Fastpass Your Way

If you have visited any of the Disney theme parks before, you will be aware of the Fastpass system that is in place. It basically allows you, through use of your park ticket, to ensure that you will be able to ride or experience an attraction at a later time, with less of a wait than if you waited in line right now.

It can be a great timesaver, especially if you are with a large group of people or have small children. Fastpasses are available at all the Disney Parks worldwide, but the system in Paris is a little different. Can you notice it?Yes, you only have a half-hour amount of time to come back to your attraction compared to the hour at other theme parks. This doesn't make too much difference, but in my opinion it does mean you can be waiting a little longer in the Fastpass line than you would like.
My tip for any first-timers visiting Disneyland Paris - make sure to properly read your Fastpass time. And another unofficial tip, if you are slightly after your allocated time, they will usually allow you to ride the attraction anyway. Just be polite and apologetic.

Setting the Groundwork

If it is your first trip to a Disney Theme Park or Resort, or even if it is your hundredth trip, it is useful to do the groundwork beforehand. To get a feel for the parks and to take a note of the things that are a 'must see' for you and your companions. Part of the reason I started this blog was to allow people who are visiting Disneyland Paris, especially those from overseas, get an idea of what they want to see and do while they are there.

As we are approaching the main holiday season, I thought I would let you know some of the books that I have found very useful in preparing for various Disneyland Paris trips. There are not many books out there, so hopefully you can find this blog just as useful!

The first book I recommend is The Brit's Guide to Disneyland Resort Paris - I have the 2006-07 edition, but the most recent edition is 2010-11. This book is fantastic, with handy tip boxes aimed at the British population but really useful for all nationalities. There are fantastic pictures throughout too! My only negative is that the dining references are mixed in with the attractions - but this may have been changed in future editions. There is also information regarding visits to Paris itself.
Another book is in a handy pocket size, and is the AA Essential Disneyland Resort Paris guide. This is one of the more basic travel books, but is handy to keep in your pocket or bag when visiting the parks. There is a great chapter on excursions to Paris, and the dining in the parks is in a separate section, along with the shopping highlights.

A book that is to be released later in the year is the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland Paris. This one I am looking forward to, and will be reviewed once it has been released!

Helping Make Your Trips More Magical pt2

Following on from yesterday's tip, here's the rest of the question:

I would love any tips/tricks you can pass along since we will only have one day at DLRP and would love to see as much as possible. Do you know if we can utilize the get into the parks early if we stay at the Dream Castle? Also, should we make dining reservations? Restaurants you recommend, we would like one character meal? And, does the fastpass system work the same as at WDW? Do the castmembers frown on using the fastpass after the return time window?

Dining
The Royal Family haven't done any character dining at Disneyland Paris, because there isn't as many options as Walt Disney World, for example. There is Cafe Mickey in Downtown Disney which looks like a fantastic restaurant, and I know many people who have dined there and enjoyed it: http://www.dlpfoodguide.com/cafemickey.html. I would probably recommend this one - although the only downside is there is a lot of windows, and a lot of passers-by stop and stare and try to get the characters' attentions

Depending on your price range, there is a Cinderella dining experience in Fantasyland which I would love to do! The Auberge de Cendrillion has a lovely location, and equally nice-looking menu. This guide http://www.dlpfoodguide.com/specialevents2.html#EatWithCharacters will help you with your choice, I feel.

We also dined once at Walt's Restaurant on Main Street USA and it was a fantastic restaurant. I think with two teenage daugters you would enjoy it as well - each room is themed differently and the food was delicious too. The service was also lovely and a little more upmarket. We also love to eat at the Silver Spur Steakhouse in Frontierland - especially if you get a later reservation, you can see Frontierland empty and quiet at night!

Time In The Parks
Utilise the fastpass service if you are only there one day! Rides like Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain will get very busy, as well as Big Thunder Mountain and Peter Pan's Flight. If I remember correctly, none of the Fantasyland attractions have fastpass (Peter Pan doesn't), it is the 'big rides' - Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Indiana Jones (which is a rollercoaster), Rock N Rollercoaster (although the FP is hardly ever working), Tower of Terror.

If you venture into the Studios, Crush's rollercoaster does NOT have a Fastpass and it is VERY busy during the day! Waiting about 30 minutes is good and I would advise that - it's a great ride! The Tower of Terror is similar to California, but in French.

My one, main tip, would be to explore the parks (if it is busy and the attractions are busy) and to definitely do Pirates of the Caribbean - it is different to every other one. And the Phantom Manor (Haunted Mansion) and Big Thunder Mountain. All VERY different. To be honest, I haven't used the fastpass system very much, as I have been lucky to go at the quiet times. But the cast members are very good - the majority speak English (although I would advise to learn a couple of French phrases, as they are much nicer if you at least say 'hello' and 'how are you' in French. Some frown upon going up and speaking in English right away!) and I think they are relatively flexible with the fastpass (especially if you have a Cast Member who is, um, less than thrilled to be there!). But if you are going in May, unless it is a weekend, it should be an enjoyable and relatively quiet experience.

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!

Helping To Make Your Trip More Magical

We at DF'82 want to help people with their trips to Disneyland Paris - we understand that when you visit the Paris parks, especially from overseas, your time is limited and you want to make the most of your visit. It's easy to waste time on rides and attractions, when you could have easily visited them at another point and walked right on! It's also easily to completely overlook something that really should not be missed...

I previously had Chris from the fantastic Yet Another Disney Blog contact me with a few questions about his family's upcoming Disneyland Paris, and Europe, trip:

My wife and I are planning to spend a couple of days at Disneyland Paris next April, and we could use some advice on hotel options and travel logistics.

We will fly to/from Paris CDG airport. Our plan is to spend our first two nights near the Parc, then relocate to a hotel in Paris for the remainder of our stay.

So let us see what tips I can give them to help make their trip as magical as possible!

Flying Into Paris CDG Airport

This is the best airport to fly in to if you wish to get to the Disneyland Paris Resort area. There is actually a bus that runs direct to the hotels (both the Disney owned and the Neighbour hotels) from the airport terminals. VEA shuttle (http://www.vea-shuttle.co.uk/roissy-orly-disneyland.asp) is quick and convenient, and leaves every 20 minutes. The shuttle used to depart direct from each terminal, but now there is a shuttle bus that takes you to the actual VEA bus, so everyone is boarding the bus at the one stop. A good point to note is that a lot of European nationalities do not enjoy queuing - you will really need to watch your place in line and do not let anyone else push you about!

If there are only two of you, you're probably cheaper getting the shuttle. A one-way trip on the shuttle for an adult is €17, and €13 for children ages 3-11. You can buy your tickets on the shuttle (using credit cards is acceptable) or online (only for adult tickets). But a taxi is much more convenient, and better at busy times - on our last trip, the Royal Family (three of us) got a taxi and it was only about €10 more. But I think the shuttle is the best bet - it drops you right at the hotels!

Staying In And Around The Resort

With regards to staying near the Resort, there are Disney hotels and there are non-Disney hotels, all within close distance. The non-Disney hotels all provide shuttles to the Parks, as do the Disney ones. The four main Disney hotels are within walking distance. The Santa Fe, one of the cheaper Disney ones, also is within walking distance but a shuttle is slightly easier. I think the distance is about a 20 minute walk - and on early mornings, it can be very pleasant and refreshing. The Disney website is great and you can have a look at different resorts, including those which are in the area but not Disney owned: http://hotels.disneylandparis.co.uk/.

If you have any questions about your trip - or a possible trip - to Disneyland Paris, please email me!

Tips for Disneyland Paris

As part of my aim to bring as much information about Disneyland Paris as possible to the DF'82 pages, I am going to open up the 'floor' to questions from YOU, the loyal reader.

I may not be a fountain of knowledge, but I do have the means and the experience to help you plan the BEST Disneyland Paris trip you can! And so, if you have any questions about the Parks or the Paris area in general, please get in touch with me and I will try to help.

Because of this, I will post some of my tips and tricks on visiting the Disneyland Resort in Paris, what I found helpful and what I think can help first time visitors. So, if you have any queries or questions email me here.