Review of the Davy Crochett Ranch - Disneyland Paris

We spent 4 days (5 nights) at the Davy Crochett Ranch in Disneyland Paris.  We went in February with the colder weather, rain and darker nights.

You need your own car if you are staying here but it is an easy 10 - 15 minute drive (maximum) to the parks. When you stay at the Davy Crochett Ranch you get a pass to the Disneyland Paris car park.  If you need fuel, there is a petrol station as you leave the park to top up.

Accommodation

The Ranches are really static caravans custom made to look like a wooden ranch.  The theme continues inside with wooden floors and walls and forest theme curtains, seat covers etc.  The ranches can sleep up to 6 which is ideal for the larger family.

We stayed in a premium ranch which had two bedrooms, one with 3 beds for the children and an adjacent shower room and toilet and a double bedroom at the other end of the cabin with an ensuite shower/toilet. The children's room is able to take 4 beds but there wouldn't be much room to move - having said that you don't go to Disney to sit in your room do you?!  The standard cabins only have one bedroom and shower room with a sofa bed in the living area.

In the premium cabins there is a hob (but no oven) and a dishwasher, a kettle and a coffee maker.  There is also a fridge and an outdoor barbecue which we didn't use at it was February!  Would be lovely in the summer.

There is a safe but ours was locked when we got there and we didn't get around to sorting it out.

Sheets and towels were provided as were some small mickey mouse toiletries - a nice touch I thought!

Given it was February, I was concerned if we would be warm enough - no worries there.  It was toastie warm - thankfully!  It was also clean although I did notice dust under the beds when I was checking for escaped socks before we left.  This doesn't bother me but may be an issue for others.

As we had driven we were able to take a few grocery items; small packs of cereal, tea bags, washing up liquid, a couple of tins of tuna, some mayo, fruit and biscuits. I also took some clingfilm and a tea towel.  This saved us wasting time on shopping as well as saving money on lunches and snacks.

Meals

We had the free half board option and so had vouchers to get breakfast and a main meal.  There is a restaurant on site but it doesn't serve breakfast.  This is provided from small wooden huts near each cluster of ranches.  You get the choice of cereal or a croissant per person (we already had cereal so took advantage of the croissants as in France....!), butter, jam and nutella, milk, orange juice in tins, apple puree, tea and coffee and a small baguette per person.

We kept the baguettes to make up for lunch (tuna for the adults, nutella for the children) and took the cans of orange juice as well.  All allowed through the bag search into the parks so don't worry.

There were a selection of places to eat with the vouchers.  We ate at Annette's diner on one occasion and at the restaurant at the ranch on the other evenings.  Pre-booking wasn't necessary when we stayed but is generally recommended by the resort and would probably be important in the busier season (you can do this up to 3 months in advance).

The Davy Crochett ranch tavern was a self-serve hot and cold buffet and we found that there was a good selection of food with choices to suit everyone in our family (including chicken nuggets and chips).  There was also a variety of desserts and fresh fruit as well as a salad bar.  It will be slightly different to food at home as you are in France but we were happy with the choice provided.  You were also able to choose a drink to have with your meal with the half board vouchers.

Other facilities

There is an indoor pool next to the restaurant which looked nice.  It is open until 10pm but we didn't use it as we'd been so busy in the day.  Children must be accompanied.  The 'complex' also includes a small shop selling necessities (pricey I believe but this is no different to any on site shop) and Disney merchandise and a small tavern.

This area was a bit of a trek from the furthest ranches if you are tired after a long park day but there is a car park if you feel you need to drive!

There is a small petting barn with a few farm animals for the younger children - again we didn't visit this as we were out all day.  I think they also do pony rides.

There are also teepees dotted around the site for children to play in in line with the wild west theme.

Disney characters

I'm not sure if there is a set time for Disney characters to visit the restaurant or if it is advertised anywhere. We bumped into the lesser known Disney Robin Hood (a fox) as we left the restaurant which the children enjoyed but that was completely by chance and we didn't see any others on other evenings but we were outside of peak season when Character visits are reduced I believe.  If it is important to you then it would be worth checking it out in advance.

I haven't stayed in any other Disney accommodation and reviews suggest that this is less Disney than the others but to be honest after a day at the parks we were ready to rest our senses for a little while.  For us living accommodation as well as bedrooms was a great asset, the facility to have breakfast without queuing and the ability to make packed lunches was ideal.  As mentioned above the option of a barbecue would also be a great end to the day.

When we visited in February the parks were only open 10am -  7pm so we headed over as soon as they opened and spent the days there.  If we had visited when the park was opened until later we may have taken advantage of the pool and the farm area more.  However, we came for the Disney experience not pools and farm parks so I wasn't too concerned!

I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have about the Davy Crochett Ranches if you want to know more  - submit a comment in the box and I'll reply as soon as I can.

Top tips for visiting Disneyland Paris

This year Santa bought us a 4 night stay at the Davy Crochett lodge within the Disneyland Paris resort. Thank you Santa!!

Our trip was in February, when the prices are much lower and a free half board meal package was included. It was very good value compared to peak season prices but did mean going during term time.

The benefits of travelling out of season was the lack of queues and more affordable prices, the down side was that not all the rides were operating when we were there.  The opening hours were also shorter in February- (10 am - 7pm) but to be honest as we didn't have to queue much and the age of the children we were happy to go back for dinner at that time.

The Disney website has brochures so that you can see what is / isn't running when you are planning to visit. Probably worth checking first to avoid disappointment.

11 Top Tips for visiting Disneyland Paris

• They say no food but you can take a small picnic into the parks (we took baguettes, crisps, fruit and drinks for 5 people in a ruck sack with no problems) - apparently the no food rules are to stop the french visitors taking large family picnic baskets into the park;

• There is a McDonalds in the Disney village, next to the parks - go straight down the main thoroughfare and turn right. The prices seemed equivalent to the usual McDonalds prices compared to the very expensive prices in the themed restaurants.  The Disney village sounds exciting but is really just a stretch of shops and eateries (unless I missed something!);

• It is worth buying Disney clothing / dressing up outfits before you go or taking outfits you already have if the children are going to want to dress up.  Mickey ears were on sale for 20 euros when we went or spend less than £1.50 on amazon.  Admittedly the quality won't be as good - but we don't wear Mickey ears that often at home so felt it was worth comprising quality for cost in this instance.  Same for autograph books if your child wants to queue for character signatures.

• Use the fast passes (they are only available on some of the more popular rides) - you can only use on one ride at a time but it does mean that you can go and do other things and come back at a set time to get on popular rides with a much shorter queue;

• The Stunt show in the Walt Disney Studios park is great - but if you are visiting for more than one day go on the more popular rides when everyone else has gone to watch it!  (Disclaimer - The short video at the end of the stunt show was taken by my 9 year old son so is somewhat shaky - also don't watch if you don't want to see the end!!).

  

• If you are planning to eat in the disney themed restaurants then you will need to book ahead to guarantee a table during peak season.  If you are staying in Disney accommodation you can do this at reception - otherwise there are places at the entrances to the parks where you can book. Alternatively, you can book by telephone up to 3 months before your visit.  The number to ring is 00 33 1 60 30 40 50.

• You can't book for Annette's Diner (50s style diner with some (not all) waiters on roller skates) at the entrance to the parks but we went when the parade was on and it was very quiet but filled up as soon as the parade finished.

The Frozen float in the parade

• Make sure your child waves at the characters in the parade as they will often wave back which brought a huge smile to my 5 year old's face.

• To get the best view of the show at the end you need to stand in front of the castle - your view is less good from the side (so get there early);

•  The Disney parks are not about white knuckle rides - it is the attention to detail that makes the rides so good.  There are some bigger rides but most are for a wider audience.  140cm was the tallest height restriction but there are plenty of rides for those smaller visitors.

• A lot of the rides and attractions are under cover as are the queuing areas but if the weather is likely to be changeable it is still worth taking a waterproof as there is plenty of park to walk around!

All in all we had a fantastic time and found that Disneyland Paris was a great introduction to the wonders of Disney without having to travel to the USA.

Walking with kids - Moors Valley Country Park, Ringwood, Dorset

Moors Valley Country Park, Ringwood is a short drive from the New Forest and well worth the journey from Hampshire into Dorset if you have children.

Although there are walks available through the forest (20 miles of way marked trails apparently), if you are accompanied by children that really isn't an option as the woodland play trail is a must!  Technically you wouldn't call this a walk as an adult you will spend time strolling / stopping as you progress around the forest.  Children, however, will not stop moving!

This really is absolutely fantastic!!  As you progress through the forest you happen on different wooden activity spaces hidden among the trees, each based on a different theme.  So for example, there is a nests area with large wooden nests joined together with wooden walkways, a spider area with rope and wooden webs, a wild west space with huge wooden teepees, a termite zone and a huge hollow wooden snake to name a few.

I can't do this justice with words so hope the photos help illustrate what is on offer.  (Click on the photos to open a larger photo gallery).

Spiders

Spiders

Snakes

Nests

Teepees and Tunnels

Webs

Access to the forest is free but you do pay for parking.  But with a day rate of around £8.50 this is a full day out guaranteed to bring a smile to your children's faces without breaking the bank.  Public transport is also an option.  There are toilets at the entrance and a shop with the usual tourist info leaflets and toys as well as a couple of refreshment outlets. (Take a picnic to keep it economical).  Two more traditional (but well thought out) play areas are at the entrance geared towards different age groups.

My youngest was 4 when we went here and was able to participate with help, but children 5 years + should be able to use this independently.

There is also a high ropes facility at the entrance which was very busy, cycle hire and a small steam train all charged at an additional  fee.  To be honest the forest activity trail is so good that there really is no need to spend extra.

Click here for the link to the Forestry Commission website for more information.