Using DVC points for Disneyland Paris

[rsschneck]

We are cruising the Mediteranean in June and will go to Disneyland Paris from July 4 - 7, 2009.

I was able to book the Newport Bay on points for the three nights. We had to purchase length of stay passes through Member services.

Using points will we receive a daily breakfast like guests do when paying cash? Are there any other benefits when staying on points? Is check in easy?

This is our first trip to Disneyland Paris and any information would be helpful.

 

[nyck]

I do believe that you get the breakfast. May I ask how much you paid for the tickets? I am going next year and wondered how much the tickets for 3 days cost. Thanks!

 

[DisneyBB]

When we went last time it included length of stay passes and breakfast. It is the only way it made it a good deal when the passes were included. When did it change? Mind you it was about 5 years ago that I went. We were very dissappointed in DLP and would much rather have spent the time in Paris.

 

[Tara]

We were very dissappointed in DLP and would much rather have spent the time in Paris.

I have to say that on one hand, I'm glad I went for the day, but man, was I ever underwhelmed. I probably wouldn't do it differently, but I am also glad I just went for the day and spent the rest of my time in Paris!

(Sorry to the OP!)

 

[rsschneck]

No worries! I have family that is stationed in Germany and they have told us not to expect too much. We will be going into Paris and will probably hit the Disneyland Parks at night (a few hours).

3 nights/4 days length of stay passes
$174.63 per adult
$148.76 ages 3-11

Exchange fee of $95 which in non-refundable in case you cancel your reservation. We wanted the sequoia lodge because it was the least amount of points but it was not available. We had the other three hotels to chooce from Newport Bay, Hotel New York or Disneyland Hotel. We chose the Newport Bay which cost 100 points for the three nights. I priced out the three nights on the Disneyland web site with the length of stay tickets and breakfast and the cost was $2488.98.
We paid $618.89 (tickets and exchange fee). The point cost was $18.70 per point which I thought was a good use of points.

I was just checking to see if anyone had stayed since DVC changed the points chart to decreased points but with no tickets included. I am not sure if breakfast is included and wanted someone to verify so I know for budgeting purposes.

 

[DisneyBB]

Hi, I know it was a long time ago for me, but I remember then that DVC did not mention breakfast. However i did know that no rooms in DLP were sold without breakfast. So just assumed that we get it as well, and we did. The breakfast was continental style so no hot items. I did see a lot of people making up sandwiches to take to the parks from the breakfast buffet. We never did, but no one seem to stop the people doing it.

 

[nyck]

I know the breakfast at DLP hotel is a hot breakfast

 

[Sid74]

Breakfast is included in points stays. You will get a cold continental breakfast at the Newpost Bay. The only hotels that offer hot breakfast items are the Hotel New York and the Disneyland Hotel.

Check in is easy, it is the same as it is for anyone else, but you must have the confirmation letter that member services sends you, it has a special code on it, and without it you will not be able to check in, they were very insistant on this point when I went last month.

Any other questions, just ask.

 

[rsschneck]

Breakfast is included in points stays. You will get a cold continental breakfast at the Newpost Bay. The only hotels that offer hot breakfast items are the Hotel New York and the Disneyland Hotel.

Check in is easy, it is the same as it is for anyone else, but you must have the confirmation letter that member services sends you, it has a special code on it, and without it you will not be able to check in, they were very insistant on this point when I went last month.

Any other questions, just ask.

Did you go into the parks everyday? Just wondering how much time it takes to go through both of the theme parks. We were thinking of using early entry, go into Paris, come back later in the evening for fireworks, etc. What was your game plan?

Did you go into Paris? If so, did you take the RER and how long does it take to get into Paris from Disneyland?

We really only have two FULL days to see some sites in Paris and since we have a length of stay pass for Disneyland we figure this will be more in and out type touring there. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Sid74]

Hi,

This was my 7th trip to DLP, and I had 3 nights and 4 days.

I spent most of each day at the parks, stopping back at the hotel for afternoon breaks, and returning for the evening, as I really enjoy touring them. I still did not get to go on all of the rides as some of them had very long queues and no fastpass, and this was in march.

I believe it takes about 35 minutes by train to Paris, so if you times that by 2 and then add time waiting for the trains each way it will really cut into your touring time. The parks will also be busy at that time of year.

Is it over the weekend or week days that you will be there? That can make a big difference to how busy it is and how much you can get done.
Do you have rides and shows/ parades that you really want to get done in the parks?

I don't go into Paris when I visit DLP, because I prefer the parks! I have visited Paris and found it dirty and just like most other towns, yes there are things to see if that is what floats your boat, but after paying admission to go to the parks and ride the rides and see the shows, that is where I want to be.

Is there any way that you can see the sights in Paris in a day? It would leave you more time for the parks and mean you have to do less backwards and forwards running around. You could then catch an early train to Paris and spend the day looking around and then the rest of your time could be used at the 2 Disney parks, doing whatever you want to do there.

You don't say how many people, or what ages are in your party, but if there are children then it will be more awkward to rush around.

Hope this helps, just keep the questions coming.

 

[IRover]

Breakfast was included when we did it. A nice perk was we got the option of having breakfast in the park before it opened a couple of days and was able to hit a lot of rides before other guests were allowed in (For some reason Peter Pan was packed and FP gone by the morning every day we were there (July), and other rides were empty with a long line at PP, weird ).
July is slow season, we were at the Newport and they were doing renovations, pool was closed, which was annoying but the whole park and area is small and easily walkable. If our trip was typical, you can easily hit all the rides and park in a morning (except Peter Pan) and take the train (there is a stop right in the park area, walking from the hotels) and be in Paris in a little over an hour. You can even arrange bus tours to do the hop on hop off deal.
We couldn't talk our kids into ditching the parks and going into Paris for an afternoon, we just did laps around the park and hit the rides multiple times. Be prepared for cooler temps (we needed sweatshirts when we were there in the mornings, got in the 70s in the afternoon).

 

[Sid74]

I don't know where you got the impression that July is slow season, it isn't. It actually gets very busy, and can have huge waits just to get to the fastpass machines, let alone get on the rides.

It is also not typical being able to do all the rides in a morning, I know that the Magic Kingdom park in Paris is smaller than others, but it is not that small. It will depend very much on the day of the week, and also whether you were riding all of the rides or just a portion of them.

I am glad you had an easy time on your trip, but that is definately not typical.

 

[rsschneck]

Hi,

This was my 7th trip to DLP, and I had 3 nights and 4 days.

I spent most of each day at the parks, stopping back at the hotel for afternoon breaks, and returning for the evening, as I really enjoy touring them. I still did not get to go on all of the rides as some of them had very long queues and no fastpass, and this was in march.

I believe it takes about 35 minutes by train to Paris, so if you times that by 2 and then add time waiting for the trains each way it will really cut into your touring time. The parks will also be busy at that time of year.

Is it over the weekend or week days that you will be there? That can make a big difference to how busy it is and how much you can get done.
Do you have rides and shows/ parades that you really want to get done in the parks?

I don't go into Paris when I visit DLP, because I prefer the parks! I have visited Paris and found it dirty and just like most other towns, yes there are things to see if that is what floats your boat, but after paying admission to go to the parks and ride the rides and see the shows, that is where I want to be.

Is there any way that you can see the sights in Paris in a day? It would leave you more time for the parks and mean you have to do less backwards and forwards running around. You could then catch an early train to Paris and spend the day looking around and then the rest of your time could be used at the 2 Disney parks, doing whatever you want to do there.

You don't say how many people, or what ages are in your party, but if there are children then it will be more awkward to rush around.

Hope this helps, just keep the questions coming.

We arrive on Saturday July 4th (plan on going into the park after checking into the hotel and spending our afternoon and evening there).

Sunday July 5th was our plan to go into Paris for the full day (if we need another day we would go back to Paris on Monday the 6th). We plan to take the train into Pairs and then use the hop on hop off bus system.
(Cars Rouges red Bus seems to get better reviews than the L Opentour).

There are 2 adults and 1 twelve year old in our group. We are Disneyland and WDW veterans and don't have any particular rides that are a MUST. I am sure we will try to hit the more thrilling rides as opposed to the smaller kid type rides. We like to compare the ride differences from park to park.

 

[Sid74]

OK, the weekend is the busiest time to visit the parks, so when you arrive on the saturday, you may find that it is very busy. I think you may end up looking around to start with and seeing the sights, you may get lucky as it gets later, and get on some of the big rides, it depends a lot on the weather, the crowds, your time of arrival and the park hours for your visit.

The best thing to do will be to try and figure out which rides are different from the American parks, ie BTMR, Phantom Manor is different to the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain is different, Pirates is as well, as is the Rock and Roller Coaster, and Tower of Terror. Small World is not the same as any of the others, but it depends if you like Small World anyway.

There are also some rides/ shows that are unique to DLP, that are worth checking out, Cinemagique, Animagique, Stitch Live is like Turtle talk, but different enough to be fun. Indiana Jones is a rollercoaster that is different to anywhere else, and the castle is definately worth a visit, especially to see what lives underneath.

Be aware that France is still a country that closes on Sundays. I don't know whether the main tourist sights close as well, but shops mostly do, at least in my experience. Your best day for park touring will be the monday, as the locals will be at home, unless it is a school holiday.

 

[rsschneck]

This is the good insider information I was hoping for.

I know the Louvre is free on the first Sunday of every month so I would assume the tourist sites will be okay for viewing on Sunday. We are not too big on shopping but do like to enjoy local cuisine.

 

[Inkmahm]

OK, the weekend is the busiest time to visit the parks, so when you arrive on the saturday, you may find that it is very busy. I think you may end up looking around to start with and seeing the sights, you may get lucky as it gets later, and get on some of the big rides, it depends a lot on the weather, the crowds, your time of arrival and the park hours for your visit.

The best thing to do will be to try and figure out which rides are different from the American parks, ie BTMR, Phantom Manor is different to the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain is different, Pirates is as well, as is the Rock and Roller Coaster, and Tower of Terror. Small World is not the same as any of the others, but it depends if you like Small World anyway.

There are also some rides/ shows that are unique to DLP, that are worth checking out, Cinemagique, Animagique, Stitch Live is like Turtle talk, but different enough to be fun. Indiana Jones is a rollercoaster that is different to anywhere else, and the castle is definately worth a visit, especially to see what lives underneath.

Be aware that France is still a country that closes on Sundays. I don't know whether the main tourist sights close as well, but shops mostly do, at least in my experience. Your best day for park touring will be the monday, as the locals will be at home, unless it is a school holiday.

I spent 3 days at DLP last June and really loved it. I'd done sightseeing in Paris before so this trip, I spent the whole time in the parks. I enjoyed the differences in the rides between DLP and WDW. Cinemagique and Animagique are not to be missed. Crush's coaster is a great ride, one of my favorite coasters. The castle is beautiful and definitely visit the underneath... taking the stairs from the shop above to get there is cool, too. I really disliked the DLP version of Space Mountain- it actually hurt my head. TofT was different and surprised me the first time... I missed the Lion King show but I"m told it is definitely worth seeing, too. As for restaurants, don't miss the Blue Bayou which overlooks Pirates of the C ride and definitely don't miss Walt's on Main street.

 

[rsschneck]

I spent 3 days at DLP last June and really loved it. I'd done sightseeing in Paris before so this trip, I spent the whole time in the parks. I enjoyed the differences in the rides between DLP and WDW. Cinemagique and Animagique are not to be missed. Crush's coaster is a great ride, one of my favorite coasters. The castle is beautiful and definitely visit the underneath... taking the stairs from the shop above to get there is cool, too. I really disliked the DLP version of Space Mountain- it actually hurt my head. TofT was different and surprised me the first time... I missed the Lion King show but I"m told it is definitely worth seeing, too. As for restaurants, don't miss the Blue Bayou which overlooks Pirates of the C ride and definitely don't miss Walt's on Main street.

Do you need to make reservations for the Blue Bayou? How do you go about getting reservations from the US and when can you make them (30, 60 or 90 days?)

 

[Inkmahm]

Do you need to make reservations for the Blue Bayou? How do you go about getting reservations from the US and when can you make them (30, 60 or 90 days?)

It is very different in Disneyland Paris. They don't do advance reservations, everyone stops in the morning they get there to guest relations and makes the reservations then! It worked for us last June.

You have to be careful though because the schedule is different every day. Walt's was only open on the weekend days so I was disappointed that I couldn't go back for a second visit.

 

[Sid74]

Hi,

Some of the restaurants are taking booking 30 or 60 days prior to the date you want to visit, a bit like ADR's.

The best place to find out further information is the Disneyland Paris boards on the Dis. They are really useful, and the people are really friendly.