Half Term trip - much better than last year

[Maximumload3persons]

I am new to this site. Last year was our first ever trip to DLP. We went at the end of June thinking it would be quieter outside of UK school holidays. We stayed at l'Elysee Val d'Europ. Having been to DisneyWorld Orlando several times we were really disappointed with DLP. Smoking and queue-jumping plus surly CMs made it a really unpleasant experience.

We thought we'd try again this year and went over half term 5 - 9 June. This time we stayed at the Sequoia Lodge and this time we thought to get a letter from our GP for our 5 yo who has sensory processing issues. What a difference!

Not having to shove onto a bus was a huge improvement and having a hotel with a pool was lovely (although the water felt positively icy!). We got a Disabled Priority Pass so we avoided all last year's issues of people pushing in and having to queue in an enclosed area surrounded by smokers. It was nice too that most other guests were British and understood about queuing!

I did find it a bit odd that one of the shows we went into in the Studios the CM asked how many people were English - most of the room put up their hands. How many French? About 2 people. 'Well the show is in French' she said. Why ask?!

The Parade was nowhere near as long as last year's and there weren't any shows until our last day. As others have said we didn't see any characters around the parks either. We'd paid for the Character Tea party and that was OK except that other parents weren't content to wait for the characters to come to them and just monopolised each one. Jessie missed out our table completely because people kept grabbing her. There were some people there with no children who bizarrely were shoving in front of the children to get photos and autographs. Why?!

We only managed to see Dreams once because we were just shattered and our daughter refused to sleep (or even rest) during the day. We queued next to the VIP area for over an hour and a family STILL tried to shove in front of us just as it started. Luckily the family behind us weren't having any of it and told them to get lost. Why do tall men always go to the front and then hold children on their shoulders? It's so selfish.

Our last day was Saturday and it was hellish. It took 30 mins to get through the bag search area and we didn't even have a bag. All crammed together like sardines and there's one man right in the middle of the crush smoking. Ride times were all huge. PoC and the Haunted Mansion had been 5 mins all week but were now 30 mins. Other rides were over an hour. We were very glad of our Disability Pass. The pushing-in started in earnest. Lots of the same race/ nationality all trying to get in via the exits waving their ordinary park tickets.

All in all we had a good time. Shame about the weather.

 

[tennisfan]

Welcome back, pleased your trip was better then last year

 

[Ms Poppins]

Welcome back, sounds like a much more successful trip than last time.

I think staying on-site makes a big difference. A bit more relaxed without having to rely or wait on buses.

Nice to hear the pass worked well for you too

 

[Mum to Belle]

Welcome back! Glad you had a great trip!

 

[MummyMinnie]

Welcome back, really pleased you had a much better and positive experience this time - hope this overides your previous visit.

I said the same thing about Dreams - we also had Mr Tall with his Miss Tall on his shoulders I wouldn't have minded if she was a toddler/small child that was a bit more understandable. My DD is 9 but still quite small and she was still able to stand and see majority of the show quite well.

So when are you booking you're next trip?

 

[jothp]

Glad this trip was much better than your last one. I agree that Saturday was a bit of a nightmare for queues - I guess it is my fault for not really planning too well for the crowds that day.

 

[Ware Bears]

Hi Maximumload3persons to the Disneyland Paris Trip Planning & Community Board.

Becky, Elaine and I are hoping you'll have lots of fun on here please join in with any thread or if you have any questions please start a new one of your own.

If you haven't had a look yet, the DLP DISboard posting rules are here and the DIS posting guidelines can be found here.

Glad you decided to give it another try and had a far more pleasant experience.

Why do tall men always go to the front and then hold children on their shoulders? It's so selfish.

Being rather short myself I totally agree ..... and it's so dangerous too.