Jules1212
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2012
Our visit this half term was a low budget one and I thought that perhaps somebody else may find it of interest to hear how we got on....
Due to the kindness of friends, we had enough Sky vouchers to give our family of four 3 days in DLP free of charge and we used Tesco Clubcard vouchers to give us a free Eurotunnel return crossing. We rented a budget apartment very close to the Val D'Europe shopping centre which cost us £220 for 4 nights. Here are our highs and lows:
HIGHS:
The apartment being spotlessly clean and in a quiet but very convenient position. Tripadvisor reports had led us to believe there were issues with check in, staff rudeness and cleanliness - we had none of these. We stayed in Sejours Et Affaires Serris Apartments.
Thinking that my kids may be too old for a 1st time Disney visit at 13 and 10 (but turning 11 while we were there) years old. Wrong! In a lot of ways it was better as they do not tire so easily as littlies and can go on all the thrill rides that we were wanting to go on. And they still waved at Minnie and Goofy etc during the parades.
Dreams! I know it has been said over and over now, but it truly IS wonderful! We are not die hard Disney people (sorry!) and I thought I may be a bit too cynical as a person to be too caught up in 'the magic' of it...... I only went and cried! We returned to the park on Thursday after taking some time out as the weather was so nice that night and I thought it may be the best chance to see dreams in the dry. Even though they were almost out on their feet, the kids insisted on staying to see it on Friday night too. We didn't get in position until ten to eleven each night and had a perfect view each time. IMO, no need at all to start waiting 2 hours before.
Going in Salon Mickey on the Friday - it just felt so very special and exclusive! The CM also knew I had requested a VIP Fastpass without me saying so and told us to relax and have a drink and cookie whilst he prepared it for when we were leaving. Loved the experience.
Having a VIP Fastpass!
Friday was the busiest day in both parks during our visit. It was also DD's 11th birthday. The VIP fastpass was brilliant! I did feel a tiny bit 'guilty' shooting past the people queuing, but also VERY special! It is worth showing it at the normal gate if they aren't using Fastpass on a ride at any time as they 'express' you through.
Going on BTM in the dark! Awesome! And we managed 7 rides in a row on Friday evening with the VIP Fastpass when it was showing a 50 minute wait - the CM's even started saying "Again?!" when we came through over and over!
We ended up getting high 5's as we left the station on each ride.
Crush's Coaster - worth the wait. It was showing as 60 minutes, but it was 40 on both times we went on it on different days. Just a fabulous ride.
Dinner at Restaurant Des Stars - The food was absolutely gorgeous and plenty of it across 3 courses of all you can eat buffet. Kids had soft drinks and we had a carafe of red wine which gave 4 decent glasses and with a 15% discount came to 65 euros. I thought this was fabulous value for what we had and then the chef came out with Remy on a trolley and came round us all - my DD's face was a picture! I wish we had eaten at another restaurant on Thursday rather than EOS now (but we really enjoyed our fare there too).
Somehow avoiding getting wet EVERY time! First time was when we were on Crush's coaster and came out to find everthing wet. Next time was a torrential downpour at lunchtime on Thursday while we were in EOS - Sun then came out all afternoon and was folowed by a very pleasant evening. Same happened on Friday while we were having a late lunch at WDS and we came out of the door to see the Stars and their Cars parade in the sunshine . Stayed dry completely from there on.
We were dreading the smoking issue as we are vehement anti smokers. Cannot abide the smell or presence of smoke at all. And it was not a problem anywhere! Not in DLP or Paris itself. There were smokers congregated outside Videopolis and a couple of other places, but I don't mind that as they have to have somewhere to smoke and I can move through them very quickly.
CM's all being polite and friendly. No issues with rudeness from either CM's or indeed any members of the public. Nobody ever pushed in front of us - but that may be to do with the fact that my DH is 6 feet tall and 18 stone! LOL
A wonderful and cheap (yes, really!) day out in Paris. Went on the Vedettes de Paris - paid for with Clubcard vouchers. Ditto a trip up the Montparnasse Tower.
20 euros got all four of us into The Louvre which sent DS to heaven! 32 euros bought us a 90 minute bus tour around the top 40 sights in Paris as we only paid for the adults - kids 12 and under free and DS got away with looking like he is 12! We had a superb picnic under the Eiffel Tower with beautiful fresh bread, ham, salmon, cream cheese, crab,strawberries and pannacotta bought from the Auchan that morning.
All in all a wonderful and magical trip which we all enjoyed for the experience and for spending very high quality time as a family. We have our own business and DH and I work approx 14 - 16 hours a day, seven days a week to make it work. Those 6 days we have just spent were priceless!
LOWS:
Hollywood Hotel, Tower Of Terror: Guess the clue was in the title! I am quite brave on rides (we went on Space Mountain and Rock & Rollercoaster too many times to count), but I wasn't prepared for this!!!!!!!!! I only went on the once!
We went to the front of the castle at 11:50am on Friday for the DISboards photo and meet and could not see any lime green ribbons or any people looking like they were looking to meet anyone else. Hung about until 12:10 and DS said he wanted to go over to the Studios, so we gave up. Didn't want to look stupid approaching anyone to ask! Did anyone else actually turn up in the end?
Took a wrong turn onto the A4 on the journey home and went 40 minutes in the wrong direction! Turned around and came back to where we started, but obviously we were then nearly an hour and a half behind schedule. I had built in a 25% traffic jam allowance, but was sure we would miss our Eurotunnel crossing. We made it with 10 minutes to spare at check in and were then delayed by 20 mins! but at least we had made it!!!!
Thank you to all who advised and offered money and time saving tips to us. We are hoping we can invest in AP's later this year and make a couple of return visits in different seasons. I really do feel that this forum helped us have the best time possible.
Due to the kindness of friends, we had enough Sky vouchers to give our family of four 3 days in DLP free of charge and we used Tesco Clubcard vouchers to give us a free Eurotunnel return crossing. We rented a budget apartment very close to the Val D'Europe shopping centre which cost us £220 for 4 nights. Here are our highs and lows:
HIGHS:
The apartment being spotlessly clean and in a quiet but very convenient position. Tripadvisor reports had led us to believe there were issues with check in, staff rudeness and cleanliness - we had none of these. We stayed in Sejours Et Affaires Serris Apartments.
Thinking that my kids may be too old for a 1st time Disney visit at 13 and 10 (but turning 11 while we were there) years old. Wrong! In a lot of ways it was better as they do not tire so easily as littlies and can go on all the thrill rides that we were wanting to go on. And they still waved at Minnie and Goofy etc during the parades.
Dreams! I know it has been said over and over now, but it truly IS wonderful! We are not die hard Disney people (sorry!) and I thought I may be a bit too cynical as a person to be too caught up in 'the magic' of it...... I only went and cried! We returned to the park on Thursday after taking some time out as the weather was so nice that night and I thought it may be the best chance to see dreams in the dry. Even though they were almost out on their feet, the kids insisted on staying to see it on Friday night too. We didn't get in position until ten to eleven each night and had a perfect view each time. IMO, no need at all to start waiting 2 hours before.
Going in Salon Mickey on the Friday - it just felt so very special and exclusive! The CM also knew I had requested a VIP Fastpass without me saying so and told us to relax and have a drink and cookie whilst he prepared it for when we were leaving. Loved the experience.
Having a VIP Fastpass!
Friday was the busiest day in both parks during our visit. It was also DD's 11th birthday. The VIP fastpass was brilliant! I did feel a tiny bit 'guilty' shooting past the people queuing, but also VERY special! It is worth showing it at the normal gate if they aren't using Fastpass on a ride at any time as they 'express' you through. Going on BTM in the dark! Awesome! And we managed 7 rides in a row on Friday evening with the VIP Fastpass when it was showing a 50 minute wait - the CM's even started saying "Again?!" when we came through over and over!
We ended up getting high 5's as we left the station on each ride.Crush's Coaster - worth the wait. It was showing as 60 minutes, but it was 40 on both times we went on it on different days. Just a fabulous ride.
Dinner at Restaurant Des Stars - The food was absolutely gorgeous and plenty of it across 3 courses of all you can eat buffet. Kids had soft drinks and we had a carafe of red wine which gave 4 decent glasses and with a 15% discount came to 65 euros. I thought this was fabulous value for what we had and then the chef came out with Remy on a trolley and came round us all - my DD's face was a picture! I wish we had eaten at another restaurant on Thursday rather than EOS now (but we really enjoyed our fare there too).
Somehow avoiding getting wet EVERY time! First time was when we were on Crush's coaster and came out to find everthing wet. Next time was a torrential downpour at lunchtime on Thursday while we were in EOS - Sun then came out all afternoon and was folowed by a very pleasant evening. Same happened on Friday while we were having a late lunch at WDS and we came out of the door to see the Stars and their Cars parade in the sunshine . Stayed dry completely from there on.
We were dreading the smoking issue as we are vehement anti smokers. Cannot abide the smell or presence of smoke at all. And it was not a problem anywhere! Not in DLP or Paris itself. There were smokers congregated outside Videopolis and a couple of other places, but I don't mind that as they have to have somewhere to smoke and I can move through them very quickly.
CM's all being polite and friendly. No issues with rudeness from either CM's or indeed any members of the public. Nobody ever pushed in front of us - but that may be to do with the fact that my DH is 6 feet tall and 18 stone! LOL
A wonderful and cheap (yes, really!) day out in Paris. Went on the Vedettes de Paris - paid for with Clubcard vouchers. Ditto a trip up the Montparnasse Tower.
20 euros got all four of us into The Louvre which sent DS to heaven! 32 euros bought us a 90 minute bus tour around the top 40 sights in Paris as we only paid for the adults - kids 12 and under free and DS got away with looking like he is 12! We had a superb picnic under the Eiffel Tower with beautiful fresh bread, ham, salmon, cream cheese, crab,strawberries and pannacotta bought from the Auchan that morning.
All in all a wonderful and magical trip which we all enjoyed for the experience and for spending very high quality time as a family. We have our own business and DH and I work approx 14 - 16 hours a day, seven days a week to make it work. Those 6 days we have just spent were priceless!
LOWS:
Hollywood Hotel, Tower Of Terror: Guess the clue was in the title! I am quite brave on rides (we went on Space Mountain and Rock & Rollercoaster too many times to count), but I wasn't prepared for this!!!!!!!!! I only went on the once!
We went to the front of the castle at 11:50am on Friday for the DISboards photo and meet and could not see any lime green ribbons or any people looking like they were looking to meet anyone else. Hung about until 12:10 and DS said he wanted to go over to the Studios, so we gave up. Didn't want to look stupid approaching anyone to ask! Did anyone else actually turn up in the end?
Took a wrong turn onto the A4 on the journey home and went 40 minutes in the wrong direction! Turned around and came back to where we started, but obviously we were then nearly an hour and a half behind schedule. I had built in a 25% traffic jam allowance, but was sure we would miss our Eurotunnel crossing. We made it with 10 minutes to spare at check in and were then delayed by 20 mins! but at least we had made it!!!!
Thank you to all who advised and offered money and time saving tips to us. We are hoping we can invest in AP's later this year and make a couple of return visits in different seasons. I really do feel that this forum helped us have the best time possible.
I braved the TOT for the first time this trip too. DH told me it was just like the parachutes - needless to say he was not in my good books. 
glad you had a great time. 
