Disney Paris Hotels - Disneyland or not?

[passmeaglass]

I’ve searched previous threads and not really found what I’m looking for. We want to take DS for his 4th birthday for a 3 night break late July. We’d ideally book the Disneyland hotel in the park for the novelty value and ease, it’s just so expensive! Jet2 holidays have several hotels nearby at less than half the cost but offsite, requiring transport to and from and I’ve also looked at the other Disney hotels on site which still require a transfer which are in between in terms of price. The standard of all of the hotels doesn’t look great for the prices - some basic travelodge style, some a little better and for the prices we would expect really decent for the Disneyland hotel and I’m not sure it is. Help!

To add - July unbelievably is cheaper at Disneyland hotel than May or Oct unbelievably (even outside the half term dates!)

The Disneyland Hotel caters for two types of people :-

1. Deranged single peri menopausal women who believe thai au how they live out that life long dream of being Cinderella.
2. Parents who would rather stick forks in their eyes than go to fucking Disney.

Have you looked at the Newport Bay? It's still easily walkable to the parks.

We stayed in an Aparthotel in Valle D’Europe which was really good. We had a living room for after DS had gone to bed, a communal pool, and a really good breakfast buffet. It had a free shuttle to and from the parks, but when it was busy we walked it.

The Hotel New York is great. The State rooms have nice extras including breakfast, afternoon tea and a lounge you can use all day for snacks and drinks (included). Very near the park entrance. I wouldn’t bother getting the shuttle in. It’s a quick walk through the Disney village.

We took DS when he was 4. The transfer is really quick and regular. We couldn't be bothered paying loads for a room we spent no time in so we paid for the second cheapest, the Cheyenne. It was fine but didn't include breakfast.

I’ve also stayed at the Cheyenne and the Santa Fe when my dc was younger and they were still an easy walk down the river to the park. Once we realised how near everything was we stopped waiting for the shuttle buses.

Does he really love the Disney IP?

If he’s not massively Disney mad then I’d go to Efteling or Phantasialand instead. Disney in July will be absolutely packed, the queues for stuff your kid can actually go on will likely be through the roof. We went last July and it was over an hour for stuff like the flying elephants and there wasn’t that much our 3yo wanted to go on/could go on. Some of the stuff is really dated too, we spent ages waiting for the Snow White ride and it was very disappointing. It was well over an hour wait for the Peter Pan and Dumbo rides, which in the hot sun isn’t that enjoyable. And neither of my kids were bothered about the characters.

It was incredibly busy, we ended up forking out for queue skips to avoid spending hours queuing, I had an iron grip on the kids as the crowds in some bits were incredibly dense. I left feeling like I needed a holiday to get over it. Kids did enjoy it but enjoyed some of the other Euro parks far more (for half the price and half the queue times).

I wouldn’t pay the price for the Disneyland Hotel but have happily paid to stay at some of the other Disneyland Hotels.

We’ve stayed at Cheyenne once - good value, cheaper than the rest, clean, comfortable and good breakfast.

twice at Newport - higher standard (4 star), close to the park and has a swimming pool.

this year we are booked into the Marvel Hotel and excited for that. A few mins from park, swimming pool and lots of Marvel characters.

these hotels all have the advantage of being close to the parks and you get magic hour (early entry with shorter queues).

the Disneyland Hotel itself has the advance of being right at the park and lots of princesses if you are into that.

I’ve never seen the value in the extra cost myself.

The Disney hotel right at the start of parks will be crazy prices. We stayed onsite at Sequoia lodge, it was a 10minute walk. All the onsite hotels are walkable, the cheaper ones are further away but maybe 15/20mins.
We didn’t ever use the bus transfers at all. We were there for 4 nights there but also stayed offsite on arrival as arrived later wouldn’t have gotten use of the parks that day. Staying offsite and buying tickets is most likely cheaper, I’m sure I priced it though and it wasn’t a great deal extra to stay onsite.

I’m not sure I would want to stay offsite although I suppose depending when you’re going it could be a massive saving.

Les Village Nature (center parks) is very close and had bus transfers but then you get access to it's facilities and activities. We booked via Disney website and it's a package with park tickets and includes Disney parking which was handy as we had the car. We also got the hour early entry.

I'd do sequoia lodge. Cheapest of the close hotels and still close to the park. If there is any way you can go before the school holidays do though. If he is starting school in September you won't get this opportunity once he starts school.

Stay on site! Every Disney hotel is a short walk from the parks, no shuttles needed.

The most expensive is Disneyland Hotel, it's lovely but prob not fully worth the cost,
Marvel is next - we really liked it here but still fairly pricey.
Newport bay - not stayed there but I've heard good things. S
equoia Lodge (woodland/Bambi themed) is lovely.
Cheyenne (Toy Story) and Sante fe (Cars) are the furthest away but still a nice walk and easy and both are really lovely hotels with great theming.

Staying on site gives you early entrance to the parks and character meets in your hotel.

I've never stayed offsite, I've heard the shuttles are horrendous, especially at the end of the day. It sounds cheaper but once you add up park tickets (included onsite) it really isn't

Unless you're a teacher yourself I'd do early to mid July if you can. We went in May 2023 but not half term and it was fine but the summer holidays plus the new Frozen land is going to be a nightmare.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I’ve decided against Disneyland hotel but one on site is probably the best choice. I think we will do Disney this time as we’ve promised DS he can see Mickey, but will keep the other parks in mind for another time. I’ve checked again and it’s about £1k more for the marvel hotel in mid May than end of July. I don’t get it! I hear what people are saying about the queues but £1k difference is a lot for 3 nights!

We really enjoyed Disney Sequoia lodge for a good price point. Only 10 min walk to the parks through the Disney village too!

When in May? 8th and 14th are French bank holidays.

Op the area has been built for Disney so even so called off site hotels are all for Disney.

All hotels have the shuttle we stayed at hotel eylesee off site but it was actually closer then some themed Disney hotels.
It also has a fridge and was the first shuttle stop. Also by the train and super markets and bolongerie.
Fraction of the price. Look at annual passes they used to be the cheapest way to go by far.

Otherwise if you want your son to experience proper magic and a truly wonderful experience then go to efterling or phanstsia land .
Much much cheaper ,far far more special ,atmospheric ...magical and better for the parents

All of the Disney hotels except Davy Crockett ranch are walkable to the parks , if you stay onsite you get the early entry and can book restaurants etc earlier including character dining .

As others have said, all the Disney hotels are walkable. We never used a shuttle and stayed at the Cheyenne.

Also a fan of the other Europe parks like Efteling and Europa, but I don’t think you can beat the Disney magic at least once, especially while they’re still young ❤️

Marvel Hotel is lovely and worth the £££ in my opinion (but my DC are huge Marvel character fans so it was a good choice for us).

We stayed for 2 nights/3 days and I told my DC to make the most of it as I never planned to darken the doors of Disney again😂

I think it's cheaper in July because it's boiling and a lot of French people go on their holidays then to the coast to escape the heat. That would probably make me choose a Disney hotel so you could escape to your room if it's too hot in the middle of the day.

We are going in June and staying at Cheyenne. We have been a few times before. Be aware that if you book Sequioa they are refurbishing it and some of the rooms will be blocked off and there will be construction noise during the day. It’s unpopular on Mumsnet but we always ring the dc in sick for the 2-3 days we go and tack it on to a weekend. (Ds aged 13 has autism and can’t cope during school holidays as it’s so much busier). June is a lovely time to go, not too hot and still summery.

There are lots of vlogs of all the different hotels on you tube, including the walk from them to the parks.

We have 3 bank holidays in May: the 1st, the 8th, and the 14/15th, so a lot of folk take long weekends.

we stayed in Newport hotel. 10 minutes walk to the park and has the advantage of a massive pool and one hour early entry (which is soooo valuable as queues get mad later). We booked directly and then you get entry included on day of arrival and day of departure.

Davy Crockett Ranch is really good value for money and also logistically pretty easy in my opinion - as long as you can drive there! You have your own kitchen etc, a lovely pool and restaurant, fully Disney theme vibe, but a bit of headspace from the chaos of the park. 8 min drive to the car park and then you walk in. Get the extra early hour etc. And I reckon it’s a quarter of the price of the main Disney hotel!