Disneyland Paris - October 2015 - Trip Report - A Few Disappointments and A Lot of Stand Out Moments

Hey everyone. I hope you enjoyed reading my last trip report. As I said, it was great to get back into the habit of writing again as it's been a couple of months, but I'm definitely right into it again! Sadly, this is my final trip report from last years visit to Disneyland Paris. Don't worry though, I've got a lot more blogs on the way. As this is is a page about Disney Village, I will be writing more blogs about the Disney Village area itself.

This final trip report is about some disappointments we experienced on our trip last year. There aren't many of course and it's not all doom and gloom because this is also going to be about some of the big stand out moments for me on the trip. Enjoy!

A Few Disappointments 

Extra Magic Hours

Don't get me wrong, I think Extra Magic Hours are an amazing perk for anyone staying at the Disney hotels as they give you early access to one of the parks depending on the time of year. It's also a blessing because you can get in and pretty much be guaranteed to meet all of the main Disney characters before the large crowds come in. The reason I've put Extra Magic Hours as a disappointment is because there simply isn't enough of the park open for these hours. When we went, only Main Street USA, Discoveryland, and Fantasyland were open, and even in those parts, not all of the rides were open. I appreciate that you can get in early and meet the characters but if you're staying for more than a couple of days then you don't really want to do that every day. It's such a shame that Frontierland and Adventureland aren't open during these hours because they feature some of the parks best attractions like Big Thunder Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean for example. I personally think that if the areas are open for Extra Magic Hours then they should have all of the area's rides open. When we visited each morning, Star Tours was never open in Discoveryland, and neither was Autopia. In Fantasyland, only the Mad Hatter Tea Cups and Peter Pan's Flight were open. As I've said, I'm not knocking Extra Magic Hours in anyway, but I just think if you are staying for a little while like 5 days for example then you can get quite stuck for things to do during those two early hours. 

Please open this up early!

No Characters in Discoveryland

If you read my trip report about the characters then you'll know that we met a lot to say the least! We couldn't quite believe our luck with how many we met but one thing did bother me. Every part of the park, other than Discoveryland, had characters. Why not have any characters in Discoveryland? This is such a missed opportunity as you could have lots of different characters in this area. As it's space themed, you could have lots of characters dressed in space outfits. Take Star Tours for example, you could have lots of different Star Wars characters in this area. With the success of the new Star Wars film, hopefully Disney will add some Star Wars characters into Discoveryland. I'm sure many people would want to meet Star Wars characters, especially the likes of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Chewbacca. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for my honeymoon trip to Disneyland Paris next year that I'll get to meet at least one Star Wars character! 

We need some Star Wars characters!

Where's Sally?

Before going to Disneyland Paris last year, I asked a lot of members on different Disneyland Paris Facebook groups about what to expect at the parks during Halloween. Pretty much everyone I spoke to said that there would be a photo opportunity with not only Jack Skellington but also Sally, both from The Nightmare Before Christmas. We met Jack on his own during our trip in 2014. He was a great character to meet but I wasn't fussed about meeting him again on his own, but after being told Sally would be with him too, I couldn't wait to meet them both together. This wasn't to be though. Every morning we went to the meet and greet spot where Jack was and Sally was never there for each of our five days of the trip. I was so disappointed. Still, maybe next year! 

Where's your girlfriend gone, Jack?

Crush's Coaster

Now this one really did disappoint me on our 2015 visit. I honestly think Crush's Coaster is one of the best coasters to be found at any Disney park. The reason I had to put this as a disappointment this time though was because of the reasons I didn't actually get to ride it. It was open every day of our visit but one thing was missing, the Single Rider line not being open. I couldn't quite believe or understand this. Considering the queue for Crush's Coaster was well over two hours each day, you would expect them to keep open the Single Rider line, but they didn't. This is one of the only times where I've ever compared Disneyland Paris to Walt Disney World in Florida. There is no way they would keep a Single Rider line closed in Florida if a ride was so busy. I did ask the Cast Members at Walt Disney Studios why the line was closed each day and I got different responses such as staff shortages or simply it was just shut. I would say this ride is Walt Disney Studios' most popular ride so it really baffles me why the Single Rider line was closed each day. This isn't the first time it's happened though, in 2014, the Single Rider line was only open two days out of five. Bit of a strange one really.

Please open the Single Rider line!

Please Update Walt Disney Studios!

I love Walt Disney Studios. I'm a massive film fan so this place really appeals to me. It's very similar to Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida, but you shouldn't really compare them as the Paris park is much smaller. My biggest problem with Walt Disney Studios is the fact that some of it seems quite dated even though it's only 14 years old. Two attractions need a total makeover in my eyes. The two I'm referring to are the Studio Tram Tour and Armageddon. Although I enjoyed experiencing Armageddon for the first time on my 2015 trip, I did get the impression that I hadn't really missed much. Don't get me wrong, it's very impressive to witness the special effects right in front of you, but not that much really happens. I actually enjoyed the pre-show interaction more than the main event itself. I know from talking to others and reading comments online that the Armageddon special effects show is not particularly liked by many and a majority of people would like a new attraction in its place. I agree to be honest. While the special effects are good, there's not much story or anything that makes you leaving the show and wanting to experience it again. Also, the film Armageddon wasn't that amazingly successful and you don't really hear many people talk about it these days, kind of making the attraction seem quite dated. The Studio Tram Tour is also another attraction in need of big changes. It does look like the attraction will be getting a much needed refurbishment, thank god! It is still a good attraction, especially the Catastrophe Canyon scene. However, some of the big set pieces are very very dated. I mean yeah, the Reign of Fire film set of a ruined London looks very impressive, but be honest, how may people remember the film or have even seen it! Also, the large set from Dinotopia seems extremely out of place for some reason. Like Reign of Fire, I'm sure most people have never seen the Dinotopia series. Hopefully with the new refurbishment on the cards, we will possibly see these removed with some new set pieces. Fingers crossed!

Please give Walt Disney Studios some very much needed TLC!

Well that's the bad over and done with! Now onto the good stuff, my personal stand out moments from the trip!

Stand Out Moments

The California

Now I know what some of you are thinking. 'What's The California? I don't remember seeing that at Disney!' Well you didn't see it because it wasn't there. The California was actually the hotel we stayed at in London, the night before we got the Eurostar to Disneyland Paris from St Pancras Station. I've added this to my list of stand out moments because we were really surprised with the hotel. We had not stayed at The California before so were reserving our judgement before staying there, and we really were pleasantly surprised! The hotel was in such a good location, literally opposite St Pancras Station! The hotel had a lovely theme inside as well, the room was also very lovely themed and felt very welcoming. Staff were all lovely. I would highly recommend this hotel if you want to stay in London the night before you get your train to Disneyland Paris, or even if you're spending the night or having a break in London. You won't be disappointed.

The California, truly loved it.

Characters

As I mentioned earlier, we met so many characters on the trip that it was quite unbelievable! Two characters stood out for me though, Peter Pan and the Ugly Stepsisters. We waited to meet Peter Pan after a Cast Member told us he would be back in a couple of minutes. Most people walked away but we waited and were first in line. I have to say, the guy playing Peter Pan was so in character it was just like being in the film! I had quite a good little chat with him, including discussions about Pirates of the Caribbean. Smee was also standing with Peter Pan, although he didn't speak, he was still pretty funny too! Meeting the Ugly Stepsisters (Anastasia and Drizella) was a great experience! As it was Halloween season, there were photo opportunities with a lot of the villains, such as the Ugly Stepsisters, Gaston, and Jafar. It was a bit of a free for all with these photo opportunities as none of the characters had their own queue or anything. Anyway. Me and Laura were lucky enough to be at the front to meet the stepsisters and we took some great photos with them. They were both just hilarious and really into their characters. If there's one thing Disney does best, then it's hiring the right actors to play their characters!

Me with Smee and Peter Pan, best character experience of the trip!

Me with the quite wonderful Ugly Stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella.

Cast Members

Like the characters, I dedicated a whole trip report to the different Cast Members we met. They are all so lovely in Disneyland Paris. Sadly, people compare the Cast Members to the ones in the American parks and mention that they aren't as friendly, but I find this to be so untrue. We never met a rude Cast Member in Disneyland Paris. In all my trips of going I've never met a rude Cast Member! In my Cast Members trip report, I mentioned how many of them pointed out the shirts me and my partner were wearing which led to some good conversations. By far the nicest Cast Members we met were to be found in The Disney Gallery in Disney Village. I've never had better service from Cast Members anywhere! One thing I did on this trip that I had never done before was take photos with the Cast Members. They were all more than happy to have photos with me and they made for some really great photos. The best Cast Members for photos were the ones to be found at Pirates of the Caribbean. I love the costumes they wear there. One of the Cast Members I asked for a photo told me to wait a minute then he pulled a pistol out aiming at me which made for a quite hilarious photo, probably one of my favourites of the trip!

Loved this guy! 

Hotel Santa Fe

Again, this is another topic I dedicated a whole trip report to. Hotel Santa Fe was such an unexpected surprise to me, it probably made the holiday for me! A lot of people never speak about the Hotel Santa Fe when talking about the Disney hotels in Paris so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I totally fell in love with it the first time we walked to it past the Rio Grande river. I absolutely loved the theming here, like you're somewhere on America's famous Route 66. The Cast Members here were as exceptional as you'd expect anywhere in Disneyland Paris. All Cast Members made us both feel very welcome at all time, whether it be when we checked in and out or when having something to eat. Talking of eating, the Hotel Santa Fe has an absolutely fantastic buffet restaurant, La Cantina. This is where you also have your breakfast each morning. Breakfast here is your usual Continental fare, croissants and breads, that kind of thing. Dinnertime has a lot of options though, and we ended up eating here twice, using our Standard Half Board vouchers. The buffet is mostly Tex-Mex fare, like chicken, wraps, nachos, etc. We never felt that La Cantina was over crowded at any time like some people have been known to report. It was one of our favourite buffets of the trip. Even if we don't stay at the Hotel Santa Fe for our honeymoon, we'll definitely be paying it a visit for a meal and maybe a drink at the Rio Grande Bar, which I might add is probably one of the most relaxing and quiet of all the Disney hotel bars.

Right this way to the Hotel Santa Fe!

Animagique

There was such a good feeling when we watched Animagique on the trip. It was the first time either of us had seen it, quite surprising considering I've visited Disneyland Paris so many times before. We knew the show was most likely more for the kids, but we both came out like kids! I mean I act like a big kid during most of my time at Disneyland Paris, but Animagique was something quite special. I would say I don't want to ruin the show for you but I'm pretty sure most of you have seen it, and it is closing for good very soon, which came as a shock to me. The show features many classic Disney songs which me and Laura sang away to and some of the glow in the dark costumes and puppets were just amazing. It was a very impressive show to say the least. I can't believe it's closing down, typical as we only saw it for the first time last year and were looking forward to seeing it again. Hopefully they'll create a new show which is just as good or even better, although that would be very difficult considering how good Animagique is!

I'm such a big kid!

Meeting Jordi and Filip 

If you are unfamiliar with these two, then let me explain. Filip is the creator of the YouTube channel 'dlrpfans' and Jordi is the star of these videos, as well as hosting his own channel 'Mr Themeparkfans'. I've been watching their videos for almost two years, which started just before we went on our 2014 trip. I love watching videos of Disneyland Paris before I go there and stumbled onto Filip's channel. I couldn't believe how funny the videos were, especially Jordi and his antics! I added them as friends on Facebook before the 2015 trip and had some great discussions with them about Disneyland Paris and many other things. They're both great guys. I couldn't believe my luck though when they were both at Disneyland Paris at the same time as me. Obviously I couldn't resist meeting them and having a chat. It was great to meet them both, they're both really lovely guys, so passionate about Disneyland Paris as well. I had photos with them both then saw them a couple of times later on the trip. I felt like I had met Disney royalty! When I came back from holiday and started writing my trip reports, I also managed to write up interviews with Filip and Jordi, which you can read here: http://disneyvillagefans.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/interview-jordi-from-dlrpfans-youtube.html (interview with Jordi) and http://disneyvillagefans.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/interview-filip-creator-of-dlrpfans.html (interview with Filip)

Me with Filip and Jordi.

Well sadly that is the end of my trip reports from 2015. I hope you have all enjoyed reading these and I have genuinely enjoyed writing them all. Now I'll be writing some blogs about the history of Disney Village as well as some other things currently in the pipeline. Thanks again to all of you that have read my articles and kept this page going. It means a lot to me. Always happy to share my love for all things Disney.

No more trip reports from last year but there's plenty more to come. See you all soon!

Disneyland Paris - October 2015 - Trip Report - Shopping

Young Indiana Jones, I wish!

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a while since my last blog but I'm finally getting back into the swing of things again. This trip report is about all the shopping we did at Disneyland Paris on our last trip. There are so many shops to talk about so I'm going to go more into detail about some of my favourite shops in both the parks and all the things I bought. Enjoy!

My Purchases

I think it's fair to say that it isn't a trip to any Disney park without buying a bit of Disney merchandise, and oh my, I certainly did this time! Some people would argue that the merchandise at Disneyland Paris is overpriced but I would have to disagree. Okay, some things are a little bit too pricy, but a lot of things are very fairly priced. Let's be honest anyway, you don't expect everything at Disneyland Paris to be cheap do you!

A majority of my purchases this year were clothing, predominantly t-shirts. On our 2014 trip, I spotted quite a few t-shirts I liked but didn't buy any, so in 2015, I made sure I got them, but I think I went a bit overboard to be honest! All of the t-shirts I bought were attraction shirts. In the end I bought myself t-shirts from the following attractions:

1. Big Thunder Mountain
2. Phantom Manor
3. Star Tours
4. Rock N' Roller Coaster
5. Tower of Terror

As well as attraction t-shirts, I also bought myself a t-shirt featuring all of the Disneyland Paris hotel logos and also a Planet Hollywood logo t-shirt. I think 7 t-shirts was pretty good going! None of the shirts I bought were over 20 euros, making them really fairly priced in my opinion. There's still more I'd like to buy but that will have to wait for the next trip. You can never have too many as they say!

Perhaps my favourite thing I bought on the trip had to be my set of 12 attractions posters. They're absolutely stunning pieces of artwork and are now proudly decorating my bedroom's walls. I think they were an absolute bargain at 29.99 euros for 12 posters, not bad at all.

A few other things I bought included the 20th anniversary book. At 50 euros, I thought it was a bit expensive as the 25th anniversary isn't far off, and I'm sure there'll be a new book for that, but hey, I still wanted to buy it! It's an amazing book, discussing the history of Disneyland Paris from the early planning stages up until 2011. I have to be honest and say that I'm a sucker for these kind of books. I've just so fascinated by everything behind the scenes and all the effort that went into building the parks, as well as the hotel and of course my favourite area, Disney Village!

I treated myself to some lovely postcards of all the different lands in both parks as well as a souvenir guide book. It may seem silly buying things like guide books when I know the parks like the back of my hand, but hey, I just can't resist!

One really cool thing I did buy was a Tower of Terror style 'Do Not Disturb' sign to hang on my bedroom door. I was very tempted to hang it on my hotel room door at the Hotel Santa Fe! I also treated myself to a little fridge magnet with all the hotel logos on it, very similar to the design on the hotels t-shirt I bought.

Favourite Shops

Considering the amount of times I've been to Disneyland Paris now, I think it's safe to say that I've visited every shop in both of the parks and all the hotels and Disney Village. With so many to choose from, it's hard to pick just one favourite, so here's my little personal guide to my favourite shops and maybe some advice if you have never been before.

My favourite shop changes almost weekly when I think about the reasons why I like it, but I would probably have to go for the fantastic World of Disney store, which is situated just outside the entrance of Disney Village. This really is the best of the best when it comes to shopping Disney style. You will find everything in here from cuddly toys to household items for everyone, not forgetting a Disney themed bowl for the dog! What I like about the World of Disney is the range of products available. You'll also find some very good deals in here, which is always handy! As I mentioned, some of the household items in the store are amazing. I've bought myself some very nice Disney drink glasses here in the past. One of the things about the World of Disney store that most fans love is it's amazing decor. The building is truly a beauty and inside it has some amazing artwork surrounding the walls. There's also a seating area for those tired little ones or even the occasional bored husband who has had enough Disney for the day! Like all other stores in the Disney Village area, the World of Disney is open until 12am on most nights, which is handy if you want to do some late night shopping. One thing I will say though, this place is always very very busy, so there is never a really good time to go when it's quiet. I assure any of you that have never been here, you will NOT be disappointed.

World of Disney, it really is a unique shopping experience!

Another one of my favourite shops, which may surprise some of you, is the Planet Hollywood shop, known in French as the Boutique Planet Hollywood. This one is also located in Disney Village just at the entrance. I said this may surprise some people because as some people will know, it's probably one of the smallest shops in Disney Village as well as both of the parks. Now I think about it, it probably is the smallest shop! Anyway, the reason I love this shop is because I love all of the Planet Hollywood merchandise inside. Planet Hollywood has always been one of my favourite restaurant chains over the world, and if you read my trip report about food, then you'll know Planet Hollywood is my favourite restaurant in all of Disneyland Paris. I've bought some very nice Planet Hollywood cocktail glasses here as well as shirts featuring the iconic Planet Hollywood logo. People seem to love or hate the place, I certainly love it. At the end of the day, you won't be spending ages in here, so just have a quick look around. It's worth a look inside even if you're not a fan of the restaurant.

Boutique Planet Hollywood, at the bottom right. 

I suppose this one is really tied as my favourite with World of Disney, but The Disney Gallery is an absolute must! I have never met kinder Cast Members than the ones found in The Disney Gallery. The staff were so friendly and talkative each time we visited. I think this is probably the most beautiful shop in all of the Disneyland Paris complex. Not because of it's building design but for it's products. As the name says, this is a gallery of all things Disney. There are so many beautiful paintings here that you wish you could be a millionaire to buy them all. Don't worry though, there's lots of things here that we can all afford. This is the shop where I bought my attractions posters set. One very good thing about The Disney Gallery is that it is the only shop in Disney Village where you can print off your photos using your PhotoPass card. We used the shop a couple of times on our last visit to print off some photos on our PhotoPass card. The staff gave us all the time we needed to look at each photo and chose which ones we wanted. We never felt rushed despite there being a queue behind us. It really is a nice shop and one thing that makes it stand out is that it has a more adult feel to it and you don't tend to find many children here so it makes it more relaxing and quiet. I think you'll be impressed with this one for sure!

I suppose I should really talk about my favourite shops inside of the parks! In the Disneyland Park, I don't have a stand out favourite but I do love the Star Traders shop outside the exit of the Star Tours attraction. I'm a massive Star Wars fan, so this is place is heaven to me! There's everything you could ever wish for inside if you're a Star Wars fan, toy laser guns, costumes, and plenty of lightsabers! Another shop I really like (and I never knew the name of it until I just researched it) is Thunder Mesa Mercantile Building. This is situated in Frontierland, just opposite Big Thunder Mountain. In here you'll find a wide range of Wild West themed products as well as a large section of household items.

Star Traders.

In Walt Disney Studios, there are far less shops being a smaller park, but I would say my favourite shop would have to be the Walt Disney Studios Store. There are a lot of film related products in here and also some rare cuddly toys. We spent a lot of our trip trying to find a cuddly toy Gus Gus from Cinderella and eventually found one in the Walt Disney Studios Store, having expected to find one in the Disneyland Park. I would also say that there is much more adult merchandise in Walt Disney Studios compared to the Disneyland Park. Walt Disney Studios Store is situated on the Front Lot just as you enter the park, so you can't miss it. You'll normally see some characters meeting guests as well, so get your cameras ready! Tower of Terror and Rock N' Roller Coaster also have some really neat shops, so be sure to check them out.

The Front Lot, welcome to the magic of cinema!

Other than shopping at the parks and Disney Village you can also find a gift shop in all of the Disney hotels. I've visited every hotel to look at all the gift shops and they're all impressive. I couldn't choose a favourite. Galerie Mickey at the Disneyland Hotel is probably the most spectacular of them all. This is another good place to find household items. I think the New York Boutique at the Hotel New York has a lot of merchandise considering how small it is.

Just to finish, one thing that I recommend you all do once on your trip (if you have some spare time) is to walk around all of the Disney hotels and have a look in all of the gift shops. It's quite nice and relaxing in the evening to have a walk around the lake and look at all the hotels. It's also nice to just admire the beauty of all the hotels and all the craft that went into making them.

Thank you for reading this trip report. It's been great to write one again after such a long time. Hope you've all enjoyed reading this and I promise you there will be many more to come!

Time to sit down and relax after a long day of Disney shopping!

Disneyland Paris - October 2015 - Trip Report - Food

Now it wouldn't be a trip to Disneyland Paris without trying any of the wonderful food on offer! I've already mentioned in previous articles about where we eat on our recent trip in October, so I'll be including some reviews for those places as well as telling you about some of the different places you can find food in the parks as well as in Disney Village, and also some of the places where we just enjoyed a drink. I'll also tell you a little bit about how you can use some of the food offers which may be included as part of your Disneyland Paris hotel package. I feel like I haven't written one of my trip reports for a while, so it's nice to get back into the swing of things!

Our trip this October was my first time using any of the Disney hotel food offers. When our holiday was booked we were lucky to have the Standard Half Board meal plan as part of our package. This was great because it would save us extra money on food each day. Another good thing about booking this was that we could both decide on where we would like to use the meal vouchers. I can't tell you exciting it was to look online at all the different places we could eat. Even though I've stayed at some of the hotels before and eaten breakfast in the restaurants, I had never had another meal in them. We wrote a list beforehand of where we wanted to use our meal vouchers and although I've lost that list, I'm pretty sure we eat at all the places we wanted to! We were still planning on where we wanted to eat while on the Eurostar journey to Disneyland Paris! 

La Grange at Billy Bob's Country Western Saloon, Disney Village

Our first meal was at La Grange, which is situated above Billy Bob's Country Western Saloon. Surprisingly being an avid Disney Village fan, I had never stepped foot inside Billy Bob's until this trip. The theming inside the bar downstairs was fantastic. Just like the name, Billy Bob's is themed like a saloon bar right out of the Wild West. La Grange is upstairs and features the same theming found downstairs. We presented our meal vouchers, ordered our drinks, then were shown to our table. I think it's fair to say we made a wise choice choosing this as our first food destination, because the food was delicious! There was a great mix of food, mostly barbecued meats and other Tex-Mex style food, similar to the choices at La Cantina at the Hotel Santa Fe. We were pleasantly surprised by this place, but then again, you don't expect poor food anywhere on a Disney site! My only disappointment with La Grange was the desserts on offer, I personally thought there could have been other choices. Still though, it was very enjoyable! After filling ourselves up, we left in good spirits, then headed back to the Disneyland Park to watch the first Dreams show of our trip. 

Rating: 7/10

La Grange is situated just above Billy Bob's. 

Rio Grande Bar, Hotel Santa Fe

After a very tiring first day, we just wanted to settle down after packing our bags and enjoy a nice cold drink! Instead of buying a bottle of drink in the hotel gift shop, we decided to treat ourselves and go to the Rio Grande Bar. Having never been there before, we really enjoyed it. Okay, it might not have very elaborate theming compared to some of the other Disney hotel bars, but it was still nice, and quite peaceful too. The bar was also showing the Rugby World Cup, which kept a lot of the guests occupied! We didn't visit the bar other than our first night, but we did enjoy it there, and I would definitely go back there on my next trip for a drink.

Rating: 6/10

Enjoy a peaceful drink at the Rio Grande Bar.

La Cantina, Hotel Santa Fe

Our first full day at Disneyland Paris began at our hotel's own restaurant, La Cantina. I had heard negative reviews about this place before we went, but I never really listen to them as I prefer to judge for myself, and I'm glad I did, because we loved it! The setting at La Cantina was great, it was like being in a roadside service station on Route 66, not surprising as the hotel is heavily themed after the famous Route 66 in America and the Cars films. Continental breakfast was on offer each morning, which suited me and my fiancee just fine. I've always thought that it's important to get a good breakfast at Disneyland Paris as it sets you up for the busy days ahead, so we certainly filled ourselves up each morning!

Breakfast wasn't the only times we visited La Cantina, we also eat there twice for dinner. We visited La Cantina for dinner on our second night and fourth and final night. I was interested to see what would be on choice at the buffet as it's not one of the ones that a lot of people mention when talking about the hotel buffets at Disneyland Paris. Just like in La Grange, we presented our dinner vouchers, then ordered our drinks and sat down at a table of our choice. One of the good things with La Cantina is the fact that you can choose to sit where you like. We were really pleasantly surprised with how good it was, hence why we eat there a second time! The food on offer for dinner service is a Tex-Mex style buffet, but there are plenty of other options. I enjoyed the tasty meats on offer, including spicy chicken, as well as roast gammon. As my other half would tell you, I love making wraps wherever I can, and this restaurant was no exception. I cut up a lot of the meat and put it in the wraps, as well as some grated cheese of course! Talking of cheese, one of my favourite things at La Cantina, was the fact that they offered the American style hot cheese sauce, perfect for nachos topping, and I certainly enjoyed a lot of it! The desserts on offer here were absolutely incredible! There were so many different cakes, yoghurts, mousses, fruit, just everything you could ever wish for when it comes to puddings. I honestly think that La Cantina doesn't get the credit it is definitely due. I personally think it's one of the best buffets I've ever had. After two lovely evening meals, I can honestly say that it is one of my favourite places to eat when at Disneyland Paris. Even if we don't end up staying at the Hotel Santa Fe on our next trip, we'll definitely be visiting La Cantina, that's a certainty!

Rating: 9/10

Breakfast out of a truck, quite a novelty!

Hunter's Grill, Sequoia Lodge Hotel

This was one of the hotel buffet restaurants that I had always wanted to visit. We decided to head to the Hunter's Grill at the Sequoia Lodge on our third night in Disneyland Paris. Although it wasn't listed as one of the restaurants on our meal plan, we could still eat there and use the meal vouchers to pay the difference, which wasn't that much. After enjoying another nice day in the parks, we went to change our clothes at our hotel, then headed towards the Sequoia Lodge. We had a table booked for the Hunter's Grill at 6pm when it opened. We queued up with some fellow Brits, who we had a nice chat with. After presenting our meal vouchers, we were seated by our waiter, I can't remember his name, but he was definitely one of the best waiters we had while dining anywhere on this trip. After ordering our drinks, we went up to the buffet, and stuffed ourselves silly! Okay, we weren't quite that bad! We did eat a lot of food though. Now the strange thing with Hunter's Grill is that I wasn't overly impressed with it. I liked it, but I felt it was lacking something. It was one of them sort of places where I thought to myself 'what is all the fuss about?' Don't get me wrong, the food was very lovely, and you could tell that some of the food (meats in particular) were better quality than some of the food at the other buffets. I was expecting a bigger buffet in all honesty. I actually thought it was one of the smallest buffets I'd seen at Disneyland Paris, but then again it makes up for it with the nice quality food. The theming wasn't anything special, I would even say that the theming at La Cantina and La Grange was better. This is my own personal opinion of course, and then again, the food is what matters most! At the end of the day though, we did enjoy our meal at Hunter's Grill, and would probably visit there again.

Rating: 7/10

Hunter's Grill is just inside the Sequoia Lodge on the right.

Planet Hollywood

If you have read any of my other blogs, then you will be well aware that Planet Hollywood is my favourite restaurant in Disney Village. I've always had a fondness for the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain, which stretches back to as far as I can remember. I still have fond memories of visiting Planet Hollywood at Gatwick Airport, which sadly closed quite a few years ago now. I used to love the original Planet Hollywood in London, which has now moved, and changed quite a bit. My favourite Planet Hollywood restaurant (well other than the one at Disneyland Paris) is definitely the one at Downtown Disney in Florida. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this was the first one that I ever visited. It is very similar in appearance to the Disney Village Planet Hollywood. Anyway, I should really talk about the one in Disney Village shouldn't I! Well what I love about the Disney Village Planet Hollywood is pretty much everything, and I mean everything! I love the theming, the food, the service, just everything! Being an absolute film fanatic, this is where I feel at home. I love all of the film props inside the restaurant. It's quite fun trying to guess which films they are from, although I like to think I know a lot of them! This is a great place for families to eat. The menu is primarily American style food, not surprising as it is originally an American chain, partly owned by the likes of Arnold Shwarzennegger and Sylvester Stallone. Planet Hollywood is known for it's tasty burgers. While I haven't eaten one of their burgers for years, my other half Laura has done.

On our trip this year, we decided to go here for my birthday meal, which was also our last day in Disneyland Paris. We came in for the lunch service, and it was pretty quiet, but then again, the parks were quite quiet as well. One of the things that always makes me laugh about Planet Hollywood in Disney Village is that I always get sat near other Brits. I'm not quite sure why this is but my guess would be that it's because they have waiting staff who have better English speaking skills working in that part of the restaurant. As it was my birthday, I thought I would treat myself to a white chocolate milkshake. Words cannot even describe how fantastic it tasted! I've never quite had a milkshake like it, it was just amazing! For my meal, I had the penne chicken broccoli, minus the broccoli! This has been a favourite dish of mine at Planet Hollywood restaurants for a long time now. It always tastes great, and this year was no exception. As I mentioned, Laura had one of the Planet Hollywood burgers, and as she wasn't talking, I knew she was enjoying it, because Laura doesn't tend to talk when she is enjoying her food! It was a very enjoyable meal as it always is at Planet Hollywood.

One thing that always gets to me about Planet Hollywood in Disney Village is the fact that a lot of people simply don't like it and tend to bash it a bit. I'll always defend it, but that's probably because I've been a fan for years. I cannot understand the hatred some people have for this place. Some people say it's dated, but I think the theming works, especially all the film props. The food is also very good, I've honestly never had a problem with food at any Planet Hollywood restaurant. Quite simply, I love this place, and our recent meal was very enjoyable here.

Rating: 10/10

Love Love Love this place!

The Sports Bar, Disney Village

Now we didn't eat here on our October trip or our trip last year but we did visit the bar for a couple of drinks. I personally think that the Sports Bar is a true gem in Disney Village, and not enough people visit it. Okay there may be a more adult vibe here as it is primarily a bar, but it is still very family friendly, and I've seen many families have a quiet drink here to relax after a busy day. There are many drinks on offer here, and it's probably the best place in the Disneyland Paris resort to grab a beer if that's what you fancy! As the name suggests, many live sports are shown on all the television screens inside the bar. There is also a very large screen on the wall opposite the outside seating area. This is one of the places in Disney Village where you're most likely to find fellow Brits. On our trip this year, we visited the Sports Bar twice. Both times were only for drinks, but they were at completely different times. The first time we visited was in the early afternoon, and it was very quiet inside. The bar staff were very efficient and friendly. The next day we came back here in the evening. We hadn't planned to visit again, but when I noticed one of the screens was broadcasting a Liverpool match, I couldn't resist watching my boys and having a pint of beer! I felt like a typical Brit on holiday, watching football and drinking a pint! I have to say there was a very goof atmosphere that evening. We visited during the Rugby World Cup, and the French match was on at the same time as the Liverpool game, so you can imagine how loud and passionate all the French were! It was a really good night!

Although we didn't eat on this trip or the previous trip, I have eaten here a couple of times before, and the food is very good. It's pretty much your typical American burgers and hotdogs fare, although being in Disney, it's better than average! I highly recommend a visit to the Sports Bar, whether it's to grab a quite bite to eat, or just a drink. 

8/10

Enjoy a beer while watching live sport here.

Rainforest Cafe, Disney Village

Now I just had to include this one in a Disneyland Paris food blog! We didn't actually visit the Rainforest Cafe on our October trip (although we visited the restaurant shop) but we did eat there last year, and I have on other trips too. As with Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Cafe is a worldwide food chain, and it's another one associated with Disney. Like Downtown Disney in Florida has Planet Hollywood, it also has a Rainforest Cafe. When talking about Planet Hollywood, I mentioned how they have one in London. Funnily enough, there is also a Rainforest Cafe in London, literally just a five minute walk away from each other! Anyway, enough of me rambling on about London, time to talk about the Disney Village restaurant!

The theming inside the Rainforest Cafe is just like something out of a Disney attraction! As soon as you enter through the entrance, you have animals above your head which move about. To get to the restaurant, you have to walk through the shop first, which is pretty amazing in itself. Although most of the animals inside the restaurant are animatronics, there are also some pretty big tanks with very beautiful and exotic fish. A bit like Planet Hollywood, the menu here is very American in style. My other half Laura enjoyed a burger while I enjoyed a pasta dish with a rather cool name 'Rasta Pasta!' We really enjoyed our meal here, which wasn't surprising as I've always enjoyed my meals at all of the Rainforest Cafe's I've been to. If you have the chance to dine here, then go for it, you won't be disappointed!

Rating: 9/10

Even the theming outside is impressive here!

Plaza Gardens, Disneyland Park

Plaza Gardens has got to be the best place to eat in the Disneyland Park. Other than my favourite La Cantina, I would argue that Plaza Gardens is the best buffet restaurant in the whole Disneyland Paris resort. Sadly we couldn't eat in Plaza Gardens on our October trip because it was going through a refurbishment, but we did eat there for the first time last year. This was our first time eating at a Disney buffet and I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but quite honest, I was pleasantly surprised and loved it! I couldn't believe the wide range of food on offer here. There was literally everything you could think of! Meats, pastas, salads, breads, cheeses, desserts, everything! The theming inside was quite reminiscent of the Victorian era, similar to inside the Disneyland Hotel. It was very busy when we visited last year, and it was obvious to see why, with all the wonderful food on offer.

Rating: 8/10

Casey's Corner, Disneyland Park

Casey's Corner is a favourite of many Disneyland Paris fans, and it's very clear to see why. Casey's is very popular for it's famous hot dogs, which I personally love! There are also some other options like chicken nuggets and fries. One of the best things about this place is definitely the location of it. While there is seating inside, there is also seating outside, which many people take advantage of for viewing the evening Dreams show. Casey's Corner is a great place to grab something quick to eat, or something you can enjoy while strolling around the parks. We eat at Casey's a couple of times last year, but on our October trip, we used Casey's as part of our Pause Gourmande (Tea Time Treat) deal, and enjoyed it. One thing I will say though is expect to queue here. I've never seen Casey's Corner quiet, there are always large crowds there. The seating is also very limited, so consider yourself lucky if you manage to get a seat there!

Rating: 6/10

A standard pose for me outside Casey's Corner.

Meal Vouchers/Dining Plan

To finish, I would just like to let you know about our experience with the Disney Meal Plan. When booking our trip for October this year, we were lucky to have the Meal Plan included without any extra charge. We were given the Standard Half Board meal plan, which allowed us both to enjoy one meal per a day at any of the restaurants included. As I mentioned in the little restaurant reviews above, we used the meal plan at La Cantina, La Grange, and Hunter's Grill. It really is simple to use these vouchers. All you have to do is present the vouchers when you enter the restaurants, then your free to enjoy your meal, it's really as simple as that! Like we did at the Hunter's Grill, you can also use the vouchers at other restaurants available on more expensive meal plans, and all you have to do is pay the difference.

Again, I'd like to apologise for the delay in publishing this trip report. It's been a long time, but hopefully you've enjoyed reading this and it's been worth the wait! Thank you again for taking the time to read this, really means a lot to me.

I would also like to pay my respects to all of those who sadly passed away in the Paris tragedies last Friday. It was truly horrible, and I would like to send a prayer to every one of them souls, now resting up in heaven.

Keep sharing the Disney Village Paris love!

Disneyland Paris - October 2015 - Trip Report - Cast Members

For anyone unaware, the staff at Disneyland Paris are known as Cast Members. This applies to all Disney parks staff around the world. Each Cast Member plays a valuable role in ensuring all guests have a magical experience, and the Cast Members at Disneyland Paris are no different. There has been some bad press about the quality of service provided from the Cast Members at Disneyland Paris, but this is so untrue. I will admit, on previous trips, some of the Cast Members hadn't been overly friendly compared to the ones in Florida, but on our last two trips in November last year and October this year, the Cast Members were absolutely exceptional! Dare I say it, but the Cast Members in Paris were even better than the ones in Florida!

I have had the privilege of visiting Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Paris, and I love both parks for various reasons. As I mentioned, Cast Members always play a vital role in ensuring a good experience while on site at any Disney property, whether it be a park or hotel. The Americans may be more renowned for their over friendliness compared to the French, but this really wasn't the case on our last two trips to Disneyland Paris. I would honestly say that the trip this year in particular had the best staff service I've ever had from Cast Members. There were a number of reasons for why the Cast Members were so brilliant, but I would have to say it was mostly down to their friendliness.

Phantom Manor Cast Members, love the dapper purple suit!

On trips to Walt Disney World, I've worn many different Disney t-shirts, but I've never had any Cast Members point them out or make conversation about them. On our trip to Disneyland Paris in October though, we had quite a few conversations with Cast Members about clothing. On our first and last day on the trip, I wore a Frozen t-shirt with Oaken and his saying "Yoo-hoo! Big Summer blowout!" On our first day while waiting for the Magic on Parade show to start, one of the Cast Members kept looking at me and I though to myself 'What's she looking at me for?' then all of a sudden she goes "YOO-HOO! I love your shirt!" I said thank you and couldn't stop laughing! It wasn't a bad impression from her in all fairness. A couple of other Cast Members pointed out the shirt and smiled as well as a little girl on our Eurostar train home, bless her. My other half Laura also had some interactions with Cast Members in relation to her Disney t-shirts. One Cast Member at the Pirates of the Caribbean boarding area pointed out Laura's Little Mermaid t-shirt and said how she loved the film. Another day and another Little Mermaid shirt, one Cast Member noticed the shirt, which read 'I'm a real Mermaid' and she asked Laura whether she really was. Playing along Laura said yes of course, and the Cast Member said how she loved the film too. A lot of Little Mermaid fans at Disneyland Paris it seemed!

Yoo-hoo! Have to love that shirt!

Considering the Cast Members are mostly French, their English speaking skills were mostly impeccable! I think there must have only been a couple who could only speak basic English but most of them were fluent in the language. I can't speak a lot of French but I have always said that I think it's important that us English visitors make an attempt to learn some basic French words, I mean it doesn't take much to say thank you in their own language does it! I've always found that the staff always appreciate it when you try to speak their language, even if you get it completely wrong. Some people are put off visiting Disneyland Paris by the fact that the Cast Members are French speakers, but it really isn't anything to worry about, as like I said, most are fluent in English.

Even Pirates like having their photos taken y'know!

One of the things I love most about the Cast Members are the fantastic costumes that they wear. As we all know, Disney is well known for theming, and this includes the Cast Members. All Cast Members have their own costumes depending on which land in the parks they are working at. Many of the Cast Members will wear costumes corresponding to the attractions they are working on. One such example is Pirates of the Caribbean where all the staff wear various different pirate guises. Pirates of the Caribbean is my favourite attraction in the Disneyland Park, and I think the Cast Members add to the amazing experience of the attraction. Phantom Manor is also another attraction where the Cast Members play a vital role, and oh my, they certainly look the part! Every Cast Member is made to feel equal and this is evident by their amazing costumes, even the cleaners look amazing! As I love the Cast Members so much, I asked some of them if they would mind posing for photographs, and they were all more than happy to do so. I have to say the best Cast Member was the guy at Pirates of the Caribbean who after I asked for a photo, said 'Hold on wait a second!' then took out a pistol for the photo. Loved it!

Beware of the Pirates!

It would be quite hard to say which places in the Disneyland Paris complex had the best Cast Members as there were so many, but these would be my pick of the bunch:

Hotel Santa Fe

If you haven't already read my Hotel Santa Fe trip report (http://disneyvillagefans.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/disneyland-paris-october-2015-trip.html) then I must tell you, this hotel had it all for me. I have previously stayed at the Sequoia Lodge, Newport Bay Club, and Hotel New York, so I was very excited to stay at the Hotel Santa Fe for the first time this year. It didn't disappoint! While the theming may not be as grand as some of the other hotels, it makes up for it with other things. One such thing is the brilliant Cast Members, particularly the reception staff. We didn't check into the hotel until late on our first day as we enjoyed as much as we could in the park after arriving on the Eurostar. After walking to the hotel through Disney Village and along the river, we went to the reception, and were greeted by some very lovely staff which gave us our room key card and also our suitcases as we had used the Disney Express service. Our keycard didn't work the first time, but Cast Members helped change my card straight away. The Cast Members on the reception desk were very friendly and provided exceptional service. I also met a lovely Cast Member inside the hotel's gift shop who was very friendly and talkative. The barman we met on the first night was also very friendly. I know I've used the word 'friendly' a lot in this article so far, but the Cast Members really were that friendly, and I think they deserve a lot of credit, which isn't always given.

Thunder Mountain Mercantile Building

This shop in Frontierland provided one of my favourite Cast Member experiences of the trip. When paying for my brilliant Phantom Manor t-shirt, I met a lovely French Cast Member, and sadly, I cannot remember his name. His English was pretty good although he wasn't fluent. We had a great conversation, mostly about me being from England. The Cast Member went on to say how he visited England once, staying in Hastings of all places! I know almost every Cast Member can speak English but the fact this one had stayed in England and liked our culture made it a great conversation, and a memorable one at that. Even though I make the effort to speak a little bit of French, it's nice that the Cast Members make an effort to speak English, even the ones which struggle with the language.

Disney Gallery

This has to be one of the best shops not just in the Disney Village area, but in the whole Disneyland Paris complex. Disney is of course famous for animation, so it's only natural for their to be a shop devoted to Disney art, and the Disney Gallery is just that, although it's so much better. There are so many beautiful things to buy in this shop that you could quite easily break the bank! I had quite a bit of spending money on my recent trip but I even had to limit myself in this shop. They sell so many beautiful ornaments of Disney characters, as well as some beautiful canvases. I did treat myself to a set of 12 attraction posters which I thought were an absolute bargain for 29.99 euros! I'm still deciding what I should do with them, maybe make my own Disney gallery on our bedroom wall. Aside from the beautiful things to buy, you can also use the Disney PhotoPass system there. We had a couple of PhotoPass cards which we wanted to use to print off some photos of meet and greets, so we decided to do it in the Disney Gallery. The lady who helped us was absolutely brilliant. We took our time to decide which photos we wanted and she didn't make us feel rushed or anything. She was so helpful and very pleasant. We also met a few other Cast Members in the shop, all very polite and welcoming. All the shops had lovely Cast Members, but the Disney Gallery would be my pick of the bunch.

Hunters Grill, Sequoia Lodge

We enjoyed using our Standard Half Board meal vouchers for dinner each evening and met some very lovely staff at all of the restaurants, however, the Cast Members at the Hunters Grill restaurant really stood out for me. Hunters Grill was not included in our meal plan, but we could pay the different using our vouchers, so we decided to treat ourselves on the third night. Our waiter was so polite to us and made us feel so welcome, it was just such an enjoyable experience. To be honest, Hunters Grill has the best reviews out of all the Disney hotel buffets, but I didn't think it was any better than some of the others. You could tell some of the meats and fish were much better quality though. I will be sure to write a review for the Hunters Grill, as well as everywhere else we eat.

Overall, the Cast Members were so brilliant this trip that they were probably one of the things which I most remember from the trip. We can't wait to go back to the resort and hopefully meet some of the same Cast Members! The Cast Members at Disneyland Paris really deserve a lot of praise. Thank you to each and every one of them for making our holiday so magical!

Now this guy could definitely looked the part!

Disneyland Paris - October 2015 - Trip Report - Hotel Santa Fe

Welcome to our room!

I'm very lucky to say that on previous trips to Disneyland Paris I have stayed at the Sequoia Lodge many times and also the Hotel New York and Newport Bay Club both on one occasion. It's safe to say that the Sequoia Lodge is a favourite of mine, but I love the other two hotels as well. When booking our October trip, we went for something different and decided to stay at the Hotel Santa Fe. I knew the Hotel Santa Fe is considered as one of Disney's lower budget hotels, but I was more than happy to give it a try, having never stayed there before. In all honesty, I was really looking forward to staying at the hotel. 

Welcome to the Hotel Santa Fe!

As part of our holiday package, we booked the Disney Express service, which allowed us to send our bags to the hotel and then head straight into the parks. After arriving early in the afternoon, we sent our bags on their way to the Hotel Santa Fe and spent a couple of hours in both parks then headed into Disney Village to get something to eat at the La Grange buffet above Billy Bob's. We enjoyed our meal and decided to head back into the Disneyland Park to watch Dreams. After Dreams, we finally decided to head to the hotel. We enjoyed a walk through Disney Village and down the Rio Grande river to the Hotel Santa Fe. Having never stayed at the hotel before, it was very easy to find. First impressions were very good. Many people say the theming is very lacklustre at the Hotel Santa Fe, but I totally disagree. This is no ordinary budget hotel! The hotel is themed around New Mexico with many references to the famous Route 66. The hotel has very recently had a big refurbishment and has been slightly re-themed to add some references to the 'Cars' film series. We checked into the reception area at not lone after 10pm. We then picked up our suitcases and made our way to our room. We were in one of the 'Sally' blocks. Considering some of the negativity about the hotel, I couldn't believe how lovely the room was. Waiting for me was a message saying "Welcome Mr Michael Lambert" and I thought 'thank you very much, it's good to be back home!' The rooms feature some references to the 'Cars' films. I particularly loved the traffic cone lights above the beds, thought they were a really nice touch. After inspecting the room and finally settling down for our first sleep, I thought to myself how wrong some people are about this hotel. Yes, the other hotels might have slightly better theming, but this hotel is by no means, a lower quality alternative. 

Follow the sign!

I didn't sleep particularly well the first night, but I put that down to the excitement of my first full day in Disneyland Paris! The first day provided us with our first trip to La Cantina, the Hotel Santa Fe's buffet restaurant. We made our way to La Cantina at 7am in the morning for breakfast. I quite liked the theming inside the restaurant, it was a bit like being in an American highway gas station. 7am might sound like a crazy time to be up on holiday, but we wanted to eat nice and early and be at the parks for the Extra Magic Hours opening at 8am, one of the best perks about staying at a Disney hotel! The breakfast was continental, but a very nice selection. I stuffed myself away with cheese filled rolls, very tasty! We made sure to fill ourselves up each morning at breakfast as we would not be eating again until the evenings. 

I'd never seen so many bread rolls and croissants in my life!

Other than breakfast each morning, we returned to La Cantina two more times for dinner. The first time we had dinner at La Cantina was the second night of our stay. With the standard half board dining plan, we had the choice of many different buffets, including our own hotel's buffet. We decided to give La Cantina a try as we liked the layout from breakfast and also thought the Tex-Mex food selection was very tempting. After enjoying our first full day in the park, we came back to the room to change for the evening, then headed over to La Cantina for 6pm. That was opening time for dinner service and there wasn't many people waiting for it to open, but then again, it wasn't really crowded anywhere in the whole Disneyland Paris complex. At La Cantina, you order your drinks, then pick them up at the bar. Then you can choose to sit at a table of your choice. We went up in turns to pick our food from the buffet. We were both really impressed with the food on offer. I love making wraps, so was delighted to find some wraps and hot spicy chicken, that was me sorted! Much to my delight they also had a lovely hot cheese sauce, just like what you get in America, so I was in heaven with that all poured over some nachos! The dessert choice was also very impressive. They had cakes of all sorts, ice creams, mousses, so many different things to choose from. Overall, we were quite honestly, pleasantly surprised! We loved it so much that we decided to eat there again on our last night in Disneyland Paris. Both evening meals at La Cantina were very enjoyable!

Cheesy nachos, I'm in heaven!

As with every other Disneyland Paris hotel, Hotel Santa Fe has it's very own bar, the Rio Grande Bar. We only visited this on the first night of our stay because we were so tired that we just wanted to check into our room and relax in the bar with a nice cold drink. I would probably say in terms of theming, the Rio Grande Bar isn't the most extravagant when you compare it to, say, the Redwood Bar at the Sequoia Lodge, or Cafe Fantasia at the Disneyland Hotel. Still, we enjoyed a bit of relaxation which was much needed on our first night! 

Have a quiet drink at the Rio Grande Bar.

As I mentioned earlier, we liked to get up early each morning for breakfast so we could get to the parks for 8am. What I enjoyed most about walking to the parks early in the morning was the fact that we had a nice little walk past the river and through Disney Village before getting to the parks. At that early time, not many people were around, so I managed to get quite a few photos of Disney Village without too many people around. 

Up bright and early and off to the parks!

I'll be writing a full report about the cast members on our trip, but I will say now, that all the cast members we encountered at the Hotel Santa Fe were very lovely and courteous. We were made very welcome when we arrived late at the hotel on our first night. Being an English speaker, I always make an attempt to speak a little bit of French, and the staff at the hotel really seemed to appreciate it. The most notable staff at the hotel (I honestly cannot remember their names) were definitely the two people that helped me check in and also sort out our room keycard, as it didn't work the first time we used it. 

Thank you to all the wonderful reception staff!

I can honestly say that the Hotel Santa Fe highly succeeded my expectations. As much as I love the other hotels I've already stayed at previously, I would definitely stay at the Hotel Santa Fe on my next visit. I loved pretty much everything about it. Our room was amazing, the buffet was brilliant, and staff exceptional. Brilliant hotel!

Goodbye Hotel Santa Fe, but don't worry, we'll be back!