Disneyland Paris in December?

[d1gitman]

can anyone give me the pro's con's on Disneyland Paris in December?

we would like to do a Christmas week trip but know nothing about Paris in late December. Crowds, weather?

 

[cmwade77]

I have no answers, but would like to know as well.

 

[Hipster Meg]

We went in late November last year and loved it! It was fairly misty in the mornings when we went to the park early and I'll never forget the experience of stepping onto Main Street not being able to see the castle because of the fog. Got some wonderful pictures of it that day!

Pros
-the park is beautifully decorated
-if you've got kids then seeing Father Christmas is a must
-we went during term time and the crowds were almost non-existant
-Fantillusion

Cons
-the weather; while the mist around the castle made for awesome pictures, it also made for cold, wet days. Many, many layers and good shoes are a must.
-The closer you get to Christmas the more crowded and more expensive the parks would be - my advice would be to go early December rather than late.

 

[Jonjo]

We went during the first week of December and the Parks were busy not too crowded, most rides were walk ons. The park is beautiful and looks fantastic during Christmas.

You also get a chance to see the Fantillusion Parade during the Christmas season too.

Please do take plenty of warm cloathing with you, and good water proof shoes / walking boots. When we were there the temp was -10 and we had a foot of snow fall one afternoon.

 

[DLPdaft]

when you say late December, what dates were you thinking of?

 

[Serenlas]

Just marking my place as I'm hoping to go in Nov/Dec - Nov 29th to be exact! Just waiting for the Winter bookings to open and an awesome deal to appear

 

[JustJonathan]

We always go the last week/weekend of november/early december for the festive season, and love it!

The first year we went, it was AMAZINGLY cold, I couldn't feel my hands after doing a full recording of the castle ceremony. But it was worth it!...

Last year, to be honest we were quite surprised at how "warm" it was compared to the year before, not a touch of snow either.. which, on the one hand was kind of a shame (never forget the mickey ears in studios being covered in snow, got a pic of that, too!) and on the other it was a relief (BTM was closed almost a whole day due to snow on the tracks).

So,

Pros:

Amazing, winter atmosphere.
Christmas Decorations
Close to the holiday season
We found it quiet, literally 95% of the rides were walk on or 10 minute max wait.

Cons:
Cold (Though, to be honest I didn't mind it.. all the more wintery!).
Risk of outside rides being closed (especially BTM if it's heavy snow).

 

[angel_nix]

It's cold, really cold, really really cold! Wouldn't advise it with young children who are newly toilet trained, it takes ages to get all the layers off! A lot of the rides seemed to be weather dependent and running on and off.

However, the park is beautifully decorated and it's magical, especially going to visit Santa!

 

[A Small World]

Try and avoid the weekends if you can - its insanely busy once the christmas decorations are up (usually about 6th Nov)

I went 2nd weekend in November a few years ago and it was really busy and the weather was quite nice

Also went between Christmas and New yr one yr and again it was so busy - it wasnt as cold as Id expected though

 

[cherrymarzipan]

Pros:

Chante c'est Noel - it isn't Christmas with hearing this.
"Snow" falling on Main Street
Tree lighting ceremony
Characters in Christmas costumes
Small World with extra twinkly bits and Christmassy music
Mickey's Winter Wonderland show in the Frontierland theatre

Cons:
Just the cold, but it can be a big con. If you are well prepared with thermal underwear, ski outerwear and waterproof snow boots you will cope although it is a bit of a pain having to peel off for toilet stops, restaurant meals and warmer rides such as POTC and IASW. If it is a dry, crisp, bright cold it won't be too much bother but a bitter wind can be rather miserable. You might be lucky and find it is relatively mild of course but be prepared.

 

[steve_rob]

...warmer rides such as POTC.

Or the "Cosy Pirates" as they are now known in our household, because of temperature difference between that ride and the freezing snow covered park we had one December. In fact, sometimes we just meandered through the queuing area because that was the warmest bit!

 

[d1gitman]

ugh, i got my answer....too cold for what i want out of a vaca ....thanks for the info

 

[TLHB70]

How long are the Christmas decorations left up? We will arrive around January 6 or 7. I wonder if they will still be up........
Yes, I do know that it will be cold, very cold. DH would not listen to me about it, though. The price discount sold him on January. I could not change his mind.

 

[inelegancex]

I went during the Christmas season last year (end of November/early December) and after hearing how cold it is around these times and the bad weather I packed a lot of warm clothes! However it didn't rain a single time we were there and it remained cloudy but mild so a lot of the time I didn't even need a coat.
It was even sunny one day and quite warm, just shows the weather can surprise you!
We went not during term time of course and early december is never very busy. I think the most we queued the whole time was around half an hour for Crush's Coaster (which always has horrendous queues) a lot of the time we literally walked on to rides with little to no queues. So this was definitely a plus as I hear the nearer to half term/christmas it can be extremely busy.

But overall it was absolutely wonderful and I would definitely go again during this time!

 

[lush]

As you can see from my ticker late November is my favourite time of year to go! I just think there is something so special about it during the Christmas season, and it's something that makes this park unique amongst all of the Disney parks. The US parks can do themselves up with the Christmas decorations but you need the cold weather to make the magic complete!

Yes I make sure that I wear layers and warm but comfortable footwear but I can honestly say in all the years I've been there I've only experienced truly bad weather twice. The first time I went (in June 1992) it rained so hard one day that they closed lots of things, and the last time we went (in 2008) we had a mini blizzard the first day which was no fun at all. The following two days were filled with beautiful bright sunshine although cold.

 

[DLPdaft]

How long are the Christmas decorations left up? We will arrive around January 6 or 7. I wonder if they will still be up........
Yes, I do know that it will be cold, very cold. DH would not listen to me about it, though. The price discount sold him on January. I could not change his mind.

the decorations came down on 8th January 2012, so you may possibly see the last day or so of the Christmas theme on your trip in 2013 .

 

[zavandor]

Just be prepared to the worst.
I went on New Year Day 3 times in the past.
- first year it rained almost every day
- second year it was so cold (-3°C and cold wind) that sometimes we did not want to exit from the hotel to go the park
- third year was perfect: cold but not too much

However, as you see the bad weather did not stop us to come back, the park is so lovely during Christmas season and we are planning to be there again next NYD.

If you can book the Disneyland Hotel it can help a loooot (less time spent outside walking to your hotel or waiting for a shuttle).

 

[TLHB70]

the decorations came down on 8th January 2012, so you may possibly see the last day or so of the Christmas theme on your trip in 2013 .

Great news! That would be fabulous!

Just be prepared to the worst.
I went on New Year Day 3 times in the past.
- first year it rained almost every day
- second year it was so cold (-3°C and cold wind) that sometimes we did not want to exit from the hotel to go the park
- third year was perfect: cold but not too much

However, as you see the bad weather did not stop us to come back, the park is so lovely during Christmas season and we are planning to be there again next NYD.

If you can book the Disneyland Hotel it can help a loooot (less time spent outside walking to your hotel or waiting for a shuttle).

We are going prepared. We have all bought fur lined boots, ski coats, gloves, and hats. We will pack them all. We plan to go in layers.
This is DD's graduation trip. Her dream is to be in Paris so I do not think the weather will be a problem for her. She is so excited!

 

[steppelemming]

We went 2 weeks before xmas the year before last and the atmosphere was great, the parks were really quiet. The ONLY bad thing I would say about the trip was that it was so bitterly cold. We had several layers on and despite me wearing thermal leggins under my jeans I still ended up with frost burns on my legs . Other than that, awesome time to go.

 

[kwonyong]

I just booked my eurostar tickets for early December! I'm very excited. I hope its not too cold.