Disneyland Paris is one of our family’s favourite trips – especially for the boys who could happily live on the parades and the Mickey shaped snacks. But with so much to see and not enough time to see it, a bit of insider knowledge can go a long way.
After years of visiting with our kids we’ve picked up plenty of lessons, some the easy way but most the hard way. So whether it’s your first visit or your fifth, here are the 21 Disneyland Paris tips for families that we use every time.
In this post we’ll talk you through tips like why you should book to stay at an onsite hotel, what to pack in your suitcase, where you can be flexible without straying too far from your routine, and everything else you need to plan a smoother trip to Disneyland Paris from start to finish.
- 1. Understand the difference between a dated and undated ticket
- 2. Download the official Disneyland Paris mobile app
- 3. Don’t dress up as an adult
- 4. Make a plan of action
- 5. Bring a power bank
- 6. Take a reusable water bottle
- 7. Say flexible on how and when you eat
- 8. Stay nearby the night before and after your visit
- 9. Use the early magic hour
- 10. Find a good spot early for the parades and fireworks
- 11. Visit in the summer months
- 12. Don’t overlook the shows
- 13. Find a nearby supermarket
- 14. Don’t forget the baby sling/carrier
- 15. Don’t worry if you don’t speak French
- 16. Have the shops send souvenirs to your hotel room
- 17. Wear comfortable shoes
- 18. Stay at an onsite hotel
- 19. See the characters at your hotel
- 20. Book restaurants in advance
- 21. Bring something to keep kids busy in queues
- Summary of the Disneyland Paris Tips for Families
- Read these next …
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1. Understand the difference between a dated and undated ticket
Before booking your Disneyland Paris tickets, it’s important to understand the difference between dated and undated tickets so you don’t end up not being able to visit on the date you want to.
Dated tickets are valid for a specific day and are usually the cheaper option, especially if you book well in advance. They also guarantee entry on your chosen date.
Undated tickets offer more flexibility as they can be used on a range of dates within their validity period, making them ideal if your travel plans aren’t fixed. However, you’ll typically need to register your visit date before arriving, and popular dates can fill up. If you know exactly when you’re visiting, a dated ticket is often the best value.
2. Download the official Disneyland Paris mobile app
The official Disneyland Paris app is one of the most useful tools you’ll have during your visit. It provides live queue times, interactive park maps, restaurant opening hours, show schedules and character meet-and-greet locations.
You can also use the app to make restaurant reservations, purchase Disney Premier Access for selected attractions, check attraction closures and even book certain experiences. Having everything in one place saves a huge amount of time and helps you make the most of your day.
3. Don’t dress up as an adult
Disney has very strict rules about adults dressing up as characters to protect the children that visit.
If you’re set on some Disney inspired outfit you can do Disney bonding which is when fans dress up in the style or theme of Disney without being in a specific character outfit.
4. Make a plan of action
Disneyland Paris is busy with enough rides, attractions, shows and characters to keep you busy for weeks. This is great to keep you entertained but does make it more confusing to figure out where to go first and what to focus your time on.
Having a plan of action before you visit can help provide focus, making it easier to soak in all the Disney magic when you arrive.
5. Bring a power bank
Aside from the 400 pictures and video you’ll want to take during your stay at Disneyland, you also need your phone to use the Disneyland App to check ride times and join the queues to see characters.
You can even access the magic pass to get into the Disneyland Paris parks on your phone so it’s important that you have a power bank to keep your phone battery topped up.
6. Take a reusable water bottle
As with most things at Disneyland Paris, drinks are expensive!
You can save yourself some money on your trip by packing a reusable water bottle to use at one of the many free water fountains dotted around the park.
7. Say flexible on how and when you eat
Rather than sticking to traditional meal times, try eating earlier or later than everyone else. Restaurants become incredibly busy between 12 pm and 2 pm and again around 6 pm.
An early lunch or late dinner can save you a long wait and give you extra time on the rides while everyone else is eating. It’s also worth packing snacks to keep everyone going between meals, especially if you’re travelling with younger children.
8. Stay nearby the night before and after your visit
We didn’t realise this on our first visit but you get access to the Disneyland Parks from opening time on your first day to closing time on your last day.
To avoid losing valuable park time on our first and last days we book a nearby hotel for the night before and after our Disneyland Paris stay.
Our go to place to stay is Bussy Saint-Georges. It’s a small town just a few metro stops from Disneyland Paris and has everything you could need, from a morning bakery to several restaurants, and a large supermarket.
We’ve stayed in a few different hotels at Bussy Saint-Georges and our favourite is Campanile Prime – Bussy-Saint-Georges. We like this hotel because it’s just a 10-15 minute walk from the train station, there’s an onsite restaurant, and their family friendly rooms are spacious and clean .
9. Use the early magic hour
If you decide to book one of the onsite hotels with your park tickets then you’ll also get access to early magic hour.
Early magic hour is a perk that allows you to get on to the Disneyland Paris parks one hour before the day visitors. This helps you get to the front of the queue on some of the most popular rides but you’ll need to start queueing at least 30 minutes before your early magic hour starts because if you’re not careful you’ll spend most of the hour waiting to get into the park.
You don’t realise how many people are also staying in a Disneyland hotel until you’re standing in a small area shuffling to get into the park!
10. Find a good spot early for the parades and fireworks
During the parade and firework display pretty much every single person at Disneyland congregates in the same area. To say it gets busy is an understatement!
To get a good view for either the parade or fireworks you’ll need to find a spot early, usually around 30 – 60 minutes beforehand.
Not all hope is lost though, it is slightly easier to find a good spot following some changes made at Disneyland Paris. Firstly, they’ve expanded the lightshow that runs alongside the fireworks so that it goes all along the buildings up Main Street. Also, with the opening of the Frozen themed area, there’s a second parade and firework show.
11. Visit in the summer months
So here’s the thing … I can appreciate that Disneyland Paris is super cool at Halloween and so magical at Christmas. However, if you want more ride time for your money then you need to visit in the summer months as the parks are open later into the evening.
On the flip side, the firework show is later which means longer days and later bed times!
12. Don’t overlook the shows
I know everyone goes to a Disney park for the rides and to meet Mickey Mouse, but don’t overlook the other attractions, especially the shows.
You have two options if you want to see a show at Disneyland Paris,
Buy a ticket: you can buy a ticket to one of their shows on the app or Disneyland Paris website. This guarantees you entry and you don’t have to queue to get your ticket.
Queue for a free ticket: you can queue for a free ticket but this doesn’t guarantee you entry as their first come first served. We’ve never bought a ticket and we’se seen plenty of shows. We find that starting to queue around 30 minutes before show time gives you a better chance of getting into the show for free.
Two shows I recommend to anyone visiting is the Lion King show which is more like a West End production, and Stitch Live which is a fun lighthearted show with jokes for kids and adults.
13. Find a nearby supermarket
The food and drinks at Disneyland Paris can be very expensive, even just for snacks! Save yourself some money by riding a few stops on the metro to a nearby supermarket and stock up on snacks and drinks you can keep in your room.
If you decide to venture out on the metro, two easy areas to get to are Val d’Europe and Bussy Saint-Georges.
Val d’Europe is one stop on the RER A (red) line. Within a 10 minute walk of the metro station you’ll find a large shopping centre with many popular shops, restaurants, and even an adventure park with tons of activities including bowling, laser games and a trampoline park.
Bussy Saint-Georges is just two stops on the RER A (red) line. When you exit the train station you’ll be able to see the local supermarket and it’s less than a minute walk.
There’s a shop at Marne-la-Valléy Chessy train station but it’s more of a small convenience store and is on the Disneyland Paris site so not much cheaper than in the parks.
14. Don’t forget the baby sling/carrier
While most of Disneyland Paris is pushchair friendly, you can’t bring a pushchair into queues for rides or shows.
Shows aren’t too bad but carrying a baby or toddler through a 30 minute queue is back breaking work!
Bring a baby sling or toddler carrier that you can fold up and store in a backpack or underneath the pushchair when not in use.
15. Don’t worry if you don’t speak French
I know it can be daunting to travel somewhere new if you don’t speak the language but there’s no need to worry when you’re traveling to Disneyland Paris.
Most if not all cast members speak English to a good level making it easy to get the answers to any questions you may have.
Getting around and ordering food is simple as all signs and menus have an English translation. While shows with a lot of talking (like Stitch Live) have English and French showings so make sure you pick the right one and don’t end up watching a show in French!
16. Have the shops send souvenirs to your hotel room
This is a really cool feature of staying onsite at a Disneyland Paris hotel. When you buy something at any of the shops in either park or the Disney Village you can have it sent back to your hotel completely free of charge.
This is a great option when you’ve already got a bag full of snacks, two kids to keep track of and a pushchair.
All you need to do is ask when you pay, they’ll take your details and give you a ticket to hand in at the shop in your hotel when you collect your items
17. Wear comfortable shoes
Disneyland Paris sits across 4,800 acres so it’s a huge site. This is great as it means you get access to more rides, attractions and food spots.
However, it also means you’re going to do a lot of steps, easily 10k – 20k steps each day. Add in standing in queues for hours across the day and you can see why you need comfortable shoes to keep you out of pain.
Even better if you can bring a couple of pairs of shoes and switch between them during your stay.
18. Stay at an onsite hotel
Yes, staying onsite at Disneyland Paris can work out to be more expensive but it’s worth it for a few reasons,
- You can walk to the Disneyland parks via the Disney Village
- Free shuttle buses run from the hotels to the Disneyland parks and back again
- You can get the souvenirs you buy in the park sent straight to your hotel so you don’t need to carry it with you all day
- You can get into either Disneyland park an hour early then non-hotel guests with the early magic hour perk
- You can check in a bag drop as soon as you arrive meaning you can make the most of your first day and head back to your hotel when your room is ready
If you think that staying onsite is outside of your budget you can bring the cost down by booking direct through the Disneyland Paris website and booking as soon as the dates are released
The two budget onsite hotels are Santa Fe Hotel and Hotel Cheyenne. Santa Fe is the cheaper of the two but we prefer Hotel Cheyenne as the facilities are better and it’s a slightly easier walk to the Disney Village.
19. See the characters at your hotel
Each of the Disneyland Paris onsite hotels have daily visits from specific characters. Characters can change so check the Disneyland Paris app before you travel but these are the type of characters you can expect at each hotel,
Santa Fe: classic Disney characters such as Donald Duck and Goofy
Hotel Cheyenne: Woody, Jessie and other Toy Story themed characters
Sequoia Lodge and Newport Bay: classic Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy
Marvel Avengers Campus: Spiderman, Iron Man, Black Panther and other superheroes
Disneyland Hotel: Disney princesses and other royal themed characters
Some of these characters can have queues of well over 30 minutes in the parks so skip the long queue and meet them at your hotel instead.
20. Book restaurants in advance
Just like the rest of Disneyland Paris, the restaurants can get busy. The won’t impact you if you’re planning on eating at quick service places like Casa de Coco, Stark Factory or the Toad Hall Restaurant. However, if you want to stop at sit down restaurants like Annette’s Diner, the Rainforest Cafe or Bistrot Chez Rémy it’s best to make reservations before you travel.
Then there’s the most popular restaurants at Disneyland Paris like the Downtown Restaurant, Auberge de Cendrillon and Walt’s. These are restaurants you need to book months in advance as soon as the reservations open for your travel dates.
21. Bring something to keep kids busy in queues
This one may sound obvious but people often think they don’t need to worry about keeping the kids engaged – Disneyland Paris is made for kids!
The rides, shows and attractions will keep them interested while they’re riding or interacting with them but they won’t keep them entertained when they’re standing in a queue or waiting for a show to start.
Overcome the boredom during these moments by packing a small backpack with snacks, a travel game, a couple of toys and some form of device for when the going gets tough.
Are you planning a trip to Disneyland Paris?
We’ve pulled together our best tips, reviews and general advice to help you plan your own trip to Disneyland Paris,
- Learn all about the two Disneyland Paris parks and which one is best for you
- Learn how to visit Disneyland Paris on a budget and save money when you’re there
- Explore the top toddler rides at Disneyland Paris that are suited to 5 year olds and under
- Plan ahead with this list of the best rides for kids at Disneyland Paris
- Find out why the Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland Paris is the best castle and what you’ll find if you venture inside
- Get the low down on all the underrated and hidden attractions at Disneyland Paris
- We answer the question, is it possible to visit both Disneyland Paris parks in one day? Hint – it is, and we’ll show you how
- Planning a day trip to Disneyland Paris? Use our one day Disneyland Paris itinerary to get you started
Summary of the Disneyland Paris Tips for Families
Disneyland Paris really can be as magical as everyone says but it takes a bit of planning to make sure the magic doesn’t get lost in queues, meltdowns, or a forgotten snack bag.
With these 21 tips in your back pocket you’ll be able to spend less time figuring it out and more time enjoying the parades, the rides, and all the Mickey shaped food.
There are a lot of tips here so to keep it simple we’ve narrowed it down to our top 3 that will have the biggest impact on your trip,
- Download the Disneyland Paris app
- Stay nearby the night before and after your visit
- Bring something to keep the kids busy in queues
This post is filled with everything I wish I’d known before we went to Disneyland Paris for the first time so I hope they’ve helped you plan your dream trip.
