How many days should I take to do Disneyland Paris for my first time?

When booking to go to any Disney theme park there’s always a big question on how long do you really need to spend there. Can you do all the parks in 1 day or does it take several?

1 day in each Disneyland Paris park is sufficient. There are 2 parks, “Disneyland Park” and “Walt Disney Studios Park”. 2-3 days to get do everything or a slightly longer itinerary if you would like to avoid rushing the experience.

Other factors will affect that timeframe so let’s take a closer look at those so you can make an informed decision before you book.

Visiting Disney from mainland Europe or Overseas?

Prior to booking travel for your Disney package you need to work out how long is needed for pre and post travel. This is easy enough by taking into concideration your country of origin or whether you are coming from mainland Europe or Overseas. Why is this important? For me, travelling from the UK presents me with alot of different option; Plane, eurostar, ferry and don’t forget the car. Not all countries have all these transport methods available so its best to get to know what is available to you. Try looking at the following resource or use your own method. If im worried about cost ill obviously just take the cheapest option. However, as its Disney im probably going to be focusing more on time, how to maximise it, then probably attempt to fit all my favorites in several times. So being flexible and organised is probably the way to go if it’s your first time or it’s been a while.

Before leaving, overseas disney goer’s may have to accomodate their travel plans by staying at the airport overnight, before the holiday. Additionally, flying through the night on the way home or even staying at their final destination airport is not uncommon. This can add an extra 2 travel days to the holiday and should be thought about when booking.

For European visitors, especially those from around France, including the UK must remember flying is not the only option. As briefly mentioned above driving, taking the train or in some cases taking a ferry are all fantastic alternative methods of transport to Disneyland Paris. It gives you, again, freedom to choose not only cost over time, but vice versa or even both. The choice is truly yours. Like American’s taking a trip to DisneyWorld, Florida. I have an article that goes into depth on that here if you would like to take a look.

DisneyLand, Paris can be re-visited by Europeans many times over so fitting everything in at once may not be a priority. Cheaper transport makes this possible as well as the added benefit of not having to travel as far can really make a difference in time. Of course I can’t pigenhole everyone. Some europeans may only go once in a lifetime. Taking everything above into account, including transport and travel, can make all the difference when planning your itinerary correctly. The best results will always be to give you more magic moments with loved ones in the parks.

Is it best to stay onsite at Disneyland Paris?

Staying on Disney grounds or chosing to stay outwith Disney in surrounding Paris is a big decision as it could impact your holiday time alot. The latter may contribute to you losing your advatage of being able to enter the parks first, during those free extra magic hours. That could be the difference between getting to go on a brand new ride or not, as queues can be epic without a fastpass. For alot of people, this is a “once in a lifetime” holiday. Or at least once in a decade. Plus, if you are a returning guest, what you may have seen 3 or 4 years ago may not exist anymore. So you will want to make the most of your time.

In my personal opinion, I would choose staying onsite everytime. Yes, it can be a lot more expensive. But I am going to Disney for the experience and not for a cheap getaway. In saying that, if someone is on a tight budget or maybe diversifying and wants to see a bit more of Paris then it might be right to stay offsite. 

The cost of staying offsite vs onsite, including time, are noticably different, so before making a choice its best to sit and chat to your family about what everyone wants out of the holiday. If its just to go for the rides or see characters alone and you are not worried about all the other stuff then staying off site is probably sufficient. But if you want additional add on’s such as dining, free extra magic hours and many other perks then staying onsite is the clearer option.  Just make sure you check and incorporate your daily travel times correctly when planning your days. I know many people, including cast members, who have stayed offsite and they have had amazing times as long as they plan right. So don’t worry, if you do that you wont be missing out on the magic.

Will eating in the parks give me more time?

From my own experience the only answer here is YES! Its much easier to jump into a restaurant or cafe than travel to Paris for lunch when you are waitng for your fastpass time to come round. You may also find that with queue times being so long (when you don’t have that all important fastpass) you wont want to leave the park and you may not even have the time. I also find I can get more out of my evening by eating on site. It adds to the Disney experience by far when you take the time to explore. Needless to say restaurants are a large part of that and furthermore, with all the little extras dining experiences include, such as personal character meet greets, you will always be able to squeeze a little bit more of that extra Disney magic. But understandably cost may need to be factored in and undoubtely preference is crucial.

An added bonus of eating onsite are the Disneyland Meal Plans. These allow Disney hotel guests to basically purchase a plan thats either Half or Full Board.  Each meal comes with a Soft Drink and all plans include buffet meal service at your hotel, in the parks or in the Disney Village as standard. The Meal Plans have various levels of service and are broken down as;

• Standard
• Plus
• Premium 

It’s a good deal and can save you lots of money and of course time.

If you or a member of your party has a particular preference or requirement then various locations at Disneyland Paris cater to specific needs such as vegetarian’s, vegan’s and gluten free, offering a range of options. So you wont be forced to waste any extra time searching for your specialised meal. Here is a guide to Disneyland Paris special dietery needs.

Paris, of course, has plenty of restaurants, cafe’s and bars for you to enjoy whether you are staying offsite or in the parks. It might be good to have a quick scout before you arrive and check out places you would like to visit if you have a moment.

Conclusion

Lets sum up what we have spoken about. To be clear the average person only needs 1 day in each park at Disneyland Paris. There are 2 parks so its safe to say you need 2 days and maybe an extra free day to rest or visit those favorite rides or facilities.

Pre-planning your travel as well as your daily itineraries will help maximise your time. If you plan to diversify and check out Paris it could be wiser to consider booking accomodation off site. This will add travel time but it will give you more flexibilty to explore Paris and restaurants around the area. But if you are like me and want as much time in the parks as humanly possible then staying onsite while eating all your meals in the Disney restaurants is ideal.

Hope this has made things clearer for you and you have a great trip.

Don’t forget to comment below. How many days does it take you to do Disneyland Paris?

See you real soon!