Disneyland Paris with Young Kids – My experience and review

How do you know you’re on holiday with kids?

You’re hot and bothered.

Today we went to Disneyland Paris.

A little background to our trip to Disneyland Paris….

Our girls are 2.5 and 4.5 years old. I’m 6 months pregnant. And Matt can’t read a map or resist spending money in the Disney stores.

Disneyland Paris accommodation with young kids

We stayed with family in the centre of Paris for the first night, then Cheyenne hotel on the second night, then back to family in Paris for the final night.

AirBnB’s were quite cheap in the area, if we go again we may consider doing this for ease and budget.

We got the RER train from centre of Paris, which was very easy. Just 40 minutes on there RER A from Arc De Triomphe and you arrive right into Disney (Marne-la-Vallée/Chessy). It’s the final stop on the line, so you can’t miss it.

Staying at the hotel was £620. The price included park tickets for two days, and for both parks. This worked out reasonably cheap as tickets were over £450 for me, Matt, and my 4 year old. Under 3s go free.

Pro tip for pregnant people going to Disney with young kids

First up, pro tip if you’re pregnant and going to Disneyland Paris: go to City Hall, show them something medical that proves you’re pregnant, and your ID. I showed a picture of the scan which they accepted. This gives you fast pass for you and 4 others to get onto rides that are OK for pregnant people. The haunted house said it wasn’t recommended for pregnancy, but they still let us fast track, so I don’t think they’re too strict on it. Read my blog on Disneyland Paris when you’re pregnant here.

Our experience of Disneyland Paris with young kids

We got into the park at 10, and tried to get the classic picture in front of the castle. Marfs was more than happy to pose. Ida refused to look at the camera or the castle until she saw Anna and Elsa.

Marfs said “Where’s beast?” Every three minutes for a while. She did this most of the day. Turns out Beast doesn’t really have a big part here.

We stumbled across the staff getting ready for the parade so we sat on the floor and set up camp. I got us a coffee each from a nearby stall (€8 2 x coffee with milk). We waited 40 minutes but ended up having a great spot in the parade, just outside Small World. At this point we didn’t know about the special area for pregnant people.

The parade was great. Dancing, singing, Elsa! Belle! Anna! Thank the lord because Ida finally told her face she was having fun.

The parade said it lasts 30 minutes but it was 10 minutes maximum. Worth the wait though! Such a great atmosphere with singing and dancing for kids and adults.

After the excitement, we headed to Small World which was just up from where we saw the parade. The queue looked long but moved really quick as there are so many boats going around at one time.

Small World was really quite something. I got to sit down for 10 minutes, and the girls were really engaged in it. A very sweet ride. One I remember being my mum’s best ride when we went 20 years ago. Now here I am saying the same.

Next up, the Carousel. It was about 300 degrees in the shade by this point and we were all feeling it. Marfs was almost asleep on my back and Ida was redder than Minnie’s bow. Everyone needed a wee.

Oh, just before this point we brought some Minnie ears with a horn and a vale for €25. Absolutely robbed. But she did wear them day and night for two days.

After all that horse riding we were starving. Time to spend €71 on lunch for four people. And a beer for Matt. Everyone needed another wee by this point too.

Something I noticed about being away somewhere like this with kids – someone always needs a wee, someone’s always hungry, and it’s rare for everyone to be happy at the same time.

Here are the rides we went on at Disneyland with young kids.

Small World
Aquatic – submarine walk through, air conditioned and a few bits to look at
Le pays des contes de fees- sail on a slow river and pass minuture figues and settings from famous Disney films including beauty and the beast and Frozen. Marfs had done a poo seconds before we got on this ride which did slightly dampen the experience. Around this area there’s also a little train that looked fun, but wasn’t running.
Flying rockets – they go quite high actually!
Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing – I really enjoyed this one. It was very passive, just sitting down on a huge boat for 10 minutes. It was bliss. And the two year old sat happily too making it so much easier. She didn’t need a wee at this point as she’d just gone all over Matt’s t-shirt.
Carousel – a classic. We love these
Alices’s curious Labyrinth – you walk around this, few things to see along the way. I enjoyed this one despite it not being water based or seated
Haunted house – actually surprisingly scary. You walk through the first bit then go in a little car for the rest. It’s not fast and there are no drops. I told Ida to close her eyes if she felt scared.
Aladdin’s cave. We did this twice. There wasn’t a queue and it was nice to walk through and remember the Aladdin story.
Dumbo the flying elephant
Ratatouille ride. SUCH a good ride! Marfs wasn’t so keen (2 years old). This is at the Studios

On day two, we got into the park an hour early as we had early access with our hotel booking.

We pre booked the princess breakfast at Cinderella’s hotel. You book this alongside your hotel. Martha, being under 3, didn’t have to pay, but she did have to share off a parent’s plate. She wasn’t happy with this and kept asking “WHERE’S MINE?!”

I ended up giving her my plate and I ate off a small side plate. If you have a foodie for an under three, expect to share most your breakfast, and it’s not massive.

Here we met Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. They come to the tables and have a quick chat and a picture. It was very sweet though we really would have liked to see Belle and Elsa of course.

Ida wanted an Elsa dress. Desperately. We thought we’d get her one but they were 70 Euros. I just couldn’t. I don’t spend that much on their entire annual wardrobe. She settled on a bubble machine.

Disneyland Paris Studios with young kids

On the second day, we went to Disneyland Paris Studios. We went in August 2024 and lots of it was closed.

However, the shows were open! And there were lots of them on throughout the day. You could probably spend the day just watching shows.

We saw Frozen Adventure and Mickey’s and the Magician.

Frozen Adventure was half in French and English, but the girls followed it fine. Ida asked why she was talking in Welsh…

Mickey and the Magician was amazing. There were special guests, including THE BEAST! There were some of the best songs from Beauty and the Beast, the opening scene of Lion King, and Let it Go. I’d really recommend going to this. There were loads of seats in the theatre, so even if the queue looks long, it does move quick as they let lots of people in at once.

If you need to leave for a wee, you can’t come back in FYI. Of course Ida needed a wee (someone always does) and she missed Elsa…

We only spent 4 hours in the Studio. That was enough I think as there weren’t many rides Ida was up for. Instead we headed out to get some dinner then went back into Disneyland and went back on a few of the rides close to the castle.

Overall thoughts on Disneyland Paris with young kids.

My feet were burning, I’d done 25000 steps both days and had to do my very best bargaining/gentle parenting on Ida regarding some Elsa boots she wanted in the shop. I’ve spent more time in the toilets than I’d have liked. I’ve been hot and thirsty most of the day.

But.

Seeing the girls today at the parade, dancing to music, gawping at the princesses. Running around putting things in the bin and playing on the wall (turns out they don’t need rides…) has been amazing.

I’m hoping today’s highlights are a core memory for them.

What I think I’ve enjoyed doing most about Disneyland Paris with young kids, is just being. Walking about and looking around. Sitting under a shady tree and eating icecream. Stopping at a cafe near the parade for a coffee. These have been the easiest, most enjoyable moments.

Having a big plan of action when you’ve got young kids never goes to plan. Stop when they need to. Stop when you need to. Sit somewhere quiet. Potter around shops. Look in the castle and explore the walk throughs (we did Aladdin’s twice!). Play in the steam fountains. It’s about so much more than getting on as many rides as possible.

FINAL TIPS FOR DISNEYLAND WITH YOUNG KIDS

Take a pushchair and a buggy board
Take reuseable water bottles
Pack plenty of non perishable snacks
Take spare clothes
Don’t get too hung up on a plan
Know where the nearest toilets are!