The family is going to DLR (california) for a week in November. The next week we are probably going to Paris. We will only be there for 5 days-should we go to Disneyland in Paris????? We have two kids--4 and almost 2. Looking around hotels in Paris, they are all very expensive as most require larger rooms for 2 adults and 2 kids. The hotels around DRP are actually reasonably priced in comparison.

We are going to so some sightseeing in Paris...like the Eiffel tower and Notre Dame and general stuff, but I'm not sure what else to do with the little ones.

Also, can you get any sort of discount on tickets if you have an AP for the resort in CA?

Thanks :)

Hi,
Yes you need to come and see us! where are you coming? great parades, great shows and wonderful season to come!
No California APs have nothing to do here but if you come while my daughter is off, she may take you in for a day for free, she works there in the Studios.
MP me if you wish, we would gladly help!

I'm still kicking myself for NOT going to Disneyland Paris when we were there last, but I'll be back, so I'll have another chance. Paris is one of my most favorite places in the world - - - for about three days, then I'm ready to go. (Such a busy city - I enjoy the rest of France a lot more after Paris). If you think your kids might be Disney'd out by the time you get there and want to try the French version of Disneyland, check out Astrix Park. Not nearly as nice, I'm sure, but VERY French. My husband LOVED the roller coasters there. It's more in line with Magic Mountain, really. You can drive there, or catch the Metro out near there and a bus that takes you right to the park. It's north of Paris. I'm not too excited to ever go back, however. It's sure not Disney . . . Asterix and Obelix seemed annoyed to have their photo taken with me - like it was really only supposed to be for kids. The "customer service" is lacking - for sure, but it's a different experience if you want one. :) Have fun in Paris!! A bien tot!

OH! Also, check out Fodor's Around Paris with Kids. It's a cute book with some fun ideas and activity pages for the kids. Also, on the first level of the Eiffel Tower, you can send postcards at the post office with an Eiffel Tower post mark - kinda fun. Some people say it's not worth paying the money to go to the top . . . GO TO THE TOP! The kids will want to tell all their friends they've been to the top. :) It's a lot of stairs to climb, but climbing up the tower at Notre Dame is pretty cool - great view and you get up close and personal to the Gargoyles! And my #1 travel rule (as a former agent) - wear a money belt . . . even the kids. Keep your passport and money close at all times - under your clothes.

GEEZE! I keep thinking of more stuff . . . get a Carte Musee too. Saves you money and a WHOLE LOT OF TIME!! You get to go to the front of the lines with a pass. We skipped an hour long line at Musee D'Orsay and walked right in. LOVED IT! Get it at most metro stations. (doesn't inclue Eiffel Tower, however - at least last time I checked). BTW - if you all ready know all this stuff, please excuse me. I get so excited about people traveling to Disney parks and France - my favorite places. :)

Park Asterix is closed now, they only open from april to mid september. About the museums, with so little kids, I would forget them, go to Musee Grevin though, French version of Madame Tussaud, go around Montmatre, the City of Sciences La villette is great for kids if you wish, go to monuments but don't try the art museums with your kiddos.
Just MP me if you wish our little help

Thanks dws_60 and USBurchs! You guys are great :)

I agree that the museums would be wasted on the kids. Luckily I have done them once before. I guess I should start preparing everyone now for all of the stairs we are going to climb...especially my DH who will have to carry a kid :eek: And no, UsBurchs, I don't know this stuff, so I really appreciate any tips that you have...I've only been to Paris once and that was before kids. I had a Eurorail (sp?) pass at the time, but I don't remember much else. I did keep my passport in a thing around my neck (and under my shirt) ...I'm paranoid that way :) I'm going to check my library for the Fodor's book today!

Thanks again :)

We were just in Paris in June (after the mediterranean Disney cruise). I too thought it was much cheaper to stay in a hotel near Disney rather than in Paris. It was a great decision. We were actually only there for 2 1/2 days. We spent one day at the parks (and saw most of them - 2 days would be better). The second day we took the train to the city and did the L'Opentour bus tour and got on and off all day. We saw almost everything touristy. If you are there for five days, you should have more than enough time. I actually got the book "Take the Kids Paris and Disneyland Resort Paris" by Cadogan publishers. It was extremely helpful.

Duh! Astrix Park WOULD be closed this time of year. Sorry. Anyway, another trip, eh? ;) Yeah, if the kids are older, museums might be cool, but even at 17, when I first went, they would have seemed boring to me if I hadn't studied the paintings and history ahead of time. Even then, it was a marathon trip through the Louvre. HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure you remember. I think Versailles is pretty fun for kids, however. The grounds are HUGE and they can run around a little. If the fountains are on, it's pretty cool. It's WAY different now that all the trees got blown down. Sad, really. However, they are doing a nice job of restoring Marie Antoinette's area to it's original grandeur - using her original plans. Pretty facinating.

BUT!!! Yeah, if they aren't Disneyed out - Go to Disneyland Paris. Final Answer. :)

I just went this past weekend for the first time and I LOVED it. I am a huge disney fan and I am moving to London, so I bought a Dream Pass (Annual Pass - Think Deluxe at Disneyland, CA) it is 179 Euro, but you get a ton of discounts and on property hotel savings to boot. Also, if you are thinking of going for 3 days, you can buy a 3 day park hopper for 128 Euro or a Fantasy Annual Pass for 129 Euro. Just be sure that you will not be around on a blackout day(S), the ticket person can tell you, during your visit. If you gtet just one of these you can save like 10% on the other tickets. (Just a thought)

The longest Queue we waited in was Crush's Coaster (Well WORTH it) at the Studios and it was 45 Min.

I can't wait to go back still alot to see and do.

The food is not as good as CA IMHO, but was not horrible. If you stay on site you can get to the City via the RER for about 6 Euro a person.

I had never been to Paris before this trip and I can't wait to go back. I do not speak any French and had very little problem communcating with just the basics which any good guide book will provide. In Paris proper most all menus are in French with English Subtitles.

The Eiffel Tower was amazing (It was very foggy and the view was still great, can;t wait to go back in the summer). I am deathly afraid of heights and it was not too bad. Expect to spend 11.50 euro per person (Kids cheaper I think) to go all the way to the top.

PLease let me know if you have any questions. Ican't guarentee I will have the answer but I will try.

The only time I was there, was 9 years ago and so much Im sure has changed. You have to go. Its different there then at other disney parks.

Yes go....it's beautiful!! It's so cool to see a European Disney park. It has the magic of Disneyland, but has a European feel.....very cool. I've been lucky to go twice now :). I've never gone into the Studios, but love the Magic Kingdom. Try the Pizza Burger at Pizza Planet..it's a unique experience (I traveled across the world to get one there, it's tastier than you might think). I'd say do it :).

Went to Paris Long before Disney, and will go again as soon as $ allows. Disney is definately ON THE LIST!:D

We went to DLP in the spring and we LOVED LOVED LOVED it.
We would go back there again in a heartbeat.

We went to the parks for a couple of days (actually, we gave the Studios a half day and that was PLENTY) and we went to Paris for a couple of days. We stayed onsite for the DLP days, and wished we hadn't because we stayed at a MUCH better hotel as far as our kids and budget were concerned when we moved offsite to the MyTravelers Explorers Hotel. GREAT hotel for kids, and it has excellent bus service to DLP as well as the train/metro station (it's all at the same place).

You can now get packages through the DLP website that include offsite hotels, including the Explorers, but I'm not sure that it's cheaper than booking the Explorers through their website and buying tickets from them when you arrive. The DLP website requires payment in full when you book too. I called them and paid a deposit, and paid the rest when we were in France. Just depends on how you want to work your money, and perhaps also your timing. (A really cheap way to call overseas is with PennyTalk--those calls can be really spendy, especially if you're in hold for any length of time!)

I can't say enough good things about DLP. The dragon under the castle is most amazing. The 'arcade' on Main St. is beautiful. The castle is very lovely and has wonderful stained glass (the Main St. station also has wonderful stained glass). Big Thunder is the best I've ever ridden--do that! Space Mtn is MUCH more radical than anything in the states and a bit bumpier too. If you like coasters, you will love it.

My kids had a great time at the Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, which is at the Disney village. Since we had such a terrible meal at the Rainforest Cafe in London (we were there before our Paris trip), we didn't go to the RFC at DLP.

The metro ride into Paris is easy, takes about 45 minutes. Navigating around is easy, but be cautious as a tourist. We went to the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame (but got there too late for the bell tower), the Eiffel Tower (yes, going all the way up is great, but we waited a very long time in lines to do that--they could use some lessons from Disney!), and the Louvre. We wished we had more time in Paris and at DLP and can't wait to go back.

Have a wonderful time!

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. In the end, we didn't make it to Disneyland Paris, but I wanted to and will definitely go the next time we are there. Here is why we didn't make it: we only had 3 full days in Paris and with 2 young (under 4) kids we didn't make the time change very quickly (if at all), so we wouldn't have had a full day at the park. This trip was with other members of my family, and my Dad paid for our hotel (near the Eiffel tower--it was AMAZING) so we didn't have a need to find something cheaper. We were also there during the transit strike, so trains were unreliable at best.

We did have the time to see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Notre Dame. We also walked around a bit, but since we didn't change time zones very well, most of our waking hours were at night. I originally wasn't going to take the kids to the Louvre, but they did really well. The almost 2 year old took a nap and the 4 year old actually liked looking at the statues and the mummies and things. For us, the hardest part was finding food that the kids would eat when we went to restaurants.

Thanks again to everyone, and hopefully someday I will write a trip report for D-land Paris :)

Hi everyone.

I'll be studying abroad next semester and before school starts I will be staying in Paris for a few days. Would you guys recommend just staying at the Paris resort than staying in the city? We are going to see Le Roi Lion and maybe Cabaret. We haven't made any hotel reservations and we were thinking of going for a day to Disneyland Paris to see the holiday stuff. My mom is going to pick me up after school is over in May to go back to the resort for a few days, but we just wanted to see what it's like.

Anyway, just wanted to hear some more feedback. I'm really excited to see the park for the first time!

I would prefer to go to Disneyland Paris then the ones in the US because I don't like the heat that much(I'm from Ireland, not used to hot weather) and the coldness at this time of year in DLP makes the christmas atmosphere so much better. You should go, I loved it when I was there at the start of December!