Last Updated on July 10, 2023
This past May we made our Disney dreams come true with our family’s first trip to Disneyland Paris. Disneyland Paris is the only Disney in Europe, located just outside of the city of Paris. While I have been to Disney in California and Florida, this was mine and JC’s first time at a Disney outside of the US. We decided to make it a pre-birthday celebration for Isabella, who turned three on June 1st. (FYI, kids under the age of three are FREE at Disney!!) My parents also joined us from the US for the momentous occasion. Read below for everything you need to know about how to plan a trip to Disneyland Paris with a toddler so that you too can have as magical a trip as we did!
How to Get to Disneyland Paris
It is important to know that Disneyland Paris is not located inside the city of Paris. It is actually located in a suburb of Paris, about 40 minutes driving outside of the city center and around 45 minutes driving from CDG airport.
For this reason, I would not recommend staying in the city of Paris when doing Disney. Instead, it makes most sense to stay as close to the park as possible, whether in a Disney hotel or in an Airbnb as we did.
Where to Stay in Disneyland Paris with a Toddler
Disney Hotel or Airbnb?
When planning your trip to Disneyland Paris, you will of course want to plan accommodation carefully. We wanted to stay as close to the park as possible so that we could maximize our time there. Originally, we thought we would leave the park for afternoon naps and then return in the evenings (spoiler, we never left the park!).
First, we considered Disney hotels. Disneyland Paris has many hotel options listed on their website. It is very easy to use their planning tools to see prices as well as distance from the park (all hotels are at least a 10 minute walk). Some of the benefits of staying in the Disney hotels include: early park entrance, first access to Disney restaurant reservations, more opportunities to meet the characters in the hotel, and the park entrance fees are included in the price of the hotel stay.
When we went to Disney in May, the cheapest Disney hotel was the Disney Davy Crockett Ranch. It would have cost 1610€ for 2 rooms, 3 nights and 4 days of park tickets. Only one night at the Ranch cost 721€ for 2 rooms and 2 days of park tickets. The other downside is that the Davy Crockett Ranch is 15 minutes by car from Disney and there is no free shuttle service from the hotel. For these reasons and more, it was an easy choice for us to choose Airbnb.
Read more: How to Plan a Summer Vacation with a Toddler | Tips & Tricks
Stay in an Airbnb close to Disney for convenience and cost-savings
Our Airbnb was 15-20 minutes walking from the park and cost just $466 USD for 3 nights. It comfortably fit 4 adults and one toddler. It had kitchen, living room, 1 full bathroom and 2 half baths and 2 large bedrooms. Plus, it was located right next to a huge shopping mall with everything you could need. Yes, we spent around 600€ additionally on park tickets for 2 days for 4 people (Isabella was free since she was still under the age of three). But overall, it made a lot more sense for us to do the Airbnb for 3 nights and 2 days of park rather than only one night at the Davy Crockett Ranch with the park tickets included. We couldn’t afford to do 3 nights at the Disney Hotel or even 2 nights, and to spend only 1 night at the hotel would not have made any sense. We were much more comfortable in one location for 3 nights and being within walking distance of the park also made it ideal.
Where to Eat in Disneyland Paris with a Toddler
Book Character Dining at the Plaza Gardens Restaurant
The absolute highlight of our trip to Disneyland Paris was having dinner with the characters our first night at the park. I booked our table exactly two months in advance on the Disneyland Paris mobile app. If you are staying at a Disney hotel you can book your table as soon as you make your hotel reservation. Since we stayed in an Airbnb, I went on the app exactly 61 days before our planned visit date, at midnight Paris time, and managed to grab a 9:30 pm dinner reservation. My advice is to be quick! I checked the next day for the following night and was unable to make a reservation. You may think 9:30 pm is late – take it anyways! My daughter was wide awake and had the time of her life. She met Mickey, Minnie, Tigger, Pluto, Goofy and Eeyore and got photos with them and their autographs. Dinner is buffet style and very expensive: 80€ per adult and 40€ per child (from age of 3 years, Isabella didn’t pay). But keep in mind that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and your kids will never forget meeting Mickey and friends up close!
Bring snacks and drinks to the park if you want to save money and time
As can be expected, eating at Disney is expensive. There are table booking restaurants and also more fast food style places. We had hot dogs one lunch and paid around 11€ per hot dog. The second day we had burgers. If you want to eat a bit healthier and not spend a ton, bring food with you. I saw plenty of families with their own snacks. We brought fruit with us to keep Isabella fed in between meals and while waiting for rides. Also, keep in mind that you will need to wait in lines for many of the restaurants. Though for some you can order ahead of time in the app.
Which Parks in Disneyland Paris to Visit with a Toddler?
Choose between two parks at Disneyland Paris
At Disneyland Paris, you have two park options: Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park. The two parks are conveniently located right next to each other and share the same park entrance. In order to buy a multi-day ticket in advance online, you need to buy a 2 park ticket.
Disneyland Park is the more magical and definitely more geared towards young children, with the Disney characters and parades, and the castle, of course. However, we also had a really great time at Walt Disney Studios Park. Studios is more geared towards older children, with rides such as Spiderman and the Avengers rollercoaster. But there are still rides that toddlers can enjoy, such as Aladdin’s flying carpets, which may have been Isabella’s favorite ride overall. We did the first day completely in Disneyland Park and the second day we started in Walt Disney Studios and then went back to Disneyland Park after lunch. My advice would be to spend most of your time in Disneyland Park, but go to Studios for Aladdin’s flying carpets, Slinky Dog and Spiderman (great for the whole family!).
Use the Disneyland Paris app to plan your trip
When going to Disneyland Paris with a toddler, the best idea is to make use of their handy app. You can browse the rides, create a wishlist, filter rides by age preference (e.g. preschoolers, all ages). I also loved that you could see wait times for rides live. We used this in order to plan which rides to go on next (less than 20 minutes wait was ideal with a toddler). You can also make restaurant reservations and food to-go orders all on the app. And, if you are like us and didn’t buy Disney Premier Access (i.e. Fast Pass) for all the rides, you can buy it for one single ride on the app. (We did it for Spiderman when there was a 50 minute wait time).
Can you bring your stroller into the parks?
The short answer is, YES. However, you cannot bring the stroller onto the rides nor into the queue while waiting for a ride. You will see designated places to leave your stroller before getting in line for a ride. We didn’t bring a lock for our stroller and didn’t see anyone else do so. However, someone did move our stroller once, which was a bit of a scare. While Isabella didn’t sleep at all the first day, she did sleep a few hours the second day. Having the stroller for naps and long walks across the park is key.
In the end, we had the most magical time at Disneyland Paris and will definitely be making a return trip sooner, rather than later! Have you been to Disneyland Paris with a toddler? Let us know about your trip in the comments below!
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