AstroDan
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point
Disneyland Paris
February 2016 review
I have been visiting Disneyland Paris for many years now, only having stayed in the official Disney resort hotels once at the somewhat dated Hotel Cheyenne (the other times I have stayed at the partner hotel Kyriad, the Ibis Budget at Val d’Europe or not in the area at all). So, this time – owing to a special offer (30% off with free half board), I finally embarked on what had been a childhood dream back in 1992 – and stayed for 5 nights at Sequoia Lodge. Clearly, as this wasn’t my first visit to Disneyland Paris, I already knew much of what to expect – and I must add that my overall experiences of the resort in the past have been varied, to say the least. Unfortunately, I guess, for Disneyland Paris is that since my childhood dreams of staying at Sequoia, I have stayed at resort hotels in many other places – from PortAventura to Phantasialand and from Cedar Point to Europa-Park. So, with this being my first stay in a mid-scale Disney resort, expectations were pretty high to see what the Disney difference meant. Hopefully, you’ll find this review balanced and fair.
Parks: Rides
I have always found the main Parc Disneyland in Paris to be a lovely place, with a few flaws. I am well aware that 2016 isn’t the year to visit the resort, with the great number of refurbishments underway. These were very visible and, quite honestly, great to see. So far, the park have refurbished Indiana Jones (although visually, I couldn’t tell any difference but am aware this was more for future proofing the theming), Space Mountain (the exterior looked fantastic and the interior seemed to have more lighting/things to look at) and It’s a small world, which I must say – looked brand new. The façade looks amazing, and the music, clock and characters which pop out of the front is absolutely great. I ended up going on twice, such was the quality on display. Inside, everything was fresh. Very good. Big Thunder Mountain, Peter Pan, Disneyland Railroad, Adventure Isle, Swiss Family Robinson and much of the gardens out the front of the entrance were all closed or partially closed for work. I am sure that these will look much better once they have been refurbished. I am also aware that Star Tours, Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean close soon for further work. Much like my feelings towards Alton Towers TLC programme though, the work which is taking place in the park should have been ongoing over many years and the management at Disneyland Paris should never have let the situation get this bad before acting. That said, at least it’s being done now. It was nice to have one last ride on Star Tours before it finally vanishes from resorts worldwide for its transformation into its next chapter. I also had a first ever ride on Autopia. Job done, I guess – nothing special but it’s a Disney classic.
Over at Walt Disney studios, it remains a park which I have no real attachment to and always just feels a little lifeless. The addition of Ratatouille has obviously helped, but in truth, it’s a park that just feels a bit mis-shaped, mish-mashed and without a clear direction. This must become the priority post-2017. Ratatouille I have now had the chance to ride on two visits to Disneyland Paris and, unfortunately, I just don’t particularly like it. If you imagine a ride costing over £100m, a trackless, bespoke ride system with theming completely unique to Disneyland Paris – I don’t think they could have done anything worse than what Ratatouille is. It doesn’t last very long, the queue is not particularly interesting (apart from the one room), the throughput is inadequate (due to a ridiculous seating configuration), and there’s not a single audio-animatronic in the ride… damn that’s what we want from Disney dark rides. The feeling when you get to the end of Dinosaur, any version of Tower of Terror, Forbidden Journey or any other of the world’s great dark rides. That feeling of ‘WOW, that was really impressive’ – Ratatouile just sort of thanks you for riding and sends you off on your way. I recall firmly believing that out of Hartenhof (Symbolica), Arthur and Ratatouille, there was absolutely no reason why Ratatouille wouldn’t be the best. But as it is, it may end up being the worst. Of course, the park has other rides like Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster, which are great packages and do the job just perfectly. But such are the inadequate throughputs on Parachute Drop, RC Racer and Crush’s Coaster, queues at Walt Disney Studios are now longer than the main park. This just doesn’t seem right and this needs addressing. My visit was very much the definition of ‘medium’ busy at Disneyland Paris – but Ratatouille hit 160 minutes, Crush 100 minutes, RC Racer 50 minutes and Parachute Drop 65 minutes. Insanity – I dread to imagine a peak day!
Reliability remained a problem across the parks – with downtime noticed on Space Mountain, Crush’s Coaster, Pirates of the Caribbean (we were evacuated from the queue twice), Parachute Drop and Ratatouille. I don’t really understand why the parks seem to suffer like this, but they do. And always have done.
Parks: Food and drink
This is a real mixed bag. We were lucky enough to have the half board plus package with our Sequoia Lodge booking. This was exceptional. Meals at Chez Remy, Walt’s, The Steakhouse, Park Side Diner and Yacht Club were all great – and the theming in some, especially Chez Remy and Walt’s, was just fantastic. As you’d expect from France, delivery on all fronts with great wine, too. Beautiful meal presentation and good service all round. I am just glad I wasn’t paying, because the 3-course meals we were eating would have cost on average €40 (£32) a time if it hadn’t been for the half board! The half board really did make the difference for the trip though, and it comes highly recommended. I don’t think I could ever do Disneyland Paris without it again. Counter service, on the other hand, remains very mixed with very limited and odd menus across these restaurants (for example, you can only have certain desserts on certain menus, and most burger joints only offered one or two different burgers, with very high prices for poor food). Also, given it’s France – you’d expect great coffee. Not at Disneyland Paris. The same, quick, rubbish coffee machines are everywhere in the parks. And don’t even start on the price of bottled water. Get Starbucks in, Disney – and do it fast.
A lot of restaurants (Hakuna Matata, Silver Spur, Café des Cascadeurs, Pizzeria Bella Notte, Cowboy Cookout, Pizza Planet) and stands were closed, with no real explanation given as to why (aside from C.C which I knew was being refurbished). It wasn’t like the parks were quiet… it was just frustrating when you went somewhere, hoping to eat – and couldn’t. Not that I went anywhere near Pizza Planet. Appalling place.
Hotels
As I have said, it was a childhood dream to stay at Sequoia Lodge. And I was very excited to do so. Overall, it’s all just so average. Let me explain why. Upon arriving on the bus, you realise the immense scale of the hotel. This, I feel, is where one of the main problems for DLP’s hotels lie. They are just so large, that they simply cannot cope with them. Where Hotel Gold River (except the bar!) (PA), Colosseo (EP) or Matamba (PL) have different, physical theming around every corridor, and a range of different room configurations, Sequoia Lodge plays it safe with the same, dated carpets and wallpapers in every endless corridor. Practically no theming objects. The same, odd smells in every little lobby and the same old chairs with scuffs on them in every room. You know that feeling of walking around ATH, those dated corridors? It’s very similar, and in some ways worse. It just doesn’t feel anywhere near the quality it perhaps ought to be. The bar, whilst in theory is lovely – a log fire and a reasonable drinks menu, it is just too open and, rather like the limits of bars at Alton Towers, doesn’t really offer anything for adults because it’s just full of kids till midnight. With DLP claiming to be great for adult couples/groups in recent marketing, this needs addressing. The breakfast was poor, compared to the aforementioned hotels at the other resorts. The breakfast restaurants were so large, and again, the theming was not detailed enough to really be enjoyable. Tables crammed in close together – with only a very limited selection of food. For a mid-scale hotel, you’d expect some warm items. It was all just very basic, and very safe. Just unmemorable, I guess. A lot of restaurants were closed in the hotels, which I found odd given that the hotels were quite busy. Our room was shoved at the far end of Sierra Lodge, which was quite the trek from the main reception. It wasn’t very nice after a drink in the bar to have to walk outside in freezing conditions. Of course, the trees and the music in places was lovely, the concept of the hotel was nice – but for me, I am afraid it just didn’t shout ‘QUALITY’ in the same way that you are WOWED in Ling Bao or Bell Rock. That feeling of red carpet, just wasn’t there. This may be hard to stomach for some of you, but I would sooner recommend a stay at Alton Towers (based on hotel alone) than Disneyland Paris’ low or mid-scale hotels. The breakfast is better at Alton Towers, there’s a wider choice of available restaurants close at hand in the hotel, the bar is better value and the rooms are, on the whole, better. Remember – this is Disney we are talking about. Widely regarded as the premier operator of theme parks worldwide. Anything less than the best isn’t really expected from them. But unfortunately for them, in Europe – the competition is fiercely hot – as any of you who have stayed at Phantasialand or Europa-Park will testify. It says something when the cocktails at Disneyland Paris are more expensive than Europa-Park (€13 on average, vs. €10 at EP).
The other hotels we visited were somewhat similar, although Newport Bay Club was probably the best feeling of them all. I was quite impressed with our bar visit and our restaurant visit there. Some nice detailing, too and, whilst it’s no Bell Rock, it was good. Hotel New York, whilst funky, just felt dated – and ultimately, it’s meant to be the 2nd best hotel on resort. I don’t think the themes chosen for the DLP hotels have done them any favour long term – perhaps Cheyenne post-refurb won’t suffer this as it’s more of a timeless/classic theme.
Summary
Disneyland Paris tries to be all things for all people. I guess it has to. However, in trying to do this, it struggles. Struggles to cater to the mass market of bargain seeking families whilst struggling to cater for those wanting something a little more quality. Struggles to cater to the range of nationalities visiting from all over Europe. Trying to find a nice bar in the parks? Good luck. It’s Europe and you can’t find a bar in either theme park. And some of the bars in Disney Village are horrid. Hotels so big that you literally, get lost – lost walking down endless, faceless corridors that all look the same. An entire theme park without direction (WDS). Cast members (not all, it should be said – but a significant number) who couldn’t look more disinterested. It is these things that let down Disneyland Paris most – and these things which will take much more than a straightforward refurbishment to address. There’s still a way to go if the park is to get to anywhere near the quality which will see it stack up against Europe’s absolute best - in spite of the fact that some of the rides are absolutely beautiful.
I look forward to returning in mid to late 2017 to see the finished outcomes of the refurbishment programme but for now, the jury remains firmly out for me.
Thanks for reading, and sorry to those Disneyland Paris aficionados if you find any of this hard to stomach!
February 2016 review
I have been visiting Disneyland Paris for many years now, only having stayed in the official Disney resort hotels once at the somewhat dated Hotel Cheyenne (the other times I have stayed at the partner hotel Kyriad, the Ibis Budget at Val d’Europe or not in the area at all). So, this time – owing to a special offer (30% off with free half board), I finally embarked on what had been a childhood dream back in 1992 – and stayed for 5 nights at Sequoia Lodge. Clearly, as this wasn’t my first visit to Disneyland Paris, I already knew much of what to expect – and I must add that my overall experiences of the resort in the past have been varied, to say the least. Unfortunately, I guess, for Disneyland Paris is that since my childhood dreams of staying at Sequoia, I have stayed at resort hotels in many other places – from PortAventura to Phantasialand and from Cedar Point to Europa-Park. So, with this being my first stay in a mid-scale Disney resort, expectations were pretty high to see what the Disney difference meant. Hopefully, you’ll find this review balanced and fair.
Parks: Rides
I have always found the main Parc Disneyland in Paris to be a lovely place, with a few flaws. I am well aware that 2016 isn’t the year to visit the resort, with the great number of refurbishments underway. These were very visible and, quite honestly, great to see. So far, the park have refurbished Indiana Jones (although visually, I couldn’t tell any difference but am aware this was more for future proofing the theming), Space Mountain (the exterior looked fantastic and the interior seemed to have more lighting/things to look at) and It’s a small world, which I must say – looked brand new. The façade looks amazing, and the music, clock and characters which pop out of the front is absolutely great. I ended up going on twice, such was the quality on display. Inside, everything was fresh. Very good. Big Thunder Mountain, Peter Pan, Disneyland Railroad, Adventure Isle, Swiss Family Robinson and much of the gardens out the front of the entrance were all closed or partially closed for work. I am sure that these will look much better once they have been refurbished. I am also aware that Star Tours, Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean close soon for further work. Much like my feelings towards Alton Towers TLC programme though, the work which is taking place in the park should have been ongoing over many years and the management at Disneyland Paris should never have let the situation get this bad before acting. That said, at least it’s being done now. It was nice to have one last ride on Star Tours before it finally vanishes from resorts worldwide for its transformation into its next chapter. I also had a first ever ride on Autopia. Job done, I guess – nothing special but it’s a Disney classic.
Over at Walt Disney studios, it remains a park which I have no real attachment to and always just feels a little lifeless. The addition of Ratatouille has obviously helped, but in truth, it’s a park that just feels a bit mis-shaped, mish-mashed and without a clear direction. This must become the priority post-2017. Ratatouille I have now had the chance to ride on two visits to Disneyland Paris and, unfortunately, I just don’t particularly like it. If you imagine a ride costing over £100m, a trackless, bespoke ride system with theming completely unique to Disneyland Paris – I don’t think they could have done anything worse than what Ratatouille is. It doesn’t last very long, the queue is not particularly interesting (apart from the one room), the throughput is inadequate (due to a ridiculous seating configuration), and there’s not a single audio-animatronic in the ride… damn that’s what we want from Disney dark rides. The feeling when you get to the end of Dinosaur, any version of Tower of Terror, Forbidden Journey or any other of the world’s great dark rides. That feeling of ‘WOW, that was really impressive’ – Ratatouile just sort of thanks you for riding and sends you off on your way. I recall firmly believing that out of Hartenhof (Symbolica), Arthur and Ratatouille, there was absolutely no reason why Ratatouille wouldn’t be the best. But as it is, it may end up being the worst. Of course, the park has other rides like Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster, which are great packages and do the job just perfectly. But such are the inadequate throughputs on Parachute Drop, RC Racer and Crush’s Coaster, queues at Walt Disney Studios are now longer than the main park. This just doesn’t seem right and this needs addressing. My visit was very much the definition of ‘medium’ busy at Disneyland Paris – but Ratatouille hit 160 minutes, Crush 100 minutes, RC Racer 50 minutes and Parachute Drop 65 minutes. Insanity – I dread to imagine a peak day!
Reliability remained a problem across the parks – with downtime noticed on Space Mountain, Crush’s Coaster, Pirates of the Caribbean (we were evacuated from the queue twice), Parachute Drop and Ratatouille. I don’t really understand why the parks seem to suffer like this, but they do. And always have done.
Parks: Food and drink
This is a real mixed bag. We were lucky enough to have the half board plus package with our Sequoia Lodge booking. This was exceptional. Meals at Chez Remy, Walt’s, The Steakhouse, Park Side Diner and Yacht Club were all great – and the theming in some, especially Chez Remy and Walt’s, was just fantastic. As you’d expect from France, delivery on all fronts with great wine, too. Beautiful meal presentation and good service all round. I am just glad I wasn’t paying, because the 3-course meals we were eating would have cost on average €40 (£32) a time if it hadn’t been for the half board! The half board really did make the difference for the trip though, and it comes highly recommended. I don’t think I could ever do Disneyland Paris without it again. Counter service, on the other hand, remains very mixed with very limited and odd menus across these restaurants (for example, you can only have certain desserts on certain menus, and most burger joints only offered one or two different burgers, with very high prices for poor food). Also, given it’s France – you’d expect great coffee. Not at Disneyland Paris. The same, quick, rubbish coffee machines are everywhere in the parks. And don’t even start on the price of bottled water. Get Starbucks in, Disney – and do it fast.
A lot of restaurants (Hakuna Matata, Silver Spur, Café des Cascadeurs, Pizzeria Bella Notte, Cowboy Cookout, Pizza Planet) and stands were closed, with no real explanation given as to why (aside from C.C which I knew was being refurbished). It wasn’t like the parks were quiet… it was just frustrating when you went somewhere, hoping to eat – and couldn’t. Not that I went anywhere near Pizza Planet. Appalling place.
Hotels
As I have said, it was a childhood dream to stay at Sequoia Lodge. And I was very excited to do so. Overall, it’s all just so average. Let me explain why. Upon arriving on the bus, you realise the immense scale of the hotel. This, I feel, is where one of the main problems for DLP’s hotels lie. They are just so large, that they simply cannot cope with them. Where Hotel Gold River (except the bar!) (PA), Colosseo (EP) or Matamba (PL) have different, physical theming around every corridor, and a range of different room configurations, Sequoia Lodge plays it safe with the same, dated carpets and wallpapers in every endless corridor. Practically no theming objects. The same, odd smells in every little lobby and the same old chairs with scuffs on them in every room. You know that feeling of walking around ATH, those dated corridors? It’s very similar, and in some ways worse. It just doesn’t feel anywhere near the quality it perhaps ought to be. The bar, whilst in theory is lovely – a log fire and a reasonable drinks menu, it is just too open and, rather like the limits of bars at Alton Towers, doesn’t really offer anything for adults because it’s just full of kids till midnight. With DLP claiming to be great for adult couples/groups in recent marketing, this needs addressing. The breakfast was poor, compared to the aforementioned hotels at the other resorts. The breakfast restaurants were so large, and again, the theming was not detailed enough to really be enjoyable. Tables crammed in close together – with only a very limited selection of food. For a mid-scale hotel, you’d expect some warm items. It was all just very basic, and very safe. Just unmemorable, I guess. A lot of restaurants were closed in the hotels, which I found odd given that the hotels were quite busy. Our room was shoved at the far end of Sierra Lodge, which was quite the trek from the main reception. It wasn’t very nice after a drink in the bar to have to walk outside in freezing conditions. Of course, the trees and the music in places was lovely, the concept of the hotel was nice – but for me, I am afraid it just didn’t shout ‘QUALITY’ in the same way that you are WOWED in Ling Bao or Bell Rock. That feeling of red carpet, just wasn’t there. This may be hard to stomach for some of you, but I would sooner recommend a stay at Alton Towers (based on hotel alone) than Disneyland Paris’ low or mid-scale hotels. The breakfast is better at Alton Towers, there’s a wider choice of available restaurants close at hand in the hotel, the bar is better value and the rooms are, on the whole, better. Remember – this is Disney we are talking about. Widely regarded as the premier operator of theme parks worldwide. Anything less than the best isn’t really expected from them. But unfortunately for them, in Europe – the competition is fiercely hot – as any of you who have stayed at Phantasialand or Europa-Park will testify. It says something when the cocktails at Disneyland Paris are more expensive than Europa-Park (€13 on average, vs. €10 at EP).
The other hotels we visited were somewhat similar, although Newport Bay Club was probably the best feeling of them all. I was quite impressed with our bar visit and our restaurant visit there. Some nice detailing, too and, whilst it’s no Bell Rock, it was good. Hotel New York, whilst funky, just felt dated – and ultimately, it’s meant to be the 2nd best hotel on resort. I don’t think the themes chosen for the DLP hotels have done them any favour long term – perhaps Cheyenne post-refurb won’t suffer this as it’s more of a timeless/classic theme.
Summary
Disneyland Paris tries to be all things for all people. I guess it has to. However, in trying to do this, it struggles. Struggles to cater to the mass market of bargain seeking families whilst struggling to cater for those wanting something a little more quality. Struggles to cater to the range of nationalities visiting from all over Europe. Trying to find a nice bar in the parks? Good luck. It’s Europe and you can’t find a bar in either theme park. And some of the bars in Disney Village are horrid. Hotels so big that you literally, get lost – lost walking down endless, faceless corridors that all look the same. An entire theme park without direction (WDS). Cast members (not all, it should be said – but a significant number) who couldn’t look more disinterested. It is these things that let down Disneyland Paris most – and these things which will take much more than a straightforward refurbishment to address. There’s still a way to go if the park is to get to anywhere near the quality which will see it stack up against Europe’s absolute best - in spite of the fact that some of the rides are absolutely beautiful.
I look forward to returning in mid to late 2017 to see the finished outcomes of the refurbishment programme but for now, the jury remains firmly out for me.
Thanks for reading, and sorry to those Disneyland Paris aficionados if you find any of this hard to stomach!
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