One day in Disneyland Paris usually isn’t enough to see and do everything the resort has to offer. There are so many restaurants, attractions, shows, and other entertainment that it’s almost impossible to experience it all. And that’s absolutely fine!
There are some things you definitely should see and do to make your Disneyland Paris day trip successful. Underneath, we listed our tips as frequent visitors of this French theme park.
Use Disney Premier Access
First, let’s start with some practicalities. If you like attractions and going on them is your main goal during your Disneyland Paris day trip, then you need some help.
That help is called Disney Premier Access. This is a paid service for skipping the line, and it’s very helpful when you only have one day.
You can buy Disney Premier Access for popular rides such as Big Thunder Mountain, Crush’s Coaster, and Peter Pan’s Flight en Tower of Terror. Using this will get you on the ride in about 10 to 15 minutes, even when the queue is over an hour long.
If you want to use this service for all available rides, then you need to buy Disney Premier Access Ultimate. This gives you one-time quick access to all the Premier Access rides. We used this on a busy day in July and were able to visit all those rides – in both Disney parks – in about 3 hours.
It is expensive though! The Disney Premier Access Pass costs €140 per person per day. And only gives you one-time access to the Premier Access rides.
If you want to skip lines for some rides, then you can buy Disney Premier Access only for that ride. Prices for this range from €5 to €18 per person, depending on the popularity of that ride.
Make dinner reservations in advance
Another practicality is to make your dinner reservations well in advance. At least 2 months before the date you will be visiting the parks. If you want to eat at one of the table service or buffet restaurants.
The reservations go quick, and if you only have one day you don’t want to spend time finding a place to eat.
If a quick meal is fine, then you can decide on eating at one of the counter service restaurants. They typically serve pizzas, pasta, fries, burgers, and other fast food. There are some exceptions like Hakuna Matata restaurant in Adventureland which serves African-style food.
The best time saver here is the Disneyland Paris app. Here you can mobile order your food at some counter service restaurants. No waiting in line is necessary, you order and pay through the app and can pick up the food without any wait.
Go see one of the shows
Disneyland Paris has a lot of Broadway-style shows. The three best shows at the parks are:
- Lion King: Rhythm of the Pride Lands
- Disney Junior Dream Factory
- Mickey and the Magician
If you can only pick one, we would pick Mickey and the Magician for families and the Lion King show for older children or adults.
There are only a few select show times a day. So if you don’t want to miss these shows, then you should plan your Disneyland Paris day trip around those show times. You can find those times at the theaters in the Disney parks or in the Disneyland Paris app.
Don’t miss Disney Illuminations
When you just have one day in Disneyland Paris, try to stay as late as possible. Why? At the end of the day, at the closing of Disneyland Park, there is a beautiful fireworks show near the castle.
It starts with the drone show Disney D-light, which is surprisingly fun, but also very short.
Then it continues with Disney Illuminations. This is a 20-minute show with fireworks, fountains, fire, and projections. During the show, you will see scenes from the most popular Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel movies projected on the castle. And you’ll hear the most popular songs, like, of course, Let it go from the movie Frozen.
Visit Avengers Campus
Avengers Campus is the newest land in Walt Disney Studios Park. It’s an immersive experience inspired by Marvel.
In this land, there are 2 new attractions: Flight Force: Avengers Assemble and Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure.
Flight Force is a rollercoaster in the dark where you will be used as a rocket decoy while Iron Man and Captain Marvel will try to destroy them. This rollercoaster has one of the most beautiful animatronics of Iron Man in the queue.
The other ride is an interactive experience where you will be fighting off spider bots. You have to do this by slinging webs, just like Spider-Man. It’s a lot of fun for all ages.
This area also has two new restaurants. We absolutely loved PYM kitchen, which at the moment, is the hardest restaurant to get into. This buffet restaurant is based on the Ant Man movies, where the PYM particles shrink or enlarge food. So, you’ll be eating a massive hamburger with mini fries. It’s so fun!
