I'm pretty rubbish at trip reports - if you go through the archives you'll see lots of half-written efforts, but as this was a pretty short trip I thought I'd give it a go! On the trip were me and my mother and my 3 nephews 13,10,9 and my niece 11. We stayed at the Sequoia Lodge and had 2 day park hoppers. Day 1 Thanks to a combination of staying nearby and over estimating the amount of time it would take to get through security at the port of Dover we were able to catch an earlier ferry to Calais. We used the extra time to stop at my new favorite French chain restaurant Flunch. I discovered Flunch on a my recent trip to the Somme area with my brother and really liked the concept. It's part cafeteria, part all you can eat buffet, and part grill AND it has an ice cream parlour for dessert. We stopped at the restaurant in Albert (about halfway between Calais and DLP) which is the same one I'd visited previously. The food was great, but I'd recommend going when it's busier (we went between lunch and dinner) as I think some of the sides had been out for a while. Between us we ate an assortment of burgers, gammon and mussels. Having stuffed ourselves silly we continued on to DLP and the journey was pretty uneventful. We checked in fairly late so there was no queue which was nice. On arrival at the hotel my bag was scanned and I was waved with the metal detecting wand. This was my first sign of any extra security. To be honest, although there was a higher level of security it was very unobtrusive. It slightly fell down once we knew where our room was as I was then able to bypass reception to take my bags to the room and we were never checked on subsequent days either. Once we were settled in I had no choice, but to take the kids swimming. The hotel pool is now listed on all of the kids favourites lists. For a family friendly pool it was very deep - even the oldest kid had trouble standing up in it. On the flipside there are lots of flotation devices and floating things in general that kids can climb on or use so it wasn't a problem. Having enjoyed the pool we returned to the room, ate snacks, settled down for the night and went to sleep. Day 2 We were unsure on whether to make this a DL or WDSP day, but decided to head to DL for Extra Magic hours anyway. At check in we were told that our breakfast time was 8:30 (EMH started at 8) and that we could go at any time, but would need to wait if a table wasn't available. Because of this we skipped breakfast at the hotel on park days. On arrival at DL we saw some sort of industrial action going on between the gates and the DL Railroad station. I think it was something to do with waste and refuse. They were playing litter bins Stomp style and I think most people thought they were entertainment to be honest. Mum is registered disabled so we went to guest relations and got a green card for special assistance. Although cards are only usually for 5 people because of having 4 kids in our party they made the card out for 6. Having the card helped a lot - not just with queues, but also with getting extra help in general. Overall from that point of view the CMs at DLP couldn't have been better and I'd say were even more helpful than at DLR (just). We then headed straight to Discoveryland. I took the older kids for 2 goes on Space Mountain while Mum and Nephew, 9 had 2 rides on Buzz. Then we headed to Fantasyland and rode the Teacups and Peter Pan. At this point we remembered we hadn't eaten so I took a couple of kids and we bought some pastries on Main Street. Suitable nourished we headed over to POTC. Pirates is a special ride for us as it was my sister's favourite. A couple of years after her death we hid a glass heart in her memory in the plants near the ride. We took a moment to go and visit and then carried on. A heck of a lot of Adventureland was closed. It was virtually a no go area. This meant that there was nothing for the smaller kids to do while the bigger ones rode Indy. Because of this they ended up back at Peter Pan. I've always liked the fact that Disney tend to put something for smaller kids near to thrill attractions to make splitting up easier. The Adventure Isle closure killed that stone dead. I've always found the Indy coaster to be very dull, but we rode it and then headed back to Fantasyland to meet the others. Once we were altogether it was time for popcorn and a photo with Mickey. Going through the disabled entrance we missed a lot of the neat touches the permanent meet n greet has, but we didn't miss the line! We got plenty of time with Mickey and on the whole it was a great experience. Definitely the best and cheapest way to meet the big cheese. From there we explored the Labyrinth. Boy does that need some love. Adventure Isle must have been in a real state for it to be deemed a priority over this. It really needs a good paint. The jumping fountains weren't on either despite the weather being very hot. I assume they were broken. The kids had fun though. After that we rode Casey Jr and rode the Canal Boats. Both a pleasant way to spend a few minutes, but I think I prefer Casey Jr. From there is was IASW which is looking great with its new paint job. I'm slightly disappointed they changed the globe fountain as we used to try and throw pennies at it and make them stick, but the new bumpy surface doesn't lend itself to that quite as well. The ride itself was as lovable as ever. I think I spotted one of the twin towers was missing... From there we ate lunch backwards, stopping first for Ice cream and then for pizza at the Bella Notte. The pizza was ok, but nothing special. The garlic bread is not as good as it used to be. Individually the meals aren't terribly priced, but feeding a family of 6 becomes expensive really quickly! From there we headed down the relief road to Discoveryland. The brief glimpse of Star Tours we got made it look like the whole of the outside space had been pretty much flattened. I can't wait to see what it looks like. We then took the whole family on Buzz. I won of course thanks to a few hidden targets... We were now getting to the point where we'd experienced just about everything we wanted to do. The kids had no interest in the shows or parade so we didn't worry about fitting them in. With one last big attraction to do we headed to Phantom Manor. Everything was going fine until the ballroom scene when we heard a clang and my mother's walking cane fell out of her doom buggy! We just about died of embarrassment when we had to tell the unloading CMs what had happened. It took about 20 minutes, but they eventually retrieved the cane. Thank goodness. We decided then to head out of the park and go back to the hotel for a swim. I think we were in the pool for about 90 minutes! Suitably relaxed we then headed back to Disney Village and had a ride on Panoramigique. I'd ridden years ago, but for everyone else it was their first time. We got on as the sun went down so the surrounding area looked very pretty. It was really windy though so coming down was interesting. We then ate dinner at Earl of Sandwich and did some shopping. By now it had gotten really late so we headed off to bed.
Day 3 After making everyone wait for breakfast yesterday we stopped at the train station for snacks and drinks first thing today. We headed straight to WDSP. It was about 9 am with an advertised opening time of 10 so I figured we'd be ok to get in and wait for Crush to open, however despite it being early the attractions were all operating and Crush already had a 30 minute wait time. We rode Crush - which the kids all loved - and then headed to TSPL. In TSPL we rode the Parachute Drop and RC Racer and then went to check out Ratatouille. Sadly, the ride was down so we decided to come back later. Next was Tower of Terror. The disabled queuing system seemed very weird here involving all sorts of backstage areas until you finally join the regular line. I could see no reason why in our situation we couldn't have just queued. I don't think we saved any time. The kids mostly enjoyed it, but nephew 9 wasn't very keen. He bought himself a present in the shop to congratulate himself on having ridden it and still being alive. After that it was Armageddon. I can take or leave this show to be honest, but the kids enjoyed it. Nephew 9 remarked "Chewie, we're screwed" as the asteroids started to hit! Rock n Roller Coaster was also down but the FP machine was giving out tickets for 30 minutes later so we got FP's and decided to take a chance. By the time we'd had toilet breaks etc. the ride was operational again so we rode it straight away. All 4 kids were tall enough for RnRc and they all loved it. Several declared it their favourite attraction. We then tried Rat again which was running by now, but died while we were in line. We stayed nearby having a look in the nearby shop just in case, but it didn't come back any time soon so we headed for lunch. We were going to eat in Studio 1, but most of the kids wanted adult meals and the cost was going to be silly so instead we headed for Restaurant des Stars for the buffet. It was dearer, but much better value for money. Everyone found something they liked and we were all stuffed by the time we were done. I'd heartily recommend it. We went back for a third go at Rat and finally rode it this time. The ride system is very impressive, but I'm afraid I was a little underwhelmed. It's the oft-debated issue of too many screens for me. It felt too cavernous in places and being able to see the floor at the bottom of the screen kills the illusion dead. It was well done, but I think I'd prefer more physical effects. It was also the only place we had issues with mum's disability. Our rat dropped us nowhere near her ECV and it took 3 CMs before anyone seemed to care. Not cool. After Rat... it was a quick go on Slinky and then off to Moteurs Action. Maybe it's because I was tired , but I found this to be so slow this time. Am I right in thinking we see less stunts now. There we clips in the final montage that we didn't see live. The kids thought it was ok, but I won't miss it if it ever goes away. That side of the park really needs help now and demolishing this show could be the key. The Cars bit with Lightning McQueen was terrible... From there it was time to meet Stitch! Nephew 9 was chosen by Stitch for a brief chat so that was really cool. He's at that age where he still believes so I'm glad he got the chance to do it. Then it was off to the Tram Tour. Apart from Catastrophe Canyon this attraction needs some help. There are only so many "props" and bushes you can look at... The NY cab looked a lot like the one from The Great Muppet Caper that was at DHS. I wonder what happened to that... Next was the Cars ride, which was more fun than I remember and better IMHO than the Mater-based equivalent in DCA. Then we hopped over to Cinemagique. I think a lot of the references went over the kids's heads, but the adults had fun! After one last ride on RnRc we headed over to DL for some nighttime fun. Dinner was at Casey's Corner which was my sister's favourite. I once took a Casey's hot dog all the way back to the UK for her! We had just enough time for a list ride on Buzz/Space Mountain before taking up a spot for Dreams. We were able to view from the reserved area for those with disabilities, but it was a double edged sword as your so close that anyone standing in front of you blocks out pretty much the whole castle. Also I don't think it looks as crisp up close, but we did have a very good view and I can't complain (even though I did). I still really enjoy the show and particularly like the fact that it highlights some obscure films (at least as far as Disney shows are concerned) like Ratatouille, Hunchback and PaTF. It's definitely not to be missed. And that was it for both Disney parks. We got lots done. The green card helped no doubt, but I think the current security threat has really kept the crowds down. Summertime waits with two e tickets closed should not be as short as they were. It's a real shame. Day 4 We woke late and went for breakfast at the hotel. This was very nice and there was plenty to choose from. After packing our bags we went for one last swim. The kids really did enjoy the pool. After that we did one last spot of shopping in the hotel store and then set off for home. As a treat we'd booked the club lounge on the ferry home and it was very smart. We had a private deck and complimentary drinks and snacks and it was all very refined! Overall, we had a great time and saw lots more than I thought we might. I genuinely don't think I could find anything to really complain about. There were a few minor niggles that I've mentioned, but on the whole it was a very magical trip easily on a par with our DLR vacation from earlier this year. These last two trips have made me realise how much I miss going to Disney parks. I must get over more often...
I am currently in Hamburg to see the Lion King musical, so I will read your report next week. Can't wait!
Sounds like a fun trip! Even if there were some issues with disability access, it sounds like overall they're heading in the right direction. With so many different ways that people need accommodation, there can be a variety of options for what works best. The US has pretty advanced disabled access laws, so I'm always interested to see how well things work (or don't) in other countries I also realized that we're Facebook friends! Either that or one of my British acquaintances just took a very similar DLP trip recently
I'm really bad at keeping track of who I know on both Facebook and Laughingplace. Truthfully, I have no clue who I'm friends with or not! It was only really Ratatouille where there was any kind of problem, everywhere else was fine. We found at DLR, particularly DCA, that often we waited longer than the regular line because we were made to wait for an adapted ride vehicle even though mum didn't need one. At the end of the day, it's not about wait times though - it's simply a case of getting the help needed.
Depending on the attraction, a lot of it has to do with how many mobility impaired guests are already on the ride. They all have limits to the maximum allowable, in the event that the ride needs to be evacuated during an emergency, since it takes longer to evacuate mobility impaired riders even if they're able to ride in the traditional ride vehicles. This is an especially big issue at Pirates, which I believe only allows 2 on at a time, but has a 17-minute ride cycle; that means only about 8 mobility impaired guests can ride per hour, which is far lower than the demand
Thanks for your trip report, it was an interesting read. I'm sorry to read that you didn't like Ratatouille that much. For me it's one of the best screen ased rides ever, even the king of screen based rides, Universal Studios, can't match it.
Thanks dagobert. I really should have proofread it! The thing for me with Ratatouille is that while it may or may not be the best screen based ride, it's still ultimately a screen based ride. I felt exactly the same about TSMM. You just feel like you're in some cavernous empty warehouse watching stuff happen instead of experiencing it like you would on Pirates or Peter Pan. I guess you could say it's a modern version of Pinocchio with its painted flats and I would definitely agree that Rat is better than that, but it's just not as immersive as I'd hope from Disney. It felt like that bit in The Great Movie Ride where you're watching the montage of movie clips. I guess ultimately that's it. It feels too passive, like you're watching the action not living it. IMHO, Star Tours does it best because you're fully immersed in that world once you're in the shuttle.
I guess, I just like Disney's screen based rides. TSMM is a lot of fun and one of our favourite rides in the US Disney parks and so is Ratatouille in Paris. While POTC is still one of my all time favourite attractions, I sometimes find myself in a position where I honestly wouldn't mind anymore replacing POTC with the new version from Shanghai. I know that's a terrible thought, but the new version is just so impressive even in the videos.
I would much rather ride Buzz than TSMM. If they could find a way to combine the gameplay of TSMM with the physical effects of Buzz that would be awesome. I'd like the new POTC ride to come to the Studios parks. I think it's different enough that each resort could accommodate both this and the existing POTC. It's so tied in to the movies that WDSP or DHS seems like a natural fit. It could work well in an action/adventure style setting over by Armageddon in WDSP.
I haven't seen any videos of the new Buzz ride at SDL, but I think that's a combination of TSMM and the original Buzz ride. By the way, we have just booked our DLP trip for September!!
