First time visit questions

[simpleohio]

Wanting to do Disney Paris for for five nights but I really also want to see the sights in Paris

I'm thinking four nights at the park is too much

How easy is it to get into the city to see all the sites.

I can get a really good hotel right at the Disney hotel and I thought maybe I would you like a day or two there and then take a train into the city and do sites but make the Disney hotel my base so I don't have to transfer hotels

Thoughts?

 

[simpleohio]

Btw considering hotel Santa Fe

 

[msmama]

I've considered this, too, but the advice that I got was that if you're looking for more than a day in Paris, it's not really worth staying in Disney. That said, it seems like it's fairly easy to do by train, but about an hour commute (each way).

If you go to book a DLP room, one of the screens you get to offers Paris excursions, but I admit, I didn't look too closely at them (though I did make a mental note to go back and look at them again). (I think I was using the UK site at the time, perhaps US).

 

[elstoleno]

Visiting Paris from DLP is easy, we bought a Paris Viste 1 day pass before we went so we knew we were covered for all of the trains and Metros we'd be taking within Paris.
You can do the majority of sights within a day if you start early enough - if you want to go up the Eiffel tower you need to book that far in advance so you can book in a time slot and make the most of your day in Paris rather than queuing up for hours.

 

[A Small World]

As already said its a very easy trip into Central Paris by RER (Commuter train which is an extension of the metro) and the trains run every few minutes.
You can buy a mobilis ticket which costs approx 15Euros per adult which gives you a return trip from DLP to Paris and unlimited use of the metro on that day.
It will take approx 40-60 minutes but the train does get crowded. It starts at Marne la Vallee station (DLP station) so you will definitely get a seat on your way there but may find its crowded if you time the return journey wrong.

What time of year are you thinking of going? If you stay in a Disney hotel you will get tickets for every day of your stay so can head into Paris for the day and then have couple of hours in the parks at night if you are there when its open late

 

[Ms Poppins]

We took the bus tour guide into Paris for the day and really enjoyed it. It's much more expensive than travelling by train and going yourself, but for us it suited us better. We had a bus tour around Paris, Eiffel Tower access and boat trip on the Seine included. We were back at the hotel in Disney for around 6pm and as A Small World has suggested, we then enjoyed a few hours in the park as it was during summer and open until 11pm.

 

[simpleohio]

Looking at Thanksgiving weekend.

I was thinking of doing 4 nights or 5 nights total. Just unsure on the hotel thing and sightseeing part.

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

We are going to DLP this summer for 4 nights staying at Sequoia Lodge and are planning one day visit into the city. For us, the city does not have a ton of options as afamily of 5. Plus we wanted to stay at hotel with a pool and can't afford the ones in the city.

We took the bus tour guide into Paris for the day and really enjoyed it. It's much more expensive than travelling by train and going yourself, but for us it suited us better. We had a bus tour around Paris, Eiffel Tower access and boat trip on the Seine included. We were back at the hotel in Disney for around 6pm and as A Small World has suggested, we then enjoyed a few hours in the park as it was during summer and open until 11pm.

i was looking into the bus tour because that long on a train with my boys (10, 7, 3 at time of travel) does not sound fun. Do you have an opinion on wheather the bus tour would be a good idea for kids that age? I also thought about hiring a car service for the day to drive us around. I know it would be very expensive, but this is a once in a lifetime type trip for us. This is a special 10th birthday trip for my oldest son and I just want to make everything magical.

 

[A Small World]

We are going to DLP this summer for 4 nights staying at Sequoia Lodge and are planning one day visit into the city. For us, the city does not have a ton of options as afamily of 5. Plus we wanted to stay at hotel with a pool and can't afford the ones in the city.


i was looking into the bus tour because that long on a train with my boys (10, 7, 3 at time of travel) does not sound fun. Do you have an opinion on wheather the bus tour would be a good idea for kids that age? I also thought about hiring a car service for the day to drive us around. I know it would be very expensive, but this is a once in a lifetime type trip for us. This is a special 10th birthday trip for my oldest son and I just want to make everything magical.

Ive never done the bus tour as Ive always done a DIY trip into Paris if we've wanted it but my understanding is that you spend a lot of the time on the bus - the journey from DLP into central Paris will probably take a similar amount of time to the train and then you will remain on the same bus going round the sights - getting off occasionally. I would have thought this would be even harder and less fun with young children- at least on a train they can move about more

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

Ive never done the bus tour as Ive always done a DIY trip into Paris if we've wanted it but my understanding is that you spend a lot of the time on the bus - the journey from DLP into central Paris will probably take a similar amount of time to the train and then you will remain on the same bus going round the sights - getting off occasionally. I would have thought this would be even harder and less fun with young children- at least on a train they can move about more

I was wondering about the amount of time spent on the bus. I agree that majority time on a bus would lead to cranky kids. The other downside is not being able to return whenever we wanted. I just keep going back and forth about it.

 

[IsobelJackmummy]

I was wondering about the amount of time spent on the bus. I agree that majority time on a bus would lead to cranky kids. The other downside is not being able to return whenever we wanted. I just keep going back and forth about it.

We did a day in Paris on our last visit, we took our 2 children, aged 9 and 7, on the train. It was very straight forward, and personally I would much rather so this than be constrained to a bus all day! the moblis ticket was very easy to purchase, we purchased it the evening (on our way back to the hotel after a day in the park) before our day trip, so we could just go straight to the platform on the morning of our journey. We went straight to the Eiffel tower, which we had pre-booked, and started our day there. We then got on a hop on/off bus to visit the rest of the sights that we wanted to see, these stop at the Eiffel tower so was no problem finding one. Then got back on the train when we were done. I had looked into which train/metro stations we needed to use, and had an app on my phone which helped us out too. It was all very easy and I would recommend it. It is a much cheaper option than the tour bus, and gave us more money to spend on lunch etc. whilst in Paris. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Ms Poppins]

i was looking into the bus tour because that long on a train with my boys (10, 7, 3 at time of travel) does not sound fun. Do you have an opinion on wheather the bus tour would be a good idea for kids that age? I also thought about hiring a car service for the day to drive us around. I know it would be very expensive, but this is a once in a lifetime type trip for us. This is a special 10th birthday trip for my oldest son and I just want to make everything magical.

I agree that the bus would probably be more restrictive than the train, if you're happy to navigate yourself. I would recommend however that if you want to visit the Eiffel Tower that you pre-book - the queues were really long when we went so I was glad to be part of a tour as we bypassed the normal line and went straight in.

I see that Disney now do a different bus option now that basically drops you off in the centre of Paris and then picks you up again at the end of the day - just in case you might prefer this to the train?

 

[lizabu]

I'm planning my first trip and I found an affordable 2 bedroom villa near Disneyland so we decided to stay near Disneyland and take the RER train into Paris to see the sights. We're planning to get a navigo decouverte pass which costs around 25 eur each and lets you ride the trains and public transportation from Monday to Sunday as much as you want. We plan to see Eiffel Tower, arc de triumph, the Louvre and Versailles and spend two days at Disneyland Paris. We will arrive at CDG airport on a Sunday and will take the TGV train. We will have a kitchen so we will buy a few groceries when we arrive. There's supposed to be a grocery store not too far.

 

[Suziewan]

Does anyone know where we can buy the Navigo pass...is it available at the train station nearest to Disneyland?

 

[A Small World]

Does anyone know where we can buy the Navigo pass...is it available at the train station nearest to Disneyland?

There is a ticket office there so I would imagine you would be able to get them there.

You will need passport size photos and you also have to pay a 5E fee on top of the cost of the pass. Its worth checking if its the best option ticket depending how many days you are using it and what days of the week

http://parisbytrain.com/paris-train-metro-week-pass-navigo-decouverte/

 

[loladelorean]

Over the years I've done loads of 4 night trips - I've stayed at DLP 4nights travelling into the city, stayed in Paris 4 nights travelling to the parks, but my preference and what I've done most often is 2 nights in each place. I much prefer shifting accommodation to spending loads of time on trains - although it is possible to have one base and go by train.
If you're having one base I'd strongly recommend the base being at Disneyland rather than in Paris - I have only once got the train from Disneyland back to Paris last thing at night after a long tiring day in the park and it wasn't a nice experience - it was incredibly crowded and we were exhausted and grumpy! It's also very likely that you'll have to travel to your hotel once you get to Paris by metro, taxi or walking. Whereas going from DLP into Paris for day trips I've always found more relaxing, and your Disney hotel won't be far from the station when you return at night.
Hope this makes sense!

 

[Disney845]

Looking at Thanksgiving weekend.

I was thinking of doing 4 nights or 5 nights total. Just unsure on the hotel thing and sightseeing part.

We traveled over Thanksgiving this past November. Flew out of MIA on Thursday Thanksgiving afternoon and into Orly Friday late morning (very short layover in Lisbon). We took the Magical Shuttle (pay, not free) from Orly to Marne-la-Vallee Chessy station and then took the train from Chessy back one stop to Val d'Europe where our hotel L'Elysee was. We stayed at L'Elysee for 4 nights (doing 3 full park days). On the following Tuesday morning we took the train (with luggage) into Paris where we stayed for 5 nights at the Citadines Tour Eiffel. The train did get very full in the morning presumably with people heading into the city for work. We bought the Navigo Decouverte at the Val d'Europe station (bring picture from home) but you could buy it at Chessy as well. I highly recommend the Navigo if you will use it enough to offset the cost. It was so easy just swiping the pass at the turn styles. While the train travel was remarkably easy, I personally wouldn't want to waste time traveling by keeping the hotel base out by Disney the whole time if you are planning more than 1 day into the city.

 

[LISAMWDW]

In my opinion, there isn't alot there at DP to stay that many days. I would just do a day trip from Paris. Spend your time in Paris and enjoy the parks for one day.

I easily did everything I wanted at both parks, including dinner at Chez Remys', in one day.

 

[elena_n2o]

One comment about weekends in November (particularly end of November), they can be very very very busy in the parks. It's the Christmas season, and that's always the busiest period in DLP. It's nice and quiet during the week, but if you can, avoid the weekend!

 

[blessedmommyX4]

I'm planning my first trip and I found an affordable 2 bedroom villa near Disneyland so we decided to stay near Disneyland and take the RER train into Paris to see the sights. We're planning to get a navigo decouverte pass which costs around 25 eur each and lets you ride the trains and public transportation from Monday to Sunday as much as you want. We plan to see Eiffel Tower, arc de triumph, the Louvre and Versailles and spend two days at Disneyland Paris. We will arrive at CDG airport on a Sunday and will take the TGV train. We will have a kitchen so we will buy a few groceries when we arrive. There's supposed to be a grocery store not too far.

May I ask where you found your villa? I'm looking but am so scared to book much! Thanks