Going to Disneyland Paris with an electric car!

Last weekend I took my electric car – Mercedes EQA – to Disneyland Paris for the first time. Pretty exciting, because I already knew that the number of charging stations near Disneyland Paris is scarce. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a carefree stay and I drove back to the Netherlands with a full battery!

Charging stations on the way to Disneyland Paris

France is not necessarily known for its many charging locations. Especially, near the highways, the opportunities to charge are very low and widespread.

If you drive in a Tesla you can of course use the many supercharger locations. If you, like me, drive in a different brand of electric vehicle, it can be quite a challenge. Especially, to find spots where you can charge with more than 50kw.

It’s best to use your navigation, if it takes charging into account. If not, I would definitely use an app like A Better Routeplanner. To be honest, we still had that app open, even though our Mercedes has Electric Intelligence.

In the end we found a charging spot with only 4 chargers available, and thankfully we had the last one. When we left there was a queue of cars waiting to charge. Mind you, this was in July, so peak holiday season.

Electric car charging in Disneyland Paris

One of the 4 chargers in the large parking lot

Let me say that Disneyland Paris is a bit behind regarding electric cars, and charging. There are only 4 spots available at the main parking lot. 4 spots, for thousands of cars! Insane! Especially if, like us, you are coming from abroad, and you really need to charge.

To secure such a spot, you must either be very early or go to the parking lot in the early evening. You then report to the gates and say you want to charge. You will then receive instructions and the code for the gate. You’ll find the chargers at the very front of the disabled parking spaces.

Although charging is free, you do pay a parking fee if you are not staying at a Disney Hotel or Disney’s Davy Crockett Ranch. Parking costs €30 per car at a time, so going out in the afternoon and coming back later? Then you pay €30 again. But only if you are not staying at a Disney Hotel.

Electric car charging at the Disney Hotels

Fortunately, the (more expensive) Disney Hotels are a bit more modern in that they offer charging. Both Disney’s Hotel New York—The Art of Marvel and Disney’s Newport Bay Club have many charging stations available for hotel guests.

If you are staying at one of these hotels, it is very easy to find a spot. Especially, in the morning when others are leaving.

If you stay in another Disney hotel, I have a “hack” for you!

Drive to the large Disneyland Paris parking lot and ask if you can charge there. If it’s full, call the front desk of your Disney Hotel (so not a Partner Hotel or other accommodation) and tell them you really need to charge. They will then call one of the two hotels above for you, either Disney’s Hotel New York-The art of Marvel or Disney’s Newport Bay Club. If there is a charger available there, you may park and charge your car, even if you are not staying there. You are asked though, to remove your car as soon as it’s full.

And please, if you are using one of the chargers, then move your car. Even if you are staying at the hotel. There is plenty of other parking space available, and you give others the opportunity to go back home with a full battery as well.

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