Disney holiday . confused and need help!

[Whycantpeoplebekind]

Hi everyone. I'm really hoping for some help planning a trip to Disneyland Paris this December. I'm brand new with this and overwhelmed!

Some questions I'm hoping you can help with??

1. Disney hotels seem very expensive. I know there is a train station right at the entrance to Disney . Is it better to book a hotel close to a train station one or two stops away then get the train in?

1. The trains seem to start early and run late so we could stay late at Disney, but, is it safe late at night to be walking from the station to a hotel?

1. if anyone has done this are there any hotels you can recommend?

1. Are park tickets at Christmas limited?. How late can you leave it before booking?

1. Is it better to book through the Disneyland Paris website, or ring them?

1. I'm guessing there wouldn't be any special deals available in December since it's already busy, but is there anything we should be looking at/ thinking of when booking?

1. Any other things we need to know??

so many questions, but I'd appreciate help with any of them. Thank you in advance!

It depends on how long you’ve got and the ages of your dc. if you’re going with small dc who might not be able the last a whole day (9am - 9pm ish) in the park, it would be helpful to book a hotel as near as possible so you can return to your room mid afternoon for a power nap! Also, if you’re only there for a couple of days, I’d stay in a Disney hotel for the extra magic hours.
We’ve stayed at this B&B hotel before and they have a free shuttle to the park. https://www.hotel-bb.com/en/hotel/disneyland-paris Wherever you stay, book asap as prices gradually increase over time (usually).

It was a long time ago we went, Yes Disney has a station nearby and its a couple of stops to a large shopping centre

The meal plans are only worth it if you plan on eating at table service or buffet restaurants or at character dining locations. Then it’s typically cheaper to pay for the meals in advance, but check out the menus first because often the fixed menus offered on the meal plans only include a small selection of the meals offered in the restaurant. If you want to order something else, there will be an additional fee. The same for if you would like to order alcohol with your meal.
If you want to spend as little as possible, then counter service meals (which are really tasty and huge) are your best bet. Counter service meals are approximately £15 per person for a set meal of burger/ribs/wrap etc + chips/wedges + dessert + drink. Even cheaper would be McDonalds, Earl of Sandwich etc.
For us, the meal plan forces us to eat more healthily or at least take some time for a sit-down meal instead of eating just burgers and fries. It’s also just a small upcharge from the breakfast meal plan which makes it worth it for us. Even if it doesn’t save you a ton of money – which it doesn’t – it can be more convenient to know in advance how much money you will spend on meals, at least for us.
You can add the meal plans to your package when you book or later by contacting customer services. Start making dining reservations as soon as you finished booking. Reservations can be made up to 12 months for Disney Hotel guests and believe me you will need that head start. You can still make reservations even if you’re not on the meal plan.

We stayed in a hotel a few minutes away by bus. It wasn’t an official Disney one but was one you could book as a package through magic breaks and there was a free bus to and from the park every 15 mins or so. It was much much cheaper than the cheapest official Disney one. The only thing is you don’t get the magic hour that you get with the Disney hotels. That would have been lost on the teens and tweens I was with so didn’t make a difference to us, but it might if you’re taking younger kids.

we didn’t bother with meal plans. The lucky nugget is about the cheapest sit down place to eat in the parks. We also got vouchers for planet Hollywood when we booked so ate there. Also ate at mcdonnalds and the hotel, which had reasonable and cheap food. The kids also ate a lot of crepes in the day brought from the stands.

we very much did Disney on a budget. It was Halloween when we went and it was heaving. Make the most of the fast passes to save the long queues. how old are your kids? I wouldn’t want to be waiting in queues in the cold (it will likely be very cold in December) with tiny children. There were an awful lot of very overwhelmed, tantruming small kids when we were there and it honestly didn’t look like much fun.

If on a budget you can save on food by going to McDonald's in the Disney village and by going to the nearby supermarket and getting food in the evening eg rotisserie chicken and salad. Cheapest transport if you live in southern England at least is to drive, added advantage is you can bring food with you to save more.

Thank you so much for your responses! Ohhelpicantthinkofaname, (love this name btw!) Which hotel did you stay on?

Are there any other recommendations for good cheap hotels?

@Whycantpeoplebekind

https://www.magicbreaks.co.uk/disney-area-hotels/b-b-hotel/?alttemplate=MagicBreaksMobile_Home

this is the hotel we stayed in. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s close to the parks clean and so much cheaper. You can book it as a package.

It was cheapest to fly from our local airport for us. The fast train from the airport was quite pricy. We did that on the way home to have longer in the park. On the way we there we did the local bus and over ground train from the airport to Disney and it was a few euros each. Though Eurostar would be the easiest, but was a lot more expensive for us. We could have driven but both my friend and I had small cars which wouldn’t have been a pleasant journey for the kids in the back all that way!!

If you look at the Disney Paris map on their app it has names of hotels that are close.
Some or all may provide a free shuttle service to and from the park but you will need to check with each hotel.
Please be warned though that they get extremely busy at some points in the day where grown adults will push you out the way. My friends stayed in one in June and she said the bus was horrendous and she would never do it again.

Park ticket prices don’t change in price but unsure how quick they will sale out around Xmas. I went at Xmas once before but stayed on sight so never looked at ticket prices.

Booking through the website is really easy, you don’t need to call them (unless you want too).

Disney Paris aren’t really doing any deals like they used too … they used to do book 2 night and get 2 nights free etc but that’s long gone now. The further you book out the cheaper it normally is to stay on site.

For example Iv paid £992 to go end of March 2024 with 2A 2C. The same dates are now £200 more.

Up close so you can see it better.

The station is at the entrance. We never stayed in the Disney hotel. It's nice to be "away"from it too. Feels more french