Notices
Disneyland Paris Trip Reports Trip Reports

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 25 Mar 19, 10:25 AM  
Link to this Post
#1
abiknox
Imagineer
 
Join Date: Jan 10

abiknox's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 1
Restaurant Reviews: 5
Just back - Highs and Lows



We got back late last night after a 5 day/4 night trip at DLP. We had a lovely time and I will be doing a full TR but in the mean time here is a run down of the best bits & the worst bits!

Highs

Weather

We were SO lucky with the weather, it was hot and sunny with clear blue skies for most of our trip. Completely unexpected and just lovely. Our last day was a bit colder but still dry & very pretty.

Hotel / Golden Forrest

We stayed at Sequoia Lodge with the Golden Forrest upgrade and we were very happy. We got given a room on the 7th floor with a lake view (we didn't pay for the view). The room was a great size, lovely and clean and the bath was amazing for a chill after a full park day.

The GF aspect was great, an additional FP every day, a faultless breakfast in a quiet room and a really peaceful lounge to sit in of an evening with free soft drinks or excellent paid for cocktails. GF would be a must for us on any future stays.

Friends

Going with our friends was great, we weren't in each others pockets & did have some family time by ourselves but its always good to experience meals / parks with other people. Edith & their little girl Maisie adore each other and had great fun together.

Fastpass

FP was great, especially on the weekend days as the queues were long. We walked straight onto Ratatouille, TOT, Space Mountain ect.

Food

The food was top notch, I had read very conflicting reviews on the restaurant but we thought it was excellent (service not so much, see lows). We ate at Restaurant de Stars, Hunters Grill, Annettes Diner & Agrabar & we loved them all. So much choice, healthy options at all the buffets and always replenished & very fresh. I don;t think I would have been too happy paying OOP but with the dining plan covered in advance we felt it was worth it.

Lows

Service

Oh the service, it was so slow! Not one member of staff while we were there seems confident in what they were doing. Everyone just wonders at a snails pace, even when there is a queue of 50 people waiting for a table in the restaurant. There was no sense of urgency that we are used to both at home or in the states. Most of the staff with a few exceptions were also quite rude. The waitress at Hunters Grill was terrible, just completely ignored us every time we tried to catch her attention to order drinks / pay the bill. In the end we started to pack up our things to get her attention and she soon shot over then, thinking we were going to do a runner without paying!

Rude people


Just in general, people were much more 'for themselves' than we find in America. No one held doors or said thank you when we held doors. There was a lot of pushing & showing in queues and no respect for personal space during parades / fireworks.

Queues

The queuing for everything really got on our nerves by the end of the trip & it links in with my comments on service above. Any time we wanted to buy something, it would take 10 minutes even through there was only 1 person in front. The staff just seemed clueless.

For restaurants, we had to queue to join another queue to wait for a table (even though half the restaurant was empty). Even McDonalds had a 40 minute wait for food. It's like they had never seen a crown before and I'm sure it wasn't even that busy compared to peak times so it really bugged us.

Even to grab a candyfloss stick, we had to go in a shop, pay, get a receipt and then queue again by the machine. Why not just have the lady making the floss take the payment? Every single person joined the queue, only to get the the front and be told they had to go inside to pay!

Edith being poorly

Poor Edith was a bit poorly for the middle of the trip. She had Roseola which consisted of a fever, sickness, lack of appetite and a rash. She has suffered with the same before but I did take her to the pharmacy at Val de Europe just to confirm that it wasn't anything more serious. She picked up by the end of the trip and was happy throughout when she was dosed up on calpol.

Journey

The journey to DLP wasn't too bad as we broke up the drive with a stay at the Premier inn Folkstone, but the drive back home was a slog. With the journeys both end, a delay at the tunnel (french strikes) and traffic by Slough on the way home, we were on the road for 8 hours. I think we will definitely choose to fly next time.

Terror Scare

We had a bit of a scare while there on our last night. Apparently an escalator in the main train station had made a very loud bang and panicked people which had a knock on effect in the Village. Apparently people were running scared and restaurants and hotels were put on lock down. We were locked in at Sequoia Lodge and before we were assured it was a false alarm it was very worrying.

Lack of Photopass photographers

This is a small gripe I guess, but we really missed the photopass guys that we are used to in the USA. We have a few selfies in front of the castle but no real family pictures and even most of the character meets didn't have an official photographer. We did get ride photos (apart from TOT where there was a fault) but there was no way the photo pass was worth the €75 that it would have cost (we got it included). It seems a missed opportunity for them as Im sure they would sell a lot more if the photo ops were there.
abiknox is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 25 Mar 19, 01:26 PM  
Link to this Post
#2
877
Excited about Disney
 
877's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 12
Thanks for the info, we are going this August and have mixed feelings. I tend to get triggered by people being rude/incompetent so I'm going to have to chill it seems

We are staying the same hotel/room type so that sounds good at least!
__________________
Oct 2012 - 1st time to Florida | June 2014 - NYC 3 days / Florida 13 days | Oct 2016 - POR 10 nights / Hard Rock 4 nights | Aug 2017- New York City | July 2018 Cruise | July 2019 DLP | Oct 2020 - Florida
877 is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 25 Mar 19, 01:52 PM  
Link to this Post
#3
abiknox
Thread Starter
Imagineer
 
Join Date: Jan 10

abiknox's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 1
Restaurant Reviews: 5
Originally Posted by 877 View Post
Thanks for the info, we are going this August and have mixed feelings. I tend to get triggered by people being rude/incompetent so I'm going to have to chill it seems

We are staying the same hotel/room type so that sounds good at least!
I think you will be really pleased with the hotel / GF lounge and breakfast. For me that was faultless.

Magic hours are a great way to avoid crowds but we were only awake for it once in our whole visit.

Good luck with chilling out, I'm a relatively calm person and I got pretty worked up a couple of times .
abiknox is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 25 Mar 19, 02:13 PM  
Link to this Post
#4
Gill H
VIP Dibber
 
Join Date: Jan 08
Location: South Wales

theDIBB Guidebook
Guidebook Photos: 86
Guidebook Reviews: 24
Maybe it is because I live in London and like visiting European cities - but I don’t really notice it. Standard behaviour everywhere in my experience. You just have to have sharp elbows and a robust attitude!

Restaurant service is slow in France, that’s how they like it. We tend to avoid counter service and have long, luxurious dinners instead.

In 11 visits we have never met a rude CM, but don’t expect American style happy friendly smiley service. The French see that as tacky and fake. Equality is burned into the French psyche, and the idea that they are there to ‘serve’ another person is an insult. Instead, they are the ones with the power in that transaction. The server, not the customer, is king.

That said, if you start a conversation in French with them (even ropey 30-year old school French) they blossom!

Have to agree re Photopass, really not worth it. I suspect it is a finance thing - staff costs are sky high in France as unlike the US they can’t get away with rubbish pay and conditions!

Edited at 02:16 PM.
Gill H is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 25 Mar 19, 02:39 PM  
Link to this Post
#5
Mrs Valentine
Imagineer
 
Mrs Valentine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 09

Mrs Valentine's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 4
Restaurant Reviews: 21
We went to Disneyland Paris when it was called Euro Disney and I swore I'd never go there again. Rude people pushing in, inconsiderate guests, horrid cast members. Don't even get me started on the smoking queues everywhere, and the French do not queue! We stayed in the Cabins that are about a 15 min bus ride away and they were lovely, but everything else was horrid. I'm sticking with Florida.
__________________

DisneyJulie
Mrs Valentine is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 25 Mar 19, 02:53 PM  
Link to this Post
#6
abiknox
Thread Starter
Imagineer
 
Join Date: Jan 10

abiknox's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 1
Restaurant Reviews: 5
Originally Posted by Gill H View Post
Maybe it is because I live in London and like visiting European cities - but I don’t really notice it. Standard behaviour everywhere in my experience. You just have to have sharp elbows and a robust attitude!

Restaurant service is slow in France, that’s how they like it. We tend to avoid counter service and have long, luxurious dinners instead.

In 11 visits we have never met a rude CM, but don’t expect American style happy friendly smiley service. The French see that as tacky and fake. Equality is burned into the French psyche, and the idea that they are there to ‘serve’ another person is an insult. Instead, they are the ones with the power in that transaction. The server, not the customer, is king.

That said, if you start a conversation in French with them (even ropey 30-year old school French) they blossom!

Have to agree re Photopass, really not worth it. I suspect it is a finance thing - staff costs are sky high in France as unlike the US they can’t get away with rubbish pay and conditions!
I've visited many European cities including Paris/Marseilles and Cannes a good few times and found service to be better everywhere out of Disney. They just all seemed like they didn't want to be there and I don't think we saw a smile all week. I just don't know why people work in the service industry if they don't have time/patience for people.

Originally Posted by Mrs Valentine View Post
We went to Disneyland Paris when it was called Euro Disney and I swore I'd never go there again. Rude people pushing in, inconsiderate guests, horrid cast members. Don't even get me started on the smoking queues everywhere, and the French do not queue! We stayed in the Cabins that are about a 15 min bus ride away and they were lovely, but everything else was horrid. I'm sticking with Florida.
I had read about the smoking prior to going & although I did see a few people it wasn't on the level I had expected. Still not pleasant though as a non smoking group with children.

I was really surprised at the cast members and their rudeness. I knew not to expect the America over the top friendliness but a smile every now and then would have been nice.

It wouldn't put me off going, it was just a surprise to me having visited France many times before.
abiknox is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 25 Mar 19, 09:08 PM  
Link to this Post
#7
Animagus
Imagineer
 
Animagus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 14
Location: East Midlands
We are off to Sequoia GF in May so it’s great to hear that you loved it there.

We will need to brace ourselves for lots of queuing as there is a French National holiday during our visit. We will make the most of FP and try to go with the flow.

Sorry to hear you experienced so much rudeness and unfriendliness. That sort of thing can really take the shine off.

Glad Edith picked up but it’s rotten if you’re ill when you go away, especially so if it’s a child.

Look forward to reading your full trippie. Thanks for sharing. 😄
Animagus is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 25 Mar 19, 09:46 PM  
Link to this Post
#8
Gill H
VIP Dibber
 
Join Date: Jan 08
Location: South Wales

theDIBB Guidebook
Guidebook Photos: 86
Guidebook Reviews: 24
I so want to stay Golden Forest one time. Never had the budget yet, and the way DLP prices are going it doesn't look likely, unfortunately.
__________________
DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14
Gill H is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 26 Mar 19, 09:44 PM  
Link to this Post
#9
Animagus
Imagineer
 
Animagus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 14
Location: East Midlands
Originally Posted by Gill H View Post
I so want to stay Golden Forest one time. Never had the budget yet, and the way DLP prices are going it doesn't look likely, unfortunately.
I think it will be a one time deal for us. I managed to get the two nights free offer and got a really good deal, as a result. I looked at the price now and it would be over £1000 more! Crazy.
Animagus is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 1 Apr 19, 12:17 PM  
Link to this Post
#10
Guest
Guest
 
Originally Posted by abiknox View Post
Service

Oh the service, it was so slow! Not one member of staff while we were there seems confident in what they were doing. Everyone just wonders at a snails pace, even when there is a queue of 50 people waiting for a table in the restaurant. There was no sense of urgency that we are used to both at home or in the states. Most of the staff with a few exceptions were also quite rude. The waitress at Hunters Grill was terrible, just completely ignored us every time we tried to catch her attention to order drinks / pay the bill. In the end we started to pack up our things to get her attention and she soon shot over then, thinking we were going to do a runner without paying!

Rude people


Just in general, people were much more 'for themselves' than we find in America. No one held doors or said thank you when we held doors. There was a lot of pushing & showing in queues and no respect for personal space during parades / fireworks.

Queues

The queuing for everything really got on our nerves by the end of the trip & it links in with my comments on service above. Any time we wanted to buy something, it would take 10 minutes even through there was only 1 person in front. The staff just seemed clueless.

For restaurants, we had to queue to join another queue to wait for a table (even though half the restaurant was empty). Even McDonalds had a 40 minute wait for food. It's like they had never seen a crown before and I'm sure it wasn't even that busy compared to peak times so it really bugged us.

Even to grab a candyfloss stick, we had to go in a shop, pay, get a receipt and then queue again by the machine. Why not just have the lady making the floss take the payment? Every single person joined the queue, only to get the the front and be told they had to go inside to pay!
We have family in France (and my OH was born in France) so we visit alot and find that slow service is just part of the deal over there! I totally agree with the seemingly inefficient way you have to queue and then pay then queue again, it happens all over the place - especially when it comes to 'fast food' which just goes against French culture totally so they seem to be pretty rubbish at organising it!

Just last week we were in Flunch in Lille and you queue, pay, get given a ticket. Find a seat. Then take your ticket up to another counter where you queue again, they only then start making your food. It's painful! But even when you ask family who have lived there 30 years why it's such hard work they just give you a traditional French shrug and say "because it is"

I am mostly used to it now, but it can still be frustrating at times.

Edited at 12:20 PM.
Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:28 AM.


Powered by vBulletin - Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
DIBB Savings
AttractionTickets.com

Get £10 off each Disney Ticket with the code ATDIBB10

Get up to £50 off per room at Disney or Universal with the code DIBBHOTELS


theDIBB Blog
One of the the five worlds found in Epic Universe, How to Train Your Dragon... Read More »
Disney announced that a new nighttime show, “Disney Dreams That Soar,” will run nightly at... Read More »
Walt Disney World Resort guests can get ready to have a “glowing’’ good time when... Read More »


theDIBB Menu


Exchange Rates
US Dollar Rates
ASDA  $1.2354
CaxtonFX  $1.2304
Covent Garden FX  $1.2545
FAIRFX  $1.2350
John Lewis  $1.2380
M&S  $1.2178
Sainsburys  $1.2354
TESCO  $1.2364
Travelex  $1.2353
Updated: 00:00 29/03/2024
Euro Rates
ASDA  €1.1447
CaxtonFX  €1.1405
Covent Garden FX  €1.1510
FAIRFX  €1.1432
John Lewis  €1.1457
M&S  €1.1263
Sainsburys  €1.1440
TESCO  €1.1445
Travelex  €1.1435
Updated: 00:00 29/03/2024

DIBB Premium Membership
Did you know you can help support theDIBB with Premium Membership?

Check out this link for more information and benefits, such as...

"No adverts on theDIBB Forums"

Upgrade Now



X