First time visitors to Disneyland Paris May 2016

We went to France in May 2016 for an ancestral tour of the Alsace-Lorraine region. We extended our vacation after the tour by staying behind once the group left and we headed to Disneyland Paris.

We arrived on May 12 (Thursday) after taking the high speed train from Charles De Gaulle Airport to Marne La Vallee-Chessy. It was about a 12 minute ride and the first train stop from the airport. We each had a suitcase and a carry-on type of suitcase, and there was no room in the luggage spots in our train car, so our suitcases were placed on our seats and we stood for the train ride.

When we arrived at the train station we followed the crowds out of the station, but couldn't figure out which direction to head to get to our hotel, couldn't find the signs. We were staying at the flagship resort, the Disneyland Hotel.

We eventually went through a screening entrance just like at the airport. Our luggage was put through an x-ray machine and we walked through scanners. It was not as strict as an airport screening, I was able to keep my iPhone in my hand. Once through the screening process, we could see our hotel, but still had no clue as to where the main or front entrance was. We could see people entering the front entrance to the park, purchasing tickets and going through the turnstile entrances. Finally we entered into what appeared to be a side entrance into the hotel. We were at the complete opposite end of the hotel, and had to walk practically the entire length of the hotel to get to the guest registration.

Check-in went rather smoothly. We had booked our room, which included park tickets for the 4 days we were staying at the resort, and the breakfast buffet was also included. Our room was not ready yet, but we were able to store our luggage at the bell services, and with park tickets in hand, we could begin our visit. Of note, we made no advanced reservations of any kind for restaurants for our visit.

We were inside the park by noon after taking the 10:10 am train from the airport. If we had known where we were going, I'm sure we could have been in the park by 11:00 am.

I'll begin a report on our first day next. I'm not sure if I can post pictures yet. I'll try to answer questions if I can.

Karen

I stayed at Disneyland Hotel in February, looking forward to your trip report

I'm looking forward to your report! We are planning our first DLP trip for summer 2017, also staying at the Disneyland Hotel!

Our first afternoon in Disneyland Park. Like the books tell it, the Disneyland Hotel is literally steps from the park entrance. In fact, the hotel is within the secure zone. We really liked the fact that we could go to Disneyland Park, the Studios, or Disney Village and we were still within the security zone. The Disney Hotel is the only one with this set up.

We entered using the entrance closest to Guest Services. It is also close to Donald's Door which is where you would go for handicap/disability assistance. A doctor's "letter" is needed as part of your proof for this. We did not require this and did not look into it any further.

The Main Street Railroad station is undergoing rehab and is under a colorful scrim. The square is very similar to Disneyland and Walt Disney World. As you are looking down Main Street, the Transportation building (firetruck, horseless carriage) is on the right and City Hall is on the left. The Emporium is in its' usual spot on the left hand corner. The two arcades are off to the side, right and left, which we checked out later in the trip. We took the walk down Main Street heading towards the Sleeping Beauty Castle. At the end of the street you have Casey's Corner for hot dogs on your left and the Gibson Girl ice cream parlour on the right, both looking extremely similar to Walt Disney World. My husband decided upon a quick hot dog lunch when we got to this point. There is similar outdoor seating for this restaurant as in Walt Disney World.

Disneyland was celebrating their "Swing into Spring" festival, so the courtyard area had "Easter Egg" characters of the Fab Five among the other spring decorations. There were also parade and dance numbers scheduled throughout the day, performances were listed in the Times Guide.

We started our tour heading to the left and into Frontierland. The only ride that we were able to do was Phantom Manor. It was a walk-on. Big Thunder Mountain was under rehab, as well as Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing, and the Railroad Station. After a few pictures, we headed over to Adventureland. We rode the Pirates of the Caribbean, and I did Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril on my own. (Hubby is not into coaster type rides.) The wait time for both of these rides was also minimal. We passed by the La Cabane des Robinson (Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse) also under rehab. So we were quickly done after a few pictures.

We elected to leave the park at this time and go check into our room. Next up, a bit about our room in the Disneyland Hotel.

Karen

Enjoying your trip report! It's making me excited for my trip!!!

We returned to the Disneyland Hotel as check-in is 3 pm. We went back to the registration desk, this time with not much of a line, and got our room assignment. We were given room 1143. (In France, there is the ground floor, then the first floor, second floor, etc.) Our room was located in the same end of the building as the main entrance. From the window in our room we could see the main entrance where the bus, cars could drive up and drop off passengers. There are trees and shrubs, so the view is not direct onto the outside activity. We were about 6 or 7 rooms down the length of the hallway, about halfway to the end of the hall. It was a king bed room.

Upon entering the room, there was a closet on the right. Inside it was split with one half having some shelving and a safe, the other side for hanging your clothing, an ironing board and iron. (I believe there is no guest laundry in this hotel, but there were papers/plastic bag to have the hotel process laundry for you.) Across from the closet, on the left, was the bathroom, tub and shower, double sinks with vanity counter area. Spa H20 toiletries were on the vanity and tub. The room theme was white with pale pink, the dancing hippos. There was a hair dryer and magnifying make-up mirror, both mounted on the wall.

Further into our room, the king size bed on the left, a bedside stand on both sides, and small lamps above the tables. At the foot of the bed was a cloth covered bench. Across from the bed on the wall was the armoire. Light colored wood. Top left shelf held the t.v. My husband thought this t.v. was rather small compared to what is in Walt Disney rooms now. Of note, there are very few English or American t.v. stations here or in all of the places that we stayed in during our trip in France. Below the t.v. was a coffee machine, there was an ice bucket and glasses on the opposite side. Below this were 4 long narrow drawers. The top one held the coffee and tea supplies, leaving really only 3 drawers for your personal items. Yet further into the room was a very sturdy small wood dining table and 2 padded chairs. On the same wall as the armoire was a very long couch that could be used as a bed, long enough for an adult. Our window was large, overlooking the front entrance to the hotel.

The carpet was dark green with small white flowers. The walls were pale pink and gold-beige striped. The pictures on the wall were of an elephant, swan, and rabbit. The headboard on the bed had a painted castle.

Overall the room was very comfortable for the two of us.

Karen

Continuing on with our first day. . . After resting for a bit in our room, we decided to return to the park for the Disney Magic on Parade which was scheduled for 5:30 pm. We chose a spot in town square, actually right across from the Main Street Railroad Station. The area didn't become filled in until just before the parade, it seemed to be two rows of people lined along the square, so not overly crowded and easy to see. The parade is well done. I took lots of pictures. The main floats included a castle float with Cinderella and Fairy godmother, followed by carriages with Snow White and prince, Sleeping Beauty and prince, a Frozen float with Elsa and Anna, Olaf, on foot was Pinocchio, followed by Jessie and the Green Army Men. The Toy Story float had Buzz, Woody, and a number of the characters from the movie, the Potato Heads, Bulls Eye, Slinky, Ham, Rex. The back of the float had Winnie the Pooh, and following on foot were Piglet, Tigger and Eyeore. Next float was Lion King themed, with a large number of those characters riding the float, with the rear of the float featuring characters from Jungle Book. Next float was a pirate ship, featuring Captain Hook and the Peter Pan characters. These were followed by Mary Poppins on a Merry-go-Round with Bert and the penguins on foot behind her. The last float was the Fab Five, and Chip and Dale, and Tinkerbelle.

After the parade we decided to try for something to eat. We had passed the Lucky Nugget Saloon in Frontierland earlier in the afternoon and there was signage outside advertising their "meals". We decided to give that a try. There were very feel people inside eating. You ordered and paid for your meal as you entered, it was a small line. We pretty much got our pick of the tables to sit at. A cast member brought the beverages and food out to you. The menu was basket type meals, of fish and chips, ribs, or cheeseburger, with fries or salad included with the entree meat , and also a dessert.

After eating we ventured over to Discoveryland. We intended to use our fast pass for Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, except the wait time was only 5 - 10 minutes. We saved our fast passes for souvenirs. I roamed around Discoveryland a bit and took some pictures, mostly of rides we were not planning to ride such as Orbitron and Autopia, before we headed back to the room for the night. We planned to visit the rest of Discoveryland and Fantasyland the next day.

Up next, breakfast buffet (part of the hotel package).

Karen

Really enjoying the detail you are going into - thank you! We love the DLH - I do think it's due a refurb, but it still is a beautiful hotel, and so handy!

It's a shame that many visitors are experiencing so many refurbs right now though - do you think you'll manage to go back when more is open?

Just a tip - if you don't manage to use your daily FP on the day it's dated. If you speak to the CMs at the hotel and explain you didn't manage to use it, they will often change the date for you, so you can use it another day. I agree that when crowds are low, you don't need them for as much, but they are still useful for the likes of Ratatouille and BTM (when it's open) and even Space Mountain as these do tend to get queues all the time!

Continuing our Friday at Disneyland Paris . . . After a break in the room, we went to dinner at Inventions for their evening character buffet. I believe we made our reservation in the morning at the concierge before heading into the parks. We had a dinner reservation for 8:15 pm. The evening spread is also very good. Looking through my pictures, there were a number of salads, mixed lettuces, tomatoes, asparagus spears, cooked green beans, cooked carrots, peppers, pickles, assorted olives, broccoli, stuffed salmon, dried cured meats, 2 types of cooked shrimp, clams, oysters, seafood salads. Warm items included fish nuggets, chicken nuggets, meatballs, spaghetti noodles, vegetable lasagna, pan fried vegetables, pasta with white cream sauce, assorted seafood fillets in sauce, fish Wellington, crab claws, carving board meats (pork and beef), lamb, roasted potatoes, roasted beef in gravy, slices of pizza. There was a tray of assorted cheeses, hard and soft styles, and dinner rolls. There were at least twelve various desserts displayed, cut and whole fresh fruits, and assorted candies. That's just what I could identify in my pictures, there were many items I can't make out what exactly they were. The staff brings your beverage to your table when you are seated. The only two characters I took pictures of were Goofy and Mickey Mouse. There were at least two other characters there. As we were an older couple with no children, the characters mostly walked by us and just waved, which was fine by us.

After dining, we returned to the Disneyland Park for the Disney Dreams show at park closing. There was a good crowd in the park for the show. My notes say the show was at 10:30 that night. The show is very similar to Walt Disney World with the castle lit in accordance to each musical theme that was presented. I believe it lasted until almost 11 pm.

Up next, our Saturday adventures.

Karen

On Saturday morning, we again ate at the buffet breakfast in Inventions. We were really hoping for a dinner at the California Grill during this trip, but it was not open during our stay. In fact some people on the breakfast buffet were being seated in the California Grill.

After eating, I roamed around the resort taking pictures. I wandered through the gift shop, located on the same floor as the restaurants, Gallerie Mickey. It is just like the shops in Walt Disney World. There is a mix of clothing, souvenir items, and also snacks and other sundries. I "pressed" (or should I say "purchased") a coin, known as a medallion here in Disneyland Paris, it cost 2 Euro. There was a machine just outside of the store. I had asked the concierge staff if there was a list of where to find the machines, and they replied that there was not. I am a huge collector of the pressed coins from WDW and Disneyland. I did end up with 5 different coins during our stay. I checked out the pool area. It is an inside pool, but there is a large outside area set up with chairs, tables, and umbrellas. The surrounding area also has very beautiful green space with benches, water fountain, and cute bird houses in the trees. There are rooms on the ground floor in this area and they have nice table and chairs outside the patio door overlooking the green space. One neat thing I saw was a vending machine of swimwear available to purchase. I did not enter the Celestia Spa, just took a picture of the hallway and sign. I also didn't actually see the health club, so I can't comment on what that entails. I poked my head into the Madhatter's Game Arcade and took a few pictures. The same hallway also passes by the Minnie Club, a play center that I assume you can book for your child to attend to give you some "adult" time. I do not see any pictures showing the hours of this club, it wasn't open early in the morning. There are windows to look into and I took a few pictures through the windows. I ventured outside and took a number of pictures of the exterior of the hotel too.

Around 9:30 am we headed over to the Studios for park opening which was to be 10 am. It was an easy entrance, no large crowds, and I believe we actually entered well before 10 am. I headed over to Toon Studio immediately as I had read that Crush's Coaster often opened early. It was open and I jumped into the single rider line and made it onto the ride fairly quickly. I looked at the time stamp on my picture I took after riding and at 3 minutes until 10 the single rider wait was now 40 minutes and the stand-by line wait was 70 minutes. Since the ride is next to the Flying Carpets Over Agrabah, I rode that ride which had only a wait of the ride currently going. I then headed back towards Studio 1, where my husband was waiting. His job while I was riding was to figure out a pattern of the shows in the Studios. First up was the Back-Lot. We went to Armageddon at 10:15. Then we got in line for the 11 am show of Moteurs . . . Action! Stunt Show. Now this particular morning it was downright cold outside, I don't think it got much above 50 degrees, and sitting up in the stands in the wind was brutal. When the cameramen showed crowd shots on the screen, people were sitting with their hands in their pockets instead of clapping, waving etc. This is the same show that is put on at Walt Disney World, although it did feature Lightning McQueen instead of Herbie. Rock n' Roller Coaster was under rehab, so I only got a few pictures of what you can see above the construction walls. We then went to Production Courtyard and made it into the 12:15 show at CineMagique. We both really enjoyed this show. Of course it helped that it was indoors too.

My notes say that we then had lunch at Cafe Des Cascadeurs around 2 pm. This is the little diner situated across from Moteurs . . . Action!. It was just getting busy there and we got seats at the diner counter as most of the booths were occupied.

After our lunch, we went to the 3:15 show of Stitch Live!. It was cute, but once was enough for us. We skipped Disney Junior Live! (since we are an adult couple with no children from the era of this show). I want to add that neither of us wanted to ride the Twilight Zone of Terror. I did take some pictures of the exterior of the ride, of the fast pass machines, and the wait time. Of note, the wait time was very long at 10 am, but by early afternoon it was only 25 minutes. We then returned towards Toon Studio and went to the Art of Disney Animation. Again we were glad we had lots of shows today since it was chilly. The sun was just starting to warm things up by mid afternoon. After the show, I had to wait for the second drawing class after our show. We attempted to draw Mickey Mouse in my class.

From here we decided to head back to our room for a rest. This would have been around 4 or 4:30 pm.
Next up, an evening at Disney Village.

Karen

Enjoying your reports Karen! We will be checking into Newport Bay on July 25th for our 1st visit to DLP. I have been wondering about the "pressed pennies". Excited to hear we can add to our collection!

@Kitchensink no mention of Ratatouille, did you miss out on the newest signature ride in DLP? Its the one decent ride in Studios, a 3D mix of film and animatronics.

BadPinkTink said:

@Kitchensink no mention of Ratatouille, did you miss out on the newest signature ride in DLP? Its the one decent ride in Studios, a 3D mix of film and animatronics.

Click to expand...

We did ride Ratatouille on Friday afternoon with our hotel fast passes. It is a fantastic ride!
Karen

Continuing on our report of our trip, now covering Saturday evening, May 14. After resting for a while in our room, we headed out to Disney Village. This was an easy walk, and still within the secure zone of the park. I really liked the atmosphere going on here. They were celebrating the Swing into Spring there, and from our Disney Village program I think they called it Spring Market, open at 1 pm. I saw a number of booths just like at Epcot during F&W and F&G, these booths were featuring all sorts of foods and items. The booth exteriors were very well decorated for the spring theme. There was also an area set up for entertainment, music and dancing were being performed, but we did not stay and watch it. We shopped for a bit at World of Disney. Then we casually walked through the Village, I took lots of pictures, and purchased some medallions from the machines. We made our way to The Steakhouse for our dinner. We had made the reservation via our hotel concierge earlier that morning. We both enjoyed our meal here, we took our time through each course, just enjoyed a non-rushed atmosphere for this meal. The food was delicious.

After dinner, I strolled around the rest of Disney Village, taking pictures of all of the storefronts and restaurants. Panoramagique, the balloon ride, was not open that evening. Nor was there activity in the marina, the boats were all tied up along the dock. I'm not sure if this was because it was a chilly day or what the reason was, as the program does mention the marina is open from 3 pm on certain days, Saturday included, but it is weather permitting. This is actually when I had my first opportunity to see a bit of the other Disney hotels on the other side of the marina. We were not planning to try and visit any of those hotels, but I did get another opportunity to see them on Sunday.

Up next, our final day at Disneyland Paris.

Karen

Sunday, May 15, was our last day at Disneyland Paris. We once again enjoyed a great breakfast at Inventions. We packed up our luggage and had it stored until we were ready to leave the resort. I went back into Disneyland Park around 10 am to ride the train. I also wanted to walk through the Liberty Arcade, so I used that walk as my entrance route. The only train station open was in Fantasyland, due to all of the rehab going on. After the train ride, I slowly walked back through the park, up Main Street, taking lots of pictures along the way. My husband met up with me at 11:45 am and we went to our noon lunch reservation at Walt's Restaurant. There were several other parties waiting along with us to be seated, but by all means, no crowd of people. We were seated along the windows overlooking Main Street and had a really nice lunch. We had a nice birds eye view of the Minnie's Little Spring Train parade as it proceeded down Main Street. There was only one other party seated in our part of the dining room during our entire lunch.

After lunch we returned to the hotel to pick up our luggage and we then exited out the main entrance to catch a ride on the Magical Shuttle to return to CDG Airport. We purchased our tickets from the driver as we boarded the bus. Our luggage was stowed underneath, and we had plenty of choices for seats. Well, that is because our hotel was the first stop of the trip to the airport. We left at 2pm and proceeded to make all of the stops at the other Disney hotels. This is where I got my pictures of the front entrance signs and a brief shot of each of the other Disney Hotels. The bus was pretty full by the last stop. My notes say that we arrived at CDG airport around 3:30pm.
We were not catching our return flight until the next morning, so we went up to the top level to catch our hotel shuttle, we were staying at the Mercure Airport hotel.
I want to add that we used this hotel on the day we arrived into France as well. It has a shuttle bus that goes to the Aeroville Mall nearby, handy for shopping, eating, and in our case, we went to the Orange Store on that first day to set up our phone with a France phone number and phone plan to use while we were in France those 2 weeks.

In summing up, we really enjoyed our visit, despite the large number of rides undergoing rehab. It is a charming park, the size of the park reminds me of Disneyland in California. We loved the closeness of the hotel to the park, it was worth the extra cost. We easily rode and saw everything we wanted to see and do in the parks, and we didn't spend much time in the gift shops, or shopping at Disney Village, but found the few souvenirs we desired in the stores we did go into. Would I go back? Well, probably not real soon, there are other parks to discover. For my birthday at the end of May, my husband gave me guide books to Hong Kong Disneyland and also Tokyo Disneyland, so maybe a trip to the far east is in the future. I printed over 500 pictures of our Disneyland Paris visit to make a photo album, and downloaded over 1700 pictures from our entire two weeks in France.

I'm certainly no expert after only one visit, but will be glad to answer any questions if I can.

Karen

great trip report, well done