One day at Paris Disneyland but heaps of planning questions. Advice needed. Help!!

[xemjx]

Heya. I'm going to Paris Disneyland in October but trying to get a little organised in advance

• I will only be in Paris for 2 days, a Wednesday and a Thursday. Does it matter what day I go since it's during the week or is the best day Wednesday?

• According to last year's calendar I just scrape in to the Halloween celebrations (2nd/3rd Oct) does this impact greatly on visitor numbers or that early on it doesn't really matter?

• I'll be traveling alone. (31 y/o female) Is catching the metro and RER safe at night for me? From Disneyland and in general? I'm staying in the 11th arrondissement waking distance from Oberkampf/Parmentier metro stations. I've been to Paris before a few years back but I wasn't alone...

• I was planning on having breakfast at the Plaza Gardens restaurant (prefer 8:15am sitting) and lunch at Auberge de Cendrillon (prefer 1pm sitting) to get the most out of my day as I love characters and food. Do you think this is smart or a waste of time/money? As I'm not staying on property I miss out on magic hours...

• Any other Paris Disneyland tips? I've been before but it was a crappy experience (raining all day and with a non Disney enthusiast) I think we left at like 5pm! Hopefully this time it can improve and Paris Disneyland won't be on the bottom of my ranked Disney trips.

Thanks

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[xemjx]

I believe they already announced Halloween will start 2nd Oct, not sure how it will affect the visitor numbers during the week. Two years ago we went the first weekend of Halloween and that was really busy, more so then a week later, so the start of the season will draw more people.
I think the metro and RER will be safe, I've never traveled alone in it either, but did travel back to DLP with a friend and her kid at 10 o'clock and we were fine.

I'm not sure you can have breakfast at 8:15 if you don't have EMH, breakfast used to be outside of the parks, but with it now being inside, they aren't really clear on that. Also note that if you're not staying in a Disney Hotel, you can't reserve the breakfast until 3 days before, so you might not be able to get the seating you want. Be sure the call on time for Auberge de Cendrillon, that's the one restaurant that took effort to get a reservation for!

Thank you for the information. I appreciate it. A bit disappointed about the breakfast booking but nevermind. I'll have a good time regardless.

 

[LovesTimone]

As far as catching the train/RER... As a mom of a Daughter just a bit younger than you. I think that the train/RER during the day would be okay... but as far as at night I would really advise against it, I would budget in for Uber back... just so you can go directly back to your hotel, and not be on the trains or streets late at night alone. Your safety is top priority.

As a woman... I wish that you could ride it safely and not have to worry about it... But in the times we live in, you need to take care of you... and again your safety is a top priority..

Our friends (husband and wife), they were coming back into Paris late after spending the day at DLP, and they were almost robbed by a group of young men ( around 8 to 10) they were waiting at the exit of the train... Thankfully some people that were working at a restaurant came out about the same time and started yelling at them and the group took off...

Have a wonderful time, and pixie dust away...

 

[MsFionaE]

What is your main aim of the trip? Rides or characters?

Get your reservation for Auberge 3 months beforehand. Reservations can be difficult to get, especially as the park gets a little busier in October. Don't wait until you get to Paris - bear the cost of the call and avoid disappointment. The one princess you are guaranteed to meet is Cinderella, and also her mice Suzy and Pearl. There will be two other princesses, and these are usually Ariel and Belle - though Aurora makes an occasional appearance and Rapunzel may even show up. In October, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella make a rare appearance in the restaurant but this is indeed rare. Getting a reservation at Auberge may spare you a trip to the Princess Pavillion, as Ariel and Cinderella are two of the most common found there and you may save yourself queueing to meet princesses you will meet anyway. In my experience, the only way to meet Belle is at Auberge. I've never once seen her at the Pavillion.

I strongly advise downloading the Disneyland Paris app ahead of your stay so you can check all your queue times for rides and the locations of some characters. If you look at it a couple of days ahead you can see what the queues are like for must-do rides and plan accordingly. Start from the back of the parks and work your way forward if you can.

 

[xemjx]

As far as catching the train/RER... As a mom of a Daughter just a bit younger than you. I think that the train/RER during the day would be okay... but as far as at night I would really advise against it, I would budget in for Uber back... just so you can go directly back to your hotel, and not be on the trains or streets late at night alone. Your safety is top priority.

As a woman... I wish that you could ride it safely and not have to worry about it... But in the times we live in, you need to take care of you... and again your safety is a top priority..

Our friends (husband and wife), they were coming back into Paris late after spending the day at DLP, and they were almost robbed by a group of young men ( around 8 to 10) they were waiting at the exit of the train... Thankfully some people that were working at a restaurant came out about the same time and started yelling at them and the group took off...

Have a wonderful time, and pixie dust away...

Thank you, I think my mum would be the same. I have to admit sometimes when traveling i don't tell my mum the whole story because i don't want her to worry, terrible i know...

I looked up that sunset is around 7:30pm and the park closes at 8pm while i'm there (historically from 2017) so i wouldnt miss out on much if i left a little early. I'm not a huge fireworks fan anyways.

 

[xemjx]

What is your main aim of the trip? Rides or characters?

Get your reservation for Auberge 3 months beforehand. Reservations can be difficult to get, especially as the park gets a little busier in October. Don't wait until you get to Paris - bear the cost of the call and avoid disappointment. The one princess you are guaranteed to meet is Cinderella, and also her mice Suzy and Pearl. There will be two other princesses, and these are usually Ariel and Belle - though Aurora makes an occasional appearance and Rapunzel may even show up. In October, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella make a rare appearance in the restaurant but this is indeed rare. Getting a reservation at Auberge may spare you a trip to the Princess Pavillion, as Ariel and Cinderella are two of the most common found there and you may save yourself queueing to meet princesses you will meet anyway. In my experience, the only way to meet Belle is at Auberge. I've never once seen her at the Pavillion.

I strongly advise downloading the Disneyland Paris app ahead of your stay so you can check all your queue times for rides and the locations of some characters. If you look at it a couple of days ahead you can see what the queues are like for must-do rides and plan accordingly. Start from the back of the parks and work your way forward if you can.

Thanks for your reply. I am definitely a character person - I get motion sickness easy so rides don't work well for me but I will go on some. Fortunately my phone plan gives me free international calls so i'll definitely call Auberge 60 days out to make a reservation. I love Ariel so she is a must but others i could take or leave. I know Belle is popular but she isn't someone i'd be upset to miss. Last time i was there you had to book a time at the Princess Pavilion and we missed out, do you know if that is still occuring?

I downloaded the app the other day as it was amazing to use in Anaheim. I plan to get a Europe sim card so i can use it in the park too. Someone else mentioned that for the breakfast at the Plaza Gardens I will have to call 3 days out as i'm not staying on property. Thats a bummer but i assume there are other places to meet Mickey Mouse and friends?

 

[MsFionaE]

Booking for the Pavillion is now only available for disabled guests. A couple of years ago only Anna and Elsa were stationed in the pavilion and you could get in by appointment only. Now, you will have to wait in the queue unless you have a disability that entitles you a green card to get an appointment at the pavillion exit. Typically they have one princess on at a time, one from 10:00 - 15:00, and another 15:00 - 17:30. (i.e. Cinderela 10:0 - 15:00, Rapunzel 15:00-17:30). During busier times they get rid of the schedule and have princesses on 15 minute 'bingo' rotations and you have no idea who you're going to get.

One tip: if you're a big fan of Moana, you won't find her in DLP. You'll have to go over to the Art of Animation in Walt Disney Studios to find her, and she has her own meet and greet there.

Mickey has his own meet and greet in Fantasyland which is aptly titled 'Meet Mickey Mouse', but it's very much a conveyor belt style meet'n'greet. If you want a character breakfast, I can strongly recommend the 'all you can eat' breakfast at Cafe Mickey in Disney Village. You don't need Extra Magic Hours to access it as it's not within the park and doesn't require admission, and you can book ahead as with Auberge. The food is delicious, and you usually get Mickey, Goofy, Pluto and one other friend of Mickey. Sometimes Chip and Dale will look in but that's very rare. I think for an adult it was 15 Euro when we did it; prices may have changed as it's been about 2 years since we last did a character breakfast, preferring to throw it all in at the Auberge instead.

In terms of other characters, be sure to head to Frontierland as you'll most likely find Jack Skellington there. He's very seasonal at DLP and only really comes out at Hallowe'en and a couple of weeks before Christmas. Characters don't tend to wander freely in DLP any more and all meet and greets are on the app, but you won't know until you arrive at the location who you will be meeting. If you want to meet Alice for example and you get there and it's the Queen of Hearts, check with the attendant when Alice is planned to be on so you know when the join the queue. Also, when you need to rest your feet and want to do some character spotting, sit on the benches that sit on the lane connecting Fantasyland and Discoveryland near It's a Small World. This is the pathway characters used going to and from their locations in the park and you can spot quite a few. Sitting there last year I saw Peter, Hook, Smee, Stitch, Snow White, Aurora, Rapunzel, Chip, Dale, Marie, Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore all within about 20 minutes!! You won't get an interaction with a princess - they're usually being escorted and wearing capes with large hoods as they're hurried along - but it's cool to see them!!

 

[xemjx]

Booking for the Pavillion is now only available for disabled guests. A couple of years ago only Anna and Elsa were stationed in the pavilion and you could get in by appointment only. Now, you will have to wait in the queue unless you have a disability that entitles you a green card to get an appointment at the pavillion exit. Typically they have one princess on at a time, one from 10:00 - 15:00, and another 15:00 - 17:30. (i.e. Cinderela 10:0 - 15:00, Rapunzel 15:00-17:30). During busier times they get rid of the schedule and have princesses on 15 minute 'bingo' rotations and you have no idea who you're going to get.

One tip: if you're a big fan of Moana, you won't find her in DLP. You'll have to go over to the Art of Animation in Walt Disney Studios to find her, and she has her own meet and greet there.

Mickey has his own meet and greet in Fantasyland which is aptly titled 'Meet Mickey Mouse', but it's very much a conveyor belt style meet'n'greet. If you want a character breakfast, I can strongly recommend the 'all you can eat' breakfast at Cafe Mickey in Disney Village. You don't need Extra Magic Hours to access it as it's not within the park and doesn't require admission, and you can book ahead as with Auberge. The food is delicious, and you usually get Mickey, Goofy, Pluto and one other friend of Mickey. Sometimes Chip and Dale will look in but that's very rare. I think for an adult it was 15 Euro when we did it; prices may have changed as it's been about 2 years since we last did a character breakfast, preferring to throw it all in at the Auberge instead.

In terms of other characters, be sure to head to Frontierland as you'll most likely find Jack Skellington there. He's very seasonal at DLP and only really comes out at Hallowe'en and a couple of weeks before Christmas. Characters don't tend to wander freely in DLP any more and all meet and greets are on the app, but you won't know until you arrive at the location who you will be meeting. If you want to meet Alice for example and you get there and it's the Queen of Hearts, check with the attendant when Alice is planned to be on so you know when the join the queue. Also, when you need to rest your feet and want to do some character spotting, sit on the benches that sit on the lane connecting Fantasyland and Discoveryland near It's a Small World. This is the pathway characters used going to and from their locations in the park and you can spot quite a few. Sitting there last year I saw Peter, Hook, Smee, Stitch, Snow White, Aurora, Rapunzel, Chip, Dale, Marie, Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore all within about 20 minutes!! You won't get an interaction with a princess - they're usually being escorted and wearing capes with large hoods as they're hurried along - but it's cool to see them!!

Thanks so much for all this information. I really appreciate it!! I've met all the princesses at one point or another in my travels - except Pocahontas, so i just take who i can get. I can't wait to see who i can meet!

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[MsFionaE]

/)'o'(\

Why on earth did they stop that?? It was very popular and a great opportunity for non-Disney Hotel guests.

I've had a look around the DLP stuffs and it seems only Plaza Gardens is offering the Character Breakfast which is annoying as you miss out on those early reservations. Not even Inventions at the Disney Hotel is offering a character breakfast, but characters are there for the lunch and dinner - dinner could be an alternative and then you can have breakfast before you get into the park (can recommend Annette's Diner for this) and then hit the park the moment it opens, have a 12pm lunch at Auberge and then head to Inventions for dinner after the fireworks?

In case you are hoping to meet Pocahontas at DLP, she does not appear there currently. Far too cold for her in the Parisian climate

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[xemjx]

Cafe Mickey doesn't have breakfast anymore! For a while they didn't have characters anymore either, but they returned two months ago, just NOT the breakfast!

Yeah i had just looked it up. Argh frustrating! I get they want paying guests to have all the opportunities and fun but with plaza gardens, not everyone can afford to stay on site. Auberge is my goal restaurant and anything on top of that is a bonus. My Paris hotel provides breakfast so i won't go hungry. Hahaha.

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[Focusdude]

I may be going alone for a day in December (one son may have interest but is not sure). I will be travelling from the 20th arrondissement via train and had heard it was rather safe. I travel alone often but have only been to Paris once before for 24 hours, so I will now be emailing the person who owns the apartment I am renting from to ask her opinion of the safety issue! If it is unsafe, I would probably see if there was a car service - I'm not a huge fan of Uber.

Have a great time!

 

[xemjx]

I'm pretty sure (just not completely) Plaza also has openings when the parks are open. You can reach Plaza before the official opening, as the gates open half an hour before that and Plaza gardens is in the area you can explore then (so from 9:30 on), so I don't think it's impossible to do Plaza when you're not staying on site

So if the opening time is 10am, Main Street actually opens at 9:30am? I honestly can't remember what i did last time. It was such a rainy miserable day. I know the whole park doesn't open all at once though. In October apparently the park is open 10am-8pm.

 

[xemjx]

I may be going alone for a day in December (one son may have interest but is not sure). I will be travelling from the 20th arrondissement via train and had heard it was rather safe. I travel alone often but have only been to Paris once before for 24 hours, so I will now be emailing the person who owns the apartment I am renting from to ask her opinion of the safety issue! If it is unsafe, I would probably see if there was a car service - I'm not a huge fan of Uber.

Have a great time!

Yes i have got differing opinions on this through various outlets. Some people say its safe since there is so many people around and others say not so much. I guess the RER shouldn't be a problem it's probably more the transfer to the metro and then walking from the metro station to my hotel. The station is about ~600m from my hotel. Its like 45-50km drive from Disneyland to my hotel so that would be one hell of an uber fare but i guess you cant put a price on safety...

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[seeyouinmainstreet]

Hi Xemjx, so awesome that you're going to Disneyland Paris! We think Halloween is one of the best times to visit the park, because of the beautiful decorations and exclusive shows. We made a video about Halloween-time in Disneyland Paris and we also made some episodes with tips & tricks! One of them is our Top 6 meet & greet in Disneyland Paris. Maybe this can be of any help to you? You can find us on: www.youtube.com/seeyouinmainstreet And if you've got any questions, we're happy to help

 

[xemjx]

Hi Xemjx, so awesome that you're going to Disneyland Paris! We think Halloween is one of the best times to visit the park, because of the beautiful decorations and exclusive shows. We made a video about Halloween-time in Disneyland Paris and we also made some episodes with tips & tricks! One of them is our Top 6 meet & greet in Disneyland Paris. Maybe this can be of any help to you? You can find us on: www.youtube.com/seeyouinmainstreet And if you've got any questions, we're happy to help

Thank you for the reply. I will check it out. Ive been to all the disneys and anheim/orlando twice but never been at a special time so kinda excited. Even though as an Aussie we don't celebrate halloween.