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

Disneyland paris do's and dont's

13 replies

2boys2girls · 03/04/2015 16:15

We off in couple weeks ferry/drive to Santa fe hotel, halfbboard,
Can anyone offer any advice, tips, suggestions,ideas to make the trip easier, cheaper excitable,? Anything really that worked for you or you wish you'd known before going...
thanks and sorry if this thread done before. Just want and need help :-\

OP posts:
Heels99 · 03/04/2015 19:24

Book restaurants in advance
Take own disney dresses
Take lots of snacks
Read the 100 other threads in the topic
Have a great time

WhenMarnieWasThere · 03/04/2015 19:44

Yes, take lots of snacks.
I also took lots of sachets of hot choc/cappuchino as we were grateful of a (free) hot drink and a relax in the room on an evening after a busy day and before heading out for dinner and a night in the park.

I took a travel kettle all the way through the eurotunnel and to the park as I didn't want the fuss of paying the deposit at reception and borrowing one.... only to find that they were now in the rooms as standard. That was at Cheyenne which is in the same price bracket as Santa Fe so it might be the same.

We found that you could catch either the Santa Fe or Cheyenne shuttle bus, depending on which one came first as the hotels back on to each other and you get from one to the other over a bridge.

derenstar · 03/04/2015 20:06

We have just got back today and had a fantastic time. We stayed at the Sequioa Lodge which we loved. I would echo what others have already said. My other tips are:

Take comfy walking shoes and a warm waterproof jackets/coats. Weather was cold and wet most of the week.

Best thing we did was buy a VIP Fastpass off ebay. Cost a hundred odd quid but meant for 2 whole days we spent very little time in queues for the major rides so made for a far less stressful visit than previous times.

Consider adding a meal plan. We did their half board plus and found we had more than enough food to keep us going so spent much less than we thought we would. Also paying in advance for food somehow made the shocking prices seem less shocking.

If doing character dining and its a choice between Inventions and Cafe Mickey, pay the extra and go for Inventions. Much better experience and food, especially now CM is a set menu. Do prebook, I can't stress this enough.

For Magic on Parade, try and get a spot outside Pizeria Bella Notte, a few metres from Its a Small World. Aim for 20-30 mins before parade starts and you will have the best view. Also means you can leave parade early as that's where it starts from and take advantage of quieter qeue times whilst a everyone else on Main Street is waiting for the parade to get to them.

Don't forget Stars and Cars in the Studios between 12 and 2pm each day. Excellent way to meet lots of characters without having having to queue for ages.

If you stay for Dreams at park close, leave through the Discovery Arcade rather than via Main Street. Less congested.

Above all, have a great time!

Heels99 · 03/04/2015 20:12

Did the VIP fast pass cover the whole family and how did you know it was genuine?

derenstar · 03/04/2015 20:18

Heels99- the pass covers up to 5 people. I didn't kniw for certain whether it was genuine or not but the seller had good feedback and it worked!

WhenMarnieWasThere · 03/04/2015 21:36

Arrive in plenty of time for the Disney Dreams show. Waiting where there are railings in front of you can mean a good view. People WILL put their little ones on their shoulders and you could end up with no view at all if you aren't in a good spot. We loved the show.

Also, check the closing time of the park. We went every night for the show and saw it at 10pm for the first few nights. On the last night we went in for a little after 9 and it was already packed as that night the show was starting at half 9. There were people making their way in as we were leaving who were probably going for the show, only to find that they had probably missed it.

We made a move to leave a couple of minutes before the very end of the fireworks on later nights as it meant a jump start on getting onto a shuttle bus before the crowds descended.

If you can, aim to go in without bags on some occasions as you get through the queue much quicker without bags to be searched. Taking advantage of the magic hours was definitely worth it. We were able to walk straight on to rides at that time.

Definitely check the time of the shows on the studio area. We enjoyed the stunt cars show, the tram tour, animagique etc and only afterwards realised how lucky we had been to see everything and not miss out as we were wandering from one to another rather than having a plan of attack.

mamabluestar · 05/04/2015 09:58

we found its easier to walk to and from the parks than use the shuttle buses - we also stayed at the Santa fe.

we went for character dinning the first night and this really made our holiday, there are different options depending on your budget and I think you can use your half board vouchers towards payment.

we found that we didn't need really need lunch after a big breakfast but had snacks and fruit which we could eat in the que's to optimise time and keep the kids quiet Grin

we also took water flasks that you can fill up st water fountains dotted around the parks.

I would try and plan a loose itinerary as walking to and from the different parks is a waste of your time.

I second taking outfits from hone as those sold on site are very expensive.

I found the TripAdvisor forum invaluable for planning our trip. dlrpmagic is another good site.

I'm sure you will have an amazing time. Hubby went and was very unimpressed by the idea, but has said he wants to go back and wants to consider Florida when the DC are older

WhenMarnieWasThere · 05/04/2015 11:05

We went last week and couldn't find a single working water fountain in the park. There were a few that worked in the studios though.

bryonyelf · 05/04/2015 15:22

Water fountains are off in the winter because they freeze.

Toffeelatteplease · 07/04/2015 21:25

Character outfits are not necessarily cheaper before you go. For example 9-10 iron man couldn't get it on the cheap at home would have been significantly cheaper had I bought it there

2boys2girls · 14/04/2015 07:16

Thank you for all your tips ...great hemp x

OP posts:
2boys2girls · 14/04/2015 08:17

Help:-)

OP posts:
ihearttc · 02/05/2015 11:45

Bit late to reply but yes getting a VIP fast pass is a fab idea. We got ours from eBay and it was honestly the best thing we could have done.

We went the last week of the summer holiday and only had 2 full days in the park. Without the VIP FP we won't have done half the rides we managed.

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