Eurodisney - tips please - I'm clueless!!

[sievehead]

Have booked a midweek break at Eurodisney in 2 weeks time - it was an absolute bargain.

Absolutely clueless about where to start. Our DDs are 5 and 2. Any tips? How does it all work? We're staying at Davy Crockett, but hope to spend most days on the complex. Is it best to just go with the flow, or march everyone round with a set itinerary each day? Thanks!

[Hulababy]

I am staying at Davy Crockett for 4 (Thurs-Monday) nights/5 days at the end of our summer holiday in France. DD will be 3yo.

We went to Florida/Disney last summer for 14 days of parks which was fantastic, and went for 2 days (just to the parks, not staying there) to DLP the October before that. DD loves her Disney experience

[happymerryberries]

Character breakfasts are great for the kids to meet at the characters. Dd was 3 and had a blast, mostly as she was one of the few little kids who wasn't shit scared of a six foot mouse!

Character teas in the parc are a real bear pit of over tired wailing kids and should be avoided at all costs unless you have the dispositiion of Mother Teresa.

I disagree with the 'go with the floww' idea. The parcs are very big and it will reduce your walking if you have a rough plan. Take plenty of water. make use of the train that loops the camp, a great ride and a much needed sit down for tired legs.

You can get pre booked tickets (free) for the most popular rides. These include the Peter Pan ride, which is great and should not be missed. You get a timed ticket and it cuts you wait at the ride to a fraction.

If you are there in the summer, make sure you have sun hats and lots of sunscreen, especialy if you are going to wwait for a parade, you can be out in the sun for quite a while.

In general the 'old' site is better than the new film studio for younger kids.

One of the resturants has cantoons playing (can remember which) and this is a boon if you have long waits for food.

The shows are amazingly good, the kids loved them and they are a nice restful sit down!

[LIZS]

For the Fast Pass tickets - which are the ones gigving you a slot to enter the ride without a long queue - do keep an eye on the slots posted. Sometimes all the slots for the day had been allocated by lunchtime.

The Magic Carpets in the Studios were more fun than the Dumbo ride and much less of a queue. Don't rely on all the advertised characters being around on any one particular day. ds wanted to see Nemo but it took a few times of no-shows and asking several "cast" before we established that it was in fact his day off !

[Hulababy]

What was the Lion King show like? Presumably it is the same (or similar) to the one at Animal Kingdon in Florida, which was fab? Do the tickets go very fast?

[louloubell84]

I have stayed at the davey croket - it is very nice!
Get a fast pass!!! eat as much as you can in the hotel - the restaurants are expensive!! expect to cue for EVERYTHING, Enjoy yourself!!!

(Dont chase Mickey- you get really told off)

p.s dont take your kids to the haunted house - i still have nightmares!

[Hulababy]

louloubell - I hated the Haunted Mansion in Florida, but my 2yo loved it!!! I was scared and she kept laughing at me

[EEYORE552000]

just saw this post.we have been 4 times its great trying to persuade dh to go again (wont take me much lol)he loves it!!!
while i was on i was just wondering if anyone had any days left on thier tickets to sell???thanks nikki

[LIZS]

eeyore - our tickets (Passe Partout) were time limited so you could only use them for any 4 days out of the next 7.

[sievehead]

We stayed at Davy Crockett in a 1 bedroomed cabin which was easily big enough for the 4 of us. The pool there was great, and there is free tea and coffee late in the afternoon, while the kids can meet one of the characters, and have their faces painted. We made sure we were through the gates of the parks before the official opening time. This enabled us to get straight on to the Peter Pan ride, and the Pirates of the Caribbean rides - no queues!! Get these done first thing, then it leaves time to wander around. Best place to meet the characters is in the Walt Disney Studios park - when it opens, in the front courtyard. YOu can also queue up (more civilised) to meet Mickey and new disney characters through the other side of Studio 1. We took picnic stuff with us and took our places for the parades at least half an hour before they were due to start - it does get busy then. DON'T attempt to eat in Disney Village straight after the park closes, it is MAYHEM (and that was in low season). When the parks got busier (between 12 and 3) we headed for Adventureland and let the kids play around the pirate ship, which was really good. Or we went back to the ranch for an afternoon nap, to return later on for the evening parade. I was so glad I took loads of snacky picnicy things with us it saved us a fortune. The food at Planet HOllywood was pretty ok, but if you want to eat there or at Rainforest Cafe (which are both in the Village) go at lunchtime or before 7. The food at Davy Crockett was ok, nothing special. It was good there tho because there was a kids corner, which kept them amused, while we got slowly sloshed!!! I didn't expect to enjoy it quite as much as I did - I would go as far as to say that it was the best fun I have had for a long time. I could go on and on (yes I know I already have) - but let me know if you need any more info.

[poppyseed]

We stayed at Davy Crockett last October. Mixed views really, although overall we did have great fun. The cabin we thought was shabby (caravan with fake timbers - not as good as Centre Parcs) although did for the 4 days we stayed there. Good breakfasts, adequate restaurant there too. The parcs were so frustrating as there were massive queues for everything (obviously). Well worth deciding what you want to go on first and get the fast passes - although at busy times you'll queue a lifetime to get the fast passes . Our children were 5 and 1 at the time and just didn't understand why we had to queue so long........ The princesses and other main characters appeared for a fleeting 5 minutes and then were ushered away by minders, presumably to avoid crowds, although try explaining that to your 5 year old when 'her' Snow White leaves without signing the book despite being SO close to her. My advice is to pounce on them or to spy where they go to (usually the little house at the back of the castle where pooh bear stands) as you can catch them there as they go in or out!
We found the stunt car thing really good and the little people ride was good (surprisingly). The rest you could keep as there was so much queueing for a 90 sec ride that it was marred by the frustration.
Do I sound like a moaner? I hope not as the magic of the place does affect you and just soaking it up by walking around is good! The parades are well done - get there early to get a good view. Can't comment on the food really as we chose to go to Val D'Europe which was close and self cater to save some pennies. There's a good selection of shops there as well as a seperate designer outlet similar to Bicester village although perhaps with bigger names. Merchandise was surprisingly good value. We expected to pay a lot for fleeces/T shirts etc but didn't really. Also you can hire a pushchair/buggy if you haven't got a lot of room in the boot! Well recommend Eurotunnel for the crossing too.
Whatever your experiences and thoughts I hope that you all have fun. Happy memories in the making I'm sure

[poppyseed]

Thread killer strikes again............