Just Got Back - NEVER AGAIN !!!

[Rascal1003]

Hi Folks,
If you are considering a trip to DLP at Christmas time, do as we did last year and go in the first week of December.
We have just got back and it was a dreadful weekend to be in the parks.
Although the weather was generally OK (Sunny Sat & Sun, some rain yesterday), the sheer volume of people was ridiculous.

The French people have to be some of the most arrogant when it comes to being able to form an orderly queue, but prefer to shove into everyone and force their way to the front.
This was not helped by the bag-check before entering the park. They had only 2 lanes for every person to try to squeeze through (no sign of a line for those without bags) which was a huge bottle neck.
Then, just as you think you are going to get into the park, they hold everyone away from the turnstiles and then let you go in a big mass of chaos.

On Saturday, we spent the entire day in the Disneyland Park and didn't get on a single ride or attraction for the enormous queues.
Sunday was similar, except we were in the Studios. We did get to see Cine/Ani-magique shows, but again, chaotic queuing.

Yesterday things eased up, but only slightly, and I saw what I described at the time as an all time record......130 minutes queue for Big Thunder Mountain. 2 hours and 10 minutes ???????? Can you believe that ?

Space Mountain was a wait of about 75 mins all day, so we just didn't get on many rides at all. POTC we queued for 30 mins and Phantom Manor was about the same, which we didn't think was too bad under the circumstances.

So if you are thinking of a DLP Christmas, go early in December, don't get caught up in the madness that we suffered. I am so glad we have been a few times before, as I think it must have been awful for those who have never been on any of the rides, they would have probably missed out.

Also gained some new knowledge regarding dining.
We tried Annettes Diner for the first time and thought it was pretty good. The service was quite quick and the food pretty good quality and value.

Planet Hollywood was its usual self, busy but OK. Food was quite good and not too expensive.

We opted to try the Lucky Nugget on day 3 and would highly recommend that you give this restaurant a very wide berth. Very, very expensive, very bad service. We spent Euro72 for the 2 of us, including drinks, for what is little more than Chicken Nuggets & Chips.
The irony is that we decided not to eat at our favourite Cafe Mickey because of cost, but thought we would try somewhere new. What a flop. Cafe Mickey it will be next time.

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but also, the standard of merchandise in all the shops has dramatically taken a downward turn. We are often guilty of spending a pretty fair amount of cash, but bought next to nothing this time around.

Sorry to sound so negative, it wasn't all doom and gloom. It was a reasonably pleasant weekend break, but simply the wrong weekend !

I am sure you will have a great time if you are going soon, I just hope that you don't encounter the same level of crowds that we had.
For us, we will probably not be going back, but instead opting for the welcome of WDW where these problems are handled so much better.

 

[dlpSteve]

Sorry to hear you had a bad time

Luckily for us we don;t like any of the thrill rides so that cuts out a lot of queuing - 30 mins for POTC and Phantom Manor is ok, not ideal but manageable!

 

[Rascal1003]

Having a pregnant wife with me did take the edge off things as obviously she can't go on the thrill rides now. Was disappointed not to find out what Space Mountain is like now they have changed it.
POTC was ironically, quite welcomed as all the queuing is indoors and it was a bit wet, cold and miserable outside.
Yes, these times are manageable, and we coped, but will think hard next time.

Watch out for parade times. It took 20 minutes to get out of the central plaza after the lighting the castle parade. People just couldn't move or had nowhere to go. How there wasn't an accident I do not know. It would have been very easy for a small child to get crushed. Very poor crowd management by the French (but not surprising). They should have directed and dispersed people, but there were absolutely no staff to sort it out.

 

[Ware Bears]

Sorry to hear about your trip and hope you managed to enjoy some of it. I have read on this board before that the last weekend before Christmas is to be avoided at all costs. We are like Steve, we do not enjoy thrill rides apart from BTM but no way will I queue for that long. We are prepared for it to be extremely busy and are really going for a "Christmas at Disney" rather than the rides. We decided when we booked that if it is too manic in the parks, we will spend some time exploring the various hotels and leave the rides to next summer.
It was shame you did not enjoy Lucky Nugget. Although the buffet is obviously not up to the standard of Inventions, I thoroughly enjoyed it when we went, there was a wide selection of salads and the salmon was to die for. We are visiting again this trip so fingers crossed that you just went on a bad day.

 

[Rascal1003]

Oh yes, we had a reasonable weekend, definitely, just not the best time to go.
Unfortunately, we were a little restricted by work schedules etc so it was about the best weekend we could both choose.
I am sure that if you are going with no real intention to get on the rides, you will be fine.
The hotels seemed pretty quiet during the day, as you would expect so exploring those could be quite good fun (and good research !).
There are certainly some outstanding Christmas decorations and trees on display.
I am not a fan of the Main Street decorations (Chandalier type things on the lamposts) and thought the arches added a more festive feel. Also, it means that the "snow" isn't as effective as it was last year. Mind you, there were dancing snowmen in the village in the evening with a snow blower (same stuff - like tiny bubbles) and this was very impressive, really pumping the snow out into the air.

 

[dlpSteve]

'Disney Christmas' - that's exactly the same with us. As long as I get to ride on POTC I'll be happy. We are however going to try to have a drink in all the hotal bars and like you, have an explore.

 

[maleficent_man]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience....I have found on each of my visits that the crowd management, particularly at character locations, leaves a lot to be desired - now this isn't helped by ignorant and rude people (of many nations, not just the French).

The wait for Big Thunder on the last Sunday of Halloween was 130 mins....crazy! I'm there for New Year and fully expect it to be mega crushed (as it was last year!). I had thought about doing Lucky Nugget but think I'll give it a miss - I also liked Annette's and will be heading back there!

 

[diberry]

I'm really sorry you were so disappointed after looking forward to your trip so much Russ. I do sympathise after having the same experience last year, though we were lucky that we stayed from Sat evening to Wed so we had 3 days when the parks were "normal" - it's only the weekends that are manic. I completely understand how you feel - it's so disappointing when you can't get on any rides or find a place to sit down to eat. And I also have to agree that the situation is generally not as well managed in DLP as it could be. However, on the upside, I have to say that we've always found the Lucky Nugget to be great in all respects - food quality & quantity, entertainment, atmosphere and character interaction, but have never been at a busy time. We were at DLP last month and found tons to buy and tons more we would have bought if we could have afforded it and transported it home - certainly didn't think the merchandise was lacking in any way!!! I'm sure you brought away some good experiences - the decorations are beautiful and the Disney atmosphere is wonderful. There's so much else to see and appreciate and we felt the CMs went out of their way to make it a good experience. My DD said it was definitely her best visit so far so for those going over Christmas I think you'll have a great time because you're prepared for the crowds and it's just "being there" that's important. Disney + Christmas has got to be a wonderful combination!!!

 

[Rascal1003]

You all have vaid points and as long as you are prepared, it is difficult to have a truly bad time, ours wasn't bad, just a touch hampered.
Malificent, personally speaking, I would opt for one of the restaurants in the village. The one above Billy Bobs serves a very similar buffet, which can be a lot more enjoyable later in the day. If I were back there now, I would probably go to Anettes twice as there were quite a few things I would like to have tried on the menu ! Russ, you are fat enough already...LOL.
As for those about to depart, don't be dismayed, there is a lot going on, and I am sure you will enjoy it.

What I do find ironic is the two things I was concerned about the most were not an issue......the weather and the drive down.
Sat & Sun were bright blue sky, Mon overcast with rain at times, but dealt with it with no problems (dressed for winter).
Driving was (in my opinion) far better than Eurostar. We only live 15 mins from the tunnel, so this helps, but it was nice to load the luggage in at home and unload at the hotel, not having to worry about dragging it all round Ashford International train station.......and leaving when WE wanted to, not when Eurostar was leaving. (An extra couple of hours in the park). Mind you, the road signs around Charles de Gaulle Airport are not great and you have to really pay attention. That bit could certainly be easier. Got it wrong in both directions......Euro18.50 toll each way, but an excellent road, very well maintained. We did 90mph most of the way back through little/no traffic.
Driving down is highly recommended.

 

[EasyStar]

Sorry to hear that the queues put a dampener on your trip. We visited from tuesday (13th) last week and left on Saturday evening. The park was extremely quiet until Saturday when it was incredibly busy. We spent Satuday in the studios which we found much quieter than the main park.

Fortunately, we got 6 free vip fastpasses with our hotel and saved them up for the satuday which made life a bit easier.

We will definitely go again in Dec but come back on the friday before the kids break up rather than the sat.

 

[NIK]

I tend to agree about the merchandise myself. Last time I went I struggled to find something as a gift for my mother who was looking after the homestead whilst I was away. I know Disneyland is massively themed for little ones but grown ups like it too and there seemed very little in the mid price range between the plastic swords and the hugely expensive artworks. Gorgeous but pricey!

I also wish they would do a little more variation in the merchandise. I'm a Beauty and the Beast fan myself but there seems very little for this one.

I'm sorry you had an awful time. I know what you mean about the queuing. Folk just seem to forget any manners - if they had them to start with. I had similar problems last Halloween waiting for the paddlesteamer. They'd let the kids push in front 'to see better' and no one could complain about that of course, but then mum, dad and several large relations pushed through after as soon as there was any chance of getting onto the boat ahead of everyone.

 

[urglewurgle]

i'm sorry it wasn't so good for you guys!

we went on the 11th-14th and decided to get the main park done on a week day.. and it was so quiet! longest queue was for peter pan and it was 30 mins... and we started in the studios on the saturday... but when we went over into the main park about 2ish... yeah, it was hell... luckily we'd done most of the big rides the day before... so we just mooched round the shops and stuff... but i agree about the crush after the parades... and after the fairytale ceramony parade we had a coach to catch to get home... some guy stood on my best friend's foot and didn't even look at her never mind apologise... so we walked behind him poking him and standing on his feet... childish i know but it made me feel better!

We also saw some French lady elbow a little girl in the face (on purpose) as she tried to get her and her brother to the front to see the fairytale ceramony (she was about 6, the boy 4) and the lady told the crying child it was her own fault!

i understand people get bumped in big crushes like that... but there's no excuse not to apologise!

 

[BONITATIME]

I am sorry that you had a bad time.The weekends in december seem to be very busy. The fast passes and getting there early are certainly something to plan for we were lucky with thunder mountain as the fast pass was fro 2 hours later which gave us more time to do other things and come back. One thing to bear in mind is that you can be late for a fast pass with no problems and that in DLRP you can hold several fast passes at the same ride one for each ride. this means you can go in early collect the fast passes up and then use the as you wish during the day.
The time between the tree lighting ceremony and the fantillusion parade is strange people move slowly towards the main street but slowly as they are just waiting for time to pass for the parde to start.
If you are staying on sit then I would reccomend the good morning fantasyland breakfast as 2 of the rides are open from 30 mins before and the area starts up slowly. This gives you a chance to get the fantasy land rides done early. Any one with a dream pass should bear in mind they can get into the park an hour before it opens.

I havent been to WDW for christmas but my understanding is that it is also very very busy.

 

[Cyrano]

Shame Russ that the parks were as busy to make getting on rides impossible.
The up side is that this will hopefully help the long-term finances of Euro Disney.
We've always done Christmas in November but avoiding weekends as you say is not always possible.
Good reason to got back when wait times are not 130minutes

 

[MICKEY'S DREAMERS]

Sorry that you and your pregnant wife could not have the weekend of your dreams !! After looking so much after your vacation it's a shame you could not make the most of it !!! I know a long queue is frustrating !!! and huge crowds are so annoying !!
We always try (also at WDW) and enter the parks as soon as they open ... and get back to our hotel when crowds become unbearable !! We were at DLP years ago on Christmas day and the days after ...and had a good time,parks were crowded... but we skipped some attractions and just wandered around , enjoying the Christmassy atmosphere ! Also we use to have our meals outside the parks ...before they close !

Hope, really hope you could still manage to have some relaxing time and make a few nice memories !!!

Laura

 

[tracyjane]

i know the feeling mate we have been 3 times over the xmas period very very busy, dont try the new year its even worse . although the veiws are lovely

tracy

 

[slinky101]

hi, sorry you had a vbad time but have to agree, we went 1st to 4th dec, friday in dlp was dead we had the option to stay on POTC and ride again if we wanted, saturday and sunday the place went mad, sunday it was 60 min wait for POTC what a differencer, I loved the christmasness of it all and will be goin again nest year but on sat and sunday we plan to go into paris to see the sights and do the disney parks on friday and monday!

 

[maleficent_man]

Just on the whole New Year thing...I went last year and am doing it again this year....yes it is busy..stupid busy..but it also brings with it a certain atmosphere and experience. I wouldn't recommend it on a two day trip but I wouldn't want people to dismiss the idea of going for this special night!

 

[urglewurgle]

stupid busy..but it also brings with it a certain atmosphere and experience.

i agree! we were in DLRP last friday and it was dead.. and compared to going on the weekend before last year.. it did NOT feel christmassy... but we got all the rides done the next day in the park was a much better christmassy atmosphere.... but too long queues for rides... (and rude pushy people!)

 

[raptor1982]

The French people have to be some of the most arrogant when it comes to being able to form an orderly queue, but prefer to shove into everyone and force their way to the front.

Don't start with that! That's really unfair. That has nothing to do with being French.