Sequoia Lodge questions

[diberry]

When you get to your hotel and check in they'll give you a voucher to use at the Chalet de la Marionnette. You can get into the park from 9.00 onwards - walk up to the Castle and show your voucher to the CM who'll be standing by the rope and he lets you through (we like that bit, especially if people are waiting to be let into Fantasyland!!! ). You go to the Chalet de la M, hand in your voucher and get your breakfast. After that the rides will most likely be open and you'll be able to get straight on. Sometimes some rides are open before the official start time. Also a lot of characters gather in the courtyard behind the Castle at official opening time so it's good to be there early if you like meeting them.

 

[Bonnie]

Thanks for that information, Diana. That's one less thing to worry about. I like to be aware of these things in advance! *Control freak*

 

[jodyb]

Renate,

You may very well be right, I can't deny that. I'm not really trying to "defend" this behavior, but neither can I fault people who are on holiday for not wanting to regiment their breakfast times. In my own defense, I will say that rather than eat at an inconvenient time OR brave the queues, we simply forfeited our "free" breakfast and ate elsewhere almost every morning we were there.

 

[NIK]

Going with a coach company rather than independantly I've always found myself stuck with the early breakfast. It isn't normally a problem though coz I generally find I wake promptly anyway and at least I don't have to queue for ages.

As for alarm clocks, our rooms have always had a telephone with a 'wake up' call facility. For an adult it's not terribly cheering having Goofy in your ear a the crack of dawn but it works!

 

[Miffy2003]

. In my own defense, I will say that rather than eat at an inconvenient time OR brave the queues, we simply forfeited our "free" breakfast and ate elsewhere almost every morning we were there.

We did this too - as we visited at a busy time of year and weren't given a choice of times. We went on the first morning but it was so chaotic we chose to just get breakfast elsewhere. Having spent quite a lot on the holiday already, an extra 15-20 Euros a day seemed a small price to pay for a peaceful breakfast. I totally appreciate others will not agree with this view though

 

[jillrobinson]

If you dont like to decide the breakfast time in advance...stay at the HNY or DLH !

Renate

Do you not have a specific breakfast time at the Disneyland Hotel then ?

This was a problem we had at our last visit, the only time left was 7.45am - I did go down the first morning and filled a carrier bag for the others, but for the rest of our stay we ended up paying for breakfast in the parks.

We've stayed at the Santa Fe and the Cheyenne, neither of which I could find fault with, we only used the rooms to sleep in. Next year we're planning to go with my 3 year old niece, originally we all liked the NPB, but I've read loads of bad reviews on it, too crowded, queues for breakfast, rooms are shabby, staff ill mannered, (all of this from the Trip Advisor Review Site) anyone on here had similar bad experiences ? I really want this next trip to be superb, not least because I'll be celebrating ??? my 40th, (can't think of a better place to do it, at least I won't feel 40), but also because I've persuaded my sister and husband to come with us.

If we are going to be disappointed with the NPB I'd rather save a bit harder and book the DH, and is the New York more adult orientated, also is it worth booking the Castle Club Rooms at DH - any thoughts/help much appreciated.

 

[Miffy2003]

Hi Jill,

I just wanted to say - I would take reviews on Trip Advisor with a pinch of salt! I have read terrible reviews on there of hotels which were extremely nice and vice versa. I suppose it depends on what your expectations are. If you can I would go for personal recommendation. Might be worth starting a new thread asking for opinions?

Cheers

Karen

 

[jodyb]

You will absolutely not be disappointed in any way if you go with the Disneyland Hotel. Three is that in-between age where it's hard for them to walk long distances, and yet they get tedious to push long distances as well... and sometimes they need a midday rest and sometimes they don't.... etc... I really feel that with a child that age to get the BEST out of your trip, from all the options you mentioned, you can't go wrong with the DL. As to whether Castle Club is "worth it", I asked the forum this myself before going a couple of months ago, and it's really an individual matter. If you are going during a very busy time, the VIP fastpassed you get in CC alone are worth the price, but this is assuming you really love the Fast Pass rides (BTM and SM are our favorites so for us never having to queue for them was major). The other real advantage to CC is breakfast - you NEVER have to wait, service is incredible, and the food is excellent, to say nothing of the magic of eating while looking out of floor to ceiling windows with a view down mainstreet to the castle!
The DL is crawling with characters. Your niece will feel like she's in Disney Heaven. At the SL there are only ever two characters at a time, and they don't really mingle much.

 

[Renate_do]

Do you not have a specific breakfast time at the Disneyland Hotel then ?

This was a problem we had at our last visit, the only time left was 7.45am - I did go down the first morning and filled a carrier bag for the others, but for the rest of our stay we ended up paying for breakfast in the parks.

We've stayed at the Santa Fe and the Cheyenne, neither of which I could find fault with, we only used the rooms to sleep in. Next year we're planning to go with my 3 year old niece, originally we all liked the NPB, but I've read loads of bad reviews on it, too crowded, queues for breakfast, rooms are shabby, staff ill mannered, (all of this from the Trip Advisor Review Site) anyone on here had similar bad experiences ?
If we are going to be disappointed with the NPB I'd rather save a bit harder and book the DH, and is the New York more adult orientated, also is it worth booking the Castle Club Rooms at DH - any thoughts/help much appreciated.

With DLH I meant the Disneyland Hotel
All the others beside HNY means Santa Fe, Cheyenne, Sequioa Lodge and Newport Bayclub have the *ticketsystem*.

We stayed at the NPBC 3 times now and it was great. You can read our tripreports on our website.

Greets Renate

 

[poohmadmum]

We stayed at SL in January this year and had a wonderful time. You won't be disappointed. We had a montana room which is in the main building and I think these are better than the outlying lodges. They also have a mini bar - although we felt the prices were rather high! It never hurts to ask about an upgrade!

It was fairly quiet in January. At check-in you select the time you want breakfast each day but the time you have is never checked. It is certainly quieter if you eat earlier.

We did the Good Morning Fantasyland breakfast one morning. You are given a voucher and enter the park an hour before opening. You show the CM the voucher and they direct you to the restaurant. We felt the breakfast there was slightly better for choice than in the SL and you are ready for the park when it opens.

The pool was great but although it was heated we felt it was slightly too cool to stay in for a very long time. There are lockers in the changing rooms which work on a 2 euro coin but the changing area isn't very big.

It's a lovely walk from SL through Disney Village to the parks. However, if you are too exhausted you can also catch the free shuttle bus.

We like to have at least one meal at Chef Mickey's for the character interaction. The character breakfasts are held here and we have also had lunch and dinner there (on different trips) but if you are going for dinner it is advisable to make a reservation and for the breakfast it is essential.

The SL is a lovely hotel and the bar with the open fire is a nice spot to have a quiet drink after tiring yourself out in the park. The shop sells a good selection of souvenirs, drinks etc.

If you want to meet the characters without the mad rush in the parks, check the timetable for the characters in the hotel. When we were there the queues (at least in the morning) were not very long or none at all and you get a photo, autograph etc and you can view/buy the photos in the hotel's shop - it's nice to have one of the whole family I think. The characters actually stand on a little set so the photos have a nice backdrop.

Hope this helps!