Suprise 50th bday gift to PARIS!!! - where to start?

[Dis31]

Hi all,

I'm planning a suprise 50th Bday present for my mother in March. She's always wanted to go to paris and I really want to do this for her. How are the prices I dont even know where to start, hotels,airlines?We are AP holders for WDW and have been many many times, but never PARIS. Any help would be great. I'm going to need alot!!!

 

[tinkerbell36]

Wow that's so exciting!! Ok first things first, it all depends what kind of budget you're on. For convienience I would always recommend staying on site on your first trip, in the actual Disney hotels and not the ones 'Close to the Magic' as these do not include park passes (I think this is the case, someone correct me if I'm wrong?) If you're on a tight budget, the cheapest hotel is Hotel Santa Fe. What dates are you thinking of, as you can get an extra night free on certain dates in March, and also have you thought about how long you want to stay? To give you some sort of idea, to stay at the Santa Fe for 4 nights/5 days from the 11th March for 2 adults is £338, including hopper park passes for 5 days and continental breakfast each morning

One hotel which gets really great reviews (and one I am dying to stay at!!) is the Sequoia Lodge, which is a bit more expensive but the rooms are bigger and the setting is gorgeous. To stay there for the same dates and length is £452.

Anyway I don't want to overload you with information, but March is a nice time to go, bit chilly when we went this year but there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes!

By the by have you checked out DLP's official site? Just in case you haven't - www.disneylandparis.com

Give us questions - we love answering them!!

 

[Dis31]

I was thinking around March 8-14 maybe, but a little flexible. My moms birthday is actually march 12, so we would want to be there that day for sure. I was looking at the Bay club hotel ( not sure of the exact name) or the disneyland hotel but they look a bit steep. Im having a little bit of difficulty figuring out the prices for the US dollar. We always go to WDW so we have APs for there. Are there AP's for DL Paris, and do you get hotel discounts with them? We find the AP for WDW to be such a great deal they pay for themselves in . Im also a little worried about dining we are very picky lol. Do you make ressies 180 days out like WDW? Thanks for taking the time to help,I appreciate. As you can see Im very lost lol.

Meaghan

 

[beachbunny]

Others here know more than me but when I was planning my trip I found that getting a room alone cost as much as a room with tickets. Unless I were going to make multiple visits, I wouldn't go the AP route.

Other than Buffalo Bill's you shouldn't need any dining reservations. Things are much more mellow than WDW.

 

[Laurajean1014]

With me! I'd love to go (but I'm not 50). But, I can act it!

Have fun with your plans!

 

[wideeyes]

March is one of the cheaper times to go so you maybe able to get a good deal on a hotel, and they are doing extra nights free during this time.

The Disneyland hotel is very expensive compared to the deluxe at wdw though it is a lovely hotel, its right over the entrance and its unlike any hotel at wdw with it fantastic location, I loved the subtle Disney theming.
However if you choose to stay at the New Port Bay Club you can still visit the Disneyland hotel and have a drink or a meal or a walk around, maybe you could go here for a birthday meal, they do a very good character meal.

I have never stayed at the New Port Bay Club though I have read good reviews about it and it seems a good cheaper option than the Disneyland hotel especially if you stay on the admiral floor as you will get pretty much the same services you would get at the Disneyland hotel, for example room service.

also you can check out menus here www.dlpfoodguide.com and get an idea of where you might like to eat, as already said you don't need to make reservations in advance you can do them when you arrive, all the Disney hotels have a concierge which you can make your reservations at.

Also if you plan to visit Paris you can do this buy getting a train from Disneyland, the train station is just out side the park and it takes about 40 minutes. There is a tourist information office located nearby and they will give you advice on where to get of the train and you can pick up a map from here as well.

 

[Bexx]

Welcome to the DLP board

I don't know if you've already done it, but you can work out the price of a package, in USD, here.

The price (on the gate) of all the different park passes can be found here. If you really wanted to go down the AP route, then it might be worth staying at one of the preferred hotels, like the Holiday Inn. They are not onsite, but only a ten minute free shuttle ride away, and can offer very good value. Otherwise there are only a couple of the onsite hotels that offer an AP discount on rooms, and I'm fairly certain that the Disneyland Hotel isn't one of them. I'm not even sure if the Newport Bay Club is either.

BTW you can't even make reservations 180 days out at DLP - 60 days is the earliest opportunity!! Not that you need to - most people don't even bother until the day they want to eat. But if there is somewhere that you really want to visit on a certain day, then it's worth doing for peace of mind.

 

[tinkerbell36]

I'd say buy an Annual Passport if you'll visit DLP maybe twice a year - I think someone has posted the link which shows all the advantages of it, I'm thinking of getting one myself as I go 4 times a year but I'm still not 100% certain how they work!

As people have said, there's very little need to make dinner reservations in advance, perhaps only on the day in the morning. Most of the restaurants in the park sell your basic hamburgers, cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets, with most specialising according to the theme (eg, Pizzeria Bella Notte does pasta and pizza dishes). Most of the restaurants in Disney Village are quite good - have a look at the guide in the link above.

any more questions??

 

[Cyrano]

Welcome to the DLP board

You have come to the right place as a few have planned holidays to both Paris and DLP

Have a look at the Useful Info sticky at the top of the page for starters.
Any questions once you have had a look at the different options just ask away

 

[Ware Bears]

Hi Meaghan and welcome over here!

What a lovely surprise for your mum.

 

[woody73]

We have stayed at the Newport Bay Club, and can recommend it.

DW has stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, and likes it even more. It is located at the main gate, so you don't have to take a shuttle.

Woody

 

[jcanary]

We are looking to going there for the first time also in mar/apr 2007. It looks like we will be doing Disneyland 3/31-4/3. Any idea as to how busy it will be at the end of March, beginning of April? I have not been able to find any packages for 2007 so I have gone ahead and booked at the Marriott timeshare for $200 usd a night for a 2 bedroom 2.5 bath. I believe it also has a shuttle. We are going on a tour of Europe first, starting in London and then ending in Paris where we plan on our own from there. Does anyone know about Nantes? We have to go there also since my daughter will be there at the University for a semester. Can't wait, now I have to take the big step and book the good airfare that I have found. Have fun planning. I love it.

 

[tinkerbell36]

I went at the end of March this year and it was quite quiet - not as quiet as it would be in January time but quiet enough while still having an atmosphere that sounds like a lovely holiday, congratulations to your daughter!!