A WDW Vet's 1st Trip to DLP - A June/July 2019 PTR *I'M HOME & NEW TR 7/6

[the2ndstar2theright]

A Walt Disney World Vet's 1st Trip to Disneyland Paris - A June/July 2019 PTR

Hellloooo humans!!




Welcome to another PTR! This one is a little strange, as I am only a couple weeks away from my trip, but I wanted to go ahead and do a short PTR for it anyway. It just didn’t feel right to not do one, especially since this is my first trip to Disneyland Paris!!!

First things first: a little about me.



Hi! My name is Lindsey, and I am a 20-year-old college student and Disney aficionado. I have been to Walt Disney World 13 times, but this will be my first trip to Disneyland Paris! I am traveling with a friend from school, who I’ll call S, and we are beyond excited to experience a new Disney park!

This summer, S & I have had the amazing opportunity to study abroad in England for 6 weeks. We decided that since we were going to be in Europe already, we should take advantage of it and go to Paris once our program ends. As of right now, we are just 15 days away from our magical adventure, but we are still working on trying to finalize our plans. I feel just a *little* out of my element because I really don’t know much about DLP, and switching back to the Legacy FP system is proving to be harder for my brain to process than I would have expected!

I hope you all enjoy this short little planning saga!


Table of Contents
The Basics
Day 1 Plans
Days 2 & 3 Plans
Days 4 & 5 + Travel Day Plans
I'm Almost There!








​

 

[missangelalexis]

Joining in! I hope your time abroad is going wonderfully! I cannot wait to hear what you have planned for Paris

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Joining in! I hope your time abroad is going wonderfully! I cannot wait to hear what you have planned for Paris

So glad you're here!! I have been having the best time so far, and I can't wait to be able to share some of my adventures when I get back!!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

The Basics

Before we can get into the details of all the planning, I should probably share the basics!

Who: Me & S
What: A first-timer’s trip to Paris & DLP!
When: Friday - Wednesday (5 days, 5 nights)

We are staying at the Vienna House Dream Castle Hotel, which is one of Disney’s partner hotels out at DLP. We decided that staying at one of the partner hotels made the most sense for us for a couple of reasons. First, we knew that we wanted to have a couple of days to explore Paris itself, and since you can only book hotel-ticket packages at the Disney hotels, we’d end up with more ticket days than we needed (and spending more money). But, since we knew we’d be spending most of our time in DLP, staying in a hotel near the parks seemed logical. So we decided to book the Dream Castle directly through the Vienna House website & just buying a 3-day park ticket separately. This ended up working out really well for us because we got the number of park days we wanted with a better hotel rate, and we ended up getting breakfast included by booking directly with the hotel!

As far as our time in Paris is concerned, we know we want to hit some of the major highlights like the Eiffel Tower (obviously) and the Arc de Triomphe. S really wants to see the catacombs, so I think we may try to do that as well. Other than that, we’re still trying to decide what all we want to try to see in the city itself.

Friends who have been to DLP/Paris before—do you have any advice?? I feel really quite clueless about the whole thing!​

 

[BadPinkTink]

@the2ndstar2theright
in the Disneyland Paris section here on DIS a few of us have put together some FAQ and info threads especially for first time visitors who are used to the American Parks. Also just so you know

1. The partner hotels do not get access to early opening, so you will only be able to enter the parks at official park opening at 10am
2. The partner hotels are not walkable to the parks, you will need to take the free shuttle bus.
3. The bus is shared between the partner hotels, Vienna House Dream Castle does not have its own shuttle bus. This means the bus can get very crowded and you may not get on the first bus that pulls in. The same at park closing, you will be on the same bus as people staying at the other partner hotels.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/g...-disneyland-paris-to-the-other-parks.3735105/
https://www.disboards.com/threads/faq-1st-time-visitors-crowds-weather-language-wifi.3736354/

 

[NJlauren]

Joining in!

We just got back a few weeks ago from DLP!

Happy to answer any questions, but I would have fun look around the details in this park are amazing! Completely out of this world!

Be a bit prepared the food isn’t as good as at WDW.

Other wise have a great time! Feel free to asking me anything specific if you want!

 

[Newsies]

I'm here, here, HEERREEEEE!!!

I couldn't be more excited for this trip! So glad you're having a great time abroad and get to see DLP!!!

So glad you have your hotel/tickets all worked out, this sounds like it's going to be the trip of a lifetime!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

@the2ndstar2theright
in the Disneyland Paris section here on DIS a few of us have put together some FAQ and info threads especially for first time visitors who are used to the American Parks. Also just so you know

1. The partner hotels do not get access to early opening, so you will only be able to enter the parks at official park opening at 10am
2. The partner hotels are not walkable to the parks, you will need to take the free shuttle bus.
3. The bus is shared between the partner hotels, Vienna House Dream Castle does not have its own shuttle bus. This means the bus can get very crowded and you may not get on the first bus that pulls in. The same at park closing, you will be on the same bus as people staying at the other partner hotels.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/g...-disneyland-paris-to-the-other-parks.3735105/
https://www.disboards.com/threads/faq-1st-time-visitors-crowds-weather-language-wifi.3736354/

Thank you so much!! I knew that we wouldn't get early opening, but I didn't realize that all the partners shared one shuttle, so that is super helpful information!

Joining in!

We just got back a few weeks ago from DLP!

Happy to answer any questions, but I would have fun look around the details in this park are amazing! Completely out of this world!

Be a bit prepared the food isn’t as good as at WDW.

Other wise have a great time! Feel free to asking me anything specific if you want!

Welcome aboard!!

Oh how exciting!!

I'm so excited to explore the parks and see everything I can. I have heard that about the food though.

Did you find that you had a hard time follow some of the shows and things because of the changes between French and English? That is one thing that I'm a little nervous about.

I'm here, here, HEERREEEEE!!!

I couldn't be more excited for this trip! So glad you're having a great time abroad and get to see DLP!!!

So glad you have your hotel/tickets all worked out, this sounds like it's going to be the trip of a lifetime!

Hi!!!

It has been the most incredible summer so far, and ending this adventure with DLP is just icing on the cake!

 

[NJlauren]

Oh how exciting!!

I'm so excited to explore the parks and see everything I can. I have heard that about the food though.

Did you find that you had a hard time follow some of the shows and things because of the changes between French and English? That is one thing that I'm a little nervous about.

I think you will love it! They are really beautiful!

We did not do as many shows as I would have liked. However we did not find this an issue at all. Plus my daughter told us small world is better in French and to please download that version now! We also only really ran into one cast member that spoke little or no English.

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

I think you will love it! They are really beautiful!

We did not do as many shows as I would have liked. However we did not find this an issue at all. Plus my daughter told us small world is better in French and to please download that version now! We also only really ran into one cast member that spoke little or no English.

I've been trying to read as much as I can about the parks and the shows to try and know what to expect, but that is good to know!!

 

[Jules76126]

How fun! I love England. I actually lived in London for a year when I got my Masters degree. I went to DLP over 10 years ago so I am sure a lot has changed. However, I was in Paris 2 years ago for my honeymoon. Definitely buy your Eiffel Tower tickets in advance. We did not and it took DH and I four hours to do the whole thing. We went at night, but it would have been way faster to pre-buy tickets. We went to the top of the Arc and that was way less stressful. There was basically a 15 minute line and the views were great. I know Notre Dame is closed, but if you walk by there, get the ice cream at Berthillion Glacier. One of the best ice creams we have ever had.

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

How fun! I love England. I actually lived in London for a year when I got my Masters degree. I went to DLP over 10 years ago so I am sure a lot has changed. However, I was in Paris 2 years ago for my honeymoon. Definitely buy your Eiffel Tower tickets in advance. We did not and it took DH and I four hours to do the whole thing. We went at night, but it would have been way faster to pre-buy tickets. We went to the top of the Arc and that was way less stressful. There was basically a 15 minute line and the views were great. I know Notre Dame is closed, but if you walk by there, get the ice cream at Berthillion Glacier. One of the best ice creams we have ever had.

Thank you so much for the advice!! We have actually already bought our Eiffel Tower tickets, which makes me feel a lot better! I will definitely have to remember that ice cream shop!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Day 1 Plans

So this day is going to start very very early. We have a bus into London at 6:10am, which gives us just enough time to get to the international train station, get through security, and get to our platform in time for our 10:14am Eurostar. Our train goes directly from London to DLP, which makes things so much easier.

We’ll arrive at DLP around 2:00pm and take a shuttle from outside the parks to our hotel (or maybe a cab). Since check-in is at 3:00pm, I am really hopeful that our room will be ready when we arrive. We’ll drop off our stuff, freshen up, and head back toward the parks!

I figure we’ll grab something to eat in Disney Square (maybe Earl of Sandwich?!) before heading into Disneyland. Since we won’t be getting there until late in the afternoon, it will definitely just be a play-it-by-ear kind of day. I’m not sure what kind of fastpasses will still be available, so we’ll just have to kind of figure it out as we go.

We’ll eat dinner at a counter service somewhere in the park, and I imagine we will probably stay until Disneyland closes at 11pm. I’m not sure if we’ll stay to watch the fireworks this night or not since we will have been up for a very long time by the time 11pm rolls around.​

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

A little side update before I get into the actual update: I have (another) new PTR: Celebrating 21 in the Most Magical Place on Earth! My mom and I have decided to take a trip to WDW to celebrate my 21st birthday, so I've started a PTR for that trip! I would love for you all to join me as we plan this adventure!!

Now, on with this PTR!

Days 2 & 3 Plans

Saturday – Paris!

This day will be the first of 2 that we spend in the city! We’ll take the RER train from DLP into Paris sometime in the morning. Our first stop is going to be the Catacombs! Our goal is to get there as close to opening as we can to try to minimize the amount of time we wait in line. I think this will also be the day that we go see Notre Dame, even though we can’t go inside. Other than that, we don’t have a lot of concrete plans for this day. I have a feeling a lot of the fun in Paris will be just wandering around and seeing the city, so we’ll probably do a lot of that!

Sunday – Walt Disney Studios & Disneyland!

Our second park day!! I’m thinking that we will rope drop Walt Disney Studios this morning to try and get on Crush’s Coaster and maybe Ratatouille before the lines get long. I think we’ll definitely spend a good part of the day in this park, but we probably will hop over to Disneyland at some point. I really want to see as many of the shows and parades as we can, so we’ll probably try to catch some of those today.

Honestly, these plans are so completely unlike anything I do for WDW, and it’s so strange!!​

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Days 4 & 5 + Travel Day Plans

Monday – Paris!

This will be our second day in the city! I don’t know whether we’ll get up early and go this morning—I’m thinking we may want to sleep in a little bit, but it will probably just depend on how much we see/do on Saturday. We have tickets to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower for this day, and we also want to climb up in the Arc de Triomphe. We are also meeting up with two of our other friends from school (who are also traveling to Paris) for a nighttime cruise down the Seine River!

Our Eiffel Tower tickets are for the early evening, so I think we’ll meet up with our friends right after that to get dinner together and then go on our river cruise!

Tuesday – DLP!

Our last day! This will definitely be a day of hitting everything we haven’t yet and then anything that we want to do again. We'll probably do some hopping between the two parks in order to do/see it all. If we haven’t seen the Disney Stars on Parade yet, I definitely want to do that today. I also really want to stay out to see Illuminations (most likely for the second time) because I really think that would be the most magical way to end our time in Paris!

Wednesday – Travel Day

We have tickets for a train from DLP to Charles de Gaulle Airport around 9:30am, which puts us at the airport no later than 10:00am, which should give us plenty of time to get through security and find our gate before our flight at 1:00pm! We most likely will end up sitting at the gate for a while, but I would much rather be there too early, especially with as big as CDG is (and the fact that neither S nor I have ever been through that airport. As long as we aren’t delayed or anything, we’re supposed to get back home at 6:30pm CT. And I will probably crash in the car on the way home. ​

 

[Newsies]

I couldn't adore these plans more!! This sounds like such a wonderful trip to Paris!!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

I couldn't adore these plans more!! This sounds like such a wonderful trip to Paris!!

Aww thank you!! I am so excited!

 

[caylene44]

especially with as big as CDG is (and the fact that neither S nor I have ever been through that airport.

CDG is one of the most confusing airports I've ever been in and I travel pretty frequently both internationally and domestically. I think it's a great idea to give yourself enough time and make sure you know which terminal you are flying out of!

Following along on this, I didn't make it to DLP when I was in Paris so I will have to go back for it!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Joining in! Studying abroad sounds magical and I can't wait to hear all about DLP!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

CDG is one of the most confusing airports I've ever been in and I travel pretty frequently both internationally and domestically. I think it's a great idea to give yourself enough time and make sure you know which terminal you are flying out of!

Following along on this, I didn't make it to DLP when I was in Paris so I will have to go back for it!

That's definitely what I'm afraid of! I've looked at an airport map online, and it seems like a lot. I think the train from DLP gets in pretty close to the terminal we're flying out of, so hopefully it won't be too bad!

We're so excited!

Joining in! Studying abroad sounds magical and I can't wait to hear all about DLP!

It's been an amazing summer, and I can't wait to experience DLP!