Disneyland Paris - A Christmas Delight

Well, here we are at Disneyland Paris,

and we had the great fortune to stay at the Disneyland Paris

Hotel again, which is a marvelous confection of

Victorian pink!

This time we took the TGV train for Charles De Gaulle

Airport rather than ride the bus to Disneyland Paris.

It cost us 19 Euros, and Euros are 1 to 1.09 US dollars

right now, so travel to Paris is quite reasonable.  The TGV

train takes only 10 minutes to travel to Disneyland.  The bus,

which we took last time, took about 40 minutes and was

about the same price, so we loved that.  The TGV and RER

trains stop right on the property, but you do have to haul

your own bags through the security line and to the hotel.

Don't take the RER, it takes you all the way back into Paris

and then back out to Disneyland.  That would take away a little

of the magic.

We arrived at the magnificent Disneyland Hotel to 

be greeted in the lobby by a gigantic tree across from the

magnificent fireplace.  Next to the tree is an almost lifesize

gingerbread house that puffs smoke out of it's smokestack.

I felt like I had walked into one of the Historic Landmark

Homes that I posted about.  Everything is so beautiful and the

people are all so helpful and have that Disney smile.  If you

are worried about being in France and having the people

be friendly and helpful, hang out at Disneyland, Paris!

They are all wonderful and so friendly.

My favorite memory from our last trip here was the 

Hot Chocolate up in the second floor lounge, so we

had to have that again.  It is a block of chocolate

that you melt into your creamy milk, served with a

cookie spoon.  I want to make this for Christmas Eve,

although I will probably just use my chocolate spoons.

I had so many people ask me to let them know what

it was like to travel here at this time of year.  Of course,

we are used to Disney being in warm climates, and we

could have had snow, but the weather was about a high of

50 and down into the 40's by the time we left the park.  It is

definitely a more humid climate here, so we bundled up

and often had to take our gloves and hats off as we

entered buildings or rides.

I would describe it like being in a Christmas wonderland!

It is like being in New York for Christmas only much less

walking and stunning Christmas music being played over

the loudspeakers all day.  You couldn't have a more magical

Christmas experience.

The window displays are amazing, as only Disney can do them.

They remind you of the window displays in New York, just 

featuring Disney characters.

Unbeknownst to me, our reservation included what

is called Half Board.  I assumed that included a beautiful

buffet breakfast in their dining rooms overlooking the park,

as we had the last time.

But no, half board included dining once a day at the 

restaurants in the park or at the hotel.  What you may not

know is that in Disneyland Paris, it is more of a weekend park,

so some of the restaurants, and even rides may not be open

until the weekend.  We couldn't get into dinner for Walt's which 

is on Main Street for either night, and we ended up eating

at the California Grill in the Disneyland Hotel. 

We almost opted for the Buffet, which looked incredible, but

a waiter pulled my husband aside and said that the California

Grill was excellent.  

As all of Disney, the prices are very expensive, but this meal

was completely covered, three courses and a drink, at more than

70 Euros per person.  

We were lucky enough to be seated at the only table that had

a full view of the kitchen and we adored that experience.

Shown above is my Roasted Beet Appetizer, which was

wrapped around goat cheese - amazing!!  Hubby's dessert

was a chocolate ganache bar with creamy ganache on top.

Heavenly!  It was an amazing and elegant meal,

and it was all included.

Our other major surprise was that our three

day ticket to Disneyland was included in our hotel

price.  I had read online that some of the lower

end Disneyland Hotels offered that during the

summer season, but was delighted to find that

it was included in ours.

Our other meal that we opted for was the following day

for lunch at

Bistro Chez Remy.

Of course, the French are enchanted with the little rat,

Remy, from the movie Rataouille.

He has his own little area of the park in Walt Disney Studios,

(which was closed down last time we came), and he has

opened his own restaurant.

Again, the food was amazing and very high priced, 

but we again were given a three course meal, including a drink.

This had to be the most charming themed restaurant I

have been in.  You can see plate racks that make up the booths,

with forks stacked in between for coat racks.  Little corks for

stools, bottle cap backed chairs, wine label tabletops - charm

everywhere.  

Of course, they had to serve ratatouille with each plate.  

It was beautiful and delicious.  Fois Gras was the appetizer,

and it was like eating butter.  The beef tenderloin was so

tender and flavorful, and the sea bass was served with a

delightful Beaurre Blanc sauce.  I think hubby could

have drunk that!

They even wrote Pehr Chef Kirk on

hubby's plate for his dessert of a hazelnut chocolate eclair.

My favorite was the use of drink umbrellas

as table umbrellas.

Remy has outdone himself.

What a delightful way to celebrate the Christmas season,

with sparkling lights, fabulous music, incredible parades,

and firework shows and of course, amazing food.

I highly recommend this as a Christmas destination.

(By the way, we purchased our flights and looked at

hotels before any of the attacks in Paris, and this is

a very inexpensive time to travel to Paris.  The hotel

we are off to was over $1200 in May a year and a half

ago - we did not choose it that time - and is now under

$300!)

Off to Paris proper!!