Omry Abroad

Disneyland Paris (or in its old name – Eurodisney) is the largest theme park in Europe. In 2019, almost 15 million people visited it, and the area of the entire site is like that of a medium-sized city. Inside it there are two parks, a shopping and food area, a hotel complex and more. It was established thirty years ago, and its facilities are constantly renewed.

It is one of the most outstanding and excellent resorts I have been to, and there is a charm there that is not found anywhere else. It is a perfect place for a magical vacation of a few days, or as part of a longer trip in Europe. I personally have been to the Disney parks 6 times, 4 of them in Paris. I went there with my family as a child, and I also returned as an adult, and each time I enjoyed myself as only Disney can. So after planning enough trips there, I’ve summarized here everything you need to know about Disneyland Paris.

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What can you do at Disneyland Paris?

First of all – enjoy. Disney invests a lot of thought, so that we concentrate only on the things that are important to us (that is, to go over a lot of facilities) and not on logistics matters, for example.

Walt Disney’s idea was to create a place where we could step right into our favorite movies. Therefore, in Disneyland Paris there are a lot of attractions of types that are not found anywhere else. Starting with very non-standard roller coasters (more on that later), rides where you really get into the movie (such as walking in Snow White’s forest, sailing with Jack Sparrow and the Pirates of the Caribbean, flying in space with Star Wars and even entering the twilight zone), meeting characters and eat their food in restaurants. Besides, there are also really cool shops, cute parades, crazy shows and even some cool bars.

Contrary to what one might think, Disneyland is not just a theme park, but a whole vacation complex. Along with very expensive and experiential hotels, a complex of very tasty restaurants, and even cinemas, pools and a golf course.

Where is Disneyland Paris located?

Despite the name, not exactly in Paris. The complex is in a suburb of Paris called Chessy, a little less than an hour by train from the center of Paris. This means that it is possible to sleep in Paris and go to the park in the morning, but there are better options. It is also possible to sleep at Disney and go to visit the Eiffel Tower, but this is also not highly recommended. If you want to fully experience both Paris and Disney, you should sleep in Paris for a few nights and then move to Disney for a few nights. Disneyland is relatively close to CDG airport. You can read here about how to get there the easiest.

What parks are there in Disneyland?

Disneyland Paris is divided into two different parks. You can buy tickets for both together or for each separately. The bigger park is Disneyland Park, and the smaller one is Walt Disney Studios Park. Both are within a three minute walk from each other. There is a belief that the first is for smaller children and the second for older children (and children at heart), but this is absolutely not true.

Disneyland Park

The main and larger park. Inside you will find the famous castle, roller coasters, rides based on the beloved Disney movies, characters, restaurants and shops. It is divided into 5 countries:

Main Street, U.S.A. – The park entrance area. It’s a long street with lots of shops and restaurants, designed like a small town in the USA from the turn of the last century. There aren’t really any rides here, but you can take a lot of pictures with characters. Plus, all the parades go through this street. At the end of the street is the park’s main square, from All other countries can be reached.If you look towards the square you can see the famous castle.

Fantasyland – the land of all the classic stories and princesses. Along with many classic facilities such as carousels, you will find here the most facilities from all countries in the park. In addition, the Disney princesses live here, and here you can take pictures with them. We really like Snow White’s ride here.

Adventureland – from Mowgli’s jungles, Indiana Jones’ temple, through Captain Hook’s ship to the legendary Pirates of the Caribbean ride (did you know that the movie is based on this attraction, and not the other way around?). Along with the excellent restaurants here, you can spend a lot of time in this area.

Frontierland – Welcome to town. In the center is a huge lake and inside it is the island of the Thunder Mountain. Here you can ride a fast and winding mine train, visit a haunted mansion, and also see a Broadway-level musical of The Lion King.

Discoveryland – Want to fly into space? Just choose how. Star Wars, Buzz Lightyear, roller coasters, simulators and laser shooters. If I had to choose the best roller coaster in the world, it is undoubtedly the “HyperSpace Mountain” here, which underwent a redesign a few years ago.

Walt Disney Studios Park

This park is a little smaller, but with facilities that you simply must not miss. It is designed just like a Hollywood studio complex. It is indeed divided into areas, but it is a little less noticeable than the other park.

Avengers Campus – a new complex! A new area that Marvel fans must not miss. Next to a crazy roller coaster, you can fight with Spider-Man, eat unique foods and of course meet all the favorite characters. There are also many interesting and impressive shows in this area all the time. If you’re into it, we really recommend that you sleep in Marvel’s hotel as well. Please note that there is a limit on the number of people in the complex at any time, so you may have to wait in line at the entrance to the complex itself.

Toy Story Land – some really cute attractions that you can do together with Andy’s toys. The setting here is really cool, and it will make you feel like you are the size of a toy.

Ratatouille – you will visit a classic French square, and you can enter the kitchen of Remy and his friends and even eat in the famous restaurant from the movie.

Hollywood Tower Hotel – basically, it’s a bit like the “castle” of this park, and you can see it from a long distance. An accident took place in this impressive tower many years ago, and since then several ghosts have not left it. Not for the faint of heart, but this is a highly recommended attraction.

What is Disney Village?

Disney Village s the shopping, dining and entertainment complex located next to the park. It is located within the Disney area, but anyone can enter it at no extra charge.

First of all, there are excellent restaurants here at very affordable prices. We really like the Italian Vapiano, and Annet Dinner is also highly recommended.

Besides, here you can find the most worthwhile Disney stores. Almost everything that is in the park is also here (but not completely everything). Souvenir shops, clothes (and surprisingly – really beautiful), and even a Disney book and art store. There is also a cute Lego store, with (you guessed it…) lots of Disney Legos. Personally, we’ve been going for years with the shirts we bought there.

Where should you sleep in Disneyland Paris?

There are several considerations when choosing your accommodation – comfort, luxury and price. Obviously, the option that suits a young couple flying only to Disney is not the best option for a large family that ends the trip here. It is worth going through all the options, comparing prices, understanding the advantages of each of them. Basically, there are three options:

Disney hotels – if there’s one thing that Disney knows how to do, it’s to give a perfect experience, and there’s nothing like continuing that experience right up until the moment you close your eyes. Besides, the Disney hotels give their guests an extra hour in the morning, before everyone else enters the park. It is possible to finish all the attractions this way with the long waiting time. In terms of distance from the park – it’s super significant just after the show ends, when everyone is trying to get back to the hotel. It is also important to remember that the days at Disney are long and exhausting, and the Disney hotels absolutely help to get much more done. From experience – there is nothing better than a good shower to recover from one too many roller coasters… Read more about Disney Hotels.

Partner hotels – most of the hotels that are close to Disney have an agreement with them and work in cooperation with the parks. When you order them you can also order tickets included in the package, you will have shuttles from the hotel to Disney and more. It’s a little less than the experience and comfort, but the prices are a little more affordable. It can be suitable mainly for families for whom it is important to have an apartment with a kitchen or a living room.

AirB&B – there are trips where AirB&B is the best option, for example when sleeping in Paris. Not sure at Disney this is the case. In general, when you add the price of the tickets and trips to the park, you see that the difference between this and the other options sometimes turns out to be very small.

Are the parks busy?

Yes and no.

Yes, almost every day you come there will be tens of thousands of people in the parks. That in itself is a really impressive sight. No, because you don’t feel it. Disney are champions in this logistics, and do not cut corners. During rush hours, there are dozens of cast members who will direct you, and open secret paths to disperse congestion. If there is a queue at an entry gate, they will open more gates. During the hours when there are a lot of queues, there will also be parades and shows so that you have an alternative.

Besides, if you know how to do it properly, you can stand in lines of no more than 5-20 minutes at the facilities, or even less. After all, even waiting at Disney is an experience in itself. I can even tell you about attractions we didn’t want to go on, but we did go just to stand in line for it, and left straight away when we got to the entrance to the ride. The genius of Disney manages to turn even minutes of standing in line into pan and enthusiasm.

You may feel the rush in the afternoon, and especially at night after the show ends. For a change, precisely in these times when tens of thousands of people leave the park, Disney knows how to navigate everyone and save us human traffic jams and congestion on the paths.

Is Disneyland suitable for small children?

Yes! Although some of the roller coasters are suitable for children over 1.20 meters in height, and some for children over 1.02 in height, there are lots of cool attractions that are also suitable for smaller children.

Is Disneyland suitable for older children?

Probably! The ideal age for Disney is at the end of elementary-beginning of middle school, when you can get on all the extreme rides and roller coasters. If young couples have a lot to do at Disney, then of course children are getting older too…