Lonely Caterpillar
 

Disney and me part 2 Meals and Meal plans…

I am by far no expert on the restaurants at DLP, we had been 4 times before we had a character meal, we stuck to general meal places and requested McDonalds more than anywhere else.

We are not foodies, mainly because I have a son with ASD and a dairy allergy so basically we go where suits rather than having a need for fancy food.

One option for food a DLP is a meal plan, sometimes you get these included in your Disney package and this is how we first came across them. Depending on which hotel you stay in depends what standard of plan you get and what restaurants you can use your vouchers at.  If you are staying at santa fe or Cheyenne you get standard plan, for sequoia, or Newport Bay hotel or Hotel New York you get half board plus and for Disneyland hotle you get a premium meal plan.

All meal plans can be topped up or upgraded regardless on what hotel you are staying in and the value really depends on where you like to eat and how good your deal was. Rarely is a half board plan actually free but sometimes there are good offers. On our last trip it wasn’t included in our package but we added it on as we liked to have everything paid for before hand.

It is worth noting that you only get meal vouchers for each NIGHT you stay – if you are there for four nights and five days you will get four vouchers so you will still need to buy a meal one of those days. You also get a pause gourmand voucher for each night you stay that can be used between 3pm and 6pm in certain locations for a cold/hot drink and a doughnut or magnum. Under three’s also only eat free in buffet restaurants in the others there are options of baby food but if your two year old likes to eat the same as you then its worth factoring in you will need to add a little in the budget for ordering off the children’s menu.

On our last trip we choose to add on half board plus and our meals where as follows:

Café Mickey – Until this trip this was my sons favourite restraint, we loved the interaction and the food was fairly plain which suited us but this trip the service was painfully slow, the interaction in the most part was good apart from eeyore who knocked over one child and seemed to play up a little bit too much to his miserable persona. The food was so terrible we could barely eat it despite being really hungry from a long day in the park. previously we have always had nice meals and wonderful interaction. Resevations are a must for here if you want a specific time or you do risk standing in a very long que or not getting a table at all. The full cost of this three course meal and drinks was included in our voucher and it is a character meals so its always nice to meet lots of characters (we’ve always met around 5/6 per meal).

Buffalo Bills wild west show – We used our vouchers to part pay for this, Here you watch mickey and friends take part in a wild west show while having your food brought to you while you watch the show. There is a good amount of food and the evening goes very quickly as you join in the cheering and fun and games, this also has unlimited drink top ups. On the way in you each get a coloured cow boy hat which decides which team you are in and where you will sit, there is a pre show little sing along as you wait with goofy and band and then you get seated for the main show. This is an expensive add on (it is included in premium vouchers), It is well worth giving it a go even just the once. The 9.30 show is cheaper on ticketmaster.fr but not the 6.30 show and the show does not run every night so bare this in mind when planning.

Auberge de Cendrillon (added on extra just for a girls treat) – This was a special treat for me, my mum and my daughter. We pre booked and prepaid for this and got a slot for opening time at 12pm. Here you have a ‘fancy’ meals while meeting three princess’ and a prince (sometimes 4 princesses and no prince) and the mice from Cinderella Suzy and Perla. The princess’ dance once an hour and its a truly magical experience to watch the look on a child’s face as they watch this. Megan also adored meeting prince charming. The food was good but the soup was far too warm to eat and it is a little bit rushed but the princess’ did spend a lot of time with us and we did manage to see them dance twice. You don’t know which princess you will get until you get there (you can ask in the morning at city hall – and if you pre book two slots you could cancel one if you are searching for a specific princess). On our trip we met Cinderella (almost always there), prince charming, snow white and aurora. This was a wonderful experience as a one off but it is very expensive and I wouldn’t be in a hurry to do it every trip. (included in premium vouchers)

While we where here the boys went to MacDonald’s, the queue was out the door and it took them as long to eat there as it did for us to have our meal.

Chez Remy- November was our first trip since chez Remy opened. We love the film ratatouille and the themed restaurant didn’t not disappoint. When you enter it is as if you have been shrunk to rat size and everything around you is giant, just like in the rat themed restaurant at the end of the movie. The food here is second to none and my mum and Ben where both very happy to get steak (real food). We underestimated how much we would love it here and tried to make a booking for the next evening ( we had originally booked café mickey twice) but it was completely booked out for the whole week – def pre book here and def give it a go you wont be disappointed. (included in half board plus vouchers).

Inventions – We went here on my sons birthday having cancelled our second café mickey booking – This is located in the Disneyland hotel (which I had never set foot in before this trip), we choose this beacause they have characters. We went for the character lunch (on sundays there are weekly themed brunches which often  have unusal of different characters). We where unsure what to expect as it is buffet food and there is quite a big price difference, however we loved it, the food was good and there was a large selection, we had also requested a birthday cake with our meal. The staff where very helpful and the characters where wonderful, as it was quiet some characters even came to us twice, we met, mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Eeyore, pluto, goofy and Pinocchio, mickey and Minnie brought the cake out and sang happy birthday to Elijah, goofy also sang happy birthday and danced with Elijah and daisy mad such a big fuss of Megan. On the way out Pluto noticed we where leaving , he put his arm around Elijah and walked him the whole way through the restaurant, giving him his full attention.  It was worth every penny for the character interaction alone and it was lovely to eat in the Disneyland hotel. (included in premium – supplement for plus vouchers)

Au Chalet de Marionnette (quick last day counter service meal) – on our last day we just needed a quick counter service meal and as it suddenly started raining this was the one we where closest too. Food wise this was the childrens favourate meal of the trip. Chicken and chips and burgers, nothing fancy but it was fast, it was hot and it was tasty, I will certainly head back here on our next trip.

We found that having a meal plan made us bound to table service restaurants which are lovely but in November when the parks close around 7pm you either loose quite a chunk of your day eating or you have to eat very late. Also the kids where so excited they just wanted to be in the park enjoying the rides, parades and atmosphere. When we go again this year we will not be doing a meal plan and will have mostly counter service and probably just one character meal at inventions. With an annual pass you also get 10% off all table and counter service.

We found Pause gourmand handy for when we where waiting for the parade, it was nice to have a hot drink and a snack. However we usually bring plenty of snacks from home as then the kids have what they like and they don’t get grumpy waiting between meals.

We also got chips from Caseys corner most days around lunch time to keep Elijah happy, and Megan loved the mickey mouse shortbread from the bakery on main street. The hot chocolate in Disneyland paris is the best hot chocolate in the whole world so be sure to budget for a new addiction.

In the Disney villiage there are lots of other options for food too and this is also good for when the park closes early but remember at park close they get very busy so make reservations if this is when you plan to eat.

Usually if you eat in rainforest café or king ludwigs they will give you a 10% off voucher for the other when you pay the bill, we’ve had fab meals in both and king ludwigs was our favourate before character meals took over. Annettes diner is another fab place to eat and offers authentic American diner experience, its fun and the food is always great. We didn’t think much of planet holywood and we had to wait ages but that might be just one bad experience.

For full dining info and great information on menus, pricing and all meal plan details have a look at DLP GUIDE – http://www.dlpguide.com/planning/dining/

Obviouslly meal decisions are different for everyone but hopefully this will give you and idea of where to start…