loladelorean
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2010
Hi all - I'm still en vacances, but thought I'd write a quick highs/lows about the DLP portion of our trip while I have wifi access.
We had another fabulous trip, especially my cousin Janice who is practically a newbie (visited WDW as a kid, celebrated her 27th birthday during this trip).
Highs:
Weather on day 1 - glorious sunshine! A nice change to enjoy the parks in great weather
Cast members - didn't experience any rudeness. Waiting staff in restaurants were all top notch, especially Vincenzo in Blue Lagoon. And loads went out of their way to wish Janice a happy birthday when she wore her badge!
Hotel Cheyenne - we knew this would be fun, we didn't realise just how nice the room would be. More than enough space for the 3 of us, really comfy beds, and of course we loved the theme. Bit of pixie dust - balloons in the room on Tuesday evening ready for Janice's birthday on Wednesday!
Lots of characters - total contrast from our June trip, I was really impressed to see characters out and about everywhere.
Short queues and low-ish crowd levels, only thing we didn't manage was Crush, as usual.
Dinners - 3 fantastic meals in King Ludwigs (a first for us and last minute choice due to huge queue at Annettes, Blue Lagoon (always my favourite) and Cafe Mickey. Best quality of food and service I've ever had at Cafe Mickey - it redeemed itself after a slightly ropey experience in June. Loads of great character interaction too, but I'll tell you all about that when I get round to a TR.
Megabus! What an absolute bargain getting it from London-Paris for £5 each. This included the ferry journey. The bus was airy and comfortable, we got 3 seats together at the back. Don't get me wrong, the last couple of hours were a bit grim and we were glad to finally get off it, but you really can't beat it for value. Really great service from the driver too.
Happy guests! We always feel that watching and chatting to other guests helps make the holiday magical, and this trip was no different. Lots of families having a fantastic time.
Birthday magic - Janice's badge earned her lots of happy birthdays from guests, CMs and characters - we felt like VIPs all day. She said it was her best birthday ever!
Lows:
Cafes being shut so you traipse across the park only to be disappointed. This is particularly problematic in the Studios where only the Coulisse is ever open, so queues are massive and choice is limited.
Rain - torrential on the Tuesday when we spent the day in Paris, intermittent on the Wednesday. Didn't ruin anything and obviously not Disney's fault but would have been amazing to keep that sunshine.
Trying to have a "proper night out" in the Village. Just resulted in us a bit too drunk at Billy Bobs at midnight, alone, all revved up with nowhere to go! Again, nobody's fault but our own.
Breakfast rammy at the Chuck Wagon - it wasn't unbearable but it was considerably more unpleasant than breakfast at the Sequoia or HNY. Wouldn't put me off staying there again though.
Neither high nor low...
Explorers - we stayed here for a wee stopover on our first night, and for that it was fine. Liked the theming of the public areas and it was closer to the parks than we thought, we walked to and from it. Breakfast was good too. But the room was pretty dingy and small, I was surprised at the low quality after reading really good reviews. And I was quite uncomfortable being "outside the bubble" seeing traffic etc. The hotel just lacked the Disney feel....I'm rethinking my booking at the Radisson in November.
So as you can see, many many more highs than lows. Got lots of great photos, and will write a full trippie in a couple of weeks time. Still in Toulouse (wedding went well too by the way - lol) - heading to Carcassonne tomorrow for a couple of nights, and home on Thursday. To collect keys to my new flat and start moving
no rest for the wicked!
We had another fabulous trip, especially my cousin Janice who is practically a newbie (visited WDW as a kid, celebrated her 27th birthday during this trip).
Highs:
Weather on day 1 - glorious sunshine! A nice change to enjoy the parks in great weather
Cast members - didn't experience any rudeness. Waiting staff in restaurants were all top notch, especially Vincenzo in Blue Lagoon. And loads went out of their way to wish Janice a happy birthday when she wore her badge!
Hotel Cheyenne - we knew this would be fun, we didn't realise just how nice the room would be. More than enough space for the 3 of us, really comfy beds, and of course we loved the theme. Bit of pixie dust - balloons in the room on Tuesday evening ready for Janice's birthday on Wednesday!
Lots of characters - total contrast from our June trip, I was really impressed to see characters out and about everywhere.
Short queues and low-ish crowd levels, only thing we didn't manage was Crush, as usual.
Dinners - 3 fantastic meals in King Ludwigs (a first for us and last minute choice due to huge queue at Annettes, Blue Lagoon (always my favourite) and Cafe Mickey. Best quality of food and service I've ever had at Cafe Mickey - it redeemed itself after a slightly ropey experience in June. Loads of great character interaction too, but I'll tell you all about that when I get round to a TR.
Megabus! What an absolute bargain getting it from London-Paris for £5 each. This included the ferry journey. The bus was airy and comfortable, we got 3 seats together at the back. Don't get me wrong, the last couple of hours were a bit grim and we were glad to finally get off it, but you really can't beat it for value. Really great service from the driver too.
Happy guests! We always feel that watching and chatting to other guests helps make the holiday magical, and this trip was no different. Lots of families having a fantastic time.
Birthday magic - Janice's badge earned her lots of happy birthdays from guests, CMs and characters - we felt like VIPs all day. She said it was her best birthday ever!
Lows:
Cafes being shut so you traipse across the park only to be disappointed. This is particularly problematic in the Studios where only the Coulisse is ever open, so queues are massive and choice is limited.
Rain - torrential on the Tuesday when we spent the day in Paris, intermittent on the Wednesday. Didn't ruin anything and obviously not Disney's fault but would have been amazing to keep that sunshine.
Trying to have a "proper night out" in the Village. Just resulted in us a bit too drunk at Billy Bobs at midnight, alone, all revved up with nowhere to go! Again, nobody's fault but our own.
Breakfast rammy at the Chuck Wagon - it wasn't unbearable but it was considerably more unpleasant than breakfast at the Sequoia or HNY. Wouldn't put me off staying there again though.
Neither high nor low...
Explorers - we stayed here for a wee stopover on our first night, and for that it was fine. Liked the theming of the public areas and it was closer to the parks than we thought, we walked to and from it. Breakfast was good too. But the room was pretty dingy and small, I was surprised at the low quality after reading really good reviews. And I was quite uncomfortable being "outside the bubble" seeing traffic etc. The hotel just lacked the Disney feel....I'm rethinking my booking at the Radisson in November.
So as you can see, many many more highs than lows. Got lots of great photos, and will write a full trippie in a couple of weeks time. Still in Toulouse (wedding went well too by the way - lol) - heading to Carcassonne tomorrow for a couple of nights, and home on Thursday. To collect keys to my new flat and start moving
no rest for the wicked!
.
so maybe I'll get there in 2014!
