Disneyland Paris in April

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Last post: 13/03/2014 at 10:14 pm

Hi.  We are heading to stay in New York hotel at start of April.  I just wondered if anyone had stayed here before and what it's like.  

Also whether should book half board and if so standard or plus?   Also any restaurants you recommend.   Our daughters are 5 & 6.  So guessing the princess dinner would be good but it's quite expensive.  We are taking our 2 year old son who I am a little nervous about as he not very patient (for queues or being in buggy!!!

Also what time are the night parAdes?   Not sure kids would cope tiredness wise if awake for magic hours and parades at night?   What time should we do tea?

I'd appreciate any help and advice please.  We are very excited.   But want this to be perfect as prob won't go again.  

Many thanks

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hi, would just like to say that we too are going to Disneyland Paris in April. i have searched and searched for tips!! we are not staying in the same hotel and previously i have stayed in the cheyenne so can't advise on that...

i am planning on avoiding the usual meal times when the restaurants will be busy, so will aim to have an early dinner each night. i assume this will work out better as the day will be long and tiring and we'll probably be ready for dinner at this time... probably each light for lunch, dinner about 4.30/5 (my daughter is 2 and so will want to eat earlier anyway) and then we will have snacks later on. This will also give us plenty of time to find a good spot for the parade. one of us will keep the spot while the other one wanders through shops to keep DD busy until it starts! :roll:

i recommend downloading the official Disneyland Paris app on your phone/ipad. you can get it on android too (that's what i have) it tells you where everything is, from character meeting points, rides, shops, restaurants, where the shows are, opening times and waiting times for rides, where to get on/off the little train that takes you around the park and also where the first aid points/toilets are! very handy!! it gives you the option to make your own agenda where you can add your favourites and make a bit of a plan for what you want to do while there.

there is an option to leave luggage at the station and have it taken to your hotel for you when you get there if you want to hit the parks straight away. there is a fee, not sure on price...
check what is available in your room and what deposits are needed for facilities such as kettle, hairdryer... i am planning on just taking a little travel kettle with me in our case and some teabags etc. they may provide this already in hotel New York...

there are tonnes on tips on DLRP Magic! - Disneyland® Paris at the click of a mouse! including restaurants. there is something for every budget.

character meals seem a great idea. i have heard it can get very busy so again try and avoid the busiest meal times! i think if u have the premium food plan cafe mickey is included, otherwise you may have to pay a bit extra on top of your food plan. we are going without a food plan and plan on spending a little extra to have the cafe mickey breakfast instead of in hotel one morning. we may do the dinner instead, not decided yet. have heard the food is not great and so we are just wanting to go for the experience with characters. seems more sensible paying less and just going at breakfast BUT they may have less characters at breakfast... tricky. the other option of the princess dinner sounds brilliant. you won't get all of the princesses but you get a few and good interaction. i think they dance with you! food should be a lot better there too for the price you pay... too expensive for us :( but i hope to go again when my daughter is older and perhaps go for her birthday :)

i think when we go we will just go with the flow but if i can organise as much as i can before we go i will feel a bit more relaxed. i can imagine the stress with having several kids! i'm worrying how my DD will be when we go as she can be a complete menace lately with 'terrible twos' haha! :roll:

there is a petrol station near sante fe from what i have heard which is handy for snacks and much cheaper than in the park...

take bottles with you to fill at fountains.

i recommend a bum bag for your phone/camera/money etc

reins may be a good idea for your son.

make the most of the fastpass option on rides to avoid queueing and also the baby swap option so that both you and your partner can ride the larger rides and take turns without having to queue twice...

look online for the best viewing spots for the shows. you can find pictures that people have colour coded to see where is the best place to stand for dreams etc, print and take with you!

pochos are not the best looking things but weigh nothing and take up barely any room so ideal in case it rains which it may well do in April!

i am stressed planning our trip, but very excited :biggrinbounce[1]:!!

have a great time!! i will post again if i think of anything else x
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There is a huge shopping centre one stop away on the train. about 5 euros return. great if there is anything you have forgotten to take with you and the supermarket is ideal for cheaper snacks and bits to nibble in your room or the trip back home after your hol. there are clothes shops, restaurants. everything. it's called val d'europe. doesn't take long to get there. handy to know as you may get there and realise that you could all do with another layer of clothing, toiletries, pull ups for your tot or something... xx
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Thank you so much for this.  I really really appreciate it.  Loads of great tips.  Thank you. X

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if you want a budget lunch/dinner one day and don't want to eat mcdonalds, i have heard that earl of sandwich is reasonable and they look like they have a great selection or sandwiches and hot paninis etc...

also the buggies that you hire and not only expensive to be getting one each day, but very simple and not so comfy... they don't recline so definitely take your own pencil buggy so your son can have a snooze during the day :)

how are you traveling? have you thought about taking aquadoodle? no mess drawing to keep kids busy on train/plane!
you can get brilliant disney sticker books from costco which are rrp £10 but are selling for £5. loads of stickers and pages in which you make scenes, ideal to keep them all busy for a bit. maybe add in some white board pens and they can draw on pages too (they are shiny like laminate...)

get the kids bum bags too so they can carry their own snacks and autograph books and can access them without bothering you! i have heard that the best pen to take for autographs is a clickable sharpy permanent pen. the character can click it on themselves and no smudges like felt tips...looks better than biro too.

if you want to take presents for the kids buy at disneystore here and hide them in case. you pay so much more there for the same things in Disneyland so buy things here before you go... unless you want something which you can only get there such as something with ''Disneyland Paris'' written on it... i have heard that the princess dresses are about 60+ euros!! Asda have some great Disney dress up outfits for £12.50. i got my daughter the rapunzel one. it's gorgeous and she wears it every day without fail haha!!

i think they have popcorn carts during parades. i may be wrong... but i think you can get refills and so keep hold of any buckets you buy! also keep hold of receipts from counter service stalls as you sometimes get a free hot drink with your receipt!

pin badges are a nice idea for the kids. again look on ebay before you go as you are looking at about 6 euros per badge in disneyland. lanyards can also be bought new on ebay for a couple of pounds. they can collect the badges and then trade with other guests and staff. i think this is probably more common in disneyland/world USA but i am going to get some badges for DD. she'll feel special having them hanging around her neck! lol

i have been researching for AGES for our trip, so i hope i have been some help and sorry for offloading so much... xx
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Thank you SO much for all this.  Feeling very spoilt that you are researching it all and we are benefitting!   Thank you x

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lynne S(12)
Hi there

We went last year with dd4 and dd8. Had a fab time :) we paid half board standard and were pleased we did. We used it more as a bank so we knew that food was paid for. With the vouchers you can use them in any restaurant for their face value so u r not only tied to the restaurants listed as standard ones. Our favourite restaurant was cafe mickey.... Kids loved all the characters, definitely book this before u go as when we were there it was fully booked and anyone without a booking was turned away. We found eating a gd breakfast at the hotel and an earlyish tea about 4.30 worked well and then bought snacks at lunchtime.

The nightime fireworks are fab ... Make sure you see them at least once! It will depend what time it gets dark and park closing as to what time they are on. Kids will love the parades .... It's well worth having a waterproof picnic blanket or something they can sit on if its wet as then they can sit on the edge of the path to wait for parades.

Have fun :)

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Manon R
We went last Summer and stayed at the New York. While there is no fridge in the room there is an icecube machine on the floor and we took a small cooling back, filled it overnight and could keep things like yoghurt fresh for the day in the park.

Drinks and snacks are very expensive. Take a lot from home, we brought water bottles, dry snacks, fresh fruit and it was a godsend.

Set yourself a limit for gifts. The shops are full with gorgeous things but they are very expensive, especially the dress up dresses, they are nearly €70. DD had a bit of money from a sale of pre-school toys and we doubled it. Buy on the last day so you know exactly what is on offer and let them mull about it.

We ate 2x at the Kind Ludwig castle. I think it is one of the slightly better ones. They are expensive and children's menu is full of chips and junk. Make a reservation, you will need it. In the park the "Toad" Restaurant, looks like a pub, is nice. It seems like junk but the fish and chips were great. Go before the main feeding hours or you queue a lot.

The DLRP website is great, we found lots of small details before we went.

You will have the magic hours and use them. The park is quite and while not all the rides are open it is worth it. We actually went back to the hotel after lunch for a nap - my 5 year old napped for 2 hours -  and then went back for the parade and dinner. We didn't do the night one though.

For queuing, DD actually took a couple of books and read -:)
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We have just returned from staying at the New York hotel at disney Paris.
Firstly I must say we were very impressed with the hotel overall, definitely a good 4 star hotel, clean tidy, good resturants, services are great, rooms well equipped, beds are changed each day and towels.

We had the half board plus and I would recommend this option as you get to choose from more resturants.
I would recommend booking the resturants before you go as they do get booked up and you may find you can't get a table.
The steak house is fab, cafe Mickey is good for meeting lots of characters but the food and service is very poor.
The hotel resturant is nice but not many options for the kids, however they have a Buffett resturant that is excellent with lots of choice for the kiddies and great quality food.
The rainforest cafe is worth a visit, it's amazing although very expensive, would cost around 80 euro for a family of 5 as you can't use your half board vouchers here.
The hotel buffet breakfast is also excellent, you can fill up and would only need a snack for lunch, they have hot food such as bacon, sausage and scrambled egg, cereal, fruit, pastries, cold meats, yoghurts, fresh juices.

Around 8.30 they have characters come to the hotel for photographs and the que for this was always reasonable, unlike in the park where you can que for ages!

The parade is 5 daily and it's just amazing, the firework show is also amazing and this is 8pm

Some rides do fast passes, so you don't have to que as long.

If I was you I would plan your rides and have an itinerary for the day so you get the most out of your days.

For the parades, get your place half hour before, as otherwise you don't get a good view, same for the evening fireworks.

Take snacks with you as already said, this will save you a fortune, take a bottle of squash and drink cups as this will save you a fortune on drinks.

If you don't do the parade every day then use this time to go on the popular rides as the ques tend to be quieter as most are watching the parade.

The best advice I can give is plan, plan, plan, it will make your trip so much smoother and ensure you get the best from it.

Also as you are staying in a disney hotel, you get to enter the park 2 hours earlier than the public, this is worth doing although bear in mind some rides don't open until 10.

Set a budget for each child for the gift shops, if your not buying dress up outfits (these are very expensive) then 50 euro per child will get them a decent toy plus a few smaller bits.

Enjoy your trip, you will have an amazing time
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Thank you for this info!   All brilliant.   Thank you for time and trouble.  Really grateful.   Katie x

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Can't find your answer?
We got home last night,been there since friday. so happy to answer questions.
My 'children are aged 18 and 22 and still were worn out!
At the weekend the park closes at 10pm! but fantasy land shuts about 9pm ready for the light show which starts at 10.Week days shuts at 8pm and show is then at 8. with fantasy land closing at 7.
magic hours -nice idea, but as everyone at the hotels is allowed in, and not all rides open, its still busy. We did find that the queueing times were often less than it said. we never bothered with fast pass-we saw people queueing to get a fast pass ticket at Peter pans when the advertised queueing time was 25 minutes, but it only took us 15 mins to get on. Buzz was similar -though once fast passes start being let in the queueing was closer to what they said.
To meet characters its best at the hotel or in the studios. Only queue at the princess pavilion if you are desperate. They won't tell you who is there, and its hot and slow - no idea what goes on, we just had the photo and left(my 18 year old was desperate  to meet Rapunzel!). But people were litterally sitting on the floor in the queue and then crawling when the queue moved! we were  lucky, when we eventually got to our turn they said they were just changing over, my daughter asked who to and then asked who was going and they said Rapunzel- didnt take much persuading to get her to wait just for the photo, would have been so annoying to have missed her. they had 2 at once but you only see one, the other was Aurora (no idea).
Food queues were bad, and I mean bad, and more expensive than you can imagine. Fill up on breakfast and try and last on snacks that you take with you.There is a little shop at the station thats a little cheaper. Or as been suggested,t  pop to Val d-europe. One stop on the train, then about 5 min walk to supermarket. much easier. probably quicker than queuing to buy chips and burgers. Even mcdonalds was manic and more expensive than usual. Food was only negative, so little choice and so over priced.
Park busiest saturday and wednesday.personally found evenings the nicest. The light show can be seen easily as long as people dont put kids on their shoulders then stand directly infront of you. We never waited for it (some people got their spot an waited and hour),we watched from the sides as you come out of adventure land, having been on pirates with no queue.
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Andrea H(60)

We got back last week from a 4 night stay at the Sequoia Lodge. We loved Disneyland Paris, and will be going back in 2 or 3 years time - my excuse is that DD2 is only 23 months so she won't remember the trip!

You've had loads of good advice, and I don't have much time just now, but I just wanted to say that if you chose Half Board Plus meal vouchers you can use them in Cafe Mickey for a 3 course set menu (with choices for each course) including one soft drink. The food was delicious, both the adults and the children, the service was good and of course the children loved all the characters who visited the table (Donald Duck, Gepetto, Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale).

We visited at 12pm on a Friday, our last day, before catching the Eurostar home (which left at 16:55). The restaurant was not full, so people who had not booked were able to get in.
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Ooh- sorry - just seen these - thank you so much for tips- they are SO useful and help to build the excitement!!   Thank you x

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JO F(122)
What's the best hotel on a budget
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