Cheyenne or Dream Castle and some other questions

[Trees]

Hi everyone
First time posting here but have enjoyed reading and discovering about Disneyland Paris from the wealth of information here.
We are a family of four, ds age 4 and dd 2, travelling to DLP end of May this year. Hoping to stay 4nights.
We can't decide between hotels, the Cheyenne or Dream Castle are on the list. Our 4yo ds would probably love the Cheyenne but I am a bit worried about room size and feel that the Dream Castle would give us a bit more space/sleeping room and general chill out time as I am a bit worried that being at the park every day will be a bit overwhelming for the kids, esp 4yo. He is not mad on crowds and noise but is big into Tigger, Mickey Mouse et al.
Also from what I have read Dream Castle has fridge in room which for us is a must as eating wise 4yo not great so I will have to bring some foods from home.
How do the two compare otherwise? Foodwise for the adults is kind of important, as we would fill up on brekky, plus dh is a Vegetarian and usually it is difficult when we go on hols to not live on eggs and bread alone.
I have read the FAQ and hotel reviews, both sound excellent.

One other question, and sorry this is so long, we are considering car hire from the airport (CDG) as this would give us a bit of freedom to get away for a day plus ease of use getting to the Parks if we stay in Dream Castle.
Is this a waste of money do you think?

First trip as you can guess.
Thanks for any information.
Trees

 

[kevankiki]

Can't help you with the Dream Castle, as we haven't stayed there, but we did stay at the Cheyenne a couple of years ago and from what I recall there was plenty of bread and cheese available, as well as the usual cereals, fruit, croissants, etc.

My DD is a vegetarian, so I can help a little there. Basically she managed to find things to eat, often cheese pizza or the veggie burger served in Annette's is the best she's had anywhere, she says. We agreed she had to be a little more relaxed though, can't be sure the cheese is vegetarian for example. Also, the French often listed fish and chicken dishes as 'vegetarian' we noticed in some restaurants, so you probably need to look for 'meat free' dishes.

Belle Notte is her favourite park restaurant, they do a tomato based pasta dish there and also cheese pizza, we used to buy the Menu 1 (Napolitaine pasta, garlic bread and a drink) along with four cheese pizza, then split it 50-50 for variety.

She did mention to me on our last trip that she wished she had looked up the French words for things she would normally avoid in foods - e.g. whey powder, but then decided Compote De Pomme was probably a safe option at breakfast

 

[Cazgal]

Hiya and welcome to the forum

We were also torn between the Cheyenne and the Dreamcastle but decided in the end to go with the Cheyenne.

The main reason for this were the extra magical hours (EMH) that you get when you stay at a "Disney" hotel - you get into the park at 8am rather than 10am. Sounds early, but if your kids are anything like my DD they are up at the crack of dawn anyway. It sound slike those extra 2 hours are worth their weight in gold - especially when you have kids - enables you to get lots of rides in before all the crowds arrive.

The other reason we went for the Cheyenne is the bus ride back - both can be quite busy. But, the buses that collect people from the "non_Disney" hotels actually call at each one (4 in total) before coming to the park, rather than having one dedicated bus for each hotel. Apparently, this can cause problems at the Dream Castle as it is the last to Hotel where they pick up and drop off - therefore it can take quite a while to actually get on the bus. (queues before you even hit the parks!!!). The Cheyenne, however, is close enough that you could actually walk to the Park if it is manic and the buses are full - or the queues are huge.

The themeing also looks great at the Cheyenne and by all accounts appears to be one of the best in the resort - we can't wait to go ! (Only 9 days left).

With the EMH you could hit the parks at 8am and then retire back to your hotel room for a bit of a chill out in the later afternoon - there are a few play areas at the Cheyenne that your kids would perhaps like.

We also would love a fridge in the room - perhaps if you are driving as we are - a camper type plug in fridge would be greatfor keeping things cool ... if not you could always take a cool box (??) and ask the hotel to freeze the ice packs (not sure i they would do that).

The food reviews for the Cheyenne don't appear to be that good - but then we aren't planning to actually eat in the hotel. The nearby Disney Hotels such as the Sequoia and the Hotel NY do buffet style dinners which appear to be quite good value for money. Or ofc youcould hop on the train and go to the nearby shopping centre where there are lots and lots of cafes and restaurants to choose from (much cheaper than Disney but I guess it would take a considerable chunk of time out of your days at Disney).

Hope that helps !

 

[Janetlow]

Hi

We have stayed at the dreamcastle 4 times with children when they were 1, 3 and 5. Cannot comment on cheyenne as not stayed there.

However we found the dreamcastle perfect for our needs hence the reason why we have stayed there so many times and are going back in July. The rooms are a lovely size, we have always stayed in the double queen rooms which have two kingsize beds ( very large!) as our kids were not quite old enough to stay in the top bunk or the baron von suites which are fabulous and worth the extra money just for the extra living space. (therefore cannot comment on the family rooms). The bathrooms are lovely and large and the room itself is large, with the suite you get two bathrooms one with shower and one with bath. The rooms are extremely clean and do come with fridge which we found useful on our first vist as our children were young,
and we found the staff very helpful.

Breakfast is great with a very large selection of full cooked breakfast and fresh fruit, cheeses, ham, cereals, breads, croissants etc etc.

We did not find the bus a problem as they were frequent we had more of problem with bus from the park as that was a free for all at the end of the evening.

Another good thing is the dreamcastle has a small childrens playarea in the reception and an outdoor playarea in the grounds along with a small pool, great to just relax if you need to.

Good luck with deciding

 

[Ware Bears]

Hi Trees, welcome to the DIS!

 

[Trees]

kevankiki, cazgal, janetlow and Ware Bears Thanks so much for all your help and kind welcome.
Kavankiki wonderful excellent information there on vegetarian fayre, dh is delighted to read this as practically always wherever we go it is nearly always "the last day" that we locate the nicest veggie food. So Thank You and your dd for this.xx

cazgal, some great advice there on the Cheyenne and I didn't think of the plug in fridge, we even have one in the attic (emergency purchase over Christmas as main fridge broke down), so would never have thought to bring that with us. However we are not driving, BUT you have sown the seed for a longer trip to Paris or different part of France and possibly encompassing a second trip to Disneyland (as I feel this will not only be our one and only but first of many).
My dh is getting very excited (made him read the excellent post/photos trip report posted yesterday of disneyland hotel etc. )
I think if the kids were a bit older and perhaps more negotiable with the whole food thing the Cheyenne would be for us.
We are going to go visit it while there anyway, is this allowed? And maybe have a drink there or stroll around the place anyway. Ds will love it I know.

Janetlow, thanks so much for your info on Dream Castle, the spacious room, (we are in a family room, it says in the info King bed and bunk bed) and the fridge in the room is the clincher for us at this moment in time.
I am a bit worried about the food issue as 4yo doesn't even eat chips whereas the 2yo eats all we eat and more! I reckon fruit and bread for the boy until we get home, though he may venture with the cheese (eats cheese but specific brand only... )

Thanks again all. I am so excited now!

Oh, I was wondering also about hopper tickets, I wonder would it be ok to just purchase a ticket per day as and when, must find out about the Annual Passport thing, maybe might be better value?

Thanks again everyone.
Trees
x

 

[tennisfan]

kevankiki, cazgal, janetlow and Ware Bears Thanks so much for all your help and kind welcome.
Kavankiki wonderful excellent information there on vegetarian fayre, dh is delighted to read this as practically always wherever we go it is nearly always "the last day" that we locate the nicest veggie food. So Thank You and your dd for this.xx

cazgal, some great advice there on the Cheyenne and I didn't think of the plug in fridge, we even have one in the attic (emergency purchase over Christmas as main fridge broke down), so would never have thought to bring that with us. However we are not driving, BUT you have sown the seed for a longer trip to Paris or different part of France and possibly encompassing a second trip to Disneyland (as I feel this will not only be our one and only but first of many).
My dh is getting very excited (made him read the excellent post/photos trip report posted yesterday of disneyland hotel etc. )
I think if the kids were a bit older and perhaps more negotiable with the whole food thing the Cheyenne would be for us.
We are going to go visit it while there anyway, is this allowed? And maybe have a drink there or stroll around the place anyway. Ds will love it I know.

Janetlow, thanks so much for your info on Dream Castle, the spacious room, (we are in a family room, it says in the info King bed and bunk bed) and the fridge in the room is the clincher for us at this moment in time.
I am a bit worried about the food issue as 4yo doesn't even eat chips whereas the 2yo eats all we eat and more! I reckon fruit and bread for the boy until we get home, though he may venture with the cheese (eats cheese but specific brand only... )

Thanks again all. I am so excited now!

Oh, I was wondering also about hopper tickets, I wonder would it be ok to just purchase a ticket per day as and when, must find out about the Annual Passport thing, maybe might be better value?

Thanks again everyone.
Trees
x

The general rule is if you are going form more then 3 days then an AP is a cheaper option. Hopper passes work out better value then day passes though & will allow the freedom to switch from one park to the next.

 

[Cyrano]

Hi Trees and welcome to DLP DIS board
We are a friendly bunch here so please join in on any other thread or if you have a number of questions then just start a new thread for each

If you have not had a look yet, DLP posting rules are here, DIS posting guidelines can be found here.

Think your other questions have been answered. Yes you can visit the Hotel Cheyenne along with any of the other hotels. Pop in for a meal, a drink or a stroll round the resort