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Old 31 Mar 19, 10:05 PM  
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HFJohnson
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Join Date: Jan 13
Solo Trip - 17/3 - 19/3 Highs, lows & thoughts etc

I took a quick solo trip to DLP a couple of weeks ago so thought I’d share my highs and lows, thoughts and tips. In no particular order….

* Getting there and back again on schedule! - I had booked to travel to and from Gare du Nord but I had been reading about the horrendous queues at security in Paris because of the strikes by the security staff. Despite being told it wasn’t possible by Eurostar's twitter account I called the booking line and a very helpful lady switched my return train to the indirect one via Lille. Security was still slow at Lille as the staff were working to rule there too and we only had a 30 minute connection time however the train was held for a few minutes and we all got through just in time. The train to Paris was absolutely fine and I was in DLP almost exactly an hour after getting off the Eurostar.

* Newport Bay Club - it was my first time staying here and I’d upgraded from the Santa Fe after finding a good deal on Hotels.com. It’s a lovely hotel and I had no real issues with my stay but I don’t think I’d stay there again. I personally just prefer the theming of Sequoia Lodge and don’t think the NPB is worth the higher cost. Also, the left hand path to the village was shut so it was a pretty long walk to the parks each day plus if your room it at the end of a wing, as mine was, you have to walk MILES to get to it! All entirely first world problems and I’m glad I got to the stay there but it won’t be my first choice in future.

* Crowd levels - I was there Sunday 17th to Tuesday 19th March and I was expecting the Monday and Tuesday to be quiet but it turned out not to be the case. It wasn't horrendous but certainly not the low crowds I was expecting. I’ve been during term time before and usually the rides during EMH are walk ons but this time the queues built up pretty quickly. There seemed to be a lot of young families there, plus there were a LOT of ride closures (Dumbo, tea cups, autopia, BTM, phantom manor, railway) which won’t have helped. I didn’t matter though as I still managed to get on everything I wanted to with a bit of strategic planning.

* Walt Disney Studios - the revamp of this park can not come soon enough IMO. I doesn’t help that I don’t like crush, rock n rollercoaster, rc racer or tower of terror! That leaves very little in the park of interest to me. I popped in on the Sunday afternoon and was luckily able to hop on the single rider line for Ratatouille with only a 10 minute wait and then went back on Monday afternoon to see Mickey and the Magician (a fantastic show) and that was it!

* Disney Village - see above! I really hope that this also gets a long needed upgrade at some point in the future. It has so much potential, especially when you see what they’ve done with Disney Springs in Florida.

* Salon Mickey - one of my favourite places on property. I expect it will be gone one day and I will be so sad when that day comes. In the meantime I will make the most of my free hot chocolates and muffins as often as I can!

* Food - nothing very exciting to report here but my main highlight was Vapianos. Yes the queuing system takes a bit of getting used to but is less of a problem as a solo traveller. I had the chicken alfredo pasta on my first day and it was delicious! So much so that I went back and had the four cheese pasta special on the Tuesday - this wasn’t as good but still lovely as it’s all so freshly cooked. I wanted to try out Victoria’s but there was always a huge queue so didn’t get the chance. I tried the EOS macaroni cheese but was disappointed as it was very dry and not a patch on Vapianos. I also picked up BBQ chicken salad from there for the train journey home and this was lovely. Main street fudge and McDonalds macarons are also essential purchases for me.

* Pirates of the Caribbean - my favourite ride was looking good, with the swinging pirate actually present and swinging! I also noticed a new effect I’ve never seen before - in the jail scene there’s a wooden beam overhead that moves up and down as if it’s about to break - is this new or have I just missed it?

* Weather - overall dry but the first two days were much colder than I’d prepared for and I was wishing I’d packed some thermals. The last day was lovely though with some warm sunshine that made the parks look fab

* The little details - one of the things I love about DLP and I find something new every time I go - this times I spent a happy few minutes reading the displays in the Liberty arcade all about the building of the statue of liberty.

* Illuminations - one day I’ll see this! As I was up and out early each day I just didn’t have the energy or will to hang around to see this at the end of the day (Dreams would have kept me there) and instead headed back to the hotel for netflix and an earlyish night. I could however see Tower of Terror from my room and got to see the Star Wars show from a distance so I didn’t miss out on the evening entertainment all together!

All in all it was a great trip and it was nice that everything went to plan and I got to do everything I wanted to. All the ride closures were a bit of a downer but not the end of the world. In future I think I’m going to try and keep any term time trips to the autumn as I feel as if the parks are a lot quieter then - the Fridays before runDLP for the last three years for example were a lot quieter than the Monday and Tuesday this time.
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Old 5 Apr 19, 07:51 PM  
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Animagus
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Location: East Midlands
Thanks for sharing your observations. Vapiano’s is Somewhere we want to try. It gets good reviews.
We are travelling via Gare du Nord as it is considerably cheaper. I hope there is no industrial action in May!

There does seem to be a high level of closures at present. Much of what you listed is still closed when we go. I’ll miss the railroad. I like a scenic trip round the park.

Glad you had a good time. I’m always in awe of those of you who take trips alone. Not sure I’d be brave enough!
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