Am I crazy for even considering this?

dzy76

It all started with two little girls in Disneyland
Joined
May 11, 2008
I'm booked on a British Isles cruise May 2019. I'm wondering about coming two days before and going to Disneyland Paris alone.

I see that taking the train from the airport is rather easy. My question is since i will have luggage, possibly a checked bag and a carry on, how hard will it be to do the train alone with the luggage? And how do you get to the hotels once off at the train station?

Then I would stay a day and a half at the resort then I will need to get to the Le Havre Port area. What would be the best way to do that? I will need to meet my friend there the night before the cruise.

I have never traveled alone before and I speak NO french! How hard is this going to be??

Thanks for any specific help!
 
I'm booked on a British Isles cruise May 2019. I'm wondering about coming two days before and going to Disneyland Paris alone.
This is a very sensible idea. Its much better to do Disneyland Paris as a stanalone rather than as the one day port excursion. From reports from the 2017 British Isles cruisers, those that did the one day Disneyland Paris port excursion had a horrible time, with a 4 hour bus journey each way and barely any park time.

I have been to Disneyland Paris on 2 solo trips and kinda solo trips. Beng in the park o your own is amazing you get to be totally free and enjoy the parks your way :)

I see that taking the train from the airport is rather easy. My question is since i will have luggage, possibly a checked bag and a carry on, how hard will it be to do the train alone with the luggage?
If you are flying into Charles de Gaulle airport, the best way for you would be to take the independent bus shuttle https://magicalshuttle.co.uk/ which is recommended by Disneyland Paris. This bus has a departure area in a corridor linking Terminal 2F and 2E and drops and picks up at the front door of each of the onsite and partner Disney hotels. I have used this bus multiple times, they put luggage in the bus hold :) The journey time from Charles de Gualle to Disney property is approx 1 hour. Tickets are bought in advance online and you get a confirmation email with a bar code. You show this barcode to the driver. It does not matter if your flight is delayed and you miss the bus you booked, you can just get on the next available bus.


And how do you get to the hotels once off at the train station?
The train station is called Marne la Valle and is located between the park entrance and Disney Village. Depending on which hotel you are staying at, you can either walk to your hotel from the train station or you can take the free Disney shuttle busses to your hotel.

Then I would stay a day and a half at the resort then I will need to get to the Le Havre Port area. What would be the best way to do that? I will need to meet my friend there the night before the cruise.

Where does your cruise start? If your cruise starts in Dover and has a port stop in Le Harve, you may not be able to join the cruise at Le Harve. I would call Disney Cruise Line and ask about this.

I have never traveled alone before and I speak NO french! How hard is this going to be??
I travel alone alot, just back from a solo 2 week trip to California, San Francisco and LA which had included a 3 day solo visit to Disneyland California. I have basic French so travelling to France and Disneyland Paris on my own was not too bad, but you should be ok. Most things are common sense, and easy to figure out. In Disneyland Paris, its basically Bi Lingual, most rides and attractions have French audio BUT the park itself is very similar in layout to the American parks so its easy to figure things out. Most CM's speak English BUT conversations always bein in French and they will switch to English.
 
I would recommend the train if the times match your arrival time. Its 10 minutes by train and I only take the bus if I absolutely have to. Not a fan. It might be recommended by DLP, but thats also because they work together with this company. If you have a complaint DLP cant help you.
 
The shuttle might be easier with the luggage then? It's a 12 night cruise so I will most likely have to bring enough to need my larger suitcase and check it.

My cruise boards in Le Havre and is through the Princess line. I see that it is a 90 minute trip by bus there from CDG airport. Would I be able to find transportation straight to the port from the Disneyland area?

Also - Can I use my Disney Chase card points at the Disneyland Paris resort? This is how I would buy my ticket and food while I am there.
 


We're going on a DCL Mediterranean cruise next June, and will do 4 nights at Disneyland Paris before the cruise. Did you know that if you book your next year's trip this summer, you can get their 4 nights for the price of 2 nights deal? If interested, you might want to stay 4 nights instead of two (length-of-stay tickets are included in all package costs). I figure that will give us a day to get over jet lag, and then three full days to thoroughly explore Disneyland Paris. We plan to take the train from CDG airport to DLP, btw.

You can save some money by booking via the Irish version of the Disneyland Paris website, instead of the American version (you change this in the Language section of the website's homepage). DLP officially allows people to book this way. In fact, I did it over the phone by calling WDW & asking to have my call transferred to DLP, then telling the DLP rep that I wanted to book an offer from the Irish version of their website. They had no problem with it. For us (staying 4 nights at Disneyland Hotel), it was a few hundred cheaper than booking via the U.S. website. Just remember that the cost will be listed in Euros, so you'll have to look up online how much the same amount would be in US dollars.
 
The shuttle might be easier with the luggage then? It's a 12 night cruise so I will most likely have to bring enough to need my larger suitcase and check it.
The shuttle would defiantly be easier with luggage. Theres always people who advise against the shuttle and prefer the train BUT while the train transit time is shorter, the price can be more expensive and there are limited departure times from Charles de Guelle which may not align with flight arrivial times. Any time Ive looked into taking the train, the times were not suitable.

When you land at Charles de Guelle you will just need to get yourself to the Magic Shuttle departure point. Put your luggage on one of the lugage trollyeys and you will be good to go. You just need to to follow the sign posts from the baggage claim area in the terminal you land at , to the arrivals level or either Terminal 2E Or 2F. Just pick one and follow the signs. Then when you get to the arrivials area you will see the signs for Magic Shuttle / Disney Bus. Very easy and straight forward and you dont need to know French :)

My cruise boards in Le Havre and is through the Princess line. I see that it is a 90 minute trip by bus there from CDG airport. Would I be able to find transportation straight to the port from the Disneyland area?
Ah ok :) well then you will need to get the train from Disney to central Paris (approx 40 minutes travel time) and then change to a train to Le Harve.

OR
You could get Magic Shuttle back to the air port and then get the bus from the airport to Le Harve.

Also - Can I use my Disney Chase card points at the Disneyland Paris resort? This is how I would buy my ticket and food while I am there.

I very much doubt that you could use your card points at Disneyland Paris.

Also here is some information which I have posted in other threads for USA visitors to Disneyland Paris

1. There are 6 onsite hotels, all guests at these hotels have access to the early openings in both parks. Early opening is from 8.30am to 10am. 10am is general opening time

Disneyland Hotel
This is the premium priced deluxe hotel. It is located at the entrance to the main park. It is Victoriana themed

Hotel New York
This would be the premium price moderate hotel. It is located after Disney Village and is the nearest to Disney Village. It is themed as a Manhatten / New York building. It would be a 10 minute walk to the main park entrance OR you can take the free shuttle bus

Hotel Sequoia Lodge
This would be the moderate hotel. It is located after Disney Village, past Hotel New York and half way along Lake Disney. It is themed like a Californian Red Wood Forest, similar to the Grand Californian in Disneyland California. It would be a 15 minute walk to the park entrance OR you can take the free shuttle bus

Hotel NewPort Bay

This would be the moderate hotel. It is located after Disney Village, past Hotel New York and Sequoia Lodge, at the end of Lake Disney. It is themed like a Newport Bay Yacht Club. It would be a 20 minute walk to the park main entrance OR you can take the free shuttle bus

Hotel Cheyenne
This would be the budget hotel. It is located after Disney Village and past Hotel New York. It is themed like Toy Story / Sherriff Woody, The Wild West. It would be a 20 minute walk to the main park entrance OR you can take the free shuttle bus

Hotel Santa Fe

This would be the budget hotel. It is located after Disney Village and past Hotel New York and then past Hotel Sequoia Lodge. It would be a 20 minute walk to the main park entrance OR you can take the free shuttle bus

2. There are 5 partner hotels. These are located at the edge of Disney property and are not walkable to the parks. They have a free shuttle buss. Guests at these hotels do not have access to early open and can oly enter the parks at general opening at 10am

Hotel Kyraid
Magic Circus
Dream Castle
Explorers
B and B Hotel

some things you need to know about Disneyland Paris which are different to the American Parks

  1. You dont have to book using the website for your country. Disneyland Paris has different deals and offers on the different country websites. Most of us regulars would advise AGAINST booking with the American site as it is by far the most expensive
  2. The other country websites to check are
  3. http://www.disneylandparis.ie/
    http://www.disneylandparis.co.uk
    http://www.disneylandparis.fr
    http://www.disneylandparis.de
    http://www.disneylandparis.it
    http://www.disneylandparis.be
    http://www.disneylandparis.nl
  4. Disneyland Paris does not mail anything in the post. You get a confirmation email which you bring with you to checkin
  5. When you book direct with Disneyland Paris you are booking a hotel and park hopper tickets package
  6. Your park tickets are valid for both arrival day and departure day
  7. You can book direct with Disney through any of the websites. When you book through the website you will pay the full amount at the time of booking
  8. You can also book direct with Disney by phone. To call Disneyland Paris and not have to pay the international phone charges, just call the regular phone number for Walt Disney World in Florida and ask to be transferred to Disneyland Paris.
  9. When you book direct with Disney by phone you pay a 15% deposit and the balance is payable 30 or 60 days before arrivial, I cant remember which
  10. When you have booked you will get a confirmation email with your itinerary, you will need this email to check in
  11. Once you have your confirmation number you need to go to the website / country you booked with, not the country you live in. You will need to create a new MY DISNEY ACCOUNT on that website
  12. When you log in to your new My Disney Account you will see your itinerary. If you have a balance to pay you will see an online payment form.
  13. To pay your balance you can either phone again or pay online
  14. Restaurant ADR can only be booked over the phone. Just repeat step 8 and ask for Disneyland Paris Dining Reservations.
  15. Disneyland Paris Restaurant ADR open 60 days from arrival date
  16. Disneyland Paris does not have Magic Bands or Fatspass ++. The Fastpass are the paper ones which you get on the day at the machines beside the rides.
 
I can't get any of them to take the dates. This happens on the US park sites also. When will Disney ever have internet sites that work well?!!

I don't know if I can afford adding Disney onto my trip if I can't use my Chase points.

I have to decide soon so I can book my flight. Suppose I can call later this week.

Thanks everyone for the information.
 


I can't get any of them to take the dates. This happens on the US park sites also. When will Disney ever have internet sites that work well?!!

I don't know if I can afford adding Disney onto my trip if I can't use my Chase points.

I have to decide soon so I can book my flight. Suppose I can call later this week.

Thanks everyone for the information.

Yes it would be best to call, maybe they have not opened booking for your dates yet and that way you can ask about using your Chase points
 
I can book already for May 2019, when I give it a try. But I didnt see any options to use rewards points of any loyalty system to be used online.

Disneyland Paris used to be a partner within the loyalty program of Air France and you needed vouchers to use your points for a hotel stays. These you needed to order through the loyalty program and then call DLP to make the reservation.

Does the Chase website list DLP as optional partner to use your rewards?

If money is an issue, I would definitely look into Kyriad or B&B, depending on when in May you go, during the week you can get some good deals.
 
I'm booked on a British Isles cruise May 2019. I'm wondering about coming two days before and going to Disneyland Paris alone.

I see that taking the train from the airport is rather easy. My question is since i will have luggage, possibly a checked bag and a carry on, how hard will it be to do the train alone with the luggage? And how do you get to the hotels once off at the train station?

Then I would stay a day and a half at the resort then I will need to get to the Le Havre Port area. What would be the best way to do that? I will need to meet my friend there the night before the cruise.

I have never traveled alone before and I speak NO french! How hard is this going to be??

Thanks for any specific help!
I just did 4 nights at DLP solo then went to Barcelona for a 7-night Med cruise. I was able to manage all of my luggage without too much trouble, but I did end up flying from CDG to BCN rather than the train b/c it was going to be easier. I used the Magical Shuttle to/from CDG, and it worked very well.

We're going on a DCL Mediterranean cruise next June, and will do 4 nights at Disneyland Paris before the cruise. Did you know that if you book your next year's trip this summer, you can get their 4 nights for the price of 2 nights deal? If interested, you might want to stay 4 nights instead of two (length-of-stay tickets are included in all package costs). I figure that will give us a day to get over jet lag, and then three full days to thoroughly explore Disneyland Paris. We plan to take the train from CDG airport to DLP, btw.

You can save some money by booking via the Irish version of the Disneyland Paris website, instead of the American version (you change this in the Language section of the website's homepage). DLP officially allows people to book this way. In fact, I did it over the phone by calling WDW & asking to have my call transferred to DLP, then telling the DLP rep that I wanted to book an offer from the Irish version of their website. They had no problem with it. For us (staying 4 nights at Disneyland Hotel), it was a few hundred cheaper than booking via the U.S. website. Just remember that the cost will be listed in Euros, so you'll have to look up online how much the same amount would be in US dollars.
I'm so glad you were able to get things booked! LMK if you've got questions since I basically just did your same trip!
 
I am partial to riding the TGV (high speed train) from the airport to Disneyland Paris. It is only 9 minutes away that way and cost is similar to a shuttle. You can get it for as long as 25.50 euros per person and luckily, Air Canada arrives at terminal 2A, which is not too far from the station at the airport. Luggage wise, no issues: I did a 12 days solo trip around Japan before and used the trains and bus around the country. Just make sure to pick suitcases that you can easily roll around and take with you.

If the Disney hotels are too expensive, perhaps look at staying in Val D'Europe? Its one stop away by train or you can ride public bus to the parks. The only thing you would not have is early entry; since Fast Pass is still the old system, you don't have to worry about having a worst selection like in FL for staying offsite.
 
We went to DLP in June and stayed at Hotel Cheyenne. We were undecided whether we were going to take the TGV or Magical Shuttle when we arrived. We arrived at Terminal 1 and the Magical Shuttle was the first thing we saw....so we just went with that. We got on the bus at T1 and bought tickets from the driver...but then it stopped at T2 where most passengers were waiting, so then we had to get on to another bus so that they could better organize the buses by resort drop off. Cheyenne was the first stop for our bus. We also took the Magical Shuttle back to CDG at the end of our trip. We did not have to book the return in advance. We just paid the driver. Overall, the shuttle was pretty easy since it drops off and picks up at your hotel - but it was a little disorganized. Also, our driver on the return trip was very rude....don't expect Disney level service since they aren't a Disney company.

We found the best package deal through the French website - the US site didn't offer very good pricing.

Hope this helps!
 

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