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Disney Paris in July for the first time help

13 replies

Nograssisgreener · 30/04/2017 09:31

Hello , we have booked to go to Disney in July for 3 nights and 4 days in a Disney hotel with a 3 and 1 year old on the Eurostar ( kids on our laps ) we have a half board meal plan
1.) advise me on what to take with us if we don't want to spend money in the parks
2.) if you went with Little kids did they actually get on any rides as in is there a lot for 3 and 1 year old can do?
3.) does the Eurostar have enough space if am carrying a child on my lap and is it like on a flight where they have entertainment?
4.) Are we allowed to take our own snacks, drinks in the park to save money as we are planning to have breakfast and dinner on the half board deal
5.) what is he breastfaat like, it is continental or hot the deal says it's a quick service breakfast and we are not sure what that means
6.) what restaurants would you recommend for evening meals
7.) is it worth paying for lunch with the princess or will my dd's get chance to meet the princessses walking around anyway all with want is like a meet and greet and picture opportunity to make it memorable
8.) what would you recommend we don't miss in the evenings

Sorry I have too many questions but am only trying to understand and I know there is someone out there willing to share their knowledge with people like us who are doing it for the first time
TIA

OP posts:
Playdoughinthecarpet · 30/04/2017 09:35

Just booked for August. Join the disneylandparis page on Facebook, lots of really good ideas, questions answered etc. Have fun Grin

booksandchoc · 30/04/2017 09:37

If you got your meal plan free as part of your package then it's a quick service breakfast in the park. A pastry, hot roll, hot drink and cold drink. If you join Disneyland Paris 4 Brits on FB you will find answers to all your other questions

TittyGolightly · 30/04/2017 09:37

Have been many times. Will try and help.

  1. not a lot for 1 year old, more for 3. Rides have height restrictions. Check out DLPguide.com for more info
  2. it's not like a flight. It's a train. It's like a train. There's a buffet cart but no entertainment.
  3. you can take snacks and drinks but not a whole picnic
  4. breakfast is now counter service - it's a pastry or breakfast roll and a drink but your 1 yo won't get anything.
  5. depends what you like to eat and which level of meal plan you have
  6. princesses don't walk around. Food at the meal is generally considered very fussy but we love it. Don't think it's worth doing with a 1 and 3 yo though.
  7. make sure you see the illuminations at least once - they're at park close which is quite late in July.

There's a fab Facebook group called Disneyland Paris for Brits that covers all sorts about snacks and restaurants. Worth checking that out.

TittyGolightly · 30/04/2017 09:39

You can see princesses in the parade. Meeting them requires either the meal (3 princesses there) or a loooooooooong wait queuing to see 1 princess at the pavilion.

Dlpdep · 30/04/2017 10:05

We are just back, didn't do Eurostar so I can't help you there.

Download the app - it will give you the height restrictions and waiting times for all the rides. For a 1 and 3 year old I suspect you will be looking for rides that are less than 1m. There are quite a few.

You will get 2 magic hours (8am to 10am) in the park before it is open to the general public. I suggest using those hours as you will probably get 3 or 4 rides in during that time period. Be warned, only certain rides are open during this time. Discoverland - Buzz Lightyear and oribitron are open, the carousel is open, dumbo is opened, the teacups are open and I think Peter Pan is opened. The queues won't be as long during this time so take advantage. Your kiddies should be able to go on all of those rides with an adult.

Personally, I wouldn't be taking a 3 year old to the dinner with Cinderella as she won't remember it and it is mega bucks. If you want to see princesses, you could queue for the princess pavilion but I have never seen the queue less than an hour. A better approach would be to have a bit of a sit down over beside the small world ride. There is a big massive wooden gate just after it and the princesses and characters all enter the park and leave the park through that gate. If you time it right for before or after the shows you will see them entering and leaving and they will wave and smile. Belle and Cinderella were also over by the Casey jr ride and people weren't aware of it so there were no queues to meet them - something else to keep an eye out for.

That area is really good for smallies as you have Small World, which is still a favourite now that DD is a bit older, Casey Jr, there is a ride beside it on a boat - can't remember the name, cups, maze and dumbo etc.

You can bring food into the park - there is no restriction on it that I am aware of. Bags will be scanned on the way in, but they are looking for weapons, not food, no issue with drinks. The Earl of Sandwich is good for snacks in the Disney village.

There is no restaurant that I would recommend. Slow service, mediocre food. You have to resign yourself to it and just get on with it. Cafe Mickey no longer has characters - be aware of that. I would highly recommend booking somewhere however as the earliest we could get a table the first night was 10pm so we just went to McD's.

You will be absolutely bunched in the evenings, especially with smallies. My DH had an activity tracker app and we walked 28km the first day. People say not to miss the evening show at 10pm but having seen it before and having been up at 7am, we gave it a miss. You will need to be grabbing a space from at least 9pm and entertaining children when tired and cranky and sitting around for an hour, is not fun.

Buy a princess dress here or be prepared to shell out €60 min for one over there. Most little girls spend all day dressed in one.

Also, there is a little shaded playground in advertureland that you might miss.

Breakfasts in the hotels are feeding time at the zoo. Be ready for it.

YouMeddlingKids · 30/04/2017 10:13

Things might have changed since I went last year, but what we did was go into park for magic hours then nip back to hotel (new york) for breakfast - it was nice and quiet as most people had left for the park. It was full breakfast last year but maybe not anymore? We went with 5 and 1 year old, didn't find a shortage of things to do although disney studios seemed more geared up for older ones, we still enjoyed the shows there. We drive so can't comment on the train. We had half board, had a late breakfast as I said so didn't really need any food during the day, just some snacks we took with us. Dinner at Annettes diner was good. In the end I don't think we spent anything while we were there, had planned a little shopping trip for last day but ds got ill so just headed home! Could spend ££££ there though if that way inclined, everything's very expensive. Definitely bring your own dressing up stuff!

YouMeddlingKids · 30/04/2017 10:15

Oh also, we didn't meet the princesses as ds wasn't bothered, but other than parades didn't really see any hanging around. I'd go for a meal with them rather than queue for an hour plus, personally.

Dlpdep · 30/04/2017 10:22

That idea to go back for breakfast is inspired! New your New York is closer than some of the others. There are set menus for dinner with with the princesses - about €60 per adult and €40 for children. I don't know if you can go a la carte. They told us the only other restaurant that does character dining is the Inventions restaurant.

TittyGolightly · 30/04/2017 10:33

There's no a la carte at Auberge.

TittyGolightly · 30/04/2017 10:33

Hotel breakfasts have changed. They're only hotel ones (full) with upgraded rooms and paid meal plans.

Otherwise it's counter service in the parks.

Dlpdep · 30/04/2017 10:39

We had no meals included and it was great - Starbucks had opened in the hotel and we got a much nicer breakfast there for about €20 for 3.

foundaspottysock · 30/04/2017 11:01

Eurostar, there will not be much room with kids on your laps. It's just a normal train.

Could be quite uncomfortable as the journey is a few hours. Try and get seats with a table. If you can afford it I would book seats for dc, it will make it a much nicer experience!

2014newme · 01/05/2017 18:39

Kids on your laps won't be a very comfortable journey and there's no entertainment.
Book your restaurants for the evening in advance or be prepared to queue a long time.

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