Rooms for families of 5 and how many days do we need?

[slg]

Big Disney fan, but also love travelling in general. We are going to be going to the Med in 2013 and are thinking of also going to Paris, plus checking out Disneyland Paris. I don't know where to start but here. Found the actual DLP site hard to get information from, such as prices!

Where can a family of 5 stay cheaply and conveniently plus how many days do we actually need? I was thinking 2.

Any advice would be appreciated. We will be going in July.

 

[ICGenie]

We're going as a five - I found the cheapest option was to book two rooms. I think one of the hotels does rooms that hold up to 6 but it was way out of our budget.

 

[slg]

How many days? What hotel did you book? Cost?

 

[A Small World]

How old are the children (assuming there are 2 adults and 3 children)

All the Disney hotels rooms sleep 4 plus an infant (under 3yrs). If your children are all over 3 your options are:
2 rooms as mentioned above
A Family room (DLH have these and I think Newport bay do as well)
Explorers hotel has rooms for 4 which link to a room for 2 making a room for 6
Davy Crocket Ranch has cabins which sleep 6 however there is no transport from the Ranch so you would need a car.

All the other Disney hotels are within walking distance to the parks (approx 10-15 mins) but have shuttle buses as well (apart from DLH which is by the gates)

The 4 associated hotels Explorers, Magic Circus, Kyriad and Dream Castle have a shuttle bus

There are other hotels a bit further afield but 5 minutes away by RER (train) but Im not sure which have rooms for 5 people

 

[jothp]

When we went last August we found as a family of 5 that it was considerably cheaper to buy annual passes and stay offsite than staying in any of the disney hotels so that might be worth looking into. By doing that we saved ourselves over £400 on a two night stay!

We like to go for 4 night trips to have plenty of time to do things many times. Depending what time you are arriving and leaving I should think you could do most things once in 2 or 3 days if you organise your time well.

 

[slg]

Where did you stay off-site? Did it have free transfers?

 

[Ware Bears]

We've stayed at the Explorers several times as a family of 5. You can get a cabin room with a double and two single beds plus a further room with bunk beds. There's a picture of the room layout in the Explorers FAQ sticky.

You don't say the ages of your children - provided at least one is under 12 you'll be fine but if they're all older then this room won't be suitable as the hotel has a maximum occupancy of 4 adults (over 12s). There are other room options though - a suite or a cabin room for 10 which both have extra bathrooms.

There's a regular complimentary shuttle to the parks (takes 5 minutes) and it is possible to walk, it takes about half an hour.

Re the number of days - I'd try and stretch it to 3 if you can but if you can't then you'll still be able to enjoy yourself with 2 days. You might also want to consider basing yourself at DLP for when you visit Paris - it's a very simple 40 minute train journey in.

 

[slg]

My boys will be 17, 14 and 11 at time of travel.

Is it very expensive?

 

[cherrymarzipan]

We are a family of six and have had interconnecting rooms at the Cheyenne on occasions and stayed at the DCR a few times but find the cheapest and most convenient option is to stay offsite when we are all together (as the children are growing up we are usually a party of four or even three now) with our APs. Our favourite off-site option is to stay at Park & Suites Village at Montevrain which is very close to Disneyland and Val d'Europe. We rent what I would best describe as a modern town house. The accommodation is on three floors with two bedrooms (one double, one twin) and a bathroom on the first floor and a double bedroom and second bathroom (as well as large balcony) on the second floor. Downstairs is spacious with well equipped kitchen, dining and sitting areas and there is terrace and open garden behind. There is free WIFI as well. It is a great option for a larger family with teenage children and we are staying there for our trip in June.

 

[lilacgems23]

We've stayed at the Explorers several times as a family of 5. You can get a cabin room with a double and two single beds plus a further room with bunk beds. There's a picture of the room layout in the Explorers FAQ sticky.

You don't say the ages of your children - provided at least one is under 12 you'll be fine but if they're all older then this room won't be suitable as the hotel has a maximum occupancy of 4 adults (over 12s). There are other room options though - a suite or a cabin room for 10 which both have extra bathrooms.

There's a regular complimentary shuttle to the parks (takes 5 minutes) and it is possible to walk, it takes about half an hour.

Re the number of days - I'd try and stretch it to 3 if you can but if you can't then you'll still be able to enjoy yourself with 2 days. You might also want to consider basing yourself at DLP for when you visit Paris - it's a very simple 40 minute train journey in.

Where and how do you book it seperately cheaper please?

 

[jothp]

We stayed in the residhome val d'europe. We got the RER to the park and back every day and the journey was literally a few minutes. We booked through expedia.

 

[Ware Bears]

My boys will be 17, 14 and 11 at time of travel.

Is it very expensive?

You'll be fine with their ages then.
You can get an idea of prices from the Explorers own site here although they are not always the lowest.

Where and how do you book it seperately cheaper please?

I've previously booked through Expedia, Benotel, the Explorers own site - whoever's been cheapest. If you look at the Hotel FAQ sticky there's a post showing sites that people have booked the offsite hotels through.

 

[slg]

The Explorers looks nice. Is it possible to stay there for a week and go to Paris from there? Or would it make more sense to relocate to Paris after we're done with DLP

 

[A Small World]

The Explorers looks nice. Is it possible to stay there for a week and go to Paris from there? Or would it make more sense to relocate to Paris after we're done with DLP

Its easy to get into Paris- it takes about 30-40 mins by train from the station next to the Disney parks. A lot of people do day trips into Paris from DLP - Ive done a few myself.
However its also nice to stay in Paris itself and soak up the atmosphere of the city.

Theres advantages and disadvantages of both really.
It would save you having to relocate with all your luggage but you would by travelling back and forward between the 2.

I can also recommend Explorers as a nice hotel to stay in - it felt very much like a disney hotel even though it wasnt.

 

[Kikifromscotland]

Because we are 5 adults the only cost effective option for us was the adagio (5 persons in 1 bedroom apartment is £300 for 4 nights or cheaper if you don't need the cancellation option which we chose) but I'm a bit apprehensive after reading trip advisor... It does kind of meet our requirements though which were separate spaces for me & bf and for his mum dad and sis and has a free shuttlebus to the parks. Also it is handy that it has a kitchen and is near-ish the supermarket as we will be on a budget and bf and I each have different dietary requirements which restaurants can struggle to cater for.

Still if i had the choice I'd go for explorers, we are planning on eating out at least once a day anyway.

 

[Ware Bears]

Its easy to get into Paris- it takes about 30-40 mins by train from the station next to the Disney parks. A lot of people do day trips into Paris from DLP - Ive done a few myself.
However its also nice to stay in Paris itself and soak up the atmosphere of the city.

Theres advantages and disadvantages of both really.

We've done two day trips into Paris on previous visits to DLP which we thoroughly enjoyed. This time round we've decided to spend a few days in Paris prior to our DLP trip to do as A Small World says and soak up the atmosphere. I think it depends on whether you mind the inconvenience of changing hotels or would rather be based in one place.

Because we are 5 adults the only cost effective option for us was the adagio (5 persons in 1 bedroom apartment is £300 for 4 nights or cheaper if you don't need the cancellation option which we chose) but I'm a bit apprehensive after reading trip advisor... It does kind of meet our requirements though which were separate spaces for me & bf and for his mum dad and sis and has a free shuttlebus to the parks. Also it is handy that it has a kitchen and is near-ish the supermarket as we will be on a budget and bf and I each have different dietary requirements which restaurants can struggle to cater for.

Still if i had the choice I'd go for explorers, we are planning on eating out at least once a day anyway.

I'm sure other people on here have stayed at the Adagio and been happy with it. You have to take the reports on Trip Adviser with a pinch of salt anyway - some of the reviews are extremely helpful but some are ridiculous where people are complaining about the pettiest of things! So long as it's clean and comfortable is all that matters really as I bet you won't be there that much.

 

[slg]

Its a Small World:

We've been looking at the Explorer's and it seems reasonably priced for a family of 5. Looking at some places in Paris, it is comparable or has more amenities.

We are probably looking at 3 days in DLP and 4 days exploring Paris. The idea of moving locations doesn't really appeal to me and 45 minutes by train doesn't seem too, too long. Is it easy to get to the major Parisian attractions from the train station? How late does the train run? So many decision! I like the idea of staying in Paris for the ambiance, but I also like the idea of breaking up DLP throughout our visit, meaning 1 day dlp, one day paris,etc. Does that seem reasonable? We have no clue, just starting to research now.

Thanks for the advice in advance!

 

[A Small World]

Yes its really easy to link onto the metro system which you will probably use to get to all the main attractions.
The RER has about 4 main stations in central Paris - including Charles de Gualle Etoile (nothing to do with the airport) which is by the Arc de Triomphe and at the top of the Champs Elysee.

Another station is Auber which is across the road from the main depot for hop on/off bus tours if you want to take one of these.

You wont even have to go outside to get on the metro - it links from the same stations.

You can get a mobilis ticket from DLP costing about 13Euros for an adult which will give you return travel into Paris and unlimited use of metro all day.

Another nice way to get round is by Batobus which is a boat-bus - you can get a ticket for the day and get on and off as much as you want - just google batobus and you will get more info and costs for this

 

[slg]

Thank you so much for the information! 13 euros for an all day return ticket with unlimited metro sounds fantastic! And the idea of just having a stationary hotel really appeals to all of us! Does the train travel often and late at night? Not that we plan to be in Paris late at night, but we may want to eat dinner there and then come back to the hotel.

HOHO will be on our first day! Do you think 4 days is enough? Or should we do 2 days DLP and 5 days Paris?

You have been so helpful. I don't feel quite so lost now.

 

[Carrie_Cat]

Thank you so much for the information! 13 euros for an all day return ticket with unlimited metro sounds fantastic! And the idea of just having a stationary hotel really appeals to all of us! Does the train travel often and late at night? Not that we plan to be in Paris late at night, but we may want to eat dinner there and then come back to the hotel.

HOHO will be on our first day! Do you think 4 days is enough? Or should we do 2 days DLP and 5 days Paris?

You have been so helpful. I don't feel quite so lost now.

a mobilis is 14,20€ atm will go up again in July. There are other fare possibilities it depends on which days you are travelling and if with children their ages

First train goes out at 5.13 am and last one back from Charles de Gaulle-Etoile is at 00.30 am

If you are going for example from MLV to the Eiffel Tower count on 65 mins journey time

There are more trains at peak times and obviously the later in the day the fewer trains there are