4 Germans and a mouse - Trip report Jan.2011

[ThBa]

4 Germans and a mouse – Trip Report 04.01.11 - 09.01.11

Hi everyone!

First let me say thank you for all your help! I will try to write a trip report but please don´t look at my horrible English. I hope you enjoy reading....

Day 1:

We left Cologne with the Thalys on Tuesday 04.January 2011. It was a very smooth ride with the Thalys for an unbeatable price. 29,- € for an adult and 15,- € for a child. The Thalys was very comfortable and in 3 hours and 15 minutes we arrived in Paris Gare du Nord. Before our journey I´ve searched the internet about the train from Paris to DLP. Some of you from this forum help me too and it was really easy to find the right train and platform. We bought a ticket at the information desk at Gare du Nord (20,10 € for 2 adults and 2 children) and walked to the train. From Garde du Nord to Chalet Les Halles and then to DLP. The nightmare began at Charlet Les Halles. We took the Metro to DLP and I guess we just get into the rushhour. The metro was completly overloaded. We stood body next to body. My 5 year old daughter was pushed around and it was very hard for her to get some air. I put her on my suitcase so she could sit. It was horrible and it was a 40 minute journey. But...we made it and my kids were fantastic at this time. It was very hard for us adults, but for a child....unbelievable. Arriving at DLP train station we were all down. Sitting at the empty platform to get some fresh air and water. But we made it!!

After comming back to life we took the shuttle bus to the „Cheyenne“ and even if the bus was full too, it was nothing compare to the metro. The check in was easy and the CM was very helpful and friendly. Due to the tips on this forum I have booked only a package for me and my two daughters. At this time of the year there was a „under 12 years free“ option available, so it a very good price. Before your journey I become a Shareholder and after that I bought an Anual Passport with this card, which gaves you 15%, for her. I´ve just mentioned at the check in that I have another person extra with me (my wife) and everything was ok. The only thing that I had to pay was the tax for my wife, which were 4,50 € for the complete 6 days !!. He gave us our breakfast times and room #1959 at the Jesse James block which was very close to the main building. The room was very clean and the theming is great. The bunk beds were great for our daughters and they had a lot of fun „fighting“ about who can sleep at the top.

After unpacked our suitcase we walked a little bit arround, took a first look at the shop and then went to bed. We wanted to stood up early, because of the breakfast time.

Looking back I would choose the train to DLP again the next time. I guess I made a big mistake and took the metro to DLP and not the RER. At the way back home, we took the RER and it was very empty (more about that later).

The extra person was a very good deal and tip. It works perfect and you can spend a lot of money if you do so. My tip: Become a Shareholder, then buy an Anual Passport (15% with shareholder!!) and pay only the taxes at the check in.

Read more here tomorrow: Trip report of Day 2......the first day inside the park and „Salon Mickey“

 

[kizzabel]

great start
the metro doesnt sound like much fun!!
was it very cold?

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

yippee a new trip report!!! Fabulous start and your pictures are lovely. Can't wait to read some more!

 

[sammie1884]

Eeeek cant wait to read some more. Sounds like you did well to add your wife on at the hotel.

 

[DLPdaft]

Great start (once you reached the resort anyway), and don't worry I can understand your English perfectly .

 

[ThBa]

Thanks for reading my trip report!

So here we go again:

Day 2:

After a very short night with no sleep ( I can not sleep the first night in a hotel) we had our breakfast time at the Cheyenne at 07.45 a.m. It was chaos and very, very full. We all did not like the atmosphere and the crowds there, so we deceided to ask for breakfast inside the park for the next days. The CM said, that this would be ok and gave us breakfastcards for inside the park for the next days. The breakfast inside the park was very good and better than the one at the hotel (yoghurt, fresh fruits...). The crowd were very less and it was quit and comfortable and a way better start.

We got inside the park through Salon Mickey. What a great service and a bit of a VIP feeling to get inside this room. We were all very impressed and my daughters asked the CM a lot about the pictures there and about the life of Walt Disney. The CM were very friendly and all of the questions were answered. We got back each day to Salon Mickey from now on and it was always "funny" to go beside the waiting line and knock at the door. Everyone looks at you.....VIP ?......we enjoyed it.

The weather was great. Sunny and cold, but not so cold as some of you report from visits some days before. The park itself was full. It was fuller than I thought it would be that time of the year. But we did not wait longer than 15 minutes for a ride and so it was ok. First we went to Peter Pan, because we missed this at our last visit and it was a great start. Then the usual day: Pirates, Dumbo, Small World, Pinoccio... all that great Disney rides which makes us feel the Disney Magic. The most fun was Buzz Lightyear, where our youngest daughter (5 years) shot the most points (over 100.000). We laught all the times and she was very proud but she did not know who she did this.

We watched all the parades and shows and even Christmas was over, the tree lightning ceremony and all the illumination of the park brought back those christmas feelings. It was the first time for us also to watch the Fantalliusion parade. WOW !!! What a great parade. We left the park after that and went to the village. All of the restaurant were extremly full and the waiting lines were outside the restaurants. We got the only table at the sports bar but it was ok there for us and the kids. We all were very hungry, so everything was fine.

After two Hot Dogs, French Fries, Chicken Nuggets, Sprite and beer for us we took the shuttle bus home to the Cheyenne. The end of a great first day in the park !!

If you ever have the chance ask for breakfast in the park !!!
Become a shareholder !!! Salon Mickey is worth it !!!!
Buzz Lightyear.....I have a little Space Ranger at home !!!!

More about our visit soon.....

 

[DLPdaft]

If you ever have the chance ask for breakfast in the park !!!
Become a shareholder !!! Salon Mickey is worth it !!!!

Couldn't agree more !

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Another very full day - great pictures too. Lots of people on the boards are mentioning the breakfast in the park - it sounds lovely. Can't wait to read more!

 

[sammie1884]

If you ever have the chance ask for breakfast in the park !!!

Did you have breakfast in the park on weekdays? The only reason I ask is that we are going on monday (staying in Cheyenne) and are hoping to have breakfast in the park on Tuesday morning?

Loving your trip report, I think my son is gonna be as excited as your daughter when he see's the buzz lightyear ride!

 

[ThBa]

Did you have breakfast in the park on weekdays? The only reason I ask is that we are going on monday (staying in Cheyenne) and are hoping to have breakfast in the park on Tuesday morning?

Yes...we had breakfast in the park all the time from Wedesday until Saturday. Go for it....its much better !!

Loving your trip report, I think my son is gonna be as excited as your daughter when he see's the buzz lightyear ride!

Thank you!!

 

[markpsych]

We took the Metro to DLP and I guess we just get into the rushhour. The metro was completly overloaded. We stood body next to body. My 5 year old daughter was pushed around and it was very hard for her to get some air. I put her on my suitcase so she could sit. It was horrible and it was a 40 minute journey.

lol, we had the same experience on return from Paris during our December trip

Enjoying your report, and so pleased to hear that you benefited from the forum tips

 

[ThBa]

lol, we had the same experience on return from Paris during our December trip

It was really a nightmare and very very hard.

I guess that the RER would have been better, because its a larger train.

Enjoying your report, and so pleased to hear that you benefited from the forum tips

The forum tips makes our journey much better.....

More about it later....

 

[A Small World]

Sounds good so far. And what a good score on Buzz for your daughter.

Just to clarify though - it would have been the RER you got. The metro system and RER are linked and the lines beyond central Paris are all RER. You must have hit it at rush hour. We had that experience when we had been into Paris for the day but at least we didnt have luggage with us

 

[ThBa]

I do not know if this is right.

Here is the Metro we traveled with to DLP



and this was the RER back to Paris




look at the RER ... is has more space (placed on top of one another).

 

[sammie1884]

Thank you, we are deffo gonna head straight for the hotel now when we get there and try and get breakfast in the park! Fingers crossed it is on!

 

[mimmi]

What a great score for a five year old . I love Buzz Lightyear but I suck at it.

 

[ThBa]

Here we go again:

Day 3

It was a rainy morning and so we decided to visit the Studios today. Our first stop was as always Salon Mickey for a great start. From there we went directly to the Studios. The park was full also, but it was ok and the waiting lines were not too long. This park was smaller at our last visit. The Tower of Terror, Toy Story Playland and Crush Coaster everything was new for us and we had a lot of fun.

The waiting time for Crush Coaster was over 45 minutes long and the missing Fast Pass System is definitely a need for this attraction. The shows were great. Animagique, Art of Disney Anima-ion and the new Playhouse show. It was very funny for us, because the Playhouse show was in Frensh at that time and we did not understand a single word. But Disney has a universal world language and my daughters shout and scream together with all the other French children. The Motor Action Show was great fun also and after that we returned to the other park to watch the Fantillusion parade which was the last time for this season.

After this parade, we went back to the Studios for another Crush Coaster ride, because it was our favourite ride there. But the he waiting lines were too long at that time so we walked around and relaxed.

We decided to eat at Restau-rant en Coulisse and that was a great mistake. The CM there were unfriendly. They threw our meals at the tables and even the waiting lines were very short we had to wait for our Burgers and Pizza and all the other stuff become cold. It was very bad at all.

But the day was great and we all fell to sleep at once we went to bed.

I forget to mention that the little supermarket at the train station is a must. They prices are affordable and cheaper than inside the park or at the hotel. We bought all of our stuff there and you can save a lot of money.

to be contiunued.....

 

[julyn]

Looking forward to the rest of your report .... sorry to hear you didn't have a good experience at Restaurant en Coulisse ...

Wanted to ask what things are available at the mini-mart at the train station.

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Another pretty full day and some more magical photos! Sorry to hear about your bad dining experience - have never eaten there so don't know if that would be the typical experience.....it would not entice me to try it!

Can't wait to read some more.

 

[ThBa]

Day 4 and 5

Day 4 was our last day inside the park. It was a Saturday, so the park was fuller than the weekdays before. But it was still ok and we discovered once again the advantage of the Fast Pass System. I still do not know why some people standing in line for over 40 minutes when they could use the Fast Pass System? It was always funny to walk beside all the waiting lines and to look at the faces of these people….looking at you…walking straight through.

Our plan was to see as much as possible at our weekdays, because we thought that weekends would be fuller. So we relaxed at our last day. We bought all of our souvenirs (by the way…too much!!) and tried to get some character autographs. My daughters (and me) were very excited to meet all these characters and princess. The only thing which was not so good was the behaviour of some other guests. I know that these characters are very popular and everyone wants to see them and get an autograph or a photo. In my opinion all children should go first for these characters. It’s for them and they are glad and proud to meet them. But I saw a lot of adults who pushed kids away for own pictures or autographs for their own kids. They were very rood and this is bad and not Disney worth.

We did our usual day with all Salon Mickey, our favourite rides and shows and our last day came to an end too soon. Its tradition for us that our last ride is Le Carrousel de Lancelot. At this ride, I had a very special moment. I saw a woman who was sitting alone on a horse, waiting for the ride to begin. She looked very happy and smiled and I guess at that moment everything was ok for her and she really enjoyed living. I saw a lot of happy people but this woman was special. Seeing her sitting at the carrousel with the castle in the background, I thought by myself that you could be happy too. My kids sitting next to me, my wife smiling at me wearing these “stupid” Minni Mouse ears….the three people I love the most…..and I thought: “Hey, that’s life! What a lucky man you are.”

I often think about this woman and I see her face again when all seems to be so important. This feeling could only bring Disney to you and that is what fascinated me the most about the wonderful world of Walt Disney.

The way back home at day 5 of our trip happened without any problems. This time we took the RER back to Paris and it was a way better trip than the one at the beginning with the Metro (but it was a Sunday also). The Thalys returned us very comfortable to Cologne and from there it was not long to go back to our hometown.

It was a magical, great, fantastic journey to the wonderful world of Walt Disney and not only my daughters cried, when we were back at home.



P.S.
Never forget one thing: “It´s all started by a mouse”