So… You want to take your kids with you on a little trip to Disneyland Paris? Good for you! They will LOVE it and with these tips and tricks I have for you below YOU will also have an amazing time!

All these tips will be most helpful for European travelers.

Planning a dream holiday!

First of all: when do you want to visit Disneyland Paris? Because you should really plan months up front to make sure you’ll get into the hotel of your dreams and also to benefit from all the extra options that will be available.

I always book via the official Disneyland Paris website: disneylandparis.nl but ~ and this might be the #1 tip I can give you ~ make sure to also check all the other official websites of European countries too! Because even though they’re all connected, they always have different offers!

For example: I live in the Netherlands and after browsing around on all the different websites I found out that an offer from the Belgium website was the one that would fit my requirements the most!

Just call the phonenumber mentioned on the website of YOUR country. Then tell the operator you saw an offer on a site from another country. I once called the Belgium number, while being in the Netherlands, and my phonebill did not like that! Thankfully the operator offered to call me back, which was pretty awesome! She told me they can access any one of the official websites but YOU should be the one asking for it. She won’t tell you there might be a better offer on another website so make sure you do your research first!

At this very moment the Dutch website offers you a 25% discount on your stay for this spring, summer or autumn. And you’ll get breakfast and dinner included. Sounds great, right?

But… The Belgium website will offer you something completely different! On that website you’ll get a 35% discount on your stay and kids up to the age of 11 can come with you for free!

The UK website gives you a 25% discount on your stay and you’ll get a free half board meal plan. The Spanish website gives you two nights for free. The Italian website gives you a 25% discount and kids up to the age of 7 for free.

See what I mean? If you’re Italian and want to visit Disneyland Paris with kids aged around 8, 9 or 10 years old, then you should definately get the Belgium offer! Because then you can take your kids with you for free! Are you going with friends, no kids at all and you want to eat a lot? You should go for the Dutch offer where both breakfast ànd dinner will be included.

Check all the links to the official websites on this list: disneylandparis.nl/language-selection/

Check all the official Disneyland Paris websites first before you book! Then pick the offer that suits you and your wishes the best!

Taking the train to Disneyland Paris?

Are you coming to Disneyland Paris by train? Try to get tickets for the TGV!

We didn’t take the TGV last year and had to take the metro from Paris Nord to Marne-la-Vallee-Chessy ~ which is where Disneyland Paris is located. On the way back we got lost in the subway-system and almost missed our connection to the Thalys: so much stress! This year I booked the Thalys from Amsterdam to Brussel and from there on we got on the TGV, which brought us all the way to Marne-la-Vallee – Chessy! It literally stops in front of the park! Amazing!!

Travelling with the TGV is super fast, relaxed and completely stress-free! Yay!

Going back home? When you’re waiting at the Marne-la-Vallee – Chessy station for the TGV you have to know this one important thing: it’s not sure from which platform the TGV will leave so that’s why all those people are staring at those big notification screens in the main hall. About 10 to 15 minutes before the train actually arrives, this is where they announce on what platform it’ll come in.

Join the Club!

When you book early on, you’ll be able to get some amazing extra’s! Just what we want, right?

I booked the Sequoia Lodge hotel around October for our stay in February and was able to upgrade our room to a Golden Forest Club room, which is very difficult (or even impossible) to get when you book last minute. This club room gave us a lot of amazing extra benefits like our very own private check-in, breakfast and high tea everyday in a special club lounge and a hotel fastpass! If you see the club room option available while booking the hotel, then you should definately do it!

We went to the park very early every morning, during the extra magic hours and we took a break around 15:30 every day. After taking the shuttle bus back to the hotel it was almost time for the daily high tea at the club lounge, where we could eat all kinds of yummy snacks, sandwiches, pies and other delicious treats. All unlimited for you to take, just as drinks! We took some drinks (in cans) back to our hotelroom for later, which is allowed and this actually saved us a lot of money on buying drinks at the hotelbar or in the parks!

We absolutely loved the Golden Forest Club experience. The kids really enjoyed the high tea every day and it gave them about an hour or so to relax. After the high tea we all had lots of new energy and went back to the park, just in time to see the parade! I personally liked the private check in/ check out, the hot food & continental buffet breakfast and the room in the main building with a lake view. I also loved the fact that they stored our suitcases because we arrived at 12:00 and the room wouldn’t be be available until 15:00. So the crew members took care of our luggage while we had the chance to already go and explore the park!

Because we stayed in a Golden Forest Club room we also got special hotel fastpasses! We all got one a day, the date was stamped on it. We used all our fastpasses on the Tower of Terror, haha! The daily hotel fastpass was such a lovely thing, which really gave us an extra special and magical feeling!

After you’ve checked in at the special Golden Forest Club desk you get a map with all your vouchers and other useful brochures.

Meeting Mickey and his friends!

Do you want to make sure you’ll meet some Disney characters during your stay but you don’t want to wait in line for hours? Then you should definately book a meal with Disney Characters! You can add this to your cart when you book your trip! I would suggest you’d pick a breakfast at Plaza Gardens. At this restaurant, in the Disneyland Park nearby the castle, you can enjoy a yummy breakfast and meet up to 6 characters whom will visit you at your table for hugs and photo opportunities! We got to meet Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, Daisy Duck, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet this way without having to wait outside in the cold!

App-solutely!

Download the official Disneyland Paris app on your phone, because this will be your BFF in and around the park!

This app shows you how long you’ll have to wait for each attraction. It also shows you entertainment schedules and it helps you find what you’re looking for quickly with GPS-enabled maps that show your location and the attractions, restaurants, shops and more near you. I really thought this app was super helpfull during our stay but it also helped me to get to know the Disneyland Park and Walt Disney’s Studio Park in the weeks before we arrived!

Are you ready for Magic Hours?

Are you staying in a Disneyland Hotel? Then you get extra magic hours! Yay! This means you can enter the Disney-parks before they offical open! This is something you should definately do, so set your alarm extra early in the morning, get breakfast and hurry on to the park! During the magic hours you can get on rides that usually have a long waiting line and meet some characters while everyone else is still sleeping!We ony had to wait in line for 5 minutes to meet Goofy!

When we stayed at Disneyland (the end of February and beginning of March) the extra magic hours were from 8:30 until 9:30 (the park opens at 10:00) and we got to go on Peter Pan’s Flight, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups, the gorgeous Carrousel de Lancelot, Crush’s Coaster and Ratatouille ~ just name a few! Lines were only 10 to 15 minutes for the rides in the Studio Park and for the Tea Cups and the Carrousel it was only a 5 minute wait!

Also… Get the insurance option at the end of your booking process. For me it was about fifty euro’s extra but it’s totally worth it. You really don’t need any extra stress while planning a trip like this so always, always include the insurance option!