10 TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO DISNEYLAND PARIS

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This guide of tips for traveling to Disneyland Paris It will help you to fully enjoy one of the most famous and incredible amusement parks in the world.
The first thing you should know is that this huge entertainment complex, located near Paris, is composed of two parks: Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios, where children and adults will spend one of the most exciting and fun days of their lives in a world of fantasy.
To not miss anything and take advantage of the time, in this space of more than 22 square kilometers full of vertiginous roller coasters, Disney characters, shows and parades, it is important to follow a series of recommendations if you do not want to spend hours in the queues or not Find a place in one of its best restaurants and themed hotels.

Based on the experience of our two visits to this park, located among the best excursions in Paris, we leave you this list of 10 essential tips for traveling to Disneyland Paris. We start!

1. What is the best time to travel to Disneyland Paris?

Although any time is good for a trip to Disneyland Paris and the vast majority of attractions are open throughout the year, it is not advisable to visit it in summer, Christmas and Easter, since these times of school vacations form endless queues at the entrances and the heat in July and August can be intense and make the visit less comfortable.
With this in mind, the best time to visit Disneyland Paris, more calmly, it is from mid-January to mid-March and from mid-April to mid-May, when the weather is more benign, in addition to trying to do it during the week at any time of the year.

2. How to get to Disneyland?

To reach Disneyland, located 30 kilometers from Paris, you have a good train and bus connection from the two airports in the city and from the center.
If you are staying in Paris you can take the RER-A train (red line) that leaves you next to the park entrance (Marne la Vallée stop) in about 35 minutes for 8.40 euros adults, 4.20 children under 10 years and free for children under 4 years. At this stop you can take a free bus that will take you to your hotel.
These trains leave from 5: 20h to 0: 30h every 10 minutes and have several stops in the center such as: Charles de Gaulle-Étoile (subway 1, 2 and 6), Auber (subway 3, 7, 8 and 9) and Châtelet les Halles (metro 1, 4, 7, 11 and 14).

Another more comfortable way to go from Paris to Disneyland is to book this excursion in a panoramic bus that includes the entrance to one or both parks. The bus leaves at 8 am or 8:30 am from number 2 of the Rue des Pyramides, located a few meters from the Louvre Museum.

From the Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports you have the Magical Shuttle bus that will leave you at the door of most Disney hotels. You can make the reservation from this page.

Other even more comfortable option to get to Disneyland Paris From the center or from the airports of Paris is to book this private transfer, which can be profitable if you are several people. For a lower price than the taxi, when hiring this service a driver will be waiting for you at the exit of the terminal or at the city hotel, to take you directly to the park.

For more information on the transfer you can consult this post on how to get to Disneyland Paris.

Disney Land Paris

3. What hotel to choose in Disneyland?

One of the best tips to save money when traveling to Disneyland is to book the hotel with the maximum time in advance and check, from time to time, these offers that include the entrance + hotel package with significant discounts.
If you are going to spend one or two nights at Disneyland Paris, it is recommended to invest a minimum of one day in each park, it is almost essential to book well in advance some of the Disney hotels such as the magnificent Disneyland Hotel overlooking the Cas-ti-llo from Bella Dur-mien-te, the Disney's Hotel Santa Fe or the Disney's Sequoia Lodge, three of the most recommended.
These themed hotels, of different price ranges, located 15 minutes walk from the park crossing the shops of the Dis-ney Villa-ge entertainment space, have all these advantages:

They have the Extra Magic Time, which allows you to access the park up to two hours before the doors open to enjoy all the attractions of the two parks with very few people.
Priority access to reserve the main shows and attractions up to 60 days before your arrival. You will have up to 3 FastPass experiences, meetings with Disney characters and the possibility of booking a table in the best themed restaurants.
Parking and free bus service to the entrance of the two parks.
They have a free transfer service for your purchases to the hotel, which runs until 3pm.

If you do not want to spend a lot of money, another alternative is to book one of the 8 associated hotels such as the Radisson Blue Hotel or the Vienna House Dream Castle, which have a free shuttle service to the two parks.

Hotels in Disneyland Paris

4. Prices and type of tickets

If you are staying in Paris and want to travel to Disneyland Paris in a single day we recommend you book this ticket in advance for one or both parks, with which in addition to skipping the lines, you will save up to 9% on the official price.
If you are going to spend more time you can book this ticket valid for 2, 3 or 4 days in both parks.
Remember that if you buy tickets at the box office they will be more expensive than if you buy them online. Also if you buy them well in advance you can find offers like these, which include significant discounts.
Keep in mind that children under 3 have free admission and for those from 3 to 11 years it is cheaper.
Within the different types of tickets, this four types, valid for up to one year, are the ones you can buy:

MINI: It is the cheapest ticket that only allows access to the park between Monday and Friday, except during French school holidays and holidays. The price for one day and one park is 56 euros (51 children) and for two parks 76 euros (71 children).
MAGIC: It is valid for most days of the year, except for a specific holiday and holiday date. The price for one day and one park is 74 euros (68 children) and for two parks 94 euros (88 children).
SUPER MAGIC: It is valid for almost any day of the year (includes holidays and Easter). The price for one day and one park is 87 euros (80 children) and for two parks 107 euros (100 children).
SUPER MAGIC PLUS: It is valid every day of the year and you do not need to book a specific day to access the park (you can only buy it at the ticket office). The price for one day and one park is 87 euros (80 children) and for two parks 107 euros (100 children).

Mickey and Minnie Mouse

5. FASTPASS

Another of the best tips for traveling to Disneyland Paris is to take fast passes known as "FASTPASS", which allow you to access the most popular attractions of the two parks by a special queue without queues and avoid long waits that can exceed the hour.
These free passes, in which the exact time of entry is indicated so as not to have to queue, you can print them on the automatic machines located a few meters from each included attraction and its biggest drawback is that only one FastPass can be taken out by person and attraction at the same time and to print another you must have used the previous one or it has been 2 hours.
For this reason it is important to trace a route through the attractions that you want to climb and need FASTPASS, since in this way while waiting for the entry time, you can ride in another attraction that does not need this pass and thus make the most of the time.
The attractions included in the Disneyland Park FASTPASS are: Big Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril, Peter Pan's Flight, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, Space Mountain: Mission 2 and Star Tours. Walt Disney Studios are included in The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Ratatouille: The Adventure.

Another more convenient way to save your queues from attractions is to purchase the Super FASTPASS or the Ultimate FASTPASS, which allow you to access the best attractions without queues and several times without waiting at any time. You can book these passes in advance here. Remember that they are limited and usually run out quickly.

Disneyland Paris shows

6. Disneyland Paris schedules

Prior to travel to Disneyland Paris, you should keep in mind that the two parks open every day of the year at 10 am and the closing can go from 7 pm in winter to 11:30 pm in summer.
The hours in which more people are concentrated are the central day, so it is highly recommended to arrive first now and take advantage of the last two hours before closing, when there is less influx and fewer queues.
It is also important when entering the park to take a brochure with the updated information of the parades and shows schedules, to know if there is any attraction closed for maintenance.
You can check the visiting hours and their attractions on this page, while to know the schedules of the free shows you have this other page.

Parade in Disneyland Paris

7. Where to eat at Disneyland Paris?

If you do not have the full board included in the hotel, which we do not recommend since you will have to eat at the hotel again, you have a wide offer of more than 60 restaurants of all kinds distributed throughout the park.
There is also a wide range of prices ranging from street stalls of hot dogs, salads or fast food chains such as McDonalds, which leave for less than 10 euros, to restaurants where dinners with Disney characters that reach 80 euros per person.
Among the most famous themed restaurants are: Café Mickey, Agrabah Cafe, Bistrot Chez Rémy, Walt's An American Restaurant, Billy Bob's Country Western Saloon, Captain Jack's, among many others. When picking up the hotel we recommend you book one of them or from this page, as they usually fill up and it is important to have a reservation so you don't run out of seats.
One of the most famous and in which it is essential to book in advance, is the Auberge du Cendrillon, in which you will live an authentic fairy tale next to the Disney princesses who perform dances between the tables and greet all the children. Another cheaper option is the breakfast with Disney characters from the Plaza Gardens Restaurant.
If your budget is more tight, you can combine these more expensive experiences with taking the food and having a picnic in the enabled areas. Also in the park you have several sources to fill the water bottle.

Another of the best tips when traveling to Disneyland Paris It is to avoid eating between 12h and 14h, when the restaurants are full and you waste too much time. A good alternative to eat fast, besides the street stalls and the picnic, are the restaurants that have an open buffet.

Disney Village

8. The best attractions of Disneyland Park

The Disneyland Park is the oldest and the favorite of children, with the presence of Disney characters and more children attractions.
Among the most exciting, although less recommended for children and people who get dizzy easily, are roller coasters: Big Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril and the dizzying Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain.
For the little ones the park has fantastic attractions like the popular It's a small world, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, Peter Pan's Flight, Alice's Curious Labyrinth, Star Tours, Les Mystères du Nautilus and for the bravest, Phantom Manor, the only attraction of fear of the park.
In addition to getting on all these attractions, on a trip to Disneyland Paris we advise you to approach the grand avenue at 5 pm to see the parade in floats of all the Disney characters and at closing time you approach Cinderella's castle to Watch the fireworks show, two unforgettable moments.

Disneyland Paris attractions

9. The best attractions of Walt Disney Studios

Another of the best tips for traveling to Disneyland Paris, if you have more than one day, it is to visit the Walt Disney Studios park.
In this more modern and small park, you will immerse yourself in the worlds of Disney and Pixar, with impressive attractions and shows that will make you feel that you are in one of their animated films.
Among its most famous attractions for the elderly are: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop and the Crush's Coaster. While for the little ones we recommend Ratatouille: The Adventure and Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic, in addition to watching the thrilling Moteurs show… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular.

Walt Disney Studios Park

10. Other tips for a trip to Disneyland Paris

Other of the best tips for traveling to Disneyland Paris They are:

Use the service Baby switch When your child cannot get on an attraction, in this way the other adult is taking care of him and when he finishes they can be exchanged without having to queue again.
At the entrance of the attractions you can see a panel with the estimated queue time. Keep it in mind to organize your route of the day in the park.
Remember that it is advisable to wear a raincoat for water attractions, sunscreen in summer and comfortable shoes.
Before buying a souvenir, compare prices between different stores. If you are heavily loaded with shopping bags, you have a service to store them until you leave the park.
If you go with young children you can rent seats and have areas to leave them when you are at the attractions.
For children to enjoy most attractions, it is advisable to travel to Disneyland Paris from 7 years old, regardless of their age, we are sure it will be an unforgettable experience.
At the exit you can buy some of the photos that the professionals of the park have done with Disney characters or in roller coasters.