Let's compile some Disneyland Paris Info.

[Guest]

Hi,

Just read your post - we have just returned from Seq. Lodge. To be honest we would not stay there again. Hotel was disappointing, room was not cleaned properly (we had an upgrade as the first room offered had a lovely view of the bins and workmens bums!) but nothing special. Breakfast was a bun fight, food ok, and only one restaurant offered for guests at night which was a nightmare! food very mediocre would not eat there again, it was like a school canteen. The pool was fairly cold, and a very big walk back to the hotel. we only went in once - not as good as our local JJB gym. would try the NEW YORK next, but is the cost too much for a quick Disney fix - I think so. Going back to WDW next year can't wait!

Catshorsey girl

[Guest]

I went to DLP before trying Orlando. Whilst it was fun I will say its exceptionally cold in December and February. That wind just goes right through you. The thing I found was everything was small and close together. By this I mean the seats on the coasters are smaller, its all close together and somewhat claustophobic. Having had this I was shocked how spacous everything was in WDW.

[Guest]

hiya
been to DLP 3times now stayed in
Santa Fe ... Cheaper end of the scale, place to get your head down, very noisy at breakfast time.
Cheynne... pretty much the same as Santa Fe...maybe not as noisy as breakfast time.
Newport Bay... Upgraded to Admirals Floor..well worth it..dedicated check in, gorgeous spacious room..looked out over the lake, relaxed and plentiful breakfast...well worth the extra money.
DLP is a lovely break, but BEWARE its not as organised as WDW. Characters are bombarded by screaming adults with children..no organised queuing
I have found a lot of Europeans to be very rude...and this does put me off, as it takes a couple of days to get used to it then its time to come home.
But other than that, all the best rides are there, the castle is better IMHO ( I like pink!) and your feet will be pleased as its not as big as WDW so you will probably see everything without rushing around.
Its a great short break.
Elaine

[Guest]

I,ve some questions

1) Are the rides open in November (during the first week).

2) Are they more characters then WdW?.

3) Talking of Characters: where is the best place to meet "Chicken Little?".

[Andre]

Originally Posted by jeremy

I,ve some questions
1) Are the rides open in November (during the first week).

See more...

Definitely! Lots of Haloween stuff will still be going on too. May be an odd attraction down for rehab, but almost everything will be running. Don't expect night-time parades/fireworks every night though.

Originally Posted by jeremy

2) Are they more characters then WdW?.

See more...

Kinda similar, but a lot less organised other than in specific greeting locations! France and ad-hoc queues just don't seem compatible.

Originally Posted by jeremy

3) Talking of Characters: where is the best place to meet "Chicken Little?".

See more...

In Disney Studios, in a special location just between the main entrance Studio One building and the Animagique theatre. Chicken Little and Abby Mallard alternate every half hour or so, so join the queue just after a change if you want to see one in particular.

Andre

[Guest]

Thanks. We are thinking of going to Dlp this year.

[Guest]

Just back from DLP;

Flew from Exeter airport with Flybe, good basic no frills service.
Exeter airport small but local for us and efficient.

Arrived Paris CDG, baggage arrived safely,about 20 mins., loos unpleasant, still not very easy to find VEA shuttle, on ground/departure floor opposite exit /gate 16. Usual queue jumping but got on bus o.k

Stayed at Sante Fe, comfortable beds, clean bathroom, good breakfast. Make sure you get the breakfast time you want...they offer you 7.15...we wanted much later but got it o.k. Would not go to Santa Fe again simply because it completely lacks charm and far removed from the lakeside area so you don't really feel that you are in Disneyland. Staff were friendly and helpful though and shuttle to Parks is good. For sante fe take bus stop 1.
Went with Bridge/Cresta travel and they were efficient.

Had a good 4 days but now want to go to Orlando.

[phgannon]

Here's some detail about our experiences at staying in the Castle Club in the Disneyland Hotel in Paris

Booking
I've booked our DLP trips using various different methods in the past ranging from a travel agent through to calling DLP direct. If you want anything remotely extra like a suite or Castle Club room then you need to call DLP direct or get a travel agent to do it for you. You can find the number to call on the DLP website. I have to say that the best booking experience I've had was by dealing with them direct. The staff on the other end of the phone speak excellent English and are incredibly helpful. Last time I called I wanted a last minute 4 night stay at the Disneyland Hotel and the operator searched every week in the summer holiday for me to find 2 interconnecting rooms. She emailed me my confirmation and I subsequently called/emailed her back a couple of times about a private pickup to/from CDG airport.

The only part of the trip that I booked myself was the flights and for this I used Expedia. We flew from Manchester to CDG on the 8:40am BA flight and by 12:30pm we'd not only arrived but had checked into the hotel and we're sat outside Caseys on Main Street USA having a Hot Dog.

The Castle Club in the Disneyland Hotel a.k.a. The Pink Palace
We've always been lucky enough to stay in the wonderful Castle Club in the Disneyland Hotel. Here you do get truly pampered from the moment you check in all the way through to your departure.

The Castle Club occupies the upper two floors of the hotel and is accessed by calling the lift using your room key card. When you first arrive at the hotel you get escorted up to the Castle Club reception by a bell-hop after he's tagged and taken away your luggage that is whisked to your room once it's ready. This is the same lift that takes you straight down to the entrance of the Disneyland Park. This lift is a real boon and means that you can be in Fantasyland one minute and back in your room 5 minutes later - very handy.

Once there you get checked in either in the Castle Club reception area or in the adjacent Castle Club lounge depending on how busy they are. During check in you're given your park tickets and VIP Fastpasses along with an overview of the parks, amenities and restaurants. The adults are also given ID cards which you sign and can use to charge anything to your room [they need a swipe of your credit card for this]. During check in you can also make restaurant reservations - these can be changed or cancelled at any time. You then have another opportunity to leave bags behind reception while you whiz off into the parks or you can go straight to your room if it's ready.

Bedrooms
If you can get a Castle Club room with a Park View then book it!

Photo: This is the view we had from our Park View Castle Club room in January '06... need I say anymore?!


If you are staying over the summer and Wishes is on then this is the place to see it. Best view in the park! If your room isn't park facing then head to the Castle Club lounge and stand out on one of the 4 balconies to watch Wishes.

Photo: These photos of Wishes were taken from a balcony in the Castle Club Lounge in the summer '05.




The alternative to a Park View is a Garden View which is of the gardens, fountains, Disney Studios (to the right) and the Disney Village (to the left).

All of the rooms are spacious, have a mini-bar and DVD player which does play English DVDs and you get a complimentary bottle of champagne (Taittinger), chocolates and long stemmed roses.

On plenty of occasions we've emptied the mini bar so we can fill the fridge with our own stuff. The staff don't seem to mind but you do need to be a little vigilant when checking the bill at the end of your stay!

The rooms at the Disneyland hotel are something else whether you’re staying in the Castle Club or not. They’re all very clean, spacious and extremely comfortable. There’s plenty of wardrobe space and a safe. The attention to detail is marvellous with Tinkerbelle bed spreads, the Seven Dwarfs carved on the mirrors in the bathroom, etc. Every night there’s a complimentary turn down service during which they’ll turn down your beds, tidy your room, freshen the towels and leave chocolates on your pillows along with tomorrow’s weather forecast.

Photo: A Castle Club room

Whilst the rooms are large and excellent they are missing tea/coffee making facilities so take a travel kettle and some tea bags if you want tea in your room or, alternatively, call room service or pop into the Castle Club lounge for free tea, coffee, soft drinks all day. Milk is available to buy in cartons from the hotel's shop on the 1st floor near the restaurants.

Interconnecting Rooms
This is available on request [call/book DLP direct for this]. On booking they'll tell you that they can't guaruntee interconnecting rooms but that you can request them. I think they only say this to cover themselves because the hotel's not let me down yet. What we've had is two rooms that share a porch that's just off the hotel corridor. So, you use the key card for either room to open the porch and there inside are the doors to both rooms. You can only open the door to the porch if you have a key to one of those rooms.

Doorstops are provided to keep the inner doors propped open. These are especially handy if you have little kids sleeping in the 2nd bedroom because the doors are heavy.

Suites
We've stayed in two different types of suites in the Disneyland Hotel. Staying in a suite automatically gives you access to the Castle Club although, for some strange reason, the Junior Suites are not actually located up in the Castle Club. Ours was on the first floor so you have to walk quite a way from your Junior Suite to the Castle Club but it does mention this on the DLP website. On the plus side the Junior Suites are big and do have a separate living room and bedroom - they're separated by a set of double doors. The sofa in the living room is a sofa bed that's made up during the evening turn down service.

We've also stayed in a Tinkerbelle Suite. These suites, and all the other types of suites, are located up in the Castle Club. You get a bigger bedroom and bigger living room. All Tinkerbelle Suites face the gardens - there are no park facing Tinkerbelle Suites [unless someone can tell me differently]. It is possible, if you're really wanting to push the boat out, to have a Tinkerbelle Suite with and interconnecting 2nd bedroom. Mmmm roomy.

Photo: This is the living room through to the bedroom in a Tinkerbelle suite.



The Castle Club Lounge
Breakfast in the Castle Club lounge is a much more sedate affair compared to the main restaurant below. Also, unlike the main restaurant below, you don't have to book for breakfast - just turn up when you want. The lounge isn't that big but always seems to have tables ready without waiting. There are excellent views of the park from every table and the food's good too.

Photo: Having breakfast in the Castle Club Lounge

I was pleased to see on our last trip that they've replaced the two cereal dispensers with a stall of various Kellogg’s cereals everything from CoCo Pops to All Bran. You also get fresh pastries (Danish and French), yoghurts, fruit, juices, eggs, sausages, bacon, cold meats, smoked salmon, cheese, toast, etc. I mustn’t forget to mention that you also get visits from the characters.

As I wrote earlier you can also get free hot and cold drinks [you have to pay for alcoholic drinks] throughout the day in The Castle Club lounge and as well as breakfast they also serve afternoon tea at 4:00pm with a delicious and tempting array of cakes.

VIP FastPass
Thank you to whoever thought up the idea of the VIP Fastpass! This wonderful little ticket allows the holder to go on any Fastpass ride without having to pre-book a time slot first. You just go up to the ride, show your ticket and on you go. You can go on again straight afterwards if you want to and keep going until you're fed up. However, you're not allowed to use your VIP Fastpass after certain hours of the day e.g. 9:00pm in summer.

Hotel Restaurants
There are two restaurants in the Disneyland Hotel and they're next door to each other on the 1st floor. Just in front of these two restaurants is a lounge area which is where you get to meet the Characters at breakfast. At least one of the Characters will be with an official photographer just in front of the large fire place. Those photos are available to view and buy in the hotel's shop within minutes of them being taken. You do have to queue to have your photo taken but it's nowhere near as long as the queues you get in the parks.

Photo: The lounge area in front of the two restaurants where you can have official photos taken with the Characters


Inventions is a large buffet restaurant and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The other restaurant is A La Carte and, I think, only serves dinner.

Photo: Buffet in Inventions restaurant

The buffet in Inventions is excellent and there's always a good selection. They also have a kids section with pizza, chicken dinosaurs, potatoe smiley faces and a little freezer with ice creams in. The staff are excellent and will willingly warm up baby food up for you or get you a plate of fries even if there's none on offer at the buffet. There's never a shortage of high chairs complete with Mickey Mouse ears.

Dining with the Characters
At dinner in the evening in the Inventions restaurant there's always plenty of Characters around irrespective of what time you're eating. You'll regularly find Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale (or Tic et Tac as they're know in French), Pluto, Goofy and Eeyore. The Characters will muck about, sit in your place and pretend to eat your food, hug the kids (and you), play peek-a-boo with the younger ones, get the kids to sit on their knee while you take a photo, sign autographs (buy a Disney autograph book and a chunky pen from any of the Disney shops), etc, etc.

Photo: Mickey, Goofy and Pluto with my wife and kids in the Inventions restaurant


Other hotel facilities
There's a nice indoor pool but it's a bit on the cool side for our liking! Other people have reported it as being small but I don't think it is. We've never found the pool to be too busy.

There's a spa in the hotel which I haven't tried yet but not without trying. You do need to book in advance if you want treatment. Next to the spa is the kids club and games room which is really a mini arcade.

There's Wi-Fi Internet access available throughout the hotel not tried that either - I'm on holiday for Heaven's sake!

We have used a baby sitter on three occasions and this was excellent. She spoke wonderful English and put our 8 year old to bed for us (he was already bathed and in his PJs). Our 3 year old was already well away and dreaming of Minnie!

Have a look at the videos on my website listed in my profile for our DLP experience or just give me a shout if you want to know more.

[dcmax]

Excellent info there... I recognise the name and the vids probably from the DLP forums I think.. Anyway just to add Inventions (review here disneyand.blogspot/2006/0...tions-dlp.html) is an absolute must for Lunch time people watching as you look down on them entering the park below as you savour the fine buffet (and this food is nothing like buffet food) and wine.. The California Grill (review here disneyand.blogspot/2006/0...is-disney.html )rates as one of my favourite disney dining experiences of all time.. Though the waiter did take us back into the kitchens and the chef bribed us with hand made chocolates..

[phgannon]

Because theDibb doesn't send out email alerts if someone edits/updates an earlier post I'm adding this note to let you know that I've added quite a few pics to my earlier post in this section about the Castle Club and the Disneyland Hotel.

Just scroll up a bit!

Patrick

PS Lots more photos of DLP added to my Members Gallery.