DisneyLand Resort Paris

My family and I have just returned from a 4 nights/5 Day day break to Disneyland Resort Paris. Below are my thoughts on our trip, and hopefully some useful information for you.
I will break it down into a brief rundown of the trip and then more specific details.


Introduction

We stayed at one of the Disney Hotels - The Sequoia Lodge, which is on the site.
There are two parks Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park also there is Disney Village which basically is full of restaraunts and shops. Our ticket/pass allowed us to use both parks as often as we liked.
We dined at several restaurants during our stay both in our hotel and in the park itself.

Date of trip 19-23 Dec 2009.

Subjects Covered In More Depth
Travel to Disneyland Resort Paris
The Hotel
Transport
Disneyland Park
Walt Disney Studios Park
Disney Village
Catering/Dining
Overall Costs
Customer Service
Summary


Travel to Disneyland Resort Paris

We left Exeter Airport (Flybe.com) and arrived at CDG in Paris at around 1100hrs. The flight was smooth and on time. CDG Airport is possiby the most confusing airport in the world! Its a concrete maze and thats being kind. There was a delay with the luggage which means it took us 2 1/2 hours from landing to get out of the airport and onto a shuttle bus!
On leaving the terminal to get transport to the resort you are constantly pestered by people trying to get you to take a taxi/bus ride with them.
Rather than the recognised agents. I would advise that you use the recognised agents for two main reasons.

1. Security, I would strongly advise against using an unregistered taxi service.
2. Cost, they charge the same prices as the agents but, they charge for children under 3 which the agents dont.

That said, the cost to the resort is very, very expensive. For 2 adults and 2 children it cost Euro 120 for a return journey. The journey is approx 40 mins each way. This I think is expensive.
Before you get the coach to the resort you have to get the shuttle bus from the terminal to the coach departure point, this is a free service!


The Hotel

We stayed at The Sequoia Lodge( Main Hotel), in the Yosemite Lodge building. This for me was one of the most dissapointing aspects of our stay and indeed reinforced my opionin that Disney are just out to make as much money from you without giving good value or service.
They hotel Reception area itself was clean and presentable. Effort has obviously been made for initial impact purposes. However once you are sent to your respective lodge the difference is clear.

Our lodge was stuck in some time warp. The decor was terrible, my Gran had better decor than this! There are no facilities to make tea/coffe in the rooms, If you want a kettle you have to hire one.
The baths are small, and the toilet is in the same room as the bath, yet the sink is is not.

A family room has 2 x double beds which are comfortable. The room is quite large and adequate. The TV has preset channels, the English channels are a Disney Channel and BBC World News. We asked for a cot on our booking which was not present on our arrival, we had to ask again twice before the cot was delivered, poor customer service.
The entire lodge was tired and very dated. It is in need of serious modernisation throughout. I know that you are there for the parks but, they should provide adequate accomodation.

The Hotel has the following facilities:
* Quarry Pool and Health Club

* Kit Carson's Arcade Room - 1 token is Euro 2! This is the price for all activies in the Arcade, whichPictures of Disneyland Paris
Castle an night is itself very small.
* Little Paraire Childrens Corner - This is basically an area where the staff leave crayons, balloons and the Disney Channel is playing on the TV.

* 24 Hour Reception
* 24 Hour Luggage Room

* Concierge Desk - This is a very useful facility, you can book meals for any of the resaraunt within the entire Disney complex.
* Shop Northwest Passage - Has limited items, mainly stocks soft toys. Bottled water 500ml is almost Euro 5, a can of lager is Euro 4, Crisps Euro 4 for a 45g packet. Again all very expensive.

* Hunters Grill - Buffet Restaraunt/International cuisine. We dined here the first night, the food was adequate but again very expensive. Euro 20 for a burger and Fies, the portion sizes were very small.
The childrens menus was excellent. For Euro 13 it was all you can eat and the quality of food was very good. Its a shame I was not 13 again!
* Beaver Creek Tavern - Table service Restaraunt/International cuisine.

Redwood Bar and Lounge - A very nice relaxing area, however at Euro 7.50 for a beer and Euro 10 for a Gin and Tonic not to mention Euro 4 for a bag of crisps its expensive.

Transport
Transport is provided free of charge to the park from the hotels. The transport runs approx every 15 mins. We used the transport twice, it was crowded and constantly stuck in traffic jams.
We decided to walk from the hotel to the park, it takes less than 10 mins and is a pleasent walk, we passed Disney Lake and through Disney Village. I would advise everyone to walk rather than suffer on the bus service provided.

Disneyland Park
This is of course the main attraction. I will list the attractions, and the attractions we used and a short note on each.

You will note that its impossible to see all shows/spectacles and visit all the rides for 2 reasons;
1. There are too many shows/spectacles & rides.
2. The queues are just to long. expect to queue for around 60 mins for a 45 second ride.

We decided to concentrate on the shows for 2 reasons, we have small children so we eliminated the more adult orientated rides, we also feel shows etc are what Disney does best.
The queues to get into the park are to be honest expected. What is not expected is for them to have only 2 people searching bags prior to getting to the main entrance. This added considerable time to actually getting into the park.

Once you get to the entrance they are 12 gates to get through, again not all are open, I cant understand this, as this just added to the wait to get into the park.
Once inside the park the scenery and buildings are amazing. You really do travel into a childrens paradise.

The are 5 Lands within Disneyland:
1. Main Street USA
2. Frontierland
3. Adventureland
4. Discoveryland
5. Fantasyland


Main Street USA

This basically is a street full of shops etc, again all to entice the Euro from your pocket but hey ho. There a few rides here.
* Disneyland Railroad - This is a ride around all the lands within the park. It takes approx 30 min. Some of the scenery is fantastic, they have added tunnels with various features inside. I would reccomend this ride.

* City Hall - Information, brochures etc.
* Horse-Drawn Streetcars - Not in use due to weather conditions.

* Statue of Liberty Tableau - Not Seen

Frontierland
Legends of the Wild West - Not Used

River Rouge Keelboats - Basically up down and round and round!
Phantom Manor - Not Used

Thunder Messa Riverboat Landing - Not Used
Rustler Roundup Shootin' Gallery (Charges apply) - Not Used

Big Thunder Mountain - Not Used - Adult Ride
Pocahontis Indian Village - Not Used

The Chapperal Theatre - Mickeys Winter Wonderland, this was an excellent show and is the thing that Disney does best. Well woth seeing!
Woody's Roundup Village - Not Used


Adventureland

La Cabane Des Robinson - Not Used
Pirates Beach - Not Used

Le Passage Enchante d'Aladdin - Not Used
Indian Jones and the Temple of Peril - Not Used

Adventure Isle - Not Used
Pirates of the Caribbean - Not Used


Discoveryland

Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast - Not Used
Orbitron - A pleasent ride suitable for all ages. Basically up down and round and round! (Picture included)

Videopolis - The African Tam Tam and Cinema Mickey, basically just continous cartoons.
Arcade Alpha - Amusements

Star Tours - Not Used
Honey I Shrunk the Audience - This is brilliant its interactive 3D. Well worth visiting. Last around 30 Mins.

Space Mountain Mission 2 - Not Used - Adult Ride

Fantasyland
Sleeping Beauty's Castle - Basically its the main view as you enter the park. There is a chance to go into the dungeon and see the dragon. Nothing special to write home about.

Les Voyages de Pinocchio - This is an excellent rides for children. You travel through a tunnel and the story of Pinocchio is played out. Well worth visiting.
Les Carrousel de Lancelot - what it says on the tin, its a Carrousel fun for small kids really.

Peter Pan's Flight - Another great ride much the same as the Pinocchio ride above. This time the car is suspended from the ceiling as if you are flying. A great ride!
Fantasy Festival Stage - Winnie the Pooh and Friends Too! A great show for kids and adults alike, its well worth a visit.

Dumbo the flying Elephant - Basically up down and round and round! Suitable for small children.
Alice's Curious Labryinth - Basically a maze, its not really worth the time being losts as time is of the essence in the park.

Mad Hatter's Tea Cups - Basically up down and round and round! Suitable for small children.
Its a small world - A cruise ride around "The World" this is a great ride, it shows all the different cultures and people of the world. excellently done by Disney.

There are of course many places to eat and shop within Disneyland, all I will say is that nothing is reasonably priced.

Walt Disney Studios Park
I personally think this is the better of the 2 parks.


Backlot

Armegeddon - A special Effects show, unfortunately this was closed due to a techinical problem. - Adult Ride
Rock and Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith - Not Used - Adult Ride

Moteurs.... Action - BRILLIANT!!! This is a fantastic show fro young and old alike. You are treated to the secrets behind stunt scenes involving cars/motorbikes etc. Lots of stunts,Jumps, flames, Car chases. All performed with in depth commentary and then you get to watch the footage and the secrets are reveled. This best attraction on the park in my opinion!

Production Courtyard
CineMagique - A great show which combines new and old film usings the latest special effects. Well worth a visit.

Playhouse Disney Live on Stage - Not Seen
Stich Live - Again brilliant. An interactive show, the audience participation is a real winner.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - Not Used - Adult Ride
Studio Tram Tour - Not Used


Toon Studio

Animagique - Brilliant, a great show. All the major disney films are acted out live on stage. Well worth a visit.
Crush's Corner - Not Used

Flying Carpets of Agrabah - Basically up down and round and round! Suitable for small children.
This park is much smaller than Disneyland but in my opinion it offers just as much if not more. it also tends to be less packed than Disneyland.

===Disney Village==
This is basically an area where you eat drink and be merry. The restaraunts are located here for meals in the evening ( including McDonalds). There are also shops a sports bar and indeed a nightclub. There are no rides or attractions in Disney Village.

One point that again reinforced my opinion that the whole site could do with modernisation us that the Planet Hollywood is stuck in the 1990's. The pictures on the outside of the building are of Patrick Swayze, Mel Gibson, Danny Glover. They really should make an effort and get into this millenium!
More information on this area in the catering section of my review.

=== Catering/Dining ===
Well, this is an area were my wife and I are in total agreement! For a Change!!!!

We ate at 3 restaraunts in Disney Village and at our hotel. The review for the hotel is above.

Cafe Mickey
Extremely expensive and poor quality food. You simply are paying for to have the characters prancing around the restaraunt. ***This can not be booked through the concierge at the hotel. You must book at Cafe Mickey.***

A Steak was over Euro 30, Burgers were Euro 26. Again the portions were terribly small. There are less fries in a portion here than in a small protion from McDonalds in the UK!
Childrens meals were Euro 18 , for Pasta and 3 meatballs or a small burger or small fish and chips. Far to expensive!
A beer was Euro 7.50!

A meal here of poor quality cost over Euro 130 for 2 adults and 2 children with a drink for just 3 of us.

Rainforest Cafe
Again very expensive and average quality food. This is slightly cheaper than Cafe Mickey. The atmosphere of the rain forest is great, the occasional thunder and lightning or calls from the animals is a real treat from the kids. This alone is unfortunately does not compensate for the overpriced food. We had to send a meal back here, they were helpful and replaced the meal without any fuss.


Steakhouse

This is the restaraunt that I was most looking forward to dining in.
The prices again shocked us or though by now we should have been expecting it.

A steak was Euro 35! and yet again the same tiny portions fries/salad etc. We had booked for 2100hrs, we were left waiting in the bar area for 30 mins. When we did sit down we again were left waiting for around 30 mins for our drinks order to be taken, then we then waited for our food order.
To be served 2 courses and eat them took 2 hrs 30 mins. Not great when you have children. Customer service was poor here, the staff were friendly but very very slow.
In all these restaraunts you are NOT allowed to take a pushchair to the table, this resulted in us having to wake our daughter up on several occasions which annoyed me no end. Not very family friendly Disney!

We have no problem with paying an average cost of 100 Euros for a meal for 2 adults and 2 children. What we do object to to is recieving a sub standard small sized meal worse than a fast food outlet. It again is poor service as you have no choice than to dine within the resort. Shame on you Disney.

Overall Costs
Everything in the Disneyland Park and Disney Village is vastly expensive. The arguement regarding the current exchange rate just will not wash, but however its a small factor.

Prices for all items/servicesare massively inflated as they have in effect a captive audience. Unless you have a car its almost impossible to get to a local shop. You are basically in a Disney prison!
I am all for paying a fair price for a fair product/service and up to a point a little bit over the odds for the experiance/pleasure but there is little to offer in the resort that represents good value for money.

The amount of money which is required to be spent to have a truly enjoyable stay is in my opinion much more than the average family can afford. Also lets be honest its not cheap to get there in the first place. Its hard to tell a child no and Disney play on that fact. Shame on you Disney.

Customer Service
This is an area where who you get depends on your view. Some people are rude and some are not. I found the majority of the staff friendly and helpful, the characters are less friendly. Many times when the kids were asking for an autograph ( another shameful money making scheme) they simply walked off and ignored them.

As alluded earlier in my review, it took 3 requests for them to place a cot in our room.

Summary
Disneyland Resort Paris, is a poor cousin to the Disney Parks in the USA. They have a captive audience and they exploit it.

The shows and rides for the children are fantastic, they do there level best to facilitate the needs of children. There is room for improvement, but then perhaps I am just being picky.
The entire resort could do with being brough into this millenium, its dated. The hotel we stayed in is lost in somew time warp.

It is massively overpriced. Every single thing they do is geared towards the maximum return for the minimum expenditure, I would have happily bought more if it was not so overpriced. Its a shameful exploitation of parents in my opinion. The biggest expenditure is for food, its simply so expensive to eat at Disneyland Paris. All our evening meals cost at least £100 for poor quality food.
I certainly will not be visiting Disneyland Resort Paris again unless they change the way they operate drastically. I cant see that happening. So bye bye Disneylad Paris.