Highs and lows 1st time at DLP

[Plum85]

Hi guys, just back from my first time at DLP. A few highs, a lot of lows...

We stayed at the Santa Fe from 19th-23rd.

Highs:
Watching Disney Dreams
Churros at Fuentes del oro
Riding Big Thunder Mountain, Parachute Drop, and Phantom Manor
Blue Glow-tinis
Great food and lots of it!

Lows:
Waiting 2 hours to check in
Having to move room 3 times in 1 day because of flooding
Being at the park at 8am for extra magic hours when the first ride didn't start until 09:20
Waiting outside Pirates of the Caribbean at 10 and waiting half an hour before being told the ride wasn't opening, returning at 13:30 and the ride still wasn't open
Very unhelpful cast members

Overall I was very disappointed with my stay and although I had fun I wouldn't go back in a hurry. Can't wait to go to Orlando in September and get a proper disney fix. Gutted!

 

[kizzabel]

Im sorry you hit a few road bumps.
Why didn't the rides start until 9.20?

We've been unlucky with break downs from time to time but it never really affected us because there's so much else to do.

What caused the flooding? Eeek thats awful. Was the SF mad busy? Think the most i've ever queued at check in was 20 minutes.

I hope you brave DLP again - it sounds like you just had a terrible streak of bad luck. It is really a great place and full of Disney magic.

 

[Lisa_C]

That's a shame - I love DLP over WDW and have never had a bad trip. Maybe the hotel ruined more of the actual Disney experience than one would normally expect :-/ Maybe you should have asked to move hotels due to the problem, they are very good at looking after guests if you act swiftly. Moving three times doesn't seem the normal Disney standard, I'd have expected more to be honest.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

They have regular issues with the Pirates ride, there were problems every day when we were there earlier this month, they need to resolve them.

 

[Plum85]

Apparently it was a problem with the plumbing. I found the cms to be really unhelpful, a lot of restaurants on our dining plan were closed and it all seemed really disorganised. I'm not sure I would go back again I didn't feel the magic I'm glad to hear other people have had better experiences.

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

Aw what a pity you had so many lows......Disneyland Paris is my Favourite Park and I have always had such a brilliant time for all my many visits. Such a shame about the room moves, not a great start! Hope it is made up to you should you ever return!

 

[jothp]

Sorry to hear that you had such a disappointing trip. Moving rooms three times is a bit ridiculous - did you try complaining at the time?

 

[cherrymarzipan]

You do seem to have had a bit of bad luck, especially with your hotel and I can imagine that if that was badly handled and you encountered unhelpful CMs generally that it would put a damper on the holiday as a whole. It is just such a shame that your highs didn't outweigh these issues. Restaurants closures are a recurrent complaint but I'm glad you still managed to find plenty of great food and hope you will still have some happy memories of your trip. Welcome back anyway.

 

[jillrobinson]

What a shame you had so many hotel problems having to move room 3 times is not acceptable
Was the weather to blame for the floods and ride problems, i read about the extreme storms last week and that emergency procedures were put in place in the park.

Churros and glowtinis are always top of my list at dlp

 

[torsie24]

Sorry you had a bad trip. At least with WDW ahead of you you know you've got some Disney magic to come.

I keep second guessing whether I'm wise spending £1k+ on a DLRP trip next year when our last trip was disappointing and reviews like this make me feel like it'll be a waste.

The park has so much potential but I think it's lack of funds that is holding it back. That and the CMs.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I must admit, having recently returned from a Disneyland Hotel stay, we found the CMs really helpful and friendly.
I don't think they are quite as cheery as the Florida one's but we generally find them okay. I just think Americans are more hyperactive/excited as people overall. Us Europeans are more laid back.

Disney Magic is hard to define - our boy always seems so happy at DLP so for us that is 'Magic', if you ask me are the parks as magical as the WDW one's then probably not, though I can't quite put my finger on why, he thoroughly enjoys himself and that is the main thing for us.

There are negatives at WDW where everything is so spread out.

I really like (and have been fortunate to enjoy) the DLH, Disneyland Park combination and have been lucky with weather/crowds on majority of our time there so cannot really complain. But I wouldn't have been happy with your experiences, and like I say the Pirates ride causes regular disruption.

 

[Ms Poppins]

Oh, what a shame you had a bad time.

I agree moving rooms so many times is unacceptable. You should certainly complain if you haven't already.

I can only guess that there must have been a problem with opening during EMH as it's always been reliable when we've been there.

Such a shame to hear a disappointing trip

 

[Plum85]

Hi guys, just wanted to give you guys an update. I e-mailed DLP customer services and as a result of our trip they have given us another trip for free! 3 days at Sante Fe and park passes included obviously. All we have to do is pay our flights. I'm thinking of going at Christmas time as I've always wanted to see a Disney park decorated for the holidays!

 

[HappyPanda]

Hi guys, just wanted to give you guys an update. I e-mailed DLP customer services and as a result of our trip they have given us another trip for free! 3 days at Sante Fe and park passes included obviously. All we have to do is pay our flights. I'm thinking of going at Christmas time as I've always wanted to see a Disney park decorated for the holidays!

That's great news. I'm glad that they took all your issues seriously.

I hope your next trip is a vast improvement on the last one. Christmas at DLP is magical

 

[Ms Poppins]

That's good to hear, well done for sending your complaint off to them.

Hope you have a fantastic time when you go back

 

[markpsych]

as a result of our trip they have given us another trip for free! 3 days at Sante Fe and park passes included obviously.

Fantastic

 

[shelleyhope]

Great news