Hi, thanks everyone for your advice. My family from San Francisco had a great time at Disneyland Paris (Sept. 21-25th). Weather was great, only a little shower during one evening and for two hours on another day.
We took the Disney shuttle from CDG to Disneyland Hotel. It was really the easiest way after a long flight. The shuttle schedule and cost is posted on the wall next to the shuttle stop (For terminal 1, between Gate 30 & 32 on the departure level). You have to put your own luggage into the storage area under the bus then board the bus by paying in Euro or by credit card. We were the last stop for the shuttle.
Disneyland Hotel is the only way to go if you have small children. It was wonderful that we did not have to hike far to get back to the Hotel for a nap or after a long day. This hotel is really beautiful and far outshines the other hotels on the property. Upon checking in, we received 3 fastpasses per person for our use during our stay. We booked a standard room and unfortunately, was assigned a room in the boonies near the kid's corner & swimming pool side of the hotel. It took forever to hike from the main entrance to the 2nd floor and then walk a long hallway, then get on another elevator to the floor and then walk to the very end of the wing. Luckily, we had a leak from the ceiling near our bathroom at 3:30 am. Maintenance came and fixed the leak (maybe air conditioning condensing water)Complained to the front desk next morning and was moved to a much closer room near the main entrance on the 3rd Floor. Didn't care if we got a view, just did not want to deal with a long walk back to our rooms at the end of a long & tiring day.
The free breakfast in the morning was great. We always went around 8:15am and had no wait and lots of quality time with the characters hanging around outside the buffet breakfast. Then as we left the breakfast to go outside (around 9:00 am), it was a zoo everyday. There would be long lines for the buffet as well as long lines with pushing and shoving for pictures and autographs with the characters.
Sunday's crowd was pretty big and the wait for the train around the park at Disneyland Park took forever. This was a opportunity to notice that we stuck out among the crowd by 1) being Asians who spoke fluent English, 2) wearing a Minnie t-shirt (some of the kids in line were dressed like they were going to Church and their mommy had really high heels on), and 3) we brought out our tarzan spinning fan and my precious pin lanyard. Boy, it was weird to see so many people at the park who were NOT Disney crazy (no t-shirts, no kid costumes, no caps & no pin lanyard around anyone's neck). No excitement for the Disney Magic. This was really different than going to WDW or Disneyland at Anaheim.
Not really impressed with the dining at DLP. The lunch at Auberge de Cendrillon took forever (wait staff moved at a snail's pace even though there were not many customers), the food was okay but a bit pricey, and the restaurant didn't feel special even though the wood panelling & murals of Cinderella were really nice. We also ate at Inventions (or is it Innovations) for Character buffet dinner, Rainforest Cafe, Pizza at Studios' backlot, and hamburgers & chicken sandwich at Videopolis. Only meal that we really enjoyed was Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. The food was slightly above average but combined with the audience participation of the show, we had a great time and my son liked pounding on the table with his fist and the food utensils.
Disney Village is a fun place to hang out. Everyone eats late and hangs out around the restaurants, shops, and entertainment until at least midnight. We even paid 2 euros per person to take the little train ride around the lake (it made two stops to different Disney hotels). Nice nighttime ride to take with a little child. Only last about 10 minutes, well, maybe 15 minutes.
Would love to visit again and stay at the Newport Bay or Disneyland Hotel. Sorry for the long report. I have a couple of extra park maps. Just drop me an e-mail with a request or questions about my visit.
Thanks again to all the regulars on this board for your help.
Cynthia
We took the Disney shuttle from CDG to Disneyland Hotel. It was really the easiest way after a long flight. The shuttle schedule and cost is posted on the wall next to the shuttle stop (For terminal 1, between Gate 30 & 32 on the departure level). You have to put your own luggage into the storage area under the bus then board the bus by paying in Euro or by credit card. We were the last stop for the shuttle.
Disneyland Hotel is the only way to go if you have small children. It was wonderful that we did not have to hike far to get back to the Hotel for a nap or after a long day. This hotel is really beautiful and far outshines the other hotels on the property. Upon checking in, we received 3 fastpasses per person for our use during our stay. We booked a standard room and unfortunately, was assigned a room in the boonies near the kid's corner & swimming pool side of the hotel. It took forever to hike from the main entrance to the 2nd floor and then walk a long hallway, then get on another elevator to the floor and then walk to the very end of the wing. Luckily, we had a leak from the ceiling near our bathroom at 3:30 am. Maintenance came and fixed the leak (maybe air conditioning condensing water)Complained to the front desk next morning and was moved to a much closer room near the main entrance on the 3rd Floor. Didn't care if we got a view, just did not want to deal with a long walk back to our rooms at the end of a long & tiring day.
The free breakfast in the morning was great. We always went around 8:15am and had no wait and lots of quality time with the characters hanging around outside the buffet breakfast. Then as we left the breakfast to go outside (around 9:00 am), it was a zoo everyday. There would be long lines for the buffet as well as long lines with pushing and shoving for pictures and autographs with the characters.
Sunday's crowd was pretty big and the wait for the train around the park at Disneyland Park took forever. This was a opportunity to notice that we stuck out among the crowd by 1) being Asians who spoke fluent English, 2) wearing a Minnie t-shirt (some of the kids in line were dressed like they were going to Church and their mommy had really high heels on), and 3) we brought out our tarzan spinning fan and my precious pin lanyard. Boy, it was weird to see so many people at the park who were NOT Disney crazy (no t-shirts, no kid costumes, no caps & no pin lanyard around anyone's neck). No excitement for the Disney Magic. This was really different than going to WDW or Disneyland at Anaheim.
Not really impressed with the dining at DLP. The lunch at Auberge de Cendrillon took forever (wait staff moved at a snail's pace even though there were not many customers), the food was okay but a bit pricey, and the restaurant didn't feel special even though the wood panelling & murals of Cinderella were really nice. We also ate at Inventions (or is it Innovations) for Character buffet dinner, Rainforest Cafe, Pizza at Studios' backlot, and hamburgers & chicken sandwich at Videopolis. Only meal that we really enjoyed was Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. The food was slightly above average but combined with the audience participation of the show, we had a great time and my son liked pounding on the table with his fist and the food utensils.
Disney Village is a fun place to hang out. Everyone eats late and hangs out around the restaurants, shops, and entertainment until at least midnight. We even paid 2 euros per person to take the little train ride around the lake (it made two stops to different Disney hotels). Nice nighttime ride to take with a little child. Only last about 10 minutes, well, maybe 15 minutes.
Would love to visit again and stay at the Newport Bay or Disneyland Hotel. Sorry for the long report. I have a couple of extra park maps. Just drop me an e-mail with a request or questions about my visit.
Thanks again to all the regulars on this board for your help.
Cynthia
)
