Disneyland Paris

[RooRach0906]

Has anyone done DP? Did you use your points? How does it work with your points? Do you still need to buy tickets? Is it better to pay cash? Please tell me your experiences and advice. I am hoping we can go do our anniversary there in 2006 without our daughter.

 

[Anal Annie]

We went to Paris for 4 nights before our Med cruise a couple of years ago. I thought the points required to stay there were ABSURD for hotel rooms and the park tix were also pricey so we opted to transfer some of our points to another member and use the cash to book a package that we got at 30% off and which included our park tix. (If we hadn't found someone who wanted a transfer we would have rented them out.) The 2 parks are a push but doable in 2 days. At the time that we went they had a requirement that you purchase what they called "length of stay tickets" which meant if we spent all 4 nights there we would've had to purchase 5 days worth of park tix (even tho we planned to sightsee for 2 days and were leaving EARLY on the last morning). I am not sure if they still operate like that or not. Soooo we spent our first night / 2 days there onsite at DLP then we moved into the city for our remaining 3 nights because we wanted to also tour Paris. I am so glad we did that so we could be fully immersed in the city. It was wonderful. That was one of our best decisions (to change hotels and move into the city). Yes, you can "commute" by train into the city from DLP to sightsee but it is about 45 min. each way and the train tix add up too.

You can go to the DLP website and signup for specials and they will email you pretty regularly about their latest deals. That's what I did then we took advantage of this 30% off special they had. Note that they do not offer reservations as far in advance as they do here - more like about 6-7, possibly 8 months out is about as far ahead as you can book. Since we knew we would not be spending much time in the room and were just going for 1 night we only booked one of their "value" resorts. It was nothing fancy for sure. I would probably go up another level or two if we were to go again and definitely if we were staying longer. Also, even on the DLP planning board here on the DIS (which you should visit) they will tell you that the DLP hotels are a step below what is in FL. We worked it out but it was a shock coming from DVC accomodations. (The value resorts there don't have A/C or elevators.)

I still have a link in my siggie to my trip report. I included lots & lots of pictures & details if you want to take a look. You might find something useful in it. Good luck and have fun - but definitely take time to see the city too!!!

 

[SueM in MN]

I've been there twice.
The first time we stayed at the New York Resort on DVC points. At that time, there was a special that included tickets. A huge breakfast buffet was also included.
The lobby and other areas were impressive, but not very 'warm' feeling, with a Big Apple /New York city theme.the room was not real impressive. It seemed more like a tiny step above a Moderate resort.

The second time, we stayed at Disney’s Sequoia Lodge.
We used a discount offer that was emailed to us - I think it was about 30% off. It did NOT include park tickets.
There was an issue that took a bit of time to figure out. For some reason,the deal we were sent was meant for people in the UK. They did finally honor it, but it took quite a long time on the phone.
The lobby and public areas were very elegant and reminded us of WDW' s Wilderness Lodge, but not quite as large. It did include a breakfast buffet that was not quite as nice as the one at New York resort, but still nice (and more then we could eat).

The room was very basic and I would compare it to no more than a moderate.

 

[cheryl.UK]

DLP is far more expensive than a stay at WDW but using DVC is still not a good idea. You can rent them out, pay for a DLP package and have $$ left over. If you log into the british site, you can get the British discounts. My friends from Miami did this and it worked a treat, even using a US address. UK packages often include tickets, breakfast and kids stay and eat free so it's worth checking this out.

Saying this, the $ to £ and $ to euro exchange rates are not in your favour at the moment. Good for us visiting WDW but not for Americans visiting Europe.

 

[summabreeze85]

I really think it depends what resort you pick and what time of the year you are going. The cheapest amount of points make sense to stay...but I wouldn't ever think of paying points for the Disneyland hotel. We also went a few years ago and stayed on points at Newport, and had to buy the park tickets separate (but they made you). Glad that is not the case now. Planning a trip for the fall and will probably use points to stay at Sequoia since its the most reasonable.

 

[Anal Annie]

DLP is far more expensive than a stay at WDW but using DVC is still not a good idea. You can rent them out, pay for a DLP package and have $$ left over. If you log into the british site, you can get the British discounts. My friends from Miami did this and it worked a treat, even using a US address. UK packages often include tickets, breakfast and kids stay and eat free so it's worth checking this out.

Saying this, the $ to £ and $ to euro exchange rates are not in your favour at the moment. Good for us visiting WDW but not for Americans visiting Europe.

When we went in 2011 the USD / Euro conversion rate was even WORSE than it is right now. It was at 1.51 around the time we were there. It made EVERYTHING so expensive. Our hotels, transportation, FOOD!! OMG a simple croque monsieur sandwich at DLP ran us something like $14-15!! We did very little shopping because of the rate and really didn't splurge on any really nice meals anywhere either.

 

[RooRach0906]

Sorry it has taking me so long to respond. Thank you everyone for your advice. We are looking into what prices are now but we would shoot for 2016. It will give us time to save if we do decide that we should/can go.

 

[SWofDisorder]

It is a lovely park with attention to detail. Some rides are better at DLP. There are often flash sales for all countries. I would not use DVC points as it is a terrible return for point use and it includes $95 fee, minimum stays, park ticket purchase.

I think you could do better online.

 

[McCrae]

I wouldn't go to Paris just to do DLP.... It's very different from WDW or DLC.....

Whilst it's theming is Disney it could be any theme park.... The magic is missing.

Other Overseas Disney Parks such as Tokyo are much better.

I would stay in Central Paris and get the train to the park for the day.... It's really easy to do.

Paris is a great city and is a fantastic place to visit.

 

[rainwatter]

I wouldn't go to Paris just to do DLP.... It's very different from WDW or DLC..... Whilst it's theming is Disney it could be any theme park.... The magic is missing. Other Overseas Disney Parks such as Tokyo are much better. I would stay in Central Paris and get the train to the park for the day.... It's really easy to do. Paris is a great city and is a fantastic place to visit.

I second this. We went for the day as part of our Paris trip. I love Disney, but I would pick a baguette on the bank any day of the week (and the lines/crowds were nothing like here in the states. We went 4 years ago so things may have changed, but we did everything we wanted in a day.)

 

[Minniesgal]

I wouldn't go to Paris just to do DLP.... It's very different from WDW or DLC..... Whilst it's theming is Disney it could be any theme park.... The magic is missing. Other Overseas Disney Parks such as Tokyo are much better. I would stay in Central Paris and get the train to the park for the day.... It's really easy to do. Paris is a great city and is a fantastic place to visit.

I lived in Paris for 3 years and totally agree with you