So you’ve booked your trip to Disneyland Paris. Yay you! You’re going to have a great time! But now you have to wrestle with the nitty gritty of planning, and that can be an anxious time. There’s so much pressure to make these trips ‘perfect’ (especially as they’re not cheap). There’s so much advice out there – both good, and not so good. There’s so much to think about! Even as someone who has been to Disneyland Paris a lot, the planning can still trigger my anxiety, and I’m sure it’s the same for other folks out there, particularly those with mental health conditions.

While we can’t take all the stress off you (sorry!), here are our top tips for helping to ease some of your anxiety and help your trip run smoother.

1. Print it out!

These days we’re used to relying on our handy mobile devices for everything, and the Disneyland Paris app can do just that for you – hold details of your booking, act as your travel tickets, even be your room key. But you know what? Tech goes wrong!

As such for all key documents you may need for your trip (particularly booking confirmations and travel tickets), print off a physical copy if you can just in case there’s an IT blip. I’d also recommend forwarding on the details to others in your travel party, just in case it’s your phone that has the error. That way if something does go wrong with your tech on travel day, you can breathe easy knowing there are other copies on hand.

2. Screenshot it!

Printing things out before you travel is all well and good, but what about for bookings and things you make while you’re at Disneyland Paris, such as mobile orders or last minute table service restaurant bookings, or premier pass reservations? You won’t be carrying a printer around with you! (I mean you could but that’d be pretty weird).

Again, all those details should be held in your Disneyland Paris app. But app failures are known to happen, so screenshot the confirmation screen you get when your order is completed. That way you’ve got a back up should the app decide to have a funny five minutes!

3. Prioritise!

Between the two Disneyland Paris parks there are over fifty attractions. You’re ability to do them all may be affected by factors you can’t predict – ride closures, weather, and crowds. And if you have mobility limitations like me, the time it’ll take you to move between them is also a factor.

As such for each day in the parks, we’d recommend everyone in your group choosing their top three must dos, and you focus on getting them done. Anything else on top is then a bonus. If you have multiple days in the park you might be tempted to focus only on certain members of the group’s must dos one day and the others another day but I wouldn’t recommend that – if you have children and focus on one’s wishes each day you’re likely to have a grumpy and resentful other child as they’re dragged around attractions they’re not so interested in!

Something else you may want to consider if you can is extending your trip by a day or two – we’ve found this very helpful for allowing us to pace our days without rushing here, there and everywhere. Of course this one is very much budget and time available depending!

4. Scope out menus in advance!

Not only are there a lot of attractions at Disneyland Paris, there are a lot of restaurants too! And knowing where you might want to eat can be challenge. This is even more the case when you have people in your group with dietary restrictions, or who are even just picky eaters.

Thankfully you don’t have to just cross your fingers and hope when it comes to restaurants’ menus, because they’re all online! You can find them either on the app, or the main Disneyland Paris website under each restaurant listing. If you know what places serve food that suits your group in advance you can manage expectations about where you might be going to eat. (And bonus, you can plan all the yummy snacks you want to grab too!)

Side note about the menus online when it comes to buffets – the options listed in the menu are essentially the highlights, so expect more options in the restaurants themselves.

5. Book table service restaurants as soon as you can!

Did you know that Disneyland Paris resort guests can book table service restaurants up to a year in advance? Yup, a whole year! (Puts that 180 days booking window at Walt Disney World in Florida that everyone moaned about being too long into perspective doesn’t it?) This means of course that some of the most popular spots can and will book up in advance. So if there’s a table service restaurant that you want to eat at, book it as soon as you can.

Off-site guests can book their restaurants 60 days in advance. The honest truth is that this means many of the most popular restaurants may be all booked up before you even get a look in. As such I’d have chosen and backup restaurants planned so you can pivot if your restaurant of choice is showing no availability. But do keep checking back! Cancellations are made all the time.

If you’re staying at a Disney resort, try your concierge too. No promises but they might be able to fit you in at the restaurant you’d like to visit.

6. Plan meeting places and keep track of your kids!

Thousands of people a day visit the Disneyland Paris parks, so it’s very easy to get separated, particularly for little ones who might be distracted but all the fun magic around them. It’s also worth remembering that the fireworks closes down Disneyland parc every night, so when they’re over there’s thousands of people all moving towards the exits.

As such, plan some meeting places for everyone to gather at if you get separated. The gazebo just inside the main entrance might not be a bad spot. Also, train kids to recognise cast members and how to ask for help – cast members are well used to helping little ones reunite with their lost parents. You might also want to pop on to them something like an Apple Air Tag so you can find them easily should you get split up.

7. Set budgets in advance!

For Disneyland Paris trips, some folks want to stick to a strict budget. Others are happy to spend when the fancy takes them. Both are fine. But you might want to agree with others in your group in advance what budgets are available for things like souvenirs. Because there’s a lot of temptation in those Disney shops, particularly for little ones. (And me but hey ho…)

You might want to pop some spending money on a prepaid travel card or gift card for people to use, with the understanding that when the money’s gone, it’s gone! That way you know you won’t be coming home to the mother of all credit card bills.

8. Leave some flexibility!

Some folks like to have every minute of their Disney day planned out. I get the urge to do it. But I’d also recommend some flexibility too!

Because even the best laid plans can go awry, maybe because of something like a ride closure or a travel delay. Or maybe just because your group finds something they really like that wasn’t on the original plan, so you want to spend more time on that instead! This can particularly be the case for the walk through exhibits. Last time we were in Disneyland Paris we spent about an hour exploring the caves on Adventure Isle. Planned? Not really. Cool? Definitely!

9. Limit the valuables you take into the park!

Every day in the Disneyland Paris social media groups you see people asking for help to locate items lost in the parks. Sometimes these items are super valuable financially, like jewellery or mobile phones. But even more heart-breaking is seeing posts of little ones who have lost their much loved cuddly companions. So my tip is this – limit what you take into the parks!

Of course you’ll need things like mobile phones, but make sure they’re tucked away somewhere that they can’t easily fall out, especially on rides. But I always go very light on the jewellery when travelling (and I usually prefer the ‘enough sparkle to distract a thousand magpies’ aesthetic). And if little ones can cope then I’d suggest they leave their favourite cuddly either at home, or at least in the hotel room (but NOT on the bed as they might get accidentally carted off by housekeeping with the sheets!). Also if you have any backups of a favourite toy, you might want to pack them. Just in case.

10. Accept that things might go awry!

Of course we all want Disney trips to be perfect. But they seldom are! And that’s okay, as long as we accept that.

On our last trip to Disneyland Paris the weather was so rubbish that the drones for the night-time show weren’t able to fly once in the five nights we were there! And I was bummed, to be honest. But did it ruin the whole trip? Nope! Because it’s Disney and magic is everywhere. It’s best not to pin your entire trip on one show or attraction, because you never know what might happen. But if things do go a bit wrong, take some time to pause, and then see what other fun you can find. Because I guarantee, there’ll be plenty there!

We hope those tips helped – share any others you have in the comments, and subscribe to receive future blogs in your inbox!