Disneyland Paris/EuroDisney - Questions & Answers

balletshoes

snaphappyone wrote: »

Hello all. Well it doesn't seem like long since I was last here, but we are planning a return trip to Disneyland Paris now we are a family of 5. We are going to go in May/June before our little boy turns 2 so that we can still choose any of the hotels. Have been looking at Hotel New York or Sequoia Lodge. Any advice on these? Would Hotel New York be worth the extra or is Sequoia particularly nice since the refurbishment. When we stayed at the Newport Bay Club last year I thought it seemed like it could do with a makeover. Have also stayed at Hotel CHeyenne many years ago, but I think the girls enjoy having the pool for a splash around.

the Sequoia Lodge is a lovely hotel now its gone through its refurb, and I think the girls would love the subtle Bambi theme in the rooms .


It looks like the prices are the same throughout that time, so we will bite the bullet and go in half term, prob Mon 27th May for 4 nights. I am presuming a better offer will come out, so will hold out to book the hotel later. Can anyone give me the link to the french school holiday dates? How busy will it be at that time? We have always been in term time before (March last year) so not sure I'm looking forward to encountering queues.

French school holiday dates are here -

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

Usually UK half term in May doesn't clash with French, Spanish or Italian school holidays, so it makes it a good time to go, usually not bad weather and not too busy.


We may go by Eurostar again. Any moneysaving tips for booking it? At the moment the website is saying £359 each way!!! Ouch. Definately be cheaper than booking with Disney though and we get to select our own seat when booking direct don't we? Driving all the waythere is looking increasingly good, though OH did initially have reservations about driving abroad. Alternatively, I would be interested in hearing from anyone with ideas about flying from Exeter or Bristol. I.e. How cheap could we get seats (including one for a 22month old?) and what is the best way to arrange a transfer to Disney.

Sure I will be back with more ponderings soon. Thanks in advance for any help.

I can't help with flying from your part of the world I'm afraid. You could wait until 12 weeks before you travel and see what the indirect Eurostar fares are? They aren't likely to be really cheap though, unfortunately Eurostar really seem to have hiked their prices up for the UK school holidays. With a family of 5, I'd drive to be honest. You could book a premier inn/travelodge for the night before the Eurotunnel journey, and the night after if you prefer. If you have Tesco clubcard vouchers these can be used to pay for the Eurotunnel crossing.

Smi1er

Looking to book a last minute break. 2 Adults and the kids (15,14 & 11), arriving on 1st Nov for 4 days/3 nights.

Hotel (Sante Fe) and park coming back at just under £960. Is this about right? Or are there any better deals going at the moment?

Would probably go Eurotunnel, what is the travelling time driving at a sensible spped from park to Calais?

balletshoes

Smi1er wrote: »

Looking to book a last minute break. 2 Adults and the kids (15,14 & 11), arriving on 1st Nov for 4 days/3 nights.

Hotel (Sante Fe) and park coming back at just under £960. Is this about right? Or are there any better deals going at the moment?

Would probably go Eurotunnel, what is the travelling time driving at a sensible spped from park to Calais?

unless theres a flash sale appears in the next week or so, I think that price is probably the best you're going to do for that week. Its peak season at DLP, all the French schools are on holiday, and most of the English ones.

I believe the drive is around 3 hours from Calais to DLP.

meki_j

Thanks once again Balletshoes,

We will hold fire on booking to see if the 40% comes up again.

How do you get a Character Lunch if you dont pay for it in advance???

Cheers

balletshoes

meki_j wrote: »

Thanks once again Balletshoes,

We will hold fire on booking to see if the 40% comes up again.

How do you get a Character Lunch if you dont pay for it in advance???

Cheers

you pay your bill at the end of the meal - just like everyone who is a day guest/isn't staying on a Disney property/didn't book through Disney .

The best way of doing Cafe Mickey, in my opinion, is to share pizza and sides between you all (like Pizza Hut). This way you get the full character interaction and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Book your table in advance though - either phone the Disney dining reservation line on 0033 160304050 before you go, or book at City Hall in the main park when you arrive. Cafe Mickey is a very popular restaurant, which is why you should book. But if you are just reserving a table, not paying in advance for the meal, there is no charge to reserve a table.

cdsmiler

meki_j - Just to let you know, I did what balletshoes suggested to a certain extent. I used the reservation hotline (about 2 weeks before?) to book - wasn't a problem, even booking for 7pm which I'm sure is probably one of the peak times. We treated ourselves though and well all out with our food choices. But I can say that it was one of the best meals we had in Disney. And it's well worth it for the characters. We couldn't get rid of them!! lol 5 different characters, 3 of them came to the table twice!! And we paid on the way out!

Nova1300

Please can any EuroDisney experts please help!! We would like a New Year Break for 3/4 nights, what is the best deal, will there be any offers. Is it better to stay on the disney complex or outskirts. any info wld be a big help, thank u x

balletshoes

Nova1300 wrote: »

Please can any EuroDisney experts please help!! We would like a New Year Break for 3/4 nights, what is the best deal, will there be any offers. Is it better to stay on the disney complex or outskirts. any info wld be a big help, thank u x

what dates are you considering, and what size party, how many adults, how many children, ages of children?

Nova1300

Hi, It will be 29th Dec - 1/2 Jan, we will need 2 rooms as taking my parents as well - 2 adults and 2 children (7&3), and 2 adults thank you x

balletshoes

Nova1300 wrote: »

Hi, It will be 29th Dec - 1/2 Jan, we will need 2 rooms as taking my parents as well - 2 adults and 2 children (7&3), and 2 adults thank you x

okay, this is really quick costing for offsite but nearby (I can't check the DLP site for onsite at the moment and Expedia is showing no offers at all for discounts on the onsite hotels).

park tickets - as you want at least 3 days park tickets, possibly 4 or 5, your cheapest bet is Dream Annual Passes through cemultiavantages or promoparcs. Your 3-year old would get a free Annual Pass when you buy the other 5 at 159 euros each. With the joining fee for either cemultiavantages or promoparcs included, the total cost for all your park tickets would be around £673 (for however many days you like, as Dream APs have no blackout dates and can be used for a whole year from the date you first use them).

Then, on Expedia, the Campanile hotel at Bussy St George is showing £498 total for 29th December to 1st January. Bussy St George is 2 stops and about 10 minutes train journey time on the local and very regular trains to and from DLP train station.

The Residhome at Val d'europe is showing £617 for the same dates. Val d'europe is one stop and about 5 minutes train journey time on the same local trains.

The Magic Circus, a partner hotel very close to the onsite ones, is showing a total of £839 for the same dates. This hotel is served by a regular free shuttle bus to and from the DLP resort.

These are all decent accommodation - you can go more budget or more upmarket from here.

As a comparison, Expedia are selling the Cheyenne hotel (onsite) with park tickets for your whole group, for the same dates, for £2,071. So really you'll save a lot of money by staying offsite and buying annual passes.

A couple of things to consider though, which might bring the price down a bit. Saturday check-in is generally more expensive than any other day of the week, and you are going at one of the DLP's busiest times of the year - New Years Eve is rammed in the evening in the park. If you can (or want to) wait to arrive after the 1st of January, the prices onsite/nearby will be much cheaper, and you wouldn't need the most expensive annual pass, a Fantasy annual pass would do fine, and would cost you £140 less in total for your annual passes.

Have a look at the official DLP site, see what you can get your package for (you'll need 2 rooms onsite) and then compare with what you could get for the same money/hopefully much less money nearby.