First time help

griff3325

Earning My Ears
Joined
Dec 5, 2011
Messages
4
Hi! I am an American living in Naples Italy & have NEVER been to any Disney park before. I would like to go to Disneyland Paris for my daughter's fourth birthday in June. We would like to stay at the Disneyland Hotel (so I know, very expensive) for 3-4 days & then also spend a couple days in Paris. I'd really like to take the Eurostar from Rome to Paris (but would consider flying, as I can't find much information on the Eurostar). So I'm really just looking for tips on everything--shows, meals, flying vs. train, how the bus works from airport to Disneyland--it seems like it should all be pretty straight-forward, but as I've never been to any Disney park, I feel a bit lost & about to give up. I would also consider going in May or September if it would be considerably less crowded (her birthday is June 21st), but would love to go for her birthday, if possible. I also have a one year old. Thanks for any help!
 
Eurostar does not go through Rome, or any Italian city
It will only run between paris and brussels / paris and london through the channel tunnel.
Il you choose to travel by train, you'll need to do a Roma - Torino - Lyon - Chessy Marne la vallée
That's a very very very long trip, especially with young kids. around 13 hours if everything runs smoothly

the plane will take you from roma to paris (cdg) in a little over 2 hours, and the cost might even be smaller than with the train - I just checked alitalia for the month of may, they currentely stand a 135 euro return trip for 1 adult

at CDG you'll find a shuttle for most Disney hotels. It will cost you around $18 per adult and $15 per child 3yrs and older, and per trip.
Details can be found on the aeroportsdeparis website
 
Don't give up - you'll be able to get all the help you need on here. It seems daunting at first but things tend to fall into place with a little help from your dis friends. I've found that you get more help if you keep your questions short. I'm a bit wordy myself and managed to get lots of good advice when I put specific questions in separate threads.
 
Hello, I'm an American living in Germany. :) We just went to DLP over Thanksgiving and had a really nice time. It was our first Disney trip too, and I was really overwhelmed trying to plan it before I found this board. Everyone has been so helpful.

I got the best deal booking through the UK site, during a 40% off promotion. We booked about 2 months out. I checked the U.S., Ireland, and Germany sites as well but the UK site had the best price. I actually booked through Disney on the phone but the rep that I spoke with said it would be OK to book online, just leave the country as the UK when entering your address. It doesn't matter because they e-mail your confirmation.

I'm not sure about the prices (I think they are lower in May/Sept) but if the crowds are lower in those months I would take advantage of them. I would also go M-TH because I think the weekends are always busy.

I also have a 1 year old and a 4 year old. :) The 1 year old was perfect, took naps in the stroller, etc. My 4 year old had attitude, pretty disappointing since we did the vacation mostly for her. I think she was just overwhelmed. You can check out my trip report for other details of our trip, but I only have the first day done so far.

I would suggest doing as many character meals as you can afford. We did the princess lunch at Auberge and Dinner and breakfast at Cafe Mickey. I think the key to meeting the most characters is to go early. We had lunch at 12 and dinner at 6 and they were both good experinces. Breakfast at 9:30 wasn't so great for Character interaction. Having the characters come to your table is so much nicer than standing in line, or having to push your way to the front, especially when you have young kids.


I looked at ryanair.com for flights (Rome-Paris). I didn't use your exact dates but looked in June and the prices were in-expensive. I also have no idea about the airports/transfers but I do that you can schedule a transfer through them. We have flown with them once from Frankfurt/Hahn to London and it was a good experience. Just beware, you will have to book your 1 year old on your lap, I tried to buy mine a seat and then had to re-book and get a refund. Pretty much a pain...

We have also been to Paris 2 times this year, so I can help if you have any questions with that portion as well.
And if you have any tips for Rome I would appreciate it! We are planning to go this spring/summer sometime. :)
 

Eurostar does not go through Rome, or any Italian city
It will only run between paris and brussels / paris and london through the channel tunnel.
Il you choose to travel by train, you'll need to do a Roma - Torino - Lyon - Chessy Marne la vallée
That's a very very very long trip, especially with young kids. around 13 hours if everything runs smoothly

the plane will take you from roma to paris (cdg) in a little over 2 hours, and the cost might even be smaller than with the train - I just checked alitalia for the month of may, they currentely stand a 135 euro return trip for 1 adult

at CDG you'll find a shuttle for most Disney hotels. It will cost you around $18 per adult and $15 per child 3yrs and older, and per trip.
Details can be found on the aeroportsdeparis website

Thanks! Someone told us the train from Rome to Paris was Eurostar, but I guess not.
 
Hello, I'm an American living in Germany. :) We just went to DLP over Thanksgiving and had a really nice time. It was our first Disney trip too, and I was really overwhelmed trying to plan it before I found this board. Everyone has been so helpful.

I got the best deal booking through the UK site, during a 40% off promotion. We booked about 2 months out. I checked the U.S., Ireland, and Germany sites as well but the UK site had the best price. I actually booked through Disney on the phone but the rep that I spoke with said it would be OK to book online, just leave the country as the UK when entering your address. It doesn't matter because they e-mail your confirmation.

I'm not sure about the prices (I think they are lower in May/Sept) but if the crowds are lower in those months I would take advantage of them. I would also go M-TH because I think the weekends are always busy.

I also have a 1 year old and a 4 year old. :) The 1 year old was perfect, took naps in the stroller, etc. My 4 year old had attitude, pretty disappointing since we did the vacation mostly for her. I think she was just overwhelmed. You can check out my trip report for other details of our trip, but I only have the first day done so far.

I would suggest doing as many character meals as you can afford. We did the princess lunch at Auberge and Dinner and breakfast at Cafe Mickey. I think the key to meeting the most characters is to go early. We had lunch at 12 and dinner at 6 and they were both good experinces. Breakfast at 9:30 wasn't so great for Character interaction. Having the characters come to your table is so much nicer than standing in line, or having to push your way to the front, especially when you have young kids.


I looked at ryanair.com for flights (Rome-Paris). I didn't use your exact dates but looked in June and the prices were in-expensive. I also have no idea about the airports/transfers but I do that you can schedule a transfer through them. We have flown with them once from Frankfurt/Hahn to London and it was a good experience. Just beware, you will have to book your 1 year old on your lap, I tried to buy mine a seat and then had to re-book and get a refund. Pretty much a pain...

We have also been to Paris 2 times this year, so I can help if you have any questions with that portion as well.
And if you have any tips for Rome I would appreciate it! We are planning to go this spring/summer sometime. :)

Thanks a lot! So do you have to book character meals in advance? Can you do that on the website?

We actually have not been to Rome yet (live near Naples, just got here two months ago) but are planning to go next week, so hopefully I'll have some tips then!
 












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