Despite having so much trouble trying to purchase our tickets in advance via their website we were actually very relieved to be able to make an easy purchase through the Thalys desk at the Gare du Midi station. It was also far less complicated and much less a hassle--- the only downside was the prices were a bit more than what was advertised online, however for the general ease of it all I wasn't about to complain, and we didn't really purchase our tickets weeks in advance so their weren't many seating options readily available to begin with.
We took Thalys from Bruxelles to Paris. Very quick and painless train ride. Wasn't expecting wifi or outlets, but was happy to be able to use the in-cabin outlets at our seats to charge my phone as well as the wifi was available for the trip toward Paris and was free-- so thought that was pretty nice. It was much more complicated and annoying to connect to on the trip back however. I think the whole wifi process was a little troublesome and took some poking around.. I'm also not a resident of Europe so there were some obstacles with that. But, really, not a big deal. You have to use your ticket to connect to the wifi and then there are a slew of questions.
Overall, boarding the train was quick and easy. Extremely curious why we didn't have to wait in line so much in Paris on the return trip. They kinda just let us on really quickly. Would be happy to try Thalys out again. Maybe I just got a first timer's luck since this was my first time riding a high speed train.
Make sure to book in advance as seats fill up. You're better off with a reserved seat. Train was prompt and on time. read more