The Disneyland Paris app is one of the best tools during your stay. It provides you with all the information you need and can even help you reduce wait times. That’s why I use it multiple times a day when I’m at the parks. Not sure if you should download the Disneyland Paris app? This is what I use it for!
1. Check wait times
One of the best features of the Disneyland Paris app is checking the wait times. For each ride, show, and experience you can see the actual wait, without physically going to the ride. You can find the ride on a map or scroll through a list. If you plan on visiting Disneyland Paris more often, then you can even create a favourites list.
When I’m in Disneyland, I check the wait times multiple times per day. For example, when we are looking for our next thing to do that has little to no wait. Or in the morning during Extra Magic Time to see how long the queues are at Crush’s Coaster, Big Thunder Mountain or Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure.
We also check for rides that are closed due to bad weather or technical difficulty. If it’s a popular ride like Crush’s Coaster, we stay nearby so that we are one of the first in line when the ride reopens.
2. Find Characters and check show times
Another great feature of the app is finding character meeting locations. You can see a list of all characters and the times they will be at the designated locations in the Disneyland Paris app. That way, you don’t have to stroll through the parks to find your favourite characters, which is a real time saver!
Disneyland Paris also has lots of great shows throughout the day, and it can be difficult to keep track of all of them. Thankfully, you can also find all show times in the app, for shows like Mickey and the Magician and Frozen A Musical Invitation, but also for the nighttime spectaculars Disney Dreams! and Disney D-Light. You can even find the parade times and routes in the app. That way, you know when it’s time to find the best spot (about 30 minutes in advance).
3. Make dining reservations
If you want to eat at a Table Service or Buffet Restaurant at Disneyland Paris, you need to make a dining reservation. You can do this up to 2 months in advance through the Disneyland Paris app. Restaurants like Downtown Restaurant, PYM Kitchen, Chez Remy, and Captain Jack’s are pretty popular with limited seating and are usually fully booked weeks in advance.
Disney Hotel guests can even make dining reservations up to 12 months in advance after booking a stay. So, after booking, download the Disneyland Paris app and make your reservations.
4. Order food
One of the lesser-known features of the app is the ability to order food at selected restaurants. We usually wait in line but decided to give it a try on our last stay.
In the app, you go to the restaurants tab, and you see a list of restaurants that offer mobile orders. We opted for Restaurant Hakuna Matata, an African-inspired restaurant in Adventureland. You can then select from the menu, and add side dishes, drinks, and even desserts. Then you can choose at what time you want to pick up your meal and pay for it.
Now it’s time to check your email, because there is a final step before you can pick up your food. In the email there is a button saying “I’m here”. Press that button when you are at the restaurant, or nearby, so the restaurant knows that they can start preparing your order.
At the restaurant, there is a separate queue for Mobile Order pickup, which is much shorter than the regular queues. For us, this was a great way to eat during peak lunch times, without having to wait at least 30 minutes to order the food.
5. Buy Premier Access
Premier Access is the paid version of the discontinued Fast Pass. It gives you access to a much shorter queue, reducing wait times significantly for popular rides such as Big Thunder Mountain, Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure, Peter Pan’s Flight, Star Wars HyperSpace Mountain, and Crush’s Coaster.
It does come with a pretty hefty price tag, where you pay between €5 and €20 per person per ride based on the popularity. If you want to experience all Premier Access rides, you can buy Premier Access Ultimate for €120 to €160 per person, depending on the crowds.
Buying Premier Access through the app is pretty straightforward. You select the ride, the time, and the people who will be riding. You have to buy Premier Access for everyone, as they are pretty strict and won’t let anyone without Premier Access enter the shorter queue. Then, you pay through the app by Creditcard, and you can see that a QR code is now added. When it’s your time to ride, go to the Premier Access queue and scan your QR code.
6. See my tickets and booking
And finally, I use the Disneyland Paris app to check my tickets and hotel bookings. You can even use the app to check in to your Disney Hotel 7 days before you arrive.
It’s possible to add your tickets to the app and scan your phone at the entrance. If you are like me and easily lose items, this is so helpful. And when travelling with little ones, you can add everyone’s ticket to one app and scan everyone through.
And if you have an annual pass, you can see all the benefits, and there is even a direct link to the reservation system.
Other things you can do with the Disneyland Paris app
- Buy preferred seating at the most popular shows.
- Access virtual queues, which are different from Premier Access. Virtual queues let you book a spot in the regular queue for popular experiences like Hero Training Center at Avengers Campus. These queues are free but tend to fill up quickly, so book those as soon as you are in the parks.
- Check opening hours and Extra Magic Time
- See the map of the parks and find services like toilets, changing rooms, stroller rental etc.
