Getting To Disneyland Paris

One of the beauties of Disneyland Paris being 'En France' is that it is a mere hop, skip & jump away from the UK. This not only makes it an ideal getaway for a long weekend break, but also ensures a variety of travel options.

Most notable are the Eurostar, flying into Paris or driving yourself via ferry or the EuroTunnel. As each has its advantages, you will want to be looking at cost vs convenience & what will work best for you.

EUROSTAR

Start your trip at the stunning St Pancras Eurostar station in London (or Ashford, Kent). This architectural delight offers premier boutique shopping, fine dining and a number of convenient services including WiFi. Why not spoil yourself with a glass of champagne at Europe's longest champagne bar overlooking the platforms?

Taking the train is relaxing & a welcome addition to our trips to DLP. Time wise it's fantastic, you can arrive into Marne La Vallee in under 3 hours & depending on when you travel, fares are available from £69.
On the train, seats are comfortable, and you'll find a buffet car where you can purchase a range of snacks and drinks. If you upgrade to 'Premier' class, you'll be afforded larger seats, quieter cabins & a light meal too.

For me, the top reason to take Eurostar is for the convenience to location. If you can find cheaper fares into Paris then it is only 35 mins to Disneyland, however the direct station is minutes away from the main entrance and is such a good option if you are staying onsite, it's really easy to transfer yourselves & your luggage to your hotel.

On the Eurostar website there is a handy comparison chart promoting the advantages of travelling with them with regards to checking in times & baggage charges etc:
http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/travel_information/before_you_go/fares.jsp

FLYING

As well as flights from London, there are flights to Paris from all over the UK, opening up DLP to our friends up North or across the borders. Whilst Eurostar poses an excellent proposition and is a no brainer for many Londoners, the difficulty of getting in to central London can make this a rather more difficult & costly option for our regional friends.

From London you can fly with BA, Easyjet or Air France.
Easyjet also offer services from Bristol, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool & Newcastle.
BMI Baby offer a service between Paris & East Midlands.
Ryanair fly from Paris Beauvais to Edinburgh, Glasgow & Manchester.

There are others too.

As always with the airlines, they do offer occasional seat sales but you're best options for getting the lowest fares are to book as far in advance as you can.
All airlines offer a tiered pricing structure, once the lowest priced seats in that tier are sold, the price increases. The advantage to paying a higher fare is mainly centred around flexibility. The lowest priced seats will generally be non changeable & non refundable and as the fares increase, these restrictions often relax.

There is a high speed TGV train that takes just 12 minutes from Charles De Gaule airport (costing around 15euros).
To take a cab, in good traffic you'd be looking at around 40 mins travelling time & an average fare of 50-60Euros.

FERRY/DRIVING

Growing up, Dad took us on more than one 'day trip' to DLP, dragging us from our beds in the middle of the night, driving down to Disneyland in time time for breakfast, having a day of fun in the parks before heading home after closing - crazy! I don't remember the travelling ever being difficult and if you have a large family then I'm sure this could be an economical way of doing it. I'd also recommend staying there for at least a night!

There are a number of ferry operators who can get you from the UK to France and if you have time on your side then you can keep an eye out for any bargains. The really cheap trips are often restricted by 'day trips only' but I have seem some great deals crop up. It's worth subscribing to sites like TravelZoo who send out emails with top travel deals, I have booked a ferry this way before.

For those further North there is also the option of the Hull > Zeebrugge ferry, although a bit more expensive than the Channel crossing it saves on fuel driving to Folkestone, probable overnight stays on each journey and activities/food that you would need if driving all the way for a Folkestone/Dover <> Calais crossing.

You need to factor in fuel & tolls and with the rising cost of petrol this doesn't make driving as 'cheap' as it once was, however prices are a little better on the continent (mainly with diesel). As of April 2011, you will be looking at around 20Euros in toll fees to travel from Calais to Paris. This should only be used as a guide.

There is a link here for useful information regarding driving in France:
http://about-france.com/travel.htm

EUROTUNNEL (LE SHUTTLE) /DRIVING

Similar considerations to taking the ferry re tolls/fuels and driving in France but the Eurotunnel is generally quicker, the boarding/disembarking process is much quicker and easier and the actual crossing is only about 35mins each way. For Short Trips fares can be as low as £88 booked a few months in advance and there are 2 crossings per hour almost round the clock, and less weather dependent than the ferry and no problem for those who get seasick.