First trip to Europe/Paris

[birdsboro]

Hi everybody, we are planning out first trip(2 weeks) to Europe, and i have a question of two. Should we stay in the disney resorts and take the rail to Paris for our day trips or should we stay in a hotel in Paris and take the rail to DLP or maybe split the stay? How many days should we devote to DLP? We have been to DW many times and i wanted to take a different vacation but also keep our streak of visiting Disney alive by swinging over to DLP any tips or hints would help. Thanks.

 

[Alahis]

Well...If it's your first visit to DLP, you must provide one day for the Studios, two days for the other park (I don't even know if I can call him "Magic Kingdom" ? ).....

For the hotel, it's up to you....If you only plan to made one day-visit in Paris, then, you can stay in the Disney Property, if not, you can split the stay (2 nights in the Disney Property, 2 or more in Paris)

 

[Danauk]

I would probably do a split stay as the hotel packages at DLRP include your park tickets so it would be cheaper to stay in Paris to see the sights there and then move to Disney for the days you want to go into the parks.

To enjoy the parks you really need 1 day in the Walt Disney Studios park and 2 days in the Disneyland park. There are so many things at DLRP that are not in WDW so you might want to devote some time especially for those things.

 

[birdsboro]

Being in America, can i take advantage of the special offers and pay in installments like i can for wdw?

 

[Ware Bears]

I assume the booking conditions for DLRP will be the same for US guests as it is for UK ones which is if you book by phone you will pay 10% deposit then the balance 60 days before departure. If you book online you pay the full amount upfront.

 

[Flossbolna]

As a PP I would suggest to do a split stay. I think if you want to experience Paris it is much nicer to actually stay in the city itself. And the commute from Paris to DLP is easy, but does take time. So it is better to stay at DLP for that portion of the trip.

Even though you won't be able to see everything, I would suggest not to spend more than two days at DLP. If this is your first trip to Europe and you only have two weeks, there is so much else to see as well!

I have experiences with WDW and DLP and I just recently got the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland Paris. I thought that this might be a good book for someone who has experience with the American parks and wants to know what the differences are.

 

[MinnieVanMom]

We recently visited Europe and DLP. We started in Paris and fell in love with the city and sights. It is beautiful, rich in history, and superior wines. Do have a bottle of red each nite with dinner.

Slow down, speak softly, we as Americans are always in a hurry and speak loudly compared to others in Europe. We are in a hurry from here to there and need to slow down and appreciate all that surrounds us.

This is my experience and many others differ from our experience of DLP. After being all over Germany, France, Belgium and Austria we felt that DLP was a let down. We had seen real castles, stain glass and met characters, real life people with wonderful stories. We love Disney and were told to lower our expectation. We did and took the time to notice that DLP has more attention to deal, the castle and grotto is spectacular! But that is about where it ended for us. It is not the Disney we know from the States and should not be. But it just didn't work for us. Everyone is different and most love the park.

We left our 2nd day and went back to Paris for our last nite in France.

Please feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

[grizbuzz]

I think Disneyland Paris is a beautiful park and worth the trip if you are a Disney fan. However, if I only had a few days, then going to Paris would be my preference. And I think you need to stay in Paris to get a feel for the city. I think I'd recommend staying in Paris for almost the whole stay and then staying a night in Disneyland with a day and a half or so for the parks(heck, if you want to splurge then Disneyland Hotel for the ultimate experience). Go on a weekday so the crowds are less.

I'd say make Paris the focus and Disneyland Paris a side trip.

 

[ben1993]

I would never go to paris and not go to DLP, infact, I can't imagine wanting to go to Paris again really, it's good to experience it once i suppose, but it's just a city.

 

[RobynPrincess]

I would say Paris is one of my favourite places on earth (even if they didnt have DLP I would love it!). If it was me I would stay 3 nights at DLP in one of their hotels (any other than Santa Fe) and then spend 4 nights in Paris. There are so many things to do there. It is just the most beautiful city.

 

[amyren]

We've decided to add a few days in Paris to our DCL Mediterranean cruise trip this summer. DH and I have been to Europe several times but never with DD and never to DLP. We are doing a split stay. 2 nights in the city center (Latin quarter) and 2 nights at DLP before heading to Barcelona to catch the cruise!

 

[purple figment]

We went to Paris in September for 5 days and took a one day trip to DLP.

Like you, we've been to Disneyland and Disney World many times so we concentrated on the rides and shows that are unique to DLP. There is also a lot of attention to details that are well worth noticing (such as Tinkerbell on the castle).

Getting there took about an hour from our Paris hotel via the Metro and the RER. Because the park didn't open until 10AM we got there in plenty of time.

There are so many places to visit and things to do in Europe. Because this will be your first trip, you'll find there won't be enough time for everything, so at most I would suggest an overnight stay at DLP. I agree with the PP who said to make Paris the focus and DLP a side trip.

A guide book that we found useful was the Brit Guide Disneyland Paris by Simon and Susan Veness. Lots of information and color photos.

 

[birdsboro]

Renting a flat vs. a hotel room...? Pro's and con's from those that have done both.

 

[Johnny_boy]

We've stayed at the Disneyland Hotels a couple of times (Santa Fe and Cheyenne) loved them both. Previous trips we have stayed in timeshare appartments and I really liked these. Our timeshare with DRI is in Vincennes (on the RER line to DLP) and one many miles from Paris (we did a 3 day trip with an overnight it was so far to DLP) and the local area has great markets for very fresh food and loads of bakeries, butchers shops, etc. We ate out a few times when DD was 1 and DW was pregnant with DS but it was easier to pick up a roast chicken and veg from a rotesserie, buy a bag of salad and get some fresh bread (baked 3-4 times a day) and make do with that. We generally picked up lunch from the markets and ate in one of the many Paris parks. We could have breakfast in the appartment, eat what we want when we wanted, no "meal times". That being said, previous trips have been bed and breakfast only in hotels so just less space than an appartment and no fridge and cooking facilities!

 

[birdsboro]

That's the perspective that i was looking for... thanks.

 

[snvanvl]

We just got back Monday night and had a great time.

We stayed at Hotel l'elysee val d'europe (which is one of the DLP offsite resorts that you can book thru Disney). We found the hotel nice and it was also right next to the train that went into Paris (it took us 30 to 40 minutes on the train to get to Paris). The hotel offered a free shuttle at certain times but we also used the train which was only one stop away and about a 2 or 3 minute ride.

We have been to both of the US parks during the summer and the weekend at DLP was a madhouse so I would suggest trying a week day. Even in the cold rain DLP was very crowded. Also if you stay onsite you can take advantage of the early entry in both parks which was very nice to avoid the crowds.

Also as Americans without knowing any French we felt most comfortable close to DLP because we were able to communicate and also we were able to read menus and such.

 

[Johnny_boy]

there are advantages and disadvantages of staying near Disney. Staying in the Paris area gives you loads of choice of food, bars etc. The RER and Metro are both very good so you can be most places in under 1 hour from DLP or within 30 mins across most of Paris. If you have a smartphone/iPod Touch then Metro is one program I'd recommend, it's a free metro planner and can give you ideas of times. There are a load of other smart phone apps just as good if not better.

Our last trip was only to DLP due to time constraints and I really missed not getting proper French food - it's just so difficult to have a bad meal in Paris (if you avoid the tourist traps). Most people in Paris spoke better English than my now rather poor French, having the kids helped, people couldn't have been nicer.

 

[disneyophile]

Two friends and I were in Paris early October. I agree with those recommending making DLP a side trip. The public transit system in Paris is fast, convenient, inexpensive, and drops you off right at the Disney gate. We went during the week and found one day to be plenty of time to see Disneyland Park (Magic Kingdom equivalent) - the longest wait for an attraction was about 10 minutes.

Being a frequent visitor to WDW and having recently visited Disneyland, I found Disneyland Park in Paris to be familiar but with a distinct European feel. It is the largest of the three parks; attractions are interspersed with beautiful green spaces which include water features and weeping willow trees.

We stayed in Paris in an apartment in Opera. On a previous visit, I stayed in a hotel. I would highly recommend going for the apartment option. The convenience of having a kitchen and the additional space is worth much more than whatever the increased cost may be.

Don't be concerned with being a non-French speaker in Paris. It was the minority of people we encountered that didn't speak English. We got along fine with the rest using gestures and the few French phrases we knew. And don't believe the rumors about Parisians being rude. With the little effort it took to exchange simple pleasantries in French, we found them to be friendly, helpful and kind.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[birdsboro]

thanks for the imput...i am gonna look to renting the apartment now.. just what area and with which rental agency is the question.

 

[Johnny_boy]

As I Mentioned earlier, we stayed in Vincennes, it's outside the main Paris ring road (Le Peripherique) but the local RER (light railway) is the same line that runs to Marne-le-Valley-Chessey the Disney stop.

The time share we stayed in was about 15 minutes from both RER and Metro stations. We liked the area, it was far enough out to be non-touristy and therefore cheaper, but we could get to the main sites in 30 mins or so by Metro or RER. Lotw of great places to eat - the local Chinese/Vietnamese/Thai standing out along with the local bistro that were both very welcoming and the wee corner restaurant where the owner brought his 1 yo son out (in pjs) to see our dd who was the same age. We had a great time there and are heading back in July if I still have a job

http://www.homelidays.co.uk/EN-Holi...ance_94-valdemarne_fr/appar_vincennes_r13.asp shows some renatls in the area.

There are probably much nearer and nicer places but we really liked where were were and it was reasonably close to Disney and Paris. The local daily open air market was great, fresh bread, olives, ham, fish, clothes, wooden kids toys, there seemed to be nothing it didn't sell. Market food in France is straight from the farm most of the time - you won't get fresher.

We had some great food and weather while we were there, everything from the food to the little cakes out the bakery that were wrapped up like they were being presented to a princess.

The only disadvantage was that Chateau de Vincenne (Metro) was in zone 2 but the RER (Vincesnnes) was in zone 3 so the carnet of 10 tickets only worked on the Metro, you had to pay a surcharge from the RER. Going to Disney was zone 6 so it made no difference. We bought an unlimited card in the end which did Disney and CDG.