Booking Durodisney hotel/park package from Australia

[shaz88]

Hi

Can anyone please tell me how I can book from Australia online. I have tried on disneydirect but it states that it can only accept payments from UK + Europe.

When trying to book through disneylandparis.com they only offer the family room or classic room at Disneyland Hotel. I wish to book the castle club rooms.

Thankyou

 

[shaz88]

Hi RIchard

Can you please help me. I am trying to book for 3nights in 2 castle club rooms some time in January. I am in Australia and I have attempted to book online with disney direct but they say they cannot process the booking unless we are residents of UK or Europe. I have also tried to book online with Disneylandparis.com but they do not show the castle club options.

Can you please let me know if there are alternative online booking sites available to me.

Cheers

 

[Ware Bears]

Hi shaz88 to the Disneyland Paris Trip Planning & Community Board.

Becky, Elaine and I are hoping you'll have lots of fun on here please join in with any thread or if you have any questions please start a new one of your own.

If you haven't had a look yet, the DLP DISboard posting rules are here and the DIS posting guidelines can be found here.

I've moved both your posts into a new thread as they've more chance of being seen here (Richard hasn't been an active member for a very long time).

I'm afraid that you do have to phone to book Castle Club. The telephone number is (0) 1 60 30 60 53 (you'll need to add on the prefix for phoning from Australia) which is straight through to the park and the CMs do speak English.

If you're concerned about the expense see if you can dial a low cost number first to minimise the cost of the call, my brother-in-law in Australia does this when he phones us. The only other alternative is to instruct a travel agent in Australia to do the booking on your behalf.

The benefit of booking by phone as opposed to online is that you only have to pay 15% deposit whereas if booking online (with Disney) you do have to pay in full.

 

[Porsche44]

Hi I am also an Australian planning a trip to Disneyland Paris and I had the same question a while back. It would appear we are unable to book online and that you actually need to phone them, a real pain in the butt when you have to factor in time differences. The other alternative is to use an Expert Disney Travel Agent, a rare find in Australia. I have ended up contacting one located in the USA but I'm still undecided if I will book through them or just suck it up and ring Disneyland Paris direct. The agent in the US said they were not experts in booking Paris and really couldn't offer me a lot of help or advice thats why I think I will just go ahead and book it via phone. Sorry that I don't have any better advice for you. Gotta say that Disney in the states is much better organised and much easier to book and find information on, it seems we are not important enough here in the land of Auz to warrant access to the E-mail booking system, go figure. Good luck

 

[Ware Bears]

I understand your frustration Porsche44 but even in the UK we can't book Castle Club online directly with DLP, we have to phone too.

 

[Porsche44]

I understand your frustration Porsche44 but even in the UK we can't book Castle Club online directly with DLP, we have to phone too.

Unfortunately its not just the Castle Club, we can't book any accommodation on line through the Disney web site thats the frustrating part. I have a 7 week trip booked for Dec/Jan this year and I have done the whole thing by myself on line and the only part I can't do is the Disney part. Grrr.

 

[Ware Bears]

Sorry, I misunderstood and thought it was only Castle Club that you couldn't book online, I didn't realise it was any hotel! Disney does seem to have some strange marketing strategies - I emailed Disneyland to request a planning DVD as the UK isn't in their drop-down menu and their reply was that there was no interest in the UK and therefore no facility set up to post the DVD over here. They finished by saying they were going to send me something in the post so I stupidly thought it may be a planning DVD ..... no such luck, when the envelope arrived it was a map for each park ..... so I was a bit disappointed as I can see those online.

If you want to book your DLP hotel online then I'd suggest you book on the UK site or one of the other countries sites, just change the country at the bottom of the page. Put in your usual address but just leave the country as the site you've booked through. Nothing comes in the post, it's all done by email so no worries about mail going astray - and DLP knows it happens, there was a programme on TV a few months ago and a spokesperson for DLP stated there weren't any issues with a customer booking through another country's site.

 

[shushh]

We too will be in Europe for 7 weeks in Dec/jan

 

[WDW Princess 71]

We too will be in Europe for 7 weeks in Dec/jan

 

[zanzibar138]

I haven't actually tried to book anything yet, but you can choose Australia when you go to the official Disneyland website. It would strike me as a very odd thing to do if they wouldn't let you book on that version of the site from Australia

I personally plan to book through Expedia as I'm planning to get an AP and don't eat a big breakfast, so won't need a full package deal. Just a matter of waiting for the rates to become available there

 

[Ware Bears]

Are there ever any booking specials for USA residents, or do I have to pay attention to other countries' specials, and book through their sites or phones? Is it allowed to take advantage of other countries' specials and if so, how do I find out about them. I am not going to DLP until July 2013 and prices are not even out yet but I was just wondering what to look for when the time comes.

I'm not sure if US residents frequently get good offers as these do seem to vary for each country (I remember a German DISer complaining that there were never any decent offers for his country) so i'd suggest you keep checking out the site as well as the UK/Irish ones as yes, you are able to book on another country's site in order to benefit from a special offer.

I haven't actually tried to book anything yet, but you can choose Australia when you go to the official Disneyland website. It would strike me as a very odd thing to do if they wouldn't let you book on that version of the site from Australia

I personally plan to book through Expedia as I'm planning to get an AP and don't eat a big breakfast, so won't need a full package deal. Just a matter of waiting for the rates to become available there

I've just done a dummy booking by changing my country to Australia and yes, you're right, it is possible to do an online booking.

All the Disney hotels (apart from Davy Crockett Ranch) include breakfast with the room so even if you book room only through Expedia you'll still get this.

 

[shushh]

Hi shushh! I was on the Wonder Panama Canal with you last year, good to hear from you again! I also was going to recommend using Skype to call. I used Skype to call Australia and New Zealand a few times before my trip there to arrange some excursions, it was super easy and cheap! And while in Australia and New Zealand for my 3 week trip in October, I skype called home all the time, only cost $3 for unlimited calling for the entire month. I look forward to skyping on many more international vacations.

My question for you, and others, is about booking specials. Are there ever any booking specials for USA residents, or do I have to pay attention to other countries' specials, and book through their sites or phones? Is it allowed to take advantage of other countries' specials and if so, how do I find out about them. I am not going to DLP until July 2013 and prices are not even out yet but I was just wondering what to look for when the time comes.

Hello again! The Panama Canal cruise seemed like so long ago! We had the best time!!!

They do have specials on the international as well as the US sites. Unfortunately, ours seem to always be the last to be updated in terms of available dates and as well as specials.

Its best to check the UK and french site for an idea of prices and deals. Sometimes these deals are followed through on the interntional and US sites, but not always.

As mentioned above, you can book online on the US site, so long as the dates have been released on the site. If they haven't been, you can book via sites of other countries or ring to book.

 

[queenie82]

You've been getting a load of great advice...

I know it's a pain but the 'good ol days' of booking by phone can honestly be the best in the long run, especially if you get a helpful CM...

Just think...at least with skype you CAN do it cheaper these days than when it was the only option...

 

[maryr1oz]

My experience... Australian, just booked our package recently...

I wanted to book through the UK website because they had a promotion on that was far better than anything available on the Australia website. When i got to the payment screen, i couldn't change the billing address to outside UK so i decided to call. I was worried about the cost as i was on hold for awhile, and then once answered and booked the call was about 40 mins long - however, it IS a low cost number to an English speaking call centre and the call cost me only about $2.

When i called the booking line, i said i was an Aussie but wanted to book the UK residents special rate - no problem The cast member was super helpful and has even upgraded us

I was so hesitant to call the number, much preferring to do it online, but i couldn't recommend it more highly now

Good luck!

 

[WDW Princess 71]

Thanks everyone for the advice about taking advantage of other countries booking specials- I will definitely keep a lookout! So far I've only seen specials through November 2012 and I'm looking for July 2013. 2 more questions- 1) if I book through another country's site or their phone line, is the price going to be in USD or will it be Euros/Pounds? 2) If I book in advance and a special rate comes out later, can I apply it to my reservation? I do that often with WDW and DLR but wasn't sure if that was allowed for DLP.

 

[shaz88]

Hi Maryr1oz

What number did you use to call?

Cheers

 

[Ware Bears]

Thanks everyone for the advice about taking advantage of other countries booking specials- I will definitely keep a lookout! So far I've only seen specials through November 2012 and I'm looking for July 2013. 2 more questions- 1) if I book through another country's site or their phone line, is the price going to be in USD or will it be Euros/Pounds? 2) If I book in advance and a special rate comes out later, can I apply it to my reservation? I do that often with WDW and DLR but wasn't sure if that was allowed for DLP.

July 2013 won't go in sale until about November.

1) You'll pay in the currency of the country so if you book throught the UK site it will be in £, US site in $, Irish or French etc in € ..... could be advantageous (or not) according to what the exchange rate is.

2) Consider this as no. Sometimes people do manage to benefit from better offers by upgrading hotel/room or adding things to their package such as dining plans, birthday cake etc but this isn't standard practice as in the US so only book if you're happy with the initial price.