A French Disney home for the holidays…. COMPLETED - Page 37 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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What a mess at the train station! Kids are really scared of escalators? Wow. The whole thought process seems to be lacking there. They're not even thinking 1 minute ahead, are they? Indeed, how do they all function in real life? Yikes.
I know, scary, isn't it?
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Anyway, glad your train was on time and you guys made it home quickly too! I can't believe Mark almost didn't get a meal. Premier seating should get priority!
You'd hope so, although right now, I guess anyone travelling on Eurostar today would just be lucky to be on a train and getting to their destination, given the fire in the tunnel yesterday....
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Glad your train ride home went well! It just amazes me how stupid and clueless some of these parents are! Perhaps, these individuals had to sustain their idiocy to make sure they were in the running for this:
Sorry to hear about the snafus for your dinners on board, but at least it worked out!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I think we always say whenever we go to Disneyland Paris that we enjoy it more than we figured we would, and that was very much the case with this trip. Why is that, I wonder? I think part of it is that the elements we can’t stand about the parks here always stick with us.
This trip that included the awful climate – I mean come on Disney, everyone’s wondered this for the past 20 plus years, why did you build your parks somewhere that gets so much rain and sometimes snow in the winter? Often, as this visit proved, the weather can be downright mean, and trust me, I’ve done Disneyland Paris in January and that’s even meaner! Still, we’re stuck with it – the park isn’t going to be magically moved to the warmer climbs of Spain and Portugal, no matter how much we might wish it. You’d need more pixie dust than I think Tinkerbell has at her command…
The smoking in the parks really winds both of us, and I know from reading other people’s trip reports that I’m not alone in this. Why on earth Disney haven’t just tackled this head on by now, I do not know. I can only hope that now that the main Disney company has bought more of a stake in Paris, perhaps things will change, as it’s a really unpleasant part of a stay here…
Something they can’t do much about (unless you implement my excellent idea of passing a parenting class before you visit of course! ) is the poor behaviour by children and by their parents. Sadly, we saw far too much of that, and before you say that you get that at every Disney park, trust me, it feels a lot worse here. It’s like Disneyland Paris attracts the worst elements of the population, who think they can do what they like, and so can their kids. It really does not make for an appealing memory of Disneyland Paris.
Thankfully this trip, we did have some truly magical encounters with the characters, but this is another thing that Disneyland Paris seems just incapable of dealing with. Why they seem to prefer a melee around any character that comes out is just beyond me. Anyone who’s been to any other Disney park will be perfectly used to queuing up in an orderly line, and I don’t think it’s too much to ask people to do that here.
As our experience in Inventions showed as well, there is a definite predilection for favouring families over adults. Ok, part of me can say that, but isn’t part of the Disney ethos also that, for the time you’re in that magical bubble, we’re all children again? We certainly are, and therefore we expect to be able to enjoy the characters the same as kids do.
That said, I did have some truly magical experiences with Eeyore this trip, and they will stay with me for a very long time. If anyone had told me that would happen here, I’d have told them they were completely insane, as I just never expected it to happen here. Mark was also able to finally have some really good fun with Captain Hook, which I knew would happen, if we ever got to see him – and that was definitely going to happen!
We were also very lucky with the crowds, although then again, given the deal we got and the time of year we were visiting (with the schools midway through a term), I did expect them to be low. The difference between weekends and weekdays is so stark here. What we saw in the parks on Saturday bore no resemblance to our experiences on either the Thursday, Friday or Monday. If you possibly can, always time any trip here for weekdays, as they are just so much quieter.
One of the main reasons for coming here was to try out the new Ratatouille ride, and we managed that, twice. It really is an amazing piece of ride engineering and a definite “do not miss” at this park. I really don’t know any other park that’s got anything like it, although having said that, we haven’t been to Universal in some years. However, I suspect anything similar they do have are for coaster geeks, and we aren’t that at all, so we were delighted to be able to enjoy this.
As for the area of the park that they’ve created around this ride, it was just beautiful, although I do feel very sad that they’ve created it only for one ride and one restaurant. I was expecting more, shops at least, and I do hope that those are coming sometime soon.
I want to just say here about getting here, as that is a key part to any vacation. We haven’t taken the Eurostar to Disneyland Paris since 2003, as usually it’s so much cheaper to take the Eurotunnel and drive. Of course, that isn’t particularly relaxing, and the train is a much easier way to go, especially when you can catch a direct train to your destination, and your hotel is literally just a few minutes’ walk away from there. If we can do, I’d definitely take the Eurostar in the future again over the driving option.
One of the other things I was looking forward to was revisiting a couple of restaurants that haven’t disappointed in the past. I know everyone thinks of France and thinks superb dining, but I have to say Disneyland Paris has long been a disappointment in this respect. We regularly find the quality of the food served in Florida to be much superior to here, which I just find insulting, given the French’s culinary history. Thankfully Walt’s delivered once again, and despite the issue with getting the characters to come and see us at Inventions, the food there was also excellent, as it had been four years ago when we last dined here.
Bistrot Chez Remy is definitely a superb addition to the dining line-up here, offering wonderful food in some brilliant theming. I just hope it soon finds itself, and is attracting more people, as it was disappointing to see it so empty the night we dined there. It would be a great shame to see it closed if it’s not better patronised… The Steakhouse certainly wasn’t bad, and given what we paid for the food, you can’t expect too much, and we came away, saying that it was better than many other places here.
Although it’s not food, the real find for us this trip was Café Fantasia. I’m so glad we went there on day one, as all too often, we find places we like near the end of the vacation. I think the fact that we were in there every night is testament to how much we liked the theming in there.
And that brings me to the Disneyland Hotel. We’ve always said this is the place to stay, especially after our first stay here in the summer of 2010. Sadly, it’s usually overpriced and therefore out of our range, but thankfully this time we were able to return there. Its location is second to none, and if, as happened to us, it starts to tip with rain and you’ve just had enough of the parks, it’s just a short walk from the park entrances, unlike the other hotels that are the other side of the Disney Village. I think the fact that we didn’t even get as far as them this trip tells you something…
Did we do everything we wanted to? I think we pretty much did. I certainly got everything done in Paris that I wanted to see, and we don’t have much of a list when it comes to the parks. In the Disneyland Park, it’s our old favourites, the Phantom Manor and Pirates of the Caribbean, plus I enjoy doing some of the other rides if we can get on them. One of the hidden gems was the holiday version of It’s A Small World. I’ve never seen Mark keen about getting back on that for a second time in a trip, which tells you something…
At the Studios, there are a couple of must-dos for us, outside of the new Ratatouille ride, and those are Cinemagique, Stitch Live, and Animagique. See all three of these shows, and to me, you’ve got the essence of what the Studios are all about. Sure, there’s much more here – Tower of Terror, Rock’n’Roller Coaster, Crush’s Coaster to name but a few big draws, but as we’re not coaster fans, they don’t do anything for us.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip, and a very welcome break for us, as apart from days out, we hadn’t had a proper break together since our Med cruise and Italian road trip back in July, and real life has presented a few issues for both of us since then, shall we just say? I certainly found it very relaxing, and I wouldn’t rule out a return (do I ever? ) although I really would like to go back and stay at the Disneyland Hotel of course…
A great wrap-up, Cheryl! I'm glad you were able to take advantage of the great hotel deal. Staying at the Disneyland Hotel sounds just perfect, and it sounds like being at that nice hotel so close to the parks enhanced your enjoyment despite the crummy weather. I love train travel and the Eurostar couldn't be more convenient, both to the parks and to where you live! I hope they do add more to the Remy section of the studios. From the photos it looks more like Epcot's France than the real thing, but that's ok!
Thanks for another great trip report, Chez! So glad you enjoyed the new Ratatouille ride As you know, I am with you on the annoyances at DLP Oh how I wish they'd address those issues...
Disneyland Hotel is high up on my bucket list but sadly, so far I haven't been able to find a good deal for it. One of these days, though!
Sorry for the troubles at the train station! Glad Mark was able to get his dinner in the end! Love his new hat! What a great weekend you guys had, and you got so much done! Thanks for taking us along for the ride!
I'm glad that over all you had a great trip. Sorry about the on going problems at Disneyland Paris.
All your pictures were beautiful and I enjoying following along with you on your trip.
Liz
As with every trip, positives and negatives. It looks like the negatives are always repeat offenders, so at least you're used to them even if they still are very annoying! So it sounds like the positives won out in this trip. Yay!
I still think there should be some more thought put into that parenting class though...
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
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A great wrap-up, Cheryl! I'm glad you were able to take advantage of the great hotel deal. Staying at the Disneyland Hotel sounds just perfect, and it sounds like being at that nice hotel so close to the parks enhanced your enjoyment despite the crummy weather.
It really did, and honestly if we'd stayed anywhere, with the weather, we'd have had a miserable time.
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I love train travel and the Eurostar couldn't be more convenient, both to the parks and to where you live!
It's very convenient, provided nothing goes wrong, like the fire in the tunnel over the weekend. I would not have wanted to be travelling to Disneyland Paris over the last 48 hours or so.
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I hope they do add more to the Remy section of the studios. From the photos it looks more like Epcot's France than the real thing, but that's ok!
It is beautiful, and I'd hope that in France, they'd get a representation of France spot on.
Thanks for another great trip report, Chez! So glad you enjoyed the new Ratatouille ride As you know, I am with you on the annoyances at DLP Oh how I wish they'd address those issues...
If only!
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Disneyland Hotel is high up on my bucket list but sadly, so far I haven't been able to find a good deal for it. One of these days, though!
Keep looking, as I wasn't expecting to find such a good deal, and we lucked out!
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I can't believe Mark almost didn't get a meal. Premier seating should get priority!
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It just amazes me how stupid and clueless some of these parents are! 
Perhaps, these individuals had to sustain their idiocy to make sure they were in the running for this: 
Still, we’re stuck with it – the park isn’t going to be magically moved to the warmer climbs of Spain and Portugal, no matter how much we might wish it. You’d need more pixie dust than I think Tinkerbell has at her command… 
I can only hope that now that the main Disney company has bought more of a stake in Paris, perhaps things will change, as it’s a really unpleasant part of a stay here… 
Mark was also able to finally have some really good fun with Captain Hook, which I knew would happen, if we ever got to see him – and that was definitely going to happen! 
) although I really would like to go back and stay at the Disneyland Hotel of course… 
Oh how I wish they'd address those issues...
What a great weekend you guys had, and you got so much done! 
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