Disneyland Paris Question(s)

[soccerchick]

Hi,

We are visiting Paris in Oct. and would like to do one day at DLP for our young daughter. Are there character meals, and if so, could you provide a few specifics about the restaurant and the characters?

Any other suggestions for must-sees?

Thanks for any input!

 

[PigSoldier]

I went to DLP last month, and all character meals had to be arranged with the hotel bookings, so I'm not sure how you'd book them if you're just there for the day

We did the character dinner at the Lucky Nugget saloon, it cost about $30 a person, and, in my opinion, was completely not worth it. We had 4 completely random characters, who only stayed about 20 minutes, and the food was very poor quality.

I've heard the character tea party, where you just have a dessert buffet, is a lot better value.

 

[GO2209]

Went to the Disney character breakfast at 'inventions' when I stayed at the DisneyLand Paris Hotel. I thought it was very good, plenty of characters spending a lot of time with everyone.

However, I am pretty certain that this is only available to guests of the hotel. Other hotels go to the Davy Crockett Ranch. If you are not onsite, I don't think you can do the breakfast?

More information...
http://www.disneylandparis.com/uk/g...trees_park/packages_and_options/breakfast.htm

 

[rache]

You do not have to be staying at the hotel to go to the inventions buffet. It is well worth doing.

 

[richard3330]

We also had a character breakfast at Inventions when we stayed at The Disneyland Hotel.

This is how the system works:

If you are staying in any disney hotel, except the disneyland hotel you have two options of where to have your character breakfast (which is FREE of charge):
1. In a restaurant in Disney Village.
2. Enter the park 1 hour early and eat at one of The Magic Kingdom Parks restaurants.

If you are staying in The Disneyland Hotel you have to take your breakfast in The Inventions restaurant, which is inside the hotel.

If you are not staying at a Disney hotel you cannot have a character breakfast.

--------------------------------------
The lunchtime character breakfast is held at The Lucky Nugget saloon and is a buffet with 'light snacks' and a few characters. This is open to all guests, and you have to book at Guest Relations.


Hope this helps!!

 

[rache]

We actually had the character dinner there not breakfast. The food was really good and we saw lots of characters. It was about £25 for adults. You did not need to stay in the hotel to go to this

 

[richard3330]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that you can have an evening meal at Inventions even if you are staying off-site, but there is usually not a garuntee that characters will turn up. So it is a risk on wether or not you will meet the characters.

If you have only got a day at DLP and have to return to Paris afetrwards you may not have time to dine at Inventions, unless you are prepared to arrive back in Paris very late.

To make a reservation for Inventions you need to see the concierge in the Disneyland Hotel or go to the restaurant direct.

 

[robinb]

If you are staying in any disney hotel, except the disneyland hotel you have two options of where to have your character breakfast (which is FREE of charge):
1. In a restaurant in Disney Village.
2. Enter the park 1 hour early and eat at one of The Magic Kingdom Parks restaurants.

I'm a little confused . We're going to DLP in a couple of weeks. We're staying at the Sequoia Lodge. Does this mean that we would get a voucher that allows us to eat at these places? I thought we had to eat in our hotel.

 

[robinb]

Oh yeah, one more thing, can anyone recommend restaurants? Is the dinner voucher system worthwhile? It looks like it might be.

Thanks!

 

[richard3330]

Hi,

Sorry I didn't explain the system very well.......

While you are staying at Sequioa Lodge you have your breakfast in one of the two SEQUIOA LODGE restaurants. On one of the days during your visit, you have the option of having a free character breakfast inside the disneyland park or in disney village. This offer depends on which agent you booked through (I think)

You just show your room key and voucher and you are allowed in to MK one hour early to go to your restaurant. (if you chose to enter the park and have breakfast, on ONE of your days)


I reccomend the following restaurants if you just want counter service:
1. Restaurant Hakuna Matata (Excellently themed to The Lion King with great fast food and good prices (curry and usual fast food), plus childrens meals)

2. Buzz Lightyears Pizza Planet (Children LOVE this place!, It has a big indoor play area and Buzz, Woody and Jessy usually appear and sign autographs, It serves great pizzas and pasta)

3. Caseys Corner (A great little counter service at the top of Main Street USA, serving delicious hot dogs and fries and other fast food)

The following 3 for Table Service meals:
1. Blue Lagoon, Near Pirates of The Caribbean (Seafood and a great childrens menu in a peaceful setting backing the pirates of the caribbean ride)

2. Auberge de Cendrillon (Very Expensive, but situated next to the castle and serving exquisite french cuisine and characters often are inside the restaurant, they also have a great childrens menu. If you decide to go here get there early or make a PS at guest services: It gets very busy.)

3. Rainforest Cafe (If you want a break from the park, The Rainforest Cafe in Dinsey Village (A very short walk away) is your usual rainforest cafe with great animatronics and a huge childrens selection)


If you have any other questions please ask.

 

[GO2209]

richard3330 - I am so envious! You stayed in 'Walts Apartment'!!!

After a fourteen hour drive (GF scared of flying) I checked into the hotel and upgraded to a suite, becuase it seemed a good deal. Turns out that after driving hundreds of miles, the maths part of my brain shut down. The upgrade to Castle club was ten times what I thought it was!!!

Thank god for credit cards.

I loved DLP, it's a different sort of 'magic' to WDW. Thinking of taking the GF back for Christmas.

How does the NY Bay Club compare to DLP Hotel?

 

[richard3330]

Hi 'Go2209'.

Walts Apartment was really amazing, we had been saving up to go there for ages, it was well worth the extra.

14 hour Drive? (!) Why didn't you choose to take Eurostar or a ferry if your GF is afraid of flying?

I agree DLParis does have a different sort of magic to WDW and in many ways I prefer DLParis, especially the DLP hotels which are so close to the parks and really great. Christmas at DLparis is great and the hotels and parks are excellently decorated.

Newport Bay Club is much more relaxed than the disneyland hotel and is MUCH MUCH larger. It is the biggest DLP hotel and can seem crowded during peak times. The lobby is wonderful and really elegant, with marble floors and a 'nautical' theme. The rooms are nice, but not as spacious as The Disneyland Hotel. I highly reccomend the Admirals Floor at NP bayclub, for a fairly small extra charge you get a host of extra features including 24 hour room service, private elevator, private snack room and better rooms with lake views. The swimming Pool is really good and has a decorative pirate ship inside and a massive outdoor pool which is open during the summer. The Cape Cod is a great restaurant and The NP Bay Club bar serves superb big filled baguettes.

If you do go back at Xmas have a great time!

 

[GO2209]

I drove from the northwest and caught a ferry. Then my navigator fell asleep(!!) and I battled the traffic around Paris. It actually took twelve hours - added an hour instead of subtracting for time difference...

I am not sure if I 'prefer' DLP. The hotel was wonderful and I found everything to be more relaxed. I liked having a glass of wine with lunch - something that would seem out of place in WDW.

I have just requested the brochure - Newport -vs- Disneyland Hotel. Going to be a tough decision.

I has reservations about DLP - a jingoistic(?) fear of what the French could do to the Disney experience. Maybe having lowered expectations was a good thing?

I certainly agree with the Christmas experience. We had perfect weather - sunny but 'brisk'. The parade was as good as anything WDW has produced. The more I think about it the more nervous my Amex card becomes

At least I have a trip to Florida in 45 days to look forward to!

 

[robinb]

Thank you richard3330, that's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for . I don't think a character breakfast is included in our stay because we booked using Disney Vacation Club points.

I followed the link provided by GO2209 above and found this:

Option: Meal coupons
A wide choice of restaurants awaits you, there's something for everyone in the 50 restaurants at Disneyland® Resort Paris.

So that you can enjoy your meals with no worries, we have prepared lunch and dinner menus for you in the form of meal vouchers. These vouchers can be used in a selection of the best restaurants at Disneyland® Resort Paris.

Prices: valid until November 2nd, 2002


Menu Decouverte
Adults: 20 euros (1 starter, 1 main course, 1 dessert)

Discovery Menu available:
In the Disneyland® Park: Plaza Gardens, Silver Spur Steakhouse
n the Walt Disney Studios® Park: Rendez Vous des Stars Restaurant
At Disney® Village: Annette's Diner
Hotels: Hotel New York® Parkside Diner; Newport Bay Club® Cape Cod (1); Séquoia Lodge® Beaver Creek® Tavern (1).


Menu du Chef
Adults: 25 euros (1 starter, 1 main course and 1 dessert)

Chef's Menu available:
In the Disneyland® Park:
Silver Spur Steakhouse, Blue Lagoon Restaurant
At Disney® Village:
Café Mickey, Billy Bob's Country Western Saloon (1)
Hotels:
Sequoia Lodge Hunter's Grill (1), Newport Bay Club® Cape Cod (1).


Menu Gourmet
Adults: 28 euros (1 starter, 1 main course, 1 dessert)

Gourmet Menu available:
In the Disneyland® Park: Walt's, Auberge de Cendrillon.

Children's menu
(from 3 to 11 years): 10 euros (1 main course, 1 dessert, 1 soft drink (25 cl)

(1) Dinner only.

The coupons seem like a bargain compared to WDW (and DL) prices. I hope I can pick a couple up when we get there.

 

[richard3330]

Yes, Robin the coupons do work out a good deal and can also be used in certain DLParis hotels.

 

[WDWfan uk]

Robin, although not a character breakfast, it is nice to have breakfast in the park - we stayed at the Sequoia and at that time could book it through Concierge when we arrived but when we tried to do this at the Newport Bay last year, we discovered that you now need to book it in advance through the tour operator - if you can, see if you could pre-book.

It is held in Fantasyland and if you get an early time, once you've eaten you can get on the rides there quickly before it becomes crowded.

For all breakfasts at the hotels, once you've checked in be sure to go straight over to Concierge and book all your breakfasts.

 

[robinb]

I'm leaving Lyon tomorrow for DLP and I have a couple more questions.

(1) Can I buy those vouchers from the Sequoia Lodge?
(2) Is there a self serve laundry there or at one of the other resorts?

Thanks everyone!

 

[BevS97]

you can have a character breakfast at Walts, on main street, whether you are staying onsite or not - it's a different price if you are not onsite, as you get a discount for your included breakfast if you are an onsite guest.

I would recommend this, and avoid the one's in Disney Village where the masses are sent - we went to one in Annette's diner, and also to the character tea, and they were both complete chaos and we didn't actually get to see any characters, it was just a scrum, as soon as a character walked in the room all the kids jumped up and ran to him and if you stayed at your table you didn't see them. I have heard that Walts is not like that.

We also did the dinner at Innoventions, and the characters there were excellent, we saw Mickey and Chip and Dale, as well as some more obscure one's - I think different characters are popular in france. I didn't particularly enjoy the buffet though, it was expensive, and the food was a little too fancy for my taste - so I would check the menu first.

more info on character meals is here DLP Guide

You can also enter the park early and have a non-character breakfast in Fantasyland. The breakfast is nothing special, but you get to be the first in the queues when the parks open.

Bev