A Practical Guide to Disneyland Paris

19 Jan

Planning a Disney trip can get pretty overwhelming so we are here with tips and tricks to make your trip that much easier!

Crush’s coaster will have the longest wait ever (there’s no fast pass for this ride) but it is such a great ride! Sadly it won’t be good for your littlest children but Disney are great with letting parents do a rider swap if your kids are too small to ride
Eiffel Tower day trip! If you want to visit, it’s nice to switch things up a bit and it’s super easy to get to from the parks. You just jump on the RER ‘A’ line train which takes you all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. The total journey is about 1.5 hours.
Make sure you stop by the Disneyland Castle and search for the dragon!
Try to pull the Sword out of the Stone in Fantasyland!
If your budget allows, a character breakfast is a brilliant option! The breakfast is served in Plaza Gardens, and if you book the 8.15am slot you’ll be able to get a photo like this one below in front of the castle on Main Street - the park will be empty!

Meal plans are the first best option, but if you haven’t got a meal plan included with your Disney holiday, there are lots of quick service points in the parks.
Our favourite restaurants are Billy Bob’s and Agrabah Cafe which serve delicious buffets that are child-friendly too.
Along with lots of other options, there’s also a McDonald’s in the Disney Village which may end up being your best friend if you have fussy eaters. Check out our other post on what we thought of the Disneyland Paris McDonald’s!

Disneyland is primarily for kids, so there will be something for children of any age!
Our 2 year old was able to go on quite a lot of things, but by the time they get to age 4 or 5, then, depending on height, they should be able to go on most rides in both parks.
For younger children, the best park areas are Toy Story Land, Aladdin’s Magic Carpets and the Ratatouille ride in Walt Disney Studios, and in Parc Disneyland there are loads of bits in Fantasyland that will entertain them, including magic teacups, the Alice in Wonderland Maze and It’s a Small World, of course!
If you have slightly older children that want to go on some bigger rides like Hyperspace Mountain or the Avengers ride in Walt Disney Studios, the single rider wait times are normally very low, so depending on how independent they are it might be a good way of making sure they get to go on the big rides while you are having snack breaks for the little ones!

We always drive to Disneyland and so we are pretty much pros at this now (or at least my husband is, and I’m an excellent passenger). Every time we go, we have the driving in Europe kit from Halfords, it has everything you need and it’s a one-time investment meaning if you do end up using any of the kit, you just have to replace single items rather than buy a whole new set.
Double check your car insurance before you go and make sure you’re fully covered - it may also be worth buying additional roadside recovery if you don’t already have it included.
If you plan to go into Paris it may be better not to drive as they have the clean air zone there now and, as above, it’s quite easy on the train.
It’s illegal in France to use a sat nav that tells you where the speed cameras are. Luckily both Waze and Apple Maps automatically turn off this feature when you’re driving in France, so if you’re using any other kind of sat nav, it might be worth disabling that feature before you head off.
Take games, sleeping gear and plenty of snacks for the car journey!
If you haven’t already booked your travel yet, check whether you can pay for the Eurotunnel / get a discount with your Tesco clubcard vouchers.

Don’t forget to have an amazing time!!
Get an autograph book
Try to get to princess pavilion early if you want to meet the princesses, but be prepared for a long wait

Disney Hotels - Cheyenne vs. Santa Fe