Disneyland Paris: Tips and Tricks to Save You Money
What I wish I’d known before going, and how you can plan ahead to save yourself hundreds of pounds…
Last year I decided to book a holiday with my boyfriend to “the happiest place on earth”… the renowned Disneyland Paris. I’d always wanted to visit and decided that our anniversary was the perfect opportunity to. I guess the dream started after watching a multitude of Disney movies as child, and becoming immersed in the magical, joyful, fantasy world of Disney. Trust me, it did not disappoint, it was easily one of the best holidays I have had in my life so far. However, despite having an amazing time, we did end up spending hundreds of pounds. Upon reflection, a lot of money could have been saved if we did a little more planning beforehand, which is why I have created a guide for any fellow Disney obsessed individuals out there…
1. Buy your Eurostar tickets early.
Eurostar put their tickets on sale six months in advance and become gradually more expensive the closer to the date of travel. Therefore, if you want to travel via Eurostar, ensure that you plan ahead the date that you want to travel, and book early. In doing this, you could save yourself close to £100.
2. Do not purchase your tickets from the gate.
This is where we slipped up massively. We thought that we would buy our tickets at the gate to save any complications purchasing from potentially fraudulent vendors online beforehand. Therefore, on day one, we spent a huge €338 (£295) on tickets for the two Disney parks for two of us. However, when returning home and doing more research, I found a completely reliable website that sells tickets for Disneyland for a slightly cheaper price of £282 for two people (365Tickets). Not only does this save you money, it also saves you time one the day instead of queuing at the ticket booths.
Additionally, if you are looking spend more than two days in the park, I made an astonishing discovery to save you money…
On Disneyland’s website, they sell three day / two park tickets for £371.14 for two people. But, if you delve slightly deeper into the website, you can find their annual passes. These annual passes give you access to both Disney parks for just €358 (£310) for two people for 150 days of the year. Therefore, it is actually cheaper for you to buy an annual pass than a three day pass… pretty cool, right?
3. There are hundreds of cheaper hotels, just a two minute train journey away.
I would say I was fairly close-minded when looking for hotels to stay at on our trip. When researching online before our trip, I was mainly looking at the Disney hotels that looked the closest to the Disney parks, with a shuttle bus service (approximately a ten minute journey). No matter what the star-rating, all of them were extortionately expensive. However, what I wish I’d known is that just a two minute train journey away was a village called Serris, with plenty of moderately priced hotels, with high star-ratings and amazing reviews. For example, one of the “cheaper” hotels is Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe, which is a 2-star hotel, costing a mere £120 a night. However, two minutes away in a town called Serris, you can stay in a 4-star hotel costing £90 a night. This would save you a lot of money overall, and most likely give you a more luxurious experience to supplement your trip.
