Arrive Sunday or Monday?

[weecarol]

Think this might be a bit of a no brainer - but here goes...

Planning second trip to DLP in October with hubby, DS (8) and DD (5). Flew last time with Easyjet from Glasgow but during our (Scottish) October school holidays flights have rocketed in price. Schools here finish on Friday 14 October.

We are planning to drive to Ashford (8hrs eek!), spend the night at a hotel and get the direct Eurostar in the morning. Will book the hotel for a night on the way back too. Question is, should we plan to arrive on Sunday or Monday?

Costs are working out slightly cheaper for hotels on the Sunday night, but otherwise are the same.

Would you recommend arriving at DLP on the Sunday at 1.30pm (possibly later park hours on Sunday), or the same time on the Monday (less crowds)?

Can't price Eurostar direct yet, but price with transport on DLP website seems cheaper than adding Eurostar prices for dates in September with the current 25% & kids free offer - is this unusual?

Let me know what you think!

 

[DLPdaft]

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If you take the Sunday eurostar - the main park will be open for 2 or 3 extra hours on Sunday evening so it will be like having a whole Disney day when you arrive .
If its busy that day, go to the Studios and do the shows there, then come back to the main park after the OUAD parade.

But, midweek the parks are so much quieter, so if you are going for the same number of nights, but the choice is between Sunday - Tuesday or Monday - Wednesday for example, I'd go Monday.

 

[micksn]

Disneys prices with transport are usually a lot more than doing it seperately. Have you considered driving to Newcastle and going with easyjet from there as schools there don't break up till the week after!

 

[MichelinMan]

I would go on the Sunday, as some rides (like Casey Jr) don't always run weekdays (when we went in July, peak holiday season, it was only open at the weekeknd).

 

[ScottishThistle]

We're in Scotland and always do the drive to Folkestone, stay overnight then Eurotunnel on the Sunday. We've always arrived on a Sunday and there's never been a problem with the parks being too crowded or busy.

We tend to arrive in the parks around 12ish, have a quick wander, some lunch then back to the hotel to get into our room and freshen up before heading back into the park in the evening. It also gives us the Sunday to familiarise ourselves with the schedules, meet & greet locations and times etc and hit the ground running on the Monday

 

[Ms Poppins]

Hi, we do the same - drive to Ashford, stay overnight and then get Eurostar. If you can go on a Sunday, then I would. The park will be open later on the Sunday, giving you some more time when you first arrive. I wouldn't worry about the crowds. If you're anything like us on the first day we just stroll around taking it all in.

We arrived on a Sunday before and can't remember any problems. The only thing that didn't pan out was actually in Ashford, not DLP! We had planned to nip into Sainsburys to get some sandwiches for lunch on the Eurostar - but it didn't open until later on a Sunday.

And don't worry about the drive. If you go the M6 toll, you'll miss a lot of traffic.

You'll most probably save by booking the Eurostar separately. Remember they release the dates by phone earlier than on-line, so phone Eurostar to find out when the October prices are released. I seem to remember booking for October last year in April/May over the phone.

Funny how the October holidays are different eveywhere - ours finish up the week before, so should be even quieter for us, that's if we manage to go this year

Happy planning

 

[Isila]

we arrived on Sunday and I was happy we did it - parks were open longer and we did have a not so crowded Monday morning. For my next trip I'll do the same.

 

[cherrymarzipan]

We usually plan to arrive on a Sunday but that is partly to do with quieter roads which won’t apply to you. However going in October apart from the general advantage of longer opening hours – it is not as if you will have been in the park since EMH – you should get enough fading of the light on an October evening to see the park lit up which is always special. I would have thought that at least some of the locals who boost visitor numbers at weekends would have left before the later park closing time too, making it a little quieter anyway as the day wears on.

The only disadvantage we have found with those “quiet season” Mondays and Tuesdays is that a few attractions, mainly shows and meet and greets can be closed on those days.

 

[weecarol]

Thanks for all your help.

Decided to go for Sunday - Wednesday at the Cheyenne. Very pleased with the price. Think it breaks down as follows

Sun 16 Oct 3nts Cheyenne 2AD 2 Under 12s

Hotel & Tickets £499.50
Eurostar £168.00
Total £679.50

Thought this was good for Eurostar (it is the direct train). Also only 10% deposit on the total!!

Not sure what wil happen with seat allocation though - will they assume we would like a table seat being a family of 4?

Cant wait - hoping to keep it secret from the kids but maybe I will have to blab!!!