You’ve probably heard that going to Disneyland Paris is not cheap these days – largely due to the poor exchange rate in Europe. If you still want to go but don’t have a lot of money then it’s possible!  We’ve been there and done that and these are our top tips!

(We were going to do 5 but we ended up with seven!)

1) Book your accommodation and passes directly through Disneyland Paris itself. Don’t go through a travel agent because they will be adding their commission in there. Kids under 7 stay and play free AND Disnelyland Paris are also offering 40% off for bookings now . Hit the picture on the right to go straight to Disney and cut out the middlemen!

2) Don’t be afraid to book your travel seperately. When you book Disney, you book your accommodation and park passes, but you can shop around for the cheapest way to get there. Disneyland Paris is only about half and hour on the train from Paris itself so if the cheapest route you can find is directly into Paris, don’t be alarmed by that because you will still be able to get from Paris to Disnelyand Paris on train very easily. You can easily get to Disneyland Paris on Eurostar, Plan or by car. If your trip is some time away get yourself an Airmiles credit card so you can collect airmiles every time to spend money. Use the card sensibly (by paying off what you spend every month) and you could end up with free travel to Disnelyland Paris! Click here to find out how to get a free Airmiles Duo card. When you sign up and make a small qualifying spend, you can get 1500 airmiles for FREE, and that’s enough to get 2 people to Disnelyand Paris and back. Full terms and conditions of the Airmiles offer are below.

3) Drinks are very expensive. Save money by bringing a couple of bottles of cordial with you when you travel and some water bottles. Fill one small bottle with neat cordial (we did Ribena and it was very refreshing) and once in the park, there are free water fountains where you can fill up your other bottles after adding some cordial. Nice fresh cold drinks all day long for pennies (instead of paying the equivalent of £2 per drink in the park!)

4) Boozing. Last year the price of a pint of lager in the Disneyland Hotels was around £8 per pint! Therefore if you are going to want a tipple in the evening, bring your own half bottle of spirits or buy beer in the garages that are dotted around (there’s one outside Club Santa Fe hotel). Alternatively, plan for a booze free holiday!

5) Don’t overestimate how long you will need there. In my personal opinion, 3 nights is more than enough for a Disnelyand Paris stay with kids. By going for 3 nights in stead of 4 you can save a chunk off your holiday and you won’t be missing out either.

6) Buy meal vouchers. You can pre-purchase meal vouchers from Disney which you present in the restaurants on the parks. More information is available on the Disney site but this works out to be MUCH cheaper than paying when you’re there. Meals are quite expensive, but you’re on holiday and you’ll need to eat! Buying meal vouchers will also mean that you can budget ahead for the cost of the trip.

7) Finally, this is a logistics tip rather than a money saving one – if you are going for a special occasion like a child’s birthday, make sure you BOOK a place at a character restaurant BEFORE you go. Otherwise you may find it fully booked and you’ll have a very disappointed child. The character evening meals are BRILLIANT for kids with lots of Disney folk milling about signing autographs. Don’t miss it!

Full terms and conditions of getting free flights through the Airmiles Duo card:

Customers who apply through Airmiles and are accepted for the Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo Credit Card Account before 30^th June 2010 will be eligible for the 1,500 mile voucher if they make a £10 Eligible purchase on their Airmiles Duo American Express Card before 31^st August 2010. The £10 Eligible purchase must be completed in one transaction. For all bookings using the voucher the outbound journey must be completed by the 28^th February 2011 after which time the voucher will expire. 1500 mile voucher cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. An eligible purchase does not include cash withdrawals; money transfers; cheques; interest, fees or charges; Payment Protection Cover; transactions at casinos, betting outlets or bookmakers; or payments to offline or online current, savings, sharetrading, spread betting, gambling or other similar accounts. Customers will only be eligible for one joining bonus from Airmiles. In the event that a customer re-applies for the Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo Credit Card Account, Lloyds TSB may process an application and issue the Lloyds TSB Duo cards but Airmiles will not award a further bonus offer. 1,500 miles will show on the customer’s Airmiles account as a voucher within 30 days of receiving their first credit card statement detailing the Eligible purchase and will not form part of the Airmiles balance. Once on the account the voucher may be used as full or part payment towards flight or Eurostar bookings on any Airmiles route. At the time of booking travel a minimum of one night’s accommodation must be booked through Airmiles in the country of origin, or destination, within the specified dates of travel. Customers may book tickets for more than one passenger but the voucher can only be used for a single booking. If all the miles are not used in a single transaction then the unused Airmiles will expire immediately. Eurostar bookings must be made via our customer contact centre, travel can be booked up to 120 days in advance. Bookings are strictly subject to availability. Eurostar fares may vary. Airmiles bookings are strictly subject to availability and Airmiles Customer and Booking Terms and Conditions and our Carriers’ Conditions of Carriage. Seats available to us may be limited on some routes – especially in peak periods. Zones and prices are correct at time of going to print, but subject to change. Examples shown are return economy from London. For direct international flights from regional airports, add 500 miles (if direct flights aren’t available, connecting flights may be booked by calling 0844 49 333 49).

Disneyland Paris special offers

You can either fly, or even more conveniently, catch the Eurostar straight to the resort. Some parents get worried about how to organise the holiday once they get there, but Disneyland Paris make it easy for you by tailoring a program to suit you and your children which includes accommodation and entry passes to the park.

How long should you stay at Disneyland Paris for?

Most people tend to go to Disneyland Paris for a weekend or 3-4 days rather than a week.  However, you can, of course choose to go for as long as you like. The magic of Disneyland Paris is closer than ever as well thanks to some amazing deals on passes and on accomodation for 2009. All you have to do is get there by hopping on the train. Couldn’t really be much easier.

Check out some of these fantastic offers, or if you want the full picture, scoot straight over to the Disneyland® Paris official website for special deals and last minute offers including the current special offer which is a whopping 40% off.  Disneyland Paris also have other amazing deals running at the moment including an extra nights accommodation and day passes absolutely free. It’s definitely a great year to go to Disneyland Paris.  One issue that worriest some people is the cost of the food and drinks once you’re there so here’s our top tip.

Disneyland Paris pre-booked meal vouchers – go half board with complete choice of where to eat!

Make sure you pre-book meal vouchers before you go because it works out much cheaper to buy these in sterling in the UK (without any exchange charges), and due to the very strong Euro, they are worth more than they cost  when you’re at Disneyland Paris. All you do is present them as payment when you are settling your restaurant bill and they should either cover the whole of your bill, or you may be asked to pay a supplement (it depends on which kind of vouchers you’ve bought, and where you’ve eaten so obviously if you but the cheapest vouchers and present them against a meal at the most expensive disney restaurant then there’s be quite a large difference, but the Half Board Plus disneyland paris vouchers will fully settle your bill at many really good restaurants. Nobody wants their holiday to be ruined by someone stressing over the cost of everything you eat and drink, so this can also help to keep the peace (as well as actually saving you money!). You can use them at any Disneyland Paris restaurant (including Buffalo Bill’s wild west show, though you may need to pay a supplement unless you have the most expensive vouchers) so you’re not tying yourself to any particular restaurants.

Tip number two

Once you have made your booking and recieved your travel documents, decide which restaurants you want to eat at and telephone to book your tables.  Up to date contact numbers are once again on the Disneyland® Paris official website . There’s nothing worse that getting all geared up to visit a particular Disneyland Paris restaurant only to find it full booked especially if you’re trying to get in to a meet and greet with the Disney characters and you have children with you (which, let’s face it, is likely!).
Just make sure you add on the half board vouchers when you  book because you can’t buy them in the park.