Disneyland Paris with a Toddler.

If you are wondering whether or not to bring your toddler to Disneyland Paris, let this be your sign to go book those tickets!

Disneyland Paris is another world. It is such a magical place, whether your one or ninety-nine. The main reason I would recommend bringing your kids to the parks while they are young is just seeing their little face light up with excitement when they watch the parade go by, or see their favourite Disney character. When I watched Lillie-Grace get excited as Mickey Mouse went by on the float at the Christmas Parade, I cried. If I could bottle up that feeling I felt all weekend experiencing Disney, not only for the first time myself, but through my one year old, I would!

But there are so many questions that come with planning a trip to Disney. Read below for some tips and recommendations to ensure that you have as magical trip as we did.

Is there much that toddlers can do in the park?

YES! There is SO much that toddlers can do in the parks. There are a lot of rides that have no height limit that they can go on, especially in Disneyland Park. There are also lots of shows on daily in both parks, our favourites being Mickey and the Magician and Disney Junior Dream Factory, and there are plenty of character meet and greets throughout the day.

There is also the parade in Disneyland Park and the fireworks at night (If they’re still awake by then).

Take a read of a full breakdown of rides for toddlers here.

Where to stay?

There are so many hotels and Air BnBs to choose from, close to the parks. The most popular would be the Disney hotels of course, but they are also the most expensive! The closest is the Disneyland Hotel, which is at the entrance to Disneyland park. This the most convenient because with your hotel package you also get access to the park earlier than it opens to the public, during ‘Magic time’, meaning you will beat all the queues.

Other Disney hotels include the Disney Hotel New York, Disney Newport Bay Club, Sequoia Lodge, Hotel Cheyenne and Hotel Santa Fe, These hotels are all located outside the park but have a free shuttle bus service.

There are other hotels in the area, that are not Disney, but are themed, and all also have a free shuttle bus service to the parks. They are Explorers hotel, Dream Castle, Grand Magic hotel and Campanile Val de France.

We stayed in the Grand Magic hotel, and it certainly lives up to its name. From the minute you walk through the revolving doors you are transported into a world of magic. The Grand Hall in particular is mesmerizing, with animations on the walls that put on a show. Its like being in a fantasy land! This hotel also offers buffet breakfast as part of your booking, and at dinner time you can opt for a buffet or an à la carte menu (both at an extra cost). This hotel also has a pool and arcade, a great way for kids to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the parks. The bedrooms are themed too, and family rooms have bunkbeds for children.

There is a free shuttle bus to and from the park that comes every 15 minutes which is so convenient. The only downfall would be that it can be a bit hectic getting the shuttle bus back to the hotels, especially after parades and the fireworks, when most people tend to leave, and even more especially trying to get on with a stroller.

Changing areas

There are changing areas in all the bathrooms around both parks. Every bathroom facility has a family room, but the queues for them can be long as there is only one. However, in both the women’s and men’s bathroom there are changing areas by the sinks that can also be used. If you are only using these, you can skip the queues of people waiting to use the cubicles, to save waiting time!

Food

We were actually surprised at how reasonable the price was for food in the parks. We unfortunately couldn’t book into character dining due to availability (you need to book this months in advance), but in the many restaurants throughout the park the food was reasonably priced. Kids meals were priced at €9 and this included a main meal, drink and dessert.

At Colonel Hathi’s Outpost (one of the two pizza restaurants in the park), you can get a kids mickey mouse shaped pizza with a salad, drink and dessert (we went for the Babybels because we tried to have Lillie-Grace eat as good as we could). She absolutely loved it! We got ourselves a regular sized pepperoni pizza meal too, and had the two between the three of us, for only €25 euro, which is really decent for Disney Parks.

There are of course many other popular themed restaurants around both parks that, that are more fine dining and cost a little more, however they tend to need prior booking.

We brought snacks for Lillie-Grace with us too so we didn’t have to spend too much in the parks, and to ensure she was having decent enough food!

Should I bring a stroller?

100%! You are going to do a lot of walking throughout both parks, anywhere between 20,000 and 30,000 steps a day. That’s tiring for an average adult, let alone a toddler. We brought the miniuno touch fold compact stroller. We bought it for travelling specifically, as its compact enough to fit in overhead storage on planes. Lillie-Grace still takes naps throughout the day so it was perfect to have for her to nap in, as well as for her to be in if we were in busy areas. One thing we regret not bringing was our ergobaby carrier, as there were times when she just didn’t want to be strapped in stroller, and we had to carry her!

You can also rent single strollers for the day in the parks, for €20 per day. Perfect for older toddlers who don’t normally need a stroller, but need some extra walking breaks throughout the day.

We did also bring a backpack with a lead, to let her have her independence and walk around the parks, but she did not want to keep it on, and it was just too busy at times to let her walk around by herself (cue toddler tantrums)!

You can’t bring your stollers into the queues for the rides, but there is dedicated stroller parking by each ride where they are safe to leave. Just be sure to bring any valuables on the ride with you, just in case.

Queuing for attractions.

One thing I am sure we can all agree on is that toddlers hate waiting! The queues at Disney can be extremely long, especially at peak times or days. But there are a few ways that you can reduce your wait time in the parks. Firstly, get the app. This gives you live wait times on all the rides in both parks, which can help you plan your day a little better, and know what areas are better to go to at any given time. On the app you can also get premier access passes for some of most popular rides, which allows you to skip the queue. These can be purchased for individual rides, or a package which allows you to skip the queue for all eligible rides, once each.

If you are travelling to Disney with another adult and small kids, Baby Switch will be your best friend for the bigger rides that the kids can’t get on. One of you will queue, and when they are done, the other can skip the queue and go straight on the ride, meaning less waiting around for the kids .

Lastly if you have certain disabilities or chronic illnesses, you may be eligible for a priority card or easy access card, which gives you access to shorter queues, or book in time slots for attractions.

These are just a few tips to help you prepare for your first trip to Disney with your baby or toddler. We would 100% recommend going, if it is something you haven’t quite decided yet. We are already planning our next trip with our little one!