Disneyland Paris
ARRIVAL When we arrived at the Sequoia Lodge our room was waiting for us, but if it hadn’t been, we could have left our luggage and gone to the parks. The hotel is just beautiful and has an enormous fireplace in the Redwood Bar. We did pop in there one evening and have a charcuterie and cheese plate to share (although I ate most of it!) and they provided us with gluten free bread to go with it. We dumped our bags in the room and dashed over to Walt Disney Studios Park to see Avengers Campus, which wasn’t open the last time we travelled.
THE PARKS Straight onto Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure, where I got massively beaten by everyone, and then on to Avengers Assemble: Flight Force where my and 10-year-olds braved their first “upside down roller coaster”! We were so pleased to have the PhotoPass to capture this memory ?? Around 5pm the temperature dropped and we had to wrap up in hats and gloves, but it wasn’t unbearably cold.
FOOD We grabbed a bag of chips from the Green Van underneath Tower of Terror as they are gluten free, and the only food cooked there so no contamination risk. We also had some chocolate covered strawberries from one of the snack vans, round by Remy’s. Everything on that particular stand was gluten free and looked delicious.
For breakfast the next day we had taken GF porridge with us to eat in the room BUT I know the hotels do offer an OK gluten free breakfast.
We headed into the Disneyland Parc during the extra magic hours, and it felt like there was hardly anyone in around. We walked onto a few rides and could definitely notice the difference when the park opened to everyone. It still wasn’t overly busy though and a great perk of going during term time in February.
For Lunch I had booked the girls a surprise. We were going into the Disneyland Hotel to dine at the Royal Banquet. When entered the hotel they checked we had a dining reservation (this has changed now, and anyone can enter the hotel if it doesn’t pose a health and safety risk) and were escorted to the lift. The lobby area is beautiful, and photos don’t do it justice. It smells incredible too and they sell the fragrance as a candle or spray in the hotel boutique! When we checked in for lunch we were asked about allergies. We were lead through the buffet to our table. I would definitely ask for a window table next time, but I was just so happy to be there I didn’t think. Our server asked about allergies and asked me and my daughter to wait for his supervisor, but my husband and daughter were free to go get their food. When he came over the supervisor introduced us to the chef with “the folder”. At first, he said “take a look and see what you’d like, and I’ll let you know what you can have”. I suggested it would be easier if he just told me what we could have. He then took us to the starter station and only 2 or 3 dishes weren’t safe. I asked if we could go eat that and then come back for the mains and he agreed. The charcuterie on the starters station was phenomenal and I could have just eaten plates and plates of that. Main course, again only a few dishes we couldn’t have AND the vegetables were cut into fleur de lys shapes ?? I didn’t even get to the seafood station as I was full and really wanted dessert. There was so many desserts available to us again, including the Gus Gus pumpkin and Excalibur mousse! For little ones that like “beige food” they had Mickey shaped potatoes, mac n cheese and fish goujons – my ASD daughter was very happy. Sadly, the gluten free choices for kids aren’t great, but my coeliac daughter didn’t starve and actually enjoyed trying the “royal shaped vegetables”.
So, the food was brilliant, but the entertainment was even better! We met Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy all in their royal attire (there are no guarantees who you will meet). We didn’t feel rushed at all and were there for a good hour and a half. It may look expensive but it’s such an amazing experience it’s worth it for the looks on the kids’ faces. You can ONLY book Royal Banquet if you have booked to stay in a Disney hotel. If you have a booking with me and would like to add it, please get in touch ??
When we left the restaurant, Rapunzel was there, so the girls go to meet her. The princesses are always wandering round the hotel, I bumped into Snow White on my way to the loo, so I’d say for Princess lovers THIS is the hotel for them.
After our massive lunch we didn’t want dinner and just snacked on some crisps and biscuits, while waiting for Disney Electrical Sky Parade (which made me cry) and Disney Dreams Night-time spectacular (which made me cry again!) I was so grateful to be staying at the Sequoia Lodge, as it was only a short walk back to the hotel, no fighting to get on a train or transfer bus.
A lot of the table service restaurants don’t have gluten free offerings so we stuck to quick service and the 2 places I can recommend are Cowboy Cookout, which has a GF kids’ meal and Au Chalet de la Marionette, that has a hotdog you can have without the bun.
RETURN JOURNEY We were picked up 3 hours before our train, to allow for traffic, but we had plenty of time. There is a Five Guys offering gluten free options, at Gare du Nord before you check in for the Eurostar, but not much available after. And again no gluten free options available on the train itself.
So my take-aways from this trip • I HAVE to stay at the Disneyland Hotel at least once. • Royal Banquet is so worth the money. • Eurostar to Paris and then private transfer is so straight forward and the only way we’ll travel going forward. • Disneyland Paris still doesn’t cater for a gluten free diet properly, but for 4 days it is manageable. • I’d definitely go again in February as, although it’s cold, it’s still magical.