Sorry but a few questions even after reading posts , sorry !

[Mommyofthree3]

Hi
Well how do I begin
I'm thinking of taking 2of my girls to dlp, for the littlest ones birthay, she will be 3 on 26/2/12.
Am thinking of going 20-24 th feb as it's half term, plus under 3 will be free I think, my other daughter will be 14 but still loves Disney, my 17 year olds staying home.
So it will be the 4 of us, I've included mr grumpy my hubby!
Firstly, is everything still open then?
I had a quote this evening for 1200 for eurostar and hotel with breakfast and passes, or 1700 if we fly, cant recall hotels name but she said it was a popular one that used a shuttle bus to the park( parks? Is there more than 1?)
Just proves how little I know!
So, do I go with that quote or do I shop around? And she's a real mad mickey mouse fan so is there a themed hotel that he appears in? And where on earth do I take her for a birthday cake/ party? Is it cafe mickey?
Do I prebook that and these emh that I read about and half board vouchers?
I'm sorry for so many questions, but I've read and read lots on here and am still a bit confused
We live in west midlands by the way, so if we used eurostar we would have to spend an expensive night in London the night before I'm guessing *** it's too far to drive on that morning
Tina x

 

[tinkertaylor05]

Hello and welcome

Firstly I'd price it up seperately yourself if you haven't done so already. That week's half term so as with everything will be more expensive. We did Feb half term this year, can't remember what was closed but I know we didn't feel that we missed out on anything. All the on site hotels are themed in some way, I've only stayed at New York but am sure you get characters appearing at all of them.

Cafe Mickey is good for a birthday definitely

 

[DLPdaft]

Hi Mommyofthree3,

Welcome to the Disneyland Paris Trip Planning & Community Board .

We are a friendly bunch here so please join in on any other thread or if you have a number of questions then just start a new thread for each

If you have not had a look yet, DLP posting rules are here
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1477038,
DIS posting guidelines can be found here
http://www.wdwinfo.com/guidelines.htm

Hi Well how do I begin I'm thinking of taking 2of my girls to dlp, for the littlest ones birthay, she will be 3 on 26/2/12. Am thinking of going 20-24 th feb as it's half term, plus under 3 will be free I think, my other daughter will be 14 but still loves Disney, my 17 year olds staying home. So it will be the 4 of us, I've included mr grumpy my hubby! Firstly, is everything still open then?

Yes, everything is still open - there may be a couple of rides closed for refurbishment, this goes on all through the year. The current Magical Celebration show will not be on then, but there will still be daily parades, shows, rides and character meet n greets as usual .

I had a quote this evening for 1200 for eurostar and hotel with breakfast and passes, or 1700 if we fly, cant recall hotels name but she said it was a popular one that used a shuttle bus to the park( parks? Is there more than 1?) Just proves how little I know! So, do I go with that quote or do I shop around?

Definitely shop around - there are 6 onsite hotels to choose from, and price up your own transport - transport included by Disney or with a travel agent is usually more expensive than doing it yourself.

And she's a real mad mickey mouse fan so is there a themed hotel that he appears in?

Mickey appears in most of the onsite hotels in the mornings, and you can also meet him in both parks every day, so don't worry about meeting him .

And where on earth do I take her for a birthday cake/ party? Is it cafe mickey? Do I prebook that and these emh that I read about and half board vouchers?

Cafe Mickey is fabulous for a birthday celebration, you don't have to pay for that in advance, or get half board meal vouchers if you don't want to. The birthday cake can be paid for in advance once you have your hotel booked, or you can wait until you get to DLP and order it at City Hall in the main park.

EMH is Extra Magic Hours - from 8am to 10am onsite hotel guests can enter the main park and ride some rides which will be open in Fantasyland and Discoveryland. Everyone who stays onsite gets this free of charge, you don't have to do anything else for this.

I'm sorry for so many questions, but I've read and read lots on here and am still a bit confused We live in west midlands by the way, so if we used eurostar we would have to spend an expensive night in London the night before I'm guessing *** it's too far to drive on that morning Tina x

we fly from the East Midlands or Luton, or you could drive down to Ashford the night before your Eurotunnel crossing and stay in a travelodge or Premier Inn - they regularly have sales and you can stay there quite cheaply .

 

[hanksy]

Just lost my first reply... Here goes again.

I can only comment on how I've booked as we havent gone yet!

I booked my hotel with leisure direction and check different start days (if you can) as I found it nearly £80 cheaper by going on the Monday to that going Wednesday.

Then I booked eurostar separate.
You can book trains from your home town direct with eurostar to disney. Should your first train be late, you would be put on next available train!
I'm from Yorkshire so getting to London for 9am was very expensive on the train. Looked at staying in London but the hotel was just as much as my hotel in Disney! Then there would be possibly tube tickets too.
I've booked from Sheffield leaving 9.30am and I arrive at Disney at 5pm. This was also a lot cheaper than the Direct eurostar service.
Although I don't arrive until 5pm, it was still cheaper to book the extra night for Disney (for me anyway)
Coming home I'm on the direct eurostar, meaning that I get home to sheff after midnight! But saves on hotel in London again.

For trains you don't pay for under 5's (I've had to pay on eurostar but think you don't for under 3, but don't get a seat)

I've leaving my mr grumpy at home and going on the adventure alone with my 4 year old.

Also feb half term is different, ours is the week before, have you googled when the french are off?

 

[LoodlesNoodles]

Another tip, if you don't mind staying in Youth Hostels, you could book a room in the one right by St Pancras. It's really nice (probably the nicest one I've stayed in!)

Also, yes there are two parks, Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios. These are right next door to each other and just across from Disney Village and the train station.

 

[Mommyofthree3]

Hi again, would people tell me any cons of magic circus or dream castle hotels please, also, when I book, does it include passes or do I go elsewhere for those? And I book direct with eurostar I presume? I won't get offers by shopping around will I? Is there any good comparison sites for hotels etc please? X x

 

[DLPdaft]

Hi again, would people tell me any cons of magic circus or dream castle hotels please, also, when I book, does it include passes or do I go elsewhere for those? And I book direct with eurostar I presume? I won't get offers by shopping around will I? Is there any good comparison sites for hotels etc please? X x

you don't get your park passes with offsite hotels unless you book through Disney, and thats expensive.

Lots of agents sell the associated hotels (expedia, travelrepublic, hotels.com, alpharooms, their own hotel websites) but you would have to buy park passes for 3 of you on top of that, that could work out just as expensive as booking onsite with an offer.

Also you don't get EMH if you're staying at an offsite hotel, and for a first trip with a 3-year old, EMH is invaluable .

Time to get crunching those numbers - also remember to try to avoid checking in on a Friday or Saturday as those are generally the most expensive days - leave it until Sunday or later (if you go completely in midweek and avoid weekends it will be much quieter in the parks too).

 

[Mommyofthree3]

So what site do I look at to book onsite with passes and emh all in one go? Is the offer of 30% still on somewhere? Is that any good and Inc all I need? Sorry about this,

 

[elstoleno]

30% off is still on on the Irish site, you're looking at around €627.18 (£550ish?) for the Santa Fe hotel during your stay. without transport.

Or if you book on the UK site before more offers come out you're looking at £962 for the hotel.

I would recommend either booking with the Irish site now, or waiting for a better offer on the UK site. Its up to you

If you don't know how to get onto the irish site, go onto the UK disneyland Paris site and scroll to the bottom and click change country, you can access it from there

 

[DLPdaft]

I'd book now using the 30% off offer on the Irish site, as its unlikely the UK site will have such a good offer for UK half term . Theres no point paying over £900 for exactly the same thing you're getting on the Irish version of the DLP site for less than £600!

 

[Mommyofthree3]

Hi the Cheyenne Santa fe came up cheapest on the Irish site, that was for the 4 of us, 2 adults a 2 year old and a 14 year old going on 20/2/12 for 3 days 4 nights, it Inc bed and breakfast, tickets and taxes, thatvseems steep to me? Or am I being unrealistic? It was 950 ish euros,

 

[Mommyofthree3]

Just did a check on holiday hypermarket and it'd be 272 for us all at dream castle or circus magic, that just includes breakfast though. Would it be so much more on top just for tickets or am I missing something here?

 

[elstoleno]

It looks like the offer just disappeared :/

Tickets are around £50 per person per day :|
Or you could look into annual passes
http://www.dlrpmagic.com/planning/booking/annual-passports/
You will have to check out the blackout dates etc to make sure you would be able to use them, and you won't be able to get the Classic or Francilien passes as you can't use them for 2 days after you buy them.

 

[Mommyofthree3]

Just my luck, oh well, just tried one more site and it's come up 978 for Santa fe with eurostar too, what do you all think? Should I keep looking? It o time consuming but I'm a nightmare for not wanting to pay over the odds for things!

 

[Mommyofthree3]

Just phoned them direct, what a wonderful person on the phone! I got my dates wrong, so new dates I had a quote for are 13 feb for 3 nights at Santa fe Inc passes and breakfast, it was £762, just have to add euro star and accommodation in Kent and parking in Kent, then I need to ask on here about emh? Is that something I'm going to need? And how do I get it? Also, how do I sort out the best meet and greet or lunch with characters? Is pre booking the way to go?

 

[elstoleno]

Is there an offer on during those dates do you know? If not then it might be worth waiting for an offer, I'd recommend asking other people though as i've never been during those dates.

EMH is offered to everyone staying at one of the Disney hotels. It is usually 1-2 hours in the park before it opens to the public, as far as I know its not guaranteed so you will need to check the calendar on the DLP site to see if you're getting EMH, but they will tell you at hotel check in anyway. You don't need to do anything else but wake up early and head to the park (well, you need to take stuff with you but that will be explained at check in)

I can't help with the lunch with characters as i've never done them, but I would recommend pre booking anything you want to do if its prebookable as it will guarantee you your place.

 

[elstoleno]

I checked the irish site and its around €711 euros for your new dates
although if you can go on the 10th instead you get 30% off so its €632.10
or if you can go earlier, on the 9th its €527.10

 

[A Small World]

Hi and welcome

It will be worth you getting a guide book I think to get to know a bit more about the parks etc before you go - a lot of us here recomend the Brits Guide to DLP and also have a read through the stickys at the top of the page here

Just to try and help you a bit though

There are 6 on site Disney Hotels (from cheapest up):

Santa Fe - no swimming pool
Cheyenne - no swimming pool
Sequioa Lodge
Newport Bay
New York
Disneyland Hotel - DLH

they are all within walking distance from the parks but all have shuttle buses as well (apart from DLH which is right at the park gates). Santa fe which is furthest away takes about 15 mins to walk but its a nice walk past the lake and through the village (shops and restaurants)
All rooms sleep 4 in 2 double beds apart from Cheyenne which has double and bunk beds so you need to think which is best for you.
If you stay in any of these hotels you will get your park tickets included, breakfast included and EMH (access to some rides in the the park 2 hours before they open to others). You dont need to do anything extra to get any of these - you will be given your park tickets when you arrive and a hotel pass which you show at the gate to show you are entitled to EMH.

Breakfast is buffet breakfast and includes hot items at New York and DLH otherwise its continental at the others but plenty of choice.

There is more info on the hotels in the Hotel sticky at the top of the page and on the DLP website.