New Year @ DLP Highs, lows and thoughts

[rosiebun3]

So we returned from DLP on Friday night and I thought I would write our Highs and Lows.
This trip was DH, DD and myself for 4 nights/5 days at the New York Hotel. The last time DH and I had visited was 12 years ago and DD visited before Christmas last year. The aim of the trip was to see the Christmas decorations and parades.
Highs
1 NY hotel. We booked this as they provide a full breakfast and DD cannot eat wheat so a continental breakfast is no good. I was concerned about reports of the hotel needing a revamp. Yes there were signs of wear in the bathroom but our beds we comfy and the rooms very clean. We also thought the rest of the hotel was fine. Location was great making it easy to take breaks during the day.
2. The decorations and parades. We enjoyed these a lot.
3. The CMs in all areas were polite and helpful but maybe lacked some of the enthusiasm you get at WDW; I put that down to the very cold weather
4 Paris. We spent a day in Paris travelling by train Using a Mobilis ticket. We did Montparnasse, Eiffel Tower, walked to the Louvre and went to Sacre Coeur.
5. RS transport who were great on arrival accommodating our 1.5 hour delay and picking us up within 10 minutes of calling them. However see return journey for lows.
Lows
1. RS changed our pick up time by 15 minutes and then were a further 15 minutes late. Had to pick up from Santa Fe an Italian family who had 2 bookings and would not get into transport until another van arrived for the other group :angry: This took a further 30 minutes cue DH starting to get stressed. Driver then says main road is too busy I will take you across country. 10 minutes into journey we come across an accident complete with helicopter on the road . 30 minutes later helicopter leaves and we are on our way. Other family delivered to their terminal first and we have 10 minutes before bag drop closes RS driver did help us with baggage to our desk though.
2. Air France employees at CDG who despite us saying we only have 10 minutes didn't help with check in and appeared to take pleasure in watching us panic. The rest of our experience with Air France was very positive.
3.The weather. Fog delayed our flight as CDG was very foggy. The weather was very cold and despite having layers of thermals it was freezing !
4 1 ( this was the only 1 ) CM who needed to manage the crowds better for Dreams. We had placed ourselves in front of a fenced area. As the crowds grew some people climbed onto grass. CM ushers everyone off then stands there himself whilst the crowds get to the point where there is no access on the path below for pushchairs to leave. Parents start to use the pushchairs as weapons driving into legs. We were standing on the kerb to stay out of way and DH is pushed backwards over fence. All CM could say was get off the grass ! :angry:
5. Disney studios on our 2nd day Remy was down studio tours not open and animation studio also closed without reason. Then Mickey and the Magician went tech. It was 11.45 and we hadn't done anything. However we did manage to do it all by our last day.
General thoughts
Security was very tight everywhere; in and out of hotel ,village and parks. In Paris we were searched at every venue including shopping malls. You need to allow extra time at EMH as the queues do get long.
We have been to WDW three times. We liked DLP but it is not WDW. The attention to detail is sometimes lacking; you could see the framework for buildings , fireworks were still on the ground the next morning and the toilets were not great. However it does have its own charm being much smaller and easy to manage. The crowds were busier than we thought they would be and DD said much busier than before Christmas last year. I don't think we would go again but we only went to experience Christmas and I'm not sure how Christmassy I would feel in Florida heat .
Hope this helps others with their planning

[parisdisneyfan]

We went before Christmas and seems that was the right choice as others have said how busy it was for Christmas and New Year. Like you we went mainly for the decorations and didn't think we could feel christmassy in the heat of Florida, DLP is also our first love having been there before any of the other parks (although Cali is now a close second! )

We thought most of the Cast members were excellent but like you some of the ones policing Dreams were not the best! DH, dd and ds were disappointed on several rides that kept going tech - BTM, Rock and Roller and Indy. We also had problems with Armageddon and the steam train round the park (never got a full circuit in)

We found the cold manageable when we were there but I know that central Europe is having a real blast from the Arctic at the moment so perhaps we were lucky, it was foggy and cold but not unbearable. Was the lake frozen?

Glad you had a (mostly) good time

[rosiebun3]

Yes the lake and le pays decompte de fees were frozen on our last day.
Also so foggy on our first few days we couldn't see the top of the castle