Any tips for Disneyland Paris?

[Florencenotflo]

It's a very hypothetical enquiry at the moment, obviously with Covid and Brexit we're not looking to book for a while. But I'm bored and doing some research.

A couple of questions:

Hotel Cheyenne? Ok or not? Dd1 is toy story mad so we'd probably go there because it's Toy story themed.

Are meal plans worth it? Dd1 would be 5 possibly 6 by the time we go, dd2 would be 2. Half board would add £300 for all of us for 3 nights/4days. Full board (3 meals a day) would be £450 for all of us.

Any other tips people have would be greatly appreciated!

Between corporate trips, a hen weekend and going three times with my kids, I think I've stayed in most of the hotels at DLP. My favourite, but at a cost, is the pink Disneyland hotel right by the gates as I really liked the characters milling around for photos and also it's right by the gates if the kids need a rest.

I also really like the direct Eurostar service, it's a 3 minute walk to the Disneyland hotel.

I've been to Disneyworld in Florida recently and I still think DLP has its benefits. It doesn't have all the other parks such as Epcot and Animal Kingdom, but my kids loved the Magic Kingdom when they were younger and it's easy to get to. For some reason, I've always found it really cold there, even though I've been at different times of the year.

Unless the meal plans are in one of their occasional promotions, I'm not sure I'd bother as the food in the park isn't that great. We enjoyed the character dining buffet at our hotel though it was rather expensive and there are a fair few restaurants in Disney Village, think we ate at Planet Hollywood.

Yes second that hint about taking your own dress up. Feb half term ques weren't awful, longest was for meeting the princesses which was 90mins but the rest were about 30mins. Get the app and then you can see the waits at each ride.

Food in the park is expensive and you need bookings really however for flexibility especially if your budget is tight I would suggest only doing b&b because just outside there's supermarkets and non Disney restaurants including a massive McDonald's. We stayed at Newport club last time and sequoia the time before I think, both are a short walk to the park. If your dd is not a strong walker and can still fit, a buggy is an excellent idea- you walk miles everyday plus if they are out later and tired they can nap whilst you have a drink, we hired a double one on site for our last aged 5&7

Also to second the comments about younger kids sometimes being scared of the characters. We have a photo of my then 2 year old with a puce face screaming at the top of his lungs when one of the characters came over to our table at breakfast to say hello. He wasn't a sensitive child in the least but went apoplectic near any of the characters. Suffice to say one of us had to sit outside with him so as not to ruin the meal for everyone else in the restaurant.

The baby swap thing is useful, from memory you queue as normal, one adult rides with the child, while the other adult stays by the exit with the younger one in the pushchair, followed by the other adult. It meant my older son was able to go on rides twice but only queue once.

The guide to Disney books are helpful for tips, think our one for Florida was called something like Brits Guide to Disney or similar.

Ps never go in August! My now adult DD's persuaded us to go a few years back after a trip to Nice, horrendous queues, 30 degrees, thankfully they were old enough to be left unsupervised so we went into Paris each day

We did dlp and stayed in Cheyenne in august this year. Between lockdowns, just before they brought in quarantine after returning from France. Was amazing! So clean and well run! The kids were 6 and 8 and loved it. The 8 year old was just tall enough to go on everything except the indiana Jones ride and the 6 year old preferred the story type rides anyway. They were only letting in a fraction of the number they’d usually let in so we didn’t q for more than 40 mins on anything. We went on everything- usually more than once. However, it was 35 degrees, very little shade and compulsory face masks ( good thing- but hot!) we did half board and the food was poor quality but plentiful. I took in lots of non meltable snacks like nuts and cereal bars and crisps and refillable water bottles. I would recommend! The kids want to go to an American one next.

I agree with a PP they will be too young to remember this trip in a few years although it will be fun apart from the fact they will be too short for most rides and will get very tired and exhausted and have quite a few emotional breakdowns between them. They will be underage to go on any rides alone whilst you look after the 2 year old.

I took my DS and DD this age and they dont remember it at all.

I took them both again last year as teenagers 13 and 14 and we all loved it. Also when we went to the park later in the evening there were virtually no queues on most rides. And for the popular rides we used the fast pass during the day.

Each time we stayed at the Cheyenne Hotel which we were more than happy with.

I found the meals plans a complete hinderance the first time round so didnt do it the second time.

Lower your expectations at this age.

My DC liked it from tiny. Yours is the perfect age.

We have been to the Paris park twice and stayed off site. It reduced the cost massively and was only 10min shuttle ride away, perfect.

(Personally I'd save the £ and do Orlando because it's miles more fun).

I have to add that each time we went we booked through Disney and it made life easier re trains, planes and staying in Disney hotels etc.

They always have good discounts.

We all had a lovely time the first time round when the DC were 5 and 6 and the park caters of course very much for that age group as well but we had a more exciting and unforgettable time when they were older.

I agree save the ££ and do Orlando when they are teenagers

We stayed in sequoia in 2018. It was tired,dated, the rides kept breaking down. I'd save and Florida instead. They were supposed to be reinvesting but I'm guessing Covid will have shut that down.

We paid extra for premium dining or whatever it's called, we walked out of the princess lunch before dessert because it took three hours. Ratatouille restaurant the food was inedible. The buffet in the hotel was ok.

My kids never talk about it now, they had a better time at Butlins for a fraction of the price.

We’ve been going to DLP since it opened and I’ve stayed at all the hotels except Sante fe and Cheyenne . Nowadays we always stay at the Disneyland hotel for convenience . Christmas season is lovely although very cold , we’ve been plenty of times in December and had proper snow . I prefer to drive ,mainly because I don’t fly and am not keen on trains , it also means I can pick my own arrival and departure times and take drinks / snacks ( my daughter is coeliac ) . It’s worth checking on booking if any hotels have an offer on meal plans as that can make it worth paying extra for the hotel IYSWIM . We are booked for June 21 ( moved from last June ) and have a free full board meal plan . I’m not that fussed about the meal plan actually as we eat mainly at Planet Hollywood as it has the best GF menu and you can’t use it there . It’s worth checking the schedule for ride closures when you want to go and also take into consideration that they are redeveloping Disney Village . The Wild West show has actually closed for good now . I love the Paris site and prefer it to the USA ( have been a few times when I flew ) the only thing that would attract me to Florida is Epcot ,

I go every year and stay at the main Disneyland Hotel. Obviously, we didn’t do it this year due to COVID and I’ve missed it. I’ve also done Florida a few times. I love DLP. Yes bits of it are a little tired but it is being upgraded and is still a lovely few days away.

I don’t have any issues with food, drinks or queue times but I do go in November when we have 2 in-service days. I’ve also, in around a dozen trips, never once experienced a ride breakdown. Inventions is my favourite for dinner.

My biggest tip is to plan. Plan some more and when you’ve planned, plan again. Join Facebook groups and read tripadvisor.

I have been 4 times. 1992, 2009, 2017and 2019.

I have stayed in Cheyenne, dream castle, sequoia and Newport bay. I lo e the Cheyenne styling and you can walk to the parks.

Absolutely love it. I suppose if you look with adult eyes it is expensive, long queues at times, food on site not that healthy etc but if you go with children's eyes its enchanting, magical, fun and you get swept along.

Plan and research. July/August busy and hot, Jan to March cold and quieter. I've been at various times and it's best in term time (french and british). I think May is best!

I've done it by coach tour, eurostar and drove. By far car was best, packed the car with crisps, squash, etc to keep the cost down. It's such an easy drive!

We had an annual pass so went quite a few times a year. I wouldn’t recommend the Disney hotels at all. We decided to stay at the Disneyland Hotel ( 6x the price per night!) and were horrified - it looked exactly the same as it did in the pictures from when I went as a child in the 90s. All the furniture was threadbare and stained. We always stay at Relais Spa D’Europe. The rooms are lovely and all have little kitchens in, there is are a few drivers that will pick you up and drop you off at the gate (couple of minutes drive) and a lovely quiet swimming pool.

It's a tricky one. Orlando is obviously a very different experience- there is much more to it and it can be more overwhelming and need more planning. You now need to book pretty much everything in advance (character meals and fast passes for rides and met and greets). DLP is more convenient in many ways because it's compact. Agree that the direct Euro Star (or even via Lille) is a game changer as you get off literally at the gates of the Park.
I have stayed on and off site. There are some cheaper hotels off site that aren't much further than the Cheyenne in the direction of Val d'Europe but my fave is the Disneyland Hotel. I think the meal plan is worth it.
Plan plan plan. Use fast passes for the popular rides. Take a bag of snacks with you.
If you book non Disney accommodation attraction tickets are v good for park tickets and the hoppers where you can flit between both parks is worth doing.

@SebastianTheCrab what is your favorite park? I long for Shanghai and Tokyo to complete my list!

Op before you book a package always check the annual pass prices.

I agonised over Disney for years, doing tons of research. I found from the Disney Facebook pages, trip advisor etc that it's busy and does take quite a bit of planning.
For these reasons and cost we decided to buy magic plus annual passes.

We had our own special entrance, which never had any queue (compared to the hotel entrance) you also get early magic hours. Emh.

You get % off most counter service foods, and merch. Free use of their push chairs, free Parking.

We stayed at hotel eylesse which is near the park. All so called off site hotels are so close to the park and all have shuttle busses. Some are closer than on site hotels!

Look up the reviews. It's also got fridges in the room, a colossal supermarket close by, the option of the Disney bus from directly opposite the entrance or driving or the train, directly opp the hotel, one stop.

We took our own beautiful fresh baggetts into the park and ate at various counter service places like belle notte, nice lasagne, ice cream side and drink for 4 around 45 euros and it was fine!

We also liked Pinocchios counter service, again roughly 45 for 4.

I say this because our first visit was really learning how to do the park timing is all, walking routes... Shows.

We went 4 times that year, used tesco vouchers for the tunnel or ferry, the hotel is lovley and was far cheaper than Disney hotels and our 2nd, and subsequent visits we were pros!! Often involved dh sprinting off for fast p tickets but we glided from ride to ride!!

We did our last visit over Xmas again gorgeous.

So I'd suggest weighing up, how feasible is it for you to go a few times.. And think about that

Forgot to add. I love it. I find it less overwhelming than the parks. The castle is beautiful and I have found the character interactions really good. My 14 yr old DS was v unsure about the Princess Lunch (we were celebrating DDs 18th) and they were fab with him. He really enjoyed their attention!

PS, again from fb pages we avoided all the buffet, unfortunately the park does suffer from norivus outbreaks and other stomach sick stuff.

There are plenty of food options without the hugely expensive buffets. Friends went at new years, spent a fortune and night after 1st buffet, sick.

Spring dale the relais looked v good too.

we have been 5 times, florida 3 and anaheim 1! dd was almost 2 first time in DLP, then 2&4, then 4&6, then 2, 6&8, then last year 7,11 and 13. we did floria twice between the last 2trips.
we loved it. it's brilliant for the little ones as not so big or hot as florida. the rides are not too big . as a first trip it's perfect to see if it's for you. it's not for everyone.
we've stayed at cheyenne, sequoia lodge, davy crockett and newport. all fine. we just sleep in the room so don't go for fancy stuff. it's nice to be able to walk back but we liked the caravan style accommodation at davy cricket
you don't need full board. everyone makes up lunch from breakfast and supplements with snacks from home. we did this in usa too. at davy cricket you got a box per family unit - hot drink, pint of milk, a bread roll per person (so imagine half a french stick size,
was lovely) , then jams, choc spreads (and we got ham in the on site shop) and also breakfast bars milk croissant and apple compots .
this kept us going all day and we also used to eat snacks from
home in queues for rides! they go quicker whilst eating ! we drove last few times and had fruit shoots, crisps , cereal bars etc, fruit, take sandwich bags/tinfoil to bag stuff up.
then for dinner we ate out, had to book but we preferred buffet styles as the kids could choose what they wanted.
that said we probably won't go back. after seeing florida, the older 2 enjoyed our last trip but they now want the thrills of the Usa!

you walk miles, when youngest was in florida we took buggy for him even though he was 6 as it's a long walk. reluctant at first but he happily got in, as did then 10 year old! also sometimes need to get to a show or fast pass fast so speed is important. also for carrying bags.
if do have buggy though, we often split on entry and some of us would go through without bags (much shorter queue) and get the fast passes /into the character queues and the one with the bag/buggy queue.
also in paris there is an app for seeing some characters... can't remember the name but you have to book them daily. gives you a time slot. useful as we queues for stitch for ours one day. he was so irritating as he was talking so long with everyone even though the queue miles long.
take disney costumes and any t shirts etc from primark or supermarkets. so much cheaper.
we did the photo pass as i think it was free so has some nice pics but there was sometimes a delay on them appearing on the app.
it can be cold too so layers. we were last there for halloween, and had full winter gear on.

We've been twice, first time DCs were 5 and 7, then the following year when they were 6 and 8. They loved it both times.

First year we stayed in Cheyenne with no meal plan, it was fine - hotel basic but clean, food expensive. On the second visit we stayed in Sequoia Lodge with a half board plan, so much better. Hotel was closer and we booked dinner so had no queuing for food. The app is really useful for showing ride queue times so we used that and it meant that we could avoid the longer queues. There's another app (Lineberty I think?) where you could book a slot to meet characters.

We had 2 lovely holidays and I would definitely recommend it. The Disneyland Paris for Brits Facebook page is a wealth of information. If you are planning to book directly through Disney definitely check out the deals for the other countries on the Disney site, they often have different offers to the UK site which can be a real saving. I booked a French deal the first time we went and it was hundreds less then the UK price

We went and stayed at Cheyenne and had a lovely time.

Tips:

1. Take your own kettle and brewmaking stuff.
2. Take a load of Capri Suns.
3. Take sandwich bags.
4. Make picnics from the breakfast buffet (everyone was doing it and it meant we could spend more money in the shops!)

Another vote for getting annual passes and staying off site. We stayed at a caravan park the with Canvas the first time and drove the 25 minutes to DLP. That was great because it was 35 degrees and the outdoor pool was very welcome. August BH weekend and longest wait for a ride was 45 mins. Second visit we stayed at the Adagio and got the free shuttle bus to DLP. No longer than the cheaper Disney hotels. Did a mix of picnics from the enormous hyper market mead DLP and counter service in the parks, apart from the Ratatouille restaurant once. Nice good is wasted on my kids. They just wanted the Mickey Mouse pizzas.

We loved our visits to DLP and plan to return. DH and I are miserable cynics but we’re pleasantly surprised how much fun we had.

@PandemicPavolova

PS, again from fb pages we avoided all the buffet, unfortunately the park does suffer from norivus outbreaks and other stomach sick stuff.

There are plenty of food options without the hugely expensive buffets. Friends went at new years, spent a fortune and night after 1st buffet, sick.

Ah that explains why DH was sick when we went a few years ago.