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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

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Original poster

Disneyland Paris

25 replies

crazycrofter · 11/10/2017 21:22

We're in France at half term and the children (age 11 and 13) want to do Disneyland. Unfortunately we can only afford one day there.

We think we should do the main park not Studios. I appreciate we'll never get round it all but does anyone have any tips for which rides we should focus on?

Also, are there fireworks every day?

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Madeyemoodysmum · 11/10/2017 21:26

The best rides for teens are in the studios but the magic is in the other park. Can you not try a half day in each? The magic kingdom could be fine if you are not standing in queues and only do a few rides.

Can't say about fireworks as not been for years.

Madeyemoodysmum · 11/10/2017 21:30

Best rides in the park are runaway train in frontier land and the ghost train also frontier land i think

Space mountain is over rated and hurt my neck.
I love it's a small world for magic.
Avoid all rides in fantasy land huge queues for a 30 sec ride plus is for little kids.
I did enjoy the star wars ride

In the studios hotel ride is awesome and the rock and roll rollar is also excellent.

Dailystuck71 · 12/10/2017 07:17

You have to do Buzz Light Year. It's such good fun. Work out what rides and things you want to see in both parks and see if you can manage both.

Look at fast pass options. Plan, plan and plan some more. A good time to get on some popular rides is when parades are on. Finish the day with the fireworks.

You can download maps from the dibb website. Work out your must do rides. In the studios we love ratatouille and also like to met Spider-Man. A couple of the shows are very good too but DS is younger than yours. Once those things were done we'd go to the main park as coasters aren't our thing. There are lots of videos on YouTube so you can see rides/what to expect.

TittyGolightly · 12/10/2017 07:20

The light show and fireworks are every day at park closing time. You really need to get a spot at least an hour before that to get a good view during off peak times, so not sure about peak times like half term.

You will be allowed into the park at 9:30am but won't be able to ride anything until 10am. Dlpguide.com has loads of helpful info about rides.

2014newme · 12/10/2017 08:22

Use fast passes.
Best rides for your kids are rock n roll roller-coaster (studios) tower of terror, (studios) runaway train(magic kingdom), space mountain (magic kingdom).
Agree you must do buzz lightyear ride (magic kingdom), see a parade and see the fireworks.
If you manage all that you're doing well

Original poster

crazycrofter · 12/10/2017 10:12

Thanks! So do you think we need to do both parks in one day? We weren't planning to - we thought it would be too rushed.

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Bonelessbanquet · 12/10/2017 10:15

My 8yo prefers studios due to tower of terror etc, get them to have a look at all the rides and pick their must do's and make the plan. I'd go to studios first thing, then to magic kingdom for the good rides there and the fire works. Have fun!

KitKat1985 · 12/10/2017 11:24

I'm going to go against the grain here and say I wouldn't do both parks in one day. I'd personally just do magic kingdom as that's the 'signature' park, and look online at what rides you want to prioritise doing on the day. I think you would end up missing loads at each park if you tried to do both parks on one day.

2014newme · 12/10/2017 11:31

Kit kat has a good point its a lot to fit in one day. The magic is in the magic kingdom but the best rides are in studio it's a tricky decision

2tired2bewitty · 12/10/2017 11:45

Download the app, it shows the real time wait times for each ride which is helpful for planning on the move.

2014newme · 12/10/2017 11:45

Yes planning is key as queue times can be 70 minutes for tower of terror etc

Original poster

crazycrofter · 12/10/2017 11:46

I suppose at the moment they don't really know what rides there are - they've never been to a major theme park so I don't think their ride expectations will be high. I think I'd rather not show them both parks and let them see what they're missing as dd is already a bit disappointed we can only go for one day. If I plan a day based around the big rides at magic kingdom would we fit them in? Is it best to get fast track passes?

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2014newme · 12/10/2017 11:49

There are 4 lands in magic kingdom you still won't do all the rides. If we do 5-7 rides in a day we're happy. Some rides like small world have no queues. Yes definitely use the fast pass system. Read up on it and download the app. You can only get one fast pass at a time.

TittyGolightly · 12/10/2017 11:55

We've gone 4 times for 5 days each time and there are still things we haven't done!

Madeyemoodysmum · 12/10/2017 18:24

From what you've said about your kids not been to big theme park I'd say your safe to stick to magic kingdom then.

Mine are theme park experts and would not be content with that but in your case they should have plenty of fun.

LeavesinAutumn · 16/10/2017 17:25

When people say the magic is in magic kingdom what do the mean? I have never done Disney what makes it magical!

TittyGolightly · 16/10/2017 17:31

The castle?

chiocesarenevereasygirlsworld · 16/10/2017 19:24

Most of the characters are in the magic kingdom.
The parades are there.

The theming is much more detailed. Castles fantasy land etc.

In the studios it's mainly massive warehouses. Ok it's decorated but not the same at all. The rides in the studios are much better though. The also only have a small parade and no way near as good or magical.

LeavesinAutumn · 17/10/2017 14:35

Really only the castle? Can't be surely?

KitKat1985 · 17/10/2017 15:13

Well, the Magic Kingdom is very much based around children's fantasies, and decorated accordingly. So you have most of the characters there, and the rides around 'magical' Disney films like Peter Pan etc, and the castle, not to mention the fireworks and the parades. As a adult or teen you can probably see through it a bit, but if you just embrace your inner child it still has that Disney magic.

I think the Studios are aimed at a slightly older audience. They're fun, but I don't think they quite have the charm that Magic Kingdom does.

SpeckleDust · 17/10/2017 15:30

We went for 2.5 days in the summer holidays with DDs ages 9 and 11 and managed a lot of the rides in both parks but involved a lot of walking and queuing (it was VERY busy).

Depends what your children are into, but we were fairly focused on rides as neither of my DDs were interested in the parades or meeting Disney characters. Younger DD doesn't like scary rides but loved Big Thunder Mountain (definitely worth getting a fast pass for).

As previous posters have said, I think the Studios have better rides but if you only have one day, it might be easier to just do the Disney side and make the most of all it has to offer (plus the Studios close at 6pm).

TheSconeOfStone · 17/10/2017 16:44

My two weren't fussed about parades and characters much. The 5 year old preferred the original park and the 8 year old the Studios.

The magic kingdom does have the light show at the end which was great. We were there in Summer half yet and it was really quiet. October half term is really busy from what I have heard so you will need to plan. DH and older DD had a fab time exploring Adventure Ilse (while I took younger child to the Frozen sing a long show, lucky me). That may be a good place to escape the queues for a bit.

chantilly70 · 17/10/2017 22:05

Unless your kids are thrill seekers I'd spend all the time in the main park. There is plenty to do there and it is much more visually appealing than the studios. I'd recommend the restaurant next to the pirates of the carribean ride for lunch...if you go on the later side..eg. 3pm you should get a table.. Annettes Diner our favourite place for supper.

Floralnomad · 17/10/2017 22:15

It will be heaving be warned . Have a look at the photos online from last Sunday to give you an idea of what queues to expect . Magic Kingdom is what you need if you want fireworks and parades although I agree with pp that some of the best rides are in the Studios . However the studios normally close earlier and don't have a firework end of the day show . In the Magic Kingdom I'd aim for The runaway Minetrain , Pirates of the Caribbean , Soace Mountain , Buzz and Star Wars . If it is busy the fast passes will go early particularly Peter Pan as Fantasy land closes early for the fireworks to be set up . Do any of you have a disability so you qualify for an access pass , if so sort your documentation out before you go , get the pass from City Hall and you will get all the rides done by 2 pm and you can have a leisurely afternoon doing the parades / or do both parks . Enjoy its great .

Original poster

crazycrofter · 02/11/2017 22:14

Hi everyone, just a quick update. In the end we did the main park only, last Wednesday in half term. I was really surprised that there were no queues on the roads around. We drove straight to the station car park at 9.30 and found a space easily. This is right by the entrance and there were no queues to get in either.

Overall it seemed quiet to me, in comparison to say Alton Towers. We went on Star Tours and Indiana Jones 3 times each. Also did the other main rides - Big Thunder Mountain (my favourite!), Hyperspace Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Pirates of the Caribbean, it's a small world, Peter Pan, the Haunted House (I forget its name) and saw the dragon, the submarine, the princess castle, Alice's maze etc. Watched a parade and the fireworks.

The only things we queued more than half an hour for were Big Thunder Mountain (worth it) and Peter Pan (an hour for a very short ride but my 11 year old loved it).

All in all we really felt we got our money's worth - it was great! Exhausting though after 13 hours, not sure I'd have been up for more the next day!

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