sids

Hello All,

This is our first time @ the DLP we are Husband, Wife and our 6 yr child visiting DLP on Oct 15-18.

Need some help regarding the same, We will be arriving to Marne-la-Vallee Station by a TGV from Switzerland @ 17:00 and have booked at Kyraid Hotel for 3 nights along with a 4 day Disney Pass to both the parks, Need your advice on the below:

a) We may checkin the hotel by 6pm, is it possible to visit the Disney Park on the same day evening by 7pm,

so that we get an idea of the park and the rides for the next days visit

b) Any suggestions on the "Don't miss rides/places in DLP" along with the 6 yr child.

c) Since we are Vegetarians, any specific restaurants for the same (any booking needed in advance)

d) I have read about the Fast Pass, can some one tell me how does the Fast Pass works. Do i need to buy it for an extra price & where are they available.

Can i buy them in a days advance to the park visit.

e) On the 3rd day, we are planning to split 1/2 day for the Disney Studio (any suggestions on dont miss things here) and rest 1/2 to visit the Paris City, Is the Eiffel Tower and a Cruise around Paris possible after the 1/2 day Disney Studio, Ideally what time should i be starting to the Eiffel Tower from the Studio.

f) On the 4th Day, our flight is @ 4pm from CDG Airport, we are planning to start early by 9am drop the luggage at the Marne-la-Vallee Station Locker, again visit Disney Studio till 12pm, Catch a TGV to CDG Airpot by 12:30 arrive to CDG by 1pm, small doubt here though should i book the TGV in advance or can i buy the tickets over the counter at the Marne-la-Vallee Station.

Sid

zeppole

I wonder if you get any sympathy for your trip on this board. You may get a lot of abuse. (If I post such statements, sometimes people go out of their way to prove me wrong!)

The Tripadvisor message forums have an entire section for Disneyland Paris

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowFor...de_France.html

annhig

of course you won't get abuse, Sid, the very idea!

but probably not a great deal of help either, though not through a deliberate desire not to help you, but just because this forum is not a mecca for people going to eurodisney.

My immediate reaction to your thread was to suggest, for example, that you should jettison your morning at the disney studio so that you can have a whole day in Paris. I can't imagine going there and not wanting to spend at least a day in the city itself. [in fact, I can't imagine being near Paris and not wanting to be IN Paris and seeing Paris, rather than staying outside and wasting time at disney, but that is my problem, not yours].

in fact, I still suggest that you find time for one whole day in Paris. there are loads of people here who can help you plan that day so you and your DD enjoy it to the full and want to come back for more.

but if that's not what you want, the link found by zeppole is probably your best bet.

nytraveler

Really can;t imagine what you will do in all that time in Disney - even with a 6 year old. Have you checked out the opening hours when you will be there. Once you're past the summer they are much reduced.

I would spend at least one full day in paris - and let the 6 year old enjoy the fun of reality as well as a bunch of fantasy. (But then I just don;t"get Disney at all - except Epcot - which can be mildly interesting.)

mamcalice

I agree with the recommendation to spend one whole day in Paris. At the time you are going, the days begin to be short and arriving in the afternoon for a half day won't leave you with much daylight time. A Seine cruise is a good way to see some of the sights of Paris from a distance including the Eiffel Tower.

Sorry, after 8 trips to Paris, I haven't been near the Disney park so can't be of help there.

Guenmai

I have only been to the Paris EuroDisney once and that was the week or two after it originally opened. A friend and I were curious as we're Californians who grew up, regularly going to the original Disneyland in Anaheim. The first time I went to Disneyland was around 1958 as a very small tot. It opened in 1955. So, I grew up a real Disney kid.

As for how long to spend there, personally I wouldn't go there at 7PM to check out what rides to take your 6 year-old on. I would just wait until the next day. The way that rides are set up, at Disneyland/Disneyworld/ is that the rides for the small kids are in the same area. I have a Parisian friend who takes his now 6-year old nephew and kids of his cousins there and quite regularly. He only spends one day there.

As for fast track, I don't know how crowded EuroDisney will be in October in Paris. Here at home, we sometimes buy fast track, but most of the time we don't. But, then again we have great weather and don't mind standing outside and waiting in the lines and smoke-free lines. I would not want to be standing a long time in them if it's cold and/or pouring raining and are smoke filled.

As for being vegetarian good luck. I don't eat meat either and have been going to Paris for over 30 years. But, I do eat fish as I was macro through most of the 80s. But, if you consume dairy, then you're in more luck as there seems to be diary in about everything in Europe, in general. I've had a dairy allergy for over 25 years.

When in Paris, I eat at macrobiotic based restaurants as vegetarian ones are usually heavily dairy based. But, some vegetarian ones have some macro dishes,too. So if you especially like egg and cheese omelette then you can eat at main stream types of restaurants. And then, at main stream restaurants, there are also pasta dishes and pizza to eat if you consume dairy.

If I were you, I'd spend a whole day in Paris. There's so much to do and see. Your proposed schedule seems exhausting and especially with a 6 year old. I couldn't even imagine doing that schedule with one of the 6 year olds in my extended family. Just last month, some of my family members took the kids to DisneyWorld as they live out of state. But, they were at their timeshare and then went to DisneyWorld early in the morning and spent the day there. Then they did other things around Orlando before flying home days later.

Personally if I were to do it with our 6 year-old, extended family member, I would have booked a hotel in Paris and then on the second day taken the RER to EuroDisney and spent one day there and then back to Paris to spent the rest of the time and leave from Paris to go back home.

Have a great trip. Happy Travels!

amamax2

I can't help with all your questions, but can give you are experience when we went 4 years ago with children 9 & 11 years old.

We went for the day from Paris the end of Sept, so hours will probably be similar to Oct. On the weekends it is open till 9 p.m. Where is the hotel compared to the parks? If you could get there by 7 p.m., it may be worth it since you have four day tickets. You probably will not get to go on more than one, possibly two rides, but if you think your child will be OK with mainly wandering around, then you could try.

I thought the parks would be empty at that time of year (here in Calif they are!), but they weren't. Now, we went on a Wed, and the school kids get out half day, so that probably contributed, but I was still surprised at the number of people. It may be different for you on the Mon and Tues.

Your best bet for what is at the parks is to go to the website, but some of our favorites were Alice in Wonderland maze and the Castle - very different from here in Calif. We didn't make it to the Lion King show, but I heard that is amazing. We didn't make it to the Studios since we were only there for the day.

We are Disney fanatics (thus spending one day of our Paris trip at DLP), but I agree with the others that only going into Paris for half a day (probably less, really, once you tear yourselves away from DLP, catch the train, which you may have to wait for, etc etc) will not work well, especially with a six year old. Better to spend your first day at Paris Disney - get there when it opens and stay till it closes. Second day, start at the Studios and hop in the afternoon in your want. Third day, go to Paris all day.

If you have time, the fourth day, revisit which ever park you want to spend a bit more time in before you have to leave. However, the Parks do not open till 10 a.m., so you are running into the same situation as your first day - two hours barely gives you time to do anything.

As far as fast pass, I'm not sure the situation at DLP. Again, check the website or the link given at the top. Here in Calif, we use it all the time and you do not pay extra for it. We did not use it in DLP, so I do not want to give you wrong information on how it works in case it is different.

Two of us are vegetarians, but we only grabbed some quick pizza for lunch. I know there are lots of restaurants outside the parks by the hotels.

We had a blast and would love to return one day!

HTH!

janisj

"<i>Here at home, we sometimes buy fast track, but most of the time we don't.</i>"

I've been to DL in Anaheim dozens of times, and have never had to "buy" Fast track. One just goes to the FT desks and signs up.

Have also been to DL Paris and Hong Kong but didn't need to use FT in either place. Not sure but I can't imagine they charge for FT.

Have no idea what z is on about - no one will attack/abuse you. But I WILL say you are planning a long time for DL Paris. Two full days plus your arrival evening should be more than enough to see/do every single ride/attraction/parade.

I would plan on at least one full day in Paris proper. Even if it means 'eating' 1/4 of your DLP Pass.

Guenmai

OK, Janisj, I meant that we GET fast track. I mistyped it. Happy Travels!

sids

Thank you all for your suggestions, but i still wonder have i typed/asked any thing wrong in my post(did not get the first reply of zeppole).
Anyways i am still in confusion regarding the Paris Full day trip. As we intend to see the Eiffel tower, may be fix a time and reserve a ticket to Eiffel and a river cruise in the evening. I know Paris has many attractions but in this trip i intend to cover the Disney part

sids

One more thing, i am on the verge of booking the Eiffel tower tickets, which is the best time slot to reserve, i have got 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm slot, will it be too cold in October and will i be able to get back to Disney Land after this easily. Also planning for a river cruise from 5 pm to 7 pm, any suggestions on the same..

Dukey1

I assume you did mean Fast PASS and not fast track. Fast Pass works like this: you put your park admission ticket into the machine for a particular attraction and the machine dispenses a ticket for that attraction only and for a specific time frame during which you can return and go to the head of the line. You cannot get a fast pass for any OTHER attraction until the time frame for the currently held fast pass expires. There is NO extra charge for a Fast Pass.

As to the visit itself: we've been to Disney Paris on several occasions although and have always stayed ON the property. Depending on the time you actually get settled into the hotel it may not be worth the time or money to use up a day's worth of ticket for just a couple hours in the park. I would wait until the next day.

As to Paris...I think you are going to regret not going into the city for a day if possible and not just to the Eiffel Tower. You could at least take some sort of overview city tour or ride on one of the Seine tour boats. Of course, a lot depends on the patience of your child, how irritable the child may become, etc.

There are a LOT of people here who DETEST Disney and especially the one near Paris but please don't forget they did NOT pay for your trip.

mamcalice

Do you want to go up the Eiffel Tower in daylight or after dark? If the latter, your time slot will be OK. The same is true of the Seine Cruise. I know a lot of Fodorites have recommended a full day in Paris. I would recommend that you book earlier as you can see much more of the city if you do the ET and river in daylight or at dusk.

nytraveler

I think that is much too late to ascend the Eiffel Tower. Especially with a child I would want to go up in daylight so you can see some of Paris - not just a lot of random lights.

sids

I accidentally over booked for 4adults + 2childs instead of 2 adult+1child, Can the tickets be exchanged or is it possible for me to change the time slot, allowing me to visit twice..

sids

Hello all,

I have booked for a 17:30 time slot to the summit of the Eiffel, planning to start from Disney @ 2pm, reach the Eiffel tower area by 3:30pm, catch a cruise trip for 90 mins or so, come back by 5:00pm to the entrance of the tower, little snaps around and ascend at 5:30pm, return down by 6:30pm. Catch a train back to Disney from Bir Hakeim to CDG Etoile, a RER line A back to Disney by 8:30pm.

Do you guys suggest anything else in this time slot(for good photo spots), i know there are many attractions in Paris, but this time we want to cover the Disney Land and more over we are not that museum fans

Sid

surfmom

I've been to Paris with kids and there are many fun things to do! (and not museums either).

If you are spending the day in Paris, you could schedule a Fat Tire Bike Tour - very age appropriate for a 6yo. If she (he?) can't ride solo, they can put them on a tandem behind the adult. They meet at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower and walk to their office from there. I don't know how that will work with your timing though ?

I guess I don't understand your timing. Are you looking for more to do when you are in central Paris ? Because if you leave Disney at 2pm, you don't have time for anything else -

have a great trip-

sids

Hi surfmom,
We are actually planning for a full day Paris Trip,
Need little help here, you are mentioning about the Fat Tire Bike Tour, just wondering if this is possible with a 6yr child and is it possible to cover most of the places via bike, further do we need to be in the group all time..
sid

surfmom

yes, you need to be in the group - that is the safety (and the fun!) of it.

A leader will lead the entire group - stopping along the way to give you fun facts and information about Paris. You will ride from their offices (near the ET), through the parks surrounding the ET, then across the Seine, then you walk through the Tuileries and stop at a cafe there for a snack/lunch/break. You then get back on the bikes and ride along the Seine and work your way back to their offices.

Do the 6yo ride alone ? If not, I would put him/her on the back of a tandem bike - reserve in advance to ensure it. (they do have more than one).

I can't advise on the hop on hop off tour -- I am not a big fan of those. I am a bigger fan of getting feet on the ground and walking. Of course, I'm not a 'see it all' person - I would rather see less and more in depth, so you have to find what works for you.