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[glgittens85]

Hello all

We booked our trip to Disneyland Paris last night for June 4th-8th 2014 - Yay! We booked through Disneyland Paris Direct; does anyone have experience of using them?

I have a couple of questions though as it has been over 10yrs since I last went.

Firstly, we will be travelling with my daughter who will be 2.5 years when we go - Will she be able to go on many rides? Tbh, I am happy just for her to be there to experience the place as a whole and see her face light up when she meets Mickey however, it would be nice for her to be able to go on a few rides.

Secondly, we have booked Sequoia Lodge without any meal plan - Is it really going to be THAT expensive to feed the 3 of us for our stay?

Lastly, just how busy do you think it will be in June? I have checked and it is out of season (I am slightly concerned that there might be quite a few things closed). My husband, as excited as he is, is not a fan of queing!

Many thanks in advance - I am sure I will have more questions in the future. I am SO excited to go!

[Zee79]

Hello all

We booked our trip to Disneyland Paris last night for June 4th-8th 2014 - Yay! We booked through Disneyland Paris Direct; does anyone have experience of using them?

I have a couple of questions though as it has been over 10yrs since I last went.

Firstly, we will be travelling with my daughter who will be 2.5 years when we go - Will she be able to go on many rides? Tbh, I am happy just for her to be there to experience the place as a whole and see her face light up when she meets Mickey however, it would be nice for her to be able to go on a few rides.
Your best bet it so go into Fantasyland for the smaller rides for her to go on but be prepared to queue at times, use fast pass if you can. There is Buzz in Discoveryland, Phantom Manor in Frontierland if she won't be too frightened with it being a dark ride, Pirates in Adventureland. In the Studios you have Animagique, Disney Junior show, Stitch show, Slinky, Aladdin. Plenty for her to go on, I've taken both my daughters, nephew and nieces on younger than your daughter so she will have a great time.

Secondly, we have booked Sequoia Lodge without any meal plan - Is it really going to be THAT expensive to feed the 3 of us for our stay?

It all depends upon what and where you will be eating. There is a budget for everyone and in the majority of places your daughter is free because she is under 3. As a family of 4 I only usually take around £500 -600 for the few days we are there.

Lastly, just how busy do you think it will be in June? I have checked and it is out of season (I am slightly concerned that there might be quite a few things closed). My husband, as excited as he is, is not a fan of queing!

Take advantage of EMH and fast pass to avoid queues on some of the more popular rides. Check the French holidays as well the British holidays. We went half term May this year and it was reasonably quiet.

Many thanks in advance - I am sure I will have more questions in the future. I am SO excited to go!

Hope this helps

[glgittens85]

Thank you Zee79  - That is all very helpful info!

In regards to food, we will probably have one 'fancy' evening meal and then will just eat on the go - None of us are fussy eaters so we are flexible as to where we eat. £500 - £600 for a family of four isnt too bad - I was expecting it to be way more for us so definitely reassuring to hear!

I'm pleased my daughter will be able to go on a few things :-)

[never2old]

We've been a few times early June (my birthday is on the 9th and I like to celebrate it there...) and it's usually a good time to go, fairly quiet (except weekends) and fairly good weather. Some rides like Crush may have longer lines, but overall you should have around 10-15 minutes max in most rides. And for the busiest ones you have fastpasses!

My daughter is 2.5 now and loves the park! We went last month and did plenty of rides with her, almost everything in Fantasyland (she loves Peter Pan and Dumbo the most, but she also enjoyed Pinocchio, the Labyrinth and the Carousel). We did Pirates of the Caribbean a couple of times with her, she quite enjoyed it (particularly when the boats bump against each other  ), we haven't tried Phantom Manor yet but we'll try to do it when we go again in a couple of weeks  . Another of her favourite rides in Buzz (and she doesnt really know the Toy Story films), but she had a lot of fun firing her gun and turning the ship around  . We also went on the Molly Brown, she liked I think mostly because there were a few birds and ducks around...

In the Studios she loves Animagique. We also did the Disney Jr Live on Stage (previously Playhouse Disney), she really enjoyed the pre-show with Sofia and Jake (she adores Sofia the First); during the show itself she liked seeing Mickey Mouse and co., but other than Winnie she doesn't really know any of the other shows and you could tell she wasn't that interested in those bits. We've also done the flying carpets and Slinky Dog (last May, when she was just 2) and she had a lot of fun. We've still got to try Stich Live with her, but I think she will enjoy it.

Her favourite thing though is meeting the characters, or seeing them in the parade. In May we did a character meal in Inventions with her and she had a lot of fun; we've also been to Meet Mickey Mouse, and met characters around the park. Oh, we also got her a princess dress, she was showing it off to all the characters and walking around real proud to be a real princess 

Oh, and we also saw Dreams last time (it was at 8:00, so not too late for her) and she really enjoyed it.

For meals we like going for the buffets since she doesnt pay yet (and has a great appetite...). Unfortunately because she does have a very healthy appetite if we do go to a table service (or fast food) we need to get her a meal for herself (or take a ready made one, they can heat it up for you anywhere).

One thing, try not to plan too much into your day because it is exhausting for the little ones... We made sure she had at least 1 nap a day, sometimes 2 (fortunately she sleeps quite well in her pushchair)

I'm sure you will all have a wonderful time!!

[glgittens85]

Never2old - Thats all great stuff to hear, thank you!

I cannot wait to see my daughter meet the characters - She is a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and sleeps with (a bit too large!) Mickey every night so she really will be in her element.

Its great to hear that about the buffets as I had no idea - I expect that saves quite a chunk of the food budget :-)

Also, a Princess outfit is now being added to her Christmas gifts! Lol - There is no way I can take her to Disney without one!

[never2old]

Yeah, I made the mistake of waiting to get her the dress in the park, I wanted to get her a Princess Sofia one, and they had the same one in the Disney Store but quite a bit cheaper.... I have to say, some of the other princess dresses they sell are absolutely stunning and don't compare to any others I've seen elsewhere (but the price tag doesn't compare either... around 70 eur or more for a dress  ) But the Princess Sofia was the exact same one.

My little one sleeps with a Mickey, one or 2 Minnies, and one or 2 Plutos. And a Snow White. Sometimes I wonder how she fits in the bed with all her toys... But everytime I take them away she goes to get them back!! So seeing them for real was absolutely amazing. If you want I have some pics in my trip report here

[glgittens85]

You have some really great pictures on your trip report and some great info too! Its so helpful hearing about others experiences when trying to plan a trip.

I will certainly be getting her outfit from the Disney store here in the UK and avoiding the Park prices.

I am hoping our next trip will be over Halloween

[never2old]

Oh, Halloween is a really good time to go!!! I hope we can go again next year (and every year after that  )

Glad I could help  It's such a wonderful experience, going there with the little ones... We had been many many many times before she was born, and always had a great time, but now with her... It's totally different. I have to say, the first time she met Minnie, and got a big hug from her.... I was almost in tears 

I'm sure your little princess will have a great time 

[Mitchell]

Funnily enough we've booked for 5th - 9th and we will have a 2 and a half year old too!

We're nervous about what she will be like with characters, but we have decided to ease her into it

(knowing us though the trip will be delayed again :p)

[idylles]

1.  I think Fantasy land is the most appropriate for younger children, as is Main Street (but those aren't rides, those are just stores with lots of candy and toys).  Adventureland has a few wonderful "child" rides as well.


2.  You spend as much as you want.  Paris isn't cheap, but there are cheaper restaurants and crazy priced ones.  You will get free stuff because your child is under 3 years, so that saves up.  Don't go to places like Rainforest Cafe, Annette's Diner, Planet Hollywood, Blue Lagoon, etc if you don't want to spend fortunes.  Go to places like the buffet on Main Street, the cafe in Main Street, etc...  Fast food in DLP is quite cheaper than the "real" restaurants.


3.  June is busy.  Take Fast Passes.  If you want to go to Peter pan's Flight, do that first thing in the morning.  It's one of the most popular attractions.  Same for Crush Coaster in the Studios.  This does sound harsh, but don't go DLP if you don't like queues.  I mean, DLP is always crowded.  But with Fast Passes you'll get around.

[daddyof2]

Our situation is very similar, we're going 2nd - 6th, staying at the HNY and haven't booked meals. Our little ones will be nearly 2 and 4, so I'm thinking of doing Main St USA on the first afternoon and Fantasyland for our first full morning. If they take to the characters well, I'll maybe book a character meal. Not sure about your daughter, but I have a feeling that our two will need a bit of "quiet time" in the afternoons so we'll possibly pop back to the Hotel or go find somewhere away from the bigger crowds for an hour or two.

[never2old]

I think our little girl was particularly brave with the characters, on her first visit she was 18 months old and wasn't scared at all, she went straight to Mickey and gave him a big hug... Her cousin was a couple of months older and prefered to keep a little distance!

I would suggest to ease them into the characters to see them first from a distance, and during the parade, before going for a meet and greet or a character meal. When we took our niece (she was 6 I think at the time) we started our day in Cafe Mickey. Big mistake!! As soon as she saw Mickey coming to our table she went to hide under it, saying he was huge!! (she did end up warming up to the characters on the second day and met lots of them... but that first meal she spent it hiding under the table  )

Oh, other fun things to do with the little ones is going in the Main Street vehicles (but I think they only run in the morning), and go on the train around the resort (avoid the Main Street station, it's always the busiest). And of course don't forget about the two playgrounds, in Adventureland (next to Captain Hook's galley) and Frontierland (towards the back, close to the Pueblo)

If you can go back to the hotel during the day for a little nap in the afternoon that's great, it will be nice and quiet and you can be sure the little ones have a proper rest. Otherwise you can find some quiet areas around Adventureland, in the arcades in Main Street (though there's always a danger that some very loud kid will come along....), or in the Disney Village and around the Disney lake. My daughter for example will fall asleep in her pushchair, but if we move her from the pushchair to a bed she always wakes up and won't go back to sleep... So once she's asleep in her pushchair, we have to leave her there and find quiet spots around the resort!!

Early June is not particularly busy, when we've been there we've only used fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain (and did Buzz and Peter Pan several times in the morning during the EMH - or later in the day, when the queues are shorter again)

Personally we tend to avoid the fast food places because we all have quite good appetites and find it much better value for money to go to the buffets (particularly since our daughter doesn't pay yet, we may re-consider after her 3rd birthday!), or treat ourselves to the table service restaurants, to have a proper rest (and take a good couple of hours for a meal). If you're going for fastfood though I would recommend you avoid the Hyperion Cafe (in Discoveryland) and the Chalet de la Marionette (Fantasyland), I have lot of bad memories from those places, of long queues and not great food....

[amanda08]

Hi, most of June is not too busy but there is a french national holiday 8th and 9th June so I think that from friday 6th onwards it is going to get VERY busy so make sure you spend your first few days doing everything you want to try so on the last few days you can take it easier and if it is busy. Dutch school hols also start on the 9th june so probably extra Dutchies around from the 7th also.
Is there a possibility that you could change your dates without penalty? Maybe monday to friday instead of over the holiday weeken?  When my DS was still pre school age, we only every went when there was no school hols or national holidays - bliss! We are now restricted to school hols and even though we always have a great time, I would chose without doubt non school holidays time given the chance.


Like everyone says, it is do-able and if you go prepared for crowds you wont be shocked on arrival. If you make use of EMH and fast pass you will easily get everything done.


Have a magical time 

[glgittens85]

Oh no! I didnt realise it was a national holiday weekend!! Hopefully it wont be too bad.

Either way we will make the most of our trip - and will definitely take advantage of EMH and fast pass!

Would Buffalo Bill be ok for my daughter? Considering booking as I have always wanted to go :-)

[never2old]

We're thinking of trying Bufallo Bill with our daughter when we go in a couple of weeks, my DH thinks she's going to really enjoy it; she loves horses, and she loves Mickey Mouse...

If we do it I will tell you how it goes!!