DLP First time - Late July/Early August

[parkbr]

Hello,

We are thinking of visiting DLP late July/early Aug and we want to be prepared!
We are WDW fans and know WDW very well, but we haven't been to any other DLs yet. We think DLP and DL LA would be our next visits!

We are 3 ppl - 2 Adults and 1 child - 9 year old girl.

Can anyone help me please with the following questions? (if you provides me some perspective compare to WDW, it will help us so much!)

1. We are thinking of staying on-site for 3nights (arriving mid-day on the first day + 3 park days starting early the next morning) - but I don't see a button where I can change the number of days for hotel+ticket package. Am I missing something?

2. We are thinking of 3 full days for the ticket. Is that sufficient?

3. Can I leave my luggage at the hotel after checking out for free? I see the luggage package for fee.

4. Are weekdays less busy than weekends? Or are they just busy everyday regardless of which day? I see the hotel+ticket being more expensive during the weekdays

5. Restaurant Booking - is it the same as WDW? Which ones are must? Which are passes?

6. Early Admission - is it only for Disney hotel guests? Are there like Extra Magic Hours like WDW?

7. I heard there is Premier Access is like Genie+, but really $$$$. So without it, any tips on doing the parks?

8. Are the hours longer during the Summer?

7. Anything else I need to know about?

Thank you!!!

 

[Karin1984]

1. No, not missing anything. Doesn't exist with package deals. You get access to the parks of all days.

2. How big is your group, who is in it (ages), what do you want to accomplish? It will be hot and busy, but you do have longer opening hours.

3. Yes, you can. Do take extra time when picking up youe luggage, it sometimes gets busy.

4. The whole of Europe is off when you are there, it's going to be busy.

5. I'm an AP holder and i don't do a lot of table service in the parks. The quality is fine, but it is overpriced. Keep your expectations when it comes to food low. It is not a dining destination. For better value eat in Disney Village, for better French cuisine, go to Paris.

6. Yes, plus the two highest AP tiers.

7. It is pay per ride. I would do as much as you can in your first days, and maybe use Premier Access on your last for rides you want to redo.
Best value is at Crush Coaster. Popular and terribly slow loading. Most Premier Access rides are available during EMH.

8. Yes, but 11pm late, not 2am late.

9. Keep an open mind, Disney is not the same all over the world. There are cultural differences. We find CMs in Florida fake and over the top, WDW goers find DLP CMs rude and not happy enough (generalization). Don't compare too much. DLP was build for the French first, Europeans second, different audience and different CMs make it a different park.

Use the arcades to your good use.

Watch the 30th anniversary shows.

Have a milkshake at Victorias.

 

[Chuckers]

File under extra information

Almost everyone that deals with the guests at DLP speaks English. However, as Americans we tend to go straight to the question/problem when talking to someone. Europeans find this rude (and it is, we're just used to it). Always start a conversation with a sincere greeting, a Good Morning goes a long way
Sit down meals are eaten at a much more leisurely pace in Europe. It's not uncommon for a meal to take up to two hours. Servers do not work for tips. (So don't tip them.) They don't need to speed up the turnaround to get more money. They get paid the same whether they server 4 parties or 10 parties. (They also get paid the same whether you like their service or not.)
When I went, 8 years ago, I tried several of the sit down restaurants. I am not a fan of them. I am doing one sit down meal this trip (for my birthday) and the rest will be quick service. Take a look at the menus, which can be done at the DLP website - just make sure you change the monetary units (in the upper right corner) to Euros so you can get the view menu option.

 

[Teamubr]

File under extra information

Thanks Chuckers.

I have the same strategy for our 1st trip in June. I have one sit down reservation and the rest is quick service. And we learned starting with a cordial greeting in St Thomas. We started going to USVI several years ago. Starting a conversation with Good morning/day/evening goes a lomng way, even if you are just asking the price of something.

j

 

[parkbr]

1. No, not missing anything. Doesn't exist with package deals. You get access to the parks of all days.

2. How big is your group, who is in it (ages), what do you want to accomplish? It will be hot and busy, but you do have longer opening hours.

3. Yes, you can. Do take extra time when picking up youe luggage, it sometimes gets busy.

4. The whole of Europe is off when you are there, it's going to be busy.

5. I'm an AP holder and i don't do a lot of table service in the parks. The quality is fine, but it is overpriced. Keep your expectations when it comes to food low. It is not a dining destination. For better value eat in Disney Village, for better French cuisine, go to Paris.

6. Yes, plus the two highest AP tiers.

7. It is pay per ride. I would do as much as you can in your first days, and maybe use Premier Access on your last for rides you want to redo.
Best value is at Crush Coaster. Popular and terribly slow loading. Most Premier Access rides are available during EMH.

8. Yes, but 11pm late, not 2am late.

9. Keep an open mind, Disney is not the same all over the world. There are cultural differences. We find CMs in Florida fake and over the top, WDW goers find DLP CMs rude and not happy enough (generalization). Don't compare too much. DLP was build for the French first, Europeans second, different audience and different CMs make it a different park.

Use the arcades to your good use.

Watch the 30th anniversary shows.

Have a milkshake at Victorias.

Thank you so much! This is super helpful!!!
I have updated my posting - 3 of us. 2 adults and 1 child (9-y/o DD).

I am thinking about staying at the hotel nearby 1 night and the next morning, we drop off our luggage at the Disney hotel + EMH. Is that do-able?

Yes, I figured that it will be busy. Hopefully EMH will help!

I've heard that food isn't very appealing at DLP. Is it possible to bring our own food?

And thank you for letting me know of the 'cultural' difference. We're aware of it, but we read more up on it. We originally from Asia, now proud to call Canada our country, travel to US often and I also lived in France for a couple of months before (and never had been to DLP!). So I think I know what you mean. Besides, my DD does not like to be called Princess. She thinks it's odd. So it will definitely suit her well!

When I asked 'in comparison to WDW', I meant more like the crowd level, rope drop strategy, etc.

Thank you again!

 

[parkbr]

File under extra information

Almost everyone that deals with the guests at DLP speaks English. However, as Americans we tend to go straight to the question/problem when talking to someone. Europeans find this rude (and it is, we're just used to it). Always start a conversation with a sincere greeting, a Good Morning goes a long way
Sit down meals are eaten at a much more leisurely pace in Europe. It's not uncommon for a meal to take up to two hours. Servers do not work for tips. (So don't tip them.) They don't need to speed up the turnaround to get more money. They get paid the same whether they server 4 parties to 10 parties. (They also get paid the same whether you like their service or not.)
When I went, 8 years ago, I tried several of the sit down restaurants. I am not a fan of them. I am doing one sit down meal this trip (for my birthday) and the rest will be quick service. Take a look at the menus, which can be done at the DLP website - just make sure you change the monetary units (in the upper right corner) to Euros so you can get the view menu option.

Thank you so much!
It's great to hear your perspective.
We've heard about the sit-down restaurants - so we're thinking of just doing quick service for the most part as well, and packing lunches, if that's allowed.
BTW, I think I saw your other posting about doing the last night at the CDG hotel. We thought that was a brilliant idea, but were wondering whether you'd have to leave early from the park. We're usually open-to-close type of Disney go-ers, so not sure how it will work with us, but want to know your plan, if you dont mind sharing!

 

[parkbr]

Thanks Chuckers.

I have the same strategy for our 1st trip in June. I have one sit down reservation and the rest is quick service. And we learned starting with a cordial greeting in St Thomas. We started going to USVI several years ago. Starting a conversation with Good morning/day/evening goes a lomng way, even if you are just asking the price of something.

j

Could you please share which sit-down restaurant you choose and why?

And thank you for sharing your experience as well.

 

[Karin1984]

Thank you so much! This is super helpful!!!
I have updated my posting - 3 of us. 2 adults and 1 child (9-y/o DD).

I am thinking about staying at the hotel nearby 1 night and the next morning, we drop off our luggage at the Disney hotel + EMH. Is that do-able?

Yes, I figured that it will be busy. Hopefully EMH will help!

I've heard that food isn't very appealing at DLP. Is it possible to bring our own food?

And thank you for letting me know of the 'cultural' difference. We're aware of it, but we read more up on it. We originally from Asia, now proud to call Canada our country, travel to US often and I also lived in France for a couple of months before (and never had been to DLP!). So I think I know what you mean. Besides, my DD does not like to be called Princess. She thinks it's odd. So it will definitely suit her well!

When I asked 'in comparison to WDW', I meant more like the crowd level, rope drop strategy, etc.

Thank you again!

What you can try is go to the hotel the evening before, see if you can pick up your park tickets already and get your room number the next day.

I did it once, so maybe worth a try. If you are nearby, of course.

The problem with food at DLP is, it's fine. It is just average theme park food, you won't go "Oh my God, most amazing burger ever!". The level of quality is higher in the US parks. But that doesnt make the food in DLP disgusting or inedible. A lot goes wrong with expectations. If you expect 'just fine', then you will be sometimes pleasantly surprised when you get something above average

And yes, bringing your own food is fine. A lot of people do it. That's more about frugality (is that a word? ) than it's about taste. Although these two could also be connected

I havent paid much attention to the princess-thing, as I do not have children, but I think CMs only do it when they are absolutely sure as in, when they see a girl in a princess dress. Where there are less of in comparison to the US parks.

 

[parkbr]

What you can try is go to the hotel the evening before, see if you can pick up your park tickets already and get your room number the next day.

I did it once, so maybe worth a try. If you are nearby, of course.

The problem with food at DLP is, it's fine. It is just average theme park food, you won't go "Oh my God, most amazing burger ever!". The level of quality is higher in the US parks. But that doesnt make the food in DLP disgusting or inedible. A lot goes wrong with expectations. If you expect 'just fine', then you will be sometimes pleasantly surprised when you get something above average

And yes, bringing your own food is fine. A lot of people do it. That's more about frugality (is that a word? ) than it's about taste. Although these two could also be connected

OHHHHH That works too?
That's cool! In that case, what should I do with my luggage? Leave it at the hotel that we stay? or leave it with Disney overnight (I dont think this is allowed though)?

I see.
I am just being super nervous because our most recent trip to Universal Studios Orlando came with quite not-so-nice dining experience. We normally bring lunches to the park, because we want to save 'time' more than 'money'. And we do 1 meal at the park - mostly table service.

If you don't mind giving me one more piece of advice - how many days of park tickets should I get given we go during the summer vacation?
We're be-there-before-park-open-and-stay-until-they-kick-us-out type of Disney go-ers, but we often do 2 park days and 1 down day and then another park day, etc. But I don't think this open is available, right?

I am worried about doing 14+ hour shift (LOL) 3 days in a row - not so much for me, but our 9 y/o DD.
Also, we are concerned that due to the crowd, we may have to wait long in line. So just got me thinking whether 3 park days will be enough. Should we also come back to the hotel and rest and go back again? (something that I never do when we go to WDW - we just hit the long and rather boring shows and rest there.)

 

[Karin1984]

You can try it. It works for me once, but I have no idea if this is an official policy to pick up tickets the night before. It doesn't hurt to ask.
I would leave your bags at the hotel you will be spending the night.

I never go back to the hotel for rest, unless there is an AP party or something like that lasts till 2 a.m.

What I would do is to listen to your body and your group, take downtime when you need it. Take longer for lunch or just go sit and relax on a bench for a while. Have a talk about what you like and dislike, this helps to process all the new experiences. Unloading the memories makes room in your brain for new stuff.
The walk throughs and distractions can help with this as well. The Storybook ride is a perfect ride to slow down, same with the river boat. Philharmagic, is another one. Force yourself to slow down if needed.

I don't visit the other parks in the world often and I know how tempting it is to think 'I might never return here, I have to make the most of it' / 'this trip is expensive, I want to get my money's worth'. But the best thing you can do is to:

Have a list of what you absolutely want to achieve. What do you want to have done when you return home. Make sure you do these first. Everything else is a bonus. Even with four days there can be things you will miss out on. It happens. Because of crowds, the weather, or a change of plan on your side. Focus on making great memories with your family over ticking off boxes.

 

[Teamubr]

Could you please share which sit-down restaurant you choose and why?

I have a reservation at The Steakhouse in Disney Village. I wanted to try one of the sit down restaurants while we were there and the menu seemed the most agreeable with my wife. (She's a picky eater). This is our first trip to DLP and we only have 2 1/2 days. We added on a few days to the end of a 12 day Europe tour. Since sit down meals in France are generally several hours, I didn't want to spend all my time eating instead of seeing the parks. The comments about the restaurants just being "OK" and a lot of the menus not looking great, the steakhouse was our choice.

j

 

[Chuckers]

Thank you so much!
It's great to hear your perspective.
We've heard about the sit-down restaurants - so we're thinking of just doing quick service for the most part as well, and packing lunches, if that's allowed.
BTW, I think I saw your other posting about doing the last night at the CDG hotel. We thought that was a brilliant idea, but were wondering whether you'd have to leave early from the park. We're usually open-to-close type of Disney go-ers, so not sure how it will work with us, but want to know your plan, if you dont mind sharing!

As far as I know, you don't need to leave the park early. I am going to leave my luggage at the Sequoia luggage hold and go to the park. I believe I can just uber from the hotel to my airport hotel when the park closes.

 

[Chuckers]

Could you please share which sit-down restaurant you choose and why?

And thank you for sharing your experience as well.

I went 8 years ago, so I am going by memory. When we went then, I had 5 sit downs: Sequoia Lodge Buffet Breakfast, The Silver Spur, Remy's, Character Breakfast, and Billy Bob's La Grange - Buffet.
Remy's was new and VERY good.
The Silver Spur was the WORST meal I have ever had at a Disney park. The service was indescribably horrendous. (This was my birthday meal). We were in a mostly empty dining room and we were sat by the bathrooms. I had to go and personally find our waiter TWICE during the meal and then to finally pay for the meal. Plus, the food wasn't great either.
The Sequoia breakfast buffet and Billy Bob's were fine, basically because it was a buffet and didn't need waitstaff. The Character meal was okay.. the characters were basically just let go in the dining area with no travel pattern. At one point, we had three at our table at the same time.
This year I only booked the Character breakfast (because I am a sucker for Character meals) and Downtown (in the NY Hotel - a buffet) for my birthday. I basically looked at the menus and really felt like I didn't want what the restaurants had to offer. I am a VERY picky eater and I don't usually want the appetizers offered. I wish the restaurants would go more a la carte and less Prefix. But, I also don't want to waste that much time at a sit down. I will probably add a sit down at Annette's because it's a diner with a good mix of food.

 

[parkbr]

You can try it. It works for me once, but I have no idea if this is an official policy to pick up tickets the night before. It doesn't hurt to ask.
I would leave your bags at the hotel you will be spending the night.

I never go back to the hotel for rest, unless there is an AP party or something like that lasts till 2 a.m.

What I would do is to listen to your body and your group, take downtime when you need it. Take longer for lunch or just go sit and relax on a bench for a while. Have a talk about what you like and dislike, this helps to process all the new experiences. Unloading the memories makes room in your brain for new stuff.
The walk throughs and distractions can help with this as well. The Storybook ride is a perfect ride to slow down, same with the river boat. Philharmagic, is another one. Force yourself to slow down if needed.

I don't visit the other parks in the world often and I know how tempting it is to think 'I might never return here, I have to make the most of it' / 'this trip is expensive, I want to get my money's worth'. But the best thing you can do is to:

Have a list of what you absolutely want to achieve. What do you want to have done when you return home. Make sure you do these first. Everything else is a bonus. Even with four days there can be things you will miss out on. It happens. Because of crowds, the weather, or a change of plan on your side. Focus on making great memories with your family over ticking off boxes.

Thank you so much.
This really helped!

 

[parkbr]

I have a reservation at The Steakhouse in Disney Village. I wanted to try one of the sit down restaurants while we were there and the menu seemed the most agreeable with my wife. (She's a picky eater). This is our first trip to DLP and we only have 2 1/2 days. We added on a few days to the end of a 12 day Europe tour. Since sit down meals in France are generally several hours, I didn't want to spend all my time eating instead of seeing the parks. The comments about the restaurants just being "OK" and a lot of the menus not looking great, the steakhouse was our choice.

j

Thank you for sharing. We will take a look at the menu and see what appeals to us.
Just a quick question - does Disney village require a ticket to get in? Or is it outside of the parks?

 

[parkbr]

As far as I know, you don't need to leave the park early. I am going to leave my luggage at the Sequoia luggage hold and go to the park. I believe I can just uber from the hotel to my airport hotel when the park closes.

Oh. I did not know you can uber! That is good to know.

 

[parkbr]

I went 8 years ago, so I am going by memory. When we went then, I had 5 sit downs: Sequoia Lodge Buffet Breakfast, The Silver Spur, Remy's, Character Breakfast, and Billy Bob's La Grange - Buffet.
Remy's was new and VERY good.
The Silver Spur was the WORST meal I have ever had at a Disney park. The service was indescribably horrendous. (This was my birthday meal). We were in a mostly empty dining room and we were sat by the bathrooms. I had to go and personally find our waiter TWICE during the meal and then to finally pay for the meal. Plus, the food wasn't great either.
The Sequoia breakfast buffet and Billy Bob's were fine, basically because it was a buffet and didn't need waitstaff. The Character meal was okay.. the characters were basically just let go in the dining area with no travel pattern. At one point, we had three at our table at the same time.
This year I only booked the Character breakfast (because I am a sucker for Character meals) and Downtown (in the NY Hotel - a buffet) for my birthday. I basically looked at the menus and really felt like I didn't want what the restaurants had to offer. I am a VERY picky eater and I don't usually want the appetizers offered. I wish the restaurants would go more a la carte and less Prefix. But, I also don't want to waste that much time at a sit down. I will probably add a sit down at Annette's because it's a diner with a good mix of food.

I think for us, the key is to look at the menu!! (And price, too!)

I am also quite picky and so are my family. We were happy at WDW as I often find TS pretty good. But we havent done buffets nor character dining for a while. We will see how it goes.

 

[Teamubr]

Just a quick question - does Disney village require a ticket to get in? Or is it outside of the parks?

Disney Village does not require a ticket.

j