Top 10 Things to Know Before Visiting Disneyland Paris
#1 - A Lot of the Traditional Disney Rides are Different at Disneyland Paris
Part of the beauty of visiting Disney parks is that they’re each unique and different from one another. Since the culture in France is different from American culture, it makes sense that the stories behind the rides are altered a bit. For example, in the US, we have the Haunted Mansion. In Paris, it is Phantom Manor. I won’t spoil the stories behind the rides, so I’ll leave that for you to research. There is also a very cool story connection between Phantom Manor and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad that the other parks simply don’t have (and the rides are longer). Oh, and Space Mountain is actually Hyperspace Mountain in Paris. It has an absolutely stunning Jules Verne-style aesthetic that does not exist at any other park.
That being said, there are some attractions that don’t exist at Disneyland Paris, such as Jungle Cruise, the Tiki Room, and Splash Mountain, so don’t expect to find those attractions here.
#2 - The Food Isn’t Spectacular at Disneyland Paris
Paris is practically the food capital of the world. So, it’s very strange that the food in the parks are considered some of the worst at any Disney park. I found it interesting to hear from my friend along with doing a lot of research that the food is just mediocre. There are some decent spots in the parks, such as Restaurant Agrabah Café and Captain Jack’s, but that was about it. There weren’t many unique treats that wowed us, so we recommend bringing your own snacks into the parks with you. It’ll save you some time and money. I believe that someday Disneyland Paris will step up their food game like Disney World has done (Disney World didn’t have great food until the past 10-15 years).
#3 - Disney Village is TINY
Downtown Disney… sorry… I meant Disney Springs (I’m an early 2000’s kid) is like a whole other theme park in and of itself. You could get lost and spend all day at Disney Springs near Disney World. Disney Village in Paris is very different - you could spend about 30 minutes and feel like you’ve seen everything. There’s a few shops, restaurants, a hot air balloon, a cinema, and that’s about it. Most people spend their time to either grab a better meal away from the crowds, leave for the train station, or walk back to their hotels. There’s really no other reason to go or to stay for a while.
#4 - Walt Disney Studios Park is Under Major Renovations
The second park, Walt Disney Studios, is under major renovations and is not expected to be complete until at least the end of 2025. If we know anything from Disney, it’s that things usually take much longer than expected, so anticipate it to take longer than 2025 for the park to go back to normal. We found it quite annoying how the park felt like a maze of construction. It’s a very small park in general, but it felt tiny with all of the construction around us. There isn’t much to do once you’ve hit a few of the major attractions, like the Tower of Terror, Avengers Campus (very small), and Crush’s Coaster.
#5 - You Realistically Need 2 Days at Disneyland Paris
As I mentioned above, Walt Disney Studios is very small, regardless of the renovations taking place. Normally for a Disney trip to Disney World, you’ll realistically need at least a week to experience the parks. Disney World is practically the size of Manhattan in New York City. Disneyland Paris does not have the space or attractions that Disney World has. It really is more of a weekend getaway. You could spend a full day at Disneyland Paris and a half day at Walt Disney Studios. That’s even with bigger crowds. Most people find 2 days to be sufficient for Disneyland Paris.
#6 - Download the Disneyland Paris App
Each Disney park has its own app. The Disney World app will not work for Disneyland Paris and vice versa. Just download the Disneyland Paris app on your phone and you can purchase tickets, reserve Premier Access and restaurants, and check attraction wait times. Unfortunately, you will be glued to your phone to check on these things, as is the Disney vacation norm. Without the app, you’ll be left in the dark on most of the essential Disney experiences.
#7 - Bring Those Chargers
Like mentioned above, you’ll be on your phone for much of the day, so you’ll definitely want to bring some portable chargers to the parks. You can get these ahead of time outside the parks, or I believe there are some places within the parks for purchase. A good rule of thumb is to start charging once your phone has hit about half of its battery. You’ll have all your tickets and reservations on your phone, so it’s best to keep it charging, otherwise you may not be admitted to your reservation.
#8 - Depending on When you Go, Premier Access May Not be Worth it
Disney Premier Access is essentially paying to jump the queues at the most popular attractions within the parks. It’s the Disneyland Paris version of Genie Plus and Lightning Lanes at some of the other parks. We went the end of May, which is considered moderate in crowds, but the queues for the rides were rarely bad. There were even moments we walked on some attractions and the Premier Access had a queue to wait in. Depending on when you go, it may just not be worth it to pay extra to skip the lines. Plus, some of the magic is waiting in the queues and seeing all the Easter eggs. You don’t get that if you’re running through a line to jump on a ride. Plus, a Disney trip is already expensive. Adding Premier Access can just add more to the unnecessary cost.
#9 - It’s Most Likely Going to Be Cooler Weather Than the Parks in the USA
This is a no-brainer when you consider the geography of France compared to Florida or California; however, even we were caught off guard. We were told that by May, things were going to warm up significantly and most people wear tank tops. That was not the case for us. I’ve never seen people wear sweaters and big coats during the end of May at any theme park. I have seen videos of people wearing larger coats in July and August in Disneyland Paris, so you’ll need to dress a little differently here compared to the parks in the US. Also, people dress a little nicer to the parks. You’re not seeing everyone wear basketball shorts and t-shirts. You’re seeing nicer clothing (sometimes questioning if they knew they were going to a theme park). Perhaps that’s just more of the French culture when you go to Disneyland Paris. It was honestly kind of nice to see people dress up slightly more formal to the parks.
#10 - Make Your Top Attractions the Priority of Your List
We went during what is considered busy season. There was a larger amount of crowds, but we did manage to get on nearly all the rides we wanted (without Premier Access) during our 2-day trip. Some rides, such as Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World, and Phantom Manor, were able to be ridden multiple times. That being said, everybody has their personal list of top must-do attractions when they visit a park. You should go during rope drop and run to the attraction you want to do the most first. For example, we wanted to go on Tower of Terror, so we ran to that attraction first and were among the first ones to ride it that day. As the day progressed, the wait times were between 45-120 minutes. The same thing happened with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This isn’t just a Disneyland Paris tip, but a tip for all theme parks at Disney.
