Come give me wisdom of Disneyland Paris!!

[lisad123]

Travelling with my two girls who both have autism, and dh in few weeks.
Tell me all I need to know. Which restaurants are quieter, best times for swim, anything and everything. I'm excited but so worried it's going to be too much.
We are travelling by Eurostar

Bumpy

Seriously no one?

Bumpy

We've been 3 times, last time was 3 years ago. Deffo go for character breakfast in Cafe Mickey DCs loved it 6-8 characters come out and unlimited smoked salmon and scrambled eggs (plus loads of cereals, fruit, pastries and more) bother with the character dinners tho can't remember which we went to buy it was pants. What hotel you in? Ooo Buzz Lightyear ride worth several visits rainforest cafe is good as is the toy story themed cafe good play area.

Thanks staying at new port bay

We ate at an American diner type place and that was nice, fab milkshakes.

I wouldn't say the rainforest cafe is quiet - we stepped in and dd was properly freaked out and she was about 7yo at the time, so not little. Not autistic either, you might want to skip that one!

The parades are fab, get there in good time to be at the front.

Definitely don't take autistic DC into rainforest cafe - and I second the suggestion of cafe mickey.

Just back from our third visit. Try to eat breakfast/lunch/dinner at slightly later times to avoid the really busy rush at mealtimes. Auberge de cendrillon (sorry if spelling wrong) is one of the best table service restaurants with princesses a plenty and has a nice quiet atmosphere.
For the parades, stand near the beginning of the route (the wooden gates near its a small world ride) as this stays crowd free.
If your dc have a hard time with crowds/waiting , it may be worth speaking to the (very polite and helpful) customer information for advice / possible help with meeting characters etc (you could ring prior to travel as well).
For very little extra you could upgrade to the premier carriages on Eurostar, more room, a meal and much quieter, we did this for the first time this year and it was so much better than the usual noisy journey ( not being snobby here, I have a son with autism and the difference travelling this time was amazing)!
Other restaurants that we loved:
Woodsy cook out; ratatouille; plaza gardens; our hotel restaurant (sequoia lodge); buffalo bills wild west show; agrabah; inventions (in the main pink hotel; can't remember it's name). Woodsy & inventions have lots of characters whilst dining so good value & save queuing up!
Above all if unsure ask the staff; they were all so lovely and helpful! Have a fantastic holiday!

Sorry, Woody's not woodsy!

tried to upgrade room, they want an extra £500!!!

Get a letter from your GP confirming they have SN and can't queue. We didn't the first time we went and it was hell (made worse by the fact that nobody else in the place queues so you have to wait even longer). My DD has sensory processing issues that meant the noise in the undercover queues was unbearable for her.

This year we got a letter and life was so much easier. You take it to the Guest relations office in Main St when you arrive. They check something (GP's details?) on a computer then give you a green card that gives you priority.

Sometimes you still have to wait, and that's fine, but you wait in a separate area, where you don't have people all around you and lots of noise. DLP are very very good at this aspect, and stick to first-come-first-served (as we found when the companion of a lady in a wheelchair thought she should be first because she was in a wheelchair while our DD and the other obviously-autistic children already waiting had legs that worked ).

You also get the front row in the shows and for the parades and better still don't have to stand in a queue for an hour.

Eating wise we found the restaurants started to get really busy at about 5pm. Swimming pools were empty during the day.

Have a lovely time.

The pass for guests with special needs/disabilities is FANTASTIC it allows you access to the rides without queueing, and means you can use the special roped off viewing areas for the parades too, which don't get as crowded.

I took my DS (also autistic) last summer and it was a big gamble as he'd never been on a fast ride before, and is scared of dressed up characters. However he's disney mad so I took the risk. He went on every fast ride he was tall enough for, and met lots of characters. We saw most of these at a meal in Cafe Mickey. As 'Eeyore' came round a very loud happy birthday song started and DS started to panic. 'Eeyore' noticed, came over, and put his 'paws' over DS's ears.

If both of your girls have autism I would do it so you each take in one DD each and get a pass each, as although on the rides you could all get on using the one pass, in the parade viewing areas they were very strict of only letting in one additional person with the pass. If you had one for each DD you could all view the parade together. Take a DLA letter/ social services registered disabled person card/ diagnosis letter for each of them.

If you go to watch the Cars Motor Stunt show, this also has a special viewing area if you have the pass (as do the other shows in the studios park), pre-warn your DD's there will be some stunt fire near the end of the show, or be ready to reassure them. I didn't know about this in advance, DS panicked as it came up quite near the viewing area and he was really thrown by it!

Hmm... what else? The portions in the 50's diner are huge, share. There is a McDonalds if your kids want something safe and familiar but it's very busy, we bought and sat and ate it outside with space and fresh air. Pizza Planet has kind of a pizza hut style buffet. This was good for picky eaters, and had a play area so you can sit down for 5 mins watching while they burn off some steam. I took some ziplock plastic bags to breakfast for croissants, rolls, etc to snack on but I realise some aren't as shameless as me. I also took a bag of apples and some cereal bars from home - if your dds are picky eaters like my DS, then having some familiar food is reassuring.

We we went we loved Cafe Mikey. Kids loved it and to see their faces it was great, well worth the cost.

As for rides, buzz lightyear is great and some of the indoor shows were good. Stunt show is great.

Have a good time, you will love it.

Thank you, will get card for both girls, great hint.
Food is an issue, and thinking quieter places might be best but trying to work out which restaurants will take our meal
Vouchers.
Is breakfast cooked or cold?
Will take some food from home just in case, sandwich bags at the ready and a rucksack to put on back of dd2 SN buggy, which is huge

Everyone has said cafe Micky, are they included on vouchers?

Breakfast is cold. Fruit, cheeses, cold meat, bread, yoghurt.

oh no :( ok, better pack a few more foods ect. I just assumed it was same as england, eggs, toast, sausages ect.

There is toast - but no eggs/ sausages.

I think breakfasts depend on the hotel you are in. We stayed in sante fe which is one of the basic ones and only had the usual cold choices. Which are you staying in?

You will be glad of the SN buggy, DS wouldn't have managed it last year without his maclaren major to retreat into as we got through the crowds between each ride.

If you show your disability access pass (which you get from City hall- as mentioned earlier) to the cast members looking after the characters, you can ask to meet the characters after the meet and greets, so your daughters don't have to queue and can meet them without all the jostling.

Inventions in the Disneyland Hotel, has a much quieter character meal than Cafe Mickey, but it's also more expensive, but good because it's a buffet and there's somethign for everyone- langoustine, pate etc for the parents but pasta, pizza, chicken casserole, fish fingers, jelly etc for the children.

The other quiet restaurant was the seafood one at the Newport Bay. Again, fab kids buffet and a la carte menu for adults, no queues or crowds and plenty of space for kids who need to constantly move around/ spin on the spot, like my eldest who has Sensory processing Disorder/ dyspraxia and my youngest who has a a rare brain condition and needs space for his special needs buggy to be pushed around.

I would advise buying one of the Disneyland Paris DVDs on ebay and downloading the parade music, and play a few times before you go, so the girls know what to expect, so it makes the experience more familiar.

It is well worth buying your DDs an autograph book and pen, especially if you DDs are a little timid of the characters. It gave DS something to do when he met the characters, a predictable social interaction.

If you do remember to write their names in the space in the front. nothing beats the excitement of a personal dedication!!!!

The cold breakfasts are still sizable (and really yummy). Cafe Mickey is fabulous (so many memories) but personally we found breakfast too busy, (try somewhen like a 5.30 dinner). Colonel hatthis is great for fast food lunch in the main park. Blockbuster cafe is quieter in the studios (and sometime mickey or minnie turn up unannounced) but the food there is overpriced for what it is.

We love the studios park, leave plenty of time to do it properly. get a show and parade schedule early and plan your days around that, especially the studios park as it is very parade heavy. (cryptic emoticon) Hide when the hero falls off the motorbike and starts shooting to avoid the fire burning man bit! x

Lisad, which hotel are you at? Also you mention vouchers - have you done the half/full board vouchers?

Make sure you book restaurants for dinner in advance to get decent, child friendly timeslots. If you just turn up at best you will end up in a massive queue, at worst you will be turned away and asked to come back at 10pm!!

Cafe Mickey is a favourite with us, as is the steakhouse in Frontierland (Silver Spur I think). The Princess restaurant is lovely for a character lunch with girls - but very expensive.

Pack any Disney dressing up you have at home because they will want to dress up and the outfits are silly money there.

We have stayed at the Newport Bay and love it. Have a great time

Thanks great advice.
We are staying at Newport bay and half board

Lisad, if you check the websites yo will find out what restaurants are included in the voucher. I think you can use as part payment though and pay the balance.

I recall cafe mickey being very noisy and the characters can be quite playful and unpredictable - will DCs be ok with that?

If you check trip advisor there might be more info on the breakfasts at the Newport bay. I suspect you will be able to get a cooked breakfast.