An Aussie going to DLP

[erinstar]

Hi all!

I'm in the process of planning a 5 week trip to Europe which is going to include 2 nights / 3 days at DLP!! We (myself and best friend) will be there 19-21 Sept looking to stay at Sequoia Lodge. I've been doing a bit research with prices and stuff, at the moment, and the best i can find is at Disneylandparis.co.uk. Will there be a problem at check in if I book this, being from Australia? I tried to book last night and it wouldn't let me change my country. Do they send you anything via snail mail, or is it all via email?

Also what are peoples experiences with the meal plans? The deal i've found includes the half board plan free. But i'd be happy to pass on that if there was a better room and tickets only deal to be had.

Thanks everyone for the help!

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Hi all!

I'm in the process of planning a 5 week trip to Europe which is going to include 2 nights / 3 days at DLP!! We (myself and best friend) will be there 19-21 Sept looking to stay at Sequoia Lodge. I've been doing a bit research with prices and stuff, at the moment, and the best i can find is at Disneylandparis.co.uk. Will there be a problem at check in if I book this, being from Australia? I tried to book last night and it wouldn't let me change my country. Do they send you anything via snail mail, or is it all via email?

Also what are peoples experiences with the meal plans? The deal i've found includes the half board plan free. But i'd be happy to pass on that if there was a better room and tickets only deal to be had.

Thanks everyone for the help!

Have you signed up to their email promotions? The one I had recently was 20% off accommodation and tickets

 

[erinstar]

Have you signed up to their email promotions? The one I had recently was 20% off accommodation and tickets

Yes, that is the deal I found, it's only 10% off for 2 night stays but includes half board meal plan. The main thing I am worried about is trying to book via the UK website, it won't let me put in australia, when I do my address. I am worried this will cause issues at check in

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Yes, that is the deal I found, it's only 10% off for 2 night stays but includes half board meal plan. The main thing I am worried about is trying to book via the UK website, it won't let me put in australia, when I do my address. I am worried this will cause issues at check in

The others that have done this will be along shortly but If I remember correctly its easier to call and book on the phone. Aussie Wendy is there now or just I think have a look at her TR.

 

[shushh]

Just quickly, when we booked for last December, we rang the french number and told them that we saw the UK deal but we live in Australia. They honoured that with no questions asked but we had to pay in full in pounds. Hope that helps!

 

[erinstar]

Just quickly, when we booked for last December, we rang the french number and told them that we saw the UK deal but we live in Australia. They honoured that with no questions asked but we had to pay in full in pounds. Hope that helps!

Oh, thanks for that, was trying to avoid having to make the phone call, but perhaps i will have to. A few people on tripadvisor have said they did it online, and just typed in Australia in the space provided for the address and had no problems at all. Not too worried about having to pay in full, i quite like the idea of things being paid upfront.

 

[kahrani]

When I did it last year I had to phone (I'm in NZ) but the guy was very helpful. Nearly stayed at Sequoia Lodge but decided on the art deco one, forgotten it's name now. We had the half board plan but in hindsight shouldn't have bothered - we hadn't made an ADR but luckily managed to get one at last minute, but then discovered the menu for the meal plan was different than the normal ones that we were shown at guest services and we had much more limited options, don't think we really saved any money.

When I was on the phone I also quoted a deal on a different country's site and was able to use it, but it meant I had to pay everything up front to get the deal, which was fine for me. It is definitely worth comparing prices on the UK, French and International DLP sites.

 

[cola]

I've booked online on the UK site, I just put the City as 'Sydney NSW Australia' and left the country as GB, that was for Nov 2011. Nothing was posted out.

The main recommendation I can make is make sure you check all of the other country websites, (down the bottom use the Change your country option)
eg the Belgium currently has 20% off 2 night stays at Sequoia Lodge http://fr.offres.disneylandparis.be/offres-speciales/promotion-sejour-disneylandv2.xhtml

When I stayed it was something like the UK site had 40% off to Sun-Tue, the Irish site had 40% off for stays from the Monday, one of the other country sites had 40% finishing on the Saturday beforehand.

If you can cope with the stress of waiting, I think you should be able to get more than 20% off, unless your dates are school holidays. They seem to increase the discounts if the hotel isn't booked out close to the date, though I've not really watched the September offers closely.

 

[zanzibar138]

First of all, there is a wealth of information on DLP on the DLP forum - it's worth checking out.

From what I've heard, nobody has had problems booking using another country's website, but if you want to be sure, it wouldn't hurt to call. Sequoia Lodge looked awesome, I would have loved to stay there

I haven't heard anything good about the dining plan, but if you're getting it for free there's no harm in taking it. I've heard that it's quite limiting and doesn't actually save you any money - it's more just a way of paying for dining up front. If you can find a better deal without the dining plan I would go for it. Expedia or other third party booking websites sometimes have pretty good deals for room only, but I'm guessing just being there for a couple of nights you will need tickets too.

There's a few of us now who have been to DLP, so if you have any other questions feel free to ask away and I'm sure between us all we'll be able to help

 

[Toy Story]

I am also in the midst of trying to plan a 5 week trip to Europe, with a DLP stay. We will be there in January. How far out will I need to make dining reservations?

 

[zanzibar138]

I am also in the midst of trying to plan a 5 week trip to Europe, with a DLP stay. We will be there in January. How far out will I need to make dining reservations?

As far as I can tell, January is a VERY quiet time for DLP. I'm sure you would be fine if you wanted to wait until you get there. In February I managed to make reservations at Walt's in the morning for lunch that same day, and I think January would even be quieter than that.

I'd also suggest that you have a look at the DLP forum - it's got heaps of information about dining, reservations etc.

Having been in winter myself, be prepared for it to be VERY cold! We were colder in DLP than at the top of mountains in Austria and Switzerland on our trip.

 

[Aussiesonholidays]

We just got back from 5 days in dlp it's suppose to he spring it was 9/10/8/9/7 degrees on the day we there FREEZING. Pack lots of warm clothes for winter
We paid for half hoard and loved it we hit caught out in not booking so defiantly book ( we eventually did this at the hotel) we loved the plan we at huge BFAST and didn't need lunch so used pass for early dinner All we paid for was water and cups if tea in the park

 

[cola]

Yes it is MUCH colder than Paris!!!! Being in the countryside rather than a built up area it gets really cold easily, and windy.

I think most of the on property hotels include breakfast in the base room rate with your tickets. We stayed at the Hotel New York and it was a VERY generous buffet, you could easily have some bread rolls with cheese or meat for later - I saw a few families that literally prepared their lunch from the buffet, one family even had brought a roll of cling wrap!

 

[shushh]

As the other posters have mentioned it will be low season so you can probably book when you get there. We made all our reservations as soon as we arrived.

If you would like peace of mind maybe at most book 1 or 2 weeks before you get there.

 

[Toy Story]

As far as I can tell, January is a VERY quiet time for DLP. I'm sure you would be fine if you wanted to wait until you get there. In February I managed to make reservations at Walt's in the morning for lunch that same day, and I think January would even be quieter than that.

I'd also suggest that you have a look at the DLP forum - it's got heaps of information about dining, reservations etc.

Having been in winter myself, be prepared for it to be VERY cold! We were colder in DLP than at the top of mountains in Austria and Switzerland on our trip.

Thanks for the tip re booking, good to know I don't have to stress about the 180 days out, there seems to be so many parts of the trip to plan, and DLP is only 3 or 4 days out of the trip (see I can't even decide how long to stay there

We just got back from 5 days in dlp it's suppose to he spring it was 9/10/8/9/7 degrees on the day we there FREEZING. Pack lots of warm clothes for winter
We paid for half hoard and loved it we hit caught out in not booking so defiantly book ( we eventually did this at the hotel) we loved the plan we at huge BFAST and didn't need lunch so used pass for early dinner All we paid for was water and cups if tea in the park

Great idea about the big breakfast and using the dining at night - we are not huge eaters so this would work well. Where did you stay?

 

[greenkai3000]

You are going to have so much fun! Disneyland Paris is beautiful! I'm from the US, but thought I'd put my two cents in...

Last year, we made our reservations through the French Disneyland Website and got an awesome deal for 2ppl, of 3 days and 2 nights at the Disneyland Hotel , park tickets, and breakfast included, for about $1200 US. To us that is a good deal. We got a great room with a view of Fantasia Gardens, early entrance to the parks, and OUTstanding service.

Cast members don't care where you book from. Don't let the language difference be a barrier for you either. Google translate is a great tool to use on that French Website.

 

[zanzibar138]

Last year, we made our reservations through the French Disneyland Website and got an awesome deal for 2ppl, of 3 days and 2 nights at the Disneyland Hotel , park tickets, and breakfast included, for about $1200 US. To us that is a good deal.

If you're anything like me you look at this and go so I just wanted to reassure people that you don't have to spend anywhere near this much. (As the PP said, everyone has their own idea of what good value for money is, and I understand that some people are willing and able to spend that much on a few days, and some are not). The Disneyland Hotel is very beautiful and can't be beat for convenience, and that is definitely what you'd be up for if you had your heart set on staying there.

We stayed off site at Hotel L'Elysee (which was really lovely, modern and spacious) for 5 nights - 3 of us for about $600. We got APs off one of those French discount websites for 125 euros each. There was no breakfast included, but we're not really big breakfast eaters anyway, so we just walked across the road to the shops most mornings and grabbed a quick croissant for a couple of euros. The APs also gave us a 10% discount on what park dining what we did do, as well as merchandise

 

[Travel Mum]

I am also in the midst of trying to plan a 5 week trip to Europe, with a DLP stay. We will be there in January. How far out will I need to make dining reservations?

Oh how exciting Toy Story! What's your itinerary? I'm trying to plan an itinerary for our potential Europe trip for Dec 14/Jan 15 and am always keen to see what other people are doing

 

[Toy Story]

You are going to have so much fun! Disneyland Paris is beautiful! I'm from the US, but thought I'd put my two cents in...

Last year, we made our reservations through the French Disneyland Website and got an awesome deal for 2ppl, of 3 days and 2 nights at the Disneyland Hotel , park tickets, and breakfast included, for about $1200 US. To us that is a good deal. We got a great room with a view of Fantasia Gardens, early entrance to the parks, and OUTstanding service.

Cast members don't care where you book from. Don't let the language difference be a barrier for you either. Google translate is a great tool to use on that French Website.

Thanks for the tip about booking through Paris website, I have been looking on the UK site which has some early booking offers. I am at a loss as to what view to request, so now I have a starting point

If you're anything like me you look at this and go so I just wanted to reassure people that you don't have to spend anywhere near this much. (As the PP said, everyone has their own idea of what good value for money is, and I understand that some people are willing and able to spend that much on a few days, and some are not). The Disneyland Hotel is very beautiful and can't be beat for convenience, and that is definitely what you'd be up for if you had your heart set on staying there.

We stayed off site at Hotel L'Elysee (which was really lovely, modern and spacious) for 5 nights - 3 of us for about $600. We got APs off one of those French discount websites for 125 euros each. There was no breakfast included, but we're not really big breakfast eaters anyway, so we just walked across the road to the shops most mornings and grabbed a quick croissant for a couple of euros. The APs also gave us a 10% discount on what park dining what we did do, as well as merchandise

Thanks Zanzibar, I read your trip report and saw how cold it was This part of my trip will be for my DD21st birthday - she originally requested a Cinderella Room, so I think I have come down a bit from that.

Oh how exciting Toy Story! What's your itinerary? I'm trying to plan an itinerary for our potential Europe trip for Dec 14/Jan 15 and am always keen to see what other people are doing

Ah while I have an airfare into Rome, then from Budapest to London and Paris home, my planning is still group of thoughts. I am trying to get a plan sorted in my head. I am not great at trip reports as I try to blog, but I may start a planning thread, even if the trip only includes three days at DLP.

 

[zanzibar138]

Thanks Zanzibar, I read your trip report and saw how cold it was This part of my trip will be for my DD21st birthday - she originally requested a Cinderella Room, so I think I have come down a bit from that.

When I was first planning our DLP stay and saw the prices for the onsite hotels, I freaked out! But for a celebration, it's always worth splashing out a bit I haven't even seen info about a Cinderella Room - I can only imagine how much that would be!

As an idea of what sort of clothes you will need to pack (and possibly buy in our post-winter sales ), at DLP I was wearing heavy thermal tights with polar-fleece lined jeans on top, heavy thermal (long-sleeve of course) top, with light polar fleece jumper, and ski jacket on top. Plus waterproof boots with nice fluffy warm socks, beanie, scarf and gloves. Standing out in the weather waiting for parades etc, I was still slightly cold. Mum feels the cold more than me now and had to buy a coat over there as hers wasn't cutting it! She also wore two pairs of thermal tights under her jeans and was still cold. Maximum temps were around 0 to 2 degrees C for our stay.