We're No Cowboys, but We'll Say Howdy to You - A Sept. 2016 DL Paris TR *Complete and New TR Link

amazingact21

Upendi
Joined
Nov 6, 2010
Introductions:


Hello everyone and welcome to my 2016 Disneyland Paris trip report!
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Over the past six years, I have written 5 Walt Disney World trip reports, but this is my first one for Paris. My family and I had the opportunity to visit the parks last September, and I cannot wait to discuss our trip. This was our first experience visiting a Disney park other than WDW, and Disneyland Paris did not disappoint.


On this short but altogether wonderful trip were myself and my husband, Alex:

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Together, the two of us fill our house with as many Disney touches as possible. We have dozens of park coffee mugs, hundreds of pins, and several posters lining our walls. We visited the parks together in 2010 and since then have competed in two runDisney events, honeymooned on the Disney Magic, and experienced 6 different WDW resorts. Alex works hard in the military, and I man the fort at home until my children are old enough for me to return to work. Currently, we live in Germany but our real home is Florida, where both our families live and where we hope to settle down many, many years in the future.


But enough about us. We are just minor characters in these reports. The real stars are the two kids we claim as our own.


Landon:
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He was 3 at the time of this trip, and he is the one who keeps Alex and me on our toes. He’s smart, loud, and extremely particular. With 7 Disney vacations on his resume, he knows his Disney rides and isn’t afraid to let us know what he wants to experience.



Then there’s Evie:

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Sweet, shy little girl was 11 months old at DL Paris and provided us with many smiles and cherished memories. While not the veteran her brother is (she had only been to a WDW park twice) she learned the ropes quick and realized what she liked soon enough. Or, better yet, she discovered what she did NOT enjoy rather fast.



Also tagging along was my mother (referred to by all now as Nana):

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If you have followed me here from my previous trip reports, you know that my mom goes to Disney with us quite frequently, but this has to be the farthest park she has ever traveled to with my little family.


This Disney trip came about spur of the moment. My mom was visiting us from the states, and Alex came home from work with news that he had a 3 day weekend. Living in Europe, there are ample destinations to visit, but Alex and I were itching to see Disneyland Paris. I mean, it was a new park within driving distance. It had been 5 months since our last Disney vacation, and that was about the amount of time between typical visits, so the theme park itch was hitting us hard. We needed to scratch it, and the long weekend seemed too perfect an opportunity to pass up.


I hopped online and looked up costs for the packages. The Paris website works a little different than the WDW version. Prices and deals are broken up by countries, so you have to do some digging to figure out what the best rate will be. For instance, the U.S.A. package in dollars could only include tickets and room and cost more than the French package, which comes with a half board meal plan in Euros.

I clicked through Germany, Ireland, France, and the U.K. and finally found a selection I thought would work for our budget and timeline. It was two nights onsite with 3 day tickets and free breakfast. (A quick note: The breakfast package is not included in resort stays, anymore.) I could have booked a partner hotel and purchased military discounted tickets at the gate, but with such a short trip I really wanted to utilize Extra Magic Hours by staying onsite. So, I made the call to pay a little more and get the full Disneyland Paris experience.

A computer transfer to my husband, who took French in high school and could read it better than me, and we were booked!

Our dates were
September 14 through 16, 2016 at the Sequoia Lodge.
:cheer2:

I sincerely hope you will join this Walt Disney World vet as she recalls her first experience at Disneyland Paris. There were many fabulous moments, peppered throughout with silly blunders and hilarious learning curves. It was a wonderful trip, one that I can’t wait to make again, and I look forward to talking about our travels in new (to us) Disney parks.


Thanks for reading!


Until next time…
 
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Hi! Definitely joining in! I can't wait to read about your time in Paris and hear how you enjoyed a new Disney park!
 


Thrilled to see your review! We're 2 months away from our first trip to DLP, so I can't wait to share in your experience! :thumbsup2
 


I'm excited to read about this trip! I'm hoping to eventually visit DLP, but until I can make it to Paris, I'll just have to enjoy it vicariously through your report!
 
Count me in! I'm sure I'll regret it as I'll be itching to get back to DLP myself and take the kiddos... lol
 
I'm here! Looking forward to reading about your Paris adventures :)

Thanks for following me over here; I know you must be pretty busy with your upcoming wedding!

Hi! Definitely joining in! I can't wait to read about your time in Paris and hear how you enjoyed a new Disney park!

Thanks! I loved being able to visit a new Disney park, and it makes me even more anxious to get out to DL one day!


Joining in!! Can't wait to hear all about your family's first trip to DLP!!

Thank you for joining! I can't wait to talk talk about DL Paris.
 
Thrilled to see your review! We're 2 months away from our first trip to DLP, so I can't wait to share in your experience! :thumbsup2

That's very exciting! DL Paris is so beautiful; I can't wait to talk about our experience. Are you staying onsite or at one of the partner hotels or do you have a place closer to the city?

I can't wait to hear all about this trip. I'd love to see Disneyland Paris one day. Until then I'm living through your report.

It's a gorgeous park; I really wish all WDW vets could see the Sleeping Beauty castle in Paris just once.


Alright!!! So glad you're going to write about this trip!

Thanks for following me over, Andy.
 
I'm excited to read about this trip! I'm hoping to eventually visit DLP, but until I can make it to Paris, I'll just have to enjoy it vicariously through your report!

I really hope you can make it to the park one day, it's stunning. While it wasn't the best weather for our trip, the beauty of the place still comes through in the pictures. At least, that's my opinion.


Count me in! I'm sure I'll regret it as I'll be itching to get back to DLP myself and take the kiddos... lol

I can understand why you want to return! I still can't believe you were able to stay at the Disneyland Hotel. That's where Alex and I want to splurge and take the kids for Evie's 2nd birthday because that'll be right after he gets back from his deployment. The resort had to provide some gorgeous views!
And you will be in Europe next March....while the kids won't be with you, it'd be easy for you two to hop over for a few days.:rotfl:


I'm up to speed and can't wait to read about DLP.

Thanks for catching up and following along! I am sure I'm behind on your report, but I promise I will read all the updates. I'm very curious to read about this latest May trip, too!:goodvibes
 
September 14, 2016 Part 1:

Typically, I like to start my Disney trips with an early departure. The sooner we leave the house, the sooner we are on property! Unfortunately, Alex found out last minute that he needed to work that morning, so we had to delay leaving until the afternoon. Alex made it home around 12:30, we loaded up the car, gave keys and instructions to our pet sitters, and were ready to hit the road by 2 o’clock!


The first order of business once in the car was getting gas. As Americans living in Germany, there are certain gas stations we can use to get a different price, so Alex had to drive to the closest one to fill up. It took us about 30 minutes out of the way; in the future we will just fill up by our house and sacrifice the extra fuel.


I had packed our camera in the back with the kids, and I completely forgot to pull out my phone; therefore I have zero photos from our car trip. The route from our house to Disney property was extremely easy. We went through Luxembourg, where there a ton of traffic, and then crossed into France with no issues. Once in the country, I was amazed by all the flat land around me. Lots of open fields and wide spaces. We had only been living in Germany for 4 months at that point, but already I was conditioned to mountain driving and huge stretches of woods.

There were two toll roads we had to go through, and I believe it cost us about 35 Euro. Not too bad, and something I was aware of going into the trip.
(On the way home, we had an interesting experience with one of the pay machines. When we reached the end of the toll road and went to insert our ticket into pay, the machine broke and ate our ticket. We had to use the call button and contact somebody to come get our ticket out and open the gate. And with my husband barely speaking French and the worker knowing little English, this made for a curious exchange.)


Between getting gas, pausing for toll entrances, and stopping once for a break it took us approximately 5 hours to get to Disneyland Paris. Not bad at all! That meant we were closer to a Disney park than we were when we lived in Florida.

A girl could get used to this close proximity.


Finding our resort was very simple. Sequoia, Disneyland, New York, and Newport – all the “deluxe” resorts – were located in a big circle so the parking lots were all next to one another. We just had to find the entrance for ours and pull in.


Alex parked, I got the kids in the stroller, and finally thought to grab a couple phone pictures as we entered the Sequoia Lodge lobby.
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Okay, I thought to take one picture.

Shameful, I know.

But I had to go through a bag check at the doors and that threw me off, because I wasn’t expecting it and had nothing opened or ready. And, of course, we had our massive double stroller that did not want to fit through the doors.

Mistake # 1: We brought the wrong stroller. Our double stroller was just too big for navigating the parks. The doorways and gates were barely wide enough to allow us to pass through if we were facing dead ahead. The elevator at Sequoia could only fit a small single, so Alex had to fold the blasted thing up and carry it up and down every staircase we encountered. (Which were a few.)

On future trips, we are just going to bring our single City Mini and our toddler carrier. The double can stay back at home.


Check in was a breeze. We waited in line for maybe ten minutes. The woman in front of us was in a bit of a panic because she had lost her room key at the pool and her daughter was in the room by herself. She had no identification on her, so she didn’t know how she was going to get a new key made.

I wish I knew how that situation had turned out, but right about the time she was speaking with a Cast Member, another CM behind the desk became available and we had to move along. There was a lot of paperwork involved with checking in, but we received a pleasant surprise in the middle of our jotting. Our standard room had been upgraded to a Montana room.

Hooray!


There are a few room types at the Sequoia Lodge. Standard, which you can guess means farthest away from the main building and parking lot views. Montana rooms, which are located inside the main building (and there’s a subcategory that allows for lake views) and then there are the Golden Forest rooms. Some are club level, others provide extra amenities.

Because we were only going to be there for 2 nights, we weren’t concerned with getting anything fancy so we booked a Standard room. That being said, it was really nice having that Montana location. Once we got our keys, all we had to do was walk to the end of the lobby and…

Hold Up.

It was almost seven o’clock and my normal dinnertime is six p.m.

I was starving!


I knew the resort had a few restaurants, and before I went and got settled into the room I needed to figure out our food situation.

So, before we went and peeked at our home for the next two nights, Alex and I found the concierge desk and asked if there were any availabilities for dinner at the restaurant, Hunter’s Grill.

There were plenty.

I asked for a reservation in about twenty minutes, to give us time to drop our bags off and find the location, then I ushered us all to the end of the lobby. If you were to head to the right, you would find a kid’s craft area, a back door, bar, and stairs leading down to the dining locations. The opposite direction led us to the Montana rooms.




Inside our room were two double beds, table, chairs, dresser, and a bathroom with a small alcove to store suitcases and loose bags. The room was small compared to Walt Disney World standards.

I mean, we’re talking smaller than value rooms.

It went: Wall. Bed. Nightstand. Bed. Wall.

There was no walking along the sides or setting up the baby crib adjacent to a bed. This place wasn’t one you used for leisure.


For us, it was a bit of a shock to find ourselves in such a tiny space. However, since then we have traveled a bit more and have come to see that Sequoia houses pretty standard European room sizes. We’ve grown accustomed to the smaller space, but back then it was a little like playing tetris. Where were we going to put the crib? The extra clothes? The blasted double stroller???

(That ended up being folded and set against the wall opposite the entryway.)
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And the crib was set up at the foot of our bed:
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Aside from the smallness of it, the rest of the room was nice.

There was a mini fridge in the cabinet next to the sink, which I don’t think came in the standard rooms.
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The whole resort was wilderness themed; what I imagine Wilderness Lodge looks like. (Can you believe I’ve never seen that resort?!) So there were lots of woodsy decorations spread about.

Deer light fixtures:
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(This one actually came from the hallway of the resort.)


And the trim on the wallpaper was Bambi-themed.
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I’ll admit, the great outdoors aren’t my absolute favorite thing in the world. I’m much more beach-oriented, but I could appreciate the beauty of the design. The place felt very welcoming and comfortable. The atmosphere gave off a lived-in feel, which I would take over stuffy and pretentious any day of the week.

So while not my all-time favorite Disney resort I have ever stayed in, I didn’t find anything wrong with Sequoia and would stay there again if the opportunity arose.


But enough about the sleeping quarters! It was dinnertime.

We moseyed over to the restaurant and checked in, (this was a buffet dinner) and the host took us to our table right away. We made ourselves comfortable and waited for someone to come by and take our drink orders.

And we waited.

And waited.

The kids were very crabby by this point because it was well past their dinnertime, and it got to the point where I told Alex he was going to have to ask the host to grab our waiter. About the time he was standing up to do that, our server showed up and grabbed our drink requests.


The only photo I have from our entrees is of Landon’s plate.

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The round hashbrown looking things were “potatoes” and behind them were chicken nuggets. And guys, those were some of the tastiest nuggets and fries I have ever eaten. They were amazing! Perfectly breaded, full of flavor, and the fries were a great size for holding in toddler hands.

It was the clear winner of the meal.


Everything else was…okay.

There was a lot of seafood options, and I don’t like most fish so I had to hunt around for other choices. If memory serves me correctly, I tried the green beans, a soup, and pork. I think if my family were more adventurous or if I liked underwater fare, I would have enjoyed the meal far more than we did. None of us ate our 35 Euros worth of food, that’s for sure.


Except maybe when it came to the desserts.

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Oh my goodness, there were custards and tarts and cakes and all the items I tried were unbelievable. Not that I was able to eat too many treats; they were all so rich that one or two bites was enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

If I could pay half price and just go there for the desserts, I would in a heartbeat.


Once dinner was complete and we were all feeling halfway human again, all of us needed to stretch our legs and walk off some of that chocolate we’d just indulged in. Time to start exploring our surroundings!
 
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I can imagine how difficult it was to get the toll ticket issue sorted with the language barrier! At one point I was fluent in French (though Canadian French is a bit different than Parisian, but much better than nothing!) but I've lost a lot of it with lack of use.

The resort looks really pretty, but small rooms!! This is something I remember about the trips we took to Europe when I was 11 and 16. I imagine it took some getting used to with two small kids in tow.

Sorry to hear about the lack of non-seafood choices at dinner, but your desserts looked delicious! I'm so excited to hear more about this trip. If I ever manage to get working on that All-Disney-Parks-Around-The-World Bucket List, Paris will be high on the list!
 
5 hours, that's not too bad at all!

Wow, crazy that the rooms are tinier than values! They are themed very nicely though.

I'm sorry dinner wasn't the best, but I'm sure it helped getting food in your bellies and those desserts do look good!
 
There were two toll roads we had to go through, and I believe it cost us about 35 Euro. Not too bad, and something I was aware of going into the trip. (On the way home, we had an interesting experience with one of the pay machines. When we reached the end of the toll road and went to insert our ticket into pay, the machine broke and ate our ticket. We had to use the call button and contact somebody to come get our ticket out and open the gate. And with my husband barely speaking French and the worker knowing little English, this made for a curious exchange.)
Oh wow... I can't even imagine how frustrating that would have been!

Between getting gas, pausing for toll entrances, and stopping once for a break it took us approximately 5 hours to get to Disneyland Paris. Not bad at all! That meant we were closer to a Disney park than we were when we lived in Florida.
Not bad at all. It's hard to get that perspective on how compact things are in Europe. I mean, here you drive a couple of states away and it is over a 5 hour drive. You crossed what, 2 borders? Not states, but countries. And still just a 5 hour drive.

But I had to go through a bag check at the doors and that threw me off, because I wasn’t expecting it and had nothing opened or ready.
Yeah, I wouldn't expect bag check to enter a hotel lobby either! Do they check your luggage?

Mistake # 1: We brought the wrong stroller. Our double stroller was just too big for navigating the parks. The doorways and gates were barely wide enough to allow us to pass through if we were facing dead ahead. The elevator at Sequoia could only fit a small single, so Alex had to fold the blasted thing up and carry it up and down every staircase we encountered. (Which were a few.)
Oh wow... I would have never even considered that being a problem.

The whole resort was wilderness themed; what I imagine Wilderness Lodge looks like. (Can you believe I’ve never seen that resort?!) So there were lots of woodsy decorations spread about.
First of all... why have you never seen Wilderness Lodge? You need to remedy that.

I see the WL like vibe, but honestly the pictures make me think more of the Grand Californian.

The round hashbrown looking things were “potatoes” and behind them were chicken nuggets. And guys, those were some of the tastiest nuggets and fries I have ever eaten. They were amazing! Perfectly breaded, full of flavor, and the fries were a great size for holding in toddler hands.
So the French do American food better? Awesome.

The desserts look phenomenal. I like your idea of paying half price just for the dessert buffet.
 
I'm here and can't wait to hear all about this! I love how you can drive there in 5 hours - though that has to take some degree of restraint not to end up there every weekend. :rotfl: We're still working on flights for France - which airports are near your area, in case I need to expand our search for good flight deals?

Glad you made it there and Alex knew enough French to work things out. I'm lucky that Dug grew up as the child of two French teachers, so he's fairly solid at French still, but I know almost no French (I did take 4 years of German, though, so I might get by in your area :laughing:).

Glad the hotel was decent, but good to know about the tiny rooms. I'm with you on the buffet - if it was that loaded with seafood, I'd be eating the kids selections and desserts. :thumbsup2

So excited to hear about your experiences in the parks! :hyper:
 
reading this! i've never been to DLP but i have always dreamed of it, i cannot wait to read more and see more pictures! love this :love:
 

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