If you are reading my posts on our visit to Disneyland Paris, you will know we had a fantastic time, but we also had some grumbles too.
- My biggest gripe with the whole park in general was that smoking is allowed – EVERYWHERE!! I suppose we are spoilt in the UK with the smoking ban, but I wasn’t prepared for the sheer amount of people who just lit up in front of us, whether waiting for a show, queuing for a ride or simply walking around the park. Isaac and Eliza are 2 and 5 and nearly got swiped with burning cigarettes a couple of times as people just didn’t seem aware of what they were doing with them. Being pregnant I am super sensitive to smells and the smell of cigarette smoke makes me wretch, so to find it so abundant was a real shock. We did see a couple of set areas for smokers to go, but the only people I saw using them were trying to make quiet calls on their mobile phones.
- Check European school holidays – especially the French. We took the kids out of school thinking as it was cheaper and we thought it would be quieter, but the French children were off on their Easter break and it was manic!
- Secondly, forget healthy eating. Food is theme park food – pretty much burgers, hotdogs, pizza, chips etc and it is bloomin expensive (think in the region of 70+ euro’s for our family of 5)! We did find a stall by the Indiana Jones ride selling fresh apples and banana’s, but you had to get there early as they were all gone by lunchtime. You are provided with some fruit (notably NOT banana’s) for breakfast, but you are not supposed to take food from the restaurant so take a bag in with you and discreetly smuggle some out as even snack food is expensive.
- If you go out of season be aware that many restaurants in the park will be closed. The kids were devastated that Pizza Planet wasn’t open as they had their heart set on eating there.
- If you have room, take water bottles / beakers and a bottle of squash. There are water fountains throughout the park that provide chilled fresh water to drink, so to save money we simply topped them up as and when we needed too. Do take a full bottle back to your hotel room for overnight too!
- If, like me, you are heavily pregnant, you will be entitled to a disabled pass which is an absolute godsend! I did feel a bit awkward at first having one, after all pregnancy is not an illness, however after queuing for over an hour to do a ride I soon saw the benefits as my feet were swollen and my back hurt. Having this pass entitles you and ONE other to join a ride at the exit, see the characters without having to queue and even jump the food queues in the restaurant. You simply see a member of staff for assistance! To get this pass you go to City Hall in the main square. Beware though, some of the rides that you think you are allowed to ride – you can’t!
- Fast Track passes are FREE, but you can only get one ride at a time. Not all rides have them – only the most popular, but they save a huge amount of queuing time! We found that Thunder Mountain was by far the busiest ride, so get there early to avoid the queues. Isaac’s favourite Buzz Lightyear ride also had this system and it did save a lot of pain but bizarrely Crush’s Coaster wasn’t included and we never saw the queue for it below an hour.
- Many rides have height restrictions so manage expectations before you go. I was also shocked at the amount of rides you are not allowed on whilst pregnant – Snow White, Pinocchio and Pirates of the Caribbean are a few!
- The main Disneyland Park opens it’s gates at 8am for hotel guests. Only Fantasy Land and Discoveryland are accessible until 10am, but it is a great chance to explore and do some of the smaller rides before it gets really busy.
- It sounds obvious, but get a guide. There is one for the shows and one for the park’s rides. Plan your day as you will get to see so much more. I highly recommend the parades, but get your place at least an hour before they start – Stars in their Cars in Walt Disney Studio’s and Disney Magic on Parade in the main Disneyland Park are worth seeing, as are the shows Animagique, The Stunt Spectacular, Playhouse Disney and Stitch Live!
- Not really a park tip, but your mobile phone data will be limited. There is free wifi in McDonald’s in the Disney Village or you can pay for wifi in your hotel room, but I stacked up my instagram photo’s and sent them all at the same time which helped save my allowance.
- If you can afford it, the character breakfast is brilliant. You get to meet 5 or 6 different characters without the queues in the park. They also do Princess ones if you have girls and Buffalo Bill’s Wildwest Show is absolutely spectacular!! If you are celebrating a birthday they will even provide you with a cake at the restaurant of your choice (it all costs extra though).
- If you want to eat, the best restaurants are in the Disney Village – just outside the two parks. The quietest time is between 6pm and 7pm as after that you get everyone wanting to eat after the parades have finished but before Disney Dreams starts. You need to be back in the park by 9.30pm to see that.
- The shops are full of the most gorgeous gift ideas that are so tempting, but also expensive. Give the kids a set spending limit otherwise it will end up costing a bomb!
If you are after more hints and tips, check out this post by Liz from The Mum Blog.
Totally agree Kara, amazing magical place but pretty sure the reason why Mickey has no teeth is they’ve fallen out from non stop fizzy drinks!
Great tips!
It’s a shame to read about the smoking (that would drive me crazy!) and the lack of healthier food and drinks. They seem to be getting a bit better at that in Florida and we found plenty of salads/veg and fruit options as well as alternatives to fizzy drinks (my kids hate fizzy drinks!), so hopefully Paris will start to follow suit.
Do they still have Cafe Mickey in the Disney Village? The characters used to come round to your table but I don’t know if they still do that?
Thanks for linking up with #100DaysOfDisney xx
I have heard about the level of smoking at DLP, although, when we went I can’t remember noticing it. It’s a shame that Disney doesn’t pick up on this and have only designated areas like the do in the US.
This is a great round-up of tips for the the novice going to Disneyland Paris, they are really helpful and highlight how you do really need to have some plans in motion for taking a trip there.
I knew to avoid the weekends because I’d read that most of Europe descend there!
Despite the grumbles, it’s good to know that you had a fab time!
Thank you for sharing this at the #100DaysOfDisney link party, you’re welcome to add more posts to it over the next 100 days!
Strange about the smoking thing, very typically French though! I don’t remember anyone smoking in the Florida park!? Still something fantastic for children though isn’t it? I don’t even mind the junk food for the odd day! 😀 #timetraveller
We went to DisneyLand a few years ago and loved it, its amazing how every country you visit you notice the smoking, I really notice it, and the boys cant get over it x
we’ve visited disneyland, Paris twice when the children were small and loved every minute of it and i hear what you’re saying about the price and choice of food, it hasn’t changed since my last trip in 2003
You must have been pregnant! I didn’t even realise the smoking thing although like you I am very sad that people can light up everywhere.
We went last summer for one day and loved it. I’d like to take the girls back soon as we only scraped the surface.
Nice tips and thanks for linking up to #TimeTraveller