Is Disneyland Paris Worth It On Your France Family Vacation?
Wondering if you should spend time at Disneyland Paris on your trip to France? We’ve got 10 reasons why Europe’s Disney park just might be worth it.
Paris has so much to offer. A romantic culture, quaint cafes, a fascinating history, and oodles of vacation-worthy landmarks are just a few.
But does a theme park deserve a spot on the list of things to do in Paris? While it is clearly not quite like the others, is that outlier still worthy of precious vacation time?
It was a question we asked ourselves prior to our Paris vacation. And the answer changed as we were planning our trip.
We wanted to immerse ourselves in all things French. We just weren’t sure if Mickey and friends counted.
Yet, Disneyland Paris was a place we hated to miss. We’re huge Disney fans. The park is said to be among the most beautiful. And we figured it must get 10 million visitors a year for a reason.
For us, yes, Disneyland Paris was worth it. It was two fantastic family days in a fun European park that was both classic and new to us. It had something to offer for the whole family.
Here are 9 reasons why.
The park’s Adventureland includes Skull Island and Adventure Isle.
Disneyland Paris is doable in One or Two Days
Paris’s Disney park is much more compact than its sister park in Orlando. To give you a better idea, it sits on 5,200 acres of land, compared to Walt Disney World’s 27,520 acres.
So, seeing a fair amount of what it has to offer can be done in one or two days, if you’re short on time.
Disneyland Paris consists of two parks, Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park. Disneyland Park consists of five themed lands. Walt Disney Park has four themed zones.
The two parks are located directly beside one another. So, jumping from one to the other takes very little time. Two-park one-day tickets are available to allow you to do so.
If you want to explore for more than one or two days, there’s plenty to do to keep you busy for longer. But, if you’re trying to maximize your time, you’re unlikely to feel overwhelmed doing it on a shortened itinerary.
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Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure at Avengers Campus.
2. Walt Disney Studios Park can be explored in half a day
One of the reasons Disneyland Park can be explored in a shorter timeframe is because Walt Disney Studios is a half-day park.
Walt Disney Studios features 13 attractions. Crush’s Coaster and Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure were some of our family’s favorites. Other rides, like Les Tapis Volants - Flying Carpets Over Agrabah® and Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop are geared towards kids a little younger than mine. So, we skipped a few of these attractions, shortening our time in the park a bit more.
Even with hitting the majority of rides, chances are the park won’t require a full-day.
Our favorite part of France was the Loire Valley. Read all about it in:
Disney Hotel New York - The Art of Marvel is a quick walk to the parks.
3. On-site hotels offer easy Park access
Staying right on property always pushes the easy button on any Disney vacation. That rings true for the European version too.
Disneyland Paris has 6 on-site hotels and a Disney-owned property within driving distance of the resort area:
Disneyland Hotel is the location’s flagship hotel. Recently renovated, the 5-star lodging option has reopened and is designed to make guests feel like royalty. So, while it’s the most luxurious hotel, it’s also the most expensive.
Disney Hotel New York - The Art of Marvel is a bit less expensive, although still a pricier option. Its art-deco decor focuses on Captain Marvel and all his superhero colleagues in a Big Apple-esque setting.
Disney Newport Bay Club is next in line price-wise. The seaside themed hotel is a just a few minutes farther from the park. It’s reminiscent of New England towns and beach resorts.
Disney Sequoia Lodge and Disney Hotel Cheyenne are the 3-star hotel options on property. The first features a forest-themed style inspired by America’s national parks. And Woody and pals take center stage at the latter, which has a Wild West, cowboy feel.
The lowest priced options can be found at Disney Hotel Santa Fe and Davy Crockett Ranch. Disney Hotel Sante Fe features Cars-themed rooms, American Southwest decor, and nods to Route 66. Davy Crockett Ranch isn’t walkable from the park. Although, the cabins and large grounds provide space to unwind.
Generally speaking, Disneyland Paris hotels are priced based on amenities and proximity to the parks. The closer hotels tend to be the most expensive.
We really enjoyed our stay at our Disney resort hotel. Yet, one word of caution. The hotels do get dinged by some for skimping on theming. We agree with the many reviews that point out theming is much less extensive than at Disney World hotels.
So, while the ease of staying on property makes it worth it, manage your expectations about what theming might look like.
Check out our full review of Disney Hotel New York: The Art of Marvel HERE.
The entrance to the park.
4. Day Trips are easy Even if you Don’t Stay on Property
Even if you choose not to stay on property, Disneyland Paris is relatively easily accessible from the city.
The park is located in Marne-la-Vallée, about 20 miles from Paris. It’s about one hour from Paris airports and 40 minutes from the city by shuttle bus or car. And it’s a little less time by train.
Many sources will tell you the best way to get to the resort is by train. From the airport for example, TGV trains take passengers directly there and the ride is only about 10 minutes. RER trains take longer, but run more frequently and cost less. Total travel time from places like the Opera station in Paris is about 40 to 50 minutes. The great thing is the Marne-la-Vallée/ Chessy station is just a few minutes walk from the gates of the park.
The Disneyland Paris Shuttle also provides transportation from Paris. Departures from the city are between 8:15 and 8:55 AM and return trips leave the park at 9 PM. Pick-up spots are located at the Eiffel Tower area, Gare Du Nord, Opera, and Chatelet.
Ubers and car rentals are available as well. This is a more expensive way to travel but allows you to be on your own timeframe.
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Skyline Lounge at Disneyland Paris.
5. Restaurants Don’t Need to Take Up Much of Your Itinerary
One of our family’s favorite ways to experience an area is through our taste buds. And when we’re in Disney World, restaurants are one of our favorite parts of the trip.
The good (and perhaps bad) news is Disneyland Paris doesn’t have nearly as many restaurant options as Disney World. And chances are you’re not going for the culinary experience. You are in Paris, after all, one of the food capitals of the world. Your foodie needs are going to be well met and then some when you explore other parts of the city.
That’s not to say you can’t eat well. One of our favorite spots to eat on property was the Skyline Lounge. Captain Jack’s and Bistro Chez Remy would be on our list of places to check out if we were to return.
But, planning around meals is not something we felt was necessary at this park. And that saved us time, making Disneyland Paris a little more worth it.
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Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) in Fantasyland.
6. Ride lines are manageable
For our family, crowds are a huge factor when planning Disney trips. Waiting in lines for hours isn’t something we want to do on our vacation. Before every trip, I become a connoisseur of crowd calendars and posts on avoiding lines.
So, I was really nervous when planning our June/ July trip. Many sites warned of long lines and big crowds. Some even cautioned against going in the summer months at all.
The good news? The crowds were absolutely manageable during our trip. We never waited long for a ride. And the park didn’t seem overly crowded while walking around.
A word of caution though. If you want to avoid crowds, you might need to pay more and put in a bit of time planning.
Disney’s Premier Access, the park’s version of fast passes, is the best tool to save time and do more. Premier Access comes in two versions: Disney Premier Access Ultimate and Disney Premier Access One. Both vary in cost depending on the ride, season, and timing
The Access Ultimate version provides skip-the-line privileges to 17 rides across the two parks. (The list is subject to change though.) Guests can use it once on each available attraction and join the fast lane whenever they want. There are no time slots. It can be purchased through the app, the website, or a holiday expert. Guests can buy in advance or on the day they arrive in the park. Access Ultimate ranges between €90 and €190 per ticket.
Access One passes are used for a single ride and costs between €5 and €13 per ride. Guest use each pass once on one attraction. You are assigned the next available time slot to join the fast lane. These passes can be bought in the park or through the app on the day you arrive.
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Big Thunder Mountain in Frontierland.
7. It’s a great diversion from the rest of Paris
Paris is an iconic city that’s a great travel goal for so many reasons. And travel statistics support that claim. For example, Paris has once again been named the world’s most attractive city destination according to CNN.
So needing a “diversion” from it might seem like an odd notion.
But, fellow travel warrior moms, I have a feeling many of you understand where I’m coming from.
Because as a mom of 4, all of my kids’ ideas of a good vacation rarely seem to align. We can barely make everyone happy choosing a restaurant, let alone an entire vacation.
Disneyland Paris proved for us to be a good way break up more adult or older-kid oriented activities. Visiting the city of Paris is amazing. But museum visits, eating in restaurants with unfamiliar food, and sometimes lengthy touring days can be tiring. Adding in a truly kid focused activity, that the adults enjoyed too, was our secret sauce.
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Phantom Manor is a bit of a darker version than Haunted Mansion in Disney World.
8. Many Park attractions are nostalgically familiar
One of the biggest questions I had before our trip was how similar would Disneyland Paris be to Walt Disney World? We wanted some of what attracts us to the Orlando park. But, we definitely didn’t want a dumbed down version of Disney World.
We found it was a good mix of new and familiar attractions.
You’ll find some of the most similarities in rides like Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Pirates of the Caribbean, and It’s A Small World. The Toy Story attractions are also similar, but with a few more original components.
Fans of Disney parks like us will likely enjoy comparing the rides that are based off their Disney World twins.
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Indiana Jones et la Temple du Peril (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril) in Adventureland.
9. other Park Attractions and Resort Features Are unique
There’s no question about it. Getting to Disney parks in the U.S. would have been substantially less expensive and easier than getting to the European version.
So, we wanted to make sure that version had unique characteristics too.
Refreshingly, it does.
The collection of resort hotels is one of the things that is the most different. You really won’t find copy-cat versions here. If you choose to stay on property, you won’t be staying someplace too reminiscent of another Disney hotel.
Some rides and attractions are also completely different. For example, Spider-Man’s W.E.B. Adventure, Crush’s Coaster, and Le Pays des Contes de Fées don’t have anything similar to them in Orlando.
Others rides are unique enough that the Disney super fans in your group will be kept busy spotting the differences. For example, Phantom Manor is based on the Haunted Mansion ride, but with interesting differences.
Yet other rides, like Ratatouille : L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy, are fun because their storyline is based in Europe. So, while they’re similar, the have some cool differences and extra meaning.
Another way this park is unique is in its layout and access to places like Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty’s Castle). In Disneyland Paris, guests can explore the dungeons and meet the dragon in the story, something you can’t do at Disney World.
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Our time at Disneyland Paris really was magical.
Summing it Up: Is Disneyland Paris Worth It?
You might notice that many of the reasons why we felt Disneyland Paris was worth it was because it can be enjoyed in a relatively short period of time. Being so close to Paris, it’s convenient to get to. And as a smaller park, it didn’t seem like we had just scratched the service even though we were only there two days.
While every vacationer is unique, for us, two nights at Disneyland Paris was worth it. We made it our first stop in France and it made for an easy transition to Europe. For many families, I think it could also be a great mid-trip break or end-of-the-vacation finale. Specifically, it’s worth it for families who are avid Disney fans and who have kids who need an active fun day.
