Going to DLP in September, advice happily received!

[milomummy]

Hi everyone, my name is Jan and my hubby and I are taking our 3 year old Buzz and Woody fanatic to DLP in September. We have booked it for Monday to Friday (10th to 14th) in the hope of avoiding crowds, knowing that the schools will be back.
We have booked to stay in the Santa Fe hotel as money is a bit of an issue. We've got it for €644 through a local travel agents here in Germany where we live. Definitely wanto to do dining with the characters (for me as well as my son!) Is it wise to pre book these or do you do it when you are there?
As we will be driving (aaaarghhh, 7 hours to get there!) we will be taking plenty of food and drinks with us for snacks etc so can save money that way.
I am a disney fan myself and want to make the most of this fab break for us as a family, I don't want to miss anything and don't want to scrimp on things, yet I also don't want to splurge and be worrying about money.
Has anyone got any advice on how to fit everything in, any good guides they can recommend, places to eat, rides that my 3 year old can go on, anyone who has been in September who can say if it is generally busy or quieter....
Also, any bad points on the hotel, the resort, anything!!!
We can't wait to go!

 

[giuly09]

Hi there Milomummy
I'm Giulia from Italy and my family and me will go to DLP in september too (16th to 20th).
I have already been there but quite a long time ago ('96 and '99) so a few things must be different now.
We had breakfast with characters in 1999 and we all had much fun. My younger son (then 6 years old) was delighted to meet his personal hero Winnie the Pooh and there was a good interaction with all characters.
So we have booked it again this time
One thing not so good i remeber well was everything was so expensive there and to save money pretty impossible, not sure if it has changed now but suppose not
About attractions i think a must for kids is It's a Small World but can tell he will like everything.
Am sure the others will give you more usefuls informations .

 

[SandraVB79]

Hey Jan,
we also used to stay at santa Fe (now that we are by car, staying offsite) I liked the hotel. It's nothing fancy, but it was always clean, and it's to sleep anyways

If I were you, I would do lunch or dinner with characters. Breakfast (regular) is included in hotel price (try to book Good morning fantasyland breakfast!!!!) and you have to eat lunch/ dinner anyways, so that way you catch two flies in one catch (literally translated out of Dutch)

I like dinner at Cafe Mickey, and the portions are huge! (next time, I only need a main course, last time, I was full by the entree and bread alone!). It's a nice atmosphere, lots of characters, ...

For a three year old, I think the rides you would like most are the ones in Fantasyland.


To save some money: bring a backpack and bring snacks and drinks into the park. I find those rather expensive. It's a rathe rheavy backpack I have, but once it's on my back, I don't notice it anymore, and it saves quite some mone. Also, before going for dinner, I drink a lot of water in the room, so that I only need one drink in the restaurant. I know, this may sound cheap, but at 3,40 EUR a drink, I'd rather just order one

 

[Cyrano]

Hi milomummy 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

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You'll find lots have introduced themselves here

 

[A Small World]

Hello and welcome.
We have stayed at Santa Fe for 2 years in row now and really like it. It is a very basic hotel (no pool and not as much theming as other dis hotels) but was fine for our needs. You can still visit the other hotels anyhow just cant use the pools.

We were also on a budget and decided we would rather spend the extra money on nice meals than a more upmarket hotel.

We also take drinks and snacks with us as they are expensive and also a travel kettle and supply of tea/coffee etc. You can hire these and buy supplies but again they are expensive.

The character tea party at Plaza Gardens is getting good reviews at the moment and is relatively cheap.

 

[milomummy]

Thanks so much for the replies so far, and I do apologise greatly if I am posing questions that have already been covered before!
There is so much to get my head round really.....I am so worried that we will miss things, does anyone have any tips on how to fit everything in? Or anyone know of a good guide book that will actually be useful?
I have had chance to read a few more posts since registering and am getting a fair idea of how things are, but some of the abbreviations are confusing me a bit!
In the buzz pizza planet, do they have actual toy story characters? As in meet and greet with buzz or woody? My son will go mad if he gets to 'meet' his heroes!
We are going to take loads of snacks/drinks with us, and a travel kettle so we can buy things like super noodles etc (Not that healthy but marginally better than burger and chips 24/7!)
I don't eat meat, and was wondering how catered for veggies are in the park/surrounding area? I know here in Germany the veggie option tends to be salad or chips and being a bit chunky anyway, I can well do without eating chips every day for a week!
I have read the trip reviews but wondered if there is a 'rough guide to DLP' anywhere on here?

 

[Bexx]

Welcome to the DIS Milomummy Don't worry about asking lots of questions - that's what we're here for

Can you get hold of a copy of the Brit's Guide to DLP? It's very good. The only information it doesn't have is about the 15th anniversary, but you can find out more about it on dlrpmagic

For some general information about DLP have a look at the threads in the Very Useful Information sticky at the top of the page

I don't think that any characters appear at Pizza Planet, but you can certainly find Woody and Jessie (not sure about Buzz) in the Studios.

 

[Raci]

you can certainly find Woody and Jessie (not sure about Buzz) in the Studios.

Yes we saw both Woody and Jessie in Studios and also they were both in Cafe Mickey, a great place for meals with characters as there were loads of them and the atmosphere was great!
I think Buzz is one of the new characters for the 15th celebrations, he wasn't around when we were there.

 

[cstokell]

We went to DLP in September and there were no queues. Especially in the mornings you could ride again and again without getting off.

I am sure that you DS will love the Buzz Ride as well as Pirates of the Caribbean. Just a word of warning about the Snow White (he may not be interested) and Pinnochio rides, my DD who was 4 when she went on these rides for the first time was really frightened by them. (Other people have said similar things.) They were the only rides she would not go again, she loved POTC and Phantom Manor so I am not sure what it was that scared her!!

Also, as you are taking the car, we found that you could save some money by going to the Auchan supermarket in the Val D'Europe rather than always eating in the parks.

Have a great time

 

[martinacris]

Or anyone know of a good guide book that will actually be useful?!
I have read the trip reviews but wondered if there is a 'rough guide to DLP' anywhere on here?

I bought " A Brit's Guide to Disneyland Resort PAris" by Simon and Susan Veness.

For me it was the best way to read about DLP and be familiar with what it offers. I'm sure it will be a great help.

 

[milomummy]

Brilliant, brilliant, BRILLIANT!!!!!
Thanks so much. I have had a look on ebay for that guide book but it is pretty much the same price as it would be new, tried to order off amazon but they are currently out of stock, typical!! Will try to find a way to get it...my friend is going back to UK in a week or so and will ask her to look for it in WH Smith or similar.
I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited!!!!!

 

[martinacris]

Where do you live ? I live in Italy and ordered mine from www.amazon.co.uk .

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brits-Guide...7688737?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179428019&sr=8-3


I don't know when the new edition will come out...maybe some other DIS members may now...but I'm sure the actual edition will be of great help !


Something that you should try to remember is that you are there to have fun..to enjoy...Don't try to do EVERYTHING at the same time...you will get tired very fast... Remember that what your child may want to do...you might think it's not fun or not worth the time...remember that you are there for him ! Just being at DLP is full of magic !!!

Relax and ENJOY your planning... I believe that SOME Planning ...not military style ...will make your stay a wonderful one.

 

[milomummy]

Thanks again for the replies. I have now oredered that book (along with a couple of others!) so will deffo enjoy reading them when they come.
Me and hubby have been talking about what we'd like to do when we get there, here is our proposed itinerary if anyone has any comments they will be warmly received!
Monday 10th Sept...arrive, probably around mid morning as driving from Germany. Check in to hotel and then wander to the park. EMH on this evening so it should give us a few good hours to explore and find our feet.
Tuesday 11th...Good morning fantasy land breakfast, then mooching around the park and studios
Wednesday 12th...Evening meal in Cafe Mickey, will try to book for 7pm. After a fun day playing hopefully! Also, according to the DLRP site, it's EMH again so thats why we thought we'd try for an evening meal.
Thursday 13th....Buffalo Bill's Wild West Dinner Show, will try to get in on the 6.30pm slot.
Friday 14th...parks again, souvenir buying and an arduous trek across Europe back to Germany.
Did toy with the idea of sneaking onto the tnnel and going back to UK to stock up on 'home' stuff, I love to raid Tesco and Asda, but really must get back to the dog! Plus, I reckon we'll be shattered by then.

 

[Hollytigs]

We took our 4 year old a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. We spent most of our time in Fantasyland and went on Small, small world and the teacups several times as they were her favourite. We took things easy and slowly which meant we didn't do full days in the parks and we didn't go on every ride, but DD really enjoyed herself and I would rather have missed out on some things than made her tired and ratty by rushing around!

Buffalo Bill and Cafe Mickey are both great, so you have made a good choice there. If you get sick of fries (like we did) then I can recommend the Market House Deli on Main Street USA - the rolls/sandwiches are probably just as expensive as a burger but very tasty, and I think better value for money (and they probably do some veggie options but not sure as we had pastrami).