Ultimate Guide for 3 Days at Disneyland, Paris

We arrived at The Happiest Place on Earth – Disneyland Paris! A dream come true for Aria! Her glow, her excitement and her eye so wide make the hard work worth it! We were all so excited, couldn’t wait to check in to the Newport Bay Club Hotel and hit the park.

We booked 3 days and 2 nights for Disneyland Paris, with the Compass Club add on. With this ticket and hotel booking you can check in and drop your luggage off the morning of your first night and head straight in for the fun. We arrived about 10am and thankfully that we had Compass Club, we could skip the massive que and check-in quickly. They served us a drink while they organised everything and then we were off. It is the same with Compass Club on the last day, you can have your room until 10am, be all packed up and head to the park for some last fun. They collect your luggage from your room and have it ready for you to collect at the end of the day, when you are ready.

Watch our fun filled three days here:

Accommodation:

We splurged and staying on site at Disneyland Paris at the Disney Newport Bay Hotel, we got the Compass Club Package so buffet breakfast and afternoon tea are included, plus unlimited water, coffee / tea etc and soft drinks all day, as well as a room with a view.

Our room was two queen beds and full bathroom. We could watch the fireworks display and drone show from the comfort of our bed out our window too. The lake view out the window was an extra bonus, but they did have musicians playing in the courtyard area until midnight one of the nights we stayed, and we could hear this in the room with the windows closed.

The Hotel has all other facilities such as restaurants, pool, spa, sauna, etc, but we honestly did not have any spare time to use these on our 3 days.

Food:

There is no shortage of food options at Disneyland Paris. Due to the Compass Club having buffet breakfast and afternoon teas included we didn’t really need to eat much out at the park so cannot give too many recommendations, however we can give you some tips.

We ate a big breakfast, packed snacks and drinks as lunch in our back pack and had a big afternoon tea every day, ate dinner out one night and snack dinner the others.

Compass Club meant unlimited free water and soft drink so we took a couple of each for us in our backpack for while at the park, save on buying food and drink. We even got afternoon tea the day we checked out of the hotel so we could have breakfast, go to the park for the day and leave our luggage at the hotel, then go back for afternoon tea and return to the park or collect luggage and leave – so good!!

There are a lot of options to choose from in the park and the village. Everywhere we looked was very busy and some even had lines of up to an hour wait just for a table. Any of the Disney themed restaurants would have to be booked in advance we believe, but we didn’t want to be locked into a set dinner time, so we didn’t do that. We found a table at the Royal Pub easily enough, but the wait for food did take a little while.

Gluten Free food was a little tricky to find. There is a Facebook Group you can join which has some great resources on where to find what for gluten free, but at the time, it was a little all too much for me and so I just went with what I could find and snacks we brought with us. The hotel included some fantastic gluten free food options at both the breakfast and afternoon tea, which was basically unlimited too, so I took extras as snacks for the days in the park.

Attractions:

Disneyland Paris isn’t all just thrilling rides, there are so many other attractions, shows and things happening. There is such a wide variety of attractions and rides at both Disneyland and Disney Studios Paris, there is really something for everyone. It is somewhat overwhelming when you first arrive. Our tip would be to pre-look at the app at the different attractions and rides and find those that are suited to you and your family, being age, height, fears and interests. Aria was randomly selected from the crowd to be the Starlord Dance Team Captain and she had fun even though he was speaking in French.

I will sum up our Favourites and ratings below to help you:

Favourite Show:

Dan: Lion King

Manda: Lion King

Aria: Princess Breakfast

Attraction Ratings:

We have rated as many attractions as possible out of 10 to hopefully help your planning:

Disneyland Park

~ The Lion King: Rhythm of Pride Lands 10/10

~ 30th Anniversary parade 10/10

~ Stars on Show Parade 10/10

~ Disney night show – drones and fireworks 10/10

~ Mickey’s Philhar Magic 7/10

~ Alice’s Curious Labyrinth 7/10

~ Sleeping Beauty’s Castle 7/10

~ Robinsons Treehouse 6/10

~ Adventure Isle 7/10

~ Enchanted Aladdin 6/10

~ Character Meet and Greets + Photos (depends who you get to meet/want to meet)

Walt Disney Studios Park:

~ Mickey and the Magician 9/10

~ Guardians of the Galaxy Dance Challenge 6/10

~ Hero Interactions 6/10

~ Wakanda Forever Performance 5/10

There are even more than these but we didn’t do them all as we didn’t have time or they were already full by the time we got to them.

Favourite Ride:

Dan: Thunder Mountain

Manda: Crushes Coaster

Aria: Hyperspace Mountain

Ride Ratings:

Disneyland Park:

~ Thunder Mountain 10/10

~ Indiana Jones 9/10

~ Hyperspace Mountain 9/10

~ Star Tours 9/10

~ Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast 7/10

~ Phantom Manor 6/10

~ Dumbo the Flying Elephant 6/10

~ Autopia 5/10

~ Casey Junior Train 4/10

~ Pinocchio 4/10

~ Peter Pans Flight 4/10

~ Disney Storybook land 3/10

Disney Studios:

~ Crushes Coaster 10/10

~ Ratatouille 9/10

~ Avengers Assemble – Flight Force 9/10

~ W.E.B Spiderman 8/10

~ Hollywood Tower of Terror 8/10

~ Cars Rally 5/10

~ Toy Soldiers Parachute 5/10

Keep in mind these ratings are purely our personal opinions and experiences. We all generally enjoy a bit of speed and thrill and only had one ride that Aria couldn’t go on (Indiana Jones), so some of the younger kid rides were fun and fantastical, however didn’t provide us the thrill we enjoy the most. The lower scoring ones are those really little kids rides and Aria enjoyed them from the storyline and magic perspective, but she enjoyed all of the others much more. She couldn’t do Indiana Jones for height, so Dan and I did it one at a time. I also did not do Tower of Terror as I don’t like vertical drops.

Also, there were a couple of rides that were closed so we didn’t get to do them on any of our three days in the parks.

“Happiness is the richest thing we will ever own” – Donald Duck

Mostly sunny, fun, laughter filled, exciting, nerving, creative and magic days were had by all!! Continue for more info and hot tips!

Logistics:

We had a HUGE first day of fun at Disneyland Paris which was deliberate due to the weather. The weather was predicted to be a bit rainy and cloudy so we wanted to make the most of the clear skies just in case the prediction was correct. We stayed up until 11pm to watch the Disney Magic Night Show. It included a special 30 Years anniversary drone show and the traditional fireworks castle show. We had a break from the rides for dinner at the Royal Pub and to recoup before the show. We could then walk back to the hotel after the show and go to bed. This was so much more convenient than having to public transport back or find the car and drive back to accommodation at this time of night.

Parking was free at the hotel, so if you have your own vehicle or hire/rental car, you don’t need to worry about finding and paying for parking each day, if staying on site at one of the hotels. All of the hotels are within walking distance of the park or alternatively they have courtesy shuttle buses to and from. More on that below.

Weather:

In short, you can’t control the weather and you can’t predict the weather when booking in advance, all you can do is be prepared for all the weather.

We had a mix of hot sunny day, full rain, sprinkly drizzle and clouds, so we do think we can give you some tips about being prepared. We also visited in June, so the start of Summer, and we still required jeans and jumpers on one of the days,

Firstly, if you only pack one pair of shoes to wear, go with something waterproof, comfortable and those that won’t slip off. This will cover you for all weather and be practical for the rides and the shear amount of walking you will do.

Secondly, layers will allow you to be flexible in the warmth of the day or in the evening for the Night Light Show.

Finally, protection from the sun and rain. There are plastic ponchos and umbrellas available for purchases in the village shops, but the line up was huge so I am glad that when we saw the weather predicted to be rainy, we bought some cheap ones from the grocery store before we arrived. We had them in our backpack, along with an umbrella, on the cloudy and meant to rain day, as they are small and light weight. In relation to the sunny and warm days, we didn’t see any sunscreen available to use or purchase, so remember to bring that with you, along with hats and water bottles.

You can also manage to stay a little dry in the park by choosing the indoor attractions, shows and activities on the wet days, however a lot of people have the same idea and some lines / waiting areas are out in weather too. This does also give you the opportunity to have less lines for the rides (those that can run in the rain), if you are prepared to get wet. We did notice the park a little less crowded the morning that it was raining heavily.

Height Restriction Rides:

The most disappointing part for any child at Disneyland Paris, is being turned away from a ride because they aren’t tall enough. It is a safety consideration for the park as little bodies cannot handle or be safely restrained on certain rides. These are mostly the larger thrill rides, with a lot of corkscrews and high speeds.
Disneyland Paris, had only 1 ride that Aria was too short for – Indiana Jones (140cm). All others were 120cm and luckily she was literally measuring at 120cm with her shoes on. We did get turned away from one ride as she was measuring too short, however had just come from another 120cm ride, so that was a little confusing. We tried again the next day and she had grown the 1mm she needed, haha.

So our tips for Disneyland Paris is to prepare your children if they are on the cusp of the 120cm height. Discuss in advance what rides they will be able to do, those that they won’t and others that they may also be turned away from.
The measurements are taken with shoes on, so consider this when having the discussion or booking your ticket (USA rides are measured at 122cm). Also, don’t think you will get away with a high ponytail for extra height, they flatten any hair down when measuring.

Costs (AUD):

Newport Bay Hotel Compass Club, Disney Princess Breakfast and Park Passes (2N/3D, breakfast, afternoon tea, room with a view): $3,430

Food costs: $136

Parking: $0

Fuel/Transport: $132

Other (insurance, sim cards etc): $71

Total: $3769

Other Tips:

1. Stay close by the night before and arrive at the hotel around 9am /10am on your first day, check-in, drop off your luggage and hit the park to make the most of your first day! (If staying at a Disney Hotel, if not, book the night before at your external accommodation too to make the most of your first day).

2. We found the courtesy bus from the hotel to take just as long as walking from Newport Bay Hotel, so chose to walk all but one time.

3. Pack clothes for every weather – we had days with hats and sunscreen needed, others where we needed waterproof shoes, umbrellas and ponchos – there really isn’t that much shelter in the attraction line ups etc for both rain and burning sun.

4. Download the app in advance, try to plan out your day around the shows and parades on at specifics days and time and do the rides in those areas, to save your legs. BUT don’t be too planned, as lines are long so may need to be flexible, plus you do need to allow for queuing for shows! Also if you stay at the hotels you get early entry so use that time!

6. It’s not a fashion show, wear comfortable shoes and clothes! Seriously!!

7. Security is prominent so be prepared for bags, prams etc to be scanned / searched.

“In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.” – Mary Poppins

We are so very grateful our job gives us many opportunities for elements of family fun!

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