Disney Paris and week in France- advice plz

stellagypsy

We stayed at La Croix a couple of years ago with French Life, who are excellent, as was the site itself. We had a cabin, not a tent. Kids (teens) loved it.

Things to do -
The site runs excursions to Paris and Disney also
Forest of Compiegne - as above and also the place where the armistice was signed in 1918 - very emotive esp for history buffs.
Pierrefonds - lovely town nearby with a chateau , boating lake - just a lovely place
We ate a couple of times at a tabac called Chez Michelline about a mile away (turn right out of the site) - 3 courses for 6 Euros, very nice, typically French food / atmosphere.
If you are in France on 14/7 (as I will be again this year) there are lots of celebrations for Bastille Day, itis all very colourful and kids love it - all the shops close so make sure you stock up the day before.
HTH

Stella xx

Lo.j

Thanks so much for the information, I really appreciate it (especially if the Canvas reps aren't any use for ideas out of the camp ! ). Knowing places to eat is always a great help, so thanks for the recommendations.
I will now have to rethink my plan for 14th July ( the day we leave the site). We planned to drive back up to Calais in the morning and spend the day there stocking up with the essentials ( wine) etc in the hypermarkets before setting off on the evening ferry. Stella, I am so glad I now know that the shops will be shut on that day as I am bad for leaving things till the last minute ( pressies etc). Maybe the Carrefour supermarket suggested by Jamjar will be good for the wine that we want to bring home.

I really appreciate the advice given here. We have only ever been on package hols with orgaised trips etc and we are not very confident about doing things for ourselves. Also, we have been so strapped for cash the past few years that we can't afford to make costly mistakes. So we are very appreciative of all the advice given.
Jamjar, would you recommend going into Paris by train rather than getting the bus from the site?

Thanks so , so much everybody. All posts are going to make this our best holiday ever !

stellagypsy

Lo.j - glad the info was of use. We love going on hols this way - did Normandy last year (the D Day beaches area - fantactic!) - going back to Dordogne this summer, with a stop over in both directions to break up the trip. We did it in one hit the first time from Dover but never again!

We didn't do the site excursion as been to Paris before and also kids not interested in Paris or Disney. However, like everything in France, the excursion is not cheap so I think you would save money going on the train and it would be an adventure for the kids (and you too, probably!). Also, if you are "going it alone" I always think it is good to know a bit of the language relating to what you are doing, eg train-travel type phrases, etc - so you don't end up in the wrong place / on the wrong platform, etc.

Eating out with kids - France doesn't do MacDonalds and the like to the same extent that we do in the UK - there are a few, generally tucked away, I didn't see any in this area. It can be a bit of a shock for kids if they like that kind of thing. The first time we went, son wouldn't rest till we went to one, we found one eventually hidden away in a zone industriale, he insisted on going in but all the food was different! The next year he didn't bother at all!
There is a Intermarche supermarket near the site (turn left out of the site, as I recall, and it is about a mile away) which is well stocked and the site itself has a take away, boulangerie-type store and a restaurant.

Hope this is useful

Stella xx

ruthyjo

Hi - we stayed at La Croix to go to DLRP a few years ago. Just wanted to comment that it is signifcantly cheaper to stock up on your wine etc at the nearby Carrefour than it is do so on Calais, where the prices are inflated because the majority of customers are English booze cruisers etc and will pay higher prices as they are still a bargain compared to the UK. The Carrefour is quite good fun, even for the kids. We stocked up on lots when we were there including cute toddler outfits (My DD was 20 months at the time) and Asterix/Harry Potter books in French for her big brothers.

We've had problems transporting wine home from France recently when after buying a hundred odd bottles we realised we didn't have any wine boxes. French supermarkets are very strict re recycling and do not have any boxes, not even the ones the wine was delivered in, available for you to load up. Just thought I'd mention it so you know to go prepared with your own boxes!


There is a big lake on the site at La Croix which is a bit stressful. We couldn't let DD out to play for example on the swings with her much older brothers because I was just so anxious she'd fall in it.

With the paying activities - trampolines, boats etc - you could buy a big pile of tokens much cheaper than buying just a few at a time. We bought our boys a big load of them and said they'd have to manage them across the week. They were very sensible in rationing themselves to a certain number of things per day. It's too long ago for me to remember any costs but the entire layout on them wasn't much, less than the price of a meal.

ruthyjo

Another thought - we went independently to DLRP from the site. The drive was very easy but there were tolls, as always on french motorways. We then couldn't believe it when we also had to pay quite a bit to park the car when we got there. Can't remember the details of the costs but if someone could fill you in it could help you to decide whether it's worth going on the coach from the site and avoiding the (small) stress of driving. I thought I would be back and forth to the car to get things for DD but didn't really end up doing that as it was quite a long way.

Rachie_B

ruthyjo wrote:

Another thought - we went independently to DLRP from the site. The drive was very easy but there were tolls, as always on french motorways. We then couldn't believe it when we also had to pay quite a bit to park the car when we got there. Can't remember the details of the costs but if someone could fill you in it could help you to decide whether it's worth going on the coach from the site and avoiding the (small) stress of driving. I thought I would be back and forth to the car to get things for DD but didn't really end up doing that as it was quite a long way.

Its costs 8E for a whole days parking at Disney, which I thought wasnt too bad

Spendless

Rachie_B wrote:

:rolleyes: Does ANYONE have a good experience to relay about leisure Direction ? lol

Yes me . I noticed you'd thanked me the other day Rachie when I posted about leisure direction and did wonder why. Only just seen this thread. We went in 2004 and stopped at carantec?? (I'll look it back up in a bit and edit if need be) in Bittany. We picked ths site cos it was only a short drive when you got off the ferry. We had a long crossing and I paid for a cabin going out but couldn't get one on way back due to w/end crossing cos I hadn't pre-booked.

We found we were able to use the free keycamp childrens clubs even though we hadn't booked thru them, they ran most days just for a couple of hours each day, but one evening when the kids club staff usually ran a show it was football on the tv (european championship) :rolleyes: and instead the kids club ran in the usual place playing rounders and games with the kids so the parents could watch tv, again for no charge.

DS was only 4 though and at nursery (ie it wasn't compulsory education) and it was mid-June when we went and the campsite was NOT full, we went noseying round some mega posh mobiles that had their doors unlocked -lol. I can't remember how long it was in advance that we booked but not long a few months at the most.

On my experience I would book with leisure direction again, but then I wasn't trying to book during school hols. I'd be interested if anyone who has an experience of doing so would tell us how they found them.