The Disney Village Thread!

[dlpSteve]

I don't know why but I thought it would be to have a thread dedicated to Disney Village as I for one love it and thought it would be fun to see other people's opinions and what they like (don't like) about it.

First off there's the shops - there can't be many people who go to Disneyland Resort Paris who don't like to have a good shop, and these are the Mecca of Disney Stores! I don't think we've ever walked through Disney Village and not gone in the shops - the big one in the middle is amazing, such a big shop with so many wonderful things to buy.

The bars and restaurants - often a good place to eat during the busy meal times as they are not as busy as the park eateries. We've eaten in King Ludwigs, Planet Hollywood, New York Style Sandwiches and drunk in the Sports Bar and Billy Bob's Country Western Saloon. We also ate in Rock n Rocll America which used to be where King Ludwigs is now - the food and service were good and there was a show while you ate - we saw magicians, singers and other circus type acts.

Buffalo Bills has to be done at least once. A decent feed and a great show - I was a big fan of the Buffalo themselves, great to see them stampeding around the arena. Has anyone ever been on the winning team? You get a coin or somehting don't you? Of course no Disneyland Resort paris fan's collection is complete without the Buffalo Bills Cowboy Hat - ours are from the yellow team. There is also the Buffalo Bills Cavalcade at 6pm which livens the place up.

If you are lucky you may catch a good music act on the live stage - last year on the day of my birthday we walked through Disney Village and there was a rock band playing - really good covers of Keene, U2, Muse, Aerosmith, Rolling Stones etc. was an awesome way to finish off a wonderful birthday.

At Christmas Disney Village comes alive with the Bavarian Market featuring huts of sellers offering various gifts, foods and drinks. I did hear a rumour that had been stopped which would be an awful shame as it made a really nice post-park closing evening experience.

There are a few other attractions that I haven't tried, like Hurricanes Disco, Bungy Trampolines and the Mechanical Bull. Plus if you count the area next to the lake as Disney Village then there's Panoramgique, Pedalos and various other fun little attractions.

All in all we love Disney Village and find it a most valuable and sometimes overlooked part of Disneyland Resort Paris.

 

[diberry]

Nice thread Steve and great pictures. We love the Village too. I'd have to agree that the shops are great, especially the Disney store of course - how to part with a lot of money in a short time!!! We also love Annette's, the Rainforest Cafe and especially Billy Bob's! We like the live music and other entertainment - we saw a girl there once spinning dozens of hool-a-hoops round every part of her body! We also love the all-you-can-eat buffet on the very top floor - it's called "La Grange". A very good selection of food and we've watched people falling off the bucking bronco from up there - very funny!! We also like the character breakfast at Cafe Mickey - a huge range of food and good character interaction. We're looking forward to trying Panoramagique for the first time - presuming it's still running in November? King Ludwig's is also a very nice setting and good food. We've also got yellow hats from Buffalo Bill's which we thought was an excellent show. Yes - there's definitely plenty to do in the Village!

 

[NIK]

I'm a Village fan too Steve. I normally try to beetle down there as soon as I've dumped bag and baggage.

When I was there last Halloween I managed to catch a live performance on the stage and was entranced - took some of my most exotic photos of it too. one of these days I'll figure out how to post them so you can have a look see!

I love the shops but my purse doesn't! I normally come back with far more than I should but it's the atmosphere that I particularly enjoy. I always liked fairgrounds - the smell of hot dogs and engine oil I think - but the village has all that plus everyone's out to have a good time as well.

 

[Bonnie]

Awww, great thread! I love Disney Village.

I remember the very first time I went to DLP in 1998, we arrived on a coach quite late in the evening and the park was closed, so we wandered down to the village from the Santa Fé to see what it was like. I remember being totally in awe of the huuuuuge neon signs and the lights strung across the top of the walkway. It looked so pretty and warm and welcoming, even though it was the middle of a freezing January! We all went to the Disney Store and were just amazed by all the merchandise (coming from a town with no Disney Store - luckily the city I live in now does have one! )

I LOVED Buffalo Bill (we did that for the first time this June) and the atmosphere was just fantastic. I also love Annette's Diner and I don't think a trip to DLRP would be complete for me without at least one meal there!

 

[Disney owl]

We were there in June and were very dissappointed in the lack of choice in the shops. Theres now no sports shop just yet again more childrens clothes!!!!!!

Planet Hollywood is a must if travelling with teenagers, mine love it

 

[dlpSteve]

(coming from a town with no Disney Store - luckily the city I live in now does have one! )

Still no Disney Store in Exeter

Plymouth is the nearest one but that's a good hour away and we don't particulalry like the town. We usually go to Bristol which is about 90 minutes away. Whenever work sends me away anywhere for shows or exhibitions I always check to see if there's a Disney Store so I can buy Denise something -Sheffield in November, they must have one!

 

[diberry]

Whenever work sends me away anywhere for shows or exhibitions I always check to see if there's a Disney Store so I can buy Denise something -Sheffield in November, they must have one!

Definitely one in Meadowhall - don't know about in the town itself.

 

[Ware Bears]

What a great thread. Dare I say this, we have only half-explored the Village.....but we definitely liked what we saw and this just gives us the excuse to go back again!

 

[jillrobinson]

We enjoyed our evenings at the Disney Village last October, the Halloween stage shows were spectacular and it was nice to sit and unwind for an hour or so after the parks had closed.
I believe there's a Celtic Festival on there when we visit next year in celebration of St. Patrick's Day (my Birthday as well) so I'm looking forward to that.

 

[Miffy2003]

Great thread Steve!

We have not explored the Village as much as I would like!

My favourite shop is the Art Shop (I forget the name, sorry!) and my favourite eatere there, Annette's

 

[MinnieYC]

I love the Village! The shopping is great there. I've never eaten there, but the food selections seem really good, so hopefully if I have time on my next trip I'll try Annette's. I think the Village is especially good since it stays open pretty late even when the parks close early.

 

[emmaness]

Excellent thread. I really could spend hours and hours in Disney Village, window shopping, shopping shopping, and just generally soaking it all in. It looks like it's changed a bit since I last went, though! I'm looking forward to trying out Café Mickey.

Personally, one of my favourite places to eat in Disney Village is New York Style Sandwiches. I think most people tend to just bypass it as it's just sandwiches, but they're really yummy!! It's probably the cheapest place in the entire resort for food, and they have a pretty good selection too. I highly recommend it!

 

[Miffy2003]

Emma - are they hot and cold sandwiches? I'm not keen at all on cold sandwiches but I love hot ones. The Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney at WDW saw me a few times this trip I can tell you

 

[emmaness]

Emma - are they hot and cold sandwiches? I'm not keen at all on cold sandwiches but I love hot ones. The Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney at WDW saw me a few times this trip I can tell you

Yep! They do cold sandwiches in normal bread and baguettes, but also paninis and I seem to remember toasted sandwiches, too! And you get fries with your sandwich too, I think.

Ooh, they've got the menu at the DLP Food Guide: http://www.dlpfoodguide.com/nyssandwiches.html

I don't know about you, but I'm hungry now, hehe!

 

[SimonV]

Great idea, Steve. Hopefully we can keep this on the front page with regular up-dates.

I especially enjoy the Village at night, with all the lights forming a 'roof' and all the little extras, like the rodeo bull they used to have, and other games which are fun to watch. However, it does seem there are big changes ahead for the Village, if the excellent pohotosmagiques website is on the ball (as it usually is). Check out their special Village Expansion thread on their forums here:

http://www.photosmagiques.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=458

I like the sound of the ESPN Club and the Chinese restaurant, but I would also like to see a decent coffee house (and no, I don't mean Starbucks!) added to the Village options. I think the coffee served in most places in DLRP is pretty awful.

 

[Bonnie]

Isn't the rodeo bull there anymore? It was definitely there in June when we were there, because we spent quite a while watching people attempting it and then falling off looking rather embarrassed. I resisted the temptation to make a fool out of myself. Has anyone here had a go on it?

 

[Miffy2003]

Isn't the rodeo bull there anymore? It was definitely there in June when we were there, because we spent quite a while watching people attempting it and then falling off looking rather embarrassed. I resisted the temptation to make a fool out of myself. Has anyone here had a go on it?

Not on your nelly

 

[Cyrano]

Was there in July also. I'd much rather watch people making a fool of themselves than me

Reid

 

[jillrobinson]

I've not seen the rodeo bull, sounds like fun (at someone else's expense, don't think I'd be brave enough to try it). It's strange you think you've seen everything, but since our last visit I've realised that although we've spent a lot of time in the village in the evening we haven't really explored it - I've not been as far as Cafe Mickey or the Rainforest cafe and haven't seen the lake.
Do you walk around the lake to get to the village from the NPB ?
I seem to remember reading somewhere about a train that runs around the lake, can anybody enlighten me ? - I've never heard it mentioned on the Boards.

 

[DisneyRGB]

There was a little train which went round the lake when we went in December, but I think it's just there during the Christmas season. Newport Bay Club, Hotel New York and Sequoia Lodge are all around the lake.

Looked at the link to Photos Magiques which Simon provided and I like the idea of a Disney stage show - since we go for 4 nights I'd be more than happy to spend an evening watching a full length Disney show.