Disneyland Paris

[avaj]

We are going on our first abroad holiday with 5yr old and 3yr old at Easter - over excited!
Looking for some expert advice.
Are you able to hire bed guards? We are staying at the Cheyene and my DS would need one for bottom bunk.
Also, my DD is most excited about the princesses, but I get the impression from previous threads that they are not seen about much. Is this the case, and should we book dinner at the Auberge to make sure we meet them?
Thanks!

Princesses appear in the castle courtyard several times a day, we queued for ages to meet Belle but it was the height of summer. We found them pretty accessible. Dinner at the Auberge is £££ but your sitting does include an opportunity to dance with them and they come and visit each table, take photos and sign autograph books. However when we did it they ran late and dd was overtired and overhungry to make the most of it. Food there nice if overpriced and possibly a bit fancy for most UK kids tastes. dd was 7 (her bday treat) and ds 10(and singularly unimpressed!), probably wouldn't have bothered much younger tbh.

Thanks Lizs. I think the princess meal sounds a bit much for my kids to sit through! As long as we get to meet them my DD will be happy.

I would not bother with the Auberge - it was very expensive. If you are willing to hang around (and be a bit pushy) then your DD will get to see the princesses. Check out the times that they are due in the courtyard and be there early.

We (my SIL) prebooked a character lunch, goofy, minnie, the sheriff of nottingham, and various other characters made an appearance and happily posed with my DD and nephews. The lunch was buffet affair, which suited us fine, don't think it was overly expensive, relatively speaking.

The first time we went, our McLaren buggy was stolen from outside a ride, on day 1, which was a bummer.

I think this might be what we went to.

If you forget anything, or want to stock up on drinks/snacks, there is a huge shopping mall, one train stop along from Disney, think it's called Marnee la Vallee, the centre is just off the station and it has everything.

When we went in October we saw some princesses in the meeting area in the studios park.

If your DD dresses up they will make a point of pulling her from the crowd around them. ds dressed up as peter pan and dd as Elizabeth Swann from pirates of the caribbean. They were surrounded by shoving kids and teenagers, but were always singled out by the stars.

We did breakfast in Mickey Cafe on our last morning (the day we were leaving). It was great, and the characters went around speaking to the DC. It costs ?16 extra, iirc.

And book breakfast in the Plaza Gardens the other mornings. The breakfast is much better than in Cheyenne and costs the same. You do have to book ahead though, we didn't and could only go one morning.

Thanks everyone. I think we will do a character lunch or breakfast - sounds good. My DD keeps telling me she needs a Belle dress to take with her, so I might just get her one after all!
Does anyone know about the bed guards?

Agree with lindt, the auberge is v poor value. Take your money to cafe Mickey for a character breakfast or lunch instead.

Have stayed at the Cheyenne. From memory, we had a room with a double and then bunk beds. There was no bed guard on bottom bunk, so my Dh got top bunk, 5 yr old got bottom bunk and hemmed in with odd bits of furniture, toddler in double with me. V.romantic!

Also get to breakfast early -it is a bit of a bun fight and queues for buffet soon built up. Can get v busy.

Our DS was in bottom bunk, and was fine. He was almost 6yo. No idea if they have bed guards, sorry.

Take your own Belle dress - the dresses are extortionately expensive.

Me and my kids realy big DLP fans been 8 times,have stayed in the cheyenne and have never seen a bed guard,from what I can remember the botton bunk are quit low and my ds slept at the end with the ladders,if you realy worried they will give you a travel cot no problem don't know how you 3 year old would feel about that.(may be to tried to care)I would defo book the breakfast in cafe mickey,and your own dresses the prices v high.We where there 4 weeks ago I have some wonderful snaps of my twins with buzz sleeping beauty the where no ques at all on the weekdays.Weekends what ever time of year always very busy.Have a fab trip

Hi,
People here have given you some very helpful advice, but for detailed information about Disneyland Paris see the Trip Advisor Marne La Vallee forum, which mainly covers Disneyland.
Posters there can answer anything you need to know and help plan your trip.

Auberge De Cendrillon ( Cendrillon is Sleeping Beauty in French ) restaurant in Fantasyland currently costs ? 59.20 adult and ? 24.80 child 3-11 yrs in resort. This includes unlimited water, wine, juice, soft drinks. 3 course meal, with coffee, but Fine Dining so does not appeal to some kids or adults.

When you arrive, they take your photo with a Princess, then bring you a photo pack including different sized ones later which costs ? 25 if you decide to buy.
Most people do, as meeting the Princesses & Princes is the main reason for booking this restaurant.You can expect to meet Cinderella, Prince Philip, Belle and her Prince ( not as a beast! ), Ariel, maybe Snow White or Tiana, and the mice from Cinderella.

It is expensive, but most reviewers on TA say that it is well worth it for their daughters. My sons were never interested in eating there! Far more into Pirates OTC.

A pumpkin coach is in the courtyard of the restaurant.
Auberge DC is covered by Premium HB dining vouchers.

You can read reviews and see poster's photos of this restaurant ( and others there ) on Trip Advisor. We can also give you links for the full menu.

Character Meet and Greet times and locations change during the year. You can see the Parks Programme online about a week before you go, to see what is happening when you are there.

Princesses are currently at Le Theatre Du Chateau ( Royal Castle Stage ) from 11.15am to 1.15pm daily. You cannot tell which ones will be there though.
Princess and the Frog in Town Square at 11am, 12 noon and 1.15pm.This is usually a short show/ song followed by Meet & Greet.
You will see Princesses with their Princes, and also the wicked Queen etc on their floats in Once Upon A Dream Parade, and also in Stars N Cars parade in the Studios Park. Snow White had the 7 dwarves with her when I last saw it.
In Stars N Cars they stop in Place Des Stars, near Cinemagique theatre, and get out of their cars. They do a show on a stage there along with other well known Disney and Pixar Characters - get there early, and get a good position behind the roped area, as they come over afterwards for autographs etc.
The Princesses sing a song from their own films. ' One Day My prince Will Come.... ' etc.

Regarding the Cheyenne, they do not have bed guards for the lower bunks, but they are wide solid beds, not small kids bunks.I stayed here last month, and the bunks are nearly as long as the double bed.
I have written a long detailed review of the Cheyenne with room and buffet restaurant photos on TA, so you can see exactly what the bunks are like.

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g226865-d262686-r96370316-Disney_s_Hotel_Cheyenne-Marne_la_Vallee_Seine_et_Marne_Ile_de_France.html

For any more help, please find us on the MLV forum. You can read through previous Topics, also the Top Questions, or ask your own questions.
You will be very welcome.

Disney Princess dresses in resort range from ? 45 to ? 70!
Agree with the others - take your own. I saw some nice ones in Clinton Cards shop the other day, in their fancy Dress section, including Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Ariel and Tinkerbell. I think they cost around £ 20.
Posters on our forum have also bought lovely original Disney dresses on ebay for a snip, and also from Argos.

Easter is a very popular time at DLP, so expect the parks to be busy, with long queues for rides. Planning is essential to get the most out of your trip, including which rides, shows, parades and attractions are your priority, and making advance dining reservations.
You have not said how long you are there for, so that will obviously have a bearing on whether you can see and do everything in both parks suitable for your kids' ages.
Book early breakfast for 7am, and be at the park gate at 8am for Extra Magic Hours - well worth the effort of getting up early.
If you have breakfast in the park, it is during EMH so you lose special ride time, unless you can book it for 10am.

Thanks very much everyone!
I will have a look at the trip advisor thread Figgy. We are going the first week in April which is school holidays in Scotland, but I am hoping not too busy!? Mon-Thurs. Can't wait!

This is the link for the TA Disneyland Paris forum.

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum-g226865-i2224-Marne_la_Vallee_Seine_et_Marne_Ile_de_France.html

French local schools break up on 9th April. Spanish schools break up on 18th April. Our local schools break up on 8th April.

So if you are there the first week, it should not be as busy as the following ones.

Second character dining as being a brilliant way to meet characters but I have only done Cafe mickey.

Studio's park meet and greet is a great way to meet the princess, but I found the French were very pushy so you will need to be too (if only to avoid DC being trampled)!!! Stars in Cars Parade in the studios is a great way to meet characters. it may seem counter intuitive but if you stalk a spot BEHIND the stage I found there was tons of opportunity for character interaction because this was where the cars stopped and, when they we're performing in the quite lengthy show, they spend the time talking to public who can see the stage!! Which actually managed to meet Stitch here.

Have also found character clothing a great way to get attention. (ebay for a a few months before hand to get anything mickey mouse or whatever character you are most interested in!!) Also get hold of an autograph book (big thick pen as character find normal pens hard to hold), it gives timid kids a way of approaching the characters and the characters something to talk about with them. (disney do sell autograph book and pens and IMO this the one souvenir that well worth buying)

If you are really detemined you even stoop so low as to ensure DC carry a cuddly toy of there favorite character. This may seem OTT but the look on DD face when Tigger started bouncing with HER (slightly manky) tigger was an absolute picture!!!

Extra magic hours are essential for missing the crowds and make use of the fast track system in the afternoon.

Conal Hathi's pizza place in Disneyland tends to be good for missing the queues at lunch and when we where there Mickey Mouse appeared in the Blockbuster cafe (fast food) in the studios park.

totally agree! great advice LunarRose!
Just to add to the pen/autograph point... don't forget a solid book and not pieces of paper... it makes all the difference! ;)

I would love some help on the best price for Transfers to DLP from CDG Airport. is 120 Euros really what I have to pay?.. I have looked at the trip advisor forum but it is mainly about private shuttles. Please could someone give me some advice about trains or buses. I have a 9 year old and a 4 year old and going next week.

Many thanks.

Is there much toy story stuff?

Thanks very much for all your advice, it's really helpful for planning our trip!
LunarRose - is the meet and greet the one at the Toon Studio in the morning, called disney characters? There is also one both am and pm which is called Mickey or friends. I don't want to miss the princesses!
I will def use the extra magic hours. Can't wait to go now!

Have just joined your fb page froggy, there looks to be loads of info there! Do you know anything about the amount of toy story rides/characters? Ds really wants to go to DLP, but he's only really into toy story/cars/finding nemo, so would be worried he wouldn't get much out of it?