Eurostar Axing Direct DLP Service

[Simon Veness]

This is quite a shocker from Eurostar. They will stop all direct services to Disneyland Paris from next year, as well as axing all stops at the Kent stations of Ashford and Ebbsfleet. They will instead focus on their direct route from London-Paris and to Amsterdam. DLP passengers will still be able to get to the resort by changing at Lille or catching the RER route from Gare du Nord (the Paris terminus from London), but it's going to add a lot more time, and hassle. Here's the (brief) TravelMole story:

Eurostar axing Disneyland Paris service
Tuesday, Aug 30, 2022

The happiest place on Earth is off the rails for Eurostar customers.

Eurostar says the London to Disneyland Paris route will be suspended indefinitely from June 5, 2023.

It first launched in 1996.

Although it’s a financial decision, Eurostar says Brexit is a factor.

It will mean a journey from Eurostar’s terminal at Gare du Nord across Paris by RER train, adding at least one hour to the journey time.

Eurostar also blamed Brexit as it announced there would be no services calling at Ebbsfleet and Ashford International stations in Kent for the next ‘two years.

You can also read a longer story, from My London here: https://www.mylondon.news/lifestyle/...yland-24865453

[Tiggers Friend]

What a mealy mouthed reason for axing the service. Blaming Brexit is just risible, but not surprising from the new French boss.

As the UK is not in the European Union Schengen area,

The UK has never been in the Schengen area, so no change there. Frankly if I lived in the south west or was a use of Eurostar I think I'd be boycotting it.

[Superspur]

Wow, that is a real shocker and doesn't make sense as the service to and from DLP was pretty much full and this would certainly put me off going back to DLP. Part of the reasoning behind any trip is how easy it is and the Eurostar from St Pancras straight in to DLP and then a shuttle bus to your hotel was a massive appeal. This wilolo surely put a lot of people off with young kids who will now have to drag them round Paris to get out to DLP.

[Simon Veness]

Yes, it's a real head-scratcher, isn't it? If the full trains to DLP weren't making money, what chance does Eurostar have as a whole? This can only put more people off using the service in future, and then it doesn't matter how much they try to "rationalise" their business, they are stuck in a spiral of diminishing returns.

[Superspur]

We've decided to book a couple of nights for the end of May next year so we'll be on one of the last direct trains. I get a special deal through my work on Eurostar but to fit the trip in i have had to book a one way trip for 5 adults and 2 kids on Tues 30th May through work which has cost us £495 for upgraded carriage but coming back has been a problem. We wanted to come back on the Friday (2nd june) but i couldn't get a train through my work website even though there is a train and i couldn't even get the train direct from Eurostar even though i can see the train there so we've had to settle for 2 nights coming back on the Thursday. Again i couldn't book it through my work so that has cost us £1050 and that is foir the standard coach on the train, double the price for the lower class I've e-mailed Eurostar to see if there is any chance we can switch to the Friday as the Grandkids have got rather excited about the hotel i have booked


But even though we've been before i've told them we won't get much time at the hotel but i can see getting a 9 year old and 7 year old out of the hotel might be a bit of a problem, even for going to Disney. I'm not a big fan of DLP but as we have no chance of going to Florida next year mostly due to the cost the grandkids will have to make do with DLP.


Our Hotel https://www.explorershotels.com/en/activities/

[Simon Veness]

Ouch. That sounds like a really steep price for just a few days. I would imagine Florida works out cheaper on a per day basis, but it's not the place you can just go for a few days!

[Superspur]

If we want to take the Grandkids anywhere now Simon we are bound by school holidays. If you take your kids out of school in term time they fine parents so it has to be half term when the prices for everything go through the roof.

[Simon Veness]

I've always thought that "not in term time" stricture is borderline illegal. Two weeks in the course of a year is never going to ruin a kid's schooling. Now, if they were doing it every term, that would be different, but there is just no common-sense involved any more, and the holiday companies really rip the XXXX out of it in many respects

[Catlady]

I agree, we took Ian out of school a number of times in the 90's. At that time the school were okay with it. In those days Alan was away from home with work often so it was lovely to have 3 weeks of family time. When he went to senior school we stopped but as he got a University degree and is now a senior computer games designer I doubt it did him much harm.

[Superspur]

We always took our kids out of school to go on holiday back in the 90s, one is now settled with his own house, a good job and 2 lovebale little rogues of daughters. The other child is now a Doctor.

If children want to learn they will learn, if they don't they won't and it never did our kids any harm to take this out of school.