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[Oreo]

Thinking about a short trip to Disneyland Paris next year for a little honeymoon.

We can't get a great deal of time off work for our wedding unfortunately, however our parents have kindly offered to contribute towards a small honeymoon (as the plan was not to have one at all give our small wedding budget).

Being Disney fans and the fact that our first holiday together was to Disneyland, we thought it would be nice to go back for a few days.

Based on our experiences from our first time we've decided that ideally we would want to go Monday to Friday as this gives us less crowds and makes it easier transport wise.

We also wanted somewhere with a pool, as last time we stopped at the Cheyenne which didn't have a pool.

So we've narrowed it down to Newport Bay Club or Sequoia Lodge for 4 nights 5 days. It means we can take advantage of their early booking offer and the price we will pay for 5 days will be the same as 3.

So my question for those who have been, would flying be better than the eurostar or the other way around?

Flying would mean we could fly from our local airport (birmingham) on Monday morning and arrive fairly early to make use of the parks. However the eurostar means we would not arrive until 2:30pm in the afternoon (there is not much difference coming back on the Friday). Flying would mean we would miss out on Disney Express as well.

Going on the train however means we would arrive pretty much next to the hotel without the need of transfers. It would also mean that we could take with us and bring back as much as we wanted really. The downside is that we would be rushing the day after our wedding to get down to Essex to stop with family so that we could go from Ashford on the Monday morning.

There is little difference in price on the face of it however I suspect that once I have spoken to the travel agent and they have added baggage and transfers the flight option will work out a little more expensive.

Any thoughts?

[jj554]

I can't give a truly balanced view here as I have never flown to DLP. However I have always found the train to be stress free and like you said it arrives right at the parks without the hassle of transfers and things. Flying for me is more of a stressful experience which I avoid if I can. Don't want to jinx anything but I feel with trains and things you are less likely to get delays and issues, Eurostar has always been very reliable in my experience. The train is exciting and part of the treat if you get Disney Express and they find you on the train to bring you the tickets etc. It's a bit nicer to be able to get up and move around a little more freely than you can on a plane.  I am lucky enough to live close to London but sometimes I travel up and stay over the night before. When I did look into flights before the transfers seemed very expensive? I'm sort of waffling but I hope this is vaguely useful! Congrats on your wedding! (Also I preferred Sequoia to Newport, especially if you are going in Winter Sequoia is cosier. However I believe Newport has refurbed since my visit so may be better now)

[Oreo]

I can't give a truly balanced view here as I have never flown to DLP. However I have always found the train to be stress free and like you said it arrives right at the parks without the hassle of transfers and things. Flying for me is more of a stressful experience which I avoid if I can. Don't want to jinx anything but I feel with trains and things you are less likely to get delays and issues, Eurostar has always been very reliable in my experience. The train is exciting and part of the treat if you get Disney Express and they find you on the train to bring you the tickets etc. It's a bit nicer to be able to get up and move around a little more freely than you can on a plane.  I am lucky enough to live close to London but sometimes I travel up and stay over the night before. When I did look into flights before the transfers seemed very expensive? I'm sort of waffling but I hope this is vaguely useful! Congrats on your wedding! (Also I preferred Sequoia to Newport, especially if you are going in Winter Sequoia is cosier. However I believe Newport has refurbed since my visit so may be better now)

Very useful thank you. 

I have no issues with flying however given that we have family members who live in Essex the drive to Ashford will be less than an hour it also means that there is no waiting around in airports etc.

As you can probably see, my preference is Eurostar however the other half seems to prefer to fly

I'd be interested to hear other peoples experiences esepcially if they've used both.

My other question, is it generally cheaper to book hotel and transport seperatly or to book it all together?

THanks

[AmyT14]

This may not be massively useful but thought I would comment anyway! We are yet to go to DLP but are booked to fly there in June because our daughters would be more excited to go on a plane (for the first time) than go on a train. We booked everything through Disneyland Paris so transfers are included and the price wasn't much different.

[sarahmumof4]

We've done eurostar twice, driven once and are flying in Dec .
Obviously can't comment on flying yet but Eurostar is nice and easy .

We go from St Pancras . Once you are on the train that's it till you get to disney

I would do it again except my kids wanted to try flying x

[MotherKnowsBest!]

Hi, we have been 5 times, travelling by Eurostar 4 times and flying on the last occasion. We've never really had a problem travelling by Eurostar but the journey to and from St Pancras has always been eventful for us travelling by train from South Wales. For our trip last November we decided to try flying as the flight times were much better, the airport is only 45mins away from where we live, and as we booked in advance was much cheaper than the Eurostar.

I can honestly say we wouldn't travel any other way now. The flight was really quick. We arranged a private transfer from the airport which for us still worked out cheaper than what we'd have had to pay this end to get to London. I cannot fault the transfer company - the driver was waiting there for us, the journey to the Disney hotel took approx 40mins. He was early for our departure and even walked us to check-in which I was thankful for as had heard how vast an airport Charles de Gualle is.

On our last journey on Eurostar they had stopped the Disney bags for children and it didn't seem to be as magical as it did on our first few journeys. Plus I always found it pretty stressful fitting in our cases and pushchair in the luggage sections on the Eurostar!

Personally for us travelling with 2 children I would always choose flying now!

[daddyof2]

OK, I'll try and answer a few questions and give my opinions too.
I'll first say that I work on the railway and like train travel - though I don't mind flying either. Monday-Friday is likely to give you a quieter time in the parks, so I think that's a good idea.
Flying probably gives you a bit more flexibility on travel times - though you have to consider baggage restrictions and check in times that aren't so strict with Eurostar. Note if you want to use a Kent station, Ebbsfleet (near Dartford) is easier than Ashford if you're starting from Essex. If you're close to a station on the West Coast main line (Rugby, Coventry, Birmingham Intl, New Street, etc) you can get a train to Euston and its a short walk/taxi to St Pancras.
Its nearly always cheaper to book your travel separately to your hotel/tickets

[littlebitofpixiedust]

Have flown and used Eurostar on many,many occasions. Would never fly if Eurostar tickets availabilty was good, as mentioned above booking hotel package and travel separately always seems to be cheaper.

I guess it really does all depend on distance from where you are ect. We're fortunate enough to be 5mins drive from ebbsfleet international so it literally couldn't be more convenient. However every person has their own opinion I know people that would drive over flying or Eurostar  not my cup of tea! But some prefer for different reasons.

The beauty with eurostar is you are at the parcs/hotels on arrival, if your staying at a Disneyland on-site that is they're all 10-20 min walk or free shuttle.
When we flew some years ago it seemed a lot longer time scale than using Eurostar. Wich ever you choose you'll be fine many fly, many use Eurostar. Hope I've helped. Enjoy 

[Oreo]

Ok, so while the forum was off, we booked our honeymoon for next year.

It was cheaper to go for 4 nights than it was for 3!

Anyway we are stopping at sequoia lodge in a lake view room for 4 nights and have booked the Eurostar.

We booked it through an only travel agent which saved us £200 to that what Disney were offering.

We know we could have probably got it cheaper booking transport sepeately but given that the Euro's will be on at the same time we decided to do it this way so we are not worrying.

[mickeyspal]

We prefer to travel by Eurostar and have done since 2004, it's a very relaxing way to travel, and particularly as the train arrives at DLP you don't have the hassle of hanging about airports waiting for the luggage to arrive, then waiting for the shuttle bus for the park, this all adds time to the journey.
Whatever way you arrive at Disney have a great time  and congratulations for your upcoming wedding. 

[Wedmad]

We have traveled every which way to the park, coach, driven, Eurostar, and flown, by far the best way is Eurostar.
We drive from telford shropshire to ebbsfleet (2.5 hours) park there and get the train, have done both direct and changed a Lille. 6 hours door to park

Flying, from birmingham,  1 hour drive just under, have to check in two hours before flight, 1 hour flight, collect luggage, customs, check in for coach transfer another hour and about an hour coach trip with the drop offs. You may also have to wait for the next coach ( another hour)  6 to 7 hours door to park you may also have to leave the resort earlier than planned so you can check in before the 2 hours you need. This meant we had to wait best part of 4 hours at the airport making it a long trip.

Coach from telford with pick ups in route, ferry etc can take around 11 hours door to park

Driving, 3.5 hours to Dover, ferry 2 hours, 3.5 hours from calis to park. Door to park 9 hours

For us Eurostar is both quickest and the least stressful. We always book travel separate to disney, always cheaper

Paul and julia

[stifle]

I usually fly but I have a BA gold card and therefore get to use the very nice airport lounges and the fast track security channels. Might review when it runs out.

[seraphelle]

Hi,

We've flown both times from Birmingham and honestly there's no way I would do the train after experiencing the flight. Barely time for a cup of tea and you're landing. I'm not a great traveller (I get nauseous on most modes of transport) so quick a painless is best for me. 

x

[gemma2806]

I also live near Birmingham and have always flown to Disney. It's 30 mins in a taxi to the airport then the flight lasts an hour plus 30 mins taxiing to the gate when you land at CDG as it's so huge! Never been longer than 45 mins through immigration and customs. Catch the VEA shuttle bus straight to your hotel and it's the same on the way home.