Disney place in france - can you stay in Paris or do you have to stay in some themed hotel and have Donald Duck shouting at you at breakfast time?

[CountessDracula]

How far from Paris is it?

Would it be a PITA to stay there and go each day?

Given that dh and I could prob bear 2 days max, would it just be easier to stay on site.

Is there a normal hotel on site or are they all themey?

oh god

Snakes and Ladders smells of poo though

Please tell me it doesn't smell of poo

I can't do Ikea it makes me cry

We've done Disney World with dSs who were then 4.5 and 2.5. The look on their faces when we had tea with Winne the Pooh and met the characters out and about made everything worthwhile. At that point, we finally understood what the deal was with the people in fluffy costumes!

It's not for you, it's for her. Stay on sight and get on with it

Do NOT however, and I can not stress this enough, go on the "It's a Small World" ride. You know that bit in Shrek with the information puppets singing the song about Duloc? It's like that only worse and you can't fast forward.

We stayed at the Dreamcastle hotel which is in the Disneyland site but not actually in the theme park - there's a free shuttle bus from hotel about every 10/15 mins into park. Hotel was fine, family rooms very comfortable and not too themed. Food was buffet-style but great variety and probably healthier than most things you would get in park.

At night, children played around play area in hotel while we had few glasses of wine on bar terrace. You can get direct train into Paris from the station at the theme park (marne-les-vallees). It's not too bad a journey. I took the toddler with me and SIL, and left our 2 dhs to do second day at theme park while we did some shopping and sipped champagne at a pavement cafe!

Be careful about the costumed characters though. The DDs (5.5 and 4) are terrified by anybody dressed up in one of those big fluffy costumes and I think that they would freak at a whole parkload of them. There again they are complete wusses who have declared that 'Dora The Explorer' is "too scarey"!

Honestly CD, I don't think you've reached a place in your personal growth where you are ready for Disneyland.

HIJACK ALERT - Issymum, I'm off! Either Sat or Tuesday.

Wow! That's incredibly exciting SueJonez. How are you feeling? Will you have internet access there so that you can tell us how it's working out in-country?

feeling very odd - like it isn't happening to me. Hope to keep my website up to date here but won't really know until I get there.

Sorry CD ... back to your epic journey to Disneyland

The food is awful - nothing fresh anywhere - although there was a report last week about how they are going to make things more healthy.

oh good maybe I will lose a few lbs then as I hate fast food

Breakfast in the Hotel New York was good, FWIW- lots of fresh fruit and croissants. Everything else pretty grim, though in general more bearable than Centerparcs I would say. And Soupy's right, it's the look on their faces....

CD, it is half an hour on the ultra reliable and regular RER train from the center of Paris.

Don't stay in the Disney hotels. Stay in Paris and go to the parks for, say two days. Then you will have the delights of Paris as well.

You get the please of seeing the kids in Disney, but also the dleight of seeing them go 'WOW' at the Eifel Tower, and the glass pyramid in the Louvre

lol @Issymum's advice ! I fear it's either an all or nothing sort of place . You may enjoy it through your dd but you'll enjoy it more if you ...er ...partake of the atmosphere yourself. fwiw I haven't found the Disney hotels too in my face but the food is generally dire (think TGI Friday's/Garfunkels at best). Grin and bear it, go on , you could always tag on a night or two at a nice hotel in Paris afterwards to recuperate !

there is nothing at all wrong with disneyland that i can see, most of you rave on about haven and butlins but i think they are sheer hell, i suppose its all down to personal choice, we were going this xmas but had to cancel but we will be going in may and next year hopefully florida, i think it has to be done when they are young or they are too old then to still believe in all the characters - i dont see the point in staying so far away from the park the waiting times for the shuttle will be really busy

god how horrendous

?

I once arranged a company conference at Disneyland paris . What was I thinking?!

id rahter chew my own arm off hten try adn queu with french school kids and over preiced american shite

( but hey ho thast juts me)
thinks wistfullt back at the FUN ds1 had in real paris

35 mins on the rer

heres a map of the train network - if yustayed in easter nparis youd be fine

Seriously, go to a real hotel in the real Paris. That way you can escape Mouse overload when it gets too much.

I'm not a great fan, but seeing the ids enjoy it was fab. We also enjoyed real Paris, as a family, did a boat trip down the river, saw the tower, has a nice meal behind the clock face in the Musee D'orsay. It was great ad we all enjoyed it.

It doesn't have to be all disney or no disney, you can strike a balance, honest!

shall i ask my mate who lives there?