We booked family trip to Disneyland Paris during the October school holidays and had a wonderful time. It’s funny but I started reading about the history of Disneyland Paris when I got back and was shocked to see that it struggled when it first opened with low attendance figures – amazing to think when it was heaving while we were there.
Apparently one of the reasons for its slow uptake was the name. Originally launched as EuroDisney, this was seen as a negative name. For Europeans the word Euro is a term associated with business, currency and commerce and not with the fun and excitement of a theme park. Euro was dropped in 1995 and Disneyland Paris was born. The power of words never fails to astound me!
Anyway, I though I would put down some top tips for anyone planning to visit Disneyland Paris in the not too distant future.
Coffee - You can’t get a decent cup of coffee for love nor money so if you need a certain amount of caffeine to get you going on a morning, you might need to think again.
Cost - You can pay up to €9 for a pint of beer and €17 for burger and chips (which is simply glorified McDonalds). At today’s exchange rates it becomes an expensive do. We took some basics with us to help combat the food costs.
Location - Choose your location well. We booked a self-catering hotel on the outskirts of Disneyland in a town called Serris. The hotel was next door to a huge shopping mall that had a great supermarket and it provided a free shuttle to the Disney parks.
Footwear - Long days especially if you go over a special themed event such as Halloween. We spent over 14 hours on one particular day in the parks. Although the kids had a great time, my feet were not so sure.
Length - For us 3 days was enough. We actually went for 4 nights, 5 full days but we were ready for home after 3 days.
Travel - Check out flights versus train. The flight time is approximately 1 hour and we flew from a local airport so no trip to London. It also worked out cheaper to fly!
Shows - Watch them all. You’ll be pleasantly surprised as each one is different and they all offer some form of excitement – even the ones for the younger children.
Plan, Plan, Plan - The big rides offer a Fast Pass facility so you can book a slot to ride. The kid’s rides don’t and often have the biggest queues. We found it best to get there early and jump straight on to the younger children’s rides before the queues started to form.
And finally,
French culture - It definitely takes some getting used to. Queue is not a word they seem to understand!
I hope this gives you some tips and you enjoy your time at Disneyland Paris, we certainly did.
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