FIRST TRIP?!?! NEED SOME ADVICE!

[WDW_Emily]

Looking for some advice! I have never been to DLP before but am going to Dublin Ireland for a week (from the USA) and thought about taking a flight over and spending two days at DLP. I would be traveling solo for this trip so any tips and/or tricks I would love to know! I have traveled to WDW in Florida solo before a loved it! But I know very little about DLP tips on hotels, must-dos, getting to the park, if two days are enough time (would arrive around 9am and leave around 8pm the second day).

 

[marni1971]

2 days would be a good taste but still a whistle stop tour.

Would you plan to stay on site?

 

[Jordan dby]

First piece of advice is to stay on site, disney hotels are relatively cheap compared to American parks.

Queues for characters are horrendous despite a frankly bizarre selection: stitch, max, queen of hearts are regulars. If you want to meet mickey or a princess (one, random) you are guaranteed to wait an hour and maybe 2. In a disney hotel you will get a character a day generally a short queue.

best advice is generally focus on shows and expect a lot of walking, the rides are good but there is less choice than the American parks. France does better for park beauty and live shows (imo).

 

[Swissmiss]

Unpopular opinion here, but I would say to look at hotels in Val d’Europe. Much cheaper and many have shuttle service to the parks. Personally I can no longer justify the cost of the DLP hotels when I know how quick and easy it is to get from Val d’Europe to DLP.

You don’t say what time of year or what days of the week you will be visiting, but as a solo traveler you can accomplish quite a bit in 2 days. Make sure to take advantage of all the single rider lines, with maybe the exception of Crush’s Coaster - it can sometimes be just as long as the regular line.

 

[LondonTom]

2 Days is plenty if a little rushed!

Big Thunder, Phantom Manor, Pirates and maybe Tower of Terror are the only real absolute must-dos for rides. Otherwise, concentrate on the shows and get on the other rides when you can.

On-site I think makes sense, especially if you only need it for one/two nights, you could even go with Santa Fe (unless its the height of Summer, as it only has a ceiling fan), its really not that bad a walk to the parks! The Extra Magic Hour in the morning is handy, especially to get through Fantasyland before the crowds arrive.

 

[Kevin_W]

Unpopular opinion here, but I would say to look at hotels in Val d’Europe. Much cheaper and many have shuttle service to the parks. Personally I can no longer justify the cost of the DLP hotels when I know how quick and easy it is to get from Val d’Europe to DLP.

Not unpopular with me - that's what what we did on each of our trips. I found the Disney hotels to actually be far more expensive than their US counterparts when I checked.

 

[marni1971]

Not unpopular with me - that's what what we did on each of our trips. I found the Disney hotels to actually be far more expensive than their US counterparts when I checked.

Book far enough in advance and you can get some very good prices. We have Sequoia coming soon, booked last summer for around $250 a night (including park hoppers for 4 days)

 

[Kevin_W]

Book far enough in advance and you can get some very good prices. We have Sequoia coming soon, booked last summer for around $250 a night (including park hoppers for 4 days)

Interesting. When I looked for our March trip, Sequoia was >$300/night through Orbitz (no tickets). It was even more during our Christmas trip, while we stayed in an apartment in Serris for <$150/night.

Maybe deals with tickets work out better, but it didn't seems so when we booked. And since we ended up buying AP's anyway a ticket package wasn't for us.

 

[marni1971]

Interesting. When I looked for our March trip, Sequoia was >$300/night through Orbitz (no tickets). It was even more during our Christmas trip, while we stayed in an apartment in Serris for <$150/night.

Maybe deals with tickets work out better, but it didn't seems so when we booked. And since we ended up buying AP's anyway a ticket package wasn't for us.

I should have added we booked direct with DLP

 

[Swissmiss]

I should have added we booked direct with DLP

I think the UK might get better deals than other countries, because even with an AP discount the prices are just too high for me.

I have now stayed several times at the same hotel in Val d’Europe, there is a small kitchen in every room (in an entrance hallway so separated from the room itself) and they have an on-call shuttle bus. I used to love staying at the Newport but I can pay much less and have much more in this other hotel. And having an AP, I can still take advantage of early entry.

 

[WDW_Emily]

Thank you all! To answer a few questions that came up
- It would be in late April.
-Santa Fe seems to be a good option. I'm getting a rate of around $500 for 1 night and a 2-day ticket.
- Any specific offsite hotels to look into?
- I saw a dining option. Is this worth it or can I just quick service my way around?

 

[Swissmiss]

Thank you all! To answer a few questions that came up
- It would be in late April.
-Santa Fe seems to be a good option. I'm getting a rate of around $500 for 1 night and a 2-day ticket.
- Any specific offsite hotels to look into?
- I saw a dining option. Is this worth it or can I just quick service my way around?

Late April is still school holidays in France so just be forewarned.

You can look into Relais Spa Val d’Europe or Hôtel l’Elysee Val d’Europe. The first one is the one I stay in most and if you sign up for their fidelity program (free) you will get a better rate than what is posted (discount won’t show until you are booking). It has an on-call shuttle to/from the parks The second one also has a shuttle to the parks, but it might be on a schedule. There are even less expensive options in Val d’Europe but these are the only 2 I have stayed in and I can recommend both.

Since you have such a short time, I would say just quick service your way around and it looks like they have finally added mobile ordering to the app. Speaking of the app, make sure you have a portable charger with you. The only time I get down to less than even 20% in a day is when I am at DLP (I don’t think that even happened at WDW last summer).

 

[marni1971]

Given your short window I’d recommend Santa Fe - usually the cheapest official hotel and you can maximise your time. Stay in the park until you’re kicked out, then breakfast at 7 and be at the park for 815 for EMH.

I’d tend to agree with Swissmiss - go for QS in the park again due to time. It’s likely to be a busy time if kids are off but park hours should be long.

 

[Jordan dby]

Disney hotels as a room only are a rip off bit usually when I've got quotes for room+parks they've effectively worked out free after the full price cost of tickets.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Hôtel l’Elysee is excellent and very close by. Cheap too.

 

[Henry Mystic]

I wrote up a post here if you're interested.

Hope that helps!

 

[gerarar]

2 days is plenty to do a lot!

I did a solo day at the parks this past July (and on Bastille Day mind you) and I did almost all the rides between DLP and WDS. Only ones I didn't do were spinners, carousel, and TSL rides. Avengers Campus wasn't open then, so that probably helped with my planning.

I only got a Premiere Pass for BTMR since it had like an hour+ wait and didn't really feel like waiting that long. Return time was instant upon purchasing. Also got a reservation for Mickey and the Magician show, which was so worth it.

WDS becomes very empty in its last hour or two, hence I was able to do their unique ToT like 6 times back to back within a short span. Not sure how this plays now with Avengers Campus however.

Waits across the parks weren't that bad at all despite the holiday. I thought I was gonna have to get the Premiere Access Ultimate, but didn't had to at all. The only thing that really felt crowded and a mess was the fireworks at the end of the day. Main Street was a mess and there wasn't any crowd control happening at the time, so hopefully things changed since then.

After all that, I took the train back to Paris then Uber to my hotel. It was very exhausting, especially since I landed in Paris that early morning and was jet-lagged, but that's what happens when you park hop like 7+ times in a single day lol.