Eurostar — questions and travel updates

[Anthony]

Please use this topic for all news and service updates for the Eurostar high-speed rail service to Disneyland Paris, as well as your own trip planning questions, experiences and tips!
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Disneyland Resort Paris have been working with Eurostar recently to give their DLRP direct train service a bit more a true "Disney" touch.  These changes should start happening very soon...

The train is currently referred to simply as "the direct Eurostar service".
It will soon have its own name and identity. (think along the lines of "The Disneyland Train" or "Disneyland Direct"...)

There is currently no advertising in Waterloo, Ashford or Marne-la-Vallιe to suggest the direct service operates.
There will soon be: banners and posters at stations; a special plasma screen at Waterloo showing DLRP commericals; plus tests of character appearances and/or a live Disney band at Marne-la-Vallιe to survey guest opinion.

Announcement to board the train isn't very Disney-ish at the moment.
It'll soon feature Mickey and Minnie over the tannoy, inviting guests to board "The Disneyland Train".

Kids currently get a basic activity pack.
The new pack will feature a rucksack plus games and toys to show them all the best bits of the resort before they get there.

The Disney Express Desk at Waterloo will soon be repositioned aswell (presumably to a better location), and there will be a new one introduced at Ashford.

It's very good to see that DLRP are so concerned with how good the Disney experience is, before you even get there!  

[Maarten]

All these changes sound great! Your holiday really starts at the station. Hopefully they will bring these kind of changes to the Thalys (Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris) too, although I don't think so. The Thalys is more of a regular line insteed of a particular Disney Direct TGV... well, we'll see. Untill now I can only praise Disney's effort to bring the satisfaction levels of their guests as high as possible. Karl Holz, alias Mr Quality among the Castmembers, really seems to understand these kind of things in my humble opinion.  

[Kris]

Awesome additions! It increases the whole Disney experience! Any idea on when this may happen? Would love to hear Mickey as the train leaves the station in July. Woohoo!

[Anthony]

They say it's going to be in place "now (or soon!)", so I guess most of it is already happening...  Should be before the summer season anyway, I guess.

[experiment627]

Hopefully they will bring these kind of changes to the Thalys (Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris) too, although I don't think so. The Thalys is more of a regular line insteed of a particular Disney Direct TGV... well, we'll see.

I'd like to see them on the new ICE- / TGV- connections to Frankfurt and Stuttgart, too. But I really doubt it'll happen...

[RnRCj]

This is a really good idea. It will be great having Disney atmosphere around you when your boarding the train at Waterloo or Ashford. It just adds to the magic!

[Kris]

I guess they can do this for Eurostar as that trip is exclusively for DLRP although the other train networks end up at other destinations (I asume).

Was thinking how nice it would be to have the Eurostar train specially decorated, but the train goes on to Paris to head back to the UK. Shame that they dont have just one train used specificially for the London-Ashford-DLRP trips then it would be the ultimate Disneyland Train!

[Anthony]

Was thinking how nice it would be to have the Eurostar train specially decorated, but the train goes on to Paris to head back to the UK. Shame that they dont have just one train used specificially for the London-Ashford-DLRP trips then it would be the ultimate Disneyland Train!

You mean decorated inside?  It already has Disney characters covering the carriages outside, doesnt it?

I think the reason DLRP can make this service into a proper Disney service is, like Kris said, because it only goes to DLRP and nowhere else.  Also, Eurostar and DLRP seem to have more of a connection than other train companies and I'm sure DLRP give Eurostar a LOT of extra customers.

[Kris]

Really? Never seen these characters in 4 trips hehe. Are they new or just imaginary?  :lol:

I did mean outside, but any "theming" would look lovely I'm thinking

[Patrick]

Disney characters on the outside what are you on about man?
Whatever it is I would like to see it, currently it's your basic Eurostar train .  This all sounds interesting and to think I was at Waterloo today why didnt I have a look around lol.

[Anthony]

Whatever it is I would like to see it, currently it's your basic Eurostar train .

It is?  I'm sure at some point in the past they had a special train with Disney character artwork along the sides, similar to the Legend of the Lion King adverts they had splattered across RER trains.  I saw a Eurostar like that with my own two eyes, while waiting for a TGV at the resort train station!!  Maybe I was just high on Disney magic? lol

[babybert]

Yeh they did it had variety of characters, my friend was on there doing snow white.

[Anthony]

I meant character artwork on the side of the train, like this:



It had a yellow background colour and far more characters though, with the DLRP logo on the usual circular background in the corner, which was red.  I definitely didn't imagine it... it must have just been for a limited time.

[Kris]

Wasn't that the Thalys? I have seen a train like that in pics, but wasn't bound to the UK I'm afraid  :lol:

[experiment627]

Wasn't that the Thalys?

No, this is not the Thalys.

With all due respect, this looks a lot like a local train... to be specific: it looks a loot like the RER... but you are right: they're usually not UK bound.  :wink: