Disneyland Paris Questions?

[puente0629]

Has anyone stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in Paris? How long did you stay? Was it worth the points per night? Also, do they have tours available to see Paris from the resort? When is the best time to visit? What airport did you arrive at? How did you get to Disneyland Paris from the airport?

Sorry for all the questions...

Thanks!

 

[Pakey]

Has anyone stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in Paris? How long did you stay? Was it worth the points per night? Also, do they have tours available to see Paris from the resort? When is the best time to visit? What airport did you arrive at? How did you get to Disneyland Paris from the airport?

Sorry for all the questions...

Thanks!

Yes, we stayed at DLRP at the Disneyland Hotel. We stayed 3 nights, plenty of time to see the two parks. If you stay Club Level, you get VIP fastpasses and if you are going to be there on weekend days, I felt it was well worth the money (although not as many rides have fastpasses there as at WDW).

We paid cash.

We flew out of Charles De Gaulle. We stayed a week in Paris prior to going to DLRP. We had flown into London, spent a few days there and then took the train to Paris. We had a car service for transportation, arranged through our travel agent to take us to/from DLRP. If I went again, I would just use the trains. The train station at DLRP is walking distance to the hotel.


There are lots of people on the Disneyland Paris boards that can give you the specifics on the transportation, what train to take, etc.

Oh, and I should add, that we absolutely loved DLRP. It was worth every penny.

 

[rcchello]

One problem with staying at DLP on points is that you are required to buy a length of stay pass to the parks. This means you will be have paid for a park ticket for the days you would be visiting Paris. It might be better to stay in a hotel in Paris for the couple of days you are siteseeing Paris.

Also there is a Disneyland Paris section of this board where you might get better answers to the non-DVC questions.

 

[dvccruiser76]

Funny you should ask, I was in DLP right around this time last year. We checked in on the 22nd and out on the 27th (5 nights all on points).

Weather-wise it was a good time to go. It was DEAD in the parks during the week, but when we checked out on Saturday there were crowds of people coming in from the train station as we left.

IMHO I wasn't really impressed with DLP. I loved Paris, but not DLP.

If I were to do it over again, I wouldn't waste the extra points at the DL hotel, I would save some points and stay at the Hotel NY or the Newport Bay Club. The DL Hotel is the oldest and tends to have a covered up cigarette smell. I believe it's now non-smoking, but you can tell that it wasn't the case in previous years. It's nice from the outside and the closest resort to DL park, but not worth the extra hype IMO.

Both parks and downtown Disney are within walking distance from most of the hotels, so if you can use the points elsewhere I would.

The next time I go to France I would stay in Paris and take the train to Disney. It is very convenient and about 40 minutes from Paris.

We flew into CDG and took the VEA bus to Disney (it's like the buses that you can take from Orlando to WDW). They were easy to use and I think it was a good choice.

We stayed for 5 nights and had to buy a length of stay pass, which was more than enough time. 3 nights probably would have been better if we weren't going into Paris 3 days out of the 5.

They do offer tours, but the train was so convenient that we just did our own thing.

On the plus side, their Space Mountain kicks WDW's butt by a mile (it goes upside down like the Rockin Rollercoaster) and the Crush Coaster in the Studios park is a really great ride. I wish they had one in Florida.

Happy planning and feel free to ask additional questions if you have any

 

[wintergreen]

We've done DLRP twice on points, once at the Newport Bay Hotel and once at the Disneyland Hotel. As mentioned, the purchase of length of stay passes is required now withe a points stay (it was not for our first visit). We liked the Disneyland Hotel better than the Newport Bay, but if we go again, will probably try the Hotel New York. As for whether it is worth it to use points, that is up to you, but we had the points, DLRP was where we wanted to go, so we used them, and felt good about it. We did different transportation on each trip, but the easiest way to get from Charles de Gaulle airport is to take the VEA bus. I really love Disneyland Paris, and plan to visit again some time.

 

[Tara]

Funny you should ask, I was in DLP right around this time last year. We checked in on the 22nd and out on the 27th (5 nights all on points).

Weather-wise it was a good time to go. It was DEAD in the parks during the week, but when we checked out on Saturday there were crowds of people coming in from the train station as we left.

IMHO I wasn't really impressed with DLP. I loved Paris, but not DLP.

This was my impression as well - I was there for one day in March. I'm glad I went for the experience, but I would take time away from Paris again for it.

Both parks and downtown Disney are within walking distance from most of the hotels, so if you can use the points elsewhere I would.

The next time I go to France I would stay in Paris and take the train to Disney. It is very convenient and about 40 minutes from Paris.

It really is convenient by train - the train station is right outside Disney Village (I was shocked at how close it was when I got off the train).

We flew into CDG and took the VEA bus to Disney (it's like the buses that you can take from Orlando to WDW). They were easy to use and I think it was a good choice.

I flew into CDG and took the TGV from there. You can buy one-way or round-trip tickets from the TGV office at the airport train station. You'll want to take the TGV going in the direction of Marne la Vallee. I think the trip was about 12 minutes, but I actually went to Val d'Europe, which is the stop just before Marne la Vallee. Looking back, it was really easy to do, but I do a lot of traveling and learned enough French (still very little) to be able to ask questions. The train station is big and the signage is not terribly clear. I figured it out after talking to someone who spoke no English, but I wasn't really convinced I was on the right train until I got there.

I didn't use points for the trip - I stayed at the Elysee Val d'Europe Hotel, which was basically like an Econo Lodge but very nice on the outside and in a very safe area. VERY basic rooms though - but CHEAP - $75 US for the night. The advantage was that it's the only offsite hotel that offers early entry to the parks. The train station is right across the street from the hotel, and the RER line to Marne la Vallee is quick - a couple of minutes. The hotel is in a little shopping district and adjacent to an outlet mall.

The RER line is the best way to get back to Paris. Just don't fall asleep and miss your stop. I ended up at the Charles de Gaulle station, which is not to be confused with the airport station - this one is at the Arc de Triomphe. That was not really a bad way to arrive in Paris - off the train and rise from the station level by escalator and have the Arc be the first thing you see. Sweet.

They do offer tours, but the train was so convenient that we just did our own thing.

Yes, pretty much all the hotels offer Paris tours through the concierge, but with a little planning you can easily go without them. (Unless you are very worried about being on your own.) Something very easy to do is book one of the on-and-off day passes for city bus tours. This can be bought online and you'll get a voucher to print - you can get on and off the bus at any of the tour stops all day long.

That said, the Paris Metro is ridiculously easy. I speak very little French (but apparently dress like a Parisian because I was mistaken for one by other Parisians constantly!) but I had no trouble getting around.

On the plus side, their Space Mountain kicks WDW's butt by a mile (it goes upside down like the Rockin Rollercoaster) and the Crush Coaster in the Studios park is a really great ride. I wish they had one in Florida.

I totally agree with Space Mountain - the themeing outside is great, but inside it's a little blah. Just a few random pictures of galactic objects (Hubble shots). The launch is awesome and the ride is so much smoother. I'm hoping the revamped Space at WDW is that smooth!

I didn't ride Crush because pretty much all the FP machines weren't working.

I thought most of the rides were pretty similar. BTMRR is longer and has longer dark portions. The Indy coaster was okay- nothing great. It was neat to see the different Haunted Mansion (Phantom Manor) but it wasn't as good as WDW IMO.

My overall observation is that DLP is missing the richness of detail of WDW. It's nice and there are cool things, but if I would travel to Europe just for that. JMO.

 

[queenie82]

I think a MUCH MUCH MUCH better option than the Disneyland hotels is the Marriott a stones throw away. They are VILLAS and you get a ton of space for great value.
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pardp-marriotts-village-dlle-de-france/
We did use points (not DVC) for it but even with cash it is great value

I did a random search for the end of october and you can get
2 Bedroom Townhouse, Bedroom 1: 1 King, Bedroom 2: 2 Twin/Single, Sofabed
For $161 Euro per night for FOUR people.

We used the train to get into the city but we had a rental car to get to and from the airport (very easy) around the DLP area and to go to Versailles.
The Marriott also has a shuttle but we never used it.

We also did the NIGHT tour of Paris offered by DLP. You can get tickets from the concierge at the New York hotel
This was a great option as you got to look around at night without having to deal with travelling on the train at night. We got to get out at the Eiffel tower to see its lights flashing knowing our bus was right nearby.
There are Hawkers there ALL the time and I would not fancy being there at night on my own.

 

[schatterjee]

This was quite a while ago but we stayed off property at the Holiday Inn which was really nice (nicer than any HI I've been to in the US). The staff was outstanding and really helpful. The shuttle to the park was frequent and reliable on our trip. We took the train from London and it stops right at the park and you can definitely use it for the park hotels. We were at the park in July and it was dead - crazy...

We had a wonderful meal at their Pirates of the Carribean restaurant (can't think of the name). Would definitely do that again.