Not Buffets

[dvcdisney]

When I went to make my dining reservations for our upcoming DLP stay, it seemed like there were more buffet restaurants than table service that take reservations. Are buffets popular in Paris?

We don't like buffets so our restaurant choices seem limited.

Are there any restaurants that are buffets for breakfast or lunch, but not for dinner?

Thanks!

 

[Lesley Wake]

When I went to make my dining reservations for our upcoming DLP stay, it seemed like there were more buffet restaurants than table service that take reservations. Are buffets popular in Paris?

We don't like buffets so our restaurant choices seem limited.

Are there any restaurants that are buffets for breakfast or lunch, but not for dinner?

Thanks!

I think buffets are popular for Disneyland Paris because it’s easier for them. And it may be easier with the various language barriers (plenty of people there who don’t speak French or English).

I don’t think there are any places that switch from buffet to table service depending on meal. I actually really liked Inventions. Plaza Garden was meh, but that could have been clouded by a bad entrance experience I had there.

And if you consider how they only have 2 parks and the hotels are just that, hotels not resorts, they have a decent amount of Table Service places. I’d say similar to Disneyland CA, not Disneyworld.

 

[dvcdisney]

I think buffets are popular for Disneyland Paris because it’s easier for them. And it may be easier with the various language barriers (plenty of people there who don’t speak French or English).

I don’t think there are any places that switch from buffet to table service depending on meal. I actually really liked Inventions. Plaza Garden was meh, but that could have been clouded by a bad entrance experience I had there.

And if you consider how they only have 2 parks and the hotels are just that, hotels not resorts, they have a decent amount of Table Service places. I’d say similar to Disneyland CA, not Disneyworld.

Thank you for your post. I guess it seems like there are more buffets in DLP because those are the options for reservations.

With DL Cal, I felt I was able to find more table services reservations even if there wasn't as many choices either. I understand and I wasn't expecting it to be like WDW. I was just surprised on the amount of Buffets vs Table Service when it came down to making reservations.

I was able to make some reservations, but I think we'll also try the ones without the reservations as well (ie. Annette's Diner, Rainforest etc). I guess I just like having reservations even when it's not even required.

As far as buffets for certain meals, I thought perhaps there would be places that have a special character breakfast buffet, but table service for dinner.

Are any of the buffets "Family style" (where they bring the food to your table)?

 

[Lesley Wake]

Thank you for your post. I guess it seems like there are more buffets in DLP because those are the options for reservations.

With DL Cal, I felt I was able to find more table services reservations even if there wasn't as many choices either. I understand and I wasn't expecting it to be like WDW. I was just surprised on the amount of Buffets vs Table Service when it came down to making reservations.

I was able to make some reservations, but I think we'll also try the ones without the reservations as well (ie. Annette's Diner, Rainforest etc). I guess I just like having reservations even when it's not even required.

Oh, I totally understand! I made so many reservations, and made sure to call at the 60 day mark, even though that was probably unnecessary. When I checked in, they gave me little printouts of all the reservations (like little receipts for each one), which I was super surprised about, because it included the reservations I had made online (via the Dutch site), where I had just put in my name and email, not resort reservation! So the CM working the desk was like, um, you have a lot of reservations - I can't imagine what it looked like for the person who printed them all off and stapled them together!

Here's where I ended up eating:
Quick Service:
Toad Hall - Meh food, but great theming
Chalet Marionette - surprisingly decent chicken
Earl of Sandwich - same quality as WDW's version, so good
Vapianos - it smelled a bit weird in there, but the pizza was delicious!

Table Service/Buffet:
Inventions - very good and lots of characters who were excited to see me wearing a WDW shirt!
Chez Remy - food was decent, nothing memorable in a bad or good way
Plaza Garden - as mentioned, I wasn't a fan, but that could have been because I had a bad experience with the CMs checking me in. I guess the food was decent, again not memorably bad or good
Walts - another meal that was decent but not memorable, but it was fun to eat while sitting above main street and people watching
Captain Jacks - food was a bit dry, but there was a lot of it. Also Captain Jack came around and we had a great character interaction (I don't know if he always is there though)!

 

[dvcdisney]

Oh, I totally understand! I made so many reservations, and made sure to call at the 60 day mark, even though that was probably unnecessary. When I checked in, they gave me little printouts of all the reservations (like little receipts for each one), which I was super surprised about, because it included the reservations I had made online (via the Dutch site), where I had just put in my name and email, not resort reservation! So the CM working the desk was like, um, you have a lot of reservations - I can't imagine what it looked like for the person who printed them all off and stapled them together!

Here's where I ended up eating:
Quick Service:
Toad Hall - Meh food, but great theming
Chalet Marionette - surprisingly decent chicken
Earl of Sandwich - same quality as WDW's version, so good
Vapianos - it smelled a bit weird in there, but the pizza was delicious!

Table Service/Buffet:
Inventions - very good and lots of characters who were excited to see me wearing a WDW shirt!
Chez Remy - food was decent, nothing memorable in a bad or good way
Plaza Garden - as mentioned, I wasn't a fan, but that could have been because I had a bad experience with the CMs checking me in. I guess the food was decent, again not memorably bad or good
Walts - another meal that was decent but not memorable, but it was fun to eat while sitting above main street and people watching
Captain Jacks - food was a bit dry, but there was a lot of it. Also Captain Jack came around and we had a great character interaction (I don't know if he always is there though)!

Thanks so much!

Those are really helpful. I have reservations at Walt's, Chez Remy, Captain Jacks, Yacht Club and Cal Grill. I'm considering cancelling Cal Grill and just going to Annette's Diner for a bit of fun atmosphere. Do you think that's a good idea?

 

[Karin1984]

I think it is partially a language issue that makes it easier to have buffets instead of table service. But it also goes quicker.

And that might also be a cultural issue. Going out for dinner in France can take a few hours if you do it well. And in a themepark you want to have the guests back in the park, spending more money, as quick as possible.

As an example, I work for a French-Dutch company. Lunch in NL is 30 minutes, grab a sandwich/drink, sit, eat, and back to your desk. Not in France. In France the food selection is much bigger so you take your time to select what you want, you sit down, leisurely eat your meal, when everyone is done you stay seated and chat. Then you go for coffee and more chatting and then you go back to work.

If the majority of your guests is French and they all take their time, there are less guests who can have dinner in one evening and you would need more restaurants... You do find more table service restaurants in Disney village.

Other reason might be a combination of a majority of locals/day guests and overpriced food. It is easier to get your money's worth in an all-you-can-eat buffet.

For me, I would go to Anette's, as I think they are all too expensive. The table service restaurants in DLP have better food than the counter service restaurants, but for good French food, don't expect much of any of them.

 

[dvcdisney]

I think it is partially a language issue that makes it easier to have buffets instead of table service. But it also goes quicker.

And that might also be a cultural issue. Going out for dinner in France can take a few hours if you do it well. And in a themepark you want to have the guests back in the park, spending more money, as quick as possible.

As an example, I work for a French-Dutch company. Lunch in NL is 30 minutes, grab a sandwich/drink, sit, eat, and back to your desk. Not in France. In France the food selection is much bigger so you take your time to select what you want, you sit down, leisurely eat your meal, when everyone is done you stay seated and chat. Then you go for coffee and more chatting and then you go back to work.

If the majority of your guests is French and they all take their time, there are less guests who can have dinner in one evening and you would need more restaurants... You do find more table service restaurants in Disney village.

Other reason might be a combination of a majority of locals/day guests and overpriced food. It is easier to get your money's worth in an all-you-can-eat buffet.

For me, I would go to Anette's, as I think they are all too expensive. The table service restaurants in DLP have better food than the counter service restaurants, but for good French food, don't expect much of any of them.

Thank you. That's very helpful. And I can understand about people (and Disney) preferring to have a quicker meal for theme parks. And I can see why it would be easier with regards to language. I do notice that the menus (at least in DLP) are also offered in English. I would hope that the majority of restaurant servers do speak English.

My family generally tries to avoid Buffets as much as possible, but I do understand the preference for it. If we were staying longer, I would probably need to book one if we don't have any table service restaurants left to choose.

Thanks for the advice about Annette's. I know it'll be American type food, but as strange as it may sound, we don't usually eat at burger places like that so I think that would be a treat. With the exchange rate, this restaurant is still pricey.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Lesley Wake]

I do notice that the menus (at least in DLP) are also offered in English. I would hope that the majority of restaurant servers do speak English.

Everyone who works at DLP speaks English and French fluently; when the CMs working at the attractions need to give you specific instructions, they always first ask - French or English (unless they already could tell which one you were speaking). And all the menus and signage are in both languages. The announcements are also in both languages.

The shows are in a combination of English and French (some characters only speak French and some only speak English, while others speak both); it takes some getting used to, but it's easy to understand what's going on. Stitch Live (sort of like Turtle Talk + Monsters Laugh Floor) actually alternates its shows between French and English, because it's really necessary to understand everything that's going on to enjoy it.

 

[dvcdisney]

Everyone who works at DLP speaks English and French fluently; when the CMs working at the attractions need to give you specific instructions, they always first ask - French or English (unless they already could tell which one you were speaking). And all the menus and signage are in both languages. The announcements are also in both languages.

The shows are in a combination of English and French (some characters only speak French and some only speak English, while others speak both); it takes some getting used to, but it's easy to understand what's going on. Stitch Live (sort of like Turtle Talk + Monsters Laugh Floor) actually alternates its shows between French and English, because it's really necessary to understand everything that's going on to enjoy it.

Thank you! That's great to know. Perhaps it's due to the fact that it's a Disney theme park, a tourist attraction and likely since there are probably a lot of visitors from UK.

On our British Isles cruise we had a port stop at Le Havre and did an excursion to Mont Saint Michel. When we went to purchase some food, we had a difficult time understanding them - mainly because it was very loud, but also we couldn't make out most of the words...usually, we could figure out with what limited French we know...but we ended up pointing at everything because she couldn't understand our French either...