* ~** ThemeParks megathread **~**

fdevine

I think by 'dry' they mean the theme park as opposed to the water park.

There's Port Aventura, Costa Caribe water park & now Ferrari Land.

As regards night life there plenty of bars down in the centre and lots of those will have live music of some description.

squinn2912

fdevine wrote: »

I think by 'dry' they mean the theme park as opposed to the water park.

There's Port Aventura, Costa Caribe water park & now Ferrari Land.

As regards night life there plenty of bars down in the centre and lots of those will have live music of some description.

Which of those three would you say is the best?

fdevine

squinn2912 wrote: »

Which of those three would you say is the best?

Only ever been in Port Aventura itself. Ferarri Land is new and I'm too old for waterparks

If you're into rollercoasters than Port Aventura has some of the best in Europe IMO

You can get multi-park or multi-day tickets. They're all side by side and run by the one company AFAIK

Lex Luthor

Been to both Porta Ventura and Costa Caribe a few times. You can get a multi park ticket for both, but Costa Caribe is probably not the best water park in the area, Aquopolis was better

Portaventura is a great theme park, they have a good variety of rides to suit all levels.

Don't leave the place without doing 1. Shambala, 2. Furious Baco and 3. Dragon Khan in that order

You wont get around the whole park in one day so best to buy a multi day pass. We booked before we went on 365tickets

Cant say I've been to Ferrari land

A Dub in Glasgo

Spent 2 weeks in Salou in late May and got a 7 day 2 park ticket (5 days Portaventura and 2 days in the water park). We have been going to Salou for years and the theme park is great

Some tips for the theme park: Go in the evening, it is cooler and queues are less. Even better if you go to the late night opening (in high season). Consider getting the fast pass if queues are long

We went to Ferrari Land for a day - not much in it and it was quite expensive. Red Force is something else although the queue was 1 hour 15 minutes for a 30 second ride! My 18 year old son loves cars and he thought FL was excellent. We paid the gate price (€60) then later in the week when went in to Portaventura, they had a special upgrade price of €25, that was a sore one!

We used Bus Plana (loads of little shops around the town) to go on excursions to Barcelona & Monserrat - they are excellent and great value

View from our balcony (stayed in the Salauris Palace Hotel)

steirishrover

As per the title says.. we're going euro Disney
( 2 adults & 2 kids aged 3 & 2 ) early September for 4 days..

Never done it before so was just wondering has anyone got any tips when there to have a good itinerary for each day as I know the park is quite big to get around..

Also don't want to be queuing for hours on each ride our young boys want to get on.. is their a quick pass I can pay the extra for am I better off just without a quick pass?

We know everything is going to be quite pricey in it so just also wondering about the places to eat and not to eat..

Any tips and general help regarding euro Disney would be great as I want it to be perfect for the boys..

Thanks all..

EverythingGood

steirishrover wrote: »

As per the title says.. we're going euro Disney
( 2 adults & 2 kids aged 3 & 2 ) early September for 4 days..

Never done it before so was just wondering has anyone got any tips when there to have a good itinerary for each day as I know the park is quite big to get around..

Also don't want to be queuing for hours on each ride our young boys want to get on.. is their a quick pass I can pay the extra for am I better off just without a quick pass?

We know everything is going to be quite pricey in it so just also wondering about the places to eat and not to eat..

Any tips and general help regarding euro Disney would be great as I want it to be perfect for the boys..

Thanks all..

Good shoes and a fat wallet

Moreilly

we have just booked a 3 night stay there today for christmas!, we have been before and stayed in sequoia lodge which was good, this time we are staying in the Cheyenne Hotel as we realised that very little time was spent in the hotel last time, and no point spending a fortune on it.
Here is a tip that will save you a few hundred if you haven't already booked.....
we looked at the price for a 3 day four park ticket on the .ie disney site and it came in at 940 euros, the exact same booking on the french site .fr came in at 490 euros....... saving us around 450 euro, so guess where we booked....

steirishrover

Moreilly wrote: »

we have just booked a 3 night stay there today for christmas!, we have been before and stayed in sequoia lodge which was good, this time we are staying in the Cheyenne Hotel as we realised that very little time was spent in the hotel last time, and no point spending a fortune on it.
Here is a tip that will save you a few hundred if you haven't already booked.....
we looked at the price for a 3 day four park ticket on the .ie disney site and it came in at 940 euros, the exact same booking on the french site .fr came in at 490 euros....... saving us around 450 euro, so guess where we booked....

That's great I'll look into that for the park tickets.. I'm just unsure would I really need a full park pass if my young lads the age they are at won't be on as much things as older kids??

I booked us into explorers hotel as was recommended to me.. not really pushed about the hotel etc id sleep in anything ha

Moreilly

steirishrover wrote: »

That's great I'll look into that for the park tickets.. I'm just unsure would I really need a full park pass if my young lads the age they are at won't be on as much things as older kids??

I booked us into explorers hotel as was recommended to me.. not really pushed about the hotel etc id sleep in anything ha

The explorers hotel look nice, i think it's a partner hotel so your park tickets don't come with it and are bought separately, when we stayed at the sequoia lodge it was greas just walking out of the hotel through 'downtown disney' or whatever its called ! and to the park with no hassle, you really spend very little time in the hotel as there is so much to do in the parks, check the .fr website you might save http://www.disneylandparis.fr/ and if you use google chrome it will auto translate , you will have a great time, we have been in disney paris once before and done florida a couple of times, but be warned.... its a expensive drug !, but you will have great memories. worth looking at the park map as well before you go and sussing out the layout and what you want to do and on what day http://www.disneylandparis.fr/parc-disneyland/cartes/

fdevine

As regards restaurants at DLP there are essentially three "levels". Counter service, self service buffet & table service. Menus for most of the restaurants are available on the DLP website AFAIK. Restaurants are dotted around the park as well as in the Disney Village are.

There's a McDonalds close to the entrance and while it's somewhat pricier than at home it's not ridiculously so. Others to consider are the newest additions, Five Guys & Vapiano. I believe Vapiano is quite reasonably priced considering its on park.

Prices for counter service range from c.€9 for kids to c.€15 for adults. Buffets, which are all-you-can-eat but usually don't include drinks, top out at €18 for children & €35 for adults. Hotel buffets are slightly cheaper. Table service restaurants including Planet Hollywood & Rainforest Cafe will have set menus and a-la-carte so prices can vary wildly.

To keep costs down most people would suggest a trip to Aucan supermarket for snacks, drinks etc. The shopping centre also has a large food court if you fancy a change from the park or your hotel.

On our last day we usually go to Annetts Diner for breakfast as a treat which is a reasonable €14

fdevine

Moreilly wrote: »

we have just booked a 3 night stay there today for christmas!, we have been before and stayed in sequoia lodge which was good, this time we are staying in the Cheyenne Hotel as we realised that very little time was spent in the hotel last time, and no point spending a fortune on it.
Here is a tip that will save you a few hundred if you haven't already booked.....
we looked at the price for a 3 day four park ticket on the .ie disney site and it came in at 940 euros, the exact same booking on the french site .fr came in at 490 euros....... saving us around 450 euro, so guess where we booked....

Can you clarify this? .fr site offers 3 days for price of 2 but these are only valid unit 27/09/17

Price for 3 day 2 park tickets are actually €40 more expensive than on breakway.ie (€690 vs. €650). Same price on .fr & .ie as of now at least based on family of 2 adults & 2 children

There's only two parks

FWIW, we were previously advised to book accommodation through the .fr site as it's much cheaper. Turned out when we booked that the .fr site was c.€1000 more expensive. .ie prices and the prices from agents here were almost on a par. We went through an agent as it gave us the option to pay an initial deposit with the balance to follow.

fdevine

As it's your first time I would suggest getting a Disney PhotoPass+

http://www.disneylandparis.ie/guest-services/photopass-service/

On ride photos in particular can be expensive and buying just a few will add up to a significant outlay. PhotoPass+ can be used at Meet & Greets too and there's an app allowing you to view & share your photos

fdevine

steirishrover wrote: »

I'm just unsure would I really need a full park pass if my young lads the age they are at won't be on as much things as older kids??

You'll need park tickets regardless of who goes on what unfortuately. You're paying for entry into the park.

There are relatively few rides that smaller children cannot ride. There's a full list on the website with information on what height/age they're suitable for

If there's a ride that's only suitable for you or your partner there are single rider queues which are much shorter than the regular queues. There's also a baby/child swap option

Lastly, there is no longer a paid FastPass+ available but there is a free FastPass on some of the more popular rides.

yellow hen

Looking to take a week away with kids in either late jan or at easter. Kids will be just turned 2 and 5 but the 2yr old is fairly clued in. For anyone who has been to both, which resort would you recommend for those ages? We're leaning towards eurodisney as i think theyll be more familiar with the characters. Would it be baltic in late jan? Thanks

Markcheese

Is lego land even open in Jan.?
And check out what rides / attractions the 2 year old will be able to go on... Could be limited..

rossie1977

Having been to both more to see and do in Disneyland paris for that age group.

Paris itself is also close by while billund (where Legoland is located) is just a small town and Copenhagen is 3-4 hour journey.

Weather can get very cold in mainland Europe in January so I would wait till Easter

Zimmerframe

rossie1977 wrote: »

Weather can get very cold in mainland Europe in January so I would wait till Easter

Take the above advice, I worked in Eurodisney when it was being built, and I can tell you that getting paid is the only reason to be hanging around there in January.

yellow hen

We went to Eurodisney in late November many many moons ago and I remember just feeling numb with the cold. Think we'll try eurodisney at easter so. Now off to start a thread about the cheapest way to go about booking it.......

Markcheese

I assumed you were talking about lego land Windsor.. Which is easy enough to get to.. Taxi/cab/ uber would be quickest easiest way from Heathrow..
. . .

The Davestator

yellow hen wrote: »

We went to Eurodisney in late November many many moons ago and I remember just feeling numb with the cold. Think we'll try eurodisney at easter so. Now off to start a thread about the cheapest way to go about booking it.......

We went in November last year and the water fountains were frozen solid!

It did mean the Q's were smaller but i wouldn't do it with young kids

average_runner

If your looking at legoland in Windsor for the 2 year old, you are wasting money.

We were there at the start of June, with a 4 and 6 year old. Two rides the 6 year old couldn't get on, 4 for the 4 year old.

4 year old was mad for the main rollercoaster and the water ride, must of went on it 6-10 times!

Bringing a two year to any of these parts is probably a waste of money!

__..__

average_runner wrote: »

If your looking at legoland in Windsor for the 2 year old, you are wasting money.

We were there at the start of June, with a 4 and 6 year old. Two rides the 6 year old couldn't get on, 4 for the 4 year old.

4 year old was mad for the main rollercoaster and the water ride, must of went on it 6-10 times!

Bringing a two year to any of these parts is probably a waste of money!

We went to eurodisney at Easter this year for a week. The place was jammed solid every day. I don't think I'd do it again at Easter.

average_runner

__..__ wrote: »

We went to eurodisney at Easter this year for a week. The place was jammed solid every day. I don't think I'd do it again at Easter.

Yeah I would visit these places during school days for the kids in that country.

In saying that the q-bot is great as you skip the queue's but its expensive.

yellow hen

I think we're looking at the week of the 19th March. It looks like the kids don't break from school until the following week.

yellow hen

Planning to take the family (kids aged 5 and 2) to Eurodisney over the easter break. I have no idea as to the best and most cost efficient way to go about booking it so would welcome advice from people who’ve gone with children?
1. Is it better to book your own flights rather than a package deal?
2. How many days is enough in the park? I was thinking two full days would be plenty and maybe a day in Paris. Although we’ll see about that as the barely turned 5yr old might be difficult to manage outside of his buggy.
3. Is there a particular hotel you’d recommend? Proximity to be able to go back and forth as needs be would be ideal.
4. We’re thinking B&B rather than room only so we know we can get breakfast into the kids in the morning. Any reason not to do this?
5. Is there any particular website or method you’d recommend to booking?
Thanks!

Skyfloater

We did Legoland in Germany, https://www.legoland.de/en/ in the first week of July when the german schools are still open, it was great, no queues anywhere.
Ryanair to Memmingen ,and stayed in a lovely town called Ulm. The germans love to show off their proficiency in English, so absolutely no language problems there.

fdevine

1. Is it better to book your own flights rather than a package deal?

We have always booked our own flights but if you got the right package deal then that could work better for you. We usually fly Ryanair & have in the past driven down from as far as Brussels Charleroi. We have flown AerLingus to CDG and gotten the shuttle bus but that's c.€20 a head. Flying into Beauvais again this time, in early November, and hiring a car as we are staying in the Davy Crockett Ranch which doesn't have a shuttle service.

2. How many days is enough in the park?

Remember there are two parks. In theory you could do each in a day but trying to fit everything in could be exhausting. IMHO a 3-4 night, 4-5 day stay would be ideal. Day trip to Paris and maybe a half day in the outlet place just down the road.

3. Is there a particular hotel you’d recommend? Proximity to be able to go back and forth as needs be would be ideal.

We have stayed on site in Santa Fe & New York hotels previously. New York is probably the closest to the park without staying in the eye-wateringly pricey Disneyland Hotel. Other hotels are slightly further away but none are that far really. Sequoia Lodge is popular but have never stayed in it.

4. We’re thinking B&B rather than room only so we know we can get breakfast into the kids in the morning. Any reason not to do this?

B&B is an option as far as I know, since they've now stoppped including breakfast with stays. IIRC it's c.€10 per person per day

5. Is there any particular website or method you’d recommend to booking?

We have booked both directly with Disneyland and with Breakaway in Dublin. Some will tell you that booking via the French or German or whatever Disneyland site can save big money but our experience has generally been the opposite. We priced the .ie, .fr, .de, .co.uk sites & Breakaway. The .fr prices were €800-1000 more than the .ie.

As Breakaway's prices were on a par with booking directly we went with them considering the added advantage of being able to pay a deposit. Unless you call Disneyland and pay a deposit over the phone you have to play the full amount up front.

Dodge

We stayed in Sequioa Lodge. 10-15 minutes walked from the parks. Free shuttle bus if the kids are knackered. Meant you could break up the day. Park in the morning, hotel chill/swim, then back to the parks for the evening

We stayed 4 nights and thought that was the right amount of time.

Flew with Aer Lingus and for a private transfer. Was €65 so worked out cheaper than the shuttle

naughtysmurf

Dodge wrote: »

Flew with Aer Lingus

What's a reasonable price for flights DUB-CDG? Large group of us going July 18, current price ~€170pp, I think that's not too bad for July, thoughts?