When we were
negotiating with our firstborn about moving to Belgium, one of her two
conditions for moving was that we take her to Disneyland Paris (I know, right,
what a parenting fail!). Therefore the Disneyland trip had been carefully
planned since we came to Brussels. I did think to book a whole Disney weekend
(meaning 2-day park tickets and 1-night hotel stay at Disney hotel) but that
just came out way over our budget. So we agree to simply do a day trip. It's
only a three-hour drive from Brussels anyway.
A good friend of mine took a family trip to Disneyland with two kids recently so I asked her for tips and tricks. Now with her tips, and our own experience, hopefully these tips will make your Disney experience even more magical than it already is!
1. Choose a good day, and a good date
Everyone loves
Disney. Whether it's Snow White or Pinocchio, Starwars or Indiana Jones,
Sleeping Beauty or Pocahontas, Disneyland has something you might like. And
therefore, it is always crowded here. If you can afford to take a leave, or
your kids are not in school yet, go on a working day. If you're like us –the
weekender, with kids in school and no vacation day for the adults, at least go
off season, not during the summer holiday. We went on the second Saturday of
October, and while the queues were still big for the attractions, the park
(also means the toilets, the restaurants, the benches and the passages was not
over crowded).
2. Save time and buy your ticket online
Whichever date
you choose, buy your ticket online and print at home. The online price is not
cheaper (€79 for adult and €72 for kids older than 3) but you'd save an hour of
queue at the ticket office. If you have your tickets printed at home, you can
go directly to the entrance passages and scan the barcode by yourself.
3. Check the Disneyland Park map online and briefly plan your route
I'd been in
Disneyland in California back in 2007. But for my husband and the kids, this
time in Paris was their first time being in Disneyland, so I wanted them to
have the best experience they could have. Know that Disneyland Park is divided
into four big sections: Fantasyland, Adventureland, Discoveryland and
Frontierland. Briefly check each section and their attractions, they're also
rated as „Fun for the little ones“, „Family adventure“, „May frighten younger
guests“ and „Big thrill“. Unfortunately you won't make it to take all rides in
the park, so better focus on ones you think are more suitable for your family.
Since we have a 4.5-year-old and a 1.5-year-old, we focused on Fantasyland. We
did the Sleeping Beauty Castle, Mad Hatter's Tea Cups (our younger loved it),
It's a Small World (must-do), Princess' Pavillion (waste of time, skip it!),
Dumbo the Flying Elephant (our firstborn loved it), Pinocchio's Journey and
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (a little scary for them). Then we moved on to
the Adventureland and went to Pirates of the Caribbean. It's not too big of a
thrill, but it terrified our kids (roller coaster in a boat ride –you get wet).
We took a break at the Frontierland and they loved the playground at Pocahontas
Indian Village. In the Discoveryland my husband did the Star wars Hyperspace
Mountain by himself (big thrill).
4. Download the app to check waiting time and the program
Once you're
there, use the official app. I installed it in my iPhone so I can see the map
and check how long is the waiting time for each ride. As much as we wanted to
do the Peter Pan Flight and the Big Thunder Mountain for example, we saw it was
80 minutes wait so we decided to skip it. We mostly did everything with waiting
time of 30 minutes or less. The app also tells you when the parade is and where
it is held, so you can plan well if you wish to see the parades.
5. Prepare your children for the wait for rides
Kids are
impatient and that's normal. Prepare them well for the wait. Have a lot of
snacks and drinks so they get something to eat and drink if needed while
waiting. Our rides had waiting time ranging from 10 minutes to 60 minutes, and
we had sandwiches, croissants, packed crisps, waffles, bananas, juice boxes and
bottles of water for them. You can also bring small toys like cars and
figurines so they could play while waiting. It's fun to let them wear costumes
too, because most kids are in costumes. Our firstborn was Elsa from Frozen and
she enjoyed so much meeting other Elsas, Ana, Rapunzels and Snow Whites in the
queues.
6. Plan and manage naps, so you get to see the illumination show
The famous Disney
illumination show doesn't start until 10pm. And this is very late for most
kids. If your kids need naps, try to manage time well. We drove from Brussels
to Paris from 7am to 10am and both kids mostly slept, so the firstborn didn't
need anymore nap in Disneyland. She held on until the show. Our younger though,
still needs a lot of naps. She slept twice in the Ergo carrier while we were
walking around or doing rides. Bring a carrier or stroller for naps, or rent a
stroller at the entrance if you want. For me personally, the illumination and
firework show was the best part of reliving my childhood, so get in front of
the Sleeping Beauty Castle before 10pm, get your seat (on the ground –so bring
scarf or blanket to sit on if needed) and enjoy the show.
7. Relax and enjoy the magical family day!
It's easy to get
nervous when you have to wait for an hour for everything, especially with cranky
little creatures. But try to relax, it's one of the rare moments you actually
have time to talk with the whole family about everything while waiting. Choose
a nice restaurant (they have lots!) and get a little break for lunch or dinner.
Treat them (and yourself) an ice cream or a crepe from the little stalls around
the park. Relive your own childhood while watching your children enjoying
theirs. Check your iPhone or Fitbit how many steps you made that day and be
proud! I walked 10.2 km that day!