Disneyland Paris

[meandyoujustustwo]

Hey!

I'm taking my daughter (4) to Disneyland Paris on the 27th of February & I was just wondering if anyone has some very handy tips ...like ... rides not to be missed, what to take with me etc?
Thanks in advance.
D X

You really need to plan.

What do you want to do about food? Do you want to book character dining?

When you arrive pick up a map and also a guide showing when the parades etc are on. Be in place for the parades in plenty of time.

Fantasyland for a 4 year old will be good. Peterpans flight is lovely but is she ok in the dark? You need to research these things.

Buzz light year is great fun. There is the tea cups and dumbo ride.

Does she like princesses? You need to book that.

You will need to take layers with you. Can be cold and wet. Where are you staying?

Watching with interest, we are going in March with our 4yo DD. Staying at the Sequoia.

What do yOu want to see cheesy?

Placemarking to post later - we went in October.

Where are you staying? If you're in a Disney hotel you get magic hours which means you can enter the park early.
If you don't want to queue for ages to see characters, book a lunch with the princesses and Inventions for dinner, you will get to see loads and they'll sign your book and have pictures.
Check the times for the parades and what time Dreams starts (this is normally when the park closes) people start lining the streets for those fairly early to get a good spot.
If your child is dressed up they tend to get more interaction with the people doing the parade.
Have a look at the dining packages. They look expensive but everywhere is extortionate to eat, even McDonald's.
Make sure you're warm enough!
I'd really consider taking a pushchair for a four year old, even if they haven't used one for ages, it's a really long day for little legs.

Oh, and check which rides are closed before you go! You can download the app to tell you waiting times for rides. You can also use one fast pass per day. This will give you a time to go back to a ride so you don't have to stand in the huge queue.

Join the Facebook group disneyland paris for brits. Everything you need to know there.

The park is huge and it's a LOT of walking. We hired a buggy from them for our 5 yr old DD as by the end of the first afternoon she was exhausted. Plus it gave us storage for bags coats etc when she wasn't using it. Also stock up on rolls etc at breakfast time if your hotel do continental buffet breakfast. We made cheese and ham rolls, took fruit etc for our day ahead and used our food vouchers for evening meals. Try to get a fast pass ticket for the rides you're desperate to do but that have a massive wait time as this secures you a place with a much smaller queue. It's truly amazing. Have a wonderful Time. X

Take warm clothes and thermals. It's beyond freezing in February.

Oh and if you get extra park hours make the most of it. We went on the Peter Pan ride twice every morning before the park opened to thre general public.

I was going to suggest the Disneyland for Brits page, but some of the questions people ask are ridiculous

Be aware though that not all of the rides are open when you go in early. I think you should be OK with a younger DD but a lot of the rides my DS wanted to go on weren't open until the main park opened.
Definitely plan for the fireworks, they are amazing. You don't have to get there early, lots of people get there hours before, we made the most of the smaller queues in tomorrow land, then got to the castle just before the fireworks started and had a good spot.
Sequoia lodge is lovely.
Loved it so much we are going to Florida next year

We went in October with our nearly 4 year old and had a fantastic time. We were lucky with the weather and it was relatively warm and dry for our whole stay which was great. Layers are the best bet.

I think our DS's favourite rides were Buzz Lightyear and Autopia in Discovery Land. Peter Pan and It's a Small World in Fantasy Land. Plus, right at the back of the park are a little circus train ride and a fairytale boat ride which he enjoyed and are specifially aimed at the younger guests. In the studios he enjoyed the Flying carpets, Cars quatre roues rallye and Slinky Dog.

Food is really expensive and not great but we stayed half board which meant we had a big breakfast in the morning at the hotel (stayed at the sequoia) which kept us going, with a snack in the afternoon (I took some snacks like cereal bars with us and we grabbed apples from breakfast). Then we had an early dinner back at the hotel where we had unlimited access to a fairly extensive buffet.

We booked character dinning in The Mickey Cafe one night (definitely book in advance for a reasonable time slot). Our DS enjoyed seeing the characters but he's very shy so didn't want to be hugged or have his photo taken with them. Food here was pretty bad too but I guess it wasn't really about the food.

The biggest downside to the visit was the smoking. Sometimes it felt like we were the only people in the whole park not smoking.

I can recommend the free Disneyland Paris app. It gives you the current wait for each ride and allows you to quickly locate your nearest toilets or restaurants etc which is really handy. We used this in addition to the paper maps and guides they provide and found it really helpful.

We didn't have a plan before we went and decided to just see how it panned out. We were there from Wednesday to Sunday though so had plenty of time. I think if we had tried to do it all in a couple of days we'd have needed to prioritise certain things. Also check which rides or attractions will be closed for refurbishment when you are visiting.

We had a fantastic time and I hope you do too!

Lots of rides will be closed for refurbishment in Feb and March as they're getting them ready for the 25th anniversary celebrations in April. Be prepared for that.

Join the DLP for Brits page on FB. Make use of magic hours. Eat at buffets if you want to eat anything that isn't beige. Get a spot for the parade/dreams early (30-40 mins before) and be prepared to defend your space. Take buggies for children under 6. Take lots of layers, gloves and waterproofs etc - it snowed when we were there last Feb.

Pace yourselves - no need to do magic hours and dreams every day. Have a great time.

I think PPs have given brilliant advice. If you want to advance search me I had a thread going at while I was there - I should warn you it wasn't particularly positive on my part but I got a lot of good tips.

I don't want this to sound too negative but I wish I'd known this before we went so...

Plan, plan and plan some more

Decide priorities. There will be queues so you can't do everything.

There are shops everywhere which upset my 3 year old as she wanted everything (at 4 you may have more luck). It's like taking them to the Disney store all day, every day so have an idea what your DC can buy in advance, if anything.

My top tip has already been said: decide if characters are important. If they are, do not rely on meeting them in the park. If possible and budget allows, book a meal with at Cafe Mickey or if you want to see princesses book a meal with them. If we did it again I would budget for a meal with the princesses without a doubt.

If there is face painting it is really, really good and worth doing.

YY to parades.

We found fastpass useless for us - couldn't use it for any rides my DC wanted to go on. If you want to queue for the princess palace make this your priority for the day.

For the love of God don't buy a photopass without checking if it is in use in any rides / attractions you want to go on - we wasted so much money on ours and it still annoys me now.

Sequoia Lodge is fab .

If you want to book the princess lunch you may need to do this now!

Mickey's cafe is a good place to see Mickey, Minnie, Pluto etc. They come around the tables and you fret your autographs and photos with them. Go for lunch it dinner and ask what time the characters are coming so you can time it.

Take warm clothes and comfy shoes.

I think breakfast is the best cafe Mickey option (if you're at a hotel that doesn't do a hot breakfast). Cheaper and tends to be quieter.

I'd double check about characters in Cafe Mickey, I'm sure I heard that they are stopping the character breakfasts next year at some point

As PP have said, February is cold. So layers are a must!

Do you have half board meal plan? If so, look at what restaurants are available on it and then look online to see the opening hours for those restaurants. If you google "Disneyland Paris restaurant opening times February" you'll find a couple of sites. DLRP website is good to check what each restaurant serves. Pick your must do's (for us it was Blue Lagoon, Bistrot Chez Remy and a couple of others) and phone the reservation line to book in advance. That way you don't have to worry about not getting a table and you don't have to wait!

If you're happy with fast food do bear in mind that the busiest times are between 12-2. We usually have an early breakfast (so we can get in the park for extra magic hours) and then we eat just before 12 when the queues are shorter.

Thank you all so much for this helpful info! I would love to take her to the princess lunch ... is it really €45? Each? Also how do I book this? Can I call up or do it online?xx

You need to use the restaurant booking line. There is a telephone number. Book all of your restaurants in advance. You can always cancel at city hall on the day if you change your mind. Booking when there is difficult because the place can be so busy.

The DLP trip advisor forum will answer every question you could possibly have.

We go on the 26th Feb for 5 days. It's my DDs Xmas present 😁 We have been before about 4 years ago.

Take a Tupperware tub and when you have breakfast sneak some bread and ham/cheese for lunch. They do watch so you need to be sneaky. Also it's cheaper to take a bottle and fill up at water fountains. I'm taking those robinsons shots with juice cordial in.

We are staying at sequoia lodge and and have upgraded our room so we get hot breakfast. It will be cold so make sure you have loads of layers.

Always head to your favourite ride first. Last time we went we couldn't get on the toy story ride, 2 hour waits after 11am every single day.

You can book all the restaurants in Disney village ahead of time if you want to plan food. We are only going b&b.

Water fountains are switched off in winter as they freeze. Just so you know.

Princess lunch is about €70 for adults and €50 for kids - but absolutely worth it. We loved the food and the interaction was amazing. (I had an annual pass so had a discount off it but would pay full price in a heartbeat.)