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[Hall Family]

Hello
My husabnd and I, with our two and a half year old are going to DLP in five weeks... Very excited but also not to sure what to expect I have read various threads and found them to be very helpful!

We will be staying at the Newport Bay hotel half board, and will be taking the Eurostar from Ashford.

Looking for hints in terms of:

Parking / Hotel at Ashford - we'll be travelling "non-stop" on the way there, but looking for a stopover on the way home. Also of course, need to leave the car at Ashford. Thoughts on the different parking options?

Have we left it to late to do the express check in - where you can leave your luggage when you arrive at DLP, go to the park, and find your luggage in your room later?

Breakfast in NB hotel - bit of a bunfight from what we've heard!? Alternatives?

Best eateries?

Have heard of some sort of pre-booking, money saving option for the wild west show? Anyone know what this is? Genuine?

As I mentioned, going for a week (Fri-Fri). Recommendations for how to split time up. Obviously a lot of the rides etc aren't "available" to a 2.5yo, and so we understand that with him in mind, we could be "done" with the park in 2-3 days? We know of the "Oceanarium" nearby, plus of course Paris itself, but.... thoughts / views / suggestions here welcomed!

We're going at the end of July, into August. Anyone got any experience of what the weather is like "down there" at that time of year. Guessing not a whole lot different to UK? It's not exactly a million miles after all...?

Finally, the big one - and one most likely to be divisive among opinions here at a guess! How much, per person (child is free mostly of course) - do you think we'll be spending a day?

Many thanks in advance.

[nathalie]

summer is poorly at the moment, but you never know, it's eather incredibly hot during that time of year, or it could even be raining, that's EU weather for ya, haha

[never2old]

I can't help you regarding the travel questions, but I'll do my best with the rest!

You'll need to go to the hotel to pick up your park tickets, if you don't have the express check in, you don't really have a choice. It may be worth trying to call Disney again and ask them if you can add the service. Otherwise I suggest when you come out of the station, you go straight to the shuttle buses (you'll see the bus station when you come out), and take the bus to the hotel. It only takes a few minutes, you can leave the bags there (if you're lucky your room may even be ready), and collect your park tickets. You can take the bus back, or walk to the parks (it's a nice walk, by the lake and across the Disney Village

If you have your park tickets already with you, you can leave the bags in the station (there's a luggage service place, not too expensive), and collect them later.

Breakfast can be a fit of a bun fight... When you check in you'll be asked to choose your breakfast time. The rule is, try to go as early as possible (7am is the best) to avoid the queues. Other options in the Disney Village are Cafe Mickey for a breakfast with the characters (you need to book it in advance), Starbucks, Annette's, and even MacDonalds.

If your little boy has a good appetite, best places to eat are the buffets - children under 3 don't pay, and you'll find plenty of choice in all buffets! My personal favorite is Agrabah Cafe (lovely Mediterranean food, a great starters buffet, and great theming). Plaza Gardens is also very nice (more continental food, and a great desserts selection). In the Studios you'll find the Restaurant des Stars (food selection is similar to Plaza Gardens, but here you can meet Remy from Ratatouille). We went a couple of months with our 2 year old and we found buffets worked best for lunch (in the evening she was tired and not too hungry, so I usually just gave her a ready meal).

You can have a look at restaurants (and menus) here.

We also found character meals a great way for our little one to meet the characters without any fuss. Of course once she saw Mickey was around she didn't eat too much, she was busy following his every more and waiting for him to come over to see her, but still...  Really worth it.

By the way characters can be quite intimidating first time, our little one is a huge Mickey fan so she was only too happy to meet him, but I've been plenty of times with other children who were a bit scared at first... So maybe wait a couple of days before trying to see them up close and personal, and start seeing them from a distance in the parades and shows first...

In terms of rides, our little one loved Buzz Lightyear (try to do it first thing in the morning, during the EMH, or use the fastpass during the day to avoid the long queues), Peter Pan, and It's a Small World. Most rides in Fantasyland are suitable for little ones (though I find Snow White can be a bit scary for some children). In Adventureland we did Pirates of the Caribbean (not her favorite ride, but she still enjoyed it). You can also go around the caves and try to find the buried treasure! In the Studios you have to see Animagique (a stage show with Donald). Our little one also enjoyed Playhouse Disney, the flying carpets, and the slinky dog ride.

You also have a couple of playgrounds for children to run around, with slides and all. My favourite is the Pocahontas Village in Frontierland, and there's also another one in Adventureland, by Captain's Hook galley.

I fear the parks will be quite busy when you're there. Since you have 5 days you can just relax and not rush, and do what you can. We found that a full day in the park was too much for our little one; for us it was best when we went back to our room for her nap, and going back early evening into the parks.  You may find that the park is busiest after 11-12, and until 6-7 in the evening.

You can go to Sea Life in Val d'Europe (ask in the hotel, they sometimes have a shuttle service from the parks to the Val d'Europe shopping center). You also have a nice pool in the hotel (including an outside bit), it could be a nice way to spend the afternoon!!

I'm very bad when it comes to spending in Disney, I confess... For meals, buffets start around the 20-25 euro (and children under 3 don't pay). Menus in the fast food places are around 10-15 euro. And a menu (starter + main course) at a table service restaurant starts around 30 euro.  Then there's souvenirs, snacks during the day...

Hope this helps a bit!

Have a magical time

[gemmasteele84]

Have we left it to late to do the express check in - where you can leave your luggage when you arrive at DLP, go to the park, and find your luggage in your room later?
- No I think you can add this up until a few days before. Worth ringing and asking or having your travel agent do it (depending on how you booked) I've always used this and its really worth the money, particually on the last day.

Breakfast in NB hotel - bit of a bunfight from what we've heard!? Alternatives?
- I'd wait until you get there and see what you think yourselves. We heard dreadful things about cheyanne for breakfast but didn't think it was too bad I agree early is better as more time in park too. Alternatives are many, Annettes, Mcdonalds, Earl of sandwhich, Disneyland hotel, Café Mickey. You can also ask to have breakfast in the park which is quieter as they only allow so many people to do it each day, just ask when you check in about this.

Best eateries?
Depends on your taste and budget. Annettes was great and good value for money, Café mickey wasn't great for the food but for character interaction it was brill Walts was another good one but probably not too appealing for the little one.

Have heard of some sort of pre-booking, money saving option for the wild west show? Anyone know what this is? Genuine?
- Never tried this myself we just paid full price but its an amazing show, well worth the money

As I mentioned, going for a week (Fri-Fri). Recommendations for how to split time up. Obviously a lot of the rides etc aren't "available" to a 2.5yo, and so we understand that with him in mind, we could be "done" with the park in 2-3 days? We know of the "Oceanarium" nearby, plus of course Paris itself, but.... thoughts / views / suggestions here welcomed!
- We went for 10 days and never left the park lol. It can be a long day for little ones so we would go to the park, go on some rides, see a parade then go back to the room for a nap before dinner. The kids saw Stitch live I think 5 times and no idea how many times we went on Pirates of the Carribean lol. It will be very busy when you go and its nice to have the time to not rush and go around properly.  

We're going at the end of July, into August. Anyone got any experience of what the weather is like "down there" at that time of year. Guessing not a whole lot different to UK? It's not exactly a million miles after all...?
- Like the UK its not really very predictable, wait and see nearer the time but it should be nice.

Finally, the big one - and one most likely to be divisive among opinions here at a guess! How much, per person (child is free mostly of course) - do you think we'll be spending a day?
- It really depends on what you want to do. We went a bit mad the first 3 days, buying toys, had a drink at Disneyland hotel (£60 for 4 drinks!!!) then calmed down a bit and for the next 3 days only spent about 6 euros a day minus dinner (we had meal vouchers) You can get food from breakfast to cover lunch, bottles of juice are quite cheap around the park, bring an empty bottle and fill with water from the drinking fountains, then its only dinner which can be based on your budget. in 10 days we spent about £600 on souveniers, drinks etc but we got quite a lot, can be done much cheaper than that.

[amanda08]

Re - buffalo Bill's - Much cheaper tickets to be had then via Disney! Here is a link to the trip advisor Disneyland Paris forum and tons of info about tickets. I have done this many times and know lots of other people that have used these companies too - have a fab trip!
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g2 ... et_Ma.html

[tubbsy]

If you are in NPB admirals floor, you could always opt to have room service with a charge of 10 euors? I know, more money, but we found its just better than a bun fight.

[glenn]

there is a holiday inn or ashford international hotels near the ashford station,both allow you to leave your car in the car park free of charge.You can get a cab to the station,i think it cost £6,-or £7,it work out a lot cheaper than parking at ashford international car park.