Tips for Disneyland Paris...

Y15HAL

Y15HAL

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Vishal
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Good Morning fellow TP'ers :)

Thinking of taking the kids to Disneyland Paris this year, and was wondering whether anyone had any tips, or recommendations?

Haven't thought about how we're going to get there yet either.....Flight, Eurostar, drive?

There are so many different hotels too.....Usually I check up on Tripadvisor first, but it would be good to know whether to stay in/around the park, or stay a bit further out and travel in....?

Thinking of going for 3-4 days.....

Any tips/advice grately appreciated :)

Thanks

Vishal
 
Best bet is to google DIBB forum - a UK Disney forum which is mainly for USA but also has a Paris section. DIBB was invaluable for me planning our trip to Orlando in May15, totally different but we stayed in Disney accom and found it to be brilliant, more times in parks etc...
 
We've both driven and taken the train. Depending on the cost for the train (and first class) I would prefer that as it was very comfortable to travel, food was great, they got out our luggage to the hotel at the park whilst we went in straight away.

Saying that, we've driven it as well and it wasn't any bother either.

I do like staying in the park in the Disney hotels. It is nice to be able to walk, gain early access, enjoy parties with the characters etc. It's all part of the experience. I haven't stayed in THE Disney hotel yet, we went to one just on the other side of the village by the big lake/fountain. Nice spacious family rooms.


It's a good few days out.
 
I went a couple of years ago for 5 nights. The DIBB forum mentioned above was really useful when planning the trip. We went in the February half term a that's when my wife's birthday is and the kids were off and were there from a Wednesday to Monday. It wasn't 'mad busy' but did get noticeably busier during the weekend days. I booked the hotel with Disneyland Paris direct and arranged our own flights with Easyjet to CDG. I also pre-booked a taxi from the airport to the hotel which met us at the airport. You can get the SNCF train I think which can get you from CDG to the park in something like 11 minutes but the times didn't marry up with our flight times. Worth looking at though.

We stayed in the Hotel Cheyenne which gave us early entry to the parks and they also ran a shuttle bus between the hotel and the parks. Never waited more that 5 minutes at either end for a bus. Eating in the parks is expensive and mostly fast food type places. There are better restaurants within the parks but they are even more expensive and also need to be booked in advance. Keep an eye on the Disneyland Paris website to see what offers they have on, I think they are doing two free nights on certain breaks just now. These change frequently and if there are no offers on then it may be worth waiting a week or so until the next one comes up.

I know that's a bit all over the place but it was a couple of years ago now! If I think of anything else I'll let you know.
 
Have you also considered Parc Asterix? My children did both within a year of each other and definitely preferred PA.
 
Leslie said:
We stayed in the Hotel Cheyenne which gave us early entry to the parks and they also ran a shuttle bus between the hotel and the parks. Never waited more that 5 minutes at either end for a bus. Eating in the parks is expensive and mostly fast food type places. There are better restaurants within the parks but they are even more expensive and also need to be booked in advance.
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We last went around 12yrs ago and also stayed in the Cheyenne. If it's still there, we used to buy snack food and drinks in the petrol garage shop just outside the hotel gates, before going back inside to queue for the shuttle bus. Don't know if manners have improved but when we were there queuing for the shuttle bus would prove pointless because as soon as the doors opened it was a free for all, worth bearing in mind if you have small kids.
Most of the more popular rides have Fast Track where you can get a timed ticket to go back at that time window and get a much quicker access to the ride without having to queue for ages.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Have you also considered Parc Asterix? My children did both within a year of each other and definitely preferred PA.
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I've never been there, is it good then? Do they have the troubadour hanging from the tree :)
 
dejongj said:
I've never been there, is it good then? Do they have the troubadour hanging from the tree :)
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I've not been either, having taken the family to Paris while I worked for a couple of days at Laboratoire Claude Levy. I did absolutely loath DP though, a few moments of bliss being snatched when we found a place between some artificial rocks when the sounds of dixieland jazz on endless repeat no longer assaulted the senses. The kids just thought it a lot better, and enjoyed telling me about how everyone looks up when they walk between the legs of Zeus. :rolleyes::wideyed::eek:
 
Hi

Depending on the age of your kids, and budget, I would suggest flying. We went last year with a 8 year old and a 6 year old. Flew from Heathrow, stayed at dream castle for 4 nights.

For the Disney tickets have a look at attraction tickets, they do various offers.
You
The hotel is away from the theme park but there is regularly bus service from the 4 hotels around dream castle to the park and back.

The rooms were okay and breakfast variety was good.

Take the reviews on trip advisor with a pinch of salt. We did not have any problems people have complained about.

There is a taxi service from the hotel to val de Europe. It is about 5 euro per adult and 2.50 per child return. You can go to the supermarket and stock up on drinks etc...

Hope this helps.
 
We went last summer for 5 days. Drove down, using the Chunnel. Easy drive as se went on a Sunday. No wagons on the French AutoRoute on Sundays so its quiet.
Stayed in the Newport Bay hotel, about 5 to 10 min walk from park entrances. Staying in the Disney hotels you get "early hours" access to the park.
If you want to go on Crushes coaster or Ratatouille queue up early and be prepared to walk quickly(or run like Ussain Bolt) to get to the front of the queue.
Wife booked it all direct through Disney.
There is a mini-mart in the railway station you can stock up on snacks before going into the park.
 
Been a few times, when the kids where younger. We all enjoyed it. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel every time. Expensive, but good and worth it. Travelled by car each time. Very easy. Worth noting, is that they close early some months. Seem to remember its 7.00pm. If you can, go summer season. They have the parade in the evening and firework display at the end. It's superb. Great atmosphere for the kids and adults alike.

Kev.
 
Thanks for the info everyone :)

Looking at going in May (half term), and i'm looking at around £1000 for the package (minus travel), which includes staying at the Disney's Sequoia Lodge

Eurostar is coming in at a mighty £750 for the four of us :eek:
 
I've stayed at that Lodge. It's a good location, nice big size family rooms. Basic but comfortable and good location. Communual areas are fun.
 
Just wanted to say thanks for everyone's input :)

Managed to book last night, going in the summer, staying at the Newport Bay Club. After checking reviews, it seemed the best out of the Disney hotels, without paying excessive amounts of money for the main Disneyland hotel.

Flying there was cheaper than any other method :eek:

Also booked up a couple of the character meals.

Any other tips at all?
 
There doesn't seem to be any polite queues when trying to meet characters and 'handlers' don't seem to care, things seem to be more organised at the US parks. At least there wasn't when i went 6 years ago..... I was desperate to meet Stitch and he kept running off and causing havoc! (just in case you were planning on meeting Stitch, ha ha)

Crush's coaster had the longest and slowest moving Q.
 
Apparently if you see buzz, woody or Jessie and shout andys coming they all freeze (I've not tested this, toy story wasn't out when I went)
 
If youre doing the rides then you can use fastpass which gives you a slot for the ride. Working out how to use these can result in a better experience than simply very long queues- have a read

Daryls view of going to Disneyland and having a ride sounds better without having to queue at all ( i would hope)
 
Y15HAL said:
Thanks for the info everyone :)

Looking at going in May (half term), and i'm looking at around £1000 for the package (minus travel), which includes staying at the Disney's Sequoia Lodge

Eurostar is coming in at a mighty £750 for the four of us :eek:
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Try booking St Pancras to Lille and then getting the TGV to Marne la Vallee - wife took our daughter along with wife's sister and kid and I think the four tickets came to about £200.

I had the best deal as I stayed at home ;)
 
narbs said:
Try booking St Pancras to Lille and then getting the TGV to Marne la Vallee - wife took our daughter along with wife's sister and kid and I think the four tickets came to about £200.

I had the best deal as I stayed at home ;)
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I aint that lucky i'm afraid! :D

Already booked flights! Worked out a lot cheaper surprisingly!
 
We are taking the kids in April - also went a few years ago.

Try searching for "Magic Forum" - its a forum dedicated to Disneyland Paris, and has many tips on there.

We are staying in the Disneyland Hotel - although expensive its a great way to get to make the most of the parks, including the "extra magic hours" (i.e. early opening) as you are right at the entrance

A few tips:
- food is very expensive (a lot of people make lunch at breakfast when staying in the disney hotels ...)
- definitely try and maximise your fastpass
- as you are in a disney hotel you should get the extra 2 hours early opening - either go for breakfast early (7am) and then get to the park for 8am when it opens, or go to the park for 8am, then come back at 10am for breakfast - that way you can miss queues - however only certain rides are open early
- you've already booked flights, but eurostar is generally much easier because the station is right outside - have you organised transfers?
- again you've already done this, but when you know where you want to eat - book in advance because can be busy if you haven't booked
- they used to have character shows in the disneyland hotel, but think they stopped this, but heard rumor that it was back but maybe temporarily so might not be there when you go. Anyone can watch this, so its a good idea to watch out for it (think they only advertise in the disneyland hotel itself though)
 
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