Disneyland Paris really polarises people. Some adore it, some seem determined to hate it. While we lean towards the adore side, we’re realistic enough to know that not everything in Disneyland Paris is perfect! So here we debunk some myths and share what we think is great, what’s okay, and what just isn’t that good.

Of course this is all our opinions, and yours may differ! But we hope this may help those considering a trip to Disneyland Paris to confirm their plans to go, and what they need to think about to get the most out of their trip.

What’s great!

I always like to start with a positive – so here’s what we think is great at Disneyland Paris!

The beauty of the Parks

When Michael Eisner first went about creating Disneyland Paris he wanted the park to be classic Disney with an European flair, and to create the most beautiful Disney park. And we think he succeeded! The main Disneyland park is breathtakingly gorgeous – full of stunning scenery, creative designs and fairytale whimsy. And while the Studios park is having some, erm, shall we say growing pains? There’s no doubt that there’s part of this park which also showcase the Disney attention to detail and looks – such as the Paris area around the Ratatouille ride, and the new backdrops for the flying carpets of Aladdin. And while Avengers Campus may not be exactly pretty, it’s not meant to be and what is there tells the story of the land really well! The concept art for what’s coming to this park is also promising. And this showcase of art, design and beauty continues to the resorts, particularly with the recent refurbishments of the Disneyland Hotel and Hotel New York. Actually Disneyland Paris cost so much to make as gorgeous as it is that it really struggled to make the money back in the park’s early years, nearly bankrupting Disney parks in the process. So take time to stop and look around – there’s gorgeous detail everywhere!

The attractions

There seems to be a trend of looking at Disneyland Paris as a lesser Disney park, but that is really doing the parks a disservice. Their versions of Disney classic attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain and Phantom Manor (Haunted Mansion) are held up as better than their counterparts in other Disney parks. Space Mountain has been reinvented into an even greater thrill ride, Tower of Terror reaches new levels of creepiness. The Ratatouille ride, which is raking in massive queues at Epcot in Walt Disney World, had its origins in Paris’ Studios park. And Disneyland Paris has some brilliant original attractions too – the Alice in Wonderland maze, the reinvention of Tom Sawyer Island into the immersive Adventure Isle, and jaw-dropping shows like Mickey and the Magician and Rhythm of the Pridelands. And of course it hosts a unique Avengers ride in Flight Force (although it’s admittedly a re-do of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster) and Crush’s Coaster continues to draw in massive lines several years after its debut. Don’t turn up your nose at Disneyland Paris attractions – they’re some of the best you’ll ever experience!

Services for the Differently-Abled

As folks who are Differently-Abled, we know that planning a theme park visit can be intimidating. And believe us when we say that the services they offer to support the differently-abled at Disneyland Paris are way ahead of any other theme park we have visited, including the US Disney parks. The Priority Pass offers easy access where it’s needed to those who would struggle in traditional lines and shows waiting areas, the Easy Access Pass allows the booking of time slots to help reduce waits. There is a great deal of guidance online from Disney Paris to help with trip planning, and there are even discounted tickets for the Differently-Abled and their carers. For us these services make a massive difference, and having recently visited Walt Disney World where we do not qualify for the same support due to the recent changes in their DAS system, we can say that the service at Disneyland Paris is second-to-none. Our only caveat for this may be those with very restricted diets (more on that later).

Ease of getting around the resort

Disneyland Paris is a pretty compact resort – everything on site at the resort can be reached within a 25 minute walk or so, and there are buses to the more remote resorts. While this more compact size naturally means there is less there than, say, the massive Walt Disney World in Florida, it does make park hopping, nipping back to hotels for a rest and more a lot easier.

What’s okay

So if that’s what’s great, what’s just okay at Disneyland Paris? We we have some thoughts…

The food

Like the resort itself, the food at Disneyland Paris tends to polarise folks – we’ve heard some people say that it’s the best food they’ve ever had, and others say it’s the worst! For us the food is pretty okay. We’ve only ever had what I would consider one bad meal at Disneyland Paris, and that restaurant is long gone thank goodness! Some of the table-service restaurants offer some definitely tasty meals, and there are good quick-service options if you know where to look. But a lot of food is a bit more mid, and there are a lot less of the iconic snacks that other Disney parks are known for. Part of this is down to culture – snacking is rather less of a thing in France so less effort has previously gone into creating great snacks! Another part I think is that the parks are trying to churn a lot of people through their restaurants, particularly the quick service spots, so super-luxury food just isn’t on the agenda. And partly it is down to sheer dumb-luck – a tasty meal might be a lot less so when it’s been sitting under a heat lamp for a while! (We’re looking at you Pinocchio’s chicken!). So how good your experience is might just depend on how fresh the food is. What we will say though is it’s worth giving the restaurants a go, and Disney are definitely starting to improve the snacks available. And when you are in a restaurant – check out the theming! Like the parks, many restaurants are gorgeous and have amazing theming details.

Meeting characters

I’ll preface this by saying all the actual characters we’ve met at Disneyland Paris have been amazing! Friendly, charming, wonderful with children. And meeting characters is a key part of the Disney experience. But the experience of trying to meet the characters can be… trying. The good news is there are a lot of great characters to meet, but they are very, very popular. It’s pretty common to see the Princess pavilion have the longest wait of either park, and meeting Mickey can also be a lengthy wait. And if there are special characters out for seasons or events, waits of multiple hours are not uncommon. Even for those with the Priority card, for many characters they’ll need to book a slot to meet them and those slots can go within minutes of park opening. As such while we recommend meeting characters, plan your strategy – aim to get there as early as you can, and be prepared to wait it out! Thankfully if a meet and great is not needed and someone wants to just glimpse a particular character, the shows and parades offer extra opportunities to do so. And if you’re in a Disney resort see what characters you can meet there – it might be a much shorter wait than in the parks!

The weather

The weather in Paris can be changeable. In the winter it can be very cold, in the summer bakingly hot. Rain can happen at any time pretty much. In some ways the weather is a plus – there’s something about a sunny, springlike day to enjoy the beauty of the parks, and the Christmas season feels a bit more magical with actual wintery temps (and maybe snow!) to go with it. On the flip side though… you might get wet. Or very cold. Or very hot. Or a mixture thereof depending when you’re going! The good news is that the parks are well designed to cope with dodgy weather, with covered walkways and indoor waiting areas. But it’s somewhat inevitable that you’ll have to brave the weather at some point, and it could put a literal dampener on your trip. But if you plan in advance and pack accordingly you can still have a magical time!

Customer service

I’m sure there’s some out there that would say we should but this in the ‘not good’ category – typically because they’re comparing to the USA Disney parks. But we think this isn’t very fair. For the most part we’ve found the cast members at Disneyland Paris very helpful and friendly. But they’re not going to be as much in your face with the customer service that you’ll find in the USA parks. The difference? Culture! In France that ultimate customer service culture you find in the USA just isn’t a thing. Partly this because the French staff do not need to rely on tips in the same way as their USA counterparts. But in France, the customer service is just a bit more relaxed. In the USA parks, the Disney cast members provide very good customer service by USA standards. In Disneyland Paris, the cast members provide very good customer service by French standards – but that’s not the same as for the USA! Regardless of where you are make sure you treat the cast members with respect and kindness – they do a tough job and the last thing they need is anyone else being horrible to them! (Plus the nicer you are the more inclined they’ll be to help you out – it’s human nature.) Having said that, if you do have a genuinely terrible interaction with a cast member report it to guest services so they can address the issue – a relaxed culture should not mean a terrible experience for guests!

What isn’t good

While we think the good outweighs the bad at Disneyland Paris, there are some things there that aren’t that good. And we wanted to be honest and share our thoughts on some of these.

Toilets / Restrooms

The good news is that there are quite a few toilets around Disneyland Paris. However, in our experience there isn’t quite enough of them, and particularly later on in the day they can struggle with cleanliness. For some reason it seems a bit of a blind spot with cleaning at the parks. This can be mitigated a bit by choosing some of the less well-used toilets in the parks, but even these can be difficult to find at times! This is particularly the case with the Studios park at present, with the building work going on. And whoever thought one set of toilets would be enough for Avengers Campus definitely needs their heads examined! Really the toilets aren’t that great.

Food choices for very restricted diets

While the food at Disneyland Paris is overall decent (see above!), we do recognise that the options are limited for those who are picky eaters, who have restricted diets, and particularly who may have conditions such as ARFID. The traditional ‘picky eater’ foods such as chicken nuggets, mac ‘n’ cheese etc are much harder to find. This is really down to a difference in culture; in France children are generally fed the same things as their parents, not what other cultures may consider ‘child-safe food’, so it’s not that surprising that restaurants in Disneyland Paris echo this. As such though if you are someone with a very restricted diet or something like ARFID you may struggle to find options that appeal. And while Disney will work with people who have dietary restrictions to ensure they can find something to safely eat – what is safe may not be what is tasty or appealing! Bringing in your own snacks may pay dividends. (And it’s cheaper, speaking of which…)

Cost

There’s no two ways about it, a trip to Disneyland Paris can be very expensive. While there are more budget ways to go to Disney (staying off-site or in a value hotel, bringing in your own snacks) there’s no getting away with the fact that a Disneyland Paris trip is a pricey endeavour. For those who want to stay in the Disney bubble, eat Disney food, and spend multiple days in the park prices can reach into the thousands for a family of four. And Disney keep on adding in extras for a cost of course – Premier Pass to skip lines at rides, priority access to shows, special viewing areas for night-time spectaculars and parades. Are these things necessary? No! But there’s no doubting their appeal, and a strong sense of FOMO if you don’t participate. And the merchandise isn’t cheap either. Essentially, for any Disneyland Paris trip be prepared to set a budget, and to balance your spends to make it work for you.

Crowds

This is probably the biggie! To start with some expectation setting – Disney parks tend to be crowded. Disneyland Paris is no exception. Even at quieter times of year, you’ll be spending a day in a Disneyland Paris theme parks with thousands of other people. You can help minimise time in line by going at quieter times, getting to the parks for opening (or early entry if on site), and having a good strategy. But the problem with the crowds at Disneyland Paris isn’t always the quantity, sadly it’s the quality. Sadly manners and caring for others can be in very short supply at Disneyland Paris. People pushing people out of parade or show spots is pretty common. So is people getting barged out the way by buggies, dealing with people hogging multiple tables in counter-service restaurants when they have no food or smoking where they shouldn’t, or being shoved out the way in bus queues. And sadly Disneyland Paris is no stranger to pick-pockets. Are you guaranteed to encounter this? No! A lot of people at Disneyland Paris are decent folks just trying to have a nice time. But there’s no doubt that there’s some folks who put their nice time above any consideration of others! Sadly you can’t control the behaviour of others. But what you can do is be patient, be firm when holding down viewing slots, and being courteous yourself when needed – just because others are rude it doesn’t mean you need to be.

Honestly this blog could keep going on! But here’s our thoughts – anything you disagree with? What would you add? Let us know in the comments!