It had been on my wish list for years: visiting Disneyland Paris with my children. Even when I was pregnant with my eldest child, I knew that one day I would go there with them. In the May holiday (a Dutch school holiday period), the time had come; I visited Disneyland Paris for 2 days, together with my husband and two children.
Destination: Disneyland Paris, France
Travel period: May 1 to May 3, 2025
Travel group: Husband and children (8-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy)
Transport: train, Eurostar
Hotel: Disneyland Hotel
A week before my twelfth birthday, I went to Euro Disney, as Disneyland Paris was then still called, for the first time with my family. It was a brand-new park, and it felt incredibly magical. We stayed at the Disneyland hotel, saw Mickey and Minnie walking around the park, admired the Sleeping Beauty’s impressive castle, and were amazed by the parade.
More than thirty years later, I still remember a lot about this trip, which I made with my parents and younger sister. I wanted to share the feeling I had then, with my children and that is why I organized this trip with my husband.
- Disneyland Paris consists of two theme parks, Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios, along with Disney Village, and has undergone many changes since its opening in 1992.
- Key tips for visiting include downloading the Disneyland app for essential information, purchasing Disney Premier Access passes, and making restaurant reservations in advance.
- Attractions like Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast and Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy are our favourites, but you should check for any closed attractions beforehand.
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About Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is a complex in the city of Marne-la-Vallée, near the French capital Paris. The complex consists of two theme parks: Disneyland and a smaller Walt Disney Studios. In addition, there is Disney Village, a place for restaurants, shops, and a number of hotels.
The park was opened more than a year before my first visit in April 1992, and a lot has changed since then. The Walt Disney Studios opened 10 years later, in 2002, and mainly have attractions in the Pixar and Marvel theme. Several venues that hosted shows thirty years ago have now been replaced by more shops and even a cinema.
Disneyland Hotel
We stayed at the Disneyland hotel, just like in 1993. This hotel is a 5-star hotel at the entrance to Disneyland Park. It has a spacious lobby, where Disney characters regularly walk through, a restaurant, a bar, a swimming pool, and a spa.
The hotel reopened to guests in January 2024 after a period of renovation. The feeling of faded glory, which you may have read about in other blogs, has disappeared. We opted for a room (and not a suite), this is a family room where you sleep with four people in one room. Actually, I am not a fan of this, because the children have a different bedtime than us parents, but for two nights I just let it pass.
Splashing in the water
The rooms have a princess theme. Something that you actually see throughout the hotel in the form of paintings, statues, and lifelike princesses that you may encounter in the hallway, when you are on your way to the park.
On the last day we used the swimming pool. It is not a huge pool, but for children who like to splash around, it is nice to spend an hour in it. In addition to the swimming pool, there is also a large bubble bath and a plateau with low water for the little ones. There are also wellness facilities, but I did not use them.
A few tips for your visit to Disneyland Paris
All this time I thought I was a Disney fan, until I walked into the park and saw real Disney fans. People walked around completely dressed in merchandise. So, I have downgraded myself to a mild fan, but in the end, you can say that I am a Disney lover, and I love amusement parks. With this in mind, I want to give you a few tips, if you want to go to Disneyland Paris soon.
1. Download the app
Disneyland has a free app that is available in the app store. This contains all the information you need for your stay at the Disneyland Park. Such as information about the park itself, the hotels, restaurants, attractions and more. With this app you can reserve a table in your restaurant, you are aware of the times of the shows, and you can see what the waiting times are for each ride.
With the Disneyland app you walk through the park well informed, without missing anything.
2. Buy a Disney Premier Access Ultimate pass
The park can get incredibly busy. When we left on Saturday, we saw long lines at the entrance, which we had not seen in the two days before. Nevertheless, the line the day before for the Peter Pan attraction was 120 minutes! If you have to wait in line for an hour for each ride, then (if you walk fast) you can only go on eight rides in eight hours. With a Disney Premier Access Ultimate, you get a QR code that allows you to stand in the shorter line at many attractions. This means you have less waiting time and you can do more in a day.
There are costs associated with such a pass. The app communicates a starting price of 90 euros per person. But in practice you can pay double that and pay 700 euros for four people, for a day of skipping lines. Please note, you can only use the Disney Premier Access Ultimate just once. If you want to go to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride a second time, you have to stand in the long line.
The costs may seem daunting, but not when you consider that you can shorten your stay with such a pass. The price fluctuates, just like a stay at Disneyland Paris itself. So, you have to calculate for yourself what is more advantageous. The Disney Premier Access Ultimate or an extra day at Disneyland, with overnight stay and drinks.
3. Book a table in your favourite restaurants in advance
Book a table in a restaurant well in advance. Not only for dinner, but also for lunch. Two weeks before my trip, someone told me that he could not get a table anywhere because everything was fully booked. I decided to book a table immediately, but all the popular restaurants where unavailable.. Unless I was prepared to eat somewhere at half past nine in the evening with my children. So reserve a table in your favourite restaurant immediately for your group, after booking your trip.
4. Visit the park during less busy periods
We visited Disneyland Paris during the May holiday and in my opinion, it was very busy. But my feeling is that it can be even busier, for example during Christmas or the summer holiday. If you don’t have the patience or the desire to stand in line for hours all day for one ride, then it is better to go during a less busy period.
If you want to go to Disneyland with kids who go to school, then you are at the mercy of their off days. This can be a Study Day (a day when children do not have to go to school in the Netherlands), which falls on a Monday or Friday. Then you can make a long weekend of it. Or on a national holiday, which falls on a Monday or Friday.
I can’t guarantee that it will be less busy then, but you are more likely to have short queues than when you go on international holidays. If you are travelling without children, then you can of course try to take time off on the days that schools are open.
5. Stay in the park
Disneyland Paris has several hotels where you can stay. For example, there is the previously mentioned Disneyland hotel, which is located at the entrance to the park. But in Disney Village there are also several hotels with a Disney theme, where you can stay at. Not only do you immerse yourself completely in the magic of Disney, but you also arrive at the park earlier than if you stay elsewhere. That way you have more time to visit the attractions.
If you stay at the Disneyland hotel, you can even enter the park an hour earlier. Not all rides are open then, so you may not be able to go on your favourite ride. But you do have a head start on the other visitors and the waiting times are shorter early in the morning than later in the day. In the Disneyland app you can see which attractions are already open and which are not.
6. Use the Disney Premier Access One
Disney Premier Access One pass is similar to the previously mentioned Disney Premier Access Ultimate, but cheaper. You purchase access to a specific ride and are given an assigned time slot (this does not apply to Disney Premier Access Ultimate). Ideal if you want to skip a lot of attractions and don’t want to wait too long to go on your favourite ride.
The disadvantage of Disney Premier Access One, in my opinion, is that you have to wait for your time slot. You have to plan your activities around that time slot and that can be difficult if you also want to go to other rides for which there is also a queue.
7. Check in advance which rides are closed
The evening before we entered the Disneyland Park, I looked at the map to see which rides I wanted to visit. I let my childhood memories guide me, and I wanted to go to Big Thunder Mountain first, but unfortunately it was closed for maintenance.
You can easily avoid visiting the park while your favourite rides are closed by looking in the app. Select the period in the calendar in which you want to go to Disneyland and view the opening times and planned work. This way you can travel well informed and avoid disappointment.
Fun rides at Disneyland Paris
Regrettably, several attractions were closed during my visit. There was little to do in the Frontierland area. As a result, I was unable to visit all the rides in Disneyland Paris. My children (especially my son) were also not tall enough to go on everything. So, I did not go on all the rides. Fortunately, there was still plenty to do, and we particularly enjoyed the following rides:
Autopia
This is a tour of cars that drive after one another on a rail. You sit with two in a car, which you can drive yourself and you can even accelerate. This is very nice for children because they really feel like they are driving a car.
Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast
This ride was one of our favourites. It is an interactive attraction, a so-called dark ride, where you must help Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story stop Emperor Zurg. You sit with two in a cart and with a laser gun and you have to shoot at the board cannon to score points and stop Zurg.
“it’s a small world”
In “It’s a Small World,” you travel by boat through various countries, represented by animated figures that move to music with lyrics that share the name of the ride. It is a very cheerful attraction for young and old, and the song stays with you like an earworm for the rest of the day. Why is it a favourite? It makes you happy and it is suitable for everyone.
Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy
This ride in Walt Disney Studios Park is a dark ride entirely dedicated to the animated film Ratatouille. Before you get into the cart, you get 3D glasses on and from that moment on you are the hunted rat Remy, who moves through a restaurant. The different rooms with consists of screens make it visual that you really get the feeling that you are a rat in a restaurant. Objects come at you, you move quickly every now and then and you even get a little wet.
Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure
Of all the rides we visited, this was our number 1 favourite. It is somewhat reminiscent of the Buzz Lightyear ride, but more modern. This interactive dark ride has a story; In short, all kinds of spiderbots have escaped and you have to help spiderman eliminate them. As a spiderman you shoot webs with your hands, while you sit in a cart that moves from screen to screen. Who is the best at this, you can see from the points you collect and of course I was the best!
What you need to know:
Children up to and including 2 years old are free.
Children between 3 and 11-years old stay at a discount
How to keep control of the costs
A visit to Disneyland Paris requires an investment and for a large group of people this is a lot of money. Although this is not a website with tips on how to go on holiday as cheaply as possible, I would like to give you a few ideas if you do not want to spend a lot of money:
- Stay in a hotel near Marne-la-Vallée. This does mean travelling more, but it can save you some money. With the help of a search engine, you can easily find a number of accommodations that fit your budget.
- A bottle of water in the park costs 3 or 4 times as much as in the supermarket. If this puts you off, you can bring drinks from home. If you are travelling from further away, you can go to a supermarket near your hotel and buy a few things there.
- Many children and adults walk around in merchandise, such as a princess dress, Disney T-shirt and mouse ears. Buy these items in advance at home, if your children are sensitive to this, so that you do not have to buy them in the park and therefore spend more.
- The entrance fees to the park vary per season. By looking at the price calendar, you will know when it is cheaper to travel. You can find this information in the app, among other places.
- Although I have seen many very young children in the park, I have consciously waited until mine where a bit older to travel to Disneyland Paris. The reason for this is to give them a memory that they will not quickly forget. This can save you money, because you do not have to go again in two years (because they cannot remember the first visit). But you do run the risk that they liked it so much, that they want to go again next year!
A few final words…
Disneyland Paris is great fun for all ages. Provided you like theme parks and Disney. Two days at Disneyland Paris is enough for me and a portion of patience is desirable. The key to the best experience is in preparation. But with these tips, you should be fine.
