Brand new, overwhelmed ,and need help!

[dis newbie]

Hi everyone. I'm really hoping for some help planning a trip to Disneyland Paris this December. I'm brand new with this and overwhelmed!
Some questions I'm hoping you can help with??
1. Disney hotels seem very expensive. I know there is a train station right at the entrance to Disney . Is it better to book a hotel close to a train station one or two stops away then get the train in?
2. The trains seem to start early and run late so we could stay late at Disney, but, is it safe late at night to be walking from the station to a hotel?
3. if anyone has done this are there any hotels you can recommend?
4. Are park tickets at Christmas limited?. How late can you leave it before booking?
5. Is it better to book through the Disneyland Paris website, or ring them?
6. I'm guessing there wouldn't be any special deals available in December since it's already busy, but is there anything we should be looking at/ thinking of when booking?
7. Any other things we need to know??

so many questions, but I'd appreciate help with any of them. Thank you in advance!

 

[Karin1984]

Don't panic, don't be overwhelmed.

First question: Are you from the US?

A trick with the website is to switch to a European country and look if there are lower rates available for this country.
Other option, book via a booking platform like hotels.com, booking.com etc. and book hotel and tickets separately, sometimes it is a better deal, sometimes the packages are a better option.

1. Disney hotels seem very expensive. I know there is a train station right at the entrance to Disney . Is it better to book a hotel close to a train station one or two stops away then get the train in?
All depends on your budget and who you have with you. If you are an inexperienced traveller, you have a large group, elderly people etc. being onsite might be better. But better is very subjective.

2. The trains seem to start early and run late so we could stay late at Disney, but, is it safe late at night to be walking from the station to a hotel?
Yeah, I wouldn't be too worried, but depends a bit how far away etc. the villages around Disneyland Paris are not that exciting so there are not a lot of people out when you return back after park closing. The parks will close early in December. So you will be back before 10, probably. This also depends on how an experienced traveller you are, are you comfortable with travelling in unknown places, are you easily uncomfortable in unknown surroundings. And also, where do you live yourself? If you live in a big city you might be more used to public transport and walking home at night. If you come from a rural place and are used to do everything by car, door to door, that is different.

3. if anyone has done this are there any hotels you can recommend?
If you look at chain hotels in Torcy, Bussy St. Georges etc. you will be fine.

4. Are park tickets at Christmas limited?. How late can you leave it before booking?
Really hard to say, 1. because they have changed the rules recently about park reservations for AP holders, and the last three years with Covid. Are we talking at Christmas itself, it will be busy as all of Europe has the last 2 weeks of December off, or are we talking early December?

It is still the case that those staying onsite do not need to make separate park reservations.

5. Is it better to book through the Disneyland Paris website, or ring them?
Do you have experience with booking yourself on a website? It's not hard and you just follow the steps, but if you think 'I cannot do this / I do not understand what I am doing', then give them a call. If you are in the US, you can call WDW and ask to be transferred to Disneyland Paris, this will be a money saver in your phone costs.

6. I'm guessing there wouldn't be any special deals available in December since it's already busy, but is there anything we should be looking at/ thinking of when booking?
I can't think of anything. You need a hotel, you need tickets.

7. Any other things we need to know??
I saw your other 2 posts you have made until now, take a deep breath and just make a list, what do you need to go to Disneyland Paris (flight, hotel, tickets). Look into the options, write them out, and compare.

 

[steve_rob]

1. Disney hotels seem very expensive. I know there is a train station right at the entrance to Disney . Is it better to book a hotel close to a train station one or two stops away then get the train in?
2. The trains seem to start early and run late so we could stay late at Disney, but, is it safe late at night to be walking from the station to a hotel?
3. if anyone has done this are there any hotels you can recommend?

I am normally a big fan of staying onsite at Paris, but admittedly the last two trips I have stayed offsite (for a number of different reasons) and so do have some recommendations. If you are worried about walking from the station to the hotel at the end of the night (though I personally would say it is perfectly safe) then your best option would be either the Residhome (1) or the Ibis (2) hotels near Val D'Europe station, which is one stop down the line from Disneyland Paris.

They are both 30 seconds walk from the station exit, although note that it is the rear entrance/exit to the station that they are near, not the front/main one - if you go out the wrong exit it'll be about a five minute walk instead!



The Ibis is very basic, but very cheap and clean, while the Residhome is a little bit more fancy plus has a kitchenette in every room.

 

[zavandor]

The big practical advantage of staying onsite is having one hour early entry (currently in both parks, even if it's not guaranteed to stay that way). In that hour, if you rope drop, you can easily do the headliners and be ahead of the crowds all day, switching from rides to shows and other entertainment (which is top notch for Christmas in DLP) in the late morning while others are still in the lines for attractions.
Also, staying onsite at DLP really keeps you in the Disney bubble, because everything is walkable. Even the cheapest hotels are as distant from the Boardwalk Inn or Beach Club are to the Studios. If you're used to WDW you know how values are those hotels for their location. It's almost always faster to walk back to the hotel rather than taking the free hotel shuttle.
Is this worth the extra money? Up to you to decide, but if you have a tight budget, have a look at the Cheyenne: nice theming and less unreasonable prices. It's a value but way different than the Values at WDW (which I don't particularly care for) and it could be the right compromise.

 

[Louise97]

You've got some really good answers already, just to add some thoughts from my experience:

• The DLP hotel packages on the website include tickets for your whole stay, including check-in and check-out days. When we've had a late flight in or an early flight out, we've stayed at a cheaper hotel on the first or last night to reduce the cost.
• There's a range of hotels at CDG which can be good for a first/last night, we chose the Novotel when we had a super early flight home and liked it enough to book it again for a very late arrival in September. For October we've got our first night booked in Hotel l'Elysee in Val d'Europe because we arrive in the evening just a couple of hours before the parks close, but I've not stayed there yet so can't give a recommendation!
• We've stayed offsite at the Ibis in Val d'Europe, marked on steve_rob's map. It's basic but we'd stay there again. It was clean and quiet, and very easy to get to the parks on the train. Definitely agree with steve_rob that you want the right exit for the hotel to save a 5 minute walk, I think the signs in the station referred to it as the Montévrain exit.
• We had to walk back to the Ibis in Val d'Europe at 2am after the DLP Pride event, it's not the closest hotel for walking but we felt safe. The only people we saw were also leaving the parks and heading to their hotels! We tried for an Uber but none were available and we decided it would probably take just as long to walk as to wait for a taxi.
• You might have seen this already, there is a handy price estimate calendar on the DLP site. Moving dates by a day can make a difference! https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-gb/price-estimate-calendar-disneyland-paris/
• Book sooner rather than later to lock in prices because they can increase. If you book a package, you can cancel up to a week in advance if your plans move. I always book through the website, but you can only cancel a package by calling.