Help me plan Disney Paris for a nearly 4 YO

[Sunshineinmadrid]

Any anecdotal advice needed.

How many nights? ChatGPT suggest 4 nights to include downtime between park days, is this correct? It certainly changes the price of it!
on my little research it seems staying in a hotel onsite is ideal (Cheyenne /Santa Fe seem more affordable but no swimming pool, is the pool useful?)

• Does everyone pay for breakfast at the hotel?

It seems like the thing to do is the Eurostar via London. What’s best, this or taking the car with added journey time?

i like the idea of freedom as would love to nip to a supermarket to avoid the shackles of Disney food, or do I accept the inevitable?

@MeetMeOnTheCorner each to their own , mine always disliked swimming pools and beaches , still do as adults but liked theme parks , museums and castles which they still do as adults’ . Our eldest is very well travelled , I’m less so as I don’t fly anymore . It is possible to do theme parks and still do other things as well , we certainly did and still do but I suppose that depends on your financial circumstances.

4 is a good age!
Paris is much smaller than the American parks so more do-able with younger kids

Ultimately there is no perfect age.
Young kids are much more swayed by the magic and characters etc
Where as older kids prefer the rides and can find the characters baby ish

4 for me is a good in-between where they can go on lots of the rides but will still like the character type stuff.

So why are you posting on a thread about Disneyland Paris?

I have done it a few times.

Top tips:
Cheyenne is better than Santa Fe.
I can't be arsed with swimming, I'm already knackered from the parks and I don't find swimming with little ones much of a break so personally don't want to spend more on the hotel than this.
Queues in McDonalds/Starbucks etc were long for us so we paid for a meal package and booked meals the next time we went.
Only needed two meals a day, plus snacks as breakfast is big.
The food is quite fancy in places so I book places that are all you can eat for my picky eater.
A 4 year old will love it- you'll want to take them back.
Lille is a doddle to transfer at but flying is easier in my opinion (we're not near London though).
Take a pushchair for a 4 year old - it's massive there and the pushchair helps a lot.
Be weather prepared - like if you were going to a festival - it's a lot of time outdoors and being prepared really helps (it pissed it down the whole time once but we were fine as kitted out for it)
Set a price limit on the shop, there's little there that you can't order online and so a small momento is enough.
Don't panic about getting on everything/seeing everything: it's massive, the queues are long so take the pressure off and relax into it.
We do 4 days/3 nights which is perfect.

Enjoy! It's one of my favourite places ever ☺️

Thanks everyone. Mixed opinions on the memory situation.

Watching her face light up with joy at seeing dressed up characters in day to day life now and the joy she had from peppa pig world makes me think it will be very precious.
She’s at such a lovely age of wonder which gives me great joy to witness and watching her happy really makes me happy.

I want to save the larger trips that we really want to do for when she can remember later down the line, like Japan, Canada etc.

Posters were talking about cost and if dc remember things. We went for the day and DDs simply were not that bothered. Our huge mistake but we didn’t watch Disney and are not into American culture. We thought they might like the rides. No memories made whatsoever!

All their great holidays that they do remember, and have influenced their live, were something else. Disney is very expensive and I’d simply spend the money doing something French! Like going to Brittany or Normandy. Dc can be entertained far more cheaply if you use some imagination instead of following the herd.

Surely this is true of anything though. If your kid isnt interested in the theme then no they probably won't be as thrilled by it

One of my kids loved diggerland, the other did not. One of mine loves an aquarium, natural history etc and the other doesnt

Some peoples kids will take great joy in seeing characters and having rides themed around it

@Hammerthroe I do think a huge number of people over expose dc to Disney and don’t look at simpler cheaper things dc would enjoy. We just thought ours might like the rides for a day out and nothing more. I find this making memories stuff all about parents and what they think dc should enjoy and spend vast amounts of money on it. Many go on repeat too - it’s just very narrow and dc can enjoy lots of things given the chance.

1. Don't go.
2. Go in three or four years.