Disneyland Paris homebase for entire vacation?

[Halloweenqueen]

My daughter and I are going to Paris for 9 days in September. We are big Disney fans and can easily spend 5+ days at Disneyland in California. I was thinking of buying annual passes before the new pricing structure begins next week. This would give us extra magic hours, discounts, etc. We could spread out our Disney fun in between a few day trips (Paris, Provins, Versailles or Fountainbleau).

Is this a good plan or should I split our time between staying in the Disneyland Paris area and Paris? Would it be better to do Disneyland first or sightsee?

Thanks in advance!

 

[BadPinkTink]

ok a few things

Go back through this section and read the threads from USA people who love DL and WDW who have been to DLP. Most people agree that 4 days max is plenty for DLP, usually people do 3 days and are done. Also DLP is not DW scooped up, made smaller and put into France. If you go with an open mind to experience a stand alone park with has elements of DL mixed with the social and cultural elements of France / central Europe you will be fine.

Im not sure about the pricing structures of the APs but one thing to point out. The prices listed on the Disneyland Paris websites are for hotel and ticket packages. With the packages you get park hopper tickets for your arrival day and departure day and get EMH for 2 hours every day. The hotel packages can be bought through the website or by phone.

You need to check the European countries websites and find the best package deal. Stay away from the American DLP website as it is notoriously more expensive and does not have the same deals. You can book through any website, you dont have to be a resident of that country.

http://www.disneylandparis.ie/
http://www.disneylandparis.co.uk
http://www.disneylandparis.fr
http://www.disneylandparis.de
http://www.disneylandparis.be
http://www.disneylandparis.nl
http://www.disneylandparis.it

For AP holders, you need to ring the reservations line and get the price for just a hotel, without the park tickets. Room only can only be booked by phone.

Disneyland Paris is about 40 minutes by train from central Paris. People do both ways, a split stay and basing at Disney.

 

[erider]

My daughter and I are going to Paris for 9 days in September. We are big Disney fans and can easily spend 5+ days at Disneyland in California. I was thinking of buying annual passes before the new pricing structure begins next week. This would give us extra magic hours, discounts, etc. We could spread out our Disney fun in between a few day trips (Paris, Provins, Versailles or Fountainbleau).

Is this a good plan or should I split our time between staying in the Disneyland Paris area and Paris? Would it be better to do Disneyland first or sightsee?

Thanks in advance!

If you are big Disney fans, I would recommend staying at a Disneyland Paris resort as a home base. When you compare the rooms of the Disney resorts like Seqouia Lodge, Newport Bay, New York or Disneyland Hotel to a room in central Paris, the Disney rooms are quite spacious. Also, all the resorts I mentioned have a pool. Disneyland Paris can be open late, and it is nice if you don't have to ride the subway back to central Paris in the evening. When you go to central Paris, you can go there with the subway, but you can also book a tour at the Disney resorts which include a hop-on-hop-off bus in Paris. I don't know if you have a rental car, but it's recommended to have a rental car if you want to visit Provins, Versailles and Fontailbleau. I recommend all three of those places btw, really beautiful.

 

[jackmosby]

If you have the budget for it and you are really into Disney, i would also recommend staying at DLP (the Sequoia Lodge is a good value for such a great hotel with a nice pool). Just knowing that getting to the interest points in Paris will take you about 40-45 minutes in RER (if you plan to rent a car, do it to go to Fontainebleau for exemple, but don't go into Paris with it).

I'm not sure that you can buy an AP and then you use it to book a discounted room-only without activating the AP at parks first. I suggest to make a call if that's what you plan to do.

Like erider said, the park closes on most nights at 11PM in September, making it great for visits after a day in Paris.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I was thinking of staying near the val d'europe train station rather than a Disney resort the entire stay. This was the reason for the APs. It would be fun to split up our trip and do a day in the park followed by a sightseeing day rather than do multiple days at DLP. We could also drop into the parks at night if we are back early from a day trip. Is val d'europe not a convenient location?

 

[jackmosby]

It is a very conveniant location. I would highly recommmend you to check the prices for the Relais & Spa Val d'Europe. It's a very nice and classy hotel in a very convenient location (near the RER train, but still offer you a free private shuttle to DLP anytime). It also have a Spa, a pool, a jacuzzi, a restaurant (although breakfast is slightly overpriced) and a kitchenette in the rooms. The price usually is around 100€/night (check trivago !). L'Élysée Val d'Europe is a nice hotel as well (even though it doesn't feature a pool).

Oh, and i forgot to mention : the whole DLP AP are gonna change on 03/29, with price going way up. So if you can, i would suggest to buy an AP (the Dream one is really neat with the 20% off on merchandise) before that.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I am a US citizen having had many trips to the US parks as well as to Disney parks in Paris and Hong Kong. I would definitely do as you had thought - make DLRP my home base. I like being on Disney property and the location is very peaceful and relaxing IMO - Val d Europe as well. Because the train link is super convenient, I wouldn't mind traveling with Disneyland Paris as my home base - just make sure the train links work out - or however you decide to get around and about. I easily spent 10 days at DLRP on my last trip from Beijing - as I like to have slower paced trips and enjoy the resorts - and sure didn't want to go all that way for a short trip. I stayed on property the entire time and loved it! Oh and I definitely recommend an annual pass!

 

[BinaryRun]

I highly recommend purchasing the annual pass before the new pricing takes into effect within a few days. However be certain that you get the middle of the most expensive (dream) option, because the cheapest one isn't valid for the first few days after redeeming your voucher (the cheapers also doesn't have extra magic hours). If there are no blackout dates on the middle one while visiting, then I recommend getting one of the middle ones and one of the most expensive ones. The most expensive one can then be used for the discounts as it offers 20% off all merchandise instead of 10% while the other one ensures that you both have entry.

 

[sandybeach14]

The RER train that takes you into central Paris is not cheap. (7,50 each way - 15 Euros round trip) And if you will be going back and forth to visit the city- to me it seems too expensive and time consuming as its about 40km out of the city and takes 45 minutes on the train. I have done trips to Paris where I stayed in City for 10 or so days and then commuted to DLP for day excursions a few days during the trip. And I have done split stays between the city and DLP. I guess it all depends on how many days you will be traveling into the city center.

 

[jackmosby]

The RER train that takes you into central Paris is not cheap. (7,50 each way - 15 Euros round trip)

Well, you can buy a Navigo Découverte pass for the week and it's only 22 euros, I don't find that really expensive...

 

[meggiebeth]

I wouldn't necessarily rule out staying onsite- the hotels are much nicer and it's lovely to be able to walk to the parks. Depending on when you go you can get an AP discount of up to 60% so it's worth ringing up and getting a quote. As others have said, Sequoia Lodge is a nice midrange hotel in a good location.

As far as offsite, we find Dream Castle and Magic Circus very tacky, but there are basic aparthotels nearby too. Relais Spa and the Radisson Blu are smarter and popular with adult visitors. The Marriott Île de France is also very popular, and set in beautiful settings.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

I wanted to thank everyone and give an update on our travel plans. We decided to stay in the city for the first 5 nights. Then we will head to DLP. I currently booked a 3 night pkg at the Sequoia. I have the last night to figure out. Our plane leaves at 10am, so I'm trying to decide between getting a cheap hotel in the DLP area or just heading to the airport the evening before. Maybe a RO for our last night in Sequoia, if I can find a decent price.

Thanks again!