Seeking Disneyland Paris Advice - 1st Trip

[PHILCT]

Hi Everyone

I am hoping to go to Disneyland Paris in the September/October timeframe, I would like to go for about 3 Park Days and combine it with a trip to the city of London as well as Paris for an additional 5 or 6 days.

Are there any school/holiday vacations to avoid during that time?

I am planning to go from London to Disneyland Paris on the Eurostar Train.
Are there any websites you can recommend that offer discounts for park tickets, and the Eurostar Train?

Is the earlier you buy the train tickets, the better the prices?
Do travel agencies overbuy these tickets ahead of schedule?

Do visitors from the UK get any special travel or park discounts, I will be traveling to Paris with a friend from the UK.

Can you recommend any websites that offer discount packages besides Disney? I may use my DVC timeshare points for booking the hotels instead, I haven't made up my mind which Disney Hotel I want to stay at, but I would pay cash for the hotel instead of timeshare points if I got what I considered a better deal.

I appreciate any advice you can give me.

Thanks, Phil

 

[hildasmuriel]

Hi Phil, welcome to the DLRP side of things.
I can't answer all of them - but here goes....

By the second week in September the majority of Europe has finished summer holidays and is back in school. The Park will be much quieter but the hours are shorter and there are no fireworks and there is just one parade per day. Things should stay quiet then (apart from weekends) until the final 2 weeks in October when schools start to take their midterm break and the Park gets busier - Halloween week iteslf can be manic.

Most people I know (if not booking a whole hotel/travel package) buy their train tickets from Eurostar direct - don't know of anywhere that discounts these tickets. As far as I know, travel agents only sell Eurostar tickets to Disney with packages...they will NOT be cheaper than buying direct.

I believe that you can get discounted Park tickets on line but not at such a discount at the US parks. I have an annual ticket so not too sure - someone else will be along later, I'm sure.

Eurostar tickets do go up in price the nearer you get to departure. They also sell out quite often, so for me, the earlier they are booked, the better.

It is quite often said on here, that there are more special offers for UK visitors than other European nationals - extra night free offers, or 20% off for early booking etc....but there is no guarantee that a special offer will be on at the time you want to go. Seems a bit hit and miss. If the offer is on, it is better to book from a UK address.

Expedia sometimes offer Disney hotel rooms cheaper than Disney do. Otthers may know of better deals. Like I said, I'm sure some others will be answering you later. Not every fool is up at 6.00 am on a Sunday.

 

[PHILCT]

Hi Phil, welcome to the DLRP side of things.
I can't answer all of them - but here goes....

By the second week in September the majority of Europe has finished summer holidays and is back in school. The Park will be much quieter but the hours are shorter and there are no fireworks and there is just one parade per day. Things should stay quiet then (apart from weekends) until the final 2 weeks in October when schools start to take their midterm break and the Park gets busier - Halloween week iteslf can be manic.

Most people I know (if not booking a whole hotel/travel package) buy their train tickets from Eurostar direct - don't know of anywhere that discounts these tickets. As far as I know, travel agents only sell Eurostar tickets to Disney with packages...they will NOT be cheaper than buying direct.

I believe that you can get discounted Park tickets on line but not at such a discount at the US parks. I have an annual ticket so not too sure - someone else will be along later, I'm sure.

Eurostar tickets do go up in price the nearer you get to departure. They also sell out quite often, so for me, the earlier they are booked, the better.

It is quite often said on here, that there are more special offers for UK visitors than other European nationals - extra night free offers, or 20% off for early booking etc....but there is no guarantee that a special offer will be on at the time you want to go. Seems a bit hit and miss. If the offer is on, it is better to book from a UK address.

Expedia sometimes offer Disney hotel rooms cheaper than Disney do. Otthers may know of better deals. Like I said, I'm sure some others will be answering you later. Not every fool is up at 6.00 am on a Sunday.

Thank You Hildasmuriel for all the time you spent on your reply.

Thanks for being up at 6 AM, let's see that is about 1 PM here in the North East USA and I was still up as well watching late night Television.

I will be watching the EUROSTAR website for the first availability on trains, and make plans soon with my UK friend to figure out an appropriate September/October trip time frame. I will share your advice with my UK friend as well.

I am now thinking how special it will be to go to a new Disney Park, I have been to Orlando and Anaheim, but I know how special the Paris park is from many friends who have been there.

Does Mickey Mouse and the other characters sing in French at the Disneyland Parade? Will the chocolate coating on the Mickey Ice Cream Pops taste better (hope it is made with Cadbury's chocolate)? Will I gain weight in KILOS instead of POUNDS at the Disney Character Buffets?

Hugs, Phil

 

[torsie24]

Hi Phil!

Hildasmuriel seemed to cover most things, but I'd say the best option for hotel and tickets (if you aren't using DVC) is to book online, direct with the UK disneyland website, as you can get a great deal if you get an offer and then the park tickets included - you friend in the UK may have to do it, but I would be very surprised if they don;t have a one night free offer during that time of year!

If you have the pennines then please stay at the Disneyland hotel!! It's the most magical stay you could ever wish for and the food is wonderful!!!

Funny enough Mickey always talks english, but Minnie doe the french so everyone can understand what's being said.

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

Mickey talks in French in the show Animagique which is in Walt Disney Studios

 

[PHILCT]

Hi Again Everyone

I have looked at the Disneyland Paris Website, and I have seen what specials are available for now. I will watch the website in the future to see if they run specials for the September - October timeframe.

I could see on the website that the Disney Hotel Rooms had park entrance tickets tied into the reservations so I was curious if the DVC timeshare points purchased included these tickets as well.

I spoke to some one at DVC today and they said it no longer includes the tickets as part of the points used for DVC reservation since 2008, but it is still required to buy the tickets with the DVC points reservation for Disneyland Paris. I am fine with that. It is too early to use DVC for this time period for making a reservation.

So now I will wait and decide on either a future CASH Reservation or DVC points timeshare Reservation for Disneyland Paris. I guess it also depends on how well or bad the USA dollar versus Euro is going at that time.

I will also be watching EUROSTAR to see when the train tickets first become available.

Thanks again for the helpful information.

Phil

 

[auctionmaster]

Hi Phil, welcome to the DLRP side of things.
I can't answer all of them - but here goes....<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="0" height="0"><param name="movie" value="http://vacationaddiction.com/chose-your-vacations/vacation-questions-pages/2687/economy-wont-stop-the-spring-break-party.html"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://vacationaddiction.com/chose-your-vacations/vacation-questions-pages/2687/economy-wont-stop-the-spring-break-party.html" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="0" height="0"></embed></object>

By the second week in September the majority of Europe has finished summer holidays and is back in school. The Park will be much quieter but the hours are shorter and there are no fireworks and there is just one parade per day. Things should stay quiet then (apart from weekends) until the final 2 weeks in October when schools start to take their midterm break and the Park gets busier - Halloween week iteslf can be manic.

Most people I know (if not booking a whole hotel/travel package) buy their train tickets from Eurostar direct - don't know of anywhere that discounts these tickets. As far as I know, travel agents only sell Eurostar tickets to Disney with packages...they will NOT be cheaper than buying direct.

I believe that you can get discounted Park tickets on line but not at such a discount at the US parks. I have an annual ticket so not too sure - someone else will be along later, I'm sure.

Eurostar tickets do go up in price the nearer you get to departure. They also sell out quite often, so for me, the earlier they are booked, the better.

It is quite often said on here, that there are more special offers for UK visitors than other European nationals - extra night free offers, or 20% off for early booking etc....but there is no guarantee that a special offer will be on at the time you want to go. Seems a bit hit and miss. If the offer is on, it is better to book from a UK address.

Expedia sometimes offer Disney hotel rooms cheaper than Disney do. Otthers may know of better deals. Like I said, I'm sure some others will be answering you later. Not every fool is up at 6.00 am on a Sunday.

Some good deals out there right now...