First timer to DLP and Europe

Doodles 33

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Hi All! We are planning a trip to DLP in April 2018. We will be travelling from London via Eurorail. We were thinking to stay in DLP at the DisneyLand Hotel for 5 days and use that as a "base camp" where we could go to the park AND also head into Paris to see the sights during the day. How far and difficult is that trip into Paris to say the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, etc? Is it worth it to stay at Disney that whole time? Or should we stay in Paris for a day or two and then head to Disney. We will have a 7 year old with us. TIA
 
Hi there - sounds like a great trip! My personal recommendation IF you decide to have one base would be to use Disney as a base rather than Paris as first timers, mainly because on the one occasion that I have travelled on the train back into central Paris at the end of a day at the parks, I found it to be tortuous! We had a long wait for a very crowded train and were utterly exhausted, made worse by a further metro journey within Paris when we arrived in the city. On the other hand, trains back from Paris to DLP in the evening will be much less crowded, and the train station is right next to Disneyland Hotel so you'd be back in your room in minutes after getting off the train. I hope this makes sense!

I usually do 2 nights in Paris and 2 nights at Disney myself and this works well for me, but 1) we don't have kids and 2) we travel light as we're just there from Scotland so have a small bag each usually. The change of accommodation and transferring with lots of luggage might be more of a pain in your circumstances.

Whichever way round you decide to do it, the journey is straightforward and takes less than an hour - regular direct trains run from the DLP station (Marne La Vallee) to central Paris and it is very easy to navigate the city using the metro system, or you might fancy an open top bus to see more of the sites rather than being underground. Day trips by bus are also available organised by Disney but are obviously much more expensive and wouldn't give you as much freedom.

I also highly recommend taking the "boat bus" on the Seine when you're in Paris, it doesn't cost much as it is just a form of public transport and it is just wonderful seeing the city from the river. There's a stop at the Eiffel Tower, I love to go right along the river around sunset from Notre Dame to the tower.
 
I also highly recommend taking the "boat bus" on the Seine when you're in Paris, it doesn't cost much as it is just a form of public transport and it is just wonderful seeing the city from the river. There's a stop at the Eiffel Tower, I love to go right along the river around sunset from Notre Dame to the tower.

This sounds like a good way to get around and better than a river tour. We're staying near the Vendome so I've been trying to figure out our best way to get back from the Eiffel tower, unfortunately this stops earlier than we'll be going back to the hotel. We'll probably end up on the metro. This may be a good thing to take there, though we'll be getting in that afternoon from DLP and going to the tower that evening for sunset (we're going to the end of May so it'll be around 930) and we may want to walk to see everything and soak it in.
 
just so you know, there are 6 onsite hotels, you dont just have to stay at The Disneyland Hotel. I have stayed at Disneyland Hotel, Sequoia Lodge and Santa FE. All of the onsite hotel give access to the early opening. All of the onsite are are walkable to the park. The farthest from the park entrance is Santa Fe, that took me 20 minutes to walk, all on Disney property. All of the onsite hotels have free shuttle buses.

For comparision , one night at Disneyland Hotel Standard room = 2 nights at standard room in other onsite hotels :)
 



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