DisneyLand Paris June 2016 Trip Report

[GastoninMD]

We are Disney World Florida obsessives but wanted to give some perspective on our trip to Disneyland France this week.

We completed this week our trip to Disneyland Paris - which we tacked on to our wonderful Adventures by Disney Knights & Lights (London & Paris) tour. We had both our kids (under 12) with us, and stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in the VIP section. The VIP package included unlimited fastpass for the FP attractions - which might have been cool if the FP attractions had generally been open (they are not - will explain in a bit).

The Disneyland hotel was lovely - and we were treated very well. Breakfast is included, and despite some renovations to the exterior and the closing of the California Grille - I thought the hotel exuded a nice charm more intimate than the Grand Floridian Florida. Its pricey - but its right next to the two parks (10 second walk) and I thought worth it if you are only going to be here once or rarely.

As for the parks, well - the most important thing to stress is that the parks have significant potential, with some real highlights, and are the subject of massive investment & construction right now. That said, they are clearly woefully, and sometimes comically, mismanaged with excessive closures of kiosks and food locations, often apparently "don't give a crap" staff (there are exceptions to this), and significant deterioration of physical plant and rides. I wont take issue with the high food prices - gate prices are actually low here during the week and its an amusement park.

The highlights/positives:

(1) In two words, DISNEY DREAMS. The castle laser and fireworks show, which is presented at park close (11:00 during my several days), is wondrous. Its sort of a combination of the Magic Kingdom Florida castle laser show and then the following fireworks - but better. It doesn't feature the beautiful song Wishes - but its an extravaganza not to be missed. and unique to the Paris park. A+

(2) Parade - its brief, and not dissimilar from the parades at the US parks, but we enjoyed it.

(3) Pirates of Carribean - wow, a much longer version of the Florida ride and solid entertainment.

(4) The castle - beautiful and unique.

(5) Cleanliness - I have seen the complaints about the parks being filthy but they appeared clean to me.

The lowlights:

(1) Construction - to be honest, the parks are not worth visiting until Spring 2017. The main park's main rides are almost all closed. Closures included Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain RR, Star Tours, Peter Pan. RC Racers was closed at WDS. The parks are a giant construction zone right now - Frontier Town is essentially closed. And you can imagine what this does to crowding at open rides - nightmares!!

(2) Staff - some were quite pleasant and greeting, but most are apathetic if not disgruntled. Def a MAJOR issue.

(3) Wear and Tear - some of it is shocking. I noticed paint peeling off several rides for example. You'd never see this in FL.

(4) Food lines - out of control, with numerous eateries and kiosks randomly closed.

(5) Rides break all the time - trust me. Went on Buzz Lightyear three time. Each time ride stopped several times. Same with HH.

All and all, nice hotel, parks will be imprived next year. Wait to then!!

(2)

 

[@MinnieFan2016]

The mention of the staff is odd, as we never had a bad cast member when there but im talking over 5 years ago, and we waiting til after the renovations to go next year when the anniversary is in full swing! (hopefully as i think i booked too early, and cant afford to change it :/). The Food lines can get out of control, its abit annoying, did u book anything? Think we are next time, trying to avoid that issue.
And i've heard the complaints on the cleanliness, but again, everytime we've gone its been scarily spotless lol.
And Buzz Lightyear does break down alot, they really need to redo that one xx

 

[GastoninMD]

Yes, we had reservations for dinner both nights (one at the fake Crystal Palace - adequate buffet; one at Silver Steak in quiet closed Frontier Town - not terrible either). So we avoided and skipped the hour lunch lines.

Was definitely clean. But, yes, lots of seeming disgruntled cast members. Not all- some perfectly nice- but don't expect that Disney spirit and smiles

The mention of the staff is odd, as we never had a bad cast member when there but im talking over 5 years ago, and we waiting til after the renovations to go next year when the anniversary is in full swing! (hopefully as i think i booked too early, and cant afford to change it :/). The Food lines can get out of control, its abit annoying, did u book anything? Think we are next time, trying to avoid that issue.
And i've heard the complaints on the cleanliness, but again, everytime we've gone its been scarily spotless lol.
And Buzz Lightyear does break down alot, they really need to redo that one xx

 

[dark54555]

Sounds like we may have been there about the same time. I echo the concern with staff and wear and tear. Our waitress at Walt's (along with the rest of the staff) were among the worst I've encountered at any Disney property worldwide.

 

[KelsiesMommy]

Hi @GastoninMD Sounds like your experience was similar to ours- we kept an eye out for you but never crossed paths....we missed our ABD friends!!

I would add that we were able to get reservations at Walt's and that was a highlight! Remy's was good, too... But being CA and Disneyland natives, we noticed a LOT of wear and tear everywhere, and most CMs were inattentive.

We loved Dreams, the castle is certainly the highlight of the Park, and Pirates was a close second behind DLR's version

 

[JolandaK]

The ride stops at buzz and HH, did the lights turn on? If not, it is just a regular stop to let people in. Unfortunately the blasters aren't always working I hope they fix that in a next refurb. I am glad DLP is working on refurb though because the wear and tear you mention is horrible. Then again, if people don't stop carving their names in the waitinglines (Who does that???) of peter pan for example all the refurb is for nothing. I see a lot of rude guests when I'm in line, pulling and tearing at the decorations, and not just the kids!

 

[JoieNsk]

We are Disney World Florida obsessives but wanted to give some perspective on our trip to Disneyland France this week...

Thank you VERY MUCH for the report.

We are going to be staying in Disneyland Hotel in two weeks, and your report was extremely helpful.

Unfortunately we are going in probably the worst time possible - as it seems that everything is under construction, and the crowds are going to be at the peak. But we have restrains of vacation time - can go only at certain times.

So it is what it is, and we will try to make the most of our trip -no matter what ))

 

[@MinnieFan2016]

Thank you VERY MUCH for the report.

We are going to be staying in Disneyland Hotel in two weeks, and your report was extremely helpful.

Unfortunately we are going in probably the worst time possible - as it seems that everything is under construction, and the crowds are going to be at the peak. But we have restrains of vacation time - can go only at certain times.

So it is what it is, and we will try to make the most of our trip -no matter what ))

Yep, Disneyland is what you make it xx

 

[hilarys]

We are Disney World Florida obsessives but wanted to give some perspective on our trip to Disneyland France this week.

We completed this week our trip to Disneyland Paris - which we tacked on to our wonderful Adventures by Disney Knights & Lights (London & Paris) tour. We had both our kids (under 12) with us, and stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in the VIP section. The VIP package included unlimited fastpass for the FP attractions - which might have been cool if the FP attractions had generally been open (they are not - will explain in a bit).

The Disneyland hotel was lovely - and we were treated very well. Breakfast is included, and despite some renovations to the exterior and the closing of the California Grille - I thought the hotel exuded a nice charm more intimate than the Grand Floridian Florida. Its pricey - but its right next to the two parks (10 second walk) and I thought worth it if you are only going to be here once or rarely.

As for the parks, well - the most important thing to stress is that the parks have significant potential, with some real highlights, and are the subject of massive investment & construction right now. That said, they are clearly woefully, and sometimes comically, mismanaged with excessive closures of kiosks and food locations, often apparently "don't give a crap" staff (there are exceptions to this), and significant deterioration of physical plant and rides. I wont take issue with the high food prices - gate prices are actually low here during the week and its an amusement park.

The highlights/positives:

(1) In two words, DISNEY DREAMS. The castle laser and fireworks show, which is presented at park close (11:00 during my several days), is wondrous. Its sort of a combination of the Magic Kingdom Florida castle laser show and then the following fireworks - but better. It doesn't feature the beautiful song Wishes - but its an extravaganza not to be missed. and unique to the Paris park. A+

(2) Parade - its brief, and not dissimilar from the parades at the US parks, but we enjoyed it.

(3) Pirates of Carribean - wow, a much longer version of the Florida ride and solid entertainment.

(4) The castle - beautiful and unique.

(5) Cleanliness - I have seen the complaints about the parks being filthy but they appeared clean to me.

The lowlights:

(1) Construction - to be honest, the parks are not worth visiting until Spring 2017. The main park's main rides are almost all closed. Closures included Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain RR, Star Tours, Peter Pan. RC Racers was closed at WDS. The parks are a giant construction zone right now - Frontier Town is essentially closed. And you can imagine what this does to crowding at open rides - nightmares!!

(2) Staff - some were quite pleasant and greeting, but most are apathetic if not disgruntled. Def a MAJOR issue.

(3) Wear and Tear - some of it is shocking. I noticed paint peeling off several rides for example. You'd never see this in FL.

(4) Food lines - out of control, with numerous eateries and kiosks randomly closed.

(5) Rides break all the time - trust me. Went on Buzz Lightyear three time. Each time ride stopped several times. Same with HH.

All and all, nice hotel, parks will be imprived next year. Wait to then!!

(2)

So glad to see your report. We are planning to do this exact same trip (ABD London/Paris then DLP add-on) in early June 2017. I am hopeful that with all the refurbs done by then, the ride issues will be better. How many nights did you add-on at DLP? Were you transferred by ABD to DLP on the last morning of the trip? and if so, at what time. We are trying to figure out how many nights to add-on.

From your report it sounds like you think having the add-on at the DL Hotel is worth it for a once in a lifetime visit due to its beauty and convenience.

Would love to hear any other tips you have for me as I plan our trip.

Thanks

 

[SweetStitch13]

Thank you so much for your insights. They were so helpful. We are going as part of our honeymoon next month and, like a previous poster said, will just have to try to make the best of it despite the closures Either way it will be a great experience to see a new park!

 

[KelsiesMommy]

So glad to see your report. We are planning to do this exact same trip (ABD London/Paris then DLP add-on) in early June 2017. I am hopeful that with all the refurbs done by then, the ride issues will be better. How many nights did you add-on at DLP? Were you transferred by ABD to DLP on the last morning of the trip? and if so, at what time. We are trying to figure out how many nights to add-on.

From your report it sounds like you think having the add-on at the DL Hotel is worth it for a once in a lifetime visit due to its beauty and convenience.

Would love to hear any other tips you have for me as I plan our trip.

Thanks

We did the add on through ABD for 3 nights at Hotel NY and our transfer was included from Paris to DLP- but not from DLP to Airport. Hotel NY is a short walk away, and we chose it because it saved us almost $1000 and we were able to do 3 nights then instead of two. But from what we saw the Disneyland hotel is beautiful. FWIW, our room was HUGE ( a full suite) but definitely in need of refurbishment.

 

[hilarys]

We did the add on through ABD for 3 nights at Hotel NY and our transfer was included from Paris to DLP- but not from DLP to Airport. Hotel NY is a short walk away, and we chose it because it saved us almost $1000 and we were able to do 3 nights then instead of two. But from what we saw the Disneyland hotel is beautiful. FWIW, our room was HUGE ( a full suite) but definitely in need of refurbishment.

We are traveling with our two kids who will be 14 and 12 since it is the same cost to book ABD as two doubles and since we need the space, we have two bookings. However that means that we will have two reservations for the add-on. That price difference between the hotels is multiplied by two which is why I am leaning to Hotel NY.

Do you think you could have seen everything in two days (one of those being your transfer day from the ABD)? I would love to not add a whole additional day to the trip to minimize time off work but since this is once in lifetime for DLP I also dont want to cut it short.

Thanks for your tips.

 

[KelsiesMommy]

We abs

We are traveling with our two kids who will be 14 and 12 since it is the same cost to book ABD as two doubles and since we need the space, we have two bookings. However that means that we will have two reservations for the add-on. That price difference between the hotels is multiplied by two which is why I am leaning to Hotel NY.

Do you think you could have seen everything in two days (one of those being your transfer day from the ABD)? I would love to not add a whole additional day to the trip to minimize time off work but since this is once in lifetime for DLP I also dont want to cut it short.

Thanks for your tips.

We absolutely could have seen and done everything in two days- Studios is a half day park at best, and since you get the VIP FP with the add on, no waiting for all the FP rides

 

[adr2.8i]

its certainly hit and miss with the cast members thats for sure. ive met some fantastic ones who obviously love their job, and then there are some who just cant be bothered it seems. There are definatley more "happier" cast members in WDW! Sometimes "too happy" though!

ive got too say, maybe its because i have very young children, but we have never managed to do the Studios park in just half a day. We go for 5 days and have always spent a full day in there and even ended up going back there later in the week.

And i dont think any of us have been on Buzz and not had it stop a few times!