American WDW vets do DLP: Insights and Highlight

Zippa D Doodah

<font color=red>Suffering from Fairy Alienation.
Joined
Apr 9, 2003
My family and I (me, DW, DS19, DD23, DD's BF) are recently home from a week in Paris, during which we spent a day at DLP.
... Best decision ever was to rent an apartment thru Airbnb! Got a 3 BR apartment close to Arc de Triomphe for less than I was going to pay for a hotel room. Even bigger savings compared to what I would have paid to stay at DLP
... It was a breeze getting to and from DLP using the RER train close to our apartment. About a 50 minute train ride; no transfer
... We were there 10/30/19. LOVED the Halloween theming on Main Street! Those ghosts were the best Halloween theming I've seen in a Disney park
... We strategically used the FP system to ride pretty much everything in both parks. Some of us skipped the Crush coaster just because a long queue was unaviodable
... Phantom Manor is a nice take on the old Haunted Mansion attraction. I especially liked how the story tied into BTMRR back story
... It's simple as can be, but we had fun wandering in the Alice maze
... IASW looked so bright and fresh! It must have had a recent refurb. I hope WDW can take note
... The dragon under the castle is a treat
... We were not very adventurous with food on our DLP day. Ate at Earl of Sandwich and Five Guys
... If staying in center city Paris, its a good idea to get a 7-day pass that allows you unlimited rides on the metro and RER
... Decided to get guided tours (not thru Disney) at Versailles and the Louvre. So glad we did that. The full day tour at Versailles (as opposed to the half day) included an excellent much at a café on the grounds, garden tours, and a tour of the Trianon area. I would have hated to have missed it. Similar experience at the Louvre, especially the part where you get to skip the line
 
I am thinking about doing a one day train trip from Paris. How did you find that experience? What time did you get to the park in the morning and leave. I’m a WDW vet and typically a “rope-dropper.” The idea of staying offsite and then taking transportation and more importantly leaving at night once we are exhausted worries me a bit.
 
I am thinking about doing a one day train trip from Paris. How did you find that experience? What time did you get to the park in the morning and leave. I’m a WDW vet and typically a “rope-dropper.” The idea of staying offsite and then taking transportation and more importantly leaving at night once we are exhausted worries me a bit.

I was a bit concerned about being late too. On the day we went to DLP both parks opened at 10am. We left the apartment in center city Paris at 8:30 and were at DLP before opening. That included buying our Paris metro pass, grabbing a coffee/pastry at the train station, and stopping a while at the DLP ticket window as we had not prepurchased tickets.

We didn't worry about having a touring plan, instead relying on FPs to get us through. Worked out great. FWIW our first stop was the Ratatouille ride in Studios, which we hopped right on using single rider and grabbed FPs for later. I like how the place is set up like DLR in that it is so easy to go between parks. Some of us left earlier than others in the evening, but I was in the latter group. The RER train was much less crowded and stressful at 10pm than it was in the morning.

Once we decided that DLP was only going to be a part of our Paris trip it made more sense for us to stay in the center city and figure out the logistics of the DLP day as best we could. The 10am opening made it fairly doable. For us, DLP was a one-day experience. If we had a second or even third day there (as we had in our original plan), I don't know what we would have done other than repeat what we liked on the first day.
 


I was a bit concerned about being late too. On the day we went to DLP both parks opened at 10am. We left the apartment in center city Paris at 8:30 and were at DLP before opening. That included buying our Paris metro pass, grabbing a coffee/pastry at the train station, and stopping a while at the DLP ticket window as we had not prepurchased tickets.

We didn't worry about having a touring plan, instead relying on FPs to get us through. Worked out great. FWIW our first stop was the Ratatouille ride in Studios, which we hopped right on using single rider and grabbed FPs for later. I like how the place is set up like DLR in that it is so easy to go between parks. Some of us left earlier than others in the evening, but I was in the latter group. The RER train was much less crowded and stressful at 10pm than it was in the morning.

Once we decided that DLP was only going to be a part of our Paris trip it made more sense for us to stay in the center city and figure out the logistics of the DLP day as best we could. The 10am opening made it fairly doable. For us, DLP was a one-day experience. If we had a second or even third day there (as we had in our original plan), I don't know what we would have done other than repeat what we liked on the first day.

Thanks for the feedback. I have been going back and forth between booking a night on site and doing two days vs just a one day trip in. At this point, we already have an apartment in Paris booked for the week.
 
It's hard for me to recommend one way or the other (re number of park days) for a specific family since everyone is so different. For us (a family of 5 adults who have gone to WDW and DLR many many times over the last 20 years) one day turned out to be a great plan. To spend more days at DLP would have meant we'd have missed some other parts of Paris.

I trust that you won't regret having that apartment in Paris. Having that, with easy access to the metro and RER, made getting around all week so easy. Plus having the room to spread out and to experience the hospitality of our host (perfect, but we never actually met her) was just wonderful at the end of each day. We loved evenings spent in the living room there, sharing bottles of wine and talking about the highlights of the day.
 
One day is enough - slightly rushed but not bad.

The trip out takes about an hour from City Center. I usually stay at DLRP and commute into Paris as I have a timeshare trade which makes the price worth commuting every day.

Depending on your touring plans (train from airport, going to Versailles?) you may just want to buy the metro pass for zones 1-5 for length of stay. The airport and Versailles are also in Zone 5.
 


We did a 2 week London and Paris trip this past summer including a day and a half at DLP. We were so glad we stayed onsite at the Disneyland Hotel for
2 nights and had that time plus as a benefit there were morning extra magic hours for our full day where we could get in at 8:30 am before the parks opened at 10 am. There were only a few things we wanted to do at Walt’s Studios and it was so easy to park hop. The evening fireworks were not until 11 pm so we were glad once they ended all we had to do was walk down Main Street and our hotel was right there near the entrance.
 
... Decided to get guided tours (not thru Disney) at Versailles and the Louvre. So glad we did that. The full day tour at Versailles (as opposed to the half day) included an excellent much at a café on the grounds, garden tours, and a tour of the Trianon area. I would have hated to have missed it. Similar experience at the Louvre, especially the part where you get to skip the line

Can you tell me where you purchased the guided tours? Was it through the we sites to for each location or 3rd party? Looks like I am taking the family next summer and need to get some tours booked.

Thank You
 
I am thinking about doing a one day train trip from Paris. How did you find that experience? What time did you get to the park in the morning and leave. I’m a WDW vet and typically a “rope-dropper.” The idea of staying offsite and then taking transportation and more importantly leaving at night once we are exhausted worries me a bit.

There are some pros to staying onsite. I just got back from DLP and it was nice to stay onsite to have access to the Extra Magic Time since not all rides have Fastpass (like Crush’s Coaster). Also it turned out France was having a transportation strike while we were there, so that made staying within walking distance even more valuable!
 
Pity you missed the Bufalo Bill wild West show though, certainly the best dining show I have ever been to, miles ahead Hoopty doo
 
Good to know it can be done in a day. We are a family of four (Me, DH, DD14, DD16) going to Europe this June, we'll be in Paris 5 nights at an AirBnB apartment as well. I had only planned on doing our one day at DLP, but really want to hop over to check out Ratatouille and see Studios for a bit. I grew up going to DL and now that we live on the East Coast we frequent WDW. I'm used to the old school FP ways, so that shouldn't be a problem.....is it better to start in Studios or gather FP at DLP first for the afternoon? Thanks
 
Good to know it can be done in a day. We are a family of four (Me, DH, DD14, DD16) going to Europe this June, we'll be in Paris 5 nights at an AirBnB apartment as well. I had only planned on doing our one day at DLP, but really want to hop over to check out Ratatouille and see Studios for a bit. I grew up going to DL and now that we live on the East Coast we frequent WDW. I'm used to the old school FP ways, so that shouldn't be a problem.....is it better to start in Studios or gather FP at DLP first for the afternoon? Thanks
If you have one day in the summer season next year, I would skip the Studios and stick to Disneyland Park. There is so much construction going on, it is hard to justify a 2 park ticket for 1 day. Plus you are a frequent visitor to WDW. Ratatouille will be open in Epcot in a while. The only reason I would go is when you love shows, then go to see Mickey and the Magician, however it does take at least 45 minutes out of your day.

When are you going exactly, the Marvel season ends on the 7th and Lion King & Jungle Festival starts the 20th.
 
Thanks for the info! We’ll be there June 21-26, my oldest loves Lion King so that’ll be great. We aren’t big show people, that’s how you miss out on prime riding time! Maybe we’ll just stick with DLP then. We are planning WDW in 2021 for an anniversary trip.
 
Can you tell me where you purchased the guided tours? Was it through the we sites to for each location or 3rd party? Looks like I am taking the family next summer and need to get some tours booked.

Thank You
We booked the tours thru our AAA travel agent. The providers were two local companies, and I can't recall the names of either. Both were superb and problem-free
 

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