DLP Add-on through ABD?

[Eree418]

My family is gonig on our first ABD to England & France this August. Our agent just let us know the pricing for the DLP add-on, and it was a good 26% higher than the price when I did it myself on the DLP website (thousands of dollars difference). They also said that they would include the transfer from our Paris hotel to DLP, but not from DLP to the airport. It includes full board "plus", which I factored into the cost, but does not include premier access or any other "extras" that I'm aware of. I do have an email back to our agent to get more info, but I'm wondering whether I should go ahead and book myself.

Related question - is the full board plus meal plan worth it, or is it more cost effective to pay for meals on our own?

 

[Steven G]

When I did it in December, the only choice was breakfast only, so I can't comment on the meal plan. It also didn't include Premier access.

I am glad that I only got breakfast, because it was more flexible that way, because not all Downtown Disney restaurants participate in it and we ate at a couple restaurants that were not part of the plan.

I would probably recommend just getting the breakfast plan, which I believe for you is not an option...


Also, for me, they included transfer from Paris Hotel to DLP and from DLP to the airport. Why are they not including the final transfer? That doesn't make sense.

I would say that if you don't mind booking it separately because it's that much more, than you should. It's relatively easy to get a transfer.

On my trip, I think eight of the families on the ABD trip utilized the ABD DLP addon, so it was definitely popular, when it was breakfast only. I think I would have considered not doing it with ABD if it had the full board.

 

[Karin1984]

Depending on when you go, Premier Access is often not necessary on a multi day visit and staying onsite. Most rides with Premier Access are also open during EMH.

You have to do the math, but I think a full meal plan is not worth it. Look at the menus of participaties restaurants and calculate how much you would actually spend.

I think ABD is often overpriced to begin with and only worth it when they can give you experiences you cannot arrange yourself.
Doing DLP on your own is not that hard.

 

[sayhello]

My family is gonig on our first ABD to England & France this August. Our agent just let us know the pricing for the DLP add-on, and it was a good 26% higher than the price when I did it myself on the DLP website (thousands of dollars difference). They also said that they would include the transfer from our Paris hotel to DLP, but not from DLP to the airport. It includes full board "plus", which I factored into the cost, but does not include premier access or any other "extras" that I'm aware of. I do have an email back to our agent to get more info, but I'm wondering whether I should go ahead and book myself.

Related question - is the full board plus meal plan worth it, or is it more cost effective to pay for meals on our own?

I just looked, and it says this quite explicitly on the ABD website (bolding mine):

"Transportation
Transportation is included to your Disneyland Paris hotel and from Disneyland Paris to the airport, so you can arrive and depart without any hassle."

https://www.adventuresbydisney.com/europe/disneyland-paris/

You need to talk to your Travel Agent and get that re-asked.

Sayhello

 

[Marthasor]

Personally, I would look at the cancellation/modification terms and conditions for both booking options and go from there. If you will save thousands of dollars booking on your own, I would do that. Finding private transportation (or even shuttle transportation) to/from DLP is not hard. We aren't doing the ABD, but I recently booked a DLP package for my family and it was super easy and has a flexible cancellation policy.

 

[shairpdrh]

We are also going in August and I just got the same info from my travel agent. She said both transfers were included. For our planned stay, the difference was about $600 after I added everything that appeared to be included in the package from ABD. Even that amount was enough for me to plan to book myself. Transportation options seem easy enough, but I know tolerance for booking things separately varies from family to family.

 

[Eree418]

Thanks, everyone. We decided to book on our own, and we're planning to take the train to/from DLP. (From Paris and then to CDG)

We're also skipping the meal plan, and we'll play it by ear on the premier access.

I guess now we just have to sit down and decide what we're doing in our free time on the ABD portion of the trip! We're very excited!

 

[Steven G]

the only thing we added on that required planning ahead was the harry potter studio tour, which I recommend if you are at all a fan of the movies. I did it on a pre-night.

If you do pre or post nights, then obviously you will have additional time, but during the tour, you really only have time by yourselves for dinner and some shopping.

 

[mathgeek]

It's been several years since I did the DLP add-on, and at that time it was worth it to me even with the much higher cost. As a solo traveler going there for the first time it helped to have the transfers included and it also included the VIP fast pass (sooo worth it). I did DLP again before the Med cruise on my own for a much better price (4 nights for the price of 2), and again before the Seine River cruise (only 2 nights), but I was much more comfortable doing it on my own since I was familiar with the parks.

 

[Eree418]

I 100% agree that it would be worth it if it included the VIP fast pass, but they changed the add-on from what it was previously, and it doesn't even include an upgraded room, any other extras or the new Premier Access. I couldn't justify the added expense. C'est la vie, I guess!