Candyfloss & Dreams

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Golden Forest Club – Sequoia Lodge Hotel Review Disneyland Paris

If you are either shortly on holiday to Disneyland Paris or in the stages of planning then this is the place for you. Our stay at Disneyland Paris Sequioa Lodge Hotel was fantastic and I’d love to share more in this review. Staying in a Golden Forest Club Room really made a difference to our stay. It saves money and the room was gorgeous. It is a comfortable room and it perfect for a family of three.

Upgrading to a Club Room

Should you, if you can, upgrade to a club room in the Disneyland Paris hotels? My opinion, absolutely! Especially if it’s your first time and you’re not quite sure what to do or where to go. If you are trying to do Disney on a budget – the snacks and drinks can help save you a fortune. They are filling, and the drinks are available pretty much all day. We have just returned home from our four nights, five days stay in Disneyland Paris.

The upgraded hotel room, park tickets for both the Disneyland Park and Studios Park and breakfast each morning was £732 for two adults and one child aged five. For a holiday, I was happy to pay this price as we were able to book with a deposit through Thomas Cook and pay in our own time making it affordable over a few months. We didn’t ask to upgrade, that was the room available and we thought it was a great deal.

The Golden Forest Lounge in Sequioa Lodge Hotel

Benefits of Golden Forest Club Room

*Private Check In/Check Out – with chocolate coins
*Private Golden Forest Lounge
*Nespresso Machine in Room
*Complimentary hot and soft drinks from 12noon-10.30pm every night of your stay – however you can not make use on day of departure as check out is 11am
*Complimentary tea time treats from 4pm-5.30pm which includes savoury and sweet options. We enjoyed cakes, mini wraps, biscuits, sweets, canapes and fruit. We stocked up on this which saves money in the restaurants.
*Hot Food & Continental Buffet Breakfast
*Rooms are in the main building with fully working lifts
*Can get a Lake View room – we did, and we could see the fireworks every night from our room

The view from our lakeside room. You can just see the top of the Disneyland Paris castle in the distance and Hotel New York in the far right.

Checking In

I loved the cute toiletries we got from replenished in our room each day

You will find a clearly labeled Golden Forest Check In desk which saves you joining the main queue. Here you will get your park tickets and hotel fast passes. There was no programme or park guide/map which would be a really handy and helpful addition. At this point, we could hand in our bags of which we were asked, ‘Is this it?’ thanks to savvy packing and they were stored for us to save carrying them around. We went back around 3pm to collect our room keys and our luggage was brought to our room free of charge and no need to tip.

The Room

The room in itself was not much different from others except we had a mini fridge and Nespresso machine. Two double beds made it comfortable for the three of us and the rooms are a good size. Television has some English channels including Disney Channel which is handy in the morning or if you want an early night. There is always a film on at 7pm, which was great on our first night after all the travelling and a bad night sleep the day before. You will also find a shower over bath, iron and ironing board, safe, kettle and complimentary toiletries. Everything is cleaned and replenished daily. The room has plenty of storage in the sink area and the main room. Having a fridge is handy for keeping our drinks cool throughout the day.

These are the types of snacks available for free in the Golden Forest Lounge

The Lounge

The lounge is a lovely perk and nice to sit in when you want to relax. It gets busy when the snacks are available however you can go in and collect drinks throughout the day to take back to your room. You can then take these into the parks or have a drink in the lounge. Afternoon snacks include sweets, cakes, brownies, marshmallows, mini sandwiches, fish and cheese canapes and mini wraps. It’s replenished throughout the two hours and again is self-service. Having free drinks saved us so much money and we had a few left over in our fridge which was very handy to take back when travelling home on the last day.

Disneyland Sequioa Lodge hotel

Breakfast

The Breakfast in the Golden Forest Lounge is really tasty

Breakfast is delicious. The hot options include bacon, eggs, pancakes and veal sausages. There were plenty of hams, cheeses, cereals, toast, croissants… a huge selection constantly refilled and kept nice and hot. We also had fresh and dry fruit available as well as yoghurts. Drinks included coffee, chocolate milk, orange juice, apple juice, still and sparkling water. Breakfast in the Golden Forest lounge is 7am until 10.30am which is plenty of time before or after the extra magic hours and there’s no need to book a half hour slot, hardly any queues and very tasty.

Overall we had an amazing time and having a club room saved us so much money in drinks and snacks. We didn’t have to eat out as many times as we thought thanks to the snacks we just weren’t as hungry! It really made our hotel amazing and actually made our Disney holiday fairly relaxed!

The hot chocolate was absolutely delicious – a must have to try.

FAQ’s about Sequoia Lodge and The Golden Forest Upgrade

Should I upgrade to a Golden Forest Room?

Yes, it made our holiday so much more enjoyable. As long as it’s affordable for you it’s an excellent upgrade and can really make a huge change to the type of holiday you have. Especially when it’s colder outside.

When are snacks served for the Golden Forest rooms?

Snacks are like afternoon tea and served between four and six. They include mini cakes, sandwiches, sweets and savoury bites. Having access to these meant we didn’t feel the need to have a big meal every night.

When are drinks available in the Sequoia Lodge Golden Forest lounge?

Drinks are available from 12pm-11pm. Soft drinks are cans and can be taken away to the park or into your room. Tea, Coffee and Hot Chocolate can also be taken away. The tea is not very nice.

Does Sequoia Lodge have a swimming pool?

Yes it does, its a medium sized pool with water slide and jacuzzi. There is also a sauna. Only guests at the hotel are allowed to use the swimming pool.

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January 7, 2018
Disneyland Paris – Travel Diary – Day 2 and 3

Day 2 – Saturday – A very wet and windy morning at Disneyland Paris

If you’re following on from my Day One travel diary then thank you for coming back. Day two and three fell over the weekend for us and the official start of half term for us Brits which meant on the Saturday it as absolutely heaving. If you can visit midweek then I think you’ll be able to enjoy so much more. It was also incredibly wet on the Saturday raining all day which I think caused my daughter to be quite sick that evening with a raging temperature. I would strongly advise taking painkillers, calpol, nurofen or any other medication that you may need just in case someone gets sick. It can get very busy and hectic in the park and it’s noticibly colder. There’s also nowhere on site you can buy any form of liquid painkiller for children and the nearest chemist is Val d’Europe which is around 5 minutes on the train and closed on a Sunday.

In an emergency the hotel can call a fireman over to address the situation and call paramedics if necessary or there are a few small medical centres on site which, in an emergency, will give out painkillers. We didn’t use any of these services so I can’t comment on them, however, I’ve heard that there is no charge, but my word is not gospel!

Day 2 – Disneyland Park, Extra Magic Hours & Parade

We didn’t really have a plan for getting around the park as it was our first time there but next time I think we’ll attempt a few more things and plan a little better so we see some of the shows. On the second day it rained a lot and my daughters shoes were soaked through by 9am so off we searched for wellies. We found a gorgeous pair of Minni Mouse Wellies in Disney Clothing Store on Main Street for €25.99 – expensive but necessary. I think a lot of children either already had these wellies or bought them there too because we saw these red boots everywhere we went.

The extra magic hours are great for those staying in a Disney hotel as it means you can get into the park from 8am and meet a few characters. On the first day we saw Chip and Dale who were great. They loved my homemade autograph book and made a big fuss as well as gave us some really cheeky photo’s. My daughter found them really funny! We were also able to get on to the carousel and have a good wonder around. We attempted to ride Rataouille and queued for around 30 minutes whilst waiting for the ride to be fixed only to have our fast passes returned to us and asked to come back later. It’s a fantastic ride, very innovative but very, very technical and because of this it does break down quite a lot. Still if you use a fast pass you get it again which is great as it means you can go back later and still not wait ages in the queue. This includes fast passes from the machines and the hotels.

Entrance to Ratatouille in Walt Disney Studios Park

After that we headed over to Annettes Diner for lunch which was brilliant. Food was tasty and some of the waiters were on roller skates which made it look like a really fun place to work. I admire their talent, I can’t even ride a bike let alone roller skate carrying food and seating people! Really worth a trip though and for three of us it only cost around €60 which included drinks and a three course meal for my daughter.

After heading back to the hotel we went for a swim in the Sequoia Lodge Swimming pool which was heated but felt very cool. There is a slide in the pool which my daughter loved and went on with Adam a couple of times. The pool also has a jacuzzi and steam rooms which really helped warm me up and I had the steam room all to myself. It’s probably key to note here that men don’t have to wear speedos at Disney! They can wear regular swimming shorts in the Disney hotel pools. However if staying off site and there’s a pool like Explorers hotel, you’ll need your speedos! We warmed up with some hot chocolates, tea time treats and then headed back to the park for the parade at 5.30pm.

Mickey Mouse in the Parade on Main Street

Day 3 – Disney Princess Day

Meeting Ariel at ADC Restuarant

You may have already seen my post about the Dancing Disney Princesses and the video to go with it! Take a look if you haven’t. It’s one of our biggest highlights. Before heading off for lunch my daughter had her face painted which was just under €15 next to our chosen Cinderella’s Restaurant where we had a table booked. We booked with our holiday which cost £145 for the three of us and included two drinks each, three courses and a bread basket. During lunch we met Cinderella & Prince Charming, Ariel and Snow White at Auberge de Cenderillon which was a very rich but very tasty french cuisine restaurant. The Princess interaction with my daughter was just amazing and they all gave my daughter a huge hug and lots of waves. She had a great time seeing them all. Why not take a look at our full Disney Princess lunch experience?

We then headed over to Princess Pavillion and queued for around 30 minutes to meet Sleeping Beauty and she was completely perfect. She spent so much time with my daughter and loved the book we made. We didn’t feel rushed at all which made it a very memorable experience for us.

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February 19, 2016
Disneyland Paris – Travel Diary Day One

Our 4 nights and five days in Disneyland Paris have been amazing and I wanted to share a run down of our time there and some of our favourite pictures. We left our home to travel up to London on Thursday evening as we had a hotel booked so we could catch our early morning Eurostar train at 5.40 am. We had minor lows throughout the whole time but other than that it’s been a great holiday and I’m already planning when we can go again!

Mini Me was determined to carry her suitcase. It’s the first time she’s ever insisted on carrying anything anywhere.

Day 1 – London to Disneyland Paris, Checking In & First Impressions

Checking in at St Pancras International – make sure you’re there 30-45 minutes before your scheduled department time. It gets busy, you’ll need to have passports checked, scan in your tickets and go through security. It’s a pretty quick process but worth getting there nice and early. Boarding happens around 10-20 minutes before you depart and there’s plenty of space in the departure lounge, cafe for breakfast and hot drinks, toilets and a bureau de change which was handy for us as we needed change for the RER ticket machines in Paris. The Eurostar journey took around 3 hours to get into Paris Gare du Nord.

Travelling via Eurostar is really simple

How to get to Disneyland Paris from Gare du Nord, Paris

Getting to Disneyland from Paris – It’s such an easy journey! We followed the signs to the RER trains which are down two escalators. Very well signposted. Plenty of ticket machines down there so if there are queues for the first ones you see chances are if you pop around the corner you will find some more. You need to have change for the machines, or pay by card as they don’t accept notes. Toilets can also be found down here and are 70 cents per person.

To get to Disneyland Paris from Gare du Nord you’ll need the Ile de France tickets. They’re around €8.30 per adult each way as you can’t buy a return and around €3.60 for a child – (price at the time of paying, February 2016). You then simply walk your way round to the RER B train and you’ll want to get to the next stop which is Chatelet des Halles in the direction of Robinson/Remy. It’s very simple. Changing at Chatelet des Halles is really easy, a quick walk to the other side of the platform gets you on the right side for RER A train to Marne la Vallee-Chessy which is where you’ll find Disneyland. To make sure you’re getting on the right train look up at the boards and if the station of your destination is lit up then you can get on this train and you’ll get to where you need to be.

Our hotel room had a great view

Be aware that there are people on the trains that will walk around asking for money. Keep safe, keep your children close by and do not hold any valuables in areas of clothing that are easily pickpocketed. My phone stayed in my bra for most of our travel time in Paris.

If you’re staying on site like us, you can grab a free shuttle bus service from the train station to your hotel which was incredibly handy. We jumped on with our bags and were checking in at the Golden Forest Club Room desk within 20 minutes of arriving. Check in was effortless and as we arrived around 11am we were given our park tickets and asked to return after 3pm to collect our room keys. We were all feeling a bit hungry so headed over to Earl of Sandwich in the Disney Village which is about half way between Sequoia Lodge hotel and the parks for a quick bite to eat.

Disneyland Paris hot chocolate is amazing and free from 12noon-10.30pm for all those staying in Golden Forest Rooms at Sequoia Lodge Hotel

Walking around to the parks takes around 15 minutes so it’s not too far however the free shuttle bus runs all day, every day until pretty late making it nice and easy for those with little legs! We didn’t do much on our first day other than the teacups and the Dumbo ride which my daughter loved. We took a little walk around Frontierland to see get our bearings a bit before walking back to the hotel in time for afternoon treats and to collect our room key. Having free drinks in the Golden Forest lounge was a perfect way to warm up after a very early start and a very wet arrival in Disneyland Paris! After getting into our room and deciding we didn’t really feel that hungry thanks to the complimentary tea time treats we decided to snack on what we had in our bags, watch a film on Disney Channel – one of the only English channels available and get an early night. You can find out how we spent the rest of our trip on Day 2.

Golden Forest Club Room with Lake View on 7th Floor

February 18, 2016
How to Make a Disney Autograph Book

As my more frequent readers will know I am taking my family to Disneyland Paris soon and wanted an autograph book for my daughter to use when she meets the characters there. I have seen some amazing creations when it comes to Disney Autograph books. There are some brilliant personalisable ones available on eBay and I’ve also seen some wonderful hand made ones and really liked this blog post, it gave me a great idea. I decided to go down the more hand made route for us – despite buying the material to make one has cost more than it would to order a pre-made personalised one, but I’ve had a lot of fun doing it.

Disclaimer: I am not very creative, excuse the mess…

Despite my partner thinking I can draw well, I disagree so instead opted for a different approach than drawing characters. That and I just couldn’t get the colours right for the Disney Princesses. I am pretty happy with the result.

I loved using the foam glitter card as a front and back cover.

My go to shop was The Works and I found some black ribbon, adhesive foam glitter boards, multi-coloured card and sticky hearts and ribbon things for the autograph pages. I also had some photo card at home and lots of little scrapbooking papers to make it nice and colourful inside and add a bit more to the pages. As I’ve used photo paper I will be taking marker pens for the characters to use in the book.

I went with a red and black cover to create the mouse symbol associated with Disney

I then went on to create the pages. I used 20 pieces of multi-coloured card with the photo paper glued on for the autographs. I did this on both sides of the card and decorated. The decoration is the messiest part I think but it’s a personal touch and plenty of room for autographs. I left 10 pages blank for photographs. There is enough for 30 autographs and photographs.

I hole punched each page so that I could tie them together

The foam board and stickers were used again here to create frames to the photo paper.

Disney Autograph book front cover

I added a bow onto the mouse and attempted that Disney cursive script and I am actually pretty happy with the result. I know there are loads around that look fantastic but this is going to hold the memories of our first family holiday abroad and I wanted to make something special to us.

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Or…you could just buy a personalised one.

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January 27, 2016