Unback From DLP

[HydroGuy]

Just got to DLP this evening for a first trip all alone and logged onto DIS to see a bunch of "We're Back From Our Trip" threads. So I decided to start an "unback" thread, which means I am here.

Headed over to Disney Village for a late dinner at Annette's. Not bad. Not great - especially at the price. Fun environment. Many of you said good things about it so I gave it a shot.

The Newport Bay hotel has a lot of problems. I arrived to check in, lugged my suitcase (now stuffed full of gifts after a week in Spain) plus computer all the way to the room only to find the room was not evacuated. No people were in the room but their open luggage was. Lugged my stuff back to the front desk and stood in the queue (again) and did something I rarely do and requested a new room with an upgrade. They gave me a new room but no upgrade. The rooms are really trashed here. I feel like I am in a worn down Fairfield Inn or Comfort Inn (while in the room and hallways). Peeling paint, chipped would, worn out carpet. Yuck. The lobby looks sharp and well maintained.

It was bit warm in the room so I turned on the AC and it rattled loudly for about 20 minutes (I did not think it would stop so I called the front desk in fear that it would continue all night). But it stopped after 20 minutes. The repairmen came 30-40 minutes later but the sound was gone so there was nothing to be done.

Tomorrow is GMFL breakfast and DL. Later.

ETA:

Day 1 Report - http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=19013938&postcount=13
Day 2 Report - http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=19033921&postcount=27
Day 3 Report - http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=19093439&postcount=71

 

[davewasbaloo]

Hi Hydroguy, I hope you have a good time at DLP.

Annette's is good value, it's one of the cheapest table service restaurants at the resort. But great dining it is not. For world class, go to the California Grill. Or for good food, try Manhatten Grill, Walt's, the Silver Spur, or the Steakhouse.

As for the Newport Bay, that place is a joke. I've tried it 3 or 4 times, and every time has been a disappointment. Sadly people get caught up in the magic, but it is not a patch on the Hotel New York, and the Sequoia Lodge and Holiday Inn offer much better value. And compared to the DL and WDW hotels, it scrapes a moderate rating in my books.

Hopefully things will improve for you.

 

[MsFreud]

Good info on NB. It is a place we were considering, since the Hub is from Cape Cod... I would love to hear about any dining in the NB hotel restaurants, if you should happen into one of them.

Given your description of the rooms though, I think I will stick to the Sequoia.

Hope your trip gets better!!

 

[davewasbaloo]

Good info on NB. It is a place we were considering, since the Hub is from Cape Cod... I would love to hear about any dining in the NB hotel restaurants, if you should happen into one of them.

Given your description of the rooms though, I think I will stick to the Sequoia.

Hope your trip gets better!!

Hmmmm, dining at the NBC is mixed. The Yacht Club is a nice seafood restaurant with a great selection of shellfish and good steaks. It is the only place in Europe I have found Clam Chowder at too. It is considered pricey by many, but I remember having a wonderful meal of Clam Chowder, followed by steak and lobster surf and turf, topped off with Lemon Merange Pie accompanied by a bottle of champagne. It was a great meal, but I think it set us back about 200 euro for the 2 of us.

The other restaurant is a largely forgettable buffet experience.

 

[meeko cat]

Hope the rest of your stay is good fun for you

 

[Ware Bears]

So I decided to start an "unback" thread, which means I am here.

I like it!

 

[lily73]

We stayed in a family room on the Admiral's Floor in August 2002 and was very disappointed with the room. The paint was chipping, the wallpaper was peeling, it smelled of smoke and the bathroom was in need of a revamp. However, I thought that 5 years on the rooms would have been refurbished. How disappointing.

We are staying in the Sequoia Lodge this year. Hopefully it will be nice but my expectations are not so high this time.

Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip.

 

[BRobson]

We stayed there over 4 years ago and we also had the same issue of a shabby room. I loved the hotel itself but I was disappointed with the room. Not worth the money we paid i am afraid.

Having said that many many people stay there and have no problems.

 

[tennisfan]

We stayed in a family room on the Admiral's Floor in August 2002 and was very disappointed with the room. The paint was chipping, the wallpaper was peeling, it smelled of smoke and the bathroom was in need of a revamp. However, I thought that 5 years on the rooms would have been refurbished. How disappointing.

We are staying in the Sequoia Lodge this year. Hopefully it will be nice but my expectations are not so high this time.

Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip.

I think the Sequoia Lodge has just been refurbished as the room we had at Easter was looking very new, it even had a new bathroom suite. I like the HNY best but the Sequoia Lodge is good for the price.

Trey, I look forward to reading about the rest of you trip

 

[Cyrano]

Great thread title Will read with interest the rest of your on-line trip report

 

[marcus.ka]

We have stayed at the NPBC in November 2006 and the room was as good as new. And even the outside was just refurbished.

Maybe not all rooms have been done now? Maybe it would help to request another room?

We had an Admirals Floor room with lake view.

 

[got2travel]

Can't wait for the rest of the report.

 

[HydroGuy]

First day summary of DLP...

Wow! What a beautiful park!

Maybe it is the time of year being springtime, but compared to DL in California and MK in Florida I see why others say DLP is the most beautiful. Lots of detail. Lots of nooks and crannies. Lots of unique pathways. Lots of flowers and greenery.

The day was slightly overcast and thus a lot of diffuse sunshine. Warm but not uncomfortable. Don't have anything to compare as far as crowds but seemed uncrowded to me. This weekend is a holiday weekend in Spain (from where I just came) which must explain why it seemed that 50% of the visitors were Spanish.

What worked for me... Fantasyland. It is inherently European in that most all of the stories behind Fantasyland in the American parks (and DLP) have some European roots. Peter Pan, Pinnocchio, etc. Works perfectly for me. Maybe even better than the American parks because it is situated in Europe and the many languages you hear spoken here just fit in really well.

Adventureland worked for me. POTC was well done. Bravo. The pirates that form the basis for POTC were primarily European so the theme worked great for me. French speaking pirates? Yep, that works just great. Rode POTC three times. Extensive detail around Adventure Isle. Indiana Jones was not that great of a ride. It might have been if they had gone further with the theming but they seemed to throw up a few stone figures, etc., and called it quits.

Discoveryland was so-so. Mostly because Space Mtn is not for me. I tried it in the morning with FP and did not enjoy it. Gave it a second try during evening EMH (it was a walk-on) and same thing. Very different from the American versions and just not for me. Buzz is similar to the one in California in that it has the laser gun free to move around. In any case Discoveryland (Tomorrowland in the US parks) is pretty much culture neutral so there was no clash here for me.

Frontierland. This was an odd one for me as an American. Frontierland to me is inherently American, so hearing French as I boarded BTM just kind of broke the spell. And hearing all the European languages (and British English) seemed disjointed and out of place. I heard lots of Western theme music (e.g., Bonanza, Silverado, Ghost Riders, Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns) that you do not hear in Frontierland in the US parks and again seemed a bit out of place and seemed like they were trying too hard.

However, you folks on DIS are right that BTM is a very cool ride. For those who say it is better than the BTM in the US parks I will not argue with you. To me it did not stand head and shoulders above the US parks. It was at least comparable and possibly better. I rode it four times so that tells you something.

But somehow even with what seemed like the cultural disjoint the Mark Twain and ride around Big Thunder Mesa was very good. Better than the American parks IMO and I felt some Disney magic on the good old Mark Twain even with all the European languages all around me.

Phantom Manor is very different from its counterparts in the US. Here it tries very hard to tell a coherent story, unlike the US parks where there is no real story other than ghosts. Starts off like the version in California and was expecting that to continue, but it did not. Well done, but the end part transitioned to something western which did not seem to follow the previous story. Really liked the ending where the doombuggie gets shaken by the bridegroom. Very nice touch.

Saw the Lion King show and it was fine. But what really impressed me was Tarzan. Wow, what a show! Now this is Disney magic! I felt it oozing out of every pore of this show. Everyone must see it.

The Once Upon a Dream Parade was well done and enjoyable. I had a good spot in the hub. I saw Candleabration and it just does not work very well at 6PM on a summer night as I had heard. Too bad they can't do it later at night when it is darker.

Was gone all day so have nothing to add to the Newport Bay report. I am bone tired so will head to bed now.

 

[A Small World]

So I decided to start an "unback" thread, which means I am here.

Lucky you!!!! Not that we're jealous or anything.

Maybe we should start another thread called 'It seems ages since we were there'

Have fun and looking forward to reading about rest of trip

 

[Cyrano]

Your first day in the parks sounded great. Nice to get a different perspective. In fact your report has encouraged me to try to look at DLP through the eyes of its many visitors

 

[Kathryn28]

We stayed in Newport Bay last July on the Admirals Floor, the room was lovely, bathroom tiles could have done with regrouting but that was all.

Going again in 9 days so hope i get good room like last year

 

[Bexx]

After the disappointment of the hotel, I'm really glad you enjoyed the park so much. And thank you for taking the time to give us your thoughts

Well done, but the end part transitioned to something western which did not seem to follow the previous story.

A few people have commented on that before. Though versions vary, the general story is that the bride in Phantom Manor is the daughter of Mr Ravenswood, the owner of the Big Thunder Mountain goldmine. So the end of the ride represents a ghostly version of Thunder Mesa, which is the town of Frontierland.

Just thought you would like to know!!

 

[HydroGuy]

=A few people have commented on that before. Though versions vary, the general story is that the bride in Phantom Manor is the daughter of Mr Ravenswood, the owner of the Big Thunder Mountain goldmine. So the end of the ride represents a ghostly version of Thunder Mesa, which is the town of Frontierland.

Just thought you would like to know!!

Thanks. I will ride it again on day #3 and look for this. Today is a short DLP morning with GMFL then over to WDS.

 

[HydroGuy]

Your first day in the parks sounded great. Nice to get a different perspective. In fact your report has encouraged me to try to look at DLP through the eyes of its many visitors

I would be the first one to say that I am not the best person to comment on DLP. It was designed for European visitors of course, so being accomodating to Americans is not a priority. I understand this. Nevertheless I am glad my observations may be of some value.

 

[TDERadulski]

We are headed there this Sunday and will stay through Wednesday. How are the crowds during the week this time of year? What are the wait times like?