Anyone been in the May half term? And also a petrol cost question... sorry!!

[hollymattbenmilo]

Ok, I know i am asking alot of rather boring questions, but its raining and i am trying to sort out 2010 in my head!!

May half term.. anyone been? how busy compared to say october half term or easter?

And for those who drive miles...

we would be driving

325 miles from here to tunnel
then 148miles to campsite (which is hour from disney)

petrol there... wondering around

same back..

I guestimated.. £300 petrol... is this about right?

 

[britchic4]

We went May half term this yr and yes it was busy, lots of Brits, but it was perfectly manageable. I expect October half term to be busier.
Sorry can't help with the petrol, am useless at that stuff!

 

[hollymattbenmilo]

haha thank you

 

[mummybear]

We go from Merseyside to Disney, via the Eurotunnel, in a 2litre diesel Zafira. Our last couple of return journeys, including a small amount of running around at Disney, cost us £140. All in all, it is roughly 1100 miles for us.

Also take into account you need to pay on the Toll Roads. Think this cost us about 44Euros return

 

[julesandlew]

Hiya just new on here but wanted to let you no that we drove to disneyland paris last november from newcastle upon tyne and it cost us about £170.00 for petrol or there abouts. One tank (about £60) got us down to folkestone, we put another £60 in at folkestone which took us to disney paris and got us back to calais. we filled up again at folkestone for returning home. Petrol is a little more expensive now though. Where are you travelling from

 

[pigby]

We have been both May half term and October half term and October was definitely busier - our stay included the 31st of October - the Halloween party and that was so busy you could hardly move.

 

[eeyorefanuk]

Hello, we went the may half term and we were pleasantly surprised (except for weekends which was mad but you expect that).

I do not think the french children were on holiday that week.

The only ride we had to wait yonks for was crush.

Would def go that time of year again

 

[DLPdaft]

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[hollymattbenmilo]

ohhhhhhhhhh...thank you everyone! just what i wanted to hear! yippee

 

[PJackson]

Holly

Are you already going in Feb? I can't remember? If not then Feb half term may be a good one (although v cold!). I say that because the French are not off and also that half term is staggered throughout the UK so you'll have a lot of UK children not off as well??

Just a thought!

 

[hollymattbenmilo]

hehe, yes! I am being a bit naughty and taking ben off school for a few days the week before half term.. as was much cheaper! And we are getting ap's... so we are trying to do another cheapish holiday with the kids and include some visits around france also.. so thats why we thought of may, as i went over all summer hols and everything shoots up in france...

so....

spring tends to me much warmer and dryer then summer at the moment anyway

 

[PJackson]

Do you know, I think I knew you were going in Feb anyway - just forgot!!

I don't blame you taking advantage of a good offer in Feb!

Looks like May might be the answer then - yeah!

 

[hollymattbenmilo]

i do hope so, but i also fancy halloween....
but i cant take ben out of school anymore, he missed too much this year developing epilepsy.... so i really have to stick to the hols!

 

[PJackson]

My DD2 starts school this September and I am loathe to take her out of school tbh - everyone is different though and once she is actually there I might feel differently if others are doing it and once I find out what she is doing etc. Also, she has milk and soya allergies and an irritable tummy which means every so often she gets an upset stomach which = time off school so we'll also have to see what her attendance is like.

Her school has a teacher training day on Friday 27th November so my little brain is already ticking at a long weekend then to see the Christmas festivities - I'd love to see them. Was thinking of taking her out late Thursday and then flying back on the Monday so she would only miss 1.5 days of school. However, I'm thinking it will be very busy then with it being a weekend! Plus not sure we can afford it with Christmas and the fact this next trip is costing so much

 

[hollymattbenmilo]

i think now and again it does no harm.. esp in rec/ y1 before they start their sats.
wow i bet your a bit nervous about sep then!! i was a wreck! haha
how come your next one is costing so much? just costs mounding up?

 

[davewasbaloo]

I would say for any Brits going and stuck with the school holidays, May is the absolute best time to go. There is little refurb going on typically in may, the weather is nicer, and the UK are the only schools on holiday. It is busyier than term time, but it is the quietest of the holiday periods.

October half term is a nightmare. Although I love Halloween and the Halloween party, almost every school in Europe is off that week, and the place is rammed with often 2 - 3 hour waits at peak times (Never again, though as the kids get older, we may be tempted to go for the Halloween Party only).

Christmas and Easter are crazy busy too.

Feb Half term is ok, but often freezing (and we have been so many times now, we find it too unpleasant to be out in the cold - sometimes you might get luck and it is not too bad, and snow is pretty, but too many people know about the arcades now ;-) Also, about 40% of European schools are off, and typically it is one of the cheaper times, so it can be quite busy.

Overall, May is good. And unless we can swap our Paris villa for Spain, we will be there again next year too!

We went this May half term, and the worst wait was Crush at 70 minutes, and Autopia at 50, but most things we were on within 5 -20 minutes (including doing ToT and RNRC within a 10 minute period).

 

[hollymattbenmilo]

oh thanks for that! sounds like may is good then!!! i am now thinking of maybe doing 2/3 nights in explorers then maybe other nights at a campsite, so we get proper disney experience!

 

[davewasbaloo]

Oh, as for fuel cost, I would say if you budget 20-25p a mile and allow about £40 for road tolls, you will come out on top.

 

[hollymattbenmilo]

thanks for that. You say you often stay offsite... we dont mind being up to half hour ish away.. where would you recommend thats cheap for maybe 5 nights in may?
We found a great deal at a campsite.. for £156 for the week, but its jumped over night to £440... i rang but they wont do anything to help.. haha.. so looking elsewhere now!

 

[davewasbaloo]

Hmmmm, we don't often go for price, but value really.

I would say if you are watching pennies, but I think the Ibis in Serris is fine, or the Kyriad near the dreamcastle. Many people stay in Torcy too. Also the Apparthotel is ok.

We tend to stay either at the Holiday Inn as was, the Radisson SAS or the Marriott Vacation Club, these are not cheap places, but I feel you get far more value for money.

I do not camp however, and I would also say, expecting a room to be under £60 a night is unrealistic (though if you are 3 people or less, ETaps are fine and cheap) Formula1 are even cheaper, but you share a bathroom.

Please bear in mind I am a hotel snob though, as I have probably spent at least 1-2 nights a week in a hotel for the last 13 years. I find the Disney hotels woefully inadequate for their price point compared to what they used to offer, or compared to what Disneyland and WDW offer. Hence why we also stay off site (we sometimes stay at the Holiday Inn near Charles de Gaul, but that is because it is a 4* and I often stay free on points).