Helping Make Your Trip More Magical pt1

We have another question from an avid reader with regards to a future visit to Disneyland Paris! Let's have a look at the question:

We will be going on the DCL Mediterranean Cruise in May and we will be stopping in to Paris for a few nights. We plan on staying near Disneyland and taking the train in to see the sights in Paris for one day and then staying at Disneyland Paris for one day. We will be flying from Nice to Paris in the evening, what is the easiest way to get to Disneyland Paris from CDG airport? Also, we have an early flight out when we leave (like 6am) so we thought we would stay at a hotel closer to the airport on the last night--how late do the trains run from Disneyland Paris to CDG?

Do you have recommendations on hotels around Disneyland Paris? Right now, we are looking at staying at Dream Castle. We are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 teenage girls.

This is only the first part of our questions for this reader - so let's have a look at the tips so far:

Getting to Disneyland Paris
In the last tip section I discussed the shuttle bus, so let's look at the train. The train station is very conveniently located near the entrance to the Disneyland Park. It is also right next to the bus station, so if you are staying at any of the Disney hotels or the neighbour hotels, you can get a shuttle bus with your luggage (for free). The train takes about 10 minutes, so it's possibly one of the best options on getting from the airport too! Ar present, the last train departing to Disneyland Paris (Marne-la-Vallee) is approx 21:55 and the last from Disneyland Paris is 22:19 (this is a great article regarding buying tickets and getting the train from CDG http://parisbytrain.com/tgv-train-cdg-to-eurodisney/).

Getting In To Paris
It's extremely easy to get to Paris from the Disneyland Resort - just get your tickets at the train station (either from a machine, or a kiosk if you want one of the 'all day travel' tickets), It takes about 40 minutes to get to Paris, and trains leave every 15 minutes. The last train from Gare du Lyon is 0:39 to Disney, but I wouldn't suggest to be on the train that late at night!

Hotels In And Around Disney
I love staying at the hotels in Disney because you can get your park tickets with the hotel package and that means you can visit the parks from the moment you check in, until the day you leave the parks! On recent trips we have stayed at the Sequoia Lodge, which is in a great location (about a 10-15 minute walk to the parks), but the Newport Bay is a great one too (both are the cheaper of the 'close' hotels). There's the Santa Fe hotel, which is a cheaper one, like Pop Century, but I feel if you are accustomed to Disney World Value Resorts, you will notice this one as being a lot cheaper 'feeling' (due to European hotels).

I haven't stayed in any of the 'neighbour' hotels, but the Dream Castle looks like a great choice! As I mentioned earlier, there is a free shuttle bus to take you to the parks and it drops off at the bus station, which is right next to the train station. This would make it much easier for arrival, and for your time in Paris! I am not sure if you can get into the parks early when staying at the Dream Castle. I tried to do my research, and nowhere tells you if non-Disney hotels allow early morning entry in the parks. I am going to say no, but maybe check with the hotel in this case. The Disney hotels have characters in them also - they have a times guide in each resort telling you the early mornings for hotel guests and when characters will be around too.

Check back tomorrow for the rest of the tips!