When your kids are little, the Disney “magic” might be enough to overlook the cost, queues, and poor food. Their ittle faces transformed by a wave from Mickey…. However, a day in Disneyland Paris with older kids, who are no more patient but much more cynical and with higher expectations, can quickly descend into grumpy disappointment and frustration. Happily, with a bit of planning and a few insider tips, it is possible to survive, and even marginally enjoy, Disneyland Paris with older kids. Read on for my top tips….
Top tips for visiting Disneyland Paris with older kids
Beating the queues
1. Download the Disneyland app before you head to the parks. This is invaluable for checking queue times on each ride, It can also help you plan a route to take advantage of any shorter queue times. Word to the wise though, Disney does tend to underestimate the wait times. As such, treat them as a minimum or just use them to decide which rides look like a better option!
2. Manage expectations – even with good planning and following these tips, you will not tick off all the rides in the parks, or even a majority of them. Be realistic about how much you are likely to manage and make sure you know if there are any rides that your kids would be gutted to miss. Then prioritise these.
3. Older kids can stay up late. Most rides in the parks are open until 9pm or 10pm in peak season. Parents with young children tend to call it day after the main parade (at around 5.30pm). Hitting the rides after the parade means much shorter queue times.
4. If your kids have gone beyond the Disney characters, skip the main parade and get in a big ride or 2 whilst its on. Most people start to take up spots to watch the parade around 30 minutes before it starts, so you can get around 1 hour of quieter ride times.
5. Although you probably already feel like you’ve sold a kidney to buy your park entry tickets, consider shelling out for a one-shot fast track pass for any must-do ride where the queue time just isn’t going down….
6. Many of the bigger rides have separate queue lines for single riders, which are much quicker. If your teen is happy to ride without you, this can be a real time-saver.
7. Disneyland Paris is usually quieter in the early part of the week. It is also worth checking when the Parisian / French school holidays are. School holidays in continental Europe won’t necessarily (completely) overlap with breaks in the UK or the US. For example, we visited in the first week of the English Easter school holidays when the French kids were still in school.
Avoiding anyone getting “hangry” (or dehydrated)
8. Probably an obvious one but bring lots of snacks. As well as avoiding hangry teens, they are a good boredom buster while waiting in queues…
9. Food and drink are expensive at Disneyland Paris with older kids. There are also often long queues for both sit-down eateries and takeaway stalls. I would recommend taking a picnic if you can. Even if your accommodation doesn’t have facilities for preparing food, you can buy delicious filled baguettes (with drinks, crisps and sweet treats) from pretty much all bakeries (boulangeries) in the capital. Do try to buy your picnic food before heading out to Disney though – you won’t find anything authentic at Marne La Vallee station. There is a Pret if that’s your thing.
10. If your kids have their hearts set on eating at a particular restaurant within the parks, you need to make table reservations 2 months in advance. Set a reminder to book as soon as reservations open, you won’t get anything otherwise. You can book through the website or the app. If you are staying in a Disneyland Hotel, you can usually make your table reservations as soon as your booking is confirmed.
11. Take refillable water bottles. There are lots of refill points, usually near toilets. The water is fine and cold so there is no need to spend a fortune buying bottled water!
Things you should bring
12. Snacks, snacks and probably some more snacks. Teens can never eat too many snacks and it will give them something to do while queueing. You want easy to open / eat and non-melty choices….
13. Refillable water bottles.
14. Sun-cream and sun hats – there is not much shade in the parks or when you are queuing for rides. Be prepared to top up regularly!
15. Consider bringing / downloading something to entertain the kids while you are queuing. While you don’t want your kids with their noses glued to their phones the whole day, you could download a quiz or guessing game on your device. We also brought a pack of cards and sat and played 2s & 8s while waiting for the parade to start.
16. Flat / comfortable walking shoes – you will be surprised how many steps you do!
17. Print off your tickets for the parks and bring them with you. I just had the tickets on my phone and found it really difficult to get them to open when we were at the turnstiles (the internet connection is rubbish there…)
Best spots for viewing the parade
18. Visitors start claiming spots for the parade up to an hour before it starts. To me, this is a waste of ride time and a long sit in the sun with kids. That said, you want your kids to be able to see. You probably do need to find a space 20-30 minutes ahead.
19. Look for spots that aren’t directly on the parade route (so less popular) but where you should have an uninterrupted view across. There are points along the parade route where it is too narrow for visitors to stand. If you can find a spot looking across to one of these points, you will get a great view and less crowds.
20. Our favourite spot is just on the way into Discoveryland, outside Constellations. Grab a spot looking across the water to the parade route (the route is too narrow here for guests to stand along it).
How to get from Central Paris to Disneyland Paris with older kids
If you are staying in central Paris, the easiest way to access the parks is via RER A. The stop is called “Marne-La-Vallee” and is just outside the entrance to the parks.
Just make sure you check that the destination of your train is Marne-La-Vallee as the eastbound line splits into 2 branches from Vincennes. If you look at the display boards on the platform, the stations served by the next train should be lit up. It’s the end of the line so you can’t miss it!
What next?
Personally I think one day is enough to explore Disneyland Paris with older kids. I would suggest then heading into the city. Why not try a macaron making workshop or visit Notre Dame and do its VR experience.