Just back and it was packed! Aug 12-14th Day 1 with Pics!

[angelmav]

Just returned from a quick 3 day adventure to DLRP and the Thomas Cook Exploreres resort. Will put up some photos as well. We bounced back and forth between both parks numerous times (was a necessity, did I mention how crowded it was this weekend?)

We also dined at Earl Of Sandwich (twice), Rainforest Cafe, Restaurant des Stars, Breakfast at the Explorers and a nice place called Pauls at the Val d' Europe mall, and I will have the photo evidence to prove it!

There were many pluses and some minuses, some highs and some lows that I am looking forward to sharing!

 

[Carrie_Cat]

We were there yesterday afternoon in the main park and found it empty compared to a normal Sunday during the holidays.

They said Saturday was much more crowded and we found that last Monday (9th) was far more busy than yesterday

Glad you had a good time though and look forward to the report

 

[catkin]

I'd be interested to know whether these extra busy days coincided with the 50% off dates and likewise whether the days that Carrie-cat said were quiet weren't. Can anyone remember what the Aug dates were?

 

[Carrie_Cat]

I'd be interested to know whether these extra busy days coincided with the 50% off dates and likewise whether the days that Carrie-cat said were quiet weren't. Can anyone remember what the Aug dates were?

Don't know about the other days but yesterday was supposed to be a blackout day for AP's so there were maybe less day visitors and less people booking the whole 3 day weekend (today is a public holiday for us)

Looking at DCP this morning the times that Philippep62 put up for the Studios concerning rides yesterday afternoon shows that Sunday afternoon at least wasn't too bad at all - 20 mins for TOT at 2.00pm for example

http://www.disneycentralplaza.com/t12148p780-archive-des-temps-d-attente-de-vos-visites

 

[angelmav]

Cant speak for the General crowd levels of the parks on Sunday as we bought Fantasy passes and it was the only August blackout date. On Friday when we purchased them from Jorge, (Very helpful and friendly CM btw) I commented on the crowd and he said that yes it was very busy for the hotels and parks (he pulled out a sheet that said the hotels were at 99% occupancy for the weekend) but not so busy for the passport office. They were offering a deal on the classic passport, if you bought 1 day pass you could add the classic for 30euro. It was tempting but have already planned return visits based on the availability days for the fantasy pass. It didnt seem as if the offer was garnering much traction.

Both Friday and Saturday the Main Park was practically impossible to do much in without a FP. The walkways were also jammed and it made many of the pinch points along the routes difficult to traverse. We tried to see Tarzan on Saturday, but 40 minutes before the show the line was already stretched back to the entrance to the area near the cowboy cookout and we didnt want to wait in that line if we couldnt get in for the next show. We amused ourselves instead by looking at the dwarf rooster and went back to the Studios.

Also on Saturday morning at 1020 (park opened at 10) Crush coaster had a 70 min posted wait, Army men was at 45 and even Slinky was over a half hour. The Studios were busier on Saturday than Friday it seemed, the Tram ride even had quite the line. There just wasnt much open space anywhere you looked. Since were planning on returning in Oct it wasnt that big of a deal so we didnt stress over skipping alot of attractions this trip.

 

[Carrie_Cat]

Cant speak for the General crowd levels of the parks on Sunday as we bought Fantasy passes and it was the only August blackout date. .

I'm a Fantasy pass holder too and I got a mail on the Saturday telling me that the blackout restrictions on all passes were lifted until the 4th of September.
It had been decided on the Friday

That confirms what I thought re the crowds.

October is a great time for visiting and you get all the Halloween stuff as well

 

[angelmav]

I'm a Fantasy pass holder too and I got a mail on the Saturday telling me that the blackout restrictions on all passes were lifted until the 4th of September.
It had been decided on the Friday

That confirms what I thought re the crowds.

October is a great time for visiting and you get all the Halloween stuff as well

Wish I had known that our passes were good on Sunday as well we would have made one last touring run since we were in DTD anyway. Suprised they didnt mention this as they made a big production of explaining the blackout days on the included pocket calendar with the pass.

At least that at least makes sense about what we were told about the Classic pass offer, that there were no blackout dates for it for the rest of august (after the 2 day waiting period) which I thought the person was just mis-informed about.

Looking forward to October, prefer it in the cooler times anyway and hoping the rides will be closer to walk on!

 

[angelmav]

So, we picked up our rental car from Sixt, it was supposed to be a VW Golf but they had a Citroen Picasso waiting instead...so we upgraded to a BMW. Mights have been the best choice we made all weekend!

All buckled in we headed straight into a rain storm that stayed with us pretty far into france but let up considerably by the time we had arrived but it was chilly at around noon when we got to the hotel and checked into the Thomas Cook Exploreres.

We werent sure if we could check in or not that early but they had a room for us...maybe it would have been better if they had not. Right up until we left I debated switching to the Kyriad. The only reason we didnt was for the pool and the included breakfast. Turns out that was a mis step. The room was in a dingy corner of the hotel which reeked of chlorine from the nearbye pool. The lights were not on in the corridor and you couldnt make out the room numbers since it was someones genius idea to paint red room numbers on a brown wooden plaque.

The flash makes the number actually show up, but without a light shining on that you couldnt make heads or tails of the numbers.

On first glance the room looked ok, there were 5 english channels on the TV and the linens looked ok. In fairness the beds were comfortable but the room was far from clean and they had the gall to leave a broken cheap plastique trash can in there the length of our stay, even going so far as to empty it!

The room however would not be the end of my frustrations with this hotel, but more on that later.

We waited for the shuttle and were quickly packed like sardines since the shuttle serves 4 or 5 other hotels picking up and dropping off first at the Exlorers. This was definitely not worth it to stay on property and we wound up driving to the parks after the first day.

We headed straight for Earl of Sandwhich and noted that it was easily 10 degrees warmer than when we arrived! It was actually getting a bit hot! Earls was packed as well, I dont really understand what they are thinking with their ordering/queing system as it creates an unnecessary bottleneck and 1 step too many, ordering at one station (but not ordering drinks), paying at another then waiting for your sandwhiches at a 3rd although likely that the drinks are ready without warning. We had on the first visit (it was so yummy we had to go back!) two originals, two bowls of delicious Tomato Basil soup with croutons, and a Hawaiian sub plus a drink.

You can see a bag of Salt and Vinegar chips in the background too, these are soooo good! But were saved for later.

Appetites sedated we headed into the park to buy our Annuel passes. They had a special offer for the Classic that nearly swayed me into purchasing, but we had already decided on the Fantasy pass. While we had been to DLRP once before, this process really had me intimidated. I shouldnt have worried, Jorge was very helpful and spoke great english. The entire process was very easy. I noted how busy the parks were and he commented that the hotels were 99% full for the weekend after checking over some sheet but that the passport office was not that busy. I really think they are missing the boat by doing ticket/room discounts and not pushing the passports more. IF Disney gave better room rates for passholders it would encourage more frequent visits IMO. So with passes in hand it was time to finally brave the parks but what to do next...?

 

[angelmav]

So with Shiny new passports in hand, we took a look at the times guide and saw that we had a little while before we needed to be in the Studios for Lights motors action. We entered the crowd, by this point it was really getting packed.

We decided to hit POC which had a 30 minute wait and it was every bit of that and more. This wouldnt be so bad if people werent constantly cutting the line, it turns into a bit of a scrum with ill feelings all around while people try and hold their ground. After Prates we checked out the menu for Blue Lagoon which is where we had planned on having dinner but just didnt see anything that looked all that tempting so instead we made our way over to the Studios and were just in time for Lights Motors Action. This was a great show but the Lightning McQueen bit is pretty lame. Honestly, I think it would be better if he just drove around rather than the spy bit where the car is mysteriously struck by lightning.

After this we were really burning up as the day had really heated up, so we grabbed some drinks, then FP's for Rockn Rollercoaster and headed into Armagedden. This was a terrible experience. I dont know what I was expecting, but being trapped in a room that shakes, blows smoke and tries to pierce your eardrums wasnt the experience for a special effects extraveganza that I was expecting! After this we hit the Tram Tour, this was nothing special, it should just be called the Catastrophe Canyon ride since thats all there is. I cant believe I like the Hollywood Studios version better but at least that one has a bit more substance to it. Finally we were able to Ride RnRC and that was alot of fun. We next headed over and caught Cinemagique and OMG was this good! I cant rave about this show enough, but it was the total highlight of the day!

After the show we noticed the line for Crush hadnt gotten any smaller so we decided to wait for tomorrow to try it and headed downtown to find something to eat. First we were enticed by the offerings of the Gaumont theater and we decided to try and see Harry Potter or Cars 2 on Saturday or Sunday, little did we know at the time that the theater wasnt showing anything in English or OV (Original Version as they call it in Germany) all week. Only on thursday did they have Mr. Poppers Penguins playing in English. How can this be? This to me is a complete waste to even have this theater here. Anyway rant over, we looked at Planet Hollywood but settled on Rainforest cafe instead.

DD got the Hawaiian burger and proclaimed it 'Delicious' as well as a sprite.

DH got the Fish and Chips...Mostly because I wanted fish and chips and convinced him to share while we split a salad. This wasnt a very big portion, the Fish was over cooked and the fries were cold.

The Cobb Salad was excellent though and we actually couldnt finish it.

There was a bit of everything in there (except blue cheese which we asked them to hold!) Ham, Bacon, Chicken, Olives, cheese, egg, and a really great dressing. This was plenty for the two of us even with the dissapointing fish n chips. DH also gota Lightning Lemonade but didnt really care for it. It was supposed to come in a special glass but didnt either.

For desert DD and I split the Chocolate Molleax which was only included as part of the cha cha menu but we asked if we could oreder it and they were happy to oblige. Since I am missing the photo, it was a chocolate Souffle in a creamy custard and it was delish! Of course DH got the absolute winner, the Cafe gourmond, a yummy coffee, Creme Brulee, Raspeberry Sorbet in a mini chocolate dipped cone and a mini souffle. This was a fabulous dessert. Aside from the wonky fish and chips, my only other issue was that none of the animatronics seemed to be working, no rain sounds or animal noises, periodically the lights would flash but that was it for the effects.

After dinner we poked about the shops and then made our way in another crowded bus back to Explorers where DH proclaimed we would drive the rest of the time! The two of them headed for the pool and I attempted to go online, but needed the passcode which they didnt give us as part of our check in packet, the desk wouldnt give it over the phone either, I guess its a state secret, so I trudged back to the desk to get it while the other two went for a swim. They came back early though, the pool wasnt supposed to close until 11 but one of the employees stated it was closing early because he wanted to be home by 11. Grrrr. In either event, the day had been one of a few bumps in the road but it wasnt terrible and we went to sleep knowing that we had a full park day tomorrow to look forward to!