Disneyland Paris: 2014
Monday, 17th March
My trips to Disney parks are usually booked several months in advance however this was a relatively spontaneous trip, only booked a couple of months ahead of time. The fact that I ended up arriving on St Patrick's Day was really just a happy coincidence as by this point it wasn't easy to find convenient dates with Eurostar availability. This was also the earliest time in the year I've ever visited Disneyland Paris and as you'll see in the following photos, the park was looking lovely in the early stages of Spring.
That being said, I have to confess to some feelings of negativity about this trip. Disneyland Paris was the first Disney resort I visited and its the one I've been to the most times. After my first trip to Walt Disney World, I wondered whether the smaller park would be spoiled for me - I was pleased to discover that it wasn't and I could still have a wonderful time in Disneyland Paris with the added bonus of not having to rely on crowded transportation to get from A to B. Since then, I've been to WDW a few more times and also had my first visit to the original Disneyland Resort. On this last trip I started to wonder whether the US parks have finally "broken" Disneyland Paris for me.
One purely superficial reason for this is because, as I've noted elsewhere on this website, my interests have changed over the years. I seem to spend way more time planning where to eat than which rides I'm going to go on! There are some wonderful restaurants at the Disney resorts - and not only is the food great to eat, it's fun to photograph too! Leaving aside the fact that it was off-season and so many restaurants were closed, there just isn't the same variety (or quality) at Disneyland Paris. And I'm not just talking about table service menus. Even if I don't buy anything, I love looking at the vast range of Disney themed confectionary/cupcakes etc in the US parks. Disneyland Paris? Not so much. Now I believe the food has improved since the resort opened and I'm certainly not saying you can't get a good quality meal - it's just not as, well, fun! Or photogenic. The cocktails are great though.
Then there's the smoking. Yes, there are designated smoking areas. No, people don't use these. Waiting for parades/queuing can be tiresome enough but it's even less fun surrounded by smoke and of course there's also the litter element.
OK, enough moaning, There's still so much to enjoy at Disneyland Paris so on to the good stuff!
That being said, I have to confess to some feelings of negativity about this trip. Disneyland Paris was the first Disney resort I visited and its the one I've been to the most times. After my first trip to Walt Disney World, I wondered whether the smaller park would be spoiled for me - I was pleased to discover that it wasn't and I could still have a wonderful time in Disneyland Paris with the added bonus of not having to rely on crowded transportation to get from A to B. Since then, I've been to WDW a few more times and also had my first visit to the original Disneyland Resort. On this last trip I started to wonder whether the US parks have finally "broken" Disneyland Paris for me.
One purely superficial reason for this is because, as I've noted elsewhere on this website, my interests have changed over the years. I seem to spend way more time planning where to eat than which rides I'm going to go on! There are some wonderful restaurants at the Disney resorts - and not only is the food great to eat, it's fun to photograph too! Leaving aside the fact that it was off-season and so many restaurants were closed, there just isn't the same variety (or quality) at Disneyland Paris. And I'm not just talking about table service menus. Even if I don't buy anything, I love looking at the vast range of Disney themed confectionary/cupcakes etc in the US parks. Disneyland Paris? Not so much. Now I believe the food has improved since the resort opened and I'm certainly not saying you can't get a good quality meal - it's just not as, well, fun! Or photogenic. The cocktails are great though.
Then there's the smoking. Yes, there are designated smoking areas. No, people don't use these. Waiting for parades/queuing can be tiresome enough but it's even less fun surrounded by smoke and of course there's also the litter element.
OK, enough moaning, There's still so much to enjoy at Disneyland Paris so on to the good stuff!
Even the horses were entering into the St Patrick's Day spirit!
It's been a while since I've visited Disneyland Paris and had blue skies for more than a few minutes! As a result, I took even more photos of Sleeping Castle than usual but who can resist?
Big Thunder Mountain remains one of my favourite rides in all the Disney resorts. Not a bad way to start my trip!
Unfortunately the Eurostar arrived too late for me to check out the St Patrick's Day themed characters posing for photos in Frontierland. However, I did get a brief glimpse of them during the Irish Pre-Parade.
No character meet and greets for the Frozen characters but they do have a new float in Disney Magic on Parade! I remain underwhelmed by this parade, given that most of the floats are leftovers from the Once Upon a Dream Parade so at least this was something new to look at. Even so, I decided that it wasn't worth hanging around to catch the parade again on subsequent days just for quick glimpse at Anna and Elsa.
Once the parade had finished, I had just enough time to make it back to Frontierland and watch the Sarah Clark Academy with Chip & Dale. You can view more photos and some short video clips from the show here.
There were special St Patrick's Day fireworks in the evening (watch these here), followed by Disney Dreams which has changed slightly since I last saw it - love the new Brave sequence.
The last time I stayed in the Sequoia Lodge, the hotel was in the midst of major renovations and my "lakeside" view was actually scaffolding. Not only was this my first time in the updated Bambi themed rooms, I was also staying in the a new Golden Forest Club Room. These rooms are situated on their own floor - my room was at the end of a corridor, behind a door, with one another room opposite it. Very secluded! Thinking about it, although I could hear voices outside I don't actually recall seeing another person on the floor during my visit! I hadn't paid the extra for a lake view (I spend so little time in the room, the view really doesn't bother me) but I did have a view of the Newport Bay.
Having checked in, I headed over to the Hotel New York for a drink (or two, as it turned out) in my favourite Disneyland Paris hotel bar.
Tuesday, 18th March
The Golden Forest Club has its own lounge for breakfast, which also features appearances by Disney characters. I always get up early for breakfast and so miss the horrendous queues which form later on but even so, this was a nice start to the day.
Off to Disneyland Park for Extra Magic Hours. Peter Pan was closed for refurbishment so I headed for Buzz Lightyear's Laser Blast where I faced my usual dilemma - take photos or actually try and shoot things? I decided on the latter and actually managed to bring my score above "abysmal" although it probably helped that the ride stopped a couple of times!
I say something along these lines in every Disneyland Paris trip report but I'll say it again - I will never get tired of this dragon. Although on this particular day, it was sounding rather creaky.
Time for a couple of boat rides...
Another attraction I'll never tire of photographing. Although it seemed a little strange seeing rundown Phantom Manor surrounded by beautiful cherry blossom!
This ended up being my longest queue experience. But I couldn't resist getting a photo of Duffy and Minnie together.
Unfortunately, the two restaurants I'd hoped to eat in (Walts and the Silver Spur Steakhouse) were both closed for the duration of my trip. I toyed with the idea of having lunch at Auberge De Cendrillon but have to admit I wasn't tempted enough by anything on the menu to spend that amoung of money. In the end, I had a rather underwhelming burger at the Lucky Nugget but irrespective of the food, it's a lovely building to spend time in. While I was there, I checked my reservation ticket for California Grill that evening, only to see what it had been made for the previous day! Just as well there are no cancelation policies in force in Disneyland Paris. I made another reservation on my way out the park, as well as making a lunch reservation for the always insanely busy Cafe Mickey for the following day.
Time to pop over to Walt Disney Studios Park.
Construction on the new Ratatouille ride. A couple of days later and I would have been able to see the Gusteau sign in place - however I did see trees on a crane, so I guess there's that! The ride opens in July but it will almost certainly be next year before I see it. Hopefully the queues will have calmed down a little by then although if Crush's Coaster is anything to go by, probably not...
I imagine Mickey would have been even more excited if this had been an Elsa doll...no sign of those anywhere in the resort!
Back to Disneyland Park. On the one hand, I love the "typical" Main Street Station Park entrance at Disneyland Resort and the Magic Kingdom. But this isn't a bad view either!
After a wander around the park, I headed back to the hotel and the Golden Forest lounge which serves complimentary food and drink throughout the day then had a rest before my dinner reservation at the California Grill in the Disneyland Hotel. In fact, whilst it was the California Grill menu, I was actually seated in the Castle Club. There was one other family seated when I arrived, who left shortly after, and a couple came in towards the end of my meal but aside from that I had the place to myself! I was sat by a window overlooking Main Street and was in time to catch the end of Disney Dreams! I have to confess that the meal wasn't my favourite that I've had at a Disney Park but one definite highlight was the "Alice" dessert. You can view photos of the meal here. As if I hadn't spent enough money on the set-price meal, I then went for a drink at the Cafe Fantasia, which runs the New York City Bar pretty close as my favourite bar!
The latest addition to Disney Village, the new LEGO store is the largest of its kind in Europe.
Wednesday, 19th March
Following breakfast with a visit from Pluto, it was back to the Park for Extra Magic Hours - it was a nice sunny day to ride Dumbo!
I'd decided against braving the Princess Pavilion but I'd yet to meet Mickey Mouse this trip and I have to admit, this made me sad! Mickey had yet to start meeting the day's guests and the queue didn't look too long. So I waited for a bit. However, with a while still to go before Mickey arrived, one of the cast members announced the queue was probably about 45 minutes long and I decided to give it a miss after all.
Another of my absolute favourite rides and this version has a great view of the resort.
Look who it is! And with a much shorter wait time than in Fantasyland.
I was early for my lunch reservation at Cafe Mickey but I was having trouble with my leg and, frankly, just wanted to sit down! So I figured it couldn't hurt to head over there and see if they could seat me early. The restaurant was as busy as always but luckily they were able to seat me almost straight away. Cafe Mickey certainly isn't somewhere to go for a quiet, well, anything, and I've known the service to be unbearably slow. But I have to say, this ended up being my favourite meal of the trip! And yes, I did make a reservation largely because I had to try the Mickey Mouse cupcake!
Love this family photo! This was my first time (I think...) having lunch at Cafe Mickey and although I wasn't there for that long, I think I saw more characters than I have in evening sittings. And yes, Mickey made an appearance, so I was doubly pleased I didn't stay in that early morning queue!
Back to Disneyland Park for my last few hours before catching the Eurostar. Can never resist photographing balloons!
Le Pays des Contes de Fées - where did Rapunzel's tower go?
Wandering through Adventureland.
Main Street always looks so gorgeous in the sun. Delighted the weather stayed good throughout my trip.
My Disneyland Paris tradition - finish a trip with a cocktail at Cafe Fantasia! Never a bad way to end a holiday. Now to look forward to my next Disney holiday, Disneyland Resort in October.
