As you might expect, Disneyland Paris is even more gorgeous and fun during the winter holiday season – despite the cooler temps and chance for rain, or even snow!
Our family had the opportunity to visit France during Thanksgiving break, which is a great time to experience lower crowds (weekdays recommended at Disneyland Paris) with the full holiday offerings. Our trip also fell during Disneyland Paris 30th Anniversary celebrations, which provided an additional layer of special entertainment, food and merchandise.
We packed a lot into this 12 day trip, buckle in for a long post…. TLDR: just scroll through the photos!
Paris
We began our trip in Paris proper, where we spent three days taking in some of the highlights. There are so many activities for visitors of all ages, especially in the holiday season! Lines at the Eiffel Tower are much shorter than in the busy summer months, and boat rides on the Seine are still in full swing. Museums are open, and cafes provide lots of warming hot chocolate.
For the next three days of our trip we took a short ride on the RER (regional train) of about 35 minutes to Disneyland Paris. It’s fairly common for visitors to take day trips to Disneyland Paris from Paris proper since trains are so readily available. However, we wanted to experience as much as we could each day so chose to relocate and stay by the parks.
Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris consists of two theme parks, Parc Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios, as well as Disney Village, a shopping and dining area between the two. There are seven onsite resorts ranging from deluxe to campground, as well as nearby good neighbor hotels. The flagship resort, The Disneyland Paris Hotel, is currently under refurbishment.
We checked out several of the resorts on our arrival day.
On to the parks! As with other Disney Destinations, Disneyland Paris has a dedicated app (free to download). The app contains your tickets, resort reservations, dining reservations and attraction premier passes (if purchased). We found the app easy to use, and the wifi strong.
Parc Disneyland is a full-day park (at least), with several unique attractions and features. Sleeping Beauty Castle is truly spectacular and I would advise setting aside 30 minutes or so to explore all three levels. Alice’s Curious Labyrinth is a fun, outdoor maze full of Wonderland surprises and Adventure Isle has tons of paths and caves to explore. Even in winter the park is lush and vibrant with details to uncover in every direction.
Lots of holiday and 30th Anniversary decor across both parks
So many fun attractions – my favorite is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which sits on its own island in Parc Disneyland and is a longer experience than its American counterparts 🙂
Dining at Disneyland Paris is fine – admittedly, not as good as dining in Paris, but our experiences were all tasty! Table service restaurant reservations are available 60 days in advance, and tend to fill quickly. The best of these is arguably Walt’s Restaurant. There are also plenty of quick service options in the parks and in Disney Village, and during the holidays you can try some delicious seasonal foods from the Winter Cottages in Walt Disney Studios.
Walt Disney Studios is smaller than Parc Disneyland, but was expanded a few months ago with the opening of Avengers Campus, the Marvel themed land that is very similar to the one at Disneyland in CA. Construction of a “Frozen” themed land is underway at Studios and expected to open in time for the summer 2024 Olympics. The “Toy Story” themed area is adorable, and different from that at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in FL. The most popular attractions in Studios with the longest waits during our visit were Crush’s Coaster (unique to Disneyland Paris) and the new Web Slinger’s attraction. The prices for Premier Pass, a way to skip the wait by paying an extra fee per person, vary by demand.
Shows, parades and evening spectaculars abound at Disneyland Paris. We saw two excellent stage shows: “The Lion King: Rhythms of the Pride Lands” (Disneyland) and “Mickey and the Magician” (Studios). We also saw the 30th Anniversary mini-parade and the main parade, “Mickey’s Dazzling Christmas Parade,” twice. We were blown away by the 30th Anniversary drone show, “Disney D-Light,” that led into the evening projections and fireworks show, “Disney Dreams of Christmas.” All of it was truly top-notch!
Disneyland Paris was really easy to reach and navigate, but the planning took some effort. Speaking French isn’t necessary, but I found it helpful! I’d love to help you plan your adventure to Disneyland Paris in any season – fill out the short interest form to learn how I can make your adventure magnifique! For more travel advice, news and discounts, sign up for the monthly newsletter!