DLP Trip Report and Observations - Nov '14

[Animaniac93-98]

I recently returned from a 5-night stay at DLP and here are the various notes on my trip. I'll try to post them in an organized way, but since I have a lot to say some of it may be out of order, or in point form, but hopefully it'll make sense to someone.

The Hotel

Since I stayed at Sequoia Lodge last time, I wanted to stay at a different hotel this trip. I chose Newport Bay Club because I like the theme (similar to Yacht/Beach) and I knew it was going under an extensive renovation. However, almost none of it was completed for my trip.

Using the word "renovation" doesn't really convey how extensive this work really is. They are gutting everything on the inside (rooms, halls, common areas) and stripping the exterior to its bare frame and replacing all the insulation and wood. Short of demoing the place and starting new construction, this is about as major an overhaul as you could get.

To say the hotel needed this would be an understatement. The exterior is in terrible shape and many of the rooms are quite worn in appearence. This work is long overdue, but certainly more than thorough and welcome.

I knew this going in, but I thought at least the East Wing of rooms would be done. Unfortunately, this was not the case and I had to stay in one of the unrenovated rooms in the main building. Fortunately for me I was warned about this by Disney ahead of time and giving compensation as a result (a 50 euro gift card) and, more importantly, my room was not in as bad shape as I had feared. Indeed it was worn, but I had seen some scary pics on TripAdvisor of moldy bathrooms and broken furniature, so that was of some relief. I suspect it was because I was staying on the Admiral's Floor (aka Conceriege level) so the room likely saw less traffic than its standard counterparts. One thing that was gross was the comforters on the bed which looked very old, but were easily taken off and did not speak for the rest of the bed and matress.

The benefits of staying on the Admiral's Floor are not as good as Sequoia at the moment. There's no lounge area with snacks and drinks and most perks are in the form of additional in-room services (food, kettle, bell service etc). Only suites get extra FastPasses for the parks. Not sure if I would pay extra to do it again, unless some more things come out of the refurbishment.

Just a few doors down from my room, you could see through a wire-frame construction barrier one of the renovated hallways with all new cparteing, wallpaper, fixures and paint. An interesting contrast to the old look where I was staying.

Despite the contruction delays, Disney has wated no time starting work on the rest of the hotel, with both the lobby and gift shop closed off for work. In the meantime, a make-shift reception has been set up in the convention centre for guest use. One area that has finished is the resturant interiors, which look wonderful with their new paint, carpets, wood and flooring. Important when the complimentary breakfast is served in Cape Cod every morning. For some reason, Yacht Club was closed for dinner, even though it was renovated and used as overflow space for breakfast.

As much as I was disapointed with the construction delays, I was OK with my stay at the hotel. It feels odd to complain about a hotel needing renovation when it is getting one, but I hope it finishes soon for the benefit of guests staying there in 2015. From what I have seen in person and online, the work being done is excellent and should bring back the resort to the quality it should have been for the last decade. I only hope it won't be another 20 years before work is done again.

More notes on the parks and rest of trip to follow...

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Ratatouille - Warning, Spoilers Ahead!

The rat is clearly the most popular attraction in the resort at the moment. Wait times hit 2 hours last Saturday with FPs running out only a few hours after park opening. With the single rider line not always open, this was the hardest attraction to ride without a long wait (even more than Crush!). Eventually, I bit the bullet and got in line when it said 60 minutes, but thankfully it was less than that. The indoor queue is much shorter than I expected, which makes the outdoor section look more intimidating than it really is.

Regarding the overall look of Place de Remy, it really is beautiful, particularily at night. It actually does a better job at capturing the feel of Paris than Epcot's World Showcase. Having said that, it does not belong in Epcot and should not be added there anymore than Frozen. For all it's beauty, this is still very much a "toon" version of Paris. With off-centre patterns, crooked lines and sign font, rat details in the design (some so subtle they're hard to notice), this is definately a fantasy version of Paris. That works fine as an extension of Toon Studios, where you access it from TSPL or a path beyond Crush and Cars, but in Epcot wouldn't really work. It is however, a refreshing take on toon architecure from WDI. One that allows for better quality fixures and materials, while not clashing with the presence of cartoon characters. Think DLP's Fantasyland, but applied to the city of Paris.

The restaurant is very nice. Food may not live up to Remy's reputation for sensational quality, but it is still good and the atmosphere is really well done. Ceratainly a "wow" moment when you first walk in. Some of it is visible to those exiting the ride (in a Blue Bayou kind of way), but it doesn't have the same impact. Wait staff are also dressed very well for a theme park restuarant, and the presentation of the menu and lobby area are also of high quality. If you're wondering how you go from human scale Paris to Remy sized eatery, you cross a line in the floor and are explained the transition by your waiter. Maybe not the best transition, but it's what they did here. The combination of fine (or want-to-be fine) French dining and theme park kitsch may not work for everyone, but it did for me. It's without question the best place in the park for a meal, but it's always been lacking in this area (among others).

As for the ride itself, it is good, but it is not amazing in the way MM or RSR is. If you're expecting that, you'll be disapointed, but most everyone should enjoy it. Based on what I saw from other guests, it is a hit with them. It's better than Transformers IMO and has good 3-D imagery, animation, sets, practical effects (smells, water, temperature changes etc) and music. Ride is also not too short or has a plot that is difficult to follow. I was originally disapointed to hear there were no animatronics in the ride, but after having seen it, I'm not sure where they really could have gone. There is some independent vechicle motion, but this never was meant to be a thrill ride so I don't think it's wrong for not being as extreme as say, Spider-Man. Some may still get motion sickness though. Biggest problem with the ride is that not all the screens wrap around your field of vision. Some do, but when the three cars line up side-by-side you can see the floor between the screen and the vehicle. One scene does this better by having it framed with a curtain and two animated giant wheels at the side, but it's a problem I'm not sure how to fix. Maybe use three smaller screens than one big one? There's a point where that happens and it's very effective so I'd say maybe try to change that for all scenes. Overall good ride and welcome addition to the park, it just won't blow your mind.

Gift shop still isn't open yet. Should be by the end of the month, but I obviously can't comment on it. Saw some ride specific merch in Disney Studio 1 and World of Disney, but nothing that interested me enough to buy.

In short, Rat is a great addition to a park that needs more things like it. If this is the quality we can expect from new attractions in DLP's future, that is a very good thing.

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

Nice report! I personally have no problem with wait times for Ratatouille (granted I almost always go alone and have an AP, so I have a little more freedom), but even the single rider line is usually shorter than Crush, and it's always been open when I've gone (unlike Crush). Maybe it's just coincidence?

Did you happen to stop by the Anna and Elsa M&G? I'm headed there tomorrow to get some signature for my little cousins...hopefully the wait won't be terrible!

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Nice report! I personally have no problem with wait times for Ratatouille (granted I almost always go alone and have an AP, so I have a little more freedom), but even the single rider line is usually shorter than Crush, and it's always been open when I've gone (unlike Crush). Maybe it's just coincidence?

Did you happen to stop by the Anna and Elsa M&G? I'm headed there tomorrow to get some signature for my little cousins...hopefully the wait won't be terrible!

I did the Anna/Elsa greet in WDW with FP+, so I skipped it at DLP. I saw the line at 100 minutes the one time I looked at it. I also saw people line up for it even before 8:30am during EMH.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Other Restaurants and Meal Plan

For this trip I got the Half-Board Plus meal plan to go with the included hotel breakfast. With that plan you get one 3-course meal with non-alcoholic drink (which includes almost all Disney owned resort restaurants, and comes from a seperate pre-fix menu) and one additional snack and drink between 3 and 7pm per night. The main reason for getting this was the convenience of pre-paying for meals. Actual savings are around 7-12 euros a day (on average, based on what I saw listed on the menus), so not much, but if you want more than fast food meals all the time, I think it's worth it. I'm generally not a fan of Disney theme park fast food, so it's nice to have something more substantial and of a better quality, although the ribs at the Lucky Nugget Saloon were good.

I used my meal credits at the following restaurants, which I had no trouble making same or next day reservations for (a major advantage over WDW):

Auberge de Cendrillon (paying the difference in cash)
Bistrot Chez Remy
Plaza Gardens
Silver Spur Steakhouse
Walt's

I wanted to eat at Agrabah Cafe to see the interior, but the hours were lousy. Only Wed-Sun, 12-4pm. This is a common problem with DLP unfortunately, with many restaurants often closed throughout the year or only open on weekends. I think Fantasia Galati was only open for about 4 hours out of my entire trip.

All the TS restaurants I ate at were at least OK, but the surprise for me was Auberge. Even though it's a character restaurant the food was the best of any I had on site and of unusually high quality for a place marketed mainly for children. I can't imagine the US equivalents serving veal and creme flambée, for example. The character mix was also good (Suzy, Perla, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel and Prince Eric) and they not only took pictures, but did a small dance performance every hour too. As with all DLP CMs, the face characters were at least bilingual, which is intersteing to hear when they go from table to table. I went right at opening which also meant it wasn't too noisy either in the dining room, which was no less beautiful for not being in the castle itself. This was easily the nicest character meal I have ever been to, and unlike the American parks, I didn't have to book it more than a couple days ahead. Hooray for simplicity! The only downside is the extremely high price, which I would not have been willing to pay for without using the meal plan to help pay for it.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Day Trip to Paris

If you're staying at DLP and want to take a guided tour into the city, there are two different options to choose from. There's the Paris Essentials Tour, which includes return bus to Newport Bay and a hop-on hop-off bus pass for the city or the Magical Day Tour with boat cuise on the Senie, return bus from New York and bus tour, and either visit to the Eiffel Tower or Louvre. It was the second choice I did, but since the Louvre tour was not available for the date I chose I did the Eiffel Tower.

Tour started at 9:45am, with guests having to show up at the hotel 30 minutes prior so everyone could leave on time. Then we drove to the city and on the same bus was driven around to see the various sights with an audio narration. This was followed by 2 hours of free time for lunch in the Louvre area, where I walked around the pyramid and facade and to the nearby gardens. Then we did the 1 hour boat cruise, again with audio narration and of course it rained just as we got on the boat . It was covered, but it made looking out the glass a little more difficult. Still a decent tour, if not the same as using one of those more luxurious boats with bar and dining on board. After which we went up to the second floor of the Effiel Tower, which was of course a wonderful view. I saw the newly added and hyped glass floor, but since it's on the first floor it's not as scary as the CN Tower equivalent in Toronto IMO. More interesting I think is to take the stairs down the different levels to appreciate the strength of the building's architecture. As expected, most of the gift shops and food in the tower are nothing special, but if someone wants to buy me lunch at Jules Verne, I'll gladly accept the invitation. Finally, we were taken back to the hotel at around 6:30pm.

For what it is, the tour was good and our trilingual guide was very polite and helpful. It's a case of bredth over depth for sure, but if you're tight on time or would feel more comfortable with a guide going into the city, I would suggest considering it. The other option is less expensive, but you have to pay extra for any tour, attraction or museum you'd want to see. Here at least the tower/Louvre and cruise are included and you don't have to worry about buying the extra tickets.

Be warned that at 83 euros per adult, it is very expensive. You might just want to get an RER/Metro and museum pass instead. I splurged because I only had to pay for myself and I wanted the convienience of a tour.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

More Notes, this time on the condition of various rides. On average, things were better than last year:

Pirates was fabulous. Almost every single effect was working, including the swordfighting pirates and the one that swings over your boat. The Magistrate's wife, one turntable in the chase scene and the barrels hanging from the rope in the burning town scene were the only things I noticed not working. Otherwise, the ride was in excellent shape. I went on it three times and miraculously nobody took flash photos in my boat, yay! This is the resort's best E-Ticket IMO, and as much as I like Forbidden Journey and Spider-Man, nothing tops this kind of dimensional world building and longish run time. This is Disney at its best.

Space Mountain cannon effect was working everyday but Monday. Watchiing it at night with the synchronized lighting effects looks great. Ride is still rough, but in good shape going into its major refurb next year. Like Pirates, this is lightyears ahead of its sloppy, rusty WDW counterpart.

I believe everything but the falling rocks was working on BTM. I think this is better themed than in Florida, but not as exciting a coaster. There's a nice fiber optic effect in one scene that you can't see unless you're sitting in the last two cars.

Everything on the 3 Fantasyland dark rides was working. Peter Pan had no line during the first 10 minutes of EMH and it was wonderful to just walk on. One time this woman took flash photos the entire ride, unfortunately.

I rode Indy at night so I guess the renewed Temple looks good. Ride is still bumpy since they only replaced the loop portion of the track and I guess they didn't replace the cars either.

Phantom Manor had mostly everything working. The main part of the end mirror gag was missing again (oddly, the supporting lights, smoke and audio was working) and so was the hellhound at the descent. The skeletons in the catacombs barely moved, yet the more sophisticated AAs in the following scene looked fine (really that whole scene looked great). The Corridor of Doors was too dark, you could hardly see any of the set or effects. Other effects that worked could still do with some upgrading. It may be blasphemous to say it, but I like this better than the original DL HM, but probably not the WDW version. Bring back Vincent's narration!

There is nothing to see on the RR between Discoveryland and MS. Just trees and the Timekeeper music.

Popcorn lights need work on MS. The DL Hotel roof looked fine, far better than what Grand Floridian has become, but the park signs above the first level looked terrible. Not sure what's with the difference in quality here.

Speaking of terrible, the lights hanging from the teacups roof looked brutal. They're filthy and full of holes. This just had a 10 day closure so I'm not sure why they didn't fix this. Looks really obvious at night.

Small World Holiday is a minimal makeover compared to California. They change the music and the doll costumes, but the decorations are pretty sparse. And no lights on the exterior at all. Looks very dark and like the wasted opportunity it is. Some figures in the ride were static when I rode it. They get points over WDW for at least doing something and brining it back after a few years hiatus, but this should be more substantial.

Crush Coaster is the best of the Finding Nemo attractions. Just the most fun.

Carousel horses need new paint. Even from just walking by you can see the scratches on them if you look closely enough.

Dumbo waterfall has been cleaned at least 3 times this year, but should probably be done once a week. The stains on it seem to build up pretty quickly, sadly.

When was the last time anyone was allowed on the pirate ship's deck? Everytime I look they have the bridge blocked off.



More notes on merch, Christmas and Buffalo Bill to follow...

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Merchandise

Selection appeared to be better this time around. Almost every major attraction had a t-shirt for it, even the Indy coaster had two. There was at least some attempt to have theme relevant merch in different lands, with Jungle Book and Lion King merch in Adventureland for example. Lots of repetitive items across stores, but the main one in Frontierland not only had Phantom Manor and BTM stuff, but non-Disney branded (!) western clothing and accessories. A nice touch.

Christmas items were mostly basic, but respectable. No Sketchbook series ornaments like in the US, which was a major disappointment for me. Most ornaments for sale looked cheap.

Didn't buy much for myself, but I did get a great set of Phantom Manor coasters that, unlike the other PM merch, was tailored specifically for the Paris version of the ride: http://www.disneystore.co.uk/phantom-manor-coasters-set-of-4/mp/61394/1000272/

The new Lego Store in Disney Village is great for what it is, but there's nothing extra special about the selection.

Buffalo Bill

Yes I went to see it, and yes I liked it. Call me a tacky tourist, but I was won over by this dinner show and can see why 10+ million people have paid to see it over the last 20 years.

Comparing it with Medeival Times, the overall production (including the theatre itself) is more elebaorate, but with a western theme. There's more show and music to it than rodeo games, but there is a good amount of that too with some audience participation. Food is what you'd expect when trying to make the same meal 300 times over, but it's not terrible at all. Mickey and friends are not in the whole show and thankfully are not in any of the more "serious" moments with the natives. Their addition, while not accurate to the source material, is not too offensive. You get to keep the hat they give to you with the colour of your "state" (the area you sat in).

If you plan on seeing it, arrive early enough to see all the museum exhibit and descriptions along the wall in the pre-show area. They provide a nice context for the show.

As popular as this was I doubt it would ever be duplicated for the US. Someone would certainly feel the show is politically inccorect in its depection of the Indians or of gun play/target practice, or that it is too terrible a depection of the historical figures involved, but it was clearly all done in good fun. I guess Europeans in general don't get upset over these things as much.

 

[Ralphlaw]

I was at DLP in June, and have a few comments:

1. Sequoia was nice, but the pool went down 2 days, once for a . . um . . biological mishap, and once because of lightening.
2. Food is very expensive.
3. Space Mountain is very cool, and rough. Really messed with my gut.
4. The castle show, and the dragon under the castle, were the highlights for us.
5. The deck of the pirate ship was open when we were there.
6. Rat wasn't yet open when we were there. Darn.
7. The tour to Paris with the boat ride was nice with our kids. If it was just adults, we would've taken the train in and done it all ourselves--self-directed.

Overall, an enjoyable trip. It's all quite expensive, and drips with Americana which I cannot imagine enhances its European popularity right now.