Is it possible to have lovely day in Disneyland Paris without paying fast pass?

[kavalkada]

Inspired by the other thread about fast passes.

I don't mind them, but I can not afford them so I'm asking if it is possible to have enjoyable day in Disneyland Paris without paying extra for the rides.

Little bit of background. I'm taking my 8 year old next february to DLP. I'm going with my friend and her son and we're splitting cost of hotel room. We're staying two nights in Seqoia Lodge with breakfast.

I have downloaded DLP app and I have been checking it for the last few months to get an idea about waiting linea. This is the plan to skip (or almost skip) lines so it would be very nice if somebody who has more experience tell me if it is possible or I'm just kidding my self and I'll spend three days waiting in lines for four rides (in a rain and cold if I'm not lucky).

day 1 - Disneyland Park

8.30 - 9.30 Magic Hour - Peter Pan's Flight, Dumbo, Big Thunder Mountain.
9.30 - 10.30 Walk to Discoverland - I have noticed rides open a little bit later - Autopia, Hyperspace Mountain, Star Wars, Orbitron, Buzz Lightyear - I know I will not be able to them all, but two would be nice
10.30 - 12.00 - Walk through DLP from Frontierland, then Adventureland, Fantasyland - checking the app times for waiting lines
12.00 - 13.00 - Walking attractions like Alice's Curious Labyrinth
13.00 - 14.00 - Lunch at Disney Village (less people then in parks)
16.00 - 16.20 - Swimming pol at Sequoia Lodge (or rest, what kids want)
16.30 - Return to park, wait for parade

After parade, pick rides according to waiting lines on the app, pick a spot to watch illuminations, try to ride Big Thunder Mountain one more time before closing time.
Have dinner at Disney Village.
Return to hotel and rest.
I have a similar plan for Walt Disney studios the day after but I will not bother you with that.

So any tips? I want be able to return to DLP for at least four or five years before Arendelle opens and my little girl is old enough to enjoy it.

I want it to be special time for my little boy. And me. So help me.

By my recollection the times were fairly accurate, but the distances between the rides can be quite big, plus it takes more time than expected to get on and off. And trekking to the toilet takes longer than expected. And there might be characters wandering past, or parades or whatever you want to stop and see.

I might be wrong, but having done dlp a couple of times, I just don't think you will get through all those rides.

Obviously I hope it does work out for you!

I've done dlp several times, and never used a fast pass. They aren't necessary at all.

If you can have a big breakfast, I'd skip lunch and just wait and do the afternoon at the hotel to give you more time. From what I can remember afternoon tea is 4-7 and you get wraps, little cakes, cold drinks etc,

I have to say the app times are accurate

When we've been we stayed at Davy Crocket and their meal plan include (d - haven't been since 2018) a take away breakfast (croissants, jams, french sticks etc, carton of juice and hot drinks)- idea was to take back to the lodge - we used to get it and drive straight to the park (kept the hot drink mixes to have on waking the next morning or when we got back), kids ate the croissants straight away and then had french sticks while in a queue as a brunch thing, then had the snack voucher between 2 and 3 (often while waiting for a parade), followed by one of the all you can eat meals for tea - which you can prebook

Then went back to the hotel when the park close

There are shows you can watch to give yourselves a break and sit down

BTW in the magic hour we would generally get 4-6 rides in (some duplicating themselves - so I think at one point they did tea cups 3 times)

It’s worth you having a look at some of the Facebook forums. By all accounts this year has been much busier than normal with all the pent up demand from covid and the new marvel land. Same likely to apply next year so I wouldn’t base plans on hints/tips from pre-covid times. When we went people had said that the May half term is generally one of the quieter ones but it was full every day.

You'll have a great time.

I wouldn't have such a detailed schedule though. I doubt you'll stick to it.

Plan what area of the park you want to start in and take it from there. As you walk around you'll see characters that you might want to stop and see and you'll see rides that have shorter queues than others.

Prebook your restaurants if you can. We did a good breakfast and big dinner so just had snacks at lunchtime. We stayed in the parks all day. If we needed a rest we set down for a while rather than returning to the hotel.

Rides do get quieter at the end of the day so you can often do the same one a few times then without queuing. Although we were there in summer when the parks were open late at night - I'm not sure how February will be.

Don't bother with swimming. You'll never swim at 4pm and be back in the park at 4.30pm like your schedule says. If you are only doing a short stay concentrate on doing Disney things not stuff you can do anywhere like swimming.

Have fun!

February is a different beast than the rest of the year as its so quiet.

Made a flask of hot chocolate each morning and took a bag of snacks.

We had cereal bars in the morning and did the rides, many of them were walk on with no queue, had breakfast in the park when the doors opened to the public.

Didn't stop for lunch but either watched a show or joined a ride with a longer queue and ate lunch in the line, as we had a later breakfast this was fine.

Had a character dinner each night as it was part of our meal plan.

No need for fast passes Wed was very quiet as a change over day so did the larger rides then.

Unless they have changed the fast pass system since we were there, you just zap your park ticket and it gives you a time to go back for priority entry. No extra charge involved.

Not all the rides are open for Extra Magic Hours, so you will need to find out which ones you can use. I’m pretty sure the ones you mention don’t open early, but others do.

Join the FB group ‘Disneyland Paris for Brits’. They know everything!

At risk of stating the obvious what you can do will depend upon how busy it is, nevertheless you are hugely hugely over estimating how much you can get done in the first couple of hours even on a less busy day.

I went last November, it was French school holidays and really busy from the off. During early hours for onsite guests there was hardly anything running some days and on others you could still only get one ride done before the massive queues start. I actually didn’t get any premium passes, over the course of a week I got on a big ride once a day in the morning, I went on Crush at closing time and the rest I queued for.

I am going again in September, no school holidays so I am hoping it will be better. It has been very busy this year generally though, so if it is unexpectedly busy I think I will get the passes this time.

Yes it has changed since you were last there. Fast passes now need to be bought.

We’ve been doing DLP since it opened , a few times a year . My advice - throw away your schedule and enjoy , it’s a holiday not a route march . Your son will have a lovely time irrespective of what rides he gets on so focus on the ones he really wants to do .

I have been 4 or 5 times, always in the school holidays and never had a fast pass. 4 years ago was the last time I went, in the summer holidays. DCs were 5 and 8. It was busy but the longest queue (for Snow White or Peter Pan, can't remember which) was about an hour. Most rides were much faster. Later in the evening the rides get quieter although I don't know what time they run to in Feb.

You won’t be able to ride anything after illuminations because the park closes just before it starts.

Next Feb might be busier than it usually is but it won’t be rammed like August is.

We’ve gone in March a few times and never gone back to the hotel.

Join the Disneyland Paris for Brits page and go through the posts. Loads of helpful info.

They have changed it. It’s now pay per ride or a day pass for €€€€€