Disneyland Paris for Christmas?

dantebel

Please can you let me know the cheapest way to take a family of 5 to Disneyland for Christmas.

Possibly a 3 night stay?

It would be useful to get suggestions on the cheapest way to get there, as well as best place to book and stay.

Thanks in advance!

bhxukman

https://www.leisuredirection.co.uk are a good company or you could try http://www.gold-crest.co.uk

dantebel

Thanks! I will have a look.

SampleX

There are lots of cheap airlines running flights to Paris, not sure how much Christmas will be. Probably cheapest overall option would be to drive down and book a cheap SeaCat crossing.

If you're wanting to stay in the park area the cheapest hotel is generally the Holiday Inn, and it's not bad either... nothing near the rates of the Disney hotels, and all served by a shuttle bus. And not quite as 'kids only' as the other hotels. The Vienna International DreamCastle also offers some decent rates and is perhaps a bit more grown up, and the MyTravel Explorer's Hotel is strictly for families with young children.

A word of advice... don't breakfast in the hotel. One train stop down from Marne La Vallee/Chessy is Val d'Europe Shopping Centre. It costs about 2.5 Euro on the train at most, and they have a huge Auchan (supermarket) where you can buy much cheaper juices, breads, etc. even things like plastic cups, bowls and cutlery. Or, if you wanna 'eat fast', they have a very good McDonalds that puts on a decent breakfast range over at the Disney Village, waaaaaay cheaper than the hotel stuff or the Disney restaurants.

If you do travel in to Paris by airport be aware of your travel requirements to the park, because it IS out in the sticks...

"Cheap" might not be the best option. Cheapest would be to purchase three day 'Mobilis' travel passes for each person if you're planning to go out of the park area. If you do, however, make sure you buy them for zones 1-5, unless you want to go to Versaille, in which case I'm not sure if there isn't a zone 8... Nonetheless, you can also purchase tickets straight through to Disneyland as one way tickets. To save yourself the often lengthy queue, which usually has limited English, you want to do the following...

Follow signs for RER B (Navettes) inside the airport, and when you get to the train station look for the instant ticket machines on the ticketing floor. You can have them display in English. Select your destination as 'Disneyland Parc' or 'Marne La Vallee Chessy' and pay up. Get them dispensed, and keep a tight hold. Go down on the train into Paris as far as Chatelet. Get off at Chatelet. If you've never been there before, this can be overwhelming. At certain times of day this station is PACKED so keep hold of the kids and the bags. Don't worry too much, because you DO NOT go up or down stairs here, literally walk the ten yards to the other side of the platform you're on and you'll be on the platform for the RER A, the main East West train line that runs to the Parc as its last stop. One point, and I'm only assuming you've not been there before. DO NOT get flustered, DO NOT let your bags out of your sight, and TAKE CARE to observe the display boards hanging from the ceiling on the train platform... They list every stop on the line, and using illuminated indicators they will tell you which stops the train that is currently approaching (every few minutes) or currently at the platform is going to. Make sure that Marne La Vallee is lit, because some trains stop short and return, and there is also a main line split on that route, and you can end up on the wrong branch. It's also an underground station, so it can be hot, smelly, and claustrophobic if you're not a seasoned RER user.

You might also want to be prepared to shield young un's eyes on the trains, because graffiti is everywhere, and there's nothing like trying to explain to a youngster why someone has drawn a 'thingy' on the window of the train...

This is almost certainly the cheapest route in Paris. It involves an approximately 35 minute ride to Chatelet, and about the same to Marne La Vallee. The train in both directions can be packed to the brim, and if you happen to be used to middle class urbania in the UK, you also have to have a broad mind to the fact that these two trains, albeit very safe, do run through some of the poorest areas in Paris. Tips like any metro area - don't stare, and if people come round handing out flyers or badges or such like DO NOT take them, or they'll hassle you to pay them. Either say 'non, merci', or just ignore what they're doing. The trains are as safe as anywhere I've ever been, in some cases moreso - armed police and sniffer mutts are in proliferation and they frequently get on and off the train on these two lines for security.

I think that this train journey runs around 11-13 Euro per person as a single one way run. You can buy a return run on the other end.

There's also the Disneyland Paris coach which runs about £25Euro per adult (17 Euro for children?) each way, from airport to Disney.

There is, however, a cheaper, faster option than that, though not as cheap as the Metro.

Basically, the CDG airport is on the main line for TGV. Interestingly, so is Disneyland Paris. This means that the Lille TGV runs through as the main north south line, both stations. On this beautiful, lovely, fast train CDG and Disney are 10 minutes apart. You do need to book this journey in advance, and if you're travelling at the right times, and book in advance enough, it is around 14 Euro per adult (no idea of price for children)... It's a different train station to look for from the airport, but once you're on it, you can literally stand and wait the 10 minutes to Marne La Vallee... Quick, efficient, painless, and not bad pricing, but it DOES NOT publicise itself as a route from Airport to Disney, so you only tend to find its available either by intelligent deduction or by someone who's used it.

For me, the Holiday Inn at Disneyland Paris makes a great base for business or pleasure in Paris if you can tolerate the travel to and from... great location, reasonable service, and good prices. You can look them up on https://www.6c.com. Their 3 day advance booking rates are generally better than anything opodo or expedia offer.

May I also suggest that you check out https://www.tripadvisor.com and look up Marne La Vallee, because you can compare ALL the hotels you might possibly be interested in, and get the feedback from the customers. Some punters have gripes about the HI, but they're usually the no.2 hotel in the park area.

For eating at main meals be warned that the majority of restaurants in the village at Disney serve the same food, for extortionate prices. The Planet Hollywood is about the best restaurant there for 'full price' menu, and of course McDonalds is a reliable, cheap staple unless you've just watched 'SuperSize Me.'

Also remember that the food IN the park is absolute rubbish in the main. You'll spend a lot, and be very disappointed. It's almost worth going to Auchan to buy some snacks and sandwich material, and drinks, and trying to smuggle them in... Disney can be very funny about packed lunches, and bags DO get opened and checked for security purposes at the park. You might want to take coats with multiple zipper pockets, and smuggle lunch in by just looking fat and misshapen. The scanners are only for metal detection there...

There is a large food court also down at the Val d'Europe shopping centre (couple of minutes and a couple of euros on the train) where you'll find some upmarket food as well as cheap and cheerful. There's the now ubiquitous Maccy D's again, as well as a 'Casino' Restaurant which is about the equivalent of a food court in a supermarket, very cheap and cheerful... there's a couple of Italian restaurants, a fish restaurant and some bakery/sandwich/coffee type places. Also, out in the town square over from the train station there are a couple of bistro/cafe/restaurant type places which are reasonable... There's a nice italian, an interesting looking grill type place, and a general cafe/restaurant called Agape. If you're into oriental food, the next stop down on the line, Bussy St Georges, is a dead and alive kind of place, but has more oriental restaurants than you've ever seen in two hundred square meters....

Don't use minibars or vending machines in the hotels... stock up on drinks at Auchan, and remember bottles are cheaper than cans, so take some plastic cups... As a red grape juice fan, I had a bargain there recently with 1.5 litre cartons of pure red grape juice (not concentrate) at the equivalent of 45p each... bear in mind that Morrisons charge about 97p per 1 litre carton, so work that one out for value...

Sorry to give you so much, but I hope it proves to be of some help...

nelly_2

^ jesus christ!..... that was a fantasic answer

dantebel

THANK YOU for that totally comprehensive response!!