Disneyland Paris - Advice please (with a nearly 5 yo and 2 yo)

[Sunshineat5pm]

Hello, I would love thoughts on taking a nearly 5 year old and just turned 2 year old to Disneyland Paris (+ the other park).

Is this too young? Would we be better to postpone for a further year (however I’m keen to undertake before my oldest turns 5 to go outside school holiday dates)?

Also, how many days / nights in total would you recommend for both parks? We plan on staying in a Disney hotel.

Thank you!

I hadn't read this when I posted, but after having been I would say the same. Find a low key place in the UK for little kids. I won't go back even though i don't regret going. I just didn't feel that 'magic' at all.

I think Disney is at its best when you have fully toilet trained and strong-bladdered dc who are fleet of foot in their trainers and you get that Magic Hour before the main park opens and fast passes. You can literally belt out of the hotel and rush to the most popular rides and get there ahead of others. Then you plan your day around avoiding other people (have breakfast when others are emerging) then lunch at about 2:30 and hit the (shorter) queues while others break for lunch.

Otherwise it can be a crowded, tiring pita.

But it's hard to do all that manoeuvring a pram or with hungry young ones who can't run fast, or need the loo at the worst moment, not to mention are not old enough for the better rides.

I’m going to counteract the majority and say do it. We took our girls when they were 4 and 2 for the first time and they loved it. There was plenty for our youngest to do and she loved the shows and the characters. We went back last year when they were 6 and 4 and again had a great time. We are going back again next year as they want to see the frozen land. Also the first time we went was outside school holidays (November) and we avoided the weekend and most rides were minimal queues.

We went years ago when ours were 9 and 6. DH and I were trepidaceous about it but it was fab - even DH enjoyed it.

We got a good deal because we had an inset day after Feb half term and wrapped up. We stayed just outside and shuttled - it was fine at 9 and 6. The DC loved it and the ages were about right. We did two nights: Sat/Sun.

My daughter asked to go from when she was about 4.We eventually took her and older brother for her 6th birthday and my son was 10. It was magical and I wish I had taken my son when he was young. I had never been so never considered it as an option.

We all really enjoyed it and it gave my daughter the best birthday ever. We have been back several times since!

I think most families can enjoy Disney. It might feel like a logistical nightmare navigating with a 2 year old, but if you stay onsite and take regular rests, you can have a great time. Maybe pick a hotel with a pool for somewhere to take kids to unwind.

If you’re prepared for ups and downs and can get a hotel on site to go back to for a break I’d say yes but will caveat it saying euro Disney with my then three year old was probably the most stressful trip I’ve ever been on just because there’s so many people there and he’d get excited over seeing someone and would go to run. I was a mess, on edge all the time

We went last Christmas with a 2 month old (second child!) and nearly 3 year old and he LOVED it. Still talks about it all the time, he might not remember when he’s older but we look at the photos, he talks about the rides he went on, says he met Mickey Mouse and he loved the parades.
advantage of going before they are 3 is that you don’t have to pay for their park tickets, or food if you go to buffet restaurants so can be a lot cheaper than going soon after they’re 3!

We took ours when they were 3 and 9 (much bigger age then yours), it was meant to be a once in a lifetime trip so we stayed Mon - Fri to make it as chilled as we could. Stayed onsite to make use of the magic hour and did some character dining to meet a lot of characters in one go. We went in March, it was bright but chilli, fine with coats etc. The parks were very quiet. There is a crowds calculator online (or certainly used to be).

We ended up going two more times over the next few years as they loved it so much. We did Christmas time the next time which was soooo much busier but as we’d already been we could pick and choose the bits we wanted to focus on doing.

Ignore the haters, I’d book it in term time and make the best of it.

I've just got back (this week) from a trip to DLP with my 6 year old DD. We've been a few times since she was 2.

I feel by now I'm pretty experienced (been going myself since I was 8) but as DD has aged the trips have evolved each time. We always have a blast together.

I've stayed on site and offsite and travelled pretty much every possible way so here are my top tips if you go:

Go term time while you can but to be honest, we've now been going in school holidays for a while and you can still have a good time.

Travelling by car is great because you can control the time you arrive, you can take more stuff but you might want to plan an overnight stay on the way down - we live in the Midlands and usually stay overnight in Dover before a ferry if we drive. I prefer to travel by eurostar but it can be costly if you book via disney to their train station as there is a change in lille, it can be stressful to deal with getting luggage on and off and having it with you all the time. Flying can work well but queues at the airport are chaos at the minute due to the new passport control changes, we queued over an hour for passport control on arrival and leaving this week.

Staying onsite allows you to make use of the magic hour in a morning, which is great for some of the busier rides if you go straight there at park opening. Also some of the hotels have a character in them so its a great way to meet characters if your littles are into that (we only queued around 15 mins a morning). I usually stay in the sequoia lodge because I love the theming.

Bookend the day, particularly with little ones. Go to the parks first thing, dip out around 1-2pm and head back to the room for a nap/rest and a swim if your pool has one. Then go back to the parks a little later for dinner and rides. Some of the popular rides queues tend to drop off a little in the evening making the queue more palatable. Staying onsite makes this easier Personally but I have done this staying offsite too.

If you want to watch the nighttime shows but know your kids wont make it to 10/11pm in the summer go in the winter because it will be dark earlier and the parks tend to close earlier.

If your kids want to meet characters and you can afford to, character dining (particularly royal banquet) is a great way to do it without queues but it does book up early so try and add it as soon as you can.

Decide your budget for souvenirs before you go. It can quickly get expensive if your kids want disney ears/bubble wands/shoulder buddies. Personally I try to take ears and bubbles from home, though each time we've gone i have let her pick one different one of these.

Snacks, there are lots of snacks there but you can also bring your own from home or buy some at the supermarket in val d'europe. There are water fountains dotted around so take a flask and some squeezy squash and you'll save a fortune on drinks, our hotel had an ice machine so we filled our bottle with that each morning to keep it cool all day.

There are a lot of parades and shows. It isn't likely to be possible to see them all but choose the ones you think will be a hit and then don't tell your kids about rhe ones you're going to miss.

For me, I think 3nights/4days is the sweet spot particularly if you are arriving on day 1 morning and leaving on day 4 evening but I also think if you go for 5 days and go into the park for 3 full days that can also work but this tends to be easier to do offsite as the park hotels include tickets for all the days. We never use Premier access and get to do everything we want to do in this time, the only rides we didnt do this time are the ones she's not tall enough for, Peter pan and orbitron (she's not bothered and always a huge queue), we did her favourite rides 3-4 times in that period watched both night shows and in terms of parades only missed the main parade because we've seen it before.

I hope that helps!

We’ve been taking DC since they were babies.

Every age it’s definitely been worth it. 5-6 I’d say was peaked for our daughter especially. Pure magic at that age, so I’d say definitely go for it.

If you can afford to stay in the Disneyland Hotel then that’s always my advice during the buggy/daytime nap ages. Less than 5 minutes between being in the park and your room so nothing feels like hard work.

We went earlier this year with a just turned 5 year old and a 2 year old.

They absolutely loved the whole experience. We kept an eye on wait times in the app so never waited in any queue for more than half an hour, so they were able to handle the queuing. We did stay up late for the light show one night, 2 year old was asleep in pushchair but 5 year old was mesmerised. Talking of which, we took our larger pushchair with buggy board so it meant they didn’t get tired with all the walking.

Can’t wait to take them back when they’re a little older and can appreciate it more. But agree, if you plan to go back then it’s the perfect age. If it’s the only time you’ll go, then wait until they’re older and will remember.

This is exactly what we did, including the driving, and we stayed at Newport Bay. Very handy to be walking distance and to be able to come and go without too much stress. The magic hour in the morning was very helpful as it meant we went on the rides that always had an hour queue time after a very short wait!

We have been to Disney in Paris and Florida several times
First time DC were 4 and 5 and in some ways that was the best time when they really believed in it all
I I would definitely go for it

Hi OP, I haven’t been yet so can’t answer a lot of the questions that you’ve asked but I have booked it and ended up with a brilliant deal so thought I’d share.

My partner and I are going for three nights in December with our one year old and nearly three year old who will turn three the day we return home. We’ve booked for three nights in December and have gone for an Airbnb which is a 15 minute walk to the park (loads of beautiful Airbnbs in Serris which is close to the park and the airport), and got flights through Sky Scanner which came out at £300, they’re brilliant times as well from our local airport. As our children are under three we haven’t paid for park tickets for them and booked the tickets through Attractiontix. The whole three night break has come out at £925 for the four of us.

Also to add, both I and my partner know a few different people who have done Disney Land with two very small children and had a lovely time as there is a lot there geared towards younger children. We’ve avoided school holidays as well so not anticipating big groups of older children or teenagers!

I took my then 3&5 yo boys in February half term years ago. It was very cold , the queues were still significant although obvs worse in summer. They liked the rides but there was nowhere inside to get food/drink or warm up. One day there was enough and our day in Paris (Eiffel tower, Bateau Mouche) was much more successful. We’ve never been back (and we spend a lot of time in France).

If you’re into Disney I’d avoid cold months.

Thank you so much everyone!

Moonmin land sounds incredible also. Will look into this and compare and contrast.

Really, really appreciate the insights!

Took mine to Florida at that age and they loved it but don’t remember really, I think it’s fine for couple of days but take (or rent) a double buggy!

Oooo I want to go to moomin land now, I was only 30 minutes away in the summer but didn’t know about it! Next visit.

Finland is great for families more generally, we are going by car next time sailing from Stockholm one way and directly to Germany the other

It's lovely. Very manageable with little dc and there is a real beach for just chilling out and offsetting the theme park feel. Though tbh it is much, much more low key in terms of queues etc and the characters are infinitely more interactive and attentive, which the smaller dc enjoy.

No roller coasters, but at age 2 and 5 you don't want that. That can all wait a year or three!

It might be Moominworld if you are googling! Or Muumimaailma!

The other thing I would say is that I think unless you are a huge Moomin adult fan, this is a real grasp the moment kind of place. By about 7 I think the window has kind of closed unless they are really fond of the books. Disney will be there for many years yet as a family destination.

If this isn’t a once in a lifetime holiday, then go for it. I have family near a Disneyland park and we go almost every year. With a 2 year old, you probably won’t stay the whole day. But you don’t have to cram everything in. Just do what you enjoy. For Paris, definitely stay on site. We did sequoia last year, with the golden forest club that included an afternoon tea buffet. I would recommend that for little ones so you can head back and eat and rest. We also booked a couple of buffets.

If you want to combine it into a longer summer holiday, have a look at village nature. It’s a Center Parcs site in Paris. It’s at the same motor junction as Disneyland. I found it great to relax after a couple of busy days in the theme park.

I wouldn't go when they're so young. We went when DD was 6 and DS was 3. Neither remember it, it was all horribly stressful and we ended up leaving a bit early.

I am definitively not a Disney person though, other people seem to enjoy it. All our photos are of us looking shattered and defeated.

Exactly my thoughts! We went when my kids were 6 and 4 and I still think it’s too young. We only went because we were in the area and probably will never go again. The queues, the food, the crowd absolutely awful to navigate with small children. We did pay for the lighting pass but still it wasn’t easy to go on rides. They did have a good time but like you say there are better places to take young children. Unless you’re not doing it for the children but for yourself 😆 plenty of adults obsessed with Disney

This wont be a popular response as posted a similiar one last year on this topic. We once took our A level students to this disney land for an animation conference and had access to the whole place. accomodation was poor, thin walls and heard every sound, dated and needed repairs, beds awful. food awful and very expensive....A Princess cheese burger for £15..A mickey mouse coke for £5...etc....rude and aggressive security who checked bags. we spent most days outside for food and drink. And everyone looked so so miserable that we joked that they should put ecstasy or mdma in the drinking water.