People were laughing behind me as I exited. Not sure if it’s cuz I did a literal U-turn from the side taps. Also even if you’re not in this hotel these side taps seem way less busy. I’d walk right or left if you’re coming from another hotel.
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Heh. I’ve done it, too! I had a park pass reservation for the wrong park, and I couldn’t change it. So we tapped in, and then promptly left to go to the park we really wanted to be at.
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Gotta work the system!
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This coffee is definitely not as strong as what I drink at home. I get a double espresso every time and I never get the same level of energy from it that I do from WDW sized coffee cup of home brew drip coffee. I’d have thought it be stronger in Paris but I know for a fact Italian coffee is strong.
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Have I ever mentioned how much I hate stalking a specific “fastpass” time? I don’t think here you can walk it.
We got one and gonna try and squeeze it in now. Made us rush a bit thru lunch but it was a buffet so easier to do. Not very French of us to do an under hour lunch.
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Best space!
I enjoyed the buffet if I didn’t say so. Solid food and the characters, particularly Daisy, acting hard.
My fave thing was the bread and cheese (which the station was in our room and not the main room) and the beignet. The choc hazelnut orange tart also “gas” as the girls say. I like the Indian food as well (a thing I know does well in a buffet). We were the first seating so I think this helped with food freshness. I noticed the buffet got more crowded when we went back for dessert so it also helps with crowds as that hallway is a cluster with tables, characters, waiters and people trying to get food or walk back to their table. It’s a poor design tbh. All the food in this hotel is ridiculously expensive but it’s all good quality. I’ve read some less than stellar reviews but that has not been my experience. The food in the park itself has been fine. Not bad but not memorable either except mom said the lemon pie at Walt’s was the best dessert she’s had. It’s normally a thing she can’t eat back home as she’s celiacs but she can tolerate French flour (leaving us to believe it’s not flour but roundup that causes her rashes). She got one rash spot from gluten once and it was the croissant at Market House (which she said tasted like an American croissant) but at home she won’t even technically eat gluten but we think cross contamination will happen and she’ll get lots of rash spots on her neck. So just FYI if you’re celiacs it’s possible French flour is okay, just not market house.
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We didn’t wait for Minnie cuz we wanted to get that Space ride in before the girls massages. But we saw her on the way out and her outfit is equally adorable.
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Ride summary:
Space Mountain, Tower of Terror and Phantom Manor and Pirates of the Caribbean and it’s a small world I like best here of all the Disney parks. (Pirates is complicated because Shanghai version is excellent as well but completely different so I’m only comparing this to the standard versions of Pirates)
I really like how the fireworks show incorporates the drones so it’s also a must
as a person who prefers scary Snow White this is one of the two remaining better versions of that ride. (Tokyo is the other).
The dragon under the castle is also not to to be missed. As is Crush’s Coaster and probably Avengers Assemble if you don’t get last row or don’t mind head shaking.
Autopia is better here too in some senses. The cars felt faster, they smell less gassy and they auto shut off to prevent you from crashing so you can smash the gas. The steering wheel is easier to turn.
Peter Pan felt actually worse to me as did Pinocchio like it’s been longer since they’ve been refreshed. The storybook boats are diff enuf to warrant a ride and I like how you don’t have to do the boat balancing or risk flipping over but the ride felt shorter and lacks the Walt charm of Disneyland Cali.
Indy is terrible. Terrible terrible terrible. And I’ve ridden this exact same coaster in Tokyo and it was much smoother there. This one is a literal beating.
I prefer our Tom Sawyer Islands, particularly Cali with the pirates refs but I didn’t get a chance to do this in Tokyo. (though don’t miss the rafts and skull rock with the ship makes a nice photo op)
Swiss Family Robinson can’t tell much difference really.
The submarine is meh and I prefer the finding Nemo ride in Cali even though it’s a diff storyline.
I prefer Cali’s and Shanghai’s castle walk thrus
The parade felt like I’d seen those exact same floats back home but it is a solid parade.
Spidey is the same
The Alice show was entertaining once but it wouldn’t be a repeat thing for me. Whereas Mickey and the Magician and Lion King id see again. I think the Animal Kingdom one in its original incarnation is probably still my favorite version of LK show in a park but I haven’t seen it since the slimmed down Covid version which this is superior to that. Mickey and the Magician reminds me of the cruise ship conglomeration shows so it’s fun too but not the best Disney show I’ve ever seen.
Frozen is a straight nope for me. 2stars and that 1 Star bump is for the the Sven animatronic that eats carrots.
Remy is much better in epcot and my mom was like when are we gonna ride Cars (like the one in Cali). When I told her that tram tour was it, she laughed. That thing needs to go to make way for something real like a Cali Cars ride.
So what’s my favorite Disney park from around the world? That’s a complicated question and there is something at each that is better or unique and worth visiting. But it’s probably DLR as a set and Epcot as an individual park with Disneyland as the best castle park. Shanghai is still a close 2nd for a castle park cuz it’s so modern and classic rides like Peter Pan and Pirates so unique. That castle is gorgeous and is probably tied with me or slightly behind Paris castle for the best castle. But which set of parks has the most repeatability, WDW by far. So much to do there and so many resorts to explore, there is always something new. Oh yeah DisneySea wins for parks that make your jaw drop just walking around.
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DD18 days WDW is the best of all of em as she’s done them with me
Friend 18 says DLR is better b/w DLP and DLR (the two she’s done with us)
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Quick update. I really enjoyed the performances and Versailles, particularly the opera singer and organist and the dancers with the string quintet but we skipped the fireworks and gardens because it was cold, really windy and really raining and it was pretty miserable. We looked like drowned rats by the time we got to the uber across the street. I cannot imagine sitting in that for two hours for fireworks and fountain shows. A bit sad we missed that but not a complete waste as the performances in the castle were top notch. Better performers than in the Disney shows for sure.
I was planning to eat dinner there but since it was pouring and freezing to this Texan (seriously like a winter day to us) I was too miserable to eat. I didn’t know Paris was as rainy as Scotland but it rained 4 days in a row and it rained a lot. Never thunder but consistent rain. I was more prepared in Scotland with rain pants and boots and rain boot covers and rain jackets and umbrellas (which takes a lot of baggage space) and I was prepared for colder temps with thermals and jackets so it was really unexpected and not what the weather report said. I did not expect 50s at all and didn’t have rain gear. Wet jeans and wet jean jackets are not fun. So be prepared and not like me! Lots of people at Versailles were out there in their rain jackets and umbrellas and waiting it out but all those people dressed up in period outfits, I cannot imagine!
So I just got room service when we got home and it was good. I can vouch for Disneyland Hotel food as good quality all around as I visited all the restaurants and did room service.
Today was travel day. I finally got a pan aux chocolate in the airport and it’s still much better than what we have in the states. Ready for warmer and sunnier days ahead!
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These were all awesome in DLP.
Also awesome.
Agree. We rode it once the first trip and never again. So painful and not at all fun.
We actually liked the Nautilus a lot.
We loved both of these plus Pixar:Together. Not sure why they have such great shows and the California parks just have mostly empty show theaters despite being so close to LA and so many actors. Makes no sense!
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The old Aladdin show in DCA was excellent. Wish it was still there. I’ve never seen anything excellent in fantasyland but it was nice to have that Mickey and the magical map show I think it was.
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We loved the Aladdin show! It was fabulous and the Frozen show that came after never really lived up being a great replacement. But since Frozen vacated in 2020, the venue has been mostly empty. It’s been 5 years, time to put a show in there!
Mickey and the magical map show was fun too. Even the Lion King show that followd was okay. But now they just seem to use the space for character meets and picture ops. Bring back live entertainment!
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Quite a day. This hotel has gorgeous views. Walked to Ravello which was over 1000 stairs. It was very hard on my mom and she had to turn around and go back so be warned the stairs are no joke. I enjoyed the town so much tho. It was pretty and small and not overpacked. Quite different vibe than Paris. I visited the two big villas, bought a dress and some shoes and a pretty plate.
Pictures are having a hard time loading so I’ll load them later.
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My daughters went to Ravello for a long weekend and loved it, but definitely mentioned the stairs. They wanted a less crowded spot than Amalfi or Positano. DH & I went to Positano and Sorrento, but I’m hoping to get to Ravello someday and Ischia which DD27 loves. It’s her and her boyfriend’s special place.
Can’t wait to see your photos!
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The 5G is the too slow for photos but later I’ll put Amalfi and the Amalfi Heavens Gardens cooking class photos here (which was the best thing we’ve done all trip). So much fun. I much prefer the quietness of Ravello and Atrani to Amalfi which was packed with people and very touristy. But we did have a good lunch and did some shopping there for the girls who didn’t make the trek to Ravello. But the cooking class I highly recommend. We came home (3k walk) which was much easier in the fading light than midday and was much needed after all the eating, did my Pilates and am now enjoying a nice view. Let’s see if I can get one to load decently quick.
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