disney in the snow..

[tom_mitchell]

hey guys as ive said in previous posts my family and i are off to disney for christmas.

it looks like europes going to get a pounding from some snow storms in the coming weeks has anyone been in the snow, how does the park hold up? will most of the rides be closed? or do they have ways around it to keep it all open.

also how does france hold up as a country in the snow? were driving there will i need to go and get proper winter tyres or do they keep the roads pretty clear? obviously its mostly motorway there so i assume that will be fine. just wondering about the smaller roads i may have to use?


thanks in advance, sorry if ive asked stupid questions...

tom

[Lani]

Last time I was at Disney it was Dec 2010 when there was an awful lot of snow for the duration of our trip. Thunder Mountain closed during the morning as thy had to de ice the tracks, the parachute drop was closed and we were told that Indiana Jones had to be closed as the mechanism had frozen.

Overall I thought that they dealt with the snow incredibly well. It meant that we had to rework our plans for which rides/parks to do on each day but it also meant that the park was empty! It looks like it might be similar weather when I go again next weekend but I'm not too worried. Like yourself I'm more worried about the journey there and back! Last time we took the Eurostar and it was delayed on the way home and all services after ours were cancelled until the next day :/

[nathalie]

France has some strict quidelines since a short while.
Don't forget fluorescent vests in the car.
Apperently, if you wear glasses, you need to have a spare one with you in the car.
When using a GPS, it CAN NOT tell you where there are camera's next to the road (in many cases, this means you have to turn the GPS completely off, as some models can't turn that option of).

Winter tires, I believe isn't necessary in that part of France.

[never2old]

Winter tires are not mandatory in France, but of course if it does snow when you're on the road, you may need to stop and wait for it to stop, otherwise it can be dangerous. Overall they keep the roads clean so you should be OK. If it's snowing and cold and wet be careful in the car park... I have a friend who rencently skidded in some ice in the hotel parking and hit another car (after a 4 hour drive with no issues....)

DLP is beautiful in the snow Just wear nice warm, waterproof clothes... And good shoes!! Some areas can be a bit slippery....

[kelly.dylan]

We experienced the snow in Christmas 2010 too. There was so much and like the others say some rides were closed and also the shuttle buses from the hotels didn't run for some time in the morning for the roads to be cleared.

The park did look beautiful in the snow, although it didn't take long for us to find out that Dylan's boots weren't waterproof, along with many other people it seemed as every shop sold out of wellies and we had to resort to putting plastic bags in his boots and drying them on the radiator every evening!

Take lots of layers and thermals and you'll be fine

We are there over christmas this year too, hope we see some real snow

[jonathan]

Im arriving at DLP on Sunday and have been checking weather forecasts but as usual theyre all quite different. Most are suggesting that for the next week or so it will be sunny but cold with the odd rain shower but then other sites suggest snow on tuesday. Theres a lot of reports that most of the UK will have snow covering again next week so we may well see snow over at DLP too....

[doddy13]

I was in the parks today (now I'm living 30 mins away by bus!), so closures were: Big Thunder Mountain and Dumbo.
Everything else was open as normal, including all the rides in the Studios Park. (Well, the Parachute Drop broke down at about 5pm, but was still operational most of the day).

As for weather, we're expecting an ok first few days. Temperatures are dropping by Wednesday. If we are going to see snow, it'll be then. Saturday -Tuesday are forecast at the moment to be fine. Cold, but nothing to worry about too much!

Have a great time!

[jonathan]

I was in the parks today (now I'm living 30 mins away by bus!), so closures were: Big Thunder Mountain and Dumbo.
Everything else was open as normal, including all the rides in the Studios Park. (Well, the Parachute Drop broke down at about 5pm, but was still operational most of the day).

As for weather, we're expecting an ok first few days. Temperatures are dropping by Wednesday. If we are going to see snow, it'll be then. Saturday -Tuesday are forecast at the moment to be fine. Cold, but nothing to worry about too much!

Have a great time!

How busy did you find it today?

[doddy13]

I was in the parks today (now I'm living 30 mins away by bus!), so closures were: Big Thunder Mountain and Dumbo.
Everything else was open as normal, including all the rides in the Studios Park. (Well, the Parachute Drop broke down at about 5pm, but was still operational most of the day).

As for weather, we're expecting an ok first few days. Temperatures are dropping by Wednesday. If we are going to see snow, it'll be then. Saturday -Tuesday are forecast at the moment to be fine. Cold, but nothing to worry about too much!

Have a great time!

How busy did you find it today?

Today wasn't too bad. 5 minute waits across the board in the studios park (besides Crush, which was 40). In Disneyland Park, 15 minutes for Phantom Manor, 5 for the Advenuteland rides. A variety in Fantasyland (Max. 35 mins), Discoveryland was max. 30 minutes (for Buzz). Expect longer queues on Sunday (with in being the weekend in the Christmas run up), but weekdays are pretty much empty. The vast majoirty of things in the week, end up being walk ons.

Have a great trip!

[jonathan]

Thanks. Oh yeah were still expecting the weekends to be busy. Were there sunday til the following Sunday and have been told that Mon-Fri will be 'quiet' at this time of year so its nice to have first hand experience from someone whos actually experienced this 'quiet'!

[doddy13]

Thanks. Oh yeah were still expecting the weekends to be busy. Were there sunday til the following Sunday and have been told that Mon-Fri will be 'quiet' at this time of year so its nice to have first hand experience from someone whos actually experienced this 'quiet'!

Ahh excellent, make sure you catch allt the extra Christmas entertainment. It's great to have, I caught the Jingle Bell Boys in Videopolis today, thought it was excellent. You get to escape the cold for 10-15 minutes, hear great Christmas music and see the one and only Mickey Mouse!