1st trip to DLP & France- suggestions for order of travel

dolewhipdreams

Counting days until my next Dole Whip
Joined
Feb 24, 2017
Hello from the US! My husband and I are planning our first trip to both France & DLP. It will be 30 Aug- 9 September 2019 (most likely- we may shift by a day or so). Taking out the days required to fly to/from the US, it looks like we will have 9 days total. I think I've narrowed down the areas we would like to see:

Paris (2 days)
DLP (3 days)
French alps (2 days)
Riviera (2 days)

Right now I'm thinking of going in the order listed above, but I wanted to see if anyone had input on a better order. I think we will be flying in and out of Paris no matter the order (we live in a small city in the US and flights to/from anywhere in France other than Paris create a 30+ hour travel period).

Thanks all!

EDIT:
Thanks to all of your suggestions, I decided to remove the alps portion of the trip so here's my newest (rough) itinerary:

Paris (2.5 days)
DLP (3 days)
Riviera (2.5 days)
 
Last edited:
How do you plan to travel to the alps and riviera? It's quite a distance

Indeed that would be first to know. As 9 days is not a lot with travelling between Paris/DLP and Alps/Riviera.
I would suggest to go by plane to Marseille, rent a car and drive by the Riviera, pass St. Tropez, Cannes and Nice and from there drive on to the Alps.

Either do: Paris, DLP, Riviera, Alps or start in the South: Riviera, French Alps, Paris, DLP.
 


@olafLover and @Karin1984 I was looking at the high speed train to get us from place to place. I would prefer not to fly within the country.

Would the TGV be an option?

Sure, according to Googlemaps ;-)
Gare du Lyon in Paris - Marseille takes about 3 hours with TGV.
Then you are already on the Riviera. Cities like Cannes or Nice can be reached by train as well, but these are not (all) highspeed. So that also takes about 2.5 - 3 hours.

For the French Alps, it depends a bit where you want to go, the mountains closest to the Riviera aren't reachable by train, as far as I can check. The center of the French Alps (Bourg St. Maurice) is, but that's 6.5 hours away by train from Marseille.
 
I’m not set 100% on seeing the Alps. My husband loves the mountains and the closest ones to where we live are a 10 hour drive away, so I’m trying to see some sort of mountain range. Would the Pyrenees be a better option since they are much closer to Marseille?
 


I’m not set 100% on seeing the Alps. My husband loves the mountains and the closest ones to where we live are a 10 hour drive away, so I’m trying to see some sort of mountain range. Would the Pyrenees be a better option since they are much closer to Marseille?

Not trying to sound mean, I would advise take a look at a map of France. :) Maybe you should revise your plans a little as the things you want are not really close together. And you will lose a lot of time travelling. Of course the travelling by train gives you the opportunity to see the countryside, but that's not really visiting a country :). I would skip one of the four plans.

Below a map with the mountain regions.
Not sure if it helps, but to give you a sense of how big (or in US eyes, how little) France is. France is a tad smaller than Texas.

As you see: Marseille is not exactly closer to the Pyrenees than to the Alps.
From Paris the TGV could take you to Perpignan (about 6 hours), which is close to the Pyrenees. If you then want to go to Marseille for the Riviera, you could do that also by train which is about 4 hours.

If you skip the Riviera, and want to focus on the mountains, you could also look into going to Mulhouse, this is nearest to Vosges area, in the North West near the German border. You can reach this city by TGV from Paris in 3 hours.


france-physical.jpg
 
honestly you are going to lose a day to travel each time you move location. And I would also skip going to the Alp and any mountains and just do Paris, Disneyland Paris and the South of France.

31 August
So say you land at CDG at 10am on 31 August. Landing means plane wheels touch the ground. For transatlantic flights it can take 90 minutes from the time the wheels touch the ground to the time you are actually leaving the airport to travel to your destination. The plane takes 20 minutes to move from the runway to the airport terminal building. Then you have a 10 to 15 minutes wait while they attach the walkway, open the doors and people start moving. Then you have to walk from the plane to the baggage reclaim area, wit for for you bags. Then you have to go to security check and get your passport stamped. Then you have to walk out into the arrivals concourse and find your way to your transport of choice, either train, bus or taxi.

You will then have another 90 minutes between the time you leave the airport to the time you actually close the door in your hotel room and sit on your bed. This includes finding your transport of choice, the travel time, and then the check in at the hotel.

So a 10am landing in CDG actually means 2.30pm ok close the hotel room door lets go explore Paris city.

1 September
Explore Paris

2 September
Travel Day to Disneyland
Check out of Paris hotel
Travel by train to Disneyland approx 1 hour
Check in to Disney onsite hotel (there are 6 and 5 partner hotels)
Evening at Disneyland

3 September
Full day at Disney

4 September
Full day at Disney

5 September
Check out of Disney hotel
Travel by train to Cannes or Nice
Full day of travel, you will most likely arrive at your hotel late at night

6 September
Explore Cannes or Nice

7 September
Explore Cannes or Nice

8 September
Reverse the journey from Cannes or Nice back to Paris
Continue on from Paris to CDG Airport
Check into a hotel at CDG Airport

9 September
Fly back to USA from CDG Airport
 
Not trying to sound mean, I would advise take a look at a map of France. :) Maybe you should revise your plans a little as the things you want are not really close together. And you will lose a lot of time travelling. Of course the travelling by train gives you the opportunity to see the countryside, but that's not really visiting a country :). I would skip one of the four plans.

Below a map with the mountain regions.
Not sure if it helps, but to give you a sense of how big (or in US eyes, how little) France is. France is a tad smaller than Texas.

As you see: Marseille is not exactly closer to the Pyrenees than to the Alps.
From Paris the TGV could take you to Perpignan (about 6 hours), which is close to the Pyrenees. If you then want to go to Marseille for the Riviera, you could do that also by train which is about 4 hours.

If you skip the Riviera, and want to focus on the mountains, you could also look into going to Mulhouse, this is nearest to Vosges area, in the North West near the German border. You can reach this city by TGV from Paris in 3 hours.

Well you know what they say. If you start a sentence with "not trying to sound..." then you're definitely going to sound that way :P I have actually looked at a map of France. What I didn't realize was how wide the Alps are. I thought we would have to get much closer to the Swiss or Italian border to really see them but the map you posted showed me that isn't the case. So yeah the Pyrenees wouldn't be a good alternative.

I'll have to talk with my husband but my priority is the Riviera, not the Alps. I think I can convince him to go with me on this one. If we take out any portion, it would be the mountains and not the south.
 
honestly you are going to lose a day to travel each time you move location. And I would also skip going to the Alp and any mountains and just do Paris, Disneyland Paris and the South of France.

31 August
So say you land at CDG at 10am on 31 August. Landing means plane wheels touch the ground. For transatlantic flights it can take 90 minutes from the time the wheels touch the ground to the time you are actually leaving the airport to travel to your destination. The plane takes 20 minutes to move from the runway to the airport terminal building. Then you have a 10 to 15 minutes wait while they attach the walkway, open the doors and people start moving. Then you have to walk from the plane to the baggage reclaim area, wit for for you bags. Then you have to go to security check and get your passport stamped. Then you have to walk out into the arrivals concourse and find your way to your transport of choice, either train, bus or taxi.

You will then have another 90 minutes between the time you leave the airport to the time you actually close the door in your hotel room and sit on your bed. This includes finding your transport of choice, the travel time, and then the check in at the hotel.

So a 10am landing in CDG actually means 2.30pm ok close the hotel room door lets go explore Paris city.

1 September
Explore Paris

2 September
Travel Day to Disneyland
Check out of Paris hotel
Travel by train to Disneyland approx 1 hour
Check in to Disney onsite hotel (there are 6 and 5 partner hotels)
Evening at Disneyland

3 September
Full day at Disney

4 September
Full day at Disney

5 September
Check out of Disney hotel
Travel by train to Cannes or Nice
Full day of travel, you will most likely arrive at your hotel late at night

6 September
Explore Cannes or Nice

7 September
Explore Cannes or Nice

8 September
Reverse the journey from Cannes or Nice back to Paris
Continue on from Paris to CDG Airport
Check into a hotel at CDG Airport

9 September
Fly back to USA from CDG Airport

This was my idea, if we take out the alps (and it looks like I put the wrong dates in my original post so I fixed that):

30 August: Travel from US to Paris (arriving in Paris by 8:00 am on the 31st)
31 August: Paris
1 September: Paris, travel to DLP late in evening to check in (no park time)
2 September: DLP
3 September: DLP
4 September: Check out from DLP hotel in AM, DLP all day, to Paris to stay near train station in PM
5 September: Paris to Riviera (train, most likely)
6 September: Riviera
7 September: Riviera
8 September: Riviera, evening train back to Paris
9 September: Travel back to US
 
Not sure if you have seen this in other threads so Im posted it here for you, apologies if you have seen it :)

There are 6 onsite hotels, all of which have access to early opening for all guests.

Disneyland Hotel
This is the premium priced deluxe hotel. It is located at the entrance to the main park. It is Victoriana themed

Hotel New York
This would be the premium price moderate hotel. It is located after Disney Village and is the nearest to Disney Village. It is themed as a Manhattan / New York building. It would be a 10 minute walk to the main park entrance OR you can take the free shuttle bus. This hotel is closing soon for refurb so check the dates.

Hotel Sequoia Lodge
This would be the moderate hotel. It is located after Disney Village, past Hotel New York and half way along Lake Disney. It is themed like a Californian Red Wood Forest, similar to the Grand Californian in Disneyland California. It would be a 15 minute walk to the park entrance OR you can take the free shuttle bus. The standard rooms are located in separate buildings called Lodges. The main building has the more expensive standard rooms and the Club Level. The swimming pool is located in a separate building.

Hotel NewPort Bay

This would be the moderate hotel. It is located after Disney Village, past Hotel New York and Sequoia Lodge, at the end of Lake Disney. It is themed like a Newport Bay Yacht Club. It would be a 20 minute walk to the park main entrance OR you can take the free shuttle bus. This is the largest hotel building. Some rooms can be a 15 minute walk from the main reception area where the restaurants and shop are located. It has a swimming pool.

Hotel Cheyenne
This would be the budget hotel. It is located after Disney Village and past Hotel New York. It is themed like Toy Story / Sheriff Woody, The Wild West. It would be a 20 minute walk to the main park entrance OR you can take the free shuttle bus, There is no swimming pool and the rooms are located in separate buildings

Hotel Santa Fe

This would be the budget hotel. It is located after Disney Village and past Hotel New York and then past Hotel Sequoia Lodge. It would be a 20 minute walk to the main park entrance OR you can take the free shuttle bus. There is no swimming pool and the rooms are located in separate buildings.

Partner Hotels
There are also 5 Partner Hotels. These are located on the far edge of Disney property. They are not walkable to to the parks, they have a free shuttle bus to the parks. As they are independent hotels, they dont have the Disney onsite perks of access to early opening or the shopping service.

  1. Hotel Kyraid
  2. Magic Circus
  3. Dream Castle
  4. Explorers
  5. B & B Hotel

some things you need to know about Disneyland Paris which are different to the American Parks

  1. You dont have to book using the website for your country. Disneyland Paris has different deals and offers on the different country websites. Most of us regulars would advise AGAINST booking with the American site as it is by far the most expensive
  2. The other country websites to check are
  3. http://www.disneylandparis.ie/
    http://www.disneylandparis.co.uk
    http://www.disneylandparis.fr
    http://www.disneylandparis.de
    http://www.disneylandparis.it
    http://www.disneylandparis.be
    http://www.disneylandparis.nl
  4. Disneyland Paris does not mail anything in the post. You get a confirmation email which you bring with you to checkin
  5. When you book direct with Disneyland Paris you are booking a hotel and park hopper tickets package
  6. Your park tickets are valid for both arrival day and departure day
  7. You can book direct with Disney through any of the websites. When you book through the website you will pay the full amount at the time of booking
  8. You can also book direct with Disney by phone. To call Disneyland Paris and not have to pay the international phone charges, just call the regular phone number for Walt Disney World in Florida and ask to be transferred to Disneyland Paris.
  9. When you book direct with Disney by phone you pay a 15% deposit and the balance is payable 30 or 60 days before arrivial, I cant remember which
  10. When you have booked you will get a confirmation email with your itinerary, you will need this email to check in
  11. Once you have your confirmation number you need to go to the website / country you booked with, not the country you live in. You will need to create a new MY DISNEY ACCOUNT on that website
  12. When you log in to your new My Disney Account you will see your itinerary. If you have a balance to pay you will see an online payment form.
  13. To pay your balance you can either phone again or pay online
  14. Restaurant ADR can only be booked over the phone. Just repeat step 8 and ask for Disneyland Paris Dining Reservations.
  15. Disneyland Paris Restaurant ADR open 60 days from arrival date
  16. Disneyland Paris does not have Magic Bands or Fatspass ++. The Fastpass are the paper ones which you get on the day at the machines beside the rides.
The Parks
  1. There are 2 parks - the main park and Disney Studios
  2. Just like Disneyland California, the parks are side by side and park hopping is very easy
  3. Disney Studios is a movie themed park and is mainly a half day park
  4. All the ride and attraction audios are in French
  5. Disneyland Paris is Frenchified Disney, an American style theme park with the cultural and social behaviours of France / central Europe
  6. American visitors need to adjust their expectations, there is not the same level of Disney happy smiliey customer service from the CM's
  7. American visitors need to adjust their expectations, Disneyland Paris does not have the same level of upkeep and maintenance as the American parks
  8. American visitors need to adjust their expectations, Disneyland Paris, guest behaviour is very different, for example guests smoke all over the park, not in the designated smoking areas
  9. American visitors need to adjust their expectations, clothes sizes are smaller, there is less variety of merchandise, guests are not into the wearing of Disney clothes or Mouse Ears or pin lanyards in the pins.
 
@BadPinkTink Yes I have seen that list of info floating around other threads here, but thanks for sharing it somewhere I know I can come back to!

I think we've settled on Sequoia for the DLP hotel. It looks like some of the European booking sites don't post packages until 6 months out so I haven't been able to price those yet, but I have them all bookmarked!

Question on that- if I book via one of the sites that has it available now (like the Ireland site), then say the site for Germany comes out with a better deal, can I cancel and switch without penalty to save the difference in cost?
 
@BadPinkTink

Question on that- if I book via one of the sites that has it available now (like the Ireland site), then say the site for Germany comes out with a better deal, can I cancel and switch without penalty to save the difference in cost?

Im not sure, anytime I have booked I have just gone with what I feel is the best deal for me at that time and just left it at that. The deals are kinda in cycles , theres a free half board meal plan deal, a 25% off deal a book 2 nights get 2 nights fee deal etc etc. Im a solo traveller and I dont like the meal plans so I tend to wait for the 25% off deal or the book 2 nights get 2 nights free deal.
 
No, you can't cancel without penalty
Also, be advised on the Disney sites, the entrance tickets are always in included, also for the first day
Ah yes I forgot about that! I will probably have to end up booking separately since I only want tickets for 3 days but will probably stay 4 nights.

The meal plan isn't a big draw for me either so I don't think we would miss that.
 
Ah yes I forgot about that! I will probably have to end up booking separately since I only want tickets for 3 days but will probably stay 4 nights.

this is one thing that American visitors struggle with. In Disneyland Paris, it is standard that booking through Disney , whether on the phone or through any country website is a hotel and tickets package, which includes park tickets for arrival and departure days.

You wont be able to book separately through Disney. You can only book separately through third party websites like Expedia. Disney only allow booking hotel rooms on their own if you have an AP. The AP people have to ring Disney direct, as room only can only be booked by phone.

Honestly
, when you are travelling from USA and Disneyland Paris is just part of a longer European vacation, to me its not worth the stress of trying to book through a third party website, just book the standard package through Disney. Also you wont get the same deals through third party websites
 
I have heard about people successfully adding a night before their stay without park tickets, so you might be able to book 2 nights and add the extra night before

Oh that would be great if it works! Maybe I'll try that.

this is one thing that American visitors struggle with. In Disneyland Paris, it is standard that booking through Disney , whether on the phone or through any country website is a hotel and tickets package, which includes park tickets for arrival and departure days.

You wont be able to book separately through Disney. You can only book separately through third party websites like Expedia. Disney only allow booking hotel rooms on their own if you have an AP. The AP people have to ring Disney direct, as room only can only be booked by phone.

Honestly
, when you are travelling from USA and Disneyland Paris is just part of a longer European vacation, to me its not worth the stress of trying to book through a third party website, just book the standard package through Disney. Also you wont get the same deals through third party websites

That's really good to keep in mind. I'll probably do the research to compare prices anyway but I have a feeling that I will just end up doing the package, even if we have extra tickets that we may not use.
 

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