The past busy summer season in both theme parks of Disneyland Paris saw the usual crowds descending on the restaurants during the core lunch and dinner hours. And even so the capacity in the table service restaurants of the Disneyland Park on most days was sufficient (and guests rarely had to be turned away), lines in the counter service and buffet locations were considerable and at times lengthy. In the Studios the influx as usually was handled by the numerous outdoor vending cars and in particular the seating in the La Terrasse area in front of the Tower of Terror. The Disneyland Park reacted not only by operating all restaurants with daily schedules for most of the summer but also by adding extra outdoor areas…
The first of these two extra outdoor venues was “The Terrace at the Auberge de Cendrillon” in Fantasyland. Originally used as outdoor area of the restaurant before it was transformed from a table service location to a Disney Character Buffet location was already used during the summer of 2008 and is offering guests seating on the tables in the beautiful courtyard with table service and a limited menu of selected drinks and snacks
(salads, bruschetta, ice desserts). The offering proofed so popular and demand so high that later during the summer season 2009 the Plaza Gardens buffet restaurant next to Central Plaza for the first time followed the example of the the Auberge de Cendrillon by offering table service with a limited drinks and snacks menu on the tables between the restaurant and the signature fountain in front of it. However, the menu was more limited here and there was no signage indicating the option (besides the menu cards on the tables), while “The Terrace at the Auberge de Cendrillon” was advertised on the main menu display of the Auberge de Cendrillon on those days the terrasse was open – as both locations due to
their unsheltered seating only operated whether permitting.
And that huge caveat is also bringing the question up how the Disneyland Park will handle the to be expected huge demand during the upcoming busy finale of the Halloween Season and the traditionally extremly popular Holiday Season in the park? Neither of the two outdoor venues is an option, however, there are limited options to add additional indoor seating. So at this time the only new, added capacity comes from the now finished remodeling of the Last Chance Cafe in Frontierland.
The Last Chance Cafe in Frontierland was the only location closed for a longer period of time during the busy summer months as the outdoor only seating of this fast food counter service location received a substantial roof that protects guests from all but the most fierce weather conditions. In fact added ground level protection would make it even possible to use the seating during all but the coldest days of the coming winter season. However, the question remains whether the limited seating added with this project is sufficient to handle guest deamdn during the busy days of the Holiday Season…