help me plan my hols!

[abbiesmith62681]

hi!

ive booked a holiday to dlp in october 2007! a long way off i know but the logic being my kids will be 3 and 4 and it'll be more fun for them! ive only ever been to disney world in florida before and my hubby has never experienced the magic yet, i really cant wait! obviously with my children being small can anybody help tell me the best places and attractions to visit?
ive just ordered the free paris dvd so im waiting for that but if anybody has any advice then itd be much appreciated!

abbie x

 

[ukmouse]

Hi Abbie,

We've just paid our final payment to go the second week in Jan 2007 for our third visit to Disneyland Paris, we've also been 3 times to Florida!

Before I ask you a few questions the main thing about DLP if you have already been to Florida is DLP is a lot smaller, the area of both parks is around the the size of Florida's Magic Kingdom.

Now a few questions (sorry!)-

i) How are you travelling?
ii) Where are you staying?
iii) When did you visit Florida?

Don't worry I'm sure your kids will love it & it might persuade your hubby to take you all back to Florida!

 

[abbiesmith62681]

hi,
thanks 4 replying!! dont be sorry 4 asking lol!

well firstly i'll be travelling by eurostar and using the luggage service so we can go straight into the parks!
secondly we are gonna stay in hotel cheyenne, (truth beknown me 3year old loves playing cowboys and indians and so thought this would be the ideal one!)
i visited Florida a whole 10 years ago on their 25th anniversary so im sure alot must have changed since!! lol!

i thought it would be alot smaller which in a way i am quite glad about because with the children being small it would have made it harder if there was too much walking around to do..

im thinking about booking to do the buffalo bill as it sounds like fun but im not 100% sure yet purely because of the kids sitting still!!

oh yeah and ive also booked a character breakfast!! more for the hubby than the kids lol! :sohappy:

thanks again for answering my cry for help!

 

[Philo]

The eurostar service is great! It takes a while but you go directly to the resorts. The Disneyland hotel, two parks and the Disney Village are litterally about a 2-5 minute walk from the station. There is also a bus station next to it which will get you to the rest of the resorts pretty quickly.

I havn't been to the cheyenne but like the rest of the parks you will be able to get round easily. It should only be a short walk to the resorts and some of that is though the Disney Village and round the lake which makes it nicer.

Definatly do the Buffalo Bill show, especially if the cowboy and indian thing is a hit with your kids! I had a great time and there we plent of kids around who were enjoying themselves too. There is quite a bit of audience participation so your kids (and you) will be able to shout and wave your arms around as much as you like. You don't get a choice of food (kids *might* get a different dish and there is a vegitarian option) so make sure you like chilli (very very mild). I wouldn't normally eat that kind of thing but I thought it tasted great.

All the attractions are made really well. Nearly all of them are in english or at least in dual language so you will know whats going on. Alot of the attractions are clones of popular attractions at Disney World so you will recognise some of them. Be sure to watch the parade in the MK. The song they use is fantastic (Dancin' a catch rhythm). Not sure if they use it anywhere else or not but put it with the floats and dancing and you have a great show!

The whole place is quite small but there is plenty to do. The number of retaurants around the parks and in the village are quite small but there is something for everyone. There is also a good sealife centre and outlet mall a few miles away which can be reached by train from the station in the resort so if you have a spare day it might be worth a visit. Visiting paris might be worth it too if you've never been but I bet the kids won't want to leave!

Just to warn you, it might be pretty cold in October. (depending on where you live). I visited in January and I don't think it ever got above 0 Celcsus. You hardly notice the cold but bring lots of warm clothing! In October though I think its more like 10 - 12 Celsius. If your cold you should go to the POTC ride, its a wonderful warm ride and the Blue lagoon restaurant is nice too (although I saw a mouse last time I was in there!)

Have a great time!

 

[marni1971]

What I will add is although the main Disneyland Parc (Magic Kingdom) attractions are clones, they were all redesigned from the blueprints up. Haunted Mansion (Phantom Manor), Big Thundermountain, PotC, IASW, even some of the Fantasyland Dark Rides are all far superior to the US versions.

And you say you think it`ll be a lot smaller.... wrong I`m afraid. Whilst you can walk from your hotel to the parks, Disneyland Parc itself is some 20-25% larger than the WDW Magic Kingdom. It is BIG! Take good shoes.

 

[abbiesmith62681]

now im really confused..... u have said that it is larger than magic kingdom yet a previous poster said that both disneyland park and walt disney studios are together smaller than magic kingdom..

so which is it???

 

[Philo]

I've never visited DW so I wouldn't really know the difference in size of the individual parks. I meant that the whole resort was small in comparison to the many, many square miles of DW.

I spent 4 days at DLP, more then half the time in the MK. It was VERY quiet (January) and most rides were walk on or less than 5 minute wait. We still had plenty to see and we never thought it was dull so its certainly not small, I had just heard that it was smaller then MK in DW.

I would listen to ukmouse rather than me .

Its also good the hear that the rides are clones by name and theme only, I will look forward to riding different versions in DW!

 

[abbiesmith62681]

Before I ask you a few questions the main thing about DLP if you have already been to Florida is DLP is a lot smaller, the area of both parks is around the the size of Florida's Magic Kingdom.

this is what i was referring to, not what you said philo!!

i myself, found that DW was that large that i never got chance to see it all at all the parks in the fortnight i was there as a teenager and im looking forward to DLP in the fact that i will be able to see it all. going for 6 nights so im sure i'll see it all and then some.. the main factor in my holiday is not the size of the parks at all although this seems to have been the main discussion!!

the main thing which i am focussing on is the suitability of many of the attractions for my 3 and 4 yr old boys. ive got a guide that highlights which age range things are aimed at but i wanted to know if anybody has any experience of visiting DLP with very small children.

 

[marni1971]

For the record, WDWs MK is 107 acres. DLPs Disneyland Parc is 140 acres.

For little kids, if they are not spooked, don`t miss Phantom Manor. Thundremountain may pull them on height. PotC is great fun, and they will spend ages exploring Adventure Isle. All attractions in Fantasyland are suitable, and they`ll probably enjoy Buzz Lightyear, probably Star Tours (height limit again) and maybe HISTA. Save Space Mountain for yourselves! It is superb, but not for children. There are also the stage shows they`ll like too.

In the studios, Animagique will be suitable, and they may enjoy the sheer scale of Cinemagique. Armageddon may be a bit too loud, but Moteurs Action! will be right up their street (!)

 

[ukmouse]

sorry for causing some confusion over the size of the parks.

Abbie - Marni has given you some good suggestions already - Don't forget the backlot tour & catastrophe canyon (should be ok for the small one's) a Cars ride is planned to open in 2007 which sounds ok for the kids again, it may be open by the time you arrive in Oct.

6 Days should be plenty of time for you to see everything at a leisurely pace

Couple of points the studios normally close at 6pm (caught us out the last time we went) and one thing I think the parks miss is fireworks every night - these seem only to be at holiday time (Xmas) and Nov 5th.

If you are visiting late Oct they normally theme the park Halloween style

I've uploaded some photo's from our visit in 2003 -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/94917997@N00/sets/72157594318448919/

 

[abbiesmith62681]

wow your photos are really good! i definately cant wait to go now. disneyland put on a show on oct 31st every year, its actually in the park once it has closed so we have purchased the tickets for that!

we have decided to change hotels, the other we picked has more to do there although it isnt one of the disney hotels its still on-site and isnt that much dearer! the second hotel we have chosen has an indoor pool and indoor childs play area so we think that it'd be better with the kids in the evening and its still linked by the shuttle bus so we arent losing really.

thanks for everyones input i really do appreciate you taking time out to offer me some advice! :kiss: