Back from Our First Visit

[Olaf]

Spent two full days in the parks, and two nights at the Disneyland Hotel. Me, DH and my 16 year-old son.

Pros:

Beautiful park - it really is stunning, especially the castle and fantasy land.
Space Mountain - DH & DS rode it several times. I didn't. Big Thunder Mountain is my idea of a roller coster.
Size - I liked that my feet weren't burning at the end of the day.
Hotel location - huge plus!
Walts - Gorgeous, and good food too.
Earl of Sandwich - we love this restaurant in the States. Thrilled to find it over here.
Starbucks!
Amazing weather! Like Orlando, without humidity.

Cons:

Smoking - people smoking everywhere. I realize there are people who like to smoke, but I don't see why they can't do so in the smoking areas.
Number of rides shut down. I've been going to Disney parks for three decades. I have never seen so many rides out of commission. It's rare when one is down. While we were there, Tower of Terror, Indian Jones, Captain EO, Casey Jr Train, and Le Pays des Contes de Fées, and the Dragon under the Castle.
Lack of "Disneyland Paris" and "Disneyland Hotel Paris" branded merchandise. I had hoped to find more. Ended up with a t-shirt, mug and magnet. I was hoping to find all kinds of cool, European, branded products, and just didn't see it.
Crowds - very crowded. I had hoped booking at the beginning of Oct would help, but it didn't. The amazing weather was probably to blame.

Thank you to those here on this board who offered me advice and help planning our trip. It saved us time and money.

 

[Michael623]

They really need to consider spacing out the refurbs a little better. I understand that refurbs need to be done in the off season but they tend to do so many at once it kills the experience.

 

[megarasweet]

Great to hear praise for Walts - I'm still um-ing and ah-ing over whether to eat there on our visit, however with the number of good reviews around I'm certainly leaning towards it!

It's is a real shame about the ride closures though, that's a fairly extensive list.

 

[Olaf]

A tip about Walts that I picked up here on this board. Make a lunch ressie, and ask for the lunch menu when you sit down. They had a salad, steak, dessert combo for 19.50 Euros that was quite tasty. It's a gorgeous restaurant. Somewhat weird, they were turning people away without reservations, but the place wasn't even half full.

Hmmm, Megarasweet, I just noticed that you've been a few times, so you're probably well aware of the lunch menu. Oh well.

Yes, the refurbs were disappointing. They also had a lot of scaffolding up, blocking the view. Walts was completely covered.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

What did you think of the hotel? we stay there next year.

I think the refurbs is just bad planning, they are rushing through so much to get it ready for next year.
If they had a better schedule and regular updates of hotels, rides etc some of the things wouldn't get in such a state.

 

[tinkertaylor05]

So glad to hear about your trip, we're huge Walt's fans mmmm can't wait to be eating there!

Number of rides shut down. I've been going to Disney parks for three decades. I have never seen so many rides out of commission. It's rare when one is down. While we were there, Tower of Terror, Indian Jones, Captain EO, Casey Jr Train, and Le Pays des Contes de Fées, and the Dragon under the Castle.
Lack of "Disneyland Paris" and "Disneyland Hotel Paris" branded merchandise. I had hoped to find more. Ended up with a t-shirt, mug and magnet. I was hoping to find all kinds of cool, European, branded products, and just didn't see it.

I'd drop dlp an email making that exact point it's such a shame

 

[tennisfan]

Glad you enjoyed most of your trip. Its a shame about the amount of ride closures but as a PP mentioned its probably down to trying to get as many refurbed by next year due to the 20th anniversary.

 

[Olaf]

What did you think of the hotel? we stay there next year.

The Disneyland Hotel is really lovely. We were staying there on DVC points, so we had a standard room, with a view of the front of the building where a taxi would drop you off. It was nice to be able to hop back to the room for a rest. There were tons of characters in the hotel, interacting with the guests. A great buffet breakfast was included with the room, although the noise level in the restaurant was a bit much. I think I'm just getting old and cranky. I had surgery on my knee in June, and it's still painful. It was so nice to have an ice machine down the hallway, and I made good use of it.

I was impressed with Walt's. I had a small steak and it was very good, and the desserts were even better.

I think I am going to shoot off an email to Disney and Disney Paris about all the closures. I know it won't mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but it just doesn't seem right to charge people so much for those tickets and then have so many rides down.

All that being said, it is a beautiful park and I am glad we got to see it.