Disneyland Paris/EuroDisney - Questions & Answers

johnny7511

going to book it 2morrow was looking at Magic Circus Hotel or Dream Castle Hotel Bed And Breakfast then book my park tickets the Santa Fe is coming in at £320 and thats with passes which is very good

balletshoes

johnny7511 wrote: »

going to book it 2morrow was looking at Magic Circus Hotel or Dream Castle Hotel Bed And Breakfast then book my park tickets the Santa Fe is coming in at £320 and thats with passes which is very good

if you're getting a good deal on the Santa Fe including park tickets (because that will be a 4-day park hopper each, and your little one gets in free anyway) then I'd book the Santa Fe. Park tickets for 3 or 4 days would cost around £110 per adult on their own.

balletshoes

stressed_mummy wrote: »

what will be the cheapest ticket for 5 days at half term ?
we already have dream passes but dd is bringing a friend!!
do we get 20% off a dream pass if we buy it for her??

you would get 10% off a dream pass with your existing dream pass (as long as you've held your pass for at least one calendar month yourself by then, and your dd's friend hasn't already held any kind of annual pass for DLP in the last 2 years).

you can buy daily tickets at the gate for your dd's friend and get 20% off the gate price of those with your dream pass. But you would probably be cheaper buying her a 5-day hopper before you go.

You can check the gate prices on DLRPMagic, and Expedia, 365tickets, attractiontix etc for 5-day hoppers to compare.

Remember if you're buying an annual pass for your dd's friend, she'll need a letter of permission from her parents for you to buy it for her (if she's under 18).

dementedhousewife

We stayed at the Magic Circus a few weeks back
Loved it there..
Very nice hotel
and they have a special offer on their website if you book a family room you get park tickets inc :-)

cdsmiler

Hello all,

Just back from 2 days, 3 nights at DLP last week, and I thought I'd do a round up of our experience in case it helps anyone else.

We stayed at the Dream Castle - very nice, no complaints at all. Lovely small pool which as we arrived about 3.30pm on the first day, decided to make the most of before heading to the village for dinner. Water a bit cold, but nice small slide for kids, and all areas of the pool were shallow.

Was worried about it being over busy at breakfast after reading reviews - first two days we were there 8 / 8.30 and it wasn't a problem, last day was more like 9.30 and that was the busiest I'd seen, but you didn't have to queue - maybe just a few minutes for a hot drink!

Shuttle is great, but VERY crowded as it caters for 4 hotels - with a buggy, this wasn't fun!! But found it quieter (buggy n'all) if you got on at the back of the bendy bus rather than the front!

Dinner on night one was Planet Hollywood - food gone downhill we think, and hubby is a massive fan. His main (burger) was excellent, but rest of the food 'ok'.

Had two lots of Sky tickets - for both the Monday and Tuesday at DLP. No problems at all exchanging those, and took only a few minutes each morning.

Studios on the first day. Tower of Terror first thing and had a 10 minute wait! (No magic hours in Studios, but we could go in the park before 10am opening, and I was in the queue at 9.50am).
Longest wait in studios was for the Parachute Drop.
Found both Mickey Mouse and Buzz in the meet and greet area - longer queue for Buzz than Mickey! Not sure how long the queues are in the main park, but if you want to meet Mickey, Studios might be the place to be.
Stitch Live is genius and worth a watch. Stunt show great, but long and a little loud for our 2 1/2 year old.
Lunch was in the burger place near the entrance (I forget the name!) - average price to the rest of the DLP (I feel you have to adjust your expectations price wise!! We budgetted well for all this...) but one of the best range of menu options from a counter service menu. There were pizzas, which we could have had and shared.
Cars parade was great, a bit short, but was great so see some of the characters you don't see in the main park.
We rushed to the Flying Carpets straight after the parade and there was no queue!

Popped over to the main park around 5pm (Studios closed at 6pm).
Phantom Manor had very little queue.
Then popped in to the Lucky Nugget Salloon for food - most disappointing quality 'counter service' style food, but was nice that it was (bizarrely!) table service! Nice and quiet it there too.
Found a nice space to wait for the Dreams show. AMAZING, well worth the wait. You must do it if you're there this year.

Second day in the main park all day. Went straight to fantasy land. Show White ride didn't open until 12 though. Also, quite a few of the fantasyland rides are closing early because of the Dreams show, so take a look at the ride entrances.
Queued in the Princess Pavilion, not really having a clue how long we'd be there for!!!!!! But well worth it for our little one. You don't know which princess you'll see, and there's a choice of 2 - completely random which one you'll get. VERY pleased that we had Sleeping Beauty, and they saw us coming at the photo desk!! lol
Late lunch in the large theatre area (now showing animation shorts) in discoveryland. Food fine but all choices were burgers.
It rained for about 6 hours on and off, which didn't bother us, but some rides did have to close (Dumbo, the boat ride up by Casey Jnr) due to the weather. They managed to re-open Dumbo later in the day though.
During the rain though we went on Snow White (now open by this point), Peter Pan (Disappointed with Peter Pan - seems almost as if they need to 'brighten' the stuff in there.), Pinocchio, which all had longish queues (half hour? We had fast passes for Peter Pan), and didn't have to queue for It's a Small World or Pirates.
Parade was at 5pm when we were there - Brilliant! If you can find the beginning of the route, it's much quieter - near It's a Small World! We had a great view and DD had loads of waves and attention. (Btw, DLP obviously has a direct link to the heavens - the rain stopped 5 mins before the parade, and started about 5 mins after! lol)
Shopping - we were going to use the shopping service which DLRPMagic had written down as as long as you buy your stuff by 4pm, it can be sent to the village or to your hotel (partner hotels too - DreamCastle, Explorers etc) for collection later that day. We were there paying at 3.30 and we were too late! So either DLRP is not up to date, or they change the time depending ont he time of year - worth checking when you're there if you want to use this service. We WERE able to keep our purchases there for pick up later int he day though.

Took our own pushchair with a key bicycle lock and it was safe the entire time.

Evening meal on last night was in Cafe Mickey. We booked via the reservation line about a week before and had our chosen time of 7pm without any problems. Arrived at 6.45 and went straight in. Overheard that it was fully booked that night, so you MUST BOOK. Also, when we left, there were queues of people waiting - and these are the people who reserved a place! So the earlier slots might be better.

On a seperate note, I was dreading this. Thought it would be a mad free for all, but they are VERY strict with how it works in there - the characters come to you, you don't go to them. And it was BRILLIANT. Not only did we see FIVE different characters, but we saw 3 of them twice, DD had loads of time with them, and to top it all off the food was EXCELLENT. Highly recommended. Just budget for it. And like others have said, young children could share yours. (Our DD devoured a bowl of pasta!! lol)

Sorry, that's all a bit long, but I'm hoping people will find some useful tips!! We're already planning our next visit/s, and I have a few questions which will come in a following post!! lol

Thanks for reading all!

cdsmiler

Hello again!

Ok, a few questions!

We're looking at going December 2013 for our DD's birthday (week before Christmas - 16th - 21st December). Looking at similar prices for this year, it actually looks V reasonable, and currently cheaper in Cheyenne than returning to the Dream Castle (or equivalent). Although we liked the Dream Castle this time, we're definitely doing Cheyenne for this 'special trip'. I'm sure the prices will change, but it's good to see what we need to save for.

Going to plan for Buffalo Bills on the first evening (arrive in Cowboy themed hotel, then cowboy theme evening!). Will keep an eye open for Buffalo Bill reductions/offers - which site was best for this again?

Then 4 days in the parks. DD will turn 4 while we're there (already planning to go back to Cafe Mickey and do the birthday cake thing for that day.) Silly question, but can we book the birthday cake at the same time as making the reservation? Or do we have to do that separately at the town hall?

We're going to go for annual passes. Do those two french sites OFTEN do children 7 and under free with a purchase of an adult ticket? I know one (both?) of them was doing it recently, but currently isn't?

How far in advance of arriving at DLP can you buy the annual passes? I thought I read that you had to 'activate' them within 6 months, but I might be making that up..... (We obviously want to keep an eye out for the best deals, but no sense in buying them too early!).

We're probably going for the top price annual passes: the hotel discount you get with them. Now then, I'm not even considering the logistics of trying to get this to work for our first trip (not worth the hassle!), but we ARE hoping to return a number of times (with friends and family) throughout 2014. How does the Disneyland Paris Hotel discount thing work? Do you have to book the hotel through a particular website for the discount to work?

On a seperate note, those of you who are experts on this, would you say that doing the annual pass thing, with multiple trips, and probably staying in the lower price Disney hotels is still better than the 'all in' Disney offers? Opinions would be great.

Last question, then I'll leave you in peace - is there a website that shows the French school holidays throughout the year?? I know in the UK you can simply check the council websites.....

Many thanks all!

Clare x

balletshoes

loved your trip report there - just for information, the shopping service in the parks closes at 2.45pm, so you need to have your purchases made by then to guarantee it being sent to your hotel for collection later that evening .

cdsmiler wrote: »

Hello again!

Ok, a few questions!

We're looking at going December 2013 for our DD's birthday (week before Christmas - 16th - 21st December). Looking at similar prices for this year, it actually looks V reasonable, and currently cheaper in Cheyenne than returning to the Dream Castle (or equivalent). Although we liked the Dream Castle this time, we're definitely doing Cheyenne for this 'special trip'. I'm sure the prices will change, but it's good to see what we need to save for.

Going to plan for Buffalo Bills on the first evening (arrive in Cowboy themed hotel, then cowboy theme evening!). Will keep an eye open for Buffalo Bill reductions/offers - which site was best for this again?

Then 4 days in the parks. DD will turn 4 while we're there (already planning to go back to Cafe Mickey and do the birthday cake thing for that day.) Silly question, but can we book the birthday cake at the same time as making the reservation? Or do we have to do that separately at the town hall?

you can book and pay for the birthday cake with your hotel/tickets package through Disney. Then when you make your table reservation, you tell them you have booked a birthday cake. You get a voucher when you check in at your hotel for the cake, and you take that with you to the restaurant (its also a good idea to confirm with City Hall that you want the birthday cake served at Cafe Mickey the day before you want it, so that they can ensure Cafe Mickey has enough cakes ).


We're going to go for annual passes. Do those two french sites OFTEN do children 7 and under free with a purchase of an adult ticket? I know one (both?) of them was doing it recently, but currently isn't?

Both cemultiavantages and promoparcs have been doing this deal for around 2 years already, so I'd imagine they'll keep going .


How far in advance of arriving at DLP can you buy the annual passes? I thought I read that you had to 'activate' them within 6 months, but I might be making that up..... (We obviously want to keep an eye out for the best deals, but no sense in buying them too early!).

yes, you usually have 6 months only to activate an annual pass, at the longest.


We're probably going for the top price annual passes: the hotel discount you get with them. Now then, I'm not even considering the logistics of trying to get this to work for our first trip (not worth the hassle!), but we ARE hoping to return a number of times (with friends and family) throughout 2014. How does the Disneyland Paris Hotel discount thing work? Do you have to book the hotel through a particular website for the discount to work?

DON'T buy any annual pass thinking it will save you money on room only at any of the onsite hotels through Disney. It doesn't work that way, because room only at Disney is not discounted in the same way that their packages are. Very often room only (without park tickets included) is more expensive than a package.


On a seperate note, those of you who are experts on this, would you say that doing the annual pass thing, with multiple trips, and probably staying in the lower price Disney hotels is still better than the 'all in' Disney offers? Opinions would be great.

Depending on which time of year you intend visiting, yes, it can work out cheaper if you are 2 adults (your daughter is free at all times of year onsite because she's under 7 years old). However, if you always want to stay onsite, you might find one adult AP (plus your daughter's free one because its free and you might as well) is enough to maximise your savings.
You can book a one-adult package (plus your free child place) onsite with a discount offer, then add the other adult with the AP at check-in, for no extra charge apart from local taxes, which is no more than 2 euros per night booked, just for the extra person.


Last question, then I'll leave you in peace - is there a website that shows the French school holidays throughout the year?? I know in the UK you can simply check the council websites.....

Many thanks all!

Clare x

have a look here -

http://about-france.com/school-holidays.htm

cdsmiler

balletshoes wrote: »

loved your trip report there - just for information, the shopping service in the parks closes at 2.45pm, so you need to have your purchases made by then to guarantee it being sent to your hotel for collection later that evening .

Ah, thanks. DLRP definitely said 4pm though - I printed it out....not that I was over planning or anything!! lol

balletshoes wrote: »

you can book and pay for the birthday cake with your hotel/tickets package through Disney. Then when you make your table reservation, you tell them you have booked a birthday cake. You get a voucher when you check in at your hotel for the cake, and you take that with you to the restaurant (its also a good idea to confirm with City Hall that you want the birthday cake served at Cafe Mickey the day before you want it, so that they can ensure Cafe Mickey has enough cakes ).

Ah, that makes sense. What if I'm buying the annual pass via one of those sites and booking the hotel (albeit a Disney one!) via Expedia? How do I book one then?

balletshoes wrote: »

Both cemultiavantages and promoparcs have been doing this deal for around 2 years already, so I'd imagine they'll keep going .

Oh good. Thought they'd currently stopped doing it, so that's great news. Will start looking anytime after the start of July next year then (based on 6 months activation period!).

balletshoes wrote: »

DON'T buy any annual pass thinking it will save you money on room only at any of the onsite hotels through Disney. It doesn't work that way, because room only at Disney is not discounted in the same way that their packages are. Very often room only (without park tickets included) is more expensive than a package.

Oh we weren't, but since it was part of it I was wondering how it worked? Can you only use that discount via Disney direct? Does the Disneyland Paris website allow you to book hotel only? (Would always compare with other sites and hotel options anyway!)

balletshoes wrote: »

Depending on which time of year you intend visiting, yes, it can work out cheaper if you are 2 adults (your daughter is free at all times of year onsite because she's under 7 years old). However, if you always want to stay onsite, you might find one adult AP (plus your daughter's free one because its free and you might as well) is enough to maximise your savings.
You can book a one-adult package (plus your free child place) onsite with a discount offer, then add the other adult with the AP at check-in, for no extra charge apart from local taxes, which is no more than 2 euros per night booked, just for the extra person.

Wow, ok, I think I get it. My OCD might cope better with us all just having the passes lol, but I'll have a good look as we're probably looking at disney hotels for most of the trips, but not necessarily... Makes sense though. Has anyone ever (as far as anyone on here knows!!) been refused the extra adult?? lol

Thanks for the school holidays link!!

Thanks as ever Balletshoes!!

Clare x

balletshoes

cdsmiler wrote: »

What if I'm buying the annual pass via one of those sites and booking the hotel (albeit a Disney one!) via Expedia? How do I book one then?

you would just book the birthday cake at City Hall or your hotel reception, then pay for the cake when you pay your bill at the end of your meal at Cafe Mickey.


Oh we weren't, but since it was part of it I was wondering how it worked? Can you only use that discount via Disney direct? Does the Disneyland Paris website allow you to book hotel only? (Would always compare with other sites and hotel options anyway!)

no, you have to call Disney to get room only prices with whichever AP you hold. You can't get the prices anywhere online. You are definitely best to compare elsewhere too, Expedia for example sell room only onsite for the winter months more cheaply than Disney themselves do.


Wow, ok, I think I get it. My OCD might cope better with us all just having the passes lol, but I'll have a good look as we're probably looking at disney hotels for most of the trips, but not necessarily... Makes sense though. Has anyone ever (as far as anyone on here knows!!) been refused the extra adult?? lol

nope, never seen anyone be refused.


Thanks for the school holidays link!!

Thanks as ever Balletshoes!!

Clare x

Happy future trip(s) planning .

johnny7511

Hi guys got the flights and hotel Santa Fe booked with tickets both good deals need a little help now what is the best way to get from (CDG) to the park will be arriving around 16.30 and how long will it take to get there any other tips and info would be great.
cheers guys