Trip Report Disneyland Paris : A weekend full of upgrades!

Hello everybody!

I just got back from a weekend full of Disneyland Paris magic. Apologies for posting this DLRP Trip here but the Disneyland Paris section on this forum is kinda... slow. As the majority of you famous Trip reporters are frequent WDW visitors, an insight of another Disney Theme park is sometimes also refreshing ( I know how much I like reading all your TR's).

So, who/what/when/why/etc...

My name is Laurence, 27 yo, a senior auditor at EY Brussels who basically refuses to grow up.. Kind of a problem when auditing Banks and Insurance companies. I'm an annual passholder at Disneyland Paris and luckily only need to drive a short 3 hours to Disneyland Paris ( THANK GOD)!

What? I'm going to state the obvious but.. YES WE ARE GOING TO DISNEYLAND PARIS!! I've been counting down ever since I was there on the 30th of December. Dreading the days in between, we finally decided to go during the weekend of 4-5 February ( instead of the 21-22 January).

Who? Let me introduce the party of five that joined me on this trip. First person I should mention is my father who bankrolled this trip and got soo much done during those 2 days that he is semi-responsible for creating this magical weekend. Other people joining me were : Kristel ( girlfriend of my father); Alix ( my sister); Gaëtan ( my little brother) and Jef ( my sister's boyfriend).

Why? Just because we wanted to go and explore some magic with the Family ( and because secretly my birthday is coming up on the 15th of February).

NOW : Enough with the introductions and long long sentences.. We are off to Disneyland Paris !

** Picture taken from a solo trip I did back in September.

 

[Laurenciaa]

After a solid, 1,5 hour at the breakfast table.. we decided it was time to hit the parks. I now remember that I already had a sore toe of the substantial amount of walking the day before. Turns out I would not be able to keep up a whole day of walking again with those shoes. also turns out the problem is not the walking BUT THE SHOES . Very good shoes to protect you during the winter cold but my little toe does not like them.

BUT back to the parks!
We started, as usual, in the Disneyland Park with a visit to the Castle. Please mind the grey weather. I will after this post, post a picture of the situation yesterday

Ahh Sleeping Beauty, probably one of my favo movies along with Peter Pan and Beauty and the Beast..

After that we decided to walk past the Fantasy Land core section ( more specifically Peter Pan, Snow White) and go a bit further on to... It's a Small world.. Oh I soo loveeee this one. I am probably the only one who likes this boat ride BUT I forced them to join mee on this boat trip around the world:

Hello Hollyywooodddd !!!!

 

[Laurenciaa]

This was yesterday :

Thank you day off and thank you beautiful weather:

 

[Laurenciaa]

Now back to the more chilly temperatures of February. After we rode IASM, we took the train back to Frontierland. I know, getting there by foot would have been quicker BUT I was getting handicapped and we haven't sat on that train for a while.

Us waiting for the train :

Think Dad was saying something cause his face doesn't not like kinda " Say Cheese"!

After we got off at Frontierland we entered the Haunted Mansion. No pictures here sorry!

I began to moan a bit but still managed to make a final visit to DHS too. I think we rode The HTH and make a little stop on the Rock 'n Roller Coaster!

My text is lacking the enthusiasm but The HTH... kuddos for the Imageneering and the over and over exhilarating feeling once the cage sets itself in place after the doors close

 

[Laurenciaa]

As you can see the lack of pictures is now noticeable as the rain also started to acting up. It was by then I think 3 pm and we were starving. We decided to return to the hotel and have a late lunch in the Fantasia Cafe. They have the most lovely club sandwiches!! Pricey, yes but at that time the comfort of good seating and no rain was overpowering the pricey sandwiches. After another long lunch we decided to call it a day as we needed to drive home for another 3 hours ( 4 for My Dad, Kristel and Gaëtan).

This, unfortunately, concludes this two day trip . Upside of this is that I became an AP ( already in December 2016) and I am frequently driving to Paris to enjoy some quiet times in the Parks.

Hereunder some last pictures of the visit I did yesterday!

Many thanks for reading along! Until next time!


Laurence

 

[Songbird76]

Fantastic!! I love your pictures. I'm even more excited for my October trip now. I've never been to DLP, so it will be fun, though I have to say I am pretty disappointed in what I see as far as the 25h anniversary goes. It doesn't look they are really doing much with that.

 

[Laurenciaa]

Fantastic!! I love your pictures. I'm even more excited for my October trip now. I've never been to DLP, so it will be fun, though I have to say I am pretty disappointed in what I see as far as the 25h anniversary goes. It doesn't look they are really doing much with that.

I have to say that I really captured only one item of the festivities. I haven't seen the parade nor the closing show as I can't stay until closing time. The decorations are pretty neat imo. I think it's for everybody different as I go each month, I don't take as much pictures as I should ( oups). When exactly are you going? And how? Long stay or just a short visit? Any way you have to enjoy it, Paris has its own charm

 

[Laurenciaa]

Fantastic!! I love your pictures. I'm even more excited for my October trip now. I've never been to DLP, so it will be fun, though I have to say I am pretty disappointed in what I see as far as the 25h anniversary goes. It doesn't look they are really doing much with that.

If you ever maybe need some more info or tips or maybe some more pictures, I can always try to help you maybe dig up some pictures I have left on my phone or laptop!

 

[fractal]

Thanks for the report @Laurenciaa ! The castle is so beautiful. Maybe someday I'll make it there. I would love to ride the Paris version of Pirates!

Congrats on the AP and I hope you get good use of it. As far as taking photos of empty chairs, I've actually done that myself on more than one occasion.

 

[LadyBelle]

I am soo sorry.. Audit busy season literally killed my mood to even be on this forum BUT ! I have two days off the coming week soo... that means a quick trip to Disneyland Paris ( Tuesday) and an update on the festivities on this TR ( Tuesday/Wednesday!)... Sorry Folks! Photos are on the computer jussssstt need to add them

I remember those days...glad I switched jobs.

 

[Tuvalu]

Thanks for returning to finish your report, @Laurenciaa! The pictures were great and I enjoyed getting a "taste" of DLP!

 

[Laurenciaa]

I remember those days...glad I switched jobs.

Oh god.. then I don't have to explain myself for my absence.. everyday I think that it's almost over.. we're now mid May and I still work quite some more than the regular allowed 38 hours

 

[dizfan917]

Thanks for finishing up... Disneyland Paris really looks beautiful! How odd to see people in winter coats and scarves on Disney attractions. I'm so used to sweating puddles during my visits to WDW. :0)

 

[LadyBelle]

Oh god.. then I don't have to explain myself for my abstinence.. everyday I think that it's almost over.. we're now mid May and I still work quite some more than the regular allowed 38 hours

Allowed 38 hours??? Oh, that would've been nice to work those hours....

 

[mlegerto]

Thanks for the report! Hubby surprised me with a visit to DLP for my birthday in September - it will be his first visit to France and both of our first visits to DLP.

We are WDW veterans, any tips you have for us on visiting DLP? What do you think we should expect of the weather mid-September? Do we need to book dining reservations? They still have paper fastpasses outside of the rides like WDW used to?

 

[Laurenciaa]

Thanks for the report! Hubby surprised me with a visit to DLP for my birthday in September - it will be his first visit to France and both of our first visits to DLP.

We are WDW veterans, any tips you have for us on visiting DLP? What do you think we should expect of the weather mid-September? Do we need to book dining reservations? They still have paper fastpasses outside of the rides like WDW used to?

Hello @mlegerto ! Well any tips, are you going to visit DLP during the week or on a weekend? Are you staying on property for your stay?

If you want to have a nice dinner at night, I would say that you need to make some reservations but you don't need to make them months on before hand. We always try to make reservations 1 week on before hand but it won't hurt to give a quick call to DLP to check for open spots to make a reservation. The temperatures can vary a lot. Last year we really had an Indian summer with nice temperatures but it can also rain at that point. As we only dined in the Inventions or Cali Grill, I can't tell you about the other restaurants in the hotels. I really enjoyed the Inventions ( as a buffet style) as the Cali Grill.

We indeed still run on fastpasses that you can only get on the day itself. If I was you, I would get to BTM in the morning to fetch your Fast Pass for the BTM. It is by far the most popular attraction during the normal opening park hours. If you stay at a Disney hotel, I would advise you to enjoy the EMH in the Disney Park. Peter Pan than has an OK stand-by line during the EMH. I checked and the surrounding countries ( Belgium, France, the Netherlands, UK) have no school holidays in that period. That could be a good thing for queue lines.

If you are courageous and are ready to walk some distances, I would go to DHS late morning to go and fetch some Fastpasses for Ratatouille, RNRC and HTH. The Crush Coaster is no option as it has no Fast Pass. You will see, even on a normal day, a 60-70 min wait for this attraction.

And another tip, If you want some free Wifi during your stay, The Disneyland Hotel has an open wifi source

If you have other questions, let me know!

 

[Songbird76]

I have to say that I really captured only one item of the festivities. I haven't seen the parade nor the closing show as I can't stay until closing time. The decorations are pretty neat imo. I think it's for everybody different as I go each month, I don't take as much pictures as I should ( oups). When exactly are you going? And how? Long stay or just a short visit? Any way you have to enjoy it, Paris has its own charm

We are going in the kids' fall break from school in the middle of October for 3 nights. We're just driving over....Google says it's a 6 hour drive. That sounds about right...we went to Paris by bus and it took 8 hours, but that was with several stops on the way. In our own car, we can probably go a bit faster. Do you usually stay overnight there when you go, or was this trip different? I'm just looking forward to seeing it, as it's on my bucket list. You'd think I'd have been there before, living this close.

 

[Songbird76]

Hello @mlegerto ! Well any tips, are you going to visit DLP during the week or on a weekend? Are you staying on property for your stay?

If you want to have a nice dinner at night, I would say that you need to make some reservations but you don't need to make them months on before hand. We always try to make reservations 1 week on before hand but it won't hurt to give a quick call to DLP to check for open spots to make a reservation. The temperatures can vary a lot. Last year we really had an Indian summer with nice temperatures but it can also rain at that point. As we only dined in the Inventions or Cali Grill, I can't tell you about the other restaurants in the hotels. I really enjoyed the Inventions ( as a buffet style) as the Cali Grill.

We indeed still run on fastpasses that you can only get on the day itself. If I was you, I would get to BTM in the morning to fetch your Fast Pass for the BTM. It is by far the most popular attraction during the normal opening park hours. If you stay at a Disney hotel, I would advise you to enjoy the EMH in the Disney Park. Peter Pan than has an OK stand-by line during the EMH. I checked and the surrounding countries ( Belgium, France, the Netherlands, UK) and no school holidays in that period. That could be a good thing for queue lines.

If you are courageous and are ready to walk some distances, I would go to DHS late morning to go and fetch some Fastpasses for Ratatouille, RNRC and HTH. The Crush Coaster is no option as it has no Fast Pass. You will see, even on a normal day, a 60-70 min wait for this attraction.

And another tip, If you want some free Wifi during your stay, The Disneyland Hotel has an open wifi source

If you have other questions, let me know!

Are there EMH every day? I'm guessing it will be pretty busy when we are there because it's school vacation in the Netherlands...or are least in our region. How many fast passes can you get in a day? Is there a maximum?

 

[Laurenciaa]

Are there EMH every day? I'm guessing it will be pretty busy when we are there because it's school vacation in the Netherlands...or are least in our region. How many fast passes can you get in a day? Is there a maximum?

Hello @Songbird76 !

We have a annual visit with the whole family where we stay on site for 1 night/two days. When I go to Disneyland ( 3 hour drive) I only stay during the day ( As from 8AM to mostly 4 PM). The EMH are very frequent and you can look them up on the official website of DLP I think quite some time in advance. You can get fastpasses for any attraction you like and that offer them off course. Once you've used you entrance ticket for creating a fastpass, you need to wait 2 hours to again be eligible to have another fast pass in that day for that attraction.

But due to the fact that you are there for 3 days changes quite a lot as there is no 'pressure' in doing everything in a short amount of time. I would really just relax and see what the kids like to do but if you want the fast passes I would suggest to pick them up in the morning

 

[Songbird76]

Hello @Songbird76 !

We have a annual visit with the whole family where we stay on site for 1 night/two days. When I go to Disneyland ( 3 hour drive) I only stay during the day ( As from 8AM to mostly 4 PM). The EMH are very frequent and you can look them up on the official website of DLP I think quite some time in advance. You can get fastpasses for any attraction you like and that offer them off course. Once you've used you entrance ticket for creating a fastpass, you need to wait 2 hours to again be eligible to have another fast pass in that day for that attraction.

But due to the fact that you are there for 3 days changes quite a lot as there is no 'pressure' in doing everything in a short amount of time. I would really just relax and see what the kids like to do but if you want the fast passes I would suggest to pick them up in the morning

Thanks! Park hours aren't up until 3 months before, I think. I looked, but I'll keep checking. I'm really looking forward to it. I need a break! That's great that you have an annual pass...I'll have to look up prices and benefits for that.

 

[Laurenciaa]

Thanks! Park hours aren't up until 3 months before, I think. I looked, but I'll keep checking. I'm really looking forward to it. I need a break! That's great that you have an annual pass...I'll have to look up prices and benefits for that.

They recently changed the formula of the AP's. Yet again I have to refer to the official website in order to give you correct information ! I took mine last year for 179 euro's and after two visits I am already in the win. I go once a month so.. decision was quickly made to but myself an AP.