Weekendje weg (Or: Disneyland Paris, 25th anniversary)

Weekendje weg = a short weekend trip. A bit ironic here, since our trip was five days…

Last weekend (Thurs-Mon), Marco, Roger and I went to Disneyland Paris. This was my second time – the first was during our honeymoon in 2013. And this time we splurged a bit, booking a suite in Sequoia Lodge, a hotel themed after the American northwest. The excuse was that we were with three adults, so this way everyone has plenty of room! And little did we know that the complimentary VIP fast passes (unlimited use) would quickly come in handy when we realized we arrived in the middle of a French school holiday…

We went by train, taking the Thalys from Rotterdam. First class! So free breakfast when you board at 7am. That got us to Gare du Nord, the train station in Paris. Then we had to take the metro (45 minutes to an hour) to get to Disneyland itself. It’s east of the city. We booked “Disneyland express” which meant that when you arrive at the Disney train station you can drop off your luggage and collect your park entrance tickets and VIP fast passes right then and there. They deliver your luggage to the hotel while you go straight to the park. We ended up not getting to the hotel until around 8 or 9pm that night.

Another perk of the room type – separate registration area! It was like opening a new bank account – you went to a desk, with two chairs for the guests. You have a seat while they get the last formalities squared away. There was a bowl of 25th anniversary golden coins (dark chocolate), free for the taking. We took a few, not knowing just how many we’d get during this five day trip…

At this point the worker called someone to let them know what our room number was so they could deliver the luggage to the room and open the sofa bed for Roger. We didn’t go to the room right away, but instead headed over to the “Golden Forest” lounge (for anyone with a Golden Forest room or better). It was a strange experience – there was no one else there! Unfortunately that was the only time we would see the place empty again.

The advantage of the Golden Forest lounge – it is also a breakfast area, and you can get breakfast whenever you want between 7 and 11am. During breakfast they open both rooms. The first time Marco and I went to Disneyland together, we stayed at the New York hotel and had to pick half hour slots when we wanted to have breakfast (first come first serve at hotel checkin). This was much more relaxed.

Also, during the day (noon to 10:30pm) you could order unlimited free drinks, with the exception of alcohol. So coffee, cappuccinos, soda, hot chocolate… you name it. And from 4-6pm they have snacks. Mostly sweets. We went there one day – it was a madhouse!

That first night in the lounge we were served by a lovely gentlemen who got us soda to go with our dinner (from Earl of Sandwich – cannot recommend this place enough!) and later coffees and hot chocolates.

even the sugars (left and right) were Mickey ears.

After that it was time to check out the room… we got a personalized welcome letter in Dutch! And more dark chocolate gold coins. Turns out we would receive at least 5 a day (3 on our Marco and I’s bed, 2 on Roger’s) when we got back to the room at night.

The container above had sugared fruit pieces inside. They were really good. But it did result in the one weird moment of the trip: on the first morning we had three pieces left in the decorative box when we left. When we got back to the room that night there were only two. Slightly creepy.

And now for some random pictures, in no logical order whatsoever:

Cafe Mickey, a restaurant in Disney Village

Disney Village is the shopping area between the hotels/parking and the two parks.

Lego store creations, also in Disney Village

screen at the entrance to the Disneyland Park, with Tinkerbell

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show

Above is Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. Before this trip I had no idea that that this was based on a real event – there was someone named Buffalo Bill who held shows in Europe based on North America’s Wild West (including Indians). Above is “Little Annie Oakley” doing trick shots with her rifle to blow out the candles.

The best part of this show (which I found surprising) was acting like a kid since it was Disney. We were told to bang our plates, slam our silverware, stomp our feet… and I loved every minute of it, until the headache afterwards.

The food was typical fare but good – chili con carne, ribs, boned chicken and potatoes. The potatoes were my favorite. Dessert was apple cobbler and ice cream. Yum!

Another restaurant (Fuente del Oro Restaurante) in Frontierland, with Mexican food. We didn’t eat here, but we did sit down and listen to the music, briefly.

Phantom Manor

The above photo of Phantom Manor (similar to Haunted Mansion at our Disney parks, but darker in theme) was taken from the riverboat, another attraction. Phantom Manor consists of an elevator ride down – which is so cleverly done you don’t even realize it is an elevator – and a ride through the story of a bride who lost her groom on her wedding day. Have a look at the Wikipedia page above. The story of what happened during the wedding is great (and also includes another attractions and land in the surrounding area).

Okay… that is enough photos for today!