Convince me on DLP vs WDW

[Gill H]

It is first and foremost a holiday in France. Don't expect an American experience but a European one. Completely different market, with different desires. They regard the whole 'be my new BFF' attitude as fake and tacky. Instead CMs will assume you don't want to be pestered by strangers and leave you alone unless asked. However, if you engage them in conversation (even in my ropey 30 year old school French) they blossom.

If you equate Disney with sunshine and heat, adjust your expectations. That said, August in DLP is hotter than I have ever known anywhere! And my first visit to WDW was in December 2010 when temps were minus 2 and we wore winter coats for two weeks. Personally I can't bear heat and would much rather the weather at DLP, which is moderate most of the time as long as you dress for it just as you would here.

It is a stunningly beautiful place and after 11 trips to DLP and 2 to WDW, I can still say Main Street in DLP is my home.

But you need to approach it just as you would approach visiting Tokyo Disneyland or Shanghai or Hong Kong Disneyland. As a completely different culture which you need to research and immerse yourself in before you go.

We have met plenty of rude arrogant people in our two WDW trips too, far worse than at DLP. You get those everywhere. People who ram your ankles with their buggy and push you out of the way - we found those at WDW too. But most people aren't like that.

True, the European concept of personal space is different from that of the average Brit. If you leave a space, they will fill it, and if you aren't touching bodies in at least three places they'll wonder why!

And as for smoking - no worse than I have experienced in Madrid, Paris, Berlin, and yes, London. Or come to that, in British theme parks. If you go when it isn't crowded, it's easy to avoid.

Talking of avoiding crowds - avoid all weekends and public holidays. Like Anaheim and Tokyo, it's a locals' park and the annual passholders flood in every weekend.

As for 'value for money' if you actually compare like with like, you're getting a pretty good deal. Park tickets are much cheaper, as are annual passes, and if you stay offsite it can be cheap - and you can still be there in 15 minutes by public transport or even walking.

Even onsite, there are always deals to be had. Look for 30% off with free dining, or 4 days for the price of 2. Our last trip cost us £800 for 3 nights with half board dining for two adults. That's pretty much all the food you need, your park tickets and internal transport covered once you get there. We booked Eurostar tickets at £29 per person each way (special offer which happens quite often through Eurostar, to Gare du Nord. A bit less convenient than the direct Eurostar which takes you right to the park gates, but cheaper and more frequent.)

So in summary - watch YouTube videos, read trippies, immerse yourself in the culture, go prepared for a completely different experience and you should have a great time.

[DisneyDaffodil]

Thanks for the great advice on here. I’m finding it really useful, I hope the op is too 😀

We are hoping to visit dlp for the first time next summer but unsure when exactly. Is mid June or late July/ early August better? Which has the best weather? Are either of those times busier than the other so best avoided?

Also does anyone know when the Marvel hotel will be open? And how we could book this, as it isn’t available on the website? I was hoping to book in September while they have the free half board offer on for next summer so I am hoping they are taking bookings for it by then 😀

Sorry for jumping on your thread op, but hoping the info may be useful for you too

[Peter H]

Originally Posted by Mrs Valentine

I personally would save up and go back to WDW. I always think DLP is not as good as WDW, but if I could never go to WDW again I might give it another go, if only for a few days.
I like the no smoking, no queue jumping, weather, atmosphere of WDW. When we went to DLP we met some very rude arrogant people and it has completely put me off.
This is all my experience though, and I know lots of people love it.

See more...

Sorry some of the rudest people we met were at WDW. The biggest pushers in. Smoking outside of smoking area. People skipping in the queue, were all just as bad in some cases worse than DLP.

[3family]

The only rude people I’ve met in 2 trips to DLP and 2 trips to WDW were some English folk in DLP.

[kk20]

ill give another view. If you need convincing then dont. Put the money into the WDW pot instead.

DLP is disney but different to WDW.

Ironically we dont want to go to WDW due to the size and expanse, we prefer the smaller parks of DLP, HK (and soon Tokyo). We have always chosen our dates to be lighter park days so usually the crowds and rudeness has been pretty low.

[Fraser789]

I went in November when they had the christmas decorations up. I haven't been for about 18 years and my expectations were really low. I had a brilliant time! We are looking to go back again next year. A lot of the rides which are at both WDW and DLP I actually preferred the versions at DLP.

[rafjen]

Thanks everyone. I completely agree that that they are different experiences. I think it not about comparing the parks really more about realive value for money.

An on site stay with flights will be a couple of grand. My husband just feels its bad value relatively but I'm working on him. I'm starting to explore annual passes and maybe off site. Which may well work out cheaper. I think if we were closer to the south I'd be there at least twice a year.

The main appeal of onsite is the extra magic hour assess- I remember it being a good perk last time we visited.

[Gill H]

I’m sure you could go for less than that!

I believe you can get rooms for 5 at Santa Fe but you have to phone.

Alternatively the Magic Plus annual passes have EMH (now EMT) included.

Try going out of season and arriving on a weekday. Many people like May half term (although this year that includes Ascension Day which is a public holiday).

We used Avios for flights last year so they were £35 each.

[sarahc2116]

I've been to both wdw and dlp. I really didn't want to do dlp as I felt it wouldn't live up to my wdw expectations but due to different reasons I haven't been able to take my children to wdw so I bit the bullet and did dlp. I went with an open mind, which is definitely a must! It's no use comparing as the holiday is a completely different experience. I absolutely loved dlp. I loved the no rushing as there is just the two parks to come and go to. We stayed on site so had extra magic hours and was in walking distance to the parks. I loved that we could walk. I'm hoping to go back to dlp again this year!

[kenville]

I’ve only ever been DLP and been blown away by it. Can’t wait till we go again. Would love to go WDW but with two kids the price just seems unbelievably high.