How to have the best experience possible at the park.
1- Not taking the weather forecasts into consideration.
Do not forget to check the Paris weather before. Plan boots and raincoat if it is a rainy day as they are very expensive inside the park, or even worse they mainly are single use raincoat.!
2- Do not focus only on the roller coasters.
Enjoy the shows, restaurants, shops…if you pass next to a Disney characters let you child interact with them and take a picture. In the restaurants, take time to look at all the details and amazing decoration inside. The shows are all day, ask the program when you arrive at the park not to miss the nice ones, sometimes seasonal for Halloween, Christmas, Spring. Also the night Illumination show is great and restarting 21 December 2021.
3- Missing the restaurants.
Even if you are not usually found of restaurants, Disneyland Paris is just at another level of cuteness and details. The “Bistrot chez Remy” straight out from the movie Ratatouille is amazing for all the family (see how to book below). In the heart of Pirates of the Caribbean you will find the restaurant “Captain Jack’s” for exotic seafood and Créole cooking (French islands in the Caribbeans).
4- Not choosing the right food for you.
When you are hungry, don’t jump in the first restaurants or fast food near you. Take the time to choose before you visit Disneyland. Here is the updated list of the restaurants of Disney in English. The ones at the bottom are the closed at the moment.
5- Don’t forget to book restaurants.
Once you decide on the best place to eat, don’t expect all of them to have a seat ready for you. Some takes reservations and you have to book on the app (Apple/Android). Ideally even 2 or 3 months before you arrive at the park.
6- Booking your hotel the wrong way.
If you book an hotel for your stay don’t buy the full board option with lunch included, as it is much better to try the food available in the park. Instead book the half board (demi-pension in French). You will save on your accommodation expenses.
7- Choose a bad spot for the parade or arrive at the wrong time.
It is advisable to arrive 20 to 30 min before the parade as you can have the best spot for you and the children to properly admire the Disney show. The Parade usually starts at 5PM but can change depending of the season, you will be informed when arriving at the park. There will be dancers with a choreography, the float of vehicles, the classic characters in costumes during this 20 minutes show. Here is the best spot to take nice pictures with the castle background, on the top right of central plaza (map link here) you will have the parade arrive just in front of you. If you see it to full when you arrive you can also stay here near Disney illumination control room (map link here).
8- Going to Disneyland during the french holidays.
You will have much less crowds and waiting time for each activity if you avoid all the french families that enjoy a lot going Disneyland when schools are closed. Here are the french holidays planning by sectors, they are split into 3 zones, make sure you check all of them but Paris is zone C and is the one you want to avoid in priority. (Link to public holidays in France).
9- Going to Disneyland during the weekends.
All French are doing that. You took days off so enjoy the park with much less people avoiding Saturday and Sunday will reduce your waiting time by 30% everywhere during the day.
10- Not doing a break a the right time.
A day at Disneyland is absolutely exhausting, specially for children. Most people leave after the parade as they can not take it anymore, and leaving it all for you 🙂 as the Park close around 7PM week days and 10pm or 9pm weekends! Instead of doing like them. Therefor to make the most out of it with a happy (and not tired) family take your break right after lunch when the park is full up and waiting time never ending. If you booked an hotel go to the spa. Children and yourself can even take a nap. After this you will be re-energised and have a relaxing day as oppose to running everywhere non stop! And enjoy the best activities with much less people till late.
11- Arriving to late the park.
Disneyland Paris open at 9.30AM for all and 8.30AM for Disney hotels residents because of the magic plus bonus (List and booking here). In both cases, just be in front of the doors at the opening. The morning is the best moment at Disneyland, there is less people and you will be less tired 🙂
12- Doing the most famous roller coasters in the afternoon.
As we explained above the busiest time at the park is between 2PM and 5PM. This will create more waiting time everywhere, and specially on the top activities of the park. So stay away from them during this peak time and avoid yourself waiting for an hour or more to do one attraction.
13- Leaving the park after the parade.
After the parade you might be tempted to leave the park and rest. Big mistake! As everyone will do that too! Our readers do the opposite and rest mid-day as advised above. After the parade many people will leave, this is the best time to enjoy with less waiting time than the afternoon peak hours. Stay till to closing time around 7PM and 10PM the weekends and more in summer, this late you almost have the entire park for yourself !
14- Don’t shop before the parade.
Everyone is doing the shopping waiting for the parade. Making it the worst time to visit the souvenirs shops. The best time to shop might be during your break of the afternoon between 2PM and 4PM while everybody is rushing in the attractions. If you stay 2 days and you already saw the parade the day before you might as well do it during the parade.
15- Going with too young children.
Going with a baby is not that fun, it is a long day, Your other child might get bored waiting for the baby feed to be done, cries to be taken car off, sleeping times, and your baby might not benefit much if the experience there. Going with a 4/5 year old can be frustrating too as they don’t have access to some of the nicest roller coasters (Example : 1.32m/4.33ft for Hyperspace Mountain and 1.40m/4.59ft for Indiana Jones. Bu they can still do some other gentle ones and come back when they are 10/11 for the strong ones. Also to enjoy the shows and themes your child need to have seen a minimum of Disney movies, which is not advisable too young because of the content, too long to follow, or just because tv is not recommended at young age.
16- Not staying long enough.
We assume if you read this article you are not French. So you can not go at the park when you want. In this cases we advice staying there 2 days minimum if you have children, even 3. Your family will be living in a fairyland for a few days. It will leave them memories forever. Also you as a parent can have a relax time as opposed to rush to every activities the park offer. You can just enjoy your time there as parents and connect as a family.
17- Visiting the park with the wrong method.
The park is not big but you easily walk 600m/0.37mile from side to side to go to a activity. If you do that all day distances add up and you will not only have spent the day standing but also doing a hike! Check out our full guide to visit Disneyland to get the best way of saving time and plan all activities wisely.
18- Booking on weekends.
The weekend days are the busiest due to all Parisians coming to Disneyland, making it already the worst choice for you. If that was not enough you will have to pay around 89€ instead of 59€ = 50% more expensive! So if you can strictly avoid weekends at Disneyland.
19- Don’t book an open ticket.
An open ticket is double the price! The simple fact to book at a specific date will save you 50€! The price with a fixed date is approx 54€ and open ticket or flexible ticket is around 100€. So avoid to do this unless you really do not know when you want to go.
20- Wait to late to book.
The more you wait to book the less chance to get a good price on the tickets. Book now and secure your space at Disneyland while helping us 🙂 The cheapest dates are marked with a red dot in the calendar of the links.
Type of tickets available :
1 Day ticket Free cancellation, the ticket 70% of visitors take. More info on link.
2,3,4 Days, the ticket 30% of visitors take. More info on link.
