Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)
  • Driving to EuroDisney….how hard/long??
  • rockhopper70
    Full Member

    Just wondering if anyone has done this. Can get to France with Tesco vouchers on the EuroTunnel so I was wondering how much of a run is faced to Disney. A mate who did it seemed to end up going through central Paris that would seem a fairly bad route choice. Any views on this???
    Would tom tom steer me cleat of the champs e ly sees?

    stanfree
    Free Member

    If your driving from Wick It will be a bastard , If from Brighton It will be a piece of piss.

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    about 3 hours once you get to the other side. Presuming you're taking youngish kids, you'll need a stop but FR motorway services are about as related to British ones as the FR football team is to a highly organised and motivated outfit.

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    rockhopper70
    Full Member

    taking three ankle biters…9,7 & 4. Did you miss paris central?

    Muddy@rseTony
    Free Member

    It's easy, done it many times. From the ET terminal it's all motorway (toll) and you head towards Paris turning off just after Charles De Gaul airport to a link road which takes you almost to the park. From Brighton we have done it as a day trip and from memory it's about 200km which at a constant 88km/hr should take you less than 3 hours once in France including one or two stops.

    Don't be tempted to speed as the toll gates check your average speed.

    You will not touch Paris unless you miss the turn off. There is a large Carrefour supermarket about 10 miles before the park to stock up as there is a picnic area next to the park car park – I doubt prices have dropped since the last time we went and eating inside can be expensive.

    Assuming they are still using them hit the timed ride ticket machines first as the queues can be pretty long on the popular rides.

    Do consider using the vouchers for the Eurostar service which goes direct to the park and saves the fuel/insurance etc costs of driving.

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    did you miss paris central

    As above, yes – by miles.

    rockhopper70
    Full Member

    muddy@arse….not sure that the vouchers are valid against eurostar, just euro tunnel.

    steveh
    Full Member

    Don't be tempted to speed as the toll gates check your average speed.

    That's a commonly believed mistruth. The tolls do no such thing, the police will do spot speed checks at times and pull you at the next toll booth station but that's it. I've done 150-160kph on cruise all the way through france with no issues.

    It's an easy drive though, definitely don't need to go into Paris itself.

    Edukator
    Free Member

    Your sppedo must be at least 20kmh fast steeveh. Don't forget the gendarmes have the amusing habit of setting up their mobile radars about 3km after the fixed ones.

    vinnyeh
    Full Member

    muddy@arse….not sure that the vouchers are valid against eurostar, just euro tunnel.

    Don't worry mate, eurostar won't let you take your car, it's eurotunnel that you want if you're driving, so you should be right.

    steveh
    Full Member

    Edukator what you link to is just speed cameras though, nothing to do with monitoring speed between toll booths as muddy@rsetony mentioned.

    chrissyboy
    Free Member

    It's a really easy drive – we went as part of our French camping holiday last week. Took us about 3 1/2 hours from Calais and you don't need to go into Paris, just follow your satnav around the city – BUT when you're planning your day, don't forget you lose an hour when you cross the channel with the time difference. Also second whoever said that you can't be done for speeding from your toll tickets, it's a complete urban myth. However please do bear in mind that there's nothing that 'les flics' love more than pulling over GB registered cars for stupidly high on the spot cash fines for being 5 or 10 mph over the limit. No points on your license but can cost you lots. Also don't forget that the speed limit on the autoroute is 80mph when it's dry, 68 in the wet – unlike the BMW 6 series driver we saw pulled over on the way back to the port on Saturday…….

    Edukator
    Free Member

    You claim to cross France at 150-160kmh with no issues Steveh. That is simply not possible. The automatic cameras flash over 137kmh and crossing France in any direction you chose takes you through several. Add to that the mobile radars and doing what you claim will prove expensive.

    The toll times have been used in evidence in court cases following accidents but aren't used in routine repression.

    missingfrontallobe
    Free Member

    It's about 3 hours on the other side. If you are coming from tunnel/calais/dunkirk then there is no reason to see central PAris on the way there. If you did a Caen/Cherbourg crossing then there is a slight chance that you'd end up crossing Paris, especially with a cheap sat nav with lousy routing options.

    Tolls a few weeks ago were E22 each way, for clear motorways, no roadworks.

    Best bit of the journey is when the autoroute passes under the taxiways at Charles de Gaulle airport (especially when you're 9 years old like my son is).

    You can be caught for speeding, however it is as likely to be a gendarme sat on the side of the road with a handheld speed camera who then tells his colleague at the toll peage. The gendarmes use a crappy dark blue colour car, so much less hi-viz than our own beloved traffic police.

    Edukator
    Free Member

    The gendarmes also have ordinary cars with radars built into the boot so you won't necessarily see a gendarme before you get pulled over at the péage. If you regularly have over 143kmh on your car's speedo (most of the cars I've driven read about 5% fast which you can add to the 7kmh extra you're allowed at 130) then expect to get caught sooner rather than later; which is why I am saying Steeveh's post is nonsense and bad advice.

    nickf
    Free Member

    Edukator, as someone who drives a fair amount in France, I'd make the following observations:

    (a) I routinely drive well in excess of 137kmh. Certainly the cruise control is set at a GPS-accurate 95mph/150ish kph
    (b) I've NEVER been stopped on the French autoroute for speeding, nor have I had problems at toll booths
    (c) I'm unaware of the automatic speed cameras going off at the 137kmh you mention
    (d) I'd concur that driving at 160kmh for long distances might well get you pulled

    This is not to say that speeding is big or clever, but you're peddling information that is, based on my experience of driving in France for the last 20 years, complete cobblers.

    Or maybe I've just been hugely lucky in the 50k+ miles I've driven in France.

    paul_m
    Full Member

    Must admit I have been flashed load's of times in France, but driving a UK registered car nothing happens (same as in the UK for French registered cars). The only time you will get stopped is if the Gendarme's see you.

    From memory you only pay once on the way to Disney, you get your ticket about 20 miles from Calais then you turn straight onto the motorway to Paris and pay somewhere near Paris. It is a pretty easy drive, have done it 4 or 5 times.

    paul_m
    Full Member

    I will say though that most of the people I have seen stopped have been on the road up to Calais and in the late afternoon (mainly Brit's late for their crossing's I guess).

    Edukator
    Free Member

    I thought people might explore the site I linked but as they clearly aren't here are some of the ways you'll get caught

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Your sppedo must be at least 20kmh fast steeveh.

    UK cars are designed to read 10% under ime. Most cars I have had read 10% under when measured with GPS but my current Passat reads about %6-7 under. So don't rely on the 10% 🙂

    Edukator
    Free Member

    I'm French and Ive been driving in France for the last 23 years nickf.

    a you've been exceptionally lucky
    b you've benn exceptioanlly lucky
    c unaware in this case equals ignorance. There's a list of the tolerances on the site I linked
    d It's 137 not 160.

    Why the insult, "cobblers". You don't have to be uncouth and aggresive as well as rubbishing good advice.

    There is no convention on fines between Britain and France so unless you meet a gendarme in person you don't have to pay ("not have to" simply means the British police won't come knocking at your door when you get home). It's all recorded though and the day you do get caught by a real gendarme expect trouble.

    Edukator
    Free Member

    We have advisory radars in france and every time I go through one I check how far the speedo is out on the car I'm driving. Modern cars ar remarkably close hence my suggested 5%. So brands are closer than others, Ford were notorious 20 years or so back and regualrly read 10% over on the rolling road.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I love the way Edukator keeps his cards close to his chest then plays them at the right moment..

    You sir are a pro 🙂

    Btw re advisory radars, the ones we have here are I think calibrated 10% under too – they usually read the same as the speedo but more than the GPS.

    Edukator
    Free Member

    So how fast can I drive on the British motorways without getting caught when I visit England this summer? It's complicated enough just remembering what the limits are as there are no miles my speedo.

    F-StopJunkie
    Free Member

    Food inside the park isn't too bad considering where you are. Main meals are a bit pricey, snacks and drinks far more so. Fortunately there are a couple of convienience stores just inside the train station outside the park which are cheap by any standards – include the cheapest wine at 3E a bottle…

    If you're planning a trip down, it may be worth looking at some of the hotels nearby. The park opens fairly early, closes quite late and then there's the Disney Village outside to keep you busy until bed time. Last time went I stayed at the Kyriad which is not A Disney Hotel, but is a 10 minute free shuttle bus ride away, contains a Disney shop, is very child orientated and is recognised within the park. It's also fairly basic in terms of both features and price!

    One other thing, you can visit the Disney hotels for dinner, even if you're not staying there. Just inside the park gates for both parks are guest services, and they can make hotel reservations for you. Good for the popular restaurants. We went to the Hunters Grill (I think) at Sequoia Lodge, which as buffets go is one of the best I've had anywhere in the world!

    nickf
    Free Member

    Educator, with the greatest of respect to you, I called your comments "cobblers" because that's what I think they are. I simply think that the theory is significantly at variance with the reality. If that comes across as aggression, my apologies.

    I DO NOT stick to a maximum of 137kmh in France, and although I'm aware of the fact that there are speed cameras on French motorways, it's VERY rare that I trigger one (although it happens from time to time). If I were constantly exceeding the speed limit (which I am), and your facts were completely accurate, I'd be getting blinded with flashes all the time. But I'm not getting constant flashes, and although I can believe in a certain amount of luck, after 50,000 miles I suspect that luck would well and truly have run out.

    My personal limit is 160kph; people travelling at this speed, in my experience, seem to get stopped. I know, because I've seen them overtake me at this sort of speed and then, 20km down the road, there they are with a gendarme.

    I don't dispute that what you say may be technically accurate, but the reality is somewhat different. I simply don't think that it's particularly strongly enforced.

    Re driving in the UK, my personal experience (and I don't have any points or fines for speeding!) is that driving at the legal limit of 70mph/112kmh will have you dicing with the lorries – keep below 140kmh and you should be OK, though obviously look out for police cars.

    jon1973
    Free Member

    So how fast can I drive on the British motorways without getting caught when I visit England this summer?

    You can do up to 100mph without any problems and if you do see any police while your going at that speed, it's customary in this country to stick two fingers up at them as you pass.

    davidtaylforth
    Free Member

    The hardest part about it will be knowing that your destination is euro disney

    molgrips
    Free Member

    80mph is about normal for cars on UK motorways although some folk (like me) do 70mph. It's really not that bad. If it's busy enough to be a problem then it'll be busy enough to slow everyone down to 70 ish anyway. Sometimes you get the outside lane rammed with people trying to drive at 90mph but failing, and you have the inside and middle to yourself, plenty of space to cruise along at 70.

    70mph = 112km/h
    80mph = 128km/h

    Nickf – not all speed cameras have flashes. You could be setting them off all over the place and just not know about it because of international enforcement problems. So you could both be right.

    chrissyboy
    Free Member

    Edukator – you'll be really unlucky to get done for speeding in the UK, provided you keep your speed under 100mph. As I told my French relatives who were over from Alsace earlier in the year – the speed limit on motorways here is 70mph, but most people drive at 80ish where possible, and ignore any speed cameras – especially the average speed cameras as they won't send you a ticket in a French registered car. We tend to have cameras rather than live police as it's cheaper…

    Edukator
    Free Member

    Well the OP can now read both sets of advice and decide how fast to travel nickf. Say 130kmh on the speedo tops then in England, I'll take it easy anyhow and enjoy watching the world go by.

    My facts are as accurate as the locations of radars given in the site I linked and policing policy as related by the gendarmes I ski with, the policiers I swim with and the CRS I MTB with. I don't drive much, IIRC I have driven through five manned speed traps so far this year, all in town or on main roads. I've seen two radar cars parked up, one of which was on a motorway with the police waiting at the next péage.

    rockhopper70
    Full Member

    yes..thanks…I think. I seem to have started a bit of an argy bargy but I shan't be flooring it if I drive across. Fully loaded mpv so it will be steady away. Main worry was to avoid central paris and it would seem that the conclusion is yes I can. thanks for your posts.

    missingfrontallobe
    Free Member

    Food in Disney = expensive. They do have some prix fixe type menus, but some of them are not the best.

    Also forget any ideas of normal queuing protocol, some nationalities just have not got their heads around it. You'll really need to encourage your kids to "do unto others as they'll have done unto them" otherwise they'll never get anywhere, especially when it comes to seeing charectars.

    If you stay off site then parking is cheaper & closer to the park entrance at the RER station than at Disneys own – but if the place you stay has a shuttle bus I'd advise using it.

    The park is well signed from the autoroutes, I think they want to avoid stoopid british tourists cicling the Arc D'Triomphe on their way!

Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)

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