Originally Posted By Avrogadro Hi All, We are planning a trip to Europe sometime in the next 12 months and was wondering when the best time to go as far as crowds go and everything being up and running? Any advice would be really appreciated.
Originally Posted By iGirl Hello Avrogadro, My husband and I had the pleasure of visiting Disneyland Paris on Friday, Oct. 8th. It is a very charming park and quite different from Disneyland, CA. According to the Rick Steves' Paris 2010 travel guide, the following days are the most crowded: Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday and public holidays, and any day in July and August. We found that the ride queues were typical of Disneyland, CA on a slow day. We waited the longest for Peter Pan (of course) and Thunder Mountain. We found it easy to get to Disneyland Paris from downtown Paris via the RER/Metro trains. It was only about 45 min. each way and cost only 16 Euro round trip per person. The park seemed to have less attractions...not by much, but some favorites were not there, such as: Storybook Land, Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain. The outside of the Phantom Manor (Haunted House) is very different, but the ride is very similar. Pirates of the Caribbean was very disjointed compared to the original ride in Anaheim, in my humble opinion. Most of the park merchandise is geared for the young ones with not too much offered for us big kids with the exception of a small selection of t-shirts. I think you will have a marvelous time. I feel very blessed to have been able to visit another Disneyland! It was so much fun! Regards, iGirl
Originally Posted By Avrogadro Thanks igirl for the information. We will probably be going in winter by the looks of things December/January so I am not sure how the park will operate weather wise and crowd wise. We have also been to Disneyland as well as Disney World so I am a little worried that we may be dissapointed with its Paris counterpart.
Originally Posted By iGirl You're so welcome. It's probably not fair for me to favor Disneyland California over Disneyland Paris. The Paris park is really quite charming. The castle is different, but lovelier. The Partner's Statue (Walt & Mickey) is not in the Disneyland Park, it is in the second gate, Disney Studios. That didn't work for me. But, again, my bias is showing here. You won't be disappointed...I promise. Just set your expectations that it will not be Disneyland CA or Disney World, it is its own park. I truly loved the gardens around the castle and throughout the park. It's a blast being able to walk up inside the castle. It's so open and beautiful. The only negative that I can possible point out was their food. It wasn't that good. We tried their cheeseburgers (pretty much all grizzle) and pizza (I don't know what that was, but it was horrible). We didn't do so much at the Disney Studios park...just walked around.
Originally Posted By Avrogadro Hi igirl, I don't think you can actually compare Disneland CA to any of the other theme parks as that is where Walt really left his mark. Thanks for the warning about the food it will help me with my planning. Did you stay in Paris or at the resort? We are planning to leave it to the last three? days of our trip around Europe and was wondering if we were better to commute from Paris or stay locally. So much to think about!
Originally Posted By leemac <<The park seemed to have less attractions...not by much, but some favorites were not there, such as: Storybook Land, Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain.>> Ummmmm....Storybook Land is there - you must have missed it at the back of Fantasyland.
Originally Posted By leemac <<We will probably be going in winter by the looks of things December/January so I am not sure how the park will operate weather wise and crowd wise.>> It really depends what type of experience you are after - Disneyland Park has some great Christmas touches during December that run through New Year. However the park is exceptionally busy of weekend in December and every day once the schools break up for Christmas (usually from mid-month). January is a very quiet month - typically lots of closures and very short operating hours for both parks. If you have a choice I'd go for early December - the whole resort is decorated for Christmas, there is that whole festive vibe and the parks are busy enough that there is an atmosphere.
Originally Posted By leemac <<We are planning to leave it to the last three? days of our trip around Europe and was wondering if we were better to commute from Paris or stay locally. So much to think about!>> Hotels in Paris are notoriously expensive - you will probably get better value staying locally. There are so many hotels to choose from now too - not just the six Disney-branded hotels either. Especially if you plan to spend all three days at the resort. There are perks for being resort guests like early admission etc. that can be useful. Also being able to walk back to your hotel during the day to change etc. is very useful. DLRP is VERY cold in the winter - and the winds can make it feel very bitter.
Originally Posted By u k fan December weekends are now getting very busy, but as Lee said the atmosphere is great when the park's busy and the Xmas decorations look great. It does get VERY cold though so it's nice to be able to get back to your room to warm up. If you're planning on a few days I would stay nearby. The Extra Magic Hours are a great perk, you can also get them by staying at the Hotel Elysee which is one of the "good neighbour" style hotels which is in nearby Val d'Europe. It has a shuttle bus and is opposite the local RER station so getting there from Paris is easy. It also opens up some other dinner options as there is a large shopping mall with some really good food options across the street also. I've stayed there twice before (it was a while ago though) and it was very good, but not very magical if total immersion is what you're after. I've stayed just about everywhere local to DLP with the exception of the Dream Castle and the Hotel New York so if you have any questions just ask. I would also look into buying an AP if you're thinking of 3 days. It may save you money in the long run!!!
Originally Posted By iGirl @leemac: I can't believe I missed it! I would have loved to gone on the ride. Thank you for the information. @Avrogadro: We were staying in Paris and opted not to stay at the resort partly due to the fact that the park closed early on the day we were there (6:00 p.m.) for Halloween Time. If the park had stayed open later, then perhaps we would have considered staying at one of the resort hotels.
Originally Posted By Avrogadro Thanks Everyone. Will look into that accommodation. January doesn't sound that great so we will might try for December. How cold is COLD? We will be coming in from an Australian summer and expecting it to be cold but just want to be prapared.Will we need ski gear?
Originally Posted By u k fan I would've thought ski gear might be a bit over the top, but I'm coming in from a UK winter. I'd usually wear a winter coat, hat, gloves, scarf and be fine. I often wear thermal socks or similar as well. The average December temperature in Paris is between 2 and 7 degrees C with 16 wet days. It can go either way to be honest. I do love DLP at Christmas though!!!
Originally Posted By lesmisfan im glad someone asked this because I too am planning on going within the 2011 year. My mom and I were planning maybe in june in the beginning. Does anyone know how it is in paris/disneyland in june?
Originally Posted By leemac <<The average December temperature in Paris is between 2 and 7 degrees C with 16 wet days.>> Wow - I thought that the average was way below that - it always seems perishingly cold when I'm at DLP in December. <<Does anyone know how it is in paris/disneyland in june?>> Very nice - it is before the school vacations in Europe so the parks are very manageable plus the weather is okay (although rarely hot).
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Hmmmmm, I think the ave temps Kiz posted is over a very long period. The last few years seems more like it has been 2 - minus 12 C in December with snow in places. I'm with you Lee, I try not to go to Paris between Nov and Apr anymore, too cold for me. June can be good, we often go then for my wife and daughter's birthdays. It has been in the 80's with sunshine or in the 50's with rain, and sometimes that is in the same week. You never really know what you are going to get weather wise. However, as the European schools are still in session, the hours are short with the park sometimes closing as early as 7pm. The weekends it is open till 10pm, but the parks are so much more crowded. also there is limited entertainment. I used to love Christmas, but they trimmed the offerings down too much for my liking. Halloween is awesome, but very crowded. My fav time, though busy, is August where it feels a bit more like the american parks - more entertainment on the streets, park is open till 11pm, Fantillusion light parade and fireworks are on. Though it is busier, if you use fast passes, make sure you use EMH and are there at night, it can be fab. If you are interested in running from attraction to attraction, on a budget, and are not scared of the cold, then Jan and March (provided Easter is in April) can be good for crowds. Personally I rather allow more days with better weather and more entertainment. We will be going for Easter this year. It has been a long time since we have gone at that time of year, but should be interesting.
Originally Posted By Christi22222 Does anyone care to share more of what they know about Christmas at DLP? I had solid plans to go the end of June, but am now possibly needing to move it to Christmas. I was hoping it would be festive and fun, but you all are making it sound cold and not all that cheery. Is it like WDW where before Christmas the crowds are reasonable? What are the hours like? We are talking something like Dec 16 or there abouts.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Hmmm, 10 - 15 years ago I would say fine, they used to offer a special Christmas parade, fireworks and much more. Now there is the lovely little Mickey's Winter Wonderland where Mickey and Minnie ice skate together; Santa at the end of the parade, a tree lighting ceremony, and snow on Main Street. The big deal for most is the Fantillusion parade performs at night as long as it is not too icy or snowy. But beware, I am not sure what temps you are used to, but it can be sub 0 and nearly sold out at weekends. It is also one of the very most expensive times to go (whereas June is not, most European schools are in session). June can close as early as 6 or 7 during the week (10pm weekends - though the queues are monster at the weekends), whereas that time in December is more likely to be 8pm (but to be honest, we find it much too cold to be out much after dark). Others love the novelty of the cold. And a few years it has been fine with a sweater, good hat, double socks, gloves and scarf. The last couple of years it has been very snowy. Personally, if DLP is a main motivation, I would always advise the last week of August as being the very best time for a first trip.
