Leaving this weekend- panic mode! Help?

[Larajp]

I don't know why but any sort of planning for this holiday has been overlooked and now we are going and have no clue! The only planning done is making 3 dinner reservations!

First time to DLP but being huge Florida fans, we normally plan out which rides need to be done asap to miss the huge queues/ get FP for etc. Any hints on this so we go to them first during EMH? Which ones are the best/ busiest/ any hidden treasures to go for? Also the evening shows/ parades/ fireworks if any?

DRIVING! we are on the 7.20am (I believe) euro tunnel train on Monday morning, is there an idiots guide to getting to DLP from the exit of the tunnel? my OH will be the driver (and I am clearly not implying anything there! ) but I think we have left it too late to go into planning this fully. We have heard of the Toll road and are happy to use this if it makes the journey easier. Also hope to make a stop on the way to the hotel for snacks and supplies if there are any options for this!?

Feel quite cheeky posting like this but I promise we have normally planned to the hour by now for USA. I think keeping it a secret from DD4 has taken away the build up and excitement for us!

[Guest]

we go in a few weeks and have nothing planned

we have always planned everything for WDW where we are eating ( ADR's as normaly on DDP ), which often dictates what park we are in that day

I have no idea of the route from Calais, havent even sorted out a sat nav for the trip yet ( though could just DL Navfree for the iphone )

its scary that we have no plans at all, though its also a little exciting

[Guest]

The route is dead easy. It's practically just a straight road until around the airport but a sat nav obviously will help.
There are a couple of supermarkets not far from DLP so can easily grab a couple of things .
Don't panic as DLP doesn't need anywhere near the level of planning as WDW . We're going in August but will just be booking 1 restaurant

[sky13]

Take what I say with a pinch of salt (it's been 1.5 years since I last went to DLP) but I never really planned very much for DLP at all. It's much smaller and much more manageable than WDW - and in fact I usually made my lunch/dinner reservations only when I got there!

EMH: if it's Disneyland that is open (most likely), only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland will be open, and only certain rides will be open. I usually went for Peter Pan, Space Mountain or Buzz during EMH.

As far as I know DLP still uses the old paper FP system so just keep getting FPs throughout the day!

Disney Dreams is the night time show and is very definitely worth seeing. It's in my opinion one of the best Disney night shows ever (and having just come back from WDW I think that for me, Dreams = Wishes > Fantasmic).

Oh yes, and supermarkets - I loved going to Auchan at Val d'Europe, which is huge and sells lots of stuff (it's like a Tesco Extra). There's also an outlet mall nearby which has some good deals (picked up a Longchamp bag there once for a very good price).

[Jen78]

The only thing I ever plan is meals, other than that we just go with the flow and see what queues are like, how kids feel etc.

The drive is very straight forward, and we have never encountered much traffic, especially on the toll roads

[Beaker7929]

Have a read of some trip reports, lots of us (including myself) have just been so you'll get a good idea of what you can do in EMH, and what parades/shows are on, those are the main things we plan around, plus meals of course

[Larajp]

Thank you all, will spend tomorrow reading some trip reports I think. I do feel more relaxed now, think it'll be a more 'go with the flow' visit!

[Gill H]

I can answer about EMH.

It's 8am every morning in Disneyland Park. Fantasyland and Discoveryland are open, but at the moment much of Discoveryland is shut anyway because it's being refurbed and redeveloped.

Rides which are open are:

In Discoveryland: Buzz Lightyear and Star Tours. Both get long queues later, so are worth doing during EMH.

In Fantasyland: Peter Pan's Flight, Teacups, Carousel, Dumbo (if that's open now - it was being refurbed when we went). Sometimes also Snow White or Pinocchio. Definitely do Peter Pan during EMH, it gets crazy queues later.

Characters are out in Town Square and queues are relatively short, so if you like meeting characters, that's a good time to do it.

As for FPs, Big Thunder is the best to grab in Disneyland Park. It is a phenomenally popular ride.

In Studios, get an FP for Ratatouille and/or do it single rider. Standby queues are crazy. But definitely do it - absolutely superb ride.

Also don't miss the shows in Studios. Stitch Live is hilarious (make sure you get an English showing). Cinemagique is unique and magical. Animagique is particularly fun for families.

There is only one parade, in the Disneyland park. It's great. In the Studios there is Stars and Cars which is a meet and greet. We didn't bother, you can't get near the characters unless you have stamina and sharp elbows! Better to queue up for the regular meets.

There are currently two shows in Disneyland Park - check the times guide. Welcome to Spring is a small Mary Poppins show which is quite nice, but my fave is Goofy's Garden Party. Stand by the hub and you'll see dancers and characters, and it has a catchy tune too! It runs several times a day.

There is also Minnie's Little Spring Train which runs up and down Main Street a few times a day with characters on it.

Another tip - if staying onsite, all the hotels are easily walkable. Don't bother with the shuttles, they get overcrowded and unpleasant. It's a nice easy walk.

As for food, we tend to avoid most of the fast food, it's usually not fast, not hot and not very nice! Fill up at breakfast, then later maybe share a pizza meal deal - we like Colonel Hathi's. Or there's Earl of Sandwich in the Village.

If your budget stretches, do one of the table service restaurants. All of them welcome children, and the food is excellent. Love Walt's, Blue Lagoon, Bistro Chez Remy.

Annette's in the Village is good for burgers and has fun theming. You can't book here. If you go, try and go just before a parade finishes or just before the park closes, and beat the crowds!

My biggest tip - stop and smell the roses. Or should that be count the Mickeys? There is so much beautiful detail at DLP, particularly in the Disneyland Park. It's easy to miss if you are rushing from ride to ride.

Oh, and yes, don't miss Dreams! Best Disney castle show ever. Even if you have to have a nap in the afternoon and then mainline espressos all evening to stay awake - do it!

Enjoy your trip!

[Imagineer2802]

Thanks for all the useful tips! My first time in June too!

[Guest]

For fast pass I'd say definitely ratatouille, crush's coaster, Aerosmith. Then possibly thunder mountain and Indiana jones. I was tere last week and Indiana jones was only a 5 minute wait later in te afternoon, Aerosmith was 15-20minute. The longest I waited was an hour for crush's, ratatouille was a 110minute wait. For ratatouille I'd either get the fast pass option first or get it after dinner as about 11am the fast pass queue was really long too! Hope you have a brilliant time!