Disneyland Paris- need help! Please

[RapunzelFloyd]

My hubby just told me he wants to take me to Disneyland Paris towards Halloween but I am very overwhelmed, lol! Do we need to learn French to just go to the parks? Which hotels have A/C. We just did the dining plan at Disney World and loved it, is it worth it in Paris? Can we book a flight with our trip on Disney anywhere? Paris site is not as user friendly. If anyone can help with these questions, would be great. Thank you

 

[Itinkso]

My hubby just told me he wants to take me to Disneyland Paris towards Halloween but I am very overwhelmed, lol! Do we need to learn French to just go to the parks? Which hotels have A/C. We just did the dining plan at Disney World and loved it, is it worth it in Paris? Can we book a flight with our trip on Disney anywhere? Paris site is not as user friendly. If anyone can help with these questions, would be great. Thank you

Most people in France and especially the CMs at DLP speak English, but with a French accent, of course. We had purchased our tickets online and were enthusiastically greeted at the turnstiles when they discovered we were from California. All of the CMs we met engaged in conversation with us and we had a great time!

I gleaned a lot of info from the Disneyland Paris board (Global Neighbors) before we went. We stayed in Paris and took the train to DLP.It is very easy to get to Paris from DLP as DLP Is the final train stop on the line. Have a great time...DLP is beautiful!!

 

[dadddio]

My hubby just told me he wants to take me to Disneyland Paris towards Halloween but I am very overwhelmed, lol! Do we need to learn French to just go to the parks?

Nope. You'll be fine.

Which hotels have A/C.

If memory serves, all of the hotels except for the Sante Fe and Cheyenne have what they call A/C, but our experience is that it won't actually cool the room to a comfortable level. For this reason, we will not stay on-site on future visits. The train station is so convenient that we can stay at more comfortable hotels for less money and still get to the parks quick and easy enough.

We just did the dining plan at Disney World and loved it, is it worth it in Paris?

Dining plans always come down to individual choice. The Paris plan is easier to manage, in my opinion, but it isn't going to save a ton of money. I think that they say that it saves about ten percent.

Instead of having meal credits and snack credits to manage, the Paris plan just has two different meal credits. You can buy half board (1 meal per day) or full board (2 meals per day) at three different levels (standard, plus, premium). Standard is basically counter service and non-character buffets. Plus adds in table service and character meals, but still locks out some restaurants. Premium is the same as plus but includes the spendier table service and character dining restaurants.

The two things to pay particular attention to are: 1) Meals include appetizers and desserts. If you are not going to want those, that's going to effect whether the cost is worth it and 2) The dining plan is not good for the entire menu at some restaurants. Since you only present your voucher when you pay, you could get stuck with additional costs if you are not careful.

Can we book a flight with our trip on Disney anywhere?

I don't think that I understand the question.

 

[JDUCKY]

Much more info in the DLP forum: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=77

Hope you enjoy your visit there! We really didn't (park is *beautiful* but just very poorly run. Inefficiency and poor park mousekeeping ran rampant last March)

 

[juliebug1997]

I don't think that I understand the question.

I think she means if she can book her airfare with the rest of her package like you can with any WDW package.

 

[RapunzelFloyd]

yes I am sorry, I did mean can you book airfare with a package like the wdw site. Also transportation from the airport. If staying on Disney prop, is there a place you can book transportation to and from? And how long do you really need to see both parks, we were thinking 4 day trip. Thanks everyone

 

[siskaren]

yes I am sorry, I did mean can you book airfare with a package like the wdw site. Also transportation from the airport. If staying on Disney prop, is there a place you can book transportation to and from? And how long do you really need to see both parks, we were thinking 4 day trip. Thanks everyone

Like JDUCKY said, you'll get more info on the DLP board, which is here:

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=77

 

[Alby]

My hubby just told me he wants to take me to Disneyland Paris towards Halloween but I am very overwhelmed, lol! Do we need to learn French to just go to the parks?

You don't need to learn French: I haven't, and found that all front-end Cast Members speak English and are very kind. Princesses at Auberge du Cendrillon - think CRT - spoke a bit of most European languages.
You could find some janitors and such who only speak French, though.

Which hotels have A/C.

All Disney hotels except Santa Fe and Cheyenne, but I want to say you won't need A/C in Paris in November! you could be lucky, but it could be rather cold!

Disneyland Paris is beautiful, but you'll find service a bit less happy and prompt than in the US.

 

[RapunzelFloyd]

One more question, do they accept usd or do we have to convert to euros?

 

[Itinkso]

One more question, do they accept usd or do we have to convert to euros?

There is a Chase ATM in the promenade area and we got euros. We mainly used our credit card for purchases and the cc company did the conversions.

 

[lroger01]

If you want to get a preview of the park, look it up on Google Maps. then drag the little person icon to a blue line within the park to take a virtual walk around it. Not all of the park is street view mapped, but enough to get a good look.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We went shortly after they opened back when it was EuroDisney (still have a t-shirt that says EuroDisney!)

It amazed us to see CMs switching instantly from French to English when talking to us. I don't know if it's still like that but everyone we met (CMs) spoke fluent English and was really nice.

When we went it was just one park (MK) and we did it easily in one day.

 

[missmary]

We were just there at the beginning of March. I speak French but at the parks, restaurants and hotels in Disneyland Paris, I barely used it. The concierge spoke 4 languages fluently right in front of me. Amazing. All the characters we met spoke fluent English to the kids. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and got the dining plan. Our room came with one free fast pass per day which we loved. The dining plan was great and unlike WDW you can make reservations the week before or even the day of for their best restaurants. The public transportation was great and super easy to use. We went into Paris 3 days and did the parks for 3 days. It is such a beautiful park. Amazing detail.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I love Disneyland Paris - it is such a beautiful park! There is a whole section here on the DIS for DLRP. I have also found the dlrpmagic.com site very helpful. If you are going in October the weather will probably not be hot - I don't think all the hotels have AC. The Disneyland Hotel is right at the entrance of Disneyland Parc - has great ambiance - but it is pricey. The Sequoia Lodge has been renovated somewhat recently. You can book on different country's websites if they have a better deal - the UK tends to offer much better rates than the US website in my experience - you don't receive any Mickey mail - everything is electronic - so it is easy to book.

Have a great time planning and enjoy DLRP!!!

 

[RapunzelFloyd]

So how do I go about the transportation? We are heading out of Texas, so I know we need to book the plane and then from the airport, what do we do? They don't have a bus like Disney world do they? On the site the transportation doesn't show anything from airport.

 

[waikiki]

hello, if you want more success without speaking French, so just say "hello, do you speak English?". then do not talk too fast! With these tips, your communications with the "frog eaters" will be very helpful.

Another tip : the train station is next to the park, from Paris to this station you will need only 45 minutes. It's very easy to sleep in Paris, take the train "RER A" to Chessy-Marne-la-Vallée ! Maybe an option for you to visite Notre Dame de Paris, le Sacré Coeur (very beautiful & nice place to be just behind) or la Tour Eiffel!

 

[sarahb74]

My hubby just told me he wants to take me to Disneyland Paris towards Halloween but I am very overwhelmed, lol! Do we need to learn French to just go to the parks? Which hotels have A/C. We just did the dining plan at Disney World and loved it, is it worth it in Paris? Can we book a flight with our trip on Disney anywhere? Paris site is not as user friendly. If anyone can help with these questions, would be great. Thank you

Hi. Dont be overwhelmed, just relax and have a wonderful time! As others have said, most or all CMs speak english, but they do love it if you try to use a little french, even if its just a bonjour, or merci. The dining plan is not generally thought to be worth the money, its usually as cheap, or cheaper, to pay as you go - if you stay on site you can charge meals back to your room. Generally the best prices for the disney hotels are direct with disney, and they include your park tickets and breakfast, but its always cheaper to book your travel separately. All of the on site hotels (apart from Davy Crockett Ranch) are walkable to the parks, but have free shuttle buses as well. The Chessy-Marne la Vallee train station is right by the entrance to the parks too if you are coming in from somewhere else. October/November is likely to be cold. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Cyrano]

Just going to move this over to the Disneyland Paris board.

There is a great bunch of posters who love helping folks plan DLP vacations

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

So how do I go about the transportation? We are heading out of Texas, so I know we need to book the plane and then from the airport, what do we do? They don't have a bus like Disney world do they? On the site the transportation doesn't show anything from airport.

There are a few options regarding transportation from the airport. Transportation is not included. Assuming you are going into Charles de Gualle from Texas - you can book a private shuttle, take the TGV train (this is a high speed train and really takes about 10 minutes but you have to book a seat ahead of time - there are instructions on how to do this on the web site parisbytrain.com - the cost is about 20 euro per person), you can take public transportation and RER - will take a lot longer and more changes than TGV or you can take the VEA (Navette) Shuttle for about 20 euro per person - this is about as close to ME as you can get and it takes about an hour I think.

My recommendation would be TGV - but I am not usually going in a large party (where it might be expensive as it adds up). It is fast and easy - and you can get a rate of 15 euro if you book way ahead. Also - the train was so fast I didn't really have time to find my seat - organize my bags at all - I basically just waited by the door to get off at DLRP. You are basically just getting on the train for a short leg and the train is coming from another city and continuing on to another city.

 

[glassslippergirl]

As others have said, you will be fine speaking English. Most Europeans speak 4 or more languages fluently before they graduate high school. Quite an educational accomplishment, but think about geographically how close so many countries that speak different languages are there. Germany is right next door, England is just across the channel, Spain and Italy are so close, not to mention smaller countries like Belgium, Luxembourg, etc.

You will NOT require air conditioning in Paris in November. As a reference point, the weather there is much like Ohio's.

Keep in mind while planning that the week of November 1 (All Saint's Day/ Tousssaints) is a school/ government holiday in much of Europe. Many Europeans will be vacationing then.

I have not been to DLP since 1996, so I will not offer planning suggestions. I have been to Paris many times, and will say that the public transportation there is fabulous and super-simple. Use a metro map to figure out how to get from the airport to DLP using the RER. I do remember that the park was small, and it would be such a shame to travel so far just to go to Disney. Do make arrangements to travel further while you are there. It is easy to stay in Paris, see sites there, and commute to DLP using the RER. It's also just 3 hours via the Chunnel to London.

Bon voyage.