Disneyland Paris

[jd_1984]

Has anybody taken their family to Disneyland Paris.
The little one really wants to see Paris and and Disney. We would look to go late 2014 or perhaps 2015, spen 3 days at the park and a further 2 days in Paris (have a hotel in mind for Paris)
I expect to have to spend a fair bit but I dont want to be extorted!

If you have been, did you fly or drive/ferry/eurostar?
Where did you stay?
Is it cheaper to book a package with all included hotel and park tickets etc...?

Any advice would be great, cheers.

[sherrardk]

We went at Christmas about four years ago and it was very disappointing. Lots of things were shut and it wasn't very Christmassy. Have also been in the summer when it is fab.

[rockyracoon]

We took our kids about 8 years ago, March time, it was quite reasonable and not too busy. We travelled by Eurostar which takes you straight on to the Disneyland complex, the staff take your cases to the hotel so you can go straight into the park, we live just outside London so getting to Waterloo was easy for us. I was surprised at the prices, I thought they'd be extortionate when in fact they were very similar to any large city. We had a great time, well the kids did and that's all that matters.

[rockyracoon]

I thin you're in Scotland aren't you jd, driving would be a hellish journey for you, Paris is not a quick journey from Calais. Flying might be the best option, I think there are shuttles from the airport to Disney.

[sherrardk]

The best deal we had was when we did the hotel + food included (that was the Christmas time). We always take the car so we can take everything else that we want.

[jd_1984]

No rocky, we are North West, about 40mins from the M6.
I have done Dover in 4hrs 20mins (early hours mind). I am familiar with Paris but not the Disney resort. We may decide to fly/shuttle etc.
Do the park hotels have free parking do you know?

[rockyracoon]

Not sure on that one, thought the car parks are vast from what I remember. There is a hotel that belongs to Disney that's off site (not far) but you'll need transport to and from the park but I think it's cheaper to stay if you're looking for more of a bargain. My OH had an unexpected bit of cash just before we went so we stayed in the Disney hotel, that was fab, very grand and the reception staff were breathtakingly rude.

[ck1]

The parking is free at a lot of the disney hotels and the shuttle services they offer to the park are really good - about every 10 minutes so you never have long to wait. The kids will love it but I would expect you to be a bit disappointed, the food is terrible, there is not much of a Disney feel to the place - characters are in certain places at specific times so you have to queue for a long time if the kids want to get a photo for example. I always expected the place to be like one big cartoon but when you're in it's not really any different to any other theme park. You can find some good deals for hotels and entry tickets so it can be done relatively inexpensively. If you drive, it's a really fast / easy journey from Calais if you get the Eurotunnel across.

[jd_1984]

I have done Disney World Florida and all the parks out there with my family when I was a kid. If money was no object, we would go there. I have heard mixed reviews about the Paris site.
We are getting married next year but still want to save some money to take the little man somewhere he will love.

[rockyracoon]

Jd, he'll love, the look on my daughters face as we walked through the gates to see the big pink castle was priceless. Be warned though, some kids are terrified of the characters (I think it's the size), they came in at breakfast every morning and whenever they came near our table the kids hid under it :)

[chrissa1]

We took the children about two years after it opened, (a long time ago), and it was great. We flew and stayed in a large pink hotel that was right outside the gates to Disneyland.
The transfer bus from the airport was dropping families at each hotel along the way and the hotels were all themed, etc.
We went in April and although some of the rides had long queues it wasn't too bad. Cartoon characters would come into the dining room at breakfast for photos etc and the kids loved it.
This was a long time ago though but has the "brand Disney" really gone down in quality so much? It's a surprise if it has.

[jno]

quite mixed reviews here

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews11197.html