"Just like we dreamed it!" - A Trip Report

[Malton Seadog]

So - I'm back in England.

After leaving St. Pancras at 15:00 on 26th June, I've finally arrived back on 3rd July at 22:00.

Seven wonderful nights spent in Bussy-Saint-Georges, four wonderful days spent in Disneyland.

I suppose the best place to begin is on the very first day. Ladies and Gentleman, if you're sitting comfortably, I shall begin...

Thursday 26th June 2008

The other half and I left Doncaster at around 10am, getting the train down to London. We'd booked it well in advance (April in fact), so an open return ticket cost us just £21 each. Of course, we had to specify which trains we would be travelling on, but with a walk on single fare costing £66, it's well worth planning in advance!

On arrival at London King's Cross, we had a three hour wait until our Eurostar left for Paris. We made our way to St. Pancras to find that there were around 12 seats in the entire 'pre-check in' area. We ended up sitting on a metal bar, getting a very numb bum, doing logic puzzles in a book we'd bought.

After two bum-numbing hours, we could finally check in. As is compulsory, I beeped as I went through the security gate. Turns out it was my railcard (?!) setting it off. Fair enough.

Anyway - after another hour of sitting around, we finally got on the Eurostar and we were underway.

Just outside Paris, I'd say 15 miles or so, we stopped. A minute passed. Ten minutes passed. Being rather sceptical at the best of times, I had a sneaky feeling that all was not well. I was proven correct when the announcer said there was a lineside fire near Paris, and that we couldn't progress until it was put out.

An hour and a quarter later, we progressed! Thankfully though, in a wonderful gesture by Eurostar, they have offered everyone on the train a half price ticket to anywhere on the Eurostar route.

When we got to Paris, we got robbed by a bloke in the metro station. One tip for you all - know which ticket to buy before you get there!
We asked a passerby(a bad move as it turns out) which ticket to buy, and he told us that a single to Bussy-Saint-Georges would cost us €12.50 each. He got us it on his travelcard and asked us for the money. We paid him €30.00 and he gave us 50c change before running off. The cheek of it! It could have been worse, we could have given him a €50 note.

We finally got on the metro (very very hot, and very smelly) to Chatelet-Les Halles, and changed onto an RER to Bussy-Saint-Georges.

It turns out the ticket should have cost us €4.95. Such is life.

The hotel was finally found at 10pm, as the sun was setting over our eventful, and not necessarily enjoyable, first day of our holiday. This was after walking ten minutes in the wrong direction after the map we printed out was wrong. We asked a local on a bike who was very helpful and pointed us in the right direction.

The Campanile hotel in Bussy-Saint-Georges is ideal for Disneyland-goers, as the walk to the station takes around 7-8 minutes, and it's far cheaper than the DLRP Hotels.

We went to bed tired and exhausted, but we knew that tomorrow we'd be going to the park - and oh boy were we excited!




(To be continued...)

[stargatebarbie]

Bit of a bad start but it can only get better ,We are staying at the premire classe in bussy st george in 4 weeks I think its near the campilmile so any tips will be helpful regarding trains and fares and times to and from disney from bussy .:wizard: cant wait to hear more :wizard:

[ema74]

OMG what a start... :scared1:

So sorry you were delayed and even worse robbed but hopefully the days in the park cheered you up. :hug:

[Cyrano]

:scared1: what a rotten start to your trip in Paris.
Reminds us all that whenever in a large centre that even though you are on holiday. Someone is looking out to rip off the innocent :thumbsup2

[MinnieMouse73]

What a horrible start. We're staying at the Campanile in 23 days' time so I will be interested to see what you thought of it :)

[Ware Bears]

What a horrid first day :grouphug: hopefully tomorrow will be full of Disney Magic for you. :wizard:

[britchic4]

Poor you with such a bad start. Hopefully it made the magic even more magical.

[ukstitch]

As you say, at least it was only about 20 Euros; it could have been much more. Your first paragraph suggests that you had a good time despite this though, which is what's important!

:scared1: what a rotten start to your trip in Paris.
Reminds us all that whenever in a large centre that even though you are on holiday. Someone is looking out to rip off the innocent :thumbsup2

Especially when you're on holiday I would say. Some people (in any country and of any nationality) detect a non-native accent and home in on them to take advantage of them.

[Malton Seadog]

The story continues...


Friday 27th June 2008

So today was Disneyland Paris day 1 of 4, and we were very excited as we got up at 07:30 and jumped in the shower, raring to go.

For breakfast, we noticed there was a bakery (boulangerie) next to the station. We wandered down at around 08:30 and bought a 'pan au chocolat' and a 'pave chocolat' (which was basically chocolatey bread) for €1 each, which is very reasonable.

It is also worth noting that there is a supermarket (called Champion) next to the station. This is very useful for purchasing prepacked sandwiches, crisps, fruit and chocolate to take into the park for lunch. It opens 09:00-21:00 on weekdays and Saturday, and 09:00-12:30 on Sundays.

We decided to play with the ticket machine in the station to see if we could figure out which ticket we needed. We couldn't, so went to the staffed desk to buy our tickets. The lady told us which ones we needed, and so, for those staying in Bussy, here is what you do:

1) Change the language to English on the machine.
2) Click on 'Purchase Tickets/Passes' etc.
3) Click on 'Tickets for the Paris Region' (nb. NOT Paris)
4) Scroll down to 'M'.
5) Find Marne la Vallee Chessy.
6) Click 'Full Fare'
7) Select how many tickets you want to buy.

Et Voila! The price will come up as a very reasonable €2.10 single. So based on that, it's €4.20 return from Bussy every day which is more than reasonable in my opinion.

As our train pulled into MLV, the exctement rose. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as the escalator rose slowly to reveal the huge Disney Village sign to our right. I glanced left and saw the Disneyland Hotel. We were back. It had been 9 months, but once I set eyes on the place again, it was like we'd never left.

Excitedly, we rushed to the park entrance. Despite EMH being 8-10, the turnstiles onto Main Street opened at 09:30 and we were allowed to browse the shops until the lands opened.

The queue for Frontierland was quite big, so we joined it in good time.

Quiet tension filled the air, and then there it was. The music boomed over the loudspeakers - we were in! The rope dropped and people charged towards Big Thunder Mountain. I mean, who wouldn't?!

Our plan was simple. We have four days - let's ride as much as possible without overdoing it. We could take things very slightly slower than in the past.

Our masterplan for the day, and indeed subsequent days, was to get a fastpass for BTM as soon as we entered Frontierland, and then head straight for Pirates. This worked well on the first day, as our fastpass time was 11:00, giving us an hour to walk leisurely to Pirates, ride it, and then stroll back to BTM.

In total, we managed 17 rides on the first day in the park (which I will list later in the review process).

The first day was special, as we had booked a birthday surprise at Plaza Gardens. It was truly magical. The price has gone up to €19 (DLRP food guide stated 18), but it was definitely worth it.

We were seated, and a birthday card was waiting for us on the table. We went and got the buffet (mainly dessert, but with hash browns, bread and sausage also on offer). Minutes later, CM's came out with a birthday cake, complete with lit candle. It was lovely.

A few minutes later, ten characters (yes - ten!) ran in and started singing and dancing. They all came round to every table and many photos were taken and autographs signed.

If that wasn't enough, they left - and we were thoroughly pleased with the occasion. As we were starting to think about leaving, ten more characters charged in! Unbelievable! To top it all off, everyone received a small gift - which I won't reveal incase it spoils it for anyone!

€19 for a birthday cake, a gift, a card, an all you can eat buffet and 20 characters coming to your table. Not bad really!

We decided to treat ourself on the first evening, and went to the Rainforest Cafe as it looked so interesting.

I had the:

Savanna Parmigiani - Breaded turkey escalope topped with tomato sauce and melted mozzarella. Served with spaghetti.

It was very nice, but very expensive. The service was good and efficient, very different to the service we received 5 days later in the same restaurant, but that's to follow!

After all the days have been spoken about, I'll post a summary and review of the rides we went on - and also of the food we ate.

At the moment, I'm just giving a brief overview of what we did on each day.

Next up is Saturday - a day in Paris... watch this space!

[Cyrano]

I love the feeling you get when you are inside the Disney buddle :goodvibes

[MinnieMouse73]

20 characters? Wow! :cool1:

Do you know (or does anyone) whether the same characters also attend the 'normal' (non-birthday) tea party?

[A Small World]

20 characters? Wow! :cool1:

Do you know (or does anyone) whether the same characters also attend the 'normal' (non-birthday) tea party?

Yes. The birthday tea party and non birthday tea party are held at the same time - but only those whove booked the birthday one get the cake and gift- the rest is the same (food, characters etc)

[MinnieMouse73]

Thanks, I think we'll stick with the normal one :)

[Tillybud]

it's sounding very good, would love to hear what you think about the hotel. Currently trying to work out the cheapest way to go for the halloween celebrations in October x

[stargatebarbie]

great day thanks for the info on the trains from bussy we wil be doing the same in just over 3 weeks :woohoo: (is the child price the same??) we also have 4 days in the park and tea at the plaza booked so I wil be hanging on your every word:wizard:

[Ware Bears]

What a great day :thumbsup2 it certainly made up for the previous one.

[Malton Seadog]

The story continues...


Saturday 28th June 2008


Paris. Not a city I had often thought of visiting, to be honest. The last time I went, in 1998, I was a mere eleven years old and it was a grey, dank day in January. The impression I got from the bus wasn't a favourable one.

I thought it was about time I gave it a second chance, so on the Saturday we decided to get the RER from Bussy in the opposite direction of Disneyland (it hurt so much... *sobs*).

Anyway - after about twelve stops (I exaggerate not), we got off the train at Charles de Gaulle - Etoile, which is the station underneath the Arc de Triomph. What a fantastic structure this is. To say it's only 165ft high, it looks very imposing. We decided we were going to go up it, and for just over €5 (can't recall exactly how much, sorry), the views were well worth it.

One word of warning - if you don't like staircases, particularly spiral ones, you may be spooked out by the ascent. It's very compact and rather claustrophobic on the way up/down, so if your head for heights or enclosed spaces isn't great, you may not enjoy it.

The views from the top, as I said previously, were astounding. The Eiffel Tower of course stood proud, and La Defense, the skyscraper district, looked splendid in the other direction.

Paris is a fantastic city, and a big one, and you could see almost all of it from this amazing structure.

Following on from this, we walked down the infamous Champs-Elysees. For you ladies out there (and gents in fact), the bags in Louis Vuitton were rather nice and rather expensive.

€200,000+ for a luggage trunk. Amazing.

We called off for a ham and cheese baguette in a cafe, and entered probably the biggest Virgin Megastore in the world. This shop was BIG! I know it sounds daft to spend an hour in a shop when looking round Paris, but we did. As a university music student, I found the range of classical and non-traditional CDs very interesting.

After this, we headed for the riverfront, where we would walk to the Louvre. Before long, the famous pyramid entered our sights and we entered.

I'm not an art fan. In fact, I find it quite boring, but we spent a good 2 hours looking round the museum. It wasn't the most enthralling experience of my life, but I found the 7,000 year old Egyptian artifacts astonishing. How anything that old could be so intact was hard to grasp, especially seeing as many of the 19th century sculptures were missing heads etc!

After seeing the Mona Lisa, we decided to go to Notre Dame. Our legs were shattered by this point, so using my geographical knowledge I decided to head for Les Halles (the same station we changed at on the first day) to get the RER to St Michel which is the Notre Dame station. I also knew there was a big shopping centre (Les Halles Forum I seem to recall), and we were starving. We had a 'Quick' burger meal, which is like BK or McDonalds. Now I'm not a huge fan of fast food, but good god did it go down well!

After this break, we nipped to the loo (€0.50 for a wee!) and headed for the RER station, where we waited 45 minutes for a train not to turn up. We gave up and walked!

After fifteen minutes, the wonderful Notre Dame cathedral came into view. Photos were taken, drinks were drunk and we were off again - this time to St Michel RER station for a train to the Eiffel Tower.

We didn't have long to wait, and a short 10 minute journey saw us underneath this fantastic structure. The temperature was close to 30 and we saw people being hosed down!

One thing we did notice were armed French military walking round - a sad symbol of our times, unfortunately. After dishing out €3.50 for a 500ml bottle (the going rate in France is €2.50 - €3.50, it seems), we walked back to the Arc de Triomph and got the RER back to Bussy. A very very busy day, but one which I enjoyed.

If you want to see Paris, you have to walk - alot!


Sunday 29th June 2008

Haha... oh dear oh dear. What a day this turned out to be. We thought we'd have a lazy day with it being a Sunday, and with us still being tired from Paris. Rather than lay about in the hotel all day, we thought about going to Val d'Europe - just one stop down the RER line, seperating Bussy from Marne la Vallee.

Once off the train at Val d'Europe, we noticed the town was quiet - as was the shopping centre.

Closed.

Great.

Now what?!

I looked to the horizon, and Disney Village and the Hollywood Tower of Terror looked tantalisingly close.

"Let's walk it", says I.

So we did.

It's not that close after all - it took us a good hour to do it, and I reckon we walked 3 miles.

In a straight line, you're looking at a mile or less - but we had to follow the roads and it curved and bent all over the place! It was another hot day, and tempers were slightly frayed when we got to Disney Village. I settled that by treating us to a McDonalds milkshake. All smiles again after that!

Anyway - we spent a couple of hours looking round the shops and headed back on the RER to Bussy-Saint-Georges, where we spent the evening watching the Euro 2008 final.

It was bed time once again, and we went to the land of nod knowing that we had three, yes THREE, consecutive days of Disneyland. How could we be so lucky?





(To be continued...)

[Disney owl]

great so far looking forward to reading more

[jillrobinson]

Enjoying your reports Matt, and things definately took a turn for the better after your bad experience on Day One. :thumbsup2
Interested in your Paris Day, people are always surprised that despite visiting DLP several times, I've never ventured into Paris, but TBH I'm not an art, musuem, historic building type of person and OH is not a "shopping" type, so I kindof think one or other of us is going to be extremely disappointed. OH has been before with a school trip.
Just to be able to say we've been, I'm tempted to book one of the evening trips and that way won't have to miss any Dis. time.

[Ware Bears]

I'm really enjoying your reports, Matt. :thumbsup2

[Cyrano]

Enjoying your latest installments :thumbsup2
I love Paris but think the troops need to be a bit older before they will cope with it... well actually DP thinks till they can cope with me taking them to all the corners in a day :rolleyes1

[ema74]

Great report Matt, glad Day 2 was fantastic and you really enjoyed yourselves and also glad you enjoyed Paris. There's a lot to see and lots to do in Paris and definitely worth walking around (that is what we did when I first went to Paris for a visit)

Look forward to more :)

[Malton Seadog]

The beginning of the end...


Monday 30th June 2008

And so we were back. After two days of non-Disney action, we were positively buzzing with the thought of three days on the spin in the parks.

We called the faithful bakery and got our staple breakfast of croissants and chocolate filled bread (healthy eh?), and made our way onto the RER for the short trip to Marne-la-Vallee/Chessy.

At 9:30, we were once again stood on Main Street USA. Our funds were running quite low by this point, and with a good two to three days still to go, we decided to withdraw some money from a cashpoint. A BIG tip to you all - if you have a Nationwide card, you can withdraw money at NO CHARGE. Not only that, it's at the pure exchange rate! We couldn't believe it. Whilst the Post Office and travel agents are offering rates of 1.20 or 1.21, getting money out of the cashpoint got us an exchange rate of 1.26. We were delighted.

Other cards, such as my Halifax debit card, charge £1.50 per withdrawal - so be careful about that.

Anyway - we did the usual of getting a FastPass for Big Thunder Mountain and headed for Pirates.

Monday was by far the busiest of the days we were there, and we managed a paltry 11 rides in the 10 hours we were in the park. On a day like that though, one ride per hour is probably about right. I should also mention that the weather was stifingly hot. I can honestly say that it didn't drop below 25 or 26 for the entire time we were in Disneyland park - a good thing on one hand, but it made walking round and queuing very tiresome and energy consuming. It was on this day that we queued 30 minutes for Phantom Manor (the longest we had to queue all week), and at one point I felt like I was going to pass out. Goodness knows how hot the indoor queues would have been.

After consuming, at lunch, some rather horrible bread which we'd bought from Bussy in the morning - we decided to treat ourselves in the evening to a Planet Hollywood meal, as we'd been in September and enjoyed it. As far as Disney Village restaurants go, it's not the most expensive by a long way.

I had the gorgeous pasta dish which I had in September (the name of which escapes me). One interesting thing to note was that we left the park an hour before close and there were LOTS of spaces. If you really want a Planet Hollywood, and feel that you've done all you feel like doing for the day, definitely leave an hour before close, you'll get a seat immediately on most occasions.

We felt as though the heat and busyness had contributed to a slightly deflated day in the park - but we enjoyed it nonetheless. It's just so difficult when it gets hot and muggy, and people get tetchy in the queue lines. Sometimes, it can be a chore queuing for rides, and it's perhaps better to bite the bullet if you're there for a few days and just chill out and take in the atmosphere. After all - Disneyland is still Disneyland whether the rides are there or not, and there is an awful lot to see (and to unwillingly miss, it would seem!) in the scenery without having to queue an hour to go on a ride.

We headed back on the trusty RER to Bussy, and said goodbye to the station until the morning.

However, little did we know it, as we entered Planet Hollywood, something was happening on the other side of Paris which would cost us dear the following day...

[LouiG]

What!? What happened the very next day?? Seriously the tension is killing me :P

[Malton Seadog]

I can't possibly do that... you'll have to wait until tomorrow! ;)

[LouiG]

oooooohhhh but i'm leaving to go to disneyland tomorrow
:( :(

[Malton Seadog]

Have a great time - I'm sure you'll enjoy reading the rest of my report when you get back! :)

[Ware Bears]

I'm waiting with bated breath too!! :scared:

[Dianetigger]

I'm waiting too, you are a tease!! LOLs

Loving your report, we are hoping to travel into Paris on our trip in 3 weeks, not sure yet how we are doing it but after 4 trips we feel it's a must!

[Malton Seadog]

The penultimate day...


Tuesday 1st July 2008

We got up a bit later today, because we knew that we wanted the supermarket near Bussy station, and that didn't open until 9. We also knew by now that the lands in the park didn't open until bang on 10, even though we were allowed onto Main Street at 09:30.

We arrived at the supermarket at 9, went in to buy a sandwich and a couple of drinks, and headed to the station. (By the way, a sandwich and a drink in Disneyland would set you back about €8-10. I got a ham and cheese baguette for €1.20 and a 1.5l bottle of lemonade for €0.23 - well worth it!).

At the station - horror filled my heart as I walked towards the doors. Which were closed. And locked.

The station was empty.

I scratched my head and said a few naughty words before finally seeing a note which was pinned to the door.

"Due to an attack on an RER driver in Paris at 19.10 last night, all RER services are suspended today".

AAAAAARGH!

So the situation is as follows:

It's 9:30am. We're 7 miles or so from Disneyland Paris, and there's no trains.

Luckily, we're told by a polite passerby that we need the number 44 bus to Val d'Europe, where we would change onto another bus for the final mile or so to Disneyland. I was confident that we'd still be there for around 10, as a 44 bus was just approaching - and it can't take that long to do the journey surely?

Well - I was spectacularly wrong! The journey to Val d'Europe, on a cramped horrible bus, took a whopping 30 minutes, as it went via most streets in Bussy, and also the scenic village of Jossigny. I realised it was a service bus, and NOT a rail replacement service.

Once at Val d'Europe, I felt a bit better - as I could see the Tower of Terror and Disney Village from the bus station.

45 minutes. 45 painstaking, airless minutes on a packed bus as it circled the entire Marne la Vallee ring road entering every town and village it could find.

We got to Disneyland, annoyed, frustrated but relieved at around 11. We'd lost an hour in the park.

Believe it or not - this is the day when we did the most rides! We actually crammed 19 rides into this day, as we stayed until 9. BIG MISTAKE!!!

We returned to the bus station and politely, and cheerfully, asked a bus driver when the next Val d'Europe bus was.

"Last one went at 9 - sorry".

For the second time in this day, the following was appropriate:

AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!

My eyes drifted towards the station where there were definitely no trains...

My eyes then reluctantly drifted towards that dreaded four letter word, which I try to avoid saying or using at any point in my life - TAXI.

We had no choice. It was 9:15pm and we were 7 miles from our hotel.

The queue was perhaps 20 people long, and I heard some mumblings of Torcy and Bussy. I tried my luck, and very loudly said:

"It's a shame no-one else is going to Bussy - then we could share".

Miracles do happen. A family of 4 in front, including two young children, turned round and said: "We are!".

They were a very friendly Scandinavian (or Dutch, I can't quite decide) bunch who were thrilled to meet us so the cost wouldn't be as much. What it did mean though is that we'd need a taxi for 6.

After half an hour, they were in front of us in the queue and a taxi for 4 arrived. The man turned round and looked at me. Before he said a word, I told him to take it. He had two young children and it's only fair to let them go.

Our taxi arrived 5 minutes later, followed by a taxi for 6 (!), but it was to be that we'd have to pay the full fare between us.

€30 from Disneyland to Bussy. How do taxi drivers sleep at night?

I avoid getting taxis in this country for the very same reason.

Anyway - we got back to the hotel, and I tried to be philosophical. I said that we must have saved over €30 even on one night of not staying on the resort, so it's just money we would have spent elsewhere. It still hurt though paying that much for what is usually a 6 minute RER journey.

We went to bed, relieved to be home but slightly downhearted by the RER strike. Is it worth a letter to RER asking for compensation for the taxi fare? They didn't lay on any rail replacement services and didn't give any notice of a strike. Perhaps it's worth the price of a stamp. Who knows?




(The last day coming soon...)

[sherette7769]

What luck! I'm glad that after all that has happened during this trip that you can still feel the Disney magic!

[Ware Bears]

Oh Matt, what a terrible shame :sad2: This is one Disney day you won't forget in a hurry. :flower3:

IMO it will probably be a waste of your time writing but if it makes you feel better then do it, and if you get a favourable response then it will have been worth it.

I'm lookng forward to your next day ~ it has to be better. :)

[BONITATIME]

You have a really positive outlook. I am sorry you had such difficulties but pleased you had a good time

[Malton Seadog]

The final day...



Wednesday 2nd July 2008


And so we got on the RER to Disneyland Paris for the last time. Trains were back to normal, and we felt both sad and excited as we walked towards the turnstiles for the final time (for now, anyway).

Once in the park, we decided to try something new. We'd noticed an alleyway running from Main Street USA to Frontierland which not many people knew about. It, of course, had a rope across it like the main entrance - but had just 10 people queuing, as opposed to over 100 at the other one.

When the music started, the CM dropped the rope and let us in. I was confused - normally it's when the music stops.

I was delighted when we got into Frontierland to find that we were the only ten people there!!! She'd let us in a good minute and a half before everyone else.

What do you think we did? Oh yes - we headed straight for Big Thunder Mountain and rode the first train of the day! What a fantastic start to our final day in the park.

I forgot to mention on Tuesday's report that the FastPass machines were out ALL day (which makes it even more remarkable that we managed 19 rides). They were still out on Wednesday morning, although some were mended by lunch time. We still only got two though - one for BTM and one for Buzz Lightyear's Lazer Blast.

The day grew on, and we decided to head to Toad Hall in Fantasyland for some food. We paid €10.95 for a meal, which included a donut as well as the burger, fries and drink. Quite reasonable as far as park food is concerned, both in quality and price.

As the afternoon developed, we started to feel the first twinges of sorrow as the minutes ticked down until we had to leave. After having a fantastic time in Walt Disney Studios around lunch time, we headed back to the main park to ride our favourites for the last time. In turn, we said a solemn goodbye to Pirates, Big Thunder Mountain, Phantom Manor - and finally, Main Street USA.

We walked out under the railway station on Main Street, and under the Disneyland Hotel. I took one last look back down Main Street USA where the sun was setting peacefully over the castle. As childish as it sounds when I write it back, I really was having to choke back a few tears as I left. For a 21 year old red blooded male to say this surely shows what an impact the place can have on everyone.

I love Disneyland with a passion. Where else can you go where so many people are smiling? I've looked back at our photos, and there isn't one where I'm not smiling. It's such a happy place - whether you go on the rides or not, but here I was leaving for the last time this year...

Anyway - after that emotional outburst, I'll get back to the stark reality of life! We went to Rainforest Cafe because we enjoyed it so much, and the service was not too good this time round.

We ordered a starter (gorgeous cheese garlic bread), and all seemed ok. We ordered a drink and then our main.

Half an hour passed and the waiter came over apologising, saying that our meals had been given to a different table (who'd ordered the same thing) by mistake, and that we'd have to wait for ours to be cooked.

We weren't offered any reduction, not even a free drink.

At the end, once we'd finished, we noticed a couple on the next table were waiting to be served. The waiter went to them, took a starter and drink order, delivered the drinks and then waited five minutes doing nothing before giving them their starter. He then got them a bottle of wine, chattered for a while and then, after having our dirty plates in front of us for 10 minutes, he came and cleared our table.

The service, especially for two meals, a starter and two drinks costing €60, left much to be desired.

Regardless, the food was very tasty and I will certainly go back there. Unlike the RER which I will not follow up, I think a letter to the Rainforest Cafe is in order.

Anyway - at about 10:30pm we finally left Disney Village for the final time, and made our way back to Bussy-Saint-Georges.

Our Disneyland adventure was over - all that was left now was to head back to Paris the following day to get the Eurostar back to England. I'm happy to report that it went according to plan, and that we got back to Yorkshire at 10pm on Thursday evening.

Thank you for reading my report - I hope you've enjoyed it!

In subsequent posts on this thread, I will post some photos for you - along with ride and restaurant reviews.

[Malton Seadog]

A few photos of our trip for you to browse...


Me with Captain Hook at the birthday buffet:

http://photos-f.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v290/28/98/283800789/n283800789_436005_3113.jpg


BTM from Phantom Manor:

http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-snc1/v274/28/98/283800789/n283800789_436089_1811.jpg


The Molly Brown from Phantom Manor:

http://photos-h.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-snc1/v274/28/98/283800789/n283800789_436095_2724.jpg


The Teacups, Castle and Disneyland Hotel from Alice's Curious Labyrinth:

http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-snc1/v274/28/98/283800789/n283800789_436122_6861.jpg


BTM from the FastPass queue:

http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-snc1/v274/28/98/283800789/n283800789_436162_3641.jpg


Looking up at the Castle from Fantasyland:

http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-snc1/v274/28/98/283800789/n283800789_436140_9873.jpg


The last day - saying goodbye...

http://photos-h.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v290/28/98/283800789/n283800789_436039_3661.jpg

[poppyolivia]

your photos are great sorry to hear not everything was perfect but you seemed to have enjoyed yourself even so!...thank you for sharing your holiday with us xx

[Malton Seadog]

Definitely enjoyed it!

Still to come are ride and restaurant reviews, as well as a few key hints/tips/facts about our stay.

[Orion33]

You seem to have had a great time! I always find the little things that don't go to plan can often make a holiday and when i am gritting my teeth and trying not to swear I always remember past holiday crisis' and how much I laugh when i look back on them!

You won't forget this one in a hurry!

[ema74]

Great report!!! Annoying things happen but everything is forgotten with a little bit of :wizard:

You're not the only one who fights back tears when it's time to say goodbye... I'm always very very emotional:sad1:

Roll on to the next trip :)

[Malton Seadog]

Ride Reviews


BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN: 09/10

Still remains one of the best rides in the park. The queue times hit 45-60 minutes pretty easily in summer, so make sure you make use of the FastPass ticket, or get there at the start of the day. The queue area makes the tedium a little lesser, but it can still be uncomfortable on a hot day. Ride this a few times, it never gets old!


Phantom Manor: 09/10

Still a classic. The queue got up to 45 minutes when I went, but most of the time it's around the 10-15 minute mark. If you go at the right time of day, you'll be fine. The spookiest bit of the ride is probably the moving room sequence at the start when the lights go out. Small children may be spooked by this. The actual ride is very well engineered and has some comic and tragic elements to it. I'd recommend riding this twice a day if possible.


Pirates of the Carribean: 09/10

If a ride ever deserved 10/10, it's this - but I never give perfect marks! The music still gives me excited chills when I hear it. I can still smell the dampness of the place now. I love this ride more than I love chocolate cake, and that's quite alot. Ride this 3-4 times a day if you can. The queues rarely get above 15 minutes.


Casey Junior: 07/10

A 'kiddy coaster'. Cute and compact, with nice scenery over the Storybook ride. Well worth riding if the queue is short or you're with the kids. Probably not worth queuing twice in one day for.


Storybook Canal Boats: 06/10

Not a right lot to say about these. The scenes could be a lot more detailed and a lot bigger. Some of them are hard to see. Unless my eyes deceive me, the Little Mermaid scene doesn't actually contain Ariel! Ride it once if the queue isn't too big.


It's a Small World: 09/10

Very cute, very sweet - perhaps too much so for some. The queue is never over 5 minutes except in exceptional circumstances. The ride capacity is huge so you're normally straight on. Definitely do this if you're there with kids or as a couple. One word of warning, the song will be in your head for weeks afterwards. Get on this a couple of times in a day.


Peter Pan's Flight: 07/10

To this day I still don't understand the fuss about this ride. The queue can be anything up to 75 minutes in summer. The ride itself lasts about 2 minutes, and isn't very different to the other dark rides in Fantasyland. Worth going on once perhaps - but are you willing to use a FastPass to ride it?


Mad Hatter's Tea Cups: 06/10

A fun enough ride which could last longer, but with queues lasting up to 30 minutes, they need to get people on and off in double quick time! Don't ride just after lunch!


Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: 07/10

A pleasant enough dark ride with some scary moments which may spook young children. Worth going on once or twice.


Pinocchio: 07/10

Again, a decent enough dark ride with some nice effects. I think the cars move too quickly though. Even after two rides, some details still flash you by.


Star Tours: 07/10

Seemed a little outdated this time. It should be slightly longer. Perhaps it's time for them to change the video? It gets a little same-ish after the 2nd or 3rd time.


Disneyland Railroad: 07/10

A nice relaxing change from all the traditional rides. The Grand Canyon diaroma, the It's a Small World bridge and the Pirates viewpoint are well worth the ride.


Lancelot's Carousel: 05/10

My lowest mark. It just isn't that exciting. The horses don't move up and down as much as they should, and the ride is slow and short.


Cars: 07/10

A nice ride in WDS. Feels like you're going to crash, so is quite exciting. Queues can be 20 minutes or more so make sure you go at the right time of day.


Studio Tram Tour: 07/10

The effects are spectacular, but I feel that the water/fire routine alone isn't enough to warrant a 15 minute ride. It needs that little bit more to justify queuing for 25-30 minutes.


Animation Studio: 08/10

An enjoyable and comedic look at drawing Disney's Mushu. The after show Animation Acamedy is fantastic. There are 12-15 easels with a guide at the front showing you how to draw a certain character. Well worth waiting for.



That's about all we went on. I'll post soon showing what we did on each day so you can base an itinerary around our visit.

[mummyal]

Wow, I really enjoyed reading your reports! Thanks for sharing them. Despite a few hiccups, it sounded like you had a great trip and hope your next trip will go ever so smoothly! :)

[britchic4]

Thanks for such detailed reports Matt, they're great!

[karenmoloney]

Thanks for a great report with loads of details. Sorry to hear that everything didn't run smoothly, but you got loads done.

[Ware Bears]

I've really enjoyed reading your reports, Matt. You're obviously a very positive person and didn't let any hiccups spoil your holiday.

It's funny how Disneyland affects us all ~ I always have to say "hello I'm home" when I walk on Main Street for the first time and on the last time we leave the park I always say goodbye to the Castle!! :rolleyes2 :blush:

[mickeysgal]

Great trip report. Disneyland Paris is on my wish list and I did enjoy the details about the trains and stations.

I'm glad you had a wonderful time. Thank you for posting.

[Fiona35]

What a great trip report, shame about the transport situation you had but to be first on BTM the next day, that would have made up for it for me anyway!!
Glad to know you had a lovely time.

[Malton Seadog]

Thanks for all the comments guys and gals!

Here, as promised, is what we rode on each day:


Friday 27th June 2008: 17

Pirates: 4
BTM: 3
Phantom Manor: 2
Casey Jnr: 2
Small World: 1
Buzz Lightyear: 1
Star Tours: 1
Storybook Canal: 1
Pinocchio: 1
Snow White: 1


Monday 30th June 2008: 11

Pirates: 2
BTM: 2
Small World: 1
Phantom Manor: 1
Buzz Lightyear: 1
Casey Junior: 1
Carousel: 1
Teacups: 1
Peter Pan: 1


Tuesday 1st June 2008: 19

Pirates: 4
BTM: 3
Small World: 2
Phantom Manor: 2
Star Tours: 1
Casey Junior: 1
Labyrinth: 1
Teacups: 1
Studio Tram Tour: 1
Aladdin: 1
Cars: 1
Animation Show: 1


Wednesday 2nd July 2008: 17

Pirates: 6
BTM: 3
Small World: 2
Phantom Manor: 1
Buzz Lightyear: 1
Storybook Canal: 1
Star Tours: 1
Casey Junior: 1
Aladdin: 1



This gives a grand total of SIXTY FOUR (64) rides over four days in June/July.

On average then, you can expect to go on 16 rides a day in this period, if you go at a similar pace to us.


Total Per Ride (highest to lowest):

Pirates of the Carribean: 16
Big Thunder Mountain: 11
Phantom Manor: 6
It's a Small World: 6
Casey Junior: 5
Buzz Lightyear: 3
Star Tours: 3
Storybook Canal: 2
Mad Hatter's Tea Cups: 2
Aladdin's Magic Carpets: 2
Cars: 1
Studio Tram Tour: 1
Alice's Labyrinth: 1
Peter Pan's Flight: 1
Snow White: 1
Animation Academy: 1
Carousel: 1
Pinocchio: 1


Yes - you read it correctly.

In four days, we went on Pirates of the Carribean SIXTEEN times!

Well - we just love that ride!


One final stat for you. Based on the price of our ticket, divided by how many rides we visited, each ride in effect cost us £1.36.

[Emergency Kitten]

Fantastic - are you a statistician in 'real life'?

Also, these very detailed trip reports are marvellous, I love reading them, but I wonder how you actually do them; do you keep a notebook or do you make yourself write up each day in the evening so that you remember?

I can't beat the 16 POTC; well nearly actually, on an early trip we were last to ride SM, and the CM's just sent us round, and round, and round, and round - seven times in a row without getting out. That was cool. With that, we probably did SM at least a dozen times that day

[DLPdaft]

I take a couple of sheets of paper in my case to DLRP, and in bed each evening before I head off to sleep, I try to jot down what we've done, and felt like, that day. It only takes a couple of minutes, but really helps when writing your trip reportwhen you're back home.

And reading over your trip report in later months, really helps to bring back the Magic memories :love: .

Elaine

[Emergency Kitten]

Ah. Excellent plan. I always have a notebook - pretensions of being a writer one day - but it never occurred to me to do this!

Or I could make use of the Tink writing paper they give you in the hotel!

[Malton Seadog]

All I did was have a piece of paper divided into the different days along the top. Down the side, I had the name of the rides.

From then on, it was simply a case of filling in a tally chart when we went on a ride.

It only took a few seconds, but it's a great way of remembering what you did on each day.