Disneyland Paris - how expensive is the food?

[PolyesterBride]

Hello.

Hoping someone who's been to Disneyland Paris can help me decide whether to pay extra for half board at the resort (you can eat in any of the restaurants there) or just buy food when we're there. We're going half term week, arriving late on mon and leaving fri lunchtime, so we'll only really be able to have the meal the middle three days. Despite this we'd still have to pay for all five days, about £55 per day, so around £250 in total for one meal a day for two adults and one 5 year old. But would it be more expensive to pay for each meal there? Have no idea how much of a rip-off it is!

Thanks in advance!

what on earth are you going to do there for five days?!!!

really - 2, mayeb 2,5 will drive you bananas

food on site is DIRE

do thehotel

We went 3 years ago and the cheapest lunch we managed was 4 Happy Meal style lunch for €40 total rip off! They were also checking bags for picnics and bombs as you went in, the kids loved it but me and then-DH vowed never to return.....sorry!

Ok well to be honest this question is on behalf of a friend so I have no idea what she will do there for five days! But I think she is planning to eat at the hotel or the site (all the restaurants are the same price apparently) but she doesn't know if she should pay in advance or when she gets there.

Oh wow checking bags for picnics, that sounds horrible. So £55 for a restaurant meal isn't sounding too bad if McDonald's is that expensive

Pay for half board in advance. Take snacks and drinks and bulk up with breakfast buffet sandwiches for picnic lunches. Do not buy lunch, take your own drinks and lots and lots of snacks.

Also take sandwich bags for making butties from the breakfast. My favourites were croissants with salami and cheese!

Oh, and they did check bags. They ran them through an X-ray machine. They didn't seem to care that they had Capri suns, crisps and an average of sixteen hotel rolls in...

You can get sandwiches etc at places like The Earl of Sandwich in the Disney village for €5 -6 or there is a MacDonalds. The train station right at the parks sells sandwiches at a reasonable price too. The security people done care if you bring in a few sandwiches and some drinks. The Costa? Coffee shop in the village also does sandwiches/croque Monsieur.

The prices are - go half board.

Thanks everyone. Sounds like the consensus is pay for half board for breakfast and dinner then cheapo picnic lunch. Sounds good.

Go half board - and pre-book your meals.

It's no fun to have hungry tired kids & nowhere to settle down to eat.

It's expensive - but part of the fun. Eg the blue lagoon restaurant you wave to the people on the pirate of the Caribbean ride; Walts you get a grandstand view of high street & parades.

The day we had no booked food - we got verry tired. We paid ££££ in vouchers for Walts another day, and spent about 3 hours drinking wine while the kids hung out the window character-spotting - which in hindsight was a good investment in 'holiday spirit'.

Aw. We went last Xmas and stayed for five days, it was lovely and we factored in a bit if time relaxing in the hotel pool and a trip into Paris.
We ate well at the breakfast buffet and then took some fruit and pastries from there for lunch (didn't feel guilty as we only ate a reasonable breakfast and didn't waste food like so many we saw doing)
We then ate in the village at rainforest or other chains and it was around fifty euro each time for two adults and two kids meals (one drink and no desert for adults)
I've been to Florida a few times but Paris is different and we really enjoyed it.
Have fun

We refilled water bottles at the many water fountains

Sorry to bump an oldish thread. It this is helpful.

I see the current offer is 2 nights free if booked by the end of January but that would make the trip too long for euro disney from what you are saying? 4 nights, 5 days?

I am staggered that 2 nights is just over £700 and that doesn't include food! Would we be better waiting to see what deals come out after January? Really want to be thre on 4 July for DS birthday.

Hi. We went this year on a 4 night stay (2 nights free). Apparently, that is the best deal they tend to offer. We actually found that a perfect length of time for DD(5) and DS (3) as we didn't have to rush around the park trying to fit everything in.

Also, we had rain one day and we went back to the hotel at lunchtime for a break from the downpour and to use the pool. If we had been there for just two days, we would have had to brave the rain so as not to miss out on the rides.

We arrived Mon afternoon and left Fri lunchtime. By Friday morning, we had seen everything so we went to Val D'Europe for a couple of hours browsing the shops and having lunch there which was a relaxing end to the holiday.

In answer to the original question we didn't take half board because those vouchers can only be used in certain restaurants and so those get really busy and you need to prebook to guarantee a table. Also, then you might miss out on a restaurant you like the look of because your vouchers aren't valid. There are some cheaper places to eat there such as The earl of Sandwich and the McDonalds, you just have to factor that into your budget, it is an expensive place. We took snacks with us and drinks and they were never stopped, I think it's only if you try to take a whole picnic in that it's an issue.

I'd say 4 nights/5 days is just about right amount of time for a first visit, especially if it is during a busy time. It means you don't need to rush and have plenty of time to do everything or go back to do favourites again.

£700 is actually a fairly good price for that length of stay IMO, I'm assuming you are staying at Cheyenne or Santa Fe hotels? The deals won't actually get any better just different, so instead of 2 days free it will be free meal plan or 30% off, but base price will be higher.

Even if you do book now and find a better offer at a later date, it is possible to call Disney and get extras (e.g character meals) added to your package to make up the difference.

the food is SO SO BAD
I remember reading it was bad and thinking " ooh it cant be that bad" but it REALLY IS. in the park you will yearn for a CUP and a PLATE

I disagree that the food is bad, I've had some really lovely meals in both the parks as well as in Disney village. All restaurant menus are available online and it is advisable to make reservations in advance. There are several all you can eat buffets from €25 pp (less for kids) that I think are a better alternative to the fast food places for not much more money. Hotel restaurants are good too and you don't need to be staying at them to eat there either.

Of course if you just grab a hot dog from the nearest kiosk when your hungry, then its probably not going to be the greatest meal of your life. But if you have a meal in Walt's or The Blue Lagoon or even Inventions with a view of sleeping beauty's castle, then you will have a totally different opinion.

Why are you yearning for a cup and a plate ,if you eat in the restaurants and not the fast food places you will find they have a full compliment of plates and cutlery and cups ! apart from Cafe Mickey and Planet Hollywood some of the restaurants are fine.

Our meal at Inventions was very good, would not complain about the food there at all, ditto Blue Lagoon. The buffet at Sequioa Lodge in the evening was not bad, but not amazing.

The breakfasts weren't particularly good, and we didn't like the food at Rainforest Cafe at all. As TheXmasLogIn says, you can look at menus beforehand and prebook. It is varied, and you tend to get what you pay for. The reviews on Tripadvisor are a good guide, as is the DLP forum on there.

take a look at the menus and pricing here

lays it out by service type - buffet, table service, character dining , counter service etc... includes the cost..

We always liked the Pizzeria Belle Notte - pizza/ice cream and orange juice on the kids menu is great - costs about a fiver though.. adult meals about a tenner..

Thanks everyone for your help. I think I might wait. We really only want to do 2 nights for DS birthday as we plan on Florida next year anyways. So if we can get 2 nights plus a deal on dining I think that would be better suited to is.

ive done both - Florida negates the need for bleak old DLP