Disney and Other Theme Parks aka PB's fairgrounds for young girls

[johnnyboy]

18 minutes ago, GlennCullen said:

with two days at Disneyland at the end

Are you staying in a Disney hotel, nearby, or travelling in from Paris each day?

If you're staying in a Disney hotel do you have any of the meal plan options and/or any meals booked?

What do the kids like?  Princesses, the mouse, Star Wars, Marvel?

[GlennCullen]

My man! Staying at the Explorers Hotel just off site so breakfast is covered, but need to book in for lunch and dinner as we plan to get in early and stay through the evenings. Struggling a bit with not just the range of food options available, but also the fact that from what I can see they appear to be fairly hit or miss in terms of quality, so would be very grateful on a steer of where to aim for!

10 year old is still in her Disney Princess stage, so absolutely that, both would enjoy the Mickey and Friends elements, and the 6 year old is firmly into Marvel. He also likes Star Wars, but can probably leave that out for this one. Ideally I'd like to hit the main age appropriate rides, meet some characters and see a couple of shows/experiences, but conscious that it may be a tad optimistic and time will probably get away from us.

Greatly appreciate the advice!

[TibBo]

Here is what we do….

Steal extra stuff from the hotel at breakfast that you can use as snacks throughout the day while standing in queues for rides (cookies/fruit/pain-au-chocolat etc). That will normally keep you going until a late-ish lunch.

Between the two parks there is an area called Disney Village, which has a range of places to quickly grab something to eat (McDonalds/subway style sandwich shops etc) so you could all grab something from different places depending on what you fancied at the time, which helps if you have fussy eaters/vegetarians etc in the group.

With the parades I would recommend standing by the gates where the parade starts, that way you are first to see all of the floats/characters, and can then quickly jump on some rides while everyone else is still watching the parade.

Mickey and the Magician is a great show and includes tons of the main characters/songs etc. it is really nicely done show that I would definitely recommend.

[SuperBacon]

Wetherspoons or McDonald's

Edited April 22, 2025 by SuperBacon

[TibBo]

Ooh can you do the character breakfasts if you are not staying on site?
If so that is definitely the best way to meet characters, as they literally come to your tables and spend some time with you playing games and taking pictures etc. They make sure every character visits every table. They probably send out 6 or 7 characters and it gets you into the park early too… and you can steal snacks for later in the day. The secret ingredient is crime.

[GlennCullen]

11 minutes ago, TibBo said:

Here is what we do….

Steal extra stuff from the hotel at breakfast that you can use as snacks throughout the day while standing in queues for rides (cookies/fruit/pain-au-chocolat etc). That will normally keep you going until a late-ish lunch.

Between the two parks there is an area called Disney Village, which has a range of places to quickly grab something to eat (McDonalds/subway style sandwich shops etc) so you could all grab something from different places depending on what you fancied at the time, which helps if you have fussy eaters/vegetarians etc in the group.

With the parades I would recommend standing by the gates where the parade starts, that way you are first to see all of the floats/characters, and can then quickly jump on some rides while everyone else is still watching the parade.

Mickey and the Magician is a great show and includes tons of the main characters/songs etc. it is really nicely done show that I would definitely recommend.

Thanks for both of these!

[johnnyboy]

Make sure you have the Disneyland Paris app and link your tickets/booking in it as some of the big meet and greets are on a virtual queue system.

The "queue" opens at a certain time, you mash the button in the app to try and join queue and then if you get a spot it tells you when to go and say hello to Spider-man etc.

Currently the Marvel Training Centre and Stitch are on a virtual queue, with others set to be on the virtual queue system soon.  The Marvel Training Centre is well worth trying to get if they're big into Marvel.  DLPReport on socials is good to follow for updates on such things.  Stitch virtual queue screenshots are about halfway down this page: https://dlpreport.com/en/disneyland-paris-news-photo-report-199-april-14-20-2025/

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DOLLAR DOLLAR BILLS OPTION

You might consider Premier Access (either per ride, or the one go on every ride that has a  Premier Access queue)

https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-gb/attractions/disney-premier-access/

There are also guaranteed access show tickets:

https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-gb/entertainment/guaranteed-access/

----

Themed restaurants:

*Reservation almost certainly required.

Stark Factory - counter/quick service.  Tasty enough pizza and pasta, but has a fuck off massive Hulkbuster in the entrance.  You can go and see the Hulkbuster even if you don't want some pizza.  (Cheapest option I've listed by a mile)

*Bistrot Chez Remy - sit down/table service.  Themed to Ratatouille.  Everything is "rat-sized" as you're shrunk down so the tables are upturned wineboxes, the seats are champagne cork cages and the lighting is provided by strings of fairy lights.

*Auberge de Cendrillon - sit down character meal.  Eye-wateringly expensive, but you'll meet princesses while the £100 sausage catches in your throat.  Despite the cost it can be hard to get a reservation.

*Pym Kitchen - sit down buffet.  Pym gimmick where some things are big and some things are small.  The gimmick is better than the food, but the food is decent enough.  You don't usually meet Ant-Man in here though.

Generic advice is that character meals are a great way to get some character interaction without burning through time in queues.

----

Shows:

During busy times you may queue 45+ minutes to get in to a show, especially Lion King.

In order of excellence:

1. Lion King

2. Mickey and the Magician

3. Frozen (if you like Frozen)

4. Pixar Together isn't back until July

5. Alice in Wonderland BMX skating stunt show

 

Lion King and Mickey and the Magician are fantastic.

----

Age appropriate rides would be in Studios: WEB Slingers, almost all of Toy Story Playland, Ratatouille, both Cars, magic carpets, and maybe Crush's Coaster (if you like 90 minute lines and they'll stomach coasters).

Disneyland Park basically everything apart from the coasters and maybe Phantom Manor is a bit scary for younger children.

----

You can attack Disneyland Paris and rip the arse out of it in a couple of full on days, but I wouldn't say that's the most fun way to experience it.  I'm more a pick my must dos and take a relaxed stroll.

[johnnyboy]

7 minutes ago, TibBo said:

Ooh can you do the character breakfasts if you are not staying on site?

Yes, you just have a smaller window to book so there's less availability.

[GlennCullen]

10 minutes ago, johnnyboy said:

Make sure you have the Disneyland Paris app and link your tickets/booking in it as some of the big meet and greets are on a virtual queue system.

The "queue" opens at a certain time, you mash the button in the app to try and join queue and then if you get a spot it tells you when to go and say hello to Spider-man etc.

Currently the Marvel Training Centre and Stitch are on a virtual queue, with others set to be on the virtual queue system soon.  The Marvel Training Centre is well worth trying to get if they're big into Marvel.  DLPReport on socials is good to follow for updates on such things.  Stitch virtual queue screenshots are about halfway down this page: https://dlpreport.com/en/disneyland-paris-news-photo-report-199-april-14-20-2025/

----

DOLLAR DOLLAR BILLS OPTION

You might consider Premier Access (either per ride, or the one go on every ride that has a  Premier Access queue)

https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-gb/attractions/disney-premier-access/

There are also guaranteed access show tickets:

https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-gb/entertainment/guaranteed-access/

----

Themed restaurants:

*Reservation almost certainly required.

Stark Factory - counter/quick service.  Tasty enough pizza and pasta, but has a fuck off massive Hulkbuster in the entrance.  You can go and see the Hulkbuster even if you don't want some pizza.  (Cheapest option I've listed by a mile)

*Bistrot Chez Remy - sit down/table service.  Themed to Ratatouille.  Everything is "rat-sized" as you're shrunk down so the tables are upturned wineboxes, the seats are champagne cork cages and the lighting is provided by strings of fairy lights.

*Auberge de Cendrillon - sit down character meal.  Eye-wateringly expensive, but you'll meet princesses while the £100 sausage catches in your throat.  Despite the cost it can be hard to get a reservation.

*Pym Kitchen - sit down buffet.  Pym gimmick where some things are big and some things are small.  The gimmick is better than the food, but the food is decent enough.  You don't usually meet Ant-Man in here though.

Generic advice is that character meals are a great way to get some character interaction without burning through time in queues.

----

Shows:

During busy times you may queue 45+ minutes to get in to a show, especially Lion King.

In order of excellence:

1. Lion King

2. Mickey and the Magician

3. Frozen (if you like Frozen)

4. Pixar Together isn't back until July

5. Alice in Wonderland BMX skating stunt show

 

Lion King and Mickey and the Magician are fantastic.

----

Age appropriate rides would be in Studios: WEB Slingers, almost all of Toy Story Playland, Ratatouille, both Cars, magic carpets, and maybe Crush's Coaster (if you like 90 minute lines and they'll stomach coasters).

Disneyland Park basically everything apart from the coasters and maybe Phantom Manor is a bit scary for younger children.

----

You can attack Disneyland Paris and rip the arse out of it in a couple of full on days, but I wouldn't say that's the most fun way to experience it.  I'm more a pick my must dos and take a relaxed stroll.

That's fantastic, thank you so much.

And to you @TibBo, mensches, the pair of you!

[johnnyboy]

1 minute ago, GlennCullen said:

That's fantastic, thank you so much.

No worries, I only got back from there last week so talking about it is easing my comedown

Edited April 22, 2025 by johnnyboy

[TibBo]

There Is a lion king portion as part of the Mickey and the Magician show, so if you only have time for one I would probably recommend that.

If you have to get out of the queue for any reason (kids need the toilet etc), if you mention it to the staff they will usually give you a ticket to jump back in line.

[Weezenal]

Off to Orlando in just under a month now for Disney with the family for 2 weeks. We're all very excited but it's overwhelming.

Going with wife, kids, mum, dad and sister so me and my wife may have a couple days without them all. Is it worth is getting universal pass for a couple days?

What are queues like for ride in Disney? Are the fast pass worth it?

I have 100s of questions but I'll stick with these two for now! 

[DavidB6937]

If you're interested in the new stuff in Universal then it's probably worth doing. I haven't gone yet but been watching a lot of vlogs and it looks like they've done a really good job there so I'd definitely go myself.

The queue stuff honestly depends on what you want to do and how much time you'll be spending in each park. Do you tend to prep/schedule beforehand? I know some people just go with the flow but I never could. I can't be dealing with spending ages discussing what to do or where to go.

If you're all wanting to do the big popular rides then the extra bits become more useful but I'd never say you have to get it to enjoy yourself. If you're going for two weeks then realistically you should be able to fit everything in.

[Thunderplex]

Always found Touringplans.com very useful.  It can do a daily plan for you to get the most of the days, or you can just use it for its busy day predictions that would help you choose the best days to to what.  Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios are about a days worth each, and I presume the same for Epic Universe.

[Dai]

The dib is an excellent source of information. 

From a personal standpoint, I think it's lunacy to be a month out from going and not having a detailed plan for every day. Especially as you're going with kids, and especially as it's going to be July. This trip is going to cost you £10k+ for all of you, so you need to plan the days with military precision to get the most of of them. You need rigid times about when to wake up, you need a plan with the order of the rides you're going to do in the park, a list of what you need to bring with you every day, what order you're going to do the parks in, what time you're going to leave the park for the kids to have a rest in the afternoon. 

It doesn't sound like fun, but bizarrely there are people who enjoy planning to this detail, which is the case for me. 

As someone who has been lucky enough to have been there 7 times, it makes me panic just thinking about the fact you're a month out and don't seemingly have it all laid out already.