DLP for 1st time

[tarheelmjfan]

Hi,
We are in the early stages of planning a trip to Europe. We're going to England for Christmas 2006 to visit friends. This will be our 1st time in Europe. We're trying to decide on what all we want to see. We're Floridians & visit WDW very often, so I'm thinking we may enjoy spending a couple days at DLP. It's either this or visiting Italy. We will be going to Paris anyway. A few questions... How is DLP the 1st week of January? What's the weather & crowds like? Where would you recommend we stay & what price are we looking at in U.S. dollars? What onsite perks do they offer? Will the holiday decorations still be up? What type of decorations do they have? How many days will we need to see everything? Biggest questions... Will our time in Paris be well spent there? Will we be disappointed, after so many trips to WDW. It will be DH, DS(14), & me. That's enough for now, but I'm sure I'll be back for restaurant suggestions, if we decide to go. I'm off to read the many posts on this board. Thanks for your patience.

 

[Bexx]

Wow - where to start?! How long are you intending to stay in Paris? If it's for a few days, you could just use one of those to do a day trip to DLP - it's quick and easy to get to from the city. If you visit on a weekday after the 3rd Jan, when the schools start back, you won't have any problems with crowds, and will probably manage to see most of the place. Weekends are usually a lot more crowded, though I don't know how bad they might get be January.

The weather will probably be VERY cold, but the decorations should still be up - usually until about the 10th Jan.

Don't go expecting it to look like WDW, just go to enjoy the park that Disney built in Paris!! Yes the "Magic Kingdom" bit is fairly similar, but there are lots of nice differences too. Some of ""our" rides are actually better!!

 

[MinnieYC]

How many days do you have to spend in Paris? If you were planning on a week in Paris, I'd suggest using one of those days, maybe 2 at the most, to see DLP, just going to Disneyland Park and forgoing the Studios, and then going to Italy. DLP is fantastic, IMO, and parts of it better than WDW, but since it seems like you do go to WDW often, and since it seems like you're coming to Europe to see, well, Europe, and since it's your first trip there, my own feeling is that you should focus more on Paris and Italy. The odds are you'll love Europe so much that you'll be back, and then on your second trip you can go back to DLP.

As mentioned above, it's very easy to get to DLP from the center of Paris. The RER (commuter railroad) can get you there for 6 euros each way in about 30 minutes.

For pricing info, go to www.disneylandparis.com. If you click to get a package quote (either park tickets alone or hotel packages), you then enter your home country so that the prices will be quoted in the correct currency.

 

[Miffy2003]

Hi tarheelmjfan and welcome to the DLP board



Ask away if you have any questions, we are a friendly bunch

 

[eileds]

Been looking at the winter brochure for you.

Christmas season is until 8th January.

For arrivals between the 8th & 11th January there are special offers at certain hotels - 3 nights for the price of 2, 4 for 3, 5 for 4. I checked out some prices for you for 3 adults (as your son is 14) sharing standard rooms( I based them on arrival 8th Jan on a 4 nights for price of 3 deal) - you'll have to convert to dollars

DLH - £885.00
NY - £621.00
NBC - £580.00
SL - £508.00
CH - £440.00

If you are going earlier in January than this then prices will be much higher.

From the 9th January it's also magic Unlimited - this means you get to ride the rides over and over again without getting off!

Hope this gives you some idea and helps you make your decision.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks for the info. This is a tough decision. I'm a Disney fanatic & would like to visit all their parks. I would also like to see Italy. I'm just not sure the time we have is enough to see it all. We'll probably arrive in England on Dec. 23rd. We, along with our friends, aren't sure if we'll spend NYE in England or Paris. We'll probably have 5 nights in Paris, if we don't spend NYE there, & we don't go to Italy. I know this is way OT on a DLP board, but is 5 or 6 nights really enough to split between Paris & Italy? I doubt we'll visit any other cities in France. How many nights will we need to see what the city, minus DLP, has to offer? I wish we could be there after the prices fall, but our son will have to be back to school on Jan. 8th or 9th. I'm not experienced with converting money, but if I'm doing this right, isn't DLP much more expensive than WDW? Thanks for your patience with all my newbie questions. You guys are great to take the time to help. I hope you don't get sick of me.

 

[Miffy2003]

I have done both WDW & DLP and for accommodation yes, DLP is definitely more expensive. Mind you, I was staying at AP rates in WDW so it's not quite a fair comparison!

The counter service food I would say is roughly the same price (depending on exchange rates!) though recently we have got a lot more for our money in WDW due to the exchange rate. Sadly, the opposite applies for you at the moment though the exchange rate seem to be improving for you recently.

5 or 6 nights enough between Paris & Italy? I guess you could do a real whistle stop tour of both but IMHO you will end up travelling a lot and not seeing very much. I'd be inclined to concentrate on one of the other - you could easily spemd 5/6 days in Paris and not see it all (and squeeze in a trip to DLP )

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Perhaps that why I think DLP seems so expensive. I'm used to getting some type of discount at WDW. Isn't there discounts for DLP hotels? The exchange rate is definitely not in our favor. Thanks again

 

[Miffy2003]

There aren't really many discounts for DLP at all. They do offers like 4 nights for the price of 3 in off season, kids go free etc.

The only way to get a discount that I am aware of are for AP / shareholders and I wouldn't think it was worth it for you if you are going to just spend a day or two there. the discounts are not anywhere near as generous as they are at WDW as far as I know, but I am really not an expert on this at all! Hopefully someone else will chip in

 

[Cyrano]

Unfortunately Karen is right DLP offers little discounts, remember it has a large debt to repay to Disney Corp.

I would agree shareholder and annual passport would not be worthwhile for the costs versus saving.

Reid

 

[MinnieYC]

If you have 5 or 6 nights, my recommendation is to spend them all in Paris. You can easily spend a week in Paris and not be bored at all. Italy is fantastic, and Rome on it's own could also fill up 5-6 nights, plus you'd need at least half a day to get from Paris to Italy.
It's really easy to go to DLP for a day trip from Paris, so you can even decide once you're in Europe if you want to spend one of your days there.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks for your suggestions. One of the things I love about WDW is never leaving the magic. If we decide to go to DLP, we would want to spend at least 2 nights there. We're not really interested in going as a day guest only. Do you feel like our time in Paris would be better spent elsewhere? Sorry, for so many questions, but I really don't know where to start planning this trip. It seems like you guys are very knowledgeable about the city, & are a great resource. Thanks for helping.

 

[Renate_do]

Hi,

if you stay at DLRP over Christmas there will be no discounts at all (you would not be able to book room only for this time). Depending how long you are going to stay at France I would suggest to book a package with 2 nights and 3 days at DLRP and the rest of the day at at hotel at Paris, although Paris is as expensive as DLRP is. I may try to help you with the booking and find out better rates as I´m working as a travel agent at Germany.

Greets Renate

 

[Bexx]

One of the things I love about WDW is never leaving the magic. If we decide to go to DLP, we would want to spend at least 2 nights there. We're not really interested in going as a day guest only.

My worry is that if you try to recreate your WDW experiences at DLP, you may be disappointed. I don't think even staying onsite at DLP can recreate quite the same magic as staying onsite at WDW - and the weather in January probably won't help. Whereas visiting Paris will be something very different for you, and won't fall short in any comparisons.

Don't get me wrong - I love DLP and our park is definitely worth a visit. But I think in your case I wouldn't recommend it be for too long. If you did a day trip you can enjoy the experience of a different Disney park, without the possibility of being let down and thinking your time might have been better spent.

JMHO

 

[missj171]

What do you want to see in Italy? Rome? Venice? beautiful countryside? Even 'just' seeing Rome will take up a lot of time as there's just so much to see and do!