The Great Big Family Trip To Disneyland Paris

[BadPinkTink]

ok @Karin1984 I need your help, lol

Ive just been tasked with organizing a family trip to Disneyland Paris in August 2023. Disneyland Paris as a solo is easy, Ive done it 3 times now, but this is a very different trip.

Im going to use this as a planning thread, so I can keeep track of things.

Right now details are very open.

The group will be
Me - Expert Disney parks planner
My mum - just happy to be there, has been to Disneyland Paris but just goes with the flow
My sister - has been to Walt Disney World when we were young, never to Disneyland Paris, is not a parks person, this trip is for her daughter my niece.
Niece will be 8 years old at the time of the trip, wont know what hit her, will be living her best life and wont want to come home
Possible 2 of my sisters friends, who want to go to Disneyland Paris as it sounds fun and theres a Disney expert planning the trip

Some of the group will be travelling from Ireland, some will be travelling from England.

At this stage, logistics are not even being discussed, they just want a basic idea of budget and the accommodation options.

My first thought was either Cheyenne or Santa Fe which would be fine if was just us, but then with 1 or possible 2 of my sisters friends joining us we would need 2 rooms.

My second thought is that my sister could drive from England and Davy Crockett Ranch or Village Nature would then be an option.

The only thing about staying offsite is that we would be reliant on my sister for transportation. I do rope drop to park close but I doubt if everyone else would have that stamina. It would mean having to wait until everyone is ready in the morning to go to the park and then leaving as a group. It would mean we couldnt come and go to the parks as we wanted.

However I know the self catering aspect and having a lodge building just for our group would be something my sister would like.

Im just brainstorming at the moment, putting ideas down and seeing what could be suitable for us.

Time would be the middle or end of August due to my niece and school. I know its not ideal for crowds and prices buts thats what we have to go with.

 

[Karin1984]

Hey Tink!

I think Campanile - Val de France might be a good option for you. It's like the value resort Disneyland Paris doesn't have.
It's very reasonably priced (in comparison). It has free bus transportation (although we Uber'ed a lot this week, 8-10 euro per one way), it has a good breakfast buffet, a quick service, an arcade, space for children to play and for the adults to enjoy some wine in a nice environment in the evening.

If you sister likes the self catering Davy Crockett or Village Nature could work, then you could take an Uber to get there at park opening.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Hey Tink!

I think Campanile - Val de France might be a good option for you. It's like the value resort Disneyland Paris doesn't have.
It's very reasonably priced (in comparison). It has free bus transportation (although we Uber'ed a lot this week, 8-10 euro per one way), it has a good breakfast buffet, a quick service, an arcade, space for children to play and for the adults to enjoy some wine in a nice environment in the evening.

If you sister likes the self catering Davy Crockett or Village Nature could work, then you could take an Uber to get there at park opening.

Thanks, thats one I hadnt thought of. The bus transportation might be a good option, as if my sister is the designated driver, she cant have a glass of wine with dinner in the parks.

We were also discussing taxi / Uber, Its good to know now that Uber is an option as well. How did that work, were you waiting long for a car?

Timing has also changed, the trip has now switched to October school break, yikes I know, busy time but Ive never been to a Disney park for Halloween, so that will be something new for me.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Saving Info for Later Post

Im going to use this post to save info for later

Direct trains to Disneyland® Paris can currently be booked online up to 280 day in advance, depending on when you book. Direct trains don’t run every day, but you can always connect in Lille to speed straight to the park gates on a TGV. TGV tickets can usually be booked up to 90 days in advance.

https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-ie/faq/dining/reservations/
Booking your table before you arrive at Disneyland Paris is highly recommended. You can book within the 2 months before you arrive. The official Disneyland Paris app is the easiest and quickest way to book. Alternatively, you can contact us on +33 1 60 30 40 50 (international call rates apply, cost may vary according to network).

- Upon your arrival, through the reception desk at your Disney Hotel

- Or at the restaurant directly

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Saving Info for Later Post

Im going to use this post to save info for later

Direct trains to Disneyland® Paris can currently be booked online up to 280 day in advance, depending on when you book. Direct trains don’t run every day, but you can always connect in Lille to speed straight to the park gates on a TGV. TGV tickets can usually be booked up to 90 days in advance.

https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-ie/faq/dining/reservations/
Booking your table before you arrive at Disneyland Paris is highly recommended. You can book within the 2 months before you arrive. The official Disneyland Paris app is the easiest and quickest way to book. Alternatively, you can contact us on +33 1 60 30 40 50 (international call rates apply, cost may vary according to network).

- Upon your arrival, through the reception desk at your Disney Hotel

- Or at the restaurant directly

Hello, what website do you use to book a direct train?

 

[BadPinkTink]

Hello, what website do you use to book a direct train?

The direct train is the Eurostar from London which can be booked here https://www.eurostar.com/rw-en

 

[shosh1530]

I have no tips to offer but following along as I'm starting to at least make dream plans for Disneyland Paris (maybe 2023?) with my kid.

 

[Karin1984]

I have no tips to offer but following along as I'm starting to at least make dream plans for Disneyland Paris (maybe 2023?) with my kid.

Hey Shosh, Tink has left the Dis boards, and has moved her planning thread to the Dibb, a UK Disney board.

https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1231706

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

This is me, back again , new name, same person. I was banned but due to recent events I decided to try to come back. I posted in the Disunplugged section.
Even though I was removed from this forum, my planning for October continues.

Updates

December 2022
When: End of October 2023
Who:

• Me - Certified Disney Planner Geek
• My mum
• My sister
• My 8 year old niece
• 2 Friends

Where
Santa Fe Hotel, onsite Disney BudgetRoom and Park tickets
Package Extra Add: On Full Board Standard Meal Plan
How: Direct through Disneyland Paris Irish website
How Much: I booked a room with 1 double bed and 1 bunk beds , the standard hotel room and tickets package and meal plan for 3 adults and 1 child4 days, 3 nights, park tickets for all 4 days, including arrival and departure
Grand Total €2623.46

I booked direct with Disneyland Paris website. Each country in Europe has its own website and in the before times they used to do different offers for each country. As per European Law anyone can book using any country website, you don't have to book with the default for your country of residence. In 2016 I booked on the French website as they had a 30% discount. This time I booked on the Irish website as I know DLP are not doing country specific offers right now. Like with USA, all Disney services and websites are connected, so its the same login as my Disneyland California app and website. DLP also have an App, very similar to the US parks Apps.

We have created a WhatsAp group chat for planning and my niece does not know anything yet. We did the big family trip to Orlando back in 1992 and I brought my mum to Disneyland Paris for Christmas in 2013.

The 2 friends are sisters and they also did a family holiday to Disneyland California many years when they were young.

I'm the only one who has any recent knowledge of planning and experiencing Disney Parks.

The 2 friends booked the same hotel and same dates. I got their confirmation number and rang Disneyland Paris to link the bookings and to request nearby rooms. Santa Fe Hotel is the budget hotel and the rooms are in various blocks, with inside corridors. I put the request for nearby rooms so that we hopefully will be in the same block. Friends have decided to stay an extra night and are getting the train from DLP into central Paris.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

UPDATES JANUARY 2023
I have now booked flights. Theres 2 airlines that fly to Charles de Gaulle from Dubin, Aer Lingus, the Irish airline and Air France.

When I checked the Aer Lingus website, they only have bookings open until 28 October, which is not the day we want to return. Air France have bookings open up until November. I had a talk with my mum and we have decided to split the return journey overnight. On October 28 we will check out of our Disney hotel, put our bags into the storage room and go to the parks.

Our tickets are valid for the full day on our departure day. In the evening we will get the bus to the airport and stay over night at an airport hotel and then get the flight back to Ireland the next day. So I have booked Air France direct return Dublin to Charles de Gaulle, and an Ibis hotel at Terminal 3 at the airport.

Ibis is a budget chain hotel and one of my preferred hotels for European city breaks. I booked a room and breakfast rate, payable at check in. There is also an onsite restaurant for our evening meal. Our flight departs from Terminal 2 so we will use the free shuttle train that connects the airport terminals. The flights were more expensive than we had expected but there is nothing we can do. Thats the weekend of the Rugby World Cup final so there is a big demand for flights that week. My sister choose those dates due to it being half term holiday for my niece. In England they are very strict about unauthorized school absence, you can't just take a child out of school to go on holiday, the parents get fined.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

UPDATES FEBRUARY 2023

My sister who will be travelling from England with my niece had originally planned to use Eurostar train from London to Disneyland Paris. However the direct route is ending in June and the website has not been updated to buy tickets for dates after June on the indirect route. She decided to fly instead and bought flights with Easyjet a UK budget airline to Paris Orly airport. She will then get the official bus transfer from that airport direct to the Disneyland Paris hotel.

My friends who are joining us have decided to only have 2 night at Disneyland Paris and then have 2 nights in Paris city. They will get the train from Disneyland Paris into Paris city.

I have now also booked our evening meals. We have standard full board meal plan which means we get breakfast every day, one quick service or counter service every day, one buffet or table service every day. When choosing where to eat I also had to take into consideration that my mum is gluten free / coeliac. I did some research about gluten free dining in Disneyland Paris and I also check the various menus of the restaurants.

I had a list of 6 restaurants, 3 buffet and 3 table service. I spoke with my sister and we decided on the best times for us to eat our evening main meal and which restaurants would be the best for us.

Restaurant reservations open 12 months in advance for onsite guests, so for our dates bookings have been open for 2 months already. As a result I couldn't get one of the restaurants we wanted, as there was only reservations for after 9pm left on all our days. I booked the restaurants using the Disneyland Paris App. I got an email confirmation of each reservation and they also show in the App.

I booked

1. Hunters Grill buffet in Sequoia Lodge
2. Hotel Manhattan table service in Hotel New York Art of Marvel
3. Steakhouse in Disney Village.

 

[Louise97]

Sounds like it's shaping up nicely! We'll be there the week before you for the Scottish October break, it'll be our third October trip, I love the Halloween atmosphere. Does your niece know yet?

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Sounds like it's shaping up nicely! We'll be there the week before you for the Scottish October break, it'll be our third October trip, I love the Halloween atmosphere. Does your niece know yet?

Oh cool, Ive never been to any Disney park at Halloween so this is new to me to.

No, not yet. I think my sister wants to wait until after the summer holidays, so that she is not too overwhelmed with information and excitement. We have to be so careful on family video calls, as the walls have ears

 

[shosh1530]

Welcome back! I've missed seeing you on the Disboards as I've always enjoyed your posts and perspective as a non-U.S. visitor to different parks.

Looking forward to hearing more about Disneyland Paris plans as we are dreaming of going.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Updates September 2023
Its been a while but now our trip is almost here and things have started moving along.

The first update is that finally my sister has told my niece about the trip. They did a big reveal with a gift bag of clues and sent us the video. She was speechless, and this is a child who always has something to say about everything

We then did a video chat and give an overview of the park and type of rides and things to do. I'm not sure which was more exciting, hearing that she can go into The Castle that is shown at the start of Disney movies, or that there is a breakfast buffet at the hotel. This child loves to eat, which is why the meal plan made sense for us on this trip. I can't wait to see her reaction when she gets told we also have dinner buffets

Another friend has decided to join us, so now we are 7 people in 3 rooms. This person had been a maybe at the start due to various reasons and we knew would be a last minute decision if they could make the trip work for their schedule. I have linked the extra room to the other bookings, so we should all be near each other in the hotel. However, we will just have to see on the day with the table service restaurant reservations, if this extra person can join us.

I showed my sister on video chat the Disney Ears and told her about buying some on Etsy. Not sure if she will or not.

The next thing now to sort is transport from the airport. I have booked Magic Shuttle for me and mum from CDG airport to Disneyland Paris.

My sister is going to get a private car service from Orly airport to Disneyland Paris and Magic Shuttle on the return journey.

I'm not sure what the friends are doing yet, most likely they will book Magic Shuttle too.

I have also asked everyone about their 3 must do's and if roller coasters are a yes or no. So now I can start planning the park days, and have a rough out line of things that need to be accomplished.