If you're anything like me, a trip to somewhere like Disneyland Paris isn't undertaken without at least some degree of planning...after all, these sorts of holidays can be expensive and you want to get the most that you can out it.
When you're me...you take that planning to the next level and spend almost every waking moment for the four weeks prior to the trip obsessively google searching "Disneyland Paris Tips" and collating a whole host of information on how to get the absolute MOST out of your time there.
But my planning paid off, and I was delighted with just how much we managed to do and see during our trip, and how little it all cost us.
We managed to do EVERY SINGLE RIDE that was open in both parks during our 3 day trip (apart from the 3 big ones which Tyne was too short for) and even did some of them multiple times, we managed to see every show bar two that we weren't too interested in, and we managed to meet every single character on Tyne's wishlist and almost everyone on mine (Except for the Wicked Stepmother, damn it!)
We came home without having to say "I wish we'd got to do that..." about anything, and we have some amazing memories from a truly wonderful holiday experience...but if I hadn't spent some time planning things out beforehand, I definitely think we would have missed a lot of things.
For example, my sister has visited Disneyland Paris three times now and until I mentioned it to her after our trip...she didn't know there was an animatronic dragon under the castle, or that you could use Fast Passes on certain rides for free...She'd even managed to miss the Peter Pans Flight ride on 3 whole visits, having no idea it was even there! (Seriously, are we really related?!)
And so, for those of you who are planning a visit soon, I have put together a list of my best Disneyland Paris tips to help you make the most of your holiday...I hope you find them useful!
1) If You Do Nothing Else, JOIN THIS FACEBOOK GROUP!
Disneyland Paris For Brits is a Facebook group that I was added to by a friend when we booked our trip and I am eternally grateful for that, they were INVALUABLE when it came to planning.
There are 35,000+ members in that group and many of them are quite the Disneyland Paris experts - you can post any question you have about your holiday at all and you can bet your bottom dollar they will know the answer. I asked about dining concerns, park opening time queries, and lots more and each and every time I was given really helpful answers and suggestions.
Even if you don't have specific questions, you can learn SO MUCH just from observing the posts in that group - they are truly a font of Disneyland Paris knowledge and you NEED TO JOIN!
2) Shop Around For Your Holiday Package
It is truly overwhelming just how many companies there are out there who offer trips to Disneyland Paris but take your time and shop around for the deal that most suits your needs and budget.
When we visited, we didn't have a fortune to spend on it - it was a last minute trip that we booked about a month before we traveled - we booked directly through the Disneyland Paris website as we were happy with the price, but going via the German version of the website can save you a fair amount of money (just translate the webpage to book).
There are also plenty of options of travel too - we traveled via Eurostar as I hate flying and we also found this option to be about £200 cheaper than flying, but this could vary depending on where you are traveling from.
Another option is to look into coach companies as many offer Door to Disneyland services for as little as £500 for a family of four.
Above all else, don't just assume that Disneyland will be out of your budget as you may just be surprised - our holiday including transport cost us £750 for 3 nights, but I have found deals for next year for as little as £600 for 4 nights including travel and a half board meal plan!
3) Choose Your Hotel Wisely
There are numerous Disney hotel options, ranging from the most expensive Disneyland Hotel which is directly at the park gates - to the mid range Hotel New York and Newport Bay Club which are around a 10 minute leisurely walk away through the Disney village, to the lowest priced options Hotel Cheyenne and Hotel Santa Fe which are around a 15-20 minute stroll from the park.
We chose Hotel Santa Fe and although it wasn't the most stylish hotel in the world (it was Disney Cars themed!), we spent hardly any time in it at all as we were out from 8am - 11 pm most days - it was literally somewhere to wash and sleep, so is it really worth spending an extra £300 on for a mid range hotel?
If your budget allows a little luxury, by all means go for it - but personally I would rather use that extra money in the gift shops!
Of course there are also plenty of hotels to stay in outside of the Disneyland Resort, which can reduce the cost of your trip - but this does mean that you miss out on the perk of Extra Magic Hours, which I personally couldn't do.
4) Use Extra Magic Hours For Photos!
If you are staying at a Disney hotel, then you will be eligible for entry during Extra Magic Hours.
This is 2 hours additional park time when it is open exclusively for Disney hotel guests - It makes a huge difference to how busy the park is, and it's the ideal time to take photos!
We took the photos above in front of the Castle during Extra Magic Hours as there was hardly anybody around to get in the way, and they are some of my favourites from our trip.
We also found that Extra Magic Hours were the best time for meet & greets with the characters, as lots of them were out on Main Street each morning and the queues were pretty short.
You can also use Extra Magic Hours to go on rides or get fast passes for later in the day.
5) Get Your Spot For Dreams & The Parades Early
This probably goes without saying, but the parades and the Dreams show at park closing time get very busy and if you want a good spot - you need to secure it early.
For the parade, you can arrive around 20 minutes before the start time and you'll be able to get a decent spot at the side of the road (We found the best place to watch was down by the park entrance as there weren't too many people there at all during our visit).
However for Dreams, people start claiming their spots around an hour before the show...sometimes even earlier! So be prepared to camp out to get a good view, its worth it even if you only do it once during your visit - get yourself a spot somewhere central, and send a member of your party for hot dogs from Caseys Corner or cakes from Cable Car Bake while you wait!
6) Use Your Fast Passes!
Do not be like my sister and not understand what they are...fast passes are your friend!
Fast passes are NOT something that you have to pay extra for at Disneyland Paris, they are FREE to use so why wouldn't you make the most of them?!
Not all rides have them but some of the busiest ones do such as Peter Pans Flight and Ratatouille.
We visited during a very quiet time of year when the ride queues were around 5 minutes at the very most, but during the mid afternoon there were ALWAYS 20 minute long queues for Peter Pans Flight and Ratatouille...these are very popular rides.
So..this is where to use your fast passes!
All you need to do is go over to the ride and locate the fast pass machines...You will see an electronic sign above them displaying two times. These are the times that the machines are currently giving fast passes out for.
So you just need to scan your park tickets, and you'll get your fast passes...If your passes say 10:30-11;30 then you just need to return to the ride at any point between those two times, hand over your fast pass tickets at the fast pass entrance...and stroll past the big long queue and onto your ride!!! Perfect!
Remember that you will need to get fast passes for each member of your party who wishes to ride, and that you can only have one fast pass at a time - once you've used your fast pass you can then get another one for a different ride (or the same again if you want!)
Also keep in mind that Fast passes usually sell out by lunchtime, sometimes even much earlier during peak times so get them early if you can!
7) Take Snacks For The Queues
We were lucky that the queues were almost non existent when we visited, but we did encounter one long queue to meet Mickey & Minnie and we found that snacks to keep our toddler occupied were a LIFESAVER!! Things like mini cheddars, crisps, lollipops, haribo and rice cakes were perfect.
8) Take Drinks Or A Water Bottle With You
Soft drinks in the parks are EXPENSIVE and if you bought them multiple times per day, it would really add up - we took our own multipacks of pop and fruit shoots with us, and took a supply into the park each day in my partners ruck sack. This meant we never had to pay park prices or queue up to buy them!
There are lots of water fountains dotted around the parks so you could also take water bottles with you to fill up.
9) Download the Disney app
The Disneyland Paris park app is really handy to have as it gives you live wait times for all of the rides in the park, as well as being a handy map too!
If you don't have the app, do make sure you carry a map around with you as its easy to get lost - there are maps available as you enter the park.
10) Have a daily plan
We found it was best to try and have a plan each day of what we wanted to do rather than wandering aimlessly. So one day we focused on doing all the rides we wanted to do, the next day we focused on meeting as many characters as we could.
It's also best to do Studios and the main Park on separate days to save going between the two, and it's a bit of a walk and you usually have to queue to get into each of them.
11) Keep Your Eyes Open For Pop Up Meet & Greets!
There is a list of the scheduled meet & greets in the park guides each day, but there are plenty of other pop up opportunities too - keep an eye around Main Street for these!
We also found that, around half an hour before closing time, there were tons of characters down at the park entrance just playing around with the guests and interacting.
12) Take A Bike Lock For Your Pram!
People DO steal prams often in Disneyland, its reported on the Disney group at least once a week at the moment so don't take the chance...just use a bike lock around the wheels to stop people being able to move it.
13) If Your Child Loves Character Meet & Greets, Consider A Character Dining Experience
For children who love meeting characters but hate queuing, character dining restaurants are perfect.
They're not cheap but if you can find the funds for a visit one evening it is well worth doing, we found that the characters in the restaurants visited our table a lot and spent a decent amount of time with us...my son just loved it!
A cheaper option than a character dinner is a character breakfast at Cafe Mickey, all the same interaction but a fraction of the cost!
14) Buy A Photopass Plus If You Can
We ummed and ahhed over whether to buy a Photo Pass Plus, but I am so glad that we did because the pictures we got on there are my absolute favourites (All of the ones directly below are photo pass plus ones)
Yes the cast members at the meet and greets will take photos on your camera for you, but the quality of the photos from the Disney photographers was fantastic in my experience and it meant that we could just relax and enjoy the character experiences rather than worrying about the photos.
We paid £40 for the Photo Pass Plus through Disney direct when buying it at the same time as booking our trip, but you can also buy them in the park for a slightly higher price.
15) Make Use Of The Disney Express Luggage Service When Arriving By Train
We paid an extra £15 for this service at the time of booking and it was worth every single penny.
The service meant that when we arrived, we simply took our luggage upstairs in the train station where it was taken from us to be delivered to our hotel. We were then given our park entry tickets, photo pass plus and check in documents and could go straight to the park!!
We didn't bother checking in to the hotel until 10pm that evening, which meant that there was no queue - we noticed that during the day time there was always a long line to check in!
When departing, we simply dropped the luggage off at the hotel baggage area and it was taken to the train station for us to collect when we were leaving...
It saved us so much time and hassle, a brilliant service!
I'd love to hear any of your tips for our next visit too!!
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