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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Is Disney the ultimate holiday destination for kids or is there something even better?

145 replies

carolinecordery · 18/04/2013 08:45

I'm thinking from the point of view of DC. Would they be as happy with something else or is Disney the best? What do you think is the best age for kids to enjoy it?

OP posts:
WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 21/04/2013 20:47

Well what is it all about then?

Xenia · 21/04/2013 20:49

I think you either get it or you don't. I cannot see the remotest appeal of it because I don't like crowds or anything Disney stands for or means.

This line I had to read twice to see if the person was joking.... "Disney in America though is an experience. It's the whole package of weather and bigger and "better" everything. The downside is grown men and women getting emotional about "It's a small world". Epcot is fun if only for all the pretty lights inside darken spheres type rides."

Do people really like this kind of thing?

suebfg · 21/04/2013 20:52

There are amazing shows. The fireworks are breathtaking. There are 3D films with great special effects. Then there are the rides.

If you are into Disney, then there are the character greetings and the parades too.

Growlithe · 21/04/2013 21:02

Do people really like this kind of thing?

What, fun? Yes, love it. Grin

zipzap · 21/04/2013 21:06

We did disneyland paris a couple of years ago with dc (then 6 and 3) and they both loved it. The same year we also did a few days at a Centre Parc in the Netherlands which they also adored.

If they had the choice of doing just one of them again, they would probably choose to do CP but it would be a pretty close call. They don't know it yet, but we're taking them to DLP again this year - ds2 is still very into Mickey Mouse and other disney stuff, so we think that if we do it again this year he'll still be into the magic of it which he may well have moved on from in a year's time and then we won't want to go again until they are both much older and able to do the stuff for older kids that they are too young for now. Plus we happened to look online at prices at just the right time and got a fantastic deal which worked out at less than half price for 4 nights in a 3* disney hotel with a pool. And whilst we are usually late bookers, this year we decided to take the bull by the horns and go for it.

The CP we went to had an amazing second big dome in that had a huge adult style adventure climbing frame in, in a tropical jungle setting with tropical birds flying around, other animals in there, caves, streams, really huge and amazing, and both kids absolutely adored it, but unfortunately it's only in one CP, which was quite a long drive away for us. However, we'll definitely think about returning - particularly in a year or two's time when schools here go back about 7th September - the dutch kids will have been back a week or two and prices are considerably cheaper as it's off season - and their prices are already lots cheaper than going to a UK CP - even when you take into account the ferry and petrol etc.

There are other places I'd love to take them too that I think they will love - Puy du Fou in France sounds amazing - a kind of living history theme park and is relatively close to Futuroscope which I went to years ago and will be great once ds2 is a bit older. Then there's the castle that is being built in France, the real castles of the Loire, Parc Asterix, and so many wonderful real things in France - and that's before even starting on the rest of Europe and then the world...

So yes, if your dc like Mickey Mouse, there's a good chance they will enjoy it, but there will be plenty of other things they will love too. Don't fall victim to their marketing and think that it is the only place that dishes out magical experiences for kids, it's not. And watch out for their bargain offers and don't get sucked into paying full price - because you won't enjoy it as much if you know that others there have only payed half the amount you have!

Snazzynewyear · 21/04/2013 21:21

Can I ask where you got your fab deal, zipzap? Am starting to wonder about doing DLP now.

intheshed · 21/04/2013 21:30

I'm intrigued now- theme parks are my idea of hell, I hate roller coasters etc, but DD1 is 5 and loves all the Disney films, plus she loves all types of rides and water slides etc.

What is Disneyland Paris like- do you have to pay per ride, or are things free once you are in there? Are the queues hideous during the holidays?

IntheFrame · 21/04/2013 22:23

Free when in - horrible queues in holidays. Also be careful in bad weather - they shut rides in heavy rain but if you are queuing they may open them again if the rain stops. so you get to queue in the rain because it might re open and you've already been in a queue for half an hour. Doesn't apply to indoor rides ovs.

If you can stay out after most families go to dinner (5.30 onwards) and it's raining the park empty's and you can get on all the good indoor rides very quickly.

zipzap · 21/04/2013 23:53

snazzy we got it on the 'get 2 nights free if you buy 2 or more nights' that was supposedly running in January but seems to have been ticking along quietly ever since.

We also combined it with kids under 7 go free - at the time there were kids under 12 go free for other dates (not summer holiday though!) - ds1 will be 8 and ds2 will be 5. However, by checking on several different websites, when we bought it through expedia, the price was the same when we put in ds1 as being 8 or as being 5 - other big sites were carrying the disney offer but they were charging for ds1 (if I put ds1 down as being 5 in them, the price dropped). So we effectively got ds1 in for free as well as ds2.

Also - dh through work has a cashback portal a bit like quidco, which had 12% off expedia at the time (seems to be something that comes and goes quite a lot, have seen similar discounts on quidco or maybe just 5-8% but it all adds up when spending a relatively large sum like a holiday!).

And it just so happened that when I happened to look, there had obviously just been a run on their 2 hotels as the 3 ones were coming up just below or a smidge above (like £20 in total for the 4 nights) and had the advantage of being closer for walking and having a swimming pool so making it more of a holiday thing as we were going to be there for a few days). Prices kept changing every time I looked - even between looking in the am then at lunch time then in the evening.

So just jumped when it seemed particularly good - we went for the sequoia lodge one, overall paid £802 and when I recently checked the full price it should have been £1896. That also includes 5 days of park tickets.

Because of the ways the deal worked, it has meant that it would have been more expensive to go for 3 days than 4, and 2 days would have cost us the same.

Previous when we went I booked through World Travellers - they have a specialist department that does DLP and if you told them you had seen it through Travelzoo you got an extra 5% off so we managed to get a kids free under 7 (as they then were) with 50% off and then another 5% off that price - it was a flash sale that lasted for just a couple of days. Worth talking to them about it as they popped up every few weeks - sometimes with 25% off, sometimes 30% or 40% and occasionally 50%. That was reasonably late booking - July to go in august. And I was actually in the middle of looking on travelzoo to see if they had any ferry deals for another short hop we were doing over the channel when I saw the offer - we had been discussing going but deals weren't that great when we talked about it so booked something else. And then we we saw it come up at a good price for just a couple of nights thought sod it - and went for it. And the dc really enjoyed it, and we did pretty much too.

We also took advantage of the 3 days worth of park tickets by driving down the day before, staying in Reims which is about an hour's drive away, if that, so we got there at about 10am, rather than having a really long drive and ferry trip and wasting most of the first day travelling. Then on the way back we did the same thing - stopped at the same hotel in Reims having had a full day at DLP, had a little wander around and explore, then drive back up to Calais the next day, spend some time getting lunch and wandering around the massive shopping centre in Calais (albeit traffic queues meant that the reality was a mad dash into the hypermarket, grabbing at food to make a picnic while we waited for the ferry and stocking up on a few essesntials like wine and cheese whilst I moaned about how we were supposed to have a couple of hours here rather than the snatched 30 mins we had.)

oops sorry, realised that was a bit long Blush

Snazzynewyear · 22/04/2013 01:51

Not at all, thanks for all the detail! That's very helpful.

mathanxiety · 22/04/2013 03:02

Mine loved the Sleeping Bear Dunes area of Michigan and Washington Island off Wisconsin in Lake Michigan. They also loved the west of Ireland. Best holiday they ever spent was at a dude ranch in Colorado, somewhere between the Rockies proper and Denver. It was brilliant. Ponies, trekking, a river to fish in, nice ranch restaurant, Denver for a day trip, Rockies for another, a horse show on the last day in the arena... I had pneumonia for the whole ten days and lay in bed sustained by soup they sent over from the restaurant but everyone else had a blast.

For parks with rides, mine loved Six Flags in the US. They would only get to Disney over my dead body.

mathanxiety · 22/04/2013 03:05

Do people really like this kind of thing?

Grown adults weeping at Disney tear jerkers? Grown adults wearing T-shirts decorated with Mickey Mouse et al? Yup.

givemeaclue · 22/04/2013 11:47

Intheshed, yes park entrance ticket includes all rides.

Yes queues are hideous in school holidays and at Weekends, esp in French school hols. We had a different half term in Feb than other parts of country and queues were fine until the Saturday.

intheshed · 22/04/2013 20:22

Thanks for the info... tbh the thought of queuing all day with small children has kinda put me off now though!

Growlithe · 22/04/2013 20:41

I've never queued all day though. A lot of the rides, particularly those for young children, are continual rather than stop/start, so queues move quite quickly.

Each ride has a wait time displayed, and a lot of them have Fastpass, where you can get a ticket to come back during an allotted half hour period and not have to queue.

Then there are the shows, parades and fireworks, plenty to do if you don't want to queue for rides.

If you are queuing all day you aren't really doing it properly.

Growlithe · 22/04/2013 20:45

BTW - Disneyland Paris do 'flash sales', usually over a weekend - so if you are thinking of going in the next year or so it's worth getting on their mailing list. We've had 50% off the hotel doing this.

ProphetOfDoom · 22/04/2013 20:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Hulababy · 23/04/2013 12:49

We queue a bit but for most rides not long, even in middle if August. We use fast pass well and we arrive early. And sometimes a queue is good - in February we got there early and went in lots of rides with no queue - felt so sick lol! I needed a queue for a break!

Some rides have longer queues such as Harry Potter but they are worth it and the queues at Often quite entertaining and interactive, and even better air conditioned!

Hulababy · 23/04/2013 12:50

That's Florida btw. The queues in DLP are longer in my experience

AnneEyhtMeyer · 23/04/2013 13:00

I have a 20 minute rule for queuing, won't go beyond that and have never had to at Disney (Florida). If you go at the right times and use Fastpass wisely then it is easy.

Xenia · 23/04/2013 13:00

I do think we should distinguish what a child might think they like and what may be best for it. There are families who do not want to lead a child down that kind of route. If you want a child to adore totally isolated beaches miles from anywhere with only healthy food you brought yourself and a good long walk you are not likely to achieve that if you take it to Disney as some kind of nirvana.

AnneEyhtMeyer · 23/04/2013 13:05

I just want to raise my child with a vast range of experiences so they turn out as a crushing bore.

AnneEyhtMeyer · 23/04/2013 13:05

don't. Missed out the most important word.

ajandjjmum · 23/04/2013 13:07

Personally I have always encouraged my children to try both Xenia!

Our one and only family trip to Florida DL was when the DC were 7/8 and they absolutely loved it, and we had a great holiday. We also drove to Cape Canaveral and watched a rocket take off to Mars. It was a mixed holiday, some learning, loads of fun, but we haven't repeated it because there are so many other places to go.

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 23/04/2013 13:09

I'm still waiting for someone to explain what the appeal is if you aren't into Disney and not keen on rides? What do those who don't go on rides do? Genuinely curious, not having a go at anyone.