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Old 07-29-2018, 08:50 AM   #1
CynBeth
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Red face London and Paris

We are considering visiting next year in either May or end of June/beginning of July. For those that have been to both on the same trip please provide as many details as you can about your experiences and as much info as you can such as how many days you spent in each city. Thanks!
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Old 07-29-2018, 11:50 AM   #2
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I think the first thing I'd say is think about holiday dates over here - for the UK, do not come at the end of May. The last week is school holidays, so it will be busy in London. Earlier in May will be fine or June/early July. They'll be a lot quieter.

Secondly, are you just looking to do both cities or add in Disneyland Paris too? If it's just the two cities and you've never been to either, I'd say a minimum of three days each, more if you can. Don't forget that jetlag will more or less wipe out your first day. Trust me, it's a killer.

If you need any detail, let me know. We live 30 miles from London and visit a few times a year and have been to Paris a number of times.
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Old 07-29-2018, 12:12 PM   #3
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We were in Paris last summer arrived late June and took the train to London on July 4th. We stayed 2 days at DLP. The first was quite rough with the jet lag. Get a redeye if you can. We spent 5 nights in Paris, and then 3 in London. This allowed for us to see the highlights of each city.
One thing we didn't anticipate were 2 full days of nonstop rain in Paris (so much for my romantic idea of a park picnic). And in nearly all London attractions there were groups of students who were apparently on some sort of field trip - but were unsupervised - that were frustrating.

I could write a book actually - and may pop in later to add thoughts - but do you have other specific questions?
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Old 07-29-2018, 07:03 PM   #4
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Thanks! We are planning on 2 days at DL and then 3-4 for Paris and 3-4 for London. Our biggest issue is our schedule. Would it be better to do a few days in London and then take the Eurostar to Paris/DL to avoid the weekend crowds and then take the Eurostar back to London to do the last few days there? From our airport we can only get nonstop to London not for Paris so need to fly to and from London and are wondering if that is the best plan or if we should do it some other way.
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Old 07-30-2018, 02:03 AM   #5
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Thanks! We are planning on 2 days at DL and then 3-4 for Paris and 3-4 for London. Our biggest issue is our schedule. Would it be better to do a few days in London and then take the Eurostar to Paris/DL to avoid the weekend crowds and then take the Eurostar back to London to do the last few days there? From our airport we can only get nonstop to London not for Paris so need to fly to and from London and are wondering if that is the best plan or if we should do it some other way.
I'd definitely stick with flying into London. We picked up a friend from Charles de Gaulle in Paris and she took almost two hours to clear immigration/customs. I don't claim Heathrow will be better, but I've heard other horror stories from friends about flying into Paris.

Whatever you do, I'd avoid Disneyland Paris at the weekend, as the crowds really get a lot bigger there. Remember as well that a lot of things close on Sundays in France. Paris is better for that, but you will find a lot of shops closed and restaurants outside of the main tourist areas shut, so you might be better doing a weekend in London. Honestly, provided you avoid the school holiday week, I don't think it will be too bad. We were in London in June (I have a trip report going in the Globetrotting trip report forum right now) and it was fine... well, apart from the Brexit protest, but these things happen occasionally.

I like the idea of a couple of days in London, then do Disneyland Paris and Paris and head back for a couple more days in London. To me, that would be a good way to do it.

If you can, I'd go for four days each for London and Paris, as I think you'll find plenty to fill the time in both cities.
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Old 07-30-2018, 08:25 PM   #6
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Thanks so much I really appreciate all of the advice!
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Old 08-02-2018, 05:20 PM   #7
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I went on the website for Disneyland Paris and for the few days we think we might stay there it is giving us these hotel plus ticket packages that cost almost as much as our entire WDW trip. Is there somewhere we should look for cheaper rates at any of the Disneyland Paris hotels and for tickets? Should we just stay in Paris and take the train there and back for a few days?
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Old 08-03-2018, 01:15 AM   #8
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I went on the website for Disneyland Paris and for the few days we think we might stay there it is giving us these hotel plus ticket packages that cost almost as much as our entire WDW trip. Is there somewhere we should look for cheaper rates at any of the Disneyland Paris hotels and for tickets? Should we just stay in Paris and take the train there and back for a few days?
Yes, that sounds about right sadly for Disneyland Paris. We met a British guy there once and when we found out how much he'd paid to stay there (we were using our DVC points), we were like "you could've flown to Florida for less" and he was saying "I know". I'd stay in a hotel in Paris and just buy the tickets if you don't want sticker shock...
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Old 08-03-2018, 11:30 AM   #9
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It was such a convenience for us to stay at DLP property and walk to the parks. So, if you can at all manage it in your budget, it's a nice benefit. That said, I've read plenty of reports of people who took the train in and that's quite do-able also. There are a few Partner Hotels close by DLP that have shuttle service to the parks. Those are on the DLP website.

We did buy discounted tickets from Attraction Tickets Direct. This resulted in some savings, and I had no trouble exchanging my vouchers for park tickets at the ticket window at DLP. https://www.attraction-tickets-direc...action-tickets

I did quite a bit of planning on the Disney Tourist Blog wesbite. https://www.disneytouristblog.com/di...trip-planning/
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Old 08-03-2018, 01:29 PM   #10
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It was such a convenience for us to stay at DLP property and walk to the parks. So, if you can at all manage it in your budget, it's a nice benefit. That said, I've read plenty of reports of people who took the train in and that's quite do-able also. There are a few Partner Hotels close by DLP that have shuttle service to the parks. Those are on the DLP website.

We did buy discounted tickets from Attraction Tickets Direct. This resulted in some savings, and I had no trouble exchanging my vouchers for park tickets at the ticket window at DLP. https://www.attraction-tickets-direc...action-tickets

I did quite a bit of planning on the Disney Tourist Blog wesbite. https://www.disneytouristblog.com/di...trip-planning/
We've used Attraction Tickets Direct as well and have been very impressed with them.

I'm not sure who's in your touring party, but we stayed at the Relais Spa Val d'Europe, which had an amazing spa. It was wonderful for adults and near the Val d'Europe train station, which is only one stop from Disneyland Paris.
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Old 08-12-2018, 12:41 PM   #11
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In London we are thinking of staying at either the Hilton London Tower Bridge, The H10 Waterloo, London Marriott County Hall, or London Marriott Grosvenor Square. In Paris we are thinking about staying at either the Grand Hotel du Palais Royal, Park Hyatt Paris Vendome, or Paris Marriott Champs Elysees. If anyone who has stayed in any of those can talk about your experience and also lt me know if there is a restaurant for breakfast where they can make an egg or omelet with a fresh egg as I have a few family members with a dairy allergy. Thanks!
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Old 09-09-2018, 01:31 PM   #12
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I'm going to London next week and I'm also thinking of staying at the Hilton London Tower Bridge. That's one of my fav hotels there. I read about bext time to book flights in Europe here and bought a few tickets for sale. I like London and it will be my thrird trip there.
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Old 11-08-2018, 05:56 AM   #13
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Our travel agent is still working on the London hotel(s) depending if we are staying at the same place both legs or 2 different ones but our flights, Paris hotel, and the DLP package are booked.
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Old 11-08-2018, 03:45 PM   #14
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Our travel agent is still working on the London hotel(s) depending if we are staying at the same place both legs or 2 different ones but our flights, Paris hotel, and the DLP package are booked.
Sounds like your plans are coming along nicely!
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