When people talk about Disneyland Paris they often talk about must-dos. These are typically the biggest rides, the most well-known restaurants, and pretty theming that is all over social media. But there are great attractions, restaurants, shops and theming details that don’t get the attention, that we think are well worth a visit! So we’re breaking them down here in this blog.

Attractions

While many people rave about attractions like Phantom Manor, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Tower of Terror (with good reason); there are a few attractions that are also great but don’t get the attention we feel they deserve. Our picks are below!

• Mysteries of the Nautilus (Discoveryland, Disneyland Park) – This walk-through attraction recreates the interior of the Nautilus submarine from the film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. This attraction is rich with detail, with rooms including the bedroom, treasure room, map room and even the main saloon with a large viewport out into the sea. Walking through the Nautilus helps bring to life the rich stories that inspired Discoveryland, and it also rarely has a wait!
• Mickey’s Philharmagic (Discoveryland, Disneyland Park) – In this 3D film you join Donald Duck on his mis-adventures through a number of Disney musical numbers from films after he decides to steal Mickey’s sorcerer’s hat. There are songs included from the Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Fantasia, Peter Pan, Coco and more. It’s a lovely attraction full of fun Disney music, and is also a lovely sit down to watch! It seldom has a long wait, but does often have restricted open hours.
• Adventure Isle Caves (Adventureland, Disneyland Park) – Adventure Isle is a rich landscape of caves, paths, bridges and more in the heart of Adventureland. At the end of the Isle nearest Pirates of the Caribbean are a wealth of caves to explore and you never know what you may find – from lost piratical possessions to hidden treasure! The caves are a great way to pass the time and burn off steam and are full of rich detail, but beware – it’s easy to get lost here!
• Enchanted Passage of Aladdin (Adventureland, Disneyland Park) – this little walkthrough attraction retells the story of the animated Aladdin film through themed tableaus depicting key scenes from the movie. Other theming details and the music help add to the illusion you’re walking through somewhere that could be in Agrabah itself!
• Slinky Dog ZigZag Spin (Toy Story Playland, Walt Disney Studios Park / Disney Adventure World) – Slinky isn’t a large and impressive ride. You essentially sit on the back of Slinky Dog and whizz around in a circle up and down some little hills. But for all its simplicity it really is a good time, and generally less scary or nauseating than some of the other simpler flat rides in the Studios park (soon to be Disney Adventure World).

While it’s a pretty well known attraction I do also want to add a mention for the Dragon’s Lair under Sleeping Beauty Castle – it’s a chance to come face to face with a life size dragon!

Table-service meals

Because of the popularity of the meal plans, it’s rare that table-service meals in Disneyland Paris are completely overlooked. However there’s a couple that we’ve experienced that we thought were worth shouting out!

• Captain Jack’s (Adventureland, Disneyland Park) – We wanted to mention Captain Jack’s as one of the more overlooked in park restaurants. This restaurant overlooks part of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and excellently recreates a nighttime in the Caribbean setting. We’ve always found the service attentive (although not overly speedy), and the quality of the food good. You do need to like the Caribbean and seafood heavy menu to want to dine here which might explain why it’s an easier in park reservation to snag than others, but it’s a restaurant we’d recommend trying if the food appeals!
• Agrabah Cafe Restaurant (Adventureland, Disneyland Park) – Adventureland seems to be a good spot for underrated gems! Agrabah Cafe is a buffet with a North African, middle-eastern and Mediterranean flair. The food here is very good, and it’s a pretty reasonable price too as far as the Disneyland Paris restaurants go. The restaurant setting is extremely pretty, recreating a Souk Bazaar, with more than a few nods to Aladdin in the decor. Of all the in park restaurants, Agrabah tends to be the one with the most last minute availability – I think the more exotic menu might put folks off. It’s probably not a great spot for fussy eaters, but if you want a good quality buffet without the stress of booking ages in advance, then Agrabah is a lovely spot!
• Cape Cod (Newport Bay Club) – Cape Cod was a discovery of ours on our most recent trip. This is one of two restaurants at Newport Bay Club and is the buffet offering. While not the cheapest buffet onsite, this spot has a lot of great items – especially if you like seafood! Options include crab, smoked salmon and mussels, although pastas, salads and meat dishes are available for those who aren’t keen on the seafood options. The dessert buffet includes both hand made to order crepes, and a tower of macarons to pick from. We were able to book a reservation here last minute in the first week of Halloween season, and found the food good quality and the servers lovely. And if that doesn’t convince, here’s 3 words that might – cheesy Mickey waffles!!

Quick-service restaurants

Some of the quick-service restaurants at Disneyland Paris are so popular they get massive queues out the door every meal time! But there’s a few places that tend not to get the same attention that we wanted to mention.

• Cowboy Cookout Barbecue (Frontierland, Disneyland Park) – Cowboy Cookout sits out towards the back of Frontierland, not far from the Frontierland Theatre where Rhythm of the Pridelands plays. Its set back location might account for why this restaurant tends to see less crowds than some of the other spots in the park. But Cowboy Cookout offers some very decent barbecue in a lovely Wild West setting, with ample indoor sitting and its own set of toilets! (They’re tiny but it’s a rarity in Disneyland Paris quick service spots). We recommend Cowboy Cookout for any barbecue fans (which is typically a crowd pleaser), and as a quieter meal spot.
• Restaurant Hakuna Matata (Adventureland, Disneyland Park) – Hakuna Matata sits in a busy location in Adventureland and has a theme based on the popular Lion King. It seems to be overlooked for a couple of reasons though – the main one being its cuisine. Sticking to its African theme, the food here is African inspired too – and therefore probably not all that appealing to picky eaters! Also Hakuna Matata tends to have more limited opening hours than other spots. But the Lion King theming is great and the food tends to be tasty here, so we’d recommend trying it.
• Toad Hall Restaurant (Fantasyland, Disneyland Park) – Fantasyland boasts three quick service restaurants, and Toad Hall tends to be the most overlooked of them all. Admittedly the menu here is limited – all you can get is fish and chips or a vegan equivalent (plus a themed pudding and drinks). But the portions are huge and reasonably priced, and while probably not as good as your local chippy if you’re from the UK it’s still a very tasty meal. And the Toad Hall theming in here is absolutely gorgeous – full of fun details and nods to Toad’s ego! Like Hakuna Matata opening hours tend to be limited, but we think this is by far the best quick service in Fantasyland.
• Super Diner (Avengers Campus, Walt Disney Studios Park / Disney Adventure World) – Actual quick-service restaurants are few and far between in the current Studios Park, but we think Super Diner is an underrated gem. Like Toad Hall it has a very limited menu – here you can get shawarma or a vegan equivalent, and a chocoblast dessert (plus drinks). But the shawarma here is excellent, and we also loved the Chocoblast dessert (a brownie base and light peanut mousse covered in chocolate). The fifties retro vibes are high here too. The big flaw with Super Diner is that it’s absolutely tiny inside, and it tends to have very limited opening hours too. But we think it’s the best quick service food in the Studios park.
• Earl of Sandwich (Disney Village) – As the name suggests, Earl of Sandwich serves sandwiches; but also salads, pizzas, wraps and a range of tasty desserts is a sort of British themed setting. We actually love the sandwiches here and think the food at Earl of Sandwich is very good value for money. Unfortunately it seems to be somewhat overshadowed by its well-known near neighbour featuring some Golden Arches! But if you’re looking for a quick bite in the village we think Earl of Sandwich is a great choice.

Shops

Shopping in Disneyland Paris can be a mixed bag – a lot of the merchandise is shared between multiple spots. (If you want to know about the shopping at Disneyland Paris check out our previous blog post). However, we think there’s a few overlooked shops that are well worth a visit for theming, if not for the merchandise!

• La Chaumiere des Sept Nains (Fantasyland, Disneyland Park) – This gift shop sits in the courtyard behind Sleeping Beauty castle in Fantasyland. The merchandise here is all things Disney princess, but the real reason to enter this spot is the theming – inside is a full scale recreation of the dwarfs’ cottage from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and inside the cottage you can find details like the dwarves’ beds and cups! Take time to pop in here just to admire the theming, it’s worth it.
• Thunder Mesa Mercantile (Frontierland, Disneyland Park) – The Thunder Mesa Mercantile makes this list for having a cool range of theme park ride themed merchandise (notably Phantom Manor and Big Thunder Mountain), some spooky themed merch, home goods and snacks, and typically the big seasonal collection at the time. You can also sometimes find stock for sale in here!
• Curious Giraffe (Adventureland, Disneyland Park) – The merchandise in here tends to be themed to Disney animals, notably the Lion King, but it’s worth popping in here just to spot the giraffe that’s given the shop its name!
• Star Traders (Discoveryland, Disneyland Park) – This is the exit shop for Star Tours, and makes this list partly for offering the widest range of Star Wars related merchandise in the resort – including opportunities to build your own droids and lightsabers! (These are much more toys than the equivalents you’ll find in the US parks, but they’re also a lot cheaper!) But the theming in here is also great, that of a star port visited by the vehicles in the Star Tours ride. Make sure to look up to spot parking vehicles, cargo, droids and more!
• Tower Hotel Gifts (World Premiere Plaza, Walt Disney Studios Park / Disney Adventure World) – Another exit gift shop, this time for the Tower of Terror. Pop into this spot though to find unique merchandise for the Tower of Terror ride, and theming details that continue the ride’s story too!

I’m not going to add them into the list above because their locations tend to make them pretty busy, but I wanted to throw in a shout out to Harringtons on Main Street USA and Deco by Disney in the Village for offering home goods, including collectible items like figurines and art works. Also if you’re feeling very bougie pop into Disney Glamour in Disney Village for some exclusive celebrity merchandise collaborations you can’t find anywhere else on the resort. Just be prepared to have deep pockets! Disney Style next door also offers personalisation options not found elsewhere in the resort.

Themed spots and details

Honestly I could write many blogs (or books!) about all the themed details in Disneyland Paris. But there are a few themed spots that don’t get very well noticed we wanted to shout out!

• Discovery and Liberty Arcades (Main Street USA, Disneyland Park) – These two arcades run up the back of each side of Main Street USA. Both are packed full of turn of the 20th Century details. On the Liberty Side you get nods to Americana as this arcade explores the gifting of the Statue of Liberty to the USA by France (and therefore linking the two cultures represented here!) Over on the Discovery side innovation and inventions are the name of the game, including fanciful posters guessing what life would be like in various cities in the ‘future’ (for us now the recent past and present!). Most people only seem to discover the arcades when trying to dodge the crowds on Main Street or get out of the rain, but we think they’re worth exploring in their own right.
• Boot Hill (Frontierland, Disneyland Park) – At the side of Phantom Manor sits a cemetery, open to explore. Some details in here are creepy such as the tomb with a heart beat coming from it, or the grave of the Phantom himself. Some other graves feature fun puns. All add to the spooky and fun vibes of the Manor itself and offer stunning views of the Rivers of the Old West and Big Thunder.
• Nature trail (Disney’s Hotel Cheyenne) – As part of their conservation efforts around the resort, Disneyland Paris have added a nature walk to Hotel Cheyenne. The walk includes a rose garden, bug hotels, an orchard and even a produce garden! In the quiet of the day it’s a lovely spot just to wander and explore and most people have no clue it exists.
• ‘Roadside’ attractions (Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe) – A relic from Santa Fe’s past from before its Cars overlay, a number of theming features are dotted around Hotel Santa Fe with a nod to classic roadside attractions and south west USA theming. They include the world’s smallest volcano (allegedly), a cactus in a weird box, and a concrete snake that can be climbed for views across the resort! In all honesty these details are a little neglected now and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re removed in a future resort refurb, but they’re worth checking out if you’re at Santa Fe to enjoy this relic from the resort’s past.

So there we go – some of our underrated gems of Disneyland Paris. Anything you think we’ve missed, or are looking forward to trying on your next visit? Let us know in the comments below! Also below why not subscribe to this blog? You’ll not only receive our blogs directly to your email but will also receive for free our digital guide to Disneyland Paris attraction accessibility (normally £3). We’d also love to see you over on our YouTube channel, and if you’d like to support our work please do consider leaving us a tip. Thank you!