Disneyland for a day?

[Isthereanoffswitchforafiveyearold]

Has anyone ever done it, is it possible?

I’d like to take Dd to Paris when she’s 6 (is that a good age, will she remember?) and go to Disneyland to visit. I don’t want to stay at Disneyland itself
How much do you end up spending and is it doable in a day?

Anyone done similar?

So you are responding as if you are going to Florida ..l.people are telling you what can be done at magic kingdom in a day…..completely different to visiting Paris…..it would be a waste of money to me to go to Disneyland Paris for a day…..queues can be mental….and no fast pass anymore….and so much more expensive for a one day ticket

Isn't there a Magic Kingdom in every Disney park?

@Kitkat1523 I don’t know. I put Paris in my post so assumed people would give info about that

But you asked one PP to tell you about Magic Kingdom….and you asked another to tell you about Disneyworld…… as neither are in Paris, their responses are of no use to you 🤷‍♀️

I wouldn't go for a day.

We went to DLP for 4 nights, 5 days (although we spent one day in Paris) and we still didn't see/do it all.

Like a pp said, I would feel the pressure of one day massively and it would be stressful and rushed.

I think if you're going to go all that way anyway it's worth saving a bit longer and going for 2 nights/3 days minimum.

You wouldn't even scratch the surface in a day. The absolute minimum we would do is 3 full days, you definitely need 2 days for the Disneyland Park and also a full day for the Studios Park.
We've been in 2019 (DS 17mths) 2019 (DS24mths) 2022 (DS4 and DD15mths) and 2023 (DS5 and DD2.5). We're going to Florida this year.

@Kitkat1523

Wtf?

I just said I have no previous interest in Disney in Europe, USA anywhere, I explained I got mixed up, I didn’t know the magic kingdom was only in the USA, ok??

I made a mistake, it’s ok

I’ve been for a day trip in the past but I’m Kent based so quite easy to get there . However we’ve been loads of times , knew exactly what we were wanting to do and went for a specific reason .

The plan would be to spend two nights/three days in Paris, with one of those days at Disney, I don’t think I’d want to go for more that one day tbh and want to show Dd Paris etc and to enjoy it ourselves (have been before, but not with Dd )

I’ve been about 10 times, each time for one day only. We usually go midweek May or September/October so it’s not nearly as busy as going in the height of summer. It’s a long day, but you can cover everything. You can get a 1 day/2 Park ticket from about £75 depending on when you go.

I have always found one day more than enough. There aren't that many attractions when you look at it per age group, and frankly it's not the most exciting outing for adults, is it?

You need a day for each park at the very minimum.

It depends on what you want to do and which things you're interested in tbh. Me and my DC love the shows and parades as well as rides, so fitting everything into one day would be difficult. It also takes a bit of time to get your bearings on a first visit. But if you just want to go for a bit of the magic, try it out and so on, you can do it in a day. I'd recommend really doing your research first, get an idea of the layout and ride waiting times from the app and the Facebook groups and blogs, so you can get the most out of it.

What else is it that you are going to do in Paris? I think a 6 year old would prefer a second day in disney to a day in paris to be honest

If you stay for one night in a disney hotel and have 2 days park tickets, on the first day you could go to the main park, theres loads of rides there for her age group, great parade, meet the characters, you could then go back to the hotel for dinner and a rest and head back in to the park for the fireworks - they are fantastic and worth seeing. A night in the disney hotels is great, the second day you could do the studios park which has been expanded and has a Toy Story area, Ratatouille, Crushes Coaster etc - this could be a shorter day and then head back to Paris city at dinner time?

Watch you tube videos, join facebook groups and do the research - its a wonderful place but advice can help you make the most of it.

@PenguinLove1 Is it very expensive though to actually stay at Disney?

They are 6 Disney resorts and loads of nearby non Disney ones.

You can make it as expensive as you want it to be.

We've spent £2k/night going all out luxury and €90 per night staying 3 minutes away on the train.

I personally like staying in the Disney hotels as they're walking distance and makes it very easy.

The mid range ones you can get decent hotel and ticket packages on their website.

It varies massively - the Santa Fe is the cheapest and the Disneyland Hotel is the dearest. Ive stayed in both the Cheyenne (Toy Story Western themed) and the Newport Bay and both were great and walkable to both parks. The Disney Village which is in between the hotels and parks is nice too, loads of restaurants, bars, souvenirs etc - we had some nice meals there but also cheap eats - there is a McDonalds and an Earl of Sandwich so it is doable on a budget

You can easily do Disneyland Paris in one day.

Yes!! We went when my DD was that age and my DS a bit older, camped nearby and did a day at Disney and a day in Paris as part of a longer touring holiday. Some people were adamant that you need 3 days for Disney but we had a fabulous day, got the flavour of the place and got plenty done. There were lots of rides the children weren't interested in (I think they might need longer nowadays!) and we accepted that we weren't going to waste the day queuing for the biggest rides but there was plenty to do and the whole thing was magical (even though I was a bit cynical before we went about the whole Disney thing) . Having said that the kids say they enjoyed the day in Paris - and going up the Eiffel Tower especially - even more and still talk about it and if anything we needed more than a day there and have been back several times now they are older teens for the museums.

I just did this in the Easter hols!

I booked direct with the nearby Centre Parcs (Villages Natur Paris) and paid £495 for 5 days (Monday to Friday) for a Comfort cottage. I didn’t want to stay at Disney and knew my girls would get more out of the Centre Parc experience (they loved the amazing pool, pony riding, chocolate making and the onsite patisserie and creperie).

Disney day ticket was around £300 for the 4 of us. Flights were £500 with Easy Jet. Transport between the centre parcs and Disney was easy and just 2euro each. Airport parking was £90. I did the Disney magic shuttle to the airports £140).

5 day trip was £1550.

I’ve been 3 times and only ever done it in one day. I stayed in hotels outside of the resort and got bus or train in. Attractions during the day, shops afterwards.

I’d recommend bringing a lunch. Last time i went, there were really long queues everywhere to eat.

I’d also agree a 6 year old would like prefer more time in Disney than in Paris. I still would.

We had a week in Paris with kids 2, 5 and 8. We had a day at Disney and a day at Parc Asterix (which we all preferred). The kids also enjoyed the Eifel Tower and the boat ride on the Seine. Kids don't need everything to be bright and plastic for it to be fun.

I’m on a Facebook group called ‘Extreme day trips’ and several of the members have done DLP so definitely do-able. Our last extreme
day trip was to Geneva and we enjoyed it! We were so close to the border of France that we actually ended up visiting two countries in one day.

I took my then 5yo DD in 2020 just before lockdown, had park tickets for just the one day. We flew from Edinburgh (live in NE England) to Paris CDG then got Magic Shuttle coach from airport to Disney, it drops off at different hotels. We stayed at Campinile I think it’s called. We got there mid afternoon and got checked in then got the shuttle bus into where Disneyland is. There are things you can do there that aren’t inside the actual park so don’t need tickets, I think it’s called Disney Village. There’s a big Disney shop plus other shops like Lego and there’s McDonalds etc and when we were there there was Cafe Mickey, which we booked for tea (dinner- 6pm ish) and there are characters that came round- Mickey and Donald and a couple of others. I’m not sure if that’s still running. Then went back to hotel and to bed. Next morning buffet breakfast in hotel then shuttle bus to the parks, in with tickets. As my DD was 5 and I’m not a huge rides or Disney person, we just took it steady and did what we wanted. We walked down Mainstreet USA and looked in the candy shops, rode the smaller rides around Fantasyland (eg the teacups, the carousel, Peter Pan flight, dumbo ride) , It’s a Small World and walked around the Alice in wonderland maze. We saw a few characters walking around, saw Winnie the Pooh doing a meet and greet but there was a long queue so we just waved as we passed. We had booked lunch with the Princesses at Auberge de Cendrillon (Cinderella’s Inn). Wasn’t cheap but meant guaranteed Princess meetings without wasting time queuing, kids food was a set menu- pasta etc. The princesses came around the tables and chatted, had photos, we met Ariel, Snow White, Aurora and Cinderella. After lunch we ventured a little further to Adventureland/Frontierland. Went on Casey Jr train and our biggest ride, Pirates of the Caribbean. I can’t remember the exact timings but we saw the parade in the afternoon, we got a position near the castle. For tea (dinner) we got hot dogs and chips at Casey’s Corner at bottom of Main Street USA, takeaway and got a position for the fireworks while we ate them. Watched the fireworks then shuttle back to hotel and to bed. The next morning, hotel buffet breakfast again and then Magic Shuttle coach back to airport and flight CDG to Edinburgh.

You'd need to buy fast passes for one day otherwise you'll not get on many rides.
It's incredibly expensive, but the whole experience imo is fantastic - I took my DC last year when they were 9 and 11, it was a very indulgent trip but we won't go again so I wanted it to be memorable.