Ultimate Guide to Disneyland Paris for Americans

We just got back from a week-long trip in Paris! We split our time on this trip, with 4 nights in the city of Paris and 3 nights at Disneyland Paris. I have so much content planned to share with you all about this trip, from Instagram content to vlogs (the first one is out) and even blog posts. But first off, this blog post is the Ultimate Guide to Disneyland Paris for Americans!

Stay tuned for more content about Disneyland Paris and the city soon – sign up for my email list at the bottom of the page to stay in the know!

Let me start off by saying I am by no means a Disneyland Paris expert! However, I did want to offer my tips and tricks as an American who is super familiar with Disney World (AP/DVC/multiple trips a year). So much content out there about DLP is made by non-Americans, so I thought it may be helpful to give my insight and what I think are must-do’s and helpful tips.

1. Stay in a Disneyland Paris Property Hotel

As someone who would never go to Disney World and not stay on property, I would say this rule also applies at DLP! I’ve heard of so many people commuting in from the city for the day and I would not recommend that whatsoever. Not only will you not have enough time in the parks, it’ll be a hassle time-wise and you’ll miss out on great perks!

Disneyland Paris-owned hotel guests get an extra hour in the park each morning. This served as crucial time for us (even during the slow season) to get multiple rides done that typically have long waits during the day. Plus, Disneyland’s resorts are all physically close to the parks, and the parks don’t open super early (depending on the time of year) so coming in early wasn’t a 5am wake-up call like it can be at Disney World.

The hotels on property also have easy walking access to the parks. If you want to be basically inside of the park, stay at Disneyland Hotel. If you want a short walk, stay at Newport Bay Club (where we stayed) or Hotel New York. Other on-property resorts will be a longer walk, but still get you the perks of staying on property!

There are also buses to/from the parks, similar to Walt Disney World. We never took them personally, but if you have kids or mobility issues this may be the easier route!

2. You Need More Than 1 Day

So many places online said you only need a day at Disneyland Paris – boy were they wrong! We had 2.5 days in the parks and still hustled and didn’t even see/do everything. Plus, considering many things were down for renovation and queues were short, we had some advantages time-wise.

If you are a Disney fan like me and want to soak it all in, I’d recommend 3 full days in the parks. You may even want a 4th day if you’re coming during the summer! While you can’t expect to see and experience everything, if this is a bucket list trip for you, do it right and don’t rush yourself.

3. Buy The Guaranteed Access

One thing we “splurged” on for our trip was opting to purchase the guaranteed access for shows, parades, and fireworks. While we didn’t end up purchasing any Premier Access (fast passes), we are glad we opted for the guaranteed access for shows.

Guaranteed access allows you to enter the theater before the stand-by queue and you only have to be there ~20 minutes before the show starts. While you won’t be promised the *best* seat, you are promised to get in. Please note that the handicap section will enter before guaranteed access – and A LOT of people use handicap access at Disneyland Paris.

We saw two shows during our trip (the only two that were currently performing) – TOGETHER: a Pixar Musical Adventure and The Lion King: Rhythms of the Pride Lands. We LOVED the Pixar show – a must-do! The Lion King was just okay (Festival of The Lion King is better). For these shows especially, unless you want to line up 1 hour before the show starts, I would recommend the guaranteed access. Plus, with the stand-by queue you are not promised entry, and trust me, the theaters filled up quick! Even with being there during off season, they still cut off entry because they reached capacity.

As for the fireworks and parade, while they aren’t a “must” like they are for the stage shows, I’d highly recommend the reserved viewing areas for the low price they cost. For the parade, we were able to view it right in front of the castle (the characters will often get off of the floats in this area, weather permitting). And for the fireworks we were able to not be shoulder-to-shoulder and be right in front of the castle. We personally don’t like waiting around for parades/fireworks, so being able to show up shortly before and still have a great spot was a draw for us!

For the entire trip we spent around $125 for guaranteed access/reserved spots to these four shows for the both of us.

4. Don’t Expect Much From the Food

If you’re a Disney nerd, you may have heard that Disneyland Paris’ food is nothing to call home about. And this would be correct! The best meal we had at Disneyland was at Walt’s Restaurant – which I’d highly recommend.

If you or someone in your party has a food allergy or make-or-break preference, I would do some extreme research first. Vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free meals aren’t as easily accessible in France as they are in the USA. While Disneyland Paris is much more accessible in that way compared to the city, just know your options will be limited.

One quick tip is if you’re at a sit-down restaurant at Disneyland Paris (or anywhere in France), if you want water to drink and don’t want bottled water, ask for a carafe. They’ll typically offer you still or sparkling, both of which will cost you money. A carafe will just be tap water – which is completely safe to drink in France and tastes better than Florida water (IYKYK).

5. Cultural Differences To Be Aware Of

There are obviously going to be cultural differences that we aren’t used to when going to another country. Before we went, I did a decent amount of research and overall felt pretty prepared. But there were certain things I was unaware of until we arrived and experienced for ourselves.

In the restrooms at Disneyland Paris, there may be both male or female cleaning staff in the opposite gender bathroom. I was not aware of this and was unsure if I was “supposed” to be in the bathroom at that time. However, they don’t close the bathrooms for cleaning even if the Cast Member is not the same gender as the bathroom being cleaned.

We did bring water bottles to refill (which I’d recommend) but I wasn’t aware many of the water bottle refill stations would be in the restrooms. Sinks will be labeled if it is a good to get drinking water from. While hotels do have filter stations in the lobby, in the parks you refill water mainly the bathroom sinks.

All utensils will be reusable at quick-service restaurants. This includes plates, cutlery, and cups. There are no straws either – not even paper. So if you want to take things to-go or need certain utensils, I’d bring them with you!

Also remember that there are people from so many countries at this park at any given time. The diversity here for clientele is crazy compared to the U.S. parks. While we were there, it was probably 25% French, <1% American, and everyone else was from other parts of Europe or Asia. That being said, other guests will obviously act differently depending on what is normal in their country. And as Americans these things can often seem rude to us – cutting in line, invading personal space, etc. While we see this sometimes at Disney World too, this is the norm there and you experience it almost constantly. So just be prepared for that!

6. Schedule Transportation Prior To Your Trip

There are a few ways you can get to Disneyland Paris from the airport or the city and back. We used two different services, Paris Disney Transfers (private car) and Magical Shuttle (bus, think Magical Express/Mears Connect).

We used the private car service when arriving, and were picked up at our hotel in the city. This was a great service that I’d certainly use again! The driver was friendly, and was even early for our pick-up. I felt that it was a super fair price. And it was nice that it was direct to your hotel and you didn’t have to wait on other guests. We got a van to be safe on space for our luggage. A van can hold up to 6 people.

We used The Magical Shuttle on our way to the airport and overall it worked out just fine. However, you do not have an assigned time to board, so there is the chance the bus will be too full to accommodate your party. We did not have this issue, but just something to be aware of.

Even if you have 2-3 people, I’d recommend the private car because price-wise it works out to be pretty similar for less hassle.

There is also a train at Disney Village (Disney Springs) that you can take to the airport or to the city. Personally, I wouldn’t want to take my luggage on the metro due to high-risk of pickpockets, and sometimes there is only standing room. If you have kids with you, it could be tricky to take the train/metro as well. So personally, I’d take either the bus or private car.

7. Take Advantage of VAT Refunds for Disneyland Merchandise

I won’t go into the in and outs of VAT refunds on this post. Mainly because I still don’t fully understand it. However, going into the trip we weren’t aware that we could get a VAT refund on the combination of our Disneyland Paris purchases. Typically, to qualify for a refund a purchase has to be over €100 on the receipt. While at Disneyland you may not always have a purchase over the €100 mark, your merchandise purchases accumulated will likely be over!

You can easily download the SkipTax app and scan all of your receipts and it essentially adds the purchases together! That way you’re eligible for that VAT refund. If you are at Disneyland Paris for longer than 3 days, you’ll have to scan those receipts separately. But all this means is that you’ll have an additional barcode to scan at the airport before leaving the EU.

Trust me, it’s not as complex as it sounds and can save you a ton of money!

8. Research Your Credit Card Thoroughly

When traveling out of the country it’s common practice to do your research on your banks and cards. We thought we did our due diligence but still ended up with some roadblocks and fees. Our Disney Visa ended up racking up transaction fees. And we were shocked when our Discover card didn’t work in most of France (but thankfully worked in Disneyland).

So when in doubt, call your bank and make sure you’re well-informed!

9. No Need to Know French

Unlike in the city of Paris, at Disneyland Paris most Cast Members will speak to you in English before they speak to you in French. There are people from so many countries there: Italy, England, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, China, Japan and more. English is moreso the standard there because of this. Even the shows are 50/50 French and English.

I always recommend saying “bonjour,” “merci,” etc. But if you know nothing else you will be 1000% okay. We even saw guests that spoke neither English or French. If they can get around fine, so can you!

10. Remember You Aren’t at an American Disney Park

I somewhat touched on some of this in #5. But just remember you are not in an American or Asian Disney Park! Cast Members aren’t always smiley or happy to help like they are in the states. I had been told prior to the trip that Cast Members at Disneyland Paris are often even ruder than the people of Paris itself (which as Americans we’re told are cold) – and I agree. While we met a small handful of friendly-ish CMs, most are just there to do their job and go home.

In the U.S. parks, we are so used to always being able to easily find a Cast Member! However, at Disneyland Paris there would be times we would walk through a whole land without seeing one Cast Member. Additionally, if you need help or assistance with anything, you will need to ask! The majority of the time, no one will approach you asking if you need help with something (this includes in stores and restaurants).

I would also say, expect for DLP to be a bit more “dated” or “run down” than the U.S. parks. Many cleanliness and infrastructure standards they have at Disney World are not the same as there. There are a lot of cracks in the concrete, some things could really use a power wash, etc. And honestly many bathrooms were not nearly as clean as we see at Disney World.