A Merry Disney Christmas...

Disneyland Paris

There’s no getting away from it, we are Disney fans. In fact, I would go as far as saying we are a little Disney mad. We’re not one of those families that walk around the parks in full matching Disney clobber...we haven’t taken it quite that far, but pre-kids we had a couple of visits. Once to Disneyland Paris and on another occasion we managed to get an extremely cheeky, very cheap, last minute deal out to Orlando. Mr S spent his 26^thBirthday in Magic Kingdom being sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to (VERY loudly) by a large American Disney employee…he didn’t thank me for that one! Master S has also been a little spoilt having visited both Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Paris (twice!) before Miss S arrived. Master S has been a huge Mickey Mouse fan since his first trip at 9 months old! 

We had managed to keep this trip a secret from the children. All our planning and booking was done in ‘code’ when they were around which they didn’t manage to crack! We told the kids the day before we were setting off and Master S was so excited jumping up and down he fell over...literally! He had been asking if we could go for months, having no idea we had it all booked.   

Our hotel – The Sequoia Lodge

We loved the Sequoia Lodge! We have stayed at various Disney hotels over the years…the budget Santa Fe, the mid-range Newport Bay, the up-market Hollywood Hotel (Hong Kong) but the Sequoia Lodge is our favourite! It helped that we were there at Christmas, as nestled amongst the trees, the alpine-lodge style of the hotel, with its warm, cosy, Redwood bar and c’est magnifique open fire, produced a wonderful Christmassy atmosphere. The hotel is situated the other side of Lake Disney, around a 5-minute walk from the Disney Village and the parks. The Disney Village offers numerous shops and restaurants (including Rainforest Café, Annette’s Diner) and is then just a few minutes further walk to both parks. We thought the location was fantastic and although there is a free shuttle to the parks should you want it, we enjoyed the walk round the lake even when it was cold and rainy. The kids also loved watching the Mickey hot air balloon bob around over the lake. 

Room:

Like all Disney hotels we have stayed in, the rooms are a little dated but always clean and comfortable. Our ‘Montana’ Bambi/woodland themed room was sweet and the kids loved the usual little touches of the Mickey Mouse soap and the fact the tv was set up to watch, none other than...Disney! The room consisted of two double beds which suited us well. Clean and comfy with plenty of space for the four of us and all our baggage. Being so close to Christmas both kiddies insisted on bringing extra, very (hmm) sensible touches, like their advent calendars!!! 
There was the opportunity to upgrade to a lake view room or a Golden Forest room. The Golden Forest rooms had additional benefits of the Golden Forest Club such as a private reception desk and access to the private lounge with hot/soft drinks available, as well as, afternoon snacks. 

Restaurants:

We had breakfast in either the Hunter’s Grill or Beaver Creek Tavern each morning, often spotting a Disney character or two posing for photos on our way there. As we had four mornings to enjoy, we tried out both restaurants twice. They offered the same buffet breakfast but often one was busier than the other so we could pick and choose which we ate in. The waiting staff were always accommodating, ensuring we had a table that would suit us with Miss S in her wheelchair. There was a huge array on offer for breakfast. Eggs several different ways, scrambled, boiled, omelettes. Meats such as sausages and bacon. Fruit, yogurt, toast, pastries, sweet breads (the kids were certainly happy about that!) We didn’t go hungry and grabbed some fruit each time to take for a snack later, so we managed some goodness in between the burgers and cakes! 

Although we didn’t eat in either restaurant in the evening, seeing the queues in the evening, we most definitely would have had to booked to eat there it being such a busy time of year. 

Facilities:

As well as the Redwood bar, which was the perfect spot to warm up with a cuppa (or something stronger!) after a day in the parks, the hotel had a ‘boutique’. Of course plentiful Disney merchandise was available to purchase but also useful things such as bottles of water, cartons of milk and snacks, all of which we made use of. 

The hotel concierge was helpful with re-confirming all our restaurant bookings for us, as well as, arranging for a kettle to be placed in our room so we could warm Miss S’s bedtime milk. Extra amenities for children were available also, such as travel cots and babysitting. 

We ran out of time to make use of all the facilities but could've used the kids play area, swimming complex, sauna/steam room and fitness centre.  

Accessibility:

We had a standard room for this visit but the hotel also offers various types of disabled access rooms, something we will probably need to test out on future visits.  

One small downside of the Sequoia Lodge is that the access to the restaurants and the exit out to the parks was down a flight of stairs. The hotel had one lift but of course at busy times with so many families and buggies, we did some times have to wait a little while. An extra lift at least, could’ve helped with the weight of ‘traffic’. 

Disneyland Parks

Restaurants:

Bistrot Chez Remy

Two words…DINING PLAN! Even more so if you are going during the busiest periods…Christmas was definitely one of those. We planned ahead and had booked our Half Board Plus dining plan. We have done the Premium Full Board on a previous visit and found it was too much for us, we didn’t need two 3-course meals on top of breakfast!).  Thank goodness we planned and booked in advance! The only meal we didn’t book was our first night as we weren’t sure what time we would arrive and be ready for dinner so thought we’d go to Annette’s Diner that night as one of the restaurants that doesn’t take bookings. Bad move! After heading to Annette’s Diner and seeing the queue, we naively thought we’d try somewhere else. What did we find? Queues, QUEUES EVERYWHERE and people being turned away unless they had a booking. After some waiting and eventual bickering, we went back to our original plan and waited for a table at Annette’s Diner! It wasn’t a terribly long wait and they were very accommodating in arranging a table where Miss S could be wheeled to easily, without us saying a word. Master S loved watching and giggling at the waiters on skates dashing around serving tables. 

Our second night we tried out the Plaza Gardens as we had always liked the look of it but is quite pricey if you pay for it seperately. Wow, it did not disappoint! The buffet was amazing with so much choice for all four of us. Master and Miss S definitely approved of the Mickey Mouse chocolate mousses for dessert too! 

Our third night we HAD to go back to Bistrot Chez Remy, in mine and Mr S’s opinion, the coolest restaurant in Disney. All being ‘shrunk’ to the size of Remy himself, we dined sitting on champagne corks at tables of jam jar lids, whilst others sat in booths made up of larger than life dinner plates and cutlery. The menu was French cuisine of course, and the ratatouille was just delicious.  

Cafe Mickey

Our final night we had to take our Mickey-mad Master S to Café Mickey. He has always wanted to go and we had never managed to get in there. Master S was in his element! He has been the biggest Mickey fan since that very first visit, his Mickey Mouse toy has rarely left his side since! This was definitely the kids favourite restaurant. The bright lights, Mickey featuring EVERYWHERE (chairs, plates, on food!) it didn’t disappoint! The grown ups may have had a sneaky glass of wine in there too, the beauty of France and their love of wine with every meal! 

All in all, the dining plans seem expensive on the outset but Disney IS expensive and what the dining plan buys you is very valuable during those busy periods…the ability to pre-book the restaurants you really want to try out. We had never made it to Café Mickey as even on our previous visit we had waited until we arrived to book restaurants and Café Mickey was already fully booked. It really was the best option for such a busy time of year. 

Rides and Attractions:

Our family's top rides and attractions in the Disneyland park: 

Parade!

-Dumbo the Flying Elephant

-Mad Hatter's Tea cups

-It's a Small World

-Disney Railroad

-Meeting Mickey Mouse (at Christmas you can opt to meet Father Christmas instead)

For the bigger kids/adults:
You'll find Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain and Star Tours the Adventure Continues in the Disneyland park. Master S was bit disappointed he was a bit little for these being a Star Wars fan!

Disney Railroad

Our favourite rides and attractions in the Walt Disney Studios:

-Slinky Dog Zig Zag Spin 

-Cars Quatre Roues Rallye
-Flying Carpets over Agrabah
-Ratatouille the Adventure
-Mickey and the Magician show

For the fearless ones, you'll find more 'big thrill' rides at the Studios:
-Aerosmith Rock n Roller Coaster
-Crush's Coaster
-The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- RC racers

Cars Quatre Roues Rallye

The Studio Tram tour and Motors...Action! Stunt show both run at the Studios also but we felt are more suitable for slightly older children. 

Accessibility: 

As our previous visit to Disneyland Paris had been when I was expecting Miss S, I knew Disney had pretty good accessibility procedures. As an expectant mother I was given an Easy Access card to access the attractions I was able to enjoy, via the disabled entrance which often meant we could access the ride with little or no waiting. Being a very hot July, I was very grateful for this. This time round and Miss S being registered disabled, we were issued a Priority Card, of course having this access this time was even more important. 

The whole process of obtaining the Priority Card was pretty easy. We needed to go to the Donald Duck desk at City Hall and provide paperwork with evidence of Miss S’s condition. They made a note of the fact she cannot sit unsupported and would need to in some cases be transferred to the ride by us and in other circumstances access a specially adapted facility. This made our visit so much easier and Miss S could enjoy far more because of it. 

Enjoying our first Dumbo ride

Mickey and the Magician show

Adapted 'It's a Small World' boat

 Each ride or attraction has its own accessibility procedure. When we were given Miss S’s Priority Card we were also handed an Accessibility map detailing exactly what the ride/attraction entailed, whether we could transfer etc. It was so helpful! Often when we were carrying Miss S on to a ride we would have very little time to wait before we could hop on. Other attractions Miss S was presented with a specially adapted vehicle. She had her own private boat on ‘It’s a Small World’ on which she could have her wheelchair tethered at the front of the boat and we could sit behind her. On the Ratatouille ride we were given our own ‘rat’ to give us a tour around the kitchen of Gusteau’s. These were both fantastic and meant Miss S was completely included.  

Getting around the parks with Miss S’s wheelchair was easy, even though it was such a busy time to visit. Please see final notes below for our experience of toilet facilities. For the Mickey and the Magician show, Miss S had a disabled access space so she could be wheeled in and stay in her wheelchair. For the parades there were large disabled access sections where Miss S and two other could accompany her. They were very strict with this and wouldn't let all four of us in! 

Final Note: 

Disney+Lego=Heaven!!!

Our visit to Disneyland was December 2017. As you can probably tell, we had a fantastic time and the kids are dying to go back. At the time we visited Miss S was just over two years old and despite changing her being difficult at times with her several layers of clothing as well as her leg splints and a lycra suit to contend with, she was still fitting on a baby change table without too much problem. Roll on August 2018 as I write this, an extra eight months of growth now at almost three, Miss S is starting to get too big for and baby change tables are increasingly uncomfortable. In hindsight we hadn’t investigated the facilities at the park enough as at the time it didn’t really occur to us as we were not quite at that point. Having returned home and heard of other families experiences we were frustrated to learn that Disney really do not have adequate changing/toilet facilities in the form of a Changing Places facility. Disney are so nearly there as their accessibility procedures are fantastic in every other way. The reality is, families like us will struggle to visit again unless they provide adequate facilities. Disneyland Paris, please, PLEASE sort this out as we’d really like to visit again!