Festive Fun at Disneyland Paris: Day 3/4 – Wet Park Day, Davy Crockett Ranch, Disney Village & Home

[Stewboy]

Monday 27th November 2023

Today was our last (very wet) park day but we still had a few hours tomorrow which would be spent at Disney Village. We were also checking out of Santa Fe and into Davy Crockett Ranch for our last night.

We had another interrupted night's sleep; Caleb cried in the night and Isabella called out panicked “I can’t see anything” - she did this on our Disney Cruise back in August too! Bleeding kids!

Jo and I were awake properly at about 6:30am. I got coffee while Jo got ready and we woke the children at about 7. We headed straight to La Cantina for another delicious buffet breakfast. Afterwards, Jo headed back to the room to pack while Isabella and I occupied Caleb in the Santa Fe lobby - did I mention he’s a big Cars fan?!


Morning Rex!














Hotel Santa Fe Cars theming


Drying Rex (and Caleb!)

Eventually we were ready to say goodbye to our room at Santa Fe. We loaded up the car (we would be leaving it here for the day) and made our way along the river to the parks.

Unfortunately the weather was really bad today and at multiple times throughout the day we all got wet and cold, especially Caleb who, at different times, refused to wear his gloves, refused to get in the pram, refused to put the rain cover on or refused to cover his legs with the muff. He would then get upset because he was cold, or wet, or both. Despite this, we did manage to have a fun day!

We got to Walt Disney Studios at about 8:35am and noticed that Crush's Coaster was almost a walk-on, so while Jo and Isabella rode Caleb and I explored.

Jo was back within minutes, followed closely by Isabella - they’d ridden single rider as it was even quicker. Jo suggested that I ride it too, but I had to wait a bit longer as it had started to get busy.

I was still only gone for about 20 minutes though. Jo and Isabella really enjoyed it, I thought it was just ok.

While I’d been gone they’d taken Caleb on the Cars Quatre Roues Rallye (Cars Race Rally) ride (they were the only ones on it!) and then Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin. Isabella then rode RC Racer.




Crush's Coaster loading area


RC Racer

Finally I returned and Jo took Isabella on Tower of Terror. Caleb was cold and wet and was getting upset, but wouldn’t get back in the pram to keep out of the rain.

When Jo and Isabella came back we tried to ride Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure but again we were out of luck as this time it was down.




Tower of Terror


Wet Marvel Avengers Campus


Avengers Deployment Vehicle

After browsing the shop and looking at all the Marvel merchandise - Caleb enjoyed looking at the Iron Man (or simply ‘man’ as he calls him) toys with Isabella - I took Caleb for an outfit change as he was so wet. Poor boy 🙁

Due to his shoes being soaked we left them and finally we were able to ride Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure. We all enjoyed the ride- it was worth the wait!


😍




Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure

As we exited the ride a CM told us that Caleb needed to wear shoes…! He wasn't even walking, we were carrying him.

I gave the children some snacks and waited in the dry outside the Spider-Man ride while Jo went into the toilets to dry his trainers under the hand driers.

[Stewboy]

Having finally ticked off Crush’s Coaster and Spider-Man we decided to leave studios and head to the Disneyland Park. We saw that Big Thunder Mountain had a short wait. We attempted a rider swap but couldn’t work out who to talk to so I let Jo and Isabella ride it and took Caleb to the hub to look at the ‘Gardens of Wonder’ sculptures again.


















Gardens of Wonder

They returned quite quickly saying how much they loved it and that they feel it’s better than the Florida or California versions!

After a ride on Caleb’s favourite ride (probaby) - it's a small world - we decided to get some lunch from Au Chalet de la Marionnette. Caleb was being difficult and didn’t want to get in the pram, so I had to carry him to the restaurant. When we got our seats we realised that his trousers were wet again so he had to have his lunch without wearing any trousers!

We had the following:
Me: Hot Pretzel Sandwich with Loin of Pork, Red Cabbage and Mustard Sauce/French Fries/San Pellegrino
Jo: Authentic Bratwurst/French Fries/San Pellegrino
Isabella: Kid’s Hot-Dog/French Fries/Organic Mini Babybel Cheese (x2)/Vittel Water
Desserts: Mickey Dessert (Chocolate Mousse and Sponge Cake) and Apple Strudel








Lunch

When she’d finished her lunch Isabella went to dry Caleb’s shoes (they’d got wet again!) and a pair of his trousers into the toilet to try to dry them like Jo had done earlier. I finished my lunch and took his other pair.




Singing


Me and my little boy

Between us we managed to get his trousers dry enough for him to wear and once we got him re-dressed we made our way out of the restaurant and over to Pirates of the Caribbean. Caleb got a little scared in places but was also singing along!

After Pirates we headed over to Discoveryland to watch Mickey’s PhilharMagic. We had a bit of a wait for the next show so did Les Mystères du Nautilus walkthrough which turned out to be really cool - an unexpected hit!


Captain Jack Sparrow



Les Mystères du Nautilus

Time was now right for PhilharMagic - another of Caleb’s favourite (it's been: “Oh no Donald!” since we got home).

After that we went to have a look around the castle (Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant) exploring the concrete balcony walkthrough area with Sleeping Beauty–themed stained glass windows and tapestries - it was fun to actually be inside a Disney castle!








Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant

After exiting the castle we walked through the Discovery Arcade browsing the shops as we did so, and caught the short Frozen 10th Anniversary Parade (Caleb loved it and was waving at all the characters even though he’s never watched Frozen!) in front of the Disneyland Railroad Main Street Station before boarding the Disneyland Railroad.










Discovery Arcade






Frozen 10th Anniversary Parade

Caleb loved the train (“Woo woo!”) but did get a little scared when it went dark. After we’d done a full loop back to the Main Street Station we decided to call it a day. It was 4pm, we were wet and cold and we still had to get from Hotel Cheyenne to Davy Crockett Ranch. Despite the weather we’d (mostly) had a fun day.




Train selfies


Needs a cuddle


Wet exit

On the walk back to the hotel Caleb fell asleep. We’d actually walked on the other side of the river and went for a look around Hotel Cheyenne to let him sleep a little longer.

Finally we headed over the bridge into Santa Fe. Jo and Isabella went into the Starbucks to buy coffees and a Disneyland Paris mug. We all looked around the shop briefly before returning to the car, at which point Caleb woke up.

We all got in the car and said a fond farewell to Hotel Santa Fe - by this time it was 4:45pm. The drive to Davy Crockett Ranch only took about 10 minutes. We parked up and headed to the check in. It's a fantastic looking resort.










Davy Crockett Ranch

After we checked in we had a look in the shop. Caleb and I did some colouring in while Jo and Isabella bought some supplies: Milk, wine, and a couple of other things including a Minnie Mouse Phantom Manor pin for Isabella that she’d seen in the park.

We drove to our cabin, unpacked and got Caleb changed. We had decided to get dinner at Crockett’s Tavern - the resort restaurant situated in the main area near the shop and reception - and made the short drive back.

Fortunately they had plenty of tables free and it was a really enjoyable dinner. It’s a buffet with a great selection including some delicious barbecue ribs, and a large dessert section which Isabella enjoyed!


Caleb & Daddy


Desserts









Buffet

After dinner we headed back to our cabin, set up the travel cot and got Caleb ready for bed. I read him the Gruffalo (from memory - I’ve read it THAT much!) while Isabella had a shower and then they both went to bed.

The cabin had two bedrooms - one with an en suite - and a living/dining area. Once the children were asleep Jo and I were able to enjoy a glass or two of wine before having showers and heading to bed.

[Stewboy]

Tuesday 28th November 2023
After a good night sleep in a surprisingly comfortable bed we awoke to the unfortunate realisation that we had no tea or coffee!

However, we did have some breakfast and we shared a mixture of crepes, yoghurt, banana, and mini saucisson secs.

We kept Caleb occupied watching Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas on the iPad - Disneyland Paris had got us well and truly in the Christmas spirit!


Our cabin

Eventually we got ready, packed and drove to Disney village. We thought we’d gone to the correct parking garage but the parking garage we ended up in wasn’t covered by our park tickets - which we were really annoyed about especially as it only tells you that on the signs after you’ve parked.

We decided not to take the pram into Disney Village as it’s a short walk from the parking garage - which obviously meant Caleb would be awkward and not want to walk anywhere!








Disney Village


This Lego sign is made of minifigures

He was also being a real pain in the shops as he wanted to grab everything, so I occupied him outside while Jo and Isabella shopped in peace.

After making a few purchases it was time for lunch at Earl of Sandwich. We had some (very overpriced) sandwiches and then decided to call it a day.

We headed back to the car and then it was off to the airport. Returning the car to the Alamo car rental kiosk was fairly straightforward.

After unloading the car and packing up the car seat Caleb insisted on carrying it!






Caleb and the car seat!

At check in we had to drop off the pram rather than take it to the gate, so had to let Caleb walk and/or carry him on occasions.

We bought some wine before boarding the plane for the short flight home - no recliners this time!








The flight home




I liked these signs

Everything else went smoothly apart from when it came time to exit the Terminal 5 Long Stay car park. Just like when we entered there was some kind of technical issue, nobody was leaving and nobody was answering the intercom. Jo had to call the centralised Heathrow phone number to try to get someone to help.

Eventually a parking employee arrived and started manually helping people leave the car park.

The drive home took some detours to avoid traffic, but wasn't too bad in the end.

So that was that. Our birthday, pre-Christmas, festive trip to Disneyland Paris. We all really enjoyed it (despite the cold and that one day of rain) and we’re hoping to do it again soon - watch this space!

TFR




The end

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Oh my goodness, Cody and Caleb definitely are similar toddlers... not wearing gloves, not wanting to sit in the pushchair, not wanting the rain cover on... exhausting! Definitely the hardest age to take them to Disney I would say (but still so magical that it makes the awkward moments totally worthwhile!)

I have loved following along with this trip (reading this report and through Jo's IG stories at the time). DLP holds such a special place in my heart, I am excited to hopefully see you all back there again soon!

[Stewboy]

Originally Posted by Lisa_Lollipop

Oh my goodness, Cody and Caleb definitely are similar toddlers... not wearing gloves, not wanting to sit in the pushchair, not wanting the rain cover on... exhausting! Definitely the hardest age to take them to Disney I would say (but still so magical that it makes the awkward moments totally worthwhile!)

I have loved following along with this trip (reading this report and through Jo's IG stories at the time). DLP holds such a special place in my heart, I am excited to hopefully see you all back there again soon!

See more...

Thank you for your comments, glad you enjoyed it. There were times with Caleb that were challenging (particularly on the final 2 days) but then there are lots of great moments and he loved it - we still talk about the 'laughing man' and being on the airplane and seeing Mickey and Goofy etc.

We've watched Jo's stories back a few times since we got back - it's lovely to be able to relive it and obviously writing this has been enjoyable too. Hopefully we'll be back next year - it might a new tradition

Thanks again for reading!

[JenD1]

I’ve read all your trip reports over the years Stewart from Isabella being a toddler. Lovely to read a DLP one as I’m there on 22nd Jan staying in Santa Fe with my littlest boy (he’s 25 now!). Thanks for again sharing your experience 😊

[DizzyDisneyMum]

What a lovely surprise to find these 🙂
I really enjoy reading about all of your family travels, thank you for taking the time to post them!
We haven't been to dlp for several years, it really feels like time to go back.
Do you have a next adventure planned?

[Pumba75]

Shame about the weather but glad you still had a magical time. We said the same about Big Thunder! Davy Crockett Ranch looked lovely. Looking forward to hearing about future plans.

M x

[Stewboy]

Originally Posted by JenD1

I’ve read all your trip reports over the years Stewart from Isabella being a toddler. Lovely to read a DLP one as I’m there on 22nd Jan staying in Santa Fe with my littlest boy (he’s 25 now!). Thanks for again sharing your experience 😊

See more...

Thank you for that comment, it's so lovely to know that people have been reading these since Isabella was young. I hope you had a fun time when you went.

TFR

Originally Posted by DizzyDisneyMum

What a lovely surprise to find these 🙂
I really enjoy reading about all of your family travels, thank you for taking the time to post them!
We haven't been to dlp for several years, it really feels like time to go back.
Do you have a next adventure planned?

See more...

Thanks for your comments, I'm glad that you enjoy reading along. We do have a trip planned this year - stay tuned!

TFR

Originally Posted by Pumba75

Shame about the weather but glad you still had a magical time. We said the same about Big Thunder! Davy Crockett Ranch looked lovely. Looking forward to hearing about future plans.

M x

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Thanks for reading, hope to catch up soon and tell you all about it.

[Pumba75]

Originally Posted by Stewboy

Thanks for reading, hope to catch up soon and tell you all about it.

See more...

Yes definitely. I’m meant to be checking our diary and letting Jo know some dates!