* ~ ThemeParks megathread ~**

greenspurs · 12-11-2019 6:42pm

fdevine wrote: »

Fastpass is free but can't be stacked AFAIK. Get the first one early and once you've used is get your next one and so on. There are itineraries out there with advice on how minimise queuing. Queue for Peter Pan is nearly always ridiculously long. Think we did it once over three visits......

:rolleyes:

Yeh, we made a bit of a balls of it alright …….
the Q's , we expected, but to think we could have fast passed most of them is annoying now !
We had a ball regardless, Main Street is amazing !

Anyway , others be aware ! Fast Pass is the first option to check out

Car99 · 12-11-2019 11:55pm

greenspurs wrote: »

Queues …. janey , the Q's.

75 mins for Peter Pan - 2min 'ride' …. not worth waiting for, unless you have 5 yr olds with you.
90 mins for Thunder Mt - 2 mins, but well worth it !
Fast Passed for Ratatouile - great fun.
15mins for Space Mt (whatever its called now) - 2 mins..Sooooo worth it.

We weren't aware Fast Passes were free ? 2 per day ?
Our fault I suppose, but the concierge at the hotel, didn't mention anything about it, and we just 'thought' you had to pay for them !! #Doh

How do I get these fastpass's and how do you use them?

Dodge · 13-11-2019 12:26am

Fast passes can ‘kind of’ be stacked

At each ride you’ll see the fastpass machines and the next times available above it. Scan your tickets and it’ll print out a paper ticket for each park ticket scanned

When your time comes, just hand them over at the fast pass queue

I say ‘kinda’ stacked because on the ticket it will say when you can next claim a new one. It’s usually the same time as your existing one but if it’s a long way away, it may be shorter. Just look at the ticket to confirm

Some tips from our second trip this year. If onsite make great use of the magic hours. We literally did every ride in the Studios (bar crushers coaster) in one 90 minute period

A LOT of people got for Big Thunder Mountain fastpasses. So much so that they stopped checking park tickets to speed up the process. It meant we could get one of these and then scan our park tickets elsewhere

Our first visit was when our little one was 5 and she returned in February aged 9. We all still had a brilliant time

greenspurs · 13-11-2019 9:30am

Car99 wrote: »

How do I get these fastpass's and how do you use them?

go to the FastPass entrance at the ride , theres usually a time in the overhead display of the next available Fast Pass times - ie you might be there at 11am, and if its a very busy ride the next available FastPass time could be 13.00 -> 13.40 , so if you get your FastPass then, that's the time you will need to be back to get on.

Or if its really busy, there might be no Fast Pass available.

I would second what "Dodge" said about the "Magic Hour" in the morning time also! We were in and on HyperSpace Mountain in 15 mins at 9am (Q's are 90 mins for most of the day)
If you can get up that bit early and be in the park at the early 8.30 opening time it would make some difference.

fdevine · 13-11-2019 12:11pm

On top of what others have said the only advice I can add is to go straight to Crush's Coaster if it's on your to do list. It doesn't have FastPass and has some of the longest queues in the whole place, running to three hours at times

Have a plan and things will work better than if you do each ride as you encounter them. Have some itineraries that I plagerised over time if anyone wants them

SusieBlue · 13-11-2019 12:20pm

I would also advise catching the parades on your first day if possible to get them out of the way, queues are much shorter during parades as everyone stops going on rides to spectate and you can use that to your advantage by going on the more popular rides when its that bit quieter.

bhd2040 · 28-11-2019 1:14pm

Hello,
I booked a trip to Disneyland Paris for next May - due to circumstances changing I now need to cancel this booking - I have paid for the flights in full but not the accommodation. I have been advised that I will lose the money paid for the flights. Is there anything I can do to get some if not all of my money back?

fdevine · 28-11-2019 2:14pm

Impossible to say definitively but it's highly unlikely you'll get anything back on the flights. Depending on the T&Cs for the accommodation you may or may not get your deposit, if payed, back.

ted1 · 28-11-2019 3:03pm

bhd2040 wrote: »

Hello,
I booked a trip to Disneyland Paris for next May - due to circumstances changing I now need to cancel this booking - I have paid for the flights in full but not the accommodation. I have been advised that I will lose the money paid for the flights. Is there anything I can do to get some if not all of my money back?

You could change your flights. Why can’t you go ? Is it something than travel insurance or your credit card can reimburse you for ?

Who did you book with and have you checked their policy ?

bhd2040 · 28-11-2019 3:25pm

I booked through Travel Republic - was costing too much to change flights - will check credit card company. I hadn't taken out travel insurance yet. thanks

ziedth · 28-11-2019 10:30pm

It's less than honest of course but could you not just take out Travel insurance then just get be unable to travel due to whatever reason nearer the time say stress for argumentsake? You'll only be down Cost of doctor appointment and the excess.

ted1 · 29-11-2019 10:24am

ziedth wrote: »

It's less than honest of course but could you not just take out Travel insurance then just get be unable to travel due to whatever reason nearer the time say stress for argumentsake? You'll only be down Cost of doctor appointment and the excess.

Are you a moderator , encouraging illegal activity?

Plumbthedepths · 29-11-2019 10:26am

ziedth wrote: »

It's less than honest of course but could you not just take out Travel insurance then just get be unable to travel due to whatever reason nearer the time say stress for argumentsake? You'll only be down Cost of doctor appointment and the excess.

Of course the insurance company won't seek the booking information of the flights........

Dodge · 30-11-2019 11:52am

They mightn’t even have park tickets. Doesn’t mention it

It could simply be that you have flights to Paris to sell OP

With the prices airlines charge for name changes, that’s going to be difficult but best of luck

steirishrover · 09-12-2019 11:14pm

Hi all

Just wondering if anyone been to paris in february? Was looking at going to Disneyland with the wife and 3 kids aged 6, 5 and 1

I'm just worried would it be too cold and not worth it to go? It's the 5 years old birthday that week and wanted to do that for his birthday.

I'd be worried on them especially the 1 year old if it was too cold to be outside all day.

Ponster · 10-12-2019 11:02am

steirishrover wrote: »

I'm just worried would it be too cold and not worth it to go?

Not really sure if we can answer that for you. It'll be cold alright but unsure what 'too cold' would be for you? It'll hardly go above 10C in Feb but shouldn't freeze.

I suppose that it'll not be far from what the weather is today actually.

_Brian · 10-12-2019 11:17am

Too Unpredictable considering what your going to be spending.

It might be a bit wet, or torrential rain.
It might be bright and a bit frosty or an absolute deep freeze.

High enough risk of some snow too.

My two thoughts on this are
1. It’s a bloody rip off, if kids are Disney addicts then they will probably love it, if not it’s very average for the money you’ll be shelling out. Make sure your kids are good walkers. 7-10km a day to cover. Saw lots of kids crying with sore feet and tired early in the day.

2. Go at a time when the weather will be more predictable.

Went 12 years ago when first kid was 7 and she liked it, she loved princesses and all that stuff so it was a real
Kick for her.
Went back 4 years ago when youngest was 7 amd honestly I realised it had turned into a **** hole. My youngest was meah about Disney stuff anyway so it didn’t have any wow factor for her, there are much better places in France for less money.

The changes is saw:
Out of control prices, even more out of control.
Very very few characters out meeting kids, how hard is it to dress an idiot up in a costume.
Parade moved from afternoon to late evening when kids are exhausted. If you go early to get plenty of rides done the kids are dead by the time the parade is due.
Less rides with fast pass.
Less areas to sit down and eat your own food you bring.

Last time we went we had a three day stay, day one the park, day in Paris, another day in the park.
Our youngest said she enjoyed the day in Paris as much as either day in the park.
We were in France anyway for three weeks so at least we hadn’t travelled just for it.

fdevine · 10-12-2019 12:13pm

steirishrover wrote: »

Hi all

Just wondering if anyone been to paris in february? Was looking at going to Disneyland with the wife and 3 kids aged 6, 5 and 1

I'm just worried would it be too cold and not worth it to go? It's the 5 years old birthday that week and wanted to do that for his birthday.

I'd be worried on them especially the 1 year old if it was too cold to be outside all day.

Been three times with children of varying ages, but never in February. Was there in late November though which was very mild and not overly wet.

Hard to predict the weather but earlier February will be colder and temperatures may struggle to hit double figures, which is like it is here now. Mid February this year hit 16-18C. There may be an risk of snow but I wouldn't say high risk and it certainly wouldn't stop me going.

Last trip we had was 2016 and there were plenty of charaters doing pop-ups as well as designated meet and greets. They had stopped doing hotel visits and both Mickey Mouse and the Princesses are visited in their pavillions.

If you're staying on site, use the extra opening hours. Start early, take breaks, go back for the evening parade and/or the fireworks after everyone has had a nap.

Queues can be managed or minimised. Fastpass is still in operation, just not for some rides. Can all be planned to maximise your time.

There are plenty of places to get in out of the weather so there's no need to worry about being out in it 12-15 hours a day.

Prices are steep but not out of control by any stretch. You can eat cheap if you want and there's a McDonalds and more in the Village with prices on a par with anywhere else.

Bring your own snacks, water, and/or hot water.

No reason whatsoever that you can't fully enjoy it, irrespective of the weather.

finbarrk · 10-12-2019 9:36pm

steirishrover wrote: »

Hi all

Just wondering if anyone been to paris in february? Was looking at going to Disneyland with the wife and 3 kids aged 6, 5 and 1

I'm just worried would it be too cold and not worth it to go? It's the 5 years old birthday that week and wanted to do that for his birthday.

I'd be worried on them especially the 1 year old if it was too cold to be outside all day.

We went in January a few years ago. Our kids were maybe 10 and 13 at the time. They were able to ice skate as the lake beside the place was frozen. I wouldn't like to be facing it with kids as young as yours personally. Sounds like too much hard work for me.

steirishrover · 10-12-2019 11:08pm

Cheers for heads up guys. I got a good price for 1st march. Should hopefully not be as cold but will be prepared for it and also the heavy rain.

Its double money to go during school hols etc so not worth it. We went before and going to explorers hotel again like last time.

Any tips where is best place to get the 2 or 3 day pass?

ozbackineire · 12-12-2019 4:01pm

I went to Disneyland in mid March 2 years ago and it snowed, it was beautiful but i have never so cold in my entire life!!! However the positive of going that time of year is the park is quiet, we didnt have to spend a huge time queueing for things and moved freely between the two parks.

We bought our tickets on attractiontickets.ie and had no issues with them. I did a huge amount of research before i purchased them as i was weary of them but it worked out well. We collected the actual passes at a window outside Universal on the first morning we arrived and that was it.
https://www.attractiontickets.com/en

DaveyDave · 12-12-2019 4:25pm

fdevine wrote: »

Prices are steep but not out of control by any stretch. You can eat cheap if you want and there's a McDonalds and more in the Village with prices on a par with anywhere else.

Bring your own snacks, water, and/or hot water.

No reason whatsoever that you can't fully enjoy it, irrespective of the weather.

Good points here. It's as expensive as you make it and there's no reason bad weather should stop you having a good time.

A few years ago I was there for a day in September then again in May we stayed on-site for 3 days. Prices aren't that bad, no different than eating out in Dublin in my opinion. Even the merchandise in shops is cheaper than you'd expect. Some toys/hats/costumes would be expensive but even the Christmas decorations are good quality and decent prices. Anytime I've been I got a hoody, t-shirts, keyrings, Christmas decorations etc.

I got a half board with my booking, they frequently have those deals on their website but anytime we ate dinner whether in the park or in the village it wasn't overly expensive. We had the fridge for snacks/drinks when we took a day trip to Paris.

We never had to wait more than 5 minutes for rides both times we were there, maybe just lucky I guess but the park isn't busy all year round. Off peak shouldn't be an issue. No need for fast pass and we didn't even use the extra magic hours. No issues meeting Mickey Mouse either, maybe 10 minute wait? I wouldn't be one to stand around all day in queues.

When I went in late September it was an absolute scorcher and when I went in May one day or absolutely pissed down, got caught in the rain in a t-shirt during a parade and still enjoyed it.

I've no kids so can't comment on that, but I had a great time both times. You don't even have to be a huge Disney fan to enjoy it.

The Davestator · 12-12-2019 4:28pm

Went in Feb a few years back and even the water fountains were frozen solid!
Very pretty to look at though

Dodge · 12-12-2019 4:50pm

Last February the weather was lovely. Mrs Dodge had bought hand warmers and all sorts of thermals but we were walking around in hoodies. Think it reached 15/16 on the 3 days we were there

Oafley Jones · 12-12-2019 4:59pm

We were probably there the same time as Dodge.

I also bought thermals, ski suits things for the kids, hand warmers, waterproof shoes, layers etc etc. I do tend to go overboard on these things, but the mean temp for the time of year is around 5-8c if I remember correctly and I had looked up the weather patterns for a few years back on the same date. The place was covered with snow 2 weeks before arrival. I was well prepared. And then we got there.

It averaged 14c most day, going even higher with most people in t-shirts by the end of the week.

Still, it was lovely and I was seriously impressed by the park... with the exception of the food which I found well below Disney standards.

Dodge · 12-12-2019 6:02pm

Sounds about right on the weather timeline. It was out second trip there. In between we’d been to Disney world twice. Different trips of course but al 4 hugely enjoyable

As the parks close early we had buffet dinner in the hotel one night. It was part of a group trip (dancing) so discounted. It was worth the discounted price but it’s expensive in its own right.

NIMAN · 02-01-2020 11:57pm

Was thinking of booking the family in for a short stay, maybe at Easter or early summer and was wondering do they ever do deals, sales, promo codes etc?

Every little would help!