A Comprehensive Guide to Paris Disneyland

With the numerous Disney parks around the world, Paris Disneyland often gets lost in the shuffle. Even though it was the second park built outside the US, there still isn’t a wealth of knowledge about it on the web. That’s why we’ve prepped this handy guide to help get you on the best rides, buy the best merch and eat the best food at Paris Disneyland.

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So here it is. Every trick and tip we know so you can get the most out of your Paris Disney experience.

A Quick Overview of the Paris Disney Parks

Paris Disneyland is separated into two Disney parks. There’s the Disneyland Park and the Walt Disney Studios park located just next door. Just like in Tokyo and Anaheim, visitors will have to purchase separate tickets or park-hoppers to visit both.

Disneyland is home to the majority of the rides and is modeled after the original Disneyland in Anaheim. That means there’s a Tomorrowland, Frontierland and Fantastyland, each home to their respective rides.

Walt Disney Studios is home to newer attractions based on more recent movies. You’ll find the Ratatouille and Remy’s restaurant here along with a small Pixar Land similar to California Adventure. Unlike California Adventure, you’ll find the original Hollywood Tower of Terror for anyone feeling nostalgic for the original.

Right off the bat, visitors should keep in mind that the Disneyland park is the main park. It’s bigger, there are more rides and there’s more to do. But the attractions and food at Walt Disney Studio is perfect for a half-day with a park-hopper.

How Much are Tickets to Paris Disneyland?

Tickets are available through the app or online ahead of time. Tickets are availble for specific dates or undated, but the latter does cost more. For the cheapest tickets, reserve your dates ahead of time and avoid peak season.

Unlike other Disney parks, the prices are set to a range from 80 EUR to 125 EUR depending on the season.

Direct ticket sales can be made through the Paris Disneyland app, at hotels, onsite at the theme park or online. Purchasing tickets at the theme park is a last ditch option as lines are massively long to enter the park. Trying to buy your tickets day of will not only make things harder, but might possibly result in not being able to go at all if they sell out for the day.

Where is Paris Disneyland?

Disneyland Paris is located in Marne-la-Vallee about 20 miles east of Paris. For visitors, it’s much better to stay at a hotel near the park rather than travel in from Paris proper.

• Address: Bd de Parc, 77700 Coupvray, France (Google Maps)

How Many Days Should We Spend at Paris Disneyland?

Oh, the big question! We’re big proponents of the 2-day Disney trip. We split our trip into one full day at the Disneyland Park and then a park-hopper day with the morning at Walt Disney Studio.

Disneytown (or Downtown Disney) is worth exploring for a morning or afternoon. There’s the World of Disney store which has a lot of merch you won’t find in the park (especially stuff from past seasons).

What Rides are Exclusive to Paris Disneyland?

Paris has a few exclusive rides (as of this moment) that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. The big one is the Phantom Manor which is a significant departure from the Haunted Mansion. The ride is themed to be much closer to a horror ride with a dark story that is apparent, even if you ride it only once. Of course, you’ll probably ride it at least twice. We did.

While it’s not a ride, Disneyland is home to La Taniere du Dragon under the Disneyland Castle. Here, you can come face to face with Maleficent in her dragon form. It’s a walkthrough attraction similar to the long gone Black Cauldron attraction in Tokyo. It’s a pretty amazing attraction and one that everyone should take advantage of.

Back over in Walt Disney Studio, the Avengers Assemble is a indoor rollercoaster similar to Space Mountain. There are mixed reviews of this ride online, but we loved it. The queue features a lot of cameos from Marvel characters (voiced and acted by the actual actors) but the story focuses on Captain Marvel and Iron Man protecting Earth from Kree missles. The ride is fast and effects heavy… and honestly, amazing.

Not to far away from the Avenger’s Assemble ride, there’s Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure which is available in the Walt Disney Studios park in the Pixar Land. While it’s not the only one in the world (it’s also at Disney World), it is only one of two which makes it a must-see when you come to the park. There is also a Cars ROAD TRIP which is a Disney take on the studio backlot tram ride at Universal Studios. It’s fun for kids and the line is incredibly short, but it’s an easy skip unless you’re a big fan of the movies.

Finally, we have a ride that’s not quite exclusive to Paris, but was more than different enough that it deserves a mention here. The Space Mountain in Paris is a similar Star Wars themed dark-ride we all love, but with a twist. The original ride was themed to be a carnival ride which means the exterior not to mention the ride layout is different. Just the beginning, which sees you shot out of a cannon, means you’re rocketing off from the start rather than having the slow climb up the track like you have in Anaheim.

Where Should We Stay?

There are the first-party official Disney hotels, but there are also the unofficial Disney hotels that still offer shuttle service to and from the park. As we were visiting with our loving little pup, we needed accomodations that allowed for dogs, the B&B Hotel Disneyland Paris. It is actually the furthest unofficial hotel from the park, but it’s also the first hotel stop on the shuttle.

What Should We Do at Paris Disneyland?

While there are plenty of rides to experience in the park, the Phantom Manor is, hands-down, the penultimate Haunted Mansion experience. It has a cohesive and understandable story, and its decor puts it head and shoulders above the original in Anaheim. And that’s coming from two fans of the original.

Feed Your Inner Shop-a-holic

There are a huge variety of shops, but we were a bit disappointed by the lack of “Paris Disney” exclusive merchandise. Also many of their spirit jerseys were completely sold out or were only stocked in one random size. That being said, Paris Disneyland has one of the best shops located just to the right of the Disneyland entrance. A shop dedicated to Mickey and Minnie Ears. After a thorough and exhaustive search of the park, we can confirm that almost all the ears in the park are located at this shop.

And, of course, we have to mention La Boutique Du Chateau, the secret Christmas shop located in Belle’s Castle. This is Paris Disneyland’s Christmas boutique where it is Christmas every day of the year. Personally, we like to buy a small ornament for our tree in every country we visit, so this fit the bill perfectly!

Snack on Delicious Eats

What Paris lacks in exclusive merch, it more than makes up for in food. In fact, we made a whole post of all the snacks we ate at Paris Disneyland. Check it out.

Every Disney foodie in the world should be making at least one trip to Paris Disneyland just to experience the food. For starters, there are the macarons on Mainstreet that aren’t available anywhere else in the world. And they’re only better with the champagne on Mainstreet which is also not available anywhere else in the world. Throw in the delicacies available at the food festivals in Pixar Land and there’s literally no end to the deliciousness in sight.

Table Service Restaurants

While there multiple restaurants to visit, there are two restaurants that are undeniably the most popular at this park: Auberge de Cendrillon and Bistrot Chez Remy.

Auberge de Cendrillon is the princess, character dining option. For the uninitiated, this is the Cinderella Inn and the entire restaurant is beautifully decked out in the Fantasyland motif. The cherry on top is the pumpkin carriage that Cinderella herself rides in the animated classic.

Bistrot Chez Remy is, of course, Remy’s restaurant from Ratatouille and it’s located in Walt Disney Studios Park, World of Pixar. The entirety of the interior is decorated to make you feel like you’ve shrunk down to the size of a mouse. It’s an amazingly fun experience for any fan of the Pixar film.

Both Auberge and Remy are table service and specialize in French cuisine. They are also nearly impossible to get reservations for. The easiest and best way is to stay at a Disney hotel which will offer you table reservations up to a year before your visit. Otherwise, reservations open up 3 months ahead for general admissions.

Enjoy a Walk Through the Park

By far, one of our favorite things to do at Paris Disneyland was to just walk around and take in the ambience. While La Taniere du Dragon is a show-stealer of a walkthrough, there is also the castle walkthrough and an Aladdin walkthrough that are both beautifully rendered. The stained-glass windows of the castle in particular are gorgeous to look at.

Outside, you have the Alice in Wonderland hedgemaze which is only more fun if you’ve had a glass of bubbly (which we did). The maze ends in the Queen of Heart’s castle which gives you a gorgeous view of the park.

There’s also Skull Rock from Peter Pan which is accompanied by Hook’s ship that’s lovingly brought to life in Frontierland. And the magical beauty of walking the streets of Paris outside Remy’s restaurant (and ride) in Pixar Land. But even if you’re not one for photos, it’s impossible not to take this epic one of Miguel by Casa de Coco.

Things to Watch Out for

While Disneyland Paris has its ups, it certainly has some downs. And the good far outweighs the bad, it’s good to keep somethings in mind so you’re not disappointed when you visit the park.

1. Like all Disney Parks, there are designated smoking areas. But, with the advent of vapes, it’s become very easy for people to take a quick puff anywhere in the park. And they do. Often. It’s basically just a part of the park and if you’re adverse to smoking, it’s best to mentally prepare yourself for it now.
2. I have never been to a Disney park as poorly stocked as Paris. Our first day in the park, we attempted to purchase some seasonal snacks in the Disneyland park only to be told they were sold out. At 1 PM in the afternoon. Then, we visited a shop on day 2 at 10 AM in the morning and were told that the food was never restocked. It’s hard not to be disappointed when food isn’t just sold out, it was never restocked to begin with.
3. Outside the rides, food and merch, the one thing that really makes a Disney park special is the Disney magic. And a huge part of that is brought to fruition through the cast members. The Paris Disney cast is about as far as you can get from the Disney magic at a Disney park. It was one part customer service, but it’s also one part noticing that most cast and crew are visibly less than pleased to be working.
4. The castle show at the end of the night requires planning. It is great, but people start sitting all along mainstreet hours before the show starts. And any time an hour before the show actually starts, don’t expect to have an easy time getting in and out of the crowd.