Eurodisney spends

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Hi all, we have had eurodisney booked for begining of October. We are staying in the Newport hotel on a half board basis. How I have kept this secret from the children for just under a year I don't know! I was lucky enough to Disney a few times as a child/teen so I know roughly what to expect.But I'm looking for tips on spending please. A very unexpected large car bill has eaten into our spends!!
I am already planning on filling up at brekkie and wrap some rolls etc for lunch and take some water in and fill up at the fountains.
I really would like to be able to get the children a couple of small treats ie mickey/Minnie ears, stationary and also two larger perhaps a cuddly toy and jumper or pjs. Has anyone been recently and able to tell me a rough guide on prices?
We have DD1 aged 6.5, DD2 aged 5 and DS aged 2.5 then myself and DH. Staying for 3 nights and 4 days, we are going in term time (couldn't afford out of term and it's our only holiday for the last year and a half so very excited!).
Any tips would be appreciated on top of the snacking/eating in ques to pass time, meet Minnie & Mickey by the MGM studios, buy water in a shop near the train station?

Hi, we've just returned from Disneyland Paris (we stayed offsite though). It was fantastic! Minnie ears were E12, a teddy around E20 upwards. Autograph books E10-12. Magnum ice creams E3.60 each. I expected it to be more expensive than it was. We went in with drinks/sandwiches/snacks and security weren't remotely interested in how much food we took in. We didn't eat inside the park (other than our own food) but if you check out the website DLP magic it lists restaurant prices. Not sure if you'll have a car but Val D'europe was only 5 mins drive away with a big Auchan supermarket. Queues for Disney characters took about 30 mins except for the princesses which were more like 1.5 hours!! Suggest you see them either very early or late (apparently quiet when parades are on). Thoroughly recommend lilo & stitch live show & animagique. Have fun!

We have done eurodisney loads and always on a budget.

We always go into the shop at the train station (right at the park entrance) and buy enough juice/crisps/snacks for the day. It's way cheaper than inside the parks.

We did what you plan on doing and wrapped rolls at breakfast. Everyone was doing this so dont worry about looking cheap.

The restaurants in Disney village all have set evening menus alongside the normal menu (3courses for 25e kind of thing) try and stick to this if possible.

You must must must do the rainforest cafe- its amazing!

If you do buy Minnie mouse ears make sure you get the ones on the soft head band, the hard band with the spikes bloody hurts!

Sorry just realised you're half board so supermarket won't really be relevant! Tip I had was to take Disney princess costumes with me for DD as lots of little girls wear them at the park and they are very expensive at DLP!

Check out trip advisor Disneyland Paris forum and www.www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=77 for lots of info.

We came back yesterday.

Do take water bottles, water was ?2.99, lollies (not magnums) were ?2.65. Whatever you do try avoid eating the food in the park - DH paid almost £25 for 3 hotdogs and 4 drinks in CAsey's Corner on our first day, it was a dry bun and a value frankfurter. We all had indigestion for the rest of the day. The Earl of Sandwich in the Village is great, ?5.50 for a selection of hot sandwiches and ?6 for kiddies hot sarnie,fruit salad or brownies and drink.

The DDs each got a couple of things cuddlies were ?20+ for the larger sizes, t-shirts were anywhere from ?10 to ?19.00.

Definitely recommend taking a few rolls from breakfast to eat later and water bottles to refil at fountains- mark the map when you see one (most but not all are near toilets) for future reference, to avoid wasting time searching. Also if you go to a buffet for your half-board meal, it is possible to pick up pieces of fruit that can be 'saved for later' and also they usually had a bowl of sweets by the door that DCs filled their pockets with you can help yourself to on the way out :) In addition to this I had packed other snacks like cereal bars, raisins,crisps and took some out with us each day.

Other ideas for reducing boredom during long queues or while reserving a 'good spot' for the parades are things like DS/Leapster/iPhone etc or even a colouring book and pencil case. My DC happily sat for an hour boasting writing postcards to their friends while waiting for the early evening parade.

Regarding meeting Mickey in the studios. There is usually 2 different characters there with separate queues. A good idea would be for you to wait in one queue while DH waits in the other and then let the DC just join you/DH when one of you gets near the front of their respective queues. Also Mickey can be met at the backstage area in the Disney Park (longer queue but its indoor and has cartoons to watch), and also at Cafe Mickey (your half board vouchers will probably cover the cost of this, but make a reservation in advance) and at the Inventions restaurant (need to pay on top of half board vouchers here) the bonus side to meeting them in a restaurant is getting to sit/eat/drink rather than queue as Mickey and pals (usually 4-5 different friends each mealtime) come to your table instead. finally Mickey is sometime the character in your hotel lobby in the mornings, but these are different everyday so check when you arrive.

Enjoy your trip and if you have any other questions feel free to ask here or PM :)

Meeting Mickey and Co in Inventions was fantastic. We had a 6.30 booking and saw Mickey, Minnie, Cinderella's mice, Geppetto, Pinnochio, Goofy, Donald, Pluto, and Chip and Dale. The come around to each table and spend a few minutes with the kids, sign autographs and have piccies taken. If you are feeling particularly cheeky the Disneyland hotel has characters in the 2nd floor dining area from 8am so you can just take the lift up and join the queue, they also have 4 characters every afternoon from about 2-4pm but it is much more of a scrum. Do pop in and check the times with the concierge, Woody and co do some appearances in Frontierland near the Cowboy Cookout restaurant.

This is brilliant! Thanks for the tips, so I'm thinking on the basis that we are cheating with some rolls etc £100 a day should be more than enough? Our home budget is way way less but I want it to be special for them as we are not likely to go away again for a long time.

I love the taking outfits tip! I'm going to search eBay!

We are travelling by Eurostar and the plan is that we are telling children that we are taking the train to stay in London, then give DD1 a letter to read to the other 2 with all the juicy details!

Thinking of packing cereal bars etc and take on train actually....

Also with regards to cafe mickey or inventions? Can I book in advance or on check in?

When were you planning to give the letter? I'm not sure what it's like at St. Pancras, but at Ashford as soon as you get to the station it is covered in disney pictures and signs saying 'this way to the magic' Once in the departure lounge there is the big Disney Express stand and Mickey mouse makes the tannoy announcement. Just saying that they might guess beforehand if you planned on not telling them until on the Eurostar itself!

Oh and mentioning the Disney Express luggage service- this is well worth every penny it you haven't already booked it.

We went last October during term time. It's pricey on snacks etc but you are doing the right thing taking snacks and drinks in. We found the best place to meet mickey Minnie and co was in cafe mickey. You can probably reserve now although I did a lunch booking the day before. Your half board viichers prob cover this if nit, you an use them anyway and pay the extra. Your vouchers will only cover the number of nights you are thrre anyway so depending on travel times you'll need to buy a lunch. Food was generally good i thought lots of choice in the buffets. We saw buzz and tigger in the studio park not too bad a queue and captain hook in the middle of parc Disneyland after a show. The best time to do rides is when the parade is on (about 5pm in parc Disney) or check out the magic hours although not all rides open. All the little girls dressed up in princess dresses but they are pricey there. Tbh I didn't think the gift shops were anymore expensive than Disney store here. Check the weather before you go. We went in October and it was bloody freezing. A good few degrees cooler than southern England.

Do fast pass what rides you can. You can only do one at a time but on some rides saves ages queuing! If your Dc want to ride the autopia cars get there v early. Huge queues!!
Am v envious want to go again

Op when I say cold I mean gloves and scarves and frost in the morning!!! Also, the Brit guide to Disney paris is good with lots of 'Brit tips'

Dinner reservations can be made in advance (up to 30 days ahead I think) over the phone. They do have an option to speak to a person in english! You can also book them through the concierge at your hotel or at the information kiosks in the parks.

Letter on the train to London as yes st panc gets "obvious" although they are pretty naive, they won't for a million years think we are actually going. We promised them we would go when DS is 6 so 4 years away! we could probably point it out and say look one day we will go from there. Hmm maybe outside the Eurostar entrance would be good!!

Ok will look into booking now for a character meal.

Travel there morning and home evening of the 4th day.

So can any one give me a total idea how much the holiday cost in all?

Not yet I can't!

But if it helps for us 3 nights 4 days travelling Eurostar and half board at Newport bay club it was just over £1k in school term though. I got it booked a while back on a 40% off offer I think? Even if the half board doesn't save me much it meant that food was pretty covered and it's spending money to find!

Awful grammar. Bed calling...
Thanks for the help so far.

We go to Disney Paris very regularly at various times of the year and in my experience you don't need to book any restaurants / character meals until you get there. There are lots of options for character meal meets including a princess one in Fantasyland . You are prob better off looking around when you are there and then deciding . Definitely take advantage of the magic hours for hotel guests in the mornings ,it deals with at least a few of the rides with less queuing. Characters in the hotels normally rotate so you get a couple of different ones each day, there is usually a board in the foyer with the times on. Make sure you go armed with your own camera as the photos they take are no better and a bit expensive and don't be rushed !

Only its costs as much as you are willing/able to spend! I think the cheapest I did a few years ago was approx £600 for 3 nights (2 adults/2kids) but that was just for bed/breakfast and at the cheapest hotel. Meals cost about 50-70 euros minimum, obviously fast food type places are cheaper than the restaurants. Once you add on all the extras, I doubt it would be doable for much under £1k and its very easy to spend much, much more!

Regarding buying stuff from the toy shops etc. I always tell the DC that they can choose 1 thing and only on the last day/before we leave. This works because a)I know how much is left so can give them a maximum budget each b) they will have looked at all the shops by then and decided what they like bast c) they will have a new toy to play with on the train home so they don't get bored or sad the holiday is over.

Yes it's cost us £1k for the stay, tickets, travel and half board food so far. I feel happy reading these comments that the budget will be suffice.

I think I will take that tip of choosing something on the last day for the special toy to choose that I'm budgeting for. Thankyou.

Just checked the character meals and they are not included in the half board just for anyone else's info!

The half board vouchers can be used toward the total cost though, so you only pay extra. You should get the half board plus vouchers if staying at the Newport which have a value of around 30 euros per adult I think.

I wasn't sure about if they covered the full cost of Cafe Mickey or not because when I was last there they didn't charge me anything on top, but that could have been because I did complain about the service also managed to get a free breakfast in that restaurant one morning too!

Ah see my holiday company said "computer says no"
I guess I will see when I get there! Yes they are half board plus according to the invoice.

Re price of the break. I booked about 2 weeks ago to go In February half term - me, dh, ds (8) and dd (5). They had a really good deal on (4 nights for 2 I think( and we've paid about £800 for 4 nights/5days with a half board dining package and breakfast at Cafe Mickey one day. I was really chuffed with that price, especially in the school holidays. Ok we are saying in Santa Fe which I think will be extremely basic but I figure we'll all be so shattered all we'll do there is sleep anyway!