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Trevor
October 23rd, 2003, 14:15
I read a lot on this site which was very useful - beware that some comments are out of date - I visited on the 20 Oct 2003 as a family of 4, with 2 kids - 4 & 6 (4th birthday party in Disney) as well as Granny & Grandpa - 1st time for all of us.

First comment about the other comments: Most seem to be split into 2 camps: Those that find it difficult to adapt to the fact DLP is in France, and the other regarding the rides.

1. Its in France! - make an effort and you'll be appreciated - chances are they'll come back at you in English anyway!
2. The rides are great, but with small kids its worth planning where and when to go - rides weren't the most important aspect - there are many shows to see aside from rides and plenty going-on on the streets.

We stayed 4 days, 3 nights at Sequoia Lodge.

Service great, although we only had breakfast there. Try and book at least one breakfast session in the park when you check in - you'll be in the park before everyone else.

take tea and coffee with you, and ask for a kettle at reception. Surprisingly (as everything else is looked after) - there are no facilities in the room to make drinks. Get cups from the restaurants

Breakfast is generous - continental, but plenty of it.

Dinner recommendations:

Buffalo Bills (10/10 rating from all of us) - costs extra
Rainforest cafe (9/10)
Blue Lagoon (8/10) - service can be a bit slow - but what's the rush?!

You should book them all in advance!

Tip: eat lunch at 12.00, and book all evening meals, otherwise you'll end up queuing or being dissappointed

The food is not as bad as some make-out across Disney, but you do pay for what you get. I am a bit of a "foodie" and spend holidays in France - I thought on the whole it was very good - lunch we took in various fast-food joints during the day.

When you arrive in the hotel, after checking-in go to the concierge and find out what's on. Characters appear in the hotel sometimes 3 or 4 times a day - mostly in the morning after breakfast.

The bar at Sequoia is nice, and the one at Disney Hotel is ok if you need a quick retreat (But expensive) close to the park.

I rate Disney park at 99% - staff superb, freindly, nothing too much trouble etc etc.

Pin trading was a hit with the kids: tip: starter packs can be cheaper than buying individual pins.

Disney studios are great too and I rate at 90%

We went on almost all the rides at some time, but it wasn't what we were focussed on.

I'm happy to give anyone tips - just post them and I'll get round to answering!

Overall: its not cheap, you get what you pay for, be prepared to spend a few quid and you'll have a fantastic time - relax into it and before long you'll be swept along with the atmosphere.

sunshine state
October 23rd, 2003, 14:28
I should imagine that the WEATHER was a big difference between Paris and Florida i went during the summer and lucky that was when they were having heatwaves in Paris, overall not a bad time though.

Goofy Girl
October 24th, 2003, 12:44
Thanks for the report Trevor - it makes a nice change from hearing the DLP horror stories!:D

Trevor
October 24th, 2003, 16:12
No problem. I too was worried about all the negative comments before I went, but in fact I didn't come across any problems at all.

One further thing - we booked a Disney birthday party with the characters - and my 3 yo was completely in awe of the event (grown-ups had a great time too!),

PaulaK
November 3rd, 2003, 12:18
The French do the birthday thing much better than the Americans it has to be said. At the Disneyland Hotel, they play a song and get the characters to the table. At WDW, we were disappointed AGAIN this year that no fuss is made apart from the cake being dumped on the table and the server singing. We went to the Crystal Palace in the MK last week for Lis' 7th birthday and it was the worst meal and also the worst service of anywhere we went. They made us wait 45 minutes, despite aving made a PS 90 days in advance and we had to wait outside in the rain. They ran out of pagers. Totally unorganised!

I too think you can't go to DLP with the expectations of WDW, you're bound to be disappointed. We treat DLP as a 'luxury break' not as a Disney holiday, because the Disneyland Hotel DLP is better by far than the US hotels.

Paula :wave:

Trevor
November 3rd, 2003, 15:48
Thanks for that - we stayed in the Sequoia lodge and the party was in the park itself, at a restaurant. They made a great fuss of the birthday boy - and I thought it good value and well planned out with good character appearances and the whole staff on duty getting into it.

Re Disney Hotel: with kids of 4 & 6, we popped in for drinks on occasion (escape from the park and resting our feet) but felt the atmosphere somewhere between child-friendly, and a stereotypical posh hotel - (friendly, but a little "stuffy" for us).

At the Disney Hotel we didn't feel that the kids could do their thing, at will, - but at Sequoia it appeared the norm - glad to hear you had a nice time as we did!

tushypat
November 3rd, 2003, 16:57
Believe me, my kids did their 'own thing' at The Dsneyland Hotel!!!! We worried that Castle Club, described as being a haven of peace and quiet would not work well with us but its not at all stuffy for kids with only one exception, I found Cafe Fantasia a little too grown up for our toddler. I love the whole experience!!

neal
November 4th, 2003, 14:31
I too think you can't go to DLP with the expectations of WDW, you're bound to be disappointed. We treat DLP as a 'luxury break' not as a Disney holiday, because the Disneyland Hotel DLP is better by far than the US hotels.

Rubbish!! The Animal Kingdom Lodge by far surpases the Disneyland hotel at DLP!

tushypat
November 4th, 2003, 14:38
Originally posted by neal
I too think you can't go to DLP with the expectations of WDW, you're bound to be disappointed. We treat DLP as a 'luxury break' not as a Disney holiday, because the Disneyland Hotel DLP is better by far than the US hotels.

Rubbish!! The Animal Kingdom Lodge by far surpases the Disneyland hotel at DLP!

I think it's just a matter of personel opinion.

PaulaK
November 4th, 2003, 14:45
Have you stayed in both the Castle Club and the AKL Neal?

Both Claire and I always stay in the Castle Club and agree it really is top notch. Maybe you're more of a 'theming' fan. Each to their own!

Paula