Passengers queuing for the Eurostar at St Pancras
(Picture: REUTERS)Eurostar has announced it is scrapping its direct train service to Disneyland Paris - citing Brexit and the post-pandemic recovery as reasons for the move.
Currently, visitors can hop on a Eurostar service from St Pancras, taking them to the popular resort in just under 2hrs 50mins.
But the rail firm has announced services to the theme park will cease running next June.
Visitors travelling by train will instead have to change at stations such as Lille or in Paris to access the theme park - located in Chessy about 20 miles east of the French capital.
A statement on Eurostar Planet, the rail firm’s website aimed at travel agents, says: “We have made the difficult decision not to operate our direct train to Disneyland Paris in the summer of 2023.
“Our last train will run on June 5, 2023.
“As the company continues to recover from the pandemic, we need to focus on our core routes to stabilize our operations and the experience of our passengers.
“Although we have seen a return in demand this year, we have financial commitments that we will have to meet for several years.
“Moreover, we operate in an uncertain border environment. As we follow the evolution of the entry/exit system (EES) offered by the EU, we want to focus our efforts on providing a reliable service with an experience that meets our customers’ expectations.”
It adds that as tickets have not yet gone on sale beyond next June, customer reservations will not be affected.
The statement says that while tickets via Lille and Paris will remain on sale until 2023, Eurostar “will review the situation for 2024 during the next year.”
The news has been met with widespread dismay on social media.
One Twitter user, writing under the name James T, said: “Having used this service on a few occasions this is a massive loss. A service practically to the door of Disney was massively convenient for families.”
He suggested the move could lead to a spike in visitors travelling by plane, adding: “Changing at Lille or going into Central Paris is an absolute pain. Eurostar gifting customers to the airlines with this move.”
Another social media user said changing trains is “also not great for disabled passengers”.
Twitter user Andy Brown wrote: “Honestly this news means that I am not likely to visit DLP again.”
Another wrote: “This is such a shame. Makes a massive difference to the time you lose travelling. Using direct Eurostar you can really make the most of your Disney tickets.”
