Have I gone mad??

[uksaint]

Background - We had booked a package comprising flights, VEA transfers and a stay at the explorers. We wanted Eurostar direct but the agent said their allocation had been sold out for our dates.

Since booking, I have been increasingly concerned by the logistics involved with getting from CDG to DLP. It seems the VEA shuttle could take up to 2 hours - 25 mins before leaving airport - 45 mins to DLP - 20 min tour of hotels before we reach coach station - then wait for resort shuttle to take us to Explorers. (Note the direct service to Explorers does not operate at good times for our flights.) 2 hours on a bus is not my idea of fun at the start or end of a holiday - particularly with two kids in tow.

I was going to book the now defunct Silvershuttle, and with the other shuttle services were looking at about £110 for the return trip. (Seems many charge extra for Sundays)

So.....just out of curiosity I looked at the Eurostar website this morning and the direct Eurostar was available for £59 per adult and £44 for our one paying child. I thought what the heck and booked it.

I therefore have eurostar and plane tickets booked. Can't cancel the plane (already checked). The upside is we gain a couple of hours in DLP at either end of our stay and I'm now really looking forward to the journey instead of dreading it.

Madness or what???

Andy

 

[jillrobinson]

I'm sure you'll really enjoy the Eurostar trip and you'll definately get more time in the parks with it, which at the end of the day is what the holiday is all about isn't it.
I wouldn't consider going any other way than Eurostar despite the station being a long way from us:
We had a 7.00am flight from Bristol on our first visit, didn't arrive at the park until 3.30 in the afternoon by which time the children were tired and hungry having been up since 4.00 am, (OK so there was some sort of transport dispute on at the time - I appreciate that's out of anyone's hands - we wre unlucky) and for our return 2.00pm flight we left the hotel after breakfast on our last day, just in case there were any hold ups, so for us what was supposed to be a 4 day break turned into a 2 and half one, hence we got home, I rebooked again for later in the year by Eurostar and I couldn't fault it. We stayed overnight at a Travelodge in Ashford, about 10 mins from the station - had breakfast, left the car at Ashford, had a most enjoyable journey, check in on the train with no problems whatsoever and arrived in the park 1.30pm - our luggage was taken to the hotel for us, leaving us free to go straight into the park and on our last day, we left our luggage at the hotel after breakfast and stayed in the park until 5.30 and then just the short walk to the station to collect luggage and check in. The only thing I'd do different next time is to book the Travelodge for the return night - driving for 5 hours after a day rushing around the park trying to fit everything in one last time isn't something I'd recommend.
Hope you have a wonderful time

 

[Miffy2003]

Sounds entirely sensible to me! If you end up getting more time at DLP and you can afford it it is money well spent as far as I'm concerned!

 

[Ware Bears]

Sounds entirely sensible to me! If you end up getting more time at DLP and you can afford it it is money well spent as far as I'm concerned!

I agree!!!

 

[steve_rob]

This is one of problems I have with Eurostar.

I can't book a package with transport included because as a shareholder, it means giving up my 10% discount. Even before those days, it was still sometimes difficult because travel agencies block book so many of the seats on the direct train (whether they sell them or not) and there aren't many seats remaining after this process - those that are sell out very quickly.

The only alternative is to book the hotel only with DLP and then try and book the train through Eurostar themselves, but as they will only sell you tickets three months in advance max. that (at least for me) is no good either. If I'm booking a holiday, I need to know that I've got my flight or train booked way more in advance than 90 days away - because of restrictions on when my wife can take annual leave from work, we have to work out most of our holiday dates up to 18 months ahead of time!

The idea of travelling by Eurostar is one I love - quick, easy, no messing around with coaches, hotel check-in on the train, they even deliver your baggage to the hotel for you. But unless I can guarantee that I'm going to be able to get on that train at the time I book my hotel, I'll have to stick with Easyjet and the VEA.

 

[Ware Bears]

Agree with you on this one. We booked the Explorers direct, then when we came to book Eurostar we could only get first class for the return journey...ALL the second class tickets had been allocated to travel agents! In the end it worked out cheaper to go first class BOTH ways! It has still saved us a lot of money DIY rather than package but I will be getting very anxious when it comes to booking Eurostar for our Christmas trip, goodness knows what ticket combination will be thrown at me then and at what prices!

BTW, you can book the Disneyland Eurostar 6 months in advance.

 

[MorganB]

You could have just booked a TGV ticket from the airport to Disney. Its a 10 minute ride.

 

[uksaint]

You could have just booked a TGV ticket from the airport to Disney. Its a 10 minute ride.

Believe me, I examined the options - unfortunately the TGV timetable meant we would have been waiting aroung at CDG for an hour and a half so no real gain over the VEA.

24 hours on, and I am happy with my decision despite the apparent waste of money - like I said before, we are now looking forward to our journey instead of dreading it - and that's gotta be worth a few quid. I know what my parents would have to say about it though.

Cheers
Andy

 

[MorganB]

Ahh yes, sitting around for 1h30 mins would not be worth it! The eurostar is nice. You will enjoy it. Have a great trip!

 

[Miffy2003]

I know what my parents would have to say about it though.

I don't know, the youth of today

Andy I'm sure my parents would say the same. Some things are best left unsaid I feel

 

[steve_rob]

BTW, you can book the Disneyland Eurostar 6 months in advance.

When I tried it earlier this year on the Eurostar website, it refused my dates saying that it was still 90 days in advance only. Have you found somewhere else on the web that has a longer lead time or have they recently changed the rules? I'd be grateful if you could let me know.

 

[Ware Bears]

We used the Eurostar site, if you are booking through other sites ie. Expedia they still say 90 days.

It will only let you book 6 months in advance for Disneyland, the other destinations are still 90 days. I don't know how long it has been letting you do this, we booked our tickets at the beginning of March and had been checking the site for prices for about a month before this and it was showing dates up to 6 months in advance all that time. I've just tried it now and it will let you book tickets with a return date up to 10th November.