Disneyland Paris

I was in Disneyland Paris last October with my 2 kids, ages 7 and 4 (at the time). We stayed for 2 nights/3 days at the Sequoa Lodge. It is one of the Disney hotels. A nice perk with staying at a Disney hotel you could get in early before the park opened and ride some rides (not all were open) without the lines. I thought it would not be busy in October, but it was. The Disney Park itself is not as big as the one in California. 2 days is enough time to do everything at Disney for us. They also have Walt Disney Studios Park next to it and they have a few rides that are fun for small children.

We are going to Disney 10-13 June with our 3 yr old son, we are very excited! We phoned Disney state side and asked to speak to Central Booking, we then asked to book a Disney hotel and pay dollars as we are Military stationed over seas. We paid in dollars (you need a US address to do this, of course APO, AE etc qualify) and saved around $300 compared to the cheapest I was able to find on line and through ITT. We will be driving and taking the ferry over, we did the chunnel before and I think our son would love a ferry ride!

N.,

We have gone to Disneyland Paris twice. We have four kids 11, 5, 4, and 7 mos. We have loved it both times. We stayed at Davy Crockett Ranch and even though it is not right on the park or the nicest (very clean and rustic) I would always choose to stay there. I love not sharing walls with others (loud kids), each cabin has its own driveway so you aren't hauling tons of stuff through a hotel, each cabin has its own kitchen. Since we drop 50 euro just on burgers and fries in the park we like to save our meals in the park for something special and eat at least lunch or dinner in our cabin (they even have an outdoor picnic table). Every morning you go to a little cabin and pick up a breakfast of croissants, baguettes, juice, milk, etc... I bring fruit and yogurt to help fill us up and give the meal some nutrition.

As for the park. I would definitely recommend at least two days, we did three once and four the other time. Those are good too:). I just have found that stressing out about trying to fit it all in and going from opening to closing (stateside) made all of us a little cranky. We try to get there early, maybe take a break in the afternoon (you get a parking pass), do a late lunch or early dinner, and then go back as crowds start thinning because everyone is exhausted. If you only go for one day, start early, stay late, look for something other than rides to keep you busy in the afternoon.

Be prepared- people absolutely swarm the characters. We tried to see Minnie and it was unreal, everyone is really aggressive. I don't know why. We have always loved seeing the princesses (three girls and a baby boy) but we did not even try after Minnie, we just watched in amazement- from a distance.

We have booked both trips through the website. One was for block leave and one was for R&R. It is just a nice place to enjoy being with your kids and having fun, remember that you will be dealing with some serious lines. We put together some things to do in line with our five year old- she can't hold still for a minute.

I hope this helps.

Oh my goodness, we had a BLAST at Disney/Paris!!! My 4 kids & my Mother ALL had a wonderful time. We stayed in the Davey Crockett campground, which has it's own little water park. The trailers have their own 'little' kitchenette. We loved this feature. It saved us LOADS of money, since we had 7 people to feed!
Renting the trailer also included a 'bread' breakfast. This was nice but by the last day, we were ALL sick of bread. Luckily, I had taken yogurt & fruit to supplement. We brought along sandwich fixings, drinks and I even made a few meals at home to eat for supper (stew & such for easy travel).
I hear the main hotel is wonderful for seeing all the Disney characters, but I also hear it is majorly expensive.
We went for 3 days. I highly recommend the 3 days if you will be going to both the studio park and the main park. This way, you don't have to rush thru anything. We booked everything thru their website (my husband did, anyway).
We closed the park each night we were there. And, honestly, I did not want to leave. I was ready to stay there or was willing to come back the next weekend, no matter the cost.
My kids were 10, 6, 4 & 3. While my oldest was tall enough to go on the big kid rides, my other 3 were not. But there is plenty to do and see for everyone.
All my kids still talk about our Disney adventure. (even the now 4 year old)
Oh, don't miss the parade down Main Street. My kids went crazy! It was AWESOME seeing all the characters!
As for the people not knowing the meaning of "personal space"; I totally concure! But as we have lived here in Europe for 2 years, we are pretty much used to it by now. I am constantly pointing out to my children, though, how rude it is & that they themselves should not pick up this annoying habit. It is a bit worse in the park, unfortunately. Everyone wants their child (or themselves) to see everything!
I hope you find your path to follow to get you to Disney. It is totally worth the effort. Above all, remember to relax and have a wonderful time!

God bless!

Dear N.
I hate to burst your bubble but I have to say "wait!" I know it's an unpopular viewpoint but I think you'll be happier in the long run. Disney world wide is not a cheap experience. I wish I could remember the name of a book written by someone unaffiliated with Disney; I read it years ago when my kids were young and it was basically a guide to the parks. They wrote an entire chapter about the best time to go, and they flat out said don't bother taking a child younger than 7. Here's why: You will walk miles, and stand in long lines no matter what. Most kids under five can't take more than an hour of this. They're just to young to understand the reward at the end of the inconvenience. So before you even hit lunch you will have some tired and cranky pre-schoolers on your hands. Second, if you bring a stroller it might actually be a hindrance to you and your husband because it can get in the way and also what do you do with it once you've made it to a ride.
Third, many younger children are actually terrified of the giant characters walking around. They don't understand the costumes or the masks and I have actually witnessed toddlers crying out of fear.

Anyway, I heeded the advice of this book (sorry I can't remember the title) and waited until my girls were 10 and 5 1/2. It made all the difference. My youngest was tall enough to hit a lot of the rides, and old enough to be patient when we had to wait for things. It was still a magical experience for all of us. I can't tell you how many families with little children we saw who were having a terrible time. The parents were exasperated, the kids were exhausted and cranky or bawling. The thing is once you get in you won't want to leave even if you're having a bad time, because you will have paid an arm and leg to get in there! If you can put it off at all, I think it will be a more pleasurable and memorable experience for everyone.

I hope I haven't bummed you out. Definitely do go to one of the Disney Parks at some point--I'm not a fan of Disney and I still loved it!

Check out the Davy Crocket Ranch. It is a wonderful place to stay. The cabins are comparable to single wide trailers complete with seperate bedrooms and a kitchenette. Breakfast is included as well as tickets to EuroDisney. There are plenty of activities there to do on the ranch. We went with our 2 children and had a great time. Hope you have fun!

I haven't been to Disneyland Paris yet. (I look forward to seeing you replies :)

We did just go to Legoland in Gunzburg, Germany. A Ton of fun! In June they are opening up a hotel in Legoland, all themed. We stayed at Hotel Krone nearby. A Fantastic hotel, family friendly, very reasonably priced. Staff always had a smile & breakfast (included) was Very Generous!

Happy Travels!

We took a family trip to Disney Paris a few years ago. We booked through Forces Travel in the UK. We are a family of 6 so we stayed at the Davey Crocket Ranch which is off site and you needed a car, but it was good for us as they were individual cabins with a kitchette. My kids were 3,5,7,13 at the time. The two older ones had a great time and still remember it. The two little ones were too young to remember and all we did was push them around in a stroller for the four days we were there. We went in July/August time frame so there were alot of people there. The park opens quite early in the morning, so my advice is to get there early and do the rides in the am before the crowds and long lines and see if you can get Fast Track passes for the shows in the afternoon. We stayed late one night to see the fireworks and it was packed. Alot of people who do not know the meaning of personal space, so you'd find a spot to see and someone would come and stand right in front of you and obstruct your view. This happened repeatedly, people bumping into you, pushing you and the children, etc.

Although we had a good time and I'm glad we went,in hind-sight, I feel it would have been better to wait until the two younger ones were the age they are right now (7&9), but my husband is a civilian employee and we've been here for 6 years already, so we have the opportunity to go back if we choose. If you're only here for a three year tour, you have to take advantage of the time you have and do things accordingly. I don't think one day will be too much of a hardship, but it will be a different experience then the Disney Parks in the States. I really liked someone else's post about going through Disney in the States and paying in dollars which would be worth looking into. It's cheapest to go from like November through March, as kids under 7 stay free. Hope you have a good time!

My husband and I have made a trip to Paris together and went to Disneyland. We didn't take our kids but plan to over Christmas. I'm pretty sure that 1 day would not be enough time. It was just right for my husband and I but the park was dead and we didn't have our kids. The park is rather small compared to the ones in the states but with small kids and if there are any crowds at all you'd definitely need at least 2 days in the park. It's much more beautiful than the other parks. We're actually thinking of getting Annual passes when we go next because even though we'll only spend 3 days in the park we figure we can make one more trip before they expire so it will be worth the extra money. Plus it gives you discounts in the park and such. They aren't much more than the 2 day passes anyhow. It's a more laid back trip when you're not worried about getting your money worth out of the park tickets....at least for us that has been the experience.

As for booking the trip I'm not sure the best bet. But I wouldn't go through Disney. Their hotels and good neighbor hotels are very expensive. We look for hotels on booking.com and they have a lot to pick from. This next visit we're thinking of renting an apartment in the city and taking the train out to the park when we go. http://www.feelslikehomeinparis.com/

There is a train station right next to the park so it makes travel very easy. The first time we went we wanted a hotel away from the city since we were driving but this next time we're going to fly there instead so we're going to stay in the city. Plus by staying in an apartment we can prepare meals for our family.

I notice someone recommended waiting until your kids are older. We're on the opposite end of that. Yes its expensive and you have to be prepared for how much harder it is with small kids but its well worth the reward in the end. When they are young enough their tickets are still free. My son that is now 4 visited Disneyland California for the first time when he was 6 weeks old (granted that trip was crazy) and has several times after that. It just takes a lot of patience with kids at theme parks. Specifically knowing you may not get all the rides you want in. Another great park in Germany is Europa Park it is way cheaper than Disneyland Paris (not quite the same magic that disney has though). We had annual passes there last year and we made lots of trips. We found a hotel we loved and went a lot. It's a great park for small children. There is a lot for them to do. Most of which doesn't involve waiting in line like ball pits, play grounds and stuff that come in handy when you're waiting for someone else to go on a roller coaster. My youngest is 19 months and he always had a good time as well. My husband is a theme park junkie (he's partial to Disney parks) so we go a lot. Hopefully that helped.....let me know if you have any questions :).

My mom visited us in Belgium last spring and since my husband can't stomach most rides, we left him home and took my two kids (7 & 2 at the time) on a day trip with Trips and Tours. It was affordable, easy, and plan free. If you want to just test the waters, I would try that first and then plan a longer trip later. If you are set on a longer stay, I would recommend following some of the other suggestions in the posts. It sounds like everyone has had a great time whether they went for a short or extended vacation. In one day you may not get it all in, but we were still thrilled to death. Of course we had seen it all before in California, but still...