dobsonde

Thinking of taking my family of 6 to Paris Disneyland from London. We have read some reviews and are not sure if this is such a good idea. What are your thoughts? Also, we would like to see the Eiffel tower. Could we see it as we are speeding by on the train?

janisj

"<i>Could we see it as we are speeding by on the train?</i>"

You mean can you see the Eiffel Tower from the train to Disneyland? Nope. Or do you mean the train from London to Paris? Nope.

"<i>We have read some reviews and are not sure if this is such a good idea. </i>"

If you are "Disney people" it could be a good idea but expensive. But if you aren't Disney fanatics - it would be hugely expensive excursion for six. There is a LOT more to Paris than the Eiffel Tower.

soogies

I think if you are huge Disney fans, and it is something you've been yearning for forever, do it. It will be very expensive. Me - I would never go, having spent much time at Disneyland over the years.

My daughter has been (free because a friend worked there). She grew up going to Disneyland and frankly, really wasn't iimpressed. She went because her friend was employed as Princess Aurora first in CA and then in Paris. She was glad she didn't pay for it, although it was great to see her friend. She felt that if she hadn't been living in Europe at the time she wouldn't have wasted an entire day on the experience.

tarquin

There are lots of things for children to see and do in Paris - a daytrip from Paris to Disneyland could be one of them, but it's not worth more time than that.

dobsonde

Thank you everyone for your comments. We will really think about it before we decide to go ahead with it.

CarolA

I am a Disney person...

I go to the parks in Florida and California quite often..

Disneyland Paris is nice but there's not a lot there they don't have in the US. It's a visually stunning park. That said it's not high on my list of things to do in Paris. (I actually went on Christmas Day several years ago, that worked out well as it was very active and a lot of fun.. but I don't plan to make a return trip!)

If you have not done Paris, do that and save this for another trip IMHO!

nytraveler

There are no trains speeding by the Eiffel Tower - it's in the center of Paris - not a railroad yard.

Paris Disney is even more useless than the larger Disneys in the US and can;t imagine why anyone would want to do that versus seeing the real Paris.

Christina

Most trains don't have good views of anything as they approach a city, because they are ground level, and there is always a lot of "stuff" beside the railways as they enter a city, for miles around (buildings, etc.). Trains into Paris are no exception. The only "train" with a view of the Eiffel Tower is one of the elevated metro lines, but I'm sure you meant the Eurostar from London to Paris.

surfmom

I would also vote against it -- it will be a huge expense and not worth it (imho). London and Paris are VERY fun with kids - without Disney.

dobsonde

Thank you again for your comments. If you were to spend one day only in Paris with 4 girls (13, 11, 9 and 5), what would you suggest.

dobsonde

We only thought of Disney because our youngest would really like to go and we thought this would kill 2 birds with one stone.

surfmom

only one day ? Wow, that is hard. I've just been trying to work on my trip report now, so it is fresh in my brain. I guess one of the things that was really fun and active is the Fat Tire Bike Tours. You meet them at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, go to their office and get set up. They do have bikes for kids as well as a tandem for the 5yo although I'd reserve in advance because there are less kid-sized bikes.

You bike from there to the Seine, through the Tuileries, see the Louvre, and then back along the Seine. It is very fun - a great way to get a 'lay of the land' for how Paris is laid out - you stop in the middle at a cafe for a snack (ice cream!).

Another thing my kids loved was climbing to the top of Notre Dame and getting upclose and personal with the gargoyles.

If you can talk them out of it, I wouldn't do the Eiffel Tower - or I would consider having them climb it. The lines get horribly long - even though the kids wanted to go to the top, they all said, the bottom level is better - after they've come down. We've always come down the stairs from level 1 at the end - because the lines are long for the elevators and it just seems faster and easier.

I would recommend against the Louvre - one thing to consider would be the one tour we did with Paris Muse "If Buildlings Could Talk" - we started at Place des Vosges and ended up at Notre Dame. That part I've finished in my trip report.

BigRuss

Actually, there is a train from which you can see the Eiffel Tower, but it's on the Metro (the RER B line, I think) as you pass over a bridge on the Seine.

Instead of having the tail wagging the dog, just take the girls to the Eiffel Tower and the parks nearby and walk down the Champs Elysees later in the day. Euro Disney is a waste of time and money. Seriously, you'd go to Paris and drag the 13, 11, and 9 to Disney just on the 5 year old's whims?

And for your husband, tell him to go to Royal Mile Whiskies in Bloomsbury in London so he can get something to neutralize the effect on his brain of all those tiny women running around the house. Also, to go to Jermyn Street to buy stuff for himself.

flanneruk

You CAN see the Eiffel Tower from trains travelling round Paris.

Many planning decisions for the Ile de France have been based on preserving sightlines of the Tower, and some train travellers have always been able to take advantage of this..

The London-Alps and London-Avignon trains both have short views of the Tower. So did the Calais Coach (the name under which Murder on the Orient Express was first published in the US) when it took the Petite Ceinture from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon. Until 1988, there were a few seconds on all Boulogne/Calais trains to Italy and the Riviera when it was possible to see the Tower just before the coach was shunted into the Gare de Lyon.

As always, the naysaying Americans are revealing their travelling inexperience. Fair enough: but what DOES America's educational system do to its users' brains that causes them to make assertions based on no knowledge?

Not that that helps the poster. The London-Disneyland train turns east to Chessy far too early, just after it goes through CDG airport, to see the Tower

qwovadis

eurocheapo.com Paris great tips if you only have 1 day

see wonderful Paris... not Paris disneyland expensive

underwhelming far away from the city.

with 6 book in advance easyjet.com might save a tonne

over train wherever you go.

Have fun,