Paris -- Eurostar or Fly (gasp!) with 4 year old and 2 year old prone to tantrums?

[ilovemydogandMrObama]

Meeting up with a friend in Paris.

Am starting from Bristol, and if going by Eurostar would obviously go via London. About 2 hours. Then transfer from Paddington to St Pancras and onto Paris.

ALternatively, there are direct flights from Bristol to Paris. But with security/check in, etc would there be much difference?

DD (4) is a good traveler, but DS (2) is starting to throw lots of tantrums.

Any advice, most welcome

We went to Disneyland Paris a couple of years ago with our DS who would have been about 5 then. We flew from Birmingham (we are in Worcs) rather than go by Eurostar and regretted it - so much waiting around - and swore that next time we would go by train!

Is it just you and the two DCs? And is the younger one still in a buggy? I've done Bristol to Paris by train (doing it again this summer) but my DCs were older (8 and 4) and could mainly manage their own luggage (pull-along suitcases) though I had to help the younger one on stairs.

I think the biggest problem with the train option is dealing with luggage and buggy (and of course the children) on and off trains and up and down stairs. Might be do-able if you take a taxi from Paddington to St Pancras rather than tube. Otherwise, train is good because you can move around more, there is more going on for the DCs to watch (particularly if they like trains). There is still some waiting around - you have to get there at least half an hour early for Eurostar, and there are security checks, though not as strict as at airports. The big advantage of flying is that you can get the heavy bags off your hands as soon as you get to the airport.

Personally I would take Eurostar into central Paris. Paris CdG is a long way outside the centre.

Yes, just me and the DCs.

Am having visions of DS running up and down the aisles in the train, so was thinking the faster option of flying, but as others have pointed out, there would be lots of waiting around at airports and CDG isn't in central Paris.

I would guess flying would be a lot faster than the train from Bristol even allowing for waiting time - Bristol to Paddington is about 1hr 45 mins, then you have to allow for getting to St Pancras, check-in time for Eurostar etc. And given the reliability of First Great Western, you'd probably have to take a train an hour or so earlier than the minimum just to allow for delays, which could then leave you waiting around at the station....

I think deciding factors for me would be firstly whether you are still using a buggy (not good on trains if you have luggage, unless you can fit everything else into a backpack), and secondly where you are going to Paris - is it close to the Gare du Nord, or are you going to have to trek across Paris in a taxi whether you arrive by plane or train?

We took DS, then 16 months, to south of France by Eurostar then TGV. It was great, so much more chilled than flying would have been, he loved it. The longer journey time was more than made up for by the shorter check in time and other simplicities.
There are certain carriages - cars 1 and 18 - that are set up for families (more space, near to changing facilities) which you can't specify when you book online but once you have your seat you can then switch it online. I got this tip from this website which has lots of great info if you decide to go for the train.

It took us over half an hour to go through security at KCSP for the Eurostar. Just the same as airports- queues for security xray machines, take coats, belts, metal jewellery etc off and place in trays,take shoes off. My son's bag was randomly selected for opening, so we had to wait while they searched through that as well.
We get there at 9am for the 09.50 Eurostar just to be on the safe side.
I think you might need to stay in a nearby Travelodge or similar, the night before, if your Eurostar train is in the morning, as you could miss the Eurostar if your train is delayed.
This nearly happened to us last December, when we had to catch a train from Bournemouth in the morning to connect with the Eurostar, and they cancelled two trains due to an accident on the line.
We only just made it.