Very Confused First Timer!

[DLPdaft]

I'm starting to wonder if the Davy Crockett Ranch might be a better choice - we have a car - is that it's only major downside?

if you have a car the Davy Crockett Ranch isn't a problem at all - it has all the facilities of the onsite hotels, but its self catering (and has a really good buffet dinner restaurant onsite too).

 

[liesbeth1012]

Hi,
Here some answers from a Disneyland Paris expert. We live in the Netherlands and have been to DLP since 1994.

Compare the prices of the room only + one day ticket bought on the entree. with a arrangement of 1 night + 2 day hopper ticket (that could be cheaper)
In the summer season the park(s) will be open till midnight, and if you arrive in the afternoon you can still going into the parks and see the late show (Dreams) and see the park at night.
You have to make adventage of the EMH the next day. Ask for breakfast in the park instead of the hotel. You can go 1 till 2 hours before normal opening hours in the park (discoveryland and fantasyland) and do the rides. And then you can have your breakfast in the restaurant that is on your voucher. Yes the breakfast is include with the hotels. (breakfast in the park is limited).

Fastpass. You have to use the fastpass in the returntime. This is a half hour. We never knew that you didn't do that in WDW or Disneyland CA. We arrived in WDW always in the window time. I heard that you don't had to go in the windowtime when it was suspended.
So you can plan your visit, but had to be flexible about fastpass returntime.

And July 15/16 can be very crowded. In France july 14th is a national holliday. So I advice you to concider to have the 1 night + 2 day pass.

 

[DLPdaft]

just a couple more points at the Davy Crockett ranch if you're considering that one - you don't get breakfast included there anymore, and you can't ask for breakfast in the park from that accommodation.

 

[NewbieMouse]

Thank you for the help. The room only for 1 night at the Cheyenne is 229 Euros. The tickets (if I buy it before March 27) would be 222 Euros for the 4 of us. If I want to go for two days, it looks like it would just be cheaper to buy 2 of the 20th anniversary tickets rather than 1 2-day ticket, which is strange. So separately it's 451 Euros for 1 night & 1-day, 719 for 1 night & 2 days. The package for 1 night and 2 days is 874, so unless there is something special about the packages that I don't know, it's better to book separately, right? In all cases, the ranch is looking like a more expensive option, so I think I should stick with Cheyenne.

The breakfast thing is interesting - so what you're saying is that we should take the breakfast in the park option and just eat after the EMH is over? That sounds like a great idea as from what I understand the hotel breakfast lines are a nightmare.

I really, really appreciate the experience and advice of veterans - thank you!

 

[DLPdaft]

Thank you for the help. The room only for 1 night at the Cheyenne is 229 Euros. The tickets (if I buy it before March 27) would be 222 Euros for the 4 of us. If I want to go for two days, it looks like it would just be cheaper to buy 2 of the 20th anniversary tickets rather than 1 2-day ticket, which is strange. So separately it's 451 Euros for 1 night & 1-day, 719 for 1 night & 2 days. The package for 1 night and 2 days is 874, so unless there is something special about the packages that I don't know, it's better to book separately, right? In all cases, the ranch is looking like a more expensive option, so I think I should stick with Cheyenne.

The breakfast thing is interesting - so what you're saying is that we should take the breakfast in the park option and just eat after the EMH is over? That sounds like a great idea as from what I understand the hotel breakfast lines are a nightmare.

I really, really appreciate the experience and advice of veterans - thank you!

you don't get anything extra buying a package over booking the hotel separately and then sorting out your own park tickets, so if its cheaper to do it separately, do that .

Are any of your party children, if so how old are they? Just thinking about possibly cheaper park ticket options for you (and to be honest I think paying 229 euros for one night in the Cheyenne is very expensive, but if you're certain you want onsite, I guess you'd have to pay that price ).

If you stay at the Santa Fe, Cheyenne, Sequoia Lodge and Newport Bay Club hotels, you can ask at your hotel reception to have breakfast in the park instead of at your hotel. However, you can't book this ahead of check-in, and its not available every day. So if you are thinking of this, I'd treat is as a possible extra, not a definite. You get timeslots for this breakfast in the park, and yes, if you take a 9.15 or 9.30am timeslot, you can do the quietest hour of EMH (from 8am to 9am) then have breakfast without leaving the park.

 

[NewbieMouse]

you don't get anything extra buying a package over booking the hotel separately and then sorting out your own park tickets, so if its cheaper to do it separately, do that .

Are any of your party children, if so how old are they? Just thinking about possibly cheaper park ticket options for you (and to be honest I think paying 229 euros for one night in the Cheyenne is very expensive, but if you're certain you want onsite, I guess you'd have to pay that price ).

If you stay at the Santa Fe, Cheyenne, Sequoia Lodge and Newport Bay Club hotels, you can ask at your hotel reception to have breakfast in the park instead of at your hotel. However, you can't book this ahead of check-in, and its not available every day. So if you are thinking of this, I'd treat is as a possible extra, not a definite. You get timeslots for this breakfast in the park, and yes, if you take a 9.15 or 9.30am timeslot, you can do the quietest hour of EMH (from 8am to 9am) then have breakfast without leaving the park.

I know, it's very expensive! Sequoia is 329 Euros, so I'm not sure if that's worth it. That's why I'm trying to keep it to one night. That way I get the EMH, since it will likely be very busy. If I can keep my car parked there for my check out day and can check my luggage at the hotel, then that next night we'll just stay offsite somewhere very cheap. So far the only way I can see booking just the room for 1 night is expedia.co.uk. Are there other places people know of? I wonder if I called Disney if they would do it directly?

How I wish my daughters were 7 right now! They are 9. We are not big on shows, and probably especially not if there would be a language barrier - so it will be rides, rides, rides - that's why the EMH could be so valuable for us.

We don't mind getting up very early to have breakfast at the hotel if necessary before EMH starts if there is a 7 am slot available. Normally in California we eat very early, go through security, and then wait for the gates to open. We love the countdown part. Getting up early doesn't phase us!

 

[DLPdaft]

I know, it's very expensive! Sequoia is 329 Euros, so I'm not sure if that's worth it. That's why I'm trying to keep it to one night. That way I get the EMH, since it will likely be very busy. If I can keep my car parked there for my check out day and can check my luggage at the hotel, then that next night we'll just stay offsite somewhere very cheap. So far the only way I can see booking just the room for 1 night is expedia.co.uk. Are there other places people know of? I wonder if I called Disney if they would do it directly?

How I wish my daughters were 7 right now! They are 9. We are not big on shows, and probably especially not if there would be a language barrier - so it will be rides, rides, rides - that's why the EMH could be so valuable for us.

We don't mind getting up very early to have breakfast at the hotel if necessary before EMH starts if there is a 7 am slot available. Normally in California we eat very early, go through security, and then wait for the gates to open. We love the countdown part. Getting up early doesn't phase us!

maybe this is not going to suit you guys at all - but the Kyriad hotel at Disneyland Paris is only £100 for your night on travelrepublic (ie about half the price of the Cheyenne). This hotel has a free shuttle bus to the parks all day and evening, just like the onsite hotels. You won't get EMH, but you will have the main park open until at least 11pm for rides, and the rides which are open in EMH (its not all of them, its only 6-8 rides in the whole park) you can do later in the evening, before Dreams begins. My daughter is 11 now, but even when she was 9 and we had access to EMH we didn't always bother with it.
If you get there in the afternoon on your first day until 11pm, and have all day from 10am on your 2nd day for the rides (don't discount the shows, neither my daughter nor I speak French and we always do the shows) you'll get loads done with a little planning.

The Kyriad, Dream Castle, Magic Circus, and Explorers hotels at DLP are partner/associated hotels, so just like the onsite hotels, you can store your luggage and leave your car for free at your hotel on your check-out day.

 

[Plaid Princess]

Obviously, when you take a fastpass, you are expected to be there between the times given on the ticket

It's not fair to everyone else who are there on time, if you show up late and squeeze in.
(but that's just my honest opinion, because I've seen many people try over the years)

It does create longer lines in the FP queue when this happens, it's one of the reasons the parks are starting to crack down on enforcing window times.

 

[DLPdaft]

I also wouldn't buy any park tickets yet for a July visit - I see there are some "free child under 12" tickets on the French version of the DLP site when you buy one-day tickets from them, now it may be because its up to March (typically under-12s free season) that they include a free child, but there may also be reduced tickets later on for July? Maybe not, I don't know I'm afraid.

 

[NewbieMouse]

Thank you for the tip about the tickets - I will wait on that!

I think we will just do one day as my husband might have a heart attack if I buy a 2-day ticket (it's a real concession for him to go at all; he think the idea of going to Disneyland while we're in Europe is ludicrous, but he's willing to humour me for one day).

One last thing - on your check out day, you can definitely leave your car parked in the hotel parking lot the whole day, correct? Or do you need to move it? That would be a pain, especially if we then had to pay to park in the main lot.

 

[DLPdaft]

Thank you for the tip about the tickets - I will wait on that!

I think we will just do one day as my husband might have a heart attack if I buy a 2-day ticket (it's a real concession for him to go at all; he think the idea of going to Disneyland while we're in Europe is ludicrous, but he's willing to humour me for one day).

One last thing - on your check out day, you can definitely leave your car parked in the hotel parking lot the whole day, correct? Or do you need to move it?

That would be a pain, especially if we then had to pay to park in the main lot.

yes, you can definitely leave your car in your hotel car park on check-out day.

 

[NewbieMouse]

Everyone has been so helpful - thank you. I knew I could count on DISers!

 

[HFJohnson]

I don't know if you're looking on the UK site for package deals at the moment but it's worth bearing in mind that we're between offers at the moment so you're probably getting the full price. When booking DLP you should never pay full price as there is always another offer just around the corner or to be found on another country's site.

 

[NewbieMouse]

Yes, it appears I'm comparing full price offers at the moment so there's no need to book yet. Are there every room only deals, or is it only on packages?

 

[DLPdaft]

Yes, it appears I'm comparing full price offers at the moment so there's no need to book yet. Are there every room only deals, or is it only on packages?

there are never room-only deals with Disney themselves, only packages.

 

[nl's mummy]

Davy crocketts is great well themed, pool, animals etc also re breakfast- its not included anymore but if you pop to on site shop there is fresh warm bread each morning, baguette pain au chocolate croissants etc, cheaper than paying for 1 breakfast to be included in package- delish!