Delayed 2021 Reopening

[Karin1984]

Okay, so yesterday I arrived at 18:30 at Disneyland, after a really long travel with a very heavy backpack. I did decide to go into the park, instead of doing the wise thing of getting dinner and then go to the partner hotel. I decided to go for Phantom Manor and Pirates to get my Disney fix. It felt just awesome to be back All the CMs are so happy to be back. The castle is wrapped in sheets for the refurbishment, but they have hidden some nice details in it.

Then I went to hotel New Port Bay, where I wasn't staying last night, but I wanted to see if I could already check in. As we have now online check in (which didn't work, there was no option to do so in the app or on the website). I already did all the check in stuff, got my park tickets. I only had to come by today by reception to get my room number. Captain Mickey was meeting and I got myself a picture

By then I was so tired and not in the mood for a full meal. And it was so busy in Disney Village. Not all the restaurants in Disneyland are open late, only 2 or 3 counter services, and not all restaurants in Disney Village were open yet. Ludwig is opening only on the 1st of July. So at Rain Forest Cafe and Annette's the lines were long. I opted to get a pasta salad and a diet coke and went to my hotel for the night; Campanile (formerly owned by Kyriad).

I forgot how much I like this hotel. It''s nice and quiet, after the refurbishment everything looks fresh. They have more snacks available like pizza and also sushi. Breakfast is still great. I visited the petting zoo before the restaurant opened for breakfast. The only issue I had was that the toilet didn't flush properly. But this only became an issue when I was about to leave.
After breakfast I took an uber to New Port Bay. Which was less than 7 euro. And well worth it to avoid the walk with the heavy bag or wait for the bus to start at 8.
At New Port Bay, I left my bag, then went to see if I could get my room number. My room was ready already! So got my bag from the baggage center again and went to my room. My room hasn't been slept in (probably) for 8 months and looks clean and fresh. In the West Wing, but still a view on the lake.

It is already a good visit

Only thing... security is lacking, last night I entered the park, but I 'm not sure I did it in a way I was supposed to do ;-) And this morning, my Uber driver dropped me of at New Port Bay before security. A security guard did check my reservation and then let me through. Which is fine. But at the baggage center, my backpack wasn't checked. When I walked in to check in, my day bag wasn't checked. When I picked up my backpack up again and walked in again... I wasn't checked. No one was paying attention and noticed that I could walk in and out without going through the scanner. I only realized it now as I was running around.

 

[moorhunhe]

Thanks for the pictures! It does seem a lot of wasted space in the middle, maybe they could have devided it a bit different. I don't know.

 

[tennisfan]

Its looking good, just wish I could get out there but not planning to until next year as risk doing the isolation if opened to UK as would eat most of my leave.

 

[Karin1984]

Thanks for the pictures! It does seem a lot of wasted space in the middle, maybe they could have devided it a bit different. I don't know.

I think this is as many people they can fit in. Due to the dividers then can fit in more people. I remember 4 groups of 2, 6 groups of 4 and 1 group of 6. That's 30 people. I think that's more then they had last summer.

We took it really slow today, we focussed on characters and we saw them all. Except Mickey/Minnie/Donald/Daisy in Stars on Parade outfit. The location has moved again to inside Nautilus and according to the CM it could take 45-60 minutes... Which I can't really understand. It was quiet today, the meet & greet is not announced and is in a vague place in the outskirts of the park.

The longest we waited today was to get in. Due to traffic, my friend was later than expected. We joined the queue through security at Disney Village at 9:10, we were done at 9:24, and I think it took another 15 minutes to get into the park itself. There is still so much zig-zagging through the Fantasia gardens to get to the gate. And checking the reservations upon entry just takes time.

In about 8 hours we did/see.
We saw: Donald, Daisy, Goofy all on Main Street, Mickey & Minnie in the Theater, Snow White & Prince, Cinderella & Prince. Cowgirl Minnie, Cowboy Goofy. Jungle Chip & Dale, Jungle Clarice. Anna & Elsa, Kristoff & Sven, Rabbit, Pinocchio & Gepetto

I was happy to have no more lineberty. CMs at the entrance were very helpful to tell us when the next set would be and to be there at least 30 minutes before the set started. And once inside the building for the Frozen meet & greet, they played one of the Olaf shorts (Once upon a Snowman, I think is the title) That is just about the right length.

We also saw: The Princess Parade twice, Ratatouille car with Remi
Two CMs at Guest relations didn't want to say when the Princess Parade was, but two other character handlerrs did. First one is at 12:20.
They say it changes every day, but I dont really believe that.

We did: Dumbo, Peter Pan, Small World, Snow White, Pinocchio, Tower of Terror, Pays des Contes Fees
So none of the big rides, besides Tower of Terror, we will catch up on that tomorrow.

Besides the long time it took to get into the park, it was quiet today. Of course it was a school day. When we were in the Studios the Cars ride was on 5 minutes every time we passed the board. Almost all the rides we did were walk ons. Snow White and Pinocchio took some queueing, but max 10-15 minutes.

We had lunch at Hakuna, snacked at Cafe de la Brousse, had a waffle in the Studios. And we drank lots and lots of water. It was hot today.

We left around 17:30, went to the hotel to freshen up a bit, and then went for dinner. We had a short wait at Rain Forest Café,, but also max 5 minutes. Service a bit slow to take our orders, but overall just fine.

Big down side of the visit, the lack of photopass photographers. Due to the reconstruction work there were non at the hub. This is a shame as they had several during Halloween last year where you didn't have the castle in the back. But also in Adventureland, Frontierland etc. where there were more. The only ones that had a photographer were Donald on Main street, Cowboy Goofy and Cinderella & Prince. I had hoped this was one thing they would keep from last year, as it is something that keeps AP holders come back. They are easy to change every few weeks. One thing I noticed, like Japan, Disneyland Paris is getting more and more about Disneybounding and taking your picture in certain places in the park. Maybe it's because the park reopened yesterday and everyone wants to make their first visit special, but I really noticed an uptick in Disneybounding.

That reminds me, I have to send in a compliment for Laurent, the photopass photographer at Cinderella. He was there at least 15 minutes before the set started to get the lighting right, was talking to everyone and probably made the year of a 4/5 year old in a Cinderella dress. He did a short photoshoot with her in front of Cinderella's carriage and it was just too precious.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

We did: Dumbo, Peter Pan, Small World, Snow White, Pinocchio, Tower of Terror, Pays des Contes Fees
So none of the big rides, besides Tower of Terror, we will catch up on that tomorrow.

Besides the long time it took to get into the park, it was quiet today. Of course it was a school day. When we were in the Studios the Cars ride was on 5 minutes every time we passed the board. Almost all the rides we did were walk ons. Snow White and Pinocchio took some queueing, but max 10-15 minutes.

Thanks for sharing a bit of your days with us. It helps me get ready for our trip later this month.

 

[Karin1984]

Second day things we noticed:
- CMs in red vests are not willing to share information on the parades. Character handlers are. Princess Parade from Main Street to Small World was at 13:50 today, at 13: 25 was the Cheshire Cat Train from Small World to Main Street.

- When Mickey/Minnie/Daisy/Donald in Stars on Parade customs are meeting inside Nautilus: DO NOT GO INSIDE, unless you want to queue for a long time. It was advertised as 25 minutes and confirmed by the CM. It was over 70 minutes! We were stationary one time for 30 minutes and one time for 15 minutes. And that for 1 character!
You cannot see where the line is going, you cannot see how long the line is. There were no announcements. which we expected as while we were standing completely still the first time, a CM came speedwalking through the queue and a little bit later returned with a bag. We thought maybe there was some kind of security issue. But it was weird that if the bag was found in the room with the character, it must have been easier to go outside through the exit. It was weird she returned through the queue. It was cold, there was no reception for phones (no wifi or for calls ) and I only saw one emergency exit.
When we exited, we asked the CM there if he knew anything. All he knew was that the first two sets had been slow. My suspicion is either it was people in wheelchairs, special needs etc, as this location is not easy to reach for this group. But more likely, fan blogs/websites etc. go there first thing in the morning and take their time to take a lot of pictures for their social media channels. We saw this last year at the Villains selfie spot (which was 2 hours, but at least you got 4 villains and a little show in between. You could see the sets), first people were 'professionals' taking a dozen pictures of the characters, then each individual member of the team, then group shots...

- CMs are happy We saw one CM playing air guitar with his broom to the beat of the new song.

- Waiting times were okay for a Saturday in Summer. When I passed Peter Pan around 14:00 it was 30 minutes. Pirates was 45 minutes.

- Due to the plexiglass rides can have a higher capacity.

- The train was going around the park, but the main street station was closed. Don't remember if I ever saw people in the train today, there were yesterday, maybe they were doing tests?

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

- When Mickey/Minnie/Daisy/Donald in Stars on Parade customs are meeting inside Nautilus: DO NOT GO INSIDE, unless you want to queue for a long time. It was advertised as 25 minutes and confirmed by the CM. It was over 70 minutes! We were stationary one time for 30 minutes and one time for 15 minutes.

Those outfits are really cool though! We'll try to see them, but it's good to know up front that the line is longer that it seems.

 

[Karin1984]

I made a little video of our trip. The music is the song of the reopening last year and definitely better than the new one we have now. The new song... I must have heard it constantly in the past few days, but I cannot hum it if you asked me, nor tell you the lyrics. I can hardly understand the lyrics when I listen to a studio recording on youtube, let alone when it is blasted over speakers.

 

[Karin1984]

Disneyland Paris has a new show as of today! Dream Factory has opened!

Today the new show has opened in the Studios. It replaces the Disney Jr. Show we had before. It looks amazing, fun and colourful, even with dancers with masks!

https://fb.watch/6tu9UR9u-l/

 

[Karin1984]

More Disneyland Paris news!
As of the 17th of July Mickey's Philharmagic will reopen at Disneyland Paris, and with an added scene from Coco

From Disneyland Paris Facebook page for AP holders:

Disney and Pixar’s ‘Coco’ Coming to ‘Mickey’s PhilharMagic’ on July 17
Fans of “Mickey’s PhilharMagic” will be tapping to a new song with the debut of an animated scene based on Disney and Pixar’s “Coco”!

The musical number “Un Poco Loco” will anchor the new scene when it opens to guests at Disneyland Paris and Disney California Adventure Park at Disneyland Resort on July 17, before being added to Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort later this year during the Walt Disney World Resort 50th anniversary celebration.

 

[Karin1984]

Disneyland Paris opens testing facility in Disney Village

Disneyland Paris will get a testing facility on site in Disney Village 49 EUR for PCR test, 29 euro for Antigen, for tourists who need a test to get back home. So it's not to get access to the parks.

Great news because the testing facilities in the area were hard to reach as a tourist, and opening hours were short and inconvenient for people visiting the parks.
Appointments can be booked online: https://disney.loxamed.fr/

 

[Karin1984]

Also a new costume for Cowboy Goofy, basically it's a new shirt and hat. But this time with a vest, scarf and real cowboy gloves.
Cowboy Goofy can be met for selfies in Frontierland. The new costume should debut this weekend.
The old costume was used for years in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (this show got permanently cancelled during the first Covid closure) and Cowboy Goofy could be met at hotel Cheyenne.

New costume


Old costume

 

[moorhunhe]

How are these tests so much cheaper anywhere else, but, the UK. They cost twice as much, it's just a money making business.

I like they are doing this though, I'd already seen loads of messages from people asking where they could get tests when needed for going home. So this will be very convinient.

 

[Karin1984]

How are these tests so much cheaper anywhere else, but, the UK. They cost twice as much, it's just a money making business.

I like they are doing this though, I'd already seen loads of messages from people asking where they could get tests when needed for going home. So this will be very convenient.

Same here in the Netherlands. A test with certificate valid to travel can easily cost 80 - 120 euro.
But there are countries, Belgium as well, where there is a restriction how much these commercial tests can cost. Where I paid 120 euro to get same day results in NL, a friend in Belgium paid 50 euro.

There has been some talk about capping these tests, but as we have a government who loves market economy, so we are not getting caps. Instead what we do get is a free test for those who haven't been fully vaccinated yet, but do need a test to go on holiday. Only for July and August.

 

[moorhunhe]

I know about Belgium yeah, my parents live there (I'm from there, but live in UK now). The AP extension was all good and well, but not when needing to pay about 300 € extra in testing, so the extra 11 months or so that me and my boyfriend got, a bit useless (nice effort of them though).

 

[Karin1984]

France adjusts measures, as of 21st of July mandatory to have a health pass to enter theme parks!

As of the 21st of July people in France need a health pass to get access to museums and themeparks. This includes Disneyland Paris, but DLP hasn't responded yet.
Healthpass = double vaccination, negative PCR or a certificate that you have had Covid in the last 6 months.

As of the 1st of August this will be extended to bars & restaurants etc.

What I have read on other sites is that it has to be a negative PCR test, not antigen, taken 48 hours or less before entering an establishment.
This is going to make it a new puzzle to get the timing right, I (in NL) have only had one shot and at the moment they are strict with the 5 weeks between shots.

 

[moorhunhe]

I've also just read, that for UK residents, the NHS certificate will be valid in France! Unlike Belgium, who won't recognize it.

 

[spicedparrot]

Anyone have any idea if the CDC cards issued for vaccinations in the USA will be considered sufficient proof?

 

[fitnessmouse]

So no summer trip tp Dlp for us. A lot of families with kids 12-18 will not be fully vaccinated and all those tests will get expensive

 

[mel2014]

Anyone have any idea if the CDC cards issued for vaccinations in the USA will be considered sufficient proof?

This isn't clear yet. It's also not clear if there will continue to be exceptions for 11 and under. The french version of the "Health Pass" page makes it sound as if it needs to be either: (a) in the TousCovid app; or (b) a paper document with a QR code readable by the verification apps to protect against falsification, which at the moment would restrict it to the French or EU documents: https://www.gouvernement.fr/info-coronavirus/pass-sanitaire

However, at the same time, the French consulate in Britain has stated that Brits can present their NHS vaccination record instead of the Health Pass (and this information was updated as of today, so it's not outdated): https://uk.ambafrance.org/Pass-sanitaire-et-vaccination-au-Royaume-Uni

If an NHS vaccine record is acceptable, it seems that a CDC record should be as well but there is no clear answer yet. We're leaving in less than 3 weeks and based on the "green" status of the US, we were assuming we wouldn't need anything for entry into France, though we were planning to test to transit through Frankfurt, which is still required. We have two vaccinated adults, a vaccinated 12 year old and an unvaccinated 10 year old. I wouldn't mind getting antigen tests, but am having trouble finding anywhere near DLP that does them. My understanding is that the Loxamed site at DLP won't return PCR results for 24-48 hours (some of the press releases stated that antigen testing would be available there but it's not reflected on their website) and the testing sites at CDG (where we will be arriving) are only accessible to departing passengers. I think the pharmacy in Val D'Europe might do antigen tests.

UPDATE: A couple of different sources are reporting comments from government spokesman Gabriel Attal that there would be some flexibility in the rules and the first linked below states that: "The foreign ministry promised a country-by-country breakdown of how this will work “by the end of the week”"

https://www.thelocal.fr/20210713/ca...-passport-to-access-museums-cafes-and-trains/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/07/13/world/covid-variant-vaccine-updates