Got back yesterday evening, so heres the low-down -
Lows -
The weather was awful - freezing fog on Sunday, Freezing and raining on Monday, warmer with some lovely sun on Tuesday, and pouring rain all day yesterday.
Ride wait times - these were wildly inaccurate in our experience this week ie RC racer said 5 minutes, actual wait time 25 mins, BTM 15 minutes, actual wait 35 mins etc. It meant we couldn't really plan to be anywhere at a specific time, and we missed the Princess Promenade and Stitch Live show on 2 separate days because of it.
Also, FP machines were not being used at BTM and ToT on Tuesday, and at one point on Tuesday the regular line for BTM was showing 90 minutes! Several rides went to temporary close too while we were there, Parachute Drop, Peter Pan, POTC, BTM. It wasn't quiet this week, even in the last hour of the Studios, there were ride times posted like 60 mins for the Rat, 45-60 mins for Crush, 20mins for Parachutes and 25 for ToT.
Slow counter service - oh dear. We had great fairly fast service at Cafe Hyperion (not my fave place but at least it has a large indoor capacity for seating) but Colonel Hathis was ridiculous - it was 3.30pm, Hakuna Matata and Fuente were both closed, and in Colonel Hathis there was only one (trainee) cashier serving. I waited 25 minutes to order, and when we left the restaurant another half hour later there was still only the one same cashier serving, and the queue of guests was out the main door.
Dreams! of Christmas - my initial reaction, which has stayed with me, is what on earth have they done to my Dreams!??? I was so underwhelmed with it I felt like leaving halfway through, but I stuck it out til the end - it didn't improve. Saw it the once, have no wish whatsoever to see it again.
Highs -
Hotel New York
- loved loved loved! From the moment we arrived until the moment we left, we had nothing but attentive, friendly and helpful service, from the bellboys, the reception, baggagerie, gift shop and concierge staff, and the restaurant staff. Our room was on 2nd floor in Gramercy, we could see Space Mountain out of the left window. The room was clean, very comfortable, and cleaned thoroughly every day when we returned from the parks.
Christmas parade - I didn't miss Magic On Parade at all, because this parade had Max, Tink, and Huey, Dewey and Louie in it
! Watching the last one of the day, at 4.45pm, on Main St with the snow falling and floodlit, was wonderful - and I got a ginormous hug from Tigger on his way past too, so that helped!
Ratatouille area and ride - this is absolutely gorgeous, wow wow wow. Just beautifully done. Love the ride too, very very cute. Unfortunately though, I've discovered 3D doesn't really agree with me straight after Tower of Terror lol.
Christmas decorations - I always love the main park decorated for Christmas, and this was no exception. Everything is covered in garlands and poinsettias, the tree is gorgeous, and castle twinkles away merrily at the top of Main St, and the decorations at the entrance on Main St train station are awesome.
Planet Hollywood - noisy and busy, but fabulous service, great food, and with the Groupon deal, great value too. I'm convinced our waiter is destined for the stage
Rs transports - they were early meeting us both at CDG and our hotel, we paid shared price but didn't share at all, no problems at all and I'd certainly use them again.
okay bits -
characters - we met Mickey and Minnie in EMH with a 30-minute wait. The interaction was fabulous and our photos are great, but in such hideous weather I woudn't have wanted to drag young kids out every morning for 8am on the dot just so they can meet characters. We met Pluto in the studios in Toon Square with not much waiting, and there were random characters around in the main park - we saw Hatter and Alice, and Dee and Dum, plus Mr Smee. We also met King Louie at his spot near Hakuna Matata. The Frozen sisters line was never shorter than 3 hours the whole time we passed it, and the lines for all the other queue characters seemed long (Merida, Jack Skellington, Rapunzel). We did meet quite a few and we're glad we did with a Disney newbie, but I had intended queuing for Merida and Jack, but with the weather I just couldn't be bothered.
photopass plus - i think this is still glitchy. We bought it no problem at all in our hotel giftshop, registered it to our account fine, and it always worked well on POTC and ToT, and we had no problems with the official photographer at the Mickey and Minnie meet n greet. However, on BTM, a couple of times a different familly group would come up on our card, so the CM at the ride booth would have to delete and try again. And very oddly, a family group on Buzz Lazer ride appeared on our photopass plus account, when we hadn't even been anywhere near that part of the park yet! However, we have 21 photos on our account which are actually of us, and they are great photos, so I think photopass plus is worth it.
Impressions -
honestly? While Dreams! is still on the park programme I won't return to DLP during Christmas season again - Dreams! makes me cry, I adore it and watch it as many nights as I can manage usually. The Christmas version just left me completely unaffected.
Also, this time for the first time I was there with a non-Disney kid. It makes a difference, for us it meant we concentrated on the bigger rides and some of the shows only (and characters if there wasn't much of a wait to meet them). Non-Disney peeps don't tend to appreciate the relevance and beauty of the architecture, the lands, the props etc in the same way, although my DLP newbie loved all the Christmas decorations. She also loved the theme of the hotel and having meals in Planet Hollywood and Annettes (she's going to work there on roller skates when she leaves school, and my DD is going to be a Disney Princess/Pirate ride operator apparently).
We will of course be back at DLP, its still my happy place, but having seen both Swing into Spring and Christmas season this year, I'm going to try for Swing into Spring again, with my Disney Daughter.
Lows -
The weather was awful - freezing fog on Sunday, Freezing and raining on Monday, warmer with some lovely sun on Tuesday, and pouring rain all day yesterday.
Ride wait times - these were wildly inaccurate in our experience this week ie RC racer said 5 minutes, actual wait time 25 mins, BTM 15 minutes, actual wait 35 mins etc. It meant we couldn't really plan to be anywhere at a specific time, and we missed the Princess Promenade and Stitch Live show on 2 separate days because of it.
Also, FP machines were not being used at BTM and ToT on Tuesday, and at one point on Tuesday the regular line for BTM was showing 90 minutes! Several rides went to temporary close too while we were there, Parachute Drop, Peter Pan, POTC, BTM. It wasn't quiet this week, even in the last hour of the Studios, there were ride times posted like 60 mins for the Rat, 45-60 mins for Crush, 20mins for Parachutes and 25 for ToT.Slow counter service - oh dear. We had great fairly fast service at Cafe Hyperion (not my fave place but at least it has a large indoor capacity for seating) but Colonel Hathis was ridiculous - it was 3.30pm, Hakuna Matata and Fuente were both closed, and in Colonel Hathis there was only one (trainee) cashier serving. I waited 25 minutes to order, and when we left the restaurant another half hour later there was still only the one same cashier serving, and the queue of guests was out the main door.
Dreams! of Christmas - my initial reaction, which has stayed with me, is what on earth have they done to my Dreams!??? I was so underwhelmed with it I felt like leaving halfway through, but I stuck it out til the end - it didn't improve. Saw it the once, have no wish whatsoever to see it again.
Highs -
Hotel New York
- loved loved loved! From the moment we arrived until the moment we left, we had nothing but attentive, friendly and helpful service, from the bellboys, the reception, baggagerie, gift shop and concierge staff, and the restaurant staff. Our room was on 2nd floor in Gramercy, we could see Space Mountain out of the left window. The room was clean, very comfortable, and cleaned thoroughly every day when we returned from the parks.Christmas parade - I didn't miss Magic On Parade at all, because this parade had Max, Tink, and Huey, Dewey and Louie in it
! Watching the last one of the day, at 4.45pm, on Main St with the snow falling and floodlit, was wonderful - and I got a ginormous hug from Tigger on his way past too, so that helped!Ratatouille area and ride - this is absolutely gorgeous, wow wow wow. Just beautifully done. Love the ride too, very very cute. Unfortunately though, I've discovered 3D doesn't really agree with me straight after Tower of Terror lol.
Christmas decorations - I always love the main park decorated for Christmas, and this was no exception. Everything is covered in garlands and poinsettias, the tree is gorgeous, and castle twinkles away merrily at the top of Main St, and the decorations at the entrance on Main St train station are awesome.
Planet Hollywood - noisy and busy, but fabulous service, great food, and with the Groupon deal, great value too. I'm convinced our waiter is destined for the stage
Rs transports - they were early meeting us both at CDG and our hotel, we paid shared price but didn't share at all, no problems at all and I'd certainly use them again.
okay bits -
characters - we met Mickey and Minnie in EMH with a 30-minute wait. The interaction was fabulous and our photos are great, but in such hideous weather I woudn't have wanted to drag young kids out every morning for 8am on the dot just so they can meet characters. We met Pluto in the studios in Toon Square with not much waiting, and there were random characters around in the main park - we saw Hatter and Alice, and Dee and Dum, plus Mr Smee. We also met King Louie at his spot near Hakuna Matata. The Frozen sisters line was never shorter than 3 hours the whole time we passed it, and the lines for all the other queue characters seemed long (Merida, Jack Skellington, Rapunzel). We did meet quite a few and we're glad we did with a Disney newbie, but I had intended queuing for Merida and Jack, but with the weather I just couldn't be bothered.
photopass plus - i think this is still glitchy. We bought it no problem at all in our hotel giftshop, registered it to our account fine, and it always worked well on POTC and ToT, and we had no problems with the official photographer at the Mickey and Minnie meet n greet. However, on BTM, a couple of times a different familly group would come up on our card, so the CM at the ride booth would have to delete and try again. And very oddly, a family group on Buzz Lazer ride appeared on our photopass plus account, when we hadn't even been anywhere near that part of the park yet! However, we have 21 photos on our account which are actually of us, and they are great photos, so I think photopass plus is worth it.
Impressions -
honestly? While Dreams! is still on the park programme I won't return to DLP during Christmas season again - Dreams! makes me cry, I adore it and watch it as many nights as I can manage usually. The Christmas version just left me completely unaffected.
Also, this time for the first time I was there with a non-Disney kid. It makes a difference, for us it meant we concentrated on the bigger rides and some of the shows only (and characters if there wasn't much of a wait to meet them). Non-Disney peeps don't tend to appreciate the relevance and beauty of the architecture, the lands, the props etc in the same way, although my DLP newbie loved all the Christmas decorations. She also loved the theme of the hotel and having meals in Planet Hollywood and Annettes (she's going to work there on roller skates when she leaves school, and my DD is going to be a Disney Princess/Pirate ride operator apparently).
We will of course be back at DLP, its still my happy place, but having seen both Swing into Spring and Christmas season this year, I'm going to try for Swing into Spring again, with my Disney Daughter.
But so nice to hear about your lovely time at the New York, the Christmas parade and Ratatouille! 
I love all the Christmas decs and the snow, just makes me smile now thinking about it 
.
and I agree you need to book another trip to make for all the lows 
