Candyfloss & Dreams

Tag: Disneyland Paris

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 4 and 5

As you know we’ve just returned from a fantastic time away in Disneyland Paris. We travelled light and spent four nights and five days over in France making sure we took in some of the sights of Paris before heading home. If you want to take a look at the whole of our trip take a look at my travel diary day one with tips on how to get to Disneyland Paris from Paris Gare du Nord. You can also check out my video of the Disney Princesses dancing when we had lunch with them and read all about days two and three which have loads of great pictures of our time. If you’re interested you can also read all about the perks of having a Golden Forest room in Sequoia Lodge.

Day 4 – Final Day In Disneyland Park

On our fourth day we rushed into the park for the extra magic hours at 8am and headed to the first character meet and greet queue to meet Minnie Mouse! Luckily Mickey was there too so we got a picture of both of them together which was great. We then headed over to meet Goofy and Pluto who quickly became a firm favourite of my daughters as he gave her a lot of hugs and kisses.

After that Adam braved Space Mountain alone and said it was a great ride, if a little dated, but I think that’s the charm of the ride. It’s pretty old now and is due for refurbishment next year in honour of the 25th Disneyland Paris Anniversary. During that time Mini Kat and I headed around the some of the stores in Discoveryland looking at all the fantastic merchandise. You could literally spend a fortune here – stay strong!

We braved a few more rides as it was nice and sunny including It’s a Small World before heading back to our hotel as my partner was feeling a little rough and suffering with toothache. It was also really cold that morning so I took the chance to have a lovely hot bath and we spend a bit of time relaxing before heading over to the Rainforest Cafe for a late lunch. We did have to wait for about fifteen minutes to get a table but there’s so much to look at in the shop before the restaurant and the environment itself. Mini Kat loved watching the fish swimming in the pillars and over the entrance. Afterwards we spent a little time grabbing souvenirs and finishing of Mini Kat’s spending money on Lego in their fantastic lego store in the Disney Village. We then headed over to Ratatouille with our fast pass, watched the parade and went back for an early night.

We actually spend a little bit of time in the bar before heading up to our room and I got to sample a delicious Blue Glowtini which comes with a glowing ice cube that you can keep. It’s a vodka cocktail and is €14.95. Childrens versions are also available but Mini Kat wanted a rainbow slush puppy.

Day 5 – Checking Out and Wondering Around Paris

Check out is at 11am so we had a late breakfast, finished packing and were at the desk for eleven. We decided to head into Paris for a bit before our Eurostar connection rather than spend the last few hours in the park so we will definetly be going back next year for the anniversary celebrations, more rides and lots more character meet and greets. Next time we are going to look at staying at Newport Bay or Hotel New York with a Premium Meal Plan so that we can book tables again at ADC, Inventions Character Brunch and Cafe Mickey in the Disney Village. I love the character dining experiences as you can sit down whilst waiting for the characters so it means we can then queue for others we hadn’t had the chance to meet. We also want to go back when Big Thunder Mountain has reopened because I loved that ride as a child.

As we were travelling on a Tuesday we got two Mobilis tickets and one child Paris Visite as they allow you on all modes of transport in Paris. We got off at Charles de Gaulle to take a peak at the Arc de Triomphe first before walking over to the Eiffel Tower. The walk took around 40 minutes but it was a lovely sunny day and it was great to take a chance to walk around.

We then got the metro from Champs de Mars over to St Michael Notre Dame where we found a little cafe aptly named Cafe Notre Dame for lunch. I tried French Onion Soup for the first time which was really warming on a cold day. I also tried pickles and found out I quite like them, especially with ham. Mini Kat was happy with a Pain au Chocolat.

Getting home took a while but it was a fantastic holiday. There’s a few things I would do a little differently. I would consider upgrading our Eurostar seats just to make it a little more comfortable and booking a later train into Paris and an earlier train home. I will always book a club room with Disneyland Paris hotels because of the ability to get free drinks and I will book a meal plan next time so the money we save for Euros between paying off the holiday and actually going can be used on spending money for us all. I would have loved to get all the Lego sets available over there as well as a cuddly toy or two or a snowglobe. That being said, we came back with €100 so I don’t think we did too bad and we didn’t scrimp on anything.

February 20, 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.

Pin this image!

Or…you could just buy a personalised one.

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January 27, 2016