We’re recently back from a brilliant day in Disneyland Paris. It was part of a 4 day / 3 night trip to France, which I’ve detailed on my Substack. Whilst we only had a 1 day entry for Disneyland Paris, we had lunch on our first day at The Rainforest Cafe in Disney Village (more details here) and stopped by the massive Disney store in the Village on our last day for a souvenir, meaning we gave the whole holiday a strong Disney vibe with just 1 days entry cost. Like I say, you can read all about our trip, accommodation, transport and logistics here. I’ve also written about what we bought in advance to save money at actual Disneyland.
So I’ll pick this up where that article leaves off - which is that we arrived at the gates to Disneyland at 9:15am and queued until the gates opened at 9:30am. The photo below shows you how busy it was at that time - as you can see, we weren’t too far from the front of the queue.
Before you go to Disneyland Paris, do make sure you download the official app and familiarise yourself with it. You can set up your tickets, which I did as a back up, but I took print outs too because I wanted to save phone battery on the day. (I did notice a battery charging room in Discovery Land, at one of the exits of the Videopolis Theatre.)
The app is great though for having a map you can scroll around, that can give you directions from where you are to where you want to be, and for checking queue times - that was what we used it for mostly. It also tells you if a ride is suddenly closed - which I’d read on another blog can happen with no notice sometimes. I don’t know what happens if you’re in the queue at this point - I think you just need to leave (or wait until it re-opens which could be hours), which is gutting if you’ve waited for ages.
Queuing jumping in Disneyland Paris
You can also use the app to buy a queue jump for a particular ride.
There are 2 ways to skip the queue in Disneyland Paris - you can get a Disney Premier Access Ultimate pass, or a Disney Premier Access One pass. The Ultimate lets you skip the queue on a selection of rides, once per day - so you can skip multiple queues, but only once per ride per day. You can use it any time during the day. The One pass lets you buy a queue jump for a specific ride, to use once at a specific time. Prices for these vary during the day - based on popularity I guess - but it means you can just “pay as you go” if there’s something you really want to go on and the queue is massive. You can buy these via the app whilst you’re going around the park. These passes don’t work on ALL the rides, so check the app to see what they work on.
If you stay in a Disney hotel you also get an hour early access before the park opens to the public - but be wise with how you use that hour and don’t waste it queuing on something you’ll be able to skip later if you also have a Premier Access pass - head for the rides you can’t skip later.
Starting our day at Disneyland Paris
As we were there at opening, we walked into the park and the main man himself - Mickey Mouse - was on a balcony over the entrance waving to everyone. It was a lovely way to start the day and got the littlest of our party very excited!
We headed straight to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle - partly because it’s a big landmark, but also because I had read the view was good from the balcony and I thought it’d help us get our bearings. We left the push chair at the bottom of the stairs (be prepared to leave your push chair a lot) and went up to see various scenes from Sleeping Beauty depicted as you walk around a round room to get to the balcony. To be honest, we weren’t overawed by the view. Maybe the sky was still grey, but there were some boring roofs and a bit of construction… maybe we were just trying to get our bearings and not quite in the right headspace yet, but we found the view from the Queen of Heart’s tower in the Alice in Wonderland Maze much prettier.
Next we headed under the castle to see the Dragon (La Tanière du Dragon). I’ve been to Disneyland Paris before - many, many moons ago - and never even knew the dragon was there, but I’d read it was a “must see” this time. It’s apparently Disney’s biggest animatronic model and it’s very impressive. You can literally just walk around the side of the castle (to the left, if you look at the castle with the park beyond the castle, the entrance behind you) or we went via a little glass blowers shop at the bottom of the castle. My 6 year old and 2 year old were quite scared! So I didn’t fully take it in, but it is really good and worth a look. There was no queue - you just walk into it.
Next we walked past the traditional horses carousel and the flying Dumbos - much to our 6 year old’s dismay - because we figured we could do these anywhere. But later in the afternoon she was still asking so we did them then and the Dumbos were her favourite ride of the day!
The next thing we headed to was the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Adventure Land. Once we’d done it, I remembered doing it years ago and it’s definitely one to head to. Somehow we lucked out and pretty much walked straight on, whereas the queuing area is designed to hold a very long queue. There are signs that you could get wet, so we put coats on but we needn’t have bothered - I just didn’t want little people getting wet first thing in the day. The bench seats you sit on were a little wet so my husband got a wet bottom regardless of his coat so perhaps watch where you sit / have a long enough poncho you can sit on it. I’d heard from some Disney pro’s that this Pirates ride was better than any other Pirates of the Caribbean ride at other Disney Lands - and it is really good! It’s on such a massive scale, it was a really impressive way to pretty much start our day. It’s quite a long ride compared to others (as in, 5 minutes or so probably rather than 1) and there is just so much to look at! You’re in a little boat but in a procession of them - so like a roller coaster carriage but on water, with a bar over your lap but bench seats which you could fit 3 adults on. I sat with our 2 year old and 6 year old, and my husband and 10 year old sat immediately behind us in the same “carriage” - they’re always really good at ensuring you sit together as a family. There was a section where we suddenly went up hill, for quite a way - which worried my husband and I as we were concerned about the little ones suddenly flying out of the boat as we shot down the other side of whatever hill we were climbing - but we needn’t have worried as whilst there are 2 short sharp drops, they’re not scary and they’re quite short. At one point I noticed a flash ahead of us and realised it would be people having their photo taken, and they want to take your photo when you’re pulling a funny face, so we held on tight and sure enough there was a drop - but it was fine! If I could, I’d do the ride again and enjoy it all the more this time because I wouldn’t be worrying about dropping someone on a water flume! (Although I knew as we didn’t have seat belts or harnesses, nothing would be very bad!)
Whilst we enjoyed it, our 6 year old and toddler found it very scary! Just because it’s life size manikins being pirates! They survived though and I’d take them on it again, just really explaining beforehand how the people are all models.
We then wandered around Adventure Land some more, although we didn’t really explore the other Pirate themed attractions as our 6 year old was done with Pirates! But we walked up the Family Robinson Tree House (La Cabane des Robinson) which was entertaining to look at. We didn’t bother even finding the Indiana Jones rollercoaster as at this point I didn’t think we’d want to do a roller coaster, and I’d heard it wasn’t great (but not great might have suited us if that meant it was a bit lame).
To be honest, the order of our day is a little hazy from that point on, but we did the following throughout the course of the day:
- La Tanière du Dragon - as above, the Dragon under the Castle.
- Pirates of the Carribean
- Sleeping Beauty Castle and La Galerie de la Belle au Bois dormant
- Le Passage Enchanté d’Aladdin - a walk through with models of scenes from Aladdin - nice enough way to spend 5 minutes.
- It’s a Small World - firm favourite with most of us - very child friendly, lots to look at, no queue, an absolute classic - one for absolutely all ages. The absolute “must do” of Disney Land.
- Peter Pan’s Flight - well regarded ride where you’re in a cart going over London and scenes from Peter Pan… I think we would have enjoyed it more if we hadn’t queued for 45 minutes for it (which we did because it’s well regarded and because I remembered liking it when I was younger). As it was, it wasn’t worth the wait. If we’d just walked on without waiting I think we would have thought it was better than Snow White and Pinnocio which are nearby and a similar idea.
- Autopia - this allowed our 6 year old (who was just tall enough) to drive me and her 2 year old brother around in a little car. Our 10 year old and my husband went in another car. So it’s fun and suitable for a wide range of ages.
- Alice’s Curious Labyrinth - this kept us all entertained for quite a while! (And had absolutely no queue.) We got some lovely photos of the park from the top of the Queen of Heart’s tower at the centre of the Labyrinth too.
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant - our 6 year old’s favourite ride of the entire park. She asked to go on it as soon as we arrived and I said no because it’s just dumbos going up and down and round and round and so it didn’t seem “different” enough to warrant using our Disney time on. But when we were still going strong after the early evening Parade, and there was only a 10 minute queue, we figured we might as well and she loved it. You control whether you go up and down (or stay up and down) - to be honest, when we went up, it was PLENTY high enough for me!! I timed the ride though and it was about (I think - I almost can’t remember now, sorry!) a minute and a half. So you might want to consider that if there’s a very long queue…. It was her favourite of the day though.
- Le Carrousel de Lancelot - classic horses carousel, another we did once the park got a bit quieter after the afternoon parade and we’d done everything else we were keen to.
- Star Wars™ Hyperspace Mountain (previously Space Mountain).... This one was a bit of an accident! We were stood near the entrance when people started to run towards it… I realised I had previously been closed but had just reopened so there was no queue. Our 10 year old was tempted but unsure and we said if he wanted to do it, now was the moment with no queue and we wouldn’t come back an hour later if he decided he did want to do it, just to queue for ages. So him and my husband did it, without really knowing anything about it other than it was a “big one” - and wow. He was quite pale when he came off! We found out afterwards it’s the only Disney Space Mountain which goes upside down - which is does 3 times, but because it’s in the pitch black you don’t really know what’s going on.
- Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast - this was good! And we only queued about 15 minutes (which doesn’t seem to bad in the grand scheme of things). Everything is very vibrant with UV lights and from your little car (which goes along a track) you can fire a “lazer gun” at targets. Your score is counted on a little screen in front of you so you could compete with friends or family in another car.
- Les Mystères du Nautilus - I think this was marked as one not to miss on the Disneyland Paris app, but to be honest, we were out of it again before we realised we’d done it. It’s just a walk through exhibit as if you’re going through a couple of rooms on an old fashioned submarine. There’s then one part with a big screen designed to look like a porthole / round window with a film of various underwater creatures playing so that it looks like you’re underwater and they’re swimming up to the window. So I guess it was interesting, and very nicely done, but it wasn’t as good as we were expecting for something tagged as a “must see”. But this tallies with something I read by a seasoned Disney-goer, which is that Paris is for the scenery and the artistry rather than for the thrills and rides.
- Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains - a little cart ride around the world of Snow White. Perfectly young child friendly from a carriage / safety point of view, but it’s done with vibrant UV lighting (like the Buzz style photos above) and so the Wicked Witch is a little scary. Our 2 year old learned the word “scary” at Disney - which he said during this ride, but after Pirates of the Caribbean he was basically saying it about everything. There is one effective (and scary) bit when you’re coming up behind the Queen looking in a mirror - and you see the Queen looking back at you in the mirror - but when the figure turns around to face you, she’s the little old lady who gives Snow White the apple.
- Les Voyages de Pinocchio - much like the Snow White ride and so again, slightly scary for little ones. We did this and Snow White pretty much back to back near the end of our visit as the queues weren’t too bad (10 mins or so).
- Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups - like Waltzers, but with a wheel in the middle so you can steer which direction you’re going in. The Waltzers is a favourite of mine so it was nice to be able to take the younger ones on.
- La Cabane des Robinson - as above.
Another day we might try:
- Thunder Mesa Riverboard Landing - this was closed when we wanted to do it.
- Big Thunder Mountain - after Space Mountain we were done with roller coasters, but our 6 year old (yes the one scared of Pirates) really wants to try this.
- Orbitron - this kinda looked like the Dumbo ride with a different theme so we didn’t bother this time but might another.
- Casey Jr.—le Petit Train du Cirque. This was closed during our trip, but if there was no queue I think the little ones would have enjoyed it.
- Le Pays des Contes de Fées - didn’t actually notice this, but a boat ride around Storybook Land sounds nice!
- Disneyland Railroad - I think this would be a good way of getting your bearings and seeing the whole park.
- Horse-Drawn Streetcars and Main Street Vehicles - the younger kids love horses so they’d like this.
- Pirates’ Beach and Frontierland Playground - we skipped “parks” because there was so much other stuff to do (and because we needed to get away from pirates) but these would be good fillers if you were there for more days.
- Indiana Jones™ and The Temple of Peril - I’ve heard this isn’t that good, but seeing’s the kids now claim to like roller coasters, we’d look into it.
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic - I heard the Mickey Show (which I assume this is) is really good and worth seeing, we just didn’t have time for everything!
Ones we’ll probably always skip:
- Princess Pavilion - I heard a friend queued here for 90 minutes, for a very brief chat and photo with a princess. Whereas we were happy enough just seeing the characters walking around the park. They don’t stop, but at least the kids see them and get a wave.
- Phantom Manor - I can’t decide about this one - I guess our eldest might want to do it if we went back in a couple of years. We decided - like all Haunted Houses - it’d either be so not scary it was rubbish, or so scary it was scary. But I think people do enjoy it.
There are a few other rides / attractions too - they’re all listed on this Disneyland Paris map (PDF).
Lion King show: Rhythms of the Pride Lands
Disneyland is just about rides, it’s also about shows and when we were there there was a Lion King show being performed several times a day. It took us a little while to find the Frontierland Theatre (because I took us in the wrong direction) so when we got there it was about 5 minutes before it started and they were urging anyone who wanted to catch the show to run. We got a seat to the side, but honestly, I think you’d get a great view from anywhere so unless you’re SUPER bothered I wouldn’t pay more for better seats. I’ve got photos below to show you the view if you rock up and squeeze in at literally the last minute like we did. There was a little boy though who needed the loo and they told him if he left he wouldn’t be able to come back in - so lots of tears but he decided he was desperate so him and his Dad had to leave, which was very sad! Moral of that story is go to the loo before the show if you’re likely to need it.
The show itself was a fast paced re-telling of the Lion King story - the show itself (which started 1 minute early by my watch, so they run a tight ship and you’re not waiting around) was 30 minutes long and included some fantastic singing and lots of acrobatics - by which I mean people on ribbons or bungees fastened to the ceiling. It didn’t have the same impressive abstract animal costumes as the official stage show (which I reviewed last year), and the emotional scene of Mufasa’s accident, but as my husband isn’t a huge fan of musical theatre (but I try to take him anyway), at 30 minutes long and for no extra cost than we’d already paid for our day I thought this was a very good substitute for the real musical stage show.
The Parade
I still know the words to the song they played during the parade when I first went to Disney about 25 years ago - but that’s possibly because my Grandma would have recorded it on a 90’s camcorder so maybe I heard the song a lot over the next couple of years. Whatever the reason, the first Disney parade I saw left a very lasting effect on me - so watching the parade this time was a MUST for me. I’m also a South Somerset and Bridgwater Carnival girl.
And the parade was good. I already can’t remember the song, so I’m not sure it was AS good as 25 years ago, but it was still very much worth seeing. Ends up I mostly did videos, so I've only got a few pics... check out the Activibees Insta for some Disneyland reels from our trip.
We walked past some of the route 2 hours before the Parade was due to begin and saw people sitting on their coats on the curbside waiting for it to start - and so I was a little worried as to whether we would see anything! There was no way we wanted to spend 2 hours of our single day waiting for the parade. Instead, after the Lion King show, we took the bold move (well, my husband did) of going for a coffee and a snack - and I managed to stay very relaxed about the timing, as everything had panned out well so far that day and I knew the parade floats would be tall so you could see them from a distance. As it was, we rocked up at 5:15pm before it was due to start at 5:30pm and got an almost front row view - there were just 2 kids and their mum sat on the curb in front of us. We lucked out - again - on not queuing or waiting. (A family next to us weren’t so lucky though as they’d been there longer and someone had come and stood on the road in front of them, and then they all got told by a Disney person to move back, so that was uncomfortable to watch.)
I’d read that taking a picnic blanket could be a good idea incase you wanted to sit down and rest / picnic at any point during the day. I’ve got a very small spacesaver picnic blanket and we’d taken it all the way to France and all around Disney so I kinda wanted to use it, but we hadn’t stopped anywhere! (Subscribe to my personal Substack if you want more details of my space saving bits and pieces as I’ve got a post coming up about it all.) It came in handy now though, as we were still 15 minutes waiting for the parade so it gave the kids something to sit on - and it ended up having the added benefit of stopping people encroaching on our space. As I’ve mentioned, I’m an experienced Carnivalite and whilst I’m the sort of person who will say sorry if you walk into me, I can nonetheless hold my ground waiting for a carnival. Whilst the crowd got a bit keener as we got closer to 5:30pm, I feel the (tiny) gaps between us and the kids would have gotten more filled in if we didn’t have this bright blue blanket kinda marking our territory. We weren’t taking up more space than we needed to - but having the front wheels of the 2 year old’s push chair on the same blue sheet that the 6 and 10 year old were then sat on centimetres in front, just kept us all together and stopped anyone pushing in between us.
The parade itself is a stream of giant floats with all your favourite Disney characters waving and dancing - the final float was Frozen and the characters all seemed very much in character.
Once the Parade was done, I do feel like we entered the “evening” stage of the day and as that was as long as I’d expected us to last, all the rides from then on were a bonus, so we went around doing the ones we (the adults) hadn’t been so bothered about earlier in the day.
Dusk
Unexpectedly, we got a 9:20pm bus home! We were actually done by 8:30pm but realised we wouldn’t get to the bus stop in time for an earlier bus so hung around looking in the Main Street shops (which we really hadn’t bothered with at any other time of the day) until it was time to walk to the bus.
If you can manage to stay until it starts to get dark, I would recommend it as all the lights come on and it’s very pretty. (Again, I'll post a reel on Insta soon.)
Disney fireworks and drone show
We didn’t make it until the fireworks or the drone show - both of which I’d love to see - because they don’t start until nearly 11pm and our troupe were far too young to last that long. But a top tip from a travel agent friend is that if you do go to the show, don’t go too close to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle - apparently people crowd to the front, but not only do you get a better view if you stand further back, but you can also get away straight afterwards when it’s finished, rather than wait for the crowds to ease.
Food and drink at Disneyland Paris
I’d heard that the food was poor but very expensive - so as we went with very low expectations we were pleasantly surprised! I think it’s possible the “fine dining” options which are a let down, and you go for the restaurant decor rather than the food - but we were interested in using up time in restaurants.
We took a picnic, but we ate most of that by mid morning. At around 1pm we found ourselves in a rain shower outside a large restaurant-come-cinema in Discoveryland called Cafe Hyperion (between the Buzz Lightyear ride and Hyperspace Mountain). Here the 2 bigger kids each got a chicken burger (which was a chicken breast, not a burger) in a bun with salad garnish, and a portion of chips, a mini Magnum each, my husband got a big chicken burger and fries, and I got a really nice salad (with “grains” - bulgar wheat I think) and we each got a drink and a milk for the toddler - who was asleep at this stage so didn’t get any food (as I had plenty of pouches for him anyway) for around €45, so £38. Plenty for “fast food”, but it was genuinely nice and really refuelled us - and wasn’t as horribly expensive as we expected it might be. The restaurant - as it was also a cinema - had absolutely stacks of seating, on tiers, so we had loads of room and the acoustics of the room meant that actually, it didn’t feel busy or noisy so we could just sit and recharge whilst the toddler took a perfectly timed nap.
After the Lion King we stopped at another large restaurant, the Cowboy Cookout Barbecue - which was again effectively fast food - and bought everyone a drink and a couple of chocolate brownies to share between us. I can’t remember the total but they were pre-packaged brownies for somewhere between €3 - €5 so not overly shocking for any theme park. And this ended up being another really good opportunity - in a relatively quiet spaced out setting - to refuel and is probably how we kept going so long and kept everyone in good spirits all day. Often we don’t buy stuff when we’re out, but keeping everything fuelled does make such a difference.
Finally, as we were almost ready to leave, we bought a very large €6 euro tub of pop corn to share as the kids really wanted one and there were lots of pop corn carts around. One final little sugar burst probably got us over the line.
DIsneyland in a day
So there we have it! Pretty much all I can think of to say about our day in Disneyland Paris! If you’ve got any other questions or tips you’d like to share, please do come and comment on my Disneyland reel.
