Disney holidays
Three quite different holidays that share a name. The one you want depends on how old the children are, how long you have got, and whether you are hoping for a rest as well.
Which one
People often arrive asking for a Disney holiday and leave having booked something quite different from what they first pictured. That is usually a good outcome.
Two parks, a Eurostar and one connecting train, and a long weekend rather than a fortnight. The easiest and least expensive way to do Disney properly from the UK. Best for a first trip, for younger children, and for anyone who does not want a nine-hour flight.
Four parks across forty square miles in Florida, and the one people mean when they say "Disney". Two weeks, not one. Best for families with older children, and for anyone combining it with the Gulf coast or the Keys.
No queues and no rides. Meals and children's clubs included, and sailings from Southampton in some summers. Best for parents who want a holiday of their own alongside the children's.
How we would choose
Answer these and the right one is usually obvious.
What we will tell you either way
None of this is hidden, but it is rarely mentioned before a deposit is taken.
Same questions asked of each, so the differences are the only thing left.
Paris is the one most British families start with.
Sleeping Beauty Castle at dusk, guests on the approach
The castle's clock tower above Fantasyland
Castle spires against a clear sky
Bistrot Chez Rémy in Disney Adventure World
The three we book most. Each can be reshaped, combined, or swapped for the version that actually suits your family once we have talked it through.
Guide prices, per person, based on two adults sharing, including return flights, accommodation and park tickets or cruise fare as stated. They indicate what a holiday of this type has typically cost and are not an offer or a quotation. Your price depends on dates, party, ticket type and availability, and is confirmed in writing before any payment is taken.
The ones that come up before every Disney booking.
Paris, nearly always. Under six, the queues are shorter, the walking is less, and they will not remember the rides they were too short for in Florida. It is also a long weekend rather than a fortnight, with no nine-hour flight at either end.
Ten days minimum to justify the flight, and fourteen to actually enjoy it. If you have under five nights, book Paris instead — Florida on a short trip turns into a race.
No, at either park. It is Premier Access in Paris and Lightning Lane in Florida, both paid, both priced by the day and neither included in a standard ticket. Budget for it or plan around it.
No, and plenty of families do not. But early entry — Extra Magic Time in Paris, early park entry in Florida — is for official Disney hotels only, whatever a booking site implies. If early entry matters to you, it decides where you stay.
The cruise. It is the only one of the three where the children's clubs are genuinely used, meals are included, and nobody sets a six o'clock alarm.
Yes. Tell us the ages, the dates and roughly the budget and we will quote two or three side by side. We are paid the same either way, which is why we are comfortable telling you when the cheaper one is the better holiday.
Ages, dates and roughly the budget. We'll come back within one working day with Paris, Florida and a cruise priced side by side, so you can compare like for like.