London and Disneyland Paris in April

[DisneyAlly]

Hope I am not intruding or anything....I am not from the UK, but I am not sure where else to post our question. Our family is thinking of visiting London and Paris during our kids' Spring Break April 11- April 21 2003. We have never been to Europe and we are totally clueless. Is this a good time to visit London? What's the weather like? It'll be Easter week when we go. Just wondering if the crowds in Disneyland Paris are as bad as in WDW during Easter.

Thanks in advance!

 

[richard3330]

Hi Ally,

Welcome to DISUK!

It's great that you are thinking of visiting London and Paris for a vacation I am sure you will love them both, especially Disneyland Paris which is, although much smaller and very different, in some ways better that WDW.

When you visit London at Easter it is hard to say what the weather will be like. Don't expect nice hot temperature though! We've had some Easters when it is fairly nice and sunny and some where it has been cold and rainy, you'll just have to wait and see.

Disneyland Paris does get quite busy during Easter but as the crowds will now be spread out over the 2 Disneyland Paris theme parks it shouldn't be too bad. Also, I'm not 100% sure, but I think our 2-3 week Easter break starts about 2/3/4 April, so DLP will have the 'Easter crowds' from the UK too, I’m not sure about the French school dates though.

Have you thought about where to stay when you visit DLParis? The Disneyland Hotel is truly magical and very highly recommended by myself and DLParis deluxe hotels are MUCH cheaper than WDW deluxe resorts. A great website to visit is www.dlp-guidebook.de and the official Disneyland Paris site: www.disneylandparis.com


London has lots for you to do and nearby are lots of theme parks like Legoland for instance, or there is lots of historic sites and great shopping within the city itself. If you want to know more information about what to do in London i’m sure lots of UK dis people can help!!

HTH

Richard

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

The weather at DLP during Easter can be very unpredictable. I've had nice weather, with temperatures warm enough for T-shirts during the day. But I've also had snow at Easter while at DLP, so it can be a little hit or miss. The Disneyland Park at Paris is very well suited to inclement weather, with just about all of the queue areas being under shelter or indoors, and covered walkways around many areas of the park.

Around the Easter holiday itself the park can get busy, although not as bad as the peak summer season. Outside of the Easter weekend it's not too bad at all. I don't think that the possibility of large crowds at this time of year should be a major worry.

Did you know that there is a direct train service from the centre of London right to the gates of DLP? During Easter this is a daily service, taking three hours. If you are staying in London this is by far the best way to get to DLP. The Disney resort is about 45 minutes train journey from the centre of Paris, so it is possible to do a little sight seeing in the City of Lights while staying in the Disney magic.

Regards

Rob

 

[vernon]

Just wanted to agree with Rob, the train service from London to Paris is by far the best way to get to DLP. At that time of year I would suggest looking at travelling first class on the train, there are usually some decent deals about and at busy times it's really worth the extra money for the comfort and quieter, more civilised atmosphere. I would try to avoid Easter weekend itself at DLP as it will get busy. I would suggest going midweek and you could probably get away with a one night stay as the Studios isn't a full day park. If you get the early morning train from London Waterloo you can be in the park by lunchtime and by taking an evening train back home again you'd get a day and a half in the parks. Obviously it's more leisurely to take two nights but with just 10 days holiday it's an option to make the most of your time.

http://www.eurostar.com
http://www.eurostar.co.uk

 

[DisneyAlly]

Hello everyone! Thank you very much for your suggestions and for the links. I really like the idea of taking the train from London to DLP. I didn't realize there is a train running from DLP to Paris either. That really opens up a lot of wonderful sightseeing opportunities for us. At the moment, we are thinking about spending 5 nights in London and 5 nights in Paris. We'll like to take in the major London sights first and then take some day tours to the country side. I am eager to check out some authentic castles (as opposed to the fiberglass ones in WDW! ). I have printed out a list of must-see castles but we will only have time to see one. Any suggestions? The kids are big Harry Potter fans and I will try to include some of the film locations for them.

In Paris, we'll definitely spend some time visiting Paris' attractions. One of my friends here (not a Disney fan) thought we'll be wasting precious time staying in DLP area and suggested that we stay in downtown Paris and take the train to DLP instead. However, I am not sure our kids 6 and 8 will enjoy the Paris scene as much as my DH and I will. Should we split our Paris stay? Spend 2 nights in DLP and 3 nights in the city? We haven't decided which hotel to stay at yet at DLP. The Disneyland Hotel does look lovely. It resembles the Grand Floridian and I am sure its on-site location makes it even more magical. Do any of the rooms look into Magic Kingdom itself?

Richard, looks like we'll be in WL the same time! We are staying in the WL for 3 nights and then heading over to the GF. Maybe we'll run into each other!

Have a wonderful day!
Ally

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Some of the Disneyland hotel rooms do look into the park, although these are the higher grade rooms and suites. It's certainly a wonderful location for a hotel, even if your room faces the car park!

It is possible to stay in Paris city centre and travel out to DLP for the day. It is equally possible to stay in a Disney hotel and travel by train to visit the city centre. Paris is a relatively small city, and easy to get around by public transport.

Regards

Rob

 

[richard3330]

Hi Ally!

You definitely should take the train from London to DLP it is sooo easy!! I agree with Vernon, you should definitely try and book First Class seats, the first time we went on Eurostar we were in Economy and found the seats terribly uncomfortable and it was very noisy. If you look around you may be able to find some good value upgrades.

None of the standard rooms at DLhotel are supposed to look over the park, but our friends booked a standard room and it had a wonderful park view. Although the location of the hotel and views from the hotel are exceptional, if you aren't going to spend that much time at the hotel then a standard room is still very nicely furnished and quite large. If you can't stretch to DLhotel Newport Bay Club is VERY nice, indeed and is my definite second best disney hotel - the nautical theme works really well and it is very similair to Yacht Club - just A LOT cheaper!!


It's great that you will be in WL too, what dates will you be there from?, we'll be there from 20th December for 1 week before we move to POB at Universal for 3 nights and then Poly for 4 nights.

Have a great Day!

Richard.