Our top tips for visiting Disneyland Paris to help you with your planning and to make the most of your time there.
Get a Map
Seriously, this place is huge – 55 hectares to be precise and around 20% of the area that Paris covers. Pick up a map of the Disneyland Park at the entrance and plan your day – don’t just wander and hope for the best, especially if there are things you and your family really want to see and with more than 15 million people a year visiting, planning your journey round the park will help you get the most out of it
FastPass Disneyland Paris
Throughout both Disneyland Paris Parks, you can cut the time you queue on the most popular rides with Fastpass. Fastpass at Disneyland Paris is a free service – you insert your ticket into a fastpass machine which you can find at the entrance to the most popular attractions. The machine will issue you with a return time so instead of queuing you just go off, enjoy another attraction and return at the designated time. Ask any Cast Member for help to use the machine – we did! You can only get one Fastpass per person at a time though, you need to use your current Fastpass before the machines will issue you another ticket!
Timing
Get there as early as you can and go to the attraction that you really don’t want to miss first to make sure you achieve your dream! Or, go late as lots of people leave early evening for the journey home and queues are shorter.
Young Kids? Hire a push chair
Even if your child might not like it and you don’t generally use one, there is a huge area to cover so if your child is tired you can rent a pushchair from Disneyland Paris for a small fee. They are popular though so don’t leave it until it’s too late and they’re all gone. You can get them from the “Strollers and Wheelchairs Rental” at the gates of the Disneyland Park, behind Main Street Station and near Studio Services in the Walt Disney Studios Park.
Extra Magic Hours
If you stay at selected Disney Hotels (details from website) you can get into certain areas of the park a whole 2 hours before opening time and the day crowds arrive. Make the most of it, check it out with the hotel staff and set your alarm clock!
Don’t be caught out by height restrictions
Many of the rides have height restrictions – measure your children’s height before you leave so that you know which rides are suitable.
Baby Switch
Adults with youngsters too small to join them on an attraction can take turns to ride, without having to queue twice, thanks to “Baby Switch” – designed for parents who want to ride attractions that children can’t go on. One parent can ride first then take baby while the other parent has his or her turn, without having to wait in line a second time – just ask a Cast Member for details.
Eating at Disneyland Paris
There are more than 70 restaurants here and many stalls dotted around selling snacks. The busiest time is between the traditional French lunch “hour” 12.00 – 14.00. Go before or after or try Disney Village where the crowds are often no so bad. Or take a picnic – there are plenty of places to sit and enjoy your picnic al fresco. Just remember you’ll have to carry your picnic bag around with you and on the rides possibly and its great if the weather’s fine – not so much if it’s cold and raining. If you can – take some bottle or cans of drink, they are expensive on site.
Dressing up for Disneyland Paris
We mean for the children but hey – if it’s your thing go ahead! There are lots of shops selling Disney Princess outfits and pirate suits. If your kid already has a dressing up kit at home, take it with you if you want to avoid paying a hefty €70-100 plus for an outfit. It’s hard to say no to a kid when they’re surrounded by the beautiful bright colours and they see their favourite character wearing the same outfit.
Clothing and shoes
Seriously – wear something comfortable on your feet – there is a lot of walking and queuing.
Take one of those fold up rain macs! It rains in Paris a fair bit so even if it looks like a blue sky that will last all day when you get there in the early morning – don’t be fooled – it can change.
Disneyland Paris special offers
