AD/Press Trip.  During our stay at Les Villages Nature we had a full day at Disneyland Paris.  We had hopper tickets so could make the most of Walt Disney Studios Park too.

It was easy to get there.  Our resort was only 3.7 miles away.  You just catch the number 47 bus which runs frequently.  It costs 2 euros per person each way so was an inexpensive and stress-free way to get to the park.  We arrived bright and breezy just after 9am.

Naturally with it being a weekend in the run up to Christmas Disneyland Paris was quite busy.  But I still feel you can get a lot out of your visit with a bit of planning (and endurance, we stayed 12 hours!).  Just pick out the things you really want to do and then see what you can fit around those main priorities.

Most important for us was watching the Moteurs… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular and catching the Christmas parade.  Once you have your timings you can decide how best to get around everything else.  However try and give yourself some time just to take in the theming too, don’t be in such a rush you miss out on all those delightful details and photo opportunities you don’t need to queue for!

Disneyland Paris App

Download the free Disneyland Paris app before you arrive so you can find your way easily around the park and see estimated queue times.  You can then approach some of the smaller queue rides and quickly tick them off your list if you like to feel your making progress.

However, it was in the early evening we managed to get in the most rides.  Certain rides now had much shorter queues.  Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin which had been a 30-minute wait in the day became a walk on ride after it went dark.

RC Racer had a 50-minute queue earlier in the day but after 7pm I got on in 10 minutes.  Some rides had long queues all day, so if I had my time over, I would have liked to head straight to one of them at rope drop, like Crush’s Coaster.

FASTPASS

Make the most of FASTPASS but remember not all rides have them.  We had them for Ratatouille: The Adventure and Big Thunder Mountain.  I wish we had got more but we were still learning how best to approach the park!  You head to the ride to get your FASTPASS ticket time it’s not something you can do through the app.  The FASTPASS ticket you are given will let you know when you can get another one.  We started our day at the studios but most of the FASTPASS rides are in Disneyland Paris itself.

Lineberty app

Download the Lineberty app for the character meet and greets.  Arrive early and book in as many as you can!  We had two but didn’t understand quite how it worked, we missed our first one because it called us to the queue when we were already in the stunt show.  What we hadn’t realized is it gives you plenty of time to make your way over to that meet and greet.  So, you can finish off what you are doing then still head there.

Not all the characters are booked through the app we still saw Goofy below queuing in the regular way.  So, don’t panic if you haven’t got your head around everything straight away!  There will still be opportunities to meet the characters.

I thought we did reasonably well fitting in 11 rides, two parades, a stunt show and two character meet and greets.  But if I could redo our day with all I have learnt I bet we could have achieved even more.  The best advice is probably to arrive well rested as we walked 10 miles that day!  Plus, I wish we had lunch on the hop with us only have one day rather than a proper sit-down meal.  That would have freed up a bit more time.  Time is a precious commodity at Disneyland Paris they really have so many magical attractions and experiences you want to squeeze all you can out of each day!  Although I think I would be swayed to book a character meal as then you get the advantage of lots of lovely characters coming to your table.

Our Disneyland Paris Highlights

The Moteurs… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular was incredible!  I was so impressed with the set and the skill of the stuntmen.  The crowd was gasping in amazement watching the motorcycles and cars do remarkable stunts.  Not only was it entertaining it was very informative.  We learnt how some of the stunts were achieved.

The Christmas parade was mesmerizing.  The music, “snow” falling and enchanting festive procession brought a tear to my eye.  That feeling of finding your happy place will be a memory I hang on to forever.

Both our character meets were special.  They make such an effort with the children.  Whatever your age nothing beats a cuddle with one of the characters.  I love the little chat the boys had with Jack Skellington.  He was so engaging, and it really is a big reason to visit the park!

Our favourite rides were Ratatouille: The Adventure, Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop, Big Thunder Mountain (pictured below), Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast and Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain.

There was a good ride selection at Disneyland Paris to keep everyone in the family happy whether you’re a thrill seeker or prefer something tamer.  Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain surprised me as it went upside down a few times which pleased my eldest no end!

Disneyland Paris looked magical decorated for Christmas.  It’s worth spending a bit of time just soaking up the atmosphere and admiring all the decorations.  It’s even more magnificent at night.

I would love to return to Disneyland Paris.  I think we need more time to truly do it justice!  Disneyland Paris have some exciting developments ahead of them over the next few years too, so its a great time to visit. Next time we visit, I’d love to stay in some of the short stay accommodation in Paris as I’ve seen some incredible options that the family and I would love.

Thank you to Magic Breaks for providing our tickets and our Mickey and Minnie headbands.