Complete newbie at DLP! HELP!

[ljbojangles]

Hiya

So my best friend and I have finally decided after years of talking about it we ARE going to Disneyland next year! Now I just need to go about booking it... WDW is a breeze but I have no idea where to start with DLP. I want to make sure we get a good deal etc but have no basis point to compare with...

So - where do you book etc etc? Whats a reasonable price? Any other hints and tips?

We are looking at going mid March 2018 for 3 nights.

Thanks in advance

[Guest]

Booking direct at disneylandparis.co.uk is normally pretty competitive and you get to stay on site. Currently for March you will get 2 nights free offer, this ill change to free half board later as well, it depends on what deal you want.

If you know your dates you can have a look on the other countires sites (disneylandparis ect) to see if they offer a better deal, although these tend to come out later.

You can also look at 3rd party sites like superbreaks who have the same offers as disney direct but sometimes have little extras like free photopass offers.

[Melanie R]

I would avoid booking a package as they usually charge way over the odds for the transport so I always price that up separately. Also check out the offers - I've never yet booked when there was no offer on - usually a flash sale of % discosunt, free dining or free nights whichever works out best for your party.
Also avoid arriving on a weekend as that is more expensive (avoid weekends all together if at all possible as they are mega busy!).

[ljbojangles]

Thanks for your replies

So are weekends a big no no? Even in winter?

I have been pricing up all sorts of different options and cant decide which actually works out better! haha.



I will be travelling from the Isle of Man so will no doubt need an overnight stop somewhere. I have looked at flying to Gatwick, Gatwick express to London and then a stop in a hotel near the train station and first Eurostar out in the morning. But at the minute I cant get a price for the Eurostar. What sort of prices does the Eurostar come out at? and when do they release early 2018?

So many questions! haha x

[Jules32]

Hi

I would try to avoid the weekends if its during a busy period but if its winter outside of the holidays ( remember the French holidays too) then it shouldn't be too busy. I would definitely book your flights separate but would book hotel direct through Disney if your wanting to stay onsite as I find this is always the cheapest way. Flights have always been relatively cheap for us but I have gone via Eurostar a couple of times due to hubby getting discounted travel) but would choose flying over Eurostar just due to the times of the first train you can book Eurostar I think up to ten months before. I’m sure the first train is around 10:15 which doesn’t get you into Disney until around 2pm if you wanted to get there early you could get the euro star into gare de nord and transfer to Disney from there its relatively easy to do. This is usually the more expensive train too sorry i'm not sure of the prices I think it varies when you book it and what days / time you travel but I think it can be up to £200 return ( somebody correct me on that one) you have to factor in your travel to London and possible over night stay too. I would decide on a time you want to go and just price up both options maybe book your accommodation first if your booking separately. decide which deal is worth more to you ie the free dining or the extra 2 nights free.

Im the other way round so used to booking DLP but now looking at WDW and its soooo confusing but loving reading all the trip reports and this site ahs been so helpful.

enjoy your trip

[Gill H]

Eurostar can be £72 return if booked on the day of release (about 10 months out - phone before it shows on the website and first thing in the morning as they sell out in hours).

There is only 1 direct train a day and it doesn't run every day. However there are indirect trains changing at Lille.

Or could you fly to Charles de Gaulle and get a transfer to DLP? Either, train, 'Magical shuttle' or shared shuttle from a private company.

Avoid weekends if you can, or arrive midweek and go home on the weekend. Also avoid public holidays and French/Spanish school holidays if you can.

[Peter H]

Same as everyone else really. Book your hotel and ticket package directly with DLP. Book your transport with the provider. Avoid weekends unless it is impossible.

[Melanie R]

Personally I always avoid weekends wherever possible - I had a Saturday in DLP in November 2013 - rides were a walk on all week, Saturday morning Disneyland Parc reached capacity at 10:30am and they were restricting guest access!
In January this year, again rides went from walk on mid week to over an hour on the Saturday - I was leaving on the Saturday so wasn't overly bothered but it can make a big difference to what you can get done.

[ljbojangles]

Thank you for all your tips and advice. We booked today! 4 nights at the Cheyenne in March 2018. So excited!

[Burgmeister]

We booked ours through Disney Travel rather than the DLP site as we were able to get it cheaper (a cheaper room was available that wasn't available at DLP site).

As a little extra bonus we got the nice Disney luggage labels which I don't think you get through DLP.