Disneyland Paris-Please can we have all your hints/tips etc!

[TiredMule]

We've never been before and we're hoping to book later today or tomorrow to go as soon as we can-my MIL has recently been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and we need to act fast-she really wants to take the girls. There will be 4 adults, an almost 6 yr old, 3.5 yr old and 2.5 yr old (all girls).

Just some of the questions off the top of my head:
Where should we try and stay?
How long for? (to avoid trying to cram everything in)
How's best to get there-train/plane?
What do we need to pre book?
Where's good to eat?
What should we take?

We need to try and make the trip as fun and stress free as we can and make lots and lots of happy memories, so any help/advice will be very welcome, thank you x

Bump....Please

Where should we try and stay?

Disneyland Hotel (nearest one to the park, lots of character opportunities)
How long for? (to avoid trying to cram everything in)
3 days
How's best to get there-train/plane?
depends where you live in terms of travel to the plane/train and prices

What do we need to pre book?
restaurants unless you want to queue for hours (evenings) and if you want character dining
Where's good to eat?
nowhere! food pretty poor everywhere - but character dining at cafe mickey is fun

What should we take?
comfy shoes for lots of walking, water bottles so not buying drinks in park, snacks so not buying snacks in park (expensive), umbrellas/macs if forecast rain or suncream/hats if forecast boiling sun.

have a great time!

Although the Disneyland Hotel is the closest, there are others in easy walking distance that are a bit cheaper.

We went for four days/three nights. It was probably enough time, although I wouldnt have turned down another day!

We drove, but would have gone on the train if it hadn't been so expensive. Everything is taken care of for you - eg your bags are taken to your hotel, so that you can just go straight to the park.

We did the ha,f board option so that breakfast and dinner were paid for before we went. Ate in the Hotel mostly for convenience (Cheyenne), and it was perfectly nice - lots of choice at their big buffet style meals.

Sorry to hear of the circumstances, but hope you have a lovely time.

Thank you for your responses. All booked up now-I rang DLP yesterday and the week we wanted to go was all booked up so we realised we had to book asap! BIL & MIL went to first choice yesterday and have booked 4 nights/5 days at the New York hotel with the half board premium meal plan, and we are flying from Southampton. We go in 3 1/2 weeks. MIL has worried me by saying that she is feeling much worse so I jus hope to God that we make it there and she is ok-she is so excited by how the girls are going to react and enjoy it!

So really now we need advice on what to take, where is better to eat, how you book the meals etc etc. I'd been told to take any girls disney dresses with us as lots of the girls wear them there and they cost about £60 to buy there. Are there any other hints/tips like this? How much is merchandise etc?
Great tip re water bottles etc-will definitly do that-should save quite a bit!

MIL is coming round after school today to tell our girls-so excited to see DD1's reaction......do you think 3wks is too early to tell them?

Thank you x

Your trip sounds fantastic - sorry that it is such sad circumstances - you will make some lovely memories when you are there. I would tell them asap so they can get max enjoyment from looking forward to it with MIL.

Yes, deffo take own disney dresses that is right they were £60 when we were there. Merchandise is standard prices in fact I bought a toy that I then saw in the UK disney store at 3 euros more so I don't think the merchandise costs over the odds.

buy autograph books with the big pens (characters need the big pens) when you get there for getting the signatures of the characters - find out what time they are at the hotel (usually after breakfast) as queues much shorter in the hotels - I wouldn't advise queuing in the parks for characters you will be waiting quite a while. I let my dcs choose 1 toy each from the shops whilst we were there.

try to avoid the face paiting in fantasy land - queued for an hour it was the longest queue we waited in.

use the fast passess as much as possible.

as your MIL is unwell you may be able to get priority access to rides - if you check on the dlp board www.dlp.info/ you should get advice there on that.

go to the parade.

enjoy being together and have a wonderful time ( you cannot fail to).

Thanks givemeaclue! Just realised we go in 2 1/2 weeks! We thought our package came with fast passes but now we're not sure. How do we go about getting them if it doesn't? Great advice about the characters and signitures and the face painting! We have such mixed feelings about going obviously but we should be able to have an amazing time and make lots of great memories-especially for the girls.
I'm having trouble even beginning to imagine how big it is-I think i'm going to be in shock!

it is big but with the age of yours fantasyland is going to be your main land plus the studios. It doesn't really feel that big when you are there.

fastpasses:
-you get given some of these each day if you stay in a disney hotel (think is one each per day)
-you can then pick up another one by getting from the relevant fastpass ride (not all rides are fastpass, just some) so say you want to go on peter pan ride, you can either use your fast pass from the hotel or you can get a fast pass ticket from the ride which gives you a return time e.g 2-2.30pm so you can go back at that time and queue for a shorter period. the fast passes from hotel are better as you can use them any time rather than the fast passes from the rides which give you a timeslot. intersperse with rides that have short queues (e.g small world in fantasyland)
if you look on disneyland paris website it explains the fastpasses probably better than I have!

Hi TiredMule - we are going on our first trip to DLP on Monday - I think I am as excited as the dc

I think, rather than fast passes, you need to investigate getting exit passes. These are available to those with disabilities etc, your dmil will need a letter from her GP to confirm her diagnosis I think.
It is worth sending an email to guest services to ask before you go.
Also, have a little look around this site I have found it to be really useful for top tips.

Really hope you have a lovely time - I will come back after my trip if I can think of anything that might help.

one thing i woudl recommend is the 'auberge de cendrillon' - cinderella's restaurant. you get photos with cinderella and you get to talk to several other princesses (snow white, belle, sleeping beuaty when we were there). it is a fab experience for little girls (but they will want to wear their princess dresses). the food isn't brilliant, and it is expensive - if you have premier dining you may find you can eat there for no extra charge. BOOK IT! it is well worth it for little girls.

also make a plan to use the 'disney magic hours' where gusts at disney hotels can go in early to use some of the more popular rides.

have a look at the disney studios - your MIL may want a picture of her 'singing in the rain' on the lampost they have.

Sorry about the circumstances, hope she stays around for a long time, even doctors can be wrong sometimes.

We went a number of years ago now but were able to book breakfast in the park so that when the rides opened we were already in the park and able to go straight to the front of whichever ride we wanted to go on! We also saw some characters that way without being too crowded.

We ate in the hotel in the evenings - more peaceful and relaxed. Food in the park is really expensive.

Thank you so much TheMagicFarawayTree! That link is very useful-we're going to spend an evening this week searching through it! I hope you had a fantastic time?! What was the weather like and what kind of clothes would you reccommend to wear?
We haven't been able to work out what an exit pass is? What kind of difference would it make?

Thank you greygirl. We'll definitly try and eat there-im sure they'd love it! Will definitly go to the studios as well! Thank you-we hope they are wrong too, but pancreatic cancer is a very nasty aggressive one so we need to be realistic

IAmSherlocked-is having breakfast in the park different to having breakfast in one of the disney hotels? Thanks for your tips!

Really don't feel very organised or prepared-and we go in a week! Really need to sort everything out now! Trying to find princess dresses to buy the girls now online......

My dh, dmil and dbil and a couple of friends finially got to do their sky dive yesterday-i'm so happy because she really wanted to do it!

Have a look at the Disboards everything you need to know and more.

The food is really pricey in the park. We usually went to the Macdonalds which is just outside the park gates. It was by far the cheapest place to eat and just as good as anything on offer inside. DC were amazed at our sudden change of heart about McDs. King Ludwigs was cheapest restaurant, again just outside the park, when we were there (a while ago.) DC loved it.
We ate in the hotel in the evenings and the food was surprisingly good. Lots of fresh stuff, French cheeses, seafood etc.
Definitely get out early and get to the park as soon as it opens, then head for the rides they most want to do first, to avoid queues.
Don't miss the parade. It's fab.
Have fun.

Hi TiredMule - We are back and had a fabulous time

Great to hear that your dmil is getting to do some of the things she really wants to do.

I think, for the exit pass, you need your dmil to get a letter from her GP or hospital explaining her condition and giving details of why it may be more difficult for her to stand in a queue. You then take this letter to City Hall (at the entrance, just inside the park)
Have a look at this guide www.dlrpmagic.com/guidebook/practical/disabilities/
You may also want to hire a wheelchair for your dmil if she gets tired.

If you do not get the exit pass (I think they are called assisted access passes or something like that) then make sure you make good use of the fast passes.

My top tip for DLP is that the fast pass does not need to be used in the allocated time slot - you can use it any time after so just keep collecting them as you go through the day. eg. We got fast passes for Peter Pan first thing in the morning - the slot was 30 minutes later. We then did Dumbo and Snow White whilst it was quiet and there were very small queues and went back to Peter Pan an hour later.
We also got fast passes before the parades or lunch etc and used them afterwards.

You can collect the next pass as soon as your first time slot has come up, or in two hours, whichever is sooner.

Extra Magic Hours are great, but, if you have the staying power, it is actually much, much quieter in the park between 8pm and 11pm. We often found ourselves leaving the park at 3ish when it really is mad, going back to the hotel to use the pool or have a nap and then going back into the park later.

One evening between 9pm and 10.45pm we did 9 rides that normally would have queues of about an hour. We still used fast passes too so queues were even shorter as most people don't bother with them later in the evening. At 10:45 we found a spot to watch the fireworks - well worth it!

Weather was bizzare. It went from bright sunshine, to heavy showers and back to sunshine again at the drop of a hat.
I would suggest very comfortable shoes and lightweight waterproof coats.

We booked Buffalo Bill tickets through a French website - let me know if you want the details and I will look them up again - it saved us at least 20 Euros per adult ticket.

We had dinner on the first night in the Inventions restaurant (which is in the main Disney Hotel) It is pricey, but I think the best place to see the characters and the food is really, really good. About 8 or 9 characters came to our table for photos and autographs throughout the evening and it meant that our dc were happy not to queue for ages in the park for photos for the rest of our stay.

Let me know if you have any other questions, really happy to help. I feel on a mission to make sure you have the most perfect holiday!

Oh - and princess dresses - have a look at Asda - great value at only £12.50!

Thank you so much TheMagicFarawayTree! I so glad you had such a good time! And thank you for all your great info! Only questions I can think of right now are: is there a shop to buy drinks/food/snacks from and is it expensive? Are there cashpoints etc....i'm sure there are but best to check!

I'm really worrying about it now....especially as I took a pregnancy test this morning as I was a week late. I thought it was just stress etc. But the test says i'm 2-3 weeks pregnant In massive shock as we weren't trying, but not being especially careful either. Haven't told dh yet as I don't want to cause him any more stress than he's already under, though we did speek about me being late last night. Bad timing or what?! I expect I shouldn't really go on many of the rides now Feeling sick already....

On another note-we've stocked up on disney dresses-from tesco and argos (they have a 2 for £19.99 offer til July) so we're sorted on that front!

Need to get my head straight and get organised now!

Weve just been for 2 days, i advise doing the studio section first, it has much more shows etc.

For the parade you need to be in place for over an hour before it starts.

The stuff is PRICEY

We took all the food we needed into park, sweets, drinks,everything

Id recommend taking some small disney toys to give kids to head off tantrums, the place is 1 giant shop.

We were there 12 hours day, its tiring.

Take a buggy even if you dont usually use them.

congratulations on pregnancy and very sorry about MIL.

There's a smallish mini supermarket right next to the station just before you enter the park; found it far more economical for drinks, snacks than the park and hotel shops! Trip advisor website has some really helpful reviews!

Buffalo Bill is a great eve out but it's best to pre-book although some friends who came with us didn't and got in the same night we did (but paid a little more) I found the Hotels didn't have much fruit so i bought a couple of bags of apples with us and took them to the park each day. Also at breakfast it seemed standard to take extra croissants for lunch although we did it very surruptitiously but that saved a bit.

The French also have no decorum re queuing for autographs so after 2 days of politely waiting our turn and getting nowhere we started pushing in and got some pic's with the characters at last.

Hope you have a fab time

Thank you so much everyone for all your hints and tips! Please keep them coming!