Planning our trip - any suggestions

[Guest]

So we are planning a trip to DLP for May half term. 2 adults, children aged 8 (actually she'll be 9 by then) and 6.

So far what I've come up with is as follows:

Flying from Manchester - outbound 0610, inbound 1820
Transfers by the shuttle bus.

Staying 4 nights at Sequoia lodge, with the included half board plan.

Booked the character lunch for day two.

A couple of things I cant decide on
1. Travel insurance - I'm sure I can get this cheaper than on the main site can't I?
2. Should I upgrade to the full board meal plan? I know food is going to be very expensive when I get there, so do you think it would be worth it?
I was thinking we'd probably have breakfast at the hotel, lunch at a burger type place (although we are all veggie, so I'm hoping there are some veggie burgers somewhere) and then a buffet evening meal (kids love these).
Would the vouchers work at the burger-type places? and would it be cost effective - I've no idea how much I'd be lookin at paying for a burger and chips!

Any and all advice is very very welcome!

[Stitchfan626]

Hi,

I can't help much with the travel insurance, but hopefully can with the meal plan!

If it is the half board plus plan you have then I'd stick with that. You will get breakfast free anyway & you can use your voucher for an evening meal (table service or buffet). Then just buy lunch counter service as you go. If you google disneyland Paris menus you can see the menus & prices in advance. If you opt for full board, you will have 2 full table service vouchers to use a day. That is a lot of food & time!

From memory everywhere does at least one vegetarian option.

Have a fantastic time!

[Guest]

I went to DLP last November for 2 days/1 night (also stayed at the Sequoia Lodge!) We had breakfast at the hotel, then ate inside the parks or Disney Village the rest of the time. I'm also a vegetarian and found most places had at least one veggie option. From what I remember food wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be.

Earl of Sandwich in the Disney Village is pretty good value if you're looking for a quick lunch. Most of the menu is meat, however when we asked they were happy to swap ingredients around. Think a sub + drink was less than €10.

We did the Inventions character dinner buffet on the evening which was fantastic. Amazing choice of food and probably the best meal we had while we were there!

On our last day we went to a QS pizza restaurant (can't remember its name sorry!) Which was around €10-15 for a decent sized pizza, garlic bread and a drink. Think most of the QS restaurants we looked at were a similar price.

I'm not sure how the half-board plan works, however I'd work out roughly how much you'd spend without the plan and compare it to the upgrade price.

Hope this helps!

[Guest]

I'd definitely stick with half board, 626 is right, it's a lot of park time wasted on table service meals.

I always find travel insurance cheaper to buy elsewhere, rather than as part of my booking, but we're a family of 5 & usually go for an annual policy so you'd have to price up your options. There are comparison sites you can get a quote from & see.

DLPguide/planning/din...staurant-menus is a good place to check prices, it's not always up to the minute, but it'll give you a good idea.

[Guest]

Thanks everyone. I've had a look at the menus, and I think you're right. I'll stick with the half board, and we can grab a quick service burger or pizza or something for lunch.

Am I best off booking my evening meal for each night? And if I do this, what sort of time is best?

[Gill H]

Firstly, if you haven't booked the VEA, it might be worth looking at a private transfer. It could be about the same price and will be a lot nicer experience. My only experience of the VEA coach is that it's late, crowded, a long journey and not pleasant.

Secondly, I never bother with dining plans as I find them confusing, restrictive and they don't save you much. But if you have the half-board dining plan included that should be all you need.

We find we stuff ourselves silly at breakfast and we aren't hungry until about 3pm. We then often share a lunch between two adults. Colonel Hathi's Pizza does a meal deal - pizza, salad, drink and ice cream - and we shared that between two of us which was plenty.

There are veggie options at all the TS restaurants but I hope you like mushroom pasta...! I believe Annette's does a veggie burger too. Buffets will have veggie options, particularly Agrabah Cafe which has lots of Middle Eastern food.

Read oh_darling's trip report, her fiancee is a veggie and they always seemed to find something.

If you eat in the in-park restaurants such as Walt's, Blue Lagoon, Remy etc, check the opening times. Sometimes we have found they close at 3pm even when the park is open till 8pm. That might not be the case by May though.

[Guest]

Thank you for the advice.
How would I arrange a private transfer do you know?
It definitely sounds like a good idea, because I think they want £108 for the coach transfer.

[Cara040]

We found the half board plus worked really well. We had a really good breakfast before heading into the parks and then made a lunch reservation most days between 2&3pm, we then used the inclusive snack ( donut/ coffee ) at around 6.30ish in the evening.
one day we had an evening reservation and went to Earl of Sandwich for lunch which was very reasonable. I took extra snacks with us but brought them home, we found there was plenty of food and my DH as a farmer has a big appetite.

[Toria_dee]

I have to disagree with the meal plan not saving, we got the standard included with our booming for July this year, but wanted the plus as last year we mostly used places available on the plus and paid the difference. It's cost £279 for 5 (2 adults & 3 children) for 3 nights which works out at £18.60 per person per day for breakfast (we're staying at Davy Crockett's so breakfast isn't included) and lunch or dinner. We'll use it for dinner at about 6pm so will buy a counter service lunch. I couldn't feed the 5 of us for that in DLP.

When we went in 2014 we got half board standard for free and paid to upgrade to full board standard. We got a counter service voucher for lunch and a table service voucher for dinner which was great but when we upgraded to full board last year it had changed to 2 table service vouchers a day which was a waste. I much preferred the old set up we got in 2014.

xx

[Gill H]

Originally Posted by RachelN76

Thank you for the advice.
How would I arrange a private transfer do you know?
It definitely sounds like a good idea, because I think they want £108 for the coach transfer.

See more...

Not done it myself but someone should be along to recommend companies soon!