US Mom, DD in London-Desperate need info, Thanks!

[idofabric]

My DD, almost 21yo, has just finished out a sem. at Uni at Edinbaurgh. She is currently staying at a friends flat in London, free, and is working at Wimbeldon, and doing some Volunteering work also.
So she has a chance to go over to Paris,then to Dijon, then to Disney Paris. She is a broke college kid and won't take money from mom and dad for a vacation... Thank goodness!? So I am begging all you for info, please.

She has to go to Paris to drop off baggage first, then family stuff in Dijion, and then Disney. I told her about the Eurostar train and I need to check on the prices for that. She will only have money/time for 1-2 days unless she can get a almost free/ very cheap ticket or deal. ( Don't we all want that!?)

So... Where do I check for tickets in the UK?/London area? Cheap ones... student rates? Or is there a US Military base close to London that she could get to by tube/bus? If so she has a US Military ID Dependant card and could check for tickets there. I tried to get her to check the phone book... but she is doing a lot of volunteering work and also odd jobs and helping a friend move to a new flat....

I guess I just need ticket info, and any other ideas you all might have. I am trying to do all this by emai with her... I do have a phone number, but with the time diff. and her working so much it is hard to do

Thank you so much for any help and info you can send me. And for the time you took to read all this!

 

[magicmouse2]

It may be cheaper to fly from stanstead airport in London to Paris. You can get great cheap rates with Easyjet.com. Sorry I cant help with student rates.

 

[idofabric]

Thanks for the flight info!

We are also checking on cost of tickets bought in the UK verse the US. She is so cheap/brooke I don't think she will get to go. But she is young and has had a great time in the UK this last semester, so she isn't complaining! This would be nice if we can get her there. She will be the only one in the family that has been to all the current open Disney parks, since we were stationed in Japan when she was very little, and goes to Uni. in LA, Calif. Not that she has had the time to go in the last 3 years! But she did LA when she was a baby.

 

[missj171]

eurostar tickets are generally discounted for under 26/25s, so may be a good option for her! I saw returns from London-Paris for £60 inc all taxes - the low cost airlines promise £1.99 fares but when you add taxes in it could end up costing a lot more.

 

[Miffy2003]

I can't help with your questions I'm afraid but I just wanted to wish your DD luck - it would be fantastic if she can get to Disneyland Paris. Fingers crossed for her

 

[Laurajean1014]

Bumping - because it's worth bumping!

 

[idofabric]

You all rock! as my DD would say.

So where would be the best place for her to buy tickets? Or for me to get them for her and then mailing them to her?

I have read that there are 21 day WDW tickets that one can buy in the UK. And other tickets we can not get in the US for WDW. So that makes me wonder if there are Paris Disney ( is that DP or PD? hummmm?) that we in the US can get that might not be availabel in UK or France.

I know it is getting lateish over there now, but hoping some more of you wonderfull people are still up and have some more info!

Thanks lots and tons for all the info so far. DIS has never let me down!

 

[idofabric]

A little update...
DD is now going to DLP about July 10/11th. She is living in Kenington(SP?sorry!), and will get to Paris,not sure how... Leaving London, July 3-4 after she is done working the tennis show at Wimbledon. Then has a place in Paris for a while and will be going to DLP.

So, now I need to find a way to get the best prices for her.
1) Ticket to Paris.
2) tickets to Disney and back to Paris
3) Tickets/package for 1-2 days for the park(s) and
4) Maybe a hotel?

I had found a great price through Eurostar of 110-120 pounds for all of the above-ticket to Disney, 2 day pass and a Disney Hotel for 1 night. But did not hear from her in time to get it! And I did not know what day, or days she could or wanted to be there. Or if she was going to be able to go.

Thanks for everything! She is loving London, and got to go to the V&A today , and I am so very, very jealous!

Good thing I love her!

 

[diberry]

One of the contributors to this board - MorganB - lives in Paris and would be in a good position to advise you on travel from Paris to DLP.

 

[MinnieYC]

Does she have internet access? If it is too late to get Eurostar tickets, have her check some of the European airlines for a cheap air ticket from London to Paris- I've heard good things about EasyJet, RyanAir, and some others.

Does she want to go just to Disneyland or to the city of Paris and Disneyland? If she wants to see both, she should probably stay in Paris and take the Eurostar into Paris. Plus, it may be easier to find an inexpensive but still nice hotel in Paris at this point.

To get to Disneyland from Paris, tell her to take the RER. The RER is an extension of the regular Metro and goes to the suburbs outside of Paris. The Red line goes to Disneyland. Disneyland's stop is called Marne-la-Vallee Chessy, and is the last stop on the end of this line. It costs about 6 euros each way. The trip is easy, safe, and takes 30-35 minutes. At night, there will be plenty of people coming back from Disneyland. Just have her make sure that the train she gets on says that it is going to Marne-la-Vallee Chessy, since this line splits towards the end, and if she got on the wrong one, she'd have to back track a bit, adding an extra 15 minutes or so to the trip.

The RER station at Disneyland is literally a few feet from the parks. When going to buy RER tickets, nearly all of the Metro/RER ticket agents speak English and know exactly how to tell someone to get to Disneyland. Within the city of Paris, the RER stops at some of the regular Metro stations.

As for park tickets, I think it would probably be easiest for her to just buy them when she gets to the park. I've done this a few times, and I've never had to wait more than 5 minutes on line. Just tell her to get there a few mintues before the park opens (probably 9 AM, check www.disneylandparis.com to make sure).

If she is spending one day in Disneyland, I highly recommend just going to Disneyland Park and skipping the Studios. If she is going for two days, I recommend one day for both parks plus a full day for Disneyland Park or just 2 full days for Disneyland Park. If she spends a day at both parks, she can get a Passe-Partout, which is a one-day park-hopper. It only costs about 5 euro more than a regular one-day ticket. If you start out in the Studios in the morning, you can switch over to Disneyland Park at 6PM when the Studios close for no extra cost with a regular one-day ticket (i.e. NOT a park hopper), but with a 2 day visit, I think it would be best to not spend that much time at the Studios.

If any of this didn't make sense, let me know.