Do not trust Disneyland Paris tips for Brits/holiday planning Facebook group

[greenbean789]

When I was planning our trip to Disneyland Paris I joined this group - Disneyland Paris for brits, as it was recommended on MN. However, the group is not what they claim to be, and their purpose is not to exchange useful tips and information on DPL. It is mainly to promote their own businesses, which are somehow related to Disneyland, and most members of the group have vested interests. You will not get objective information or advice, the group pushes down the agenda of Disneyland being magical and rosy. I posted my after-trip report, which although wasn’t completely related to Disneyland itself, mentioned my impression of it being overrated. And I received 150 comments, most of them negative and downright vile. They went through my FB profile and picked it apart, commenting on personal things. I did not intend to criticise DPL in my post, it was just my honest opinion.
The group wants you to have a rosy image of DPL, where the queues can be beaten by fastpass, meals booked in advance, baggies rented to cart children around, all magic, happiness and joy and excitement.
The reality was different - on our first day we barely managed 3-4 rides. We were in the first queue for 2 hours. Children got so tired and bored they didn’t enjoy the rides. My friend and I had to carry our children for 1-2 hours, and hers is very heavy almost 6 year old. The pushchairs were not allowed in the queues. Everywhere I saw exhausted, bored, cranky children, many asleep in their parents arms.The fastpass was not all it cranked out to be: we got our for one ride at 12, and were given a time for 5pm, so we couldn’t use until we finished your first ride. By 5pm the children didn’t want any rides, they just wanted to go home. The second day was a bit better, but still 80%of the time was spent queueing, with children hanging from us. My back is still achy, 4 days on. Our shuttle bus run once an hour only, which was inconvenient too.
So, you are planning a trip, it is important that you know downside as well and be prepared.

Because he is asleep of exhaustion and boredom of being in the queue for hours.

And my youngest is 2,5 so he still naps once a day.

When did you go? That was noting like my experience in May 2017.

That group used to be good. There's another one that someone started when they got fed up with the first one. 'Daniel Potters Disneyland Paris for Brits' is better.

Oh no op! I am on that group and I just feel mainly they are DLP fanatics who dont like you to critise it.

So it will be more positive stuff allowed but looking at TA and even MN there are tons of varied opinions. However the FB site has been invaluable for various bits of advice.

Unfortunately you do need some planning there we have the annual pass and have it down pat now non of us like to queue as a family - so we never did more than 20 - 30 max - we used fast passes, EMT, hired push chairs to get around quickly, never queued for the princess P but did the P dash one day so saw one in 30 mins...

we managed to do loads. But considerable research went into the planning before hand. Do check out other theme parks - places like Eftling are far more magical, relaxed...loads for the DC to do without the intense planning, cheaper and also Europa park in germany looks fabulous.

Sorry you had a bad experience but I hace found with children you do need to plan the hell out of a disney trip.

Ok they shouldn't have picked apart your fb thats not on.

I found the fb group quite full on and much preferred the tripadvisor forum.

I've been to DLP twice and think it's great. I also found the Facebook group very helpful and nothing like you describe. (There are some very enthusastic members on there but not businesses).
Have you actually been to a theme park before OP? If you go at a popular time you are going to queue. That's just how it is. At DLP though you have lots of other things to do like watch shows, walk around the castle etc if you don't want to queue for a rides.
I actually highly recommend DLP as a great family holiday (if you like theme parks) and DLP for Brits facebook group for information.

Ohsuchperfectday, fastpass works only one ride at a time, you queue for half an hour to get a time, and another half an hour to get in with your fastpass. If you get one in the morning and given a time in the evening, your fastpass is wasted.
Pushchairs are not allowed in queues, and that’s where you spent most of your time.
Not all of us can afford annual tickets and all associated with it costs and VIP passes, unfortunately.

Lindy2, we’ve been to Chessington and Legoland, and the queues times were not as horrendous. Children had way more fun.
And I am not saying DPL isn’t great, it is. It’s well maintained, had all facilities for families to have fun. But I just described negative points, which makes it somehow anti-children.

Annual pass was the cheapest way to go. Drive and tunnel with tesco vouchers. There is no way we would pay Disney hotel prices and tickets.. Have crap time and waste our money. It was obvious to me from research that it could have been a nightmare.

Our 4 passes cost 192 each and our hotel was 75 euro a night we self cater food.
There is a knack to the fast passes, and some of them will are not connected we got three in one go. I don't know how but we did!
You can choose whether to queue we seemed to go on lots of stuff and see lots with very little long queuing.

I prefer other theme parks, definitely not lego land and there are many tweaks that Disney needs... I guess its somewhere that needs heavy research!

Also on fast pass we didn't queue to get the ticket!

I didn’t use the FB group but did do plenty of planning from other sites. We had annual passes and went end of August and May half term. I also waited until DC we’re old enough to manage without buggies. We had a great time, got on loads of rides and kids weren’t too exhausted.

It sounds like you didn’t plan properly but the people on the forum shouldn’t have been rude. I didn’t plan properly for Legoland and we found it really busy and ridiculous queues, and that was on a term time day in October. You live and learn.

However, the group is not what they claim to be, and their purpose is not to exchange useful tips and information on DPL. It is mainly to promote their own businesses, which are somehow related to Disneyland, and most members of the group have vested interests.

You’re on another planet. That group doesn’t allow business postings. I’ve been on it for years and it’s absolutely nothing like you described.

I posted my after-trip report, which although wasn’t completely related to Disneyland itself, mentioned my impression of it being overrated.

In what way was it not completely related to Disneyland?

fastpass works only one ride at a time, you queue for half an hour to get a time, and another half an hour to get in with your fastpass. If you get one in the morning and given a time in the evening, your fastpass is wasted.

No it isn’t. In the above scenario you could get a second fastpass after 2 hours.

Never heard of 30 min queue for a fast pass?
I also am on the group, not seen anyone pushing their own business.
I have also just come back from Tokyo Disney, bear park ever. Everyone so nice and polite and amazing shows and parades (which people sit down to see so to not block people behind)

Im guessing most of the negative and downright vile posts where actually why the heck is a nearly 6 year old not walking, and that many of the problems can be solved by planning and getting in the parks early.

I'd probably be on my second fast pass by 12 o'clock..... at peak Halloween week.... I wouldn't be getting my 1st fast pass at 12. You do the most rides in the first 2 hours of the day, afternoons are for shows, parades and low queue rides.

DLP for Brits is a planning forum. DLP experience needs a little planning to go smoothly.

I have seen a 30min queue for fast passes but that was just after Ratatouille opened. I have used the fast pass system on nearly every ride that it's available on and have never had more than one or the world people in front of me grabbing fast passes 5 mins max for the whole process

There's definalty a knack to fp.
We seemed to get loads this time... More than the two hour slot.

Loads of people with older dc use push chairs!! It means you get so much more done. Well with ours anyway. Many dc use push chairs there when they wouldn't dream of it at home.

This is the problem with Disney.. You really do need to plan. There are lovelier r theme parks out there. Farm ore relaxing

The site is weird with negative posts but many people seem to find negative posts a bad thing.. Ie. I'm going soon now im dreading it.

I view information in a different way.

Of course you can’t take a push chair into a queue line that would be ridiculous , are your children incapable of just sitting on the ground if they are too tired to stand up . I’ve been to DLP loads of times since it opened and have never queued for 30 minutes to get a fast pass .

Definitely needs some tweaks, maybe a giant playground with a paddling pool, somewhere in the shade where children can play freely, with sandpit and climbing frame, and everyone is given pagers that ping (like in some restaurants) when it is your turn at the rides?

Definalty lack of play areas. Each zone should have one, and extra thrown in for good measure and definalty need water features dc can play in when it's hot.

Don't need pagers because ticket has time on it. Honestly it's almost like Disney brain washing... There are loads of nicer better theme parks across Europe... Which don't have awful queues and have lots of play areas.

Not sure why everyone's getting so irate and incredulous about a 6 yr old being carried it's not that unusual!

But there are places you can free play?

Why is it so hard to accept that some people can have different view or different experiences?
Youkatsu, I actually planned a lot, hence I joined the group in the first place. And it is actually not your business to judge a 6year old for falling asleep and being too tired, not his mum’s parenting skills for letting him do that.
What i am saying is that the group makes it all look so easy and manageable, when the reality is different. You and other people might have been lucky, but I am just sharing my experience, and I don’t doubt that some people might find it helpful to hear about the difficult parts of the trip as well. We were on a weekend of a half-term, didn’t have magic hours, could only start at 10, and could only get in after half ten. Queue for security, then another longer queue to exchange tickets for passes. It took us ages to figure out which queue to join, as there are several lines to exchange tickets, to buy annual passes etc.
I actually posted the thread for people who want to have a balanced view, for them to be mentally prepared and to prepare children, who are all excited in anticipation, that it’s not going to be endless fun. It is against the nature of children to be sitting quietly for long stretches of time, for hours. It is good for all of you who knacked it, and didn’t have to wait for longer than 30 minutes and figured out all finer points of fastpasses and annual passes and whatnot. I congratulate you! I am an average person with average planning skills and found the experience not as rosy as it was rammed down my throat.