Our 2023 Disneyland Paris trip planning information covers data & ideas for visiting the theme parks in France, plus lodge opinions, restaurant suggestions, journey scores, and theme park itineraries. It’s up-to-date data and recommendation, with common revisions from our visits to DLP and Walt Disney Studios Park. (Updated January 2, 2023.)
Disneyland Paris is now celebrating its thirtieth Anniversary! In truth, the festivities are about to enter their dwelling stretch, with the Disneyland Paris thirtieth Anniversary Grand Finale starting on January 9, 2023 and the celebration ending on September 30, 2023. That’s fairly the prolonged Grand Finale, however we’ll take it–this has been fairly the occasion!
This celebration options new sights, decorations, costumes, merchandise, leisure, reveals, and the first-ever aerial drone present inside a Disney theme park. There’s a ton taking place for this–arguably greater than Walt Disney World’s fiftieth Anniversary–examine all of it in our Guide to Disneyland Paris thirtieth Anniversary.
Beyond that, just about the whole lot is again to regular at Disneyland Paris. The park has introduced again leisure, together with common character meet & greets, “Disney Stars on Parade” and “Disney Illuminations,” and might be rolling out much more throughout the dwelling stretch of the thirtieth Anniversary.
The solely modification nonetheless in place (for now) is that a web-based reservation system is in use to handle attendance. Guests who buy dated tickets to Disneyland Paris or Walt Disney Studios Park don’t have to register and reserve a date. Likewise, friends with lodge + ticket packages that embody park admittance will obtain admission during their keep and don’t want to make use of the brand new on-line reservation system. In different phrases, this isn’t related to the overwhelming majority of individuals studying this Disneyland Paris planning information.
Whether you might be contemplating a day at Disneyland Paris–the most well-liked vacationer vacation spot in Europe–as a part of a non-Disney journey to France, or are an enormous Disney fan planning a global journey for Disneyland Paris, this information has you lined. We will element the whole lot from accommodations to eating, and reply the vital query of when is an effective time to go to Disneyland Paris?
First, a little bit of a primer about Disneyland Paris. Located in Marne-la-Vallée, which is definitely a suburb of Paris, Disneyland Paris is about 45 minutes from the town middle by prepare–and considerably nearer to Charles de Gaulle Airport. The total resort consists of seven official Disney-themed accommodations, a number of accomplice accommodations, the Disney Village leisure and buying district, and the 2 parks: Parc Disneyland and the Walt Disney Studios Park.
The resort as an entire of Disneyland Paris is bigger than Disneyland Resort and smaller than Walt Disney World. While we’d by no means suggest visiting France and solely seeing Disneyland Paris, it’s a bona fide trip vacation spot in itself when you wished to make it one. Moreover, Parc Disneyland is a fully wonderful theme park, very similar to the unique Disneyland, albeit with far fewer rides. It does have a treasure trove of lovely particulars, seasonal leisure, and far more.
In truth, in our Best & Worst Disney Theme Parks within the World put up, Parc Disneyland ranks #4, forward of fashionable parks like Disney California Adventure and Epcot. It largely scores so excessive due to its magnificence. Before I get forward of myself gushing over Disneyland Paris’ magnificence, let’s cowl the query of when you need to go to Disneyland Paris…
When to Visit Disneyland Paris?
If you might have your alternative of dates and seasons for visiting Disneyland Paris, our sturdy advice could be to go to Disneyland Paris throughout spring, fall, or winter, significantly throughout shoulder seasons exterior of France’s peak vacationer seasons. In specific, we love Christmas at Disneyland Paris (see this Info & Tips put up), which is a superb time to go to as long as you keep away from Christmas week by means of New Year’s Eve.
We sometimes suggest avoiding the months of June by means of August, each due to crowds and up to date warmth waves which have swept over Europe the final couple summers. The solely draw back to not visiting throughout the summer season is lacking the Lion King Jungle Festival, which pulls rave opinions. However, nothing is definitely worth the poor climate and crowds.
Speaking of which, we discover the climate to be greatest in Paris in April and May, and late September by means of November. These are essentially the most temperate occasions of the yr, and though it might snow within the winter, it’s often not too chilly in mid-November. (Mid-to late December is likely to be pushing your luck, although.)
Christmas is a wonderful time to go to Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios Park for a flurry of further seasonal leisure, and for the gorgeous decorations throughout the park. Plus, you can not beat the texture of the City of Paris throughout the vacation months.
If you’re pondering extra long-term, there’s additionally the query of whether or not to go to within the subsequent yr or so, or to attend. Disneyland Paris has enormous long-term plans that as a part of a $2.5 billion revitalization to the Walt Disney Studios Park (see idea artwork above).
This redevelopment of Walt Disney Studios Park will roll out in phases main as much as the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. The first element to open was Avengers Campus, which debuted final summer season. The Kingdom of Arendelle is up subsequent after that, and is more likely to open in 2024. (It’s unclear whether or not Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will nonetheless be constructed as a part of the Walt Disney Studios Park enlargement, however our guess is that it’s going to not.)
For the whole lot else on the horizon at Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios Park, seek the advice of our Guide to What’s New & Next in 2023 for Disneyland Paris thirtieth Anniversary. That covers the entire tasks slated for the parks and accommodations, when you’ll be able to anticipate new sights to debut, resort closures, and refurbishments.
The bulk of the enlargement will culminate forward of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, making Spring 2024 will in all probability be the “best” time to go. All of this enlargement might be completed and also you’ll beat the Olympics crowds. However, most of you studying this immediately aren’t planning for a visit a few years sooner or later. You’re extra questioning whether or not you need to go to France this yr or not. In which case, it doesn’t actually make a lot of a distinction.
Of course, there’s lots to France past Disneyland Paris and also you must also plan your journey dates round when it’s greatest to go to different spots in your itinerary. The metropolis of Paris is our second-favorite metropolis on the planet, and we extremely suggest spending no less than a number of days there.
As for touring to the remainder of France and inside Europe, we extremely suggest it! We supply intensive journey ideas in our Ultimate Guide to Paris, France over on TravelCaffeine.com, our non-Disney journey weblog. That’s a great place to begin planning the opposite days of your trip.
We’ve visited a number of areas in Europe, together with Normandy, the Loire Valley, and Côte d’Azur areas of France. Outside of France, we’ve traveled to Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
While we love Disney–and Disneyland Paris–many of those different real-world areas have been the highlights of our journeys. Europe is filled with wonderful locations that depart an indelible mark on an individual. There’s a lot past the parks at Disneyland Paris, and actually one thing for everybody. From historical past to fashionable tradition to shady purple gentle districts (as a result of we’re so certain Disney followers are into that kind of factor! ???? ), there’s actually one thing for everybody.
If this has you tempted to journey to Europe to see Disneyland Paris and different lasting cultural experiences, or when you had been already planning a go to and need extra data and ideas, let’s begin planning! (All hyperlinks open in new tabs, so be happy to click on away and head down the rabbit gap!)
How Many Days?
Based upon the foregoing, when planning a visit to Disneyland Paris, you shouldn’t simply plan a fast journey to see Disneyland Resort Paris, however must also plan on visiting no less than Paris and one other European metropolis or two. On our first journey, we flew into Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, then spent equal quantities of time in Disneyland Paris and Paris, earlier than taking the Eurostar to London after which flying out of London’s Heathrow airport.
When it involves Europe as an entire, you need to go to for as many days as you’ll be able to. The actuality of issues is that trip time is finite, and journey is expensive, so most individuals in all probability are perhaps per week or so on the holiday. My sturdy recommendation could be to attempt to stretch the journey to no less than 10 days even when that requires saving cash and trip time a bit longer.
How a lot time you’ll need to spend on every leg of your journey is essentially a private query. If you aren’t a Disney fan and are simply going for the sake of your children or as a result of it’s in your checklist of highlights close to Paris, my advice would in all probability be to only go for 1 day, spending it totally at Parc Disneyland, experiencing among the greatest sights, and having fun with the ambiance.
Most individuals can accomplish the Walt Disney Studios park in half a day or a day. There is an assortment of gratifying sights there, however the park is usually ugly. I wouldn’t downright encourage anybody to skip this park, but it surely’s not going to be the spotlight of anybody’s journey. It’s getting higher, and must be a park worthy of the “Disney” title by 2024.
The greatest a part of Walt Disney Studios Park is the La Place de Rémy mini-land, which is sort of a “Streets of Paris” space primarily based upon Ratatouille. If your curiosity is piqued on this space, take a look at my Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy Review and Bistrot Chez Rémy Review. Avengers Campus can be a pleasant addition, though the economic fashion is extra of the identical at WDSP. Ultimately, when you solely have someday to expertise Disneyland Paris, skip the Studios and simply do the Disneyland park.
In addition to time for exploring Parc Disneyland and the Walt Disney Studios Park, you’ll want to put aside a little bit of time to discover the accommodations and Disney Village, too. The accommodations are fairly cool, whereas Disney Village is a largely dated, unhappy tackle Downtown Disney. The highlights of Disney Village are Earl of Sandwich and Five Guys, that are nice late evening meals after the parks shut.
Depending upon your stage of curiosity and stamina, seeing these areas can in all probability be achieved after the parks shut, relying upon what time the parks shut. During my visits, even on busier days, the newest the parks closed was 10 pm; many nights the parks closed as early as 7 pm.
Most Parisians eat late dinners, so lodge eating places are regularly open till 11 pm or 12 am (with the bars and lounges open even later), giving us ample time to benefit from the accommodations after our days on the park had been full. During the summer season months, the parks could also be open till 11 pm or midnight, so you’ll have to seek out one other time to go to the accommodations and Disney Village.
Vacation Packages
Once you’ve decided what number of days to go to Disneyland Paris, you could resolve whether or not a trip bundle is for you. These work lots like trip packages at different Disney Parks in that they will comprise a lodge, park tickets, and meal plan, or only a lodge keep.
Many of the very best reductions for Disneyland Paris bundle these parts collectively. In truth, to economize on a lodge, you virtually all the time need to buy park tickets from Disneyland Paris (until you might have an Annual Pass). Sometimes, the low cost might be for a proportion off the room, typically it’s going to embody free a Half Board or Full Board Meal Package (extra on this beneath), typically it’ll embody free park tickets, and typically it’s going to embody free nights.
For instance, Disneyland Paris promotions typically embody 30% off a room plus free Half Board eating and purchase 2 nights get 2 nights free at a lodge. (Both promos embody park tickets.) Alternatively, there are lodge reductions obtainable for Annual Passholders of as much as 40% off. All of those reductions are fairly consultant of what’s usually provided.
What additional complicates issues is that completely different variations of the Disneyland Paris web site (e.g. the United Kingdom model, Belgium, Germany, and so on.) supply completely different costs for a similar promotion. I not too long ago priced out a December journey, and it was ~$120 costlier on the U.S. website than the U.Okay. website. Since you’ll be able to e book through any of those websites, no matter the place you reside, it’s greatest to comparability store among the many completely different variations of the location, and e book the place it’s least expensive.
This can all be fairly difficult when you’re a beginner, significantly given the language limitations and default currencies on the varied Disneyland Paris websites. However, it’s price it since you’ll save essentially the most cash this fashion. Aside from the comparability buying to get the very best value, planning a Disneyland Paris trip is simple as in comparison with a Walt Disney World trip.
Getting There
I’m going to make the idea that anybody studying that is flying to Europe from abroad, not a European driving to Disneyland Paris for a day journey (when you’re driving and in search of recommendation…strive Google Maps, I suppose?). From Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris there are three principal choices: TGV, RER, or VEA shuttle.
The TGV is the very best of those choices, and it drops you off proper exterior Disneyland Paris’ gates. The course of could be very easy; head to Terminal 2 and buy a ticket for the TGV at a kiosk within the airport with a vacation spot of “Marne La Vallee Ches.”
This prepare takes 10 minutes to get from CDG to Disneyland Paris (it’s actually the primary cease). The caveats listed here are that this prepare is considerably costlier (one-way ticket costs differ, however are sometimes $15-30) and there might be over an hour hole between trains. Moreover, we don’t suggest shopping for a ticket for this prematurely as a consequence of flight delays, customs, and so on.
The Magical Shuttle is the second-best possibility, but it surely stops at plenty of accommodations (suppose Disney’s Magical Express). However, it’s handy and fairly simple. Prices for this differ, but it surely’s usually the costliest possibility. You can e book tickets right here.
The RER is the ultimate possibility. This might be time consuming, as it’s a must to go from CDG airport to central Paris and swap traces to go again to Marne-la-Vallee. Both CDG and MLV are exterior Paris, so doing this primarily means it’s a must to backtrack. It’d be like taking a flight from Chicago to Detroit with a layover in St. Louis. However, when you’re shopping for a RER go or your lodge is on the RER line, this can be your best choice. It’s comparatively simple, it simply takes about an hour to perform.
If you’re coming from someplace aside from CDG airport, think about the Eurostar prepare, which additionally drops you off proper exterior Disneyland Paris’ gates. We traveled the Eurostar (aka the “Chunnel”) and it was a superb expertise. This is a good way to get to Disneyland Paris when you’re primarily visiting one other main metropolis in Europe. What’s particularly good is {that a} Eurostar station is true in MLV. My assumption is that this was constructed as a part of Disney’s settlement to deliver a park to Paris…as a result of there’s no different motive why little ‘ole Marne-la-Vallee would have a Eurostar station.
All of this appears difficult and intimidating at first (no less than it did to us), but it surely’s actually easy when you perceive the fundamentals.
Where to Stay
Disneyland Paris has seven official resorts, with quite a lot of close by “off-site” accommodations. We have a Disneyland Paris Hotel Comparison put up that compares and contrasts the accommodations, providing our suggestions on the place to remain. We’ll cowl among the similar floor beneath, however when you’re debating which lodge to e book, that’s actually the put up to learn.
We’ve stayed within the not too long ago renovated Sequoia Lodge (click on right here to learn our Sequoia Lodge Review) and Hotel New York (click on right here to learn our Hotel New York Review). We’ve additionally stayed at Newport Bay Club (click on right here to learn our Newport Bay Club Review) and several other off-site accommodations.
Other accommodations embody Disneyland Hotel (the flagship Victorian-themed lodge), Hotel Cheyenne (themed to be the ‘streets’ of a Western city), and Hotel Santa Fe (designed with a chilly, Southwestern pueblo fashion). If you had been schooled by Count von Count, you in all probability observed that I solely point out six of the seven resorts. The final, Davy Crockett Ranch, is a campground positioned a bit additional away that I didn’t go to.
Assuming you don’t have a automobile in your go to to France, you’ll have just a few methods to get to and from Disneyland Paris: your toes, taxi, RER prepare, or shuttle. The 6 on-site accommodations can every by accessed by strolling (or shuttle). Disneyland Hotel is a few one minute stroll from the turnstiles, Hotel New York is ~10 minute stroll, Sequoia Lodge is ~12 minute stroll, Newport Bay Club is ~15 minute stroll, with Hotels Cheyenne and Santa Fe a tad above the 15 minute mark.
In phrases of pricing, Hotel Cheyenne and Santa Fe are on the low finish of the size, with ascending costs for Sequoia Lodge, Newport Bay Club, Hotel New York, and at last, Disneyland Hotel. Nightly charges vary from ~$100/evening for Hotel Santa Fe to over $1,000/evening for Disneyland Hotel. Average charges for every accommodations are far and wide relying upon what sort of low cost you’ll be able to rating.
These value fluctuations could make reserving a Disneyland Paris lodge a bit irritating. Generally talking, we far want staying on-site quite than off-site. However, we aren’t paying over $400/evening for Newport Bay Club or Sequoia Lodge. Conversely, ~$150/evening makes these resorts a no brainer (we’d even be keen to pay round $200/evening).
Note that Hotel New York has reopened after a multi-year closure for a high to backside redo throughout which era it was transformed to “Disney’s Hotel New York — The Art of Marvel.” This new-look resort celebrates 80 years of Marvel storytelling in a typical New York setting, with a recent Art Deco fashion.
Disney’s Hotel New York — The Art of Marvel is impressed by a New York artwork gallery, paying tribute to the town that’s dwelling to many iconic Marvel characters and the artists who created them.
Off-Site Lodging
We’ve stayed at a number of off-site accommodations in Val d’Europe, which is the primary cease from Disneyland Resort Paris on the RER A line. Combining the time it takes to stroll from Disneyland Paris to the RER station (3 minutes), the time it took on the prepare (5-Quarter-hour, relying upon the prepare schedule), and the time it took to stroll from the station in Val d’Europe to our lodge (3 minutes), you might have a few 25 minute commute, at worst. Several of those accommodations are additionally inside strolling distance of Disneyland Paris (25-35 minute walks, relying upon the lodge).
The entire city of Val d’Europe is comparatively new, having been masterplanned together with Disney. It has a Celebration/suburbia vibe to it, however with conventional French stylization. While it doesn’t have the identical historic attract of the quaint villages in France, it has its personal fashionable allure and isn’t too cookie cutter. All of that is to say that the accommodations of Val d’Europe are in all probability stable choices when you don’t need to pay the insane costs of Disneyland Paris accommodations.
Generally, these accommodations in Val d’Europe might be booked for $75-150/evening, which makes them (sometimes) cheaper than Disneyland Paris on-site accommodations. You may stroll from among the accommodations to Disneyland Paris (Hipark Serris is the lodge closest to the parks, for what it’s price), which is far more handy than taking the RER, we expect.
Another possibility, significantly when you’re spending time elsewhere in France, is Airbnb…
We have a put up that discusses our Tips for Using Airbnb in case you’re unfamiliar with the service. We’ve used it a number of occasions in Europe, together with a few occasions in Paris. It’s a reasonable different to a lodge, and good as a result of it additionally permits you to reside like an area, whether or not which means performing some laundry midway by means of your journey or simply going to the market to get contemporary produce (and cheese…AND WINE!) to organize you personal meals.
Other than that, the largest upside is value. You can discover typically discover offers on accommodations in Val d’Europe, however offers on good lodging are much less frequent in Paris (correct) or different cities. The worth proposition of renting your individual condominium or flat is considerably larger than reserving a lodge. (Plus, you should use my sign-up hyperlink for a free credit score your first time utilizing Airbnb!)
We’ve had some actually nice Airbnb experiences all around the globe, and wouldn’t hesitate to make use of it once more close to Disneyland Paris, or anyplace in Europe, for that matter.
Off-Site v. On-Site?
For us, the Disney on-site lodge expertise isn’t simply in regards to the room. All issues thought of, the Disney accommodations we’ve stayed in at Disneyland Paris are nicer general than the off-site accommodations. Aside from value, the one upside to the Val d’Europe accommodations is getting extra spacious suites and multi-room villas.
Beyond being immersed within the Disney bubble, there are some perks to staying on-site at Disneyland Paris. The massive ones are being inside strolling distance of the parks, Extra Magic Hours, making the most of the Full or Half Board Meal Plans, and unique character meets.
By far, the largest of those is the Extra Magic Hour perk. Guests staying within the Disney-owned accommodations are capable of enter the parks 2 hours earlier than most of the people to expertise choose sights each morning. The first hour of Extra Magic Hours is mostly fairly lifeless–it’s simple to get completely empty photographs of Main Street, and you may expertise sights like Peter Pan’s Flight with minimal waits.
If you do resolve to remain on-site, my unscientific suggestions for accommodations could be: Hotel Cheyenne (worth), Sequoia Lodge (reasonable), or Disneyland Hotel (deluxe). Hotel Cheyenne had a enjoyable really feel to it and no pretenses of being artfully designed, probably making it a lodge children would get pleasure from. Sequoia Lodge has theming is harking back to a National Park lodge, besides with Frank Lloyd Wright inspiration oddly discovered all through the structure.
If you’re desirous about reserving a Disneyland Paris trip bundle, you need to know in regards to the numerous Meal Plans the on-site accommodations supply. These are typically bundled into packages for “free” or obtainable as an add-on.
This is considerably just like the Disney Dining Plan at Walt Disney World, besides it makes use of pre-paid bodily vouchers. Disneyland Paris presents Full and Half Board Meal Plans: the Half Board plan contains 1 meal voucher for lunch or dinner, plus a breakfast voucher. The Full Board plan contains 2 meal vouches for lunch and dinner, plus a breakfast voucher.
There are 4 completely different tiers to every of those Meal Plans obtainable, escalating in value and what’s included. At the bottom finish of the spectrum is the Hotel plan, which incorporates breakfast and dinner at your lodge solely. Standard provides you a alternative of 5+ buffet eating places. Plus offers entry to fifteen+ buffet and desk service eating places. Premium is accessible at virtually each desk service restaurant in Disneyland Paris, together with character meals.
The backside line with these Meal Plans is that they could be a actually good worth if you perform a little analysis and e book costly eating places. For instance, though the Premium Plan is $100+ per particular person, per evening, doing day by day meals at locations like California Grill and Auberge de Cendrillon might quantity to a day by day worth of over $150. Same goes for the decrease tiers.
On the opposite hand, when you select an costly plan and find yourself doing largely counter service meals, there’s the potential for shedding some huge cash every day on the Disneyland Paris Meal Plans.
Our final take is that the Meal Plans are a great possibility if eating is a crucial a part of your journey and you propose to do your analysis forward of time to find out the place to eat (and make reservations ~60 days prematurely). If eating isn’t so vital otherwise you don’t intend upon doing the analysis, skip the Disneyland Paris Meals. There’s one massive motive for this…
The motive is that a whole lot of the meals at Disneyland Paris will not be superb. Given that that is France, you’d anticipate Disneyland Paris to have some stellar eating choices. Unfortunately, expectations right here don’t comport with actuality. Restaurants at Disneyland Paris usually are not that good and usually are not that “French.”
The excellent news is that eating has been bettering in the previous couple of years, and we’ve had some good meals at Walt’s – An American Restaurant and Captain Jack’s within the final couple of years. Nevertheless, we’re nonetheless cautious about Disneyland Paris eating, as we’ve had hit and miss success within the ast.
We’ve since tried out many different eating places at Disneyland Paris, some good, some actually dangerous. The common pattern is in direction of enchancment, which is certainly reassuring. For opinions of particular person eating places, learn our Disneyland Paris Restaurant Reviews. We even have a Guide to Drinking at Disneyland Paris for individuals who need to exit after the parks shut!
If you need to keep away from disappointment, we’d suggest approaching eating at Disneyland Paris from the attitude of experiencing eating places with cool themes. Our Top 10 Themed Restaurants at Disneyland Paris put up ought to assist with this.
This is how we have now approached eating there, and it has labored fairly effectively. The two eating places at which we ate the primary time, Walt’s and Captain Jack’s, had been lovely, and definitely worth the expertise, even contemplating the meals. Walt’s has the same really feel to Club 33 at Disneyland, and Captain Jack’s overlooks the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, very similar to Blue Bayou at Disneyland.
Counter Service meals are usually okay. It’s about what you’d anticipate from common counter service eating places at Walt Disney World or Disneyland. In common, the choices usually are not adventurous, however quite, are stereotypical theme park meals. Lots of pizza, burgers, salads, and fried meals.
This isn’t essentially a nasty factor, as portion sizes are giant and costs usually are not out of line (by regular Disney requirements). In addition, the design of many of those eating places is really spectacular. Toad Hall options extra element than all of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disneyland, and serves some fairly good fish & chips, too.
In phrases of parts, the one portion measurement that might be smaller in Disneyland Paris is soda. There are not any free refills in any restaurant (that is typical of Europe) and soda sizes generally are a lot smaller. So, when you’re a Coke addict, a visit to Disneyland Paris may show expensive!
Although inferior to what you’ll discover within the metropolis of Paris, Disneyland Paris snacks are stable. We extremely suggest the Cable Car Bake Shop on Main Street. Not only for its sweets, but additionally as a result of it’s a superbly designed, intimate location.
One factor to say so that you just don’t get too excited whereas planning particular locations to eat is that Disneyland Paris typically closes a few of its eating places relying upon crowds. This has been an enormous concern in the previous couple of years, and judging by the calendars revealed so far, it’s going to stay an enormous downside all through the remainder of this yr.
This might be very irritating for planning functions, and enjoying the “what’s open today?” recreation whereas within the park is equally irritating, because the indicators up indicating which eating places are open differ from spot to identify. You typically don’t know what is open till you stroll as much as a specific restaurant.
To make issues worse, even the restricted slate of eating places that’s open typically closes earlier than 5 pm. This signifies that traces for dinner on the 2-3 eating places which can be open into the night hours are ridiculously lengthy. We’ve heard frequent studies of friends ready 45 minutes for a (horrible) burger at Cafe Hyperion. Don’t make that mistake.
One of the best methods to keep away from this concern is to pack snacks and eat dinner in Disney Village. There are a number of good choices there which can be all open late, together with Earl of Sandwich, McDonald’s, and Five Guys. All of those eating places are akin to their U.S. counterparts.
Earl of Sandwich is our favourite choose; it serves many of the similar sandwiches because the Earl of Sandwich areas within the United States and is fairly priced. It’s undoubtedly disappointing to be in one of many world’s biggest meals cities and eat at U.S. chains after the park closes, however sadly, that’s the unhappy actuality of eating at Disneyland Paris.
Our over-arching advice for these with finite journey budgets could be to save lots of your cash for eating within the metropolis of Paris and eat on a budget in Disneyland Paris. You might need to give no less than one desk service meal a strive earlier than adopting this technique, although.
What To Do
We’ve discovered that most individuals go to Disneyland Paris for two days, and if that’s your plan, our 1-Day Disneyland Paris Park Itinerary and 1-Day Walt Disney Studios Park Itinerary present step-by-step touring plans for “perfect” days in every of the parks. If you might have 3 days or extra, merely discover at a leisurely tempo in these further days.
Additionally, we have now ideas for purchasing Disneyland Paris tickets in our Disneyland Paris Ticket Tips & Info put up, which covers the place to seek out low cost park tickets, and the professionals & cons of getting an Annual Pass versus shopping for single day tickets (it’s a more in-depth name than you may suppose!). Remember that when you’re staying on-site at a Disneyland Paris lodge, there’s a great probability your bundle will embody park tickets.
Then there’s the sights. Chances are you’ve visited a Disney theme park a while in your life, and you’ve got an concept of what sights are price experiencing. The greatest variations in Disneyland Paris are park design, format, and stage of element. Many of the sights are very related generally nature to their US counterparts.
If you’re taken with creating a technique for sights or determining which to do and which to skip, take a look at our Disneyland Paris Attractions Guide and our Walt Disney Studios Park Attractions Guide. These guides have scores for each attraction in Parc Disneyland and WDSP, and our suggestions for doing them.
In common, Disneyland Paris excels as a result of it presents lots to discover and glorious execution on theme. A die-hard Disney fan will discover variations in lots of sights from the US variations, making each attraction a worthwhile expertise. An informal visitor will in all probability discover that many sights are “exactly the same” as their US counterparts.
Regardless of the place you fall in that spectrum, you’ll benefit from the particulars and design when you decelerate to get pleasure from them. That’s what we strongly suggest doing, and that’s how we consider Disneyland Paris is greatest loved. Spend a while within the outlets on Main Street, wander by means of the eating places, and search for clues in regards to the backstory.
What About Maintenance?
If you’ve carried out any analysis into Disneyland Paris, you may’ve already learn horror tales in regards to the park’s maintenance. Historically, it has been so dangerous that we’re dedicating a whole part on this information to the subject. Thankfully, this isn’t practically as massive of an issue because it as soon as was. By and enormous, upkeep at Disneyland Paris is now near on par with the U.S. Disney Parks.
A dramatic refresh to your complete resort known as “Project Sparkle” has been ongoing for over 3 years now, and has revitalized a number of fashionable sights and full lands. This is completed within the parks and is now persevering with with the accommodations.
Thankfully, Disneyland Paris has already turned a nook when it comes to upkeep and refreshing the park. Now, we’re seeing the entire onerous work and refurbishments repay, and Disneyland Paris is glowing in consequence. Let’s simply hope it stays that approach!
What to Pack
The objects on our Unique Disney Packing List might be useful in any of the Disney theme parks. Specific to Paris, one factor you’ll need is a voltage converter. We extremely suggest this BESTEK Portable Travel Converter with a number of retailers. You can discover cheaper ones, however they are going to be bigger, heavier, and take up precious actual property in your suitcase.
Another factor we suggest, significantly when you plan on touring internationally past France, is buying a pocket MiFi unit. For years, we rented these when touring, till we did a little bit of analysis and found they’re pretty low-cost to buy.
I purchased this Huawei 4G LTE Mobile Wifi Hotspot after which bought an affordable (~$40 Orange Holiday) 10 GB SIM card at a Relay retailer in Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport after we landed. If you might have an unlocked cellphone, you’ll be able to simply put the SIM card instantly into that, however we want the MiFi unit in order that we are able to join a number of units. We discover this to be a extra environment friendly technique when touring internationally.
If you’re going to be staying in a number of accommodations throughout your European trip, we extremely suggest packing cubes or compression luggage (I want the cubes) for group. You can learn extra of our “carry-on philosophy” and which forms of luggage we use right here. Seriously, that is actually essential when you’re going to spend time on the rails or strolling by means of Europe. So a lot simpler than dragging round a ton of baggage!
When packing, additionally take into account that the local weather of Paris will not be the identical as that of Orlando or Anaheim. Paris has professional winters, full with snow and all. If you’re visiting any time from October by means of March, you need to pack for cooler climate. Our Packing for Disney in Winter Guide is a begin, however throughout the top of winter, you will have actually heat garments for a lot of days.
Other Wisdom
It ought to come as no shock that Europe doesn’t use the US greenback as a forex. You can order euro out of your financial institution previous to your journey, however withdrawing from an ATM is the higher and simpler route as long as your financial institution doesn’t cost exorbitant charges. It didn’t was the case, however now that is sometimes the higher possibility.
Ideally, you’ll have a chipped bank card and can use that for the overwhelming majority of your purchases. Chipped playing cards make worldwide journey a breeze as a result of they largely get rid of the necessity to deal in money (in addition to from avenue distributors and different “older” retailers that don’t settle for money). We used chipped bank cards all through our journey and simply carried a bit of money that we virtually by no means used.
Moving on to a different vital “issue” for many individuals: smoking. While Disneyland Paris’ web site will lead you to consider that smoking is just allowed in designated areas, the truth is that folks smoke in each out of doors space. This is a component and parcel of European tradition, and one thing to remember if smoke bothers you.
Free wi-fi web is now obtainable all through Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios Park, the Disney Village, and all resort accommodations. This is a comparatively new growth that roughly coincided with the rollout of the official Disneyland Paris app. There’s additionally free WiFi on the Disney Village McDonald’s and Earl of Sandwich, and many of the off-site accommodations.
The bogs at Disneyland Paris are all extremely superior prototype “SMRT-1” units that characteristic facial recognition, and can greet you by saying, “How do you do, sir/m’am?” It is customary and applicable to answer this by saying, “I’m well, how are you?” It will not be thought of impolite to say no to answer any of the bathroom’s further dialog.
Just kidding on that final tip…though it’s a international nation, it’s not a international universe! If you’ll be able to navigate the US parks, you’ll be high quality in Disneyland Paris!
For essentially the most half, this could cowl the whole lot you want for planning for a visit to Disneyland Paris. I replace this information often primarily based on adjustments in Disneyland Paris (and I’ve a Disneyland Paris Annual Pass burning a gap in my pocket, so I plan on making one other return journey quickly), so relaxation assured that the data right here is present. With that stated, you probably have any unresolved questions, please be happy to ask within the feedback.
If you need assistance planning your Disneyland Paris trip past this, we suggest contacting an skilled (no payment), Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, which may even provide help to discover the very best offers. Want to see extra photographs or examine Disneyland Paris in agonizing element? Check out our “Impressions de Bricker” Disneyland Paris Report, which covers our go to throughout the inaugural Disneyland Paris Half Marathon, or our Disneyland Paris twentieth Anniversary Trip Report, which covers our first go to to Disneyland Paris!
Your Thoughts
Have you been to Disneyland Paris? What did you suppose? Planning and journey and have questions? Please depart them within the feedback! If you’re a Disneyland Paris “regular” and you’ve got ideas of your individual, please add them within the feedback. I’d simply borrow them for the information itself.