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Original poster

Disneyland Paris 4nights/5 days how much spending money??!!

32 replies

pinkbunny2012 · 14/12/2013 09:51

Hi
I am going to Disneyland paris for the first time ever next week with hubby and DD who is 4. We are all really excited and cant wait. How much spending money should I take? We are staying in hotel new York and have breakfast and that's it. For lunch we will prob just grab a sandwich or mcdonalds and during our stay with probably have one character breakfast and one more expensive sit down dinner, with one rainforest café too? what are peoples thoughts? obviously need to buy some souviners too im seriously panicking lol x

OP posts:
peppersquint · 14/12/2013 20:07

I'd say for a comfortable but not too extravagant break - I'd look at about £1,000 for meals, gifts, special meals etc... though it is 9 years since we went (DH, DD and I).

peppersquint · 14/12/2013 20:08

By the way - I'm not suggesting that £1K isn't extravagant (I'd kill for £100 at the moment)

Original poster
pinkbunny2012 · 14/12/2013 20:16

That's ok :) its really hard to know how much to budget, I was thinking between £800-£1000 so maybe that would be about right, hubby gets paid the day we go which is dangerous lol xx

OP posts:
Ifcatshadthumbs · 14/12/2013 20:18

We went for 5 days too and spent £400 on food alone and we didn't eat that extravagantly. It is very expensive there.

CecyHall · 14/12/2013 20:19

We are taking £550 but already have meal vouchers (which were £200) so in total it'd be about £750-800 ish.

Last time I went I came back with a load of money but I'd rather have too much than not enough.

Tobagostreet · 14/12/2013 20:20

Agree that about £1k is required. Even McD's in the Disney Village is expensive (compared to UK prices).

Enjoy - I'm Envy!

peppersquint · 14/12/2013 20:20

Very dangerous - but worth it - my DD loved it and even though I was a bit cynical about Disney I got swept along with it all - she will love it (and so will you and DH). Better to take too much and come back with some than stress about it and not enjoy yourselves. Have a lovely holiday

HermioneWeasley · 14/12/2013 20:28

You will have an amazing time!

If you are staying at a Disney hotel see if you can upgrade to a half board package as that's good value.

Otherwise lunch at Disney self serve restaurants is about E12 per adult and E6 for a child. Hot drinks are approx E3 though you usually get a free hot drink voucher when you buy lunch.

Dinner can be anything from McDonalds to e50/ head depending on restaurant. We spent E100 on dinner for 4 at rainforest cafe.

Souvenirs will be as much or as little as you want.

The better restaurants are
Blue Lagoon
Casey's corner
Restaurant des stars (studios)

And Earl of sandwich in Disney village. I would not do a character dinner at cafe Mickey.

Original poster
pinkbunny2012 · 14/12/2013 23:17

Hiya just checked and thank u all for your messages :)
I was thinking about 1000 euro so think that must be about right as that's what the general consensus is. Me nor hubby have ever been to Disney so first time for all of us and we come back xmas eve so cant wait :) Our little girl is autistic but has all of a sudden got interested in Disney princesses and we have booked a prince and princesses lunch already so really cant wait and hope she enjoys it :) We will prob eat a lot of mcdonalds as she is very restrictive in her food but would like to have a sit down dinner at least once or twice! Im not sure if I can upgrade to a half board package so close to going? Maybe I will ring Disney and see :) Anyone got any other tips for going? We are staying in Hotel New York :) xxx

OP posts:
Floralnomad · 14/12/2013 23:22

We were out there at the start of the month and we always stay in the New York . What I would say is don't go to Planet Hollywood its gross, Annette's diner is lovely for burger type meals and the milk shakes are fantastic. Also if you haven't already done so have a look at the disabled guest guide and make sure you take the correct paperwork to get a priority pass ,it really does make the whole experience much better .

Original poster
pinkbunny2012 · 14/12/2013 23:36

Iv read mixed reviews about the hotel, how did u find it? and I was thinking of going to planet Hollywood so will maybe give it a miss if it wasn't great. I loved the look of Annettes diner, so will most definitely eat there. She doesn't eat any meat, so makes it a bit difficult to eat in a lot of places, I have a feeling she might just end up a bowl of chips which isn't great, but am going to bring lots of snacks from home too. I have looked into the pass as I think its going to be a lifesaver, am going to bring her dla letter (as she gets the highest rate) and a letter with the nhs stamp from her specialist health visitor explaining her difficulties and hope this will suffice :) I am so so so excited though and cannot wait! Do u know if the new York has a kettle or toaster in the room? thank u so much for all ur help :) xx

OP posts:
Floralnomad · 14/12/2013 23:46

TBH the New York is showing its age a bit ( shabby ) but we've been visiting since it first opened so we don't mind as its a bit like an old friend ! You can ask for tea/ coffee making stuff but we always take a kettle and mugs with us ,they sell milk in the hotel shop. The breakfast is lovely with lots of choice ,my dd also doesn't eat meat and is coeliac so we are very limited but nobody starved . I agree with avoiding cafe Mickey ,it's really gone downhill over the last few years .I have always had decent meals in the Silver Spur and Blue Lagoon ,and the hotdogs are nice at Caseys corner . The good thing about getting the pass is you don't have to rush around to do the extra hours in the morning ! My dd has a blue Badge for mobility issues and that's all we show them so what you are taking sounds fine . Also make sure you take lots of warm clothes as it's generally freezing at this time of the year and we have often had snow when we've been out there closer to Christmas.

Original poster
pinkbunny2012 · 15/12/2013 00:28

I would have loved to stay in the Disneyland hotel but it was so expensive and we wouldn't have been able to afford to go, and the hotel new York seemed nice so we settled for that :) I was thinking of taking a kettle and toaster and some hot choc and teabags for the evening, as our daughter will probably be in bed early. Its a shame about café mickey as im sure she would love the characters, I might do a breakfast there instead of a lunch maybe? and iv heard a lot of people say about the blue lagoon so will head there:) have u ever done a prince and princess lunch? as we have already booked and paid for one and not sure what to expect? I hope what im taking is fine as she doesn't understand queuing and would make our trip a nightmare. They are both dated this month so im hoping so. Im going to buy a few thermal layers before we go and bought dd a big thick snowsuit and snowboots too, I would love love love it to snow!! lol xxx

OP posts:
HermioneWeasley · 15/12/2013 09:55

Hotel New York is perfect location wise. Disneyland hotel is obviously closest to the parks, but NY is closer to the village.

If you take your Dr letters to city hall they will sort out passes for you. It's the only place people speak good English.

You should be able to upgrade to half board still, ask your travel agent. If travelling by Eurostar have you got Disney Express?

Book restaurants in advance. The buffet in NY is good (park side diner I think)

If she struggles with crowds and queues, I would do the "stars and cars" parade in the studios park rather than the main one as you have to assume your position early to be able to see anything.

You will have an amazing time. Watching their faces light up is amazing.

Floralnomad · 15/12/2013 10:01

We have stayed at the Disneyland hotel before and it really wasn't worth the extra money ,yes its closer to the park but you have to walk to the village and the studios . With the parades the rule was only 1 person and the person with the pass could go in the disabled areas , my sister went in with dd and me and DH stood right next to it and the disabled areas don't get crammed. cafe Mickey will be ok for breakfast it's just the food that lets it down for meals. You will probably find that with your pass you could have done less if a stay ,we find 2 days in the park more than adequate although we do know exactly what we are doing .

Nishky · 15/12/2013 10:03

I think she will love the princess lunch!!!

In the main hotel on the gates there is a buffet style meal with characters- I think you can do that even if not staying at that hotel, have just consulted with dc and we all think we did it both years and we only stayed there one year.

Never did cafe Mickey but it looked more frantic than the one we did- especially if you get the earliest table possible, which would suit with a little one

Hole you update us after Christmas we how it went. I am very excited for you!

Nishky · 15/12/2013 10:05

With how it went not we. Still awful grammar, but I am excited for you!

Original poster
pinkbunny2012 · 15/12/2013 10:51

Thank You all so much for your replies! I booked through Thomas cook so might get them a ring today to see if I can upgrade to the half board option, as would rather just have to buy lunch which could be a mcdonalds or quick sandwich and have the rest to just spend on merchandise, im terrible at budgeting! so would be easier lol I was thinking of trying one of the restaurants in our hotel so might try the parkside diner if you say it was nice :) She does struggle with crowds, but am going armed with ear defenders and lots of blankets she can hide herself in in the buggy so hoping she may (fingers crossed) cope.

Also sorry to keep going on, what are the studios like? As everyone seems to talk about the main park but I don't really know much about the studios? I will probably go in with my daughter to the parades as shes a bit of a mummys girl, but I wonder if they will let dh in as im pregnant too? if not doesn't matter im more than grateful to get the pass as we wouldn't be able to go otherwise :) I booked 4 nights as wasn't really sure how long to go for, and we are going to go into Paris on the Saturday- as I figured it will probably be heaving in the park and will be a nice break from it all too lol

The buffet style lunch with characters sounds great, and something to look into, as the only reason I was thinking of café mickey was purely for the character experience, but I would rather pay a bit more and have a less stressful experience, as dd can get upset when there is lots of people.

And yes we are travelling via Disney express, though I don't know what the difference is between that and the normal Eurostar? I guess its just because its for people only going to Disney.

Thank u all so so much for your help, I appreciate it and any other little tips or helpful things to take/not to take or do or not to do will so much appreciated and will update u all when we get back!
xxxx

OP posts:
Floralnomad · 15/12/2013 14:27

The Studios are lovely ,generally less busy and they have some shows and the toy story rides . The Flying carpets in there are the same as the Dumbos ,without the queues .Cinemagique and Animagique are both lovely and its nice to just sit down for 20 minutes in the warm !

Original poster
pinkbunny2012 · 15/12/2013 18:41

sounds great, so excited to go now, have had terrible morning afternoon and all day sickness and have been feeling a bit unmotivated lol but have given myself a shake and going to start my packing tonight :) it helps that me and dd have had the lights off and xmas tree on and watching Christmas movies all day :) haha xx

OP posts:
mashyup · 15/12/2013 19:44

I wish we had gone half board, my dad paid for extended family to go but I had hardly any spending money. Ended up sneaking a lunch box to breakfast and filling it with croissants and ham! And got fed up of fast food but couldn't afford restaurants
Did do Rainforest cafe one night which was good.

HermioneWeasley · 15/12/2013 20:11

OP, Disney express is a luggage service available if you travel via
Eurostar, not a type of Eurostar train/journey. They give you your park tickets on the train and you take your luggage to a kiosk in the station and they take your bags to the hotel (and vice versa when you return). Do check that you have booked it as it's a PITA otherwise. Get your DH to sprint ahead with bags as the queues to drop off bags can be long otherwise.

Studios are more about shows than rides (though there are a few)

givemeaclue · 16/12/2013 09:32

Macdonalds is not in the disney theme park it is in disney village so really not convenient to pop to macdonalds at lunchtime. Also book your restaurants in advance or you will be waiting up to an hour in the evening.

Original poster
pinkbunny2012 · 16/12/2013 14:01

Iv heard a lot of people take things from breakfast for lunch time, but what with being pregnant, I wont eat ham and I always worry about how long things have been left out etc so would rather just grab a quick sandwich to eat. Yes I am travelling via Disney express, I rung the travel agent and asked Xmas Blush, sorry, and would be nice to see to see a few shows, if dd will sit lol, and didn't realise Disneyland was so big, how long of a walk is it from the Disney theme park to the village? and am going to ring today and try and pre book the restuarants before we go :) only 3 more sleeps! my dd has no understanding or interest yet, so cant wait to see her face when we actually get there :) xx

OP posts:
givemeaclue · 16/12/2013 14:07

Park entrance is five mins walk from disney village but if you are at other side of park it could be half an hour.

I have never taken food from breakfast buffet and only ever saw one family doing this. Bring snacks from home rather than pinch food off a buffet. If you have a big breakfast at hotel you will not want much for lunch anyway