a "whole new world" booking DLP

[gibsontrio]

I've been doing some searching on this board for a few hours now and I still feel like a newbie (even though I'm no newbie to WDW) I want to book a vacation to DLP for my family probably in April. My family and I live in Germany at the present time so we will probably drive. Here are a few questions I have..
-Does booking work like it does for WDW (such as codes and deals) or do they give you their best price when you book online?
- We would like to do a few days Disney, but at least a day in Paris, can you book say 3 days and nights with tickets and 2 nights without tickets or is it just cheaper to take the tickets for the remaining 2 nights
- I'm used to booking WDW almost a year in advance, but April prices aren't out on the website yet? Is there some secret to making reservations? Should I be calling or going through a travel agent?
-How many days do you recommend?
Thanks so much Diser's!! I feel the disney excitement in my bones!

 

[Kristina]

We did 4 days back in 2007, and that was enough but I wanted more lol! I can't answer most of your questions as I've only been the once and usually visit WDW but I'd think you could get a room only or some other sort of arrangement, and then buy 3 day tickets or else make two ressies, one package and one for 2 nights following that. I think 5 days worth of tickets is break even for an AP so in that case I'd get one of those instead and enjoy the discounts associated with that, plus then you'd have a great excuse to visit again .
Good luck with your planning, it's fun isn't it!

 

[tennisfan]

I've been doing some searching on this board for a few hours now and I still feel like a newbie (even though I'm no newbie to WDW) I want to book a vacation to DLP for my family probably in April. My family and I live in Germany at the present time so we will probably drive. Here are a few questions I have..
-Does booking work like it does for WDW (such as codes and deals) or do they give you their best price when you book online?

They sometimes have deals such as 25,30% off even more in flash sales

- We would like to do a few days Disney, but at least a day in Paris, can you book say 3 days and nights with tickets and 2 nights without tickets or is it just cheaper to take the tickets for the remaining 2 nights

It depends on whether you stay onsite or not. It may work out cheaper to stay offsite & buy a 3 day hopper.

- I'm used to booking WDW almost a year in advance, but April prices aren't out on the website yet? Is there some secret to making reservations? Should I be calling or going through a travel agent?

Dates are up for April & beyond as I have priced up recently. Shop around, usually the best deals are booked direct with Disney.

-How many days do you recommend?

Depends on when you are looking, outside of school holiday then 3-4 days for Disney. During busier times probably 5 days to enable you to take it all in.

Thanks so much Diser's!! I feel the disney excitement in my bones!

Hope that helps

 

[thepreciouspea]

Hi, I'm an American in Germany also. We just went last week. I booked through the UK website at the end of Sept because they had a 40% off deal for certain arrival dates. If you choose to book through another countries website ,because they have better deals, then you just leave the country as is when entering your address. It's not a big deal because they e-mail your confirmation number.

We booked about 2 months before our trip and I think the closer the date gets they run specials. Also the day you arrive determines the cost per night, so arriving on a Monday is less expensive than arriving on a Saturday. There is a chart in the downloadable brochure on the site.

For our trip it was less expensive to stay onsite than off site. We paid $604 USD for 3 nights at the Sequioa lodge and 4 days of park tickets. I'm going to start on my trip report soon if you want to check it out.

If I can help with anything else just ask. I'm not an expert at all but we just went so it's all still fresh in my mind.

As far as how long to stay it depends on what you want to do. We spent 3 days in the parks and I didn't think it was enough time. We were all really tired by around 3 p.m. and my 4 yo was having meltdowns. We didn't get to see/do everything that we wanted. So I would suggest at least 4 days in DLP, and 2-3 days for Paris (that is if you want to see more than just the outside of buildings, etc.)

We drove, because it is nicer for us with little ones, and less expensive than the train. The drive is really easy, but the tolls are around 30 euro each way.

 

[gibsontrio]

Thanks so much ! I see that I CAN book now through the UK site for the week of April 10th-15th , but not other countries, is there a reason for that? They wont let me book through the US site yet, do they wait till the last minute for that? You would think those in the states would have to book earlier since they have to reserve flights? I think we want to stay 3-4 days then tour Paris so I'll have to check out your trip report thepreciouspea!

 

[tennisfan]

Thanks so much ! I see that I CAN book now through the UK site for the week of April 10th-15th , but not other countries, is there a reason for that? They wont let me book through the US site yet, do they wait till the last minute for that? You would think those in the states would have to book earlier since they have to reserve flights? I think we want to stay 3-4 days then tour Paris so I'll have to check out your trip report thepreciouspea!

I thought that once the dates are released for one country it is for all of them so not sure why they are on the US site.

 

[gibsontrio]

I have tried to book through the Germany website as well and only the UK will give me April dates? Only the UK site allows for booking? Weird?

 

[Jonjo]

I have tried to book through the Germany website as well and only the UK will give me April dates? Only the UK site allows for booking? Weird?

DLP have only released the Pound Sterling prices so far for 2012.

If their finance department works like ours they have probably not relased their Euro prices yet due to the present Euro currency crisis. I was chatting to one of the guys in our finance depatment last week and and his comment was "We don't know if there will still be a Euro after Christmas..."

 

[gibsontrio]

DLP have only released the Pound Sterling prices so far for 2012.

If their finance department works like ours they have probably not relased their Euro prices yet due to the present Euro currency crisis. I was chatting to one of the guys in our finance depatment last week and and his comment was "We don't know if there will still be a Euro after Christmas..."

Would that be why they haven't released the dollar prices as well?

 

[tennisfan]

Would that be why they haven't released the dollar prices as well?

Might be. I know the UK prices used to be converted from € to £'s but I think they were going to price it straight to £'s as there are many UK visitors. They may well still get the $ price from converting & therefore be holding off releasing the prices till they know what is happening

 

[Michael623]

The last time I booked I used the UK site because the prices were dramatically lower (hundreds of dollars). Every time I've priced a package since then the UK site is cheaper. Americans aren't targeted by DLP (for what I consider obvious reasons) so there are rarely sweet deals on the American site. The UK site however, almost always has some sort of promotional special running. As others have said, just fill in your address and leave the country as UK. You don't actually get anything in the mail, everything is emailed.

I would say you go commando you could get everything done in 3 days or even 2.5, but if you like to take it all in at a more leisurely pace 4 days is fine. Really any more than that is overkill (in my opinion).

If you can catch a sale it is often as cheap or cheaper to stay on-site especially if you opt for Santa Fe or Cheyenne. In my experience, yes it does get cheaper closer to your dates as management is trying to fill rooms. Obviously there is some risk in waiting for a deal especially if you're planning to visit on or around Easter.

 

[tfc3rid]

I'm actually heading over for a PAris-Londron trip and am trying to book at DLP using my DVC Points for 2 nights and still am not allowed to book for this coming May... Stinks because as someone coming from the US, I need a lead time to make my other reservations... Crazy...

But I'm guessing it is because they don't target American tourists...

 

[Michael623]

I'm actually heading over for a PAris-Londron trip and am trying to book at DLP using my DVC Points for 2 nights and still am not allowed to book for this coming May... Stinks because as someone coming from the US, I need a lead time to make my other reservations... Crazy...

But I'm guessing it is because they don't target American tourists...

Keep in mind that the point values are very high for DLP, plus you have to buy length of stay passes and you have to pay the $95 fee. Make sure you factor all of that in before you pull the trigger. I've been to DLP twice since buying into DVC and didn't consider using points for a second. The packages turned out to be a much better value.

 

[kganous]

Hi we go at least three times each year so we're an annual pass family. We hardly ever stay on site. With the Dream annual passes we have discounts and early magic hours. We can always find nicer hotels much cheaper than on site. We usually drive but have taken the train twice. If your driving I would look at hotels off site and just buy hopper tickets or go for the annual passes. You will have fun no matter what you decide.

 

[MinnieVanMom]

Where is a good place off site to stay? Clean but cheap.

 

[chmurf]

Where is a good place off site to stay? Clean but cheap.

cheapest of cheap you'll find the etap hotel or ibis in montevrain, the hotel is just meters away from the RER station (1 station to DLP)
It's the most basic hotel. Clean but don't expect fancy stuff.
here's the tripadvisor page for some photos and reviews http://www.tripadvisor.fr/Hotel_Rev...-Montevrain_Seine_et_Marne_Ile_de_France.html
this is basically what you'll get in the cheapest range of prices. (around £50 per room and per night - breakfast is around £3.5)
parking is 8 euro per 24h (underground guarded parking)

of course this is far from glamorous, but for those who really are on a budget ... and as DW always tells me : "we're only in the room to sleep, so who cares about big flat TV and fancy bubble bath"

 

[zavandor]

One of the feature I love about DLP is that all the resort is magical.
In Paris also the Value Hotel have great decor: i slept in every hotel (except Disneyland Hotel) and I think the best (for the decor) is Cheyenne. And you can walk from each Hotel to the parks, while shopping in Disney Village (or if you are very tired you can take a Bus, but you save this way only a few minutes).

I found this very different in WDW, where in a Value Hotel I felt almost as if I was off property.
Sleeping outside of the resort you can save a lot, but if you don't mind the difference, try a value hotel, you'll enjoy you vacation much more!