DLP...where to begin

[pumpkinfish]

I want to take DH to DLP in the next 2 yrs and have NO idea where to begin. I am quite confident in my WW planning, but having never been out of the states, I have no idea where to start.

Someone please help me!!!

 

[MinnieYC]

Hello again!
I've only done day trips while in Paris, but I'm now considering a longer stay. I've started by going to www.disneylandparis.com and ordering a free brochure. It gives a nice overview of DLP.

 

[pumpkinfish]

Okay good. I did that the other day. At least I am on the right track.
Minnie, is there a book out there like the Unofficial Guide, but for DLP? I would really like to start some reading...

 

[Sazuburns]

We have an AA (Automobile Association) 'Essential Guide' to the resort, which is very good.

One thing about DLP is that it is much more compact. All the hotels are in walking distance, and a car isn't really necessary.

We are going in a couple of weeks, so if you have any specific questions I'll try and find out for you.

Sarah x

 

[MinnieYC]

I don't think there's an Unofficial Guide that's easy for Americans to get (there was one, but it's out of print, and besides, it gets a really bad rating at Amazon, unlike the WDW Unofficial Guide). There are some books at Amazon, but most seem to be IMO out-of-date. I think the most recent I saw was from 2000, and DLP has changed quite a bit since then, it seems.

Are you just going to go to DLP, or are you combining it with a trip to Paris? Some books about Paris include a bit about DLP (but honestly not too much, as Paris has so much to do itself that's worth listening).

Luckily, I don't think that DLP needs as much planning as WDW once you have your air tickets, airport transfers, hotel ressies, and park passes. Like it was mentioned above, it's much more compact than WDW. The walk between the two parks takes less than 5 minutes, and the Disney Village is right in-between. Reservations for the restaurants (not Priority Seatings at DLP) are easy to get. When DH and I were there a week ago, we made our lunch and dinner ressies that morning, and every time was available. Not a single blocked out time.

I wish I could have helped more. The Official Brochure is pretty good about giving details, so that will certainly help. Unfortunately, it takes a while to get to North America from Europe, but it's worth the wait.

 

[pumpkinfish]

Well...hmmm...specific questions:
1. When is the best time to go?
2. What does a "normal" trip cost?
3. Say, if we went to DLP for 5 days. Is that enough time, if I also wanted to do a sidetrip from DLP to Paris?
4. Am I correct with the sidetrips to Paris?
5. I only know English and some german. How will I do? My DH knows SOME French (took it in highschool) but refuses to speak it to me (even though I know he can still translate it).
6. Are ride wait times that bad??? I can not imagine waiting for Peter Pan for 2 hrs!!!
Ok, I think that is enough for now. I appreciate this boards input

 

[wilki32]

Why not try the Brits guide to Disneyland Paris by Simon Veness, I know its geared towards us on this side of the pond but still great reading and very informative...I'll be waitng for my commossion Simon...hee hee!
We went for the first time in July and if you have 5 days at DLP you will easily be able to see it all and have a trip to Paris. The 2 parks aren't on the same scale as WDW.
We managed on speaking virtually no French and even tried je voudrais one of those please! But I do think that can take some of the atmosphere away, even though the cms do speak realitivly good English.
If you go outside school holidays I would imagine the ride times to be quick, we went at the start of the hols and yes it was busy but the wait times weren't too bad.
Hope thats been of help.
Anthony

 

[pumpkinfish]

Yes Anthony, that helped. I am going to see if Barnes & Nobles has that book on file.

Plus, going outside of holidays in Europe is a must that I know. But what I don't know is WHEN those holidays occur...

 

[Bexx]

Here is a link to the French school holidays . Not sure where to find the calendars for other countries in Europe, but I think the French holidays are among the most important to know.

The DLP Guidebook is a very useful site, and has some very helpful information on actually getting to DLP.

 

[Sazuburns]

1. When is the best time to go?
2. What does a "normal" trip cost?
3. Say, if we went to DLP for 5 days. Is that enough time, if I also wanted to do a sidetrip from DLP to Paris?
4. Am I correct with the sidetrips to Paris?
5. I only know English and some german. How will I do? My DH knows SOME French (took it in highschool) but refuses to speak it to me (even though I know he can still translate it).
6. Are ride wait times that bad??? I can not imagine waiting for Peter Pan for 2 hrs!!!
Ok, I think that is enough for now. I appreciate this boards input


1. Tricky one - as far as I know, each country will have its school holidays at different times. If you look at http://www.barnet.gov.uk/education/index.php3 it has a link to the school term dates for the Borough where I live, and this will give you a rough idea of the main holiday times for the UK.

2. We are going for 3 nights/4 days in just over a week, and it is costing around £900 for 2 adults, 1 child and 1 baby to stay in the New York.

3. 5 days should be plenty to do a day into Paris too.

4. It is really easy to get into Paris from Disney - the train station is right there and it is easy to follow the maps.

5. I am ignorant of anything but English, and I've never had a problem! All the staff in Disney have some English, and as Paris is a big tourist spot there are lots of information places where English is spoken.

6. Ride times depend on when you go. Obviously summer holidays will be bad, but we've gone during English school term time and haven't had to wait too long for anything.

Sarah x

 

[pumpkinfish]

That's so great info you provided! I appreciate you taking time to answer all my questions Sarah

It is making my planning go easier, although I won't get into full PLANNING MODE until we return from WDW.

Thanks again!

 

[DisneyBB]

I was told by a friend who arranges company trips to DLP to avoid weekends. Try arranging your trip to arrive on Sunday. We have just come back from a trip for 5 nights and even though it was busy with a bit of planning you can avoid most of the queues. Other friends got a good deal by buying AP's and using them for discount on the hotels. At the moment if you buy 4 AP's you can 20% off the cost of the AP's. They ended up saving quite a bit of money on the hotel I think they got 15% off.

 

[Shebbieal]

I am planning an Europe trip for Sep 2005.

I found the Unofficial guide to DLP at Amazon.com. It was a referral from their Site. I did it last week.

Can a day tour of Paris be arranged thru the hotel? I think we will stay at either Newport Bay or Sequoi (sp), pros or cons?

We are also doing London.

I have travel books everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are thinking Ireland as well.

We are 3 1/2 hrs from WDW, going in November.

We are also DVC, we will use points for our DLP room.

Sherry

 

[MinnieYC]

Just a general note to all the Americans coming to visit DLP...

DLP is great. I've had wonderful experiences there. But if you're spending the money and time to fly over to Europe, I truly think that Paris is worth more than a one day tour. Disney does offer a one-day tour of the city, and I'm sure it's good for a one day tour, but I can't imagine being right there and not spending more time in Paris. DH and I just came back from a European vacation, and we originally had 4.5 days in Paris. In order to go to DLP, we added a day to our stay, as we really wanted those full days in Paris (and we've both been a bunch of times before). I honestly think that there's more to see and do in Paris than there is in most American cities (including my hometown, NYC).

Off my soapbox, and back to some of the specific questions:

5. I only know English and some german. How will I do? My DH knows SOME French (took it in highschool) but refuses to speak it to me (even though I know he can still translate it).
As said, if you know English, you're good. Most cast members will understand you right away, but if they don't, repeating your question/comment while speaking slowly helps. Also, don't be afraid to point to something, use your fingers to indicate a number, etc. The only time you may have a problem is if you want to ask something from another group of park guests that does not speak English.

6. Are ride wait times that bad??? I can not imagine waiting for Peter Pan for 2 hrs!!!
The wait times tend to be better than in WDW, from what I've seen. They seemed to overestimate them a lot. When I was there last week, at least 5 rides had mucher shorter waits than were listed. For the shows at the Studios, we walked in right before they started (usually ~5 minutes before) and got good seats. even though the park brochures say to come very early.

 

[fizz13]

Just thought you might want to read the trip report I am writing on DLP on the UK trip report board. It is still a work in progress though.
The language barrier is no problem. Printed on every CM's badge is a flag for every language they speak, so you will know right away if they can help.
We went on a weekend in August and the crowds were manageable. The studios was no problem at all. There was some heavy footwork backa nd forth the Magic Kingdom to beat the lines but it wasn't too terrible if you just monitored the wait times on the board in Main Street and played the juggling game. Peter Pan was aproblem, actually most of Fantasyland, but we solved that by being there for the rope-drop and we managed to do every ride in Fantasyland in 1/2 an hour.In short, we id everything we wanted to do in a day and a half. We didn't have any kids with us though.
Hope this helps, Claire

 

[Ian Parkes]

We have just returned from 4 nights at DLP. We did not go to Paris on this trip, but have gone on the official Disney trip to Paris from the hotels in the past which we thought was very good.

The crowds vere very light this past week, but we were not there over the weekend. We managed to see everything in the Studios in 3 hours as this park is a lot smaller than the MGM studios in WDW and frankly we were a little disapointed.

We had a 3 day hopper pass and were spending lots of time in the shops on the last day and even cut short our days to go back to the hotel pool each afternoon.

If you are a regular visitor to WDW do not expect the same experience at DLP as you will be disapointed. An example of this is the way visitors consider the Peter Pan ride a must do and are prepared to wait for up to 2 hours for a ride that is a walk on in Orlando. Most other rides at DLP were no more than a 15 minute wait.

Also we went at the end of August and the night time parade and fireworks were finished. Previously we went in the middle of June and they had not started then!

I saw in a previous thread that somebody had compared the Newport Bay Club Hotel (3 star) with The Yacht and Beach Club (5 star) in WDW. The only similarity is in the outside appearance (minus the excellent stormalong bay). When we stayed there in 2001, we found the standard room to be about half the size of a beach club room and the hotel was very run down and lots of people were complaining. This time we stayed in a family room at The Holiday Inn which is classed as a 4 star onsite hotel linked to the parks by a free 5 minute bus service, similar to the service you get with disney transportation in WDW resorts.

At only 65 euros per room per night, the room was huge and as it is a new hotel the standard was as you would expect from a 5 star WDW hotel.

The location of DLP from Paris CDG airport is excellent and there is a Disney (VEA) bus that runs from the airport to the hotels, but this time we found the TGV train to be a cheaper and much quicker option. The cost of the return ticket was 69 euros for 3 people and the train took 9 minutes. From clearing customs to arriving at the hotel took 40 minutes.

I hope i have helped you with some of your planning and please don't be put off by any of my negative comments, it is a fabulous place and you are sure to have a great time, i just think you should know all of the facts good or bad then you have no nasty surprises in store.

If I can help further please feel free to ask.

Ian

 

[pumpkinfish]

Ian Parkes,

I am certainly not put off by ANY comments. All are welcomed and needed. You really supplied me with some good tips to keep in mind.

How is the Holiday Inn considered? I mean, is it like a Disney "good neighbor" hotel? or just a hotel in the area. Of course the first things I want to do is find a hotel. I don't know if it is worth it to stay onsite if I want to do daytrips to Paris as well.
Hmmmm....decisions decisions decisions...

 

[Ian Parkes]

Yes the Holiday Inn is classed as a good neighbour hotel along with 3 other hotels all on the DLP site, similar to the hotels at Downtown Disney in WDW. There are two 4 star hotels and two 2 star hotels all together around a lake, served by the transportation to the parks.

Each has a disney store and the Holiday Inn is themed like a circus. The room we had was huge, well maintained and clean, the only down side was that it had no fridge, but you can request a mini bar i think, and there are cold drink machines and ice machines on every floor.

Obviously, I'm unaware of the standard that is acceptable to you, but we usually stay in the Boardwalk Villas in WDW and this room compared reasonably if that helps.

Ian