I wrote a post back in October called ‘Tips for booking your holiday to Disneyland Paris’. It’s quite a lengthy post so I thought I’d put together a ‘quick read’ post of tips and tricks for those that haven’t got the time to read my longer post!
So without further ado, here goes:
1. Join the Facebook group, ‘Disneyland for Brits’
2. Decide your budget and whether you’ll fly, go via ferry, euro tunnel etc – it might be cheaper to book travel and accommodation separately. Sky Scanner is a good website to check for flight prices
3. Research how you’ll get from the airport/train station to Disney – There’s a free shuttle bus from the airport, but it may be quicker to go via a private shuttle
4. Decide which hotel you want to stay in and consider practicalities such as distance to the park and how you’ll get to and from the parks each day – some of the hotels are accessible by car only
5. Price up your holiday with Disneyland direct, but also with a few other travel agents to get the best deal
6. Keep an eye out for special offers such as free nights, free board, and discounts on park tickets etc
7. If staying in a Disney hotel make the most of EMH (Early Magic Hours) – Guests can enter the park two hours before the general public
8. Research meal plans and decide which is best for you as there are a few to choose from– Breakfast, Hotel Half Board, Half Board Standard, Half Board Plus, Half Board Premium, Full Board Standard, Full Board Plus, Full Board Premium
9. You don’t need a meal plan, but it would be a good idea to research and find out how much meals will cost you without one
10. If you have a meal plan check what it includes as some include things such as Buffalo Bills Wild West Show, as well as lunch or dinner with the Disney characters and princesses so you won’t want to pay extra for these as they may already be included
11. If you want some character experiences consider booking breakfast with the Disney characters in Plaza Gardens Restaurant (bookable three days in advance), Lunch with Disney characters at Inventions or lunch with the princesses at Auberge De Cedrillon (ADC) (bookable 60 days in advance)
12. Also check out Buffalo Bills Wild West Show which includes dinner and needs to be booked 60 days in advance
13. Call reservations 60 days before you go to book your restaurants – If you call exactly 60 days before your last day in Disney you can book your dining for your entire stay
14. If you didn’t book character breakfast when you booked your holiday, you can book it three days in advance either over the phone or whilst you’re at Disney
15. Check the menus before you decide where to eat – some restaurants offer fine dining and some might not be suitable for fussy eaters. Some places offer table service, whereas other places are buffets
16. Consider making some ‘snack packs’ to power you and the kids through each day!
17. Check the park schedule before you go to find out times of the shows, parades, illuminations etc
18. Buy the kids an autograph book and bring some sharpie pens with you! Ebay and Amazon have some lovely books at great prices
19. Use Fast Pass where you can – It’ll save you time as you won’t need to queue up, but they’re only available on certain rides and you can only use one per person at a time
20. Consider getting a photo pass
21. Disney isn’t immune to theft. Keep belongings safe – people have been known to steal pushchairs so bike locks can come in handy. As a side note, you can hire a pushchair from Disney
22. Look into getting a Revolut Card instead of carrying all your spending money with you or invest in a money belt to keep your money safe
23. Download the official Disneyland Paris app – it’ll tell you the average wait times for rides and what characters you can meet and when
24. Don’t forget to visit Walt Disney Studios – Most people recommend spending a day there
25. The Disney village is an entertainment district full of shops, restaurants, a cinema and more so may be worth a visit for a little ‘time out’ should you need it!
Have fun!
10 Comments
Richie Sayers
May 9, 2017 at 9:18 am
Ahhh we love Disney, i have written a few posts on Disney World and we can’t wait to go back to Florida. Going to Paris again would be great and these tips will certainly help!
chickenruby
May 9, 2017 at 2:43 pm
I’m hoping to take my niece there either this summer or next year, but there seems so much to have to do to book a trip there
#TriumphantTales
Kerry
May 10, 2017 at 9:54 am
We have booked for August, amazing tips thanks! #TriumphantTales
Mrs Mummy Harris
May 13, 2017 at 12:46 pm
Oh god I am so looking forward to when Ben is old enough to take him! I never went as a kid and was always jealous of my friends who went.
It is such a magical place and me and Hubby loved it when we went as part of our honeymoon!
Thanks for sharing this really good tips with us at #TriumphantTales. Hope to see you back next week
Jaki
May 13, 2017 at 9:09 pm
We’ve never been but it is somewhere we want to take Little Man when he’s a bit older. These are handy tips – bookmarking for use in a couple of years! 🙂 Thanks for linking up to #TriumphantTales, hope you’ll come back on Tuesday 🙂
John Clayton
May 16, 2017 at 11:18 am
Be prepared for technical faults. It’s been a couple of years since we went as a family but Space Mountain was out-of-action for a large proportion of our trip. The second it was up and running, we dispatched Eldest Thing to grab fast passes.
Food in the park is EXPENSIVE. There’s a MacDonalds in the village just outside, probably the cheapest place you can eat if you’re not on a meal plan.
If you’re staying at Davy Crocket’s Ranch, you’ll get to meet and greet characters there most evenings.
Wear something recognisable! If you’re all wearing Disney your kids will blend in with all the other kids wearing identical T-shirts. Go for a family colour scheme (ours was yellow) so you can quickly pick your kids out of the crowd.
Know your rides! If you know you’re wanting a drop ride, go for the Tower of Terror as soon as you get in there. Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast was our family favourite ride. There are comparable rides in both parks, usually – Space Mountain in the main park is remarkably similar to the Rock-n-Roller, only one’s massively Steampunk and the other’s Aerosmith, the technologies are the same.
Use those golden hours! They don’t open (or didn’t open?) the whole of the park for the golden hours, just a couple of zones, but you can pick off some of the big rides then.
And the final tip. The big one. The one you’ve got to remember: You can’t do it all in one day. For the love of Pete, PACE YOURSELVES! Take time out to relax and explore the castle, sit and watch the crowds surge past. You’re there to have fun, and exhausting your kids isn’t fun.
Nat – Awaybies
May 18, 2017 at 9:03 pm
Great tips. Any thoughts on what to do for breakfast, if you don’t have a meal plan and breakfast is not included at the hotel? I am thinking croissants…but that might get a little old!
Emily
May 18, 2017 at 9:46 pm
You can eat in the parks, but I’d check prices first as can be expensive. You also have the Disney Village which I believe has McDonalds there. You could also bring your own cereal I guess and buy milk when there? Hope this helps x
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