Booking travel on the TGV

I would like to go ahead and reserve tickets on the TGV for a trip at the end of next month going from CDG to Marne La Vallée (Eurodisney). I'm trying to guage the right time (arriving at CDG terminal 1 at 14:40). I'd like to allow about 1.5 hours to pick up baggage and get to terminal 2 from where, I believe, the TGV departs. Does this sound reasonable enough?

Or should we just wait till we get there (a Saturday) and book the tickets there?

Use the SNCF web site - www.sncf.com. It's multi-lingual so you can navigate it using English. I've booked tickets in advance using the site before. At the very least you can use it to check times, etc.

Thanks darag. I'm aware of the online booking facility as that's where I've been pricing the tickets. My concerns are around my timings - collecting baggage, getting from terminal 1 to terminal 2 - is 1.5 hours reasonable?

Decani, in my experience 1.5 hours sounds reasonable. Baggage reclaim can take up to an hour in CDG. If your plane gets delayed I found SNCF staff helpful and they helped me change a ticket which I thought was not exchangeable; there was a small reasonable charge. The plane-train connection at CDG is great.

If you buy your ticket on the day you will pay more than if you book in advance and risk not having a seat at all. Balance that and the chnce of your flight being delayed.

Actually, I would give myself two hours.

you can book on voyages-sncf.com but the tickets must usually be paid for and withdrawn usually 1/2 hour in advance. It is probably best to book giving yourself 1.5 hours from your arrival time, if you do not make it you can take a later train.
there is a bus between terminals takes approx 10 mins, the delay is in getting your bags

Have you tried CIE to book the tickets? I was trying to book a train from Paris to the South of France last year and found the web page very confusing. I decided to ring CIE (Euro Rail 01 703 1885) and they did all the work and cheaply as well.

Thanks everyone. I guess my chief concern was that if I booked tickets and missed the train, they would be unusable (for that leg of the journey anyway). But it sounds like there is some leeway with regard to putting you on a later train. For now, I'll allow for between 1.5 and 2 hours after arrival. With 5 people of baggage-carrying age travelling with 3 kids for just 3 days, I'll try and convince everyone to bring carry-on luggage.

There is a bus shuttle at CDG to Eurodisney who leave quite frequently. Why not use it instead of TGV

Because the TGV will only take 12 mins as opposed to over an hour on the shuttle

Sorry Decani - I missunderstood your query. I'd say wait 'til you get there. I booked online for a very long journey (an overnighter) a few years ago. But the last couple of times I've used trains in France, I just bought the tickets on the spot. Having said that, I wasn't travelling on TGV. I think you'll just create more stress for yourself if you book a specific time in advance.

One note of warning; I've practically no French so buying tickets through the machines they have is a lot easier (and quicker) than trying to explain things to a person. Unfortunately neither my credit card nor my cirrus has a "chip" in it and so can't be used in such machines. I've since asked my bank to upgrade my credit card so that I'm not caught in that situation again.

Decani said:

Because the TGV will only take 12 mins as opposed to over an hour on the shuttle

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With luggage and kids, it will probably take you >48 mins to transfer by bus from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2, then downstairs into the TGV/RER station, buy tickets, find the correct platform ...and then wait for your scheduled train.

Plus, when you get off at Marne-la-Vallée, the train station is quite close to the main park entrance, but your hotel - depending - could be another mile or more away. Which means either finding 2 taxis or hanging around in the hopes of a hotel shuttle bus stopping by (usually hourly or so).

Whereas it says [broken link removed] you can get that shuttle directly from Terminal 1 - Departure Level, Gate 16 - they leave every 30/45 mins and call directly to all the Disney hotels. And you can just buy your tickets [broken link removed]. It may be a few euro more, but it's probably money well spent if you're lugging suitcases and children. You'll probably get there as quickly, and you'll definitely be less stressed-out...

Bon voyage!