Paris + Disneyland with a nearly 6 year old - Sorry for the another thread

[noramum]

DD wants to go to Disneyland. DH and I aren't really keen to spend money on 2 days there but understand her wish.

The compromise we now entertain is booking 2 days Paris and just doing one extra day, either shuttle from Paris and back or staying 1 night in Disneyland, meaning we would go there in the morning, do the park, stay the night and go back the next morning.

DD is a firm fan of all things princess and fairies, Mickey and Co she knows but I think she could survive without it.

So, is this a mad idea? Does it make sense to just go for 1 day to Disneyland?

What is good for children in Paris? DH and I went years ago with no child.

Any tips for a childfriendly hotel are also appreciated.

We did Disneyland for one day with a nearly 6 year old. We only did 1/2 of one park, didn't even touch the other. I think you need two days to be honest. I was upset as I don't think we'll be able to afford to go again.

Hm, I suspected that much. I just have a problem with spending so much money on just 2 days of Disneyland. And as she is in school we are bound by the holidays.

Our main family holiday is always direct after the school breaks in Summer and we can't really afford two large holidays. And we found that we all need two weeks away to recharge.

If you go in Jan or Feb, it's much cheaper. You could travel on a Friday (just take her out of school for one day) - arrive late Friday pm/early eve, have all of Saturday and most of Sunday there, and get back late Sunday eve.

Sorry, taking out of school is a big no. Just my and DH's personal view on this subject.

And I think Jan/Feb is a nightmare weatherwise.

I think DD may have to decide either 1 day or nothing.

How about combining a couple of days in Disneyland with somewhere else in France to make up your big summer holiday?

That's one thought. But we normally go to Germany as DD is bilingual and we need to keep her German up. But one thought is doing a short break or two there and France in Summer.

A lot of things to consider.

in short no you absolutely can't do Disneyland Paris in a day, there's way too much there!!! But if you just want to give your DD a taste of the place then yes you can do that.

If you were going for only one day make it either summer or christmas when the opening hours are longest, get there first thing and plan to stay until closing. Do the rides in the morning and focus on the parades in the afternoon. I would fit in character dining to meet the characters and probably sacrifice doing the studios park to really do the main park.

If you can stretch to one night on the complex, you would get much more in because of the longer opening hours offered to people staying in the hotel.

Personally I would drop the summer holiday down to one week and put aside a 2/3 nights nearby at the end of the holiday to really do the place properly. especially if you are only likely to go once ever. In years to come the summer holidays will melt into each other it matter whether for one year it was one week or two. but Disney, thats a different story

although I'm totally biased as I love the place

yes you would still have a fab time if you went for a day. accept in advance that you can't do it all and go to the bits that your DD will love the best (probably fantasyland). arrive early, go up main st (perhaps take horse drawn crriage etc) go to fantasy land, if any time left could go adventureland or buzz lightyear ride in discoverland great for 6 year olds. then see parade where she will see Mickey and all the princesses etc

you will have a fantastic day - definitely go for it. But don't bother with:

-queuing to meet characters/get autographs - you can be queuing for an hour so if only there for a day give this a miss