Flipflops and Raincoats

“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing” – Alfred Wainwright

Category: France

Maximise Fun & Save Money at Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris might be ‘the most magical place on earth’, but when it comes to cost then this magic can quickly disappear! My family loves a Disney trip even though they are all but grown up! Also, if I am honest I cannot resist a little trip to visit the mouse. Having visited recently, here are some tips on how to save money at Disneyland Paris, but allow you to maximise fun on your next DLP trip.
Check Hotel Prices Outside the Park
Booking your Disneyland Paris Tickets
Save Money by Driving to Disneyland Paris
Saving Money on Food
Make the most of your day at Disneyland Paris!
Check Hotel Prices Outside the Park
We have stayed in a Disney hotel but this time we used Premiere Classe Marne la Vallee- Bussy Saint Georges. This is a great place to stay to save money as is located close to the motorway around 15 minutes’ drive from the park. The park is also accessible by train with a short walk to the station. There are many budget hotels around the parks, some within walking distance.
If choosing this option make sure you do include the cost of transportation. A substantial amount of your budget will be spent on parking at theme parks or transport costs to get to DLP. Sometimes, if Disney has a good deal, you find that buying hotel/park tickets together is nearly as cheap as staying off site. It purely depends on the time of year and offers available. For a 2 day, 3 night stay, it is usually cheaper to stay in an external hotel.
By not staying on site you do not get the extra magic hours access to the parks. This is not necessarily an issue, read on in this article for more on this.
Booking your Disneyland Paris Tickets
Booking your tickets directly with Disneyland Paris is not always the best option. You can save money using attraction tickets, the are often they are cheaper, and come with some kind of small freebie. They are efficient and tickets come through in plenty of time.
Whichever method you choose, book your tickets in advance as they are often not available of the day.
Check the price of a Disneyland Paris annual pass.
If you are visiting the parks for 3 days or more than consider purchasing an annual pass, as it may be a way of saving money. You have to buy them by phone or at the parks and recently they have not always been available.
When buying an annual pass make sure you check the details carefully. Numbers admitted per day are limited so must book your visit on the Disney booking system well in advance. You can only have 3 days of visits to the parks booked at once, so you won’t be able to book park days for your whole visit if it is longer than that. Because of this booking rule you may not get entrance to the park on the other days during busy times.
Make sure you check the times of year you can use your pass carefully. This is because during busy periods such as school holidays and Christmas, with the cheaper passes you may not have access to the park. Only the more expensive gold pass allows you access every day of the year. More information on passes can be found here
Save Money by Driving to Disneyland Paris
Using either the ferry or Eurotunnel and driving to the parks is usually the cheapest option from the UK. The route is easy and mostly motorways.
The ferry is often the cheapest option and means you can grab a meal on the boat if you wish. The Eurotunnel is quicker and saves time if you are in a rush.
If you do drive make sure you check your license and insurance as well as checking you have the necessary equipment in your car. More details can be found in my previous blog on European travel tips.
Saving Money on Food
Take a packed lunch
There is a lot online about whether you are allowed to take food and drink into the park and the answer is you are! Supermarkets are a plenty so stocking up is easy. Also the Val d’Europe shopping centre is not far away.
There is always the option of taking the basics from home. Items which do not need refrigerating and can easily be stored in the hotel rooms are perfect. This included rolls, hotdog sausages, flavoured tinned tuna as well as Crips, apples, bananas, biscuits and of course sandwich bags! We easily made up our lunch before leaving the hotel room.
Taking water bottles and other drinks in with you is also a great way of saving money, as these are particularly expensive in the parks.
Saving money on Breakfast
Many of the hotels outside the park offer breakfast but even the cost of this for a family can cut a dent in your budget. The dining areas are often small and fill up quickly first thing in the morning.
To save money, take items such as breakfast bars, fruit and porridge pots. Buy a cheap travel kettle from amazon and take it with you to use in your room. This was perfect for making up porridge as well as having hot drinks.
Make the most of your day at Disneyland Paris!
Having spent money on the tickets, it is important to get value for money. Some people are tempted to stay at a Disney hotel for the extra magic hours. This is not always worth it as often there are limited rides open and the park tends to be quieter at night. We like to make the most of our tickets by being in the parks from opening until closing, but this does not suit everyone.
Arrive Early at Disneyland Paris
One option is to get to the park for rope drop and then head for your favourite ride. The best starting point tends to be those rides not open for magic early hours. Decide and go to other nearby rides after. By doing this it is often possible to get through 3 or 4 rides before the queues are extortionately long.
The busiest time in the parks seems to be from lunchtime through to around 4pm in the afternoon. At this time we tend to go to see a show, visit the shops, eat lunch and then join one of the long queues!
Arrive after lunch
Another option is not to arrive in the park until mid-afternoon. This is a good plan if the park is open well into the evening. The crowds of get slightly less after the parade and as the night goes on the queues get smaller and many of the rides including Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain have queues of 10 minutes or less. It is the perfect time to visit and as the evening goes on, if you are not worried about front row views of the fireworks then you can get a lot of rides into a couple of hours!
The fireworks and drones can be viewed from many places in the park and one of the best views we have found is on the side just past the Buzz ride as you walk towards the castle. The crowds do not gather here as early and if you are in no hurry to get home it is a good place to be. Obviously, if you are in a hurry to leave then watch the show from the far end of main street!
Combine a Disneyland Paris and Paris trip
Remember you can combine a Paris trip with Disneyland as from the park it is easy to catch the metro to the centre of the city.
Disney will always be a money swallowing trip, but it is possible to save money! Why wouldn’t you, if it means you can combine a Paris and Disneyland trip or even return a little sooner!
January 18, 2024
Everything you need to know about Les Gites Vert Pomme, Normandy
These Normandy Gites, are nestled in the countryside, 30 minutes from both Dieppe and Rouen.
The idyllic, not to be missed, Les Gites Vert Pomme, consists of 2 gites back-to-back and renting one or both is an option.
Les Gites Vert Pomme
Gite Les Pommes
Gite Le Tilleul
Outside Area
Location of the Gites
How to get to the Gites
Places to visit from the Gites
Les Gites Vert Pomme
We travelled with another family and rented both properties; there were 9 of us in total, but there is space for up to 14. On arrival we were amazed by the decoration, space and facilities. They were just perfect! Hiring both is ideal for 2 families as each gite has enough crockery, utensils and space around the table for the whole group to eat and be together in one place. Both kitchens have more than adequate accessories, with copious amounts of plates, dishes and cooking equipment. We easily cooked dinners for 9 people during our stay.
Gite Les Pommes
The smaller of the 2 gites is called Les Pommes. It is suitable for up to 6 people. On entering the property, the first thing that hits you is the stunning, large full-length arched window taking up most of the end wall. This looks onto the orchard. It was beautiful in winter, but I can only imagine how amazing it must be during the spring and summer. The gite is beautifully decorated and so much attention has been given to the detail; you notice this immediately! There is a log burner in the centre of the property. This was great for warming up on a winters evening.
Downstairs there is the living area with a beautiful view, dining area, kitchen and toilet. Upstairs there is a bathroom along with 2 connected bedrooms, one with a double bed and 2 twin beds and a second bedroom with 2 twin beds. Thinking of hiring just one of the properties, choose this one purely for the light and views from the beautiful south-facing window.
Gite Le Tilleul
The second of these Normandy gites, Le Tilleul, is slightly larger having 3 bedrooms, one of them being downstairs. This is a double room with a shower room connected. The dining area has a large table and a living area has seating with a wood burner. This was a great space for the 9 of us to spend evenings chatting and playing games.
Upstairs there are 2 connecting bedrooms, one family room with a double and 2 singles as well as another twin room. There is also a bathroom which includes a bath. It is a beautiful property, where much consideration has been given to decoration and facilities. This can also be booked this on its own. It is a very close second to the other one. If you are travelling with someone who struggles with stairs, then this should be your first choice because of the downstairs bedroom.
Both properties are child friendly and contain plenty of toys and games to keep younger visitors happy. A vast array of tourist leaflets and information are available. These include suggestions for walks; there seemed to be plenty of these and this something we would have loved to have done if the weather had been more favourable.
Outside Area
The outside area with it’s large and beautiful gardens the outside area is amazing. Les Pommes has a deck area outside its main window and Le Tilleul has an area at the back of the property. This is ideal as if you were renting one gite only, as you are less likely to be disturbed by other visitors. Both have a BBQ and seating available.
We visited the Normandy gites during December, so did not get much opportunity to utilise them fully, as it rained for much of our stay. The grounds (shared between both properties) are vast and plenty of equipment is available for outside use. In an open shed to the back of the properties, there is a table tennis table and a small snooker table. There is other outdoor equipment for use in the garden and even in the wet the kids made use of popup football goals. You will also find a wood store here. You get one very large container for free and then after that pay 5 Euros for any extra buckets, which you can refill yourselves.
Location of these Normandy Gites
These beautiful Normandy Gites are located in Beauval en Cau, with the nearby facilities being found in Auffay. We loved a trip to the fabulous baker, Pierre Renault, visiting it every morning to purchase breakfast! The town was just over a 5-minute drive away and has several small shops, as well as a Carrefour Contact. The town has a railway station. If you haven’t sorted out your Crit’Air sticker (Rouen is a low-emission zone and stickers are sent to your home address), then the train will be your best option to visit the city.
How to get to these Normandy Gites
Being 30 minutes from Dieppe, an ideal way of getting to these gites, is on the 4 hour Newhaven to Dieppe ferry crossing with DFDS. Alternatively, the location is around a 2 hour drive from Calais, where you can choose the Eurotunnel crossing or a ferry with DFDS or P&O.
Places to visit from the Gites
Dieppe
As previously mentioned Dieppe is not far away and makes a pleasant trip. Although we didn’t visit the castle this time, along with its museum, it offers an interesting insight into the city. It has a harbour with a selection of restaurants nearby. There is also a long pebble beach, which we spent time walking around as well as wandering around the town itself. There is a large Carrefour hypermarket on the outskirts; it has a Flunch restaurant which is a great option to enjoy a fast, cheap and delicious French meal!
Saint-Valery-en-Caux
Just along the coast is the charming town of Saint-Valery-en-Caux. It has a harbour, pebble beach and we enjoyed wandering for a couple of hours, opting to buy lunch from one of the bakeries, although there were plenty of restaurants to choose from.
Fecamp
Fecamp is around an hour from the properties and is another good place for a part or full-day trip. It is surrounded by the tallest cliffs in Normandy. It too has a long pebble beach with a promenade, which you can walk along to join the dike which goes out to the lighthouse.
Walking towards the town there is the Benedictine Palace, which is very palatial in nature. It now houses a distillery where the local herbal liqueur is brewed. The recipe for this was left by a Venetian monk who served it at Fecamp Abbey in the 16^th century. On the harbour the Pêcheries Museum, explores the history of fishing in Fecamp. The town itself is a pleasant place to wander.
Etretat
Étretat has a picturesque coastline with some unusual rock formations. It has an arch on both sides of the town, along with what the French call the Aiguille. We visited on a very wet day, but it is possible to take the path up the cliffs; on the west side, you get views over the Aiguille and to the west the Jardins d’ Étretat with stunning views across the bay. Again there is a pleasant town to stroll around.
Honfleur
Just over an hour from the gites is beautiful Honfleur, one of France’s most visited towns. Colourful houses, art galleries and restaurants are positioned around the quays. On our visit there was also a small Christmas market. The heart of the port is the Vieux basin, with its fabulous choice of restaurants. Honfleur is a place to eat seafood and we very much enjoyed our Moule frites! The old town is a lovely place to walk around along with some interesting shops to discover. The Church of Sainte Catherine is worth a visit as it is entirely built out of wood. The town also has a number of museums, you can find out about here. https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/unmissable-sites/honfleur/things-to-do/
Point de Normandie
On the approach to Honfleur, linking it over the Seine to Le Havre, you drive over Point de Normandie; the longest cable-stayed road bridge in the world. It is an impressive sight and there is a parking place for you to view the bridge, with a small museum explaining its history. There are nature walks from this car park and you can also walk onto the pedestrian path on the bridge. On the Le Havre side not far from the end is a designer outlet shopping centre.
There are many places to explore both in and around these Normandy gites. Paris is just over 2 hours away and Caen just under 2 hours, giving you further options. With the gites being spacious with plenty of facilities they provide the perfect location whatever the weather. You can find further details on their website.
For more information please contact us
January 27, 2023