Short break to Euro Disney

[Beswad]

I might want to go on a short break with my partner and a child to Euro Disney just for 2 days from Sunday. Any recommendations?

[yinyang]

We've been 3 times now so have picked up a few tips.

Firstly if you're child will want to dress up as one of the characters ( and it's sweet if they do ) get the costume on E-bay or somewhere before you go and stick it in your suitcase - character costumes on site can be up to £50. During parades characters will look out for children dressed as them and do their very best to get over to speak to them.

The food is pretty awful and very very expensive - even a kids meal will set you back around £4 -5. The breakfasts in the hotels are lovely thoug and if you're not too proud I would suggest taking a big bag down to breakfast and making up a fw croissants / rolls or whatever to have at lunchtime.Believe me, you won't be the only one doing it.

If there is a particular character your child wants to meet, ask at City Hall, which is on your right hand side just after you come in the gate. They can find out for you when and where a character will be appearing. They can also get character ' autographs' for your child if they're going to miss your favourite.

Above all, have fun. The characters love to interact with the children ( and adults) and the more you give them the more they'll give back. So boo the baddies, cheer the goodies and get right into the swing of things.

What time of year are you going and how old is your child? I may be able togive you some more pointers then.

[Buenchico]

Pedantic point:
The resort hasn't been called 'EuroDisney' for the past 15 years!
(It changed its name to Disneyland Paris in 1995).

By far the easiest way to get to the resort is by Eurostar. It's very short notice to be looking for cheap Eurostar fares but the company is offering discounted inclusive deals to Disneyland Paris for departures in August, so it might be worth checking out what's on offer here:
http://www.eurostar.c...s/disneyland_info.jsp

Chris

[Beswad]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Yingyang, I'm thinking about going in mid August. Sounds like you have quite an experience there. Don't really care about the activities when I get there and can't be bother much about arranging the trip by myself. I always have this phobia of going to a foreign country and not be able to speak the lingo. I just wondered if there is a package holiday available at short notice so I can hop on with a coach load of others.

[Buenchico]

Beswad:
Back in my student days, when many of my friends were travelling all over Europe (and occasionally beyond) I was scared by the thought of independent travel abroad because of the potential language problems.

These days (at the age of 57) I find that the challenge of going to a country where I don't speak the language is the best part of travelling. A few weeks back I took a day trip to Bratislava. You can't even buy a Slovak phrase book. (The best I could find was a phrase book which had a few pages for each of the East European languages). Yet I still managed to buy a day ticket for travel on the buses and trams, order plenty of beers (I can do that in ANY language!) and get well fed.

Please, please, please don't let the thought of language difficulties put you off foreign travel. You'll miss out on so much!

Anyway, although Disneyland Paris has never appealed to me, I'm sure that you'll have no problems using English there. (Although you need to be aware that English-speakers nearly always get served last in French restaurants. I write from a great deal of experience!).

If you're seeking an inclusive coach tour, please post again telling us which part of the UK you're based in, so that we can try to find something suitable. (However I also repeat my suggestion of checking out what Eurostar has to offer. You can book through tickets from any station in the UK on any of their inclusive deals).

Chris

[sunflower68]

hello there you, just had to say I beg to differ on the food front; maybe it's me but I thought the choice and variety amazing. and totally delicious. We stayed in a hotel onsite and got a good deal on the meals, also got passes to go on the rides before the gates opened...well worth an early rise to avoid any queues for an hour or so.
We walked so much on first 2 days (take a pedometer, would be interesting but I reckoned we did about 10 miles a day just walking about) that we couldn't walk out the room on day 3 to do the early stint. Take really comfy shoes, you will be surprised. The evening show, after dark can be a long wait; people take their places early and it's literally standing on pavement in a crowd for up to 2 hours; my kids were 9 and 10 but they were very jaded and a long walk back afterwards...
Oh Buenchico I'm insanely jealous I was so surprised what a great time we had. Deffo advise book onsite hotel with all deals poss, have breakkie and steal those croissants for lunch...

[yinyang]

Beswad, never been in August so can't help you much there - I imagine it will still be very busy though. We've always gone at either Hallowe'en or Christmas during the week and it has been relatively quiet.

All the staff speak English - and usually a couple of other languages - so you will have no problems on that front. But as in any country, they appreciate it greatly if you make a bit of an effort. If you don't they won't treat you ant differently, I never met any staff member there who wasn't very polite and helpful.

To clarify what I said about the food. Yes, the food in the hotels is magnificent. We've always been lucky enough to stay in the main Disney Hotel which leads directly into the park and the breakfast and dinners there are incredible. However, I still think that once you get in the park the quality of food is not equal to the price ( unless you go to one of the proper restaurants ). Last year my mum paid 12 Euros for a lasagne that was served on a paper plate still in it's metal heating tray.

Try the Disneyland Paris website for any deals going. We've always just organised flights and hotels ourselves.

[puzzled54]

There is a coach company that does trips to euro disney that might suit you, it collects from most towns and does 1,2 or 3 day trips. I just can't remember what its called!
I have been with them and will let you know when the name comes back to me.

[puzzled54]

Got it, its LEGER, they still send me their leaflets.

[Beswad]

Appreciate the advice and tips guys.