DLP finally! Feb 2022

[DiszeeBelle]

Well I didn't think this trip would happen but it did. After rearranging this trip twice since 2020, having to swap hotels in DLP, swap hotels for travel day, 2 of us testing positive 2 weeks before the trip we finally arrived in France on February 19th.

Party: Family of 11 ranging from 11yrs to 65 years young. One teen having to be tested everyday whilst there due to only one vaccine and recovering from covid but no certificate despite asking for it for 6 weeks! (Still waiting now and she gets her 2nd jab next week haha)

Hubby refused to use the randox tests for daily testing so we had to use the Disney village for 5 days and then the local pharmacy for our last full day. It worked out £35 per day onsite and £17 for the local pharmacy- I just couldn't be bothered walking there everyday. All were easy to do, staff lovely and easy to upload to the Tous anti covid app.

Travel Day: We set off at 2:30am on the morning of the 19th (not my idea but i had to go with the flow, not again though) We travelled from the North-East so had 'lovely' weather traveling south- strong winds, sleet, driving rain. We arrived in Dover at 10am after a number of stops (I was shattered after having covid so welcomed them). We were put on the 'earlier' 9:30am ferry which didn't actually leave until 11:10am. My brother didn't get on this ferry unfortunately and a complaint has gone in due to fiasco that ensued. He didn't get a ferry until 4pm! no compensation just having to sit and wait in the ferry lane until called. We crossed in rough weather and i spent this in the toilet unwell, well actually asleep on the toilet floor haha I was so tempted to book the tunnel coming back.

It was a nice drive through France and we arrived at the Adagio Marne la Vallee around 5pm. The staff member on the reception desk was lovely, he gave us some 'pixie dust' and gave us free parking for the night (should be 15euro per car) and upgraded my parents room from a studio to a 1 bedroom apartment so DD2 asked to stay in that room with them. The apartments were a little worn but had everything we needed.
We decided to explore the area and the hotel was a 2 minute walk to Val D'Europe. Very busy but masks worn by everyone. We did a little shopping and brought food back to the apartment. DD2 (15yr) went to the robot pizza place and was fascinated by it. She also said it was a lovely pizza.
My brother arrived at the hotel at 10pm, absolutely shattered.
I have to say the beds were lovely, i slept so well. I did take my own orthopaedic pillow.

Day 1 We awoke early and left the Adagio around 8:45am. We didn't choose to have breakfast because we thought it was a little expensive for what you got.
It was about a 6minute drive to the Newport Bay.

We parked up and went in via bag search where we had to show our vaccine status. We were given our bands and headed into the hotel. Hubby and DD2 went straight to the Disney village so she could be tested. I checked us all in and was told to return at 3pm for our room numbers. We then headed into the village to get some breakfast.
We had breakfast and headed into the Disneypark. It felt surreal at first to actual be there after everything that had went on but here we were finally!
The park was quite quiet and we met a lot of characters and rode a lot of rides.
We had free full board plus so were able to eat virtually anywhere we wanted to. We chose Col.Haithi's for lunch and had The Plaza Gardens booked for our evening meal.

We returned to the hotel around 3 and were given our rooms in the East Wing. Oh my this hotel is huge! I knew it was big but it took us about 4 minutes to get to our room once exiting the lifts. I would definitely recommend requesting a room closer to the main reception if you have young children or mobility issues as my father does.

We returned to the park around 6pm and headed to Plaza Gardens. We felt even though it was nice in Plaza Gardens there was a lot less choice than there used to be. This is usually one of our favourite restaurants in the park. I personally wasn't particularly bothered because I have lost my smell and taste so it didn't really matter what I ate, it all tasted the same to me haha

We returned to the hotel around 9pm, I went to bed whilst the rest had a drink in the bar which they said was nice and quiet but a little pricey.

Day 2 We were up early, having breakfast at 8am. We were park ready because we couldn't be bothered to walk all the way back to our rooms. We got our new bands in the Reception area and headed into Cape Cod. The room was busy but not heaving. Breakfast was a nice choice, just wish I could have tasted it. Hubby and DD2 headed into the village for testing around am and we all took a slow walk to meet them.
We ventured into the park again. We used the entrance near to the Disneyland Hotel entrance due to the amount of people queuing. We got to see Mickey and Minnie on the train station waving and half the party then ran off to get on BTM. I met Winnie the Pooh so I was happy. Again the park was quieter than we expected so got a lot done.
We had lunch in Agrabah. There was again less choice than when we previously ate here but was okay.
We did more rides and then a little bit of shopping. We quickly booked The Chuck Wagon on the app for our evening meal. We took pictures with Black Panther and Iron Man on the way there and then had a lovely meal. I love The Cheyenne, it is my favourite hotel, I felt so relaxed here. Once finished we headed back to the hotel whilst my parents and my brother headed to the Hotel New York for a drink.
I was struggling a little with tiredness along with DD1 who caught covid off me so hubby and DD2 were fine with early nights.

Day 3
A repeat of yesterday before heading into the Studios. We got to see Mickey. I am really liking the new way of meeting characters, you seem to be able to meet a whole lot more.
Most of the party headed to ToT whilst my parents and me had a hot drink waiting for them. DD2 was very daring this trip, she normally doesn't do any fast rides but changed on this trip, and even went on ToT! she loved it. I got to see Lightning McQueen (kids think it is funny when I fan girl over this car haha). We went on the Cars Road Trip, it was nice how they incorporated the Tram tour into it but it was a lot shorter. I enjoyed it though. We got to meet Sully which was nice. It was a great interaction with him.

We had lunch at Annettes. We thought we had made a big mistake having the meal here then having a The Steakhouse booked for evening meal. The meal was lovely and well worth the price, there was a lot of food. Staff great.

We headed back into the studios then had a wander back to the Hotel for a rest before Having our evening meal at The Steakhouse.
We were not impressed here. It was loud and hectic. Food was a disappointment. Not what people were expecting and not cooked the best. Staff were run off their feet and looked tired. We did tip our waiter because he was so friendly and tried really hard. He looked genuinely pleased with our tip. We did a little bit more shopping in the Village before heading back to the hotel. My brother stayed in the village for a drink.

Day 4 Groundhog day for breakfast haha
We headed into the main park again today. It was a little bit busier but not too much. Still managed to get onto a lot of rides but disappointed not to be able to ride Casey Junior due to them seemingly only allowing set numbers of people on then telling others it was not working but you saw it running whilst on the boat ride.
We rode the railway and headed for lunch at the Lucky Nugget. Food nice and service good apart from DD2 getting 'upseyt' because her plain cheeseburger came without everything including the cheese!
After lunch hubby took DD2 and my nephew on the rides whilst we did our shopping in the park. We then headed to the hotel to start packing and having a rest before our meal in The Hunter's Grill.
I like the Sequoia Hotel but often find some of the staff rude. It was the case in the restaurant. My niece has a peanut allergy and all the other eating places have catered wonderfully to this. However, the waitress we had was very surly when we enquired about this and had to be reminded twice about it. The food was limited, not a wide variety at all. I won't be returning because it has not improved since the last time we visited.
After the meal we had a drink in the bar, got seats right next to the log fire, it was lovely. My nieces were fascinated when they saw the staff going inside the fire to put more wood on the fire. Our waiter was lovely, especially with having such a large order for drinks. It was a nice relaxing night.

Day 5 Boo hoo, our last day here. We had breakfast as normal, hubby went to the village with DD2 again whilst we packed the cars. We left the cars in the carpark and headed into the Studios. It was very busy in here today so only did a couple of rides before heading into the main park. More 30th decorations were up today so got a few pics with them. We got on a lot of rides in this park, it was quieter than the Studios.
We just had snacks for lunch before heading to Ludwigs for our evening meal. It was lovely in here and food was really nice. I had the flammekeuche (crispy flatbread) which I managed to taste a bit of the bacon for a short while.
After the meal we headed back to the Newport, collected the cars and headed on to the Explorers Hotel where we were staying for the next 2 nights.

The explorers check in was slow but staff friendly and explained everything. Told us we only needed DD2 testing on the Friday and not the Saturday as we were returning to the UK.
We were on the 2nd floor which was below reception and had 2 rooms for family of 6. This consisted of the main room with a double and 2 single bed, toilet and bathroom and a small room off the main one with bunkbeds. Hubby couldn't fit into the bunk and there was no way i would be able to get up and down the ladders so i had the bottom bunk and hubby put the mattress on the floor and this worked out fine.
We had a few drinks in the bar, prices very reasonable. It was a little loud with a lot of children running around, seemingly no parents around at times and quite a few people walking through to the pool in their swimwear. it was a nice night.

Day 6 We got up later this morning for breakfast. It was continental and very busy so we ate in the bar area. A lot of people were making up sandwiches for their lunch.
Hubby and DD2 headed into the local village, about 15 min walk to have her test done. It was cheaper here but took a while to get the results.
My parents decided to rest in the hotel so hubby, DD1, DD2 and myself caught the shuttle to the Disney village and had a slow wander around there. We spent our 100euro gift card we got included in our booking. We had a wander in to the Hotel New York. It is beautiful. Kids said they didn't like the new smell but we definitely want to stay there. We then wandered into the Sequoia so DD2 could buy her jigsaw before taking a slow walk back to the Explorers. It was about at 20 minute walk from the Sequoia.
My brother went into the village to have his meal at the Rainforest. We chose to try the hotel buffet. WE arrived at opening so everything fresh. Not a lot of variety but something for everyone. I enjoyed it and started to taste some of the citrus desserts- yeah! We said it was good value for money.
After the meal hubby, DD1, DD2 and my nieces met up and went into the pool. They loved it! The rest of us sat in the bar having last night drinks. It was a lot quieter tonight so a lot must've left that morning.
We headed up to bed about 10:30.

Final day
We got up for breakfast early and set off for home around 9:45am. It was a nice drive, lovely weather. Crossing was calm so I was much happier this time but road closures in the UK made it a long drive back to the North East.

The trip went by so quickly after waiting for so long. We enjoyed all the hotels. The Newport was a lovely hotel and we would definitely stay here again.
We got a few more trips away this year and then New York in 2023. So we won't be returning to DLP until 2024 at the earliest, hopefully we can save to stay in The New York.

The restrictions in place did not impact on the trip at all. It was easier than we thought it would be. Even the testing for DD2 (would've preferred not to have done it as it was an extra cost we hadn't planned on when we booked).

Some of the service seemed to have gone down whilst the prices have increased but I think this seems to be the same in all the parks at the moment.

[Bondy007]

Sounds like you had a fab time.

I'm surprised about Hunters, I know it's been 2 years since we ate there last but we absolutely loved it. Food and choice of food was amazing.

[DiszeeBelle]

We were gutted about Hunters. A lot of choice in buffets seems to have decreased.

It was well worth the wait. So wish we could go back sooner.

[Custancia]

How did you find the availability for the restaurants? Did you book in advance (using the app?)

[DiszeeBelle]

Originally Posted by Custancia

How did you find the availability for the restaurants? Did you book in advance (using the app?)

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We rang to book restaurants due to there being 11 of us as only does 10 on app. App was easy to use when we did for Cheyenne on the day. We booked 3 weeks in advance, checked availabilty on the app. We couldn't get restaurants in New York on app, on the phone or even when we arrived onsite but i think what was due to the number in party.

[Custancia]

Originally Posted by DiszeeBelle

We rang to book restaurants due to there being 11 of us as only does 10 on app. App was easy to use when we did for Cheyenne on the day. We booked 3 weeks in advance, checked availabilty on the app. We couldn't get restaurants in New York on app, on the phone or even when we arrived onsite but i think what was due to the number in party.

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Thank you that’s really helpful to know. There’s 3 of us so hopefully it will be even easier!