Too disorganised (or too lazy) to do a full trip report, so thought I'd share this summary of our first family trip to DLP. (Me 35, DW 34, DS 4, DD 1)
The Journey- Having made a last minute switch from Air to Train, we were pleased with the Eurostar. It was so easy - the train could have been a little cleaner - but it was a perfectly pleasant way to travel and it was just great to arrive in the heart of DLP.
The Accommodation - We stayed at the Explorers for four nights. I will post more on this in another thread, but suffice to say we found it perfectly adequate and would happily consider staying there again.
The Weather - Two days in the mid 60's with a couple of short showers, two days of low 80's blazing sun. No complaints here.
The Parks - Disneyland Park is a great theme park, yet we did not feel the same 'magic' that we get in Orlando. It was there in small doses, but somehow just not the same. For example, we love bumping into characters almost by chance - the surprise element - and this seems to happen frequently in Orlando. In Paris, character interaction is much more limited - two favorites, Minnie and Piglet were nowhere to be found - Mickey could be found at the right time, and Goofy, Stitch, Chip and Dale, Robin Hood and the Princesses seemed to be in regular attendance so it could have been worse.
The parade was enjoyable, but again there did not seem to be the same level of character interaction with the crowd that we have experienced in Florida. The only sit down restaurant we tried was Silver Spur, and the steak was fantastic. Service was good, although the restaurant was less than half full.
Of the rides, I cannot speak highly enough of Space Mountain: Mission 2. I really dislike the old Florida Space Mountain, but this one is the dogs doodahs. Could happily ride over and over. BTMR was definitely an improvement over the already good florida version, and IASW was fantastic (and I never thought I'd say that as the florida version bores me silly). Pirates of the Caribbean was excellent, although a bit dark and sinister in parts for some of the younger kids. Star Tours is as much fun as ever - never get tired of that. Peter Pan still fails to impress - thankfully we had fastpasses cos I'd have really been unhappy if we had queued in the 45 min line for that one. The availability of space for kids to run loose is also very good - Pocahontas Village, Adventure Isle, Alices Labyrinth.
The CMs - in general we found them very helpful and fairly cheerful. Only once was I not pleased - with a till assistant in the store at the entrance to Discoveryland, my DS4 wanted to buy some things with his own money and he wanted to do it himself - he was having a little difficulty trying to juggle his purchases and his money and was trying his best to give everything to the assistant. However, she was being very impatient and kept telling him to hurry up - virtually snatching the items out of his hands. I was not happy, but it was an isolated incident. Food and Drink prices were high, but we knew that going in. We typically spent about £23 for counter service, and £55 for table service. McD's in the Village was a bargain at only £13.
Disney Studios - wasn't impressed. RnR didn't seem as good as I remembered it. Tram tour was closed. Carpets were fun. Didn't do much else as DS was not in the mood for shows. Overall though, this park has the distinct feel of something that is a long way from finished.
Val D'Europe - Not overly impressed with the shopping - prices seemed high - although grabbed a couple of bargains in the Tommy Hilfiger store in the Outlets. Food Court was good and reasonably priced. Sealife Centre was a good diversion for a couple of hours.
Summary of summary - We enjoyed our visit - we can't do Orlando this year and this was our substitute Disney fix. It was exactly that, an acceptable substitute but no match for the real thing. The most telling thing for me is that when I leave Disney in Orlando, I feel sad...with that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach - I didn't have that when I left DLRP.
Andy
The Journey- Having made a last minute switch from Air to Train, we were pleased with the Eurostar. It was so easy - the train could have been a little cleaner - but it was a perfectly pleasant way to travel and it was just great to arrive in the heart of DLP.
The Accommodation - We stayed at the Explorers for four nights. I will post more on this in another thread, but suffice to say we found it perfectly adequate and would happily consider staying there again.
The Weather - Two days in the mid 60's with a couple of short showers, two days of low 80's blazing sun. No complaints here.
The Parks - Disneyland Park is a great theme park, yet we did not feel the same 'magic' that we get in Orlando. It was there in small doses, but somehow just not the same. For example, we love bumping into characters almost by chance - the surprise element - and this seems to happen frequently in Orlando. In Paris, character interaction is much more limited - two favorites, Minnie and Piglet were nowhere to be found - Mickey could be found at the right time, and Goofy, Stitch, Chip and Dale, Robin Hood and the Princesses seemed to be in regular attendance so it could have been worse.
The parade was enjoyable, but again there did not seem to be the same level of character interaction with the crowd that we have experienced in Florida. The only sit down restaurant we tried was Silver Spur, and the steak was fantastic. Service was good, although the restaurant was less than half full.
Of the rides, I cannot speak highly enough of Space Mountain: Mission 2. I really dislike the old Florida Space Mountain, but this one is the dogs doodahs. Could happily ride over and over. BTMR was definitely an improvement over the already good florida version, and IASW was fantastic (and I never thought I'd say that as the florida version bores me silly). Pirates of the Caribbean was excellent, although a bit dark and sinister in parts for some of the younger kids. Star Tours is as much fun as ever - never get tired of that. Peter Pan still fails to impress - thankfully we had fastpasses cos I'd have really been unhappy if we had queued in the 45 min line for that one. The availability of space for kids to run loose is also very good - Pocahontas Village, Adventure Isle, Alices Labyrinth.
The CMs - in general we found them very helpful and fairly cheerful. Only once was I not pleased - with a till assistant in the store at the entrance to Discoveryland, my DS4 wanted to buy some things with his own money and he wanted to do it himself - he was having a little difficulty trying to juggle his purchases and his money and was trying his best to give everything to the assistant. However, she was being very impatient and kept telling him to hurry up - virtually snatching the items out of his hands. I was not happy, but it was an isolated incident. Food and Drink prices were high, but we knew that going in. We typically spent about £23 for counter service, and £55 for table service. McD's in the Village was a bargain at only £13.
Disney Studios - wasn't impressed. RnR didn't seem as good as I remembered it. Tram tour was closed. Carpets were fun. Didn't do much else as DS was not in the mood for shows. Overall though, this park has the distinct feel of something that is a long way from finished.
Val D'Europe - Not overly impressed with the shopping - prices seemed high - although grabbed a couple of bargains in the Tommy Hilfiger store in the Outlets. Food Court was good and reasonably priced. Sealife Centre was a good diversion for a couple of hours.
Summary of summary - We enjoyed our visit - we can't do Orlando this year and this was our substitute Disney fix. It was exactly that, an acceptable substitute but no match for the real thing. The most telling thing for me is that when I leave Disney in Orlando, I feel sad...with that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach - I didn't have that when I left DLRP.
Andy
I've yet to go to DLP so am keeping a very open mind. My parents have been to WDW and DL California, my mum always says that MK in WDW doesn't have the same sort of magic feeling for her that MK in DL California has.
