[DisneyJunebug]

Hi! My soon-to-be husband and I are planning out Honeymoon and are seriously considering going to Disneyland Paris. The problem is we don't know a lot about the place, so any information that can be provided would be greatly appreciated! Which hotels on property are the best? Is it easy to go to Paris proper from there? Is it easy to get from Charles de Gaulle airport? What is the weather like in late October? We were originally planning on going to California to Disneyland, but suddenly got the inspiration to try Paris instead! Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

[mickey]

Funny you should ask this today, it was one year ago today that I was in Disneyland Paris with my son for the first time. Honestly, I think it would be a great honeymoon spot, but you should incorporate Paris more into your plans. It is the city of love, and for a good reason.

Disneyland Paris features two theme parks (Disneyland Paris and the new Disney Studio), five resorts and one campground. The resorts range from Hotel Sante Fe, which is roughly an All Star equivalent to the Disneyland Hotel, which would be akin to the Grand Floridian. We did not stay in any of the resorts when we visited, so I have no real personal experience with them. We did visit a couple of them, and they seemed very nice.

Right now, they have a great deal for staying at the resorts and include park passes and breakfast. Two nights hotel, three days in the parks and two breakfasts would run the two of you about $326. Even at the most expensive resort, it would only be about $550. You can book packages through any Disney travel agent or directly. If you are a DisneyClub member, they are offering a 15% discount on top of those prices through October 20th.

I would suggest that you stay at Disneyland Paris for three nights, and the rest of the time in Paris. We stayed in Paris the whole time, and went out for a day, but it wasted a good portion of our time. We rode every ride in the park, saw some of the shows, and still left early. The second park wasn't there though, and they have expanded some of the other areas. There is a direct RER train that runs through Paris right to the park. It takes about an hour, depending upon where you pick it up. We were staying on the Champs d'Elysee, and caught it right at the Arc de Triomphe. There isn't a good way to get from the airport to Disneyland without going through Paris. The trains cross at Chatelet, so you could just change there, or you could take a taxi, they are only about 15 miles apart.

The weather in October can be either spectacular or down right ugly. I have seen it in the 70s during the day, and beautiful, and I have seen it snow. You should expect some rain, some nice days with cool nights. The nice thing in October is that there will be no crowds at all, you should be able to walk on any ride.

I would check out the DLP website, and get some ideas of resorts, etc. Let me know if you have any questions, and sorry if this was so cryptic.

Disneyland Paris English Site

[DisneyJunebug]

Wow! Thanks for all the info! You definitely gave me a lot of information. The only way we would stay out there the whole time would be if I get a great rate, but if it is an hour by train, then I can guarantee we won't stay there the whole time! I've been to WDW almost 20 times, and Disneyland once, so I feel I would know the park a bit. It's just the logistics of the whole thing!

You were a big help!

June

[SpectroVal]

I'm thinking about a trip to to Disneyland Paris, but have a question. Since I don't know a single word of French, will I be lost there? Are the attractions in English as well as French?

Thanks for any help!

Valerie

[mickey]

SpectroVal

Welcome to DisneyCentral. I visited DLP last summer with my son. Though I lived in France for two years, I am no longer fluent by any means. My son takes Jr. High French, but was totally lost in Paris.

Once we arrived at DLP, all of the signs were in English and French, and I saw some German around. Many of the rides that required listening like Le Visionarium (Timekeeper) had a row that had headsets with several foreign language tracks. All of the restaurant menus had an english section, there are english park maps and a good portion of the CMs were English, or spoke English very well. You have to remember that a large percentage of their visitors come from the UK, and therefore, they cater to them as well as the French.

By the way, make sure you ride Space Mountain (totally different, a cross between Rock 'N' Roller Coaster and Space Mountain) and the Indiana Jones ride, it is a backwards rollercoaster, with a loop!

Oh, and we went the end of June, and it wasn't crowded until the afternoon. We pretty much walked on everyride. Even in the afternoon, we only waited about 10 minutes at most. Make sure you go on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. It gets quite crowded during the weekend.

[ELyon10431]

Hi,

I am just back from Disney Paris and I have been a few times, please feel free to post or PM me with any info you may require. I have stayed in Paris itself and also on-site.

Oh and welcome to DC spectroval.

Liz:D

[ilvminnie]

Mickey, what was the weather like in June? We're thinking of going maybe June 2004. I've heard conflicting weather reports for that time of year.

Also, I can't decide between the Newport & the Disneyland hotels. There's a difference in DVC points, but that's really not as important as the experiences of the hotels themselves. Any suggestions?

[mickey]

Last year in June, the weather was perfect. It only rained on us one day, and the other days it was in the mid 70s. From past experience though, it can be anywhere between 90 and 50. It is the end of the rainy season, so you take your chances. We were there one year in late April, and the entire trip it never got above 35 degrees, and snowed on us several times in Paris in once in London.

The Disneyland Hotel and the Newport were the only two resorts we saw. The Disneyland is similar to the Grand Floridian in WDW in that it is by far the nicest, definitely their crown jewel. I also thought that the Newport was neat too, very much like the Beach and Yacht Club. Looking at the charts, it looks like the Disneyland Hotel is going to be 52 points per night, weekdays, and the Newport is going to be 34, so there is quite a difference.

I know that they often have very good specials for foreign visitors, and are usually two or three nights, including park passes. Right now they have a deal if you book a stay with your American Express card, arive on a Sunday, and stay 2 nights or more, you get 20% of your resort price, plus discounts to all the restaurants and special access to parades, etc. I think the Disneyland hotel is going to be about $250 per night this way, and Newport is going to be under $200, which includes your park passes and breakfast at your hotel.

For me, I never use my DVC points outside of one of the DVC resorts. It never makes financial sense for me. I know the exact cost of my points, and to stay at the Disneyland Paris resort using points is going to cost me at least $275 per night, plus the cost of the park passes and breakfast, so at least $325. For you, most likely your cost per point is closer to $7, rather than the $5 of mine, so your costs are going to be more like $425 per night. Just something to think about.