and head though Disney Village to walk around the lake and along the Rio Grande up to Hotel Cheyenne. The walk takes us a leisurely 20 minutes.
We are slowly working our away around all the on site Disney Hotels and last time we visited DLRP in 2005 we stayed at the Disney's Hotel Santa Fe which was designed by architect Antoine Predock. The Santa Fe, is styled in New Mexico Pueblo Revival architecture. With its adventure trail to follow which includes a crashed UFO, streams and rusty cars is a very nice location to stay.
This time we choose Disneys Hotel Cheyenne, which is a Western-themed hotel designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern who also designed Disney's Newport Bay Club. His firm have notably been involved in a number of projects for The Walt Disney Company, including the plan for the town of Celebration, Florida and the design of Disney's feature animation building in Burbank, California.
We enter reception and check in, choose our breakfast times and select a Fantasy Land Breakfast for Wednesday Morning. Once our baggage was reclaimed we walk through the Wild West town that was to be our home away from home for the next five days to find room 2521 in the Geronimo block.
We were expecting to find a room much like the one from the pictures from the website with a double bed and a set of bunk beds but we found our selves entering a large and airy double room with a very large bathroom. Then we notice the connecting door and the second lower spy hole in the door and realise we had been allocated one of the wheel chair friendlier rooms.
After a quick unpack, a shower and we get changed to head back to Disney Village to for 6.30 pm Buffalo Bills Wild West Show. DW likes to do this on the first night we visit as it saves having to worry about which restaurant to choose on our first night there.
Disney Village has changed a lot since our last stay in 2005. Gone are the towers which supported the overhead lights to be replaced with lots of newly planted trees, which does make the area a lot greener and more welcoming.
After the show we walk around the stores in the Village and pop into Billy Bobs Country Western Saloon for a drink and to listen to the house band, and then back to the hotel to crash out.
Disneyland Resort Paris, 2nd 7th June 2008
Day One - Monday
The Magic Begins
Up and down for breakfast sitting amongst the tourists visiting London, and not hearing English being spoken got us very quickly in the mood for the rest of the week ahead. This Travelodge is popular with European coach parties, and we saw a few coaches arrive and depart while staying there. Breakfast was followed by a short walk thought the London commuter crowds to St. Pancras International Station and we join the line at St. Pancras International to check in.
Going though check-in, security and Passport control took us about 5 minutes so much easier than you find at the airport. Then we just sat and relaxed waiting for the train to begin boarding. If you have been put off going to DLRP by train thinking that the Eurostars are like the trains we have in the UK, think again. The seats are wider and you get much more leg room. Eurostar standard class is very much like first class on British trains and the ride is very smooth.
Boarding begins and we find our seats and then we are off. Unfortunately we did not have the Disney Band playing us off, ho well maybe next time. Quickly we are under the London streets and into the countryside for our 300 Kph/186 Mph high speed journey! After a short time we stop at Ashford, and we are on our way again and approach the tunnel and we are Under the Sea, Down here all the fish is happy .
We go by train because as DW tells me, Disneyland is a special magical place which you can only reach via Eurostar and its special tunnels. Just like the ones in the parks that the Characters use to get around. I think it would spoil the magic for her if we flew or drove there.
Once we were in France a Cast Member came along and gave us our welcome packs containing our park tickets, maps, programmes, dinner vouchers, show tickets and Express luggage tags. The train stopped unexpectedly for half an hour once we reached the first station in France, but we were too busy looking at the maps and programme time tables to notice, which meant that we arrived at Marne-la-Vallee Chessy at 1pm and waited for everyone to get off the train. We get our bags from the end of the carriage quickly walk past the crowds waiting for the lifts and ride the escalators up to the Express Luggage counters on the top floor and walk straight to our hotels empty luggage desk.
There are six desks, one for each of the on site Disneyland hotels and above them in very small text the hotel names are displayed. This is one area that could be improved by better signage.
We wave bye bye to our bags and then head towards the Disneyland Park entrance. I just love the Express Service it takes so much stress out of the journey. Having your park tickets and vouchers given to you on the train and having your bags magically transported to your hotel, it sure does take a lot of hassle out of the journey.
Walking under the Disneyland Hotel gives you that lovely warm feeling, just like you have never been away and our tickets are fed into the park turn styles for the first time of many that week.
As I enter main street Main Street it hits you that you are really here and as the dedication says Here you leave today and enter worlds of history, discovery and ageless fantasy, which is true every time you visit. It has just finished raining and there were lots of visitors in their yellow ponchos walking around Main Street, and the first thing we do is hit the stores as DW is looking for a new jacket as her Space Mountain Mission 2 coat needs replacing. I think she has worn it just about every day since she rode the revamped ride in 2005.
We pop into the discount store on the left hand corner of Main Street near the exit of the park and have a look at the remains of the reduced Christmas stock and then onto the other stores in Main Street looking at and trying on all the jackets and coats she can find. Finally DW buys a Stitch Fleece and we hit the Park starting by visiting the dragon under Sleeping Beautys Castle, then around the castle it self, then onto Fantasyland.
Les Voyages de Pinocchio was followed by Blanche-Neige et Sept Nains (Snow White) and onto Peter Pans Flight and a walk around Alices Curious Labyrinth. This attraction is really showing its age now and both DW and I agreed that it is in desperate need of a sprinkling of fairy dust to bring it black to its splendour.
Then its time to check into our hotel so out of the park we go and try to find Saloon Mickey on the way, give up and head though Disney Village to walk around the lake and along the Rio Grande up to Hotel Cheyenne. The walk takes us a leisurely 20 minutes.
We are slowly working our away around all the on site Disney Hotels and last time we visited DLRP in 2005 we stayed at the Disney's Hotel Santa Fe which was designed by architect Antoine Predock. The Santa Fe, is styled in New Mexico Pueblo Revival architecture. With its adventure trail to follow which includes a crashed UFO, streams and rusty cars is a very nice location to stay.
This time we choose Disneys Hotel Cheyenne, which is a Western-themed hotel designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern who also designed Disney's Newport Bay Club. His firm have notably been involved in a number of projects for The Walt Disney Company, including the plan for the town of Celebration, Florida and the design of Disney's feature animation building in Burbank, California.
We enter reception and check in, choose our breakfast times and select a Fantasy Land Breakfast for Wednesday Morning. Once our baggage was reclaimed we walk through the Wild West town that was to be our home away from home for the next five days to find room 2521 in the Geronimo block.
We were expecting to find a room much like the one from the pictures from the website with a double bed and a set of bunk beds but we found our selves entering a large and airy double room with a very large bathroom. Then we notice the connecting door and the second lower spy hole in the door and realise we had been allocated one of the wheel chair friendlier rooms.
After a quick unpack, a shower and we get changed to head back to Disney Village to for 6.30 pm Buffalo Bills Wild West Show. DW likes to do this on the first night we visit as it saves having to worry about which restaurant to choose on our first night there.
Disney Village has changed a lot since our last stay in 2005. Gone are the towers which supported the overhead lights to be replaced with lots of newly planted trees, which does make the area a lot greener and more welcoming.
After the show we walk around the stores in the Village and pop into Billy Bobs Country Western Saloon for a drink and to listen to the house band, and then back to the hotel to crash out.
now were exactly is this again
please tell:
Have a lovely time 
