Distoney Trip Report

[Distoney]

Day 1 - March 30 2005

We travelled by Easyjet from Belfast to Charles de Gaulle Paris. Flight was on time and lasted roughly one hour 30 minutes. We got to the Kyriad hotel by VEA shuttle and the journey lasted about the same length as the plane due to passenger pick up from terminals and let off at other hotels. We were first on and last off. I have already done a report on the Kyriad hotel in another thread so I will not repeat myself here.

When we got settled in the evening, we ventured into the Disney Village and had our evening meal in McDonalds. The queues were long but the service was fast and we all enjoyed the meal. We also looked around some of the toy shops and basically spent some time trying to find our bearings so that we would know where to go the next day. We then went back to our hotel and sat in the lounge for the remainder of the night and my son was able to play in the play area. He also liked the small amusement arcade and I even had a go on their internet machine for 2 euros 50 cents for 25 minutes I know, I'm a sad individual


Day 2 - 31 March

We tried to book our son into Manchester United Soccer Schools but this place seems to be in organised chaos. Before we went away, I phoned them and they told me that I couldnt book on the telephone unless our holiday had been booked through their main website. They also said that if we asked reception at our hotel, they would be able to do this for us. This was not the case. The receptionist did her best to try and book this and they kept hanging up on her so we just decided to forget about it.

We went to Disney Park and visited Main Street USA. It was amazing, full of little Disney shops and the characters were out signing autograph books for the children. I would definitely recommend buying one of these for your children as they get so much pleasure at being able to get these autographs.

Next we went to the Sleeping Beauty Castle. This is a wonderful place and the shops are full of beautiful disney ornaments.

We then went to Fantasyland and our first stop was the little house where they made the different easter eggs with the chocolate. They also made a disneyland with it and it was on display. There wasnt that much in this place but it was very good. My son even got to make a square of chocolate.

We tried to get to the easter egg hunt in Alice's labrynth but it was too packed so we gave that a miss. Nevertheless, we managed to get some good photographs and the giant egg was amazing. I would say that this area would be more suitable for the very young children.

We got on the Peter Pan ride which we used fast pass for. The ride lasted about 5 minutes and it was very good. We also visited Pinocchio's house which was good. My favourite place here has got to be It's a Small World. It was that good that we went on it twice and the queues were not too long.
Of course, we could not go here without going on a carousel ride. There is a bit of a queue here but they move pretty fast. We tried to get on the flying elephants but gave up as the queues were always miles too long. Instead, I would recommend for you to wait until you get to the Disney Studios. They have a similar ride Aladdins magic carpet and we found the queues were nowhere near as long.

We then went to Adventure Land and saw Captain Hook's Pirate ship but we were not allowed on as it was closed for refurbishment. Our son spent some time in the playground and we ate lunch at the pizza place nearby which was very nice and reasonably priced for Disney. We went to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride which was amazing. We then took a general walk around the place and put our time in looking around the shops etc. We didnt go on the Indiana Jones ride and both my husband and I suffer from bad backs and our son is still too young for the ride.

We had a look around Discovery Land and queued for quite a while for the train to take us around the whole Disney complex. It's worthwhile to take this train as it gives you a very good idea as to where everything is. When we got off, we went to see Honey, I shrunk the Audience which I would highly recommend to go and see. It is a 3D Imax type film and the special effects are amazing.

I will sign off for now and do a further report within this thread later on as there is still quite a lot to write. Forgive me if I am writing epics here. It is something which I have a habit of doing. See ya all later

 

[Bexx]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do a trip report!! And don't every worry - we LOVE epics!!! Looking forward to more!

BTW was this your first trip to DLP? Yes or no, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!

 

[Cyrano]

Enjoying your trip report thus far. Don't worry about writing too much. The moto on this board is "we want more"

Only time we do Dumbo ride is if we are in the park for opening, otherwise as you say queues build up.

Reid

 

[Distoney]

Hi all, thanks for your support. I'm back to continue with the rest of the trip now.


Friday 1st April.

We spent a lot of the morning getting more autographs on the main street and then visited Frontierland. It is like a cowboy city and my son was in his glory climbing up on to the wooden fort at the entrance to the place. The view from the top was great and I got some very nice video on it. We didnt go on the thunder mountain ride for the same reasons as Indiana Jones ride. Also, the minimum waiting time for the ride was 45 minutes and there were constant crowds.
We did go on the boat trip on a 3 deck Mississippi type boat, The Molly Brown, around the canal. We of course went on to the top deck and the view of the whole place was amazing. It helped that we had good sunny weather. I would say dont miss this trip and the queues are not too long. We then went up to the Phantom Mansion and that was an experience. Again the queues were not too long and we got through very quickly. On entrance to the house, they crowd people into a very dark creepy room, all part of the ghost experience, I suppose. I was very frightened at this point and hung on tightly to my husband as I thought that the whole tour would be like this. You feel the room falling and there are a few loud bangs and ghostly noises but this experience lasted less than a minute. The lights came on again and we were brought through a spooky room to one of the most amazing rides on the Disney complex, a real ghost train experience. I would definitely go again now that I know what it is all about.

We had our lunch and then brought our son to the Pocahontas village where there is a great children's play area. My son had just bought a pirate outfit and a gun and he was attracting the attention of other kids by shooting at them. Other kids with guns shot back at him and he made a few friends for the time he was there. My husband got some good photographs and I got some good video of the Molly Brown ship which we had been on earlier. It was so peaceful sitting here after being among the hustle and bustle of the other disney areas and the view of the river was lovely.

After a while here, we went to Discoveryland to book our tickets for The Legend of The Lion King Show. To see this show, you need to queue up at 11.00am and 3.00pm as the demand is very high. We must have queued for about an hour to get our tickets and were able to go to the english performance at 4.30pm. The show lasted about half and hour and was spectacular. I could see why it is so popular, and definitely worth queuing up for.

To get to Discoveryland from Frontierland, you can cut through into Adventureland first. When we got into adventureland on the way to see the Lion King, we managed to climb up the Swiss Family Robinson Tree. It is a long trek up with lots of steps but everything seems to work on a one way system. It was brilliant seeing all the little living areas and sleeping areas.

After our Lion King show, we went back to Frontierland as it was our son's favourite place of all. We had our tea at the Cowboy cookout and the meal was very reasonable. We went for the inclusive meals, eg barbecued chicken, chips, a drink and a dessert and I think it came to about 10 euros each. The chicken was very tasty and well cooked but could have been warmer. The chips made up for it though. You got plenty of them and they tasted absolutely beautiful, far nicer than McDonalds. Also, there was a very good seating area.

We then spent the rest of our time back at the Pocahontas Village and were so tired that evening that we just stayed up in our hotel room for the rest of the night.

 

[Distoney]

Saturday 2 April

Today, we visited the Disney Studios. It was a lot less packed than the rest of the Disney complex but I suppose it was still early when we arrived here.

We had no trouble getting autographs of the different characters and the atmosphere was a lot more relaxed. We took a tour of the studios on the tram. Again the queues were not too bad and the trip was brilliant. It took you through the special effects of an earthquake which was awesome and showed you some of the costumes on display. You even got to see some cars, army trucks on display which were used in different films. It also brought you through the special effects of London during the war and showed fire from a derelict building which was supposed to be breathed out by a dragon. Highly recommended.

We then went to see the animagique show which lasts roughly half an hour. It is one of those shows in the dark and the disney characters come up as luminous. It was very well done. We then went to the part where it shows how all the cartoons are made and our son got to do some drawings and play them back. We then went on the Aladdin carpet ride which is similar to the flying elephants. This was very enjoyable. After that, we saw a short Cruella de Ville show which I would have liked to be able to stay at but we didnt want to miss the Motor Stunt Show at 12 noon. It was fantastastic. The comperes explain to you the special effects they are trying to achieve in an action car chase type film and you see them on a large screen shown in the middle. The motorbike and car stunts were fantastic and the show was packed to capacity but very well organised. Definitely, go and see this, you will not regret it.

After this, we had some lunch and then the Cinema Parade came through the complex. What a spectacular show it was with characters like The Incredibles etc. We then went to Cinemagique. It is a show lasting roughly half an hour with some great special effects. It mixes old film with new film and brings you right through the film history from silent movies to current style films.

We still had some time on our hands and made it in time for the Princess Parade back in Main Street USA. It is an excellent colourful show with all the different floats etc and we had no trouble getting a view of it despite the crowds.

We then spent our last few hours back at Frontierland and ate at the same Cowboy cookout for the second evening running. My husband and son then wanted to take a last trip up to the Haunted Mansion and I decided that I would have a walk around the place whilst they were doing this.

We then went back to our hotel, packed our luggage and sat in the lounge for a while before going to bed.


Well that is more or less the end of my report. If I can think of anymore to add I will certainly do so as I am sure there are things I have forgotten about. Feel free to ask any questions if there is anything I havent covered.

This was my first visit to the resort and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable experiences in my life that I will always remember. Disneyland Paris may not have as much as some of the other American resorts but there was enough for us to do for the three days we were there. I am glad we went and would certainly do it again if I ever managed to get the money together.

 

[jodyb]

Thanks for your report! It was fun enjoying vicariously!

 

[Miffy2003]

What a lovely report! Thank you for sharing.

Oh, and epic is good!!

 

[tmp]

What a great report Distoney.
Sounds like you all had a wonderful time-you will go back I'm sure.Once you've got the bug thats it

 

[jillrobinson]

Reading through your report brings the memories flooding back - glad you all had such a great time.

 

[kaygela]

Thanks for the report. I certainly helps me rev up for our trip in 2 weeks.

 

[Ware Bears]

Thanks for sharing, Distoney. I'm glad you all had such a wonderful time.

 

[Cyrano]

back from a late meeting tonight, so it was a pleasure to read the end of your trip report as I unwind before heading off to bed.

We always make at least one visit to the Cowboy Cookout. The roaring log fire in the winter is very warming.

Reid

 

[Distoney]

Glad you all enjoyed reading. My only regret is not staying longer. I know that when I go back I will want to go at a time when the Fantillusion is on.

I look forward to reading how others get on when they come back off their trip.