Disneyland Paris Half Marathon

Swissmiss

Premium Member
Yeah, that jives with what @Swissmiss had said, but it hadn't opened earlier when I looked. But the stay + bib is up now, surprised at the time though. Seem to recall you guys registering pre 7AM EST last time.

@dreamfinder - My experience (in general) with anything at DLP is that things get posted/websites get updated when they do, and not necessarily as of a specific time - as long as a pre-announced date is respected. I remember years ago, really wanting to be certain to get a dinner reservation at the castle on a particular day and time, calling the day reservations opened - the woman more or less laughed at me for being so "organized".

I had looked earlier this morning (here in Europe) and bookings were not yet open; the email about it came shortly before I left work.

So I take it you are considering it for next year?
 

Swissmiss

Premium Member
For any DLP AP holders, even though the website indicates no special package deals for AP holders, when I called a few weeks ago to register for the DLP half I was told to hold off until AP rates came out in a few more days. Sure enough, I called back a week or so later and was able to book a room with the AP discount but still register for the race now (as opposed to waiting when bib only registration opens up and perhaps not having as much choice on hotel).
 

surfsupdon

Well-Known Member
I am so close to signing up. Maybe fly into London, enjoy a day, Eurostar into Paris, check in and stay for a couple nights, run a half, and fly home.

Sound good?
 

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
I am so close to signing up. Maybe fly into London, enjoy a day, Eurostar into Paris, check in and stay for a couple nights, run a half, and fly home.

Sound good?

Sounds excellent. All but the flying part....
 

Texas84

Well-Known Member
I am so close to signing up. Maybe fly into London, enjoy a day, Eurostar into Paris, check in and stay for a couple nights, run a half, and fly home.

Sound good?

Sounds fun. Wish I would have thought of that last year. Anything to avoid De Gaulle.
 

surfsupdon

Well-Known Member
Sounds fun. Wish I would have thought of that last year. Anything to avoid De Gaulle.
I would be flying home de gaulle. Is that a big no-no?

If you ran last year, please give me tips. I will be staying onsite at Disney for a couple nights. I saw I need a medical waiver. What else?
 

Swissmiss

Premium Member
@surfsupdon - if you do decide to fly to London and Eurostar down, I'd suggest doing it directly to DLP and not to Paris (these are two different trains routes). Unless you are planning to stay directly in Paris a night or two, you'd need to change trains twice to get to DLP. Without luggage it's manageable but with luggage it's a real drag, plus it adds time to the trip. Also, the earlier you book the cheaper the train ticket will be. Beware though, I don't think there are daily direct Eurostar trains London to DLP. If not, you can do the Eurostar to Lille and then the TGV to DLP; the change of train is in the same station so it is MUCH easier than changing in Paris.
 

Texas84

Well-Known Member
I would be flying home de gaulle. Is that a big no-no?

If you ran last year, please give me tips. I will be staying onsite at Disney for a couple nights. I saw I need a medical waiver. What else?

If you fly coach get there early, early, early and early. They only had two people working passport control and people were missing their flights. Business flyers have a priority line. The airport is U-G-L-Y. It was such a relief to get into the Delta concourse.

Except for the airport, everything was great. Just felt like Disney to me. The Disney airport bus worked really well but you can also take the TGV right to Downtown Disney. No problem with the language. They cater to the Brits so English is everywhere. I even met CMs from Germany and the USA. Just know three keys: Pardon (excuse me), thank you (merci) and good morning/day (bon jour). I was told they appreciate this.

On the medical waiver they asked for a stamp but we don't do that. For the US we used a doctor ID number. Your doctor knows what this is. Hopefully this is detailed on the web site because it confused a lot of runners.

You might read some articles on how bad the food is. These are old articles. The food is good. Not great, good.

If you have questions there are a few of here who ran it last year. Great weather, fun fast flat course.
 

surfsupdon

Well-Known Member
Thank you both! Great detail. I studied French in HS and minored in college, so I am pretty decent. I was set to study abroad mid Sept 2001 in France...that did not work out. This race may be my ticket to getting me there.

The Eurostar tip from London to DLP was great. Thanks. 2 days seem good for DLP? Or 3? I had a 4 day tix for my first time in Cali but that was more than enough.
 

Swissmiss

Premium Member
It depends; I seem to recall from other posts that you are a lot more athletic and faster than me, so if one of the days is Sunday, you'd be likely to make it to park opening (well, provided you shower as fast as you run ;)) because the race starts at 7:00 am, so 2 days could be ok, I wasn't park ready until I'd taken a recovery nap and had a meal, so I don't think we got to the park until 3 pm (lunch service was SLOW on top of me not being ready until 1:30ish).

Under normal circumstances, I'd say 2 days is enough, but weekends are way more crowded than weekdays at DLP, and it's amazing how much more crowded it gets post-lunchtime on Saturdays and Sundays. Last year we walked on nearly everything we rode on Friday in the Magic Kingdom (I took a picture of the 5 minute wait for Peter Pan!!) but Saturday in the Studios was much more crowded (to be fair, we got a pretty late start because of the kids races, so this year we'll do the 5K on Friday evening instead).

If you book online with DLP it automatically adds tickets for your arrival and departure dates; apparently if you call you can now request a room only price. The price difference can be significant depending on length of stay; for friends of mine (family of 4) tickets was nearly 50% of their race package quote because it was it was adding 5 days' tickets whereas we know we'll go maximum 3 days in the parks (arriving too late and leaving too early to use those days). In the end I was able to add them as a second room under my annual pass discount and as it gets closer we'll look to see what sort of ticket deals might be going on and if none at least there is the pass discount.

If you do make a phone call to ask about room prices, make sure to ask about the price of a standard room, as they will often only quote you one of the more expensive rooms (like "lake view") unless you specifically ask if there is a cheaper room available.
 

Swissmiss

Premium Member
Not really - there are others in the DLP threads that know a lot more than me! But I'm assuming that they'll continue the celebration all year because from memory that is what they did for the 20th.
 

Texas84

Well-Known Member
Thank you both! Great detail. I studied French in HS and minored in college, so I am pretty decent. I was set to study abroad mid Sept 2001 in France...that did not work out. This race may be my ticket to getting me there.

The Eurostar tip from London to DLP was great. Thanks. 2 days seem good for DLP? Or 3? I had a 4 day tix for my first time in Cali but that was more than enough.

I would say three, two for the Disneyland Park, one for Studios. I also did the pre-race party at Studios and Rat was a walk-on.

The 25th started in March. I would think it will still be going on. But don't know for sure.
 

Mad Stitch

Well-Known Member
2 days seem good for DLP? Or 3?
I had a 3 day ticket and that was more than enough. I went to DL Park on the Friday of race weekend and walked onto everything. I even went on the big name attractions multiple times. Satruday and Sunday did get busier. Disney Studios Paris is tiny. The resorts have complimentary bus transportation to the parks, but they are not really needed. Even the furthermost resort is within walking distance (except for their version of Fort Wilderness) and it's probably quicker to walk by the time you add in the wait time for a bus.
 

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