Disneyland Paris In July...Advice Please!

mshelsbels

Hi there,

We're taking the kids (aged 8 & 9) on a 3 night suprise trip to Disneyland Paris at the beginning of July. We got a reasonable deal booking direct from their website, but wondered if anyone had any tips about not being ripped off when we get there!!
We're staying at the Hotel New York at the resort itself. I know food and things are pricey, but any suggestions you may have would be good as I detest being ripped off!!!

Fank ooo!

Hels
:T

Taplledraw

Some of the things we do to save money are as follows
ask at reception for a kettle in your room then take mugs ,tea,coffee hotchoc, cup a soups etc with you.
have a late breakfast and eat loads so you can skip lunch
Empty the mini bar and drive to the auchan supermarket and stock up with water,cheese,bread,chocolate,wine etc.
If you have no car take the hotel shuttle to the designer village just walk through it and head for the supermarket , you can buy something cheap from the designer village so you can prove you have spent something there(Boden do a good range of pencil sharpeners etc!) This will save you loads of money.
As you leave the Disney park at night the kiosk on the left just outside the gates has cut price merchandise.
Hope this helps

VixxAnn

If you eat or drink anything in the park itself then you will feel ripped off - its all terribly expensive I'm afraid


But the previous tips were good, fill up on breakfast before you set off from hotel. A lot of people stuff their pockets with bread rolls and ham etc. but I have to say I didn't feel right doing that, plus, we saw quite a few people having their rucksacks and bags searched at disney gates and you are not allowed to take food in. But what I would definatly do is take with you a few sports style drinks bottles and take them down to breakfast at the hotel. let the kids fill up their breakfast juice etc in the bottles and use at the table and then just make sure you top them up before you go. That alone saved us a fortune as drinks are expensive inside.

I managed to take a few small cereal snack bars (bought from home) in my handbag and these kept us going a bit longer. In our experience if you are going to buy food inside Disney you are better buying a proper sit down meal (preferably a buffet help yourself style) rather than snacks like hot dogs etc. You will see more for your money in a large meal.

But most of all = prepare the kids beforehand, let them know that although you don't want to be spoilsports, things are very dear inside and they need to be prepared to be a little reserved and not expect you to buy them everything they see or every snack and drink they request.

But anyway, despite all this, I'm sure you'll have a lovely time :j
my boys were 10 & 8 when we went last year and they loved it!

frizz_head

My only tip would be once inside the park (we used to get there about 11am after a leisurely breakfast) is to go straight to all the FastPass rides you wish to visit. Peter Pan (being the most popular) uses up all its FastPass allocation just after lunch. So before you do anything collect all your FastPass tickets, and then plan your day once you have them. After all, who wants to spend all day queuing for rides!!

FastPass is a system, which once you have inserted your entrance ticket into the machine at the entrance of certain rides, will give you a 30 minute time slot in which you can ride. These don't cost anything, and once the days allocation has gone (on the most popular this is lunchtime) you will have to queue like everyone else.

You will have a fantastic time. We visited August 2004, and it was one of the best holidays we have had.

jamesh

Sit down meals in Disneyland are good value,

You can pay just as much for microwave rubbish in the UK in Brewsters or similar.

All food in Disneyland Paris is excelent quality.

Vist http://www.dlpfoodguide.com/ to see the menus from some of the places.

If you want a nice meal in the evening our fav is the Beaver Creek Tavern in the Sequoia Lodge the deset buffet is yum.

telly-addict

If you are likely to visit again within a year, the annual passport is a good idea as it costs a little more than a 3 day ticket, but, gives you 10% off food and drink and also free parking.

I do find the food prices expensive, especially in the hotels - they seemed to increase a number of years ago (the exchange rate I guess). Also the Rainforest Cafe and Cafe Mickey in Disney Village are fairly pricey. The German restaurant is good, but is outside the 10% scheme. The Diner in the Village is good for burgers etc and isn't too expensive. I just don't like paying the prices to eat out in Europe, so I'm not sure how much over the top they are in comparison to eating out in the UK.

My eldest daughter is a bit picky and the children's meals at the various places in the park and Disney village were about £10 and she was unlikely to eat them. So we did go to the McDonalds in Disney Village which was much cheaper and the most successful meal there! It's just around the corner (walkable) from the New York Hotel.

If you go to the Val D'Europe shopping centre there is a range of eating places there too, another McD's, a nice pizza/pasta place, a Chinese restaurant and (I think I remember correctly) a Flunch - which is a reasonably priced buffet/self service restaurant. It's only a 5-10 minute drive from the hotel, if that, and worth it for the choice/savings when it comes to eating, IMO. We are visiting again in August and that's where we'll be going for dinner!

skylight

Sorry - food is pricey everywhere in Disneyland - but they do cater for all tastes, so there will be something for everyone!

There is also a McDonalds - at least you'll know what your getting.

For merchandise, don't bother shopping around in the parks - although the shops sell slightly different stuff, they are all priced exactly the same

Definately use the fastpass. It's a busy place at weekends.

But really enjoy yourself - you HAVE to queue for ages to have a photo with Mickey (official ones aren't cheap), but if you dont, you really will regret it on the way home.

Have a great time!!!

modgit

i agree with the rest of the comments. I take crisps, biscuits, apples, sweets etc with us and then pop a days worth each morning into our backpack. This fills the gap between breakfast and tea time. we've been 6 times and not had our bags searched. They do sometimes search going into Disney Village at night, but the search is not for food! I would recommend going to the all you can eat places: Plaza Gardens, Billy Bobs, Lucky Nugget. They are around 25 euros each, but you do have more than your fill! Cowboy cookout is a reasonable snack place as they do jacket potatos and chilli and ribs.We went last Aug and the park stays open until 11pm so you have to balance your meal times, otherwise you end up eating junk food to fill in at ridiculous prices. We went at Easter and the park shuts earlier so it's not so much of an issue. When we were there at Easter King Ludwigs were doing kids eat free, which made the total cost for 4 of us around 50 euros for 2 courses and drinks. I've never found anything worth eating in the Studios, but it generally is quieter than the other park, so if you did want to eat your "borrowed" croissants from breakfast its easy. The children will get to see characters easier and quicker there too.
Have a lovely time, it's fantastic!

blindman

mshelsbels wrote:

Hi there,

We're taking the kids (aged 8 & 9) on a 3 night suprise trip to Disneyland Paris at the beginning of July. We got a reasonable deal booking direct from their website, but wondered if anyone had any tips about not being ripped off when we get there!!
We're staying at the Hotel New York at the resort itself. I know food and things are pricey, but any suggestions you may have would be good as I detest being ripped off!!!

Fank ooo!

Hels
:T

Just got back.

What do you want to know??