When visiting Disneyland Paris, many people chose to travel there by train; whether that be services from elsewhere in continental Europe, or from the UK on the Eurostar. Gard du Nord is the Eurostar’s main destination in Paris, and many mainline trains stop here. But once here there’s a new conundrum – how do you get to Disneyland Paris?

One good option is the RER, essentially Paris’ equivalent of an Underground or Subway service. But finding your way can be a bit tricky if you don’t know how! In this blog we’re sharing step-by-step instructions on how to use the RER to get to Disneyland Paris!

1. On arrival at Gard du Nord, follow signs to the RER and Metro

Depending on what service you use to get into Paris, if you arrive at Gard du Nord chances are you’ll arrive or end up in the main station. (If you get the Eurostar you’ll arrive on the first floor of the station and need to head down to get into the main station).

When you’re in the main station, you then need to follow signs to the RER and Metro – they’re marked with an RER in a square or M in a circle. These signs will point down an escalator – go down that and you’ll find yourself in the concourse with the ticket machines.

(Note, if for some reason you find yourself with RER and Metro signs pointing in different directions, you want to aim for RER B).

2. Find the pink ticket machines and buy tickets

When you’re in the next concourse you’ll see a ticket office and A LOT of ticket machines – the thing is they don’t all sell tickets to the same places!

The right machines to get tickets for Disneyland Paris should have pink signage with ‘Vente tickets’ on them. Signage on the wall nearby will say they are for ‘Paris and the Ile de France’. Don’t use the ticket machines that say ‘Mainline’ next to them because they don’t sell tickets for Disneyland Paris! In our most recent experience the tickets were in a group on the right hand side between the ticket office and the RER, as you’re walking towards the RER platforms. But they’d moved since our previous trip just a few months before so we can’t promise they won’t move them again! The machines are likely to have queues, so it’s best just to pick one and wait patiently.

(The ticket machines in the same grouping with purple signs are to buy and top up Navigo tickets, which are like a travelcard. They’re not needed just to travel to Disneyland Paris but might be useful if you plan to be travelling around Paris on your trip too).

When at the machine, the first screen should have an option to change language – we’d recommend doing that if you don’t speak French! On the next screen it’ll suggest a few common destinations on the right hand side, and on the left is menu options. One of these is ‘Tourist destinations’. If you press on this and scroll through the options, Disneyland Paris is one of them! Another way to reach this is to click the search and start typing in ‘Marne-la-Vallee Chessy’ (the actual name of the Disneyland Paris train station). Both will bring you to the same point of buying tickets to travel to Disneyland Paris.

Once you’ve selected Marne-la-Vallee / Disneyland Paris as your destination, you will be given the option to select the number of passengers, and then asked to pay. We found paying by contactless very easy. The tickets are very reasonable – adults were only 5 euros on our last visit.

Once you’ve paid remember to pick up the tickets from the machine at the bottom – they are pretty tiny compared to UK train tickets!

3. Go to RER B South platform

Once you have you tickets, keep following the signs in the station to the RER line B. When you get closer make sure you’re following the signs for B Sud, or South (the B line signage is blue). When you reach the ticket barriers, insert the little ticket in the slot, then take it when it pops out the top of the machine, opening the barrier doors. Note the barriers are quite narrow and the doors don’t stay open for long! Make sure you hang on to your ticket – you’ll need it again at the end of the journey.

Once past the ticket machines keep following the signs until you reach the escalators going doing on to the platform. Make sure when you’re down the escalator you go on to the right platform, as the other side of the platform is the RER D line. For us it was the platform on the right as we came down the escalator (D was on the left). Again, they’re both clearly signposted, and the B line has blue signs whereas the D has green.

4. Take the RER B line South one stop to Chatelet les Halles

The good news is that once you’re on the platform you can take any train because you are only going one stop, to Chatelet les Halles station. All you need to board is the train, then get off at the next stop. This journey was so quick last time we did it we didn’t even get any photos. Simple, right?

Well, kind of. The journey in itself is simple but both Gare du Nord and Chatelet les Halles are major transport hubs in Paris, so expect this journey to be VERY busy, especially at peak times or on the weekend. You may well have to push and shove a bit to get on the train, and again to get off! (Saying ‘Pardon’ or ‘désolée’ first is polite as it shows you want to get past someone, but your mileage may vary on how well it works). One trick you might want to try is being on the far ends of the platform as they can be a little quieter.

5. At Chatelet les Halles, swap to the RER A East platform and wait for the next Marne-la-Vallee Chessy / Disneyland Paris train

Once at Chatelet les Halles you need to change to the RER A East line, which will take you all the way to Disneyland Paris. And the good news is you don’t have to negotiate any stairs or escalators to do so – literally walk straight across the platform from where you arrived on the RER B line, and you’ll be on the RER A line East platform.

Once here all you need to do is wait for a train – but make sure it’s the right one! The RER East line splits at the end, so only half the trains will be going to Disneyland Paris (for UK folks familiar with the London Underground, it’s a bit like the Northern Line). In our experience these trains are about every 10 minutes and tend to alternate with those on the other branch (although always check first). The good news is that the platform signage will always be clear which train is coming next. (An extra hint – the trains to Disneyland Paris will not only have the ‘Marne-la-Vallee Chessy’ destination but a Mickey Mouse head to indicate them!) Boissy-St-Leger is the other destination, so if the platform signs say that as the next train don’t get on!

Side note: If once you get on the train you realise it’s the wrong one, don’t panic! For the first three stops after Chatelet les Halles the two branches of the RER A line East share stations, so you can get off at the next station and wait on the platform for the next Disneyland Paris service. If you don’t realise until you’ve reached the end of the line, you’ll need to hop the RER A line west-bound back to Vincennes, which is the station just before the split. There you can change back to the East line for a Disneyland Paris train. Probably better if you can get on the right train first though!

6. Hop on board and enjoy the trip!

When the right train comes, all you need to do is hop on it!

The trains themselves might seem a bit weird to fellow folks from the UK though as they have three floors – middle floors you step on to, and then other floors both up and down short flights of stairs from here. This is where the bulk of the seats are. There are a few seats on the level with the doors but they’re really for folks with mobility differences, or perhaps those with buggies (if the train is quiet though they’re handy if you have luggage).

In our experience the RER A line is much quieter than the RER B line, and unless it’s peak times you’re more likely than not to get a seat. Which is just as well as it’s quite a long ride – Chatelet les Halles to Marne-la-Vallee Chessy is 15 stops! But they’re visited rather quickly, and the journey overall takes around 35-40 minutes. If you factor in the times waiting for trains and navigating the stations, overall the journey from Gard du Nord to Disneyland Paris takes about 1 hour.

As the station for Disneyland Paris is at the end of the line you don’t need to worry about missing a station. The station just before Disneyland Paris is Val d’Europe where the shopping centre is – and a lot of hotels.

7. Making your way to the main station concourse at Marne-la-Vallee

Once you’ve arrived at Marne-la-Vallee Chessy you’ll need to head up an escalator to get to the main station concourse. They’re well signposted though and everyone else will do the same so don’t worry about getting lost!

At the top of the escalator you’ll meet another set of ticket barriers, so insert your ticket as you did at the beginning of your journey to be let through.

8. Let the magic begin!

And that’s it – you’ve arrived at Disneyland Paris! It’s time for the fun to begin!

If you’re heading straight to the parks (or the Disneyland Hotel) head right coming out of the RER platforms, and then right again to the nearest exit to be nearest the park. If you want the Disney village head out of Exit 2 (right from the RER platforms and then straight ahead) and then hang right towards the Village exit. If you’d like the shuttle buses to the resorts exit the same way but once outside head left to the bus station, then follow the signs to the stop for your resort.

Finally, if you’re taking advantage of the Disney Express service (where you leave your luggage at the station and pick up your tickets, and then your luggage gets transported to your Disney resort) you need to head past Exit 2, and then up another escalator for the Disney Express counters.

We hope that helps folks planning on getting to Disneyland Paris from Gard du Nord station and central Paris!