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Looking for Disneyland Paris Tips and Tricks? You have come to the right place! But let’s start from the beginning: Two weeks ago I did one of the girliest things you can ever do: I went on a girls’ trip to Paris with my best friend and maid of honor Cat.
Of course, there was one thing that we absolutely couldn’t miss on this trip: A visit to Disneyland Paris!
I have been a big fan of amusement parks since I was a little girl. My grandparents used to take me and my siblings on a trip to an amusement park many times and when I went to California with my parents in 2000 (oh gosh, that’s 19 years ago!!!) we had a three-day ticket to Disneyland California (guess what, 11 year old me LOVED it!).
And since I never fully grew up, I also rushed to see Dubai Parks and Resorts when Markus and I were in Dubai.
But back to Disneyland Paris: Since we went to Disneyland Paris during High Season (french school holidays), we did have to battle with lots of crowds and long queues at top attractions. While I would definitely advise you to try to visit during the low season, it was still an amazing day!
And the one thing that will absolutely make your day at Disneyland Paris is PLANNING. I thorough researched before and then tried almost all the hacks and secret tips I found about Disneyland Paris during our visit (like using the Fastpasses at Disneyland)
And what kind of blogger would I be if I wouldn’t write an article about Disneyland? So let’s start with my ultimate guide to Disneyland Paris – hopefully, this will help you to make the most of your visit with my Disneyland Paris Tips and Tricks!
Table of Contents
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Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney Studio Park Paris, and Disney Village
Disneyland Paris basically consists of two separate Parks – Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studio Parks Paris (check the Disneyland park map here). Both parks are directly next to each other but come with separate entry tickets. To make it easier, I will use “Disneyland Paris” in this post and only mention it when there’s a difference between the two parks!)
Also in between Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studio Parks is Disney Village – a shopping complex with food and, well, a giant Disney Store. You actually don’t need a ticket to visit Disney Village – but there is little reason to come here if you are NOT visiting Disneyland.
Disneyland Paris Tip for Pasta and Burger Fans: There’s a Vapiano out there in Disney Village – and a Five Guys Burger Joint!
Most popular rides at Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris has 40 rides in total and Walt Disney Studio Parks 12 rides (check all the attractions online here, including closures!). On top of these rides, there are the shows and the character meet-and-greets.
Some rides are incredibly popular and thus, waiting times can be pretty long (think 60-120 minutes) for some of these during high season!
Most popular rides in Disneyland Paris:
- Big Thunder Mountain (Roller Coaster)
- Peter Pan’s Flight (Themed Ride)
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril (Roller Coaster)
- Pirates of the Caribbean (Themed Ride)
- Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain (Roller Coaster)
- Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast (Laser Shooting Gallery)
- Phantom Manor (Haunted House)
Most popular rides in Walt Disney Studio Parks:
- Crush’s Coaster (Roller Coaster)
- RC Racer (Roller Coaster)
- Rock ‘n Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith (Roller Coaster)
- Ratatouille: The Adventure (3D Ride)
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Haunted House)
We actually did not manage to do go on most of these rides as most queues were too long (and Cat is not a fan of roller coasters). Also, we wanted to take a lot of photos and decided to explore the smaller rides and do some meet-and-greets instead.
However, we both really liked Ratatouille and Pirates of the Caribbean. We did not really understand the fuzz around Peter Pan’s Flight as the ride is really really short for the queuing time. It’s a nice ride but I would only do it with a fast pass! However, my Disneyland Paris tip would be to use your Fastpasses with another ride!
At least check in advance which of the best rides in Disneyland Paris you absolutely want to see!
Skip the Queues at Disneyland Paris
This directly brings us to the next point in this Disneyland Paris tips and tricks guide: How to skip the lines at Disneyland Paris.
If you choose to only read one part of this blog post, let it be this one. Because trust me, the queues will haunt you otherwise and have the potential to lessen your experience!
When we arrived, we basically first queued for security. Then you queue for the tickets and then for using the tickets to actually enter the park. And then you queue for attractions AND for any self-service restaurants or snack stalls. AND MOST DEFINITELY for the popular character meet-and-greets. But here’s the catch: You can actually save a lot of time with some tricks here!
The usual stuff: Off-peak and during the Disneyland parade
I hated it when a blog post promised me to help me wait less at Disneyland Paris and they only told me to come during the low season or to visit attractions during the Disneyland Parade in the afternoon.
That’s why I will keep this really short: obviously, you will have a lower waiting time when you come in low or shoulder season. And yes, queues become slightly shorter during Disneyland Parade. (Guess what, because everyone wants to see the parade and you should too!)
And now let’s move on to the Disneyland Paris tips and tricks that will ACTUALLY help you save a lot of queuing time!
Checking waiting times with the Disneyland Paris App
One of the Disneyland Paris tips and tricks that I found that were really really helpful was downloading the Disneyland Paris App!
Not only do you always have a park map (with your location) and all show times with you – the Disneyland Paris App will also show you real-time information about waiting times at all attractions!
We did use the app a lot to find attractions with short queues and I can definitely vouch for it. The timings were pretty accurate (slightly shorter than stated within the app) and updated frequently.
You can download the app for free here (oh, and there’s free WiFi at Disneyland Paris!):
Disneyland Paris Fastpass
The Disneyland Fastpass is a complex system, that allows you to skip the queue at certain popular attractions altogether. There are numerous different Fastpasses for Disneyland Paris – the “normal” one, the Disneyland Hotel Fastpass + its VIP version, a Super Fastpass and an Ultimate Fastpass.
Using the Fastpass System wisely is actually the most important of all Disneyland Paris Tips and Tricks that I can give you!
We did only use a “normal” free Fastpass for Peter Pan’s Flight and we had to wait exactly four minutes until we boarded (instead of 70 minutes at that time) – so the Disneyland Paris Fastpass is potentially a huge game-changer.
That’s why I will write a dedicated separate blog post about the complex Fastpass system – you absolutely need to read this guide!
Read: Disneyland Paris Fastpasses explained – How to skip the queues!
Utilizing the Single Rider Lane
One thing to take into account when planning which Fastpasses to get (if you only have a normal ticket) is if the attraction has a “Single Rider Lane”!
“Single Rider Lanes” are exactly what you would expect them to be: they are queuing lanes for people that don’t ride as part of a group. This means staff will put you in a car together with other people to fill up the empty spaces. This way, all seats are always used and queuing time is reduced for everyone.
And queuing times for the Single Rider Line can be considerably shorter – so that’s one of my Disneyland Paris Tips and tricks for sure!
When Cat and I went to “Ratatouille”, the usual queuing time was 70 minutes – while the Single Rider Lane was only 10 minutes! And funny enough, we both ended up in the same car – Cat next to a couple in the first row, me behind her next to another couple!
Sadly, there are only five rides that offer Single Rider Lanes and almost all of them are in Walt Disney Studio Parks:
- Crush’s Coaster (Studio Parks)
- Ratatouille (Studio Parks)
- RC Racer (Studio Parks)
- Toy Soldier’s Parachute Drop (Studio Parks)
- Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain (Disneyland Paris)
Lineberty App for Character Meetings at Studio Parks
There’s a second app that you should know about when visiting Disneyland Paris – or more precisely, Walt Disney Studio Parks: Lineberty.
Lineberty is NOT a Disneyland App, but it can be used there. Basically, it is a virtual queuing system: You take a ticket and when it’s your time, you can directly use it without having to wait in a queue.
Walt Disney Studio Parks uses this app for some of the character meet-and-greets – and it did help us get a shot with Woody and with Daisy!
And this is how Lineberty works:
- You have to download the app and open it once you are at Disneyland. (You CAN’T “queue” when you are not within a certain radius of the attraction)
- At a certain time, the queue “opens” (you should check this before your visit!)
- You then scan your ticket (so yes, you already have to be at the ticket booth or have an online ticket) to “queue”
- When you successfully “queued”, it will show you a time when your meeting is expected. FREQUENTLY check this if it has changed during your visit!
- The app notifies you when there are only five people in front of you (in theory) and when it’s your turn.
In our case, the app showed the notification “there are five people in front of you – go to your meeting now” literally 30 seconds before “it’s your turn”.Thus, we had to hurry through all the park as we were still in Disneyland Paris while our meeting with Woody was at Studio Parks.
Also, the app did not show a location and only stated “Disney character” instead of “Woody”. So we went around asking where this is and got a lot of confused faces.
But in the end, we met with both Woody AND Daisy almost without any waiting time! Yeah! 🙂
Lineberty on Google Play (Android) | Lineberty on App Store (iPhone)
Best Photo Spots in Disneyland Paris
Can you really go to Disneyland WITHOUT taking pictures? I guess not!
Especially Sleeping Beauty Castle is so stunningly pretty at Disneyland Paris that you simply HAVE to snap a shot for your Instagram in front of the castle! You’ll definitely not be the only person who does that – but it’s one of the things you just HAVE to do for the gram! 😉
But Sleeping Beauty Castle is definitely not the only highly instaworthy shot you can get at Disneyland Paris!
In fact, I found so many pretty spots all over Disneyland that I decided to do an entirely separate post about the most instagrammable photo locations at Disneyland Paris!
Read: Best photo spots at Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris Restaurants + Food Stalls
Disneyland Paris has PLENTY of restaurants – enough for a whole blog post, if not a full blog itself! Thus, I only want to give you a brief overview of your food options at Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studio Parks:
Basically, you have three kinds of restaurants:
- Self-service restaurants ($)
- Buffet restaurants ($$)
- A la carte restaurants ($$$)
Some of the A la carte restaurants are incredibly famous (e.g. Auberge de Cendrillon) and it’s a good idea to reserve your dinner time MONTHS ahead (especially at busy times). These types of restaurants often come with character encounters and thus can be the highlight of your visit. You can see all the restaurants in the Disneyland App or online on Disneyland Paris’ website!
Disneyland Paris Tip for saving money: Most of the cheaper food (think of 10-15€) is either Tex-Mex, Pizza or Burger. Almost every place also has a decent option for vegetarians. We ate at “Restaurant En Coulisse” where I had the vegetarian burger with fries – this is one of the best price-value offers! (10€)
Walt Disney Studio Park also had a big selection of food stalls with food from various regions in France when we visited. The prices were among the lowest and there was almost no queue.
Unfortunately, portions are rather small and there are no chairs to sit in. But there was even a vegan food stall that looked super delicious!
What to pack for Disneyland
One of the things that I think is really cool at Disneyland Paris is that they don’t strictly forbid you to take food and drinks at the park with you. These can add up to a lot of costs otherwise.
Disneyland Paris Tips and Tricks No 1 for budget-savvy travelers: Glass bottles are forbidden at Disneyland Paris, but plastic is absolutely fine. And there are numerous drinking water fountains all over the parks to refill that bottle for free! So definitely bring one!
Here’s a short list of stuff that you should think of bringing along when visiting Disneyland Paris:
- Re-useable plastic water bottle
- Snacks
- Sunscreen (shade is scarce!)
- Sunhat + Sunglasses
- Mickey Mouse Ears (they are really expensive at the park!)
- Large power bank (think queuing times)
- Tissues
- A light jacket for the evening
- A small umbrella (just in case!)
What to wear to Disneyland Paris
Cat and I also put a fair time into planning our outfits for Disneyland Paris. Of course, we wanted to have some cute looking dresses so that we could shoot beautiful photos for our Instagram pages (@fernwehsarah and @cat_von_chaos).
Thus, I created a whole blog post about what to wear to Disneyland Paris too!
Read: What to wear to Disneyland Paris
If you are thinking about wearing the outfit of favorite Disney character, be warned though! You CANNOT dress as a Disney character to any Disney Park – neither Disneyland (Paris) nor Disney World! However, what you CAN do, is wearing a “Disney inspired outfit”. And there’s even a huge trend around that – it’s called “Disneybounding”.
Since I read the rules about what’s cool (and what’s not) with Disney, I created a huge article dedicated to Disneybounding – with outfit ideas for all your favorite Disney characters!
Read: Ultimate guide to Disneybounding – outfits inspired by your favorite Disney character!
And last but not least, you can check my “Disneyland Outfit Inspiration List” over at Amazon.com!
Disneyland Paris Opening Hours
Disneyland Opening Times do change depending on the season. Also, Disneyland Paris has different opening times than Walt Disney Studio Parks. You can also check the times for your planned visit online on Disney’s website. This page also shows you which attractions are closed due to maintenance!
Disneyland Paris Opening Hours during High Season (August):
- Disneyland Paris: 10 AM – 11 PM
- Walt Disney Studio Parks: 10 AM – 8 PM
Disneyland Paris Opening Hours during Low Season (November):
- Disneyland Paris: 10 AM – 7 PM
- Walt Disney Studio Parks: 10 AM – 6 PM
If you are staying at a Disneyland Hotel, you are allowed to enter earlier and use “extra magic time” between 8:30 AM and 9:30 AM. I am not sure what this means for 9:30 AM-10 AM – but I guess, you don’t have to leave the park during this time 😉
Disneyland Paris Ticket Prices
The first question you should ask yourself when deciding on your ticket is whether you want to visit Disneyland Paris for one day or more days.
I would recommend you to plan for two days, as there is a lot to see. Definitely plan two days if you come during high season and/or if you want to visit both Disneyland Paris as well as Walt Disney Studio Parks!
Ticket prices (check online) for day tickets change from season to season and are labeled: Mini (cheapest), Magic, Super Magic (most expensive).
Interestingly, prices do NOT change for the multi-day passes but only for one day entrance! Multi-day passes are always for both parks and have to be used within 7 days after the first visit. Adult prices start at the age of 12.
One Day Tickets
| Ticket (MINI) | Adult (12y+) | Child (3-11y) |
|---|---|---|
| One day, 1 park | 56€ | 51€ |
| One day, 2 parks | 76€ | 71€ |
| Ticket (MAGIC) | Adult (12y+) | Child (3-11y) |
|---|---|---|
| One day, 1 park | 74€ | 68€ |
| One day, 2 parks | 94€ | 88€ |
| Ticket (SUPER) | Adult (12y+) | Child (3-11y) |
|---|---|---|
| One day, 1 park | 87€ | 80€ |
| One day, 2 parks | 107€ | 100€ |
Multi-Day Tickets
| Ticket | Adult (12y+) | Child (3-11y) |
|---|---|---|
| Two days, 2 parks | 169€ | 156€ |
| Three days, 2 parks | 211€ | 195€ |
| Four days, 2 parks | 249€ | 229€ |
If you check closely, you will see that multi-day passes do sometimes not make sense to buy.
If you visit during “Mini” Time (off-season) and buy your ticket online in advance, it’s actually cheaper to buy 2 one-day passes for both parks! (76€ x 2 = 152€ versus 169€ for the 2-day pass)! And sometimes, there are even “Special Mini” tickets online with further discounts.
But if you visit during High Season (Super Magic) or buy your tickets at the counter, you can save money with the multi-day tickets!
How to get to Disneyland from Paris
One of the things that should not be missing in any Disneyland Paris Tips and Tricks Guide: How to get to Disneyland Paris the easy way! So let’s have a look at this topic:
Luckily, Disneyland Paris is well connected with Paris by public transportation and it’s also really affordable! Depending on whether you come from the airport or the city (Ile de France), routes are a bit different!
Paris City (Ile de France) to Disneyland Paris
If you are coming from Paris city, just take the RER A from anywhere in the city to “Marne La Vallée” – depending on where you start, that’s around 40-50 minutes. Tickets cost 10,30€ per person one way.
Pro tip: Buy two tickets already in the morning so that you don’t have to wait at the ticket booths when the park closes after the fireworks.
Paris Airport (CDG) to Disneyland Paris
If you fly to Paris CDG Airport, you will be at Disneyland Paris quicker than you can collect your luggage. Roughly every 30 minutes, there is a TGV or Thalys that directly runs from T2 to Marne-La-Vallée station – and it only takes 9-13 minutes! You can check departures online at the SCNF website. You can buy tickets in advance on another website called OUI SCNF. Depending on when you buy the ticket, it will cost you between 15-32€ one way.
Another (slower) option from CDG are the direct shuttle busses (Magical Shuttle) at 23€ one way. Given that the bus usually takes about 60 minutes, the high-speed trains seem to be a far better option from CDG.
Paris Orly (ORY) to Disneyland Paris
If your plane lands at Orly Airport (typically served by low-cost carriers), you, unfortunately, have a bit of a hassle getting to Disneyland by public transportation. You basically have to go to Paris City first with the Orlybus and RER B and then change to RER A (see above). The whole trip will take about 90 minutes in total.
In this case, you are probably better off with the direct shuttle bus (Magical Shuttle) for 23@ one way!
Where to stay for a trip to Disneyland
You basically have three choices when it comes to where to stay for the night when visiting Disneyland Paris:
- At an official Disneyland Hotel
- At another hotel close to Disneyland
- In Paris
We chose to stay in Paris and not an official Disneyland Hotel simply because we wanted to also visit Montmartre and see more of Paris. Our hotel was called Hotel Audran and was located in the heart of Montmartre – I can warmly recommend this hotel to you!
But when I visit the next time, I definitely want to stay at an official Disneyland Hotel (probably THE Disneyland Hotel) Especially in the summertime, Disneyland is open really late until 11 pm – and the public transportation to Paris takes around an hour. Since a whole day at Disneyland can be pretty exhausting, it’s really cool if you can simply fall into your bed.
Also, many attractions close earlier than the Fireworks (that you DO want to see!) – with a hotel close by, you could leave the park and come back.
Disneyland Hotels are considerably more expensive than other hotels close by (Recommendation: Relais Spa Chessy) – but they come with perks like the Disney Hotel Fastpass and the earlier entrance! During the “Extra Magic Time” the park is much less crowded and you can go to the most popular attractions easily!
One last tip: Do NOT book Disneyland Hotels on Booking.com! You know I normally love booking.com – but free park entrance is only included when you book with Disney directly!
How did you like this post?
How did you like this article? Let me know in the comments below! Have you been to Disneyland Paris already or are you planning to go?
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I want to thank Disneyland Paris for inviting me to visit their beautiful park, especially at such a busy time! As you all can hopefully see, this has not influenced the way that I write about places I visit and you will always get my full and honest opinion.
