Disneyland Paris--a good "base" for seeing Paris itself??

[Uncleromulus]

Hello!! My first post on this board and I have a question. Friends of ours just got back from Paris and loved it. We've decided on a 10-12 day trip ourselves, late 2004. MY question is--can we (or rather, should we) use Disneyland Paris as a base for our trip? We are with DVC and could use points to stay at DP the entire time--avoiding the cost of a Paris hotel and ensuring quality accomodations. But are we within striking distance of Paris and environs? Is it a big problem getting to and from the city?? And arranging for other tours (Loire castles, Mont ST MIchelle, etc). Most Paris hotels do have tour desks that arrange for that sort of thing, and I doubt DP does(?)
Anyway:
Is this a "good" idea, and has anyone else done this???
All advice welcome!!

 

[Danauk]

If you want to see Paris itself then I wouldn't recommend staying at DLP. Although there are good metro links (underground railway) it takes a while to get into Paris from the park. Also we have found it is quite expensive to stay at DLP using DVC points as I believe that the park passes are included in the room rate so you are paying extra if you don't want to go into the parks. We are staying at DLP over easter for a few days and although we plan to go into Paris the trip is really a disney trip. We would have stayed longer but we worked out that by using DVC points in would have cost more for us to stay at DLP for a week than it would have cost to stay at the BCV for 2 weeks!! If you would like to see Paris I would stay in the city and then stay at DLP for a few days.
Have a great trip.

 

[disneyberry]

i agree. i wouldn't recommend using DLP as a base for seeing Paris or the Loire Valley or Mt St Michele for example.
bank and rent out some of your DVC points, and then take that money and stay in Paris.
nothing beats experiencing any city by actually staying there.

Rick Steves' guidebooks generally have good safe hotel recommendations.
you can also try Priceline for hotels in Paris, although the quality level of hotels in Europe are generally somewhat different than the hotels in the U.S.

i would suggest you spend 3-4 days in Paris, 3-4 days in a nearby location (like the Loire Valley, or Normandy is also wonderful - we chose to visit Bayeux + went to visit the American Cemetary... what a sight.), and then end your trip with 3-4 days in DLP.

good luck, and post back if you have other questions.

 

[jodyb]

Actually I am going to be doing just that. I will be going for a 7 night stay, and after much deliberation I decided to book the entire seven nights at a Disneyland hotel, and take the train to Paris and back on a couple of those days. This way, my 12 year old daughter will have a pool, a TV with Disney Channel, etc. to keep her happy in the off hours. The Paris hotels are wonderful for adults but for this trip I think I'm better off making Paris the secondary destination and staying in Disney. We'll take the train to Paris in the morning, tour until we get tired, and take the train back... and we'll still be able to to into the park in the evening and catch the fireworks! Sounds perfect to me. I can understand the objections of the people who have written, but for me, using Disney as the base is actually a "more for your money" deal.
Let us know what you decide and have fun!
Jody

 

[DocRafiki]

no way would i spend all of my time in paris at a DLP resort. what a waste. i stayed at DLP (disneyland hotel), a chain hotel on the paris outskirts (campanile in bagnolet), and an independent hotel right by the sorbonne and just a few minutes' walk from notre dame (home latin). i so wish i would have skipped out on that 2nd hotel. i loved being in the center of everything. having to travel to where you're going every day really takes the fun out of it, imo. i never really felt like i was "in" paris until i moved to that 3rd hotel. nothing fancy at all, but it was great!

 

[SimonV]

The RER (Line C) from DLP into central Paris takes only 40 minutes and is an easy and very reliable journey, so it is not really an uncomfortable option, IMHO. Thje DLP hotels are far superior to most standard hotels in the city, and it can get horribly crowded around the main tourist attractiosn in peak season, so I think it is quite nice to get out of it for a while. We toured Paris for a day from DLP in the summer and were relieved to get back again to 'our' hotel out of the city (The Explorers), with the benefits of a pool, play area, etc. For adults, it is probably a bit of a push, but with children it is not at all a bad idea.

 

[Michelle2]

I know that probably I am the only person who did this in the whole world, and it was only dumb of me because I didnt check before riding the train to DLP, but it may give you a heads up before you go...never hurts to get advice on someone else's mistake!
We stayed 2 days 1 night at the DLP Disneyland hotel...first, WOW what a hotel....reminded me SO much of the Grand Floridian. But we had to check into our new hotel in Paris because the rooms were already paid for (Crillon) and didn't want to waste that even though we wished we could have stayed longer in DLP. We had to travel back to see the Wild Bill show, and traveled on the (RER) train, it wasnt too bad, about 40 minutes like the other posters said, but to our surprise, when we got out of the show at 11:10, we were shocked to find the station totally closed just barely before at 11:00! We were stuck, and never thought that the station would close so early, especially when a show was still going on...and that no cast member informed us of the closure of the station since they knew we were arriving by train when we purchased our tickets through the concierge desk. Totally blindsided us, so if you plan to use DLP as your base, just know that the station closes, even before some of the things at night are through! We went in December so that may have made a difference. But I sure learned from that mistake!!!
And I agree with a previous poster that said staying in Paris for the Paris experience is much better. Being on the Champs Elysees (sp?) was wonderful...we were in the middle of everything, and the nearest train station was SO close! I hope to go again soon!

 

[jodyb]

I don't think you were stupid at all, but of course I have to say that because that is exactly the sort of thing I could easily have happen to me! I'm so curious - what did you end up doing? Did you have to find some other transport back to Paris? Did you check back into the Disneyland hotel? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[DocRafiki]

What a nightmare! I think I'd be crying.

 

[MinnieYC]

If you are going on an adult-only trip, I'd stay at a hotel in the city. The RER is fairly nice, but it is 40 minutes each way, and that adds up to about and hour and a half every day. The DLP hotels seem nice, but there are plenty of nice hotels in Paris with similar ammenities. When we're in Paris (just like when in WDW), we like to break up they day, and maybe take a refresher at the hotel in the afternoon or evening, and that can be difficult when the hotel is far away.