Disneyland Paris with kids - ten hours in the park on a holiday weekend

Ten wpis po polsku

Is it worth visiting Disneyland Paris with kids on a holiday weekend? After our visit on 30 April 2019, our honest answer is: be ready for crowds. We spent ten hours in the park, but we only managed a few big rides, because we queued for more than an hour for each one. Disneyland has a lot of magic, but on a long weekend it is mostly about waiting.

The day before, we explored Paris: the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées. We were staying in a mobile home at the Le Chêne Gris campsite, about 26 km from the park, so in the morning it looked like a short drive. The full day-by-day plan of the trip is in our post May holiday in France with kids.

Getting there and parking

Disneyland Paris opened on 12 April 1992 in Marne-la-Vallée, about 32 km east of central Paris. Right next to the park gates is Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy station, served by RER A trains from Paris and by TGV high-speed trains.

We came by car, and this was the first test of our patience. Everyone wanted to arrive at the same place at the same time, so the 30 km drive took us 2.5 hours, and then we spent a long time looking for a free parking space. We only entered the park at 11:40.

Sleeping Beauty Castle and Fantasyland

Our first stop was Sleeping Beauty Castle, the symbol of the park. On the upper floor of the castle there is a gallery with stained glass windows that tell the story of Sleeping Beauty.

Fun fact: a dragon lives in the dungeon under the castle. It is a moving figure about 24 m long, hidden in the half-dark. According to Disney, this is the only castle in their parks with a dragon.

Behind the castle is Fantasyland, the area for the youngest visitors. We started here with calm rides with no height limit:

• Le Pays des Contes de Fées: a boat ride among miniature scenes from Disney fairy tales. The kids recognised stories they knew from their books,
• Casey Jr.: a small circus train that goes around the same land of miniatures,
• Alice's Curious Labyrinth: a walk between hedges, with the Cheshire Cat and other characters from the story along the way.

In between we met Winnie the Pooh. Our family photo with him is one of our favourite souvenirs from that day.

Adventureland: pirates and Indiana Jones

In Adventureland the kids first explored the pirate island, with caves, bridges and Captain Hook's ship. Then it was time for Pirates of the Caribbean, a calm boat ride through pirate bays and forts, good for younger kids too.

The older ones were brave enough for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, a short and fast coaster among temple ruins. It was the first coaster in a Disney park with a loop. After the ride all we heard was: we're crazy!

Frontierland: the riverboat and Big Thunder Mountain

In Frontierland we took a paddle steamer along the river that flows around a rocky island with a mine. From the deck you can see the Big Thunder Mountain coaster, the haunted Phantom Manor and animal figures on the riverbank, and the kids remember the moose best.

Then we joined the queue for Big Thunder Mountain. It is a mine train coaster that first goes under the river, then comes out on the island and races through an old mine. We even filmed how long the queue was.

We also managed to ride Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain, a roller coaster in the dark with a Star Wars theme. In the evening, when the castle was lit up, we took a family photo by a colourful, lit fountain.

You can see our day in the park in our video:

More videos from this trip are on our France 2019 playlist.

Our impressions: crowds on a long weekend

Disneyland has beautiful decorations, lots of detail and cartoon characters everywhere. On that day, however, there were huge numbers of people in the park. We were surprised that nobody seemed to limit ticket sales.

Today it works differently: tickets are sold for a specific date, and undated tickets have to be registered for a day in advance, because the parks are full on many dates. On our next visit we would choose a day outside a long weekend and plan a few key attractions instead of trying to see everything.

Fun fact: Disneyland Park is the most visited theme park in Europe. In 2025 it had 10.8 million visitors, and together with the second park of the resort more than 16.7 million.

We left the park at 21:40. The drive back to the campsite took only 40 minutes, because the roads were empty in the evening, and we were back at 22:30. We decided to spend the next two days quietly at the campsite, and three days later we went to Parc Astérix, which we liked much more. A year earlier, in May 2018, we visited Gardaland at Lake Garda, and all the parks we have visited with our kids are in our guide to theme parks with kids.

Practical info

Tickets

• Children under 3 go in free, the child ticket is for ages 3 to 11, and from 12 you pay the adult price (as of November 2026).
• Ticket prices change from day to day: they are cheapest on quiet days and most expensive on holidays and long weekends (as of November 2026).
• Dated tickets guarantee entry. Undated tickets must be registered for a specific day.
• Disney Premier Access is a paid fast lane for selected attractions, bought in the app. The price depends on the attraction and the day.

Minimum height for the attractions we visited

• Big Thunder Mountain: 1.02 m,
• Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain: 1.20 m,
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril: 1.40 m (the highest limit in the resort),
• Pirates of the Caribbean, the Fantasyland boat ride, Casey Jr., Alice's Curious Labyrinth and the riverboat: no height limit.

Getting there and parking

• By train: RER A from central Paris to Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy, right at the park entrance.
• By car: parking for cars costs 30 EUR per day (as of November 2026). On a long weekend, try to arrive before the park opens.

How much time

Plan a full day for Disneyland Park. The resort also has a second park, Disney Adventure World (called Walt Disney Studios Park until 2026), which needs another day or a two-park ticket.