We’ve been home from Disneyland Paris for almost a week and I’m just about caught up on laundry… yay!
This trip was a whirlwind one for us, wince we’re used to doing a couple of weeks at the parks in Florida, but it was really a great length of trip for a 19 month old and a 3 year old, and made me want to take more quick trips to Paris, SOON.
We didn’t make any reservations for this trip, we played it all by ear. (get it? like mouse ears?) Since there’s no Magic Bands at DLP we couldn’t reserve fast passes in advance, it’s the old paper system which meant we didn’t really have much of a roadmap to our days. I actually found it pretty relaxing to wing it but we definitely didn’t accomplish as much as we do in a typical WDW day.
Our 3 year old loved every second, and was insanely perfect. He loved the star shaped chicken nuggets at Casey’s and really got excited to meet the characters. One of my favorite moments on this trip was when he got to meet Panchito and Jose from The Three Caballeros!
Out 19 month old didn’t fare so well. He’s right at that age where he wants to be independent and do his own thing, and destroy stuff and climb past barriers and intro restricted areas… you get my drift. The pram was his prison most of the trip but the wonder in his eyes as we sailed the high seas with Pirates of the Caribbean or drifted around a Small, Small World was priceless.
Disney Halloween has become a tradition for us so a main part of this trip was going to the Halloween Soiree on the 31st. We dressed up as the Incredibles and it was so much fun! There was a special parade and Buzz Lightyear did a DJ set as well as Goofy and Max – which my 3 year old was over the moon as seeing Max was top of his list.
Overall, here’s my advice on DLP:
If you are considering a Disney Trip with young kids, DLP is amazing. WDW has a lot more walking/transportation time, and it’s difficult sometimes to get your pram on and off buses, boats and monorails. We were able to walk from our hotel room door to the gates of Disneyland Paris in approximately 10/15 minutes. No pram folding, no waiting on busses. It was AMAZING.
The cold can be a bother but as long as you dress smart it’s got it’s own magic. You’ll never get snow on Main Street in Florida or California, SNOAP, not gonna happen (sorry, more bad puns.) But you can have a delicious hot cocoa and feel the crisp magic in the air in Paris, and that’s a whole different experience in and of itself. Personally I prefer cold to hot, but I also have two ginger babies so heat is not our friend.
The food ain’t great. There’s no getting around the fact that WDW and Disneyland have amazing food and Disneyland Paris is lacking. But this means you can pack some goodies from home to snack on and save those pennies for souvenirs! We love Casey’s and Earl of Sandwich as two of our must do places, and Rainforest Cafe is great if you want to splurge on a pricier meal, or we love the milkshakes at Annette’s.
Also, they now have a Starbuck inside of Santa Fe and Cheyenne hotels, and I swear I heard angels singing when I found out. Coffee makes me a happy momma (and functional.)
Do you have any tips for DLP with littles? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Have a Magical Day!
-LK