Going to Disneyland Paris in April - any hints and tips please!

[ehupmeduck]

Going to DLP on 4th April with dh, ds(10) and dd(7). Stopping in the Cheyenne and have booked standard half board plan. Have never been before - special treat for my birthday (big 40!!), think I am more excited than the kids! Anyway, any hints and tips please. Best places to eat, any hidden gems, rides/shows that will keep both ds and dd happy. Thanks in advance 😀

If you join Disneyland for Brits on Facebook there is masses of info on there

Thanks TurnOffTheTv - have just joined and found some really useful stuff already 😃

Wrap,up warm. It could be freezing!

The food is awful, and I'm not a food snob at all. The buffets are priced but generally offer more edible choices. Earl of sandwich in the village is ok. The tex mex place opposite thunder mountain is ok as is the ratatouille buffet.

Not sure there's such a thing as hidden gems in such a well known destination !

Enjoy yourselves

Do the character meals to avoid the queues to see them at other times.

Lots of hidden things but it depends on how Disney you are. Special signage at peterpan being an example but it depends if it means anything to you! Lots of other hidden Mickey things.

Dinner at inventions. Don't miss the dragon.

wear a bullet proof jacket!

No but seriously it's expensive take food with you if you can annd pretend your 10 again and you'll have a great time.

I find that distasteful manopaws.

Really Manopaws? What a stupid post.

Forgot to say do NOT bother with cafe Mickey - utterly crap experience, food was awful, tiny over priced portions, just dreadful.

Cafe Mickey was my girls favourite part of the week. Yes crap food, noisy room to adults but we had a v cheap holiday (Jan) and just justified that we were paying for a couple of "experiences" while we were there. We personally preferred café reme but my small children truly loved having the characters in the restaurant with them and talk about it.

The stunt show in the studios is really worth making sure you see.

Ratatouille fast track tickets go early so make sure you get one early in jn the day

Similarly the Princess pavilion has a time you go to get a ticket. You need to be there before that time...then you come.back at the timeslot on the ticket.

Don't go on the Star Wars simulation ride if you suffer from motion sickness < vom face

The Disneyland Paris Forum on Trip Advisor is worth a visit. Lots of good advice and the destination expert - Figgygirl - is really helpful and knowledgeable.

If you want to have a break in the afternoon and don't want to walk back to the Cheyenne hotel, the lounge in the Disneyland Hotel is nice. The side door to the hotel is beside the turnstiles and you go up the big staircase and it's to your left. It's more expensive for a hot chocolate than other places in the park but but it's lovely to sit for a while and relax. Also, the characters tend to make an appearance in the foyer in the afternoon and it's generally quiet so good opportunity to get photographs/autographs.

If you want to do character dining, I would recommend Inventions in the DL Hotel. Expensive but the buffet is very good and there are lots of opportunities for character interaction.

It's also worth getting up for Extra Magic Hours one morning. If you can be at the turnstiles for 8, you'll have the opportunity to go on several rides without having to queue.

If you decide to go to the Val d'Europe shopping centre to shop or go to one of the restaurants there or the supermarket, there is a shuttle bus that collects at the Disney hotels and takes you to the Outlet (La Vallee village). The concierge in your hotel will arrange for the bus to collect you. You can then walk through car park to VdE. When you want to go back, you go to the information desk in the Outlet and they arrange for the bus to collect you for the return.

Have a great time.

The other thing I would recommend is to check out the cost of a private transfer from Charles de Gaulle. I think it's worth the cost rather than taking the bus or the train and with 4 of you, it might be just as cheap.

I paid 65 euro each way for 2 people on our recent trip. We used Inter Shuttle Prestige. You'll find other recommended companies on Trip Advisor.

I must disagree , the stunt show in the studios is an hour of your life you will never get back , spend it doing anything else in the Studios , absolutely anything ,it really is dire . Use the extra hours , use fast passes where possible , go to the Buffalo Bill show , agree with pp about the Fantasia cafe in the Pink Palace - it's the best place for afternoon tea .Check which rides are closed before you go to avoid disappointment , there are more closures than usual at the moment because of 2017 being the anniversary year (25) .

Ha! My girls loved it, they've been practicing driving cars on 2 wheels and were really impressed!

Toy cars that is....

Ah my son loved the stunt show but he loves racing McQueen, shoot outs and fire! We all thought it was great fun.

Ah, thanks everyone, some great advice there. Checked out the closures and am a bit disappointed because Big Thunder Mountain and Star Tours are both closed and these are the 2 I was most excited about . Will still be amazing though I'm sure

Big Thunder Mountain has been closed for months ,it is a big one to miss . Star Tours needed refurbishing , it hasn't been altered since the park opened .