Disneyland Paris - Magical Family holiday

Our children were 5 and 6 years old when we surprised them with a 3-night trip. I created a little box with clues. I told them that we were going on a holiday the following morning and asked them to guess where we were going. Their little faces were priceless as they guessed and eventually got it right. I'm not sure how they actually slept that night in hindsight, but they were up bright and early for the flight screeching with excitement.

We flew Transavia from Dublin to Paris Orly. Having been to Paris CDG airport a number of times, I was pleasantly surprised by Orly. It is not as big and is much easier to navigate. We didn’t have far to walk and there weren’t any big queues. Paris CDG is a much larger airport and offers more flights (both Aer Lingus and Air France fly daily from Dublin). This is the most popular airport, with a lot of people choosing to fly on the first flight from Dublin to arrive as early as possible and to return home on an evening flight, making the most of their time there. It is worth comparing the airfares.

I pre-booked private airport transfers, which was a great call. Instead of having to travel to a shuttle bus timetable and wait for lots of other passengers to board and then be dropped off at numerous hotels, we had a driver waiting for us on arrival that took us straight to our hotel. This was much more convenient and was much quicker.

We spent 3 nights at the 4-star Dream Castle Hotel, a partner hotel to Disneyland Paris. Our Disneyland Paris theme park tickets were included as well as complimentary area shuttle bus. Breakfast was included each morning. There are different offers throughout the year, but at the time of booking this 4-star hotel with breakfast was the same price as a 2-star Disney hotel with no breakfast included. I chose the higher standard of accommodation and the best value, which worked for us. Of course, if there is not much in the price difference, or if the budget permits, you may opt for a Disney hotel which has many perks including being closer to the theme parks, admission to the parks 1 hour before general opening and the opportunity to meet Disney characters at the hotels.

Dream Castle is an elegant French style hotel with lovely gardens and excellent facilities including a pool, a children’s indoor play area and an arcade. Our room was very spacious and was a really good standard, with fabulous built in bunk beds for the children. We had lunch in the hotel, before going to the theme parks. The food was lovely.

How to plan your trip to Disneyland Paris… Once you have chosen your dates and confirmed your booking (with flights, airport transfers, accommodation and theme park passes), I would recommend that you plan ahead for what you will see and do. It will be worth it in the long run. Download the Disneyland Paris app to research the rides that your children might like and that would be suitable for their age/height. Save your favourites so that you can refer back to them quickly. The app will also show live queue times and you can even order food from some outlets and pick it up when it is ready, saving time queueing. There is a lot to see and do between the 2 parks (Disneyland Paris and Disney Studios) as well as the shows and parades!! Little legs get tired and kids get cranky, so try not to pack too much in. This is a holiday for the children and you want them to enjoy it. I would recommend having 2-3 priorities each day, seeing where they are located and what is nearby to tie in easily.

Disneyland Paris is busy year-round, especially during weekends and school holidays. Whilst it may be less expensive to visit in January, the weather will not be as good, the parks will be open for a shorter duration each day and not all rides may operate. We chose to visit mid-October, as my daughter absolutely loves Halloween and dressing up. (Halloween season runs from 1st October at Disneyland Paris). The parks were decorated in a festive Halloween theme and it was really magical. 2022 was also the 30th Anniversary of Disneyland Paris and there were nightly drone and firework shows, which was spectacular.

We found that Friday was perfectly fine and the queues were manageable, however Saturday was crazy from lunchtime onwards. We waited over an hour for 1 ride which then lasted approx. 4 minutes! We took the train to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower on Sunday, as this was a dream for my 6-year-old (I created a Paris scavenger hunt and they had great fun ticking things off their list as the day went on). We visited the Disney parks again on Monday, which was so much quieter. If you want to avoid crowds as much as possible, I recommend avoiding weekends completely and staying midweek.

My children are very different to each other, with one that absolutely loves roller coasters and the other nearly being allergic to them. They both enjoyed the musicals and Animation Academy. They loved Ratatouille and went on this a couple of times. Spider Man Web Adventures was a big hit with all of us. My youngest is a big Toy Story fan and she loved Buzz Lightyear laser blast plus Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop, whilst her 6-year-old sister said that her favourite was Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain! The face-painting is amazing at Disneyland Paris and worth splashing out on.

Like Ireland, the weather is quite changeable. We had a lot of rain one day and the next it was sunny. We were definitely glad that we brought raincoats, spare runners (as they got completely soaked!) plus lots of snacks and refillable water bottles. We didn’t prebook any restaurants or dining with characters, however if we do return, I would book Chez Remy which is at the end of the Ratatouille ride. Everything is so big that you feel like you are a mouse in the giant kitchen.

Overall, like most in-demand holidays, I would recommend booking as early as possible and then paying off the cost when it suits. At Travel Counsellors, our MyTC portal is very convenient for seeing your quote/booking details, contacting me and making secure payments.

If you would like to make your dream of visiting Disneyland Paris a reality, give me a call anytime.