Disneyland Paris advice

[noenergy]

After much debate over warm all inc holiday or theme park the rest of the family have voted DLP.

So lots of questions. Have been searching online too but thought I would get good advice here. Looking at 4/5 days. 2 adults, 3 kids(3,4,7) Budget of £700-800. Inc park tickets.

When would be quieter, February half term which is 9-19 feb or Easter which is last week of March and first week of April.
Weather would be a factor too, will it be too cold February half term.

Accommodation is another thing as Disney hotels r very expensive so not sure where would be cheaper and how transport would work. Would we be better hiring a car?
How easy it is it to drive?

Would also like to do a few other touristy things like Eiffel Tower which seems to be over an hour away from Disney parks. So that's another factor in accommodation location.

Have seen a hotel called Explorers? Anyone stayed there? Would preferably like somewhere near a mall where we could go to a food court in evenings to eat on a budget.

Also visit a hyper market? Which is the best?

All advice and experiences welcome.

£700-£800 in total? Or per person? You are going to struggle with the former!

We went during October half term paid £729 for 2a1c 3 nights and half board plus and park tickets. We stayed in Newport bay and there were cheaper options. I would advise you to have a look at Disneyland Paris for brits Facebook page, it's fab. We booked through magic breaks.

I've stayed in the Disneyland hotel - the pink palace right on site, Davy Crocketts Ranch (we had to drive and park), and the Kyriad hotel (shuttle bus to the parks).

The Disneyland Hotel will be out of budget if you're looking at a max of £800 but given the choice again I would definitely stay at a hotel with the shuttle bus. It was a pita driving in each day!

Perhaps you could split the holiday? Stay in a Disney hotel for 2/3 nights and do the parks and the the remainder of your holiday in a cheaper hotel in Paris nearer to the sights?

Quite often the hotel deals include park tickets which should help your costs!

We went mid November (DS is 3) and stayed in the Toy Story themed hotel. It was great in terms of walking distance. I couldn't have managed without a buggy for DS though. We rarely use one at home but it was so much walking between parks/to the hotel etc we needed it there.

The big let down was the weather. First 2 days were sunny and cold which was great. The last 2 days were very wet. It wrecked the holiday a bit as a lot of the rides and queues are outside.

Food is expensive and a lot of it's crap. Think nuggets&chips, hotdogs etc. I've never been so glad to see fruit again! We took a lot of snack food.

The other thing was the early entry we had to the parks because we stayed in Disney. Only certain rides were open early and we didn't find it worth it. They do provide leaflets saying which they are but we only found those on the 3rd day!

Cost wise it was about £3000 (not including spending money) for 3 adults and DS.

I stayed in the Explorers for 2 nights and found it lovely! There is transport from there to the park.

We’ve been in Feb half term. It was cheaper, in fact I think the DC were free. The weather was dry but VERY cold. You need lots of layers, woolly hats, scarves and gloves. I swear the wind was blowing in from Siberia!
We’ve been a few times and always stayed at the Disney hotels. The advantage is they’re so close so can walk to the parks, and come away for a few hours mid afternoon for a swim/nap, then head off again in the dark (quite magical).
Also the main Disney hotels are themed and just extend the whole Disney experience.

We once stayed at Davy cricket ranch as part of an organised trip - definitely a budget option. And quite a walk from the parks, I really wouldn’t recommend it.

I have booked 3 nights/4 days at Santa Fe (one of the cheapest hotel options onsite but know people who've stayed there recently and it's been more than fine) and park tickets for 3 for dd's 16th birthday treat (her choice) and it cost £960. This doesn't include transport to and from yet. We can either use a shuttle bus to go into the parks each day or it's a 15-20 minute walk according to a number of friends who have been there -,we will probably walk as my sister said it's probably quicker when you take into account waiting for the bus, etc.

If more than 3 of you I recommend Davy Crocket so long as you have a car. It's a short 10 minute drive to the car park, which is included in your stay, and you have far ,ore room plus the resort does have its own amenities too.

A lot of the other hotels are much dearer. It's not worth it as ideally you're going to want to spend most of the time inside the parks not inside a hotel, else why go to a theme park resort?

We have also stayed in a cottage, with its own pool, about 10 minutes away when we stayed with friends - lots more space plus that time we were only going into Disney for 2/3 days and rest of the week doing other things. However, you need to buy park tickets separately and will have to pay parking on top.

Lots of nearby hotels have shuttle buses to the parks. Friends have used these and found them cheaper but the shuttle buses very good.

Sorry, meant to add - our booking is for 3 nights in the Easter holidays.

Our trip was £3000 including spending money, food etc. That's what happens when I get distracted. We had 2 rooms for 4 nights over a weekend, park tickets, airport transport and flights for around £1600.

Seems like a I need to raise the budget.

The Disneyland hotel looks lovely but coming in at £2500 for 4 nights, that's with 2 of the 4 days free. Trying to weight up if it's worth the extra to stay onsite as will be at the Parks all day so only going to sleep really.

Will probably go at Easter as can't do cold weather and wind.

Will keep researching.

Sorry!! Just gone on the website and looked at the hotels, we stayed at the Cheyenne not the Davy Crockett. It’s done up like an old cowboy town but was really dismal. Apologies to the Davy Crockett - that might be great, I’ve never stayed there

Would recommend the New York, Newport Bay and the Sequoia Lodge but might be a bit pricey.

It can be done on the cheap.

We stayed here: www.booking.com/hotel/fr/residence-val-d-europe.en-gb.html?label=gen173nr-1FCAEoggJCAlhYSDNYBGhQiAEDmAEuuAEHyAEN2AEB6AEB-AELkgIBeagCAw;sid=33aa2076ba4cffd97e0711ae47882495;dist=0;sb_price_type=total;type=total&

It’s a few hundred yards from a train station which is one stop to Disney. Was £400 for 4 days in July. There is a massive shopping centre walking distance from there which has cheap/middle of the road restaurants and takeaways and a giant supermarket for self catering/snacks.

We had annual passes for Disney which were the same cost as day passes and so managed two trips within the 12 months.

I agree with you - winter in Disneyland Paris is pretty miserable in my experience - lots of open areas which are great for kids to run around and burn energy in summer, not so great in winter.

Consider Eurostar as I don’t think you will need to pay for your two youngest. It also goes direct to Disneyland Paris and you don’t have to worry about car seats for taxis/hire cars.

Sorry ‘same cost as 4 days pass’ that should say in my post above.

There is a large shopping centre (with restaurants) called Val d'europe not far away. Quite a few hotels there which are usually cheaper than the Disney ones. It's a short (one stop, I think) train ride from Disney.

However you're probably still going to struggle on that budget.

There are some really helpful Disney forums. I'd start by having a look at them. trip advisor used to have a helpful one, but I haven't looked at it for a while.

We did what BumbleBee did and stayed at Val d’europe. We stayed at the Adagio, Which was cheap and cheerful, near a huge shopping mall and restaurants. As the rooms are small apartments, you can buy food in the hyper market and eat breakfast in your room, which saves ££. There is a free shuttle bus from outside the hotel, but it is also near the RER station, which gives you another option for getting back to your hotel or to Disney, and also into Paris (takes about 44 minutes to Etoile). We used to live in Paris and had season tickets, but stayed in the Adagio for a few days every summer as the DDs’ school broke up before the French schools.

DLP is really expensive. We went last summer, 2 adults and 2 children. We only had 1-day entry tickets and stayed 3 nights in a tent and it still cost nearly £300. If you are looking for cheaper accommodation, some of the camp sites in the area have chalets. The one we stayed at was about 10k from the park but there was a shuttle bus. I think a lot of the cheaper hotels probably run shuttle buses too. If you want to take the car, bear in mind that parking at DLP costs around £20 a day.

Easter will be busier, but I wouldn't go in Feb as a lot of it is outside.

So veering towards apart hotel at Val d'Europe as it will be cheaper and then can eat there and get a shopping fix.

Where did everyone buy their park tickets? Would 3 days be enough at the Parks?

OP - we need to know your budget! Is it £700 per person or all in?

All the recommendations will depend on that!

3 days in the parks will be ample.

If you want to go in to Paris, here is a train (RER A) which goes from the entrance of the park into the middle of Paris. His is your best option (fast and inexpensive).

I know you didn't say these dates but May half-term is actually quieter as it's a UK school holiday but not a French one.

Also book when they have a 2 nights free offer as that includes park passes as well. If you stay onsite you get Early Magic Hours which gets you entry into park before general public.

The TripAdvisor forum is very good for advice. Also, if you take Eurostar, the change at Lille is very easy and much cheaper than the direct train.

It was hotel Cheyenne we stayed in but it's recently been refurbished as Toy Story theme. I quite liked it. We went for a character buffet at Disneyland hotel. It came to around £130pp My mother paid it. I nearly died when I found out!

I think 3 days in the parks is ample. It's easy enough to walk between them and Disney Village.

Can't do May as we don't have a half term here in N.Ireland. We get off early for summer hols here, end of June.

The budget was total. So could stretch to about £1200 max. For hotel and park tickets, That's not including flights.

Ok, if your budget is £1200 all in you will have to be very smart.

Cheapest options for food will be just outside the parks, in Disney Village. There is a McDonald's in Disney Village so if you don't mind MCDonald's, that will be a very cheap way to eat.

Got to the parks very early and avoid the queue backlog that builds up in the afternoons.

If you have a child under 4 (or even 5) consider bringing a buggy as there is a lot of walking. You can hire buggies in the Park - best to cost out the hire for a Disney buggy versus the cost of bringing a buggy on the plane, if you are flying low-cost.

Set ground rules for your children before you enter the parks on gifts / toys / balloons. Whenever we go, I tell them clearly in advance and so when they start pestering for a balloon, Mickey ears or whatever, I just give them a wordless glare.

There are some great rides at the back of Fantasy Land that seem to be less trafficked than others: Casey Junior and Le Pays des Contes des Fées. Do not even attempt Dumbo or Orbitron - the queues are invariably horrendous and the rides are very short.

You can take sandwiches and snacks in to the parks, so bring stuff with you if you can.

We used to go at the end of June. It’s a good time as most European schools don’t break up till July. The Adagio had a pool, which was good (as you can have Too Much Mickey). We used to pop back for a swim in the afternoon and then heard back to Disney in the evening.

I wrote a guide on how to do Disney without queuing. It’s a bit out of date now as it’s from 2013 but most of it still holds good. PM me if you want a copy.