Eurostar warning for families heading to Disneyland Paris this summer
FAMILIES hoping to get to Disneyland Paris on the Eurostar have a limited time to do so, with the service stopping in less than two months.
The international rail company has said it is aiming to focus its services on just the “core routes” and the direct line to Disneyland from London is due to be discontinued as a result.
From the start of June this year, passengers heading to the theme park will have to change en route instead of travelling there directly from the UK capital.
Currently, a service runs from St Pancras station all the way through to Marne-la-Vallee, right next to Disneyland.
It takes about two and a half hours to get there, making it a very easy option for families looking to visit the park.
The rail company blamed its financial recovery from the Covid pandemic as a reason for cutting down services.
It also explained that the new EU entry system had played a part in decision making.
A spokeswoman for Eurostar said: “We have taken the decision not to run the direct Disney service between London and Marne-la-Vallee in summer 2023.
“Whilst we continue to recover financially from the pandemic and monitor developments in the proposed EU Entry Exit system, we need to focus on our core routes to ensure we can continue to provide the high level of service and experience that our customers rightly expect.
“Passengers can still enjoy high-speed rail travel between London and Disneyland Paris, via Paris or Lille.
“This decision applies from June 5, 2023, and as tickets are not yet on sale beyond this date, existing customer bookings will not be affected.”
While families won’t be able to use the service this summer at least, Eurostar has not completely ruled out bringing it back in the future.
The spokeswoman added: “We will revisit options for 2024 during the course of the year.”
Although it may be more of a faff to change trains between London and Disneyland, passengers might actually save money by doing it.
Mum and travel expert Catherine Lofthouse told Sun Online Travel how she rarely used the direct option, even when it was available.
She said: “I’ve been travelling to the Disneyland station Marne-la-Vallée Chessy for 20 years and have only ever chosen the direct route once.
“I normally catch the Eurostar to Gare du Nord and then hop on the RER regional train to Marne-la-Vallée from there.
“Although this is a bit more of a faff, you save a lot as tickets start at £39 instead of £69.
“All things considered, I’d say that using Eurostar to get to Paris and then local trains to hit Disneyland trumps the Mickey Mouse route.
“There may be no magic wand to get you straight to the Magic Kingdom next summer, but you can still save some money while visiting.”
Meanwhile, another much-loved international rail service is also being scrapped in the UK.
And there’s a secret wristband that lets you jump queues at Disneyland – but there’s a catch.