Disneyland Paris/EuroDisney - Questions & Answers

Gels

littlemisspink wrote: »

Just had one question for drivers though, well 2 actually.
1 - do I need to check my car insurance to make sure am covered for driving in Europe?
2 - we are getting breakdown cover but god forbid we do breakdown, what would happen lol as we don't speak an awful lot of French!
Thank you

1. Yes, check your insurance as not all policies cover EU travel, your docs should tell you this somewhere
2. If you breakdown on a motorway there are phones to use every 2km as the police sort out your recovery and not your breakdown provider, but you need to inform your breakdown provider so they will pay your claim/recovery costs.

Not sure my French would get me through this either, but I find 'parlez vous anglais' works well, as long as you try with a bit of French lingo first.

Gels

lindsayr2403 wrote: »

If you are planning a trip in to DLP for a couple of days and then returning for another day, you are better off buying an annual pass(crazy I know!) - that way you don't pay to park at DLP either (which otherwise costs €20 per day!)
hope this helps
L :-)

Although we've never paid to park in the main car park (used to stay at DCR with free parking and now have annual passes) I always thought the price was a bit steep, but, when you take into consideration the parking staff, security patrols and the police in combats with guns, I suppose the cost is justifiable. However, now we have a motorhome and stay in the car park, (there is a motorhome area provided specifically for this) so no accommodation costs and free to stay for the duration courtesy of our annual passes (also means we get to go more often). Thankfully, they switch off the walkway music and dialogue at night. Not sure I could sleep through 'Bonjour, a bienvenue a Disneyland Resort Paris......' on repeat all night! :rotfl:

My tip to anyone driving there often - We got a pay tag last year for road tolls as we were planning to go at least 4+ times per year. It means you can use the orange 'reserved' lanes on the left hand side, so no ticket to collect and no queues to contend with anymore. The camera detects you are there, the tag bleeps and barrier goes up - no hassle, especially as those lanes seem to be seldom used. You get billed at a later date and pay by direct debit. We got it via the offers link on eurotunnel site and whilst there are extra charges associated, I do highly recommend it.

littlemisspink

Gels wrote: »

1. Yes, check your insurance as not all policies cover EU travel, your docs should tell you this somewhere
2. If you breakdown on a motorway there are phones to use every 2km as the police sort out your recovery and not your breakdown provider, but you need to inform your breakdown provider so they will pay your claim/recovery costs.

Not sure my French would get me through this either, but I find 'parlez vous anglais' works well, as long as you try with a bit of French lingo first.

Thank you gels. So would we need to pay costs upfront and then reclaim (breakdown wise) all new to me this driving abroad malarky lol.

Gels

littlemisspink wrote: »

Thank you gels. So would we need to pay costs upfront and then reclaim (breakdown wise) all new to me this driving abroad malarky lol.

I believe so (though so far, never been in this position [touch wood!]). My understanding is that you contact your breakdown provider and clear it with them asap. I don't think you get a choice about being towed off the motorway by whomever the police choose to do this, but there will be a cost involved for it. Unfortunately, it remains unclear to me as to whether this cost is reclaimable.

On a positive note, it's rare that I have seen any broken down vehicles on a French motorway and we've been driving there since 2007. We once did have a minor mishap with the car but managed to limp our way to DLP (with 25 miles to go) and drove back to the UK at the end of the week. (I blame a very rough ferry crossing, as the car was fine getting us to Dover hours before). The car did indeed need repairs on our return in the days following, but I reckoned the ferry company would have a disclaimer about such things. We use the tunnel now.

Edit: just found these useful links:

http://www.rac.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?5353-Procedure-to-get-assistance-on-French-motorways

http://www.autoroutes.fr/en/breakdown-service.htm

littlemisspink

Thank you gels

redmel1621

Hi

I am trying to get prices for Davy Crockett for either between christmas and new year, or feb half term next year, but it just says unavailable! The website seems to be going very very slow though so I'm not sure if it is just messing about... surely it wouldn't be booked up this far in advance!!

Family of 6, 2 adults, and kids are 13, 11, 5, 3.

Are there any other options for families above 4 members, that doesn't include 2 rooms!

Many thanks
Mel x

balletshoes

redmel1621 wrote: »

Hi

I am trying to get prices for Davy Crockett for either between christmas and new year, or feb half term next year, but it just says unavailable! The website seems to be going very very slow though so I'm not sure if it is just messing about... surely it wouldn't be booked up this far in advance!!

Family of 6, 2 adults, and kids are 13, 11, 5, 3.

Are there any other options for families above 4 members, that doesn't include 2 rooms!

Many thanks
Mel x

no, i'm afraid your only onsite option is the Davy Crockett Ranch (or possibly a family room at the Santa Fe, but there aren't many of them and they tend to be very expensive).

The offers for winter 2014/15 will be open again for bookings after 29th April - there were early booker offers for your dates but those have closed now, they will be replaced by other offers when your dates become bookable again, after 29th april.

redmel1621

balletshoes wrote: »

no, i'm afraid your only onsite option is the Davy Crockett Ranch (or possibly a family room at the Santa Fe, but there aren't many of them and they tend to be very expensive).

The offers for winter 2014/15 will be open again for bookings after 29th April - there were early booker offers for your dates but those have closed now, they will be replaced by other offers when your dates become bookable again, after 29th april.

Ah right thank you. That will probably explain it then. I knew I had seen 'book now for winter14/15' I didn't take note of when the offers ended.
I will look back after 29th. I don't suppose you know of any ballpark figures for either of those weeks based on previous years? I will have a Google and see if I can find anything

Mel x

balletshoes

redmel1621 wrote: »

Ah right thank you. That will probably explain it then. I knew I had seen 'book now for winter14/15' I didn't take note of when the offers ended.
I will look back after 29th. I don't suppose you know of any ballpark figures for either of those weeks based on previous years? I will have a Google and see if I can find anything

Mel x

no idea of prices, sorry. But you should find that in February a typical offer would be all kids aged under 12 are free onsite, plus 40% off or 2 nights free when you pay for 2 nights.

Between xmas and new year you'll probably find its kids under 7 free, not kids under 12.

redmel1621

balletshoes wrote: »

no idea of prices, sorry. But you should find that in February a typical offer would be all kids aged under 12 are free onsite, plus 40% off or 2 nights free when you pay for 2 nights.

Between xmas and new year you'll probably find its kids under 7 free, not kids under 12.

Thank you for your help. kids under 7 is all we would qualify for as 11yr old will be 12 in October, so before I was thinking of anyway.

Thanks I am currently looking at flights vs driving to London and getting Eurostar. I know both options would mean hiring a car but I'm not sure I can face driving the whole way:o

This is all just an idea anyway as it may be too expensive overall.

Mel x