A day trip to Disneyland Paris while Mom and I were in Paris? That could be (really) fun. After all, she is the reason why I am fluent in Disney.
Not even 48 hours later, two park tickets were shamelessly purchased for October.
It would be my 5th time at a Disney park and my 1st “grown up” visit. At any rate, I was happier than Winnie the Pooh with a pot full of honey.
You will find everything listed and categorized under:
BEFORE YOU GO
When to visit
If you like to avoid crowds as much as I do, then you too may want to consider visiting Disneyland Paris during the fall.
While traveling off-season is definitely helpful, so is going to the park in the middle of the week. I would recommend using a crowd calendar site, which will give you an idea of how busy the park days will be. As a result, we went on a Wednesday.
Alternatively
Similar to visiting Milan, if fall doesn’t work with your schedule, I’d suggest looking into a visit during the spring season.
Of course, if you have any ounce of love for the holiday season, you may want to consider November thru December. Consider it as Disney magic at its finest.
While summer is good in theory, it may be ridiculously hot and crowded.
Which Park(s) to visit
Basically, Disneyland Paris consists of two parks: Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios . Disneyland Park is the original park while Walt Disney Studios is a newer addition.
Given the time constraints of this trip, we ended up choosing Disneyland Park. The park is considerably larger and consists of the classic rides that you may already be familiar with. For different reasons, these have always been my favourite components:
If there were more hours in a day, then we likely would’ve gone park hopping and visited Walt Disney Studios too. It is my understanding that Walt Disney Studios is much smaller and includes Pixar rides in addition to studio-related attractions.
I think that one would have to really to hustle in order to visit both parks in one day. We were there for an entire day and hardly covered all of Disneyland!
Which ticket(s) to buy
I would 100% recommend buying your park ticket online. It’ll help with a seamless park entry and more importantly, save time.
I am not going to lie, figuring out which ticket to purchase can be a little tricky. While ticket offerings are subject to change, this is basically what you need to know:
Dated for 1-4 Days
- Options to visit Disneyland and/or Walt Disney Studios
- Date specific
- Most affordable ticket option
- Reservation not required (included)
- Free cancellation up until 3 days before reservation
- Children under the age of 3 are free
1-Day undated
- Options to visit Disneyland and/or Walt Disney Studios
- Not date specific
- Reservation required (ticket without one is not valid)
- Best option if you plan on buying tickets as a gift
- Reservations are subject to availability and would reserve your date as soon as you can
- Cancel/change your reservation up until the day before your reserved date
- Valid for 1 day (the day after purchase) for 1 year
- Children under the age of 3 are free
Tickets are sent by email. It is advised to print them out or save to your phone. I would suggest doing both. Also, make sure the QR code is easily visible so that a cast member can quickly scan your ticket at the park entrance.
Do note that Disney Village is accessible to you regardless if you have a Disneyland Park or Walt Disney Studios Park ticket.
Disneyland Paris App
I would REALLY suggest downloading the app. You can do a lot of pre-planning and get a general idea of where everything is at the park.
App Features:
- Purchase park tickets
- Interactive park map
- View which rides are anticipated to be open or under refurbishment
- Track a ride’s waiting time, in real-time
- Purchase your Disney Premier Access for select rides
- Book a table at a restaurant
- View menu options
- Secure your seat for a show
- View the character selfie spots
Take some time to utilize the Wish List function. It helps prioritize what you want to do during the day, while stabilizing the major sensory overload that you will encounter once you are through the park gates.
Also, there is wifi available throughout the park. I wouldn’t rely on it and would still get a holiday SIM card, but it is there.
GETTING THERE
As a reference, Disneyland Paris was less than an hour and a half train ride from our hotel in the 8th arrondissement. A day trip from the city is totally doable.
Train
If you are already staying in Paris, then I would absolutely recommend traveling by the regional train. The train station, Gare de Marne la Vallée – Chessy, is basically a two-minute walk from the park entrance.
From Paris, if traveling by train, you’ll need to depart from a station that connects to a RER A Express Train line. Because it is a regional train, you’ll need to purchase your ticket at the train station.
On that note, we left the city from Paris Gare de Lyon and we were walking into the park less than an hour later.
Alternatively, if you wish to visit Disneyland Paris before you go into the city, from the Charles de Gaulle Airport you can take the TGV and arrive within 15 minutes. I’d suggest securing your TGV tickets ahead of time.
You may want to bookmark this.
Shuttle
There is a shuttle option, which may be worth looking into if you find the Paris train system overwhelming. To be honest, I found the train to be less confusing than the SkyTrain in Vancouver.
I would also suggest bookmarking this.
WHERE TO STAY
If you really want to stay closer to the park or on property, here are some options that I would consider:
- Disneyland Hotel
- Disney’s Newport Bay Club
- Hôtel l’Elysee Val d’Europe
- Radisson Blu Hotel Rue de la Mare Houleuse
LET’S EAT!
I thought I should begin by mentioning that, within reason, you can bring your own food and drinks into the park. To that end I would highly recommend packing a few snacks and a water bottle.
I personally didn’t come across many gluten free options and ended up really appreciating the snacks and sandwich that I threw in my bag at the last minute.
Disneyland Park
Whether you choose to eat in Fantasyland or on Main Street, food is readily available throughout the park. From table service to snack bars, take your pick!
As per a sudden downpour, we immediately opened the doors and opted for quick service at Casey’s Corner. Nothing against hot dogs and fries, but these dining options were actually on the top of my lunchtime wish list:
Food for Thought
- The day turned out to be colder than I anticipated, so I was thankful for the many hot chocolate and tea options. I really adored the Cookie Kitchen.
- Might I suggest taking advantage of the fact that wine is offered at a number of dining spots?
- The sugar popcorn may be my favourite park snack. I think it was at L’Arbre Enchante snack bar in Fantasyland.
- If the weather was a lot warmer, there’s a good chance that I would’ve spent time at the ice cream shops.
Disney Village
If you are a morning person, you may want to consider breakfast at Disney Village before the rope drops at the park. There are no lack of fast and affordable food options.
Do note that you have to leave the park and re-enter if you plan on going into Disney Village.
Walt Disney Studios
From what I can tell, while there may not be a lot, there are some fun dining options available at this park.
RIDES
Disneyland Park
Whether you love rollercoasters or prefer the nostalgic kid-friendly rides, there is truly something for everyone. In a lot of ways, it felt like I was experiencing the classic rides in a French overlay. These are some of my favourites:
- Big Thunder Mountain *
- Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- It’s a Small World
- Le Carrousel de Lancelot (The Lancelot Carousel)
- Les Voyages de Pinocchio (The Voyages of Pinocchio)
- Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups
- Peter Pan’s Flight *
- Phantom Manor *
* indicates that you can join the speedy line (during specific time slots) when you purchase Disney Premier Access in the app.
If you plan to be at the park for rope drop, then I would recommend going on the more popular rides first. We pretty much headed straight towards the Dumbo ride and were glad we did when we considered going again later that afternoon.
While not rides, I also wanted to note that the following are worth a visit:
Walt Disney Studios
It looks like there are some really fun ride options at this park. If we were at Disneyland Paris for more than one day, I would want to give these rides a try:
- Crush’s Coaster
- Les Tapis Volants (Flying Carpets Over Agrabah®)
- Ratatouille: The Adventure
- RC Racer
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop
PARADES + SHOWS
Depending on the time of year, character parades and shows will vary. Do note that the parades and fireworks shows are usually at the Disneyland Park. If a show takes place indoors, it will generally be held at the Walt Disney Studio Park.
You can find the times listed in the app.
parade notes
I have always loved the Disney Stars on Parade. If you’re not into waiting in line to meet with a character (there can be some serious wait times) there’s a good chance that they’ll be in the parade. Nearly all of my favourites were.
As it is very popular, I would suggest grabbing some sugar popcorn and a spot on the curb at least 30 minutes before the parade is scheduled to start.
A warning to watch out for those aggressive mothers as you may get shoved at the expense of a photo. To avoid kissing the sidewalk, my advice would be to keep your elbows out and find your balance.
fireworks notes
If time and weather permits, I really encourage you to experience the Disney Illuminations (fireworks) show during your visit. I am afraid that it didn’t work out for this trip, but I am fortunate to have the memories of past shows from my childhood.
I have yet to witness a better fireworks show outside of a Disney park.
SHOPPING
There are no lack of little shops full of things you don’t need, but really do. I may have left with a bag or two.
A note that there are arcades that run parallel and are connected to the shops on Main Street. They are fun to wander through and a great way to escape the weather should it take a turn. There is one on each side of the street.
These were a few of my favourite shopping spots at Disneyland Paris:
- Discovery Arcade
- Le Galerie de la Belle au Bois Dormant (The Sleeping Beauty Gallery)
- Liberty Arcade
- Disneyland Hotel
WHAT TO BRING
Let this be a lesson for myself and anyone who hates being cold: it is much colder in Disneyland Paris than Paris itself. Silly me did not factor in that an hour train ride north of the city would be much colder.
Put it this way, it was the first week of October and I wish I had shoved a pair of light gloves and a warmer scarf in my bag. And no, the park did not sell any gloves. At that point I would’ve gladly dropped 30 euros on Tinker Bell gloves. So instead I dropped about 45 euros on hot chocolate and tea.
a note on shoes
You will definitely get in your steps for the day, but you’ll also be standing still for many periods at a time. Although self-explanatory, I’m still going to say it: wear shoes that you won’t have any trouble walking in for an entire day. I think that these sneakers would’ve been a better choice than the ones I wore.
an ideal bag
In terms of a bag, I’d suggest bringing one that is essentially a tote/purse hybrid. Something that isn’t as big as a tote bag but has an empty space where you can store items like a water bottle. Separate and closed compartments are also important.
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Depending on the time of year, also consider …
- Dressing in layers
- A compact umbrella
- A sweater, jacket or coat.
- Leaving your athleisure wear for the hotel. You’re still in France.
- A face mask. Until further notice, view health and safety measure HERE
- Sunglasses (always)
- A scarf
- A water bottle
- Snacks
- A wireless phone charger
- Hand sanitizer
If you have any queries or takeaways to add, please add a note in the comments section below or message me on Instagram.
JESSICA. xx
This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Only products that I would use myself (or truly loved) are recommended.
Also, this post is not affiliated with The Walt Disney Company.
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