Planning Disneyland with a Toddler

We have been to Disneyland twice before and every time before we go, I spend days researching our little family holiday. Most of the research is done around where to stay, what to do, transportation and the big one, Cost of all of the above. I’m not saying that the information which I have listed below is the best information to help you get the best deals in Disneyland Paris but it might help save some time researching and worrying about the small things like transportation.

Buying cheap Tickets for Disneyland online

I was in Disneyland for one day on our Honeymoon in 2015 and we bought our tickets at the gate. But I had previously read that you can buy the park tickets online for half the price. So I looked up https://www.attractiontix.co.uk/ and bought two adult tickets for the price of one.

The pros are:

• You get it cheaper (which is always a bonus)
• You get to skip the long ques and scan your own ticket at the gate
• We got vouchers for lunch and dinner in Disney Village (10 euro off when you spend more than 25 in planet Hollywood and 5 euro off in Earl of sandwich) both are meant to be lovely restaurants. But we never got a chance to go that way as our busy day schedule wouldn’t allow it)

The only negative about buying your Disneyland tickets online is that you don’t get the lovely souvenir Disney tickets. I thought, I read somewhere that you can swap the online tickets that you printed out for their park tickets but I asked on two different occasions and they said no since we bought online, that we couldn’t get them. I love making scrapbooks and collecting souvenirs like that but we saved nearly €100, so it was well worth it.

I just googled what the tickets looked like and printed a copy and then cut them out for our scrapbook.

Booking transfer from the Airport to our Hotel for Disneyland with a Toddler

I had previously read you have to change trains a few times to get from the airport, Charles de Gaulle to Disneyland, so I researched transfers as it was the most direct and easy way to travel to Disneyland with a toddler. Below is who we booked with – http://www.parisdisneyshuttle.com/ These cost €60 but it is an amazing value for the service that they offer.

We would highly recommend them for so many reasons:

• You can book online and do not need to give any credit card details or payment, you pay when they drop you at your destination.
• We kept our driver waiting about 40 minutes as our bags were slow coming out and he was waiting with a big smile holding our name card and offered to carry our bags straight away.
• It was a 9 seater van, with a baby seat and it was very comfortable.
• When collecting us for the airport at the end of our trip I rang the 24hour call service to move my pick up time from 10am to 9am as we wanted some extra time in the airport and that was no problem.
• They arrived at our hotel 15 minutes early which was great.
• They are €60 each way and in my opinion, they are worth every penny.

There are no negatives about this shuttle service, it had everything we needed for a quick and seamless transfer from the airport to our Disneyland accommodation with a toddler.

Our Hotel at Disneyland Paris

We stayed in a lovely hotel called HiPark Val d/Europe Disneyland Paris.

It is a modern, clean hotel which has a small indoor kids play area with a few toys and books, an outdoor swimming pool (only suitable during summer months) It serves breakfast and has a vending machine. We all know that we aren’t in this hotel to play in the kid’s area or use the leisure facilities. We are here to explore Disneyland with a Toddler and on a budget preferably.

Note: There is no Restaurant in this hotel but there are loads of restaurants just a short walk away.

We stayed in this hotel in 2015 for 2 nights on our honeymoon. We booked the hotel slightly randomly as we were in Paris the previous day googling cheap accommodation after completing the TMB 11-day hike. Luckily the hotel turned out to be in a perfect location and extremely clean with friendly staff.

The hotel is within walking distance to the shopping centre, which is about a 5-10 minute walk away. The shopping centre is over 1,000,000 sqft in size and has over 190 shops. I have never seen such a large food supermarket, I don’t think there is anything of similar size in Ireland. The Supermarket had every possible item I could have ever wanted.

The hotel provides a free shuttle bus to Disneyland for the family. One of the positives about the hotel location is that we are the last people to get onto the shuttle bus, which also means that we are the first off on the return trip.

When checking into the hotel, ask for an extra room key card as we only got one, you need the card to open your room, turn on the electricity to your room but also activate the elevators and open the doors to the stairs. So two cards are handy, especially if one person wants to stay in the room and the other person wants to explore the hotel and surrounding areas.

We booked a studio room which had a

• double bed
• Air Conditioning
• Kitchenette
• Microwave
• Electric Kettle
• Stovetop
• Iron
• Refrigerator
• Dishwasher
• Dining Table
• flat-screen TV
• Free WiFi
• Bathroom
• Bath/Shower
• Hairdryer

There is a laundry room on the ground floor which has a washing machine and drying facilities which we used extensively on both occasions.

Disneyland Park Paris with a Toddler

There are 3 sections in Disneyland Paris:

• Disneyland Park
• Walt Disney Studios
• Disney Village

Disneyland Park and Studios require tickets for admission but the Disney Village has no entrance fee.

The Disney Village is full of Disney shops, shows and restaurants. The beauty about the Disney Village being free is that it allows you to go to Disneyland for a few hours without paying for a full days ticket and the kids love this taster and it builds even more anticipation for Disneyland park.

**If you take nothing more from this blog post, please remember this as it took us loads of research to find out this little nugget of information and we feel that we were able to get extra time in Disneyland**

We arrived on a Thursday evening in March around 6pm. We loved that we could start our Disneyland Adventure so late on a spring evening. We headed straight for the Disneyland Village and we knew we didn’t have to worry about tickets.

When we got to Disneyland Village we went shopping in the Disney store first as we wanted to buy an autograph book for all the Disney characters to sign. We then went to dinner at Cafe Mickey, where we booked a dinner for 8pm. I would highly recommend this as we got to meet all the Disney characters including Mickey, Minnie and all their friends without a 3-hour queue in the park to just meet 1 character.

We all sat down for dinner and all the Disney characters randomly walked around and came over to all the tables and pose for pictures and sign autographs. All the kids loved this amazing experience. We are slightly amazed that more people don’t do this as you only get small glimpses of the characters in the park but we actually got to hug kiss and dance with all the Disney family while having dinner… Simply amazing.

Below is a picture of My Yummy Mickey Mouse Desert. Here is a link to where you can see the menu, Prices and Phone Number where you can ring and book your Meal with Mickey and Friends. https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-ie/dining/disney-village/cafe-mickey/

After our dinner, we walked around the Disney Village. It was all lit up and there was a great atmosphere around the place. We really enjoyed looking around the shops and just getting into the Disneyland spirit.

Here is a list of some of the stores at Disneyland Village

• World of Disney
• LEGO store ( There was loads of lego artwork and statues here, also there was like a pick n mix where you could purchase single lego and mix and match)
• Disney Fashion
• Disney Store

There are Cinemas, Live shows, Bars and live music, we didn’t want to go to any of these as we felt our daughter was too young to properly enjoy them.

Near Cafe Mickey, you will see the Worlds Largest tethered Hot Air Balloon. I was interested in going up in the balloon but we ran out of time and didn’t get a chance to it. The views are meant to be amazing from it. The times for the tethered hot air balloon can change but when we were there they had them listed as:

• Opening 10am – 8pm
• Cost: 12+ older is €12, 3-11 is €6, 3 years and under is free
• Duration: 6 minutes

OUR DAY IN DISNEYLAND WITH A TODDLER

We woke up bursting with excitement, we popped on our Minne Mouse ears and all our Disney outfits. We packed our day bags and went down to have some breakfast in the hotel, none of us had much of an appetite but we ate what we could.

We brought our Deuter Kids Comfort 3 carrier (Ourlittlehikers carrier) with us and used it most of the time,  We think this is a perfect carrier for walking around Disneyland with a Toddler. It was so handy for walking around, climbing the stairs in Sleeping Beauties Castle and for standing in queues.

Note: you are not allowed to bring your pram/pushchair inside restaurants and shops. you have to leave them outside. I saw a lot of people bringing bike locks for their prams.

Stroller/ Pushchair rental

You can also rent daily pushchairs and chairs for bigger children like 5/6-year-olds from the park as well if you didn’t want to bring your own.

Cost: Daily hire is €20 with a €75 deposit cash/card

Where to Collect them?

• On the right passing under Main Street Station, next to the transportation building ( Main Street U.S.A., Disneyland park
• Next to Studio Photo, to the right of the Disney Studio 1 entrance.

You can not reserve them and there can be a long queue for them.  Also, they are not meant to be that comfortable, so maybe bring a cushion. We brought our own light travel buggy for when our daughter got tired in the Deuter carrier.

Breakfast in the hotel

We had toast, tea, cereal and croissants and lovely Nutella. After breakfast, we waited for the shuttle bus outside our hotel to Disneyland.

We hopped on the shuttle bus, which was about 3-5 minute drive to the Disneyland Parks. We were so excited when we arrived. You can hear the Disney Music pipped all around the place and the shops and restaurants are like what you see in Disney films.

We passed through metal detectors and security where they scan your bags similar to what they do in the airports. We then skipped the long queues for the tickets as we already had our tickets printed online. We scanned our tickets and went straight through the gates.

Free Badge in City Hall

Our first place on our list was to go to City Hall to collect our FREE Disneyland button (Badge). It says ”I’m celebrating” in French

They will write your name on it and your special occasions for example:

• 1st time in Disneyland
• Birthday
• Communion/ Confirmation
• Honeymoon
• Anniversary

They only have a certain amount that they give out each day, so when they are gone, they are gone. That’s why we went there first and we were delighted to get our Badges. They are lovely souvenirs to have,**so don’t forget these**

Another lovely Keepsake is the free Disney Programs and maps you can collect at the entrance so don’t forget to collect them all.

Fast Pass tickets

If you know there are popular Rides that you want to go on and you want to avoid queues, then you can print out fast pass tickets for that ride and the pass will tell you what time to go to that particular ride and you can avoid waiting in the queue, pure genius.

Top 13 Tips while visiting Disneyland with a Toddler

1. When booking Avoid French School Holidays, as the parks are packed
2. If anyone that you are travelling with has a disability or is pregnant, then check with the parks to see about getting a pass to reduce waiting times and to get a better place to watch the parades and fireworks show.
3. On your program, you can look at the symbols beside each attraction to see if its suitable for your child/children
4. Go to City Hall to get your Free Disneyland Button.
5. Have lunch before 12 or after 2.30 to avoid long queues or you can bring your own lunch and eat it in one of the dining areas.
6. Bring plenty of snacks for your toddler. we brought Fruit, Rolls, yoghurts and bottles of water with us, that we got in the supermarket near our hotel.
7. There are a few water fountains around the parks if you want to refill your water bottles, check your maps to see the symbols and also to see where the baby changing facilities are.
8. Get your Fast Pass tickets to reduce waiting time.
9. Download the Disneyland Paris app as you can check waiting times on each of the rides and locate restrooms etc.
10. Bring extra clothes in case of weather change.
11. Don’t forget when facing sleeping beauty Castle if you look to your left you will see a sign on the stone wall saying ”La Taniere Du Dragon ” If you go in here you will see the Dragan that breaths fire. It’s the dungeon part of the castle and is dark with dim lights. The Dragon works on sensors and will be asleep but will wake up, move and make noises and breath fire and smoke as you walk by. It’s very good and it’s so easy to miss and walk past if you are not aware of it. It is a walk-through attraction that only takes a few minutes. I’ve read that the Dragon is one of the largest ever animatronics made by Disney and measures 89 feet from head to tail.
12. Just outside Auberge du Centrillion, you will see Cinderellas Carriage, you can’t get inside but you can take lovely photos in front of it. We found it was quiet there and we bumped into a few characters and got some quick photos. Also, you can book lunch for inside and get to meet the princess like the way the dinner was with mickey mouse. We didn’t get lunch here as when I rang to book it, they said it was booked up. Maybe next time.
13. Before you go you could buy cheaper Disney Costumes, t-shirts, jumpers, pyjamas and accessories in your local Pennys, Primark or online to save money.

The Parade in Disneyland with a Toddler

Make sure to check what times the parades start by looking at your program. Go early to get a good place to stand. A lot of people like standing at the start so when the parade passes you can go off to the different rides to avoid huge queues.

We stood in the middle section and we loved the parade, it is a great way to see all the different Disney characters walk by.

I had my daughter on my back in her Deuter carrier so she could see everything as she was up high.

Our Favourite Toddler Disneyland Attraction – It’s a Small World

You will find It’s a small world in Fantasyland. If you look at your Disney map you will find it easy enough.

I would highly recommend this for all ages. It was just magical. My daughter who was 16 months old at the time absolutely loved it and it was so priceless to see all the expressions on her face.

We left the travel buggy outside the ride, where there is an area for them and carried our daughter in the Deuter carrier the whole way to the boats where the ride starts, it’s about a 3/5 minute walk. We were only waiting about 10 minutes to go to this attraction. We were able to bring the carrier bag on the little boat with us, which was extremely handy.

The boats are all attached like a train and slowly float along the stream. When you go inside its dark and all the little puppets light up and move and sing.

It features over 300 audio-animatronic children in traditional costumes from cultures all around the world.

**Tip: We only went on it once but we wish we went on it the second time as it’s hard to take it all in, as there is so much going on at either side of you and above you. My mam and I still talk about how much we loved it.**

The Perfect picture Opportunity at Disneyland Paris with a Toddler

To be at Disneyland with my mam and my daughter was a dream come true for me. Three generations at the magical world of Disney. So I really wanted to capture this magical moment with the perfect picture.

I came across a very good Disney Youtuber called Sarah Louise Porter http://www.sarahlouiseporter.com/ And this is where I learned this brilliant tip and I’m so excited to share it.

When the fireworks Lumanation Display finishes you will notice the crowds flock towards the exits. So if you wait about 15 mins all the crowds just disappear with the exception of a handful floating around.

You will nearly have the Sleeping Beauty Castle to yourself. We got a few amazing pictures taken in front of the castle with no one in the background of the photo, which is a very rare thing to happen at Disneyland Paris.

Three Generations looking at the castle lit up., it was such a special memorable moment and we were so happy to have it captured. We asked one of the workers who was sweeping up the area at the time to take the picture and he was very happy to do so.

On the way out some of the shops were still open so we got to look around for a few minutes when it was nice and quiet.

So if you are in no rush back to your accommodation it’s well worth the wait.

Overall, we really enjoyed our day in Disneyland Paris with our Toddler. If we had to sum it all up in one word it would be magical. 

We fitted in so much in one day, if you have older children, you would need at least two or three days as a lot of time would be gone queueing for the bigger rides. But for us, a day was just perfect, we got to see so much like how the cartoons were made in the studios, the parades, captain Hooks ship, and skull rock, Alice in Wonderland maze (Alice’s Curious Labyrinth), Sleeping beauties castle and the fireworks display which were breathtaking.

What would I do differently if I was going to Disneyland with a Toddler again?

If going again, we would love to book lunch with the princess and go to the following attractions that we didn’t have time for on this trip.

• Peter Pans Flight
• Pinocchios Fantastic Journey
• Ratatouille

The next day after Disneyland we enjoyed a full day in Paris, but that’s another day’s blog post coming soon.

One Thing Not To Miss in Disneyland with a Toddler

If there is one thing that we would highly recommend, it would be, not to miss the Disney Illumination and fireworks show. Check the times on your program. It is just amazing.  The show features projection Mapping of all the Disney characters onto the Sleeping Beauty Castle, There is a Disney cartoon show, music, fireworks, water fountains that light up, fire, music lasers, mist screens, lasers, searchlights, and other special effects. You will have goosebumps after it. What a way to finish our day at the Disneyland Paris trip.

Our Daughter loved it, we wrapped her up well with her all in one Snow/hiking Columbia suit, Hat, gloves and blankets, she was happy out in her Deuter Carrier, we also had earmuffs to help keep out the loud noises.

Just remember you’re never too young or too old to enjoy Disneyland – this coming from a 1-year-old, a 32-year-old, and a 72-year-old who had the time of their lives.