Turning 50 in DLP! My trip report.

[Chuckers]

Okay, just got back from France yesterday and I am awake enough to write my trip report. Please understand that I am basing my observations on having MANY trips to both parks in the U.S.

To start with, I had an amazing time. DLP was a lot of fun with some bad notes thrown in to the mix. I'll start with the cons because I want to end on a good note.

Bad parts:

1. I decided to buy the Express Check In package because we were coming in from Paris via the RER Early in the morning and our room wouldn't be ready until 3. We got to the Express check in desk and the CM was surprised to see me. According to her records, we were supposed to be on the Eurostar.. which I specifically told the CM when I called that we were not using the Eurostar. So, it turns out that the envelope containing all of our tickets and vouchers were at the Eurostar stations waiting for the train I was supposed to be riding. The CM printed out a one day park ticket for us and explained that we could either come back at 2 and pick up the envelope at the express counter OR it would be delivered to our room at 3pm. We chose the in room option.
We went to the parks and then went to check in at the Sierra Lodge. I went to the Golden Forest Concierge to check in and she asked me if we filled out a form on the train (Eurostar). I told her we did not take the Eurostar and explained the situation with our express check in. Turns out the CM at the Express check in desk was really wrong. There was no way we could have gotten the envelope at 2 and it was not going to be delivered to our room. We couldn't get the envelope until at least 5 pm.. considering we had a 5 pm reservation at Bistrot Chez Remy, this was not a viable option. The concierge ended up reprinting all of our vouchers and tickets. It was a fiasco and not a good start to my DLP vacation.

2. The Hotel. The Sierra Lodge is a beautiful hotel. The room and view were beautiful as well. The problems? A/C, outlets, and bed sheets. I really think A/C and bed sheets are a cultural thing. I set the A/C to 18.5 C and it barely took the hot edge off the room. We couldn't open the windows at night because the room would have been filled with bugs. It cooled the room enough to sleep, however, the bed was made with a bottom sheet and a QUILT! There was no top sheet.. we asked for one for each bed, but the concept of a top sheet was not understood. I finally got extra sheets and had to hide them in the drawers so the maids wouldn't take them. The worst part of the room was the fact that there were only 2 usable outlets available. One was on the dresser and the other was at the entrance to the room. I sleep with a cpap machine and I had to have an outlet by my bed. The dresser outlet was too far and not usable with an adapter. I had to leave a 20 euro deposit for 2 extension cords so I could run something from the front door to under the bed. It was the only way we could use the adapters for my cpap and to charge things.

3. We did the character breakfast at Chez Mickey. The food was passable, but the character experience was pretty poor. The characters at breakfast (and in the parks from what I saw) didn't have handlers. There were 4 characters and, at one point, 3 of them hit our table at the same time. I got a picture with Eeyore, but it was so busy with all 3 that he left the table before he took a picture with my partner - I know it wasn't on purpose, but it was a mess.

4. The parks... More plus than minus, but on the whole, the parks truly need a patch and paint. There are so many cracks and small missing pieces in the facades, I was amazed that they let it get this way. The Space Mountain sign had ripped plastic hanging from it. You would NEVER see that in DW or DL. It felt like the parks were very understaffed. Restaurant service was horrendous. (Except at Remy's). I had the WORST birthday dinner at Silver Spur. The server was handling tables in two sections as far away from each other as possible and the food was inedible. The floor had garbage through out the place and several tables were just piled with dirty dishes. It was an hour and a half of bad.

Next post... the good! And there was Good!​

 

[Chuckers]

Okay... the good.. basically whatever wasn't bad was GREAT!

1. The hotel IS beautiful. The breakfast in the club room was great. The fact that we could walk to the parks was sweet. We had a great view and the room was really nice. The concierge went out of their way to help us. One night I went to talk to them and in the talk I mentioned to them it was my 50th birthday. The male CM asked me if I got a birthday present from the hotel. I said I got some chocolates on check in and he said "that's not enough... do you like pins?" I told him I would REALLY love a hotel specific pin. He said that he didn't think they had them, however, the female CM said 'here have this!' She gave me the pin that cast members wear! Then the male CM gave me a voucher for any free pin I wanted from the gift shop.

2. I wanted a champagne toast on my 50th, so we went to the bar in the Disneyland Hotel after the park closed. The CM heard it was my 50th and brought me out a double chocolate tart with a candle in it. It was so sweet of her to do that. A perfect Disney touch.

3. Bistrot Chez Remy... what an AWESOME dining experience. The food was wonderful, the server was great, and the decor was absolutely adorable. I LOVED that restaurant.. Definitely one of the best Disney restaurants in all the parks I have visited.

4. The parks: Looking past the patch and paint part, the parks are beautiful. I love the way the lands segue from one land to the next.. it's done with a gradual beauty. Fantasyland reminds me more of Anaheim Disney and that's a good thing.. it really feels like a little town. I absolutely LOVED BTMRR. It is the best version I have ridden. In the 4 days I rode it 8 times. I also loved Ratatouille. The ride was incredible. I was able to ride that 9 times as well... Thank you 5 minute single rider line. Crush's Coaster was also wonderful.. I can understand why there's no fast pass for it... but they really should invest the money in a second track. Phantom Manor is another well done ride. I really liked the backstory (found on line) and it's a bit darker than the US versions.

(A really cool thing happened in Phantom Manor when I was there. I was the first person from our elevator to hit the moving walkway. They had to shut the ride down because someone lost a bag on the ride. Security rules say the ride must be evacuated, stopped, and fully searched to find/not find the bag. So the lights came on and they brought out a bomb sniffing dog... it was a poodle!! A bomb sniffing poodle... totally adorable and cliche. They found the bag and restarted the ride.)​

I was in AWE of the dragon under the castle.. that was so freakin' cool. I wish the U.S. parks would do something like that... but it would probably scare the precious little ones too much. Another great touch are the arcades down the side of main street. What a great way to help traffic flow. Peter Pan is awesome! I am so glad they have a star field in the ride.

5. Simply the best part of Disneyland Paris? The Parade and Dreams. I thought the parade was so well done.. I really want to know what the 3 fairies were riding in the parade. We thought they were on Segways, but they moved too smoothly. The song was great and I liked how they integrated two stories on each float. Dreams was absolutely amazing. It was the perfect mix of everything in a night time show. Seeing it on my Birthday made it very special for me and I knew I would cry at some point because I am an emotional guy. And, I don't know why - because I couldn't understand what was being said, but watching the Hunchback slide down the castle made me start crying. I really liked how the castle projects became 3-D. It was great to see Peter Pan be the focus of the story, it made for a nice change.

All in all, I had a great time. I would probably go back in a few years. Hopefully, they'll have increased the size of the Studios (it's REALLY small) and cleaned up things a little.

​

 

[McSuze]

Wow Chuckers, after a Disney Express nightmare, the good is extremely good! Fabulous in fact!

Thank you for sharing

 

[Millies Daddy]

Brilliant post. So much more detailed than the usual Highs and Lows!!

 

[DLPdaft]

I really enjoyed reading that Chuckers, belated happy birthday to you!

 

[Carrie_Cat]

Ah Chuckers I read the bad and I though oh no he didn't like it and then I read the highs and it was like wow I was smiling and laughing with you

Thought the ac would be a concern but had no idea about the sheet thing..I would think it weird to have a top sheet and a duvet

We love the same rides and I'm so pleased you got to do Crush and liked it as it is fab

Wish you all the best with your op and many more happy years to come xx

 

[Chuckers]

Oh.. and to top it off.. I found a substitute for a Dole Whip... The Twisters were SO refreshing and great! Plus, you could buy them all over the park!

 

[Chuckers]

To be honest, the bad sounded really bad, but I can't help compare to the U.S. I know.. it's not fair.. it's different cultures and ways. I really had a good time and I am glad I went. My thoughts really are a 'bad' day at Disney still beats a day anywhere else I tell all new people not to sweat the problems, because there will be some in any trip. The Express Check in did agitate me, but I knew that Disney would make it right.. and they did. My Birthday dinner, we ended up laughing it off after we left.. it's still a made memory. (We did BTMRR right after dinner, so I was happy again quite quickly. )

I had to laugh at the Pause Gourmand vouchers.. for us, they were totally useless.. I think my partner used 1 of them for a bottle of water.. we had 8... I have 6 in my luggage.. we lost 1. It must be a cultural thing to have a drink and a crappy donut between 3-6

And yes, I do want to go back... however, I think my 55th Birthday will either be Tokyo or Shanghai

 

[katiesam]

My thoughts really are a 'bad' day at Disney still beats a day anywhere else

What a great sentiment

I started reading your trip report and was beginning to think it was going to be one of those where everything goes wrong but wow, the highs were great It's nice to read when people more used to the US parks come and report that they like DLP as too often it seems not to be the case!

I'm lucky enough to be heading to DLP for my birthday this year and I can only hope it's going to be as special as yours The place I wanted to eat for my birthday seems like it's closed that day so we may have to push the boat out and try Bistro Chez Remy - I must admit when leaving Ratatouille I can't help but dawdle past the big restaurant windows trying to take in all the little details inside!

And another confession ... I developed quite a taste for those "crappy" DLP donuts on my last trip so those Pause Gourmand vouchers would have been great for me!

 

[tennisfan]

Really enjoyed your report and glad the highs outweighed the lows and that you enjoyed your trip

 

[cmpeter]

Great trip report...thanks for sharing. We are going for the first time in July ourselves.

 

[dhidra]

Thanks for posting. What a great, balanced report. I too read the bad points and thought it was going to an awful trip but it sounds like you loved it. and you're right, a bad day at disney is still a day at disney! it's all about perspective.

I mostly used the pause Gourmande bouchers for ice cream