Hello ! New person here....

[michc]

Hi all,

I have just found this site almost by accident - thank god I have as oh my god you guys have so much knowledge !!

Quick intro, hubby and I are taking our 5 yr old son(he has aspergers) to Eurodisney for first time next April. Going Eurostar and we have booked 4 nts and are staying in main Seqoia Lodge building.

Have booked through travel agent but think she booked disney direct and train sep - just didn't have time to research myself and wanted to get free child offer.

To be honest I am quite scared of how it willbe as ds has quite a few sensory problems amongst other things but he LOVES Mickey & Winnie (and everything else really ha ha).

I will have a ton of questions I'm sure but first:

Travelling with a special needs child - what can/should I book in advance and do you have any experiences or tips to share. We sometimes need a buggy but don't really want to have to take one - whats the chances of hiring one ?

Also my French is not good - will we understand all the signs etc or is everything translated ? I am not ignorant and willattempt French just don't think they would have a clue what I am asking.....

Also,reading allyr info I am starting to panic on what rides, characer breakfasts, early morning entry and breakfast, lpasses and in general just how to get the best out of our stay (although ds dictates a lot of what and how we do things) Just don't want to miss anything as this has cost a lot and we may not be going back for a while.

Finally (for now) can anyone give me an idea of how much we are likely to spend or is this a really sad/mad question !

If you are still reading -thanks x

I look forward to chatting loads more soon.

I AM SO EXCITED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michelle

 

[margaret2]

hello and welcome to the dis, soon all your questions will be answered by the many friendy people here who are willing to help you. i am sure you will understand everything that is said as english is also used by the cast members and most of the tourist too make sure you take along a doctors letter about your son and you will be given a guest assistance card to help you and your family in the parks, as for spending money i cant advise as i am a spend aholic when i am at disney
just go and have a great time, and i can vouch for the sequioa lodge its realy a nice hotel
have fun and welcome
margy

 

[Happy Tappy]

Hi all,

I have just found this site almost by accident - thank god I have as oh my god you guys have so much knowledge !!

Quick intro, hubby and I are taking our 5 yr old son(he has aspergers) to Eurodisney for first time next April. Going Eurostar and we have booked 4 nts and are staying in main Seqoia Lodge building. Good choice!, it's an excellent hotel, I'm sure your son will love it.

Have booked through travel agent but think she booked disney direct and train sep - just didn't have time to research myself and wanted to get free child offer.

To be honest I am quite scared of how it willbe as ds has quite a few sensory problems amongst other things but he LOVES Mickey & Winnie (and everything else really ha ha).

I will have a ton of questions I'm sure but first:

Travelling with a special needs child - what can/should I book in advance and do you have any experiences or tips to share. We sometimes need a buggy but don't really want to have to take one - whats the chances of hiring one ? Buggy's are available to rent. I'm not sure how much they cost.

Also my French is not good - will we understand all the signs etc or is everything translated ? I am not ignorant and willattempt French just don't think they would have a clue what I am asking..... Most of the staff speak very good English, especially all the food service staff. Most signs are in both English and French. I can't speak a word of French and have never had the slightest problem. A good % of the park guests are English

Also,reading allyr info I am starting to panic on what rides, characer breakfasts, early morning entry and breakfast, lpasses and in general just how to get the best out of our stay (although ds dictates a lot of what and how we do things) Just don't want to miss anything as this has cost a lot and we may not be going back for a while. Don't worry, with 4 days you should get most things done no problem. Just take your time and take in all there is on offer. If you want a charecter meal try Cafe Mickey at lunchtime one day. It's normally quiet at lunch so your son will get more time with the charecters.

Finally (for now) can anyone give me an idea of how much we are likely to spend or is this a really sad/mad question ! That's a really hard question to answer. if you go to www.dlpfoodguide.com you can see how much food costs in each restaurant. To save money make sure you have a big breakfast. Some people sneak Croissants from breakfast into a bag to take to the park for a snack! I normally budget £50 a day per adult (I don't travel with children) for everything (food, drinks, gifts etc...) and always have plenty.

If you are still reading -thanks x

I look forward to chatting loads more soon.

I AM SO EXCITED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michelle

See above!

 

[Cyrano]

Hi Michelle and welcome to DLP DIS board
We are a friendly bunch here so please join in on any other thread or if you have a number of questions then just start a new thread for each

If you have not had a look yet, DLP posting rules are here, DIS posting guidelines can be found here.

Glad you have found us. I am sure you will have a lovely time but some research will make it even better.

Buggies can be hired for €6.50 daily. It is late but I'll look out the info for special needs as with a doctors letter you'll find Disneyland Paris accomodating to ensure your family have the most magical of times

 

[LoobyLoo33]

Hi Michelle and welcome, lovely to speak to you

With regards to the buggies they are fine but they do not recline, so if your son is like to get tired from all the excitement i would take your own if you can.

As Happy Tappy said you will have no problem with the language barrier, i dont speak a word a french and never had a problem.

We budget for about £40 per day per adult, for food and drink, this doesnt include spending money though. For the lunch for our son we tend to take food from the breakfast hall they have rolls cheese ham yoghurts etc. It just gives them a break from chips.

Hope this helps
Lisa

 

[tripodjw]

If it's any help some prices i can remember from last weekend - you can get a snack type meal : Large Hotdog, chips and coke for 10-12 euro (about £7-8).

Snacks such as muffins, cookies are about 2 euro each (£1.50 ish)

And drinks - coffee/tea/hot chocolate are also about 2 Euro and 500ml bottles of coke 2 Euro 60 (about £1.80)

Buffet meals range from 20-30Euro (£15-20) some include a drink some don't. The 30 Euro end is a character buffet.

There are discounts for kids meals but i wouldn't know as i go adults-only.

Proper meals vary but can be expensive (Walt's, Blue lagoon).

Don't forget you can eat in your hotel or any of the other hotels. I found dinner at the Santa fe quite reasonable value a couple of yrs ago and was quiet (which i hadn't expected considering how busy the hotel is generally).

 

[tripodjw]

Oh and always estimate on the large side for souvenirs/gifts. I'm a regular visitor and will always spend at least £50 on souvenirs in one weekend (cd's, ornaments, xmas decorations, cuddly toys, etc).

Save up plenty in anticipation - It'll save tears if you or your son spot something they really must have but you're already over-budget. And if you don't spend what you save, then it can go towards your next trip - i guarantee you'll want to go back!

 

[the_princess]

Hi and welcome to DIS....

 

[A Small World]

Hi and Welcome to Dis.
I too found the site earlier this year and am now addicted.

As already said get a letter from your doctor about your son. Take this to City Hall and it should enable you to get a disability pass (or whatever they are called). This will enable you to avoid the queues at some rides as you may find these are a problem for your son if he needs to stand and queue for a long time. Each ride is different- some you enter through the exit, some have a special entrance you just need to show the pass to CM at each ride.

I would also advise you allow your son to look at some of the characters from a distance first- they are very large some of them and can be frightening for children. However they are usually very sensitve to the moods of children and will judge how much contact/sillyness etc each child can take.

There are often large queues or scrums to meet the characters which may be a problem - in this case it would be worth booking a character meal (Cafe Mickey, Lucky Nugget, Plaza Gardens Tea party) as this will give him chance to meet the characters in a more controlled atmosphere.

When are you going in April? A lot of French schools seem to have a holiday in April as opposed to at Easter and quite a few people on here in UK seem to have the same so it may be quite busy. Look at the FAQ thread at the top for list of holidays. Dont worry if it is busy though there is loads to do and even spending time in the hotels will be fun. Characters make an appearance in hotel lobbys during the day so again its a way of meeting without crowds. You can visit the characters in any hotel even if you are not staying there- DD had a brill time dancing with Mickey in New York Hotel this summer and we were just passing through.

As you are staying at an onsite hotel you will be entitled to EMH (Im sure they will continue into April at least)- this will mean on certain days you can get into the park 2 hours early. Its really worth getting up for- we got loads of rides done when it was quieter. You could then return to your hotel for a late breakfast to avoid the crowds there as well.

You'll have loads of fun and will def want to return.

 

[Bexx]

Welcome to the DIS Michelle

Also,reading allyr info I am starting to panic on what rides, characer breakfasts, early morning entry and breakfast, lpasses and in general just how to get the best out of our stay (although ds dictates a lot of what and how we do things) Just don't want to miss anything as this has cost a lot and we may not be going back for a while.

With help from everyone here, doing some planning now will mean you have a great time when you go. Rest assured, it really isn't too difficult to make the most of a trip to DLP - that's one of the reasons I love it!

 

[michc]

Thank you so much for all your hello's and words of wisdom.

Hope everyone has a great weekend !

Michelle

 

[**TINKS**]

Welcome Michelle,

bet you cannot wait ... our youngest has a disability and special needs ( shes 2 ) so cannot really answer all your questions sorry as this will be the first tricky year flying and travelling abroad for us ... oh what fun lol ... but last year the hotel where great and the airline where good aswell.

I have found though that with flying you now need doctors letters for thing etc but all pretty simple. We take our own pushchair but as someone said above you can hire them.

Time will fly by and you will be there before you know it ...

 

[milomummy]

With regards to spending money, I think you're quite lucky to be going with a boy! We went back in September and our ds who is almost 4 didn't really hassle us for anything, I know if he was a girl he'd have wanted everything in sight!
We actually came back with money, it was our first trip and we had no idea of how much we'd need so figured it would be better to take more and not need it.
One thing that helped us budget slightly better was pre booking a couple of things through the travel agent, like Buffalo Bill's and a Character meal at Cafe Mickey. I really wish we had booked Cafe Mickey's for our first night and not our last as it would have saved a lot of hassle and stress in the 'queues' to meet chracters. I also wish we had booked a breakfast there too as when we walked past in the mornings we saw different characters than were there in the evenings.
I have cared for a little boy with Aspergers so understand your concerns regarding sensory things. I think you're just going to have to pace yourself and not really plan too much, see what he likes. There are a couple of play areas where you can let him have a run around. Things like Casey Jnr train are nice, as there's not too much going on, it's just a little train ride. Same for the actual train ride round the station. Also, Dumbo, the carousel, maybe the teacups....I think It's a small world could be either a massive hit or a massive miss....there's a lot to look at and loads going on in the ride and it might unnerve him by being 'too busy'.
Rides like Pinocchio, Snow White, Peter Pan etc, I would advise you to go on alone first and see what you think. My ds hated them, they were dark and he was afraid. As you know your son better than anyone, you will know if it is suited to him or not.
I hope you have a lovely time!