Planning a trip to Disneyland Paris: Guide and tips
What better way of celebrating my 30th birthday than returning to Disneyland Paris after a twenty-year hiatus to feel like a kid again!
Please note that it was a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious gift! That’s why we bring you this complete guide and tips to visit Disneyland Paris.
It seems like a cliché but in reality, it is not just a meticulously designed theme park, it transports you directly to the epicentre of a Disney tale. There are so many things to see and do; therefore, we have created this short travel guide of handy tips to get the most out of your time during your stay at Disneyland Paris. Hope it can be helpful!
We recommend spending at least 3 days to enjoy the experience to the max. If you keep on reading this post, we will tell you why,
Best moment to visit the park
The first topic we would like to talk about in this guide and tips to visit Disneyland Paris is where to visit it. Before embarking on your trip, you should first think about which time of year to visit Disneyland Paris. This depends, bearing in mind which season you choose (high or low).
If you go in peak season ( Easter, summer, Halloween and Christmas) it will be packed, so expect massive waiting times. However, experiencing the park in its specific theme is super cool. At Halloween, the park turns scary…..and the wicked characters from your favourite Disney films are your hosts….or imagine enjoying this experience surrounded by the magic of Christmas; pine trees, lights and a soundtrack of festive carols. It is worthwhile simply being there to be part of it.
On the other hand, if you prefer fewer people, from January to spring is the ideal moment to visit. Remember that winter in Paris is quite chilly, and queuing when it is cold, isn´t much fun as you will be outdoors. Obviously, it is best to avoid the park on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
From our point of view, the benefits and joys of visiting at Christmas far outweigh any minor inconveniences and we thoroughly loved it.
Transport
Direct from the airport
Remember that the park is located in Coupvray (32 kms from Paris), and choosing the right arrival airport to suit your needs and budget is essential.
There are 3 airports in Paris:
- Beauvois
- Orly
- Charles de Gaulle
The prices and the airlines that flight to those airports are not equal and, obviously, the prices are also different.
We don´t recommend flying to Beauvois airport as it is almost two hours from the park. However, the park offers a direct bus connection, but the journey is far longer. Please click on the official bus website if you wish to consult the bus timetable for transfers to this airport.
Orly airport is located in the south of Paris, one hour from Disneyland. Whichever transport method you choose, it takes approximately one hour to reach the park. Those are the bus departure times to and from Orly. Please bear in mind that if you are staying at a Disneyland hotel, we suggest booking the official park bus, the Magic Shuttle, as it takes you directly to your hotel.
However, pay attention to this option due to the fact that there are only 4 buses per day (so please check the schedules carefully).
Finally, there is Charles de Gaulle airport. This is the one that we recommend due to its proximity and onward travel possibilities. In fact, it only takes 10 minutes to get to Disneyland by train whereas other transport methods take up to an hour. Last but not least, the Magical Shuttle will teleport you directly to your Disney hotel in 30 minutes for a mere 23€.
Direct from Paris
There are two options: bus or train.
Disneyland Paris Express: This is a shuttle coach service from the centre of the city of lights. This is the itinerary:
- Shuttle coach 1 :
- GARE DU NORD: 08:20H.
- OPÉRA: 08:30H.
- CHÂTELET: 08:55H.
- Shuttle coach 2:
- EIFFEL TOWER : 08:30H.
This gets you into Paris at 10am (depending on traffic).
Departure from Disneyland Paris at 8pm (except on those days when the park closes its doors at 8pm. In this case, the last coach leaves at 9pm.
RER regional train A
This leaves from Paris-Lyon train station and arrives at Marne-la-Vallée/Chessy (the nearest stop to Disneyland and only a two-minute walk to the park). The journey takes just over half an hour and costs 7.60€ each way.
Direct from your doorstep (by car)
If you are planning to go by car, there is a private car park close to the main entrance (prices vary). On the other hand, free parking facilities are offered to all hotel guests.
Please click on the following Disneyland link for further information.
Accomodation
The third piece of advice in our guide and tips to visit Disneyland Paris is to stay at Disneyland hotels. Although the prices are higher, the time that you save is more than worth it (especially if you are restricted to time as you can go to and from the park in 10 minutes). Therefore, you can pop back to your room whenever you wish.
We stayed at the Hotel Santa Fe, which is themed on the movie, Cars. Although it is one of the cheapest, on the downside, it is also one of the furthest from the park. However, it offers a highly efficient transfer to its clients every fifteen minutes and only takes seven minutes. The adage of `the early bird catches the worm’ is the key, so we recommend getting up before rush hour. You snooze, you lose, as they say.
It´s true that the hotels aren´t appreciated as much as they should be, because the deco is 100% Disney, from the sheets right down to the soap holder and it would be worthwhile to return just to experience that special “magic”. Moreover, if you visit Disneyland with your kids, they offer an unforgettable Disney breakfast with a host of your favourite characters. Why would you wish to have breakfast with Audrey, when you could have it with Minnie?
Disneyland Paris App
Another useful tool in this guide and tips to travel to Disneyland Paris, is the mobile app of the park available from the App store and Google Play.
This app is amazing and it will help you immensely during your stay. What we used the most was the expected waiting time for each ride. As the park is extremely busy, especially at Christmas, Halloween and during the summer holidays (with waiting times of up to one hour minimum), we recommend checking it regularly. Additionally, there are hot tips such as being able to get on the Hyperspace Mountain ride with only a ten-minute wait after racing there in time to take off! At first, we saw groups of people running like headless chickens through the park, until we discovered the reason. Then we joined the other headless chickens in their sprint across the park.
In this app, you can also buy Disney Premier Access tickets (to avoid queueing), as well as tickets to shows. Bear in mind that in Disneyland you have to buy Premier Access tickets for each individual ride. However, if you stay longer than 1 day, just by paying attention to the waiting times, it isn´t really necessary to buy these passes (we were there for 3 days and were able to go on the rides several times without needing them).
Furthermore, booking tables at restaurants or ordering take-away food is another useful, time-saving function of the app.
Due to Covid safety measures, we checked-in on the Disney app, so that when you arrive at the hotel, you only have to collect an envelope with your documentation, door key, Disney passes, a map and a leaflet containing practical hotel information (WiFi code….). Additionally, to avoid large congregations of people, the hotel staff greeted guests individually, explaining relevant details such as timetables of the dining room, the buses and the left-luggage service, as well as other functionalities.
Food
I guess that if you have ever been to a theme park, you know how difficult it is to eat well at a good price. Disneyland Paris is not an exception, a point which we consider worth mentioning in this guide and tips to visit Disneyland Paris.
The first thing to remember is that the theme park restaurants need to be booked well in advance, especially Bistro Chef Remy, featured in the movie Ratatouille, or the amazingly decorated Captain Jack’s, of Pirates of the Caribbean fame. Bookings are done via the Disneyland app. As soon as you have booked your trip, don´t forget to book the restaurant of your choice too.
TRIP TOP TIP: In our case, we decided to cut a few corners with the food. As the hotel breakfast buffet was abundant, we took full advantage of this to last us through the day. This did not however stop us from snacking throughout the day (hotdog and chips+soft drink or water at Casey´s Corner 12€ per person).
We would have invested in at least one meal in a theme park restaurant, had we known about the need to book well in advance. Please note that you can calculate a minimum of two hours if you choose to do so. For us, having a hot dog allowed us to get the most out of our time there.
Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios
When you think about Disneyland Paris, you have to imagine that in fact there are two parks in one; one of those is called Disneyland Park and the other one is Walt Disney Studios. Right now you probably have lots of questions: which park is best for me? Will I have enough time to visit both? Do they have separate tickets? The answers to these queries depend on the days that you will be there and your Disney preferences.
The iconic Disney castle and all the classic Disney themed rides, as well as, Star Wars, the Wild West and Pirates of the Caribbean are to be found in Disneyland Park. Furthermore, most of the restaurants and souvenir stores are located in this park, not to mention the daily march and processions with all the Disney characters. This ends with the Fireworks and Music show above the Disney castle every evening before the park closes. Don´t forget that there is a daily musical, which lasts approximately one hour, which is not included in the price of the ticket and has to be purchased separately. When we went in November, the Lion King was showing ( an absolute must for us).
In Walt Disney Studios you can enjoy the world of Pixar (Toy Story, Ratatouille, Finding Nemo and Cars to name but a few). Moreover, as of the 6th of May 2022, the newly-built extension to the world of the Avengers was opened to the public, with the completion of Frozen land planned to open its gates at the end of 2024.
Even though these parks are separate from each other, it is however possible to buy individual or combination tickets in order to access both parks on the same day. If you have booked your stay at one of the Disney hotels, you automatically get tickets to visit both parks. If you are planning to go for only one day, we recommend checking which rides and shows you like the most, and go directly there.
Having said that, our top tip would be to spend at least two days at the park. Therefore you will be able to dedicate a full day to each individual park. We went for three days, which allowed us to spend the third day enjoying all of the rides we didn´t have time for on the previous days, as well as being able to go on our favorite ones again with no rush. We can definitely say: “Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.”
The Rides
We have reached the most enjoyable part of this guide and tips to visit Disneyland Paris. There are rides for everyone, ranging from kids to those looking for an adrenaline rush. I am not a huge fan of extreme rollercoasters or the free-fall experience as they scare me. Surprisingly, in Disneyland Paris, I went on all the rides, so we got off to a good start.
Firstly, there are six rides that we could qualify as extreme:
- Hyperspace Mountain: This is one of the top rides of Disneyland Paris. Here you get on board a space craft and are launched into deep, dark space and consists of lateral loops and turns at high speed, all without being able to see a thing. Luckily for me however, there were no severe drops.
- Indiana Jones: This is a rollercoaster that is super quick and includes one loop-the-loop.
- Big Thunder Mountain: This is the typical train through a mine. It is lots of fun as you are propelled through a simulated mine, replete with mini-explosions.
Walt Disney Studies on the other hand, offers the following:
- Hollywood tower: The star attraction, and which can be seen from afar due to its height. Once inside the lift of the enchanted hotel there is no turning back…expect a simulated free-fall of various ups and downs, the highest of up to 30m.
- Crush Coaster: This ride is set underwater, in the deep seas of Finding Nemo. Here you will sit on top of a turtle riding the currents of simulated, yet extremely enjoyable ups and downs (however without loop-the -loops).
- RC Racer: Here you are transported to the magic of Toy Story. Climb into Woody’s toy car friend and be propelled backwards and forwards like a typical pendulum ship.
The other rides, are for all ages, consisting of small trains bringing your Disney favourites to life. We recommend trying everything, as each ride has its own enchantment and special magic which you will love. Personally, I would go back every year if I could.
However, we all know that there isn´t always enough time, so the following 6 rides are our top tips (from the ones previously mentioned) that are an absolute must: Pirates of the Caribbean – Phantom Manor (house of horrors) – Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast – Star Tours: La Aventura continúa (simulator) – Ratatouille: The Adventure – Peter Pan’s flight – It’s a small world.
I´m sure you have many doubts if it is worthwhile going to Disneyland Paris or not as an adult, due to the fact of its price. Without a shadow of a doubt my answer is a resounding, OF COURSE.
It is true that it isn´t a theme park with the most extreme rides, but on the other hand it is the perfect combination to enjoy the Disney experience whilst having an absolutely amazing time.
If you have any queries, please let us know as we would love to hear your comments.
Love it! , well-laid out and easy to use practical info! a must!
Thanks Mark!!