hi,
I'm thinking of taking my 2 DD's to DLP at the end of November 15. So far for ease & to save costs & so we're not restricted in what we buy I'm thinking if driving either via ferry / Dover - Calais or via the Tunnel.
I'm thinking of staying at the Hotel Elyesse near the Val De Europe do we can go shopping, eat out of a night & fill up at the supermarket for some Christmas bits before we come home.
What I need to know is does this sound doable?
We are intending on getting to the park about lunch time on the Friday & will set off home on the Sunday evening.
Does anyone gave any idea what will be on at this time?
What would be the things not to miss?
Where are the best places to buy park tickets from?
Thanks for your help.
Vicky & girls x
What I'm thinking so far is:-
I wanted to go for longer but the kids aren't off at that time, I can't keep them off school and we can't go in October 1/2 term due to work. Also this is a bit of a treat for my youngest's birthday which falls at the same time.
What I'm thinking at the min is:-
Leave home Thursday 8:30pm drive to Folkstone - should arrive about 1am sleep in a travel lodge and aim to be on the ferry / tunnel for about 8am. If I pick the tunnel its 35 mins into France & 2.5 -3 hr drive to DLP so there for about 12 -1pm.
Spend the rest of the day in the park.
Saturday - full day in the park - dinner in the park leave when it closes & bed for us 3.
Sunday - check out of the hotel - have 1/2 a day in the park then nip into the supermarket have a meal in the cafe before we leave & fill up the car with bits for Christmas ( if there is room once the kids have emptied Disney)!
Can't really help on the partner hotels I'm afraid but I've heard good things!
But what I will say is if possible there are great perks of staying on-site like extra magic hours from 8am-10 you get to enter the park before the day trippers and non on-site guests. Also it's pretty magic staying on-site and you can walk to the park wich is so relaxed.
With that said I know others that stay in the hotels not far away and they had just as much fun. Guess its personal choice. Disneyland Paris is do-able in that time frame you've planned but it will be busy as its over the weekend. Aslong as you plan out your time which you can do with help here I'm sure you'll have a blast!
I'd Pre-purchase tickets before arrival to save time/money. I've only done this once many years ago from the Disney store and I'm unsure if this can still be done? If you visit the official website there must be some more information there?
With Disneylandparisdirect.com (site I use religiously) you can do hotel and park tickets for the duration of your stay and book your transport elsewhere. I save ALOT this way too :) I've stayed in every on-site hotel from the Santa fe- Disneyland hotel and theyre all fine and you can walk from them all. I'm sure you can look at other hotels aswell. Good luck hope I've helped a little.
I see you can't change the amount of days and when, but be prepared weekends are always busier then weekdays so prepare for that. Your kids should make your pace. Pick the attractions you want to do and don't overdo it. But that's my advice.
We've done that. Left the thurs night then got home Sunday night. We usually get the 7:30am train, staying in Travelodge the night before, one year we managed to get a great deal in the holiday inn express with it right at the tunnel plus do breakfast for you before you leave or to take with you. We normally arrive just after midday at DLP if traffic if good. We then get about the 8pm tunnel back so leave DLP about 3:30pm then either drive straight home, tiring with it being another 5hr journey or stay at a Travelodge again. It's a tiring weekend but worth it.
With it being such a quick trip I would probably spend it in DLP but this depends on your finances. You could give DLP a ring themselves or as was mentioned Disneylandparisdirect, we often use these. Other people have used partner hotels & rate them highly.
Younwont know what's in until the Christmas schedule is released but its usually fairly standard every year, check up on so other threads on here.
I stayed at the Elyesse once but Í didn´t went to Disneyland on that day.
The hotel is okay but I really couldn´t sleep well I hated the beds.
I think they sold tickets at the front counter.
You'll be into Frozen Christmas season at that stage so don't miss the sing along show. I'd plan that for the weekend and try to use Friday, which will be quieter, to get to the rides you particularly want.
For Park tickets I would try www.disneylandparis.fr particularly if you are able to stick to one park per day. The euro/sterling exchange rate has moved a lot in our favour lately and so it's bound to be cheaper than paying in pounds. An alternative if you are expecting to potentially go back within a year is annual passports, which you can buy at the gates or online.
Thanks everyone for your help. How much are the annual passports? I think if we like it as much as I expect we will be back!!
Assuming you have no discounts the ones of relevance to you are Fantasy €179 and Dream €223. The differences are that the Fantasy passport has around 35 blackout days a year when the passport can't be used, and Dream has more/better discounts and a few other benefit such as a free non-alcoholic cocktail at certain restaurants and free bag storage and pushchair/wheelchair hire.