Very overwhelmed, please help

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Hello everyone

My BF and I are looking into planning a trip to France with a few days at DL.

I've been trying to look stuff up on the internet, but I am just confusing myself.

My main questions:

When is a good time to go? Is there a time in the fall or spring when there are less crowds?

Also is there a particular time it is good to go when its cheaper or there are good deals on hotels? I think I read online that there are great deals but most of them are aimed at people in the UK, and we live in Ohio (US).

I'm just feeling really overwhelmed with how to start planning for this trip.

Any help or tips are very appreciated. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions once we get the time and place settled.

 

[kizzabel]

Ok so Spring had the Swing into Spring festival which starts in March and runs until May I think and it is lovely. The weather is quite good generally and March is quite a cheap time to visit. September is also good as regards lower crowds. Or October (early in the month) is quiet plus all the Halloween decorations are up and the Villains out for meet and greets. I've found October to be reasonably priced too and have had good weather on both October trips.

You need to not book using the US site but instead look at the .fr (French) .co.uk (UK) or .ie (Irish) sites and compare the prices you see. You can use any country's site to book as all of the booking is completed online so when filling in your details just leave the country as it is (be it France, Ireland or the UK). It is all above board and most of us DLP regulars use other country's sites to benefit from different offers to our home sites. You do have to pay in full at time of booking but it is almost always a much better offer than what the US site has on (unfair I know). The Belgian site often has good deals also.

Also DLP is considerably smaller than WDW and the furthest onsite hotel is approx 15/20 minutes walk but there are also shuttle buses. Have you decided on how many nights you want to stay? There is currently a 2+2 nights free offer on so you can stay 4 nights for the price of 2! Bargain!

Your hotel prices onsite include a buffet breakfast (continental - so cereals, bread, the option to make toast, pastries, cheese, yoghurts and meats) with the two most expensive options, Hotel New York and the Disneyland Hotel also offering hot items.
Your booking also automatically includes your tickets for your length of stay.

I would suggest a park tour - it is €15 each, last two hours and you get a special pin to keep. It is beautiful seeing all the thought and imagination that went into making the park so fabulous. You can book at City Hall on arrival or via telephone before you arrive.

Hope this helps! Please feel free to ask anything and everything else you think of or need to know, we are a friendly bunch

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Thank you so much for the quick response!

That was so unbelievably helpful to me, you have no idea . I can't believe they are doing a buy 2 get 2 free! Do you know what the latest trip date to use that discount is?

I just realized I have a few more questions. When does it really become spring in France? Like when do the flowers start to bloom. We were thinking March might be a good month, like you recommended, but will it still be winter then?

Also I remember reading somewhere that one of the DLP hotel's have rooms that are themed? Is this true?

 

[Ms Poppins]

Kizzy has given you some great booking advice

The flowers are always in bloom at DLP If you look at the trip reports section, and look for some from this March it will give you an idea of what the weather and park were like. I've found this one from early April from DLPdaft

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3270138

All the hotels are differently themed so the room you get will be based on that theme: in price order lowest to highest:

Santa fe - Cars themed
Cheyenne - Cowboy themed
Sequoia Lodge - recently refurbished with Bambi theme in the rooms
Newport Bay Club - Nautical theme, some of hotel is still being refurbished
Hotel New York - New York theme
Disneyland Hotel - aka the pink palace - at the entrance to the park and gorgeous inside

I'd suggest taking some time to look at the main disneylandparis.co.uk website and look at the hotel room and figure out your budget. You can also get amazing information from this website:

http://www.dlpguide.com/

We also have loads of sticky threads on this the dis with hotel reviews, restaurant reviews etc. Any questions, please just ask

 

[kizzabel]

Thank you so much for the quick response!

That was so unbelievably helpful to me, you have no idea . I can't believe they are doing a buy 2 get 2 free! Do you know what the latest trip date to use that discount is?

I just realized I have a few more questions. When does it really become spring in France? Like when do the flowers start to bloom. We were thinking March might be a good month, like you recommended, but will it still be winter then?

Also I remember reading somewhere that one of the DLP hotel's have rooms that are themed? Is this true?

On the .co.UK site the dates are up to early 2016. I'm booking for January 16 next week! We have had good weather in March with some rain but not terribly cold! It was -14°C in January 2013 and not unbearable either! More rides would be open in March as opposed to January or February and once you avoid easter and school holidays the parks are lovely. There's a link to a website that hives school holidays in the useful info sticky (sorry, can't link as I'm on my phone). Avoid UK and French school holiday times.

Swing into Spring is beautiful. The atmosphere is fantastic and unique to DLP I think. I second Julies suggestion - definitely look at the TRs

As regards hotels - all fab except perhaps the Cheyenne's rooms which are starting to show their ages (the outdoor and public area theming are fantastic though)

You can also ring the UK or France to book your stay and pay a deposit of 15% and a small booking fee with the balance due 30 or 60 days beforehand. You need to stress you want to use a different country's offer then your own US one.

 

[frozengirl82]

Quick question if booking from ireland is the balance still due 60 days out??

 

[petals]

Hello everyone

My BF and I are looking into planning a trip to France with a few days at DL.

I've been trying to look stuff up on the internet, but I am just confusing myself.

My main questions:

When is a good time to go? Is there a time in the fall or spring when there are less crowds?

Also is there a particular time it is good to go when its cheaper or there are good deals on hotels? I think I read online that there are great deals but most of them are aimed at people in the UK, and we live in Ohio (US).

I'm just feeling really overwhelmed with how to start planning for this trip.

Any help or tips are very appreciated. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions once we get the time and place settled.

I think decide what you would like to see eg: Halloween, Christmas, Spring etc and never mind the crowds. Paris is like Disneyland Anaheim as in it's small enough that if you have 3 or 4 days there you'll get everything done that you want and possibly get back to some things more than once.

I would also look at the good neighbour hotels because they are cheaper and all have free shuttle and are not far from the parks anyway. We stayed in the Kyriad the last time we were there and it was clean, good breakfast and the buses to the parks were on time and every 20 minutes.

 

[HFJohnson]

As mentioned above, I would start by deciding which season you would like to see. Then google school holiday dates for France, the UK, and also Spain and Belgium, plus French public holidays. Pick a date that avoids these and also weekends.

Then think about your budget. Having stayed both onsite and offsite, I would always go for onsite if I could afford it as I don't like having to leave the Disney bubble at the end of the day! My personal favourite is the Sequoia Lodge but I love the Cheyenne too. Use the official Disney site (US, UK or other) and play around with different dates. The 4 nights for 2 is a great deal and gives you the perfect length of time there - plenty of time to see everything without having to rush around.

 

[kizzabel]

Quick question if booking from ireland is the balance still due 60 days out??

I think it's 30 days. I wasn't 100% sure but I just looked at some emails and it was 30 days before arrival

 

[frozengirl82]

Thats great thank you for checking : )

 

[kizzabel]

Thats great thank you for checking : )

No worries

 

[tinkerpea]

Just seen this and have a quick question,I'm.already paying for a disney world trip right now for next yr,
But really want to book disney Paris for next September/October can i get the deal of 2+2 and pay the 15% deposit only? And how do I do this,where do I call?
I've only done dlp once and that 9 yrs ago! I normally do DW...
Thanks

 

[princessjodiebo]

You can book and pay a deposit over the phone woth disney - think there is a fee as well although that may only be when using a credit card - we have done it that way before as it helps us to budget then we buy eurostar separately

 

[Roon]

You will have a great time. Can you tell me a bit more about the tour and the pin. Is it a walking tour or transported. Many thanks

 

[Jonjo]

There are three tours available at Disneyland Paris, the Disneyland Parc tour is a two hour walking tour of the park which starts at City Hall. It covers all the lands and Main Street USA and is a great way to learn about the park, it's history and design. If your lucky you might see back stage of one of the attractions in the park.

There is also a walking tour available of the Walt Disney Studios which takes around an hour and a half and you can book this one at Studio Services this one starts a 3pm. Finally there is a tour of the Tower of Terror, this one is held on Saturdays and Wednesdays at 9:10 am and is in French only.

You also receive a special Trading Pin after the tour.

To book the tours go the day to City Hall or Studio Services or contact the V.I.P Relations team on +33 1 64 74 21 26 or email dlp.relations.vip@disney.com

 

[bobbiwoz]

Ok so Spring had the Swing into Spring festival which starts in March and runs until May I think and it is lovely. The weather is quite good generally and March is quite a cheap time to visit. September is also good as regards lower crowds. Or October (early in the month) is quiet plus all the Halloween decorations are up and the Villains out for meet and greets. I've found October to be reasonably priced too and have had good weather on both October trips.

You need to not book using the US site but instead look at the .fr (French) .co.uk (UK) or .ie (Irish) sites and compare the prices you see. You can use any country's site to book as all of the booking is completed online so when filling in your details just leave the country as it is (be it France, Ireland or the UK). It is all above board and most of us DLP regulars use other country's sites to benefit from different offers to our home sites. You do have to pay in full at time of booking but it is almost always a much better offer than what the US site has on (unfair I know). The Belgian site often has good deals also.

Also DLP is considerably smaller than WDW and the furthest onsite hotel is approx 15/20 minutes walk but there are also shuttle buses. Have you decided on how many nights you want to stay? There is currently a 2+2 nights free offer on so you can stay 4 nights for the price of 2! Bargain!

Your hotel prices onsite include a buffet breakfast (continental - so cereals, bread, the option to make toast, pastries, cheese, yoghurts and meats) with the two most expensive options, Hotel New York and the Disneyland Hotel also offering hot items.
Your booking also automatically includes your tickets for your length of stay.

I would suggest a park tour - it is €15 each, last two hours and you get a special pin to keep. It is beautiful seeing all the thought and imagination that went into making the park so fabulous. You can book at City Hall on arrival or via telephone before you arrive.

Hope this helps! Please feel free to ask anything and everything else you think of or need to know, we are a friendly bunch

By paying on line, what about currency? Does that come into play at all if you are American and book from another country's site?

Bobbi

 

[DLPdaft]

By paying on line, what about currency? Does that come into play at all if you are American and book from another country's site?

Bobbi

only from your card company - you will be charged by them whatever foreign transaction fees they charge.

 

[bobbiwoz]

only from your card company - you will be charged by them whatever foreign transaction fees they charge.

Ok...I understand.