A few questions...

[Princess Jayne]

Hey! We're going to DLP for the first time on the 16 dec, and we just had a few questions -

• 
  Whats the weather and the crowds normally like at that time of year?

• 
  Where are the best places to meet the princesses around the park?

• 
  we're going on a bit of a budget and was wondering is Auberge de Cendrillon worth the money?

Jayne x

 

[Cyrano]

In December it can be very cold but I would not go expecting summer weather

Best place to see the Princesses is probably at Auberge de Cendrillon

 

[scald]

It can be very cold in December all right, but it's sometimes nice and bright and sunny with it. So as long as you are wrapped up in layers it shouldn't affect your time. The Christmas season is magical...you won't even feel the cold

As for the princesses, at the moment they are available to meet on the caste stage every morning from about 10 am to 12 ish. However, the queue for this can be very long and you might spend two hours waiting to meet a princess you have little interest in. As they rotate the princesses every 20 minutes or so, you cannot guarantee who you will meet. The Auberge is quite steep alright, 48 Euro per adult and 20 per child. However, it is a somewhat better option than standing in the cold. Again, you are not guaranteed which princess you will meet, but chances are that you will see at least two over the course of your meal. Again, ensure that you request a table near the dancefloor as sometimes if you are seated at the back, you don't get to see as many. Also, it's much more beautiful to watch them dance from your table. I would say that it's likely to be very busy that week, and a relaxing lunch in the middle of the day will help you avoid the mental queues. Try to do the rides early and late and perhaps splash out on the meal if you can at all stretch to it. Check out the menu before you go though to ensure you are happy with whats on offer....it's quite limited and as a veggie its a bit useless.

 

[Princess Jayne]

It can be very cold in December all right, but it's sometimes nice and bright and sunny with it. So as long as you are wrapped up in layers it shouldn't affect your time. The Christmas season is magical...you won't even feel the cold

As for the princesses, at the moment they are available to meet on the caste stage every morning from about 10 am to 12 ish. However, the queue for this can be very long and you might spend two hours waiting to meet a princess you have little interest in. As they rotate the princesses every 20 minutes or so, you cannot guarantee who you will meet. The Auberge is quite steep alright, 48 Euro per adult and 20 per child. However, it is a somewhat better option than standing in the cold. Again, you are not guaranteed which princess you will meet, but chances are that you will see at least two over the course of your meal. Again, ensure that you request a table near the dancefloor as sometimes if you are seated at the back, you don't get to see as many. Also, it's much more beautiful to watch them dance from your table. I would say that it's likely to be very busy that week, and a relaxing lunch in the middle of the day will help you avoid the mental queues. Try to do the rides early and late and perhaps splash out on the meal if you can at all stretch to it. Check out the menu before you go though to ensure you are happy with whats on offer....it's quite limited and as a veggie its a bit useless.

Most places are useless for us veggies arent they!? lol! Are the child prices for a particular age group- i know in florida if your over 13 your classed as an adult!
Is it worth checking at guest relations (or whatever its called) to see if i can find out where the princesses will be out and then aim to be there say 10 mins before?
Also the character express- where does it stop for the characters to get off and so where would be the best place to wait when its due?

sorry about all the questions! x

 

[Cyrano]

Also the character express- where does it stop for the characters to get off and so where would be the best place to wait when its due?

sorry about all the questions! x

No need to apologise

The C train stops at the hub and the characters disberse themselves around it

 

[Princess Jayne]

cheers! i've heard its a bit of a mad house when they do get off it! x
are the princesses ever on it? x

 

[Ware Bears]

Are the child prices for a particular age group- i know in florida if your over 13 your classed as an adult!

Children's meals at DLRP are for children aged under 12 (as opposed to WDW where they are classed as adults once they are 10). Selected restaurants have teenage menus for ages 12-16.

Is it worth checking at guest relations (or whatever its called) to see if i can find out where the princesses will be out and then aim to be there say 10 mins before?

The meet'n'greet times will be on the park map but how long to get there beforehand depends on what day it is ~ ie. you would need to start queuing more than 10 minutes beforehand on a weekend.

Regarding the weather ~ definitely take thermals, you won't regret it!

 

[Princess Jayne]

Regarding the weather ~ definitely take thermals, you won't regret it!

do i need an umbrella too? the cold i dont mind but i HATE rain! lol! x

 

[Ware Bears]

Personally, I wouldn't bother ~ umbrellas are a nuisance to carry around and if it's very crowded probably a little dangerous.

We were lucky for our Christmas trip and had snow rather than rain but if we had had the latter we would have used our ponchos over our coats to keep them from getting too wet when watching the parade. Much of DLRP is under cover so the rest of the time it's not too bad if it does rain.

 

[scald]

Regarding the princesses, if youreally don't want to spend all that money on Auberge, you should prepare one day to be queuing at the castle stage in the morning. You can check with City Hall what time it starts and be there at least 15 minutes before and hopefully top of the queue. Alternatively, we noted that princesses making their way to and from the stage exit from the gate to discoveryland (right beside Small World). Twice, very early in the morning, we saw the prinecsses here and they stopped for a few meet and greets before making their way to the stage. It might be an idea to do a GMFB, that way you will have a few rides under your belt and be more prepared to devote some time to the princesses.

 

[Princess Jayne]

Regarding the princesses, if youreally don't want to spend all that money on Auberge, you should prepare one day to be queuing at the castle stage in the morning. You can check with City Hall what time it starts and be there at least 15 minutes before and hopefully top of the queue. Alternatively, we noted that princesses making their way to and from the stage exit from the gate to discoveryland (right beside Small World). Twice, very early in the morning, we saw the prinecsses here and they stopped for a few meet and greets before making their way to the stage. It might be an idea to do a GMFB, that way you will have a few rides under your belt and be more prepared to devote some time to the princesses.

Thanks for that! we could do one mornign waiting by the gate then if we dont have any success we could wait at the castle stage the next day. are the princesses normally with their princes or on their own?

think we're gonna do cafe mickey instead of Auberge (more veggie choice!) x

 

[scald]

I agree that Cafe Mickey is much better for grub...I had a brilliant veggie stir fry thingy there (we had to do 3 character meals in the end!!!). We saw Cinderella with her prince one morning outside the gate and also Snow White and her bloke. Unfortunately, we were heading up the ramp to Small World and by the time we backtracked, it was time for them to go. I think it was about 9.30am, really early and there was hardly anyone around. Might be worth trying it one morning.

 

[Princess Jayne]

so basically hang around in fantasyland for the first couple of hours? we'd probs do that anyway! The Cafe Mickey menus very good-its making me hungry just reading it! lol! By the sounds of it theres more characters there and less chance of being overlooked than at Auberge?

 

[scald]

We loved Cafe Mickey this time around, despite having mixed opinions on it from a previous trip. The staff this time were great and the food was the best I have ever managed to find at the park as most veggie options are really rubbish. The charachters circulate better also, and we had 10 autographs and photos without a problem. Great interaction too, with Captain Hook having a swordfight with the hubbie and Smee kissing my daughter.

I think because the princesses are such a big hit and usually hard enough to meet, there is a bit of hysteria in Auberge. If everyone just stayed at their table it would work great. I noticed in Cafe Mickey that staff tell customers to go back to their seats, but this is not the case in Auberge. Although, the Princess dinner has only been going on a while now, maybe they have ironed this out