Why we really, really hated it – Disneyland Paris review

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• Dave says:

  16 Sep16 September 10:16

  We have been a few times and can confirm that weekends are always much busier. I think during term times, the weekends are especially busy because all the locals are there with their annual passes that can’t go during the week as their kids are at school.

  A couple of years ago we went in September and stayed Thursday to Sunday. The queues on the Thursday/Friday were about 5 mins on some rides and no more than 15-20 mins on the more popular rides. On the Saturday and Sunday, most of the queues were 45-90 minutes long. We were just glad we had been on everything during the week.

  We have always stayed at one of the Disney hotels and, even though they are not good value for money compared to other local hotels, its worth the premium (especially at weekends) for the extra time you get in the park each morning before the general public. When planned well, we have been able to fit in 4-5 rides before the gates open and the park starts to get busy.

  I have to agree that the food can ridiculously expensive. The first time we went, we paid over 150 Euros for a meal consisting of a few horrible pizzas/burgers and soft drinks (4 adults, 2 kids). A packed lunch is the best option and if you don’t have time/facilities to take this, there is a shop at the train station next to the gate where you can pick up a ham/cheese sandwich for a few euros. The cheapest option for dinner is probably the Mcdonalds in the Disney Village just outside the park.

• Andrew S says:

  16 Sep16 September 10:28

  I know a family who have been saving for 2 years for Disneyland Paris… This is their dream… now in a moral dilema as to set expectations!

• Jonathon says:

  16 Sep16 September 10:34

  You had to queue? At a Disney park? On a Saturday? Shocking.

  Sorry, but it is what you make of it. Of course it’s going to be busy. I generally really enjoy your blog but on this occasion I can’t but feel this post comes across as a little entitled.

  DLP is what it is. It’s a European theme park. They have Fast Pass schemes to save queueing for the big attractions (even children’s attractions have Fast Pass), and arriving late morning is never a good idea. The same as it wouldn’t be at Alton Towers, either.

  Yes it’s expensive, but when tickets and transport are free with Avios, or even as part of one of the DLP hotel bundles, it all pans out. We regularly manage to do a long weekend there for under £700 for a family of 4 (£140 for RFS flights, £300 for the Explorers or Kyriad for 3 nights) and then a bit of spending money for packed lunches, etc.).

  I think sometimes it’s easy to become a little ‘overly-entitled’ by all the doors that high frequent flyer balances and status can open. Sometimes you do have to accept that you’re just one of the flock.

  Is DLP better than Florida? No chance. Is it a good, cheap option for a long weekend in Europe? You bet. Plus by the time you factor in the time you spend queueing at Orlando or Miami immigration, those DLP queues look pretty good in comparison.

  • Rob says:

    16 Sep16 September 13:38

    I did consider the ‘entitled’ bit.

    I do live in an entitled world. I don’t queue in Waitrose to pay for my food (because its Waitrose). I don’t queue at airports for check-in or boarding and rarely for security. When there was a big group checking into the InterCon as we were leaving, I got Guest Relations to check me out instead. I run around London in Uber cars these days.

    However …. I am also not as price sensitive as the general public. I reckon it therefore balances out.

    Perhaps I get grumpier than most people when I have to queue for an hour to buy fast food. However, I am relatively immune to paying £10 for a burger and fries or indeed the Disney admission price. The review is basically about bad use of my time, I am not complaining about the money.

    In any event, there are enough people agreeing with my article in the comments to make it clear to any casual reader that I am not an outlier on this.

    PS. Let’s get away from the idea that my trip was free. I got 0.65p per Amex point when I redeemed for the Eurostar tickets. As I could have redeemed them for cash at 0.5p, I effectively paid real money for them. Similarly, the 34k Avios used for the Disney tickets have alternative value as did the IHG hotel points – which came from Big Win mattress runs and from credit cards points.

    I could also have paid for the Disney hotels, charged it to my Amex Platinum and used Membership Rewards points to settle the bill at 0.45p per point.

    • Jonathon says:

      18 Sep18 September 14:30

      Oh come on, it’s free. Ok for a lot of people here those points are limited and therefore have value, but for yourself who must generate millions of points through the various referrals this site generates (and more power to you for having the inclination to do it) then the value becomes very diluted. Similarly for those of us who generate huge balances through the various manufactured spend methods, the actual ‘cost’ in miles is irrelevant as you can regenerate those points almost immediately with minimal effort and zero cost.

• Smiley miley says:

  16 Sep16 September 10:42

  Another thing this time regarding the food. If you are a shareholder in Euro Disney to the tune of 100 shares (£300) then you get a 15% discount in most of the on-site restaurants, and 15% off in the shops. If you visit Disneyland Paris as regularly as I do with my family then the savings soon add up. You also get access to Salon Mickey just inside the entrance to the Disneyland park which serves hot drinks and cookies between 9 and 12 each morning. Shares in Euro disney are not worth holding for an investment return, but the company is on a more secure footing after The Walt Disney Company assumed all its debt last year.

• creampuff says:

  16 Sep16 September 10:59

  I’ve been to Disney Paris twice; one of those times being a multi day trip where we stayed at a Disney hotel.

  Forget going there on a weekend, it is a waste of your time.
  Forget going during school holidays, it is a waste of your time.
  The best time to go is on an off-season weekday.

  The food is crap.

  The hotels are crap.

  The hotel food is crap.

  The lines are too long.

  There are not enough Disney characters walking around.

  Mrs Puff has been to HK Disney (on an off-season weekday) and she rates HK Disney well above Paris Disney.

• sandgrounder says:

  16 Sep16 September 11:10

  Well, I’ve never been, and, barring a contraceptive failure I probably never will. At such places it always feels like the next ‘thrilling attraction’ to be introduced will be a big man who picks you up by the ankles on the way out and shakes you upside down until all remaining money falls from your pockets. As has been mentioned previously, however, getting to ANY major tourist attraction around lunchtime is often a fatal error. You snooze, you lose!

• David W says:

  16 Sep16 September 11:20

  Oh fiddlesticks – I’m going with a friend on the 10th October. It’s mid-week and outside of any half-terms (unless someone knows something I don’t?) so I’m hopeful it’s not going to be a wasted trip, particularly as she’s visiting from Australia!

• Corrine says:

  16 Sep16 September 11:29

  We’ve been to Disneyland Paris 3 times now! and loved it (although a little bit Disneyed out by the 3rd visit)! However, we did go midweek 10 days before Christmas. If you are going to go, I’d say this is by far the best times to visit. No queues and really Christmassy. We bought all in one snow suits for the kids – which were waterproof too. Saying this I def could not go in peak season/times to any theme park. We are doing Orlando in December this year (nearly all on points/miles) and have picked a ‘low’ week as I hate queuing for anything. 🙂

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