Most of us know a little about Disneyland: that there's one in France and a couple in the United States, that the queues can be horrendous, the food sometimes ropey, the Disney characters ubiquitous - and that your children, if their friends have been, will pester you endlessly until resistance crumbles and you, too, are asking for Mickey's autograph and eating in Cinderella's Castle.
Few of us, however, are experts, and if you are going to visit one of the Disneylands, then it's essential to do some research and planning beforehand. Below is a Disneyland primer, designed to clarify the basics - the who, what and where of the resorts near Paris and in Florida and California. The fourth Disneyland, in Japan, is rarely visited from the UK.
You should also consult websites - both the official Disney site (
www.disney.co.uk, which takes you to sites for all three resorts)
There is a Disney helpline in the UK (0870 242 4911) and it is a good idea to invest in a guidebook that takes a critical overview of the resorts and their attractions: good bets for the Florida resort, for example, are the Rough Guide to Florida ( pounds 12.99), or the tip-packed AA Spiral Guide to Orlando & Florida ( pounds 9.99).
Disney organises its own packages to Paris and Florida through Walt Disney Travel (0870 242 4900), but this is a competitive area, and numerous independent travel companies offer packages, fly-drives, coach tours and tailor-made trips. When choosing accommodation, be sure to differentiate between the official Disney hotels on or close to resorts, and the wide range of other - often cheaper - hotels nearby.
Disneyland Resort Paris
What Disneyland Resort Paris consists of two parks. Disneyland Park opened in 1992 and has become Europe's biggest tourist attraction, tempting more than 12 million visitors a year. It has more than 50 rides, shows and attractions in five themed "lands" - Fantasyland, Discoveryland, Frontierland, Adventureland and Main Street USA. It was joined earlier this year by the Walt Disney Studios Park, based on a working film studio, with attractions, stunts and special effects in four "production zones" - Front Lot, Animation Courtyard, Production Courtyard and Back Lot.
Other attractions These start with Disney Village, a vast entertainment complex alongside the resort, which recreates the "downtown" of an American city with shops, 15-screen cinema, restaurants, bars and live-music venues. Its star attractions are La Legende de Buffalo Bill, an extravagant dinner show with cowboys, Indians and animals that recreates the Wild West, and Crescend'O, an "aquatic circus" below a big top.
A recent addition to the complex is the Val d'Europe International Shopping Centre (Mon-Sat, 10am-9pm; free shuttles from four Disney hotels or one stop on the RER railway), which includes La Vallee, France's first outlet mall - the 70 stores sell last-season's and end-of-line designer
stock. Also close by are three nine-hole golf courses.
Need to know The resort lies 20 miles east of Paris and is linked by rail (RER) to the city centre. Eurostar (0870 167 6767) has direct trains once daily (and special packages) from London Waterloo, and additional services via Paris and Lille. Coach and car/ferry packages are also available (see below). It is open 10am- 8pm (November-mid-March) and 9am- 11pm (mid-March-October). Admission is pounds 23 per adult, pounds 18 for children for one day's admission to one park; or pounds 62 adult, pounds 48 (children) for a three-day "Hopper" ticket to both parks.
Queue-buster Queues are a Disney bugbear, but the problem is being addressed. The "FastPass" operates on eight of the most popular rides: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril: Backwards, Peter Pan's Flight, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Star Tours at Disneyland Park; and Studio Tram Tour, Rock 'n' Rollercoaster and Flying Carpets over Agrabah at Disney Studios Park. You are given a set time to return to the attraction if you are not prepared to queue and it is claimed waiting times have been reduced by 45 per cent. Similar schemes operate at the resorts in Florida and California (see below).
Getting there Most people visit for two or three nights (three or four days) as part of an organised package. There is a choice of seven themed Disney hotels (with a total of 5,800 beds), but you can often get cheaper deals at other, unaffiliated hotels close by, most of which are linked by shuttle bus to the resort. Cresta and Thomson (see below) both have a good choice of hotels.
The resort's own two-night Classic Package (0870 503 0303;
www.disneylandparis.com) starts from pounds 280 per adult, based on two sharing at the Disney Hotel New York, and includes two nights' b & b, three-day Hopper ticket and Eurostar from London. Special discounts are available until December 18, with adult prices from pounds 183 and children's from pounds 112.
Eurostar (0870 167 6767) offers a similar range of packages to the Disney hotels, and from March 2003 will offer accommodation at the new Explorers Hotel, a five-minute drive from the resort.
Other tour operators that offer packages include Bridge Travel Service (0870 191 7200;
www.bridge-travel.co.uk); Cresta Holidays (0870 333 3303;
www.crestaholidays.co.uk) - ask for the dedicated Disneyland brochure (brochure line 0870 161 0909); Leger Coach Tours (01709 839839 or 0845 130 7007;
www.leger.co.uk); Kirker Holidays (020 7231 3333;
www.kirkerholidays.com); French Travel Service (0870 241 4243;
www.frenchtravelservice.co.uk); Sovereign (0870 576 8373) and Thomson (0870 606 1496;
www.thomson-holidays.com). Cresta, Sovereign and Thomson have dedicated Disneyland Paris brochures.
Inside track
Disneyland Resort is American in flavour, and you'll be hard-pressed to find even a bottle of French wine on site. So while train travel is convenient, take or hire a car if you want access to a larger choice of restaurants or want to
stock up on French goodies to take home. Auchan is the nearest hypermarket, and here you'll also be able to escape the resort's ubiquitous "nuggets and chips" offerings and find a wide selection of reasonably priced self-service restaurants.
Despite the Americanisation, few people speak English - it's almost all French on site. Take a phrase book if your French is rusty.
In high season, it's possible to wait up to an hour and a half to be seated at the Disney restaurants, so if you have small children, phone ahead to reserve places.
Walt Disney Studios Park has more to offer older children (as do the resorts in Florida and California). The Paris version needs about half a day to get through.
Insist on a pushchair (available for hire on site) with a lock. After a long queue to hire one, it is not unknown for it to disappear when you park it for the first ride.
Walt Disney World Resort,
Florida
What Extends over 47 square miles and features four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom) and two water-adventure parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon) - the last two operate seasonally. Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, Epcot in 1982, Disney-MGM Studios in 1988 and Animal Kingdom in 1998. You need at least five days to do the whole complex justice, one of which should be a day off.
Magic Kingdom has 40 major "adventures" spread over 107 acres based in seven "lands" linked to Disney themes; Epcot's 260 acres embrace two main areas: Future World (theme areas focusing on discovery and scientific achievements) and World Showcase (11 countries brought to life, including the UK, Canada, Japan, China and Mexico); Disney-MGM is a theme park and working film, TV, radio and animation studio; and Animal Kingdom has lots of exotic animals and 500 acres that have been turned into jungle, savanna and forest habitats.
Other attractions "Downtown Disney" consists of Pleasure Island (six acres of nightclubs and restaurants); Marketplace (a waterside shopping village) and West Side (a dining and entertainment district with Cirque du Soleil, a Virgin Megastore, bars, restaurants and live music venues). Disney's Wide World of Sports extends over 200 acres and has training, competition, festival and tournament events in 30 sports.
Need to know Walt Disney World is 20 miles south-west of Orlando. Opening times are generally daily from 9am to midnight in summer, and 9am to 6pm or later the rest of the year: Animal Kingdom usually opens at 8am.
There are three basic tickets. The 10-Day World Ticket (adults pounds 250, children pounds 199) has been tailor-made for visitors from the UK, and covers the four main theme parks, two water parks, Downtown Disney (Pleasure Island) and Disney's Wide World of Sports.
It can be bought in advance in the UK through Keith Prowse (02890 232425), Seligo (0870 705 5000), Transolar (0151 630 3737) and the Walt Disney Travel Company (0870 242 4900). The advantages of buying in advance include better value and more flexibility than one-day tickets, you can visit more than one park on the same day and days do not have to be taken consecutively.
The five-day Hopper Plus ticket costs pounds 189 (adult), pounds 155 (children), while the seven-day version costs pounds 230 (adult), pounds 189 (children). Both tickets offer entry to the four main theme parks, but have some restrictions on other attractions.
Getting there There are 27 themed resort hotels in different price brackets - a total of 25,000 beds - ranging from Disney Campsites (from pounds 25 nightly) to Disney's 1,293-bed Animal Kingdom Lodge (from pounds 135). Disney also has a series of "official hotels", and there are any number of other hotels and motels locally.
More than 30 UK companies sell holidays to Walt Disney World Resort. Virgin Holidays (0870 000 0870;
www.virgin
holidays.com) has a good selection of Disney and Orlando hotels in its Florida & the Caribbean brochure; seven nights at the Disney All-Star resort start at pounds 949 ( pounds 499 for children, pounds 649 for teenagers), flights included.
Other companies include British Airways Holidays (0870 442 3820); Jetsave Limited (0870 848 7018); North America Travel Service (01132 461466); United Vacations (0870 606 2222); and US Airtours (020 8559 7777).
Inside track
Busy times vary from park to park, but Sunday is generally the quietest day.
Don't promise children too much: queues can be very long, and you may have to miss some attractions.
Accommodation is generally cheaper in Downtown Disney Resorts.
Avoid "character" meals at dinner-time or avoid dinner completely if you are budgeting. Children will have plenty of other opportunities to meet characters and get autographs. However, if your child is set on joining Cinderella for breakfast, you may have to book weeks in advance. Check with your operator for details of priority booking.
Disneyland Resort California
What The original Disneyland opened close to Los Angeles in 1955 with 18 attractions. It has recently come to the end of a 10-year pounds 1 billion renovation. Today the Disneyland Resort consists of two theme parks: Disneyland Park and Disneyland Adventure.
The first has more than 60 attractions, covers 85 acres and is made up of eight themed "lands": Adventureland (exotic regions of Asia, Africa, India and the South Pacific, and featuring the celebrated Indiana Jones Adventure); Critter Country; Fantasyland (including Sleeping Beauty Castle); Frontierland (the old Wild West); Main Street, USA; New Orleans Square; Tomorrowland (with futuristic attractions); and Mickey's Toontown.
Disney's California Adventure covers 55 acres, with its attractions spread between three themed lands: Paradise Pier (a boardwalk amusement zone with beachfront attractions); Hollywood Pictures Backlot (a celebration of the movie business) and Golden State (six distinct districts based on the landscapes and regions of California).
Other attractions Downtown Disney, the resort's third major element, which links the other two theme parks, is an esplanade and garden complex of themed shopping, dining and entertainment experiences.
Need to know The resort is close to the town of Anaheim, about 27 miles south-east of Los Angeles. A one-day pass to one park costs about pounds 28.50 (adult), pounds 22 (child); a three-day Hopper (both parks) costs pounds 72/ pounds 57, and a four-day Hopper (both parks) pounds 90/ pounds 70. Tickets are available in the UK from the same operators as Walt Disney World Resort (see above).
Getting there As ever, Disney has its own hotels here, but there are plenty of alternatives. Companies that offer packages and fly-drive holidays to Walt Disney World Resort generally also have trips to Disneyland Resort California. Companies not listed above include Airtours (0870 241 2567); British Airways Holidays (0870 442 3820); Jetlife Holidays (01322 614801); Kuoni Travel (01306 742222); Transatlantic Vacations (01293 772020) and Unijet (0870 511 4114).
Inside track
Use the special train to circumnavigate the resort: the wait to board is never long and it beats battling the crowds.
Don't forget where you left the car.
Dress in layers and bring a sweater; even summer evenings in southern California can be chilly.
Most people eat dinner between 4pm and 6pm, so that is a good time to head for the attractions.
For a perfect view of the firework displays, stand in front of the castle.
Additional research by Rebecca Tormo.
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