Just returned from Newport bay- 5 days. Very disappointed

Been at Newport bay for 4 nights/5 days and was really disappointed in the whole experience.

Mostly the cast members from the bars/restaurants/in the parks are so rude and disorganised. Everything takes ages e.g. Visited steakhouse one night, 6pm, baby was hungry but they would not give us the bread for the table until thedrinks were served. This took 30 mins, we asked for 1 piece for the baby (in fact we were standing beside it) but were refused.
Disorganisation in general at Disneyland by cast members is awful and their English understanding seems to come and go depending on when it suits them.
Rooms in Newport bay are way too small for 1 baby, 1 child, 1 teenager and 2 adults.
Got a kettle to wash baby cup but couldnt even plug it in as the plug doesnt fit in the sockets in the desk, have hopefully attached photos to show what i mean.

The queues, ohh my goodness, not much else to say and I know they are outside Disney control but they are sooo long.

Travelled for a family reunion, 18 in total. Impossible to book a restaurant for 18, has to be 2 seperate bookings and then we got seated at 2 or 3 seperate tables. We might as well not have been with the family as we all could not eat and chat together.
Bar in Newport bay is also much too small.
Ohh and 11 euros for what was a sherry glass of a strawberry daiquiri!

Visited the baby change room once and it even has a sign saying no prams inside.

On the plus side the weather was nice and we home again!

Any happy to answer any questions anyone has about rides etc, I promise I am not all doom and gloom.

Jumping late on this thread. So sorry you haven't been able to find you way through the mess of DLP.

In case someone else finds this thread, just want to let you know that you CAN make a reservation for a group of 18, even more. (I have, more than once.)

HOWEVER this cannot be done using the regular reservation helpline, you need to contact the restaurant directly. Inventory limits availability, book the earliest you can (best would be before 60 days). Ask your concierge or the restaurant helpline for details about how.
 
Like some of the others, I'm sorry for your bad experiences. I also know it never helps that the bad experiences tend to stick out more to us, especially once they start to snowball. I also agree with some others that DLP is not like the US parks but I also think DLP has merit on its own and can be/is great. I have seen fabulous CMs at DLP and I've seen very rude ones, but then, I've also seen very great CMs at DL and WDW while also observing or interacting with poor ones.

I'll even add that I've worked at both DL and DLP and even as a CM I saw a huge difference in the two parks, and while a lot of it was due to American/European differences, it didn't seem like all of it was. I worked with some fantastic people who would work very well in the American parks, and in fact, a couple of them did to go WDW. While English isn't the first language of all CMs at DLP, many are from the UK, the US, and other countries with English as the primary language. That being said, I wouldn't not try speaking in the primary language of the place I'm visiting just out of respect, but... I've also used French in DLP (and of course Paris) and still had many incidents of being treated very rudely by CMs and Parisians, so I don't completely agree with the whole "you need to speak to them in French" thing in order to be treated well. In all, I hope you did have some magical moments during your trip and will come to treasure them! :-)
 
I think that BadPinkTink (BPT) was out of line with some of her comments, and making unfounded assumption about the OP.

- OP claimed only that DLP Staff was "rude and disorganised", so it was safe to assume that OP expected the staff to be "courteous and organised", and I find that to be a reasonable expectation. "Over the top, smiliey have a nice day type of customer service" was never mentioned by the OP, so that is unfounded assumption #1.

- OP's only specific complaint about "Everything takes ages" was only about not getting bread for the table/baby, and seems reasonable. If a meal is going to take two hours, who wants to spend 25 % of that time idly waiting for something to eat/drink? In fact, the OP had no complaints about the pace of the meal, and never mentioned the pace of meals in America, so that is unfounded assumption #2.

I could go on, but I think my point is made. OP expressed legitimate concerns, and BPT made numerous unfounded assumptions in order to minimize/dismiss these concerns.

Thanks to everyone for your views. The above poster is exactly right, thank you.

I am not american, i do not expect all singing and dancing service, what I do expect is a smile and a thank you. Ideally without having a menu slammed on the table or just being ignored. This is a basic level of manners that should be normal.

Why take big group booking (all on one booking) knowing you will not be able to sit together at dinner? Why not tell us that in advance?

Believe it or not, I do know how to plug in a plug. Due to the design they would not fit. Really poor design and totally unusable.

Also, i earlier forgot to mention. There are 5 lifts in Newport bay from rooms to the reception floor. However there is only one tiny lift then to go from the reception floor to the breakfast restaurants. Causes massive Queues for those with prams. Poor design. (unless there are other lifts we never managed to find)

Also - Linebery app. Some mornings i checked while still in hotel at 9.45 when the slots were released. However even when they became available for 2 +hours time away i could not book a space dueto being 'too far away'. Seems daft to have to be in the actual park when your slot may be 2 ormore hours away.
 
I stayed in NPB with my wife a few years ago, and whilst the hotel was lovely, I did find some of the CM's a bit distant. Even when I explained that my French was poor, they seemed intent on speaking solely in French as fast as they could. That said, it was an extremely hot weekend, and there were frayed tempers everywhere.
In general, we have found the customer service in Disneyland Paris to be very good, and it mirrors your attitude to the CM's. If you do the typical Brit thing of shouting loudly in English, then don't expect the CM's to be especially friendly. My French is schoolboy level, at best, and I have found that if you try, you get paid back in spades. I always find it amusing when you ask a question in stilted French and get a reply in crystal clear English!
With regard to the differences between different parks, I have always said to people who ask me, that you should not compare. There are many similarities, but lots of differences, including climate, size, attitude and general layout. I can understand why a visitor from the US, who is used to WDW, would find the stay at DLP to be not what they were expecting, but with a little research they could have found out about the differences and managed their expectations.
We have stayed in Walt Disney World, Disneyland California, and many times in Disneyland Paris, and I feel that it is unfair to compare, and then criticise just because it is different, but if it is a failure of customer service then you are within your rights to expect better.
 


I think cultural differences definitely play a role in most people's expectations versus reality when visiting Europe, especially Americans. Having lived in Europe for over 20 years, I went through my periods of culture shock, both when first moving to Europe, again when moving back to the US after 20 years, and again when moving back to another part of Europe a couple years later. I do agree that some research probably could have prepared the OP better for some of the issues experienced. That said, I also agree with some of the other posters that regardless of where you visit, a certain level of customer service is to be expected for a paying customer. OP's trip did not go as expected, and they shared their interpretation of their experience. Isn't that what these forums are for? Is it really an unrealistic expectation for a paying customer in a restaurant located in a higher level Disney hotel to be given a piece of bread for a fussy baby while waiting for drinks/food to be served? Restaurants in Europe are certainly different from the US, but in my experience, most still understand children are not patient and would accommodate a simple request such as giving a baby a piece of bread.
 

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