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.

Will bring a stroller with me as it goes free with kids.

Will be happy enough with McDonald's for lunch.

The £1200 is for hotel and park tickets so worded that wrong, will bring separate spending money and money for food.

Will price adagio apartments for Easter hols. Because I think I would find Disney too much 24/7.

Feb will be cold but probably cheaper.

Have a look at the Hipark Design Suites aparthotel. DD and I stayed there recently, in a studio with kitchenette, so we could make breakfast and easy dinners. They have family suites, and there is an outdoor pool (depending on when you go).

There’s a free shuttle bus to the parks, and its an easy 15-20 minute walk. Also easy walk to the Val Europe shopping centre for supermarket and eating options, and the RER into Paris.

Food in the parks is expensive and terrible, but the village bit has a few better options.

It will be freezing and miserable in February. Google the French school holidays and try and avoid them, but I would say June would be best. The parks are open longer hours, and it will be a much better holiday.

I agree that February in DLP can be grim. I live in Paris and I swear that bit east of Paris has its own fucking freezing microclimate.
I went in March once and I swear it was the coldest I had ever felt. And I am a keen skier.

I agree with StoneColdDiva re the microclimate! We went there in February one year for DD2's birthday and stayed in one of the Disney hotels. Paris had been cold, but not excessively so, and dry. Disneyland treated us to freezing driving rain and a bitterly cold wind. My legs felt cold inside. And we were virtually the only people there, going round on the Dumbo ride.

No energy - I know three people who've stayed at they main Disneyland hotel. Each one have said it wasn't worth the cost as they spent so little time in the hotel. If you're going to Disney you don't want to be inside a hotel You want to be in the parks. I'd recommend a cheaper accommodation, use any additional budget for the parks and gifts.

I know three people who've stayed at they main Disneyland hotel. Each one have said it wasn't worth the cost as they spent so little time in the hotel. If you're going to Disney you don't want to be inside a hotel You want to be in the parks.

I think it may depend how long you stay there. We did only two days and was in the parks from 10am til 11:30pm. We stayed in a cheap ibis nearby (we drove there) and the disney hotel would have been a waste as we literally only slept and had a quick breakfast in the hotel. If we stayed for longer (4 or 5 days) then I'm sure we would have spent more time in the hotel.

@Aragog totally agree. We normally choose holiday hotels depending on type of holiday. We normally choose the cheapest hotel with pool as r normally out and about. Only once have we spent £££ on a hotel and that was an all inclusive beach holiday so wanted it to be decent as spent all our time there.

Will def b spending all day in the park as it's the whole purpose of the trip. So have been researching cheap hotels and apartments near Val d'Europe as it will be easier to find places to eat out cheaply.

So far cheapest apartments r coming in at £600 for 4 nights. Although the Disney ranch style hotel is coming in at £800, it doesn't look too appealing other than the pool.

Hubby is saying he would love to be able to save up n stay at the Disneyland Hotel at the gates but to me it seems to b a waste and then there's the issue of the expensive restaurants.

Anyone ever hired a car out there? As getting from airport to Disney seems to be coming in at 70/80 Euro On the train for 5 of us.

There is another benefit of being in the official Disney hotels; you get access to the parks earlier than the normal opening hours. I think they are called "golden hours". They are great, as you have an hour to go on the rides without any queues.

But the golden hours do not have much open. We were hoping to do eg Big Thunder Mountain without the queues, but the reality was that only a few rides in the main part of the park were open.

We did it for around £500 with 3 people by camping in a park near Paris. Close enough to catch the French tube around Paris but needed to drive to Disney. We took our car over by ferry.

If you do that there are hyper markets near Calais you can visit on the way back.

Does it have to be Disney themed? There are other good theme parks out there.

Last year we did Salou and really enjoyed the sun/beach/water parks and the Portaventura park. We preferred it to DLP. But only because the dds were older and less into Disney stuff.

My tip is to look at booking a Golden Forest club room at sequoia lodge. Benefits are inclusive unlimited breakfast buffet, free soft and hot drinks from midday (unlimited!), cake and patisserie buffet mid afternoon, plus a free fast pass per person each day, and of course extra magic hours first thing which are the best time to go on the fantasy land rides.

The pool is fun too with free towels.

Sequoia Lodge is lovely in the colder months, very cosy.

It's not the cheapest way to go to Disney but we tend to have early starts then rest/swim time in the afternoon which coincides with the free afternoon tea treats, then go out again for some evening fun.

Following this thread with interest as we are also planning a trip to DLP in Feb...2 adults 1 DC (5) not keen on bad prospects of bad weather but if it’s lessbusy and cheaper then maybe it’s worth it! @kikis you sound like you have quite a lot of experience, have you tried other options in Feb and decided Sequoia Lodge was best?

@DrMadelineMaxwell doesn't have to be Disney based I have been looking at Europa park too. Think I would like to do Disney once and the DC r always saying they want to go there when they c the ads on tv, which seem to b nonstop these days.

Will check out Portaventura to price it up.

@KikisReindeerDeliveries I will look ur prices for various dates to c what it comes up as.

Kookie I've stayed in several of the on-site hotels but since they set up the Golden Forest Club it's where we always choose to go back to!

Now that breakfast isn't included in the price anymore, and with all the other freebies I mentioned, it actually feels like quite good value. But maybe that depends on if you're the sort of family that gets excited by a cake buffet . We've been going since the kids were tiny (and before), they are now hulking great teens so nothing is ever cheap these days, but free drinks and snacks help! They told us this year that the hotel experience is a big part of the Disney trip for them.

The park will be cold in Feb so being able to walk back to the hotel and enjoy time there too is important. As tempted as I am by the pink palace (Disneyland hotel) I've never stayed there because it doubles the price of the whole trip, and that's without the 'club' type facilities.

You can book and eat at any of the hotel restaurants not just where you're staying. Eating is really expensive and we usually just have light meals and the fast food type places rather than the xxxeuros per head buffet places.

I always take plenty of snacks to take into the park (cereal bars etc) as the snack choices are a bit limited and it's great to be able to give something to the kids while queuing for a ride!

Look out for 5 for the price of 3 night type offers.

I have also been to EuropaParc and I would say it is a nice theme park but it lacks all the magic of DLP. Some people don't care about "the magic" and just want to razz round the rides. But to me DLP has much more in terms of atmosphere.

Look on other country websites - they all have different offers - find the 'change county' button. It may be that the Irish website or the French has 30% off

Usually can get the kids free and possibly money off or half board thrown in.

We have done Davy Crockett and the price was well under £1k at easter, but you need to drive and it's s long way from NI!

I would look at Cheyenne and Santa Fe as they are the cheaper options.

Also, Easter is Friday 30th. When do your kids break up as mine finish on Friday 23rd March which is early. Can you get a deal.

Can I throw another non Disney option in? Have you looked at Efteling in the Netherlands at all? It’s worth a look - it has all the fairytale magic without the hefty price tag or over merchandising. My entire family of 8 went last year for 4 days/3 nights for €1500 which included park tickets and accommodation onsite in a centerparcs type village 10 minutes walk from the park. The food options are far superior to DLP and it was fairly quiet when we went in May half term (although I know that time isn’t an option for you). It was really easy to get to - it’s about 3.5 hours from Calais. It is an amazing and very unique place. I offered my daughters DLP for this year and they said no, after Efteling they think it would be a disappointment and I’m inclined to agree with them (although I last visited DLP in 1999 )

Have you looked at Efteling in the Netherlands at all? It was really easy to get to - it’s about 3.5 hours from Calais.

About the same distance as DLP is from Calais then. Though getting to Calais isn't so easy if like the OP you are coming from NI.

Hi. There is a holiday park (Canvas or Eurocamp?) that is nearish to Paris and is advertised as such. Disclaimer: I have never been to it, don't know about logistics, but it may be better money wise.

There are a few hotels with a frequent free bus to Disneyland. We stayed in one called Dreamcastle I think. Much cheaper and really nice!

Thanks @KikisReindeerDeliveries could I also ask about the logistics of taking a stroller? I'm think it would be handy for getting about & queuing but is there somewhere to leave it while you go on a ride or does some poor sod have to wait with it while others go on the ride? I've never been so not sure how it works! Thanks again for pointers

Kookie There are designated areas by each ride, before the queue and everyone leaves their strollers there. Don't leave valuables in there obviously but nappy bags/snacks and stuff are fine to leave. If you are staying onsite then you can get any purchases sent over to the hotel rather than carrying shopping around. Also, if you and DH want to go on a ride but one or all DC don't then you can do 'baby switch' - either by all queuing together then one waits with DC while other rides, then you get on when they get back, some rides you can baby switch without both of you queuing by bring stroller/DC via the exit. Staff are very helpful and friendly with this so just ask before you start queuing about 'baby switch.

I've spent a fair bit of time wondering around with dc in a stroller while others go off on rides and actually it is lovely to just take it all in, there's so much detail in everything.

If you have slightly older DC, a good queue/walking around distraction is to get them to look out for 'hidden Mickeys' throughout the park and beyond (i.e. big face circle topped with 2 ear circles).

Lots of practical info on here www.dlpguide.com