I am not well travelled, but Gabby has been all over Europe as a child. She didn't care for France much. I do, however, love all things Disney and so does Gabby.

Next year, I will have only a tiny window to try to catch up on some much needed pixie dust. We have considered going to WDW, but to do that I usually like to take about 10 days to do it to my definition of right. Gabby is most likely going to be back in school and will only have a little break from classes and work.

So, I thought that it might be neat to take off for Europe to see DLRP. I have only 3 to 5 days to play. I need to know how this might work. I know the pricing schedule is really varied by day of the week and such. I know that everything is quoted in Euros, but I know where to find a converter.

I have read everything that I can find on the official site and have started collecting data from Mousesavers and other sites. Basically, I want to hear from other people from the US that made the leap over to see DLRP. Of course, I appreciate the input that you folks from other countries can provide also.

I would like to plan on a 4 night/5 day stay for 2 adults. I don't mind working the arrival day to happen such that the rates are lower. If memory serves, France is a day ahead of us. So, if I fly out on Saturday, I arrive there on Sunday....or so I think. I can't even imagine how bad jet lag is going to be. I want to stay on Disney property in a Disney hotel. I would like to stay in what would be considered a moderate over here, if that is even possible. Although, the idea of being able to use unlimited FP is really appealing. Would it be better for one of us to buy an AP over there for the discounts? I would prefer to not rent a car, but is this a mistake? Neither of us speaks even a drop of French...I hate that we will most likely be a bit lost due to the language barrier....maybe I can download a French primer off of Audible.com.

Does anyone know of a travel agent that was just awesome? For once, I think I might need one. I feel like I am as lost on this one as I was back in 2001 when I planned our first weekend at WDW. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the ramble. It's late and I hate it that I can't quite find an easy answer to any of my questions. Thanks. Maggie

One thing you won't need to worry about while at DLP is the language barrier. They get a lot of tourists from the UK and have CMs from different parts of Europe, so finding assistance in English shouldn't be a problem. It wouldn't hurt to study a few key phrases, though.

France is not a day ahead. Paris is 6 hours ahead of Atlanta. The reason that most flights arrive on the following day is just due to timing of departures coupled with the time difference.

Mickeysaver you really won't need a car - to hire one would be pointless. If you stay at one of the on site hotels there is transport to the park - but to be honest - they are all walking distance - 20 minutes at most and you pass through Disney Village (The downtown disney bit) on the way anyway.

The train station is there if you want a day trip to Paris itself - it is only an hour journey by train to Paris from the resort on one of their super-fast trains.

The moderate priced hotels are Sequoia Lodge and Newport Bay Club - both lovely hotels with great pools. Cheaper ones are Hotel Santa Fe and Hotel Cheyenne - I have stayed at them both and they are both fine (no pool though).

My advice would be to book the holiday package on the official site (ie the hotel which includes the tickets for both theme parks from the day of arrival to the day of departure) but book flights via something like Expedia.com as they will have the cheapest available.

You just need to book return flights to CDG Paris (Charles de Gaulle) - from there you can board the Disney shuttle bus that takes you direct to your hotel - a journey of about an hour - they come every 20 minutes. (It isn't free though - but very convenient).

Cheapest time of year will be January, Feb, March - and you wont see much price difference between weekends and weekday then -but ultimately weekdays are cheaper - but not significantly enough for you to avoid weekends which sometimes have extras shows etc.

I would prefer to not rent a car, but is this a mistake? Neither of us speaks even a drop of French...I hate that we will most likely be a bit lost due to the language barrier....maybe I can download a French primer off of Audible.com.


If you stay on property, you will not need to rent a car--everything is within walking distance. We stayed at the Newport Bay and it was a bit of a walk, but a very nice hotel with a lovely view. We do not speak a stitch of French, and survived just fine with only a few mishaps ;). We have a trip report (http://www.mouseplanet.com/dtp/trip.rpt/report_files/dlparis.rpt/perkis02mr.htm) that might be helpful--there are other trip reports MousePlanet that will be useful as well.

Thanks for all the input. I have no idea what we are doing yet, but at least I have some useful information. Maggie

If you fly into CDG in Paris there is a train that goes directly to DLP. The station is right in Downtown Disney and near the DL entrance. No transportation is needed once there. Paris is only one hour away by train.

We stayed at the lower priced Hotel Santa Fe, and it was more than adequate. With only two days, we were only in the room for sleeping and showering and didn't spend much time in the hotel per se. They have a free shuttle or they have pleasant trails for the 15 minute walk to the parks. The price also included a buffett breakfast in their restaurant which was an added bonus fueling up for a full day of Disney. Our tickets were for length of stay and we felt were priced pretty reasonable.

English is spoken everywhere in the park, however it is always a good idea to at least learn the "niceities" such as please, thank you, hello, goodbye, etc. It goes a long way if you at least try. Embrace the French atmosphere and differences. It is a joy watching "honey i shrunk the audience" in French. We passed on the English headphones since we knew what was being said. :D

Have fun-I'm jealous because I want to go back! :crying: