12 Disneyland Paris tips for first timers

Sooo…you’re heading off for your first time to Disneyland Paris. You’ve watched loads of What’s in my Park Bag YouTube videos so you’re fully prepared right…?  NOPE! Here are 12 Disneyland Paris tips for first timers 

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I was lucky enough to travel to Disneyland Paris for the first time in September with my mum. I’d planned it as a surprise trip for her 60th birthday (she’ll not be happy at me sharing that tee hee!) and like any 30-something, I turned to YouTube and Disney blog posts to help me plan my first trip to Disneyland Paris.  I felt super prepped as I crammed my essentials into my park bag, packed for 3 nights in a small but pretty carry on case and downloaded all the apps to help me navigate my way through the days.  Everything all the other blog posts and YouTube videos had told me to do!

But…here are the things I wish I knew! The things that no one mentioned. There will be no mention of FastPass and Magic Hours here, just the things no one else mentioned. So please read on for my Disneyland Paris tips for first timers.

1.Hotel Security 🚨

We travelled to Disneyland by Eurostar (oh my gaga amazing! I’ll talk more about that in another post) and arrived at Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy station. We were staying at Newport Bay Hotel, a Disney hotel within the park, which we knew was only a short walk away, but oh my we did not know what to do! I just assumed I’d be able to walk from the station straight to the hotel, but was super confused almost straight away.

There was a large green airport type security tent in front of the park, but I assumed this was to get in to the theme parks. It turns out you need to go through the airport style scanners with your cases and walk through Disney Village to navigate your way to your Disney hotel. Each hotel has smaller security tents to pass through on your way out of the hotel each day too.

2. No kettles! ☕

Oh my! I mean I know I’m British and love a cup of tea, but it never occurred to me that we wouldn’t have a kettle or complimentary items in our rooms. There is a Starbucks in Disney Village, but this was closed due to renovations during our stay. So McDonald’s it was then, for a McCafe coffee….Bad idea! It was crazy packed and took 45 minutes to get just a coffee.

On day two, we requested a kettle from the concierge which was bought to us promptly and didn’t require a deposit. I should have just asked straight away! There was still the issue of no tea/coffee/sundries provided and there is no shop to purchase anything. We were lucky as my mum is a coffee fiend and had already bought her own! We guessed even if there were complimentary items, it wouldn’t cover her addiction! So bring your own coffee granules, tea bags and creamer.

3. No shop! 🏥

As eluded above, we were quite shocked that there was no small shop or convenience store anywhere on site. Not in Disney Village, not in the parks and not even at our hotel. So this means whatever you think you may need during your trip here, you’re going to have to bring it with you. Pack lots of plasters, that extra pack of cotton pads and any medicinal items that, well, “I only get heartburn once a year” or “I can eat anything I have a cast iron stomach” scenarios cover. You need to prepare for your own emergencies, there’s nothing on site to help you.

4. Free Drinks at Disneyland Paris! 🥤

If you are staying at any Disneyland Paris hotel, you will find there is a vending machine located in the ice room on each floor that dispenses one free hot drink per person per day of your stay. You will need your room card key (not a debit card) which works by just tapping the sensor and selecting your drink. There’s quite a good selection of English and herbal teas, coffee, hot chocolate and just hot water.

5. Queue an hour before Disney parades and illuminations ⏰

On my research for my first trip to Disneyland Paris, all the sites I looked at suggested queuing half hour before the Disney parades and illuminations begin. We started queuing an hour before and we weren’t among the first either. I definitely wouldn’t leave it till half an hour before, the pavement will be at least two deep by then, so get your spot an hour before!

6. Where is the best place to watch Disneyland Paris illuminations? 🏰

Even though we jostled for position right in front of the castle an hour before the illuminations started, when the music came on, everyone surged forwards and it was completely pointless. We then also had a large lamp post blocking most of our view. In hindsight, I should have watched it from the back of Main Street USA. From the Instagram Stories I watched after, the castle looked so much clearer from further back.

7. They speak French in France! 🇫🇷

Ok, so obviously we all actually know this! I took French as part of my degree and so still have a conversational level of communication. But it is worth noting that even though everyone speaks French and English, the songs in the parades and illuminations are predominantly in French. So get listening to Liberee, delivree on Spotify, so you can sing along in the native tongue.

8. The Cinema at Disneyland Paris 🎬

2021 is an excellent year for us Disney fans, with so many animated and live action films out this year, it’s hard to find time to schedule all the cinema trips. But there is a cinema in Disney Village. It’s not purely Disney films and as with point 7 above, you are in France so a lot is screened in French. BUT! They do a few screenings in English, anything with “VOST” (Voiced Original Soundtrack) next to it in the screening times, is in English. This is also a great thing to do at Disneyland Paris if you don’t like rides.

9. Cheap Disneyland Paris Character Breakfast! 🥐

Food is expensive everywhere at DLP. There was an offer when I booked for a free half board dining plan, so I added that to my booking, and I’m really pleased I did. It worked out so much cheaper paying for a meal plan than paying for food when we got there. I went with the Plus package which meant that we had breakfast free in our hotel plus one other meal a day at a small selection of restaurants. I also wanted to do a character breakfast, which is £34 per person. I think paying £75 for us both to have breakfast one morning is a bit obscene, and was struggling to justify this. However, if you have a meal plan, you pay a supplement which makes it an affordable treat. I think it was £21 for the two of us!

Being on a dining plan means that you can only choose from pre selected items off the menus, but I didn’t feel like I struggled with choice, and they would swap out options like jacket potatoes for chips etc if you ask. If you go for a premium dining plan, the choice is wider and can even include tickets at the Wild West Show!

Which leads me to my next point nicely…

10. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show 🤠

This is one of the popular shows in Disneyland Paris and in my opinion, worth the ticket price. The show is predominantly cowboys and Indians and not Disney heavy. I wasn’t sure what to expect so here’s the outline I wish I’d had so I knew what was going on!

You need to arrive and queue at the arena in Disney Village about half an hour before it’s due to start. Once you get inside, the queue splits. If you have front section tickets you need to stay left, otherwise stay right. And it really doesn’t matter about pushing and shoving as you’re not allocated seats at this point. You will be given a token which indicates how many people are in your party, and you’ll also be given a colour! Ooh the mystery.

The arena is split into quadrants and each quarter is a different colour. You will be given a free cowboy hat in your colour so don’t wear your Disney ears to this show! Once you’ve been given your token, you walk through to a bar area where everyone will be waiting.. Don’t crowd by the stairs of “your colour” as it’s not a first come first served seat situation. Instead, walk into the middle of the bar and infront of the small stage. Goofy and some of the musicians from the show come out and sing a few songs and it’s nice to have a better view of this.

After the songs have finished, the cast members will start allowing people into the seating area. This is done by looking at the number of people in your party and then they walk you to a row where you’ll fit, so it’s not fill from the front for the first people who barge their way in first. Also, the rake of the seats is quite good and you can see completely over the row in front of you. Because of this, I really don’t think it’s worth paying extra for front section seats. You can see so much more from a few rows further back.

There are two performances each show day and each performance lasts 2 hours. There is a break in the middle for about 20 minutes if you wanted to nip to powder your nose or visit the bar. You are also fed really well whilst at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show! There’s refillable coke, water or fresh orange served to you as you’re seated. Followed by chilli, chicken, pork chops with chips and hot apple pie & ice cream for dessert. Plus a few rounds of tea and coffees at the end too. The show times are just something to consider around your other meal times and sleep!

11. No need to check out, just leave! 🛎

I queued for ages to check out at reception and was told I could just leave! There’s no door key as such as the card you have is your door key / meal voucher / show ticket all in one! So you can keep it after you leave as a keepsake and you don't need to return anything to reception.

12. Check your bill on your TV 📺

If you have been using a credit card to charge items to your room(s), the itemised bill will be shown on the TV in your room. This means you can query anything you don’t recognise quickly and also means you too can just leave without having to queue at reception to “check out”

Ahh…so that is it, my 12 Disneyland Paris tips for first timers. Hopefully this has helped.

Have a magical first time at Disneyland Paris!

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I’m Natalie, I share travel tips & advice and thoughts on how to live a happy & fabulous life

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