Carnet tickets and Versailles/Disneyland Paris?

If by carnet you mean the 10 metro/bus tickets for 14.10 you get for travel in Paris then no. These are good for Paris only and everywhere the metro goes (it laps outside Paris here and there a bit e.g La Defence and St. Denis) Both Versailles and Disneyland are well outside Paris. If you get a Navigo Decouverte travel pass which is 5 Euro plus about 22 Euro for the week (Monday-Sunday only) then you can use that to get anywhere in the Ile de France including Disneyland which is in Zone 5. Paris is zone 1.

To get to Disneyland if you don't have the ND, you can buy a mobilis day pass for 5 zones for about 16 Euro or so and use it all day including back in Paris that evening. The tickets are roughly 7.50 each way. You would get tickets Paris to Marne le Vallee and need two -- one to go and one to return. Tickets on public transport are destination specific i.e. Paris - specific station outside Paris not generic zone tickets.

If your days fall between Mon-Sun of a week then definitely get the ND for each family member as it will be your best bargain.

FWIW a carnet just means 10 tickets of the same type bought for a reduced fee (20% or so less) If there were five of you, you could buy a carnet of ticket for Disneyland and instead of paying 15 each, it would average out to a bit less. But if you don't need 10 disneyland transit tickets then the Mobilis is the best value if you don't have the ND. Carnet usually references the 10 tickets for Paris travel, but can be applied to any 10 tickets to the same destination.

No, you need a separate ticket to ride the train to Versailles and Disneyland. If you are going to be there for a week and starting on a Monday, you can get an all-zone Navigo pass the will cover all Metro, RER, and buses in the Paris region. 21.25 euro per person plus initial issue fee of 5 euro plus bring a 1" by 1 1/4" passport-type photo. website (in French)
http://www.ratp.fr/fr/ratp/c_21137/forfaits-navigo-mois-et-semaine/

We're arriving on a Wednesday and leaving the following Friday. Would we be better off with a pass starting the Monday after we arrive? It's just the two of us traveling.

If you arrive at CDG , be prepared as Sam states , and buy the Navigo Decouverte there . It will get you into town , and between Wednesday and Sunday you will probably break even , then top it up for the next week on Monday morning

I agree with getting the navigo card at the airport when you arrive . It's so much simpler to use , scan it over the purple machine at the stations , buses , subways. If you like to see the sites around Paris like my wife and I did we would head out in the morning hop on the subway , come back to the room in the afternoon , and head back out in the evening on whatever subway we needed and not have to worry about getting more tickets . It paid for itself for sure. We reloaded it for our second week after a 3 day trip to Amsterdam

My feeling is that it's not worth figuring out if I'm going to save €1-2 euros (or even €4-5) by using individual tickets instead of the Navigo. The Navigo is just so convenient. And you can hop on a bus for 1-2 stops without doing the math.

It helps to have your photos with you to insert in the passes. They need to be smaller than passport size. I used a photocopier to reduce the size.

The photos should be about 25/30mm and you can print them on your computer and have them ready to go -- no special paper needed.

If you do decide to get them at the airport and use them to come into Paris be sure you are traveling pickpocket proof; no wallets in pockets, fanny packs, backpacks with valuables -- and good control of purse or computer bag. This is a necessity in any crowded place, particularly in tourist districts (e.g. the Louvre or Orsay or Notre Dame etc) and always on public transport. It is just a fact of life in European tourist areas as there are very skilled pickpockets who will have your wallet out of your front pocket without you noticing. I use a moneybelt in transit from the airport until I can stow the excess cards, money, back up ID etc in the hotel safe or at the apartment.

The pickpocket comment leads me to another question, where do gentlemen keep their spending money if a wallet in a pocket is bad? I'll be carrying a purse, and I'm researching those that are supposed to be harder to pickpocket. But my husband doesn't typically carry a bag. He'd generally keep his phone and wallet in his pockets. We'll keep some extra cash in a money belt, but not our day to day. Should he carry a bag instead?

To answer the wallet question...we have a PacSafe cross body bag that is black (MetroSafe 200 - great organizational bag - there are other brands/companies people will recommend as well)...since I carry the camera and related stuff, hubby uses the PacSafe bag. His wallet goes in the body of the bag, daily money is in the back zipper area and the bulk of any other money we have is a the front compartment where it is behind a zippered pocket and under a Velcro flap,. The credit cards are also kept in that secure compartment (there is also a zipper lock you can use, but we've never gone that far)

If we are in a small village or town, he'll usually just put it in an inside zippered pocket in his jacket (if it's cool enough to wear one)

We've never used a money belt (or one that goes around your neck but under your clothes), but many people recommend using those for 'deep' storage of extra money and passports, and keeping your daily spending money in your pocket/purse/bag. I wouldn't put anything in your wallet you can't do without. Pickpockets are good. They CAN get that money out of the really tight front pocket on your pants without you noticing - even zippered cargo pants aren't safe - I had a friend who lost his passport after someone slashed his cargo pants pocket while he was in Barcelona.

I am a male so I will go with my experiences.

Both my wife and I wear moneybelts - we prefer the waist level ones - and she wears hers facing backwards and I wear mine facing forwards.

In that are all the credit and debit cards, ID, driving license, passport.

She doesn't carry a purse except a little travel fabric handbag which has lip balm, a couple of backup Euro or CHF notes totalling about €20, mirror, comb, small camera and the name and address of where we are staying.

I carry a small velcro travel wallet with €20 to €40 and one debit card if we think we will need it, in an inside pocket.

We've been fine despite 2 or 3 forays into our daypacks over the years which got nothing.

Just to underline what Nicole said:

I wouldn't put anything in your wallet you can't do without.

Basically, if you have a wallet in a pocket, you have to assume it will be taken. (If it's not, great, but unfortunately too often it is.)

The wallet should have only whatever money you are okay with losing (20-30 euros? 50 euros? it's different for everyone) and a few metro tickets . . .

NOT a bunch of cash
NOT a credit card
NOT a debit card
NOT your passport
NOT your photos of your kids
NOT your smartphone
NOT your driver's license
NOT a bunch of preferred customer cards from home
etc etc etc

Those things (the ones of them you choose to carry with you; obviously some things are better left at home before you depart on your trip) need to be in "deep" storage in your moneybelt, away from pickpockets' limber fingers.

Nigel it wasn't clear to me if you were talking about outside waist purses (what USers call 'fanny packs' or actual money belts worn under the clothes. The later are quite secure although you don't need them when out and about and can put the excess stuff in the hotel safe. The former -- any outside worn pack or purse is not secure and they are all fairly easily picked.

I buy travel clothing that has hidden zipped pockets. YOu can get traditional travel shirts (the kind with the long sleeves that can be rolled and fastened, that have a zipped pocket behind the breast pockets. They make a good 'jacket' over a t-shirt in warm weather. Any travel/outdoor store has them e.g. REI. There are companies that specialize in clothes with hidden pockets. I have a lightweight trench coat from Scottevest.com that has 18 hidden pockets. If you load them all up, you would look like a donkey but they are great for stowing anything you would need for walking around in cool weather. They have a variety of garments with hidden pockets. I have a lightweight ladies jacket from Magellan that has very well hidden pockets that I often wear traveling as I can stow our passports conveniently but well hidden. I also have a jacket from Travel Smith that has reasonably secure inner pockets. With some attention to clothing options you can avoid needing a money belt or even a purse. We carry messenger bags on the plane for computers, cameras etc and then take turns carrying one of them on day trips where we may want to carry extra sweaters, water or a lunch etc.

My husband gave up on carrying a wallet after several pick pocket incidents including one where he lept off the metro hanging onto the arm of the thief who threw it back into the car -- after that (he had foiled earlier attempts more easily) he conceded that it was too much of a risk.

No, janettravels44, I would never wear a bum bag. They are a neon arrow saying "ME, ME".

Money belts should never be seen, never accessed in public.

I just want to mention the other things we carry in our PacSafe...sunglasses, Kleenex, iPad mini, map(s), small travel umbrella if it looks like rain, gum/mints, maybe a granola bar, small bottle of water, of course the keys for where we are staying (if there are keys) go on the hook on the bag and tucked in with the extra money - I swear I use hubby as a pack horse...part of the reason I like cross body messanger bags! The umbrella or water bottles fit in the side pockets on the MetroSafe...Air Canada thoughtfully gives out little half size bottles of water when we fly and they are perfect for fitting in the side pockets!

I second the pac safe bags , my wife and I both used them in Paris last fall , they will carry whatever valuables you want to carry . The bags have a built mesh weave in the strap and the bag so a knive can't cut through it or the shoulder strap. We tried the money belts but I found to be a pain .

As Nigel notes, moneybelts are body safes, they are not purses. They have no place in stowing things you need during the day. And unless you have no secure place to leave the stuff where you are staying, you shouldn't need them except in transit.

By giving up carrying purses around town I have discovered just how little one needs. Essentials can be stowed in pockets and most things are non-essential. I used to get an aching head or shoulder from lugging all this carp around on my shoulder -- now I wander freely about knowing that if something becomes a need -- an umbrella, water etc it can be obtained easily and most of the time the weather report is good enough. A cross body purse or messenger bag or camera bags all work if you must carry valuables about with you.

can we buy th ND at ORY? What about at 10pm at night? Also, will the ND get us from ORY to Paris? lastly, is the train/metro from Paris safe at night (with kids) going to Latin Quarter hotel (then 2 blocks walking)? We are from DC, I would ride our metro in some areas @ 10pm, and not in other areas.

Elaine, have a look at parisbytrain.com

I'm a girl (not a young one, though) and I keep the money I need for the day in a front jeans pocket. If I have a lot, I divide it between the 2 front pockets. Wallets are too easy to take, and it would be a shame to have one stolen, even if there was little of value in it.

If I need to dip into the money belt, it's easy enough to duck into a toilet or even a secluded corner if the money belt is in the front to pull out more cash or a card. Sometimes I'll keep extra cash or a card that I know I'll need during the day in my backpack, which has an inner zipped pocket that wouldn't be noticed by a pickpocket.