Need help working through a rough plan!

dolewhipdreams

Counting days until my next Dole Whip
Joined
Feb 24, 2017
Hi everyone, I'm back again. We'll be at DLP in early September as part of a bigger trip to France and I'm working on a schedule so that I can buy some train tickets ahead of time to save money. Here's what I have so far for the Disneyland portion:

Day 1: Arrive in DLP at noon, drop off bags and spend the rest of the day in the parks (anticipate getting into the parks by 2pm). We'll be arriving after having slept in this morning so we should be well rested and ready to go!
Day 2: All day in the parks
Day 3: All day in the parks
Day 4: Morning in the parks, train to Avignon in afternoon

Here's my problem: there are really only three options to get from Disneyland to Avignon in the afternoon of Day 4. Here they are:

1. Depart 12:46pm, Ouigo train (so cheap), direct, arrive 3:29pm. The issue with this is we only would have about 3 hours in the park in the morning if we wanted to make it to the train on time. The good thing is it gives us plenty of time to get to Avignon, pick up our rental car, and drive the 30 minutes to the town where we're staying. We'll have time to go into town, walk around, and have a nice dinner.
2. Depart 5:26pm, Ouigo train, direct, arrive 8:04pm. This gives us a lot more time in the parks but would mean a late arrival and pretty much straight to bed.
3. Depart 3:10pm, TGV train (3x the cost of Ouigo), 1 connection, arrive 6:46 pm. This one has the best timing because we get more time in the parks and still arrive well before dark. However, the cost is considerably more and I don't like the idea of a connection.

If you were in my shoes, visiting Disneyland Paris and France for the first time, which train would you take? Would the full 2.5 days previous to departure day be enough to not need a lot more time on Day 4? Or is the late train worth a few extra hours in the park? (I should note, we are visiting 4-7 September, so it will be a Wednesday-Saturday and I don't anticipate massive crowds since school will have just started. We are also staying in the Golden Forest at Sequoia so we'll have an extra FP each day if that makes any difference).

Also if anyone has any general notes on Ouigo vs TGV, I would appreciate them! It looks like once you're aware of extra fees for baggage and such (and the lack of any food service), Ouigo is not much different than a 2nd class car on TGV.
 
We were just at DLP the end of June/beginning of July on a Sunday and Monday and only had a day and a half. We are not really thrill ride people and have food allergies so ate at some TS but we got to do just about everything in both parks that we wanted. It helped we were staying on property so got to enter at 8 :30 before the main opening at 10. I would say do #1.
 
We were just at DLP the end of June/beginning of July on a Sunday and Monday and only had a day and a half. We are not really thrill ride people and have food allergies so ate at some TS but we got to do just about everything in both parks that we wanted. It helped we were staying on property so got to enter at 8 :30 before the main opening at 10. I would say do #1.
Thanks for the input! We are definitely thrill ride people so that will be a major difference, and we do have a TS meal booked on days 1-3 so that will eat some time. The meals are Bistro Chez Remy, Agrabah Cafe, and Walt's. I wouldn't really feel great about giving any of them up for extra time unless someone can convince me that they're horrible!
 
Of the restaurants you mentioned we ate at Walt’s and Chez Remy and absolutely loved them! We were on the DP so we got a choice of an appetizer, entree, and dessert. At Walt’s for the app I had the Waldorf Salad. For the entree I had the chili. On top it had I forget what you call it similar to a pie crust with a Mickey head cutout. I had something chocolate for dessert but can’t remember the name. At Chez Remy I skipped the appetizer and had steak with au gratin potatoes and ratatouille plus some type of apple thing for dessert.
 


Do all the trains leave from Marne la Vallee Station?
Assuming so I think I would go for the earlier one. It arrives early enough for you to arrive at Avignon in the light, find your way around and enjoy a nice dinner. You could pick something up from the Village (possibly Earl of Sandwich) to eat on the train for lunch and enjoy doing a few favourite rides before you leave.
I cant remember where you are staying but unless its Disneyland hotel you can take your luggage to the station that morning and store it in one of the large lockers to save having to go back to your hotel to collect it

You can still do this from Disneyland Hotel but its probably not needed as the hotel is closer
 
Of the restaurants you mentioned we ate at Walt’s and Chez Remy and absolutely loved them! We were on the DP so we got a choice of an appetizer, entree, and dessert. At Walt’s for the app I had the Waldorf Salad. For the entree I had the chili. On top it had I forget what you call it similar to a pie crust with a Mickey head cutout. I had something chocolate for dessert but can’t remember the name. At Chez Remy I skipped the appetizer and had steak with au gratin potatoes and ratatouille plus some type of apple thing for dessert.
Oh that all sounds delicious! We aren't on the dining plan but some of the set menu options look pretty good.
 
Do all the trains leave from Marne la Vallee Station?
Yes, they do!

I cant remember where you are staying but unless its Disneyland hotel you can take your luggage to the station that morning and store it in one of the large lockers to save having to go back to your hotel to collect it
Oh I didn't know that was an option. I'm assuming there's a fee? We'll be at Sequoia so that would save us some walking!
 


I would also go for the first train, at that time of year with 2.5 days you will have plenty of time to explore the parks, and on the last day repeat your favourites one more time.

I would personally store my bags at the concierge at the park. Yes, there is a fee (8 euro for a small trolley, 15 euro for a large suitcase), but much more convenient for me as I am absolutely hopeless when it comes to figure out lockers at stations, museums etc. I never am able to open or close them in one go. :p

If you are running out of time to grab lunch, go to the Relay convenience store at the station. Although I second that it is worth it going into the Village to pick up a sandwich at Earl of Sandwich.

And just to throw in another idea, not sure of you has discussed this before this thread. But how about renting a car at DLP? Pick it up in the morning, you could store your luggage in the car and park in the parking lot. As a hotel guest you can park for free, also on your check out day (can someone else confirm this?) You have control over when you leave. It will be a longer drive to Avignon than the train, but probably a very nice one and you could stop along the way to get dinner.
If you are going ro rent a car in Avignon anyway, a few extra hours might not make much difference in price.
 
Thats a good option as well to rent a car at DLP and drive to Avignon as long as you are comfortable with the long drive.

How many of you are there and how many cases/bags will you have?

The luggage storage at the park charges per item so if you have a carrier bag with a few souvenirs or coats they will be charged as an item as well. Thats why I mentioned the luggage storage at the station as there are different size lockers and you can fit more than 1 case in the large one. I cant remember how much it costs and have never used it but people always used to say it was cheaper than using the park storage. You could always go and check them out one evening on your way out of the park.
There is also an option to have your luggage collected and transported to the station and stored but Im not sure exactly how this works now. It used to be 1 charge for the whole room not per item. If you did this you would have to give yourself plenty of time to collect it as there may be a queue of people waiting to collect.
 
at that time of year with 2.5 days you will have plenty of time to explore the parks, and on the last day repeat your favourites one more time.
Okay this is what I was wondering. It's good to hear that we should have plenty of time.

I would personally store my bags at the concierge at the park. Yes, there is a fee (8 euro for a small trolley, 15 euro for a large suitcase), but much more convenient for me as I am absolutely hopeless when it comes to figure out lockers at stations, museums etc. I never am able to open or close them in one go. :p
How many of you are there and how many cases/bags will you have?
The issue is we'll have one large suitcase each plus probably at least one carry-on size bag (we are not light packers) so that's adding up to be a lot!

go to the Relay convenience store at the station
Oh great, good to know there is a shop in the station.

And just to throw in another idea, not sure of you has discussed this before this thread. But how about renting a car at DLP? Pick it up in the morning, you could store your luggage in the car and park in the parking lot. As a hotel guest you can park for free, also on your check out day (can someone else confirm this?) You have control over when you leave. It will be a longer drive to Avignon than the train, but probably a very nice one and you could stop along the way to get dinner.
If you are going ro rent a car in Avignon anyway, a few extra hours might not make much difference in price.
Thats a good option as well to rent a car at DLP and drive to Avignon as long as you are comfortable with the long drive.
The train ride is just under 3 hours and the drive would probably be around 8 hours with stops. So even if we left at the same time as we would for the train, we'd still be getting there a lot later. Plus my husband gets car sick so he would be stuck driving the whole time to try to make that better. It's a good idea but I don't think it will work for us on this leg of the journey. But thank you for the suggestion!

There is also an option to have your luggage collected and transported to the station and stored but Im not sure exactly how this works now. It used to be 1 charge for the whole room not per item. If you did this you would have to give yourself plenty of time to collect it as there may be a queue of people waiting to collect.
Hmmm I've not heard of this! I'll have to look into it at the front desk and see how that works. That would be really convenient.
 
I was just looking up luggage storage options and came across the Disney Express Luggage service, where you can drop your bags off at the train station and they'll take them to your resort, and you can also check in to your hotel and pick up your park tickets right there at the station. It's also available for luggage return when you depart, but the timing won't work for us.

Has anyone used this service and would you recommend it on our arrival day so we can go straight to the parks? It looks like it's 17 euro per person. As I mentioned, we'll have slept in that morning and the train ride is less than an hour so we won't really need to go to the hotel to freshen up or anything. Plus our room probably won't be ready anyway.
 
Bumping this for my question around luggage.

Has anyone used the luggage storage near the park gates? How obnoxious is it to take a full size suitcase through security?
 
Bumping this for my question around luggage.

Has anyone used the luggage storage near the park gates? How obnoxious is it to take a full size suitcase through security?

And for obnoxious, all guests at all the Disneyland hotels arriving by public transport have no other choice to go through security at the park with their luggage. (Unless you take a bus from the station to the hotel and you could use security at the main entrance)

So unless you are bringing in an elephant in your suitcase, I am quite sure the people at security will not blink at the size of your luggage.
 
They have airport type scanners, if you're early, there is one which is larger on the left, but it's only open in the morning, most of the time. I have used the luggage storage, but not for full size luggage. You pay for the size, so it'll be more expensive then a smaller bag
And for obnoxious, all guests at all the Disneyland hotels arriving by public transport have no other choice to go through security at the park with their luggage. (Unless you take a bus from the station to the hotel and you could use security at the main entrance)

So unless you are bringing in an elephant in your suitcase, I am quite sure the people at security will not blink at the size of your luggage.
Thank you both!!

Another option we have is just stopping at the train station with our luggage on the way to the parks and using the lockers there (this is only for our departure day, not arrival). I'm thinking this might be easier since the station is on the way from Sequoia Lodge and we're headed straight to the station when we're done at the parks that day, but that's only convenient if we wouldn't have to go through security. Do you know if we would have to go through security either way? I'm not certain where the bag check is in relation to the park entrances.
 
If you take the bus to the train station, you won’t go through security. If you walk, you’ll go through security to enter village (no large scanner there, as far as I know) and then exit village to get to the station. To go to the parks, you’d have to go through security again
Good to know, thank you!
 
If you take the bus to the train station, you won’t go through security. If you walk, you’ll go through security to enter village (no large scanner there, as far as I know) and then exit village to get to the station. To go to the parks, you’d have to go through security again
Are you sure this is correct? I thought once you were in the bubble (at one of the Disney hotels, Disney Village or the parks you never go through security again. I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in May and only went through security upon arrival.

As for going to the train station you would have to leave the secure area and then go through security again to get into the parks. If you don't go to the train station you don't leave the secure area. I hope this helps!
 

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