I’m back with another hotel review from Disneyland Paris. This is my first review of an actual Disney hotel. Way back in January, the Disneyland Paris Annual Pass team sent out offers for staying in Disney hotels to Annual Pass holders. I looked at the deals and thought that they were too good to be true. I phoned up Disney and enquired and it would have been rude to say no to the price! So, I ended cancelling my stay at the Kyriad and booking the Sequoia Lodge.
Sequoia Lodge is Disney’s only ‘moderate’ resort.
If you have no idea what I am going on about when it comes to a moderate resort then have a look at the hotels in Walt Disney World. I feel like they explain it better than what I am going too! A ‘moderate’ hotel is basically a 3 star hotel.
Anyways, I arrived at Disney and headed straight to Sequoia Lodge. When I got there, the queue to check in was insane! I ended up sitting in the reception waiting for some time to pass. In about 15 minutes, the line had decreased to nothing! I walked straight on up to the check-in desk and checked in!
Now, I had booked my hotel on the phone (as that is what you have to do when you have an annual pass). Everything was all paid for in advance, however, I was offered if I would like an upgrade to my room. I asked how much this would cost a night. The cast member said that it would cost an extra €22 a night. When you think about it, it’s actually not that bad, but I was already paying a lot for the room, so I said no (gotta save that dollar somehow!). She said that because I didn’t upgrade, it would mean that I would be staying in a lodge rather than the main building. I was a but miffed by this, but oh well!
My room wasn’t ready, but the cast member said that I could keep my luggage in guest storage.
When I got to the guest storage, they made such a fuss of me. I was really confused and they were rushing about making sure my luggage was safe and secure. One of the men came up to me and said are you part of the press, he then went to point at my lanyard. Light bulb moment! This is why they thought I was important! This was where I corrected them and said no, this is where I keep my annual pass so I don’t lose it. The fuss, kind of stopped. They handed me my luggage tickets and I was off to the parks.
At around 3:30, I came back to the hotel and found out where my room was. My room was (not even joking) the furthest away from everything! When carrying all my luggage, I was annoyed! I was thinking that this hotel was a rip off and I was blooming cold because it was January and how annoying life is! Then when you actually walk to the lodge, it’s not that far! To be fair, I was shattered and had not slept for well over 24 hours. (I had travelled over-night and didn’t sleep at any point, it’s fair to say that I was tired!).
I FINALLY got to my room.
To find that my key didn’t overly work properly. Throughout my stay I found out that there was a knack to it, but you would have to do the knack quite a few times to actually get the key and the door lock to work. It’s fair to say, that this part of the hotel had not been upgraded, like the rest of the hotel had.
When I finally got into my room after trying every which way to get the key to unlock, I was surprised that there was only one bed in my room. In all pictures and videos that I had seen of the hotel, there had always been two beds in the room. However, I wasn’t upset by this. It was only me staying there!
The room was pretty cold and I tried many ways to warm it up. In the end I gave up and got under the covers and had a nap. (I think if you were to stay in the main building then you would be much warmer. Every time I walked into the reception for any reason, I would be sweating and taking off my layers!). The bed was a little harder than I am used to at home, but not so uncomfortable that I couldn’t sleep. In fact, throughout my entire stay, I slept wonderfully! My sleep was so good that I didn’t get up for extra magic hours at all throughout my stay!
I did feel, personally, that the decor was a little outdated for me. You could definitely tell that this room had not been updated and needed some work.
Unfortunately, I can’t comment on breakfast. At the time, breakfast was very expensive to have in the hotel, so I ended up getting my own. Hopefully one day, I can re-visit this post and update it!
Would I pay the money to stay at The Sequoia Lodge again?
I think I would definitely look at a cheaper hotel. I’m not saying I wouldn’t stay there again, but I would look into upgrading my room to stay in a newer room. I did really enjoy the setting. I found that it felt like you were in the Disney bubble, but also that you were in the middle of the forest. It was amazing. Also, the big pro about this hotel is that it is on site and it’s not that far to the parks. In fact, I really enjoyed the walk in every morning and night.
Disney Hotel Benefits
As I am an Infinity Annual Pass holder, most of the benefits of staying in a Disney hotel, I already have! However, I thought I would run through some of them incase you are unaware or not an annual pass holder.
EMT
One of the main benefits is the Extra Magic Time (formally known as Extra Magic Hours). This allows you an extra hour in the park. So, for guests visiting from other hotels, they get access to the park at 9:30 am, however, if you are staying in a Disney hotel, then you can enter that parks an hour earlier (8:30 am).
If you have favourite rides that you want to go on, EMT is the perfect time to do so. Also, the characters on Main Street (usually Minnie and Donald) are out so you can meet them during this time. Back in October, the only time you could meet Donald Duck was in EMT as he was in the parade, he was also wearing his Devil Duck outfit, which was incredible!
The only problem is, is not all areas/rides are open for EMT. Disney are actually getting better at this in Paris as recently they have opened up Big Thunder Mountain earlier (but who knows when they will take it out of the listing again!). You can almost guarantee (in fact, they are always open) all of Fantasyland (apart from ‘Le Pays de Conte de Faye’ and Casey Junior which both open at 10am) will be open. So EMT is a big bonus!
Meal Plan
The option to have a meal plan is another addition that can make staying in Disney cheaper. Now, I have never personally had a meal plan at Disney before. This is because you don’t get the annual pass discount on the food if you have the plan, so it is actually more expensive for me! However, it does save some money if you are a family. I won’t explain it in this blog post as there are plenty out there. But by staying in a Disney hotel, the meal plan can bring down the cost *slightly* of food.
Shopping
Sending shopping to your hotel. We all do it! We all buy far too much and end up carrying it round with us in the park. Well, by staying in a Disney hotel you get to send your shopping back to your hotel and you then pick it up from your hotel shop. It’s a huge perk that means you won’t have to lug around all you merchandise!
Disney hotel Pools
The Sequoia Lodge has it’s very own swimming pool. However, when I was there it was under refurbishment. However, you were able to use the swimming pool at the Newport Bay Club if you wished to swim.
Overall, was the Sequoia Lodge worth it?
On this trip, the deal was so good that it would have been rude not to!
Would I stay there again?
Well, never say never! I wouldn’t pay full price for what I had. I feel like I can get a better room for less money in an off-site hotel. However, the perks of a Disney hotel are what would sway me to book at The Sequoia Lodge again!
This review is not sponsored or endorsed by Disney in anyway. I have a series of these reviews here on my blog as tips and advice for the perfect Disneyland Paris trip. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
