Is Disneyland Paris worth it??

[Tigger113]

Hi!! I was wondering how Disneyland Paris compares to Walt Disney World in Florida?? Is DL Paris worth going to and is it in a nice area of France close to Paris??

Thanks!

 

[jodyb]

I don't think you'll find anyone on this board who will say that DLP is not worth a visit! It's Disneyland, after all, and it's wonderful. As to how it compares to WDW, well, it's smaller, has only 2 parks, whereas WDW has 4 plus the water parks. At DLP everything is within walking distance, even all the on-site hotels. Disneyland Park is roughly what you know as the Magic Kingdom in Florida and California, but there are differences - some attractions that WDW doesn't have, and vice versa.

Yes, DLP is quite close to Paris, and it's a very easy trainride into the city and back - about 30 minutes if I recall correctly. The train stops exactly in front of the park gates, and there are free shuttles to all the hotels.

If you love WDW, I can't imagine that you would not love DLP as well. We are WDW veterans (see my signature) and we absolutely adore DLP. If you have specific "comparison" questions or any specific questions about DLP, you can certainly ask them here!

 

[Tigger113]

If you love WDW, I can't imagine that you would not love DLP as well. We are WDW veterans (see my signature) and we absolutely adore DLP. If you have specific "comparison" questions or any specific questions about DLP, you can certainly ask them here!

Hi! Which of the 2 hotels that you stayed at did you like best? Do you know if the Newport Bay or New York Hotel is nice? Did you visit all of the resorts?? If you have pictures of DLP that you would like to share, send me a PM!
Sorry for so many questions!

Thanks!

 

[jodyb]

Yes, I've visited all the Disney hotels and I can honestly say they are all "nice". I chose the SL for our first trip because it seemed to be the best value - it comparably low rates, and yet it's right on the lake and is a pleasant walk to the village and parks. For our second trip, since I already knew I loved the SL we returned there for 5 nights, and we stayed the first two nights of our trip at the Disneyland hotel as a special treat. That was absolutely wonderful. Check out my trip reports for all the info on both hotels (and pictures), and you can do a search on this board to see a wealth of other info and opinions from the wonderful people here.

Feel free to pipe up with more questions!

 

[MinnieYC]

If you want a Disney trip, since you're from GA, it's much better to go to WDW. DLP is great, but when WDW is so close (you may even be able to drive there, and it's surely a lot cheaper to get there), it's not worth going to Europe from the US just to go to DLP.

On the other hand, I find trips to Paris with a day or two in DLP to be fantastic! If you want to see Paris, I highly recommend making Paris your "home base" for this part of your trip. It takes about 35 minutes to get from the center of Paris to DLP. Having a place to rest your feet, take a nap, etc. during the day can be wonderful while vacationing in Paris. It's not hard to get a very nice room in Paris for a very decent price.

 

[Tigger113]

If you want a Disney trip, since you're from GA, it's much better to go to WDW. DLP is great, but when WDW is so close (you may even be able to drive there, and it's surely a lot cheaper to get there), it's not worth going to Europe from the US just to go to DLP.

On the other hand, I find trips to Paris with a day or two in DLP to be fantastic! If you want to see Paris, I highly recommend making Paris your "home base" for this part of your trip. It takes about 35 minutes to get from the center of Paris to DLP. Having a place to rest your feet, take a nap, etc. during the day can be wonderful while vacationing in Paris. It's not hard to get a very nice room in Paris for a very decent price.

So I take it you have been to DLP???? If so which resort would you recommend?? I have been to WDW many times and I love Disney so much that I am considering DLP!!!!

 

[Tigger113]

I was just wondering, When someone says Disneyland Hotel and Castle Club what does the Castle Club refer to??

 

[MinnieYC]

I've been to DLP a few times, but only once have I stayed overnight there (the other times were day trips from Paris). We decided to splurge on the Disneyland Hotel. We were going to do the Castle Club, but we backed out of that close to our trip, as we didn't see ourselves taking advantage of the amenities to make it worth it. We wanted to stay at a deluxe hotel, as it's going to be a while until we go on vacation anywhere for a while, so we wanted to make it special. Hotel New York didn't interest us, as we're from New York (we didn't want to feel like we were at home ). We usually stay at an Epcot Resort at WDW, so we wanted something different from the Newport Bay. The Sequoia Lodge looked nice, but that type of theming didn't catch too much of our attention (we've never had interest in the Wilderness Lodge at WDW either). We liked how the Disneyland Hotel really was THE Disneyland Hotel, to an extent that no other Disney park has anywhere in the world. Overall, we loved it, and we're glad we stayed there.

But while we loved the Disneyland Hotel, we would not have considered staying there while visiting the city of Paris. Paris has a multitude of hotels just as nice or nicer for less $$$$ that are centrally located to so many attractions.

 

[Tigger113]

I've been to DLP a few times, but only once have I stayed overnight there (the other times were day trips from Paris). We decided to splurge on the Disneyland Hotel. We were going to do the Castle Club, but we backed out of that close to our trip, as we didn't see ourselves taking advantage of the amenities to make it worth it. We wanted to stay at a deluxe hotel, as it's going to be a while until we go on vacation anywhere for a while, so we wanted to make it special. Hotel New York didn't interest us, as we're from New York (we didn't want to feel like we were at home ). We usually stay at an Epcot Resort at WDW, so we wanted something different from the Newport Bay. The Sequoia Lodge looked nice, but that type of theming didn't catch too much of our attention (we've never had interest in the Wilderness Lodge at WDW either). We liked how the Disneyland Hotel really was THE Disneyland Hotel, to an extent that no other Disney park has anywhere in the world. Overall, we loved it, and we're glad we stayed there.

But while we loved the Disneyland Hotel, we would not have considered staying there while visiting the city of Paris. Paris has a multitude of hotels just as nice or nicer for less $$$$ that are centrally located to so many attractions.

I know what you mean about the Disneyland Hotel! That is the hotel that I am thinking about. What is Castle Club?

 

[jodyb]

Are you familiar with the concierge service at the higher end hotels at WDW? The Castle Club is similar, but not exactly the same. The Castle Club is on the third and fourth floor of the center building of the Disneyland Hotel. These floors can only be accessed by room keys held by guests in the CC. The private lift also goes right down to the park entrance. So the CC is actually build directly above the park gates, which is quite cool, actually. The Castle Club lounge, which is only for CC guests, serves a full buffet breakfast in a serene atmosphere - purely white tablecloth service - and the lounge over looks Main Street with a view of the Castle - my favorite aspect of Castle Club!! (You can see my pictures of the view in my trip reports - look for Jody and Liav's excellent DLP adventure...I think it has about 9 parts!) The lounge also serves a complimentary tea from 3:30 to 5, with cakes and cookies, and is open all day until 10 PM for complimentary soft drinks, hot chocolate, cappucino, etc. CC guests also get VIP Fastpasses, something which does not exist at WDW (I've stayed at Yacht Club Concierge - CC is better in many ways). With these, CC guests can ride fast pass rides any time from opening til 6 PM with no queue for the length of their stay.
I think that's about it as far as Castle Club - if I forgot anything, shoot me a question.

 

[Tigger113]

Are you familiar with the concierge service at the higher end hotels at WDW? The Castle Club is similar, but not exactly the same. The Castle Club is on the third and fourth floor of the center building of the Disneyland Hotel. These floors can only be accessed by room keys held by guests in the CC. The private lift also goes right down to the park entrance. So the CC is actually build directly above the park gates, which is quite cool, actually. The Castle Club lounge, which is only for CC guests, serves a full buffet breakfast in a serene atmosphere - purely white tablecloth service - and the lounge over looks Main Street with a view of the Castle - my favorite aspect of Castle Club!! (You can see my pictures of the view in my trip reports - look for Jody and Liav's excellent DLP adventure...I think it has about 9 parts!) The lounge also serves a complimentary tea from 3:30 to 5, with cakes and cookies, and is open all day until 10 PM for complimentary soft drinks, hot chocolate, cappucino, etc. CC guests also get VIP Fastpasses, something which does not exist at WDW (I've stayed at Yacht Club Concierge - CC is better in many ways). With these, CC guests can ride fast pass rides any time from opening til 6 PM with no queue for the length of their stay.
I think that's about it as far as Castle Club - if I forgot anything, shoot me a question.

Ok! Sounds great!! Where can I book the Castle Club?? I went on DLP's website and all you can book is a package, it didn't say anything about CC?

 

[steve_rob]

Ok! Sounds great!! Where can I book the Castle Club?? I went on DLP's website and all you can book is a package, it didn't say anything about CC?

I think Castle Club rooms can only be booked now through Disney direct by phone. They certainly removed them from the main price grid in the latest edition of the brochure I've got. You can't even get shareholders discount on them any more.

 

[MinnieYC]

You need to book Castle Club directly by phone. Keep in mind that you have to call during European business hours. If you decide just to book a regular room at a DLP hotel, you can either do it online or through WDW's reservation line (407-W-DISNEY). You can also e-mail DLP directly for a quote.

As I said, we had originally booked CC, but for various reasons, we decided it was not worth for us. The price difference was huge (larger than the difference between most WDW regular vs. concierge rooms), especially with the horrible exchange rate right now. Depending on when you go, the VIP Fast Pass may not make a difference. Plus, for us, we knew we probably wouldn't take advantage of the afternoon tea (we prefer to eat at sit-down restaurants at DLP & WDW), as we thought we'd be too full from lunch (which did turn out to be the case). We also knew that the rooms themselves were no different (except for the views, but that's not a big issue for us).