Itinerary Advice: Paris/Normandy/Disneyland

uncpauper,
Best of luck at Disneyland on day one. You know yourself and your family best regarding jet lag, etc. If you are coming from the US East Coast it is possible. Re day 2 (Sunday), I would definitely take a train to Bayeux (maybe catch a nap on the train), but there will be a train change, and that day may be mostly lost to check-out, travel, and check-in, leaving you only one full day in Normandy. If you get there early enough on Sunday you may be able to see the not-to-be-missed tapestry, and maybe the cathedral. That leaves a full day to take a tour of the DDay sights. If you get there too late on Sunday, take a half-day tour on Monday and spend the other half in Bayeux. Stay a second night in Bayeux and leave for Paris as early as you can on Tuesday morning (day 4). That leaves you Paris to enjoy for the rest of your trip. (A mid-stay from Paris to Bayeux for one overnight wastes a lot of time with the backtracking. Your first idea seems best to me.)
Be sure to check out your trains and connections from DLand to Normandy. See SNCF website to plug in some of your travel.
Bonne chance!

Hitting Disney on the day you arrive in Europe (assuming you’re coming from North America) sounds like hell on earth to me, and I love Disney. I would start in Normandy and plan to spend two nights there. Do the tour on your full day in Normandy. If you have the energy and interest, you can see the tapestry the day you land. Or you could go to the museum, although it’s generally better to be outdoors to help you stay awake.

Spend the next five days in Paris.

On your last full day, take an early train to Disneyland and enjoy the park. Spend your eighth night there. Then the next morning, you have a quick and easy train ride to the airport.

uncpauper,
Carroll has a great suggestion!

I agree with the above, make Disneyland your last full day and night, and easy hop to CDG on getaway day...

Frankly, I think you are splitting up an 8 day trip a little too much, especially in November with much shorter daylight hours. Assuming your kids have never been to Paris, I would devote the entire first week to Paris, and then do Disneyland on the last day, or make it a day trip from Paris during that week...and depending on how early your Sunday return flight to US is, I would consider spending the final night at a CDG hotel...

Thanks to all for your input so far!

I actually did originally consider Carroll's suggestion. My concern is doing the Normandy full day tour the day after arrival. On our last two international trips, we all crashed hard that first night, and getting up and going early the next morning was tough. I'm a little concerned my kids won't absorb as much on the Normandy trek in that part of it...

And yes, point well taken about splitting it up too much. Normandy is a lot to add, I know. It's easy to say "we'll save it for the next trip" but realistically not sure when that would be.

We're still considering the whole thing, and I do love the idea of a week in Paris. But my older son in particular is very interested in WW2, and having visited Dachau and the beach in Anzio, Italy, I think it would be a nice continuation of his real-world experiences. Nothing is set in stone though, so I truly appreciate all of the feedback!

If you want to do it ALL, I think Carroll's suggestion makes it the easiest. I do get your reservations on the first full day overload, but I think that could be mitigated by how you act on your arrival day. Try to stay awake, wander about the town, pop into the cathedral or even do that tapestry museum if you seem up for it. I think a smaller town like Bayeux might be calm enough to not overload you on arrival and allow you to grab an early dinner (probably 7ish?) and head to bed afterwards. If you get in bed earlier, in theory you should be able to sleep more....but you know your family the best.

I had the same concern as you about the D-Day tour on your first full day. Ideally, starting in Paris would be the best, because you would have more flexibility as you adjust to the time change. The problem is that it’s tough to squeeze in two different places after Paris. Honestly, I would forget Disneyland if it were me. Normandy is something special and a wonderful experience for kids, especially your son who has the interest. You can do Disney in the US. I’m a bit of a Disney freak, but in a short trip to France, I’d skip it. Now if your kids are dying to go… Well, that’s tough one.

Thanks, Carroll! Very good points, but the trip is part of a “double digits” birthday for the youngest and Disney is a must-do :-) We’re excited to compare the parks in another country! But that’s why I also figured we’d do it first on what’s otherwise sometimes a throwaway day. We’ll power through and enjoy what we can, then move on!

We are now giving some consideration to dropping Normandy though, and saving for a future trip when we can spend more time there. I’m not sure where we’ll land on this, because I do think it will be very meaningful. But I can also absolutely make a case for a whole week in Paris, as others have said. So I continue to appreciate all of this feedback as we evaluate!!

I can appreciate having Disney as a must-do, but is a Disney hotel a must-do? Disneyland is easy to visit as a day trip from Paris. That's what most people do.
If you really want to stay at a Disney hotel, and do not want to do Normandy with jetlag, you could do CDG -> Paris -> Normandy -> Disneyland -> CDG.
Normandy to Disneyland is not hard; the RER A to Disneyland is a 7 min walk or 1-stop metro ride from St Lazare station where the Normandy trains arrive.

Balso makes a good point, I do love me some magic, but I am doing DLP from Paris this summer. Just make sure you are able to take advantage of the bonuses of staying on property, like EMH and the like, if not, then staying in Paris and just making it a long day might be easier logistically. I am sad we don't get EMH this time, but we will make it work!

Definitely good points. One challenge is that in November, the park closes pretty early on the weekdays. We certainly could do it as a daytrip, but I’m not exactly sure what we gain by doing so since we’d spend the entire day in the park anyway.

And frankly, staying at Disneyland is cheaper than staying in Paris :) So that’s another reason we were looking at the package this way.

Very good point about using the benefits if we do stay on property. The 1 night stay includes 2 park days (whether you want it or not!) so we thought we’d go Saturday, go back for a few hours Sunday morning if desired, and then head out.

Balso, thanks for those logistics in the train from Normandy to Disneyland. In whatever direction we choose, that’s helpful info to have!!

Those 2 park days were definitely in my mind thinking about the benefits.....if its cheaper (and especially without the FP or LL like thingy I can't remember the name of), then having more than just one day might give reason to do it (as I would lean toward getting the pass if I was just going one day, but if you had EMH for two-it would be a REALLY early morning that first day)......

Ah yes, I hadn’t even gotten as far as considering the ride strategy. Definitely a factor in the 1-day cost. With the bonus 2nd morning, we could hit anything we don’t see the first day. My kids are troopers when it comes to Disney :-)

The 1-day tickets and hours aren’t yet released for November, so I’m speculating based on past info that suggests it could close at 7pm. That’s why I’ve been stuck on going on a Saturday. But if the parks are actually open until 9 or 10 midweek, that could change our plans!

Going to Disneyland on your first day sounds exhausting to all of us who are now older, (maybe Disney'd out!) don't have young kids, etc. But, you have a bday kid who wants to go to Disney Paris, so go! Our son and his girlfriend just went to Tokyo Paris. and since they both grew up in LA, it's not like they haven't been to Disneyland hundreds of times. And my son was at first reluctant to "waste" a day in Japan, but they said it was fun to see all of the differences and not feel the pressure of "we must see/ride everything." Your kids aren't toddlers, (which would be difficult) so I'd just go with the attitude that we go and explore, and when we are all too exhausted, we leave!

I would imagine if you took the all day WW2 tour as your first stop, you would have two kids who would only want to sleep in the tour van, and be too tired to listen because taking in all of that information is wonderful, but sort of puts you in a lull if you are tired and jet lagged. We just did a Normandy tour in the spring, and if I'd been jetlagged I would have surely fallen asleep in the tour van.

Hi there! I am just curious what you ended up deciding on for your itinerary as we are looking at doing the same 3 key places with our similarly aged children in February and I am also trying to figure out the best strategy to get to all three places. Thanks!

Kzeiler- you really may want to rethink any visit to the Normandy beach area in Feb. It could be cold, wet , and windy; not great weather to be out in all day.

If you are traveling with children to France and are interested in the WWII beaches of Normandy, there are good museums in Paris (and London and the US) to begin to learn about WWII. Before your trip, try to find interviews or documentaries about the Nazi occupation of Paris, then when your children visit the same sites in Paris, have them imagine what it must have been like for the citizens. As they grow older, add in the best WWII movies for them to study. Read books. Then when they are even older, encourage them to make a trip to the beaches once they can understand the geography, the allied nations involved, the weapons used. WWII can be a life long study, not just a rushed 1 day trip to say you saw a beach and a memorial. If your child wants Disney, he might still be at the age for Disney and not yet WWII true history. I was just in Normandy a couple weeks ago and the most impactful sites were not the beaten path tourist ones like Point du Hoc. Someday, give it 2 full days at least.

Also, many of the WWII tour companies that begin their tours at 8:00am require you to stay in a very nearby hotel the night before. Also, most restaurants and even markets in Bayeux are closed on Sunday. And kitchens in restaurants often close 1 hour before closing time, with a large gap between lunch and dinner. And... I did not enjoy the Overlord tour I took, at all.

@kzieler Our trip is not until November, so no feedback to share yet. We are planning to go with our first scenario- 1 night Disneyland, straight to Bayeux from there for 2 nights, and then Paris for 5.

My wife and I took our 6 year-old to EuroDisney (on her birthday) in early June. We went on day three of our trip and jet lag was still a bit of an issue for her. Plus, the park was crowded and the wait times for rides were impossible. She got to see the parade of Disney stars, which was quite nice, and which she enjoyed. After a half-hour in line at the first ride of choice, and still nowhere near the front of the line, the kids around us growing cranky and mean, we bailed. In future, if we ever go again, we'll make sure to spend the extra money to buy the tickets that allow you to skip the lines. You might want to do the same, though in November the park might be more chill.

We are planning to go with our first scenario- 1 night Disneyland,
straight to Bayeux from there for 2 nights, and then Paris for 5.

You said you get two park days with the one night stay. If one is the day you will check-in to the hotel, then Disney is not a bad place to just walk around to fight jet lag.

Your plan for Bayeux is great: arrive/Bayeux, D-Day, back to Paris. Please look for a D-Day tour that includes Point du Hoc and if possible, the German Cemetery. Once you see and think about the stark differences between the US and German cemeteries you will understand this recommendation.

Have a great time!

Thank you, jkh! That’s exactly right, we’ll land at CDG, drop bags at the hotel and walk around Disney for as long as we can stay upright :) Then we’ll visit again in the morning, and head towards Bayeux after lunchtime. Relax there for the evening, and then take a tour the next day.

Thanks for the recs on the D-Day sites! I’ve been looking at specific tours and will keep those sites in mind.

Our family is planning the same / a similar trip in the spring. Grandparents, parents, and a 3 yo. We will take 9 days to visit Disney and Normandy (and all in between) by way of rental car. Any tried and true suggestions (in addition to those thus far) are very much welcomed!

I’ll engage in heresy and say cut Paris to four nights and bring
Normandie to 3 nights.

This!

Do you really need to go all the way to Normandy to see sights related to WWII? Here are some options in and closer to Paris:

https://www.visitparisregion.com/en/inspiration/themed-guides/history-second-world-war-in-paris-region

Thank you! Yes, Normandy is essential. It’s been on my dad’s bucket list forever. While we only have a short time, I know it will be meaningful.

Our family is planning the same / a similar trip in the spring

@danthaobx,

I highly recommend a vist to Mont St Michel.

I have experience as a solo traveler starting at Disney. I agree that Normandy should be a separate trip. Paris is a LOT on its own (granted my first trip I did this length and did 5 days in Paris, 2 at DL and a full day trip to the Loire Valley - let's say I saw a lot but went home exhausted and a little sick to be honest). If you only have one day at DL - don't start there on your arrival day. I did this so can speak from experience. You will be exhausted - staying for the night show (and you should!) will be next to impossible and if you do I guarantee you will not truly enjoy. The lines are long here and will crowd patterns will throw you off enough even as a US parks vet that you need to be rested and on your game. If you are trying to do both Disney parks you will need even more energy. It is easier to get into the city - settle and pick a low-key tour activity to stay awake.

As recommended, I think Paris and Disney should be last, with the plan to leave from there. Remember you'll only have about 8 hours of daylight, and the sun won't be up before 8am. You should expect cold, wet, rain, and wind, especially on the coast. Currently it's in the low 50's for a high, and Saturday night in Paris it got down to freezing. It will get colder over the next 30 days.

Please keep me updated how your trip went. We are planning to do the same in December and going to Disneyland on day 1!

I realized I didn’t report back, so for anyone wondering:

We ended up landing at CDG and going straight to Disneyland for one night. Then left around lunchtime the next day to head to Bayeux, via RER to Paris and then train. We spent 2 nights in Bayeux, and finished with 5 nights in Paris.

I’d say this worked mostly well. Had we gone straight to Bayeux, we would have had our D-Day tour the day after landing, and I don’t think that we would have been able to absorb as much. So I think Bayeux was well-positioned.

The Disney part was mostly fine. The biggest challenge was it was the weekend after Halloween and apparently one of the most busy times of the whole year, due to a French school holiday. So we did a LOT of standing around in lines (everything at least 20-30 minutes, some rides much more). That’s when we really felt the exhaustion. Had we been able to keep moving at our “normal” Disney pace I think we would have been fine!

We came back to the hotel mid-afternoon and my boys crashed HARD. It was tough to get them back up and out for the evening, but actually the nighttime was the most fun part of the trip since the crowds went down a bit.

The next morning wakeup was rough for Early Magic Hour, but we ordered room service breakfast (that was clutch!!) and powered through for a few more hours.

Had I known about the crowds for the school holiday, I may have planned it differently and hit Disney midweek, but I’m still not sure. Because of the way Disney prices their packages, it’s actually “affordable” (in Disney terms!) to stay overnight because you get 2 park days with that. So positioning it where I did is the only way we could have leveraged the second day, which we did enjoy even if only for a few hours.

And we definitely all enjoyed having a longer uninterrupted stretch in Paris. Departing for our flight back to the US was so easy, certainly compared to being in Bayeux on the tail end.

I hope this rambling response was helpful to someone!

The biggest challenge was it was the weekend after Halloween and apparently one of the most busy times of the whole year, due to a French school holiday.

Interesting comment...we were in Paris for 2 weeks during mid to late October, or covering the same holiday period noted above, and we noticed a drop in the number of tourists and locals in the city from the start of our stay (pre-school holiday when schools were in session) vs the second week when schools were closed. We first noticed something was different over the starting weekend of the school holidays when the schools in the neighborhood were quiet, and that explained to us the reduction in traffic, people on the streets, in local restaurants, etc. We concluded that this particular school holiday period might be a good time to visit Paris since families seem to have left town (going places like Disneyland, perhaps?), but we also were not doing the usual tourist things and if we had we may have otherwise discovered they were packed...not sure, but for our style of travel (eating, shopping, parks) we will consider visiting Paris again during the school holidays...