Just back! Our experiences from 10th - 12th August... UPDATED!

[BethEJo]

So, in the very early hours of this morning, I returned home from a weekend in DLRP with my best friend Emma. Waking up 4 hours later for work was not fun, but the weekend made it completely worth it! I’m not going to do a trip report (that's why I've put it here - mods, feel free to move it), as I didn't even think of taking notes (d'oh!), but I do want to say roughly what we did! Highs, lows and opinions etc will follow.

This was my first time to DLRP – I have been to WDW quite a few times, and even spent the summer working there last year; I had been prepped beforehand, and I knew not to expect it to be the same. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by DLRP, and whilst the both are very different, I expected this, and so felt like I could really appreciate DLRP without comparing it to it’s older and much bigger brother in Florida! The only annoyances that I had with the whole place were more so because of the guests than anything else, and so I suppose this could have happened anywhere!

So, a quick run down on what we did:

Friday 10th August:
After staying in the Travelodge Kings Cross Royal Scot the night before, we caught the 9.21 Eurostar from St Pancras to Gare Du Nord, and then the RER to DLRP. We were going to be staying in the Santa Fe, so we decided we’d walk it, got incredibly lost, ended up touring the car parks, turned back on ourselves, returned to the station and caught the hotel bus! Just like we should have done in the first place We can’t do things like normal people!

We checked in, and the CM said that because we looked like “nice people” (uhhhhh... thanks), he’d give us a ground floor room close to the reception building. We freshened up, took it easy for an hour or so, and then headed into the Disney Village.

We headed to our reservation at Café Mickey (a whole hour early because our phones had corrected the times themselves, but then so did we, adding another hour on! ); the food was fine (we shared pizza, chips and garlic bread), and we had great character interaction. Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy... so all the usual suspects!

After dinner we browsed the shops, then headed to DLH for some cocktails! Absolutely loved Café Fantasia – such a beautiful place! I could have easily set up camp there for the next three days! My purse… not so much. A few cocktails and a late night the night before meant we got a little more tipsy than we would have liked, and so we called it a night.

Saturday 11th August:
Up bright and early ready for breakfast at 7.00am (the CM on the desk was shocked the day before when we said we wanted the earliest breakfast possible – but it’s served until 11am he cried! He clearly hadn’t experienced us die hard Disneyholics!!). We had the Sky vouchers for tickets, so we were at the ticket windows just after 8am. The voucher was exchanged no problem, and before we knew it, we were in!

Loved the grand entrance, and we even thought we might like it a little more than what WDW has! We just took in Main St and the castle to start off with – exactly a year ago, we had been working in WDW, and now we were in DLRP getting our Disney fix! We were like kids – just in awe! I was amazed by the castle and its surroundings – absolutely astounding!

We headed to Discoveryland first, did the rides there then headed to Fantasyland. Before we knew it, it was 10am and the crowds started arriving. It was crazily busy – much busier than I had ever seen in Florida, but we still managed to do every single thing we wanted! The only thing we missed really was Indiana Jones, but I wasn’t feeling too good after both Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain!!

The crowds were also evident when it came to parade time – a lady tried to start a full on fight with me, but more on that later! We saw all the parades and shows (Tarzan – wow!! The soundtrack just makes me blub – favourite soundtrack ever!), and then topped off the day with Dreams! Again…. WOW!! I think that’s the only way to describe it!! I really hope they incorporate a show like that into WDW!! I know they have The Magic, The Memories and You, and then Wishes, but if the two could be combined somehow, just like Dreams, then… then… I think I’d pee myself if I were to watch that! It was the best thing I had ever seen, and I was gutted that we only got to see it once – better than never though I suppose!!! We had a nice little spot on one of the grassy mounds, and was relieved that we could sit down to watch the show after being on our feet since 8am. Following the pattern of the day, the hoards of people leaving the park after the show was insane! We decided to walk back to Santa Fe, and actually found our way this time!

Sunday 12th August:
Today was leaving day – boo ! We headed over to DLH, as we were going to pay for breakfast there today, just to experience the delight of the hotel and Inventions and because we loved it so much when we were there on the Friday evening. As we headed over to catch the bus, we saw the hoards of people queuing for the Santa Fe breakfast – thank god we didn’t have to endure that! Breakfast at Inventions was lovely, and well worth the 14 euros. And to be able to see the castle through the window whilst eating donuts… you can’t fault that ! We were stuffed by 10am, and I dreaded having to ride any big rides that morning!!

For our second day, we had another Sky voucher, and so headed over to the Studios this time, and were in by 10.30. The first item of the day was to be Crush’s coaster – not my choice I hasten to add! Now, I suffer from motion sickness (although I can handle rollercoasters if they’re suitably spaced throughout the day!), and also had a full stomach. And after what I had heard about the ride here on the DIS, well... I knew it wasn’t going to be a nice, relaxing ride like the Nemo ride at WDW ! However, it was a 90 minute wait, therefore allowing our food to go down, and my friend promised me that it wasn’t as bad as I had read (she had ridden it a couple of years ago), so we went for it!

OH. MY. DAYS. It was the worse couple of minutes of my life, and I will never, ever, ever ride it again! I love thrill rides and roller coasters, but this was just gross. I clung on to my bag for dear life, and just prayed for the ride to finish ! I can see the appeal, and it was a pretty cool ride, but the motion sickness just ruined it for me ! My friend found it hilarious though, and told me that the shade of green that I was currently sporting suited me!

For the rest of the day, we took it a little easier, pretty much did all the rides we wanted and just wandered around. I decided I’d leave the RC Racer and the Parachute Drop, but had to do ToT and RnR for old time's sake.

And Animagique! Again, wow, wow, wow – albeit for different reasons to Dreams! I could have watched that all day – absolute craziness that show is, isn’t it?! And so cute and funny! I love Philharmagic in Florida, but this different, “real life” version just topped it for me! My friend also loved it, but also claimed that this is what it must feel like to be high, and declared it one of the most bizarre things that she’d ever seen in her life! That says a lot about me I suppose!

Time had flown, as it always seems to do in Disney, and before we knew it, it was gone 4pm. We had something to eat at Restaurant en Coulisse (?? the QS near the entrance), and then sat down to watch the parade. After the parade, we had to make a break for it and say goodbye to Disney once again – we collected our luggage from the luggage lockers at the station, caught the RER back to Paris, and was boarding the Eurostar at 8’o clock.


All in all, it was a fantastic weekend – we were so lucky with the weather, although my now sunburnt nose doesn’t agree with that! Like I said, I’m unable to do a trip report (although I have hundreds of photos to sort through!), but please stay tuned for the highs and lows etc…

 

[tinkertaylor05]

Welcome home! Really enjoyed reading your summary, seems like a fab (if not fast) trip and glad you enjoyed dlp for itself

I could sit in Fantasia bar all night, hoping I get the chance in a couple of weeks

 

[tennisfan]

Welcome back, glad you enjoyed your trip

 

[tinks_1989]

More more.....

 

[BethEJo]

So I promised some highs and lows, and here they are. In no particular order:

Hotel Santa Fe: HIGH
Obviously this was the cheapest Disney hotel, and after reading some reviews, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but we loved it! Whilst the theming isn’t much on the outside (added to scaffolding, and water features that contained no water…), the room however, was lovely and colourful! I loved the Cars throw on the bed too – yes the littlest things really do excite me ! We spent hardly any time at all in the room, and it really was just a bed to sleep in at night, but the convenience of it being a Disney hotel with breakfast made it completely worth it.

I’d definitely stay here again, but have also been tempted by some of the other hotels too! I'm afraid I've started something...

The only thing I would say about the hotel, which might make it a bit less of a high, was the service. Whilst the CMs were very polite at the Santa Fe, everything was extremely slow. On checking-in, the CM disappeared for a while (I assume it was to check something as our room had been booked through a CM in WDW), but nothing was said, and 10 minutes later we were still stood there, unsure if we had been forgotten about or not. Similarly, on checkout at around 8.30am on Sunday I had to wait over half an hour to return the iron and get my deposit back! And it didn’t even look that busy?? Anyhoo, they are clearly only very minor issues!

EMH: HIGH
Having these extra two hours in the park were really beneficial! We would have struggled for time even more if we weren’t staying on property! Some great photo opportunities without there being hoards of people around too!

The rides: HIGH (and LOW depending on how sick I felt on them!)
I know I said I wouldn’t compare, but I feel some rides were better in DLRP than those at WDW, whilst on the other hand, one or two lacked something.

POTC, IASW, BTMR, Phantom Manor and Space Mountain: Mission 2 were just a little better presented in DLRP than their counterparts in WDW in my opinion, with BTMR and SM:M2 demonstrating this the most in my opinion. I loved the fact that BTMR was on its own little island, and thought the dark bits were great!! And then with SM:M2 - what I liked was the whole spacey theme inside, and also the fact that the tracks were much, much less noticeable than in the SM in WDW. This just made it more terrifying (in a good way ( – and therefore, I appreciated being able to sit next to my friend (i.e. in ‘twos’) in Paris, as opposed to one behind the other in Florida lol!!! It was however, much less kind to my head! Definitely not a ride to repeat in the same morning!

On the contrary though, I was a little disappointed by RnR in the Studios – it lacked the story, and the interior of the ride was therefore pretty bland! In WDW (I know I shouldn't compare) you have Aerosmith tunes blasting out and neon road signs along the tracks etc… however, when we rode it yesterday, it was silent! A little awkwardly so if that makes sense – we found it almost creepy! You’d get the odd scream interspersed with silence and just the sound of the car on the tracks! This is by no means a ‘low’, just something that I noticed!


Continued below...

 

[BethEJo]

The shows: HIGH
Here I'm counting the Tarzan Encounter and Animagique! Both of them were outstanding – I’m biased towards Tarzan though because the soundtrack is one of my favouritestestest ever !! But the performers and acrobatics were top notch, and I’m sure I watched most of it with my mouth hanging open! Was just a little bit gutted that I couldn’t join the kids and head up to the front to bang the pans!

I also loved Animagique purely because of the uniqueness of it! It’s very charming, has a cute story, and again, is full of some of my favourite songs! Needless to say, I’ve been endlessly humming Disney tunes since I’ve returned home. La la la la la laaaa animagique!

(I also want that massive pink elephant!)

Must add that I also loved the parades, especially the music!

The castle: HIGH
Again breathtaking! The colours, the surrounding greenery and trees, the dragon etc… they all made it that bit more magical! Could have spent hours just sitting on the benches and staring at it!

Guests: Less of a high, more of a low (probably the minority of guests though, and I don’t want to tar everyone with the same brush).
A couple of things bugged me: somebody else mentioned this first one in their highs and low, and that was personal hygiene. A lot of guests seemed to struggle with that, and sometimes queuing was just nauseating ! I just seemed to notice it more than I would have expected, but then again the weather was hot, hot, hot!!

Secondly, and this might be just cultural differences, but something I struggled with was the complete loss of personal space whilst queuing. I’m not claustrophobic at all, but at a number of times throughout the weekend, I felt genuinely uncomfortable with how close some people stood behind me in line. Like actually having their whole body against my back for example – I was half tempted to say ‘look, if you just want a hug, all you have to do is ask!’ ! My friend and I would play a little game – when this was happening, we’d purposefully take a step forward in the line… 9 times out of 10, the guest would do the same even though the line wasn’t heading anywhere, reclaiming their limpet status!

And thirdly, and this upset me a lot, was the rudeness of just one particular guest. It’s amazing the havoc just one person can cause...
My friend and I had staked a spot for the parade, sitting on the curb along Main Street, along with everyone else, over an hour and a half before the parade started at 7pm. The announcement came that the parade would start in 10 minutes and everyone proceeded to stand up – we let the small kids go to the front, but this lady behind me was not happy. My French is limited, but I definitely understood that she was unhappy with me because she was a bit shorter than me – she made it out that I was blocking EVERYONE’S view and then proceeded to tell me that I should stand at the back. Even though I had been there for over an hour, and her for 15 minutes maximum !
I explained to her in the best French I could that I had waited for this spot, and asked why wasn’t she picking on the oodles of other, taller people that were also stood at the front. She then started jabbing me in the arm whilst talking to me – I didn’t want to get involved so turned back around. She clearly didn’t like this and jabbed me again – I told her the exact same thing: I didn’t have to move. I’m not very good with these sort of confrontational situations though, so I was trying my best to hold my own. That’s when she full on shoved me, and I genuinely thought she was gonna take me down on the middle of Main Street I was honestly scared, and could just feel the tears in my eyes – I was so angry with myself that I let her get to me, but she was just making me feel so guilty.
Luckily someone saw this, and grabbed the attention of a CM who then tried to calm the situation, but the guest wasn’t having any of it. The CM explained to her that the parade was for everyone and that I had every right to stand where I had waited, it got heated again, up until the guest realized that she wasn’t going to get anywhere with this. She intended to complain about me at City Hall… good luck with that. Thankfully, the parade started, and whilst this guest proceeded to annoy me for the entire duration, the parade was still amazing and took my mind off the stupidity and ignorance of some people in this world. I look back on this today and laugh at the sheer audacity of this woman, but it did taint my day a little…

CMs: HIGH (mostly)
The CMs in the shops were really lovely, always eager to strike up conversations! This sort of guest interaction that I love about Disney, was lacking elsewhere however, for example on the attractions and throughout the parks, but I suppose I’d rather that than people being openly rude! I’m sure they would have been very helpful if we’d had any questions though!

It's worth mentioning though that I loved the CMs who really got the crowds going, creating a great atmosphere! This happened both before the Tarzan show and before Dreams, where the CMs got the crowds cheering and competing! Good fun!

Lack of Photopass: LOW
I know this is echoing what others have said, but we really noticed this missing! We found it quite hard to find people (both guests and CMs) to take the odd picture of my friend and I together, but we got enough, so no biggie

Continued below...

 

[DLPdaft]

oh my gosh thats appalling, that woman behind you on the parade route ! I've seen some interesting games of parade-route chess in my times at DLP, but thats just ridiculous! Well done for staying calm.

I've had a good old chuckle in the BTM queue line too, with the back-hugging antics - I don't understand it, but it certainly seems to be a bit of a tradition at DLP . One teenage girl at the front of her group of friends was practically latched on to my back all the way through the line on one occasion!

 

[BethEJo]

The weather: HIGH
As I mentioned, it was hot, hot, HOT! It was just nice knowing that it wasn’t going to rain and that we wouldn’t have to worry about ponchos or umbrellas. The heat was just an added bonus! But…

Lack of fans/A.C: LOW
This follows on from the above, but sometimes the heat in the enclosed spaces was just a little too much. Particularly in restaurants and in queue areas. Especially noticeable on BTMR – a very stuffy queue, with lots and lots of bodies but not one fan/mister in sight. I know this kind of weather isn’t the norm for the area, but fans seem like such a simple thing to implement…

Plaza Gardens: HIGH
We very much enjoyed our lunch here on Saturday. Lots of choice, and the food was actually good. And the desserts… soooo nommy ! Even though it was busy, it didn’t feel cramped, the food was replenished regularly, and the setting was lovely. Would have been improved by a little air con though! The option of unlimited drink refills was also a godsend given the heat of the day, and we didn’t have a problem with grabbing servers as they passed by to ask for another drink.

Dreams: HIGH
This show was the BEST thing I had ever seen ! I would love to see it a couple more times, as I’m sure there was so many little bits that I missed, but I’ll just have to stick to YouTube for that now!

In true Disney tradition, it bought tears to my eyes! The music, the projections… everything! I loved the Tangled sequence and also the Hunchback of Notredame section. Don’t see enough of that in my opinion!
Was temporarily lost for words after it had finished!

Character scrums: LOW
What. On. Earth?!

These looked dangerous . We were lucky that we’d had dinner at Café Mickey on Friday to see some of the usual characters – can’t go all that way without having a hug from Mickey and the gang! Otherwise, we wouldn’t have had a hope!

Was surprised that the only queued/organized meets that we came across in the Disneyland Park were that of the princesses (couldn’t bring ourselves to wait it out), Winnie the Pooh (too hot to wait in the long, unshaded queue) and Mickey (which we waited over 40 minutes for – I was so tired by this point though, that my photos with Mickey just look like I’m gonna drop at any second ).

We knew about the characters coming off the 20th anniversary train, and decided we wouldn’t have a chance of meeting any, but we followed them nonetheless as I wanted to see these scrums for myself. And I just did not expect what I saw at all – it was brutal, man! Kids being shoved forward left, right and centre – I would genuinely be scared if I was a character performer in those situations! There were even some parents trying to force their babies on the characters, trying to get them to hold the kids The character attendants clearly didn’t care… I know this is the norm, but WHY?! It would be nothing to set up a rope line, and just introduce a bit more organization, but after reading countless accounts saying the same thing, I know nothing’s going to happen any time soon!

And finally re: the characters – no Duffy sad times! As someone else had mentioned, Minnie was there in that spot again. I think someone mentioned that there also used to be a queuing area when Duffy was there, but this wasn’t present on Saturday. It was just your usual free-for-all! BRING BACK DUFFY!!

Café Fantasia and Inventions: HIGH
Was totally in awe at the DLH, and we vowed that as soon as we could afford it, we will return and stay there!

Café Fantasia was absolute bliss on Friday evening, especially with the pianist – I have to complain about the variety of cocktails on offer though. You see, there were just too many to choose from, so a girl just couldn’t stop at one !! I wish I could remember the names of the ones I had, but I remember that two of them were off the page in the menu where the CMs had created their own cocktails…

Breakfast at Inventions on Sunday was similarly delightful – as I mentioned, well worth the money, and it was great being able to take our time due to Studios not opening until 10am. Was spoilt for choice with the offerings, but the doughnuts and cheese, salami and bread were particular favourites of mine! Not all at the same time of course!

Gnats: LOW
OK, you can see I’m clutching at straws here . There were tonnes of gnats around the central plaza area, and I got bitten something chronic during the evening. I’m still itching now. I thought Disney gnats would be a little bit kinder but albeit not!


… and I suppose that’s it for now! If I think of anymore highs and lows, I’ll be sure to add them!

I hope the fact that the highs outweighing my piddly little lows are just testament to how good a time we had!

I also have to thank you guys on these boards – I lurked rather than posted on the DLRP section, but I got so much help and advice from it! So thanks

 

[BethEJo]

oh my gosh thats appalling, that woman behind you on the parade route ! I've seen some interesting games of parade-route chess in my times at DLP, but thats just ridiculous! Well done for staying calm.

Something I forgot to mention: when we were queuing for Crush's Coaster the next morning, who do you think was standing just five people in front of us in the line?!

Yep, that lady! You just can't make that stuff up

She realised, and I just gave her a nice beaming smile, a polite wave, and a 'bonjour'

When we boarded the ride, they called out for a party of two - my friend and I stepped up to find that we'd be sharing a clam car with her too! Just too funny!

 

[stargatebarbie]

i had a parade fight as well we had been therefor over a hour and about 10pm (parade started at 10 ,15 ) i stood up as my bum back and legs where numb to stretch out a bit and the people behind me went crazy and almost started chanting sit down sit down i turn and gave them as much back ,everyone stood up anyhow when the parade came think they expected us all to stay sat down and your space seems to get smaller and smaller we let the little kids in front but it was crazy

 

[tinks_1989]

That woman was awful but good for you for holding your own! I also hate those situation and probably would of backed down yet I don't think I am taller then any one lol!

Personal space I know what you mean in 2008 me and DH went for the first time together. Bank holiday in August it was packed! We were waiting in line for phantom manor and no joke the woman behind put her map on DHs back and rested it on him whilst they discussed where they would go next lol! DH couldn't believe it!

That same trip we had waited 90minutes for the parade and fireworks. 2 minutes in to the parade some one stood on me and literally elbowed me back. I was so tired pushing 14 hours in the park, (i fell over with in 30 minutes of getting in the park and landed on my knee) in pain and this just pushed me! We were so lucky a lovely family next to use shuffled closer together so we could still see it!

 

[BethEJo]

No idea if anyone's interested, but you can find a whittled down selection of my photos from the weekend here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151056920749425.438363.502219424&type=1&l=1197eaf805

 

[Bexx]

Something I forgot to mention: when we were queuing for Crush's Coaster the next morning, who do you think was standing just five people in front of us in the line?!

Yep, that lady! You just can't make that stuff up

She realised, and I just gave her a nice beaming smile, a polite wave, and a 'bonjour'

Nice one!!

 

[croe321]

I really enjoyed reading about your trip. I can't wait to visit DLP! I've promised myself that we'll make the journey to Paris during our next trip to England.

 

[ShrumpUK]

Loved reading about your trip and the photos are fantastic! Can't wait until next month when I go with eldest daughter and her 2 little girls. Been too long! (4 yrs)

 

[theffaddict]

I loved the trip report! Very nice! You went all out! The little tussle with the shorter guest is so unfortunate. I would be even more scared since I don't speak any French at all.

 

[tinkertaylor05]

Can't believe some people just don't seem to get Disney is a happy place! Glad you held your own well done

 

[BethEJo]

i had a parade fight as well we had been therefor over a hour and about 10pm (parade started at 10 ,15 ) i stood up as my bum back and legs where numb to stretch out a bit and the people behind me went crazy and almost started chanting sit down sit down i turn and gave them as much back ,everyone stood up anyhow when the parade came think they expected us all to stay sat down and your space seems to get smaller and smaller we let the little kids in front but it was crazy

We had exactly the same with Fantillusion - lucky there was us and a couple of families who collaborated to keep our spots at the rope. But yes, similarly crazy even when we did form the biggest, scariest human barrier we could haha! Otherwise, the poor kids at the front of the rope that were with the other families would have been squished!

And totally agree with the space getting smaller - I had my arms up to take a photo, then before i knew it, there wasn't enough room to put them back down haha rather uncomfortable!

That woman was awful but good for you for holding your own! I also hate those situation and probably would of backed down yet I don't think I am taller then any one lol!

Personal space I know what you mean in 2008 me and DH went for the first time together. Bank holiday in August it was packed! We were waiting in line for phantom manor and no joke the woman behind put her map on DHs back and rested it on him whilst they discussed where they would go next lol! DH couldn't believe it!

That same trip we had waited 90minutes for the parade and fireworks. 2 minutes in to the parade some one stood on me and literally elbowed me back. I was so tired pushing 14 hours in the park, (i fell over with in 30 minutes of getting in the park and landed on my knee) in pain and this just pushed me! We were so lucky a lovely family next to use shuffled closer together so we could still see it!

I so very nearly backed down too - she just made me feel so guilty! If it wasn't for my friend that insisted that I didn't move (she would have been sooo if I'd given in haha!), then I would have gone to the back.

Nice one!!

I just couldn't resist - the fact that this lady was wrong just gave me new found confidence

I really enjoyed reading about your trip. I can't wait to visit DLP! I've promised myself that we'll make the journey to Paris during our next trip to England.

It's definitely worth it, and so convenient on the Eurostar! It makes no sense to me that it's quicker to get to Paris on the Eurostar from London, than it is for me to get from Cardiff to London, and they are in the same country!!

Loved reading about your trip and the photos are fantastic! Can't wait until next month when I go with eldest daughter and her 2 little girls. Been too long! (4 yrs)

Thank you! I managed to take over 600 photos in the space of two and a half days! Hope you have a great time!

I loved the trip report! Very nice! You went all out! The little tussle with the shorter guest is so unfortunate. I would be even more scared since I don't speak any French at all.

I know what you mean! I think I would have just grabbed, and hid behind the nearest CM otherwise!

Can't believe some people just don't seem to get Disney is a happy place! Glad you held your own well done

I know! People forget that we've all paid the same price to get there and we therefore all have the exact same rights within the park!