Disneyland Paris’ Sequoia Lodge

When we booked our trip to Disneyland Paris, we wanted to stay on-site to make the most of what we figured was a once-in-a-lifetime trip there, so we chose the Sequoia Lodge Hotel. There are cheaper options both on-site and off-site, but we wanted to be close and have a true Disney experience. I’m a huge fan of the Wilderness Lodge at Disney World, as well as the real National Park lodges in the western United States that it’s based off of, so I was pretty excited since this seemed to be a close approximation of those. The lobby was pretty and well-themed, but its low ceilings lacked some of the grandeur that the Wilderness Lodge has. The Christmas decorations in the lobby added a warm, homey touch for the holidays though. This Sequoia Lodge review has all the tips and info you need to plan a stay at this awesome Disneyland Paris hotel!

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We were thrilled with the Hotel Sequoia – Disney did a great job capturing the essence of those old western lodges. One evening, we wandered through the Hotel New York and Hotel Cheyenne and were even more happy with our decision. The interior theming at the New York hotel was almost non-existent (although I thought the outdoor ice skating rink a la Rockefeller Center was a nice touch for Christmas) aside from some large apples decorating the check in counter. The New York hotel is being remodeled to a Marvel theme though, so once that’s finished I’m sure it’ll be worth a stay. I liked the theming at Cheyenne a lot, but it’s very spread out and would’ve been a long walk to/from breakfast and the parks.

Golden Forest perks at the Sequoia Lodge

We had originally booked a standard room, but had to make some modifications to our reservation to add my brother who decided to come at the last minute, and somehow while calling the reservation line my mom got us upgraded to a Golden Forest room at no extra cost. Yay, Disney magic! This entitled us to a special check-in area (basically there was a desk and chairs you could sit down at and a bowl of Disney chocolate coins that I may or may not have taken a whole pocketful of), a guaranteed room in the main lodge, an upgraded breakfast, access to a lounge with free pop, water, and hot beverages in the evening, and an extra Fastpass per person for each day of our stay.

Aside from the bowl of chocolate, having the room in the main lodge was by far the best aspect of booking a Golden Forest room at the Sequoia Lodge. We didn’t realize until the second night that there were separate buildings that had exterior walkways. This wouldn’t be an issue in the summer, but it was cold and rainy when we were there. Being located in the main building of the Sequoia Lodge was a huge benefit. Of course, there’s always a chance that you’ll luck into one of these rooms with a regular reservation at no extra cost, but the Golden Forest upgrade guarantees that you’ll be there.

Breakfast in the Golden Forest Club

I also enjoyed the upgraded breakfast that came with our Golden Forest reservation. The regular Sequoia Lodge breakfast is pretty standard according to other reviews, but the We had our own dedicated dining room in the Golden Forest Club that supposedly had better food than the  regular one. The scrambled eggs were way better than the usual breakfast buffet ones, and I had about three helpings of perfectly cooked bacon each morning. I also may have eaten my weight in pastries.

The Golden Forest Club Lounge also includes free snacks and drinks in the evening. We didn’t get much of a chance to use it since we were at Disneyland Park all day, but I did enjoy my hot chocolate in the evening. I also discovered that they would hand over cans of pop and bottles of water for you to take back to your room, so you can also enjoy your drinks outside of the lounge. Had we planned a longer stay, we would’ve made better use of it and probably returned in the afternoon for some snacks and a break, but with only 1.5 days to hit both parks, we didn’t want to waste park time by going back to the hotel.

Sequoia Lodge Golden Forest rooms

Our Golden Forest room had a perfect view of the parks and getting to see the landmarks when we first checked in was incredibly exciting. It was dark when we got there, and seeing the Disneyland Paris castle lit up in the distance got us extra excited for visiting the parks in the morning.

On our second night, after Disneyland Park closed, there was some kind of special fireworks and “bonfire” presentation on the lagoon outside of the hotel. Instead of standing out in the cold for another hour, we just went inside the Sequoia Lodge and watched from the window in our nice, toasty room.

The room was large by European standards and had plenty of room for the four of us. Our only complaint was the lack of outlets. There were only three places to plug things in in the room, and one of the outlets was controlled by the master light switch, so it couldn’t be used when the lights were off at night. If you’re planning on traveling with a larger group, bring power strips or splitters because plugging in all of our phones, cameras, Fitbits, and other assorted electronics was a challenge.

The Sequoia Lodge pool

The Sequoia Lodge is the only place I’ve stayed at in Europe that actually has an indoor pool. We had to walk (run, actually) outside to get to the swimming pool building, so be prepared for that if you’re visiting in the winter. The map of the hotel we’d gotten when we checked in made it look like it was an enclosed walkway to get there, but it was not. And it was very cold. Make sure you have some flipflops and some kind of warm cover-up for the outdoor portion of your trip to the Sequoia Lodge pool. You enter the pool area through a locker room that had showers and a sauna. There are plenty of lounge chairs around the pool for you to relax in and it’s a fun atmosphere that felt very Disney to me.

I thought the Sequoia Lodge’s pool area was very pretty and I loved the fake rock formation that housed the waterslide and a waterfall. My mom and sister were not pleased that you had to swim through the pool to get to the hot tub though. I found it a bit perplexing, but I went for a quick swim anyway. The hot tub ended up not being as hot as I’m used to and having to jump in the cool pool to get out of it kind of negated the warm, toasty effect, but I would’ve spent some more time there if the others hadn’t been waiting for me to leave. I settled for a couple runs down the waterslide and we headed back to the room. Sadly, I discovered that my waterproof camera does not work well indoors at all, so I didn’t end up with any particularly good photos.

Other amenities at the Sequoia Lodge

The hotel also has a great luggage storage area outside of the lobby and they took our crazy number of suitcases and backpacks with no problem. We found out as we were rushing to leave that there was a quick shuttle from the hotel entrance to the train station, which saved us from having to powerwalk all the way there and try to figure out how to put our giant suitcases through the tiny bag scanners at the entrance to Disney Village. And, for those of you who are wondering, the Sequoia Lodge hotel does have air conditioning.

Security at the Sequoia Lodge

As Disney veterans, we were not surprised to have to check in with security when driving onto the property. We were, however, unprepared to have to show proof of our reservation though and it took me several minutes to dig through my phone in search of the confirmation. They also required us to pop our trunk for a quick peek before we were let into the parking area.

I dropped my mom off so she could check in while the rest of us parked the car. When the rest of us came in we were surprised to find more security there. My sister and I had to put our purses through an x-ray machine and we were all wanded with a metal detector before being allowed to enter the building. The security was a little off-and-on, so when we came back in hauling our large suitcases, no one was manning the checkpoint and we just walked in. The whole thing felt like security theater, which I hate.

Booking the Sequoia Lodge at Disneyland Paris

I would definitely recommend the Sequoia Lodge if you’re planning on staying on-site at Disneyland Paris. It seems to have the best combination of theming and location as compared to the other hotels, and was pretty reasonably priced compared to the higher-end resorts at the American Disney parks. Check out the official site for booking information (UK link here).

Things to pack for a stay at the Hotel Sequoia Lodge:

• A power strip – my biggest complaint about the rooms here is the lack of outlets to charge electronics. If you have a few people in your room, you’ll definitely need one of these.
• Bathing suit – Don’t miss out on the Sequoia Lodge pool. You can swim in style with a Disney themed bathing suit. You can get kids’ bathing suits anywhere, but ones for adults are harder to find. This one is pretty subtle, but I’m a fan of going all out in this Little Mermaid one.
• Flip Flops – You’ll want these for walking to and from the swimming pool. I like these because they’re light, affordable, and come in a whole rainbow of colors.
• A lightweight backpack – This isn’t for the hotel per se, but you’ll want to have this for your time in the parks.

Read more about our trip to Disneyland Paris:

• Disneyland Paris – Disney Village
• Disneyland Paris – Walt Disney Studios
• Disneyland Paris – Disneyland Park