London Paris ABD 2022

[Wafflelokicat21]

Just booked our first ABD trip for London and Paris next summer, and to say we’re excited would certainly be an understatement!

For the folks who have done this trip in the past, do you have any recommendations or watch outs? We’ve never been to either city so we’re planning to arrive in London a couple of days early as well as end the trip with a few days in Disneyland Paris. Any and all advice is welcome

Happy travels!

 

[OKW Lover]

You've already got a good head start on this. We did something similar in 2019. Getting to London a couple of days early is a great idea. We enjoyed high tea at Fortnum & Mason. Fun experience! Also, you could spend a lot of time in Harrods. Their food hall is amazing. We also did a dinner cruise on the Thames. All of this will help you adjust to the time difference and allow you to be rested once the actual ABD starts.

In Paris, we didn't do anything outside the actual ABD stuff. For a couple of OYO meals we ate at a restaurant directly across the street from the Paris Opera Hilton which was very good.

We ended our trip with 3 nights at DL Paris. We stayed at the DL Hotel there and enjoyed the park. DLP's Magic Kingdom is very, very well done. Perhaps the best of all the Disney parks around the world although Shanghai is also really good. DLP's Hollywood Studio is a bit more humdrum.

 

[sayhello]

If you are a Harry Potter fan, you should really check out the Harry Potter Studios Tour on one of your pre-days. It's just outside of London, and VERY easy to get to by train and then a shuttle they run from the train station to the Studios. Really, really well done. If you're interested, I can give you the details of how to get there from London. You do need to buy your tickets online a few months in advance as they do tend to sell out, and I don't believe you can buy them there.

Seeing a play on the West End of London could also be great.

I also went to Disneyland Paris after my London/Paris ABD. It's cool and definitely worth seeing! I think their castle is definitely the most beautiful of all of them. Extremely easy to get to from Paris; there's a train station right there in their version of Downtown Disney (or I guess it's Disney Springs now).

Sayhello

 

[abdgeek]

Congratulations on booking your first ABD. You will love both countries! London has so many iconic sites that you could spend weeks there and still not see it all. The last time I went to London, I particularly enjoyed: Kensington Palace and gardens, Harry Potter Tour at Warner Bros. Studio, seeing a play in the West End ( just happened to be the new Harry Potter play at the time), going to a concert at the O2, having high tea, eating at Bobby Flay’s and Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants, museum hopping, etc. London is super easy to navigate and you can easily take the Tube or train to most destinations. Be sure to download the app ahead of time so that you can easily see the route maps and plan your trips.

Disneyland Paris didn’t exist the last time I went to Paris(it’s been that long), but I second @sayhello in recommending you see it. My new goal is to visit the Disney parks worldwide during my travels, so it’s definitely on my list when I return to Paris. Paris is equally easy to get around using their metro system. Again, downloading their metro app ahead of time will save time and help you plan. Unless it has changed, Parisians can be snooty with people who don’t know the language. Make sure you know a couple of key phrases or have the translated app downloaded on your phone.

You will see the main sites on your ABD. My recommendation would be to make a list of the sites you want to see that ABD isn’t visiting and plan how you will do those on your free time or on your pre/post days. Enjoy.

 

[OKW Lover]

Just adding another thing to do in London - stop at an authentic English pub for fish & chips with a Guinness. Or what ever your preference is.

 

[pjacobi]

If this is your first trans-Atlantic flight, be sure to look up tips about handling jet-lag. Do not underestimate the impact of jet-lag when flying East. It's a tough fight with your body!


-Paul

 

[buk110]

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[taniapacheco]

My son is living in france and just went to Disney a few weeks ago. The castle was getting a revamp so I'm sure it will be amazing. He had a great time. He's been with us to florida and california a few times. The arrived at opening and left at closing and he had a great time. It was probably more exciting for me lol. He took a ton of pics for me and then asked what I wanted and took pics and asked to pick something mature adult children are so nice lol. Funny i woke out of a dead sleep and checked what time it was there and I woke at the exact moment the park was opening in france. Crazy! Hope you have a blast.

Tania

 

[jina]

We've booked Norway for Summer '22 and are going to have a couple of days in London before plus a few days in Paris after.

For London, we definitely want to do the Harry Potter tour (I'm not sure who is the bigger fan, me or our 12 yo). I'm planning to buy tickets for the earliest time available the day after we arrive, as we will try the "stay awake as late as we can" thing upon arrival (fortunately we don't arrive until mid-afternoon), so we'll probably be up at 4am. If we take the train to/from, how many hours total should we plan for? Since this is our only full day in London before flying to Norway, I want to pack in as much as we can - ideally do some walking to see sights or perhaps spend a little time at the Tate or British Museum.

For Paris, we also plan to spend a day and a half @ Disneyland Paris as we are Disney parks addicts. The DL hotel is under renovations- does anyone have a recommendation on what their 2nd choice would be?

 

[sayhello]

We've booked Norway for Summer '22 and are going to have a couple of days in London before plus a few days in Paris after.

For London, we definitely want to do the Harry Potter tour (I'm not sure who is the bigger fan, me or our 12 yo). I'm planning to buy tickets for the earliest time available the day after we arrive, as we will try the "stay awake as late as we can" thing upon arrival (fortunately we don't arrive until mid-afternoon), so we'll probably be up at 4am. If we take the train to/from, how many hours total should we plan for? Since this is our only full day in London before flying to Norway, I want to pack in as much as we can - ideally do some walking to see sights or perhaps spend a little time at the Tate or British Museum.

For Paris, we also plan to spend a day and a half @ Disneyland Paris as we are Disney parks addicts. The DL hotel is under renovations- does anyone have a recommendation on what their 2nd choice would be?

For the Harry Potter tour, it depends on where you are staying, it can take around 45 minutes or an hour to get there. The train from London Euston train station to Watford Junction takes about 20 minutes, then there is a shuttle from the train station to the Studios that takes around 15 minutes. Add transfer times, and whatever time it takes to get from your hotel to London Euston train station. I'd plan on at LEAST 3 hours actually there, then the same time going back. So minimum 5 hours. Honestly, I spent 5 hours at the Studio, so 7+ hours total, but I'm a real geek and a huge Harry Potter fan and I love to read everything. ETA: Note, there is a London Euston tube station, and then London Euston train station. They're about a 5 minute walk from each other. You want the train station to catch the train to Watford Junction. The trains run frequently.

You do have to purchase your Studios tickets in advance; they can sell out early depending on the date, and they don't sell them at the door.

They do have a cafeteria you can eat at before or after the tour, in the main lobby, and there's an area maybe 2/3 of the way through the tour that sells butterbeer stuff plus some food. ETA: I just looked at the website, and they have a couple of additional food venues now. I'd check them out to know what you want to do about food (eat before you head to the train, eat once you get there, or what).

I do highly recommend the 'stay up as late as possible' strategy, but after the studios tour, I'd recommend a nice long walk along the Thames, maybe a ride on one of the boats, something outdoors. A museum might do you in.

Let me know if you have any other questions about London. I'd be happy to help where I can!

When I did Disneyland Paris, it was an add-on, at the DL hotel, so I can't help you with alternatives to that.

Sayhello

 

[Woodview]

Note Watch your Time Hours Planning .

You will need at least 2 hours ( + ) on arrival at Departure Airport in London AND at least another Hour

to get to airport.


Remember Travel Adapter Plugs for U.K ( 3 pin ) & Europe ( 2 pin round )

Money is Sterling £ in U.K And Euros € in Europe

 

[Kjdisney]

We've booked Norway for Summer '22 and are going to have a couple of days in London before plus a few days in Paris after.

For London, we definitely want to do the Harry Potter tour (I'm not sure who is the bigger fan, me or our 12 yo). I'm planning to buy tickets for the earliest time available the day after we arrive, as we will try the "stay awake as late as we can" thing upon arrival (fortunately we don't arrive until mid-afternoon), so we'll probably be up at 4am. If we take the train to/from, how many hours total should we plan for? Since this is our only full day in London before flying to Norway, I want to pack in as much as we can - ideally do some walking to see sights or perhaps spend a little time at the Tate or British Museum.

For Paris, we also plan to spend a day and a half @ Disneyland Paris as we are Disney parks addicts. The DL hotel is under renovations- does anyone have a recommendation on what their 2nd choice would be?

 

[pjacobi]

Heathrow Express trains: Heathrow airport- London Paddington in 15 minutes!

Train to Heathrow | London To Heathrow | Heathrow Express to London


-Paul

 

[jina]

Thanks all! We are still finalizing where will stay but thanks for the tip on the tube station vs train station. Sounds like with so much transit (arriving from LHR, departing from GAT), it sounds like we should try to stay near a major tube station as I'm not planning to rent a car. We'll plan on some outdoor exploring in London afterwards then as I too expect we'll spend longer than average on the tour. I will want to look at every detail . Fortunately DH and I have been to London before so it will be fun to show our daughter the sites as a preview for hopefully a future trip together or she can return as an adult someday. And I just bought our tour tickets (for June!) -first tour is at 10am and it looks like the first shuttle out of Watford Junction is 9:20am so we will likely already have been up for hours by then -perhaps we'll even do some early morning walking around London before the train to Watford Junction.

Does anyone have a suggestion as to whether we should plan to get transit passes and if so which ones? It sounds like it may be different tickets to go from LHR->London, London->GAT and London<>Watford Junction not to mention all the times we will use the Tube to go between the various train stations. Is there a single transit pass that covers it all?

I so wish ABD would allow us to add on Disneyland Paris form the Norway trip. Time to find the Disneyland Paris forum so I can plan that leg next.

 

[IzzyBella]

We stayed club level at the Sequoia Lodge in 2019 prior to the Seine River cruise and I would recommend it. You have to walk through Downtown Disney to get there but it wasn’t terribly far. The vibe was similar to Wilderness Lodge minus the amazing lobby. The other hotels that were a little closer were Hotel New York and Newport Bay Club.

 

[sayhello]

Does anyone have a suggestion as to whether we should plan to get transit passes and if so which ones? It sounds like it may be different tickets to go from LHR->London, London->GAT and London<>Watford Junction not to mention all the times we will use the Tube to go between the various train stations. Is there a single transit pass that covers it all?

I always purchase an Oyster card, which is reloadable, and it is good on the tube and some trains and on the Thames River boats. I believe I had to buy a separate ticket to Watford Junction, but I'm not positive on that.

Sayhello

 

[Kjdisney]

Since there is more than 2 people in your party and the short time frame, I wouldn’t bother with much public transportation. Our last trip was in 2018, and it only cost us about $35 more for round trip car service to and from airport. Much easier, and unless you are within walking distance to Paddington about the same time, when you factor in getting to/from the station. We used Smith’s car service last time, and were very good, but I would probably price a few. I think the train service is also different prices depending on time, so you might be able to save more than it was for us. It was 3 years ago, so a lot could have changed.

You don’t need a pass to use the bus, we just tapped in using a chip Amex (the only card I had with a chip in 2018!). We found that with 3, a black cab was about the same cost as a bus trip for 3 within London, so mostly used black cabs. We also loved all of our drivers! I think they have to have a certain level of knowledge about London, and were so friendly and helpful. We looked at it as a mini tours because we would ask them to point out places of interest, which all of them gladly did. We didn’t use the tube, basically because we wanted to be above ground to look at the sights. Also when time is short, it was worth the extra money to save on the time waiting for public transportation.

I’ve only taken a train to see Hampton court, and while it wasn’t hard, we didn’t realize the track number could change and ended up rushing to a different track. Don’t know if that happens at Euston station as we were taking ours from Waterloo which is huge!

Goldentours, does a Harry Potter tour. I think it includes the tour tickets, but you could ask if they do transportation only. They leave from a couple of locations in London which might be more convenient.

 

[abdgeek]

Does anyone have a suggestion as to whether we should plan to get transit passes and if so which ones? It sounds like it may be different tickets to go from LHR->London, London->GAT and London<>Watford Junction not to mention all the times we will use the Tube to go between the various train stations. Is there a single transit pass that covers it all?

I second @sayhello‘s recommendation. It’s been awhile since I did the London Harry Potter’s Studio Tour, but I got an Oyster Card when I went to London. I basically rode the tube everywhere. You will need to buy a separate ticket for the Watford train. If I remember correctly, there is a slow train and a fast train. You of course want the fast train and you can check the times the trains leave online ahead of time. i probably spent about 3-4 hours at the studio and had a ball! Make sure you know what time the shuttles leave the studio going back to the station so that you aren’t wasting time waiting around when you could be seeing the exhibits. Have fun.

 

[Grifdog22]

Just received an e-mail reminding me that our final payment is due in 30 days for our May 2022 trip. ABD has modified the final payment date for trips through March 31, 2022 but not thereafter. It seems odd to be required to pay for a trip in full well before a trip that leaves two months before us is not required to pay...

All that said, there are not a lot of people signed up for this trip yet. I haven't booked any pre or post days or activities or air. I am debating that if ABD cancels we may go on our own. (I still have hotel rooms and Moulin Rouge tickets from the inaugural Rhone river trip with ABD from two years ago that never went.)

I really haven't seen much in the way of disboards postings on this either....

We will be getting there just before/as the high season begins. For those who have been there or travelled in the last several years, I welcome your suggestions on the best time to pull the trigger on airfare, etc.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Oops. Wrong thread!