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Original poster

Is Disney Land Paris worth a visit?

92 replies

Daisydrum · 20/08/2018 20:44

I’ve got two DCs and we are looking for a holiday with DH and DM. I suggested Disney Land Paris as it’s quite close and we are big Disney fans. DH and DM both turned their nose up at the idea. I’d be interested to know what other people think? Thanks.

OP posts:
Thelastredwinegum · 20/08/2018 21:59

If you're going for rides then Port Aventura in Spain is better and has a decent younger area (Sesame Street themed) is generally quieter so more time on rides.
That said i did enjoy DLP but I've not been to Florida. We stayed at a hotel in a local town which was on the train line and bought an annual pass so it was quite a reasonable way to do it.

There used to be a good thread on Trip Advisor with tips on how to get more for your money.

June2008 · 20/08/2018 22:00

We went yesterday! A daytrip as we were staying nearby. We went to Florida Disney two years ago so were slightly sceptical. However we had a great day and would definitely do it again. DDs are 7 and 10, they both loved it. The fast pass system is pretty useless compared to Florida but we did manage to get on almost everything we wanted to do despite the queues.

I would agree with the above in terms of the horrifically expensive food, we bought two meals and spent well over €120. Many of the people there were spectacularly rude, not so much the cast members (although they were no where near as enthusiastic as in the US) but the visitors - general rudeness but also queue jumping and the like.

Having said all that we will be going back!

NotPennysBoat · 20/08/2018 22:05

I am baffled how anyone can call it 'depressing'!! I took kids of a similar age this year and it was magical. DH was dreading it but also had a fab time. Didn't see a single person smoking or come across any rude staff members, honestly I think some people will moan about anything! I would agree that the food is not great but you don't go to DLP for gourmet!

NotPennysBoat · 20/08/2018 22:07

Also 'save up and go to Florida'... DLP can be done in a few days for £1.5k. It would cost you ten times that to do Florida!

ALemonyPea · 20/08/2018 22:14

We all loved it, we went last year and had a lovely time. We will never get to Florida, would cost £10k+ and I can’t justify that sort of money on a holiday.

FlyingMonkeys · 20/08/2018 22:19

@NotPennysBoat Exactly! I was a bit umm ok! 😐 At pp's - family of 5 would be a small fortune to go to Florida Disney. Plus the flights are very long. As for the pp who stated Americans see it as a run of the mill theme park. Yes, they may well do. However a massive percentage of Americans have never travelled outside the US nor hold a passport so it's horses for courses really. Land mass wise Florida Disney would always be massively bigger than other theme parks worldwide.

tor8181 · 20/08/2018 22:30

its not very good in normal times(only went once in july) but Halloween and christmas periods are amazing,we always go end of nov/early dec

it is very expensive though

Justgivemesomepeace · 20/08/2018 22:45

I hated it. Long queues even for the baby rides, other rides were a bit meh. Tried the fast track which gave you a time to come back but often then got stuck for something to do as the queues were too long to go on something else and we struggled to fit a show in the wait time. Food very expensive. There are obviously lots of French, Spanish etc who have no concept of queuing. They sent their kids under the ropes to the front of queues then pushed through themselves. When the princesses/characters came out the french/Spanish etc kids mobbed them and the English kids were stood politely at the back confused with their little autograph books. It got to the point where dd would ask 'is this a queue or a push?' I'd say 'This ones a push love, go for it.' The parade and fireworks were good. It was about 10 years ago though so it may be better these days. I wouldn't go back, my overriding memories are eyewateringly expensive food, sore feet, standing in queues and getting frustrated with pusher inners.

hartof · 20/08/2018 22:48

Hated it, but we have been to Florida a lot (pre-child) it was freezing she didn't want to queue and IMO the French were rude. Really disappointing.

ILoveDolly · 20/08/2018 22:49

We took the kids a few years back and loved it! Even dh and i, and we thought we'd hate it. I'd also recommend Davy Crockett, it was great to go and swim after a hot Dusty day.

Mrsmadevans · 20/08/2018 22:49

We have been three times, we loved it . We went at Halloween, Christmas and Easter ,The shows , Parades and decor was just wonderful. It is expensive to eat there mind, although the character breakfast and afternoon teas were just lovely.
The other park MGM studios hosts the most brilliant motor stunt show , don't miss it . It also has a massive Macdonalds there which we ended up eating at every night Grin

SouthWestmom · 20/08/2018 23:07

First time we went we watched a parade and just as toddler ds was waving at Cruella and she turned to him some great big bloke appeared from nowhere and charged him out the way and said 'I was here'Hmm

So that put us off a bit.

We did three visits - middle one was expensive, stressful and grim so I suspect there was a refurb in the middle as it was better third time round.

Spanglylycra · 20/08/2018 23:08

Love it, it's a bit of a bloody complicated thing to book these days (I still can't get my head around all the food packages so I don't bother) and has gone up in price since Disney took back control. It is pure magic though and I found it immaculate compared to theme parks over here.

My38274thNameChange · 20/08/2018 23:33

Controversial maybe, but no.

I think it’s a fake mans Disney and it could actually put you off ever going to “real” Disney.

For the price, save up and go to Florida. And I’ve done Paris three times!

ionising · 21/08/2018 00:34

Efteling in Holland and Europa park in Germany are better.

Stayed on park there was a circus outside of the room. Brilliant view.

Sharkwithknees · 21/08/2018 00:45

Cue the Florida fans Grin

Both aren't what I'd want for a holiday. Florida is awful, stifling hot in the summer, ridiculous queues. Paris I found much more bearable and the kids (7 at the time) definitely preferred Paris. I love relaxing hols, this was a hol purely for the kids... so I'd say Paris over Florida any day. My dc found it magical.

FlyingMonkeys · 21/08/2018 04:55

Seriously what person wants to spend 5k to fly their 4yr old for 9hrs to the chuffing US? Honestly you could take them to the end of the road and they'll not remember it nostalgically 15yrs later.

BitOutOfPractice · 21/08/2018 05:04

If you’re prepared to be massively ripped off for appalling food, crushed by people with no conception of a queue, treated like dirt by the staff and frozen solid, then go for it. I’ve been 3 times and it’s bern miserable every time.

MsFrizzle · 21/08/2018 05:05

It costs about the same to stay at paris as it does at florida. Personally, between the two, I'd take Florida for a bit more.

OutPinked · 21/08/2018 05:08

It was my first holiday abroad as a young child, I loved it. Went back a few years ago when DC1 was a baby. It’s not too bad but don’t expect a lot. It is really just a massively overpriced fairground Grin.

FlyingMonkeys · 21/08/2018 05:12

@MsFrizzle it costs about 3x the price for a family of 5 to travel there though if they live in the UK. Quite honestly we travelled around a lot due to my dad's work when I was young. I've been to quite a few countries for 4-6wks at a time that I could honestly not tell you a thing about other than offering up old photos. If you do the 'big US trip' is wait till your youngest is 7 or they'll not recall it at all.

Nodancingshoes · 21/08/2018 06:42

For kids, Disneyland Paris is great. We've been twice. I have also been to Disney World florida which is, of course, amazing but that didn't ruin my enjoyment of Paris. I didn't find it run down at all - quite the opposite

DamnCommandments · 21/08/2018 06:49

Just came in to say 'de Efteling' - but I see I've been beaten to it. Better food, cheaper accommodation, smaller queues, more beautiful setting... What's not to like?

Having said that, my two did enjoy Disneyland Paris - just not as much!

Gardeninginspring · 21/08/2018 06:50

Ha laughing at all the save up and do Florida comments. Yeah as the bairns will be 19 by the time we can save 10k whereas dlp could be done for a 10th of that.

He11y · 21/08/2018 07:00

Always amuses me when people try and say Florida isn’t a lot more expensive or they take a couple of aspects from each holiday in isolation and compare them.

Florida is considerably more expensive - not even double, it’s many times more expensive! You’re going to stay longer, pay significantly more to get there, want to visit other parks and attractions, probably hire a car or spend on public transport... I could go on.

These people always pop up on threads like this and I always think you have rocks in your head.

Florida also takes considerably more planning if you want to avoid long queues - insane levels of planning if you get caught up in the fever on Disney forums!

Paris is smaller, easier to manage, easier go get to, a lot cheaper and great for little legs.

Both are fab in my opinion but they are not comparable.