Aw I'd love to see your photos Dave, but I don't have a facebook log-in I'm afraid.
How did you like the DLH this time? I understand from CityBlue's trip report that the park was near capacity on the Saturday
?
Sounds like you had a rare old time though
Really, I thought I set it up so eveyone could see.
Here's a DLH review:
Hi folks,
We just got back from a surprise trip to DLP last weekend. As we were only going to have 30 hours in the resort, I really wanted to maximise on the potential. The DLH had a 30% discount for Dream AP holders, so we went for it. The price was still a little on the crazy side (£336 or $672) for one night for our family of 4 (2 adults, a 5 year old and a 3 year old), it would have been even more if we booked a package. But I can say that at least the DLH offers the service all of Disney used to.
When we got to the train station (we used the Eurostar), we opted to take our own luggage. They asked us to open it going through security, which was ok (not ideal). If we paid 15 euro, we could have had the luggage delivered to the hotel, but I was not too bothered given it was one small suitcase.
We then got to the hotel and dropped our bags off. Very efficient service. Straight into the park we went.
At 4:00 I checked in (most of the staff were tri, quad and quintlingual). Very fast, friendly and efficient. While I checked in there was a character parade down the stairs and character interaction to entertain the kids, it was a great start as my kids played ring around the rosy with Mickey, Goofy, a penguin from Mary Poppins, Tigger, and Eeyore. One little niggle, they used to have DLP labelled candy everywhere, but now it is more generic (the Hotel New York got rid of the candy all together in August - so this was still better). Also, we had 1 fastpass each for every day we were there (but what I did not realise is they can only be used between 2 and 6pm which is a shame, I thought they were good for the whole day).
The hotel was well decorated, and not worn anywhere (unlike the other DLP hotels). We went to the room and it was still very lovely and Disney orientated. And the toiletries were of a god quality and
Disneyland Hotel Paris branded, including Tinker Bell carved in the soap. Also provided are robes and slippers.
For photos - check here:
The Baloos weekend for the opening of Halloween
The luggage was already in the room when we arrived, now that is the Disney service I used to know and love. The kids loved that the TV could be heard in the bathroom (this used to happen in the Hotel New York too, but it did not in our August trip).
That evening when we returned, there was turn down service with chocolates, and the bins had been emptied! Result.
We went to bed, and the next morning had a phone call from Goofy to wake us (if you stay in a suite or Castle Club, Tigger was knocking on people's doors to awaken them).
We went to breakfast (starts at 7:30 but with Extra Magic Hours, I would have hoped they would start earlier - we could have had room service at 7, but I thought we could miss out on good fun if we did that).
We were at Inventions for 7:28 and went into breakfast. We had a window seat overlooking Main Street and the sun had not yet risen! Coffee and tea was brought to our table (they used to bring juice too, but we had to get that ourselves). The buffet was good with the usual continental offerings, eggs, bacon, veal sausage, mushrooms, potatoes (so the same as Hotel New York), but over and above that, the DLH offered Pancakes, Donuts, and a better selection of fruit. It was very good. A few years ago it was a character breakfast, but instead the characters are in the foyer now. I have mixed emotions about this. It means the kids eat better now, and people tend to be better behaved at the DLH, so it is easier to play with them outside of the restaurant. So I think opinions will vary.
As we came out, we played with Pluto, Eeyore and Baloo and saw Tigger on the balcony. Great experience.
We went to the room and packed up. When we called bell services, they said to simply leave our luggage in the room. Which we did.
We dropped our key cards off and went into the park for Extra Magic Hours without having to negotiate security checks!!!! Yay!
Then when it was time to leave for the train, we went in, gave our name and room number, and had our luggage very quickly. Great service by well turned out cast members (the maids even wear Victorian Maid hats). If we had opted for Magical Express, we could have picked up the luggage at the train terminal instead, but again with such a short walk, it was not big deal.
So the DLH does offer a good Disney experience (I still prefer the Grand Californian at Disneyland in California), but it offered much better experience than the Animal Kingdom Lodge in WDW.
So between the location, service, characters, the live pianist in the bar, the great restaurants, valet parking, and facilities (though it has one of the weaker pools).
But the prices are crazy, and considering if they are not fully booked, I can get a 2 bedroom villa with a better pool at Marriott Village Ile De France on the golf course for 1/3rd the price of the DLH or a mini suite at the Ritz for the same price, it is not a cheap option. But for a short break, a special occassion, or if you have the money, the DLH is a great Disney hotel. The sad thing is the Hotel New York and even the Sequoia Lodge used to offer a similar level of service, but no longer.
But I do recommend the DLH for something special.
We stopped at the HNY , and although the room was quite clean it was extremely worn and tired. Did have a brilliant week though.
